Ideal Investment Corner

Mortgate Delinquencies Soar in February: 4 in 10 Subprime Mortgages 30 or more Days Late

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:25:08 PDT

Reuters is reporting today that 7 percent of homeowners with mortgages are at least 30 days late on their loans in February. This is a 50 percent increase from February 2008. And a whopping 4 out of 10 homeowners with subprime mortgages are 30 days or more delinquent- an increase of 23.7 percent from the year before.

Dann Adams, president of U.S. Information Systems for Equifax Inc, is quoted in the article as saying the continued increase in mortgage delinquencies revealed in his data foreshadows more foreclosures, short sales and home price declines as homeowners default and banks then repossess the homes to sell them at deep discounts.

Adams also notes that the rising unemployment -- 663,000 jobs lost in March alone sending the national unemployment rate soaring to 8.5 percent-- has also had an impact on late payments. Job losses lead to consumer reliance on credit cards, however, banks closed 8 million credit card accounts in February, reducing the number of open cards to 400 million from a July 2008 peak of 483 million, according to Equifax data.

Borrowing an Idea from the Depression, Communities are Printing their Own Money

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 08:48:50 PDT

What's next? A Victory Garden in every front yard? I'm getting off point. . .

It turns out, according to USA Today, that "a small but growing number of cash-strapped communities are printing their own money."

This idea became popular in the Great Depression when local governments, businesses and individuals got together to issue currency, known as scrip, to keep commerce flowing when bank closings led to a cash shortage.

The systems generally work like this: Businesses and individuals form a network to print currency. Shoppers buy it at a discount — say, 95 cents for $1 value — and spend the full value at stores that accept the currency. Workers with dwindling wages are paying for groceries, yoga classes and fuel with Detroit Cheers, Ithaca Hours in New York, Plenty in North Carolina or BerkShares in Massachusetts.

Read the entire article here.

Good News: Real Esate in the Nation's Hardest Hit Suburbs Seems To Be Making a Comeback

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 08:31:37 PDT

Forbes Magazine reports that areas hardest hit by the real estate bubble -- California's Inland Empire for example -- seem to be turning around. This area just east of Los Angeles with approximately 3 million people has been negatively impacted with one of the highest foreclosures and the largest surges in unemployment in the nation.

Forbes quotes top agent George Guerrero from Advantage Real Estate in Chino Hills who says he sales are increasing and inventories are finally starting to decline. "There's been a real surge in sales," Guerrero says. "The market has come back to where it should be. I think we are ahead of the curve here of the overall recovery."

Across the nation, existing home sales (mainly in the suburbs) have been rising for the past few months. The highest rate of growth is happening in Sunbelt states, like Arizona, Nevada and Florida, as well as in California. While loans are harder to find, these homes are much more affordable than they were a few years ago. Buyers with good credit are finding they can purchase for 50 percent below the peak. And with gasoline prices having dropped to more reasonable levels, families are, and will continue, to move out to the suburbs.

Read the entire Forbes article here.

The Global Economy: Now Versus the Great Depression

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:22:41 PDT

The media is feeding us recession figures that pertain mainly to the United States. But the reality is we live in a global economy and according to two economic historians, the global economy has fallen off a cliff similar to, if not worse than, the Great Depression.

WARNING: clicking on the link to view additional, scary graphs like this one on "World Stock Markets, Now vs. Then" may cause readers nightmares.

WSJ: A Glimmer of Hope in Housing Market?

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:04:40 PDT

Stephann Cotton of Cotton & Co. explains in the WSJ video that a recent survey on buyer confidence shows that 34% of those polled expect a housing-market bottom within six months and 65% see a bottom within 12 months. Kelsey Hubbard reports.

Private Banks Thriving in the U.S.

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:04:39 PDT

The Washington Times has an article on the formula for a successful bank: they are organized as partnerships and/or are controlled by a family, or are closely held by a few senior officers. That is, they have “skin in the game.” One of the banks they cite is The Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. in Alexandria, Virginia which has been around since 1852. Burke & Herbert is a venerable institution in the DC metro area.

The president of the bank, Hunt Burke, is the great-great grandson of the founder. This bank has prospered by sticking to basic banking in the Northern Virginia area. Burke & Herbert also declined to participate in the U.S. Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) because the bank did not need the help.

Should You Refinance Your Home Mortgage?

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:55:23 PDT

Are you one of the many homeowners or investors who has refinanced a mortgage in order to lower your monthly payments, but didn't analyze how that decision would affect your total net worth?

How does a homeowner or investor know when refinancing pays off? Can you do the analysis to find out if it's just a short-term fix to a bigger problem?

Investopedia has an article about the true economics of refinancing a mortgage.

Lennar Offering 3.625% 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgages on Their New Homes

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 08:28:09 PDT

According to the Wall Street Journal, building giant Lennar is now offering a 3.625% 30-year fixed-rate mortgages for it's new homes. The deal is available to buyers with a minimum credit score of 700 with at least 10 percent down. The other catch is that closing must occur by April 30 and the loan amount cannot exceed $417,000.

Other builders will be forced to match -- or even drive interest rates even further. Good news for buyers with excellent credit who still have a job. The problem with housing prices is two-fold: the record high inventory and unwillingness of buyers to jump in because of the precarious nature of their employment. Many people are going to hold out until they are sure prices have hit bottom and that they will have a job in the coming months.

S&P/Case-Shiller index: Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Fell by a Record 19 Percent

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 08:13:09 PDT

According to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller index released today, home prices in 20 U.S. cities fell 19 percent in January from a year earlier. This is the fastest drop on record, as demand plummeted and foreclosures rose. The decrease for January was higher than forecast and exceeds the 18.6 percent decrease in December.

The record number of unsold properties are keeping prices low, shrinking household wealth and damping spending. However, sales of new and previously owned homes rose in February, indicating the housing slump, now in its fourth year, may be easing.

“There is still a lot of downward momentum,” Michelle Meyer told Bloomberg, an economist at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York. “We don’t think we’ll see a bottom in home prices until the second half of next year. The decline in home prices will continue to depress household balance sheets.”

Sales Down 22 Percent for Vacation and Investment Homes

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:56:02 PDT

More fallout from the financial/credit crisis:

Sales of vacation and investment homes slid 22 percent last year, a sign that tough economic conditions and tight lending requirements shut out buyers, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday.

"The vacation home market really was driven by the availability of debt," said Daniel Alpert, managing director of Westwood Capital LLC, a New York-based investment bank. "Folks were able to pick up vacation homes with very little money down and substantial loans. Given the absence of mortgage money for primary homes, one can imagine that there's no mortgage money for vacation homes."

Webinar Alert: How to Buy and Sell Bank Owned Properties Successfully in Today's Market!

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:13:06 PDT

Join us tonight, Monday, March 30, 2009, for an exciting Webinar on how to buy and sell bank owned properties successfully.

Mathew Owens is a CPA that specializes in real estate and has bought, renovated and sold nearly 100 properties over the last 2 years.

He also currently manages the investment portfolios of 20 private investors helping them achieve their investment goals.

Come learn about what to look out for when buying and selling bank owned properties and see some exciting opportunities you can get in on today!

HOW TO BUY AND SELL BANK OWNED PROPERTIES
SUCCESSFULLY IN TODAY'S MARKET!

Monday, March 30, 2009

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM PDT

What A Modern Day Depression Looks Like

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:10:25 PDT

The following are comments from today's excellent Wall Street Journal article, How a Modern Depression Might Look-- If the U.S. Get's There:

We're in a depression alright, but it's a 21st century, affluent / culturally bankrupt depression:

1930s Ma and Pa Joad driving to California in a broken down Hudson truck to work in the orange groves.
2009 Tiffany and Brandon driving a 2-weeks-from-repossession Cadillac Escalade with individual video monitors for the screaming brats in the back seats to the local strip mall for a big-box store liquidation sale.

1930 Abandoned farmhouses in dust bowl Oklahoma (with withered wheat dying in the fields).
2009 Abandoned MacMansions in Atlanta suburbs (with mosquitoes breeding in the pools).

1930s Poor nutrition, hunger, weak veggie soup at local Salvation Army.
2009 Poor nutrition, obesity, BK Whoppers and Big Macs at the strip mall.

1930s Big projects! The TVA, Hoover Dam, aqueducts.
2009 Oink, oink! Tattoo removal program, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Maine Lobster Foundation museum, ad nauseum.
1930s Employer of last resort: Civilian Conservation Corps.
2009 Employer of last resort: Miami Ink (or the Bangor Lobster Tank).

1930s Empire State Building built in 18 months.
2009 WTC site "work in progress" for 8 years (10 years more to go -- maybe).

1930s Joe Dimaggio
2009 A Rod

1930s Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers; Ella Fitzgerald; Marlene Dietrich; Frank Sinatra.
2009 Dancing with the Stars (Tucker Carlson!!); Britney; Paris Hilton; the sanctimonious Bono.

1930s Fireside chats with FDR
2009 Obamorations (with Teleprompter) or for you Dems, John Boehner twittering

Hate to be cynical, but we're 20X more affluent this time, but only 20% as dignified and thankful for what we have.

Forbes: Best Places for Jobs & Businesses

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:18:53 PDT

Forbes: Housing Recovery

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:22:31 PDT

Forbes: Layoffs Breed Entrepreneurs

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:26:43 PDT

Pursuit of Happyness's Christopher Gardner offers advice to the jobless.

WEBINAR ALERT: Syndication and Deals, Deals,Deals....

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 06:59:27 PST

Ideal Investment Show and Ideal Investment Radio host special call with people closing deals.

Deals, Deals, Deals.....

AGENDA:

1) ROUND TABLE: special guest case studies on deals they closed!

2) BONUS SPEAKER ON SYNDICATIONS: Everyone ask for a recording of our last syndication webinar, so we have Rich Hake's ENCORE syndication webinar with a added case study on his own raising money via syndication.

Closing Deals with Hedge Funds and your IRA

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:41:51 PDT

Deals, Deals, Deals.....

Ideal Investment Show and Ideal Investment Radio host special call with people closing deals.

Every Monday night at 6 pm PST on www.BlogTalkRadio.com and streaming video by GoToWebinar!

TO REGISTER FOR OCTOBER 20, 2008: Click on below link or paste into browser:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/326654149

CASE STUDY:

1) How to close real estate deals with Matthew Stearns

2) Plus round table with JD Morris, Kaaren Hall, and others about deals closing!

New Show (Webinar & Radio) Deals, Deals, Deals......

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:22:55 PDT

Ideal Investment Show and Ideal Investment Radio host special call with people closing deals.

Deals, Deals, Deals.....

CASE STUDY:

1) How to close 72 deals month with JD from Red Hook Capital

2) How Rich closed several real estate deals

3) How to close notes with Kaaren from Entrust Group

4) Other special guest speakers TBA!

http://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/524772193

New Show - Deals, Deals, Deals

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:56:07 PDT

Every Monday night we will have a speaker on creative financing at 6 p.m. PST ( 9 p.m. EST ) about deals closing in today's market.

Our Oct. 6th show had three guest and friends. Top short sale guest Rich of spoke about two deals he did in last 4 weeks. Kaaren of The Entrust Group speak about deals done at the National Note Conference. Red Hook Capital Senior Executive Advisor, Dan, spoke about million dollar lines credit lines from GE Capital done this month. Send e-mail at info@ideal4investors.com to request MS Powerpoint!

Next "Ideal Investment Show" 6 p.m. PST on Oct. 13th will have closed deals, new deals, future deals! More to come soon.....

Visit our radio show by click on the below link or pasting it into your browser:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Ideal4Investors

The Senate Takes a Crack at the Bailout Bill

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:30:15 PDT

And it appears the taxpayers will pay with a belly ache and a mouth full of rotten teeth for the ridiculous "sweeteners" packed into this bill. Examples:

1) tax breaks for wooden arrows used by children
2) tax benefiting litigants in the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill
3) a provision mandating insurance companies provide mental health treatment

UPDATE: Burning Down The House: What Caused Our Economic Crisis?

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:08:17 PDT

The previous video was pulled due to a copyright violation. But not before 1.2 million people viewed it. Ask yourself-- who doesn't want you to have this information?

European Banks Feeling the Pain Too

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 17:56:08 PDT

The huge European bank Fortis is about to fail. This is apparently a big deal.

Poison Pills in the Latest Bailout Proposal

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 17:49:05 PDT

Meet the latest bailout proposal by Democratic congressional leaders. The fine print includes the following poison pills. I've already called my Congressman. Have you called yours? Read the whole thing at Politico. If Acorn sounds familiar, yes, it's this Acorn.

TRIAL LAWYERS – Instead of investigating the scandal-plagued American trial lawyer industry, the Democratic Congress has showed it in pork, tucking special benefits into major bills to benefit the industry at the expense of American taxpayers – and the economic rescue bill has been no exception. Working drafts of the bill include so-called 'cramdown' provisions allowing bankruptcy judges to reduce mortgage principal under the guise of helping those at risk of foreclosure. If enacted into law, the provision would be a bonanza for trial lawyers and undercut the effectiveness of any economic recovery effort by making it even harder to value mortgage-backed securities.

WASHINGTON LABOR BOSSES – Washington’s powerful big labor bosses – another special-interest constituency closely aligned with the Democratic Party – also get a big handout in the working draft of the bailout bill. So-called “say on pay” or “proxy access” provisions have been added to the bill by Democrats proposing to mandate a nonbinding shareholder vote on proxy access and other issues for all companies in which the Treasury Department buys a direct stake in certain assets. The proposal can and should include restrictions on executive compensation for participating firms in a responsible manner without allowing Washington labor bosses to have an undue say on corporate governance at the expense of American workers and their prosperity.

ACORN – The draft bill includes a left-wing giveaway that would force taxpayers to bankroll a slush fund for a discredited ally of the Democratic Party. At issue is the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now – better known as ACORN – an organization fraught with controversy for, among other scandals, its fraudulent voter registration activities on behalf of Democratic candidates. Rather than returning any profits made in the long-term from the economic rescue package, Democrats want to first reward their radical allies at ACORN for their (often illegal) help in getting Democrats elected to office. Families, seniors, small businesses, and all American taxpayers deserve better.

MORTGAGE INDUSTRY BAD ACTORS – The draft of the bill includes “foreclosure mitigation” provisions that essentially establish a preference for purchasing assets with the goals of modifying or restructuring loans. House Republicans believe the goal of the rescue legislation should be to stabilize the markets and protect taxpayers – NOT to use taxpayer dollars to identify assets to purchase in order to improve loan workouts. Congress has already enacted one irresponsible housing bailout to deal with the mess created by the Democrats’ refusal to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We don’t need another.

How $1 Billion in Advertising Lured Americans into Tapping Their Home Equity

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 07:36:51 PDT

The New York Times has an interesting article on how Citicorp spent $1 billion in advertising between 2001 to 2006 on their "live richly" campaign.

As one of the ads proclaimed: “There’s got to be at least $25,000 hidden in your house. We can help you find it.”

From the early 1980s to the late 1990s, home equity in the United States grew from around $1 billion to $1 trillion. All Citi and others needed to do, with the help of ad agencies, was change the way homeowners viewed this equity. So instead of calling it a "second mortgage" on your house -- which it really is -- they rebranded it as a HELOC and convinced customers to tap into it to pay for remodeling, college for the kids, new cars and that European vacation they always wanted.

The higher fees for HELOCs resulted in a 25% to 50% higher return for banks than other consumer loans. Check out the article for images of the most egregious ads. It's guaranteed to make you cringe,

Hat tip to LA Land.

What a Bargain! House Sells at Foreclosure Sale for $1.00

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne Morris) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:07:54 PDT

The Detroit News reports that this house in Detroit sold for only $1.00. This bank-owned home was listed on MLS for $1,100 just last January with no takers. Once considered the nicest home on the block, the vultures swooped in after the owners vacated. They ripped out the copper piping, windows, siding, fence and doors. It was boarded up only to have the boards stolen.

The bank was so desperate to unload this house that in addition to letting it go for just a dollar, they paid the realtor a $2,500 commission for finding a buyer and an additional $1,000 bonus for closing the deal. PLUS they paid $500 of the buyer's closing costs! The home was purchased by an investor.

Abandoned homes in Detroit sell for $100 while vacant lots sell for $300.