Apr

First they came for my neighbors, then they came for the millionaires… when will they come for us?

By Emily

I just got this article sent to me by a friend of mine named Tom who has been in the short sale industry for the last five years and has completed a TON of short sale transactions. Even though he’s been in the business for years, he commented,

"Short sales are where it is at right now. We have a window of opportunity here like never before." – Tom

On my coaching calls for Mentor Financial Group, I am getting more and more people asking questions about short sale deals they’ve signed up than ever before. The MFG students are getting more short sale deals signed up than all the other types of deals combined, by my estimate.

This is really something that’s *happening* right now, and knowing how to help sellers in foreclosure is a vital skill set to help you profit in today’s many sideways/falling real estate markets. I am in the process of putting together some more information on short sales for you from Tom’s partner, Phil, who is probably doing more foreclosures in the state of Tennessee than anyone else!
Keep an eye peeled, and for now, enjoy the article! Emily

—BEGIN ARTICLE—

Breaking News from MoneyNews.com – Click here for full article.

Foreclosure Twist — Million Dollar Homes Being Auctioned

A startling new trend is emerging in the declining U.S. economy — foreclosure auctions of distressed properties owned by the wealthy. Experts tell MoneyNews.com that properties, worth tens of millions of dollars, located in tiny upscale locales such as Greenwich, Conn., Palm Beach, Fla., and in Manhattan, New York, are being auctioned, as heirs and heiresses to famous fortunes, like Veronica Hearst, watch helplessly from the benches in county courthouses.
Less high-profile homes, priced at just over a million dollars, are also on the block.

U.S. home foreclosure filings increased 60 percent, and bank seizures more than doubled in February from the same month last year as adjustable mortgage rates rose and property owners were unable to sell or refinance, according to RealtyTrac Inc., which tracks foreclosure data.

Typically, lenders require borrowers to buy mortgage insurance if they make less than a 20 percent down payment, which helps banks recovers their costs when loans default. Defaults on privately insured U.S. mortgages rose 38 percent for
the 14th straight month in February as "record" foreclosures forced the industry to reimburse lenders for more bad loans, according to the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America. Insured borrowers falling more than 60 days late on payments rose to 60,911 last month from 44,111 a year earlier.

That includes the wealthy. "Overspending is a pattern and lifestyle to which all too many of us have fallen prey," says Janice B. Leis, a broker, with Prudential Florida WCI Realty.

…

Generally, the distressed, high-end market is now succumbing to the same lending snafus that plagued the subprime market — borrowers were given high loans, based on the presumption that housing prices would continue upward eternally.
Many of the million dollar-plus homes listed as foreclosures were built recently and are now worth significantly less than the inflated prices the owners originally paid. Sound familiar?

— END OF ARTICLE —

Clearly the changing economy and housing market is affecting the wealthy as well as the subprime borrowers. There are lots of people out there who need to sell a home they can’t afford and need our help, as investors, to get it done. Since they don’t have equity, often, it’s the short sale investors who are the only ones in a position to help them.

Get a copy of your local foreclosure list, send out your letters, put out your signs and start signing these up!

Have a great week!
Emily Cressey

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