Blog Feed: REWealthCoach.com

Buying Rental Property: Census Data Reveals New Rental Trends

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Recent data from the Census Bureau indicates that now is an exciting time for those interested in buying rental property.  Foreclosures are contributing to a boom in rental housing!  House rentals have increased by an average of 700,000 units per y > read more

Problem States and Cities for Mortgage Fraud Identified

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Investigators are finding a significant amount of mortgage fraud in recent complaints about foreclosure rescue services. Cases coming out of California are disproportionately high compared to the number of foreclosures now reported in this state. The > read more

Prime Time For Buying an Investment Home: Housing Prices Post Biggest Drop in Two Years

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Buying an investment home is more appealing than ever as home prices reach a two year low The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s index of residential sales revealed a 2.5% seasonally adjusted drop in prices during the first quarter of 2011 compared t > read more

First-Time Home Buyers Buying an Investment Home In Increasing Numbers

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First time home buyers increasingly buying an investment home A new Move Inc. survey reveals a possible change is on the horizon for real estate investing.  The parent company of Realtor.com surveyed over 1,000 adults who described themselves as rea > read more

Real Estate Investing News: NAR’s Phipps Testifies on Future of Housing Finance System

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Real Estate Investing News: Ron Phipps, 2011 President of the National Association of Realtors® was one of several witnesses at the most recent Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on housing finance reform. The Phipps testimo > read more

Pending Home Sales Declined in April

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The latest National Association of Realtors® snapshot of the pending home sales index (PHSI) shows that the index fell in April 11.6% to 81.9% from a March index level of 92.6%.  This is 26.5% below the peak of 111.5 reached in April 2010 as buyers > read more

Real Estate Investing News: Consumer Survey Results – Housing Recovery Years Off

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Real estate investing news: A recent Trulia-RealtyTrac survey shows that 54% of American adults now believe the housing recovery won’t take hold until at least 2014.  The public also believes that the government is not doing enough to stop foreclo > read more

Real Estate Investing News: Will There Be a QE3?

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Real estate investing news: Wall Street is preparing for the end of the economic easing that the Federal Reserve Bank has called QE2. The Fed has said that it will end the current buying of Treasury securities as part of the $600 billion economic eas > read more

Buying Investment Properties: Inventory is Falling; Will Prices Rise?

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It appears that homeowners who in better times might have put their homes on the market are holding back afraid of falling home values. For real estate investors, this uncertainty is creating a great market for buying investment properties. According > read more

Buying Investment Properties: Impact of Foreign Buyers in Your Market

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Foreign buyers impact the where you should be buying investment properties. The annual NAR study of international buying trends entitled “2011 Profile of International Buying Activity” shows that foreign participation in the purchase of homes in > read more

Buying Investment Properties: What Factors Matter to Your Buyers?

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Skyrocketing gas prices beginning to impact where you should be buying investment properties? High gas cost is making a lasting impression on prospective homebuyers according to a recent Coldwell Banker survey. A survey of agents revealed that the re > read more

Lenders Willing to Pay $5 Billion to States

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Lenders Willing to Pay $5 Billion to States The Attorneys General of the 50 states have met again with the 14 lenders and servicers to try to settle the issues brought up in the foreclosure documentation scandal that surfaced last fall. Lenders have > read more

REO Inventory 54.2% Higher than Last Year

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REO Inventory 54.2% Higher than Last Year A recent HUD REO Inventory report shows that the FHA is holding about 25,000 more homes now than it was a year ago. In February 2010 FHA held 44,605 foreclosed properties; this February the number stood at 68 > read more

Investment Properties: Distressed Property Represents 39% of Home Sales

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Investment Properties continue to be a great opportunity! The National Association of Realtors® existing home sales report for the first quarter of 2011 shows that 39% of all existing home sales during that period were distressed property including > read more

Foreclosure Investing: The Top 10 Foreclosure Cities

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RealtyTrac recently surveyed the top 100 cities in the U.S. based on population and looked at information on unemployment rates, sales prices, and the amount of foreclosure activity to determine the best bets for investing in foreclosures.  Its top > read more

South Carolina Judge Halts Foreclosures!

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South Carolina and the state of Washington have mandatory foreclosure mediation laws on the books.  Connecticut is in the legislative process to enact a similar law.  As a result of South Carolina’s mediation law SC Chief Justice Jean Toal signed > read more

Altos Composite Home Price Index Up 1.82% in April

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April brought substantial inventory increases in several markets, and for the most part, this did not result in dropping prices in these markets. Markets with substantial boosts in inventory included Boston (19.18%), San Francisco (12.06%), Austin ( > read more

Foreclosure Inventory at All-Time High

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Lender Processing Services (LPS) documented that by the end of March the inventory of foreclosed property had reached 2.2 million units, a record number. By LPS’ definition the foreclosure inventory are the properties that have been referred to an > read more

Fannie/Freddie Rules Make it Much Harder to Qualify for a Loan

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It used to be that those who missed a payment or two could still qualify for an FHA loan. Now 5% of the loan balance on a card or mortgage where there was a missed payment will be added to the debt side of the debt to income ratio and could blow the > read more

HUD Housing Counseling Takes a Budget Hit

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Meanwhile, Investors will not be able to fill this void without strictly following guidelines that prevent deceptive advertising of services and charging up front fees.HUD Housing Counseling Takes a Budget Hit is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob M > read more

Unemployment Rate on the Rise Again

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The nation experienced the first rise in unemployment since November with the publication of April’s figures. The Labor Department reported that unemployment rose from 8.8% in March to 9.0% in April.Unemployment Rate on the Rise Again is a post fr > read more

Real Estate Investing News: Are Judges Illegally Modifying Mortgages?

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The federal government has from time to time examined the question of whether bankruptcy judges should be given the authority to modify mortgages as part of a bankruptcy settlement. The Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009 included such a pr > read more

Is the Foreclosure Crisis Waning?

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According to an Associated Press report conditions are ripe for some improvement in the housing market by the end of the year in many hardest hit markets. While home prices are still being forced down, at least one factor that is an early indicator > read more

More Data on Delinquencies

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Research company, Trepp LLC indicates that the recovery in terms of delinquency rates that began in the second quarter of 2010 appears to be stalling out. The first three months of 2011 have seen mixed results in delinquency rates. Trepp has pegged > read more

Government Revamps HAMP Loan Modification Program

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In an effort to encourage investors to settle HAMP loan modifications with principal reduction by tripling incentives from 18 to 63 cents on the dollar depending on the loan to value change that would be made by the modification. Currently, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are prohibited form doing loan modifications.  Treasury has told the [...]Government Revamps HAMP Loan Modification Program is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, vi [..] > read more

Obama Administration: Millions to Get Refinance at Favorable Terms

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Most were expecting the President to announce a breakthrough in the AG negotiations with the major lenders over robo-signing in his State of the Union.  That announcement did not come.  Instead the President Obama announced a program to help more homeowners refinance to today’s low interest rates in order to save about $3000 per year [...]Obama Administration: Millions to Get Refinance at Favorable Terms is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, in [..] > read more

Fed Pledges Low Interest Rates Through 2014

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At the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting the Board of Governors decided to continue its policy of quantitative easing by pledging to maintain low interest rates at least until the end of 2014.  The action is based on analysis that anticipates unemployment will remain high and inflation will remain relatively low during that period of time. [...]Fed Pledges Low Interest Rates Through 2014 is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, vi [..] > read more

Home Values Are Down and Little Improvement Seen Ahead

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As part of the budget settlement that will keep the government running through next September Republicans and Democrats agreed to cut $88 million from the Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Counseling Program.Home Values Are Down and Little Im > read more

Best Advice for Distressed Homeowners: Work with a Specialist

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A recent article in the Chicago Tribune talks about a new breed of Investors who are “workout specialists” to help homeowners in log-jammed distress situations reach a reasonable settlement with lenders. This is, of course, just the sort of thin > read more

Surefire Ways to Sell Your Properties FAST

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You’ve located a hot wholesale property and have put it under contract.  Now what do you do?  Most investors will tell you that locating a buyer when you’ve got just a limited period of time to do so is the most nerve-wracking part of being a real estate investor.  The most successful investors will actually [...]Surefire Ways to Sell Your Properties FAST is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. Visit to [..] > read more

GOP Reacts to Obama Housing Plans

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It appears that large parts of the Obama housing refinance plan announced in the State of the Union Address will be dead on arrival in Congress.  House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) noted that many programs have already been tried and have failed.  There’s little reason to believe a new program will have any better [...]GOP Reacts to Obama Housing Plans is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. Visit today [..] > read more

Home Prices Dropped 4.7% in 2011: CoreLogic

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The bean counters at CoreLogic calculated that home prices fell 4.7% during 2011 and that distressed housing impacted all but .9% of that drop.  It is clear that until the high volume of REO and pre-foreclosure sales subsides the housing market will continue the downward slide. Not all markets suffered a loss.  Montana home prices [...]Home Prices Dropped 4.7% in 2011: CoreLogic is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and [..] > read more

Freddie Mac Bets against Certain Refinancing

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The U.S. Treasury Department has launched an official probe of mortgage giant, Freddie Mac’s alleged practice of purchasing “inverse floaters” which are collateralized based on the difference between the market rate and the mortgage rates on mortgages a securitized bundle. Most of the bundled securities in groups reportedly purchased by Freddie Mac in 2010 and [...]Freddie Mac Bets against Certain Refinancing is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment n [..] > read more

Who is Funding Down Payments Now?

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According to an article in The Realtor Magazine parents are the new funders of first time homebuyers.  About one-third of all new homebuyers are being funded through The Bank of Mom and Dad either through a gift or a loan. There are possible tax ramifications to these transactions that parents and their kids need to [...]Who is Funding Down Payments Now? is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. Visit today! [..] > read more

What Does the $26 Billion Robo-Signing Settlement Mean?

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Here is a great article about the recent $26 billion Robo Signing deal you might have heard about in the news.  It’s by Neil Garfield on his blog LivingLies – check it out! Many hat tips to Yves Smith and others who have pointed out that the grand settlement has neither been drafted nor signed [...]What Does the $26 Billion Robo-Signing Settlement Mean? is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. Visit today! [..] > read more

New York Times: Audit Uncovers Extensive Flaws in Foreclosures

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The Following is Taken from The New York Times: Business Day Article by Gretchen Morgenson (Click Here to Read the Original) An audit by San Francisco county officials of about 400 recent foreclosures there determined that almost all involved either legal violations or suspicious documentation, according to a report released Wednesday. Phil Ting, the San [...]New York Times: Audit Uncovers Extensive Flaws in Foreclosures is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate invest [..] > read more

JPMorgan Chase is Paying Homeowners $30,000 for Short Sale

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Troubled homeowners with a mortgage owned by Chase may qualify for some valuable benefits if they agree to a Short Sale rather than letting the home go into foreclosure. These homeowners for whom JPMorgan Chase is actually the lender, not just the s > read more

NAR Forecasts Recovery

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The National Association of Realtors® tend to be optimists when it comes to predicting the return to health for the housing market. The March existing home sales gave NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, a reason to cheer as sales rose 3.7% month > read more

Skeptics Weigh in on NAR Home Sale Figures

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Do you believe the housing market is in recovery? Many analysts do not believe the NAR should be celebrating housing recovery quite yet.Skeptics Weigh in on NAR Home Sale Figures is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate in > read more

Training Call: How To Get Your Deals CLOSED – Thursday at 8pm EDT

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Join me Thursday, April 28th at 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific and I will show you example after example of how to do deals with little or none of your own money. These aren’t just theories; they are actual deals that I’ve done in my own investing busin > read more

Short Sales Reach Record Levels

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Short sales are and will continue to be the biggest opportunity in real estate investing for the foreseeable future. Thankfully the banks are finally realizing how necessary they are! In my own investing business I've been seeing the banks loosening > read more

Foreclosure Filings Way Down

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While the servicers and the government regulators figure out what to do about document signing irregularities, the foreclosure process has all but ground to a halt. RealtyTrac indicates that foreclosure filings are at their lowest point since Q1 of > read more

Regulators’ Robo-Signing Findings Reveal Extensive Problems

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John Walsh, director of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, in a speech last week to the Women in Housing and Finance, characterized the problems found in a retrospective sampling of foreclosed homes paperwork as “extensive.” Walsh fur > read more

New HAFA Rules Issued by Treasury Department

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The new guidelines make the program more flexible in hopes of attracting more qualified distressed owners to voluntarily agree to a Short Sale of Deed-in-Lieu (DIL) of foreclosure. The expanded program should provide new options to those who have bee > read more

Housing Bubble May Continue to Stoke Inflation Flames

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An April 5 Wall Street Journal article maintains that the deflation of the housing bubble is contributing to the current rise in inflation. Shelter is 32% of the over all Consumer Price Index and 40% of the core part of the index once food and energ > read more

Harris Poll Shows 29% Have Trouble Paying Mortgage

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A recent Harris Interactive study finds that 7% of respondents have “a great deal of difficulty” in paying the mortgage each month. Another 22% experience some difficulty in making monthly mortgage payments.Harris Poll Shows 29% Have Trouble Payi > read more

Distressed Sales Drag Down the Market

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The CoreLogic February Home Price Index shows that when REOs and pre-foreclosures are present in a neighborhood the year-over-year home value drops on average 6.7%. The distress factor is almost entirely to blame for the current decline in prices, fo > read more

Current Mortgage Climate Does Not Bode Well for Housing Market

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CNBC housing reporter, Diana Olick, says that the mortgage market is “choking” the recovery. A new report on apartment vacancies in Q1 2011 shows that apartment vacancy rates are in steep decline and apartment prices are beginning to go up dramat > read more

Investment and Second Home Market Driven by Cash Buyers

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The 2011 NAR Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey reveals that contrary to popular opinion the second home market is not dead; it has simply been taken over by cash buyers who are looking at these homes as a good deal.Investment and Second Home > read more

Robo-Signing Settlement Discussions in for Long Haul

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There have been relatively few reports on the discussions between the Attorneys General team and representatives of the servicers about the terms of a settlement over the robo-signing issues. A meeting was held on March 30 in what was expected to be > read more

Shadow Inventory Drops; Supply Remains High

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CoreLogic reported that residential repossessions and properties nearing repossession decreased in January 2011 from 2 million to 1.8 million units. Because home sales have slowed in recent months the drop in units will still take about the same amou > read more

Federal Reserve Monetary Policy May Change by Year End

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The President of the Richmond, VA Federal Reserve Bank, Jeffrey Lacker has stated that it is likely the Federal Reserve Board will vote to raise interest rates by the end of the year. The Fed is also on track to end its reinvestment in mortgage-back > read more

Better News on Jobs Front: Unemployment Down to 8.8%

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March. That brings the unemployment rate down from 8.9% to 8.8%. The bad news is that 13.5 million people are still out of work and 45% of this group has been unemployed for 27 months or more.Better News on Jobs Front: Unemployment Down to 8.8% is a > read more

Existing Home Sales Dip 9.6%; Pending Sales Up 2.1%

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After three months of improvement the market again seems to have turned sour with a massive 9.6% drop in February existing home sales. The number is 2.8% worse than February 2010 sales. Inventory rose to 3.49 million units according to the National > read more

Home Price Index Hits Four Year Low

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The RadarLogic RPX Composite index registered the lowest price average in the 25 markets that it follows since 2007. The average home price per square feet is at $179.50, a 3.8% drop since December and a 3.4% drop from the January 2010 mark. “Mot > read more

States Trying to Sabotage the Housing Recovery

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Thank goodness for all those “experts” in our state capitals!  Four states are actually trying to make it illegal to take foreclosed properties into account for home appraisals. That is forcing appraisals to overvalue properties. It̵ > read more

Home Sales Up, Prices Down

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The National Association of Realtors® reported a gain in existing home sales in January, the third such gain in four months. Existing home sales rose 4.3% seasonally adjusted to 4.57 million units.  This represents a .7% improvement over existing home sales in January 2011. Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist, pointed to several factors in [...]Home Sales Up, Prices Down is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and po [..] > read more

Fannie and Freddie See Improving Housing Picture

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With continuing upward sales of existing housing during the months of December and January Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae economists see a brighter housing picture for 2012 than in the past several years. Fannie Mae Vice President and chief economist, Doug Duncan, and his counterpart at Freddie Mac, Frank Nothaft, each released separate forecasts in [...]Fannie and Freddie See Improving Housing Picture is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, [..] > read more

Which Markets Are Hot; Which Are Not

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Pro Teck and Collateral Analytics provide a regular analysis of which markets show the greatest strength and which are weakest through their Home Value Forecast (HVF).  The team analyses the top 750 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSA) along with 18,000 zip code areas in the country.  They analyze housing conditions according to a formula including [...]Which Markets Are Hot; Which Are Not is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, v [..] > read more

The HARP Program Renewed for another Year

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The Federal Housing Finance Agency has announced a one year extension on the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) until June 30, 2012. The program which was begun in March 2009 allows homeowners to refinance out of negative equity into lower fix > read more

Greenspan Analyzes the Economic and Housing Crises

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Former Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan, delivered a major speech on the history of the economic crisis at a meeting of the Council of Foreign Relations on March 15. The text of the speech is available at Scribd.Greenspan Analyzes the Econom > read more

Housing Starts Drop Sharply

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The Commerce Department reported that housing starts in February declined a stunning 22.5% to lows that have not been experienced for two years. The monthly drop in housing starts was the largest in 27 years. The fall-off in housing starts was far mo > read more

Chance of Double-Dip Grows Dramatically

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Economists are turning negative on the chances that the housing market will avoid a double-dip recession. MacroMarkets recently polled 111 economists and real estate experts about the state of the housing market and almost half predict a second dip > read more

No More Freddie Mac Foreclosures under the Name of MERS

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Freddie Mac is not following the lead of Fannie Mae in disallowing foreclosure starts in the name of the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. (MERS.) Court results have been mixed as to whether states will toss out MERS foreclosures or not. > read more

Bank Foreclosure Settlement Faces Opposition

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The Attorneys General of several states have sent a letter to Iowa AG, Tom Miller, who is spearheading the effort to review wrong-doing in the robo-signing controversy protesting that forced loan assistance is “largely unrelated to the foreclosure > read more

Pension Funds Want Independent Audits of Foreclosure Practices

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The Securities and Exchange Commission has sided with five New York City pension funds in calling for independent audit of bank foreclosure procedures. In November the pension funds filed shareholder petitions with several of the largest banks inclu > read more

Become a Fan of REWealthCoach on Facebook!

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Become a fan of REWealthCoach on Facebook today at http://www.facebook.com/BobMasseyOfficial If you become a fan by the end of the day today, you are automatically entered for a chance to win 2 FREE months of REWealthCoach Gold coaching! Become a Fan > read more

Fannie Mae Expects Lackluster Spring Home Sales

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Fannie Mae expects the home sales market to remain soft this spring. Their analysis is partly the result of weak mortgage application figures that were down 8% in January and 3.3% in February. Other factors playing in to the Fannie Mae predictions: > read more

Handling Multiple Loans on Short Sales

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Short Sales negotiators are beginning to recognize a trend among second and third lien holders. It will save a lot of last minute deal failures if Agents make their Seller clients aware of this issue early in the Short Sale process. That is, second > read more

NAR Releases Shadow Inventory Estimates

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The state by state shadow inventory report was released last week by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). Florida has by far the highest number of bank-owned property at an estimated 441,000 units. California comes in second with 228,000 un > read more

Mortgage Servicers are Being Sued

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Mortgage Daily noted in its latest quarterly report that mortgage litigation is up around 42% in the 4th quarter of 2010 compared to the previous quarter. Lawsuits over loan modifications tripled in Q4. Investor lawsuits doubled. Given the lack of ag > read more

Plan to Stabilize Mortgage Lending May Stall Recovery

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The Treasury Department is expected to introduce regulations for the mortgage industry that will make it even more difficult to qualify for a mortgage. It is anticipated that all qualifying residential mortgages (QRMs) or the kind that don’t requi > read more

Final Report Card for TARP is Handed Down

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The Congressional Oversight Committee (COP) issued its final report on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The report concentrates particularly on the efforts as loan mediation through HAMP and other foreclosure programs.Final Report Card for > read more

Did Robo-Signing Result in Wrongful Foreclosures?

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A Huffington Post report reveals that the Federal Reserve report on the robo-signing scandal revealed that by the Fed’s definition of “wrongful foreclosure” the documentation problem has not led to any wrongful foreclosures.Did Robo-Signing Res > read more

Fed Reports Improving Economy—Except for Housing

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The housing market is noticeably absent from the gradual improvements that the Federal Reserve sees as occurring in the economy according to the Fed’s regular FOMC report issued March 15.Fed Reports Improving Economy—Except for Housing is a post > read more

B of A Finds 14% Delinquent Homeowners Eligible for HAMP

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Bank of America researchers recently completed a survey of homeowners who are 60 days or more delinquent in paying their mortgages and concluded that only 14% of these homeowners would be eligible for a HAMP loan modification under the current rules. > read more

Obama Vows to Veto Effort to End HAMP

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Since its inception, HAMP has helped only half a million homeowners.  That is only 1/6 of the three to four million distressed homeowners that the program promised to keep out of foreclosure when it was being created.  Despite its under-performance > read more

Lenders Express Concern about Robo-Signing Settlement

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Heavy fines and the notion of requiring massive numbers of principal reductions are causing lenders to push back against the proposed foreclosure documentation error punishments.Lenders Express Concern about Robo-Signing Settlement is a post from: RE > read more

Home Price Decline Depends on Where You Live

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In many parts of the country the price decline experienced over the winter may be moderating. That is particularly true in the Northeast where prices rose December through February by .3%. In the South the rolling quarter average revealed a flat pr > read more

Radar Logic Disputes Idea of Moderating Home Values

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Despite some optimism by Clear Capital on home values, Radar Logic economists maintain that we are either in the middle of a double-dip recession in the housing industry, or a continuation of a prolonged downturn.Radar Logic Disputes Idea of Moderati > read more

What’s the Best Real Estate Market in the Country?

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Builder Magazine has identified Raleigh, North Carolina as the place to be for those in the construction industry. Existing home prices rose 4% in 2010 and building permits rose 85% during the year to 8600. Projections are for 9604 building permits > read more

January Posts Gain in Foreclosure Sales

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HOPE NOW has indicated that there were 73,000 foreclosure sales in January after a lower month for sales in December of 58,000. The numbers reflect some easing of the robo-signing problem on disposal of foreclosed properties.January Posts Gain in Fo > read more

11 Million Mortgages Under Water

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CoreLogic has estimated that there slightly over 11 million home mortgages that are under water as of the fourth quarter of 2010. The under water mortgage number is 3% ahead of the 3rd quarter of 2010 and represents about 23.1% of all U.S. homes.11 M > read more

Housing Programs on the Chopping Block

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The House Financial Services Committee has taken up the investigation of whether to keep or cut four programs that are the cornerstones of the Administration’s foreclosure-fighting programs. Specifically, the Insurance, Housing and Community Oppor > read more

TARP Inspector Calls it Quits, Criticizes HAMP

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One of the sharpest critics of the Administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) in recent weeks has been the TARP Inspector General, Neil Barofsky. Now Barofsky has announced his resignation from TARP this month.TARP Inspector Call > read more

Another Voice of Descent from White House Policy

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The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, represented by acting Comptroller, John Walsh, has also broken rank with the Administration on the subject of the payouts being levied on the lenders caught in the robo-signing scandal.Another Voice of D > read more

Housing Viewed as Drag on the Economy by Federal Reserve

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The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book lists the state of housing as one of the major strains on the economy as of February 18, 2011. Sales and construction remained at low levels in all Federal Reserve districts. Terms that were common concerning real e > read more

6.9 Million Loans are in Delinquency or Foreclosure

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Lender Processing Services (LPS) estimates that there are now over 6.9 million non-performing loans on American properties. The problem is beginning to get worse again in some respects after several months of improvements.6.9 Million Loans are in De > read more

Economists Predict 2.3% Drop in Home Prices

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A Reuters poll of 26 leading economists revealed a consensus of opinion about the level of home price drop to expect in 2011. The expected average drop is anticipated to be 2.3% in 2011 before the housing market begins a slow recovery in 2012.Econom > read more

To MERS or Not to MERS?

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Courts have begun weighing in on whether mortgage transfers that took place using the Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS) poses a documentation problem or is an acceptable way for property to be transferred in bulk. The decisions thus far > read more

Consumer and Real Estate Agent Confidence are Lagging

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The housing market remains in the doldrums and it is affecting the confidence of real estate agents across the country according to a recent survey of Agents by the National Association of Realtors®. In the Midwest Agent confidence sank to a rating > read more

Housing and Mortgage Industries Weigh in on Fannie/Freddie Cutbacks

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The dust is beginning to settle on the plan to cut back substantially on the impact of the GSEs in the mortgage market. The plan would phase out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, or substantially reduce their underwriting and insuring capability, over the > read more

Utah Fed: Home Retention Must Become Servicer Top Priority

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In a speech before the Midwest Housing Finance Conference in Park City, Utah Federal Reserve Governor, Sarah Raskin, said that servicers must do more to improve the sagging housing market, especially in communities that have been hit heavily by forec > read more

Business Credit Training Call Tomorrow (Wednesday) at 12pm EST

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I’m holding a 100% content – ZERO SALES training call tomorrow at 12pm Eastern/9am Pacific. with business credit expert Chris Wise. He’s going to be discussing how secure $100,000 (or more!) for your investing business. Reserve your > read more

Number of Problem Banks is Growing

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The FDIC list of problem banks reached 884 as of the end of 2010. That number is up from 860 in the third quarter of 2010. The one positive spin that the FDIC was able to put on the number was that the rate of increase in added troubled banks is de > read more

Will Fed Force Principal Reductions?

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CNBC’s Diana Olick reports that the federal government and state attorneys general are nearing a settlement with major lenders that will force a $20 billion concession to homeowners in distress.Will Fed Force Principal Reductions? is a post from: R > read more

Congress May Chop Federal Foreclosure Programs

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Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Alabama), chair of the House Financial Services Committee has announced that there will be a hearing on four bills that would eliminate the major Obama Administration foreclosure housing programs: Home Affordable Modification P > read more

Look Who’s Not Included in Mortgage Settlement

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The $25 billion settlement struck with the five major mortgage banks has a couple of notable players absent in the settlement—Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Any homeowner with a mortgage bought by Fannie or Freddie will not be eligible for mortgage relief under the deal.  The two mortgage giants control over half of the mortgage [...]Look Who’s Not Included in Mortgage Settlement is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos a [..] > read more

Free Coaching Giveaway Ends TODAY at 5pm Eastern

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Time is running out to enter for a chance to win a FREE, One Hour, One-on-One Coaching call with me! All you have to do to enter is fill out a quick, simple questionnaire at www.rewealthcoach.com/coachinggiveaway To say thank you for subscribing, I h > read more

Foreclosure Filings Rise 3% in January

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RealtyTrac calculates that in January 2012 foreclosure filings—notices of default, auction notices and bank repossessions—were up 3% over December 2011.  A total of 210,941 U.S. properties received a foreclosure notice during the month. The foreclosure activity is down 19% from January 2011. RealtyTrac’s CEO, Brandon Moore, said that there is evidence that the backlogged foreclosure [...]Foreclosure Filings Rise 3% in January is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real e [..] > read more

Can You Trust Existing Home Sale Figures?

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The National Association of Realtors® has admitted that some of their monthly statistics, and particularly the existing home sales data, may be over stated.Can You Trust Existing Home Sale Figures? is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's sit > read more

Are We in the Midst of Double Dip?

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The Case-Shiller index for December 2010 posted a sharp decline that may portend the start of a double-dip recession in the housing industry. The decline was 3.9% quarter over quarter and a 4.1% decline from fourth quarter 2009 figures. Case-Shiller > read more

Free Coaching Giveaway – Ends Friday

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I wanted to tell you about something I think you will be pretty interested in and that may be extremely helpful…Free Coaching Giveaway – Ends Friday is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, informa > read more

Don’t Count on Social Security for Retirement Income

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The Social Security Administration reported at the end of 2011 that the retirement fund will probably run out of cash by 2036.  In 2008 the estimate was that the fund would fall short by 2041. Some analysts believe that Congress will eventually be unable to raise enough funds to fully fund the retirement account in [...]Don’t Count on Social Security for Retirement Income is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcas [..] > read more

Fannie Expanding Online REO Bidding

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Fannie Mae has announced that it has expanded its online bidding system to accept offers on all REOs open for sale through HomePath website throughout the U.S. The expansion in service was beta tested starting in November 2011 in Orlando, San Diego and Detroit and the test showed positive results sufficient to warrant expansion to [...]Fannie Expanding Online REO Bidding is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. [..] > read more

Gallup Poll Says Unemployment is Really 10.2%

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A Gallup Poll survey has challenged the official Labor Department statistics that show unemployment as of January down to 9% from 9.4% in December. Gallup maintains that number is closer to 10.2% as of its mid-February report. Those considered unde > read more

Inflation Up, But Federal Reserve Not Overly Concerned

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The core inflation rate is creeping up, but the Federal Reserve Bank does not feel that the movement is sufficiently troubling to cause a marked change in interest rates.Inflation Up, But Federal Reserve Not Overly Concerned is a post from: REWealthC > read more

Predictions of Low Interest Rates Through 2011

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No one has the corner on a crystal ball for interest rates, but Freddie Mac is predicting that mortgage interest rates will remain in the 5-5.5% range throughout the year for 30 year fixed mortgages.Predictions of Low Interest Rates Through 2011 is a > read more

Homeowners are Worth 41 times Net Worth of Renters

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A recent study by the National Association of Realtors® has concluded that the net worth of homeowners is 41 times greater than that of renters, and a considerable portion of that net worth is tied up in the value of the home.Homeowners are Worth 41 > read more

2010 Home Values Show No Gain or Loss Overall

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2010 was basically a flat year for home values nationwide. Both Integrated Asset Services and CoreLogic measured the ups and downs in housing values for the year and concluded that in the end the result was a zero sum game. 2010 Home Values Show No > read more

Mortgage Rates Soar

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It seems that the Treasury announcement that it will phase out Fannie and Freddie have had an immediate impact on mortgage rates. They are headed sharply upward. The rate hike is also associated with a fall in consumer demand.Mortgage Rates Soar is > read more

Foreclosure Activity Down 17% from January 2010

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RealtyTrac statistics reveal that, while foreclosure filings were up 1% in January over December, they were down 17% compared to a year ago. There were 261,333 default notices, eviction notices, auctions or repossessions filed in January for an avera > read more

REO Inventory is Increasing

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Lender Processing Services (LPS) reports that the REO inventory in the U.S. increased by 10% in 2010 and that 30% of foreclosure first filings were on homes that had previously been in foreclosure. This means that brand new problem loans are beginni > read more

Buying Defaulted Notes Training Call TONIGHT at 8pm Eastern

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I’ve gotten a bunch of emails from subscribers who love the idea of making money from buying these notes but they’re afraid to get started because they don’t have the cash to buy the notes from individual sellers or the bank. If the cas > read more

Falling Home Values Mean More Underwater Mortgages

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A byproduct of the recent dip in home values is a surge in the number of homes where values have fallen below the mortgage balance. By the end of the fourth quarter of 2010, the percentage of U.S. single family homes with mortgages that were under w > read more

Mortgage Tax Break May be on the Obama Chopping Block

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When the Obama administration’s proposed budget hits Congress next week there are hints that the popular mortgage interest deduction will once again be offered up for reduction or elimination. The Congressional mood since the mid-term election may > read more

Buying Getting to be Cheaper than Renting

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Trulia CEO Pete Flint has noted that it is now cheaper to buy than to rent in 72% of the 50 largest housing markets in the U.S. You can chalk this change up to supply and demand. As former homeowners flood the rental market and more former owner-oc > read more

National Unemployment Dips to 9%

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The Department of Labor reported that the January unemployment rate nationwide fell to 9% from 9.4% after adding only 36,000 jobs. Larger numbers were anticipated, but poor weather throughout the month held back employer hiring. The gain in December > read more

Are U.S. Home Prices Starting to Trend Up?

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California real estate valuation company, Clear Capital, has determined that in January national home sales bottomed out and began to gradually rise for the first time since August 2010. It is too soon, however, to determine whether the uptick is a > read more

Almost 11 Percent of Homes Sitting Vacant

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The Bureau of the Census Q4 Residential Vacancies and Homeownership report revealed that home ownership fell during the quarter from 66.9% to 66.4%. The peak was in 2004 at 69.2%. The Q4 figure is the lowest home ownership level in the U.S. since 1 > read more

Numbers Eligible for HAMP Are Shrinking

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The Treasury Department now estimates that 1.4 million homeowners are still eligible for a HAMP modification. This is a 57% reduction from the original 2009 estimate of around 3.3 million homeowners who could qualify. Numbers Eligible for HAMP Are S > read more

How Bad Will Foreclosure Get in 2011?

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RealtyTrac’s senior vice president, Rick Sharga, estimated in a recent report that of the 1 million bank-owned homes in the U.S. only about 300,000 of them are currently on the market. This leaves a huge “shadow inventory” to contend with in 2 > read more

Bill Proposed to End HAMP

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Three Republican congressmen have filed a bill proposing the end to the government’s controversial Home Affordable Modification Program, Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Patrick T. McHenry (R- North Carolina), and Darrell Issa (R-California). Bill Propos > read more

HOPE NOW Processes 1.24 Million Modifications in 2010

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The mortgage industry’s private label loan modification program called HOPE NOW has completed 1.24 million modifications in 2010, more than double the 512,712 completed under HAMP. Altogether 1.76 modifications were completed in 2010 compared to 1. > read more

Mortgage Loans to Plummet 36% in 2011

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The Mortgage Bankers Association projects that mortgage loans will drop precipitously in 2011 by 36%. They expect loan originations to be $966 billion this year following $1.5 trillion in 2010. If the prediction holds true it will be the poorest sho > read more

Signs that Interest Rates Will Soon be on the Rise

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Despite the Fed’s Bernanke’s insistence that the Federal Reserve is not concerned right now with inflation and will keep interest rates low for the foreseeable future, there are indications in Europe and emerging markets that the pressure will be > read more

Are There 5 More Years of High Foreclosure Rates Ahead?

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Two investment research houses have recently calculated the number of years remaining of high foreclosures to be in the five year range. TrimTabs Investment Research and Baker Avenue Asset Management have both weighed in on the topic recently. Madel > read more

Fannie Mae is Cautiously Optimistic for 2011 Housing and Economy

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Fannie Mae’s Economic and Housing Outlook for December 2010 predicts a considerably improved situation by the second quarter of 2011. Fannie Mae believes that the economy will be spurred on by considerably improved consumer confidence and spending > read more

Will the U.S. See Increasing Strategic Defaults?

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According to A. Gary Shilling’s December Insight Newsletter parts of the country may still see another 20% decline in housing values before the bottom is reached. This is on top of the 30% decline already seen since the top of the market in 2006. > read more

Olick Sees More Short Sales on the Horizon

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CNBC Real Estate Reporter, Diana Olick notes that Fitch Ratings is expecting a 5 to 10% growth in Short Sales in 2011, based on the likelihood that Lenders will recognize a clearer economic advantage to setting for a sale rather than to wait to sell > read more

U.S. Stocks Predicted to Run with the Bulls in 2011

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Stock market pundits have pointed out that in the 3rd year of a presidency typically U.S. stock prices go up dramatically. This will be the 3rd year in the presidential cycle for the Obama Administration. This particular phenomenon has proven consi > read more

40% of Markets to Appreciate in 2011

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Veros Real Estate Solutions has published its VeroForecast Strongest and Weakest Markets for 2011. Over all Veros expects 40% of the U.S. housing markets to appreciate during 2011 on average 2.5 to 3.5%. According to the computer modeling and exami > read more

Failed HAMP Trials Grows 22%

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The December HAMP Scorecard shows that the major loan servicers have failed to act on 266,136 delinquent mortgages. These loan modifications have either been canceled out of trials or failed to qualify for a modification as of October. The backlog > read more

NAR Sees Home Demand Stabilizing

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The characteristically more optimistic National Association of Realtors® sees a silver lining in the cloudy housing forecast. The number of contracts to purchase signed in November actually rose more than predicted, increasing by 3.5%. This was af > read more

QE2 Helps Stocks and Banks, Not the Economy

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The December CNBC Fed Survey concludes that the $600 billion that the Fed recently pumped into the economy in order to keep interest rates low has not had the desired effect. A total of 63 or 76 economists who were polled indicated that the Fed’s > read more

Congresswoman Bachmann Moves to Repeal Dodd-Frank Bill

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Speaking for a coalition of conservative members of the House of Representatives, Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota) presented a bill to repeal the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory legislation passed by the last session of Congress.Congresswoman Bachmann > read more

Treasury Loosens Rules on HAFA Short Sales

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It is no secret that HAFA Short Sales have been less than successful in serving as a safety net for those homeowners who fell out of compliance on HAMP loan modifications. Since HAFA began in April 2010 only 1000 such Short Sales have been accomplis > read more

Guess the Three Largest Holders of Foreclosure Property

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With all the bailout of “too big to fail” banks it might be tempting to guess that the three largest holders of bank-owned property would be the big banks—Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo perhaps.Guess the Three Largest Holders of > read more

Will This Be the “Year of the Short Sale”?

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The COO of the Equator Short Sale system, John Vella, is quoted in HousingWire on his predictions for the 2011 year in Short Sales. Vella believes 2011 will be a booming year in Short Sales and predicts a 25% increase in successful sales over 2010!Wi > read more

Putting Money in Your Bank Account in 30 Days

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*Video: making money in 30 days Putting Money in Your Bank Account in 30 Days is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. Visit today! All material is copyright � > read more

Lower Interest Rates to Start the New Year

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After a surge in mortgage interest rates during November and December the New Year celebrations seem to have rung in more savings. Both Freddie Mac and Bankrate indexes of average weekly bank mortgage rates showed a decline for 30 year fixed rate mo > read more

Foreclosure Evictions Gear Up Again

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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac held off on foreclosure evictions and other foreclosure actions until January 3. Now homeowners who received a reprieve over the holidays are starting to see evictions and other actions start up again.Foreclosure Evictions > read more

Home Prices and Inventory Fall

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January is traditionally the low ebb month for home selling activity. According to Altos Research home prices will reach a new low in 2011, down from 5 to 10% from 2010 prices. The pressure points will be increasing inventory levels and lower quali > read more

Loan Mods Now Top Foreclosures

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The HOPE NOW alliance of major lenders just celebrated its fourth year of helping homeowners to modify their loans. A total of 1.65 million homeowners have received loan modifications through November 2010.Loan Mods Now Top Foreclosures is a post fr > read more

Homes in Foreclosure at 7.7 Times Historic Average

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Lender Processing Services (LPS) published the statistic that the inventory of foreclosure property in the U.S. is 7.7 times higher than the historic average for foreclosures. This fact came with the news that the inventory of homes in foreclosure o > read more

Fannie Mae Interactive Website Helps Distressed Owners

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The new Fannie Mae WaysHome page helps homeowners decide what to do when they begin to have trouble paying the mortgage.  Users are presented with different roles that they can play in an interactive movie about different kinds of distress situation > read more

HUD Funds for Unemployed Homeowners Has Not Been Forthcoming

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On October 1st Congress approved $1 billion for the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program (EHLP) under the Dodd-Frank bill. According to Senator Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania) the program has yet to distribute any of the funds to the 32 states plus Puerto R > read more

Unemployment Slips to 9.4%

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The December unemployment rate fell from 9.8% to 9.4% in December. The December 2009 rate was 9.9% showing improvement may finally be taking hold. However, this number also reflects a large number of people who dropped out of the job market.Unemplo > read more

5 Cities Poised for Job Growth

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A Good Morning America report highlighted 5 American cities poised for dramatic job growth in 2011. They are Portland, Houston, Minneapolis, Washington, DC and Orlando.5 Cities Poised for Job Growth is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's si > read more

FHA Extends Its Current Flipping Policy

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For many years the Federal Housing Administration has prevented buyers from taking out FHA loans for homes that are quickly flipped by Investors. In 2010 they relaxed the 90 seasoning rule to help ease the flow of distressed homes to new buyers. FH > read more

Freddie Mac Mortgage and Refinance Rules to Tighten

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Beginning May 1 Freddie Mac will put into play new rules requiring verification of funds for all refinanced mortgages. They will no longer own “streamlined” mortgages with LTVs of 95% or less or where the closing costs have been rolled into the > read more

JPMorgan Admits Fault in Military Family Foreclosures

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JP Morgan has admitted it erred in over-charging approximately 4,000 military families too much on their mortgages resulting in 14 erroneous foreclosures on military families. In response the lender has implemented a special unit just to deal with mi > read more

51% of Foreclosures in 5 States

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Canadian rating service, DBRS, reports that 51% of foreclosures in the U.S. during 2010 occurred in one of 5 states: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, and Michigan. Approximately 1.5 million foreclosures were completed in these five states duri > read more

Big Banks Report Profits—but Not Bank of America

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Many of the large banks are continuing to show improvement in profitability in the 4th quarter of 2010, led by JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. Big Banks Report Profits—but Not Bank of America is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site fo > read more

Federal Reserve Publishes Quarterly Beige Book on Economic Health

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Every quarter the Federal Reserve Bank takes the pulse of the economy in each region by compiling data from the different regional Federal Reserve Banks. The fourth quarter report was published last week.Federal Reserve Publishes Quarterly Beige Boo > read more

Treasury Receives Complaints about HAFA and Responds

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The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program has received its share of criticism. In December the California Association of Realtors (CAR) voiced its concerns about the program to the Treasury Department. CAR members complained that Lenders > read more

Hardest Hit Fund Recipient Granted Foreclosure Delay

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Fannie Mae has instructed servicers to delay foreclosure auctions by 45 days for borrowers approved for assistance under the Hardest Hit Fund. The fund The Hardest Hit Fund was approved mid-2010 with $1.5 billion to assist with foreclosure-prevention > read more

USDA Loans Lead to More Rural Defaults

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As part of the 2009 Stimulus Package the USDA was given a large increase in mortgage money to lend to rural home buyers. USDA officials appear to have used some of the lax policies and procedures that got the mortgage industry in trouble during the > read more

Long Foreclosure Delays in both Judicial and Non-Judicial States

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As Short Sale Investors we are used to expecting long foreclosure delays in states with the judicial process of foreclosure, and in the states with the most distressed property that can range upwards of nine to fourteen months from the time the home > read more

Short Sale Investors: Bank Lag Time is Biggest Issue

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A Short Sale Daily survey of readers reveals that the top concern of Short Sale Investors is the amount of lag time in the negotiation process. A total of 44.7% of Short Sale Investors listed the lag time issue as the top problem. The second most fr > read more

New Kink in Processing Foreclosures: Notice of Default

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According to an article in American Banker the latest shoe to drop in the robo-signing scandal is in filing the Notice of Default in several non-judicial states including California, Arizona and Nevada. The Notice of Default is the first legal notic > read more

Mortgage Bankers Fighting New Dodd-Frank Rules

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The Mortgage Bankers Association has found itself in unfamiliar territory on the same side of the argument as around 40 organizations representing homeowners and consumers. The group has expressed opposition to the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform proposa > read more

Consumers Are Skeptical About Recovery

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The survey designers commented that business is in a vicious cycle. Businesses can’t reemploy workers without new orders from customers, and customers will not order without greater confidence in the economy and lower unemployment figures. Consum > read more

Are Lenders Denying Loans to Pregnant Women?

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The evidence is mounting that some lenders are routinely denying loans for families where the wife is temporarily on, or planning, a maternity leave. John Trasvinia, HUD assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity, has confirmed that > read more

Mortgage Delinquencies Continue to Drop

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One welcome trend is that the GSEs report their serious mortgage delinquencies (those delinquencies that are 90 days or more late) are continuing to drop. Fannie Mae’s most recent monthly report is for March which shows serious delinquencies at 4.2 > read more

Buying an Investment Home: Decline in Home Prices Worse than During Great Depression

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In commenting upon the double-dip decline in home values exhibited by the first quarter 2011 S & P Case-Shiller index, Paul Dale, the chief U.S. economist for Capital Economics says that the decline is worse even than the tumble in home values ex > read more

HAMP News: Treasury Playing Hardball with Servicers

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Hamp News: The Treasury Department announced that it would not pay Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) incentives to the three largest servicers because of their lackluster performance in the program.  The servicers affected are Bank of Amer > read more

Twice as Many Would Choose Strategic Default Than Last Year

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A CNNMoney report indicates Fannie Mae has measured the number of people who would consider walking way from their mortgage in a strategic default at 27% this year compared to the 15% who responded favorably to strategic default in the past. Experts > read more

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Servicing Guidelines are Outlined

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The quasi-government housing entities have collaborated on a new set of guidelines for their servicers in order to bring some consistency into the process of handling delinquent loans.  The areas that the lenders are targeting are: borrower interact > read more

Real Estate Investing News: Home Ownership Rate Continues to Drop

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Real estate investing news: We are rapidly becoming a nation of renters according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  At the end of Q1 2011 the homeownership rate stood at 66.4%, the lowest rate since 1998.  All of the gains made in home ownership during t > read more

California Start-up Takes Advantage of Strategic Defaults

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Home Liberty, a new company operating in two California counties, is being accused of promoting strategic defaults.  Home Liberty will work with homeowners who have at least a 680 credit score, at least $60,000 in annual income and at least $5000 fo > read more

Bernanke Makes No Promise of Further Fiscal Stimulus

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In questioning before a congressional banking committee last week Federal Reserve chair, Ben Bernanke, admitted that the economy is weaker than anticipated, but expected that the second half of 2011 would see some improvement in the economic picture. > read more

Misery Index at 28 Year High

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The John Burns Real Estate Consulting company puts out a report card regularly on the state of real estate.  The current report reveals that on the 63 year old “misery index” representing the sum of unemployment and inflation, the current measur > read more

CNN Poll: Public Expects a Great Depression in Next 12 Months

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A CNN poll conducted June 3-7 among 1017 American adults revealed that 48% believe another Great Depression is very or somewhat likely to occur again within the next year.  Only 48% of those polled by CNN approve the way Obama is doing his job. Simi > read more

Buying Short Sales: Investors Sell Foreclosures Faster than Banks

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A study by west coast foreclosure research firm, ForeclosureRadar shows that along the west coast, at least, investors beat out lenders by a substantial margin in selling foreclosed property to end buyers.  Buying short sales to flip is a great oppo > read more

Free Places to Find Real Estate Deals

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In this video I go over a bunch of different (FREE) ways to find real estate deals. Free Places to Find Real Estate Deals is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. Vi > read more

Servicer Fee Structure under the Microscope

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The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are shooting for a mid-summer decision on the fee structure that servicers get for managing a loan.  The decision-makers will be the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) along with > read more

Good News for Investors Buying Short Sales: Ability to Borrow for Housing in Distressed Areas is Easing

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When an area gets the reputation for high volumes of distressed property the banking industry sets higher standards for loan to value and credit score in order for new borrowers to purchase property in that area.  This can be a pain in the neck for > read more

Buying Short Sales in Florida: Florida Courts Charged with Rushing Foreclosures

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In a move that could help investors buying short sales in Florida, the 20th judicial circuit court serving Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Glades and Hendry counties in Florida has been accused by the ACLU of violating due process in many area foreclosure h > read more

What Will It Take to Clear the Excess Housing Inventory?

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According to macroeconomist, Brendan Lowney, chief economist for Forest Economic Advisors in Massachusetts, it will take an average of 1.3 million new household formations over a five year period, or about 6.5 million new households, in order to clea > read more

Distressed Property Investing: Negative Equity and Impact on Defaults

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In a report issued June 7 by CoreLogic the research company delves into the negative equity problem and its distribution around the country. By the end of the first quarter of 2011 about 22.7% of all homes with a mortgage nationwide were impacted by > read more

RealtyTrac Weighs In on Housing Market Recovery Prediction

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At Housingwire’s 2011 REO Expo in Ft. Worth, TX last week, RealtyTrac’s senior vice president, Rick Sharga, predicted that the recovery in the housing market would not come before 2015. He said, the run up in housing prices was unusually long, an > read more

Housing Market Bottom Will Not Hit This Year Says Zillow Economist

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Online real estate valuation site, Zillow, marked home sale price declines at 8% year over year in April. This represents a 29.5% decline in prices since June 2006 from a home value average of $240,646 to a current average home value of $169,588. Cur > read more

Buying Foreclosed Homes: Why Are Distress Sales Dropping?

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Buying Foreclosed Homes: One of the startling statistics to come out of the June 21, 2011 NAR report was the substantial drop in the percent of distressed sales from 37% to 31% in May.  It should be noted that in May 2010 the percent of distress sal > read more

Real Estate Investing News: Existing Home Sales Decline in May

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Real Estate Investing News: The NAR® existing home sales report for May came out June 21 and revealed a 3.8% drop on a seasonally adjusted annual basis to 4.81 million homes.  This is 15.3% below the pace set in May 2010 when sales were surging ahe > read more

Real Estate Investing News: First Uptick in Home Prices in a Year

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Real Estate Investing News: The Federal Housing Finance Agency April Housing Price Index Report showed the first gain in home values since May 2010.  The seasonally adjusted increase in the HPI was .8%.  The HPI is calculated based on houses sold b > read more

Strategic Default Percentage is Dropping

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A new report by Experian and international research firm, Oliver Wyman, shows that the percentage of mortgage defaults 60 days or more late attributable to those who simply choose to default has dropped to 17%.  The high water mark for strategic def > read more

Buying Investment Properties: Shadow Inventory Declines But Still Huge

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CoreLogic’s latest estimate of the inventory of homes at least 90 days late on payments, those in foreclosure and those homes that are bank-owned, dubbed the “shadow inventory” is 1.7 million units as of April. The numbers are down from 1.9 mil > read more

Banking Industry Reaction to Robo-Signing Settlement

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While Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist quipped that the mortgage settlement is just “a drop in the bucket” of what is needed for real recovery, many lender CEOs are breathing a sigh of relief and are ready to move on toward compliance with the new orders. Wells Fargo’s share of the settlement is worth $1.01 [...]Banking Industry Reaction to Robo-Signing Settlement is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and p [..] > read more

Bernanke: Three Factors Continue to Drag Down Housing

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Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke continues to blame three factors for the lack of housing recovery.  Those factors include tight credit, the overhang of foreclosed property, and the large number of no equity homes in the mortgage market. The different problems are interrelated.  The problems in the housing and mortgage markets may be holding down [...]Bernanke: Three Factors Continue to Drag Down Housing is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news [..] > read more

Multifamily Investing News: 2012 Could Be a Strong Year for Multifamily Sales

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Excellent news for people getting started in multifamily investing!  Homebuilders are encouraged that the industry will see a turnaround in 2012 for the construction of new multifamily housing units, and possibly also a turn in the construction of new single-family homes. Capital Economics expects about 850,000 new rental households to be formed each year for [...]Multifamily Investing News: 2012 Could Be a Strong Year for Multifamily Sales is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site f [..] > read more

How Many New Jobs Will REO Rental Program Create?

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Analysts at Morgan Stanley have calculated that as many as 1.8 million new jobs might be created by the bulk REO rental program that is currently being designed. Morgan Stanley reached that number by figuring that approximately 8 million more residential foreclosures will take place over the next 5 years, and if half of these [...]How Many New Jobs Will REO Rental Program Create? is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and p [..] > read more

One in Four Households Use More than Half of Income for Housing

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Home loans may be getting cheaper and, housing is getting more affordable—or is it?  A new study from the Center for Housing Policy shows that the affordability picture worsened significantly for both working owners and renters between 2008 and 2010. Incomes declined over the two year period as rents shot up.  Household income went down [...]One in Four Households Use More than Half of Income for Housing is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, in [..] > read more

Negative Equity Now Plaguing 22.8% of All Homes

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A statistic that is not likely to get better anytime soon on a national basis is the percentage of homes with underwater mortgages.  CoreLogic reports that during the 4th quarter 2011 11.1 million homeowners, or 22.8% of those with a mortgage, suffered from negative equity in their home.  Another 2.5 million homeowners held less than [...]Negative Equity Now Plaguing 22.8% of All Homes is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, vide [..] > read more

Foreclosure Investing – Foreclosures Make Up 24% of 4Q 2011 Sales

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RealtyTrac reports that as of the last quarter of 2011 foreclosures and those in pre-foreclosure made up 24% of the existing home sales in the U.S.  The foreclosure sales activity was up from 20% in the 3rd quarter of 2011, but down from 26% of sales a year earlier. Total distress sales in 2011 totaled [...]Foreclosure Investing – Foreclosures Make Up 24% of 4Q 2011 Sales is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and po [..] > read more

Bulk REO Rental Program Set to Start

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Recently in a CNBC interview Warren Buffett said that if he had a means to manage them he would buy a couple hundred thousand single family houses as rentals.  That is where the world’s most successful investor feels the smart money should be. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced last week that they are ready [...]Bulk REO Rental Program Set to Start is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. Visit today! A [..] > read more

Bernanke Pessimistic About Recovery

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Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke sparked some controversy in the economic community last Wednesday when he told Congress that unless growth accelerated the improvements in U.S. unemployment rates could not continue.  Bernanke did not call for further stimulus or economic easing, but he essentially threw a wet blanket on the notion that the economy is [...]Bernanke Pessimistic About Recovery is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, t [..] > read more

Analysts See Modest Improvement in Economy

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Every six weeks or so the Federal Reserve pools anecdotal evidence from each of its districts in a document called the Beige Book.  The view from the 12 Federal Reserve regions shows moderate to modest economic improvement in most areas.  Reporting moderate improvement are the Cleveland, Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas, St. Louis, Minneapolis and San [...]Analysts See Modest Improvement in Economy is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, t [..] > read more

Home Prices Ended Year on New Low

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There is no turn-around in the home prices arena according to the S&P Case-Shiller December report.  All three composite indexes ended the year at new lows since the housing crisis began in mid-2006. The national composite index fell 3.8% in the 4th quarter and was down 4% compared to a year ago. Both 10- and [...]Home Prices Ended Year on New Low is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. Visit today! All ma [..] > read more

FHFA Refusal to Do Principal Reduction is Based on Bogus Data

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A Senate subcommittee looking in to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s assertion that principal reduction would cost the GSEs more than other forms of loan forbearance or foreclosure met last week with a number of experts who believe the FHFA’s conclusion is flawed. One of the critics who testified before the Senate subcommittee, Laurie Goodman, [...]FHFA Refusal to Do Principal Reduction is Based on Bogus Data is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment [..] > read more

Where Are the Best Rental Housing Markets?

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We noticed this past week that the “We Buy Ugly Houses”® folks at Homevestors of America, Inc. in conjunction with Local Market Monitor published their “Best 100 Markets to Invest in Rental Property” list on March 9.  They note that there is no other list available that analyzes the 14% of single family homes that [...]Where Are the Best Rental Housing Markets? is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. [..] > read more

Latest Data on the Housing Rental Market

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It’s no secret that many former homeowners are becoming renters and those who were formerly doubling up or living with relatives are now looking to rent.  The booming interest in rentals is pushing rental prices up steeply, but will the rental bubble burst any time soon? About 850,000 new renters are expected to hit the [...]Latest Data on the Housing Rental Market is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. Vi [..] > read more

Train Your Brain Replay

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Get More Info at www.BuildABetterBrain.com Train Your Brain Replay is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. Visit today! All material is copyright > read more

Foreclosures Outpace Loan Modifications

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For the first time since October 2009 foreclosure sales outpaced loan modifications in January 2012.  There were 78,734 foreclosure sales nationwide in January while HOPE NOW reports 74,000 modifications through the HAMP program (17,992 loan modifications) and proprietary servicer programs (approximately 56,000 loan mods) combined. During January 60 day delinquencies remained flat at about 2.77 [...]Foreclosures Outpace Loan Modifications is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for [..] > read more

Fitch Ratings Predicts Long and Difficult Road to Recovery

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Fitch Ratings continues to be very cautious to proclaim any kind of recovery in the housing market. Its 3rd quarter 2011 Sustainable Home Price Projection anticipates another 9.1% nationwide price reduction in 2012 or 6% when inflation is taken into consideration. Pricing will see increasing variability from region to region.  Some areas, such as Nevada, [...]Fitch Ratings Predicts Long and Difficult Road to Recovery is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investmen [..] > read more

More REOs on Market While Price Drops Moderate

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One of the most consistent patterns during the housing crisis is that as bank-owned properties on the market rise, home values fall in the most affected markets.  Analysts at Clear Capital have detected a deviation from that trend in the February housing sales.  The new trend could bode well for recovery. Dr. Alex Villacorta, director [...]More REOs on Market While Price Drops Moderate is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, vide [..] > read more

Foreclosures Spike Upwards, Especially Repeats

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Lender Processing Services’ Mortgage Monitor for January 2012 shows that repeat foreclosures are at an all-time high. Foreclosure starts spiked up 28% in January compared to December and sales actually rose 29%.  The surge indicates that the backlog is beginning to move following the attorneys general settlement.  Sales in non-judicial states outpaced those in judicial [...]Foreclosures Spike Upwards, Especially Repeats is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate inv [..] > read more

Avoiding Dealer Status

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Any Investor who flips more than one or two properties a year will run into the issue of being branded with “dealer status” by the IRS for tax purposes. This is an extremely dangerous thing. Dealers, like Real Estate Agents, are considered to be self-employed and subject to self-employment taxes of 15.3%. Even worse, a [...]Avoiding Dealer Status is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. Visit today! [..] > read more

Jobs Numbers for March are Disappointing

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics employment summary for March 2012 shows that while job numbers are on the rise, the increases for March were less than anticipated by economists. Non-farm payroll rose by 120,000 with little change on the unemployment side.  In the previous three months employment gains have reached an average of 246,000 per [...]Jobs Numbers for March are Disappointing is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos [..] > read more

What’s the “Worst” Housing Market in the Country?

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No—it’s not Detroit.  It’s not even Las Vegas.  According to the latest S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index, Atlanta’s housing market is the “worst” in the country.  Atlanta sat at the top of the Case-Shiller chart in home price depreciation for 2011. According to David Blitzer, head of the Case-Shiller indices, “Atlanta continues to stand out [...]What’s the “Worst” Housing Market in the Country? is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate inves [..] > read more

Apartment Markets are in Full Swing on the Up-Cycle

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The Marcus & Millichap annual outlook for the apartment marketplace has moved from recovery to expansion in many areas of the country. The report documents the fast decline in vacancy rates in all types of apartment housing and subsequent increases in rental income for apartment owners. This trend has pushed increasing amounts of investment capital [...]Apartment Markets are in Full Swing on the Up-Cycle is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, inform [..] > read more

Home Price Declines Directly Related to Distressed Market

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The CoreLogic Home Price Index for February shows a decrease in home price nationwide of .7 percent over January and .8 percent year-over-year.  This is the seventh month of declining home values according to the index.  On the encouraging side, the decline is not as steep as it was during the height of the recession. [...]Home Price Declines Directly Related to Distressed Market is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and [..] > read more

4th Quarter 2011 Mortgage Picture Improves Gradually

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The quarterly report of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency reports regularly on first-lien residential mortgages representing about 60% of the mortgage market.  In the 4th quarter 2011 shows only marginal improvement from the previous quarter. The percentage of improving loans rose .1 percent to 87.9 percent of all first-lien mortgages.   However, loan [...]4th Quarter 2011 Mortgage Picture Improves Gradually is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate inve [..] > read more

Federal Reserve Issues REO to Rental Policy Statement

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The Federal Reserve has delivered its instructions to lenders regarding the sale of bulk REO residential properties to investors to use as rentals.  The Federal Reserve Policy Statement indicates that Fed policy has always been to see the disposal of bank-owned property at the earliest possible date.  In light of the extraordinarily large number of [...]Federal Reserve Issues REO to Rental Policy Statement is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, in [..] > read more

Investor Activity is Heating Up

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The National Association of Realtors® annual Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey confirms that investor buying activity has picked up significantly in the past year.  Investment home sales surged a whopping 64.3 percent to 1.23 million units in 2011 compared to 749,000 million in 2012.  Vacation home sales increased by 7 percent and owner-occupied home [...]Investor Activity is Heating Up is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, [..] > read more

HAMP Working on 63% of Eligible Second Mortgages

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A new Treasury Department report indicates that through February the HAMP program had started loan modifications for 63% of all eligible second mortgages. Servicers started 71,133 second-lien modifications of the 113,774 eligible loans. More than 15,600 of them have been fully forgiven. Of the $29.9 billion allocated for HAMP, roughly $2.7 billion is set aside [...]HAMP Working on 63% of Eligible Second Mortgages is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment new [..] > read more

Bank of America Streamlines Short Sale Process

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As of April 14 BOA’s Equator system will allow system users to work documentation, valuation and underwriting simultaneously in a Short Sale.  BOA has also standardized many of its forms to save time and confusion. These changes are expected to change BOA’s approval process to as little as 20 days.  Currently the process takes 45 [...]Bank of America Streamlines Short Sale Process is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, video [..] > read more

Multi-family Bond Markets Are Flourishing

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Rents have soared and vacancy rates in rental apartments are at a 10 year low.  Investors have been snapping up low interest GSE loans and these loans are being packaged into securities and sold off as multi-family bonds. The packaging of mortgage securities by the lenders helps the economy and gets the apartment debt off [...]Multi-family Bond Markets Are Flourishing is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. V [..] > read more

$100 Billion in REO Rentals a Possibility

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CoreLogic’s April MarketPulse report says that the single family rental market is extremely strong right now, so strong that CoreLogic expects the REO-to-rental program to boost the market to $100 billion or more per year for the next several years.  The current single family rental market is worth $3 trillion and represents 21 million units.  [...]$100 Billion in REO Rentals a Possibility is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips [..] > read more

Home Sales Fall 2.6% in March

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The March Existing Home Sales report of the National Association of Realtors® shows that existing home sales fell 2.6% on the month.  The seasonally adjusted sales for March were 4.48 million compared to 4.60 in February.  It would appear that the good winter weather across much of the country siphoned sales that might have started [...]Home Sales Fall 2.6% in March is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. V [..] > read more

Fannie and Freddie Set Tighter Timelines for Short Sales

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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have joined Bank of America in tightening timelines for lender response to homeowners on Short Sale approvals. They will require all lenders and servicers to make the go- or no-go decision on a Short Sale within 30 to 60 days.  Now a lender can take up to 90 days to [...]Fannie and Freddie Set Tighter Timelines for Short Sales is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. Visit today! [..] > read more

Will 2012 be the Year of the Short Sale?

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The statistics are beginning to indicate that 2012 will be a bumper crop year for Short Sales.  RealtyTrac reports that in January pre-foreclosure sales increased by 33% compared to a year ago.  Even foreclosures are not keeping up the same pace as Short Sales.  Twelve states saw more Short Sales in January than foreclosure sales: [...]Will 2012 be the Year of the Short Sale? is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and po [..] > read more

Housing May be in Chronic Down Cycle Like Japan

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A paper prepared for the Atlanta Fed Conference, A Birds Eye View of OECD Housing Markets by Christophe Andre compares 27 world housing markets over time and notes some similarities between the price-to-income and rent-to-income ratios for the United States compared to other economies. In the U.S. the divergence between home affordability and rental affordability [...]Housing May be in Chronic Down Cycle Like Japan is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment n [..] > read more

Zack Childress Replay

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For those of you who couldn’t make it onto last night’s business automation webinar with Zack Childress, here is a replay!  I can’t leave it up for long because of the discounted price, so hurry up and watch it! Viewing this content requires Silverlight. You can download Silverlight from http://www.silverlight.net/getstarted/silverlight3. Click Here to Order Zack [...]Zack Childress Replay is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, in [..] > read more

Cleveland Fed’s Forefront Report Cautious About Recovery

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The latest quarterly Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank Forefront report signals a caution sign to those who would be optimistic about the country’s economic recovery. The report specifically highlights the weakened economic picture of several public entities and forecasts the dampening effect that default among some of the nation’s cities and other public entities will have [...]Cleveland Fed’s Forefront Report Cautious About Recovery is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for r [..] > read more

Which Lenders/Servicers Process Short Sales the Fastest?

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RealtyTrac reports that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA loans lead the pack for the fastest Short Sale approval timeline.  As of January 2012 the timeline for getting Short Sales accomplished was 193 days for the GSEs. In January 2011 that timeline extended to 248 days on average. In second place for Short Sale approval [...]Which Lenders/Servicers Process Short Sales the Fastest? is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and [..] > read more

Home Values Up in 53 Markets According to RE/MAX

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The RE/MAX National Housing Report for March 2012 has identified a strong surge in home values in most of the 53 markets it surveys. Median prices were up in these markets for March 2012 5.8% above values a year ago. This was the second month where values have been above those twelve months ago. Home [...]Home Values Up in 53 Markets According to RE/MAX is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. Visit today! A [..] > read more

RPX Index Shows Housing Strength In Contrast to Case-Shiller Index

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An index that tracks home prices in 25 major markets shows some gains for the month ending February 16, 2012 in contrast to other housing indexes. According to Quinn Eddins, Director of Research at Radar Logic, “The RPX methodology allows us to calculate prices daily using a sample period of 28 days as opposed to [...]RPX Index Shows Housing Strength In Contrast to Case-Shiller Index is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, vi [..] > read more

Pending Home Sales Show Sharp Improvement

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Prices may continue to fall, but, the spring buying season seems to be at hand as sales rebound briskly according to the monthly National Association of Realtors® report.  Pending sales rose 4.1% for the month and 12.8% compared to March 2011. Because first quarter existing home sales were also on track for improvement, the NAR [...]Pending Home Sales Show Sharp Improvement is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podca [..] > read more

Home Prices May Not Rebound in Our Lifetime

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Last Tuesday home valuation expert, Robert Shiller sounded a decidedly more pessimistic note than in previous weeks.  Earlier in the spring he sounded slightly more upbeat that we may have seen the trough on home valuations.  This past week, however, he told a Reuter’s reporter that a poor labor market, high gas prices and general [...]Home Prices May Not Rebound in Our Lifetime is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos an [..] > read more

Building Remains Sluggish

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March construction totals were up, but still at only half the levels considered healthy for the economy.  Construction spending was up .1% at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $808.1 billion or 6% above a 12-year low of $762.6 billion reached a year ago. The weakness was in government spending on construction which fell 1.1% [...]Building Remains Sluggish is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. Visit today [..] > read more

Rents Are Climbing Fast

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While values of residential property are stagnant at best in most places rental rates continue to climb rapidly throughout the country.  According to Trulia rents rose 5.6% in April compared to the previous April. The greatest rent growth has been experienced in communities that have seen rapid job growth such as suburban Detroit and the [...]Rents Are Climbing Fast is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. Vis [..] > read more

Mixed Economic News

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The Labor Department noted a surprisingly large drop in first time unemployment claims for the week ending April 28, as claims fell by 27,000 to 365,000. The unemployment rate dipped to 8.1, the lowest level since January 2009. On the other hand, new payroll added included only 115,000, far below expectations and below March totals [...]Mixed Economic News is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. Visit today! [..] > read more

Yale’s Shiller Sees World in “Late Great Depression”

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Housing expert, Robert Shiller believes the global economy is mired in a “late Great Depression” despite all attempts by governments and central banks to prop up the economy. People sort of trust their central banks, but are still frustrated by the lack of economic progress and stability.  Consumer confidence and trust in central governmental resources [...]Yale’s Shiller Sees World in “Late Great Depression” is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investm [..] > read more

Mortgage Rates at All-Time Low; Could Increase Soon

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The Freddie Mac index of 30 year fixed rate loans pushed to the lowest recorded rate of 3.84% for the week ending May 3, 2012, down from the previous week’s low of 3.88%.  A year ago interest rates averaged 4.71% for a 30 year fixed rate loan. The 15 year fixed rate loan stood at [...]Mortgage Rates at All-Time Low; Could Increase Soon is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. Visit today! All material is [..] > read more

Bernanke: Mortgage Credit Too Constricted While Other Forms of Credit Improve

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Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke said in a recent statement: “Conditions in the banking system, and the financial sector more broadly, have improved significantly in the past few years. Banks have strengthened their capital and liquidity positions. The economic recovery has facilitated the rebuilding of capital and helped improve the quality of the loans and [...]Bernanke: Mortgage Credit Too Constricted While Other Forms of Credit Improve is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Masse [..] > read more

Shadow Inventory Will Take 46 Months to Clear

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Erkan Erturk, Standard & Poor’s senior director, structured finance reported that as of the first quarter of 2012 the average time to clear the shadow inventory of foreclosures is 46 months.  This is a one month reduction from the previous quarter. The timeframe actually varies widely from state to state.  It will take approximately 2.5 [...]Shadow Inventory Will Take 46 Months to Clear is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, v [..] > read more

Short Sale Discounts Improve; Values Climb Slightly

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The latest LPS Housing Price Index report shows that the difference in discount between foreclosure sales and Short Sales has narrowed.  Historically, there is a 10% difference or greater with foreclosure sales taking a deeper discount.  That gap is now narrowing with the average Short Sale discount of 23% as of February 2012 and the [...]Short Sale Discounts Improve; Values Climb Slightly is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, [..] > read more

Real Estate Investment 101 – The Escrow Process

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Once the Investor has signed a contract to purchase a property the next step is to go through the escrow process.  For many Investors, buying a rental property is their first encounter with escrow.  This is a short description of the escrow process to help the new Investor get through their first buy and hold [...]Real Estate Investment 101 – The Escrow Process is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. V [..] > read more

Will the Market Hit Bottom in 2013 or…?

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There have been so many predictions of when the market will turn to recovery for most of the country.  There are still analysts predicting another 20% fall in prices to go before the turnaround (Gary Shilling in a recent Wall Street Journal editorial); there are others who feel the real recovery is just around the [...]Will the Market Hit Bottom in 2013 or…? is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. Visit tod [..] > read more

Property for Sale is Getting Scarce in Some Markets

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A survey by Pro Teck Home Valuation shows that home listings are down 21% from a year ago. The biggest change is in the Phoenix, AZ area where home listings are off by almost 50%.  Other cities with 30% or more declines include Miami, FL; Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Atlanta, GA; Orlando, FL; Tampa, FL; Riverside, [...]Property for Sale is Getting Scarce in Some Markets is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. Visit to [..] > read more

Rental Market is Booming

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There is a terrific surge in demand for rental housing.  The rental market is growing at 1.6 million households per year according to the John Burns Real Estate Consulting blog.  Renters now comprise 34% of all households while owner-occupied households are on the decline. Approximately 55% of all renters are now living in single-family homes.  [...]Rental Market is Booming is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podc [..] > read more

Consumer Distress Index is Down

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The CredAbility Consumer Distress Index has turned more positive over the last quarter.  The index measures the overall financial distress level of American families as measured on a quarterly basis.  The average American family is almost out of distress according to the index. The index at the end of the first quarter of 2012 stood [...]Consumer Distress Index is Down is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. [..] > read more

Metro Trends Show Delinquencies up in Several Top Cities

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The Q4 2011 “Metropolitan Delinquency and Foreclosure Data” from Foreclosure-Response.org shows and uptick in 90 day or more delinquent properties in many of the nation’s largest cities.   The report is done in conjunction with the Urban Institute’s MetroTrends. The states of Florida, New York and Ohio are pegged for their relatively high rates of delinquency. [...]Metro Trends Show Delinquencies up in Several Top Cities is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real est [..] > read more

Will there be a Two-Stage Housing Recovery?

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A new Demand Institute report indicates that the housing market’s slow recovery will occur over two stages.  The first stage is underway with an upturn in prices nationwide expected to reach 1% during the second half of 2012 and then rise to an annual rate of increase of 2.5% by 2014. Between 2015 and 2017, [...]Will there be a Two-Stage Housing Recovery? is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, information, tips, videos and podcasts. Visit today! [..] > read more

Foreclosure Filings at a 5 Year Low

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RealtyTrac’s April foreclosure report announced that foreclosure filings were at their lowest point since 2007.  The sharp decline of 5% from the March report is due primarily to very low foreclosure totals in three non-judicial foreclosure states Nevada, California and Arizona and other non-judicial states. There were 188,780 foreclosure filings for the month a drop [...]Foreclosure Filings at a 5 Year Low is a post from: REWealthCoach.com, Bob Massey's site for real estate investment news, [..] > read more