http://realestate.bryanellis.com Free Real Estate Training, Tools and Resources from Bryan Ellis Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:42:09 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Yesterday, I told you about the lending industry's resistance to mortgage modifications as a solution to the foreclosure crisis. It turns out that there's another huge reason for lenders to dislike the use of mortgage modifications:  Mortgage Modifications usually don't work out. According to Lender Processing Services, a mortgage payment processor that ... http://realestate.bryanellis.com/566/mortgage-modifications-very-ugly-re-default-statistics/ Last week, mortgage industry representatives made an interesting admission to lawmakers: Mortgage modifications aren't doing the trick. According to Tom Deutsch, Deputy Executive Director with the American Securitization Forum:  "While critically important and increasingly employed, industry-led loss mitigation initiatives, including loan modifications, are not a panacea for declining home prices, mortgage defaults ... http://realestate.bryanellis.com/559/mortgage-modifications-good-idea-not-very-effective/ If you were expecting the $700 Billion bailout plan to mean that the government might purchase some home loans and in so doing stabilize the real estate market, think again. This has some significant ramifications for investors and best strategies - please pay close attention! Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson held a press ... http://realestate.bryanellis.com/555/no-more-government-rescue-for-bad-loans/ You may recall an article I published a few days ago concerning the strength of credit unions through the financial crisis.  An article I read today brought this issue to my attention again... Apparently, regulators in the federal government are not happy about the success of credit unions, and they aim ... http://realestate.bryanellis.com/550/spreading-the-cancer-of-subprime-loans/ On Friday, I posted an article about unemployment among tenants, and how to preemptively address the huge difficulty that brings for landlords. And as always, the best thing about this blog was not the article I posted, but the comments you left.  There was a vigorous discussion among a number of ... http://realestate.bryanellis.com/547/the-role-of-compassion-in-real-estate-investing/ The unemployment report was just released for October, and the news isn't good.  Approximately 240,000 jobs were lost in the month and the unemployment rate has hit 6.5%. Traditionally, an unemployment rate of 5% is considered "full employment", so the news might not be as bad as we're being led to ... http://realestate.bryanellis.com/543/preemptive-protection-against-tenants-going-bad/ I've seen reports recently about the stark contrast in availability of financing when comparing traditional lenders to credit unions.  Apparently, credit unions as a group are not suffering from the "credit crisis" like the big mortgage lenders and banks are. In the interest of full disclosure, note that what I'm sharing ... http://realestate.bryanellis.com/540/untapped-mortgage-source-credit-unions/ With yesterday's victory of Barrack Obama, one thing is certain:  Taxes will rise.  Whether you like him or not, Obama has no history whatsoever of cutting taxes (despite his promises).  Expect more of the same. That's the reason for this post.  I want to begin a discussion about best ways to ... http://realestate.bryanellis.com/534/structuring-your-real-estate-to-minimize-taxation/ You're reading this because you're interested in real estate and business.  So let's focus there. If you're an undecided voter, you're a lot like me:  Not particularly in love with either candidate.  On the one hand, there's the dashing and incredibly eloquent Barrack Obama versus the seasoned, courageous and wise John ... http://realestate.bryanellis.com/529/to-undecided-voters/ I've heard an increasing number of reports about lenders who positively refuse to speak with their borrowers about loan modifications and/or impending foreclosures. I suspect a primary reason for this is that many lenders are waiting to see how the Bailout Bill will play out, and whether they'll be able to ... http://realestate.bryanellis.com/526/going-over-your-lenders-head/