Investing in the State of Maryland

In the past, investing in pre-foreclosures in Maryland was virtually impossible. Having the shortest window in the nation between the time a homeowner missed a payment and the time the lender could file made it extremely difficult! (Incidentally, that's 15 days!)

And if you were trying to do a short sale, fuggedaboudit! Getting a loss mitigator to even respond to you within 15 days is a miracle with some lenders! Imagine getting the sale stalled while you negotiate!

So Maryland's governor, Martin O'Malley stepped in and said (I'm paraphrasing, of course), "I think 15 days is too short. Let's add a zero to the end of it. I think the homeowners should have ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DAYS before the lender can foreclose."

And at first, I'll admit, I thought it was a good thing…and then I got to thinking about it.

At 15 days, the lender's costs are very low. There are no arrearages. The late fees are at a minimum. The lender can quickly get the occupant out and put it back on the market and be willing to negotiate.

At 150 days, the occupant (aka homeowner) can stay in and live comfortably for 5 months. That's 5 months of arrearages. Five months of legal fees for the lender. And any profit the house may have had in it due to the potential ARM or subprime loan which may have financed the original purchase? Gone!

Not to mention the fact that you know as well as I do that any potential sellers are still going to wait until the last possible second before they contact anyone of us to sell quickly and move on!

So what have we learned here, kids?

First of all, the government stepping in solves nothing. If anything, it makes matters worse. Look at it this way, if your hair was on fire, would you rather:

1. Have someone come ask how you happened to set your hair on fire in the first place, look around to see if anyone else's hair is on fire, come up with a solution to keep anyone else from setting their hair on fire, and then fan the flames on your burning head to see if it gets worse?
   

OR

1. Put out the fire?
   

The answer of course – put out the fire!

The government's solution (in Maryland and nationwide) is to try and find out WHY people are in the mess they're in to begin with, rather than letting the people themselves find water to put out the fire THEY THEMSELVES STARTED!

Oh, don't start sending me hate mail just yet! You've heard me talk before about the lack of accountability nowadays.

So what did the Martin O'Malleys of the world do? Instead of making the homeowners step up, face their mistakes, and move on…they are making it worse by giving these folks even more rope to hang themselves with!

When are we gonna stop handling these foreclosures with kid gloves? Better yet, when are we gonna START making the moolah we deserve off the government's obvious 'eff-up'?

Wanna know how to do it? Make sure you join me this Tuesday or Wednesday night at 7:00 pm sharp for my next FREE Real Estate Lifestyle Training Events where you'll learn how to buy properties (even those financed with subprime loans) and turn overfinanced homes into cashflow castles!

Together we'll take the nation by storm and put more in your bank account than you even knew you could!

To your success,


Jim Canale

Don’t do me any favors!

Turns out good ol' MSNBC is at it again. But this time their "Sky-is-falling" attitude plays in our favor!

They ran an article recently suggesting that the "growing majority" (of who, they didn't say) are hesitant to buy a home because of the economy. Hell yeah!

Why is this a good thing? For starters, that means more for those of us who know how to buy, sell, and get richer in any market (aka you guys – the smart ones!)

Second, most of the folks they talked to were too concerned about the rising prices of gasoline. Here's the thing I've been hammering home to you – if you have created the wealth that only buying in a market like ours today can supply to you…the price of gasoline can go to $10 a gallon and the only concern you'll have is what to do with all that room you've got on the highway!

Third, I gotta tell you who they talked to in order to get this information. Sixty percent of the people interviewed said they definitely won't buy a home in the next two years. HAHAHAHA! This was done by a poll from AP-AOL where they COLD CALLED people in the middle of the day to ask them about it.

Just out of curiosity…who is at home in the middle of the day, most of the time? The unemployed or stay-at-home parents (majority, that is). What do MOST unemployed or stay-at-home folks WATCH during the day? Local news.

What does local news say is happening? THE SKY IS FALLING! THE ECONOMY IS IN THE TOILET! WE'RE IN A RECESSION!

So not only are their numbers horribly skewed, but it turns out that very little of what they're saying is true!

The sky is NOT falling, the economy is NOT in the toilet (ask me at one of my Training Events to talk about the guy who spent 5-figures on a doggie kennel in Cleveland Ohio recently! Oh, and we're NOT in a recession!

Watching what goes into your mind, who you hang out with, and defining your ideas about success, wealth, and money are some of the greatest steps you can take in order to propel your business to the next level.

Come join us on May 20^th and 21^st at one of my FREE Real Estate Lifestyle Training Events to rub elbows with like-minded investors (both new and seasoned) and learn just how to make fat, sweaty wads of cash in ANY market!

Wait…WHAT?

Today I read an interesting article on "The 8 Tips for Pricing Your Home in a Buyer's Market". I personally think TIPS in this case stands for sTockpiling Inventory from Piss-poor Sales, but that's just me.

Now I want you to remember the typical suggestions for selling your property when the housing market was hot:
1. Reduce the price for a quick sale.
2. Know the prices in your area. (Comps)
3. Ask the professionals.
4. Check out the market you plan to buy in.

And what did the article suggest for 4 of the 8 "tips" when selling your house in a DOWN market?
1. Reduce the price for a quick sale.
2. Know the prices in your area.
3. Ask the professionals.
4. Check out the market you plan to buy in.

It's amazing! They're exactly the same! Turns out the diatribe spewed by those pretending to be 'in the know' about real estate applies regardless of market conditions!

So armed with this information, I turned to my friend, client, and real estate marketing expert, Rachel Young of Big Cheese Marketing to see what her suggestions were for selling a house in a down market (I mean hey, it's what she does). Rachel says,

1. Find your ideal buyer. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone wants to buy your house. My mentor says, "If everyone's your customer, no one's your customer" and in this case, customer = buyer. Know exactly what they look like, their income level, job status, everything you can and bombard them with marketing pieces until they tell you to go to hell or that they're interested.
   

2. Don't become a 'mailbox'. You know how when you drive through a neighborhood that you don't really notice the mailboxes? It's because they're so common. Once you put your "For Sale" sign up, regardless of whether it's a realtor sign (which are handy to have in your arsenal) or a FSBO, move it each week so that your sign doesn't become just another 'mailbox' to the casual eye. Often times your buyer will come from a referral in the neighborhood and if they stop 'seeing' your sign, the chances of them telling someone about you become slim.
   

3. Don't be afraid to spend money. A lot of online marketing is worth exactly what you pay for it nowadays (Craigslist, Myspace, Facebook, eBay) and you'll wind up on page 10 within 5 minutes of posting your ad! Get in front of that buyer you described in my first point and hammer them from all sides. They shouldn't be able to close their eyes at night without thinking about your property.
   

4. WIIFM. It's said that our nation listens to the most popular radio station in the country (no, not your show, Jim. That comes second.) It's WIIFM – What's In It For Me. Give the buyer an experience they can't just walk away from. Sell them on the bathrooms and kitchens (ladies make most of the buying decisions and those are the two main rooms that affect those decisions!) and paint a picture of the property with your words. Describe how the carpet feels on their bare feet in the morning when they wake up in the new Master Suite. How does the resurfaced dining room hardwood reflect the kitchen table that holds their entire family for the first meal you've had together in ages?
   

Thanks to these tips from Rachel, in conjunction with the training you're getting next week at my FREE Real Estate Lifestyle Training Events (be there or don't blame me!) you'll find yourself selling property faster than you can buy it…and in this market, that's BIG money in the bank!

I actually lost sleep!

I spend time each day going through real estate articles, news publications, and online media to find the newest or late-breaking market news to bring to you.

A few days ago, I found a discussion board question that kept me up all night – reading the responses. I'll get to the question in a sec. It was the fact that, on a printed page…there were SIXTY EIGHT pages of responses to this question:

Would you consider it a help to the community or would you avoid purchasing a foreclosed home for fear of taking advantage of someone else's misfortune?

…like I was gonna pass up an opportunity to see those replies… Here are a few of my favorites:

"The whole real estate market is a sick game where regular people of the same economic class are trying to get rich off each other. I don't have any money to buy your place and you don't have any money to keep it but I try to buy low and you try to sell high. All the while banks, real estate agents, and brokers cheer us on to fight each other."

Editors note: First of all – we're NOT in the same economic class. As an investor, you've got to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you're successful (even if it hasn't come to fruition yet). You as an employee and me as a business owner are apples and oranges.

Second, if you're one of my readers, you know that one house does not a fortune make! The perception of many people (from watching those shows about investors who make the bank as a first-time flipper, no doubt) of investing as a cross-your-fingers-and-see strategy to gain economic independence is what helped the housing market get into its current state!

But I digress…Next!

"George Bush's TV appearance, when he exclaimed: "A new ownership society" says it all, and how callous he appeared as he does now. This whole scenario was rigged! People have lost their jobs with this economy getting worse by the week! So please, all you out there, don't blame your fellow human beings who have run into personal financial downturn. It just isn't civilized!"

Editors note 2: Yes, and I suppose our president can also be blamed for burst levees in New Orleans, too. C'mon! Sure, he's our Commander-in-Chief – and who doesn't want to blame someone! But to blame the entire subprime crisis on someone who's whole job description is doing what's best for the country and the economy…that's just dumb.

"If you're in the right position (right position = no debt, savings, nice job, good health, and no house to sell) it's a good time to buy."

Yeah, and getting a college education and a good job when you get out will keep you set for life. What total BS!

And the grand prize winner?

"The thought that families are losing the house they work hard for is sad. To think that people are taking advantage of that is even worse. Close your eyes for a moment and picture the children that lived there crying, packing their things in boxes and bags. The parents feeling even worse. How would you tell your children? Sad, right? Now tell me, would you still buy that house after picturing that? Nope, I don't think so…"

Editors note 3: Why am I so pissed by the above statement? Sure, others said worse. It's the fact that this person feels that someone going through a bad situation means that no one else should profit. It's the fact that the Negative Nancy above (it was a dude, don't get offended) would rather see a house go back to the bank, stand vacant, and then wait for some magic moment to occur before anyone profited from its purchase.

There are always going to be people who try to make you feel bad for being, or becoming wealthy, for blazing your own trail and making the money you truly DESERVE (not just what the boss-man says you're worth an hour…)

The fact is that who you surround yourself with, the people, the wealth, the positive mental reinforcements…that's what's going to propel you farther and faster than someone always making you feel as though making money from someone else's misfortune.

Think about it, do you get angry at the doctor for charging you to see him when you're sick? NO! Because his time and knowledge is valuable.

The same goes for you. And if you want to increase the value of your time and knowledge, be sure to join me next week as we explore how even the idiot in the post above can make money in today's Real Estate market – and sleep comfortably at night doing it!