What is a Notice of Default?

A Notice of Default is an official document that is filed with the County Recorder's office when a borrower has missed at least 3 consecutive mortgage payments. The lender will hire a Trustee (an attorney or title company) to act on their behalf.

Once the Notice of Default (NOD) has been filed, your financial problems become public record. You will be contacted by all kinds of people. Investors wanting to take advantage of the equity you have built up in your home, attorney's wanting to help you file bankruptcy and real estate agents wanting to help you sell your home.

You'll have some choices to make and it's better to make them sooner than later. but DON'T PANIC. Rest assured, we can help you get going in the right direction.

Call or Email us today for a FREE consultation.

The bank says they can work out a payment plan, is that a good choice?

It depends. I've seen some of those payment plans take a lot more time and a lot more money. Some payment plans keep the homeowner in default for over a year, with the lender still reporting late to the credit bureaus the entire time, wreaking havoc on the homeowner's credit score. They may also require payments that are 1 1/2 times the payment you were already making, so if you were already having trouble making your mortgage payment, then this doesn't bring any relief.

More About Loan Modifications

If you are considering a Loan Modification, you do not have to pay someone to do it for you. All you have to do is call your bank and ask them if you are able to qualify for a loan modification. They will send you out a packet of information to fill out. In addition, they will request bank statements, financial statement, pay stubs and a hardship letter.

Be aware that if you have missed one or two payments, the bank will proceed with foreclosure proceedings. Once a Notice of Default has been filed (usually after 3 payments have been missed), a loan modification may not be an option anymore.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you do it in a timely manner. Time is the biggest obstacle in your way when it comes to any type of negotiations regarding your home loan. There is only a small window of opportunity before there are no options left for you.

One last thing, the loan modification process is lengthy. It could take up to three months or longer before you have confirmation that a loan modification will work and that the bank will modify.

The Truth About Land Trusts

First, What is a "land trust?" A land trust, "is simply an agreement in which property is transferred from one person (called a grantor) to a trust in care of another (the trustee) who holds it for the benefit of a person or entity (the beneficiary)" (Kohler, 2007, p 48).

Mark Kohler (2007) in his book, Lawyers Are Liars, illustrates four myths regarding land trusts. He says

land trust gurus actually spread four lies which state that a land trust:

1) Hides the true owner of a property
2) Provides "bulletproof" asset protection
3) Avoids the due-on-sale clauses in loan documents, and
4) Saves taxes (p 47).

In some circumstances, like to avoid probate, privacy of ownership and ease of transferability, land trusts make sense, but don't assume or believe that if you use a land trust that you will be creating a system for asset protection.

Some individuals have given land trusts a bad rap because they have been used improperly. I would not recommend writing your own land trust agreement. If you are considering using a land trust, it would be best to consult a real estate attorney.

"In a situation where you are not trying to get around a due-on-sale clause and need to sell a piece of property in a creative manner, a land trust could be a great fit" (Kohler, 2007, p 61). However, make sure you consult an attorney who understands land trusts before you begin using a land trust.


Reference
Kohler, M. (2007). Lawyers Are Liars: The Truth About Protecting Our Assets!. Phoenix: Life's Plan Publishing LLC.

Book Recommendation: Lawyers Are Liars

Lawyers Are Liars: The Truth About Protecting Our Assets by Mark Kohler

Written from the heart, December 27, 2007
By Sarah L. Fails "sfails" (Review on Amazon)

Mark Kohler has done a great job outlining Asset Protection strategies that are truthful in what they can achieve - and demonstrated how many deceptive strategies unscrupulous lawyers will try to sell to people. His outline starts off with the myths of asset protection
· The goals of asset protection and why it is needed
· Repeatedly backs up his statement `there is no silver-bullet' approach
· Outlines the myths surrounding Nevada Corporations
· Discusses land trusts, off-shore accounts and partnerships
He then discusses what does work for asset protection in a battlefield themed approach -
· The multiple barrier approach
· Choosing your team of advisors
· Strategies for protection
· O.J. Simpson's model of asset protection (not that he advocates the person, but his strategies to protect his assets is uncanny)
· What you must do if you own a business or rental property with regards to deciding the property structure, protecting the corporate veil, carrying insurance, etc.
· Additional strategies that put up further barricades to your fortress (battlefield theme)
· And finally how to fortify your castle with trusts, if applicable for your situation
His `true story' scenarios outlined throughout the chapters make you realize the reason why he felt compelled to write this book.

5 Keys to Success in Real Estate Investing

1) Understand risk

2) Overcome your fear of failure

3) Accept responsibility

4) Be willing to persevere

5) Define your purpose

Don't forget Education too. And, don't let anyone tell you that you can't create weath through real estate. And, finally, you must have a sense of urgency so that you will take action when opportunity knocks.

Guide to Avoiding Foreclosure

http://www.hud.gov/foreclosure/

We don't want to List your home, We Want to BUY Your Home

We don't want to List your home, We Want to BUY Your Home!

• No Equity, No Problem
• Any Condition
• CASH
• No Cost to You

If you are facing foreclosure with your house, we can help! Email us ASAP to receive FREE information about your situation. E-mail: simplehbb@gmail.com or visit our web-site at: http://www.scopepropertysolutions.com/ .

We specialize in helping individuals who are facing foreclosure. Our team will work with you to get the best possible outcome for your situation.

We work for you at no cost.

Book Recommendation: Real Estate H2O

Real Estate H2O by John Dessauer

Fabulous read. I've actually taken one of his courses on Multi-family development. Great guy with loads of experience and advice. And his book is interesting and informative too.

Private Money vs. Hard Money

You've probably heard of both of those terms and you wondered what the difference is between them?

There really isn't a difference between Hard Money and Private Money. The terms are used interchangeable within the real estate investing world.

Private money is usually a short-term loan by a private individual. Interest rates are typically high but not as high. Private money lenders typically lend money based upon the deal rather than a person's credit.

Hard Money is essentially the same as private money; however, there are some companies that specialize in hard money, and typically the companies who lend hard money lend at higher rates than private money.

For more information, scroll down to the last posting on What is Hard Money?

For additional info, email me at: simplehbb@gmail.com

What is a Hard Money Loan?

The term “Hard Money Loan” as it is referred to in the real estate or lending world is a type of non-bankable loan.

Usually this means a loan where the lender can approve the loan request based upon the value of the assets and the equity in the assets.

Hard money loans are those loans usually funded at a higher cost to the borrower because they are non-bankable by a traditional lender. It’s considered a non-traditional loan.

Private money is money borrowed from a private individual rather than a bank or lending institution.

Typical Lending Guidelines:
Property types: All income producing property types considered
Security: 1st mortgages or Deed of Trust Loan
Sizes: From $50k to no limit
Loan Term: 1 day to 5 years
Loan-to-Value: up to 65% or 70% - considered on a case by case basis.
Interest rates: Vary from 10% to 18%
Prepayment: Negotiable

The hard money lender will tend to over look many items that are critical to a traditional lender and soft money loan. These overlooked details will include:
- Foreclosures
- Bankruptcies
- Judgments
- Credit dings, dents and damage
- No credit record or citizenship
- Unreported income
- Unknown sources of down payment

Get Educated First

I cannot say this enough to my clients and trainees, before you attempt to do your own real estate investing, get educated!

We have a college that is dedicated to teaching and training individuals how to become successful real estate investors by practitioners (individuals who are working in the real estate investing market right now).

More mistakes and money is lost when individuals jump in with no experience and no training. To be a successful real estate investor, it takes education and the proper mentorship. We have the coaching and the education you need to make it as a real estate investing professional.

Email us for more information: simplehbb@gmail.com

Notice of Default, What is it?

A Notice of Default is the court document that is filed with the county recorder's office that officially begins the foreclosure proceedings.

Usually, an individual who hasn't paid their mortgage in three months or more will receive a Notice of Default or N.O.D. as referenced in the real estate investment world.

Once a Notice of Default has been filed, depending on which state you live in, your home could foreclose in 21 to 180 days. Check your state foreclosure laws to find out what your state's foreclosure timeline is.

After the Notice of Default (N.O.D) has been filed with the county recorder's office, it will be sent via registered mail to you. You should receive it within 2-3 business days after the NOD has been filed.

What happens to my credit in a Foreclosure?

A foreclosure is the worst possible bad mark you can have on your credit. A home loan is the largest and most important loan most Americans will ever take out. If you can't pay your home loan, then all the other potential lenders will think you won't be able to pay them either.

A foreclosure stays on your credit for 7 to 10 years. During that time, it is very difficult to obtain any kind of financing.

If you are facing foreclosure, please consider doing a short sale or loan modification to help save your credit. Seven to ten years doesn't seem like that long, but it is.

We buy homes. Even if you owe more for your home than what you can sell it for, we can help. We specialize in helping people, like you, who are experiencing financial difficulty with their mortgage. We can help you too. Email us @ simplehbb@gmail.com with your contact information and your home information - how much you owe, how long you're behind, how much you think the house is worth, and we will call you back within 48 hours.

Instead of foreclosing, consider your other options. We can go through those with you. simplehbb@gmail.com

What's a Discount Point?

When a loan officer or someone offering you a loan, talks about discount points, they are referring to a percentage of the loan that must be paid up front. For exampe, 1 point equals 1% of the entire loan amount. If you are required to pay 1 discount point on a $100,000.00 loan, 1 % which is $1000.00 will have to be paid at closing.

What is an REO?

The term REO means Real Estate Owned which in the real estate investing world means bank owned property. It is a home that has been foreclosed upon. It went to auction and did not sell. The bank now owns the house and is responsible for marketing the property at fair market value.

Is a Loan Modification the Best Plan for You?

In many markets around the country, homeowners are seriously upside down on their house. Homeowners bought at the peak of the real estate boom and when the bottom fell out, so did the value of their homes.

There are some options available to you if you do owe more on your home than what you can sell it for. One idea is to try for a loan modification. A loan modification is where the bank refigures the loan on your house, giving you some relief on how upside you are on your mortgage.

A loan modification will only be a good idea if you have the proper financials to support your ability to pay for your home. If you are experiencing financial duress, even with a loan modification, it's probably not a good idea. In that case, you should consider a short sale.

Most people who are in foreclosure and do a loan remodication, usually go back in foreclosure within six months. Make sure, if you are planning to apply for a loan mod, you can definitely afford to stay in your house; otherwise, you'll wind back up in foreclosure.

Is a Short Sale a Quick Sale?

I spent the weekend in a trade show booth answering real estate investing questions and promoting the real estate investment college I attend.

One lady came up to me and asked what exactly a short sale was. She thought because the name is "short sale" that it meant a "quick sale." It means nothing of the sort. The name is really quite deceptive. It doesn't mean that it's a fast or quick sale in anyway.

A short sale really means that the bank is accepting a payoff for less than what is owed - in other words, an amount short of the total amount due.

This process can be quite lengthy. Usually, once a short sale offer has been submitted to the bank, it takes approximately 8 weeks before a loss mitigation officer will even look at it. Once a negotiator has been assigned, it could take an additional 4-6 weeks or longer.

One offer we sent into the bank, we submitted on November 11th and didn't get an approval until the first part of February.

Because the offer is for less than what is owed, the bank has to approve the offer. It's called a short sale because the bank is taking less than the total amount due - not because it's, in any way, a fast process.

When to Buy Real Estate

Today was the first day of the April session of the Real Estate Investment College I'm attending, and it was awesome! My class today was on multi-family properties, how to buy apartment buildings, how to evaluate them, how to talk to the bank to get a commercial real estate loan, and more. Truly phenomenal information!

We talked about when the right time is to buy real estate and this quote from John Dessauer really stuck out to me, "When the cost to buy real estate is less than the cost to build, it should trigger to you that it's time to buy."

Right now is one of those times. Right now, the current market conditions say that it is definitely cheaper to buy real estate than it is to build it, so why not start today?

Real Estate Investing is not easy, but it's definitely worth it. There are strategies for everyone - for people with good credit and lots of money and for people with really bad credit and no money.

Now is the time to buy real estate.

Two Sides of Wealth Creation in Real Estate

We have a system in place that utilizes two different opportunities to make money in real estate investing education.

First, we teach over 37 different courses in real estate investing by 20 different real estate practitioners. Our education is the best in the industry.

We offer our college courses quarterly. For a week training, four times a year, individuals come from all across the country to Phoenix, Arizona to learn how to invest in real estate. If you can't make it to Phoenix four times a year, we also offer online courses.

We teach a variety of topics ranging from legal strategies, directed IRA's, Pre-foreclosures (loan-mods, short sales, wholesaling, subject-to), Foreclosures, rehabbing to buying multi-family and learning how to manage property managers.

The second way we make money is through college recruiting. Each person you recruit to the real estate investing college can earn you anywhere from $1,000.00 to $8,000.00 on a single sale. In a combination package deal with our business development program, coaching and college tuition, can earn you a total of $10,750.00 on a single sale.

Education is one of the most lucrative industries in the world and you can take advantage of the earning potential presented here.

What would one commission $10,750.00 per month mean to you in your life? What would two mean?

1 person x $10,750. x 12 months = $129,000.00

2 people x $10,750. x 12 months = $258,000.00

No overhead, no employees, no stress. You are in charge of your success and you get to keep 100% of the commission.

For more information on how you can learn how to invest in real estate or how you can become a college recruiter for our real estate investment college, call me at 1-888-217-5791 or email me at simplehbb@gmail.com.

We need both investors and college recruiters now. Maximize on two ways of making money in the real estate investing education industry. Call now!

What to Expect When Facing Foreclosure

Most people don't understand what to expect when they're facing foreclosure. They don't know how long they have before the bank is going to seize their home. Each state has their own specific timeline, but all foreclosures go through the same steps.

The following foreclosure timeline shows, step-by-step, what happens during the foreclosure process.

The first step in foreclosure is obviously missed payments. Usually, before the bank does anything, one must be late at least one to two months. After you've been late on your mortgage payment about two months, you move into delinquent status.

During delinquent status, you have the ability to reinstate your loan. You can call the bank and ask for a forebearance plan. The bank will arrange a payment plan to catch up your late payments. Usually they divide up the total amount in delinquency and spread it over a period of two to three months. If you owe $2,000.00 in late payments, the bank will divide $2,000.00 by three months, totalling about $666.00. The bank will then arrange for you to pay your monthly mortgage payment of $1000.00 plus $666.00, equaling $1666.00 that you will be required to pay for three months while you're catching up your loan.

If you can't pay the arrangement set forth by the bank and you continue to be late, the bank will send you a "Notice of Default" letter which begins the foreclosure process. Usually, when a Notice of Default (NOD) is issued through certified mail, you have been behind at least three months. Depending on the size of your home mortgage will really depend on when the bank will send out the letter. Standard procedure is generally three months though.

Once a Notice of Default is issued, you have, depending on which state you're in, approximately 21 days all the way up to about 180 days before the bank will take the house to auction (judicial state) or trustees sale (non-judicial state).

During this time, in order to take your home out of foreclosure, you must pay back, in full, the entire delinquent amount, plus show the bank you are able to continue paying your mortgage.

After the home has been taken to auction/trustee's sale, some states offer a redemption period in which you, the homeowner, can buy back your home from the bank - must be in full. If you don't redeem your home, then the bank will move into a bank owned property which is called an REO (Real Estate Owned).

The home no longer belongs to you, regardless of the amount of equity you have in your home, it now belongs to the bank. They have the right to market your home for full market value. (In some cases, you might be able to receive a portion of or all of the proceeds from the sale if the bank sold your house for more than your mortgage amount).

Check with a foreclosure attorney to find out the exact amount of dates your state allows for the pre-foreclosure period and redemption period. In Texas, once a notice of default has been filed, the home will go to auction in 21 days. In Utah, it's 111 days.

Education in Real Estate Investing is Key.

Before you go out and try your hand at Real Estate Investing, get Educated!

Would a heart surgeon jump in and perform his first surgery without the proper education? No! Would you hire just anyone who claims to be a lawyer to stand up for you in court without education? No. What about hiring your neighbor with no expertise in accounting to file your taxes and keep track of your financials? No! Just as doctors, lawyers and accountants need education, so does a real estate investor.

So many mistakes can happen and a lot of money can be lost without the proper knowledge. By obtaining education, you're spreading your risk. Having the right education and the right people on your investment team will prevent major damaging problems. Instead of losing money, you'll make money!

Simply put, Get Educated!

We are apart of a real estate investment community that trains and educates regular people, just like you and me, how to invest in over 37 different strategies. We have 20 practitioners who teach our college courses. These practicing real estate investors are still investing today. They live for their chosen niche in the real estate investing arena.

If you've always wanted to get involved in real estate investing but you never knew how to get started, where to get education, where to find help or who to call, we have the answer for you.

Most people don't get involved in real estate investing because of three things: Education, Money, Time. We can help solve all three of those for you.

We provide the education needed to be successful. We provide another facet for producing income. And, both our education and our income opportunity will create time freedom for you.

To learn about our real estate investing college and how to make additional income, Call 1-888-217-5791 or e-mail us at simplehbb@gmail.com

Why Real Estate, Right Now?

Lately the media has been pounding both the real estate industry and Wall Street, so why is it a good idea to buy real estate, right now, in this economy?

President Obama has three parts to his plan to fix the financial crisis. The first on his agenda is to fix the banking system so students can continue to get education loans, small businesses and entrepreneurs can continue to get business loans, and so the American people can fulfill the American dream of homeownership.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) keeps statistics of the National Housing Cost. September of 1981 was the peak of the real estate industry of the late 70s and early 80s. Taking an average of the top twenty largest real estate markets (i.e. Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Orlando, Las Vegas, Phoenix, etc.), the NAR figured the COST ratio (income to cost of housing) was at a high of 63%!

That means, in order to purchase a home, it cost 63% of your income to pay your mortgage. In other words, if you made $5000/month, it cost $3150/mo for your mortgage payment. That is simply astronomical!

When the real estate market was at its peak just a year or two years ago, the cost ratio of housing cost to income had dropped to 39%. That was when we thought real estate was expensive.

Today, the cost needed to afford a home is 27%, an all-time low. It is cheaper to own a house today, in terms of price and income ratio, than it has been for generations.

It all has to do with supply and demand. Right now, there is a greater supply of foreclosures than there has been for years which is the perfect opportunity for investors to buy cheap. Folks, real estate is on sale right now!

Statistics prove that the real estate market will eventually go back up. And when it does, who will sell? The investors.

Warren Buffet, the richest man in the world, recently said in the New York Times, "So if you wait for the robins, spring will be over." He was referring to the investment market, which includes stocks and real estate.

"When the richest man in the world speaks, I listen and take notes. Even though this may seem to some like simple homespun wisdom, Mr. Buffett is perhaps the most respected investment adviser in America, if not the World. He started investing when he was a child and because of his passion and his focus, he is now worth over 50 billion dollars. [He recently said], "Buy American I Am." in the October 17th edition of the New York Times."(Taken from Real Estate Blog).

Buffet also said, "In short, bad news is an investor's best friend. It lets you buy a slice of America's future at a marked-down price."

When should we start buying real estate? Right Now! It is the best time in history, for generations, to buy real estate. It's on sale and I'm buyin'!

Why is a Short Sale on Your Home a Good Idea?

A short sale on your home is a good idea when you are facing foreclosure and when you owe more on your home than what it is worth.

A foreclosure is one of the worst things you can possibly have on your credit. It is even worse than bankruptcy. How is that so you ask? Both a bankruptcy and a foreclosure stay on your credit for seven to ten years; however, it is a lot easier to start re-building credit and acquiring new loans after bankruptcy than after foreclosure.

In fact, it is nearly impossible to get a new loan, period, after foreclosure. If you can't pay for your home, then potential new creditors don't believe you can pay for anything - a credit card, car loan, etc. And they will not lend you money. After a bankruptcy, one can get a new loan (credit card/auto loan) within 6 months of bankruptcy and can buy a new home after two years out of bankruptcy.

A short sale is better on your credit than a foreclosure. It will stay on your credit for about three years, and it shows the banks that you made an attempt to make good on your loan. Instead of just leaving the home to the bank, it shows you were pro-active and responsible.

If you owe more for your home that what it is worth, it is also a good idea to sell your home as a short sale. Obviously, if you can stay in your home for a good five to ten years, the value of your home might go up, so you should probably wait it out. But if you can't wait for the value to increase and you need to sell, a short sale is a good idea.

Usually people who need to sell their home in a short sale must do so because of an ARM (bad loan), divorce, medical bills, death in the family, job re-location and loss of job.

If you find yourself needing to sell your home in a short sale or if you want to learn more about how you can help people who need to sell their home, email me at simplehbb@gmail.com or call our toll free number at 1-888-217-5791 (leave your name, phone number and email address and we'll call you back within 24-48 hours).

What is a Short Sale?

A Short Sale is an investment strategy in the pre-foreclosure arena. An investor can make significant profits when purchasing pre-foreclosure properties by discounting existing mortgages.

Essentially, the bank has begun the foreclosure proceedings which can take anywhere from 21 days to 120ish days (depending on which state you live in). The home has not been foreclosed on yet, but it is in the process of being foreclosed on.

The bank does not like it when it has to foreclose on a property because the property becomes a non-performing asset which means the bank must keep $7 for every $1 loaned. If the loan is $100,000, then the bank has to keep $700,000 on hand to protect the asset. That means they cannot loan the $700,000.00 that they could loan prior to a home foreclosure. It makes it difficult for the banks to continue lending and that is part of the reason why our economy is in such dire straits right now. Another example, in a home foreclosure that has $1,000,000.00 mortgage, the bank has to keep $7,000,000.00 in liquid assets (cash) in the bank that cannot be loaned out! That's 7 million dollars that, before the foreclosure, could finance several home loans.

In order to prevent a foreclosure to occur and to prevent the $7 for every $1 of a home loan to be tied up in the bank, the bank is willing to take a discount on the mortgage. That means, if the home loan is $100,000.00, the bank might settle the debt with an offer that is around 80% of the home value. In other words, if the home is actually worth $100,000.00, the bank might take $80,000.00 and settle a mortgage loan debt of $100,000.00.

Right now, in our current economy, homeowners are faced with the reality that their home is worth less than what they can sell it for. In this market, short sales are a very common way for a homeowner to sell his/her home if he/she needs to sell. Basically, the homeowner sells his/her home for less than what is owed with the bank's approval.

For more information on how you can learn more about short sales, how to profit from short sales, how to negotiate with the bank, how to contact prospective clients, how to effectively communicate and work with a seller, how to determine what to offer on a short sale, e-mail your contact information to simplehbb@gmail.com or call 1-888-217-5791.

Short Sales, Making Money with Pre-Foreclosures!

Since the economic decline, my husband and I have been working on pre-foreclosures and foreclosures as a real estate investment strategy.

Last August, we attended a Real Estate Investment College that has literally changed our lives. We received the "meat and potatoes" of how to's in many different real estate investment strategies, including short sales.

The short sales course, taught by two very successful short sales practitioners, taught me everything I need to know to successfully approach, negotiate and complete a short sale deal.

By November of 2008, we picked up three short sale deals. Each profiting us between $10,000 to $15,000.00.

Consistently, we have been able to create at least one or two deals per month by watching the Notice of Default lists, approaching the potential clients, interviewing clients, negotiating with the banks and marketing the homes for double closings.

We have read a lot of books, gone to other seminars, but none of the education we received before even compares to the education we are receiving now at the Real Estate Investment College.

To learn how you can learn more about short sales and other pre-foreclosure strategies, and attend the college too, call us at 1-888-217-5791 or email us at: simplehbb@gmail.com.

Learn How YOU Can Make Money In Real Estate Too!

We have a simple, proven system to help you learn how you can make money in Real Estate. We teach over 30 different Real Estate Investment strategies that work in any economy.

A few of our strategies include:
- Foreclosures
- Short Sales
- Creative Financing
- Buy & Hold
- Fix & Flip
- Multi-Family
- Real Estate Negotiations
- Pre-Foreclosures
- Legal Strategies
- Understanding Mortgages
- And more . . .

Most people don't get into real estate because of 3 reasons: Money, Knowledge and Time. We can solve all three of those for you with our world-class education system.

If you are sincere in your desire to learn how you can make money too, fill out the information questionaire at the bottom of this page and we will contact you within 24-48 hours to set up a time when we can get together to discuss our system in more detail, and show you how you can succeed in making more money too.

There is no cost and no obligation to learn about our system - at least you will be more aware of the options that are available to you.

Send your Resume to: simplehbb@gmail.com . We will contact you within 24-48 hours to talk to schedule an interview where we can learn about each other - your background and skill sets and our system.