Monthly Archives: February 2009

“Real Estate Owned” property or REO are properties that has been through the foreclosure process, and has been purchased at the foreclosure auction by the lender. REO properties can be bought below market value. REO properties are properties that are own by a bank.

The property is taken to an auction to free the lender from junior liens. Otherwise, the lender take the responsibility of paying these junior liens.

In order to do well with REO investing, one need to have a better understanding of how this work. It’s how they deal and how much they know that makes a difference in landing a good deal.

The thing about this kind of setup is that the investor must buy all of the homes in a package – whether they are vacant lots, burnouts, or condemned. AND – they are not in one location but spread out all over the country.

That’s why the average price per home is so cheap…to spread the risk. But, these homes have all been in an MLS system somewhere – they were all REO properties at one time – so there is a way to find the market value pretty easily.

The bank is losing money for properties on their possession. For this reason, they would want to take these properties off their hands as soon as possible and might accept an offer below the current market value of a property.

One good thing about buying an REO property is you get to inspect it before giving a final offer. This way, the buyer can assess the necessary repair to be done and calculate the expenses needed.

Most banks have REO properties and will love to sell them. Bringing REO properties up to date can be a bit more challenging in some cases. One reason for this is when you buy a REO properties you buy it as is.

Grand Center is a tremendous part of St. Louis, and surely the next time you visit the city you should make your way over to the place that everyone is talking about. Let’s look at a brief historical overview of Grand Center, to better understand where it’s been, and where it’s going.

The Mississippi River found itself with a large population growth once St. Louis residents began to move west in its direction after the turn of the 20th century. This is the area is known today as Grand Center. This is where you can also find the location of the St. Louis University sitting midtown next to Grand Center.

In the first two decades of the 20th century, Grand Center became a hot spot for theater and vaudeville as many homeowners flocked west to this brand new community in St. Louis. Unfortunately, many of the original mansions were destroyed and construction of offices and theater took place. Many of the theaters include the Odeon (1904), the Princess (1912), the Victoria (1913), the Grand Central (1913), and the Empress (1913).

Notwithstanding the effects of the Great Depression and World War II, the Center began to flourish after the 1920’s. Grand Central not only gets to see its theater blossom, but also see itself become a transportation hub as a major stop on streetcar and bus routes. On top of that, wonderful movie palaces begin to spring up in the 20’s which caused additional business to come to Grand Center. Among the great movie palaces were the Fox Theater (1929), the Missouri Theater (1921), and the St. Louis Theater (1926).

In spite of the ramifications of the Great Depression and World War II, Grand Center began to prosper after the 1920’s. Not only did its theater expand, but Grand Center also became a transportation hub as it was a major stop for streetcar and bus routes. In addition, the 1920’s brought about fantastic movie palaces which caused increased commerce to the Grand Center area. Among the many grand movie palaces were the St. Louis Theater (1926), Fox Theater (1929), and the Missouri Theater (1921).

Grand Center began to see its much expected revitalization in 1980. At this time Grand Center was classified as a National Historic District. Necessary funding was obtained and the marvelously restored Fox Theater and Sheldon Concert Hall were reopened.

Grand Center Inc. was organized in 1987 to oversee not only the restoration of Grand Center, but also to see new life brought into the education district, and the arts and entertainment. Over the years, major enhancements were completed to the St. Louis infrastructure which helped to improve the sidewalks, lighting and parking facilities. Historic buildings were restored as well as 25 arts and education associations grow to be the core of Grand Center. It is to no surprise that Grand Center is the 12th largest attraction of St. Louis.

Amongst the places of interest for architectural developments is the great Spanish Mission style art deco building designed by Thomas P. Barnett Historic Building and located at 3207 Washington Ave.

Directly in the centre of Manchester is a mesmerizing 47-storey structure called the Beetham Hilton Tower. Its construction took place in 2006 by the Beetham Organization, which is where the tower got its name. And when you fix your eyes on this structure, it isnt difficult to see that the Beetham Hilton Tower is the tallest building in Manchester. This is made true by its 168.87 (554 feet) height. You will find that up to the 23rd floor, there is a Hilton hotel. It is from the 25th floor until the 47th floor triplex penthouse that you will find the Beetham tower apartments. For those living in the apartments, there is two basement levels of parking to make life just a little simpler.

The Beetham Tower is so large that youll find that there are two postal addresses. This tower that is frequently referred to as the Deansgate Hilton, gets its name because the tower rests on Deansgate. Nevertheless, this is a building that has many names, but when you ask the residents of Manchester and even some of the visitors, they will know what youre talking about no matter what name you refer to the building by. As for the addresses, 301 Deansgate is the first and 303 Deansgate is the second. You know a building is large when it needs two addresses.

The towers construction even has a history. It is important to note, though that the Beetham Hilton Tower comes from the imagination of Ian Simpson, but it was Carillion, a Wolverhampton-based construction company, that did the building along Deansgate and the junction of Great Bridgewater Street and Liverpool Road. In the Hilton Tower section of the structure, there is an astounding 285 classy bedrooms that remain with the essence that Hilton passes to its guests. And to make it even more unique, you can go to the 23rd floor and stand on the skybar that gives you a view 23 stories down all the way to the ground. This is because the 23rd floor was constructed exactly 4 metres deeper than the lower floors. This resulted in the only skybar in Manchester. After standing on the skybar, guests can enjoy the lounge and bar that is another part of the Hilton section of the tower.

It doesnt stop there, though, because the history gets even more interesting. It is really hard to believe that there was a railway viaduct where the building sits now. And when permission was given to construct in October 2003, 206 of the apartments sold immediately. That only left 13 up for grabs. Even four of the penthouses were purchased, leaving only 12. This shows how eager individuals were to live in these amazing apartments. They purchased before they even saw.

And speaking of the amazing apartments, they are very modern with a view that could make you gaze for the rest of your life. There was a time in which the option to buy was the only way to live in one of these apartments, but times are a little tight. Because of these tight times, individuals are able to rent apartments for as little as 750 per month. This rate is incredibly affordable considering the type of apartments that are being acquired. The location is also an incredible plus. The hype surrounding this building is quite amazing, so an affordable rate such as this is quite the treat for someone who has the desire to live in Manchesters centre, where access to everything is quite easy to acquire.

Due to the fact that access is so easy to virtually everything, a person living in the building or staying within the Hilton can easily enjoy a night out on the town, fun on the big city, and so many other things. There is certainly not too few things that a person can do. And for football lovers, Manchester United is not too far off for those who would like to catch a game.

There are also some famous guests living amongst the flats and studios. One of them is Ian Simpson, the buildings designer. He lives in the penthouse that takes up the 46th and 47th floors, which means he has the highest living space in Britain. He made the decision to purchase the penthouse for 3 million. There are also some other famous residents that include:

* Shayne Ward who is a famous Pop and R&B singer, is living in an apartment within the building.

* Phil Neville is living in the triplex apartment that is right below Ian Simpsons penthouse. He is a famous English football player.

* Another famous football player, Christiano Ronaldo, lives in an apartment facing Old Tafford.

It is not very hard to see that the Beetham Hilton tower defines elegance right in the centre of Manchester. There are so many people who envy the residents. They even go as far as envying the individuals staying there during a visit to Manchester. Fortunately, the affordability of the Beetham Hilton Tower has provided many individuals the opportunity to live there. This means that almost anyone can enjoy the great rooms, the fantastic view, and the hospitality that the tower is home to. It is a structure that is amazing in so many ways and it contains so much imagination within its walls. This results in anyone who sees it, being overwhelmed by the beauty. All-in-all, those who stay there fall in love with it and they want to stay there forever.

Whether you are new to real estate or have been around for a while, the new buzz word in the real estate industry is REO. REO is an acronym for Real Estate Owned. REO’s are properties that are owned by the bank.

Due to the number of foreclosed or REO properties in the market, buyers are having a hard time to choose from the list.

Foreclosure happens not only if the owner fails to pay but also when the lender refuse to cooperate.

In order to recover the expenses incurred on a foreclosed property, the mortgage company or bank would like to hire a real estate agent to help them find a good buyer for the foreclosed property.

Foreclosed property may range from poor to good condition, so the idea of buying foreclosed property shouldn’t be put off. The property is only foreclosed when the owner fails to pay the mortgage within the time set by the lender.

It’s safe to buy foreclosed property as the lender can provide clean title.

REOs are a great investment as long as you have a clear understanding of what exactly it is that you are getting into. Simply put, the bank wants to dispose off these homes, and if you manage to find the right property and are prepared to make a serious investment, it can prove to be a great way to take your successful plunge into the real estate investment business.

It can really be tough to invest in an REO. It helps to have all the information you can get in order to help you decide whether or not to invest with an REO property.

After foreclosure and no bid is accepted by the bank, the property become Bank Owned thus the term Bank REO or Real Estate Owned.

When a property didn’t get a good bid during the foreclosure process, the property is taken by the lender, most of the time, the banks, and the property is referred to as Real Estate Owned.

The banks at times seek the help of real estate agents for the resale of the REO properties, and prepares a clean title.

A property can be foreclosed due to the failure of the owner to pay the mortgage. After the foreclosure process, the bank can take back the property and calls it as Bank REO.

However, you have to bear in mind that there are also some disadvantages to buying REO homes. Although there are no problems about being able to inspect the property, the bank will usually not agree to carry out any repairs and the property is sold “as is”. The bank will usually require additional paperwork.

Other people are worried buying REO properties for the fear that the previous owner would go to the property and cause problems. Legally, the previous owner has no right to cause the new owner of property any trouble.

REO is a great investment opportunity for those who understand how it truly works. Banks need to dispose REO properties as soon as they can to avoid further expenses in maintaining these properties. Understanding how to get these property would truly make any investor profit as long as they truly understand the whole concept of REO.

REO properties can be inspected to see the repairs needed. This is normally done by investors to make sure that they can still profit from the property after doing all the necessary repairs. A good location is also to be consider to make sure the property is accessible by your market.

St. Louis today is a bustling, exciting metropolis, home to hundreds of thousands of people and homes. However, it took a century for St. Louis to become the city that it is today, and a great boom for St. Louis took place in the 1920s, just as the whole nation was booming as well.

It all began with the 1923 Bond Issue in St. Louis. The Citys street patterns were clearly designed in 1917, followed by the City Plan Commission, and all of this was carried-out under the 1923 Bond Issue. Its thanks to this Issue that wide streets like Market, Olive, Natural Bridge, and Gravois exist today.

Once the Worlds Fair was over, St. Louis recognized that it had some work to complete. After taking notice of the changes happening around the world, St. Louis saw it as a sign for its own expansion. Thats when the massive $87,000,000 1923 Bond Issue was passed which was renowned at the time as an astounding accomplishment. Once this landmark decision transpired, all sorts of civic buildings like hospitals, Kiel Auditorium, street lighting and historic buildings rose to their glory. It was also the birthplace for much of the St. Louis commercial real estate you see today.

When the Missouri Motorbus Company came to fruition in 1921, the trolley cars started their quick descent into extinction. This was then usurped by the Peoples Motorbus Company in 1923, operating both single and double deck buses in St. Louis.

Park improvements were another great step in the expansion and reinvention of St. Louis in the 1920s. Forest Park was completely realized after great restoration work following the worlds Fair. Until construction began on the Park, it was a wilderness land following the Worlds Fair, which left many people uneasy about the implications.

The City ordinance called for a park-like area, and thats when the improvements began. Then followed the highlights of the park: the Zoo with its Worlds Fair bird cage, The Art Palace given to the city by the Exposition Company, the Jefferson Memorial constructed on Fair funds, and the Worlds Fair Pavilion.

The St. Louis City ordinance mandated a park-like area which then triggered the Forest Park improvements. This is also when the following highlights were added to the park: the Zoo with its Worlds Fair bird cage, the Jefferson Memorial constructed on Fair funds, The Art Palace which was furnished to the city by the Exposition Company, and of course the Worlds Fair Pavilion.

There are Art Deco buildings that stimulate the imagination, and even old Spanish Mission Deco buildings like the one found in Grand Center, St. Louis, designed by Thomas P Barnett. With its rich Spanish style and unique feel, this building always turns heads.

If you are struggling to pay your home loan during a recession, you need to take action as soon as possible. First, contact your lender and let them know of your difficulty in making your monthly payment. Do this before you fall behind on your monthly payments.

You can protect your credit rating and the lender has many more options that you might assume! Waiting and falling behind on the monthly payments is the worst possible scenario.

Contacting the lender before you get behind shows the lender you are serious about keeping your home and repaying your home loan. The lender always wants to work with people serious and not those that are completely desperate.

The dedication goes a long way with the lender, and the bank may suggest programs or ways they can support your home loan during the recession. Programs can include modifying the current loan, reducing the interest rate, or even deferring the monthly payment.

Sit down with your spouse and study your monthly budget. What expenses could you do without? Chances are you have some expenses that are more pleasure then needs.

Search the house and find items you no longer want, use, or need. Sell those items online, through a garage sale, or at a pawn shop. The extra money can be assigned to loan repayment.

Still falling short on monthly payments? Contact a credit counseling service. The credit counseling service will negotiate on your half with the lender, and rework the loan payments. Credit counselors are extremely knowledgeable and insightful in a time of need.

Managing your monthly home loan payments during a recession can be a nightmare, but it?s not impossible. Talk to your lender, cut your expenses and look for ways to make some extra money. These strategies will help you ride out the recession without losing your home.

Never settle for delaying your payments, where you can get in so deep that keeping your home is no longer possible. Take these steps earlier in the process and keep close communication with the lender. Trust me, the lender will appreciate it and do everything possible to assist you.

The bathroom can be one of the most used rooms in the house. The problem is, because it’s used so much, it can begin to look worn out, tired, and in need of updating. Or, perhaps your family is getting larger and needs more room in your existing bathroom, so that you need to open up some space to make it more comfortable and effective.

Either way, there are many benefits to redesigning your bathroom. One of the most significant reasons it may need to be remodeled is if it is in disrepair. For example, perhaps your grout is getting worn, the tiles are chipped, or the porcelain is cracked in the bathtub. If this is true, not only is your bathroom in some disrepair that makes it look unattractive, but you may actually need to get it fixed just to keep water damage or even mold from taking hold.

It can be very expensive and difficult to repair water damage and mold can be a serious health hazard. If your bathroom has seen better days, it’s time to get things fixed and perhaps even do a full remodel of your bathroom.

Switching out old, cracked tile, regrouting and replacing your old fixtures with new ones will prevent water damage while giving your bathroom a new look. If there’s already water damage or mold present, this is the time to take care of it – the longer you wait, the more expensive it will be to repair.

Beyond that, putting in new tile, tub and fixtures can really freshen up your bathroom and make it look much more attractive than it is with old, rusting fixtures or out of date colors and styles. And it doesn’t have to cost a lot, either. These days, you can “freshen” your bathtubs look by dropping in a tub liner if your underlying tub is in perfectly good shape but is just looking a little bit “worn.” Or, you can simply opt to get your old tub refinished where nicks and chips are filled in and then the tub is primed, sealed and painted with a color of your choice. This is a good option to choose if your tub is a perfectly good shape and just needs a new look.

You can make your bathroom look a lot better by replacing old tile and regrouting. These steps will also help to prevent water damage. You can take it further and give your whole bathroom a new, up to date look by replacing your old sink and/or toilet and repainting. This is a relatively low cost way to update your bathroom.

Another of the benefits of updating your bathroom is that it will make your home more valuable. If you’re thinking of selling your home, this will make prospective buyers more interested in your home and will also boost the selling price by several thousand dollars. A new tub, fixtures and flooring can make a world of difference to your bathroom.

And of course, we spend a lot of our time in the bathroom – there’s no avoiding this, so your bathroom should be a pleasant, enjoyable environment. By making over your bathroom, you’ll turn this, one of the most used of rooms into a place which is a luxury, rather than a necessity.

During a conversation the other day, a new Note Buyer told me that he decided to start investing in buying defaulted mortgages. He had been wholesaling properties for a very long time prior to this.

What worried me was when he said: “Dean, I want to get into buying defaulted mortgages in order to keep people in their homes and get some good cash flow.”

Please don’t get me wrong, of all people I would be the first to admit that Humanity does count. But…

Don’t lose sight of the forest for the tree.

Don’t Try to Use Only One Exit Strategy For Buying Defaulted Mortgages

It will not work.

You see, you may WANT to pursue A SINGLE exit strategy for the defaulted mortgages you purchase (in this case, he was looking to re-perform all the notes he bought – possibly by modifying them all – and then to hold them for cash flow).

Buying Defaulted Mortgages: Multiple Exit Strategies Are Needed

If you want to be successful in your investments in defaulted mortgages, you need to be like Rafael Nadal.

Nadal can do it all. He has a great serve, an awesome forehand, and can play an excellent game on both the grass and clay court.

You should follow the same idea when buying defaulted mortgages. Pursuing multiple exit strategies will make your note buying business more profitable.

Be careful you don’t “stick yourself” with one note buying strategy.

Using Foreclosure as a Buying Defaulted Mortgages Tool

One useful tool to get a borrower to cooperate with you in getting a loan modified can often be to start a foreclosure action.

And Why?

The foreclosure action acts like a wake up call to someone who has been missing payments on a regular basis. That in combination with your help in their loan modification may be just what they need to get going to work their way out of their situation.

Be careful not to fall into the same trap as the investor I talked to.

If you want to be successful in your Defaulted Mortgage Buying business, 1 Exit Strategy is not enough.

If you want to do well in the note buying business, you need to be a jack of all 5 Exit Strategies.

Getting quotes for term life insurance coverage is easy and it is similar to being checked when taking out a loan at a bank or other financial institution, they want to see if you will be a financial risk to them when you are searching for a term life insurance quote on line. It’s in their interest because they can’t see what type of person you are because you are applying for a life insurance policy.

Therefore, when you are applying for a life insurance policy you will generally need to undergo a medical exam to make sure you are suitable and will be correctly covered by the policy you have chosen. Results from this exam will determine what your monthly premium will be and you can even be denied life insurance coverage if you are considered to be too ill. You will want your family to be covered, so you may opt for a term life insurance quote no medical exam, so that you will be covered and your family will be able to receive some financial help when you pass away.

Is not having an exam a good idea? There are some people that would think that not having a medical exam is a bad idea and that the life insurance market operates to ensure that they keep most of the money, and in part they would be right. But, not having a medical exam for your term life insurance policy will not mean that you will receive unfavourable rates, you will just have to choose the different companies that you could potentially take the policy out with. If the life insurance companies wouldnt offer cover without a medical exam then the industry wouldnt be at what it is today, as most companies will simply lower the amount that you are covered by and thus will not pay out as much as if you were examined.

The small print matters When you are looking at the different life insurance policies the small print should matter to you. Many people will look at it not having a medical exam is the main element of the policy and go straight ahead and pay for the policy there and then, but the small print really does matter. If you compare two policies side by side – medical exam and no medical exam – then you will see that there are a few significant differences. There are many different things on the with exam than the life insurance policy without an exam. Therefore, you should view any policy without a medical exam as an extra policy to your pre-exisitng main term life insurance policy.

If you are considering taking out one of these life insurance policies without a medical examination then you should be aware that nearly all of them will pay out much less than their equivalents. The amount that you will be covered is far less and so your family will not receive as much as some others in the event of your death. You will also find that these types of policies are advertised in the newspapers and that many if not all will be offered by financial institutions that do not provide insurance services as their primary business.

There are very few life insurance companies that will allow individuals to claim on their life insurance policies with the first year or even two of coverage. You should keep this in mind if you are taking out a policy and you are close to retirement. Also, the company will be able to change the terms of payout of the policy without explicitly notifying you of these changes, so you should also keep this in mind when reviewing your policy and keeping up to date with what you are covered for.

Do You Even Need It? Term life insurance coverage isn’t for everyone, whether this be standard cover or one that is issued to you without a medical exam. If you live by yourself in a small house or apartment, then you won’t really need cover from life insurance, but, if you have a business and have major or only control over it then you should consider getting term life insurance coverage to make sure that if you do need it that your family won’t be left with a huge amount of debt to be paid off.

Also, if you have a family who are dependent on your salary, then you will need to take out some sort of term life insurance – this will make sure that they will have some money in the future to pay the general day-to-day bills and keep afloat.