RARE 2-Day Workshop That Will Get You Wholesaling

I am pleased to announce a new 2 day very intense live workshop that will be held in Palm Springs, CA Dec 5th and 6th.

Cindy and I are not “gurus”.  We make our living wholesaling houses, not selling info products…in fact, we’ve never sold an info product.

However, we did have a workshop in March, and it was a blast.

We said we wouldn’t do it again if it wasn’t a positive event, and it absolutely was-  just about everyone in attendance (that we know of) has done deals and made money.

We purposely keep it small, it’s very personal and informal and we cover every single minute detail of our business.

You will know EXACTLY how to assign an REO for cash to an investor and go right around the “no assignment” clause.  You will know how to do a land trust in your sleep, and you will get every scrap of
paper we use to make it happen…this process took us a year to develop.

Also, we will show those who join the fun how to create a world class investor cash buyer list in days, not weeks, and not months…once you have investors, making money is snap because getting deals right now is a snap…(this is BRAND new stuff).

This will sell out because we are only going to open 25 seats plus guests so that everyone there has a fair chance to ask unlimited questions.
We are scouting the area for a perfect place.  Right now the weather is insanely perfect, there’s world class golf, shopping, and casinos everywhere…that’s why we leave Sunday open!

Stay tuned because we will announce the details over the next several days….this is just a “heads up” announcement… more to follow…K

http://www.FarBelowMarket.com

http://www.FlipForeclosuresForProfit.com

All Bank Owned Foreclosure Deals Completely Gone!

Just kidding…sorry, that was a dirty trick, but I wanted to make sure that I made a few things clear!

In regards to my last blog post, I had a couple respondents that were a little discouraged because they seemed to think that what I was saying is that bank foreclosures will stop being a source of deals. Another email I received read as follows:

“kurtis you are obviously on the cutting edge and I’ve enjoyed your perspective and opportunities in the past, but you are totally mis-guiding your following with these latest emails. time to get real”.

I appreciate and relish feedback like this, and through clash of ideas and debate we all learn and deepen our knowledge.

However, I don’t think I was entirely clear about my point- I take the blame for being obtuse with my message and I apologize.

First of all, I absolutely, positively, do not think REOs are about to dry up anytime soon, nor do I think they will stop being our primary source of deals anytime soon as well…nor do I think the market is making a u-turn and is about to head back up anytime soon.

Here is what I am saying…in the past decade Cindy and I have now experienced two major shifts where our methods of finding deals ceased to work (in what seemed) overnight…the first time was in 2002 (buying HUD foreclosure went from a booming business to almost completely dry in a matter of months).

Then, after experimenting with a barrage of impotent business models, we went to buying preforeclosures. It was such a hot competitive that it took months more of trial and error for us to start knocking out homeruns again.  Finally, we were knocking the cover off of the ball until, you guessed it, our solid ground gave way once again…in 2006, “Whammo!” …once again easy street went straight off a cliff when preforeclosures with equity became impossible to make a living from.

Let me tell you first hand, when this happens, when something really works well for a few years and you get it really dialed in, and then out of nowhere within several weeks it completely stops working…Well, it’s like being sideswiped by a Mack truck you didn’t see coming, and it is not fun…then the “OMG what do we do now?!” scramble dance begins all over again.  So, I am not trying to be Chicken Little here, we’re more like a skitish antelope in the Serengetti where the slightest shift in wind, the slightest sound, we stop and observe.

If you are a part-time investor throwing offers out there, that is one thing. However, if you are full time wholesaler or rehabber there is something to be said about having more than one source of deals so you will have a backup should things change. This is all I am saying…..and you cannot deny that we are experiencing massive change. It is impossible I think to predict with 100% certainty what the outcome of government intervention will be, and I was not exaggerating about the frenetic buying activity exploding in our area – things are moving and shaking out there.

For the last 2 years we have come to rely almost solely on bank inventory for our deals, we are regularly getting incredible deals; however,  I admit that this time around we ARE hyper sensitive to change …(people also thought we were crazy when we started writing bank offers at the end of 2006).

Although our business is thriving experience tells us to be downright paranoid; we watch the market like hawks and startle at the slightest bump in the night…we are on 24/7 guard duty for you.

So keep those offers going out, keep finding those bank deals, and keep your eyes open for new opportunities but don’t get too complacent if what you are doing works great, because the only thing that stays the same is that things will eventually change…and sometimes they forget to send you the memo first ; ).

Bailout Effects Already Seeing A Result

I have spoken with a few REO brokers now after looking at comparables the other day blew me away to find out, “What the heck is going on??”……no new REOs, and the ones on the shelves are selling like hotcakes.

It seems that Countrywide a.ka. Bank of America, and Washington Mutual/Chase did indeed impose a moratorium on auction sales.

All brokers I have spoken with have not had any new recent listings…their existing inventory is selling quickly as well…they are actually a little nervous because the faucet has temporarily been turned OFF.

If you had read my blog entry titled “The Bailout” several weeks ago this is exactly what I had predicted. I said the government/asset managers/loan servicers would start restricting the supply – this makes sense because it creates more demand, holds up values, and stops the relentless bombardment of inventory….and the difference is that now they CAN because the government is taking some of pressure off of the banks with a tool called “cold hard cash”…..

and this is exactly what is happening…

…less inventory (supply) = more demand, and this creating a strong support level for prices (in my area at least).

Personally, this is not as good for our business because it becomes a little more challenging for us to get deals…hey, if it benefits the whole, which I think it does, I am all for it…..and I’m always up for a challenge anyway ; )

(besides, if it is trickier to get deals, it makes FarBelowMarket.com services more valuable, so maybe it’s not such a bad thing for us)

Anyway, to recap, inventory is flying off the shelves and there is almost nothing available in my area that is not a short sale..

….this is HUGE for retail flippers, HUGE, HUGE…

For flippers, it may be a little tougher to get a deal, but once you get one you know you can move it fast….I would rather flip in that environment ANY DAY, over a dead market where you can get a deal fast but selling is a crap shoot.

It’s not quite as good of news for long term holders (not horrible news, just a little tougher to get a deal).  Also, perhaps restricted supply will keep the rental market strong, but that is a total guess.

How long this freeze will last and if the floodgates will come gushing again I can’t say, but you will hear it here first if and when that happens.

Be Happy and Prosper,

Kurtis

P.S. I am reiterating my advice that if you are used to shooting REO fish in the proverbial barrels like we are, you might consider adding some diversity to your strategy i.e. direct mail, “We Buy Houses” signs,

just in case…we are.  (don’t interpret this to mean that REOs will stop being  a source of deals, they will be for a long time, but maybe not as easy as we’re used to).

Moratorium On New Foreclosures?

Report From The Frontlines:

I was comping a property for a 1/4 mile radius in a solid Indio neighborhood yesterday, and I was STUNNED.

Of everything on the market, there was literally NOT ONE clean or semi clean property that was not a short sale…

Guess how many “sold” properties and “pending sales”?

THIRTEEN.

Of every single “pending sale” (no cherry picking, all of ‘em), guess what how many days it took to sell?

81397 Senegal 12
81416 Date Palm 0
81582 Sant Clara 8
45666 San Gabriel 63
45824 Chamerop Palm 12
45906 Chamerop Palm 32

AVERAGE: 3 WEEKS

This is GREAT news for retail flippers, REALLY good news.

We literally have a housing shortage here….sound nuts?

For THIS geographical area, and THIS price range, it is a SELLER’S MARKET…..lunacy?…hmmmm (did I mention that we are starting to hear “multiple offers” on most of our offers now?)

Our secret REO info source, our guy who does “trash-outs” for the banks (gets rid of debris and belongings and secures the property for recently evicted foreclosees) says there is a 90 day freeze on new foreclosures…at this point I don’t know if it is local or what but I’ll find out more and you’ll be the first to know…

….but if that’s true, it will exacerbate the falling supply, and increase demand even more. REOs will continue to be a goldmine but as an insurance policy we have decided to fire up our “We Buy Houses” campaign of signs and direct mail – if your sole source of deals is REOs, it might not be a bad idea to diversify a little bit just in case.

….this news is hot off the press, I’ve said for months look at SALES VOLUME and UNSOLD inventory, NOT home prices…

Provided that 1) there is no economic meltdown, 2) median income levels don’t plummet, and 3) our mortgage industry doesn’t lockup entirely -

I will debate anyone that we have reached a bottom or we are at least as close as you can possibly reasonably get for this geographical area at this price point….

…a sub $100k property IN CALIFORNIA can now generate $1,300 gross monthly rent. I don’t think we will see this again…this is well over 9% returns after property tax and insurance. Trust me, with the stockmarket the way it is, there is an infinite supply of buyers for this investment.

….I love opposing points of view so sound off at http://www.FarBelowMarketForum.com

if you disagree….but be prepared to tell me how prices can substantially decrease if there is literally almost no available inventory and decent properties sell in less than 30 days as they hit the market =0 )

Right now, it DOES NOT MATTER if foreclosure activity accelerates, because it is my contention that between first time homebuyers that can now afford and landord buyers that can cash flow these things all day long, there is literally an infinite buyer pool that can handle any inventory that the trustee sales can dish out. (A massive decrease in income levels would be a different story, but I don’t think that will happen or else we will have bigger problems!)

Now, if Riverside County is a leading indicator for the rest of So Cal, which I have always hypothesized that it may be, it could be good news on a broader scale (I am not crawling out to that limb quite yet!).

Stay Tuned….change is happening on so many levels….and change = opportunity…God Bless our country and our new leader.

Kurtis