Senate Bill Would Allocate Additional Tax Credits

Tax Credit news from the good folks over at Government Deal Funding:

Earlier this week, Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama introduced a bill designed to offer additional disaster assistance to southern states that have been hard-hit by severe storms. In additional to Shelby, nine other Senators have co-sponsored the legislation, called the Southeastern Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2011. The provisions included in the Tax Relief Act are already in place, but set to expire. Senator Shelby’s bill simply extends them. According to a press release from the Senator’s office, the tax relief will be offset by changes to “unobligated” federal spending, and will therefore be deficit neutral. If passed, the bill would give states in the disaster area authority to issue tax-exempt bonds in order to spur investment and pay for rebuilding. It would also increase low-income housing tax credits by $8 per person per state in the disaster area. Senate Bill 1205 was introduce on June 15, and referred to the Committee on Finance. For more information, read Senator Shelby’s press release, and the full text of the bill. Developers who live or work in the southeastern states are encouraged to contact the relevant Senators and weigh in on the discussion.

For more info, visit: http://GetPublicFunding.com/AllStars/

What are you waiting for?

A great opportunity is not going to just come up and bite you on your butt if you are sitting on it!

Where is the Real Estate Market Going?

According to a recent article in the Sun Sentinel, in south Florida, housing sales are up but prices are down ( Read the article). It only stands to reason that when the number of sales is dramatically down, it only takes a small increase to start things moving. It appears that home buyers and real estate investors are taking advantage of some of the lowest housing prices in a long time. Despite the increase in the number of sales, prices are expected to go still lower. How much lower? A little… Prices in south Florida are expected to trend downward a little more until at least 2012 before bottoming. Mortgage rates are at historical lows (Read the article), and there are still more foreclosures to come (more foreclosures coming).

So what does this all mean? Well, to me (a real estate investor), it means opportunity. This is the time to be buying. Baron Rothschild was reported to have said “Buy when there is blood in the streets, even if the blood is your own.” Will prices go lower? Maybe. But do not miss the big opportunity trying to predict the exact moment of the bottom. If you can buy properties that cash flow now at the lowest prices you have seen in years, it is time to act.

The trend across the nation seems mostly similar… home buyers and investors are moving in to take advantage of bargain prices… don’t miss out!

Are the banks listening?

Are the banks listening? A few are, it seems. According to recent reports 46 percent of the home loans in south Florida are under water. (They still owe more than the home is worth.) Read The Palm Beach Post artcle. That number is about 27 percent nationally. That means the homeowner can not take advantage of the low interest rates to refinance without kicking in large amounts of cash to meet the refinance requirements… cash most of them do not have, leaving them trapped and waiting for the other shoe to drop. One mortgage loan servicing company IS doing something to provide a pathway out of the morass of mortgage problems. According to the same author, Kimberly Miller of The Palm Beach Post, Ocwen Financial, a local servicer is offering a loan modification that reduces the amount owed to just 95 percent of the CURRENT market value Read Kimberly’s other article . What that means is they get the homeowner out of the jam they are in and start making progress so the home might have a chance of being sold or refinancedwithout going into foreclosure, hurting both the homeowner and the lender. The amount forgiven goes into an account to be split between the homeowner and the lender if there is a resulting sale with a profit.

Now that is an idea that makes a lot of sense! Avoid the foreclosure now, provide the opportunity to do any thing (sale or refinance) that improves the bad situation. It is a thoughtful, realistic solution to the crazy mortgage market dilemma that actually makes sense. The arrangement is called a shared appreciation modification. The concept makes it possible to sell or refinance and allows the lender to recoup part of the money they would lose if there is any profit from that sale or refinance and the homeowner to get out from under a blocked in situation now, and keep most of any potential profit.

That sounds like a just and equitable solution to all parties involved! Any lender that makes that offer to its troubled mortgage holders will be at the top of my list for ANY banking business need I might have as a real estate investor or otherwise. It is our responsibility as real estate investors to support banks that act responsibly.

Your subconscious is like a Google search engine

Ever wonder why your life  is the way it is? You may be bringing what you have in your life to you. Think I am in the weeds? What are the things you say over and over each day… to yourself and to others? Does it sound like: That makes me so angry! It really makes me sick! I really don’t have any patience for that! C-rap happens! Or does it sound more like: Life is GOOD! I’m am so blessed! Life has been good to me! Things ALWAYS work out!

Think about the way a search engine works… folks like me that write things and want them to be noticed, “highlight” certain words in what we are writing that tell the search engines to “show this” when some one asks for “that”.  Most of my writing is about real estate investing… so I would use “real estate investing” as a keyword or tag to let the search engines know that I want this information to be seen by people interested in real estate investing. I believe that your subconscious mind works very much the same way. You tell it consciously or unconsciously what you what to present in your life, and by golly, it finds it for you. The subconscious does not make judgments about what you ask it to bring you just like the search engine does not make judgments about what you search for… type in the wrong word and it brings you what you asked it for. Want something different than what you have found in your “search results” ? Type in something else and get a whole new set of results. Your subconscious mind is constantly working to bring forth the things that you knowingly or unknowingly tell it you want found. Want something different? Try a new “search”… talk about positive things. Imagine yourself different in some way. Make positive affirmations or statements about the new you. Ever wonder why success coaches tell you to read your written goals several times a day? It feeds the subconscious mind.

This is my belief. I am not a psychologist, have no training on the subject, but I have read books on the subject, and am quite analytical about the things that I think about and how those things affect me. I read and listen to a lot of material about real estate investing and blogging. Yesterday I listened to a DVD of wholesaling expert Lou Castillo. Lou is a strong believer in the concept that you control your success in real estate investing more than any one thing else. I was also reading some suggestions about blogging from real estate trainer and internet information expert Heather Seitz. Those two subjects were on my conscious realm of thought. When I went to sleep, they sort of meshed together and in my dreams I was merely Googling the things I wanted more of, and there they were!

I really believe that more success in real estate investing, or golf, or cooking, or whatever your interest is can be found by thinking and saying positive statements about it over and over (several times) during the day. Check out Daily Word on the internet. Daily word is a daily dose of positive mental and emotional nutrition for your subconscious. Positive thought and affirmations have a power and profound effects. Give yourself something good to feed on and you will likely be surprised at what you get coming into your life.

Life is GOOD!

Protect Your Rental Property and Save $

Protect your real estate rental property, save money, and help the community… Who doesn’t want that? I have long been an advocate of using the Habitat for Humanity ReStore Outlet as a resource to find bargains on used appliances. You can pick up working refrigerators and stoves for pennies on the dollar, but did you know you can get used storm shutters there also?  A recent article in the Sun Sentinel by Donna Gehrke-White ( Read the Sun Sentinel Article ) reminded me that the Habitat Store also has storm shutters at bargain prices. You may be able to cut the cost in half to get the storm shutters that not only protect your property, your tenants will feel better too!. Make sure what you are purchasing meets the local building code… you may qualify for a substantial discount on your property insurance. Habitat for Humanity builds houses to help families that can not otherwise qualify to purchase their own home. It’s a win, win, win situation!

Million Foreclosures Put on Hold – Slows Market More

According to a recent article in Realtor Magazine – Real Estate Daily News, notices of over one million foreclosure related notices of default, auction, or foreclosure that should be filed this year will be pushed back to 2012, further delaying the recovery of the real estate market. While the delay does give troubled borrowers more time to try to dig out, the slow job market and economy will likely dampen any significant chances for them to take advantage of the extra time. Most experts agree that the real outcome is just a larger shadow market of distressed properties will slow the real estate market’s recovery. Realty Trac’s senior vice president, Rick Sharga predicted “The best-case scenario is we don.t get back to normal levels of foreclosure activity until 2015 , which means the housing market recovery gets delayed by at least a year. Read the full article .What this means is this is a great opportunity to act… seize the opportunity to help troubled borrowers out of their dilemma, help the banks that are overwhelmed with properties they do not want, and stimulate the economy. Opportunities do no one any good if not acted on.. People need help. Banks need help. The economy needs help.