Mighty Mortgages

Stated income loans (sometimes called Alt-A) became popular in 2002, and have since become mainstream. They were created by mortgage lenders as a way for those with unconventional, irregular, or cash incomes to qualify for a mortgage loan. These individuals have the income to afford a mortgage and have acceptable credit, but earn income that is not easily verified. For example self-employed and commissioned borrowers often make more money than they can prove. The stated income home loans do not require you to provide your pay stubs, W2s, 1099s, tax returns, and other documentation required to verify your income. Instead you simply state what your income is and the bank or mortgage lender believes you. (more…)

Bird-dogging or real estate jobbing is a great way to get started on a career in real estate investing. A bird dog is a property locater or deal finder for an established real estate investor. The bird-dog is paid a fee for finding these potential real estate deals. The amount of the fee can range anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand. It all depends on the extent of the bird-dog’s involvement in the deal and the work he or she puts into it.

To earn top dollar as a bird-dog you are expected to see the homes, perform an analysis and negotiate the best price. You then present your detailed findings to your investors.

Bird-dogs will carry out their own marketing in effort to locate potential investment properties. This can include newspaper ads, direct mailings and physically driving around with a keen eye for opportunities. For more information on finding real estate bargains check out my previous post Where the Half-Price Homes Are and How to Buy Them.

There is a blurred line between bird-dogging, flipping and wholesaling. The difference lies in whether or not you get the property under contract. A wholesaler or flipper with actually get the property under contract and then assign the contract. This of course carries a lot more risk then simply presenting a deal and collecting a modest finder’s fee. If you get the property under contract you will be entitled to the difference between what you have it under contract for and what you sell it for. If you negotiate to purchase a $150,000 home for $110,000 and then sell it to an investor for $120,000 you will earn $10,000 instead of the standard bird dogger’s fee of around $1000. Investors like it when you have it under contract because then they know you are in control of the deal.

Which brings us to the question of whether or not bird-dogging is legal. In most states if you are brokering a deal between a buyer and seller, you required to be licensed. The key is that your fee is contingent on the closing of the deal. Many bird-dogs are in fact operating illegally. Again getting the property under contract bypasses this as you are then a principal to the deal and have something at stake. It is generally alright if you are merely identifying leads and selling the leads to investors. In this case you are paid a fee regardless of the deal closing. As always, consult with a professional in your area to be sure.

Another way to get started is with Maveric Real Estate Investments. They train you to find commercial real estate deals that they will fund.

The best advantage to starting as a real estate bird-dog or real estate jobber, is it gives you an opportunity to get your feet wet with investing in real estate, without assuming all the risk of a full-time investor. It gives you an opportunity to work closely with experienced people and begin to build your network. You will find you begin to develop mentor relationships which will prove to be extremely valuable.

Greg from Revenue Blogging gave me a heads up to John Chow’s latest post where he is giving investment and tax advice for real estate moguls. Is there anything he doesn’t do?

Kevin has posted a really good article on identity theft protection.  The damage that can be done to a victim’s credit score is unbelievable.  He includes some valuable tips for being proactive.  Be sure to check it out.

If you own a rental property you collect a monthly rent check, but you also carry a load of responsibilities such as maintenance and repairs etc. What if you could get the tenants to take on these responsibilities, but still give you a monthly check? Better yet, what if they were eager to do it? It is possible to have your cake and eat it too; let me explain.

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It has always been common sense that if you want to get top dollar when you are selling your home, you need to make sure that it appears as attractive as possible. However, over the last couple of decades this notion has spawned an entire industry. Professionals now make a living by preparing homes for sale, before they go on the market. This is known as home staging, home enhancement or home redesigning. The results are homes that sell faster and for more money. (more…)

If you are willing to be a little creative and you have some flexibility, I will show you how you can sell that home now for even more money than you are currently asking.

Seller financing, or owner financing as it is sometimes called, is when the seller of a property agrees to provide the financing for all or a portion of the purchase price. Instead of cash at closing he agrees to take a promissory note (a legal term for an IOU) for this amount. This is generally done when for one reason or another, the purchaser is unable to obtain full financing from a traditional mortgage lender or financial institution. For example the bank may only be prepared to lend up to 80% of the purchase price yet the buyer only has 5% to put down. So if the vendor doesn’t need the money right away he could agree to receive the remaining 20% in the form of a note. The note would specify the terms of the repayment including the length of time and the interest rate to be paid.

So why would a seller do this? (more…)

Foreclosure rates are at an all time high. While this is unfortunate for those who have lost their homes, it is an opportunity for you to buy a home well below its market value. In fact with with patience and a little leg work you can purchase a home at a 20% to 40% discount.

Homes go into foreclosure when the owner fails to meet their financial obligations with respect to the mortgage against it. The bank or government agency is forced to repossess the home and then sell it to cover the outstanding loan. It is important to realize that these companies do not want to be in the business of owning real estate. They want to be rid of it as quickly as possible and in some cases they will even let it go for less than the amount owing on the loan. (more…)

When buying and selling real estate, so much is affected by your personal credit score. Everything from how much you can borrow, to the best interest rate you can get, is determined by your credit rating. While there are many factors that influence your credit score, you can start to repair poor credit today. (more…)

Foreclosure is when the bank or mortgage lender repossesses your home and sells it, because you have failed to repay your mortgage as agreed. Sounds scary, huh? Well it is, but it doesn’t have to get to this point. Anyone can find themself in a dire situation that was beyond their control. Job loss, illness, death in the family, and divorce are all events that can have a huge negative impact on your ability to make your monthly payments. When it comes to your mortgage and your home, this is especially serious as the mortgage lender has the legal right to foreclose on the morgage and repossess your home. However there are things you can do along the way that can help you stop foreclosure now or avoid foreclosure altogether. (more…)