Bird Dog Profits - Real Estate Bird Dogs and Property Locators

Real Estate Bird Dogs - Property Locators Lessons Table Of Contents

Here is the table of contents for all of the real estate bird dogging lessons we have covered so far. There will be more added as I get inspired to write. There are many other posts about real estate property locating on my blog at http://birddogprofits.blogspot.com/ that you should check out.

I hope you have learned and profited from reading these lessons on how
to profit in real estate as a bird dog.

1. Fundamentals of Bird Dogging - Lesson 1
2. Understanding the Two "Three Principles of Real Estate" - Lesson 2
3. Flipping Houses - Levels of Achievement - Lesson 3
4. Finding Buyers For Your Real Estate Deals - Lesson 4
5. Real Estate Investors Must Know Their Market - Lesson 5
6. What Beginning Real Estate Investors Should NOT do - Lesson 6
7. Recognizing Motivated Sellers - Lesson 7
8. What to Say to Motivated Sellers - Lesson 8
9. How to Find Motivated Sellers - Lesson 9 (Real Estate)
10. Analyzing A Real Estate Deal - To Flip or Assign - Lesson 10
11. Estimating Repair Costs - Lesson 11 Part 1
12. Estimating Repair Costs - Lesson 11 Part 2
13. How to Use a Realtor to Find Investment Properties - Lesson 12
14. Using the MLS to Find Investment Properties - Lesson 13
15. Using Local Newspapers to find Real Estate Deals - Lesson 14
16. Using Mortgage Brokers for Property Leads - Lesson 15
17. Internet Lead for Motivated Sellers - Lesson 16
18. Using Other Bird Dogs to Find Motivated Sellers of Real Estate - Lesson 17
19. Using Legal Newspapers to Find Distressed Property Leads - Lesson 18
20. Driving for Dollars as a Way to Find Discounted Properties - Lesson 19
21. Finding Investment Properties in Foreclosure - Lesson 20
22. Invest by Buying a Bank Owned Property REO - Lesson 21
23. How to Use Advertising to Find Investment Real Estate - Lesson 22a
24. How to Use Advertising to Find Investment Real Estate - Lesson 22b
25. Bird Dogging Out-of-State Owners to find Motivated Sellers - Lesson 23
26. How Can you get Motivated Home Sellers to Contact You? Lesson 24
27. Real Estate Bird Dogging and How to Analyze Deals - Lesson 25
    

To Your Success!!
Mark

Real Estate Bird Dogging - Earn Money as a Property Locator
WebProsperity - Business Success System

How Can you get Motivated Home Sellers to Contact You? Lesson 24

In our last lesson we covered another way for bird dogs to locate properties -
Bird Dogging Out-of-State Owners to find Motivated Sellers - Lesson 23

In this lesson we will be covering one of the most used and typically more successful methods of marketing - Direct Mail.

Before you can make offers on properties bird dogs must know how to find potential sellers and contact them. In previous posts we have discussed numerous ways of locating potential properties to make offers on (or to get information on to refer to your network of real estate investors). The hard part is getting property owners to call you back.

If you are a serious bird dog, part of your marketing plan to locate properties will involve direct mail marketing (either letters, postcards or email, etc.). I often use a variant of direct mail marketing by opting to send emails to houses listed on FSBO sites, Craigslist, Backpage, etc.

Using Direct Mail is a great way to get the word out to people that you are willing to buy houses. First, you have to know what to say and then you have to decide the best way to do it. One of the easiest options is to create your own direct mail postcard using USPS.com/netpost.

The post office will let you go onto their website and create a direct mail postcard and they will print it and send it. You just have to design it, pay for it and tell them where to mail it. Personally, I have not tried this, but there are a lot of real estate investors that swear by it, especially ones marketing to the pre-foreclosure niche.

Another way to do direct mail is to do it yourself. This is a method I have tried and it does work, but you have to have a lot of sticking power. This is because it takes upwards of six to eight mailers before a homeowner remembers you and will take you seriously. You will get phone calls if you stick with it. The downsides do this approach are the cost of postage and the time it takes to do your mailers. I paid one of my daughters to do all the mailing as I didn't have the patience or time to do it. You can also look into "mailing houses" that will do everything for you, but again there's the cost issue.

The wording you use on any marketing piece is extremely important. Property owners who receive your marketing mail must be able to understand what you are offering and assimilate it quickly, before it hits the junk mail pile.

If you are marketing to FSBOs or doing a geographic mailing piece you don't have to worry too much about your mailer getting noticed.

If you are marketing to homeowners that have received a notice of default on their mortgage, you will have to take extra efforts to get your marketing piece noticed. Remember that homeowners that have received a NOD are getting hundred of letters from investors and foreclosure consultants offering to buy their homes or offering some other type of assistance.

Here are a couple of examples of letters you can send:

Sample One (Vacant Property or Out of State Owner)

Today's date
Your Company Name
Your Mailing Address
Your City, State, Zip
Sellers Name
Seller's Address
Seller's City, State, Zip Code

RE: Property Address

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Seller:

ABC Investments is interested in purchasing the property referenced above. We are willing to purchase the property in "as is" condition with a prompt no hassle closing date. Please do not mistake this letter as a Realtor solicitation for a listing. We are not interested in listing your property however we are interested in purchasing your home for cash.

If you are interested in a fair written cash offer for your property in its present condition with no commissions being paid, please contact me at your earliest convenience at XXX-123-4567.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Company Name
Your Phone Number
Your Fax
Your Email
Your Website
(Make sure that you give every available option that you have to be reached.)

Sample Two (Distressed Homeowners, Vacant Property or Out of State Owner)

Dear XXX,

Do you own an unwanted house and need to sell quickly? Is your house vacant? Need repairs? Are you in foreclosure? Behind on payments? Relocating? Divorce? Bad tenants? Owe liens?

We buy houses from people in situations just like yours!

We buy 5-10 houses per month and would like to buy yours. You'll get a quick sale with no hassles. Call now to find out how we can solve your problem.

Your Name and phone number

*******
You can vary your message, but make sure that you get your message across. Then the potential sellers can contact you and you can proceed from there.

To Your Success!!

Mark V. Schwartz

Bird Dogging - Earn Money as a Property Locator
Internet Real Estate Marketing
MS Buys Houses

Jump start your search engine popularity by getting your web site and blog links out on other sites.

Get very good traffic to your website with improved rankings in all major search engines using The Internet Real Estate Center's Link Exchange Service.

Get valuable and quality traffic + link partners to your website INSTANTLY and DAILY MORE with The Internet Real Estate Center's link exchange! Almost all major search engines rank your web pages based on the number and the quality of links that point to your web site (link popularity).
The quickest way to receive quality backlinks to your website is by having your site listed in link directories. So, what is the cost for this? Completely free.
Go to the Submit Link Request page at The Internet Real Estate Center and submit your link. Note: Reciprocal Links Required.

Be a successful Real Estate Investor / Professional - Join your local REIA.

Everyone associated with real estate investing needs to continue learning. After all, the more you learn, the more you earn. And what better way to learn than to surround yourself with investor oriented, like minded people. One great venue for real estate professionals to continue learning it to join a local Real Estate Investors Association or Club.
You can find your local association or club by clicking here.


Real Estate Investors Associations - REIA's mission is to develop, support and promote local real estate investor organizations while serving the interests of the real estate investment industry through networking, education, leadership on legislative issues, and promoting professionalism and standards of excellence in our industry.

REIA meetings are great educational experiences and you will meet and mingle with a host of people who have great ideas that you can learn from. The networking opportunities are unlimited.



I personally belong to three local investment clubs in the Seattle-Bellevue area.


Here's the link again - Internet Real Estate Center - State REIA Associations

Start a Home BusinessForeclosure Fraud Alert

Many people want to start investing in real estate, but either don't know how or don't have any money to start.

There are some ways you can get started in real estate investing with little or no cash. These strategies will work in any area of any city. The idea is to simply find the real deals by being a property locator (aka birddog or jobber). Becoming a property locators is one of the fastest ways to begin making money in real estate, immediately.

Here are a few ideas for you.

Get a copy of the newspaper or get on the Internet. Call on all of the "I buy houses" classified ads in the newspaper or web sites (such as www.msbuyshouses.com) that come up on your Internet search. Once you get hold of them, tell them that you are just starting out in real estate and you want to be a bird dog for them. Find out what there reward structure is for when you find them properties that are good deals. Typically, if you find an attractive deal you will get paid around $500. To earn this you will need to get the address of the property, is it vacant or occupied, owner's name, does it look like any repairs are needed, if you can contact the owner - why are they selling and what is their asking price, and why you think this is a good deal.

Then, ask the investor you have contacted and request that they take you along with them when they go see some properties so you can get some experience and learn more about what they are looking for in deals.

And, join your local real estate investment group. They usually meet monthly, dues are cheap, and you will meet tons of real estate investors (many of which are looking for property locators).

Another great method to find properties is called Driving for Dollars - drive around and look for empty houses. An empty house usually means a motivated seller. Find out as much information as you can on the property. Don't just send the address to an investor and tell them the house is vacant an investor needs more information than that. Look up the address in your County records and find out who the owner is, their mailing address, assessed value, etc. You can find the web site for your county at http://taxesandliens.com/county_tax_assessors.php.

Once you have learned how to be a property locator you will learn how and what kind of properties to get under contract. This is called wholesaling and you will make a lot more money at it - anywhere from $3000 to - $20,000 per deal. You will then turn around and assign (sell) the contract to an investor our regular home buyer.

So, by starting out with nothing but determination and energy, you can grow into a real estate investor. These strategies work, but they require some hard work on your part.

For more information on how to become a successful property locator, subscribe to my FREE series of lessons at www.birddogprofits.blogspot.com.

Analyzing Real Estate Deals to Resell - Lesson 25

Real Estate Bird Dogs Must Know How to Analyze Deals.

In our previous lesson we covered How Can you get Motivated Home Sellers to Contact You? Lesson 24. Our focus in this post changes to how a real estate bird dog can analyze properties for profitability.

Once we've located motivated sellers, our focus turns to analyzing a potential deal to see if it will be profitable for an investor. Next to finding the properties, this is one of the most important aspects of real estate bird dogging. A lot of investors who are first starting out will look at a good deal and freeze because they worry about the decision they're about to make. This is called "analysis paralysis", and it's a huge roadblock on the path of investing. As a Real Estate Bird Dog you want to make sure you work with investors that are not afraid to take action. Do NOT, as a Property Locator, waste your time working with investors that sit on the fence and can't make a decision.

You may wonder if it really is a good deal or if you really are going to make any money. To overcome this, be sure to gather as much information as you can in order to make an informed decision about whether it really is a great deal.

Ask these questions first, and they should help you decide if you should make an offer:

1. What is the property worth today?
2. What repairs are needed and how much will they cost?
3. What price can you get it for?
4. How much will it cost me until I sell?
5. What will the property be worth after it is fixed up?

Here's why you should be asking these questions:

1. What is the property worth today?

You can use a professional to help you determine what the property is worth, or exercise some tools that an appraiser might use to determine this. However, it is not always convenient to find a professional to help you out, either because you have don't have one on your team yet or you have to act fast.

Generally speaking - You want to find houses that you can pick up for no more than 70% of the after repaired value (ARV) invested and this includes the purchase price, repair cost and closing cost. Keeping a margin of 20% to 30% ensures you will be able to find investors and rehabbers interested in buying the contract from you or paying you a finder's fee. (In some state it is illegal to pay finder's fees. Instead, a property locator will need to get the property under contract, and then sell the contract to an investor. More on this later.)

Look at and compare sales of other properties close by, making sure that the properties are similar. Get a list of these sales and see what each of these properties bought or sold for, and when the transaction took place. (Note: in previous lessons we covered how and why you need to learn the real estate values in the neighborhoods you are targeting and where to get this information.)

You need to know how to compare a deal. This doesn't mean that you go grab the other "For Sale" listings in the neighborhood and call those prices "comps". It means you will need to find out what the recently sold comps in the subdivision are, and to find the average days on market (DOM).

Using the lowest or average selling price per square foot from the comps will help you estimate the selling price, and will give you an idea if there's enough room in the deal for everyone. Don't use the top end number, as "real" rehabbers will want to sell the property fast, at a discount, since they are often paying Hard Money Loan rates. That means they will look at the potential selling price based upon the low to average selling price of the comps.

2. What repairs does the property need?

When you are starting out in real estate, either as a rehabber or property locator, assessing the amount of repairs can often be tricky. The majority of people rehabbing a house underestimate the amount of work, the cost of materials and the time it takes to complete repairs.

If you are phone prospecting for motivated sellers, ask the homeowner what repairs are needed (most are truthful, some unfortunately are not).

Once you go to visit the property you will need to make a list of all the repairs, structural and cosmetic, that will need to be fixed and come up with an estimate. Then take your list home with you and either find a contractor friend to help estimate the repairs or do it yourself. The big box home stores, like Home Depot, have project cost calculators you can use to come up with estimates.

3. What price can you get it for?

A good deal on a property should be at least 20 percent below market price. When a seller has a property worth $150,000 and they sell it for $115,000 with no repairs needed, then that is both a motivated seller and a deal! Now you can start negotiating on an even better one, because that's where you make money in real estate. By not negotiating, you may have potentially left a lot of money on the table.

Keep in mind with real estate investing that other associated costs come on top of the property's purchase price. If you are going to flip the property, remember to allow for upfront mortgage fees, attorney's fees, regular closing fees, title, survey, etc.

4. How much will it cost me until I sell (Carrying costs)?

These are more than just the cost of repairs! In addition to the repairs, you've got to consider the monthly payments, taxes, insurance, utilities, etc. that need to be paid until the property is resold.

Understand how holding costs can affect a deal: If I am buying a house for $100,000 plus your $2,500 assignment fee plus $7,500 in repairs, that means I might be borrowing up to $110,000 from a hard money lender. At a 14% annual interest rate, that house costs me $1,283.33 for every month I own it. This is why the DOM is so important for you to know when you are evaluating a deal. During the average DOM of 90 days your rehabber will need to spend $3,850 in loan payments (using the above example), and that amount needs to be calculated into the deal.

Again, you've got closing costs and possibly real estate commissions to consider.

5. What will the property be worth after it is fixed up?

The after repair value (ARV) is determined by pulling comps that you can get from realtors, the Internet, county records, experience, appraisers, etc. A 30% margin is the general rule of thumb because you have to remember that there will be cleaning, carrying and marketing costs on the property. However, the 30% is relative to the area and the market. Also keep in mind that "best offer" is the optimum offer and not necessarily the final offer.

Generally speaking, if an investor cannot get the property for 20% off they will not be interested. For higher end properties it should be at least 15% off. The percentage will vary by geography and price of the house - higher prices can yield lower margins because the dollar figures are higher.

Once you learn how to determine the ARV - After Repair Value of a property, you will be able to put together, or find deals to resell to investors. This is more advanced than basic Bird Dogging, but your potential for reward is much greater.

This is how a lot of rehabbers look at a deal:

• Max Selling Price: $150,000
• Less Acquisition Cost: - $7,500
• Less Repair Cost (estimated): - $9,000
• Less Four-Month Average Hold Cost: - $4,900
• Less Min Profit (15%): - $22,500
• Less Misc. Expenses (5%): - $7,500
• Less Cost to Sell (5%): - $7,500
• Max Purchase Price: $91,100
• Additional expenses not covered by loan: $7,500

The maximum Hard Money Loan for this example is equal to $105,000 based on a maximum of 70% ARV. If you are not doing this math on every deal you are considering putting under contract then you are not earning your assignment fee. This is a business. Like every business you are only paid when you sell your product or service. Make sure you sell every one of your deals by only doing deals that can be bought by a real rehabber.

I don't want to insult anyone or hurt anyone's feelings. You may not agree with me, but believe me when I tell you that if you want to sell a deal to me or 99% of the other "real" rehabbers, you will need to keep what I have said in mind. I do this same math on EVERY deal I look at buying, and if it doesn't work...I walk!
To Your Success!!

Mark Schwartz

Real Estate Bird Dogging - Earn Money as a Property Locator
Internet Real Estate Marketing
MS Buys Houses

How Do Short Sales Work?

Real Estate Birddogs Need an understanding of the process and how you can profit from it.

In a post on this blog last week we discussed how Real Estate Bird Dogs need to understand what a Short Sale is. This time we are going to take a look at how you can profit from Short Sales. This is an Overview - not a detailed discussion.

Short Sales are one of the best methods for getting a discounted loans in real estate. Short sales can create humongous investment opportunities and present a solid strategy for making money in this troubled real estate economy. Because of the current market it has been more difficult to make money wholesaling or flipping. Although they both offer real estate bird dogs good profit opportunities if you can get a tremendous discount and then sell the deal to an investor.

With Short Sales, you will need to have money, either a pre-approved loan or money from private sources. The Banks that own the properties usually won't even consider any purchase offers unless they are accompanied by proof of funds.

1. Getting the Deed

One of the most important steps in the short sales process is to get the deed signed over into your name. On many occasions, beginning investors will skip this important step. If you do not have the deed, the homeowners can back out of the potential short sale even after you have spent hours working on the short sale negotiations with the lender(s) on their behalf. This only has to happen once before you will decide you don't want to get burned again. I recently lost a big chunk of money on a deal because I failed to get the deed. That was a costly mistake that I have not forgotten. When the homeowner signs the deed over to your name you now control the property and you can go to work by calling the lenders. (NOTE OF CAUTION: In some states you may be breaking the law by taking over the deed. In some state you may be classified as a Foreclosure Rescuer, which opens you up to litigation. Always know the laws and regulations in your state before dealing with homeowners facing foreclosure.)

2. Calling the Lender(s)

There are some things to know first before calling the lender when you're doing short sales. Lenders can usually tell if you're a rookie and you've never done this before. When you call the lender never tell them you are an investor or a foreclosure rescuer. This one of the worst mistakes rookies make and will almost always result in the lender not dealing with you on short sales. For a list of many of the loss mitigation departments go to

http://internetrealestatecenter.com/81_lender_mitigation_phone_numbers.php - it may save you some time trying to find the Banks contact numbers.

So when you call the lender the first thing to do is to request a short sales packet. You can either tell them you are the buyer or you represent the homeowner. On occasion they may ask if you are a real estate attorney (don't say yes unless you really are one). Just retell them what you told them before. You will want to request a "short sales packet" or "workout packet." When you receive packet it will explain exactly what you need to do to make this short sale a successful deal. (Good luck if you end up dealing with Bank Of America or Countrywide - they're a bunch of $#$^^ and are extremely difficult to deal with. Their mission in life is to screw the homeowner.)

3. Hardship Letters

The lender will almost always request a hardship letter that explains to the lender why the homeowners are not making their mortgage payments. Sometimes they will request bank statement, pay stubs, income statements, a list of monthly expenses, etc. You must send them everything they ask for because if you don't it will not be accepted. They will also ask for a HUD-1 (settlement statement) and a real estate purchase and sales agreement so they can see how much money they will have to settle for. Do not waste any time so send everything the lender asks for ASAP. It usually takes two to three weeks or more to get an answer back from the lender so be patient. If the foreclosure auction is coming up you can ask for them to extend the auction which, in most cases, they will if they know it is a legitimate offer.

4. Brokers Price Opinion

Another step in the short sales process is the BPO (Brokers Price Opinion). This is when a real estate agent will visit the property and give their opinion on what the house is worth. The BPO is critical. You want to try everything you can to influence the BPO to come in as low as you can - the lower the better. Make sure you point out everything wrong with the property to the BPO agent. It takes a few times to get good at this but, once you do, I believe you will try to get short sales on every potential real estate foreclosure you encounter.

FINAL NOTE: Remember to check the laws in your state. Also remember you can really help people in distressed situations by helping them get rid of their properties. Be Cool, Be Honest, Be Ethical, and Be Respectful!!!!!

To Your Success!!
Mark

Real Estate Bird Dogging - Earn Money as a Property Locator

Rags2Riches - Your Home Business Success System

I receive a lot of questions from real estate birddogs about properties that require repairs that are so extensive that they cannot estimate the repairs neeed. This is a common problem that we can all face no matter how experienced at real estate investing we may be.

As a real estate bird dog you want to either refer to the property to an investor right away, let the investor get control of the property, and then you can get paid a referral fee. This is a NO risk approach for you.

If you are a more advanced bird dog and want to make more money, then you want to get control of the property so you can get paid more. Read the following Q and A so you know how to avoid risk.

Question:

I have found a single family property that I would like to make an offer on.
However, this is a property which needs so much work that it is over
my head as to what it would cost to put it into retail condition. It
may even be a tear down. I can't make an intelligent offer whithout
knowing the costs. What would be your advice in this situation.
Thanks in advance
RP

Answer:

Hello RP,

I would get the propertyu under contract and give your self some extra time for the inspection contingency and get 2-3 bids from contractors to fix
'everything'.

Another option is to schedule a meeting at the property
and bring the contractor to provide a bid. Then decide to put it
under contract or not. Either works depending on how worried you are
about leaving it open or locking it up right away.

An inspection continency doesn't always give sellers or their agents
a warm fuzzy feeling, though, because they (rightly) believe they
might be nickel and dimed to an unacceptable price level. You may
want to consider a feasibility or due diligence contingency instead.

To Our Success,
Mark

P.S. YOU *MUST* HAVE MULTIPLE STREAMS OF INCOME TO SURVIVE!
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Real estate birddogs need to be careful about the promises made to distressed homeowners. If your property locating campaigns target homeowners facing foreclosure you should never, ever say that you will be able to help them avoid foreclosure. You can say you will try to help them, but you can never be certain that you actually will be able to. Don't make promises that you are not 110% sure you can keep.

Also, you should know by now that "Foreclosure Rescue" and charging distressed homeowners any associated up-front fees are taboo in many states (at least Washington where I live).

"Foreclosure Rescue Fraud - Recent foreclosure rescue actions"

March 25, 2009

By PATRICK CROWLEY of www.MortgageDaily.com

A cottage industry has sprung up involving companies that promise to help delinquent borrowers avoid foreclosure, then collect big upfront fees and perform no services -- leading to a foreclosure anyway. But federal and state law enforcement officials are cracking down with criminal charges, convictions and lawsuits.

In one far-reaching case, the Federal Trade Commission said last month that it charged National Foreclosure Relief Inc. and its operators -- David Ealy, Chele Stone and Hugo Tapia -- with falsely claiming to either stop foreclosure or provide a full refund. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has frozen the assets of, and issued a temporary restraining order against, the foreclosure rescue firm.

National Foreclosure allegedly used direct mail ads to promote its "Fresh Start Program," which offered negotiations with lenders for upfront fees ranging from $300 to more than $11,000, the FTC said. But once borrowers paid the money, they never heard from the company again. When they called in and finally reached a representative, they were falsely told that "negotiations are proceeding."

In Las Vegas, Jack Ferm -- who hosted the talk radio show Straight Talk -- has been arrested on two counts of felony theft and related charges in connection with the operation of U.S. Justice Foundation. Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto described the company in a March 11 statement as a "mortgage rescue scam."

Ferm allegedly charged up to $2,500 for his services but did little or nothing to help modify clients' loans.

California Attorney General Edmund Brown announced last week the arrests of Mary Alice Yraceburu and Marianne Curtis, who are accused of "coldy and heartlessly" conning more than 160 victims out of thousands of dollars in a foreclosure scam. The state filed 49 felony charges in Orange County Superior Court against the two "scam artists" who operated Foreclosure Freedom.

Brown said the two, who face more than 20 years in prison, took thousands of dollars in fees but failed to deliver loan modification services.

"Victims were assured the company had private lenders and specialists exclusive to their company who are very experienced in the options and methods used to renegotiate home loans, yet neither of the women who operated the company had real estate licenses, legal training, or any experience in the home mortgage market," Brown said.

Brown also recently announced guilty pleas by, and the sentencings of, three people who operated out First Gov of San Bernardino. Sentenced for grand theft were Rosa Conrado and Alejandrina Maldonado. Both received prison sentences. Martin Jesus Flores was given probation based on his limited participation in the scheme.

David Giron and Saul Amador have been charged with theft, money laundering and conspiracy, according to the state. Three other members of the ring -- Juan Jose Perez, Isuara Hernandez and Antonia Gonzalez -- are believed to have fled the country, according to Brown.

Brown said that the ring members promised victims they would renegotiate their mortgages and reduce monthly payments. They demanded an up-front fee, ranging from $1,500 to $5,000, to participate in the loan-modification program.

Victims were told to stop making mortgage payments and communicating with their lenders to avoid interfering with the loan modification process, Brown said. After collecting their fees, ring members pocketed the money and did nothing to help the victims.

In Florida, Attorney General Bill McCollum announced last month that his office filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court and obtained a temporary court order preventing FMA Servicing from charging up-front fees to modify loans. Orlando-based FMA, which does business as Financial Management Advisors, allegedly charges an up-front fee as high as $2,500 to borrowers seeking loan modification services.

"The company subsequently refused to change its business practices even after receiving notification of the Foreclosure Fraud Rescue Prevention Act which took effect on Oct. 1, 2008," McCollum said.

McCollum also field a suit against Lincoln Lending Services LLC, which allegedly targeted Hispanics in a "foreclosure rescue fraud" scheme, a statement Monday said. The Miami company charged up-front fees, a violation of state law.

To get around the law, Lincoln charged customers $2,700 for "forensic analysis" services, then signed a contract for promised modification services. The fee was allegedly created to "circumvent" a new state law that McCollum helped create last year.

McCollum wants a court to prevent Lincoln from doing business while the case is litigated.

New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram filed two lawsuits that accused Hope Now Financial Services of Cherry Hill and New Hope Modifications of Bellmawr of running fraudulent loan renegotiation scams, a press release earlier this month said. Both companies allegedly sold loan modification services without delivering to customers as well as created the false impression of being affiliated with Hope Now Alliance.

New Hope Financial allegedly stole $29,000 from 23 customers. New Hope is accused of taking more than $98,000 from 80 victims.

The Federal Reserve Board issued a March 5 statement {on FederalReserve.gov} warning borrowers to avoid foreclosure rescue firms that charge upfront fees or only accept payments by cashier's check or wire transfer. The fed said housing counselors and other resources are available at no- or low-cost to assist homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development publishes an online list of legitimate certified counselors it endorses.

FTC v. New Hope Property LLC, et al.
Case No. 1:09-cv-01203-JBS-JS, FTC File Nos. 092-3068 (D.N.J.)

FTC v. Hope Now Modifications LLC, et al.
Case No. 1:09-cv-01204-JBS-JS, TFC File No. 092-3079, (D.N.J.)"

****

So if you are birddogging for real estate foreclosures - be careful, be ethical, be honest and obey the law. As a real estate birddog you have the opportunity to help homeowners facing foreclosure and at the same time make a profit.

To Our Success,
Mark

P.S. YOU *MUST* HAVE MULTIPLE STREAMS OF INCOME TO SURVIVE!
The new approach to home business that is revolutionizing the industry - GensPlan Success Systems

Amazing, I have heard a lot of the sad stories over the years ranging from Real Estate investors not being able to find sellers or buyers, to those who have spent a fortune on Real Estate Education. It seems to point to one of my biggest concerns for beginning real estate investors which seems to be that the only people making money in the Real Estate industry are the sales people (better known as Gurus).

Many a real estate investor (from beginner to advanced) falls prey to the real estate gurus constantly pounding you to get more training so they can sell you their latest piece of garbage "Make a Million in 30 Days" course. Many people spend so much time on all these courses that they have no money left for marketing or time left to put into their own business.

People please wake up and smell the coffee !!

Real Estate was, has been, and will always be the soundest way to long term wealth, but if you're looking to make Real Estate a temporary source of income - in other words WHOLESALING - you are in for the most souring and sobering experience in recent times !!!!

Forget what the media is saying, and look at what is happening. Wholesale buyers are no longer getting Real Estate loans like they used to so they are NOT BUYING wholesale deals like they used to (and would love to) So wholesalers are signing contracts left and right and no one is buying them !!!!

Rehabbers are flooded with inventory because retail buyers cant get financing to buy a home therefore, they are not looking for another wholesale deal, therefore - again, the wholesaler has no one interested in his/her latest wholesale deal !!!!

Dont let these self-professed real estate investing gurus fool you with the "quick cash" from wholesaling hype and fluff,its another sales pitch! I have lost quite a few thousand dollars wasting money on all these garbage courses and have been taken to the cleaners by one completely dishonest mentoring program (from some guy that writes about buying real estate with nothing down).

I get asked on a regular basis by new real estate investors, and real estate bird dogs looking for deals, if investing in HUD (Housing and Urban Development) repossessed homes is a good strategy. I will be review in this posting what my opinion is and what I tell them%u2026.

Most HUD owned homes are in my opinion priced too high. There seems to be a high demand for HUD homes because investors think they are getting a good deal. The increased demand drives up the price. New investors often buy based on emotion instead of logic because they "just want to get their first deal" and as a result will pay too much for the property. If you pay too much for a property, you will lose your rear-end on the deal. That's why it important to not overpay for a property because you make your money on a real estate deal when you buy, not the day you sell.

This is one huge reason why it's so important to have the right real estate investing training. You need to know how to spot the good deals from the bad and not overpay for a property. Your first deal can ruin you financially if you don't structure it the right way. I see quite often in my local real estate investment association. The folks that don't take the time to invest in their education are soon out of business because they try and figure it out on their own and fail.

Short Sales are a one of the best ways to guarantee that you won't overpay for properties, if you have the patience. Remember that a Short Sale is when the lender accepts less than what is owed on a mortgage on the home mortgage, so you can buy the home at a discount.

Short Sales are easy to get because it doesn't require you to do a lot of negotiating with the seller because they know they don't have any equity and they're just looking for a way out. You are their answer! I love working with short sale sellers because they are the most motivated sellers out there.

Special Note: If dealing in short sales make sure you are dealing in an honest and ethical manner. Also, check your local and state laws as many states have laws regarding short sales and dealing with distressed homeowners. And treat your distressed homeowners with respect.

Short Sales are the most profitable quick turn deals to do in residential real estate because you are making all of your profit on the discount that is negotiated with the lender(s).

One of the biggest benefits of the short sale business is that it works even better on high priced Homes. The banks are more flexible and more willing to negotiate on larger mortgages. Banks don't want to take houses back and they definitely don't want to take back Luxury homes.

It takes the same amount of work to do a deal on a luxury home than it does to do a starter home. The difference is A Luxury home pays 10 times as much profit. Its like doing 10 deals in one and when you combine the short sale strategy with luxury homes, you've got the golden ticket.

The fact is that Banks are in the money business. They are not in the Real Estate business. They don't want to own any properties. Their only interest is making interest on their money. Foreclosing on homes is a nusiance they have to deal with because it's a cost of doing business for them. The sooner you understand this the sooner you will realize how huge this opportunity is for you right now.

When banks lend out money - they have to keep a multiple of 5 times the amount of money they lend out in reserves. When a loan goes bad, it becomes a non-performing asset on their books and that limits the amount of money they can lend out.

It costs a bank a minimum of $30,000 to foreclose on a home. They would rather take a discount on the mortgage and get that bad debt off their books so they can lend out more money. (Unless you are the Bank of America, aka Bank of Evil. They would rather see a home go through to foreclosure because they like screwing people and ruining their lives.)

A short sale is often the best solution for lenders. Banks need help in getting rid of unwanted properties so they can get rid of their bad debt. You are doing them a great service (except for the Bank of Evil).

To Our Success,
Mark

P.S. Visit my Bird Dog Profits Blog - For Real Estate Investing for more articles.

P.P.S. YOU *MUST* HAVE MULTIPLE STREAMS OF INCOME TO SURVIVE!
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