Last month we reviewed some case histories of fraud by so-called foreclosure rescue consultants and the lenders they hooked up with to fleece financially distressed homeowners out of money and property. (Please Read: Dirty Deeds Part 1 and Part 2 to better understand these problems).
Now we’ll take a look at the problems regulatory agencies have faced [...]
Author Archives: Alan Smith
Dirty Deeds: Abuses and Fraudulent Practices in the Home Equity Market Part 3 of 3 parts, Putting these Bandits Out of Business
February 1, 2006 – 4:08 pm
Bye, Bye Bubble
February 1, 2006 – 4:07 pm
As housing markets begin to correct from their overheated state across the country, we hope we’ve heard the last from the bubbleheads who have been predicting a price crash for months.
As we move into 2006, we’ll see prices continue to rise, but at a much slower pace. David Seiders, chief economist for the National Association [...]
More on Why Folks in Distress Need Our Help
January 1, 2006 – 2:18 pm
Editors Note: This is a follow-up column to Alexis McGee’s “Why Don’t Sellers in Default Just List Their House for Sale?” which discusses all the different solutions available to an Owner in Default.
Responsible and ethical foreclosure investing involves a lot more than simply negotiating a discounted purchase price for a distressed homeowner’s property. Before getting down [...]
Dirty Deeds: Abuses and Fraudulent Practices in the Home Equity Market Part 2 of 3 parts, Predatory Lenders
January 1, 2006 – 2:15 pm
Last month, we discussed how self proclaimed foreclosure “rescuers” use deception to fleece homeowners in distress out of their property. This month we’ll take a look at how the scammers team up with predatory lenders to put a homeowner in financial trouble in an even worse bind instead of helping them. (Please Read “Prohibit Predatory [...]
The View from the Top
December 1, 2005 – 2:33 pm
The bi-coastal housing markets are like a person standing on the North Pole. No matter which way he moves, he’s heading south. While the third quarter numbers for price appreciation remained strong in most metro areas, there are other harbingers that indicate the record run-up of recent years is ending.
For example, the National Association of [...]
Dirty Deeds: Abuses and Fraudulent Practices in the Home Equity Market Part 1 of 3 parts
December 1, 2005 – 2:29 pm
As we’ve often said, whenever money and property are involved, you’ll find sharks in the water. Some of the worst are those that purport to “rescue” distressed homeowners whose mortgages are in default, but actually are out to steal the homes. Or they strip the hapless homeowners of any equity or money they may have [...]
Bubble (or Just Froth) Update
November 1, 2005 – 2:46 pm
First of all, we don’t think the term “bubble” really fits the situation we see in U.S. housing markets today. That implies that an explosion (or implosion) is about to take place and that home prices will change radically almost overnight. As we mentioned last moth, that’s not what’s happening.Some of the bubbleheads keep referring [...]
Here Comes the Buyer’s Market!
October 1, 2005 – 2:56 pm
Editors Note: In this month’s Marketing Mania column “What’s the Best Way to Find Deals in Your Market? Part 2 of 3: The Changing Real Estate Market Buying System”, we discuss the changes happening right now in many real estate markets throughout the country, and how those change will affect you the Foreclosure Investor. Please make sure [...]
Your Market Maybe a Changing…
September 1, 2005 – 3:04 pm
Editors Note: In this month’s Marketing Mania column by Alexis “What’s the Best Way to Find Deals in Your Market? Part 1 of 3: The Hot Real Estate Market Buying System”, we discussed which foreclosure buying system you should apply based on the real estate market you are in. The media has been proclaiming that the [...]
Opportunity is Knocking at Your Door
August 1, 2005 – 3:16 pm
We’ve commented in recent months about how the drive of new homebuyers to acquire their first home, and existing owners to move up to larger homes, has reached almost manic proportions. Who or what started all this almost a decade ago isn’t clear, but in recent years we’ve seen that mania spread to mortgage lenders as [...]
