ForeclosureProfitTips.com

A business partner and colleague of mine sent me this article this morning. I found it to be extremely intriguing. I hope you enjoy. The following is the article in its entirety…credit given to Brent Hunsberger and The Oregonian.

Sales of hundreds of foreclosed homes in Oregon have been halted or withdrawn in recent weeks after federal judges repeatedly questioned their legality, according to a number of real estate attorneys in the state.

Lenders have withdrawn more than 300 foreclosure sales since February in Deschutes County alone, one of the Oregon area’s hardest hit by the housing collapse. About 130 of those notices were filed in the past week, attorneys say.

Dozens of foreclosure listings by ReconTrust Co., the foreclosure arm of Bank of America Corp., have disappeared from its website, attorneys say. A BofA spokeswoman said the bank was canceling certain sales to ensure that those homeowners had fully explored options to avoid foreclosure.

And, in a potential deal breaker for other foreclosure cases, one of the nation’s largest title-insurance companies is warning lenders that it might not guarantee title in some cases.

The developments underscore that the challenges disrupting foreclosures in other states have finally hit home in Oregon. Foreclosure sales in the state totaled 10,500 last year, or 28 percent of all home sales, according to RealtyTrac Inc. Federal agencies and state attorneys general are investigating the foreclosure and loan-modification practices of the nation’s largest banks.

The legal concerns revolve around Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc., a Reston, Va., corporation set up in the mid-1990s by the mortgage banking industry to rapidly record the ownership of mortgages so they could be packaged and sold as securities.

MERS essentially allowed lenders to sell loans without recording each transaction with county recorder offices, experts say. That rapid and sometimes reckless securitization of such loans contributed to the 2008 financial crisis and housing slump. The problems clouding the foreclosure process — including last year’s robo-signing scandal that forced several big banks to suspend foreclosures in about two dozen states — continue to drag down the housing market today.

Since October, federal judges in five separate Oregon cases have halted foreclosures involving MERS, saying its participation caused lenders to violate the state’s recording law. Three of those decisions came last month, the key one in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Eugene.

Attorneys say it’s not clear whether lenders in Oregon will simply start over or head to court to foreclose, steps that could prolong the crisis for months and drive up costs, attorneys say. Some suggest lenders might not have access to the documents they need to comply with state law.

“A lot of us are questioning whether there is a solution,” said David Ambrose, a Portland attorney who represents lenders in mortgage transactions. “It’s pretty amazing. There are a lot of unanswered questions.”

MERS is listed as an agent for lenders on more than 60 million U.S. home loans, about half of all such loans.

Homeowners nationwide have challenged its standing. In New York last month, a federal bankruptcy judge ruled that MERS lacked authority to foreclose on homes it didn’t own.

In Oregon, lenders can foreclose without going to court. But state law also requires that the loan’s ownership history, or assignments, be recorded with local county governments before proceeding with a nonjudicial foreclosure.

In the Eugene court case, Donald E. McCoy III filed for bankruptcy protection in part to block U.S. Bank from foreclosing on his Central Point home. He then sued the bank and MERS, along with his original lender BNC Mortgage Inc., claiming they had not properly recorded BNC’s subsequent sale of the loan to investors.

Chief Bankruptcy Judge Frank R. Alley III found McCoy’s allegation persuasive and refused to grant the bank’s request for a dismissal.

“Oregon law permits foreclosure without the benefit of judicial proceeding only when the interest of the beneficiary (lender) is clearly documented in a public record,” Alley wrote. “When the public record is lacking, the foreclosing beneficiary must prove its interest in a judicial proceeding.”

In response to that ruling, First American Financial Corp., one of the nation’s largest title insurers, began warning lenders and buyers in title documents that it wouldn’t insure titles with a cloudy public record in Oregon, company attorney Alan Brickley said.

“It’s simply saying we have a concern, and you should have a concern,” said Brickley, who’s based in Portland.

But attorneys representing lenders and consumers say that warning will have a chilling effect on the sales of foreclosed homes in which MERS is involved.

“If you can’t get title insurance, that almost stops the process,” Ambrose explained.

U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown last month blocked two foreclosure sales by CitiMortgage Inc. and BAC Home Loan Servicing, saying the lenders had failed to properly record documents.

Also last month, MERS told its member lenders in a memo distributed nationally to stop foreclosing in its name while it works to address the legal challenges.

“It’s a fundamental change that they have to deal with and the question is whether they can,” said Margaret E. Dailey, a real estate attorney in Newport.

The full impact of these developments is only now beginning to play out in Oregon. Not all foreclosures involve MERS.

Dailey on Friday counted more than 70 foreclosures rescinded at the Lincoln County recorder’s office since the start of the year, including 45 in February.

A review by The Oregonian of Deschutes County clerk’s office records shows that BofA’s ReconTrust withdrew more than 60 foreclosure sale notices Friday and 35 on Thursday.

BofA spokeswoman Jumana Bauwens said the cancellations resulted from a review late last year of its foreclosure process. The bank wants to ensure that homeowners nearing a foreclosure sale have exhausted other opportunities, including loan modifications and short sales, she said.

“We are not going through and saying rescind everything,” Bauwens said late Saturday.

Experts caution that the rulings eventually could be overturned. But buyers and lenders probably will look to the Oregon Legislature for a potential fix, attorneys say. Already, one bill has been introduced, Senate Bill 484, that would make it harder for banks to sell or foreclose on properties using MERS.

— Brent Hunsberger

I will definitely talk more about this and other such legislation in future posts. Always remember there is a way to profit regardless of what is going on. In the next few days I will let you in on what some of my Oregon colleagues are doing right NOW to make money…real MONEY.

I cannot begin to tell you the importance of investing local. This is not only true for beginners but can be extremely helpful for the seasoned investor as well. Let me explain…

The cost of buying local is always far less than buying outside your city, state or country. The reasons for this are obvious…you cannot easily see, touch and feel properties that are out of your own backyard. You must hop in a car, boat or plane to go see something that is out of your area.

The lure is always there for investors to want to jump ship from there local hood and go to where “the grass is greener”. This is most often a huge mistake.

I’m not saying that you cannot make money out of state or out of country. Many have, including me. But, regardless of where you reside, the easiest and safest place to invest will always be where you live.

If you will focus on one specific area in your city or state and make it your mission to know everything that there is to know about that particular area you will be astounded with how well you do over time.

Real Estate has been, and always will be, local. By staying close to home you can avoid not only the expense of traveling back and forth to other areas but you will also save yourself the ALWAYS un-fun expense of learning a new area the hard way.

You see every time that you enter a new market, regardless of your experience, there is going to be a learning curve. You will not know all of the different nuances that are associated with that particular area.

In your part of town, you know what people do for a living, why this neighborhood is better than that one and why, whether an area is up and coming or it is turning downward. You do not have to know anything about real estate and I am sure that you know this.

Starting in your own backyard is the surest way to improve your chances of success. Don’t make investing in real estate harder than it has to be. By staying local you can become the “expert” and this will reward you handsomely.

To Your Success…

Today I want to talk about the decisions that we all make when we are buying an investment property. We all make decisions when buying that are based on emotion.

Yes, we all have to eat, sleep, be clothed and have shelter but stick with me on this for a minute. Just about everything that you consume, buy, purchase or already own you got by making an emotional decision.

A friend of yours may have told you about this wonderful product, so you bought it. Or, you saw an add in a magazine, tv commercial, billboard, online or some other form of advertising. You see, you made that decision to buy based on how it made you feel.

If the advertisement made you feel bad you probably wouldn’t have bought it. If your friend said this is horrible you would steer clear of it. For the most part our buying decisions are made on emotion or impulse.

When you are buying an investment, any investment you need to train yourself to not get emotionally attached. You need to learn how and when to walk away… no matter what you have invested.

The best way to learn how to do this is on the front end. When buying a foreclosure or distressed investment property it is IMPERATIVE that you stick to the numbers. Nothing can get you into trouble faster than the thought of “I love this cute little house, I gotta have it.”

Remember, this property is for you to make money on. It does not matter whether you like it, what matters is what the numbers say.

I was speaking with one of my clients today and he was asking me this exact question. He wanted to know how it is that I cut through all of the clutter and decide on which property to buy.

My answer to him, and to you, is quite simple…pay attention to the numbers ONLY and everything else will fall into place. You will make money from day one…and that is what it is all about.

When I say numbers I am referring to what the property costs vs. what I can resell it for. Or, what the property costs vs. what I can rent it for and therefore what my cash on cash or internal rate of return is.

I am also referring to the numbers (if it is a fix/flip) of days on market, how many competing listings there are, if the neighborhood is selling/renting well.

All of these things are numbers. Remember the old adage…You make your money on the Buy, NOT on the Sale. I believe in this wholeheartedly and cannot recommend enough that you do your due diligence and spend your time on the front end…studying the numbers PRIOR to buying.

If you are willing to stick to the numbers your emotional buying decisions will be NO where to be found. This one small thing can make a HUGE difference in your income.

To Your Success and Nothing Less.

This site was developed with the sole intent of teaching, training and providing unique usable content on the subject of foreclosure investing.

My name is Andy Werner and I have been buying foreclosures for over 10 years. I have literally bought and sold thousands of properties. I do not say this to toot my own horn, but rather to demonstrate my experience.

I have enjoyed buying property low and selling it high. I have enjoyed buying property low and holding for rentals. I have enjoyed buying property low and “wholesaling” to other investors so that they could make a profit.

I have been an “in the trenches” investor for all of these 10+ years. I continue to buy and sell property on a daily basis. The information that I will be adding regularly to this site will not be based on what worked “yesterday”. Rather, it will be useful, relevant information that is working NOW!

Real Estate investing, like any other type of investing is constantly changing. What worked yesterday does not work today. What works today most likely will not work tomorrow. Its important when seeking information about buying and selling foreclosures, or any other type of distressed property, that the information that you are getting is from someone who is “in the trenches”. I cannot stress this enough…you need an experienced authority who not only has been there and done that but who is still DOING.

It is my sincere hope that you will come back to the site often. I LOVE investing in foreclosures. It has been my passion ever since I began doing it. I love taking something that is ugly and making it wonderful again. It is not only great for society and the community but it can be EXTREMELY lucrative for you too.

I want to teach you how to reap some of those profits for yourself. To your success, and nothing less…

Andy