ARMLS Radio 1510 KFNN - Listen to "Real Estate from A to Z" this Saturday, March 28, at 9:00am

Topics will include:

• The NEW MLS Rules and Regulations coming May1
• TECHNOPALOOZA - a tech fair for ARMLS Subscribers on April 22
• Housing Statistics - When will the Valley recover?
• Short Sales - How do I handle the commission?

If you miss the program live on Saturday, a podcast replay will be available on the official Website,

http://refromatoz.com/

Treasury to buy up to $1 trillion in toxic assets

I believe we may just have a program that will indeed help infuse the Housing market and in turn start the economic recovery we know is ahead of us. I was left with renewed enthusiasm regarding this program as it involves Government, Banking and the Private Sector partnership, with each group becoming a Stakeholder in the “Toxic Asset” pool, to ensure it creates a true sense of partnership, with each group taking ownership and stakeholdership in the solution. The process is listed below, look forward to our thoughts…Steve de Laveaga, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Fidelity National Title

Treasury to buy up to $1 trillion in toxic assets

Under the plan, the government and private investors will invest together to buy up between $500 billion and $1 trillion worth of real estate-related loans and securities from banks in hopes banks will resume lending money once the toxic assets are off their books.

(3/23/2009)

The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday detailed a plan designed to help investors purchase as much as $1 trillion in toxic assets that remain on bank balance sheets. The Treasury Department said it would use $75 billion to $100 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program funds and capital from private investors. The government said the Public-Private Investment Program will generate the $500 billion and the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will provide the financing for the deals. Under the plan, the government and private investors will invest together to buy up between $500 billion and $1 trillion worth of real estate-related loans and securities from banks. The hope is that instead of hoarding cash in case those assets continue to lose value, the banks instead will be able to resume lending money once the toxic assets are off their books. The government and private investors, meanwhile, will hold the assets for the long term, and stand to either make or lose money depending on how the economy does. "The goal of this program is to restart the market for legacy securities, allowing banks and other financial institutions to free up capital and stimulate the extension of new credit," the Treasury said in a news release. Treasury said the plan was designed "to make the most of taxpayer resources." Many experts say that the government should set up a "bad bank" and purchase the toxic securities alone. “This approach is superior to the alternatives of either hoping for banks to gradually work these assets off their books or of the government purchasing the assets directly,” according to a statement from the Treasury. Under the Treasury plan, private-sector participants will compete to establish a price. Treasury said that it expected a "broad array" of investors to participate in the program, including insurance firms. How the plan would work: Step 1: If a bank has a pool of residential mortgages with $100 face value that it is seeking to divest, the bank would approach the FDIC. Step 2: The FDIC would determine, according to the above process, that they would be willing to leverage the pool at a 6-to-1 debt-to-equity ratio. Step 3: The pool would then be auctioned by the FDIC, with several private sector bidders submitting bids. The highest bid from the private sector — in this example, $84 — would be the winner and would form a Public-Private Investment Fund to purchase the pool of mortgages. Step 4: Of this $84 purchase price, the FDIC would provide guarantees for $72 of financing, leaving $12 of equity. Step 5: The Treasury would then provide 50 percent of the equity funding required on a side-by-side basis with the investor. In this example, Treasury would invest approximately $6, with the private investor contributing $6. Step 6: The private investor would then manage the servicing of the asset pool and the timing of its disposition on an ongoing basis — using asset managers approved and subject to oversight by the FDIC.

From Title Report March 2009.

Traditional Real Estate Is Not Enough

If you are an experienced agent that has been in the market for 5+ years, you know that it is essential to constantly reinvent yourself and adjust with the changing times. For example, high end, luxury properties are almost non-existent and loan programs are not available to support them. Instead, the luxury home market has been replaced with the Short Sale and REO market. The Short Sale and REO market IS the here and now and its only going to grow. If you don’t have a branch of your business with these types of listings ACT FAST!

For Short Sales, get systems in place. Know your market and treat the transaction with compassion. Remember, there is always a family involved and with a Short Sales and/or REO deal a lot of compassion is needed. To put the right marketing in place and to get started, click here or call your Fidelity National Title Sales Representative and ask them about the tools that will help you with marketing and closing Short Sale properties.

In order to add REO's to your portfolio of properties, reach out to asset managers at large REO companies. Be prepared with a detailed and robust resume that isn’t limited to, but should include a copy of your E&O insurance, dept of RE license and list of your partners. The asset managers want to know that you have a turnkey solution to moving their assets. Also, go in knowing you will need to bankroll about $3K per property for a period of time. You will get all of this reimbursed but you will need to front the money ahead of time for repairs, changed locks, maintenance etc.

All of this may be overwhelming…. Don’t go at it alone. We at Fidelity National Title are experts in the Real Estate Industry and can help you succeed. Please don’t’ hesitate to ask.



Melissa Shapiro
Director of Business Development
Fidelity National Title
60 E. Rio Salado Parkway
11th Floor
Tempe, AZ 85281
melissa.shapiro@fnf.com
480-688-7617

Price Alone Will Not Sell Your REO Property.

Think Marketing, Marketing, Marketing! Pice alone will not sell your REO Property. Unfortunately, this is the approach too many agents in today's market have taken on selling an REO property.

It is important to treat your REO listing as a "normal" listing. What would you do as an agent, marketing a traditional listing? We have a few recommendations to get you started on your way to marketing an REO property.

First, get a Direct Listing URL website for the property. The cost is $19 for one year of the listing. For more information on this product go to THE REALTOR ZONE.

Secondly, sign-up with a property profile program. This type of program should be used by every single agent whis doing BPOs. This type of program will also help you to get accurate home prices, as in, not too low and not too high, but accurate.

If you have any additional questions on how to market, sell or learn more about working with REO Properties, please send an email to info-fntarizona@fnf.com


Article By:
Melissa Shapiro
Director of Business Development
Fidelity National Title
www.fntarizona.com
Melissa.Shapiro@fnf.com

Today’s Market: Causes, Culprits and Current Opportunities Walter Charnoff – CEO, InvestorLoft.com

Stock market volatility. Credit market collapse. Tightened lending criteria. Everything in the investment world today smacks of the 2000 dot com-induced market downturn. We really were here eight years ago when investors snapped-up stocks on the rise without regard to the actual value of the assets. Companies with massive market caps flew off brokerage shelves with no regard for annual earnings or P/E ratios. In the textbook sense, we all should have run screaming. Instead, we ran to our broker’s office with every liquid asset we had.

Now, we’re all having the inevitable sense of deja-vu – only this time, it’s with our real estate portfolios. Events leading up to our current predicament sound a lot like dot-com/dot-gone. Let’s look at culprits that got us where we are today.

In the recent market heat, solid buy-and-hold and cash flow principals burned up in the flames. Speculative investors came in and began driving-up prices through flipping practices without substantiating value. The result: artificially high property prices that were unsustainable.

To compound the problem, unscrupulous and predatory lending practices led to loose underwriting, light to no down payment requirements and unsuitable use of various lending strategies. Seduced homeowners used investor-targeted loans like option-ARMs to purchase homes outside their price range with little or no money down. Therefore, less experienced, less financially prepared and lesser-qualified buyers were able to purchase overpriced real estate as an “investment” with the hopes of riding the speculative market tide.

A side effect of the loose credit markets were a higher number of would-be renters becoming homeowners, increasing vacancy rates since the American Dream was more accessible than ever.

When this doomed system imploded, investors and homeowners alike were left upside-down with real estate that reverted back to normal market value and loans adjusting upward. There was no re-fi or sale solution, creating the foreclosure tidal wave and the shipwrecked remains of the mortgage industry.

While this situation is unfortunate for those trapped in its grasp, the current market conditions create an ideal and unprecedented opportunity to enact a calculated buy-an- hold strategy.

Seems a bit like a nightmare when you look at these events from a 12,000 foot view, but we’re inviting you to have a look from 36,000 feet. Former A-paper buyers are now disqualified from mortgages due to a noose on the neck of the lending industry, creating a new and financially favorable pool of renters willing to pay above-market rate rents. Prices have adjusted downward and in some locales like Phoenix, over adjusted, creating favorable pricing scenarios. This means cash for savvy investors who can tap into current market conditions.

As Warren Buffett stated, the time is now to buy on discount. Get your slice of the pie for less than face-value. There truly are cash-flowing bargains to be had in today’s market. While low price doesn’t always equate to a good deal, we can give you some tools to help you avoid the perils of rash purchase decisions.

When you’re ready to evaluate your next buy-and-hold real estate purchase, here are five things for you to consider:

· P/E Ratio: What rent rate will the property’s market bear in relation to the purchase prices?

· Property Location: Is the market slated for retail/community improvements? What’s the demographic? What are current vacancy rates?

· Cash Flow: Does the property meet your cash flow requirements and if the market/mortgage rates decline, can you afford to cash flow negative? Register for free to try InvestorLoft’s PropScoutä search and FinancialDynamixä calculator

· Seller Motivation: Is the seller ready to sell – and NOW? To you have room for negotiation?

· Input from Your Real Estate Professional: From title searches to local market rental data, ask your trusted advisor how they can help you make the best decision possible.

Investors: the ball is back in your court with discounted properties and abundant inventory.

Real estate professionals: you’re primed more than ever to cultivate your buyer base and service investor buyers like never before.

About Walter Charnoff

Mr. Charnoff’s experience with both technology firms and the financial services industry led him to pursue a better model for helping both real estate professionals and investors alike succeed. As the founder of multiple innovative companies in these sectors from conception onward, he has consistently and successfully focused on creating objective-based solutions with appreciable ROI for customers.

Prior to co-founding InvestorLoft, Wally was the Co-Founder of Onit Solutions, LLC. A web development firm catering to the compliance-sensitive customer, they work with clients ranging from Fortune-Rated companies to well-funded startups. It was through the work at Onit that the seed for InvestorLoft took root, ultimately joining his expertise in the financial investment realm with his passion for web-based solutions. Onit remains a profitable entity and provides development support to the focused expansion of InvestorLoft.

Mr. Charnoff is not only an avid real estate investor but has held real estate and securities licensing in several states.

For more information on Investor Loft, go to www.investorloft.com