Curing foreclosure woes

The government, aka Bush, has created an agreement to freeze interest rates. But, this option is only available for those with certain sub-prime mortgages and will only continue for five years. The reason for this is hopefully reduce the number of foreclosures coming in the near future. The number of foreclosures continues to rise dramatically.

Credit is no longer easy for borrower’s to obtain. In Pennsylvania one third of the number of mortgage banks have closed this year. In New Jersey the decline has been less but still it’s an impressive 22% decline.

This decline is just the icing on the cake – there is also a decline in employment related to the closings. Of course, the snow ball effect begins - less jobs, less spending, therefore less jobs and so on.

So, the governments plan will help but it definitely won’t cure the Foreclosure problems we are experiencing and will continue on into the foreseeable future.

Current Real Estate Market

Financing is becoming more of an effort these days. Lenders are scrutinizing all loans closely. All loans includes investor loans, as well as, homeowner loans. As an investor, I suggest you talk to your mortgage lender and test the waters.

Did you know that you can move some of your investments into an LLC which will remove them from your credit report? Since lenders penalize you for having more than ten properties, consider moving them into an LLC. You will find it easier to obtain financing.

In a time of declining values you must know if your investment is in an area considered declining values. You certainly would not want to purchase any property in these areas today. You can find a report – The House Price Index – at http://www.ofheo.gov

As normal, do your due diligence prior to investing in anything.