Real Estate Investing: Happy Thanksgiving !

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love this Holiday and whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not
I wanted you know that I am grateful for you, for your
friendship, loyalty and business.
Whatever your tradition, whatever favorite foods you enjoy,
whomever you spend the day with--I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving,
with plenty of time for reflecting, sharing with others, and
enjoying the day.

Truly, you are the best!

Be well.

James Gage

Breaking Real Estate News: Foreclosures

Hello All:

James Gage here with breaking real estate investing news; it seems Florida has put foreclosures on the fast track!According to CNN, Duval County (which is Jacksonville) has hired retired Judges to push foreclosures along at record speed. It seems Duval County along with others state wide are getting rid of the foreclosure backlog by having these hired Judges rule on Foreclosures from filing to sale at an average of 2 minutes per case! The average Judge will hear and render a decision on a whopping 35 or more cases a day.

Sounds to me like there will be a lot of challenges going on at the Florida Supreme Court level to these retired Judges verdicts. Is it me or does anyone else think that the bank and or mortgage companies have something to do with this process? I understand the frustration on both sides of the coin, but I was always taught if you are going to do something make sure you do it right the first time, and it seems to me that 2 minute hearings don't fit the bill.

As for us real estate investors, this means it's time to brush up on our REO strategies.

Until next time be well and to your success.

James Gage

PS: For more great tips and strategies click here to join our FREE Newsletter.

Breaking Real Estate News: Foreclosures

Hello All:

According to CNBC on Friday, another banking giant has placed a hold on foreclosures in 23 states! Who is that giant? JP Morgan! As in the other banking institutions, this does not mean they will not do any short sales, rather they will be very selective and turn around times might be a little longer then normal. This is where your negotiating skills come in - you have to be at the top of your game with every submission.

To learn how you can take your negotiating skills and turn them into seed money for your real estate transactions please visit: www.NegotiatingForALiving.com

Be well and happy investing.

James Gage
www.JGage.com

Breaking Real Estate News: Condo Sales

Breaking Real Estate News: Condo sales down 23% from last year, according to CNBC ! Don't be troubled though; there are always opportunities in every market - you just need to know where to look ! Where do you look?

For more up to the minute real estate investing news, sign up for our Free Newsletter by Clicking Here

Be well.

James Gage

Breaking Real Estate News

Hello All:

James Gage here with Breaking Real Estate News….

Home Owners who have their homes up for sale decreased their asking prices by 25 % in the month of July 2010 according to CNBC ! What does that say about our housing market??? As I have been saying for the last year, we haven’t hit bottom yet and we should price and buy our properties accordingly.

Be well and to your success.

James Gage, www.JGage.com

Real Estate Investing: Real Estate Reminder

Hello All:

Just a quick reminder for those who are trying to sell a property. The first time home buyers credit of $8,000 will end this month! So that being said all contracts must be executed by April 30, 2010, and closing must happen prior to July1, 2010.

Also, the $6,500 Move-Up / Repeat Home Buyer Tax Credit will expire on April 30, 2010 as well.

Good luck and happy investing.

James Gage

Breaking Real Estate News: Foreclosures

Hello All:

I have some breaking news for you on the real estate investing front! Foreclosures for the first quarter of 2010 are up 19% according to CNBC!

You maybe asking yourself how can this be, when the stock market is rallying and breaking the 11,000 mark. Well, it’s simple! Most of the money coming in to the stock market is foreign money, looking to make a quick buck on this temporary stock market rally. Remember, also today we were told that unemployment unexpectedly increased – yeah right.

So what does that mean to you the investor? It means the 3rd wave of foreclosures I have been predicting is starting to come to pass. As always, in any cycle, there is opportunity to be found, if you just look. There will be more short sale, assignment and lease option opportunities for all of us to make a boat load of cash; if you know what you’re doing….

To learn how to benefit from this cycle, click here and sign up for my Free Newsletter.

Until next time, may all your deals be profitable.

James Gage

Real Estate Investing: Lease Option, Rent to Own

Hello All:

Hope this post finds you and yours in good health. Many have asked me when I have a discounted item from my real estate investing series available to let them know...

Rumor has it my Lease Option, Rent to Own Program which retails for $495.00 is on EBay for $197.00!!! Click Here to be brought to the EBay link to find out more information.

Be well.

James Gage

Real Estate Investing: Question of The Month

I just received this question in my e-mail box, so I thought I would share the question an answer with you.

James,

I’m sure you get this question a lot, but is now a good time to purchase a home?

Bob Gomez, Spokane, WA

This is what I responded back…

Hi Bob:

Thanks for the e-mail. Wow! That’s a loaded question, but I will answer it best I can.

First, only you and only you know what you can financially tolerate for a mortgage payment; but I must stress that according to my budget criteria I teach people, only a maximum of 35 % of your income should be set aside for housing! If you can not find anything that falls within those parameters, I would suggest that you consider purchasing a duplex or multi-family and live in one of the units while getting your mortgage paid for you (you will be essential living for free) and receive all the tax deductions, while saving money towards a larger down payment – which will lower your mortgage payment.

Secondly, if you are going to pull the trigger and purchase a home, I suggest you plan on staying in it for at least the next 10 years! Hopefully, that will be enough time for the housing market to give you a big chunk of equity.

Finally, there are a lot of great deals out there for individuals wanting to become homeowners – not investment property; at least not at this point in time. Let me qualify my last statement. There is always an exception to every rule, but great investment property deals are few and far in between without using leveraged investing techniques such as lease options and assignments.

I believe in the near future there will be opportunities for those of us that have cash to get great deals after the 3rd wave of foreclosures makes an appearance.

I hope this helps Bob.

Be well.

James Gage

For more great tips and strategies Click Here

Breaking Real Estate News: Governement to Stop Foreclosures?

Hello All:

Get this, President Obama is thinking of stopping all foreclosures (except for investors of course)! What will happen is a government organization will tell the banks and mortgage companies when and if they can foreclose!!!! Does this make sense? Not only will this give the government another slice of power over the free market system, but it will cripple the housing market. The bigger question is who will pay for this? Banks and mortgage companies will close in record numbers; they will not be able to balance non performing properties.

So what is the answer? Unfortunately, we have to allow the market to correct itself! That means foreclosing on those who can not benefit from loan modifications, and assisting them into the rental market.

This is precisely why I strongly suggest that investors use leveraged invest techniques with little to no risk such as "Assignments Made Easy" Click Here for more information.

Until next time - be well.

James Gage

Breaking Real Estate News: Housing Data

James Gage here, with some breaking real estate news:

December Housing Data- Standard & Poors

According to Standard and Poors: “U.S. home prices
unexpectedly slipped in December but the annual rate
of decline slowed, reinforcing the housing market's rocky
road to recovery, Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller indexes
showed on Tuesday.”

Ok, you maybe asking yourself why does that matter?
It’s February and not December, so who cares! This is
a quarterly snap shot, rather then the monthly report’s
we are use to seeing in the news. This information gives
us glimpses of what to expect in the coming quarters, so
we can adjust our investing methods appropriately and get
an advantage over our competition.

The data did indicate that housing prices actually
Increased slightly in housing markets such as Boston.
Austin, San Francisco, while declines continued in
Florida, Las Vegas and Michigan – just to name a few.

That being said, my investing plan remains the same for
now; I have no plans to change my investing plan, which
concentrates on:

 Lease Options
 Short Sales (Kibbles and Bits)
 Probates ( Find and Assign)
 Assignments

Speaking of Assignments, don't forget that my DVD & CD
Presentation on "Assignments Made Easy" 50% off offer ends
tomorrow night at midnight and will return to its normal price of
$37.00.
If you are interested in purchasing this package, plus the
bonus guide @ $18.50 then follow the link below for more information,
and if you decide to purchase it enter promo code: 999.

http://snipurl.com/ugk22

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I hope this information has been of use to you and your real estate
investing business plan.

To your success,

James A. Gage
www.JGage.com

Real Estate Investing: Assignments Made Easy

James Gage here with Gage Consulting Group hoping that
this blog post finds you and yours in good health.

How would You like to make 3,000 – 7,000 thousand dollars
per real estate transaction, even in a down market, without
owning or financing the property? Well if you said Yes, then
continue reading below...

If you're head is still spinning from the recent changes
and trends in the real estate investing marketplace, and
you're wondering how the heck you can make any money in
this environment without a bag full of cash, then you
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Banks are even tougher these days with who they're lending
to and what they will finance and they're looking more and
more at your credit and how many years of experience that
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What if you have less than perfect credit, don't know how to
best present your deal to the bank, want to get commercial
financing, have no substantial cash to put into a deal as a
down payment, or are confused by the new FHA and Prime loan
requirements.

This is the exact process I use in one of my investing
modules for consistent cash flow on a monthly basis.


Before I let you go to read over my exactly what this
CD contains, many individuals have called me and ask
if I would put together a step-by- step DVD & CD on
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but it doesn't stop there!

Normally priced at less then a few trips to Starbucks
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After Feb 24th it will return to the normal price of
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You maybe asking, why am I doing this? Simple, I am
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To your success,

James A. Gage
www.JGage.com

With this DVD & CD which is jam packed full of information
you will never have to worry about getting or
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What you will learn with this powerful package :

On DVD 1 James, goes step by step on how to:
• Choose the appropriate document, for the right deal.
• Fill out each document correctly !
• Protect yourself from litigation in every deal!
• Protect the money you make on each deal, if the deal
doesn’t close!
• And much, much more…

On the CD of Forms, James provides all the contracts you will
need to do any deal, whether a straight transaction or Lease Option
assignment. Each document can be modified on your computer to suit
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And of course like all of James's products you will
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Real Estate Investing: Breaking Foreclosure News

Hello Everyone:

Finally some validation on what I have been saying over the past 4 months! If you remember, what I said was “get ready for a 3rd wave of foreclosures”. The increases in home sale prices were just “smoke and mirrors”!

This was just posted by Standard & Poor’s:

Heartened by the recent rise in home prices? Don't get too comfortable. Standard & Poor's, the credit-rating agency that tells investors what mortgage-backed securities are worth, reports that the increase was just an illusion. It predicts the nation is about to see a deluge of new foreclosures that will drive real estate values back down.

Blame the "shadow inventory" – nearly 1.8 million homes that are on the road to foreclosure but for all kinds of reasons haven't gotten there yet.

Now you might be asking yourself, since I predicted what was happening in the housing market – how did I use this information to profit as a real estate investor?
In my next post I will explain how…

James Gage

To profit from this type of information before it happens, why not sign up for my FREE Real Estate Newsletter by Clicking Here ?

Real Estate Investing: Lease Options

Hello All:

I was asked today what is option consideration in relation to a lease option? Option consideration is the money you collect from a tenant buyer, usually 2%-5% of the agreed upon sales price, which is held outside of escrow, to secure the property. Option consideration is non-refundable and used against the remaining balance owed at closing. Many times proof of option consideration can be used when the tenant buyer decides to exercise their option and make application for financing!

For more information on lease options Click Here .

Until next time.

James Gage

Short Sales: Pre-Foreclosure News

Hello All:

New federal guidelines that give lenders a 10-day limit in which to respond to purchase offers on short are in play! Sound to good to be true? Yep, it only applies to banks that have received TARP funds. Also keep in mind that if they do respond to the offer in the 10 day window, plan on a 60-90 day or longer closing date - you will still have to go through the whole process!

For more up to date real estate information as it happens go to www.JGage.com
and sign up for our Free Real Estate Investing Newsletter.

Until next time, be well.

James Gage

Breaking Real Estate News: More FHA Changes

Hello Again:

In my last post I informed you about down payment changes that are coming to the FHA program. I have now received the full changes, and when you thought it couldn't get any worse - think again: Here are the additional changes...

--> Raise the upfront premium from 1.75% to as much as 3%
--> Eliminate the ability to roll in to loans that don't charge up front premium
--> Increase monthly MIP from .55%
--> Reduce seller concessions from 6% to 3%
--> Raise minimum FICO score
--> Possible LTV maximums by FICO score
--> Increase accountability of FHA Lenders for fraud ( this is good!)

James Gage

Breaking Real Estate News: FHA Changes Guidelines.

Hello All:

I don't think the government can see past their own face! You would think with the housing inventory that's out there right know, that the last thing the government would do is make thinks harder for individuals to get FHA mortgages. But guess what? They have! As of Friday January 22, 2010, this is what they did in a nutshell...

-> To be able to make a down payment of just 3.5 percent on an FHA-insured loan, homebuyers would have to have a minimum FICO credit score of 580, rather than the current 500 FICO outlined in FHA guidelines. New borrowers with less than a 580 score would have to put down 10 percent on a home purchase.

Thanks Washington for making a tough environment even tougher.

James Gage

Foreclosure News

Hello All:

I just got off the phone with a real estate attorney friend of mine that confirmed what I have been telling you, my faithful readers for the past 3 months! What's that you say? That the 3rd wave of foreclosures has begun to raise its ugly head. He said he can't handle the amount of individuals coming to him seeking loan modification/foreclosure help on properties that have first and second mortgages on them (AKA Prime loans). Also, individuals with home equity loans that are in default are starting to become more numerous!
Most individuals have been living off their credit cards hoping to trend water until a turnaround in the economy; but most have run out of time. My attorney friend said the average credit card debt he is seeing is between $50K - $200K; that means we will also see an uptick in bankruptcies!

If this trend continues, which I don't see any evidence it won't, we will see commercial foreclosures sky rocket! Fasten your seatbelts; this is going to be a bumpy ride…
Remember, those who can recognize trends and patterns, and act on them quickly will always make money in any economy.
Until next time be well.
James Gage

Real Estate Investing: Don't forget to apply for your Abatement !

Hello All:

Don't forget to apply for your real estate abatement's before the end of the month! January is usually the month that cities and towns allow owner's of real estate to apply for a reduction/abatement of their real estate property taxes. On real estate have owned or presently own I apply every year. The procedure is simple, go or call your local tax assessors office and request an Abatement form, fill it out in detail and send it in. In about 30 - 60 days you will receive an answer on how much you were given off your tax bill.

The key to getting your request for abatement accepted is how good your reason for abatement is; you just can't say I want a reduction because...
Rather, you have to make an argument for them in order for acceptance, such as :

-> The value of your property has dropped dramatically
-> You purchased the property for less then assessed value
-> The property is not worth what the town or city has assessed
-> The property hasn't been physically assessed for greater then 3 years
-> Use category has changed or is no longer valid

and so on, you get my point.

You may also want to note that you recognize that the assessment is based on the previous year (they always are 1 year behind ), but your argument still holds true.

For more great tips and real estate strategies click here to sign up for our Free Newsletter.

Until next time -be well.

James Gage

Real Estate 2010

Hello All:

Well, here we are 2010! The past year was a great and profitable year for those of us who have taken our real estate investing and negotiating skills to the next level. In the coming year I will share with you, my faithful subscribers, some new strategies and tactics I'm currently using to bring in consistent cash flow in a down economy.

That being said, on behalf of myself and everyone here at Gage Consulting Group may the New Year bring you and yours many blessings and success in all your endeavors.

Happy New Year.

James A. Gage