Although some commentators in the media are extremely bullish about how strong the housing market is right now, there is no question that more deals are becoming available to investors.

Sellers are becoming increasingly stressed and motivated. Which means more cheap house deals.

Distressed Sellers

Between inflation, squatters, new property tax bills, higher interest rates, and a deteriorating employment market, owners are under a lot of pressure to sell. In many cases, they feel they need to not only beat creditors in selling fast, but to race against what may be a declining market in some parts of the country.

A surge in foreclosures and abandoned properties also means that local authorities once again need to get ahead of a potential zombie home crisis. In Baltimore, MD, this means that homes are being offered to buyers for as little as $1. A common strategy in times like these.

Contrast this with inflation at retailers. The Dollar Tree says they will now begin targeting prices at $7 an item. Along with some closing stores.

So, we have this interesting market dynamic where distressed sellers are selling cheaper, and yet on the other hand, retail end prices are going up. Those are ideal conditions for wholesalers.

Buyers Are Being More Selective

While real estate is an ideal and essential investment at this time, and buyers still have plenty of cash, they are being more selective.

Expect buyers to be a little more cautious, more selective in their acquisitions, and to conduct more due diligence.

Wholesalers should stay ahead of this, and keep their pipeline moving by providing as much upfront detail as possible.

Squash concerns and objections in advance with information on flood zones, rehab estimates, and realistic market data.

Not All Cheap Houses Are Good Deals

Whether a house costs $1 or $1M is really irrelevant in terms of it being a deal, or profitable.

Look at the margins and dollar potential for your end buyers, along with their perceived needed room for error.

It’s a great time to buy low, and sell low to serious investors who are still financially strong. Many of them have been sidling capital just for this moment. Show up, give them confidence in your inventory, and you can win some new high volume clients.

For the first time in years US credit scores are falling. Along with that there appears to be a tsunami of new squatting incidents across the country. Both are situations where real estate wholesalers can offer valuable help, and find more deals.

Declining Credit Scores

FICO’s latest report shows American credit scores have begun declining for the first time in a decade. Since right before the last financial crisis.

Consumers have tapped out savings, and have increasingly tapped out credit cards, which they’ve now been defaulting on at record dollar amounts. Along with auto loans. We are also seeing foreclosures surge as a result according to ATTOM Data.

When consumers max out their credit balances, their credit lines get cut, and their costs go up, like car insurance and interest rates on other debt. That’s an expensive snowball that just takes them down, and just keeps fueling their financial distress.

Squatting On The Rise

Every day it seems the news headlines feature a new squatting incident. Again, another issue that doesn’t appear to have been this wide spread for a decade.

Squatters are getting smarter, and they can be expensive to get out. It can take months. One homeowner even just went to jail for protesting in front of his own home that a squatter took over.

This is only likely to escalate as credit scores fall and foreclosures rise. More people will be left with no choice but to try and squat somewhere. Especially as homelessness is increasingly being criminalized across the US. As more homes go vacant through foreclosures and are abandoned, there will be more places for squatters to pick from.

 

Creating Solutions

Real estate wholesalers can help both homeowners and rental property owners as their credit begins to slide. Find signals of these credit and cash crunch issues, and make offers early in the default process, when there is more equity.

If they have squatters, you can hire a great lawyer, or find other creative and legal ways to convince them to leave. In the process you can create a lot of value between the time you go to contract to purchase, and then wholesale the property to another buyer. Those who begin specializing in buying squatter properties may find they strike gold in a growing niche.

The latest data shows foreclosures are surging again this year. So, where are the deals?

Real estate investors have been waiting for this dip for a long time. After hitting the worst housing affordability since the 1980s, better priced deals now appear to be becoming more plentiful as defaults pick up.

Foreclosure Activity Rises

According to the latest figures from ATTOM Data, foreclosures rose 8% year of year as of February 2024.

Last month over 32,000 housing units received foreclosure filings, auction notices, or were repossessed by banks.

Foreclosure activity rose the most in these states:

SC up 51%

MO up 50%

PA up 46%

TX up 7%

It’s A Trend, Not A Blip

Until the dynamics driving this activity are reversed substantially, it seems likely we’ll continue to see this trend grow.

Consider that the salary needed to afford a home has soared by 61% in just the past four years.

Inflation in food prices has spiked again in 2024. Along with insurance costs, property taxes, and other expenses. That is being fueled by high interest rates. With no expectations of the Fed cutting key rates this year. Mortgage rates recently topped 8%.

While there are still many cash rich home buyers and investors eagerly looking for deals, there are clearly millions of US households on the brink of foreclosure again.

Making Sense Of The Market

It is true that all real estate is local. At least to a certain extent. Some are leaders and others laggards in the overall cycle. Some are more noticeably and dramatically affected than others.

It is also true that many will let their own motivations and interests cause them to mislead consumers about the state of their local markets.

We are by no means in the heart of a new foreclosure crisis yet. Though it makes sense to do your own research. Track local listing and sales activity for yourself. Is there really too little inventory? Or perhaps too much? How many days are properties really on the market? How many listings are cutting prices? What is the difference between distressed sales prices and others?

What’s motivating sellers to sell their properties in this market?

Finding motivated sellers is critical for house flippers, real estate wholesalers, and acquirers of buy and hold income properties alike.

However, the latest data shows that mortgage borrowers of all types may be in a much stronger position than believed. At least for now. So, if they aren’t falling into foreclosure yet, what are some of the motivators that make for good sellers and deals in this market?

Mortgage Debt Performance Stays Strong

The latest round of data from banks reported by DistressedPro shows that mortgage lates and defaults have fallen across all sectors. Including residential, commercial, and farm loans. There are almost no REOs being held by banks.

Many thought there would be a lot more foreclosures and defaults by now.

Thanks to many locking in very low rate long term loans, there could be a stronger foundation in the market for this cycle. Which supports property values, and helps to avoid a new massive foreclosure crisis.

Buyers & Sellers Get Bearish

In spite of the above data, Fannie Mae has been one of the most bearish on the housing market. Predicting trouble in the real estate market could throw the entire economy into a new recession next year. Even though we just exited one.

Their recent survey shows just 16% of home buyers think that this is a good time to buy. With only around 40% of sellers thinking that this is a good time to sell.

How Do You Find The Motivated Sellers

Of course, just because it may not be as an attractive time to sell a home for regular homeowners as in the summer, that doesn’t mean people won’t have to sell.

Layoffs are surging, with few new jobs due to hiring freezes. Along with diminishing affordability due to inflation, and consumers defaulting on more credit card debt, auto loans, and business loans than any point in the past two years, many are in financial distress.

There are lead lists that can help identify these markers. Investors can also use SEO and content marketing to educate owners about their options and lead them to getting an offer.

Other real estate companies, businesses, and even the world’s largest banks have been selling off real estate assets to recoup capital to keep operating. Even at prices much lower than they were valued at a few months ago. Try direct marketing to them.

Falling home prices could be the most pressing motivator right now. In the past three months alone an estimated $1.3T in home equity has been lost due to declining prices. Any seller with some common sense, and educated on how much further prices can go down will see it is better to cut their losses now, than to wait and lose more.

Trying publishing more educational content around this. Whether it is on your blog, or via email or print newsletters.

 

What are the best deals for real estate wholesalers to be working now?

As the market continues to change and revolve, where can wholesalers find the deals? Where can the good deals be found? What moves might you not want to make?

Foreclosures

Foreclosures have been growing again. While the actual number of foreclosures is relatively small on a national basis, there are pockets of higher activity.

ATTOM Data says foreclosure filings rose almost 130% over the past year. Still, with only 25,000 or so filings in a given month they can be snapped up quickly by a hungry market.

However, there are cities and zip codes where 1 in every 300 to 400 housing units is receiving a foreclosure notice. Those are 2008 level numbers.

These areas include Cleveland, OH, Kissimmee, FL, and West Palm Beach.

Distressed & Motivated Sellers

Banks still seem to be holding very few REOs. They are being auctioned off first, or sold fast.

Wholesalers may find better deals, and less competition if they market directly to distressed and motivated sellers.

This may include leads on homeowners who have large amounts of consumer debt. Those who have fallen behind on credit card and car loan payments, or small business loans.

HOA Properties

Rampant inflation is everywhere. Recently property owners have been complaining that their condo or home owner associations have raised their dues by 300% to 400%. That means many won’t be able to afford to keep their units.

If you are in and out fast, and can flip them to more affluent buyers these could be great deals.

Commercial Real Estate

It’s no secret that the residential market is heated and hyper competitive. Switching to commercial properties could lead to less competition, and bigger paychecks.

Consider which properties are most in demand by end buyers, which types are being liquidated, and which will do well in a new crisis.

This can include self-storage, multifamily, and office buildings.

The Deals You Have Pre-Orders For

The smartest and most profitable way to wholesale is not to speculate, but to simply fill orders for your end buyers. This way you don’t get stuck with properties, and you can use transactional funding to finance your entire purchase price.

Find volume buyers who will stick with you through the changes.

Moves Not To Make

With the way the market is evolving some wholesalers have considered fixing and flipping, buying and holding, or getting into Airbnb properties. This can be a huge mistake. It means moving down the food chain to more labor intensive and higher risk deals.

You do not want to be stuck with properties that have peaked.

If you looked at who survived previous crises best, it seems to be those that stuck to wholesaling.

 

Foreclosures are rising. Is it enough to shift the market, or just fuel real estate wholesalers with more deals to do?

According to ATTOM Data foreclosure filings leapt almost 30% between January and February this year. With a year over year increase of almost 130%.

That sounds like a lot, but it still only means around 26,000 new foreclosure filings for the month. That is sadly many individuals and families that could be losing their homes. Though it certainly isn’t enough to satisfy current demand.

There may be far more foreclosures in the works when you add filings and defaults from each month. Though most are being snapped up as pre-foreclosures before they become REO, due to the high amounts of equity in the market. Of course, banks may also see taking back properties as being attractive and profitable.

More Foreclosures Are Coming

One reason for such a large percentage spike in foreclosure activity is that the legal process is just recovering from moratoriums and shut downs.

With around just 1 out of every 2,500 housing units receiving a foreclosure notice in Jacksonville and Orlando, FL in February, the market seems much healthier than in 2008. When it wasn’t uncommon to see the foreclosure rate 5-6 times as high.

However, there are a variety of factors which could produce even more foreclosures, and motivated seller deals in the near future.

Opendoor has estimated it is holding $6B in unsold properties. That follows Zillow’s failure, with around 7,000 properties to unload. That could be added to with the failure of other big iBuyers like Offerpad.

Then there is inflation, which is cramping consumer finances. Even aside from groceries and gas, there are large hikes happening in taxes and insurance. Many will see jumps in property tax bills. Some condo and townhome owners are seeing their HOA dues jump by 300% to 400%.

Seeing The Opportunities

With such great end demand for real estate, investors will find any more distressed and motivated seller inventory very attractive. With the potential for better value deals, and more volume.

This doesn’t just have to be residential either. Some of the biggest wholesale deals we’ve seen recently are office buildings. Retail and mixed use could be areas to explore as well.

The number of zombie foreclosures is surging in every state in the US according to the latest data. What does it mean for real estate investors?

Almost 8,000 zombie foreclosures are in process in the third quarter of 2020 according to ATTOM Data. Almost a quarter million properties were in the foreclosure process as of August.

These numbers may still seem small compared to 2008. Yet, there may be a lot more happening below the surface.

New Zombie Foreclosures

Zombie foreclosures are homes which have been abandoned by owners and borrowers. They’ve walked away, but the bank hasn’t foreclosed and relisted them yet. They are kind of in limbo. The owner gave up and left it vacant, but the bank isn’t selling it yet. This can lead to a lot of cosmetic issues from overgrown landscaping to vandalism. They can have a negative impact on the community and neighborhood, and cost cities and counties money to maintain.

What’s Coming Next

Unless the national economy pulls off a great turnaround in the next few months it is likely this metric will increase.

It is estimated that around 30% of US households aren’t able to make their monthly housing payments. While many are acting like it is business and shopping as usual, rumors are that there are a large number of auto loan repos happening, and credit card issuers like Capital One are reportedly slashing credit lines.

If things do play out like 2008, expect a huge number of foreclosures, even if governments and lenders carefully throttle how fast they hit the market.

There is a good chance that new businesses which are booming in the new normal and the next election will put the economy on a great trajectory. Though that may be a little too late for owners trying to make ends meet in the meantime, between loss of income in 2020 and new help coming in.

What It Means For Investors

The market may now seem hot and competitive in some places and for certain residential property types. Home sales and even prices just seem to keep marching up. This is the perfect market for real estate wholesalers to acquire distressed properties and sell fast for great margins.

Even if foreclosures do kick into high gear, it is good to remember that those who made it through the last crisis, and actually saw their incomes and wealth soar, were those who invested through it, wholesaling properties.

Don’t miss out on this once in a decade opportunity to rocket your finances for the better!

 

 

40 million renter households in the US could be headed for eviction in the next 40 days. While epically tragic, it also brings great opportunity.

According to the latest data from the Aspen Institute this many tenants could be in the street by the end of September 2020. According to the Census Bureau, 34% of American renters didn’t have any confidence they could make rent in August.

Tip of the Iceberg

The truth is that there is probably a lot more distress coming. We are currently at a stage when most of the help seems to be over or at least frozen. Yet, especially renters have now burned through all of their savings and credit card balances waiting the virus out. Even those still employed are mostly probably seeing lower incomes, while expenses are up between hand sanitizer, masks, toilet paper and stocking up on groceries at inflated prices.

Unless there is a major historic change in these dynamics quickly, then it seems a tsunami of evictions is inevitable. It could end up being a whole lot more than 40M. Just think about the impact of 1 out of every 2 or 3 American households facing eviction.

Where’s The Help?

There have been promises of help and a new executive order from the president. In reality that help isn’t being spread out equally and many aren’t getting it. Many landlords and lenders aren’t willing to help, or they are no longer financially able to.

There have been new promises of eviction and foreclosure moratoriums. Not all are obligated to them. There is a lot of confusion between federal, state and municipal levels.

To compound the problem with evictions is where they will go. Affordable housing was already at crisis point before this. Many landlords won’t see the sense in re-leasing to someone else right now. For most it may just make the most sense to cash out.

Much the same is true for homeowners and foreclosures. There will likely be a sizable wave of distress sales in play.

The Flip Side

The flip side is that demand for purchasing properties is massive and urgent. End home prices are up, interest rates are low. Millions are moving for a variety of reasons.

Then there are also rehabbers and institutional landlords to sell to.

While it is tragic for many households. It is a huge opportunity to help many others. It is the perfect opportunity to help and boost your income too. That’s true whether replacing other income from a lost job, or scaling an existing real estate business. No one is ready to buy that many deals, and there are plenty to go around if investors move quickly.

Check out our VOD service to make more offers and land more deals fast.

 

Suddenly all of those who have been denying a new dip was coming are realizing they were way wrong. Many are still lying to themselves about how deep this is going to go. What do you need to know about surviving and thriving as a real estate investor now?

It’s Going To Make 2008 Look Like A Vacation

This economic crisis is going to make 2008 look like a test trial. Expect the fall out from COVID-19 to be at least 2x as bad.

Fortunately, we can also take comfort in the fact that there are predictable patterns and cycles. The massive shift in daily life will really shake up some people.

They didn’t know life could change this much, so fast. Yet, we know that over the long term most real estate will keep growing. Today, the luxury NYC condos that were selling for $2M yesterday are probably worth less than a roll of toilet paper. Other parts of the market, where those quarantined have lots of yard to move around and maybe room to grow their own food are going to explode in value.

Schools and work may never be the same. In many cases that is a good thing. It is just speeding up the most to being more efficient.

A 70% drop in the stock market and some housing markets shouldn’t shock you.

Foreclosures

There will be some similarities from 2008. As in the best moves to make to get through. Yet, some things will be substantially different.

Don’t count on a flood of foreclosures. Governments are already banning foreclosures and evictions. If we don’t eradicate the virus fast, the foreclosure process will probably be years in the making.

So, be wary of spending all of your time and marketing money on foreclosures. Sellers aren’t going to buy the fact that they will lose their homes.

If you hold mortgage notes, the best thing you can do is to be proactive. Communicate with your borrowers. Give them a break on payments. Those will be the ones who stay and work things out with you.

However, there will be other types of distressed property sales. Especially among new developments and all of the owners of Airbnb properties who far overpaid and can’t rent their units. As well as speculators and flippers who need cash. Don’t forget condo owners in big cities who don’t want to be quarantined in small apartments in the middle of the chaos.

Landlords & Renters

Renters are going to stop performing. They are already being told Trump is going to send them bailout money, just like Obama in 2008.

Be proactive, talk to them, give them a break now. Or they are going to drag it out a lot longer than you think. When they do get out, you may have to lease at dramatically lower rates.

You can make it, if you work with them now, and keep tenants who will deliver cash flow again in a couple of months.

Wholesale Real Estate

Real estate wholesaling is the perfect investment strategy for this market. Get in, out and paid fast. Before the market can change on you. Use transactional funding to finance your deals, and hold onto your cash for now. They are already making runs on the banks and banks are limiting access to cash. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to invest it as asset prices get lower in the months and years ahead.

Just don’t stop marketing. This is your chance to expand market share.

 

What do you need to know about financing real estate deals in 2020?

It’s shaping up to be another exciting year for real estate investors. Financing is expected to continue to grow in use this year, and it will be a big part of every real estate investor’s business. Here’s what you need to know.

Interest Rates

The great news is that interest rates ought to remain low through 2020. They will need to remain low to prop up the economy and keep things going through the presidential election. Of course, that didn’t stop the fed from sabotaging the market back in the run up to 2008. Though rising rates shouldn’t be an urgent concern, yet.

Available Capital

There still appears to be more capital than deals. Big funds, banks and international investors are still looking to deploy billions of dollars in US debt. Lenders are still wary of lending to owner occupant home buyers, and that will probably increase with current market trends and more states demanding lenders go through judicial foreclosures. Investors will benefit from this.

Declining Markets

Watch out for the snowball effect from declining house values. Some homeowners are already experiencing deep declines in their equity and potential resale prices. When lenders deem certain areas as ‘declining markets’ it can be very difficult to finance houses there. They can get blacklisted. Or at least expect lower LTV loans, repeat appraisals to keep up with declining values, and tougher underwriting. Credit lines may also be cut off.

More Competition For The Money

Investors have plowed an enormous amount of cash into the US real estate market over the past decade. Some have severely depleted their liquidity already. With the threat of a recession and downturn on the horizon, it is smarter to keep more cash. Instead of just 3 to 6 months of living expenses and operating costs as an emergency fund, upping that to 24 months of capital reserves may be a crucial move. That means more investors competing for loans. Even many who have only used cash up until now.

More Mortgage Defaults

Expect to see even more homeowners in negative equity positions and defaulting on mortgages this year. It’s worth noting that Zillow stopped up dating their data on mortgage defaults and underwater properties back in 2018. That could be a sign that there is a lot more happening under the surface than most are aware of.

What types of property deals are ripe for real estate wholesaling right now?

The market is always changing. What worked 5 years ago may not work as well today. Here are 5 niches to explore, test out and find bigger profits in now…

Small Multifamily & Mixed Use Properties

Overall yields on single family home rentals have been getting squeezed over the last year. To get the same spreads, many income property investors are having to look at multifamily apartments. Mixed use is still a hot item too. Funds and mom and pop investors alike need deal flow. Help them get it by considering flipping these types of properties.

Vacation Rentals

It’s true that the Airbnb Effect has dramatically driven up asset prices in many areas over the past few years. Yet, if you look, you can still find sweet spots where property prices are low and the potential yields from short term rentals can be massive. That makes it easy to flip these types of properties to rehabbers and buy and hold investors.

Empty Nesters

We’re in an interesting moment, coming off of a down period, but with a strong new economy. That means there could be fewer good inherited property deals or foreclosures. Yet, there are all types of reasons for sellers to be motivated. Age can be a big one. With age homes can end up being too big to manage, or just don’t fit health and mobility needs of seniors. Help these property owners who are more focused on convenience than price, and create more win-wins.

Construction REOs

Construction REOs have been a secret pocket of the distressed property industry. The average homeowner or new investor may not want to take on a home or apartment building that wasn’t 100% completed. That means these deals can have less competition and more bargaining room. Today, we need more new construction than ever. Take a look. You may find houses that just need a little love on interior design and applying for the Certificate of Occupancy. You don’t even have to finish the work. Wholesale them to rehabbers or small builders who can complete it.

Foreclosures

There are still foreclosures and foreclosure auctions. Check the data and you can find fresh spikes in this activity in different parts of the country. Be flexible and willing to go where the deals are at and you can still find great profits.

New data highlights massive pool of wholesale properties available for investing…

While the US housing market has rebounded quickly, many real estate investors continue to seriously underestimate the amount of house deals available to them for flipping for quick, and sizable profits.

New real estate statistics firmly buck the media spin suggesting it is hard to find value and foreclosure properties in the US in the second half of 2014.

While thousands of American homeowners have been lifted above water thanks to rapidly rising home values and equity, millions more remain in distressed situations. 9,100,000 remain underwater according to the latest numbers.

Per figures from RealtyTrac over a third of Nevada homeowners still owe at least 25% more on their homes than they are valued at (even values are going up daily). This is only topped by one central Florida city.

Unsurprisingly Nevada remains one of the top 5 states for foreclosures in the US. The other top 4 states for foreclosure activity include; FL, MD, NJ, and IL.

RealtyTrac’s VP says the time it is taking lenders to foreclosure in Nevada has actually risen as of June 2014. It now takes 494 days to foreclose on average, versus just 420 days in 2013. That means many more foreclosure homes coming down the pipe.

In fact, the Las Vegas Review Journal reports NV foreclosure starts rose 56% year over year, and 66% month over month to June 2014. This puts 1 in every 138 homes in NV in the default process. Twice as many Florida homeowners in currently in foreclosure.

Still, home builders don’t appear to be fazed and are still rolling out new projects. The market is heading up, and great times for real estate investors are ahead. However, there are still millions of great opportunities now, for taking advantage of spreads, and rapidly rising home prices. It is just a matter of honing in on the best locations.

Armed with fast cash from Best Transaction Funding real estate wholesalers should find no limits on deal volume, expect what they can personally handle.

What’s the best strategy for wholesaling houses after Fannie and Freddie shut their doors?

The liquidation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may not have been noticed or seemed like a big deal for many real estate wholesalers so far, but it could be.

It could make a sizable difference in availability of deals in the short term and who houses can be flipped to in the medium to long term.

Last week’s news of a new bill to officially wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac certainly had a massive impact on the share value of the two mortgage giants. After instantly falling in price by as much as 44% on the news, shares of the giants continued to nose dive with Fannie’s hitting a low of around $3 by March 13th. Who knows; by the time you read these they may already be out for the count.

Many are complaining that this is happening as the mortgage giants are raking in billions in profit. However, the real issue facing property wholesalers is the evaporation of mortgage credit for home buyers.

Between new regulations and the absence of low down payment home loans for regular home buyers and first time home buyers a significant portion of end buyers could be taken out of the game for a while.

The market will certainly be fine and alternative loan programs will be born, but in the meantime flipping houses to retail buyers could be far more difficult, at least unless seller financing is offered.

There may be a big surge in foreclosures and availability of distressed assets as Fannie and Freddie speed up liquidation. But who will these bargains be flipped to?

Fortunately giant equity and hedge funds like Blackstone and Cerberus and their subsidiaries are rolling out more loan products aimed at helping small and medium sized buy and hold real estate investors to tap equity and even acquire and rehab rental homes in bulk and piece by piece.

It is these end buyers that will certainly be most valuable to wholesalers looking for fast turn arounds and lots of them. Using flash funding from Best Transaction Funding wholesalers can ramp up volume quickly and scale their businesses. The key is making contact with those tapping this bulk funding and adding them to lists for instant flips.

What are you doing to build your list?

The last couple of weeks have seen several rounds of great news for real estate wholesalers…here’s where the deals are at now…

The cracks in the media and Realtor hype are appearing, and it’s time for investors to grab the market by the horns and crank up their deal flow.

Some industry players have been trying to turn some off and distract them from all the deals and profits coming online. They don’t want competition or to share the treasure haul that the market is hiding right now. They want you to believe it is too hard to flip houses in this market and that you should rush to overpay for properties. Don’t fall for it!

The hard data reveals the real situation and where the opportunities are today and will be over the next few months.

Yes home prices are on the rise, but the best days for wholesaling homes are just ahead. Flipping houses works best in a rising home price environment and the mass of off market discounted acquisition opportunities are creating incredible spreads for investors.

According to Inman News and RealtyTrac foreclosures starts were up in 26 states in July 2013, and up 6% on a national basis.

At the same time real estate brokerage Redfin reports bidding wars are actually down in 23 major U.S. markets, allowing for better bargains to be negotiated by wholesalers.

The inventory coming down the pipe is mostly new foreclosures and delinquencies which forward thinking real estate wholesalers can work to tap into early before the competition even gets a look at.

According to the numbers some of the states with the highest foreclosure spikes now include MD, OH, FL, CT and IL.

It’s also important to note that according to RealtyTrac foreclosures are actually back down to historical levels or below in IN, OK, CO, TX and MI.

It’s time to get cracking…

Need some extra inspiration or new strategy to get the edge? Start leveraging transactional funding and go see the ‘Jobs’ movie.

It’s a hot time for investing in real estate and there is no question these are not just the optimal conditions for flipping houses, but perhaps the best we have ever or will ever see. Unfortunately, the dramatically improving U.S. housing market is giving many the same idea and competition for homes is heating up.

Nationally foreclosures have fallen some 30% since February 2012 and the National Association of Realtors reports buyer traffic up 40% as of the beginning of 2013, while pending homes sales continue to rise.

This is causing multiple offer situations to rise rapidly from coast to coast. We are no longer just taking about 3 or 4 offers coming in on homes over a period of weeks. Realtors are frequently reporting a dozen of more offers within hours of homes going online on the MLS. In one of the most dramatic cases recently a West Coast real estate investor reported going up against 80 other cash offers and even bidding $15,000 to $20,000 over asking price with little hope of even receiving a counter offer.

So how can investors bid and win in among stiff competition like this?

With at least 30% of all real estate transactions being in cash today it is clearly a disadvantage not to be able to act as a cash buyer in this market. Fortunately using transactional lenders can enable wholesalers to effectively act as cash buyers with flash funding and Proof of Funds letters to back them up.

Sometimes it’s about price, other times it is just matching the seller and their agent’s desired timeline and quirks. Often they want to see higher deposits or fewer contingencies to prove how great a prospective buyer you are or it might just be a matter of spinning your personal story.

Another major part of this issue that many don’t understand is that Realtors often refuse to even present offers unless they are gaining both buying and selling side commissions and are effectively doubling dipping. While this certainly isn’t fair for the seller who is normally unaware, the best tactic for overcoming this is to make more direct Realtor connections and make sure you are always dealing with the listing agent, not a buyers’ agent.

Another major reason for such dramatic bidding wars is often the price range and property type investors are targeting. Their focus is often on the ‘bread and butter’ 3 bedroom, 2 bath single family home that also butts heads with the 30% of the market that is made up of first time home buyers. Perhaps targeting a different price range or property type could yield better deals with less competition.

Note that there are also many areas of the country where foreclosures are still spiking by double and triple digit rates and could offer many more choices and bigger discounts. This includes Washington, Florida, New York and others.

Of course switching acquisition strategies from bidding on publicly marketed properties to targeting off market properties and homeowners directly can also make a world of difference.

Mobile is fast shifting from an advanced trend to an absolute must for serious wholesalers, at least for those serious about doing serious volume and staying in the game for the long run.

New data shows just how important mobile is for real estate investors and where some of the sweet spots are…

The new report ‘Digital House Hunt’ from Google and NAR reveals those who purchased a foreclosure were much more likely to use the web in their searches over other buyers who used the web 90% of the time. Foreclosure related searches grew 180% in the third quarter of 2012 versus just 7% on desktops.

7 out of 10 who actually took action from their real estate searches used local keywords, with the top states for foreclosure searches being Florida, Nevada, Georgia, Arizona and Illinois.

Real estate searches on tablets were up over 300% for the year ending in Sept. 2012. 60% of home buyers who took action after a search did so within 60 days, with 24% acting the same day.

Who’s searching? The largest group was 25-34 year olds followed by 35-44 year olds.

There are many ways to capitalize on mobile marketing for real estate wholesalers from apps to advertising in iPad magazines and video. However, it is critical to dig into the raw data to maximize results and ROI.

For example many might be aware that video is also a growing marketing trend and YouTube is still responsible for the most views, but few probably realize that most home buyers watch videos to check out specific neighborhoods, not for watching testimonials or home tours.

By the end of this year those real estate wholesalers not heavily invested in mobile marketing will be at a severe disadvantage.

What are you doing to incorporate mobile marketing in your real estate business and what have you tried so far?

Are you on top of the 5 factors which are going to determine your level of success in real estate investing in 2013?

These 5 elements are what will control the game in the next 12 months, and if you are on top of your game you can crush it and dominate…

1. The Rebound

The U.S. housing market has come a long way in 2012 and is expected to post even better improvements in 2013. We might not be rolling from recovery to boom just yet. It is still an uneven recovery with even the best performing markets having another 30% to go up before hitting the baseline to launch another boom era.

Still, it is time to be aggressive and confident. Don’t speculate but do make big moves based on facts and cycles so that you control the largest percentage of market share you can.

2. Marketing Trends

We’ve all heard and are pretty well aware that mobile marketing is the hot ticket for real estate from here on out.

However, new tests launched by Facebook this week which aim to charge marketers $1 per message sent to anyone outside of an investor’s direct network put another nail in the social networks’ coffin and perhaps Silicon Valley’s startup nation, even if they don’t realize it yet.

So stay on your tech game but don’t count on social platforms for free marketing in 2013.

3. Foreclosures Move into Overdrive

Foreclosure sales are already speeding up in many hot areas on higher profits and prices being achieved by lenders. Expect this to continue during the next 12 months.

Don’t worry there are plenty of distressed properties to be had for the flipping too. It was just revealed that Bank of America alone is holding $64 billion in mortgages which are more than 6 months delinquent and haven’t even received a foreclosure notice yet. That puts far more distressed property out there than any private equity fund or even billionaire Carlos Slim can take down.

However, investors who want to be first in line to get the sweetest discounts on these deals need to be more innovative. Think pooling funds to buy in bulk, taking down properties as non-performing mortgage notes and checking out credit unions and asset managers as sources instead of banks.

4. Foreign Buyer Surge

While foreign buyers and investors have been a sizable force in the real estate market for the last few years we have just had a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg of what is to come in 2013.

The death of old havens like western European capitals, central London, Hong Kong and Canada has placed the U.S. as the top destination for global real estate investment in 2013.

These buyers want protection for wealth but most of all they crave high yields and regular income.

5. Mortgages

Mortgages will sadly remain the missing part of the real estate recovery puzzle for most during 2013. Lenders want to loan and hope to lend more but they are also afraid and hampered by regulations.

So get your transactional funding here for fuel all of your acquisitions and flips and get your deals in front of qualified cash buyers and REITs to smoke the competition and reel in huge revenues in the New Year!

Hurricane Sandy may have brought devastation but it also brought massive money making opportunities for those flipping houses too…

You can bet private equity giants and hedge fund managers are really wishing they had gotten into flipping real estate instead of turning REOs into rentals now.

Hurricane Sandy has been devastating for the east coast and the tragedy of that shouldn’t be taken lightly but rather than meaning taking advantage of those in trouble, investors can pull in big profits from providing much needed services and helping those in a bind.

There may be many ways to do this but Sandy, as with previous storms has proven that wholesaling houses continues to be the safest and ultimately most profitable real estate investing strategy. In addition to no holding costs or liability from tenant lawsuits, for wholesalers there is no risk of property damage, no hassle of dealing with insurance companies and no fear of being stuck with dead weight properties that drain cash flow.

Hurricane Sandy has potentially damaged hundreds of thousands of properties in the northeast, causing more foreclosures, rendering many homeless and putting other real estate investors who weren’t prepared out of business.

This brings plenty of opportunity for flipping a massive volume of homes in the next few months. There are going to be a lot of ex-homeowners flush with insurance cash needing to buy homes, many entering the pre-foreclosure stage as they are too strapped to pay their mortgages and those who simply can’t afford to secure their homes and face big fines for not doing so and a void left where other wholesalers failed to secure the tools to stay operational in times like these.

Just make sure you do your due diligence before laying out any cash and ensuring that the properties you put under contract can actually be resold.

Why is it that the media and some real estate portals seem to have the housing market all wrong, what’s really going on with inventory and the direction of the market and does it even matter for those flipping houses?

Why is the News and Other Real Estate Investors So Out of touch with the Market?

For a start the media often relies on faulted data for its stories and is also clearly influenced by the bias of an array of different motives. On top of this, while national housing statistics present a (really) rough picture of what trends are on a countrywide level they balance out the disparity in some many different markets.

Publicly available inventory is way down in some regions and foreclosures may even be falling in some zip codes, pushing up home prices. In others quite the opposite may still be true and new waves of foreclosures and masses of distressed properties are causing the ‘average’ home price to slide. So what you may be seeing on the street in your market may really be completely different to an investor somewhere else.

However, the real question real estate investors should be asking is…

“Does it even matter?”

Clearly the direction of the market has proven to mean very little to those flipping houses. It may affect buyer confidence but the last 7 years have proven that big money can be made from wholesaling real estate, even in rapidly declining markets.

What about foreclosures? Investors must remember that foreclosures are just one part of inventory. How do you think so many millions were made in the last boom when foreclosures were virtually unheard of and were essentially non-existent?

3 Strategies for Beating the Market

1. Where You Look for Properties

Tight inventory can make it feel tougher but maybe you just aren’t looking at it in the right way? Tight inventory = rapidly appreciating home prices.

2. Diversify

Contemplate how can you get ahead of competition or find other sources of different types of distressed property besides those being foreclosed on for not paying their mortgages.

3. Create Your Own Market

Truly talented and savvy investors know how to create a market for their product, whatever it is.

The president of the Florida Realtors association says there are now 3 to 4 offers on every foreclosure being listed. So how can you compete and win more offers in order to save yourself time, keep your income consistent and keep the profits stacking up?

Be Faster

Half the battle in winning contracts on foreclosures is speed. Often the first one with a reasonable offer wins the deal. Have searches set up to so that you are consistently getting fresh new deals in your inbox every morning. More importantly, build relationships with the best wholesalers so that they call you immediately when they have a new deal in the works and will give you the first shot at it.

Make Bigger Deposits

Sellers and their agents love big earnest money deposits. It lets them know you are serious (while of course securing their commissions) and dramatically reduces the odds of you backing out. Of course most investors constantly strive to make the smallest possible deposits to reduce their own risks. How about meeting in the middle? What about offering a second deposit within a few days? This allows you to do your due diligence and get out if the deal isn’t what you hoped for while minimizing the downside and making your offer more attractive.

Fewer Contingencies

Needing to make ‘As-Is’ offers is a given when things are moving this quickly. However, some banks are refusing to allow any contingencies for backing out at all and even refusing to permit inspections. While it can certainly be foolish to buy any property without proper inspections, the fewer demands and contingencies you try to sneak in, the higher your odds of landing the deal. If you are flipping houses, you need to prepare your end buyers to buy from you in this manner too.

Knowing your market inside and out will go a long way towards helping you make better offers with fewer contingencies. Focus on a smaller farm area, drive it regularly and get familiar with every property so you instantly know a good foreclosure deal when you see one and have a good idea of its condition.

Make Cash Offers

Cash is still king. Your offers are much more likely to be accepted if they are cash offers than relying on you obtaining any financing. However, making ‘cash offers’ when you really don’t have cash will only cause you problems. The alternative is utilizing transactional funding for quick cash closings and obtaining a proof of funds letter from your transactional lender to provide with your offer.