<p>
</p>
<p>Wait Harp is only for owner’s primary residents.</p>
<p>Weak is a feeling one has sitting in their $100,000 Orlando home with a $200,000 mortgage, a shifting tile roof, a waterlogged stucco exterior finish, chinese drywall with rotten egg odor, and a broke homeowners’ association…while unemployed.</p>
<p>
Because the alternative is not being able to refi at all. Do you understand what HARP is?</p>
<p>
When rates ultimately do rise, it will be interesting to see just how much downward pressure that puts on prices.</p>
<p>
What can I tell you, our lender did it for a rental. They knew it was an investment property, the paperwork indicated it was a rental property. We certainly didn’t lie about it or fudge the details in any way.</p>
<p>Maybe they broke some rules, but if so I am not aware of it. I would assume they know their own programs.</p>
<p>“Because the alternative is not being able to refi at all.”</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>“When rates ultimately do rise, it will be interesting to see just how much downward pressure that puts on prices.”</p>
<p>Yes…it will…</p>
<p>There are going to be opportunities…</p>
<p>[Foreclosures</a> Draw Private Equity as U.S. Rents Homes - Yahoo! Finance](<a href=“http://finance.yahoo.com/news/foreclosures-draw-private-equity-u-150127753.html;_ylt=AqeFdCN8_Tepnl3dzucvPQmiuYdG;_ylu=X3oDMTNycDlhNHVzBG1pdANGUCBUb3AgU3RvcnkgTGVmdARwa2cDZWUyYzVkYjctZjIxZC0zZjFhLWIwMGUtNWNmZjUyMTJmMjg2BHBvcwMyBHNlYwN0b3Bfc3RvcnkEdmVyAzVmNDQ5N2QwLTRjMjQtMTFlMS05ZmZiLWE4OGZlOTk3MmUxNA--;_ylg=X3oDMTFvdnRqYzJoBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25zBHRlc3QD;_ylv=3]Foreclosures”>http://finance.yahoo.com/news/foreclosures-draw-private-equity-u-150127753.html;_ylt=AqeFdCN8_Tepnl3dzucvPQmiuYdG;_ylu=X3oDMTNycDlhNHVzBG1pdANGUCBUb3AgU3RvcnkgTGVmdARwa2cDZWUyYzVkYjctZjIxZC0zZjFhLWIwMGUtNWNmZjUyMTJmMjg2BHBvcwMyBHNlYwN0b3Bfc3RvcnkEdmVyAzVmNDQ5N2QwLTRjMjQtMTFlMS05ZmZiLWE4OGZlOTk3MmUxNA--;_ylg=X3oDMTFvdnRqYzJoBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25zBHRlc3QD;_ylv=3)</p>
<p>"“We think the important thing is on the operations and management side as opposed to playing a numbers game, like I’m buying for 30 cents on the dollar to a 12 percent yield,” he said.
Buying in Bulk
GTIS expects to buy homes in bulk from banks, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Shapiro said. Properties will also be bought individually at courthouse auctions and through short sales, when lenders agree to sell for less than the balance of the mortgage, he said.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Interest rate means nothing if the bank tightens the lending criteria to the point that only very few borrower can finance any home. And it is a redistribution of wealth in the recent market. For those are strong and capable, they can buy the real estate at a fraction of what was then.</p>
<p>Right now, almost all the REO’s went to cash buyers. you can check with auction.com, almost every property is calling for cash only and there are plenty of bidders.</p>
<p>Back to the original post. Real estate in Florida can get worse. And it might. Foreclosures are still occurring. Even if bottom has been hit, condos do not appreciate well in the Southeast and as soon as new construction begins in the area, the value will take another hit.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, that while your HOA fees cover the outside of the structure, there are still things that aren’t covered. Even if your HOA is healthy, and many aren’t, you can expect assessments from any major storm or other non-covered incident. </p>
<p>If I were going to invest in real estate, I would do it close to home where I understood the market and the risks.</p>
<p>That’s true…Post 47…</p>
<p>If it was easier for buyers to borrow at these low rates…the housing crisis would not be a crisis…at least not as big…</p>
<p>Instead…a few people are going to get very wealthy…when they buy these homes in bulk for .30 on the dollar…</p>
<p>It is kind of interesting…if the government offered these homes for .30 on the dollar…many of the homeowners could probably stay in their homes…(i’m not saying this should happen…this does open up a whole new can of worms).</p>
<p>The Florida real estate market is improving some. Lots of condos in Miami area are being bought up by wealthy foreigners.</p>
<p>[Foreclosure</a> Markets Dominate Realtor.com Turnaround Towns - UPI.com](<a href=“Foreclosure Markets Dominate Realtor.com Turnaround Towns - UPI.com”>Foreclosure Markets Dominate Realtor.com Turnaround Towns - UPI.com)</p>
<p>Big question is are they buying to use or to flip? Flip buyers really do not help that much in the longer run.</p>
<p>^Lots of the properties recently purchased by investors are being rented now by the folks that just lost their homes to foreclosure–they gotta live somewhere.</p>
<p>Have been looking for investments or flippers for a long time. Those with 30c on a dollar, you would not even want to walk/drive by nevermind buy it. Any thing decent(ie: without jail like steel bared windows and doors) you have to pay 50c+ to a dollar. Banks are not stupid, they will not let go some thing if they can sell it at a better price.</p>
<p>I would NOT buy anything long distance, even offered to me free. I was offered a LARGE parcel in Miss. for almost free, but there were remediated conteminations on it before and at that time only grass was growing. I declined, since even to mow the 50 acres of grass will cost a pretty penny. Florida? forget it.</p>
<p>There was a nice fixer-upper that turned in Tampa, Florida area last year for $.40 on the dollar. It was originally offered at 20 and ended up going for for only $8 million. It’s a decent home as is; the new owner is doing a lot of improvements on the property though.</p>
<p>[Pinellas</a>’ largest home about to become largest in Tampa Bay area - Tampa Bay Times](<a href=“http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/pinellas-largest-home-about-to-become-largest-in-tampa-bay-area/1213068]Pinellas”>Pinellas' largest home about to become largest in Tampa Bay area)</p>
<p>The homes that PE firms buy for .30 on the dollar will be worth a lot more than .30 on the dollar.</p>
<p>If they can maintain them, rent them and not have them trashed or turned into meth labs. Las Vegas might stay below $.40 for years to come.</p>
<p>The PE firms will cherry-pick the best ones, which will be gift-wrapped and handed to them for pennies on the dollar by their buddies in the gov’t, who will then go to work for the PE firms.</p>
<p>And when it blows up because they don’t make 10x on their money in 3 years and they discover that managing RE is actually a lot of work, they’ll get the gov’t to bail them out and buy them back at 20% over retail.</p>
<p>Nah, nothing could go wrong with this plan. :D</p>
<p>
I don’t think so. We have had some offerings from banks, they tended to mix things up, good and bad and indifferent, mostly foreclosed empty industrial buildings or offices.</p>
<p>Residentials are all non-performing loans and you have to start foreclosuer yourself after they sold you the loan portfolio. Locations and homes are all mixed and you cannot pick because they are from one investment portfolio. You normally cannot see the inside of a home as it is occupied.</p>
<p>The real cream puff stuff will never appear in bulk sales, they tended to be sold at retail level. Some times the Bank will slip in a good one just to entice the deal.</p>
<p>BTW, PE firms do not buy RE, they buy businesses, I worked for them for a long time so I know. RE investment firms buy REs.</p>
<p>It has been a disappointment to find forclosed home portfolios in the Bay Area. They do not exist.</p>
<p>Case in point. A recent Auction.com home is located in Burlingame, CA where million dollar homes galore. The 1300 SF home is on a busy street *California Drive" with Cal Train rails just accross the street, where during the rush hours a train goes by every 5 min. It was offered several months before the auction on MLS for $550K, no takers. The auction started with $99K and had a reserve of $435K. Bidding was brisk, ended up with $525K when buyer’s commission was added.</p>
<p>The home is in shamble, some roof tiles was blown off and I bet it was leaking. It was an occupied home and we can not go inside. Yard is a mess. Risk is high on renovation and eviction.</p>
<p>
According to the article dstark posted, the properties in question have already been foreclosed on and are owned by the government.</p>
<p>I suppose it is possible that the gov’t with sell them in such a way as to maximize return. But if Wall Street is involved, I tend to doubt it. Maybe I am too cynical.</p>