WIAcademy EducateBlog

When we talk about financing real estate investments, we tend to focus on finding the money, whether it’s from a traditional lender, a hard money lender, or another source. But there’s an aspect to real estate financing that investors and homeowners need to be aware of: loan servicing.

Once a conventional mortgage loan is closed, lenders may turn the account over to a loan servicing firm for management. And borrowers have absolutely no choice in this decision, and little recourse if the service is bad and the firm engages in predatory practices, such as profiting from loans in collections, failing to report positive payment histories to credit bureaus, converting a loan to simple interest (more money for the lender and servicer), and more.

For an interesting look at this issue, read Jack Guttentag’s column, "Predatory servicing deserves a cleanup." Guttentag is a syndicated columnist and professor of finance emeritus at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Jackie
Chief Blogger
Wealth Intelligence Academy

Posted 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, the marketing arm of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, an economic development organization, has launched a free interactive real estate mapping Web site. Click here to read the full story from the Pittsburg Business Times. Click here for a link to the site.

This is a great tool for commercial real estate investors. Check with your local economic development agency to see if something similar is available in your area.

Jackie
Chief Blogger
Wealth Intelligence Academy

Posted 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Herb Bethea and Damon Carver's joint investment venture began as a lunchtime game several years ago, when they worked in the same office at Quest Diagnostics in Montgomery County. The intellectual exercise by the billing-department employees evolved into a real search for additional income. And what popped up on their radar screen?

Real estate.

Click here to read the entire story.

Posted 02:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The so-called housing slump will not drag the economy into a recession and in areas like Florida, job and population along with stable interest rates will boost markets, especially commercial real estate. This is according to Bob Bach, Sr., vice president of research and client services for Grubb & Ellis Co. Click here to read more.

Jackie

Posted 01:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I recently learned of a scam involving buying Iraqi dinars in the hopes of selling them for multiple times what they cost. I honestly don’t know anything about investing in foreign currency and we don’t teach that at Wealth Intelligence Academy®. But if someone offers you a chance to buy Iraqi dinars and tells you that you can sell them later for 25 times what you paid for them, think long and hard before you invest. In fact, call your bank (or even several banks) and ask if they will buy dinars from you. If they say no, that will tell you how difficult it’s going to be to make a profit on this type of deal.

For more information on the Iraqi dinar scam, read the Scambusters newsletter discussing it (it’s the second topic in the newsletter, so after you click on the link, scroll down).

Jackie

Posted 08:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

$5.6 billion year for valley
MONEY POURED INTO COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SETS RECORD IN '06; RENTS UP, VACANCY DOWN
By Katherine Conrad
Mercury News

Silicon Valley's investment market shattered records again in 2006 after $5.6 billion worth of commercial real estate traded hands.
Click here to read the entire story.

Posted 03:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)