Now, What Are You Going to Do About It? It looks like the rest of the country is finally waking up to the fact that yes, we really ARE in a recession in the US. A recession that is being led by the decline in real estate values. How can that be, you say. Real estate, while a large and important part of the overall economy, does NOT have the power, by itself, to drive…
Vultures Are Circling Over Distressed Properties
This was a headline in Saturday’s Washington Post. Like the New York Times, you can always count on the ol’ Post to get things exactly 180 degrees wrong. Vultures? Really?? I don’t know about you, but that description sounds pretty bad. Even a bit sinister. Maybe a touch evil. They like to make ma and pa out to be victims of the big bad mortgage companies, and they make it sound like those of us…
Housing Cools, Inflation’s Up. See I Told You So . . . .
Two short months ago I wrote about the unbelievable action that the Federal Reserve took to prop up our sagging stock market by injecting billions of dollars into the economy, and that it didn’t take a freshman econ whiz kid to tell that this would undoubtedly lead to an increase in the inflation rate. Strangely enough I found very few business reporters that even discussed the impact of the Fed’s foolhardy actions, and fewer still…
The Foreclosure Concierge
I started a new line of business last week. If you’ve been reading this blog, you know that I’m a big proponent of buying single family homes and holding them as long-term rentals. It’s my belief that it’s an ideal way to build real wealth. The idea had been jelling in my mind for a couple of weeks, and everything finally clicked into place after a meeting that I attended. Even though I absolutely despise…
California Dreaming . . . . .
I just got back into town after spending four days in my old stomping grounds of northern California. The San Francisco peninsula to be more specific, about halfway between San Francisco and San Jose. My wife and I lived there for six years after grad school until we moved to Michigan. The occasion was my wife’s 30 year High School Reunion. I think you get the picture. While she and I did get the chance…
Get Ready for the Tidal Wave . . . .
I received an interesting call yesterday. Turns out the caller, who’s part of a fairly large and well known real estate company (at least around the Detroit News classified ads), had just picked up a block of 100 foreclosures directly from a lender without going through a realtor. Big deal you say. Happens all the time. Maybe, but that wasn’t the noteworthy part of our conversation. He went on to tell me that this was…