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California Real Estate Headline Roundup

Posts Tagged ‘CALIFORNIA FORECLOSURES’

161-TNG Radio – Christopher Thornberg 2-13-10

Friday, February 12th, 2010

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Christopher Thornberg

Principal at Beacon Economics

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This week Bruce is joined by Christopher Thornberg. Christopher is an expert in the study of regional economies, real estate dynamics, and business forecasting. In 2006, he co-founded Beacon Economics which is an  economic research and consulting firm that specializes in real estate markets, local economic development, and public and private policy issues. Christopher has also been part of the Norris Group’s award-winning fundraising series, I Survived Real Estate.

Christopher and Bruce discuss the current state of the market and whether the market is truly experiencing a comeback or is it completely manufactured.  Christopher goes into detail about Bernanke and his current handling of the market.  Government actions has delayed the inevitable and Christopher and Bruce discuss what the different strategies have been and how effective they have been and how much longer we should expect to see these manipulations.

Bruce and Christopher talk about Fannie Mae and FHA and the growing issues with FHA’s portfolio. The Mortgage Bankers Association estimates 20% of the their loan portfolio is in trouble.

A complete transcription of the show coming soon.

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150-TNG Radio – Craig Hill 11-28-09

Friday, November 27th, 2009

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Craig Hill

Hard Money Broker

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This week Bruce is joined once again by Craig Hill. Craig has been handling The Norris Group’s hard money loan business for over ten years, and he is a trustee investor.

Many new investors think that it is easy to get into the real estate buying business. To reduce risk, The Norris Group uses Rick Solis to appraise properties through the eyes of an investor. Sometimes new investors will find a property, and they think they have a good deal, but then Rick will look at the property and find problems with their deal. For an example, an investor might try to buy a property in an area with comparable sales located on 8,000 square foot lots, but the property they are trying to buy is on a 4,000 square foot lot. That 4,000 square foot difference could make a $20,000 dollar difference. Rick can easily spot these devaluing problems and save these new investors money. Craig has received multiple responses from investors who are thankful for Rick’s services.

A new investor wants to get their first house under their belt. One of the things a new investor may do is try to prove that a house is a good deal, rather than let the evidence speak for itself. These people might feel that if they can just buy a house and sell it for a profit then everything will be a little bit better. Those are the kinds of people that will typically make a mistake. When people are trying to make up for lost time, they often try to do too much too quick. You cannot become a millionaire in one deal, but you can ruin your finances in one deal. Craig has met many people who tried to be too aggressive, and then lost a lot of money. During the boom, people felt like they couldn’t lose, and they didn’t want to believe that the up cycle would end. Now people are starting to have success again, and Craig fears that they will go back into that same mentality. Craig warns that you should be able to handle a rental property. If a rental property is going to ruin your life then you shouldn’t be investing.

If someone came to The Norris Group with a great deal on a $1.2 million dollar house, The Norris Group would probably not help that investor, because there is a lot of risk involved in that deal. If an investor discovers that his $1.2 million house is not really worth $1.2 million, or if the investor starts making $7 grand payments, they can severely damage themselves.

If Craig had to choose between a borrower with a high credit score and low cash reserves, or a borrower with a lower credit score and more cash reserves, he would choose to loan to the borrower with high cash reserves. When you are dealing with investments, you need to have cash. If an investor doesn’t have enough cash reserves, he may want to think that he can make the investment work with only six months worth of reserved payment. His property may take more than six months to pay off, and his credit will not help him, because The Norris Group’s program is not credit based. They cannot get a loan to improve their situation. If a person has a lot of cash reserved, it makes it better for both the investor and the lender.

Many unexpected problems can occur when you invest in a house. Craig bought one house to fix up and flip, but the sewer immediately needed to be fixed. If an investor cannot handle those kinds of surprises, then she is jeopardizing herself.

If Craig had to choose between a borrower with cash into the deal, or a borrower that got a superior discount in the purchase who is looking for a zero down loan, he would still choose the borrower with cash in the deal. There might be a reason why the other client got a superior deal that won’t reveal itself until later. Also, the zero down investor may not be capable of handling the monthly debt on the investment. If you have $50,000 in cash reserves, you will be much more comfortable making an investment. When you do not have that kind of cash in reserve, you may feel a need to make a deal, and that causes problems. People often get caught up in the idea of making a property investment, but their ideas may not work out in reality.

If Craig had to choose between a borrower who is an experienced investor with a 650 FICA score and has a proven track record with The Norris Group, or a new borrower with a 750 FICA score and the same amount of money, Craig would choose the experienced investor with a good record. Many people have had troubles within the past few years, so a 650 FICA score may mean that they have also had trouble, but they are working through it. A track record with The Norris Group is important, because that experienced investor respects their business relationships. Dealing with a lender who knows their track record allows them to do their business, and if their investments are their livelihood, then they will probably not sacrifice their relationship with their lender.

When loaning to an owner occupant, there is never an intention to develop a relationship for future business. An owner occupant might be taking a severe risk with the $20,000 they take in a loan.

If Craig had to choose between a borrower with a job, good credit score, and a money partner, or a borrower who is a self employed, full time investor using their own money, Craig would choose the self employed investor. People who use money partners are historically known to cause problems. They may not take into account that surprises will come up, such as unexpected repairs or a delay in the selling process. The Norris Group will do business with money partners, but Craig is much more involved with those people. Craig often requires the partner to sign the deal along with the borrower, because they need to know that a property is a responsibility.

If Craig had to choose between a borrower who is a cocky and experienced investor with lots of money, or a new investor with less money and a humble attitude open to learning, Craig would probably choose the humble investor. He strays away from the know-it-all attitudes. Craig has had thousands of conversations with investors, and he has a good sense for the kind of person who will work hard to protect his investment. The cocky, know-it-all investor is often a one-time deal. The cocky investors will often call Craig, give him a big conversation about how this deal is an opportunity for him, but their “deal” is really only borderline. Sometimes these cocky, experienced investors will be trying to use Craig after their other lenders reject them.

Over the years, Craig has developed a good sense for when people are not telling him all their problems. When you have had thousands of conversations with borrowers, you develop a sense for conversation patterns, which lead to certain outcomes. It would be difficult for Craig to have an original conversation at this point. He has probably heard what any new investor will tell him many, many times. The Norris Group does not want to do deals with just anyone who can qualify. The Norris Group wants to do deals with people that make good matches with the company. Craig deals with both borrowers and investors, and he wants to make sure that his deals are winning deals for both ends.

The Norris Group does not work with pooled trust deeds and never will. If you used pooled money, you have much less control. When an investor buys a trust deed, he knows the property it’s going to be on, the amount, and he knows what the appraisal on the property is worth. The investor can easily find out what his investment is. With pooled funds (fractionalized trust deeds), the manager of the pool has a lot of discretion. You might have some possible investments that you would not take if you personally inspected them.

The reality of what is happening to your investment can be masked in a pooled trust deed. In a pooled trust deed, you make regular payments. You can make these regular payments for a long time, but by the time your investment is not worthwhile, your investment may be upside-down. With an individual investment, you are receiving monthly payments from one person on one trust deed, so you would know after 30 days if the borrower was 30 days late.

There are some lenders who do not require monthly payments, but Bruce always does. He wants them to know that they have a debt, and it prevents them from getting overextended.

A pooled investment might attract a smaller investor. The Norris Group does not usually give out loans that are only worth $30,000 to $40,000. A person who has $50,000 they want to invest, but they require the $500 dollar payment every month to live on, then they are not a good candidate for a trust deed.

Bruce asks Craig to explain how he makes people feel comfortable investing. Craig likes to show people examples of what The Norris Group does. Craig sends new investors a copy of a The Norris Group appraisal, so they can see what The Norris Group does to calculate value. Once Craig makes people feel comfortable with what they are lending on, they are anxious to invest in a trust. The majority of the people that work with The Norris Group trust deeds want to ramp their investment up as high as it can go. When they do ramp it up, the majority of them have chosen that as one of their main investment vehicles. Many people who deal with trust deeds have a diversity of investments. They do not want to put all their eggs in one basket.

The Norris Group sees trust deed investments as a great way to offer diversification of a retirement account.  You can also diversify your trust deed investments by selecting multiple areas.

The Norris Group has a new 8-year loan program for investors who plan to buy and hold a property as a rental. This new program has opened up a new investment at 9% for 8 years. This program is great for people who have IRA money, or money in 401Ks, because they can earn 9% tax free. The nice thing about this 8-year program is that the loan is intended to go on for an extended period.

Craig can be reached at 951-780-5856. He will be glad to talk to you about borrowing money.

See Craig’s full biography HERE.

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149-TNG Radio – Craig Hill 11-21-09

Friday, November 20th, 2009

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Craig Hill

Hard Money Broker

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This week Bruce is joined by Craig Hill. Craig has been handling The Norris Group’s hard money loan business for over ten years, and he is a trust deed investor himself.

Bruce begins by asking Craig what the difference is between Craig’s California private lending business and other lending businesses such as Bank of America or FHA. Craig says that there is not as much of a difference as people think. The main difference is that you are lending to a different client and for many reasons. Craig has the ability to lend within a shorter time frame, and he will lend on properties that banks would lend on due to conditions. Craig’s business deals to people who have more need for a quick loan.

The funding source in Craig’s business is very different from a bank. Banks have a pool of money, but with Craig’s hard money, there is an individual who has money to lend and they get a good return on the loan they end up making.

Hard money lending is a generalized term for private money and private loans. The Norris Group is a private broker for investors. Hard money has a negative connotation to it because it can be expensive and, in the past, it was given to people with bad credit.

When Bruce and Craig first met, Craig was working for another company in Orange County. Bruce asks Craig what his typical client looked like in that environment. Most of Craig’s clients were delinquent on their trust deeds. They had poor credit because of some sort of problem they had been affected by. Hard money was a way for those people to get rid of some of their problems, and move on.

When Bruce and Craig met, Bruce was an investor. He had found a couple properties, but he had maxed out his credit line. Bruce had never met with a hard money lender, and Craig had never met with an investor. If you have a house that is worth $100,000, hard money lenders are typically willing to lend 60 to 70 percent of what that house is worth. Bruce had two houses that he wanted a loan on, but he was only asking to borrow 50 percent of what those houses were worth. This made Craig realize that working with Bruce was a great opportunity. Craig had a hard time finishing those loans though, because at that time, people had the mentality that a house was only worth as much as what you were willing to pay for it. Even if two houses were appraised at equal value, the lender would have still wanted to lend to the person in foreclosure.

In the 1990s, there was usually a first deed on a property when a hard money was asked for. Most of the hard money loans that Craig did at that time were between $10,000 and $25,000. 80 percent of the home was typically covered in the borrower’s first loan, and Craig gave them a small loan behind that first loan. The interest rate was typically 15 percent. Most of the companies that did hard money dealt with brokers. Craig’s company worked with brokers who would refer loans to them. If there were 10 or 15 points, those brokers would receive half of that value. There were a few more people involved in the transaction.

Bruce’s company does not rely on referrals. The Norris Group has a great network, so they do not need to use referrals. Craig had to frequently persuade brokers that it was better for borrowers to get a $15,000 second loan. The brokers wanted Craig to give them a new $80,000 first loan, because that generated more income. With The Norris Group, Craig does not have to worry about this problem, and he can choose the best option for each client.

Most hard money loans are still very referral based. If you are not talking directly to the borrower, a broker may not give you all the information you need, to make the best decision for the client. The broker may try to make you believe a false story.

Bruce and Craig quickly became comfortable with talking to each other, because they were dealing with the same people. Bruce was talking to people in foreclosure who wanted to sell their homes, and Craig was talking to those same people about making a loan.

Investors had come to Craig before Bruce, but it was with a concept rather than a property. People would ask Craig what he might do in made-up scenarios, but Bruce was the first person to come to him with his two properties. Craig thought Bruce’s idea gave a lot of security to the investor. After Craig’s experience with Bruce, he chose to only give loans to investors. The second investor Craig dealt with was Mike Cantu, and this loan plan worked well for Mike as well.

Mike Cantu is still borrowing from The Norris Group. That consistency would not occur for a loan business, or for people who were invested in trust deeds. People who loan to those kinds of borrowers will have to work very hard just to get them to borrow money once. Lenders who deal with investors will only have to find a few people who can borrow 40 or 50 times a year for them. It did not take Craig very long to realize that this was a very sensible business plan.

Most people think of the investors as the risky borrower, and the occupant as the safe one, but this is not true. Bruce asks if there are different rules for loaning to occupants. There is more protection for occupants, and there are different regulations on loan amounts. When Craig is doing a loan for an investor, he understands that the investor needs money to fix a home and sell it. When you give a loan to an owner occupant, you probably never know why that person needs the money, and Craig has been shocked in the past by the ways owner occupants will use their loan money.

Hard money loans are not a cheap resource. An owner occupant would not want a hard money loan unless they have no other choice. An investor taking a hard money loan probably has the option to use another loan option.

When checking to see if an investor is qualified for The Norris Group’s hard money loans, Craig checks their credit, the amount of debt leverage they have, and cash reserves. Someone with good cash reserves is a good candidate for hard money loans. Most investors take these loans for single-family residences and small units. The Norris Group is currently not offering loans on land, and tends to stay away from commercial real estate. In the future, The Norris Group may give loans for construction. Craig asks people how they found the property and how long it has been on the market. If an investor finds a property that has been on the market for 60 days with no price change, Craig will be cautious, because there is probably a reason why that property has not been sold.

Some passive investors are really looking to get involved in the market by getting properties flipped to them by a wholetail investor who passes it on to them for a small fee. The fees being tacked onto these deals sometimes wipe out a lot of the profit. Most wholesalers get a nominal fee for the work they have done. Craig recently talked to a man who was buying a $400,000 house for $349,000. He though he had a good deal, until he discovered that the original buyer had just paid $249,000 for it.

It is very important to predict real estate cycles. We are currently in a good cycle, but you still have to be careful when buying. If the cycle is going up, lenders can do deals according to a loan to value scale. In the current cycle, Craig stays away from deals that can take 6 months to complete, because a lot of things can change within 6 months. In the last six months, investors have had a “can’t lose” mentality. This can be problematic, because if investors feel like they cannot get a bad deal, then they may pay too much. The Norris Group encourages people to not get involved with long-term project houses, unless they have experience. Craig often asks his client if they have a background in construction. Craig thinks that a new investor should not try buying a house that has been red tagged by the city.

There are many people who come to The Norris Group expecting to receive a loan, because they have attended clubs and seminars in the state. Other people have told them that they can get a loan without a credit score, and without a down payment. This is not true. Craig has disappointing conversations with these people, but most of them are thankful, because Craig informs them on how they can get qualified for a future loan. Some of these people will put everything they have into a deal because they’ve been told that it is easy. This is a difficult and volatile time for real estate, yet people are willing to go “all in” on a property investment. People are coming from a 2006 mentality, where any property you got your hand on would get you a big check, but now things are much more difficult than that.

Craig can be reached at 951-780-5856. He will be glad to talk to you about borrowing money.

Bruce speaks with Craig Hill about the hard money loan business, how they met, how they work together, and what Craig brings to the table as a money partner. The Norris Group only loans in California so The Norris Group offers local insights and prides itself on a very good track record. Video on the program can also be seen at http://www.thenorrisgroup.com/hard_money_loans/ and more on trust deed investment in california can be found at http://www.thenorrisgroup.com/trust_deed_investments/

In 1984, Craig took his first job in the lending industry working for Vanguard Mortgage as a loan officer and loan manager. While employed there, he met and began funding REO purchases with Bruce Norris. When Bruce officially started the Norris Group in 1994, Craig came aboard as both loan officer and investment manager and never looked back. Since that time, they have arranged over $150 million dollars worth of investor loans.

See Craig’s full biography HERE.

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139-TNG Radio – Sean O’Toole 9-12-09

Saturday, September 12th, 2009

Sean O’Toole

Founder, Foreclosure Radar

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Bruce Norris is joined this week by CEO of ForeclosureRadar.com, Sean O’Toole. He is a real estate investor and the founder and CEO of foreclosureradar.com.

Bruce bought a trustee sale recently using Sean’s website. Bruce asks Sean how has being an investor influenced the content of his website? Sean says that he built the site for his own use, and that he had not planned on making it a public site. Bruce believes that no one could have put Sean’s site together unless they new the real estate business. More experienced people are able to recognize the small things that make big differences.

One of the tools on foreclosureradar.com that has helped Sean is the transaction history of a property. You can use this tool to discover how the previous owner of a home bought and lost it. When you are looking at 100 properties every day, in the hopes of gaining just 5, the ability to quickly observe a property is of critical importance.

Foreclosure Radar started in California, and it has recently expanded into Arizona, Nevada, Washington, and Oregon. Foreclosure Radar publicly launched in May of 2007.

Bruce asks Sean how the quantity of foreclosures has changed since 2002. The change has amazed Sean. Sean started working in just a couple counties, but he was having trouble finding deals, so he started expanding. In 2006, the number of foreclosures being filed increased dramatically, so Sean realized that he could not afford to do research on all of those properties.

Bruce asks if the process of getting information is physically obtained, or if it is now computerized. All the documents and information must be physically obtained, and then typed into a computer. Sean thinks that this is a problem.

There is a tutorial on the website. Bruce asks Sean what the section FLX is for. That section is aimed at realtor customers. Sean wanted to make the website more interactive with photos and more search capabilities. If you go to a Realtor’s website, they have something called an IDX search in which you can search for properties with different types of bedrooms and baths. Sean wanted Foreclosure Radar to be the foreclosure MLS. FLX allows customers to show foreclosures on their own website. Consumers do not have many options for foreclosure information besides RealtyTrac and foreclosure.com, so Sean wanted people to be able to access that information for free.

Sean’s clients consist mostly of realtors, professional investors, and government users. Our local and county governments are looking for new revenue opportunities. They are now able to fine lenders up to $1,000 dollars a days for not maintaining their REO properties. Every time Bruce closes an escrow he always checks to see if it is an REO. A trustee sale is safer, because the fine does not begin until the property transfers.

Bruce asks if Sean has considered training people in real estate. Sean has decided to stay out of the training business because he has learned that there are many different approaches and he wants to support everyone.

Bruce asks Sean to compare the default numbers occurring between now and one year ago, in California. The default numbers have remained mostly flat. In July there were 45,000, and in June there were 46,000, and Sean believes that there was a drop in August. Last year, the default numbers were around 42,000 to 40,000. The people who are late on their payments have almost doubled within the last year. Bruce asks if Sean has any explanation for why the default notices have not reflected that. During September of last year, Fannie and Freddie went into conservatorship, the moratoriums began, and Paulson announced that he was seeking TARP. What Paulson’s message told the market was that these assets are being sold in distress, it is a temporary problem, if these loans are not forced into foreclosure then there will be no losses, and we should use funds to buy these assets from banks. This told the banks, if you have band loans, we will help you out, but if you have bad homes, then you will have to take the loss.

Last time this kind of problem occurred, the lenders responded the same way. They chose not to foreclose on properties. In 1995, a rule was passed that required lenders to foreclose on a property after 100 days. Bruce finds it interesting that the government was once forcing lenders to foreclose, but now they are helping them delay the process. The FDIC is now promoting loan modifications and Sean thinks that is just delaying the inevitable.

Bruce asks if Sean sees loan modifications taking a chunk out of the price. Sean believes that this is occurring. Last year, in California, we had 65,000 properties scheduled for foreclosure auction, and nearly 29,000 properties were foreclosed on. This year, we will have 130,000 scheduled for sale. We have doubled the number of properties being scheduled for sale, yet only 17,500 of those properties have actually been foreclosed on. The new home affordability program has a 3 month trial period, so they are putting people into foreclosure and starting this trial period, but they do not actually foreclose on them. What Sean is waiting to see is whether or not the cancellations of these foreclosures sales are going up. If this occurs then we will know that the modifications are working. So far, Sean has not seen any sign that these modifications are working.

130,000 scheduled sales are 6 to 9 months of inventory. History has shown that modifications do not work very well. However, more recent modifications seem to be working better than the previous ones. The average property that makes it through the foreclosure process is about 200,000 dollars upside down.

A new term has come up called a “strategic foreclosure”. This means that a person is capable of making their payments but they are deciding not to do so. Bruce asks if these people are adding to the pile. Sean believes that this makes sense on many levels. If a person makes a bad investment in a property then they can choose to walk away from it, and declare bankruptcy in the worst case. Right now, there are so many people making the decision to walk away from their homes that people no longer feel morally responsible to make their payments.

Sean O’Toole is Founder & CEO of ForeclosureRadar.com, the only company that tracks every foreclosure in California with daily updates on all foreclosure auctions. Prior to ForeclosureRadar Sean spent 15 years building and launching software companies before entering the foreclosure business in 2002 where he has successfully bought and sold more than 150 foreclosure properties.

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138-TNG Radio – National Real Estate Investors Association 9-5-09

Saturday, September 5th, 2009

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The National Real Estate Investors Assocation

Director, Rebecca McLean & Charles Tassle

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This week Bruce is joined by Rebecca McLean and Charles Tassle. Rebecca is the Executive Director of Nation Real Estate Investors Association, and Charles is the Director of legislation affairs.

From 2000 to 2005 NREIA’s membership greatly increased. In 2002, NREIA only had 44 groups. In 2004-2005 the membership grew to over 200 groups, and in 2006-2007 the membership grew to 250 organizations. Rebecca estimates that NREIA’s peak membership was around 45,000. NREIA is a federation of local real estate investing associations. Since the market peaked, NREIA has gone down to 230 groups, but there are still people sending in applications every day asking if they can start a local REIA.

Bruce wonders if some of these groups have developed from a group of speculators to a group of investors in which they have the mentality of holding on to real estate. There are more experienced people in the real estate business now than there are people who are new and curious about real estate.

Charles believes it is better to approach legislation with a group of people who are viewed as investors rather than speculators. When NREIA representatives present themselves to state and federal legislation, they try to explain to the government that they are just as much of an investor as they are a local business owner. They contribute a significant amount to the community just like associations such as CAR and NAR. Bruce thinks that too many associations approach Congress with a single minded purpose. They do not consider the investors when they work with the government to change things. Rebecca agrees with Bruce on this issue. What makes NREIA unique is that membership includes Realtors, appraisers, and investors, and this has helped open the eyes of government leaders to realize that NREIA’s members represent a different segment of the real estate industry.

California has too many homes that are going to go back to the lenders in disrepair. Most of the loan programs are geared towards selling the next home to owner occupants, but owner occupants will not be interested in buying these damaged homes. These loan programs will not work without the help of investors, and NREIA has tried explaining this to congress.

Part of the purpose that NREIA has in coming before Congress is to gain respect, so Congress will be more interested in hearing NREIA’s opinions on important topics. Congress has a niche mentality. Each Congressional office latches onto different groups that deal with specific issues.

Bruce has interviewed many people and he has found that people appreciate when he helps to explain what his interviewees are trying to write about. Bruce asks if Charles gets to assist Congress by explaining legislation. Charles says that Congress does ask for NREIA’s perspective.

Bruce asks how politically motivated Congress members are to stand up for certain ideas that may be unpopular. Charles says that in the end, it comes down to the impact of voters. NREIA is supporting the bill HR 3440 which changes the way Realtors and dealers are recognized so that people will not be considered a dealer just because they have done a couple installment loans. This will increase the number of land contracts. As NREIA has explained this to Congress, they gained an understanding of how their voters would benefit from the bill and they started to gain interest in the bill.

203K loans were once available to investors, but that program was taken away from investors in 1996. The program allows people to get financing for a house including the repairs. Bruce asks if it is politically unfavorable to help investors. Charles says that investors are no longer an unfavorable group to support. The mortgage brokers and the appraisers are currently the politically unfavorable groups. People who are rehabbing properties are considered politically favorable. REIA has been making an effort to display investors as an important group of people in the real estate industry. Communities that were once not so open to investors are now open because investors have done a great service for them. There are a lot of misconceptions about what happens to an area when there are a lot of rentals there. Bruce was recently interviewed on a television show and the people who viewed his properties were astonished and pleased by the results they saw. People need to be exposed to the changes that investors make in communities. The work that investors do increase employment, increase the values of neighborhoods, and also increase tax revenue. Rebecca estimates that investors contribute about $3 billion dollars to the economy because of the other businesses that are affected by investors.

Bruce asks how investors can send a message to the people who are in charge of financing options that we need more generous financing because it is very difficult to get financing for rentals and properties that need to be fixed. Charles says that banks are looking for a 750 credit score. Right now the banks are sitting on a lot of cash, and NREIA is hoping that HR 3440 will help encourage the banks to lend that cash out.

Right now there is a program that gives owner occupants an $8,000 check for buying their first property. Bruce thinks that it would be better if existing loans could be taken over subject to without worrying about an assumption fee or the lender calling the loan due. FHA once had a loan in which people did not have to qualify for taking over the payment. Under this loan, all you had to do was send in a fee. Bruce asks if there has been any talk about this sort of loan being available again. Charles says that this has not been discussed, but the chances of this showing up will increase as long as NREIA has an influence on Congress.

In California, there are many investors who 1031 exchanged to other states, but cannot return back now. If they exchange without financing, they will have to pay a hefty tax bill, and they cannot get financing once they pass the 10 property limit. A lot of the decisions we are making are preventing our problems from being solved more easily. Rebecca says that part of the problem is that making good changes, which will help investors, may not be politically favorable. As investors continue to be displayed in a positive light, our chances of having helpful legislation get passed will increase.

Bruce asks what date NREIA’s “Day on the Hill” is scheduled for. This event traditionally goes on during April. The technology conference is coming up soon. This conference will allow NREIA to tell people about what NREIA is doing legislatively. NREIA is trying to make investors look good to the public. Information for “Day on the Hill” will be posted on the website after the technology conference, and people will also have the ability to register there.

Bruce asks Charles if there are any bills coming up that are bad for investors. Charles says that there a couple bill trends that are concerning. One is the foreclosure moratoriums, and there is a foreclosure modification process being proposed. This means that judges or someone else will be given the power to modify loans. This modification process is meant to save people from foreclosure, which seems good, but if we do not deal with our problems on a piece by piece basis we will cause more problems.

To find out more about the National Real Estate Investors Association, visit their website at nationalreia.com

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