URGENT! - Must Read - Senate Bill to Crush Our Business

Urgent - Senate Bill to Crush Our Business Must Read Industry needs your help!
Dear Investor, Please read the information below regarding an urgent Bill that has been passed by the House and is being considered in the Senate. You must take action NOW as this will inpact all of us! Dear Fellow Speaker; I don't know if you've heard about HR 1728, but it's a heinous infringement on private property rights that is likely to shut down the creative selling market. IT HAS ALREADY PASSED THE HOUSE AND IS UNDER CONSIDERATION BY THE SENATE NOW. I have attached an article about it that you should blast to your students ASAP, we need massive action on this immediately to stop it. House Bill 1787-Why it's Death to Your Business and What to Do About it. The U.S. Senate is considering a bill that would severely limit the way you do business as a creative investor and, more importantly, is an inexcusable infringement of the property rights of all Americans. HR 1728, which you can view in its entirety here: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1728 deals with a plethora of mortgage-related issues, mostly around limited terms and fees on residential loans. But the heinous piece of the legislation is in section 101(3)(e), which defines the affected principals as: '(E) does not include, with respect to a residential mortgage loan, a person, estate, or trust that provides mortgage financing for the sale of 1 property in any 36-month period, provided that such loan- (i) is fully amortizing; (ii) is with respect to a sale for which the seller determines in good faith and documents that the buyer has a reasonable ability to repay the loan; (iii) has a fixed rate or an adjustable rate that is adjustable after 5 or more years, subject to reasonable annual and lifetime limitations on interest rate increases; and (iv) meets any other criteria the Federal banking agencies may prescribe; and Yeah, I know, confusing. But here's what it says: you are NOT subject to the law as long as you DON'T sell more than 1 property with owner financing every 3 years! Or, to put it another way, you ARE subject to the limitations of the law if you DO sell more than one property every 3 years via a land contract, owner-held mortgage or wrap-around mortgage-and who knows if they'll define lease/options as owner financing, too? So what does it mean to be "subject to the law"? Well, at the very least, it means that you will have to comply with a long, confusing, and penalty-filled piece of national legislation. Here are the types of transactions that you would be restricted from doing more than once every 36 months: o Selling YOUR OWN HOME using a land contract or owner-held mortgage so that you can get a quicker sale, higher sale price, or better rate of interest than is available in other investments o Carrying back owner-held second mortgages on investment properties that you sell o Doing any kind of installment sale on residential properties including homes, condos, mobile homes, and even raw land that is zoned residential Yes, there will undoubtedly by ways to "get around it"-some have suggested that getting a mortgage broker's license and then learning and following the vast new set of regulations would circumvent the "problem". But bottom line is, this law has to be stopped and it has to be stopped NOW. Here's why: 1. Congress is trying to regulate the wrong thing. The deals we make are not "loans"-they don't involve the transfer of money, or points or closing costs or adjustable rates or any of the other things that caused the mortgage crisis to begin with. They are INSTALLMENT SALES. We don't give money to the "borrower" and wait for it to be paid back: we give a property to the borrower and wait for it to be paid off. Regulating this will have no effect on the foreclosure crisis 2. It is a completely unacceptable infringement on private property rights. When I own a piece of property and find a ready, willing, and able purchaser, I should be able to control the sale of that property within the existing laws of my state, which already regulate the interest rate that I am able to charge and some of the terms of the sale. The government does not have the right to tell us that we need special licensing to sell our own properties; nor do they have the right to further regulate the terms under which we can sell or burden small investors with a new set of rules that we can't comply with. Not only will this new law, if passed as written, effectively choke off owner financing as an exit strategy for you, it will also take away housing choice for your buyers. The millions of Americans who've been through foreclosure in the last 3 years can't buy a house in any way OTHER THAN to negotiate owner financing with a seller-and HR 1728 would greatly reduce the number of properties available in this way. Millions of potential home owners who would otherwise be able to re-start the process of paying off a home, and get the tax advantages of ownership, will be reduced to renting until they are able to qualify for bank financing.
What to Do Right Now This bill has already passed the house and is waiting for Senate approval. Please contact your senator via email and snail mail to let him know that this law MUST NOT PASS in its current form. You can get your senator's contact information here: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm As always in cases like this, you have an automatic handicap to overcome-the fact that you are a real estate investor and are therefore viewed as part of the problem. So when you write, don't emphasize the nature of your business, just that you and your buyers would be greatly aversely affected by the new law. We need THOUSANDS of these communications to go out in the next few days to have a CHANCE of stopping this in its tracks. So whether you're a new or experienced investor, PLEASE take the time right now to write your elected representative! PS Vote libertarian! Here are some sample letters or emails. IF YOU HAVE A REAL ESTATE LICENSE Dear Senator [name]; My name is (insert name here) and I am a life-long resident of (insert city name here). I am writing you to encourage you to vote NO on HR 1728, the "Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act". While many of the provisions of the act are positive steps toward mortgage reform, the inclusion of private owners in the act (see section 101(3)(e)) will enormously reduce the housing choice of Ohioans and the ability of home owners to sell properties in this already-slow market. As a real estate broker, I have seen several dozen cases in the past year of home sellers and buyers coming to an agreement for an installment sale on a property that the owner desperately needed to sell (often to avoid foreclosure) and the buyer desperately wanted to buy, but could not raise the downpayment needed for conventional financing. In all cases, these sales turned out to be win-win deals for the buyer and seller; the seller was able to get rid of an unwanted property to a buyer who loved it, and the buyer was able to get his new home at an affordable payment and interest rates with none of the usual costs (points, application fees etc) inherent in more conventional mortgage transactions. In Ohio, these transactions are already regulated by state law: a low maximum interest rate is already in place, and both the buyer and seller are protected by other regulations at the state level. In defense of private property rights, owners should be exempted from the burdensome and unnecessary rules that this law foists upon them. In its current form, it would all but shut off the "owner financing" market that is the only way that many sellers can sell and many buyers can buy right now. PLEASE DO NOT LET THIS RESTRICTION ON PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS PASS THE SENATE. It is unnecessary to stop private buyers and sellers from transacting business that is beneficial to both of them-they are not the problem that the bill seeks to solve. HR 1728 would be extremely harmful to thousands of your constituents. It will exacerbate the problem OF foreclosure, as fewer sellers will be able to sell their homes to avoid it, and CAUSED BY foreclosure, as fewer buyers who have recently experienced foreclosure will be able to re-start the process of home ownership inexpensively and easily by negotiating owner financing. Thank you for your consideration; Insert Name Licensed Real Estate Broker license # Phone # email IF YOU SELL HOUSES WITH OWNER FINANCING Dear Senator [name]; My name is (insert name here) and I am a life-long resident of (insert city name here). I am writing you to encourage you to vote NO on HR 1728, the "Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act". While many of the provisions of the act are positive steps toward mortgage reform, the inclusion of private owners in the act (see section 101(3)(e)) will enormously reduce the housing choice of Ohioans and the ability of home owners to sell properties in this already-slow market. As a professional housing provider, I sell several houses each year to home buyers on installment sale [or, if you have not purchased a property, add here: "I had planned to sell several houses this year on installment sale]-a practice that would become impossible under this law in its current form. I find that in today's slow market, the best way for me to help buyers who desperately want to become homeowners, but who cannot raise the downpayment or meet the other terms needed for conventional financing, is to allow them to make payments directly to me. These sales are win-win deals for both the buyer and myself; I am able to turn over homes that I've bought and rehabbed (often from foreclosures) to buyers who love and can afford them, and the buyer can get his new home at an affordable payment and interest rates with none of the usual costs (points, application fees etc) inherent in more conventional mortgage transactions. In Ohio, these transactions are already regulated by state law: a low maximum interest rate is already in place, and both the buyer and seller are protected by other regulations at the state level. Without the ability to sell homes in this way, I will no longer be able to invest in and renovate any of the tens of thousands of vacant, ugly houses placed on the market by the foreclosure crisis, and my small-but-beneficial business will literally be in ruins. Perhaps more importantly, the homeowner-buyers that I serve will be forced to rent rather than moving toward the American dream of home ownership. In defense of private property rights, owners should be exempted from the burdensome and unnecessary rules that this law foists upon them. In its current form, it would all but shut off the "owner financing" market that is the only way that many sellers can sell and many buyers can buy right now. PLEASE DO NOT LET THIS RESTRICTION ON PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS PASS THE SENATE. It is unnecessary to stop private buyers and sellers from transacting business that is beneficial to both of them-they are not the problem that the bill seeks to solve. HR 1728 would be extremely harmful to thousands of your constituents. It will exacerbate the problem OF foreclosure, as fewer sellers will be able to sell their homes to avoid it, and CAUSED BY foreclosure, as fewer buyers who have recently experienced foreclosure will be able to re-start the process of home ownership inexpensively and easily by negotiating owner financing. Thank you for your consideration; Insert Name Perfect Properties, inc. Phone number email IF YOU BUY HOUSES WITH OWNER FINANCING Dear Senator [name]; My name is (insert name here) and I am a life-long resident of (insert city name here). I am writing you to encourage you to vote NO on HR 1728, the "Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act". While many of the provisions of the act are positive steps toward mortgage reform, the inclusion of private owners in the act (see section 101(3)(e)) will enormously reduce the housing choice of Ohioans and the ability of home owners to sell properties in this already-slow market. In the past year, I have purchased and renovated several homes-made possible only because the sellers of these homes were able to sell to me using owner financing in an unrestricted way. For many of these property owners, seller financing was the only way to unburden themselves of an unwanted property that, in some cases, was headed toward foreclosure before I purchased it. Without this ability, I can not continue to buy and renovate properties in the neighborhoods that so need me and my colleagues to invest our time, energy, and money in rehabbing properties. Bank financing is not an option for these properties because of the condition; only financing carried by the sellers will suffice. Section 101(3)(e) would keep my sellers from utilizing this method of getting rid of unwanted properties in today's market, should they have more than 1 to sell. In defense of private property rights, owners should be exempted from the burdensome and unnecessary rules that this law foists upon them. In its current form, it would all but shut off the "owner financing" market that is the only way that many sellers can sell and many buyers can buy right now. PLEASE DO NOT LET THIS RESTRICTION ON PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS PASS THE SENATE. It is unnecessary to stop private buyers and sellers from transacting business that is beneficial to both of them-they are not the problem that the bill seeks to solve. HR 1728 would be extremely harmful to thousands of your constituents. It will exacerbate the problem OF foreclosure, as fewer sellers will be able to sell their homes to avoid it, and CAUSED BY foreclosure, as fewer buyers who have recently experienced foreclosure will be able to re-start the process of home ownership inexpensively and easily by negotiating owner financing. Thank you for your consideration; Insert Name Perfect Properties, inc. Phone number email

Real Estate Investor Survey

Attention Investors!!!

Check out the latest Real Estate Investor Survey

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=0CP0GViOh0ZbFf3_2f_2fdhO_2fA_3d_3d

It's quick, it's free, and there are only 10 questions to answer.

A Great Time To Be A Real Estate Investor

The world's richest man, Warren Buffett, says it best. "I will tell you how to become rich. Close the doors. Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful." In today's real estate market, naive investors are fearful. Choose to be greedy. Choose to be rich.

While others run from the chaos, savvy investors are doing what they do best. They're "bargain hunting". They realize that there's a record number of troubled homeowners who need to sell fast to avoid foreclosure. And they know that these homeowners are often willing to sell at big discounts.

But these savvy investors are NOT combing through lists of bank foreclosures, HUD homes, REO properties, or MLS listings to find these bargain-priced properties. They realize that those are not good places to find deals. Those types of properties are discounted by 10% to 15% at the most. They are over-shopped, and too much competition drives up the prices and squeezes your profits.

Instead, savvy investors look for, and find, the best deals right here on this website. They look here because the fixer uppers on this site are under-shopped and under-priced. Almost none of them are available to the general public. They are "under the radar". And as a result, most of the properties on this website are for sale at discounts of 20% to 50% off their actual value.
Do what savvy investors do. Use this site to profit from fixer uppers in the St Louis Area before other investors even know they exist. Simply send me your first name and primary email address to learn how to get FREE access. Act now, and start turning chaos into cash.

Take Some Risks

"All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it's impossible), but in calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer." - Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince

Taking risks can be one of the most uncomfortable things to do. The prospect of stepping out of one's comfort zone in a grand endeavor and for many, even small endeavors can stop the masses dead in their tracks. People fear change. What ever you choose to dream and desire, be certain to if nothing else, take baby steps towards your goals. In those baby steps comfort will grow and with that comfort will come the confidence to take bigger steps out of your comfort zone. Practice breeds confidence and confidence breeds action. Ultimately repeated positive action will lead to Success. So the message for today is...Take Some Risks! You will never regret it. Because when you take them, it will be those moments that you feel the most alive. Go For It!

The Economy and Chicken Little

Good Evening Everyone,
If you're into videos then check out this interesting analogy comparing the economy with Chicken Little and what they have in common. If you're not into videos, check it out anyway. It is brilliant how Brian Wong tied the two together in his blog relating to modern times and the current condition including suggestions on how to NOT get caught up in the whirlwind of misinformation that bombards us daily.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrYPzh0OyhE&feature=player_embedded

Hope you enjoy the video.

Have a Great Week!

Steve

Business Networking

Have I found a great site for all of you business networkers. If you're looking for a way to communicate, meet, and greet potential clients, customers, partners, etc. look no further. At "Fast Pitch" you will find just about every type of person you will ever need to contact for your business solutions and needs. Check it out when you have a minute. They offer a free basic site, and pay sites also. If money is tight then FREE is always a good place to start. Here's a link to my public profile site. The member site is even better. This is worth your time, effort, and further investigation. That's it for now.

To your continued success!

Steve

http://www.fastpitchnetworking.com/profile.cfm?ContactID=52359763&Style=3

Web Video - "Skype.com" and "ooVoo.com"

www.Skype.com or www.ooVoo.com - Which is better for you?

Both great in their own way.
Both offer the Free Option (Free is good).
Skype is primarily for person to person communication.
ooVoo can facilitate from 2-6 people in simultaneous video conference.
Both are user friendly.
Both set up quick.
Both offer a variety of functions to facilitate your communication needs.

I've been using "Skype" now for at least a year. Iive it a thumbs up.

Today out of curiosity (also good advertising caught my attention) I opened a free account with "ooVoo".

Which is better? Really depends on your needs. If just person to person contact is desired then both will suffice. If more people are required to be involved in the communication process, then ooVoo.com will better fulfill that demand.

What I like about "ooVoo" is you can creat and send video messages with great ease and simplicity. By the way, Ease and Simplicity are good also.

Check it out for yourself and have fun with it.

Steve
http://webvideocall.oovoo.com/callme/spl4361/202