Real Estate Investing: Beware of Subject To Promises

Another real estate writer's mini course, full of promises and fluff, ended with a "lesson" on why you need to buy his book so you can finance multiple properties "subject to." The reason, he said, "because banks won't let you finance more than ten mortgages."

This simply isn't true.

First, banks let you finance as many mortgages as you can pay for. Some banks limit the number of loans made to one person. Experienced real estate investors just move on to another lending institution.

I know one investor who owns more than one hundred single family homes. All have mortgages. He constantly refinances one rental for the down payment to buy the next. Besides living off the cash flow from his rentals, he also refinances a rental occasionally to take his family on a first-class vacation.

Another investor, my friend who owns the carpet company we use for our fixers, owns more than fifty rentals. None were purchased "subject to" the existing loan. Many were purchased "all cash" for quick closings, with mortgages added later.

For beginning real estate investors, looking for an owner willing to sell their property "subject to" the existing loan adds a frustrating component to the search for a profitable property. Today's savvy home sellers just won't sell to a buyer who can't cash them out.

Of course, some investors offer "subject to" and lease-option purchases. But, properties with most of the equity stripped out come with payments too high for rental income to support. These properties make better candidates for owner-occupant home buyers with poor credit who don't mind paying more for a house.

Beware of "subject to" seminars, books, and promotions. This real estate investing method worked last century.

Copyright (c) 2005 Jeanette J. Fisher. All Rights Reserved.

Jeanette Fisher teaches real estate investing and credit college courses. She became a credit expert to help her real estate students buy their dream home and multiple investment properties. Jeanette is the author of "Credit Help! Get the Credit You Need to Buy Real Estate" and other books. For a free report, "Credit Tips for Mortgage Financing," visit the Real Estate Credit Help Center http://recredithelp.com

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion deal with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure practices. New York, Nevada and Delaware joined California in holding out for better terms.

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion settlement with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure procedures, but California, New York and other key states were still not among them.

California has until Monday to share in a multi-state deal with banks to obtain mortgage relief and reforms. Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, who walked away from talks last year, says the door remains open.

With a Monday deadline at hand, California officials have resumed direct talks with the Obama administration about joining a multibillion-dollar, multi-state mortgage settlement with the nation's largest banks, a source said Sunday.

The talk show host pays $12 million for the 4,088-square-foot house with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The ocean-view home sits on 1.26 bluff-top acres with beach access.

In one of the more talked-about transactions in town, actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have sold their Malibu beach house to daytime host and comedian Ellen De Generes for $12 million.

The four-bedroom, five-bathroom house built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore lists for $2,875,000.

A decorative cast stone entrance opens to this restored Spanish Colonial Revival-style house in Pasadena's South Orange Grove area. Built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore, the house retains such original details as coffered wood ceilings and arched doorways.

They don't believe they can sell their property for what it's worth, so they're spending money on making their homes more comfortable.

Do you fit any of these descriptions?

A biennial research report by the National Assn. of Realtors indicates that a handful of real estate agents and brokers and their clients either don't know the law or don't care to follow it.

When it comes to lawsuits, real estate agents and brokers tangle mostly among themselves.

The president aims to help about 3.5 million people with good credit who are unable to refinance at historically low rates because their homes are worth less than their mortgages.

 

The White House hopes to help millions of homeowners lower their monthly mortgage bill with a $5 billion to $10 billion plan to set up a streamlined refinancing program for people who are current on their payments.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 large U.S. cities fell 1.3% in November from October as foreclosures continue to drag down the housing market.

Three straight months of home-price declines in the biggest U.S. cities showed that foreclosures remain a significant drag on a housing market that is entering its fifth year of deterioration.

L.A. Clipper Chris Paul may be quick down the court, but he moves pretty fast when it comes to buying multimillion-dollar real estate too.