Real Estate | Lender lays off staff in Bellevue | Seattle Times Newspaper

Sub-Prime woes reach the Bellevue Area.

Getting loans to buy a house is not the only issue with the Sub-prime lenders going belly up. We had 40 local employees loose their jobs.

Are we at the tip of the iceberg? or half way down the slope?

Real Estate Lender lays off staff in Bellevue Seattle Times Newspaper

Real Estate | Buying a home here: You'll pay even more | Seattle Times Newspaper

This article in the Seattle Times as well as a news report on King 5-TV the other night were very indicative of the Real Estate Market in Seattle.

While we are slowing we are still very strong. Much to the consternation to the rest of the West Coast. Where housing has slowed and prices declined in many or coastal areas like LA, San Diego and San Francisco the market here in Seattle has seen strength.

I know that houses are still tough to find because people can list and sell or even sell FSBO and get a quick sale.

Real Estate Buying a home here: You'll pay even more Seattle Times Newspaper

Investing in Foreclosures have always intrigued want to be investors. People think that they can come in a buy a property on the court house steps and make a killing.

I have been to many investor auctions around the country and am always amazed that people will pay top dollar on such a risky strategy. This is one of the reasons that I recommend investing in Pre-Foreclosure properties.

Frankly this is a lot of work and requires a marketing budget. There are many people who are afraid of working this much and would rather pass on the opportunity. Which is okay with me.

If you are are still interested in the strategy of investing in properties in foreclosure read the following article.

Foreclosure Investing is not as it appears

This is a great primer on Mortgage Lending and will apply to all real estate investors as well as the clients they are selling their properties to.

Real Estate Subprime market news not all bad Seattle Times Newspaper

Loan Modifications and Shortsale tax consequences. This is a very good simplistic explanation of how the IRS looks upon these procedures.

Real Estate Hey, IRS, ain't that a kick in the head? Seattle Times Newspaper

Here is another piece concerning sub-prime loans and what the reporter describes as predatory lending. I am always constantly amazed that people who are stretching to get into a home or stretching to do a cash out refinance are complaining after the fact that they have been put into a precarious position.

This reporter basically absolves the borrower of everything they did wrong leading up to being put into a position where they may end up going into foreclosure. It is a very sympathetic piece to the person who puts themselves into harms way with their financial lives.

I am absolutely amazed that these people where told no many times as well as attended a first time home buyers class to determine their eligibility. They learned that they should not buy a house at this time in their lives. Yet they went about researching for a way to do so.

People must be held accountable for their own actions. The borrowers put themselves into debt in many ways. They then sought another avenue to buy a house after they were told they could not afford one. It is not like they laked for a place to live if they did not buy a house. They wanted to buy a house so they did.

I am not absolving the lender no matter how unflattering a light the reporter put her in. She offers a service to borrowers when they need a loan for what ever reason. She gets paid on commission for doing so. I don't doubt that she puts much effort into closing as many loans as she can. And no I don't feel sorry for her not being able to pay her mortgage if she was unable to close loans. A blind man could have seen this coming from a thousand miles away. You can read an article I wrote last September on this very topic on my website.

Local News Borrower, beware: Debt disaster looms as rates rise on easy-money mortgages Seattle Times Newspaper

This will shed a little bit of light in the realm of Title insurance. We always pay for this insurance and most investors have no idea what they are paying for. When you come to our Boot camp in May there will be a representative of a title company there to ask questions. This will let us better understand what we need to do to make sure that we are covered and what Title insurance actually is and does.

Real Estate Cozy setups swelling price tag of title insurance Seattle Times Newspaper