Roxy's Weekly Mortgage Update

As the news continues to proclaim that we are breaking free of this painful recession, mortgage rates continue to stay in a very tight range, remaining at extremely low levels. There is little doubt that this
is contributing to some positive news in the housing marketing. According to the S&P/Case-Shiller
20-city home price index, we’ve now gone two months with prices actually increasing. While there
are many elements necessary to moving out of this recession, stabilization in the housing market will
significantly contribute to overall economic recovery.

This week is a jam-packed week of important economic news. The ISM Manufacturing Index is
expected to tic over the 50-mark, indicating that manufacturing is finally expanding. Employment
data is also due on Friday, with expectations of minimal change to our present situation. Even if we
have good economic news, we could see rates not climbing too severely as lenders are beginning to
see lessening risks of foreclosures as the housing market shows signs of recovery.

Market Update

Monday's bond market has opened in positive territory following early stock weakness. The stock markets are ending the month on a negative note with the Dow down 90 points and the Nasdaq down 25 points. The bond market is currently up 6/32, which will likely improve this morning's mortgage rates by approximately .250 of a discount point.

Investing In Foreclosures

In an effort to turn a negative situation to a positive I thought I’d write about the foreclosure market and investing in bank owned properties or more commonly call REO’s. Information is everything so I’ve put together a short list of websites and information to help you get started. I will continue to add to this information as I discover it as I am always learning too.

You need to know what properties, how much the loan amounts are and what time frame you have to work within. The county in which the property is located is the best source of this information. Check with the county recorder’s office for Default Date, Sale Dates and you can get a copy of the deed or mortgage there as well. To make it easier you can subscribe to a service that obtains these records and sells the information through monthly membership. Here are two I can recommend; http://www.foreclosuredatabank.com/foreclosure_investment.htm http://www.realtytrac.com/ and http://publicrecords.netronline.com this will save you time from looking them up. Once you know what properties are in default you can meet with owners directly and offer to buy, you can arrange financing to save the property and possible rent back to current owners or whatever you think is appropriate for all involved.
I put together a list of websites to help you gain the knowledge you need. It’s important you go into real estate investing with eyes wide open. Researching and planning is critical to a new investor. Remember staying within the laws of the state the property is located is crucial, do your research, find out the states uses for Mortgage or Trust Deeds, legal time frames are important too.

Simply Foreclosures A free beginner’s guide to foreclosures.

SmartHOMEBUY Complete property reports covering; Comparable sales, property valuation, crime, schools, natural hazards, environmental information and more….
Yahoo! HOME Values How much is your property worth?
Domania provides the easiest access to home values and real estate tools to help you with your property search
ZILLOW  Look up home values, talk to real estate agent, loan consultants, ask questions, maps and lots more.I personally love this site, look me up I am an approved lender.
Legal WIZ Great site to obtain forms.
Money is important too; having some is helpful you will need some to back your purchases. If you don’t have money you can still do deals, find properties etc. but finding someone who is willing to invest in your deals would be a helpful source. So if you’re not in the money now find someone to help you with your first couple of deals until you can invest on your own. But even if no one and no money is your situation, deals are out there, don’t let the lack of money stop you from doing a deal.
Click Here for Mortgage Calculator or visit my website for more information.
Roxy's WEBSITE great place to learn about financing and real estate.
Roxy's BLOG I write about Real Estate… Financing and my life on Oahu’s North Shore.
There is much to learn, you can attend Seminars, you can purchase a array of books and courses. You can search the internet. Whatever you do don’t take any short cuts. But don’t let anyone tell you, you can’t do it. Knowledge is power just waiting to be used.
Call me anytime and I will help you with whatever I can to get you moving in the right direction to meet your goals. Good Luck!

Aloha Friday... On North Shore

TGIF..... It's been a great week. I've completed some projects that have been hanging over my head. It's a beautiful morning on the North shore of Oahu, we have a little bump in the surf 3 to 5 ft waves are forecasted the next couple of days. That will make our little town of Haleiwa a surfing magnet and busy. You would never know their was anything wrong with the economy by looking a Haleiwa anytime after Noon on most any day. It's just a bustling little town full of tourist shopping at all the specialty shops and eating at our great restaurants. On the weekends we get locals from other parts of the island enjoying some away time in the country. Living in this sweet little part of paradise is really wonderful. Seeing it come a live with people is fun. I love to people watch. Specially our Japanese visitors, they are so much fun. I really need to learn the Japanese language, wouldn't it be fun to communicate with them in their own language. If you are planning a trip to Oahu, North Shore is a must see! Call me if your in town I'll tell you some hot spots to visit. Maybe we can have a cup of coffee at the Coffee Gallery. Aloha and Mahalo for visiting my blog. Have a great weekend!

Market Update

Friday's bond market opened in negative territory following early gains in stocks, but the markets have since swapped positions with stocks in negative ground and the bond market up slightly. The Dow is currently down 40 points while the Nasdaq is nearly unchanged from yesterday's close. The bond market is now up 2/32, but we will likely still see an increase in this morning's mortgage rates of approximately .125 of a discount point

Market Update

Thursday's bond market has opened flat again as investors seem to be unmoved by recent economic data. The stock markets are showing losses with the Dow down 30 points and the Nasdaq down 19 points. The bond market is currently down 5/32, but I am not expecting to see much of a change in this morning's mortgage rates.

Flipping Houses

I get a lot of questions from my clients who want to invest in real estate. Most people are taking the conservative approach and asking lots of questions and being very cautious and in today’s market they should be very careful. Some of the questions being asked most frequently are about flipping houses. Can it be done and how does it work. Can I really make lot of money and possibly replace my job? YES, it can be done but I wouldn’t give up your day job so soon. Flipping houses is harder than it looks and should not be ventured into unless you’ve done your homework and you’re ready for a challenge.


If you’ve been thinking and dreaming of making money in real estate, now is a great time in our economy to get started. As a nation we need people to start the recovery process and as individuals we can do this by buying up foreclosures and REO properties under market value the key to making money flipping houses. The housing market will NOT recover until these properties are sold off and are no longer setting low values in our neighborhoods. Many of these homes have been striped or need major repairs. You buy low and sell them for a profit. Flipping house is a great way to make a fortune in real estate, so don’t listen to anyone who tells you it cannot be done.

There are loan programs to help with low downs and restoration loans. Seller credits are allowed for closing costs, so you can get started with little out of pocket expenses. Smart shopping and learning the things to do and not to do is the hard part. You can get information about house flipping on www.flippinghomes.com also see investor blogs for 1st hand real stories. They have FREE Access to Flipping Homes tips, strategies and experts. Putting together a team is essential; a Realtor is essential and will be your biggest asset when it comes time for finding the right property and negotiations with the seller. Find one you can either partner up with or someone you are really confident in to help you. Having a Loan Consultant is also essential and can make it easier both with your purchase and then when selling your flipper the Loan Consultant will help qualify your buyers. In today’s market we are seeing most houses bought by First Time Home Buyer, so sticking to affordable home or staying in the conforming market would be a wise choice. That’s any loan in most states of 417,000.00. or below. When you ready to get started flipping properties call me, I’d love to help you make it as a flipper.

Beautiful Day On The North Shore

Today is one of those day you thank god for being alive. I woke up at 5:30AM to beautiful purple cloudy skies over the ocean, calm winds and the birds calling over the waves breaking in a distance. Made some coffee and just watched the clouds that eventually opened up and gave us a light rain that quickly move through and bought us the sun breaking over the mountains to the east over Waimea Bay. Work however is calling and I must get to it. Just wanted to share my slice of heaven on earth. Good Morning!

Market Update

Wednesday's bond market has opened flat despite stronger than expected economic news. The stock markets are showing minor gains with the Dow up 30 points and the Nasdaq up 6 points. The bond market is nearly unchanged from yesterday's closing level, but we will still likely see a slight improvement in this morning's mortgage rates due to strength in bonds late yesterday.

Market Update

Tuesday's bond market has opened in negative territory after this morning's economic news showed a higher level of consumer confidence than was expected. The stock markets are showing gains with the Dow is currently up 70 points the Nasdaq up14 points. The bond market is currently down 7/32, but we will see an improvement in this morning's mortgage rates of approximately .375 of a discount point due to strength late yesterday.

Roxy's Weekly Mortgage Update

With the Fed’s recent policy announcement, and the comments of various Fed officials over the last

two weeks, many believe that the Fed will support low mortgage rates at least until we see economic
growth return in earnest. This, combined with more news last week that inflation is not a near-term
issue, helped mortgage rates ease back downward. Even with additional signs that the economy is
coming back to life, including another increase the Leading Indicators, rates still moved downward.

Short of very unexpected economic news, mortgage rates do not have far to move downward. As has
been the case for some time, the potential for a spike upward is significantly higher than the potential
for a large drop. This week holds two pieces of economic data that could move rates. Consumer
Confidence is expected to recover some, but 2nd quarter GDP is expected to be revised to -1.5%. If
we see Confidence rise significantly and GDP is revised upward, we could be watching mortgage rates
climb as we move through the week. Otherwise, rates are likely to stay relatively flat.

Market Updates

Monday's bond market has opened in negative territory following early stock gains. The stock markets are kicking the week off by continuing Friday's rally. The Dow is currently up 73 points while the Nasdaq has gained 13 points. The bond market is down 5/32, which with Friday's afternoon weakness should push this morning's mortgage rates higher by approximately .375 of a discount point compared to Friday's morning

My BAD!

I am really bad about posting on my blog, one of these days I'll get to it on a regular basis. A bigger audience would help. Sometimes it seem like I'm blogging to myself. So if your out there and you come across my blog, make a comment or ask a question. At least I'll know someone is looking.

More Market UPdates

Additional evidence appeared last week that we may be very close to the bottom of this recession.While it is the nineteenth straight month of job losses, July saw only 247,000 jobs lost with a tiny improvement in the unemployment rate. The ISM Manufacturing Index also revealed greater signs of life than expected. Mortgage rates did end the week with some upward pressure that may continue into this week, especially if the positive economic news continues.

While this week is packed with important economic data, the most influential news of the week could be the policy announcement that accompanies the Fed’s rate decision. The Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged, but analysts are seeking hints on how the Fed will unwind itself from financial markets. This year, the Fed has purchased nearly every mortgage-backed security on the market. If the Fed hints it will begin slowing those purchases, we could see rates rise.
However, if the Fed offers no hints, we may see some flattening pressure on rates, even with good economic news.