Archive for May, 2009

Rocky and I Goof Around

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

Hello again fellow investor!

Hope you had a nice Memorial Day weekend! I sure did. Plenty of fun in the sun … but also plenty of time to goof around with my best friend Rocky. Click into the image below to view some YouTube videos of Rocky, the “official” myHouseDeals.com mascot. I recorded these videos for my own entertainment, but here’s a sneak peek into our world! My favorite is the one where he’s afraid of the ice. But too bad YouTube disabled the sound on that one. Apparently, my TV was playing some copyrighted song in the background.

And if you haven’t done so yet, be sure to to search for Rocky on this blog, and you’ll find several pics of him … and a few wacky stories too. Enjoy!

Do you have any pics of your pet that you’d like to share? If so, just leave a comment on this blog posting so that all of us can meet your best friend!

Until next time, happy (and profitable) investing!

Doug Smith
Real Estate Investor
Founder of MyHouseDeals.com

Shimmers of Light Shine on Housing Market

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

Hey folks,

With all the doom and gloom in today’s media, I wanted to take a moment to address the changes we’re seeing in the current real estate market. I honestly believe things aren’t as bad as some people are making it seem. Here are some examples of the positive outlook of the housing market:

Housing Affordability at All-Time Best (Barron’s)
Housing affordability (measured as the percentage of income needed to afford the monthly cost of a median-priced home) reached an all-time best in the first quarter of 2009! Areas with the highest levels of foreclosures showed the largest year-over-year increase in sales in the last quarter – 46% in Arizona, 80% in California, 25% in Florida, and 111% in Nevada.

Homes: Most Affordable in 2 Decades (CNNMoney)
The NAHB is also addressing the increasing affordability of housing. According to the Housing Opportunity Index, 72.5% of all houses sold in the first three months of 2009 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,000 (up from 62.4% during the previous quarter). Affordability scores are going up all over the nation.

U.S. MBA Mortgage Applications Index Rose 2.3 Percent Last Week (Bloomberg)
Lower interest rates are contributing to the rise in mortgage applications in the US. Rates for new mortgage rates and refinancing are still very near the all-time record low we saw back in March; this incentive, in addition to more affordable housing, is going to help the slumping real estate market because people are seeing how attractive it is to purchase a home right now.

Signs Of Housing Bottom Building (Investopedia)
Home building companies across the nation are seeing vast improvements in their stock prices (D.R. Horton is up 150% from their 52 week low). Several real estate based Exchange-Traded Funds have appreciated between 25-30% since March. According to this article, “Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve chief, recently suggested that the U.S. is ‘at the edge of a major liquidation; in the stock of unsold properties.  If that’s so, we should expect a recovery to be close at hand.”

The Housing Market Hits the Bottom (Huliq)
Almost half of Realtors surveyed by HomeGain.com expect home prices to stop falling and start rising in the next six months. Since the number of foreclosures entering the market have slowed, new home construction is down, and more buyers are now able to buy homes, the inventory of homes on the market is quickly dropping and therefore encouraging buying.

If you are serious about buying investment property, I highly encourage you to do it NOW. You must buy while prices are still low and fear is rampant. Once things start looking too rosy, bargains will be tougher to find. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Until next time, happy (and profitable) investing!

Doug Smith
Real Estate Investor
Founder of MyHouseDeals.com

Urgent: the webinar starts in two hours!

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

I just wanted to remind you that the Debt Resolution webinar starts in TWO HOURS at 7PM Central time. If you haven’t already registered, you need to go do that now.

Yes, sign me up for the free webinar.

There’s gonna be some debt-slashing going on tonight! Are you ready?!

Until tonight, happy (and profitable) investing!

Doug Smith
MyHouseDeals.com

P.S. Don’t forget that in addition to reducing your debt by 60%, Bruce will also tell you how you can make money by helping other people get rid of their debt and improve their credit. If you haven’t registered, hurry up and do it now! Yes, sign me up for the free webinar!

What debt settlement companies don’t tell you…

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

Ever since I announced the webinar yesterday, I’ve received a lot of questions about the debt expert that I’m bringing in tonight. His name is Bruce Mack, and we’ll be discussing his debt resolution program.

I wanted to give you a better idea of what to expect tonight, so I recorded a short video for you. Click play below to watch it:

The webinar is going to begin tonight at 7PM Central Time. Yes, sign me up for the free webinar!

Bruce Mack is acutely aware of the current credit market crisis. He has had the foresight to react with a debt reduction program like none other available today to combat the crisis head on. Bruce has teamed up with a top legal firm that offers the opportunity to dispose of 60% of the debt of debt-challenged investors and others in need, guaranteed! The Debt Resolution program has a 10 year successful track record of consistent results that work. The company utilizes a proprietary process created and refined over the past decade to get the industry’s highest results.

Debt Resolution is not debt settlement, credit counseling, bankruptcy, etc. It’s different than any other program out there. Unlike debt settlement firms, the foundation of Debt Resolution creates a better result since there are no tax consequences on the unpaid balance. That means you won’t have to pay income tax on the debt that Bruce disposes of! Did you know forgiven debt is considered taxable income? This makes Debt Resolution the obvious choice to reduce debt without the unnecessary stigma or negative consequences of bankruptcy.

Yes, sign me up for the free webinar!

See you tonight!

Doug Smith
MyHouseDeals.com

P.S. Remember, this isn’t just for people with debt or bad credit – it’s very useful for everyone, especially your sellers and buyers. Make sure you’re on the webinar tonight! Yes, sign me up for the free webinar!

Your survey results… I’m shocked!

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

On Monday I sent you a survey asking what’s holding you back from buying real estate today. Thanks for participating (you did, right?). Most of the participants said the main factors holding them back were not being able to secure funding and their low/damaged credit score (58%!). It’s no surprise to me that these two factors were together at the top, because many times one depends on the other and oftentimes both are caused by having a large amount of debt…

… If that is what’s holding you back, I say it’s NO EXCUSE! BUT if you’re going to worry about it, then I want to help fix it.

If you are worried about your debt situation and think you can do better, you must be on tomorrow’s webinar. You read it right, it happens TOMORROW – I’m giving you no chance to keep using your credit or funding as an excuse for not investing.

I’m bringing the leading guy in debt resolution and credit repair to talk to you. He has an amazing service for reducing your debt and improving your credit that you have to see to believe.

The webinar is going to be tomorrow at 7PM Central Time. Yes, sign me up for the free webinar!

If you’re one of the investors who told me credit or debt is a major problem in your life, you need to be on this webinar!

AND even if you didn’t say that credit or debt was a limiting factor in your investing, trust me, you would still benefit immensely from this webinar. Even if you don’t have a problem, you’re still probably dealing with buyers and sellers who do. Am I right?

As an added bonus, this webinar will show you how to turn “prospective buyers” into “actual buyers” by slashing their debt and improving their credit. The end result? More buyers qualify to buy your houses, so you sell them faster and get paid faster.

You’ll also learn how to make more money from each motivated seller you speak with. In addition to buying their home, you can make extra profits by providing them with debt reduction and credit repair services. The end result? You make an extra $200 or more from each motivated seller.

Yes, sign me up for the free webinar!

Until next time, happy (and profitable) investing!

Doug Smith
MyHouseDeals.com

P.S. this is not the same old debt resolution program you may have heard of before! On the webinar, we’ll be discussing a brand new strategy for slashing your debt by more than half and paying off what’s left in a convenient way. Be sure to register now. Yes, sign me up for the free webinar!

What’s holding you back?

Monday, May 11th, 2009

Just like me, I’m sure you’ve had setbacks in your real estate investing at one time or another. However, I’m curious to know…

What is the main factor keeping you from buying real estate today? If you are currently buying properties, why aren’t you buying more?

Go here to answer this one question.

I really appreciate your answer. It will tell me exactly what I need to focus on to help you elevate your business to the next level.

Until next time, happy (and profitable) investing!

Doug Smith
MyHouseDeals.com

P.S. Look for updates about this survey from me soon! Thanks.

Forget about real estate investing

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

Hello again fellow investor!

I have 3 important updates for you today…

First, I want you to forget about real estate investing … for a brief moment … and check out this AMAZING performance by Adam Lambert on American Idol last night.

Adam Lambert Video

Isn’t he the best singer on Idol, EVER?

Second, I’d like for you to know that Flipper, the MyHouseDeals.com blog turned 2 on Monday! I can’t believe that’s it’s been 2 years already. To celebrate, I’ve included links to the most popular blog postings of all time. They are sorted from the most recent to the oldest. I hope you enjoy!

What would you do with a million dollars?

Goodbye Everyone

Hell Freezes Over … Rocky gets a job!

Civil War Erupts at MyHouseDeals.com

“It’s Not Right!” cried Paris Hilton to myHouseDeals.com

Doug’s Day Out

Mourning a Loss

Pics of Me as a Kid

And third, I’d like for you to help me in wishing my dog, Rocky, a happy birthday! Like the blog, he also turns 2 this week. And to celebrate, he’s spending all day today at “doggie day care” where he’ll be playing with … and most likely trying to dominate … all of the other little pups. You’ve already seen Rocky as a grown-up dog from one of the postings above, but here are some pics of him as a cute puppy. Enjoy!

Rocky as a pup (pics from 2007)

Well, that’s all for now. Enough play time. Back to investing for you! :-)

Until next time, happy (and profitable) investing!

Doug Smith
Real Estate Investor
Founder of MyHouseDeals.com