AAOA News

by Russ Whitney

Believe it or not, when I first got started in real estate I only needed $1,000. You don’t need much more than that even today. And yes, I was able to turn that $1,000 into millions in just several years. Try getting that kind of return in the stock market or in just about any other investment!

Getting Started In Real Estate Investing
It’s a common misconception that you need to have money to make money. Or you need tens of thousands of dollars to invest in real estate. That would be nice. And if you have it great! But if you don’t that’s fine too. Keep in mind, our goal is to generate cash flow quickly. So you don’t need a lot of money to get started. Do you have $1? Seriously, that’s all you may need. (more…)

New Timelines Take Effect in June

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop enhanced and aligned strategies for facilitating short sales, deeds-in-lieu and deeds-for-lease in order to help more homeowners avoid foreclosure. The effort will come in stages with the first taking place this June.

The new, aligned timelines include the requirement that mortgage servicers review and respond to requests for short sales within 30 calendar days from receipt of a short sale offer. (more…)

Although commercial real estate markets showed signs of recovery in 2011, commercial lending standards have tightened in the past year for small businesses and scuttled a major portion of contracted transactions for smaller properties, according to the National Association of Realtors® annual Commercial Real Estate 2012 Lending Survey.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said there is a significant split in commercial lending depending on value. “This is very much a tale of two markets. There have been notable improvements in capital for large commercial transactions valued at $2.5 million or higher, but there remain significant challenges for small business,” he said. (more…)

The apartment industry has enjoyed its fifth consecutive quarter of uninterrupted growth, according to the latest results of the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions.

The report proves that optimism continues for the multifamily industry. The findings reflect a gradual recovery for the multifamily sector that faced a 50-year low in apartment starts in 2009. (more…)

Freddie Mac announced its highest-producing multifamily mortgage sellers of 2011.

“It was an outstanding year of partnership with these lenders who make a difference in their communities everyday by providing loans for the growing apartment rental market,” says David Brickman, senior vice president of Freddie Mac Multifamily. “They achieved this status through hard work, persistence and a commitment to the industry. These lenders have hung in there during this challenging economic environment, and helped to keep much-needed credit flowing to the rental housing marketplace.” (more…)

Investors seeking multifamily mortgages that are under restrictions due to location, loan amount, building type or closing time need additional alternatives outside of agency products like Fannie Mae apartment loans and HUD’s FHA apartment loans, which is why Commercial Loan Direct has been working hard on expanding its conventional loan offerings. (more…)

The federal government released a strategic plan for the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this week, which leaves multifamily programs untouched.

This policy statement, released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFC), was applauded by the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) and National Apartment Association (NAA).   (more…)

Apartments are the best property type for investors, says Freddie Mac multifamily executive David Brickman. In a recent blog post Brickman calls multifamily investments the “bright spot” in today’s housing market.

According to Brickman, a growing number of the population is finding that renting is the right option.  Government officials are encouraging renting as an option to homeownership.  The need for rental housing is increasing rapidly, as is the demand for capital to support this growth. (more…)

Officials from the federal government and forty-nine states have reached a landmark $25 billion agreement with the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers over alleged foreclosure abuses. 

The unprecedented agreement is the largest federal-state civil settlement ever obtained. (more…)

“If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” is the theme of a joint statement by  the National Multi Housing Council and National Apartment Assocation, commenting on President Obama’s State of the Union address last week. (more…)