I look forward to 2009 with anticipation and excitement of what the new year will bring.  Do I know something you don’t know?  No.  I am fully aware of the dire forecast for even worse circumstances to come in the housing market.  This does not make me happy.  I feel great empathy for those involved in circumstances that make it hard for them to keep up with monthly payments, and keep their home.

Is this a bad time to be an investor in the real estate market?  Absolutely not!  It is a bad time if you are not flexible.  Different times call for different strategies.  When the credit market, and mortgage loans were easy, the easiest way to make money in the housing market was to buy a house that needed some fixing up at a lower price, and fix it up, and sell at retail.  Sometimes this was selling with a mortgage, or sometimes it was selling by lease option, or holding the property and renting it.  It was easy to make a profit with just cosmetic fixes.

Now the name of the game has changed.  If you could not think beyond the way it was done before, you have bailed on real estate investing.  Or if you are a realtor, you have also bailed on the real estate market if you have been unable to be flexible, and change some of your strategies.  Also, more than ever, this is a great time for agents, brokers, and investors to team together.

Like I have been doing throughout 2008, I am going to continue helping people who do not have any other choices, by negotiating a short sale on their real estate, and then selling it at a discounted price.  This keeps the homeowner from having a foreclosure on their record.  The bank doesn’t lose as much, and the buyer gets a property at a discount.  This is a way you can benefit from the current real estate market if you don’t have money to invest.  The loss mitigator gets a fee from the bank.   The real estate agent gets commission.  Both the investor/loss mitigator and the agent need each other to make the transaction go smoothly.

If you have deep pockets, or have private investors, or are credit assured, you can buy these deeply discounted properties to hold for yourself.  They will have equity even in this market if the short sale was done properly.  Another opportunity for those who can fund the short sale, is to resell the property either wholesale, or retail to an end buyer after you have closed on the property, for a larger profit spread.  This spread could be $5,000 to $100,000 or more, depending on the short sale agreement, and the property.

In 2009, I am also going to start looking into buying non-performing mortgages from the bank.  A steep discount is available with non-performing mortgages. With this method it is possible sometimes to re-structure the loan, so the homeowner can afford the mortgage.  Or, if they are not a candidate to stay in the home, you can buy the second, and catch up the first and take over the first.  With this method, I will need to increase my funding through procuring private individuals to lend for the purchased mortgage amount.

Another goal I have is to keep this blog updated more often.  I need to concentrate on my own blog, and keep it consistent.  Plus, this is a special announcement!  I will soon be releasing an ebook on:  The Art of the Short Sale.  It will be available in January.  If you have not learned how to do this method yet, or need more information for success, this will be what you are waiting for.