2/7/10: Renegade Strategies for a Changing Economy – When Your Workout Options Fail
Super Bowl Sunday! While most people were guzzling beer (we are SO jealous), gorging themselves on chips and salsa, and cheering on their favorite team, The Real Estate Guys dedicated broadcast crew faithfully showed up for yet another edition of real estate broadcast excellence.
And with all the hype about offensive, defensive and special team strategies, we thought it would be fun to do a show on renegade strategies for property owners when lender workout options aren’t working.
Taped up and dressed out in shoulder pads, helmets and eye-black for today’s broadcast are:
- Your Quarterback, Robert Helms
- Your Not So Tight End, Russell Gray
- The Head Coach and Godfather of Real Estate, Bob Helms
- Trick Play Coordinator and Special Guest, Trustee Verification Specialist, Tyler Cohee
After the coin toss and handshakes, we kick off with a discussion about the ethics of loan agreements. Of course, when you can’t make the payment, your options are limited. But what about when you can afford to make the payment and choose not to? Strategic defaults are growing in number and popularity. What are they? Do they make sense and if so, when?
When it’s late in the 4th quarter, you’re way behind and you can’t get your loan modified; the lender won’t forbear, your property is headed to auction; and you just need a little more (a lot more?) time – it’s time to call a trick play! Our special guest Tyler Cohee dials up just the thing when he calls in to explain how trustee verification works. VERY interesting!
Now in the Red Zone, the Guys call several renegade plays for reducing your loan balances, holding onto your properties and gaining more control over precisely when turn a doomed property over to the lender.
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9/27/09: The Real Estate Guys Answer Your Questions
Every day we get emails from our listeners. Some like to tell us how awesome we are (oh, go on!), but most have questions. We’re working on some new ways to be able to be more responsive. So keep those emails coming!
For this week’s show, we decided to grab a few question out of the email in box and talk about them on the air. Joining host Robert Helms in studio are his trusty sidekick, Russell Gray and “The Godfather of Real Estate” Bob Helms.
We kicked off the show commenting on Ben Bernanke’s pronouncement that “technically speaking, the recession is over.” Yippee! Right?!?
After having fun with that, we reached into the mail bag and pulled out a question about which U.S. markets are “best” for appreciation right now. Our crystal ball wasn’t warmed up, so we chatted on this one awhile. It’s a question that comes up all the time and though easy to ask, it’s hard to answer. So we talked about the conditions we look for to cause appreciation, how today’s economic environment affect them, and some specific markets we’re watching.
Another question that is salient to the times was about the availability of financing in today’s market. There are certain product segments and demographics that can’t find financing, while others have abundant financing available. Obviously, when you know where the money is flowing and why, you can position yourself in its path and do well. Having just been at the Rich Dad Real Estate Summit with Ken McElroy, Robert Kiyosaki and several veterans of investing and finance, we had some fresh insights to share.
The next question was also all too common in today’s economy. “I have a property that is upside down with negative cash flow, what should I do?” As Kenny Rogers sang, “You gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, know when to run.” Lots of people are struggling with the issue of “strategic defaults” and its ramifications. (Side note: The Real Estate Guys wrote a free 18 page report What You MUST Know Before Attempting a Loan Workout to help people in this situation understand their options. To get a copy, just send an email to workout@realestateguysradio.com)
The discussion of what to do with an upside down negative cash flow property had us reflecting on the previous discussion of where’s the appreciation most likely. It also lead directly into another topic: The Price of Maintaining You Good Credit. Good credit has never been more important, but if you have lots of negative equity and negative cash flow, how much is it really costing you to maintain it? This is a very timely topic and we tossed around our thoughts on the subject.
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