January Newsletter 2021

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” Martin Luther King Jr | Let's make 2021 our best year ever!

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS OF THE GLOBAL INVESTOR AGENT (GIA) TEAM

Congratulations to Jeff Johnston, Erica Barbados Dias, Dan Levy, Alexandra Baza, Franklin Maldanado, and Ashley Bly

Not a member yet? Get GIA Team details here
Or join our Facebook group: @REIAGroup

STAY INFORMED. GET ALL YOUR REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT NEWS AT https://www.mykcm.com/mmr/

You probably already know this, but in case it's slipped past you, you should be aware of how real estate & mortgage wire fraud happens.

Mortgage wire fraud is a scam in which a hacker poses as a real estate closing representative and convinces you to wire your closing costs to a fraudulent account.

Hackers begin by spoofing the emails of a legitimate closing company in the chain of communications. For instance, a title or loan company. This is easy to do, since most of us don't know all the assistants involved.

The hackers will create a conversation with you to build recognition, so you won't question their emails. Then they'll provide you with wiring instructions, which is a legitimate part of the closing process. But hackers can send you their own instructions before the legitimate instructions arrive.

The result? A buyer wires tens of thousands of dollars (maybe hundreds of thousands) to the hackers. How do you, or the people you work with, avoid being a victim of wire fraud?

During the first conversation with a closing rep, buyers should write down the rep's name, phone, and email. The buyers should ask for contact details of anyone else involved. If other email addresses crop up over the course of the closing, they should call the rep to confirm the emails. Always check the complete email address!
Buyers should ask when the closing company will be sending wiring instructions, and what bank they'll be using.
IMPORTANT: When the closing company finally sends wiring instructions, buyers should call the representative, and ask them to confirm the details. If there's any doubt, buyers should stop and get someone they trust on the phone.

REAL ESTATE & MONEY MATTERS

BREAKING FREE FROM SINGLE INCOME SOURCE DEPENDENCY

Armed with only $3,000, gut-wrenching fear, and absolutely no real estate experience… Mark bought his first few parcels of raw land in 2001. Today Mark is the author of Dirt Rich, the ultimate guide to helping you build a passive income from land investing.

➤ Listen to the Podcast Now

CREATIVE MARKETING: ADVERTISING HOMES WITH AVOCADOS

A luxury condo seller in Vancouver made headlines in 2019 for advertising free avocado toast with a condo purchase. The offer of free avocado toast (from a nearby café) was specifically chosen to appeal to young home buyers, who--as the stereotype goes--loved avocado toast. The point is that clever marketing gets attention. When selling a property, consider who your core buyers are. Think of clever ways to bring their interests into your marketing.

WILL FORECLOSURES RISE OR FALL?

Right now, a large number of homeowners are getting a reprieve from paying their mortgages. One provision of the CARES Act, signed into law in late March, was that borrowers were entitled to up to 360 days of mortgage forbearance. But once forbearance runs out, borrowers will have to start catching up on their missed payments and making good on their regular payments. And that could prove problematic for some people -- namely, those whose finances are still in bad shape due to the pandemic.

Here's my prediction for 2021, in which I hedge my bets and give you two competing scenarios.

We could see see an uptick of available foreclosed homes mid-2021. That may free up inventory for regular home buyers, and if enough foreclosures hit the market at the same time, it could start to depress prices.

We could see foreclosures fall. If the government provides further relief, or if the vaccine rolls out quickly enough for people to get re-employed, and if banks agree to new payment options to help people catch up, foreclosures may not happen in high numbers. That's a lot of if's.

JUST FOR FUN

THE PERFECT ANSWER?

A manager was interviewing a job candidate. After reviewing the applicant’s qualifications, he went on to ask some questions designed to probe the man’s personality.

“If you could have a conversation with someone, living or dead,” he asked, “who would it be?”

The candidate thought for a moment, and then responded hesitantly, “The living one?”

Email Me with Any Questions >