What the Foreclosure Moratorium Means to You

Seems as if a crisis is brewing and you and I are in a great position to make HUGE profits.

I've always believed in the mantra, “Where there's a crisis…there's an opportunity.” History has proven this to be true time and time again. HP was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard. They started HP out of a garage in Palo Alto, California at the height of the Great Depression in 1939. Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs dropped out of college to start Apple in the dark economic times of 1976.

During the gloomy years of the Great Depression, Charles Revson noticed many women still wanted to look pretty and sought the latest hair styles and permanent waves at hair salons. Women also wanted manicures. So he and a business partner launched a cosmetics company they named Revlon and began selling a rich-looking, high-quality enamel nail polish and sold it at premium prices in high-end department and drug stores. Soon they were selling lipstick as well and went on to become one of the most successful cosmetic companies.

Fred Smith started FedEx in 1973 – in the midst of a recession! Ted Turner started CNN during the recession of 1980.

And right now is a terrific opportunity for investors who have been following my Bulk REO System. I'll explain why and 4 things you can do to get started quickly.

Here's What the Foreclosure Moratorium Means to You

First, I need to give you a bit of background. Last week, Bank of America, the nation's largest lender announced it was issuing a moratorium on all its foreclosures in all 50 states. JP Morgan Chase & Co., Ally Financial Inc. (formerly GMAC Inc.) and PNC Financial Services Group announced that they, too, are suspending foreclosure proceedings.

This all started when court papers revealed that major banks used “robo-signers”, bank workers or contractors, who rubber-stamped foreclosure papers without checking or verifying them. And now, lawmakers are even considering imposing a national moratorium on all foreclosure proceedings. The attorneys general of 40 states are expected soon to announce investigations. Lawsuits are being filled. Of course, this is good news for hundreds of thousands (maybe even millions!) of homeowners who may be wrongly facing foreclosure.

It's also TERRIFIC news for investors like you and I.

Why? Because the banks are more motivated than ever to get these toxic assets off their books. They don't want these liabilities on their balance sheets. If they can sell them to an investor, they'd be more than happy to do it. Last week, a day before B of A, announced its moratorium, officials from the bank were begging my business partner and I to take some of these properties off their hands.

Many of these properties are now available – that weren't available just last week – at 40 cents, 30 cents or even 20 cents on the dollar! Just about any investor can make money on deals like these. But that's part of the story…

This is also a chance to help many families and make a difference. In fact, the Wall Street Journal ran a front page article calling investors like you and I “saviors”. Using the same system I teach my students, the article illustrates just how well the strategy works by telling the story of Anna and Charlie Reynolds of St. George, Utah. They were about to lose their home to foreclosure last year but an investment fund manager acquired the loan at a deep discount and renegotiated the terms with the Reynolds.

Get this. The balance on the property was cut nearly by half to $243,182 from $421,731 and their interest was lowered as well reducing their monthly payment to $1,573 from $3,464. Mr. Reynolds says, “It was a miracle”.

Imagine it. Someone calling you a “savior” and seeing the work you do as a “miracle”. And you can make quite a bit of money for yourself at the same time!

And the banks are more eager to negotiate than I've seen at any time in recent memory. Believe me, banks will be more than happy to talk to you about these toxic assets – if you know who to ask and what to ask. Here's how to get started:

1. Call the bank and ask for the REO department. In my home study kit, I provide a whole script for this conversation, so you'll know how to speak their language. But the basic idea is to find out who at the bank knows about their REO properties, and to show them that you're a serious investor. Start with community banks and S&Ls in your area. Also, the bank directory in my course is a great place to start – it lists hundreds of banks that specialize in REOs across the country.
2. Ask for a copy of their REO list. Some banks will mail or fax you a hard-copy list, some will email you a file or provide access online. Whatever the case, check it out – it gives you an idea of the kind of real estate this bank owns, where it is, what the value once was and how it is bundled now.
3. Look for opportunities to cherry pick. Yes you want to buy in bulk. But that doesn't mean you can't single out an individual property for another purpose – maybe you recognize it as a great flip opportunity, or a fabulous income property.
4. Make an offer. It all comes down to this: you're not going to make any money if you don't make any offers. And the more offers you submit, the better your chances are. Do your homework. Offer the lowest price you can reasonably expect to get, and know exactly what you're going to do with each and every property in the bundle. Of course it's not going to work if you don't try – and if you follow my plan and come prepared to the table, it will work.

Like I said, “Where there's a crisis there's an opportunity.” But, and this is what separates the founders of HP, Revlon, Apple, FedEx and CNN from everyone else, an opportunity is only an opportunity if you choose to act on it.