Boomer’s Blog

If you’re looking for a real estate investment strategy that’s rock-solid and steadier than a world-class surgeon’s hand, you should take a look at investing in probate properties. And especially if you’re sticking to a tight budget (and who isn’t these days?) legendary straight-shooting probate investing legend Ron Mead has all the training you need to get started, for the price of a tank of gas for your car.

Simply put, probate is the legal process of liquidating an estate’s assets after debts and creditors have been satisfied. With probate property investing, Ron says, you’re easily getting properties for $.50 - $.60 on the dollar. And there are many viable options for maximizing your profits in the flip transactions that follow.

Ron’s book on probate property investing, “31 Days to Profits in Probate Real Estate,” conveys his wealth of experience and knowledge in concise, plain English. Ron will be the first to tell you that he’s no professional author, but his experience with the U.S. military, where “there is a manual for everything,” Ron says, prompted him to write some manuals of his own.

Ron is no stranger to the world of real estate investing. He has been an active real estate investor and entrepreneur for 29 years, and has specialized in probate for more than a decade. Ron got his real estate license in 1979, and became a licensed real estate broker in 1993.

Building on his degree in Business Finance and his reputation as a no-nonsense, wealth-building real estate investor and teacher, Ron has written books on personal finance, probate property investing and creative real estate financing. He’s also gotten considerable buzz in the industry through the real estate investing seminars he’s been conducting for the past decade. He’s accomplished all this, in addition to actively running his own probate property investment business.

Implementing Ron’s techniques may require a bit of up-front time to ramp-up, but when the deals start to hit, your momentum and lack of competition likely will leave you wondering why you didn’t try it sooner. As Ron says, ”There’s just enough work involved here to weed out the tire kickers.” By putting in the effort, Ron assures that you’ll be “handsomely rewarded.” And isn’t that what this business is all about?

Folks, I’ve spent more than $100,000 on real estate training, and I’ve got to tell you that Ron’s entrepreneurial epic “31 Days to Profits in Probate Real Estate,” is better than many of the systems I’ve paid for, and available at a fraction of the price. Read my review of Ron’s book in the Resources section of GaryBoomershine.com.

Sign up my “What’s Working & What’s New” monthly and special reports and you’ll be among the first to learn about a Webinar I’m planning to hold with Ron in the near future for members of the GaryBoomershine.com community.

Where else can you learn how to find and flip distressed real estate using just your laptop and cell phone but on GaryBoomershine.com? If you missed my dynamic conversation with Virtual Wholesaling pioneer Cris Chico last week, we’re offering you a second chance to learn what the experts already know about this innovative strategy to generate awesome returns on your real estate investment (ROI) dollars today.

Now Available by Popular Demand
If you’ve joined the GaryBoomershine.com community by signing up up for my “What’s Working & What’s New” monthly and special reports, or if you’re a SalesTeamLive member, chances are good that you’re among the hundreds of real estate entrepreneurs who listened in awe last week as Cris told his his story and revealed the secrets behind how he made his real estate fortune. Using his own system, Chris went from having his sports car reposessed, to flipping 116 properties and making more than $1.4 million in profits in just two years.

Because I’ve heard from so many folks who were unable to listen in on our live Internet broadcast last week, I’m posting the call online for those of you who missed out on this awesome opportunity to learn how to make real money in virtual real estate wholesaling using just your laptop and a cell phone.

Emerging Opportunities to Cash in on Distressed Real Estate
Wholesaling is one of the hottest investment options today for real estate investors seeking to crack the code on generating fast cash while investors in other sectors are loosing their shirts. With wholesale real estate deals, investors place a property under contract and then assign the deal to another buyer who closes in the investor’s place. Because real estate investors usually never put any money down or close on the property, risks are minimized and profits are immediate.

Cris’ Virtual Wholesaling system takes the wholesaling process to the next level by leveraging technology to laser-target wholesale investment properties in any market real estate entrepreneurs choose to penetrate. (Read my full review: “Virtual Wholesaling with Cris Chico.”)

With user-friendly advances in technology that are built into Cris’ virtual wholesaling system, the power to hone in on the best neighborhoods is far superior than the “no pain, no gain” techniques that were popular in the past. Using Cris’ system, investors can laser-target areas and build lists based on the best possible case scenario for virtually any market. Cris’ system teaches investors how to prosper and make tons of cash in the current housing crisis. If you can use email, you can use Cris’ innovative system for fast, no-money-down profits in your REI business.

Tap new Markets and Boost your Bottom Line
Though the real estate bubble may have burst in your locale, there are a lot of U.S. real estate markets that are not currently suffering because they weren’t affected by the boom. Since their prices never rose when the market was jumping, they’re not dropping now that market conditions are changing.

Cris can teach you how to profit from these market uncertainties. He also is extending killer special offers to members of the GaryBoomershine.com community and SalesTeamLive members, respectively, that are packed with awesome incentives including a ticket to the upcoming Virtual Investing Seminar in New Orleans slated for June 26-29. By following the links above, you can check out the details and read the awesome client testimonials while you’re listening to the call.

Invigorate your REI Business: Join us Today!
If you haven’t yet joined our thriving on-line community, and are interested in in learning more about how you can cash in on the latest news and developments that drive our industry, please sign in now using the yellow fields at the right side of my GaryBoomershine.com home page. Like always, I pledge to never share your contact info with anyone or inundate you with useless messages. Of course, you’re welcome to listen to the call, even if you don’t want to join us in building a strong community and sustainable future in creative real estate investing. Sometimes we all need a little nudge in the right direction! Let this be yours.

Hoping to stabilize free-falling home prices in foreclosure-plagued neighborhoods and stimulate sluggish housing markets, the White House has announced that for one year only, the Federal Housing Administration will suspend its anti-flipping policy which requires a 90-day waiting period for foreclosure sales. At the same time, it’s extending government-backed mortgage insurance to a larger group of foreclosure buyers.

Rehab this Foreclosure Flip
Though a positive step towards resuscitating stagnant real estate markets, these homes still have to be sold to owner-occupants, and many flippers may find that this policy change is of little help to their businesses. To meet FHA guidelines requiring that homes be “safe, secure and sound,” many of these real estate owned (REO) homes likely will require more extensive rehabbing than they would probably receive if the FHA were not involved.

Homeowners who can’t afford their mortgage payments probably don’t keep up with maintenance. And there is an increasing prevalence of disgruntled and distressed homeowners vandalizing their homes when they’re forced out by foreclosure. Though real estate investors with a knack for rehabbing may see some benefits through this change, it seems unlikely that it’ll have the far-reaching impact on high-foreclosure real estate markets that the Fed is hoping for.

REI to the Rescue
What irks me is that this waiting period foolishness was implemented five years ago specifically to curtail opportunities for working real estate investors to make money in real estate by flipping houses for a living. Now that the economy is a wreck and the current selling season is not stopping the bleeding, who does the government call upon to get the markets moving again? Real estate investors, do you hear your phones ringing? Here is how the FHA rationalizes its flip flop on this issue:

” . . . FHA currently prohibits insuring a mortgage on a home owned by the seller for less than 90 days. This prohibition is intended to prevent property ‘flipping,’ a predatory practice that strips a home of its equity before being quickly resold at an inflated price to an unsuspecting buyer. FHA’s new policy will permit the immediate sale of foreclosed properties to legitimate borrowers wishing to use FHA-insured financing.”

Will the Real Equity Strippers Please Stand Up?
What exactly did the lenders accomplish with their business practices? The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA’s) Q1 report highlights the sixth straight record-shattering quarter of home loans entering foreclosure. The MBA’s seasonally adjusted total delinquency rate is the highest recorded by the association since 1979: Nearly 3 million home loans, or 6.4 percent, are missing at least one payment, while approximately 737,000 are three months or more past due on their payments. These numbers all but promise that foreclosure rates will continue to rise.

According to the MBA, 1.1 million homes, or 2.5 percent of all loans serviced by the association’s members currently are in foreclosure. That’s up from the 2 percent of loans, or about 938,000 homes, that were in foreclosure at the end of 2007. The report also shows that 448,000 homes, or about 1 percent of loans members serviced, entered foreclosure during Q1. In Q4 2007, 382,000 homes reportedly entered foreclosure.

Foreclosure Epidemic Spreads Beyond Subprime Loans
These aren’t just the subprime adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) we’ve heard so much about. Foreclosure among all loan types is on the rise. Here is a quick breakdown, according to Jay Brinkmann, MBA’s Vice President for Research and Economics:

• While subprime ARMs represent 6 percent of the loans outstanding, they represented 39 percent of the foreclosures started during Q1.
• Prime ARMs represent 15 percent of the loans outstanding, but 23 percent of the foreclosures started.
• Among the 516,000 foreclosures started during the Q1, subprime ARM loans made up 195,000 and prime ARM loans made for 117,000.
• The hike in prime ARM foreclosures exceeded subprime ARM foreclosures with increases of 29,000 and 20,000 respectively over the previous quarter.

Who Takes the Prize?
Though our industry will see some benefits from the FHA’s temporary suspension of the 90-day waiting period for foreclosure sales, is it really going to put a dent in markets where REO inventories are growing while prices hit the pavement? We may never know for sure because REO sales are rarely tracked.

In a recent press release, Brian Montgomery, assistant secretary for the FHA commissioner says, “A glut of foreclosed and abandoned homes harms neighborhoods, frustrates homebuyers and delays a community’s recovery. The action we take today will allow homebuyers to purchase these homes in much greater numbers and ease the excess supply of unsold homes in neighborhoods across the country.”

Too Little, too Late?
So while Federal officials have finally noticed that the effects of the foreclosure epidemic aren’t limited to Wall Street — and the buyers — who really should have known better, some loaded questions remain on the table:

• How far is this temporary FHA policy shift really going to go to get troubled real estate markets moving?
• Will the capital FHA offers buyers raise the bottom for declining markets?
• Will this policy have any impact in getting REO lenders to speed up their response times?
• If the fed needs real estate investors to come in and clean up after the lenders and help them move their REO, equity-free, dead weight, are we still engaging in a “predatory practice” ?

How will this temporary change in FHA policy make a difference in the way you invest in real estate? Please drop me a line and let me know what you think. Also, if you’re interested in learning more about the REI news and developments that affect your business, don’t forget to sign up for my “What’s Working & What’s New” monthly report on GaryBoomershine.com.

As the number of U.S. home foreclosures topped one million this month, cities in the states hardest hit by foreclosure: Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada were named by Fortune magazine as the hottest markets for real estate investment. In addition, emerging reports of real estate market overhang are not surprising. Especially in light of the mid-decade building frenzy in Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada that was spurred by gravity-defiant home prices and easy money loans.

During the Boom
Back then CNNMoney says, dramatic price surges were fueled by investors who used risky mortgages to cash in on hot market activity, Today, these four states combined hold one-third of the nation’s foreclosures, with nearly 400,000 homes hanging in the balance.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association Q1 report, Arizona, California, Florida, and Nevada combined represent:

• 62 percent of all foreclosures started on prime ARM loans, and 84 percent of the increase in prime ARM foreclosures;
• 49 percent of all of the subprime ARM foreclosures started in the country during the Q1, and were responsible for 93 percent of the increase in subprime ARM foreclosures
• 29 percent of prime fixed-rate foreclosures and 60 percent of the increase in those foreclosures; and
• 25 percent of subprime fixed-rate foreclosures and 53 percent of the increase in those foreclosures.

Fortune’s Five Hottest REI Markets
Especially now that the chips appear to be down, it seems that everyone wants in on the real estate game, and Fortune magazine has named five cities as ideal for real estate investing. These markets are generally the hardest hit in the foreclosure epidemic:

1. Miami
   According to the S&P/Case Shiller index, prices and sales here appear to be circling the drain. Miami house prices have dropped a whopping 21.7 percent in the past year, and dwindling median condo prices. Miami condo and home sales have plunged 40 over last year, and market activity has slowed dramatically. Fortune recommends that the following markets are ripe for real estate investment: Aventura, Bal Harbour, Sunny Isles Beach and Coral Gables
2. Tampa
   The Case-Shiller index reports that in the past year, real estate values have fallen 17.5 percent. Still, Fortune predicts a rebound is in the forecast for Tampa because of its strong local economy and other market forces. Currently, the median home price is $222,000, down from $275,000 last year, and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) predicts 20 percent or greater appreciation value over the next five years. Today, home prices are 50 percent lower than they were during the boom. Those surges may be attributed primarily to speculators flipping houses for quick profits, Fortune says. When the deals began to recede and the investors started started pulling out in 2006, the prices began their free fall. Now, Fortune says, this market is ripe for high-end real estate investment: Gulf-front luxury condos in Clearwater or St. Petersburg, are down from the $1 million a few years ago, to around $600,000 today.
3. Las Vegas
   Here, the real estate bubble swelled with annual price increases of up to 50 percent, making for today’s dramatic price drops and hot bargains. According to the Case-Shiller index, Las Vegas is the hardest-hit locale nationally, with prices dropping nearly 23 percent in one year, and one in 44 homes hitting foreclosure Q1 alone. In this market, with the third-highest rate of foreclosure in the U.S., Fortune predicts that the sun-drenched climate, proximity to pleasure, and glut of luxury homes, combined with the absence of state income tax will attract droves of retirees — and a speedy market recovery. Here, Fortune recommends investing in new construction in outlying areas like Summerlin and Providence, or in high-rise condos, especially in light of their 10 percent price drops since last year.
4. San Diego
   Prices here have plunged nearly 10 percent and foreclosures have surged in the past year, according to Moody’s Economy.com. Despite the fact that the Council for Community and Economic Research deems San Diego County’s cost of living 47 percent higher than the national average, the area’s natural beauty and beach-front locations give it the strength to conquer adversity and recover quickly from the mortgage crisis. Again, Fortune’s forecast is growth in the high-end property appreciation, as these properties have been the slowest to move in the inventory glut.
5. Phoenix
   Although Moody’s Economy.com shows its real estate values plummeting by 8 percent over the past year, and RealtyTrac reports its foreclosure rate has tripled since 2007, Phoenix, like Las Vegas will continue to attract retirees. Here, Fortune says, the planned communities that surround the metropolitan area offer hidden bargains. Also, amenities such as golf, shopping and luxurious recreation centers add additional value for the retirement crowd. Fortune suggests that here, areas like Sun City Anthem, Palm Valley, and Avondale are great places to find housing bargains that’ll likely offer healthy returns as the markets continue their recovery.

NBA star Shaquille O’Neal is shopping a reality TV show based on his plans to invest in Orlando’s burgeoning foreclosure market and “make small profits” by selling the homes back to distressed homeowners with more affordable terms. In some state however, “foreclosure rescue” operations have been scrutinized by lawmakers or banned outright.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that the NBA legend cum real estate investor wants to build his legacy by televising his efforts to help homeowners facing foreclosure in Orlando’s troubled real estate markets in a show to be called “Shaq’s Big Save.” O’Neal’s Attorney, Mark NeJame and Realtor Curtis Cooper arranged for the star center to meet with members of Orlando City Hall this week to float the plans, which may also include an affordable-housing project.

Lawmakers Tackle Foreclosure Rescue Regulation
Florida is not yet among the ranks of states seeking to regulate the activity of real estate investors who profit as foreclosure consultants to distressed homeowners. Last year, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) reported that a dozen states had taken steps to actively regulate foreclosure transactions. These states include California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island.

This year, lawmakers in Oregon and Washington have expanded their regulatory scopes by passing comprehensive laws that regulate lending practices and place restrictions on property transactions as well as contracts between real estate investors and the distressed sellers. Analysts have predicted that regulation trend is likely to accelerate as foreclosure rates continue to rise. This week, the Associated Press reports that foreclosures were up 23 percent in Q1, over Q4 2007.

Shaq Points, Shoots at REI Basket
O’Neal has been dabbling in real estate investment with the fortune he’s amassed through his NBA contracts and product endorsements for some time. In 2006, he created the O’Neal Group, which specializes in commercial and residential development, and housing the $50 million real estate portfolio the athlete has been building throughout his lucrative professional basketball career.

The majority of his development interests to-date have been in Atlanta and New Jersey. In Florida, O’Neal’s holdings include car washes, strip malls, a slice of metro Miami, and a luxury high rise residential tower currently under construction in downtown Miami.

Although O’Neil started his NBA career with the Orlando Magic, he currently plays for the Phoenix Suns. The Orlando Sentinel reports that the star NBA center with a penchant for investing in real estate plans to someday retire to his Florida estate and possibly run for Sheriff of Orange County.

Amid more gory details emerging about California Congresswoman Laura Richardson’s habitual failure to pay her debts, Washington Mutual (WaMu) filed a notice of rescission on her Sacramento home that was sold to real estate investor James York at a foreclosure auction.

Broker Takes a Bath
York, who owns Calif.-based Red Rock Mortgage,recently acquired Richardson’s Sacramento home at a foreclosure auction for $388,000. At that time, the lawmaker had failed to make payments on that property for almost a year and owed $9,000 in unpaid property taxes. She paid $535,000 for the home, which she bought in Jan. 2007, shortly after being elected to the California General Assembly. Soon after, she sank into default on her other homes in Long Beach and San Pedro, Calif.

While Richardson has been filing statements denying the foreclosure and a lengthy history of default and unpaid debts, York, also a broker, has been busy cleaning and repairing her house for sale. He told the Daily Breeze that he plans to file a lawsuit against Richardson and WaMu this week, because he believes that the lawmaker has received preferential treatment from her lender, and that he is the rightful owner of the home.

Richardson, a Long Beach Democrat, has said throughout her foreclosure scandal that her Sacramento home should never have gone to foreclosure auction and claims that she had worked out a loan modification agreement and had begun making payments to WaMu. The Daily Breeze also reports that the lender has declined to comment on the details surrounding Richardson’s case because she has not waived her rights to privacy.

In Richardson’s case, it appears that WaMu already has lost nearly $200,000 on the Sacramento home deal. If the foreclosure were overturned, the lender may have an opportunity to recoup some of that loss - but only if Richardson can manage paying for her three homes and an apartment rental in Washington, D.C., on her $169,300 annual congressional wages. This week, the Sacramento Bee revealed more details surrounding Richardson’s eight-year history of failing to pay her debts.

Richardson Defaults on Mother’s Home
Since 2000, the homes Richardson still owns in San Pedro (where her mother lives) and Long Beach have gone into default six times. The amounts she’s owed on these properties has ranged from $5,742 to almost $20,000, according to documents on file with Los Angeles County.

Lawmaker Racks Up Defaults, Votes
In the past few months however, the defaults have hit the lawmaker with rapid fire: Five defaults in that time period have racked up nearly $71,000 in debt, the LA Times reports. During the same period, Richardson lent nearly $200,000 to her political campaigns, which propelled her meteoric rise from Long Beach City Councilwoman, to California Legislator, and finally to the U.S. Congress.

More Unpaid Debts, Abuses Reported
Richardson also has been under scrutiny for failing to pay her utility bills, for car repairs, and for abusing her vehicle privileges beyond her reign as a city councilwoman. The Press-Telegram reports that the lawmaker promised to pay a mechanic $735 in 2005 for repairing her BMW and never followed through. Later that year she wrecked that car and abandoned it with another mechanic.

Rather than paying for the repairs, the Press-Telegram reports that Richardson checked out a Toyota Prius from the city for official “City Council business.” Thirty thousand miles later — and after she left the City Council, Richardson returned the Prius.

In the year that Richardson used the city’s Prius, she drove it 30,920 miles, city officials report. That amounts to an average greater than 80 miles daily, or about 2,400 miles per month, for Richardson’s part-time council job in a 50-square-mile city, the Sacramento Bee reports. City policy prohibits the personal use of vehicles from its fleet. City records also show that only other two council members who used city vehicles during the same period averaged 900 miles per month and less than 400 miles per month, respectively.

In 2001 and 2002, Richardson reportedly had the highest vehicle expenses of any council member, in part by putting nearly 7,000 personal miles on her car in 2002. At the time, Richardson told reporters that she was unaware of rule prohibiting personal use of a city vehicle.

While Richardson failed to returned the Press-Telegram’s calls for comment on these issues, she did manage to finally pay her debts with the auto shops and sweep the electorate. Last week, Richardson won her Democratic primary for reelection by a whopping 75 percent of the vote.

Doess anyone else out there find this story to be totally outrageous?

HomeVestors of America, the real estate investment (REI) firm with the ad campaign featuring cave man investor Ug, who carries a club and “Buys Ugly Houses,” has announced that Franchise Brands has bought a majority interest in the company.

Almost 20 years ago, the Dallas-based HomeVestors entered the real estate investment (REI) fray with the mission to buy and sell rehab-ready homes for fast profits. It and sold its first franchise in 1996, and has bought about 35,000 homes since its launch. Last year, HomeVestors bought 6,400 homes and sold 5,000, and in 2006, the company reports that it bought about 7,100 properties.

Since its inception, the company has flourished into a national franchise that specializes in buying — and selling — “Ugly Houses.” Currently, HomeVestors boasts about 230 offices in 35 states franchises sell most of their houses to other investors and first-time home buyers.

HomeVestors’ majority interest buyer, Connecticut-based Franchise Brands, formed three years ago with strong support from the founders of Subway restaurants. who also own Utah-based Bajio Mexican Grill, and Indiana-based Mama DeLuca’s Pizza. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, the Dallas Business Journal reports, but executives say that Franchise Brands is committed to using its resources to advance HomeVestors‘ franchise expansion goals and further develop its business model.

Sales Masters Dan Doran and Richard Roop say that negotiation is the world’s highest paying skill. In the real estate investment arena they say, just a slight edge over your competition will give you phenomenal results.

Seven Habits of Highly Successful Sales Negotiators
Every day, Dan and Richard work with real estate entrepreneurs, helping them to address their weaknesses and build amazing negotiations skills as they invest in real estate. These efforts are deeply rooted in the duo’s “Seven Habits of Highly Successful Sales Negotiators.”

Dan and Richard helped to develop this nifty self-assessment for GaryBoomershine.com using insights they’ve gained through working with thousands of real estate entrepreneurs and developing their highly acclaimed “Sales Mastery for Real Estate Entrepreneurs” sales skills enhancement program.

Take this Quiz: Are you a Sales Master?
Take a few minutes to jot down your answers to these questions for a quick self-assessment. Dan and Richard address these issues and more in my review of Sales Mastery for Real Estate Entrepreneurs, currently posted in the Resources section of GaryBoomershine.com: Here, you can check your answers and see how you rate.

1. Are real estate sales negotiations a science, or an art form?
2. Do you pursue deals with clients who are first and foremost motivated, or qualified?
3. Do you use a prepared script for meetings and presentations?
4. Do you think that real estate is just a numbers game?
5. What’s the best way to open the channel of communication with prospective clients? Why is this important?
6. Is the sale made during your presentation, or during the close?
7. What’s your most valuable sales asset?

Remember the TV show “Get Smart!“about the bumbling spy who always got his man (and sometimes his woman) from the 1960s? There’s a remake slated for summer release as I type this. I read a great article in Wired magazine recently about what the CIA learned from the TV show. I was stunned to learn that the U.S. government drew inspiration from the show to create their own “cones of silence.”

After reading this article, I realized that I drew inspiration, at a very young age, from Smart’s reliance on Agent 13 (the spy who always seemed to be staked out in a U.S. Mail box) for stellar job performance. This may be what got me started in the business of targeted real estate marketing via direct U.S. mail with SalesTeamLive.

Soon, I started thinking about what real estate investors could learn from Maxwell Smart and what some of my friends might say if I asked them.

I imagine that:

• Sales Masters Richard Roop and Dan Doran might tout the spy’s expert negotiations skills and convince the evil enemy Kaos to lighten up, change sides and make a fortune doing it.
• Virtual Wholesaling Pro Cris Chico might say that he, like Maxwell Smart found his niche and is sticking to it.
• Total Market Master Ken Wade likely would likely give Smart kudos for always doing his research and never underestimating the cyclical nature of his enemies.
• I suspect that EasyHUD’s Chris Daigle could singlehandedly conquer the entire Kaos network using his Twitter-enabled shoe phone.
• Teamwork Lead System’s Andy Proper learned to take out a Craigslist ad for assasin bird dogs to handle his super spy assignments, then head for his pristine Hawaiian beach hide-out until the mission is complete.

Action-Packed Feature Stories This Week
What do you think? Or more importantly, what have you learned from Agent 86 that’s helped you to build your real estate business? For more details about what some of my friends have learned from Maxwell Smart, visit my Resources page. Look action-packed new features on Dan Doran, Richard Roop and more in store for you coming soon!

Please Join Us Now for“What’s Working and What’s New”
If you haven’t yet signed up for my “What’s Working and What’s New” free monthly REI report, please sign up ASAP to receive the latest issue this week. It’s easy and we promise to keep your data confidential, Just use the yellow field on the sight side of this page or on my GaryBoomershine.com home page. I think you’ll love the story on how the major lenders are streamlining the short sale process for stealth real estate investors. And as always, I promise to never share your info with anyone. Ever!

To explore the dynamics off what makes for a strong for sale by owner (FSBO ) market, MSN Real Estate asked Bert Sperling, founder of Sperling’s Best Places, to analyze the listings database of ForSaleByOwner.com, a national online FSBO marketplace. Sperling’s day job includes making millions for ranking cities based on livability and other factors.

There likely are several factors spurring FSBO activity in a growing number of metropolitan markets, Sperling says. In places such as Detroit and Florida cities where prices are taking a dive, homeowners may opt for an FSBO transaction because they’re unable to afford real estate agent commissions.

Sperling says that 2007 data show that Utah had almost twice the ForSaleByOwner.com activity as the next-most-active state, Florida. Provo, Utah, had the highest number of FSBO listings among all the U.S. metropolitan areas in his analysis.

In general, FSBO appears to be popular in markets that surged along with the boom and are experiencing rapid depreciation in the bust. Statistics also show that FSBO often is a more popular real estate selling strategy in regions with high Internet usage, such as the Northwest, and among sellers with higher levels of educational attainment.

Below is a list of the 20 hottest U.S. metropolitan FSBO markets and the corresponding number of FSBO listings per 100,000 members of the area’s population:

1. Provo-Orem, Utah: 72.15 listings
2. Wilmington, N.C.: 63.28 listings
3. Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, S.C.: 58.38 listings
4. Ogden-Clearfield, Utah: 56.19 listings
5. CapeCoral-Fort Myers, Fla.: 43.22 listings
6. Warner Robins, Ga.: 43.10 listings
7. Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield, Fla.: 43.02 listings
8. Panama City-Lynn Haven, Fla.: 42.39 listings
9. Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y.: 41.15 listings
10. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn.: 40.01 listings
11. Lake County-Kenosha County, Wisc.: 39.44 listings
12. Punta Gorda, Fla.: 38.73 listings
13. Edison, N.J.: 37.14 listings
14. Logan, Utah: 37.06 listings
15. Auburn-Opelika, Ala.: 34.51 listings
16. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.: 34.17 listings
17. Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce, Fla.: 34.08 listings
18. Asheville, N.C.: 33.51 listings
19. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.: 33.07 listings
20. Valdosta, Ga.: 32.27 listings