Though the news talks in terms of a “nationwide” housing crisis, the real crisis is predominantly located in 5 states: Nevada, California, Arizona, Michigan and Florida. As this story shows, the free market already seems to be resolving the situation in most of the states.

Interestingly, in some parts of the country foreclosures were as low as 1 in 51,906 homes in Vermont.

If your home business dream is to invest in real estate and you have cash to do so, now there are more bargains than ever. Once the economy starts to catch a breath some will do well by purchasing some of these properties.

The million dollar question is… when exactly will that be?

It seems that’s becoming the watchword of the day according to the article: Homeowners’ rallying cry: Produce the note

Some judges “buy” the argument. Others don’t. But it’s free to try. Here’s a “how to guide” from the Consumer Warning Network

The process works best when your mortgage has been sold, bundled, or otherwise transferred time and again.

They’re designed to accommodate low traffic home based businesses. The work at home office in these units has it’s own separate entrance and wash room and, best of all, is zoned for use as a home based office so there’s no trouble violating zoning ordinances.

Will this catch on?

People who can’t obtain credit are “trading” houses. Of course there are already dozens of websites cashing in on the the trend and helping people identify possible peopl to “trade” with.

According to the article, depending on your metropolitan area, there could be dozens of potential “trades”.

Interestingly, this was a technique best used by owners of investment properties not individuals. Individuals have fewer options and less ability to choose potentially good deals.

Here’s the article from Forbes I sent to him today by email: How To Get More Exposure For A Small Biz Online

Somehow, I told him, you’re going to have to learn how people find out about your target market and “intercept” them online.

It’s definitely “doable” … if he will do the research and invest in the web skills and the keyword research.  These are “sweat equity” activities potentially but they could pay off if he’s willing to pursue his dream. And keeps asking questions when he delivers pizza!

This is a helpful article… basically you need to “do the math” before you buy.

One question I’d ask after reading it though is… “How do you know you’re at the bottom?”

If you could predict that, you’d be a millionaire. The only way to really know is to wait till prices start trending up. But by then you risk losing the investment property completely.

Then it goes back to … how deep are your pockets? If you can’t “flip it” fast and make money after renovations, can it be rented?

Back in the real world of consequences for lending money to people who can’t prove they have a job that won’t land them in jail, Craigslist CEO: Our Real Estate Listings Are Booming Housing sales ads are up over 85% and rentals up 120%.

There’s just one problem, when bankers sell home loans at steep discounts, it makes them look bad.

And they’d rather keep a bad loan on the books than sell too low.

You can read it yourself: Banks slow to sell bad housing loans.

From Forbes…

Whether you’re looking to flip a home, buy into a neighborhood you couldn’t otherwise afford or planning to rent the home, you, like these big companies, must have heaps of cash on hand.

There are properties that can be turned within a few months, but the overall market is still slow. Even if you have a renter lined up or have enough money for a 10% to 20% down payment, you should be ready to weather a depressed market for another two or three years.

Go to the county assessor’s office and study recent sales for price-per-square foot and time spent on market to determine what sort of price you can expect at resale. Be conservative. If you are renting, calculate a capitalization rate, and subtract 10% or more of the annual yield for maintenance and depreciation. Make sure that your endeavor is still profitable if you incur two to three years of carrying costs and depreciation.

It’s also crucial to remember that bad loans that plagued speculators and unprepared borrowers don’t simply disappear when distressed owners sell their properties. Unless the property goes through foreclosure auction and becomes bank-owned, outstanding liens and fees are simply transferred to the new owner. If you plan to buy out of pre-foreclosure, make sure the property has a clean title; otherwise you’ll just be trading places with the distressed homeowner.

We like to wallow in our self pity by saying things would just be easier for us “if”…

…we were handsome or beautiful

…we were rich

…we had professional advice

Etc.

I don’t know if you’d describe these professional athletes as handsome, but they had money and professional advice and neither are a difference for them.

New England Patriots offensive lineman Matt Light and about 20 other star athletes loaned more than $8 million to a California real estate company that teamed up with Fidelity Investments and Citigroup Inc. to invest in apartment complexes before collapsing and filing for bankruptcy protection.

Light, Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay and Los Angeles Angels slugger Vladimir Guerrero are among a who’s who of U.S. superstars who made unsecured loans to Irvine, Calif.-based Atherton-Newport Investments LLC. The real estate company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January and is trying to reorganize. The company lists the names of the athletes and the amounts owed to them in schedules filed in federal bankruptcy court in California.

Read it all here