Rick Sharga, Vice President of Auction.com Joins Bruce Norris on the Real Estate Radio Show #369

Bruce Norris is joined this week by Rick Sharga. Rick is Executive Vice President for Auction.com. He is their chief spokesman on topics related to the U.S housing market, mortgage market, commercial real estate, and international real estate. Bruce and Rick discuss his new company Auction.com, trustee sales and auctions, the percentage of the residential real estate market that has been for sale by owner, seller bids, foreclosure levels and the number of people still in default, due diligence with commercial properties, the preferred agent network on Auction.com, the buyer premium on the final bid, and much more on this week's real estate radio show and podcast.

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Robert Kleinhenz Joins Bruce Norris on the Real Estate Radio Show #262

Bruce is joined once again this week by Robert Kleinhenz. Robert is the Chief Economist of the Kyser Center for Economic Research, which conducts research in regional, state, and national economies.  Bruce and Robert discuss the sovereign debt problem in Europe, the interest rate climate of today and how we can use it to determine the forseeable future, deflation vs. inflation, the oil world, the employment and consumer sectors, shadow inventory, and much more on this week's real estate radio show and podcast.
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Robert Kleinhenz Joins Bruce Norris on the Real Estate Radio Show #261

Bruce is joined this week by Robert Kleinhenz. Robert is the Chief Economist of the Kaiser Center for Economic Research, which conducts research in regional, state, and national economies.  Bruce and Robert discuss the kind of work that LAEDC does and their market forecasts, the economy and labor market, the manufacturing sector and the educational needs related to this work, the workforce as a whole including the baby boomers, the California and national budget, the GDP, and much more on this week's real estate radio show and podcast.
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Craig Hill with The Norris Group #260

Bruce is joined once again this week by Craig Hill. Craig has been with The Norris Group since its inception in 1995. He has worked with the real estate investors, helping them access money for their deals and trust deed investors who want to get a very safe yield on their money.  Bruce and Craig discuss the borrower side of the loan program, gaining experience in the real estate market, the real estate world at the time Bruce and Craig first met, the hoops and filters of lending, and a lot of facts about lending people are not originally told, and much more on this week's real estate radio show and podcast.
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Craig Hill with The Norris Group #259

This week Bruce is joined this week by Craig Hill. Craig has been with The Norris Group since its inception in 1995. He has helped The Norris Group invest in approximately $40 million worth of trust deeds.  Bruce and Craig discuss The Norris Group and its process for handling loans, the mood in the market regarding price shifts, their relationship with the borrowers, the idea of passive loans and investing, 9.9%, 12.5%, and 4% loans, high interest yield, and much more on this week's real estate radio show and podcast.
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I Survived Real Estate 2011 part 7 #254

This week, The Norris Group presents the audio portion from the event I Survived Real Estate 2011. This award-winning event has raised over $250,000 since its inception four years ago thanks to the support of all the sponsors and individuals donors that participate. This year, the event focused on current industry regulation, head-scratching legislation, and the opportunities emerging for savvy real estate professionals from an exciting lineup of experienced experts from multiple industries. The video is available on the website. This week's radio show features all six panelists, who discuss the uncertainty in the lending community, stable employment, underinvestment in the economy, the 203k program that existed back in the 90s, changes that need to be made to HARP and new regulations, what each of the panelists would like to see accomplished in their industry, and much more on this week's real estate radio show and podcast.
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I Survived Real Estate 2011 part 6 #253

This week, The Norris Group presents the audio portion from the event I Survived Real Estate 2011. This award-winning event has raised over $250,000 since its inception four years ago thanks to the support of all the sponsors and individuals donors that participate. This year, the event focused on current industry regulation, head-scratching legislation, and the opportunities emerging for savvy real estate professionals from an exciting lineup of experienced experts from multiple industries. The video is available on the website. This week's radio show features all six panelists, who discuss the recent Moody's report on QRMs, the loan balance, the federal programs being at the county level, the uncertainty in the lending community right now, and much more on this week's real estate radio show and podcast.

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I Survived Real Estate 2011 part 5 #252

This week, The Norris Group presents the audio portion from the event I Survived Real Estate 2011. This award-winning event has raised over $250,000 since its inception four years ago thanks to the support of all the sponsors and individuals donors that participate. This year, the event focused on current industry regulation, head-scratching legislation, and the opportunities emerging for savvy real estate professionals from an exciting lineup of experienced experts from multiple industries. The video is available on the website. This week's radio show features Bruce and panelists Doug Duncan, Eric Janszen, Sean O'Toole, Debra Still, Sara Stephens, and Gary Thomas, who discuss the function of the appraisal management company, AMCs, the reasonable customary fee, undue pressure, the need for local market expertise, broker-price opinions, and much more on this week's real estate radio show and podcast.
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I Survived Real Estate 2011 part 4 #251

This week, The Norris Group presents the audio portion from the event I Survived Real Estate 2011. This award-winning event has raised over $250,000 since its inception four years ago thanks to the support of all the sponsors and individuals donors that participate. This year, the event focused on current industry regulation, head-scratching legislation, and the opportunities emerging for savvy real estate professionals from an exciting lineup of experienced experts from multiple industries. The video is available on the website. This week's radio show features Bruce and panelists Doug Duncan, Eric Janszen, Sean O'Toole, Debra Still, Sara Stephens, and Gary Thomas, who discuss issues with foreclosures and how it will affect taxpayers, the number of people currently delinquent, extensively on the Dodd-Frank Act and where we are now with it, the risk retention rule, reps and warranties and much more on this week's real estate radio show and podcast.
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I Survived Real Estate 2011 part 3 #250

This week, The Norris Group presents the audio portion from the event I Survived Real Estate 2011. This award-winning event has raised over $250,000 since its inception four years ago thanks to the support of all the sponsors and individuals donors that participate. This year, the event focused on current industry regulation, head-scratching legislation, and the opportunities emerging for savvy real estate professionals from an exciting lineup of experienced experts from multiple industries. The video is available on the website. This week's radio show features Bruce and panelists Doug Dunca, Eric Janszen, and Sean O'Toole, who discuss Eric Janszen's book The Post-Catastrophe Economy, the recent loan portfolio, the debate on the debt ceiling, output gaps, public/private partnerships to create an infrastructure and much more on this week's real estate radio show and podcast.

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I Survived Real Estate 2011 part 2 #249

This week, The Norris Group presents the audio portion from the event I Survived Real Estate 2011. This award-winning event has raised over $250,000 since its inception four years ago thanks to the support of all the sponsors and individuals donors that participate. This year, the event focused on current industry regulation, head-scratching legislation, and the opportunities emerging for savvy real estate professionals from an exciting lineup of experienced experts from multiple industries. The video is available on the website. This week's radio show features Bruce and panelists Doug Dunca, Eric Janszen, and Sean O'Toole, who discuss the meaning of homeownership, foreclosure rates, investor financing, current lending policies on investors, the recent study put together by Cal Poly Pomona and Michael Carney, the primary risk of a Greek default, and much more on this week's real estate radio show and podcast.

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I Survived Real Estate 2011 part 1 #248

This week, The Norris Group presents the audio portion from the event I Survived Real Estate 2011. This award-winning event has raised over $250,000 since its inception four years ago thanks to the support of all the sponsors and individuals donors that participate. This year, the event focused on current industry regulation, head-scratching legislation, and the opportunities emerging for savvy real estate professionals from an exciting lineup of experienced experts from multiple industries. The video will be available on the website shortly. In this first show, Aaron Norris and Bruce Norris launch the event and Bruce sets up the evening speaking on our current sales volume in California and home ownership.

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Craig Hill with The Norris Group #227

This week Bruce is joined by Craig Hill for a follow-up interview from the previous week. Craig has been with The Norris Group since its inception in 1995. He has helped The Norris Group invest in approximately $40 million worth of trust deeds.

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Ray McLaine Joins Bruce Norris on the Real Estate Radio Show #224

This week Bruce is joined again by Ray McLaine. Ray is the founder and president of the Commercial REO Brokers Association. Ray began his career in commercial real estate 30 years ago. He has developed apartment complexes, condo projects and a mini warehouse.

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Lance Martin Joins Bruce Norris on the Real Estate Radio Show #222

This week Bruce is joined by Lance Martin. Lance has been in the real estate business for 24 years as broker/owner of Coldwell Banker Pioneer Real Estate which serves the Inland Empire. Lance is an expert in residential REO foreclosure sales.

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National Real Estate Investors Association #138

This week Bruce is joined by Rebecca McLean and Charles Tassle. Rebecca is the Executive Director of Nation Real Estate Investors Association, and Charles is the Director of legislation affairs.

From 2000 to 2005 NREIA’s membership greatly increased. In 2002, NREIA only had 44 groups. In 2004-2005 the membership grew to over 200 groups, and in 2006-2007 the membership grew to 250 organizations. Rebecca estimates that NREIA’s peak membership was around 45,000. NREIA is a federation of local real estate investing associations. Since the market peaked, NREIA has gone down to 230 groups, but there are still people sending in applications every day asking if they can start a local REIA.

Bruce wonders if some of these groups have developed from a group of speculators to a group of investors in which they have the mentality of holding on to real estate. There are more experienced people in the real estate business now than there are people who are new and curious about real estate.

Charles believes it is better to approach legislation with a group of people who are viewed as investors rather than speculators. When NREIA representatives present themselves to state and federal legislation, they try to explain to the government that they are just as much of an investor as they are a local business owner. They contribute a significant amount to the community just like associations such as CAR and NAR. Bruce thinks that too many associations approach Congress with a single minded purpose. They do not consider the investors when they work with the government to change things. Rebecca agrees with Bruce on this issue. What makes NREIA unique is that membership includes Realtors, appraisers, and investors, and this has helped open the eyes of government leaders to realize that NREIA’s members represent a different segment of the real estate industry.

California has too many homes that are going to go back to the lenders in disrepair. Most of the loan programs are geared towards selling the next home to owner occupants, but owner occupants will not be interested in buying these damaged homes. These loan programs will not work without the help of investors, and NREIA has tried explaining this to congress.

Part of the purpose that NREIA has in coming before Congress is to gain respect, so Congress will be more interested in hearing NREIA’s opinions on important topics. Congress has a niche mentality. Each Congressional office latches onto different groups that deal with specific issues.

Bruce has interviewed many people and he has found that people appreciate when he helps to explain what his interviewees are trying to write about. Bruce asks if Charles gets to assist Congress by explaining legislation. Charles says that Congress does ask for NREIA’s perspective.

Bruce asks how politically motivated Congress members are to stand up for certain ideas that may be unpopular. Charles says that in the end, it comes down to the impact of voters. NREIA is supporting the bill HR 3440 which changes the way Realtors and dealers are recognized so that people will not be considered a dealer just because they have done a couple installment loans. This will increase the number of land contracts. As NREIA has explained this to Congress, they gained an understanding of how their voters would benefit from the bill and they started to gain interest in the bill.

203K loans were once available to investors, but that program was taken away from investors in 1996. The program allows people to get financing for a house including the repairs. Bruce asks if it is politically unfavorable to help investors. Charles says that investors are no longer an unfavorable group to support. The mortgage brokers and the appraisers are currently the politically unfavorable groups. People who are rehabbing properties are considered politically favorable. REIA has been making an effort to display investors as an important group of people in the real estate industry. Communities that were once not so open to investors are now open because investors have done a great service for them. There are a lot of misconceptions about what happens to an area when there are a lot of rentals there. Bruce was recently interviewed on a television show and the people who viewed his properties were astonished and pleased by the results they saw. People need to be exposed to the changes that investors make in communities. The work that investors do increase employment, increase the values of neighborhoods, and also increase tax revenue. Rebecca estimates that investors contribute about $3 billion dollars to the economy because of the other businesses that are affected by investors.

Bruce asks how investors can send a message to the people who are in charge of financing options that we need more generous financing because it is very difficult to get financing for rentals and properties that need to be fixed. Charles says that banks are looking for a 750 credit score. Right now the banks are sitting on a lot of cash, and NREIA is hoping that HR 3440 will help encourage the banks to lend that cash out.

Right now there is a program that gives owner occupants an $8,000 check for buying their first property. Bruce thinks that it would be better if existing loans could be taken over subject to without worrying about an assumption fee or the lender calling the loan due. FHA once had a loan in which people did not have to qualify for taking over the payment. Under this loan, all you had to do was send in a fee. Bruce asks if there has been any talk about this sort of loan being available again. Charles says that this has not been discussed, but the chances of this showing up will increase as long as NREIA has an influence on Congress.

In California, there are many investors who 1031 exchanged to other states, but cannot return back now. If they exchange without financing, they will have to pay a hefty tax bill, and they cannot get financing once they pass the 10 property limit. A lot of the decisions we are making are preventing our problems from being solved more easily. Rebecca says that part of the problem is that making good changes, which will help investors, may not be politically favorable. As investors continue to be displayed in a positive light, our chances of having helpful legislation get passed will increase.

Bruce asks what date NREIA’s “Day on the Hill” is scheduled for. This event traditionally goes on during April. The technology conference is coming up soon. This conference will allow NREIA to tell people about what NREIA is doing legislatively. NREIA is trying to make investors look good to the public. Information for “Day on the Hill” will be posted on the website after the technology conference, and people will also have the ability to register there.

Bruce asks Charles if there are any bills coming up that are bad for investors. Charles says that there a couple bill trends that are concerning. One is the foreclosure moratoriums, and there is a foreclosure modification process being proposed. This means that judges or someone else will be given the power to modify loans. This modification process is meant to save people from foreclosure, which seems good, but if we do not deal with our problems on a piece by piece basis we will cause more problems.

To find out more about the National Real Estate Investors Association, visit their website at nationalreia.com

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David Kittle with the Mortgage Bankers Association #132

This week Bruce Norris is joined by David Kittle, the Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association. David began his mortgage banking career in 1978. He opened Associates Mortgage Group in 1994 and sold it in 2006. He is currently the Vice President of Vision Mortgage Capital.

Bruce begins by asking David if he chose a good time to sell his company and become the chairman of the MBA. David says that selling his company worked out well for him, and he does not wish that he had changed his plans. David feels that he has the opportunity to make a difference this year, and he is looking forward to it. Bruce agrees with David, and he feels that there are going to be a lot of important things occurring within the next 12 months, and it will be very significant to play a part in them.

Bruce was watching Ben Bernanke being interviewed by the congressional staff, and he noticed that there were a lot of empty seats. Bruce asks David if it is common for there to be many empty congressional seats when he appears before congress. David says that it can be because they can be busy with other votes and opponents.

There are a lot of important political issues being dealt with right now, and it can be easy for real estate and the mortgage world to be ignored because of things like health care and cap and trade. Bruce asks David and the Mortgage Brokers Association keeps mortgage and real estate issues a priority to the government. The MBA has staff members for government affairs who work with committees like the financial services committee and the banking committee to make changes occur.

Bruce asks what the differences are between the Mortgage Improvement Regulations Act and HR 3915. MIRA is actually an example of the MBA calling in a strike on itself. The MBA is saying that there is need for more regulation. Net worth needs to be increased for the brokers and make sure there is increased net worth for the lenders. The difference between a broker and a lender is that brokers have no skin in the game, few education requirements, and they have different disclosure practices. Because brokers have no risk, and they do not lend their own money, they need to disclose the yield spread premium that they earn on a loan. Brokers claim that they have no responsibility to anyone in a loan. MIRA is working towards improving truth in lending, so that there are fewer opportunities for predatory lending. They want to improve trust in lending, good faith estimate, and make sure that matches the HUD-1 at closing. The other legislative options are more confusing than MIRA, and they require more paper work. David thinks this is a bad thing because we need legislation to be simple, so that customers can understand. Under the Bush administration an act was created to take a one page good faith estimate and turn it into a four page estimate. There needs to be less paperwork and more transparency.

Bruce recently filled out a loan application that was 12 inches deep, and he is worried about how large the loan documents are going to be. There are four lines on the loan application in which the applicant must say whether or not they will be occupying the property, and David feels that is over the top. Over a year and a half ago, the MBA presented HUD with a new GFE and a new HUD-1 in which every line matched. You cannot have predatory lending until you lend. If we have complete and understandable disclosure at the closing table then there is less chance for someone to be preyed upon.

In one way, Bruce looks at the process of legislation as very slow, but then it scares him when he sees people trying to pass legislation quickly, because they can do it without having a complete understanding of what they are supporting. Bruce asks if there is a chance that Congress might pass legislation that will not do what we want it to because they are in too much of a hurry. David believes that we have a system that helps prevent hurrying from being a big problem. Bills are first read by people who can explain them to Congress, then they are sent to the House of Representatives, and then they must also go to the Senate. Groups like the MBA help protect U.S. citizens from bad legislation because Congress knows that the MBA is truly there to protect consumers and support transparency.

Bruce asks how transparency failed in 2005 and 2006 when there were very different lending policies. David thinks that just about everyone involved in the industry can be blamed in some way for the failures that occurred in those years. Bruce and David both feel that even the borrowers can be blamed for the failures because they borrowed money knowing that they couldn’t make payments. We cannot just blame brokers or any one specific group of people.

Fraud is rampant, but we are getting better at detecting fraud. The MBA has been lobbying for a new regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and it took this crisis for people to realize that these changes need to occur. For the last 16 years, the MBA has been pushing for a new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac regulator and it took this situation to finally get it through. Same goes for modernizing FHA which finally happened this year. Many of our current problems would not have occurred if we had gotten a new regulator and FHA reform.

In about 35-40% of the overall country, in some areas it’s higher, FHA is still using a computer system called Cobalt which was developed before DOS and Windows. It is ridiculous for FHA to have equipment that is that old.

Fraud is getting worse because of the difficulties in getting mortgages and refinances. The FBI says there are two types of fraud: fraud for property and fraud for profit. Unfortunately, they are only investigating one type and one they won’t. Individuals who had the stated income loan will not be pursued. Bruce feels like we’re teaching the consumer that it was all OK.

Right now there are a lot of loan modification occurring, but a report has shown that 70 percent of the loan modifications done in 2008 are either delinquent or they have been foreclosed on. Bruce asks David if he thinks loan modifications are an effective way to deal with these problems. David says that loan mods are just one way to fix these problems. There are other ways to solve these problems such as short sales and deeds in lieu of foreclosure. You cannot modify a loan for someone if they lose their job or can’t pay.

Bruce asks if David thinks that the U.S. is headed down the right path to create more jobs. David thinks the best way to get this economy started is to take the $8,000 dollar home buyers tax credit, and expand it so that it is worth $15,000 and everyone can use it. Taxing small business would be the wrong way to go.

Bruce asks if this tax credit should be given to investors as well. David thinks that the program should be limited to owner occupants, any income, and price. On every purchase, regardless of new home or existing home, the buyer goes out after the closing costs and spends an average of $7,500 dollars on their house purchasing things like furniture. That money goes right back into the economy.

The U.S. is currently having trouble with appraisals which is affecting Realtors and lenders who are trying to make refi loans and purchases. David says the HVCC is an issue. MBA is currently speaking out on this issue and there is legislation for a moratorium being pushed right now.

In the 1004MC (market conditions report) the appraiser is asked to tell which direction the value of real estate is going in that area and it also asks the appraiser to come up with the median value. Market value is the common number that appraisers usually come up with. Median valued houses in California are almost all vacant REOs and every time there is a sale that is higher than that median value they consider it to be an anomaly. This is making it difficult to resale properties.

Bruce asks David where he thinks the real estate market is headed in the next year. David thinks that we will recover next year. In multiple places like Oklahoma City and the state of Alaska, property values are going up right now. Things are more stable in places like California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona. David hopes that people are not afraid to make purchases because energy costs and health care taxes are going to go up. David fears that certain political issues in Congress might slow down the real estate market.

David says the shadow banking system is currently in bad shape because people have no confidence in the rating agencies. We need to find a way to ensure that investments are producing quality loans. We need to set the bar higher for people entering the mortgage business.


David G. Kittle, CMB, Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), began his mortgage banking career in 1978 with American Fletcher Mortgage Company. As a top producing loan officer, he moved to the management side of the business in 1986.
Kittle opened his own company, Associates Mortgage Group, in 1994 and sold it in 2006. He currently is Executive Vice President of Vision Mortgage Capital, LLC a division of American Home Bank located in Pennsylvania.
Kittle is past president of both the Louisville and Kentucky Mortgage Bankers Associations. He is past Chairman of MBA’s Political Action Committee, MORPAC; former Vice Chairman of MBA’s Residential Board of Governors; and has served on MBA’s Board of Directors since 2004.
Kittle was elected Vice Chairman of MBA in 2006, became Chairman-Elect in October of 2007 and was installed as Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association October 2008 at MBA’s Annual Convention in San Francisco.
Kittle received his CMB designation in 2004.
He and his wife Ellen have been married for 16 years and have four children.
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REO Mentor Tony Alvarez #113

Bruce Norris is joined by expert real estate investor, property manager, and mentor, Tony Alvarez.

Bruce starts by asking if teaching will be a new venture for Tony. Tony talks about The Norris Group giving him his first speaking chance several years back and how doing so forced him to think about what he brought to the table as an individual. Tony had to figure out why he was different in the business. Tony talks about how building relationships is so important and how those relationships can build unbelievable business relationships and wealth.

Bruce asks why a Realtor is better off building a relationship with an investor. Tony says many of these REO houses are going into escrow multiple times. Tony has built his relationships by performing. He has never put in an offer to an REO agent he didn’t close if it was accepted. Agents begin to understand he stands for performance. That strong performance gives the agent ammunition for their asset manager and makes his offer stand above the rest.

Tony discusses coming out of bankruptcy and how he started investing in Palmdale. Tony talks about how he gets in the door with REO agents. These REO agents are busy and they can’t stand newbie investors and the amateur mistakes they make. REO agents eventually end up relying and trusting an investor only after they prove they are an asset.

Tony goes over an example of what he had to deal with when starting to work with REOs in the Antelope Valley in the 90s. Tony talks about approaching an REO agent and how he got the door open. One relationship made him millions and he returned the favor when the market changed.

Tony and Bruce discuss trying to make connections with people. Tony says he’s never met an REO agent that was from Mars. They’re people. There’s always a way.

Bruce talks about Tony and why he is so loved. Some people think Tony is the greatest negotiator but Bruce says why he’s so good is because it isn’t the intent. Bruce talks about love and what Tony brings to the table.

Investors have to not only know what is working to make deals in this California real estate market but they also must understand what they bring to the table as individuals. We as individuals must know what we’re good at and why each of us is different so we can use that in our daily lives to impact people around us. Tony put it best: The one who gives the most gets the most.

Tony Alvarez has been a successful Real Estate Investor and Certified General Appraiser in the Southern California area since 1981. Tony has bought, sold and rented hundreds of properties from vacant land to condos, single family residences, and apartments. More recently he is investing in commercial developments in Arizona, Nevada, and Southern California.

As an appraiser Tony worked as a staff appraiser for Great Western and Glendale Federal Bank and is approved by hundreds of Lenders, Insurances Companies as well as Government Agencies.

He has worked for Fanny Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA and the FDIC.
He has an in depth knowledge of the inner workings of Lenders and their REO (foreclosure) departments. Tony’s knowledge of real estate, appraisal, finance, and investing is vast and varied. He brings a unique perspective to the real estate investment community.

Thanks Tony for joining is on the radio show. Best of luck with you training in Los Angeles this weekend. Next week, a very important interview with Joe Magdzriaz from the Appraiser Institute.

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REO Mentor Tony Alvarez #112

Bruce Norris is joined by expert real estate investor and mentor, Tony Alvarez.

Tony got started in 1980 watching the infomercials on the television. He bought all the courses. It quickly led him to appraising. All the courses he had bought didn’t get him to the numbers he needed. The appraisals license really helped him take off. Tony was born in Cuba and his first exposure to real estate at a young age was very positive.

In the 1980s the interest rate was high. Tony started buying little single family home sin Burbank. He expanded in “The Flats” and kept his job as an appraiser. He started working with two gentlemen from New Zealand. These guys opened his eyes to a new world of investing. Tony learned quickly that his preconceived notion on real estate investing had held him back from what was really possible in the business.

Tony goes into detail about what many new investors say and how they fear getting in the market. Tony discusses the specific questions he asks new investors because he finds they typically make the same mistakes and they just don’t know where to start. They haven’t really thought about the details of where they want to invest and say that they just want a deal.

Bruce talks about how many investors are trying to either make up for lost time and/or trying to make up for losses which is not good. Hearing the desperation makes him nervous as many of these investors get led astray. Tony feels the same way. He himself struggled with this issue early in his career.

Tony talks a little about his “Third Element” concept. He goes into fear and how it really controls people and what they do and don’t do. He talks about fear and how it really gets in the way of real accomplishment. More people need to analyze how they make decisions and stop operating under fear.

Tony talks about people making mistakes because they are unwilling to learn from people already in the business and do not invest in education. He talks about his philosophy on education which is very much like Mike Cantu. Tony went to Mike Cantu’s training although he’s been a land lord for years. All it takes is one simple idea that can revolutionize how you do business. Tony talks about how much money he would have saved if he had been more careful with education in the beginning.

Bruce and Tony discuss how this business has changed his life and how he’s set up his properties to pay for his base lifestyle. It’s afforded him to do some interesting things.

It was a little long of an introduction but more is coming next week.


Tony Alvarez has been a successful Real Estate Investor and Certified General Appraiser in the Southern California area since 1981. Tony has bought, sold and rented hundreds of properties from vacant land to condos, single family residences, and apartments. More recently he is investing in commercial developments in Arizona, Nevada, and Southern California.

As an appraiser Tony worked as a staff appraiser for Great Western and Glendale Federal Bank and is approved by hundreds of Lenders, Insurances Companies as well as Government Agencies.


He has worked for Fanny Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA and the FDIC.
He has an in depth knowledge of the inner workings of Lenders and their REO (foreclosure) departments. Tony’s knowledge of real estate, appraisal, finance, and investing is vast and varied. He brings a unique perspective to the real estate investment community.

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Foreclosure Expert Ward Hanigan #111

Bruce Norris is joined once again by California trustee sale and foreclosure expert and educator, Ward Hanigan.

Bruce talks about Ward’s reputation that is so important in this business. Ward talks about why it’s so important to stay on top of current trends and how his students help him do that.

Bruce talks about the foreclosure problem and all the new “solutions” the government is throwing at the issue. Bruce brings up SB1137. Ward says this bill just delayed the inevitable and now they are coming back on the market. Bruce talks about fines being given out by the cities and how lenders are taking additional huge hits by way of code fines. Bruce met with a Southern California city that says they hired four employees that get paid only when they write code violations. He talks about a recent boot camp and a fine that was levied on the house for something silly. He sees fines upwards of $20,000 on some of these lender-owned California properties.

The quantity of foreclosures is making it difficult for lenders to handle it all. Bruce talks about the cities and counties that are now getting money. Ward likes the programs because a fair amount of the money is going towards the first time buyer assistance programs which help us. There’s also an $8,000 tax credit for certain buyers.

Ward’s view on the new Foreclosure Prevention Act won’t do much as there are plenty of investments that it won’t help. Ward talks about a large number of non-owner occupied homes that will be let go from speculators. Bruce asks where those stats come from because when he looks at County Records Research, Bruce finds that around 70% are owner occupied and 100% financed. Ward says some people coming to him say they were able to finance investments 100%.

Bruce talks about how quickly people went from a positive equity position to negative. Bruce asks Ward how he prepared for the downturn. Ward said he lined up lines of credit in 2006 but did not borrow on them. He owned several homes free and clear. He did a little spec building that worked out well at the peak. Now he’s in a great position.

Bruce asks Ward what he tells people who are having start over. Ward tells them to be a survivor and not a victim. They got caught up in the euphoria, don’t blame yourself, pick yourself up and start over. You have to get over it and get started on something new.

Bruce hears every quarter that now is the best time to buy real estate. Ward says as Option ARMs adjust it will only get better. Ward likes to eat every day and he feels the same way about investing. He makes money in all times of markets. It’s about the deal considering the market you in. Trying to time bottom is not important.

Bruce asks Ward how important it is to him to have his basic needs being taken care of automatic pilot. Ward’s “Dingbat Retirement” program has made him very happy. It’s important for him to have his keepers paying him every month. He has retirement section 8 that’s done quite well. Putting himself in this position allows him to make much more calm and wise decisions.

Ward rents to a very unique group of people. Ward rents to retired individuals. Ward learned early on he wanted to rent to those in their last 20 years of life. He wants people with no job and people who were settled. Retirees want peace and quite, individual units away from other people, don’t have to have a garage, no need for a yard, and overall just want something that’s simple to maintain and is cheap. Bruce asks what the age of these homes are and he says they are typically from the 20s.

Bruce asks about neighborhood safety. Ward says that it’s not too important. They want level ground for safety reasons and they, of course, don’t want heavy crime areas.

Bruce asks how Ward advertises his homes and gets the right people there. The inventory he has helps with that. Ward’s average turnover is 17 years. Ward is looking forward to picking up more.

Bruce and Ward talk about Fannie Mae raising their loans to investor back to 10. Bruce talks about the confusion between speculator and true investors. Investors need to be part of the market. We will need more than 10. foreclosureforum.com

Ward Hanigan is a full-time foreclosure specialist and trainer in San Diego County. He brings you over 37 years of real estate experience, with a degree in Economics and a Doctorate in Law. He has worked in California's foreclosure market exclusively since 1982, and as a consequence he has extensive experience finding cash, researching title, handling evictions, rehabbing, reselling, consulting, and is a "one-on-one" trainer and mentor to some of the most successful foreclosure practitioners in the Western United States.

Next week is Tony Alvarez.

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