OUT OF HOUSE & HOME


OUT OF HOUSE & HOME

By Jim Macklin
Secure Document Research

Well, it has become official, Wall St. is now actively orchestrating the coup d’état. Major firms like Blackrock are setting up shop throughout major metropolitan areas of the U.S. with boots on the ground in an attempt to own and rent/lease properties back to the very souls from whom they stole in the last several years.

Pouring cash assets into the Net Lease Real Estate Investment Trusts seems like a sound business idea, except for one thing…the concept of owning real estate at this time for long term investment purposes does not align with the 20 year long term run-up of property values.

Remember this fact, the investment firms that are playing God with other people’s money don’t really care about the ROI for their investors, all they care about is selling positions or shares or certificates to the investment de jour. So if you invest $100 million in REIT’s but the long term projections for increased valuations of your portfolio have already reached the anticipated high, you are literally putting your money into a pool that pays you back for the use of the money, minus the fees in and out. Not to mention the fact that there is no possible way to project what a given administration’s policies will be in even 5 years. Tax treatments can, and often do, change.

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Bankruptcy Cram-Downs Being Used on Primary Residences

Bankruptcy Cram-Downs Being Used on Primary Residences

By Daniel Edstrom
DTC Systems, Inc.

A “cram-down” is where the principal balance is reduced, usually to fair market value.  DSNews.com is reporting that the research firm and ratings agency DBRS has learned from various servicers that cram-downs are being done in some bankruptcy courts.  We have seen the occasional cram-down but this shows that it is far more prevalent then most people realize.  The effect of a cram-down is that the loan principal balance is reduced to fair market value and all amounts over that are “unsecured”, meaning they could be fully discharged.  For example if a homeowner owes $750,000.00 on their primary residence, but the actual market value is $440,000.00,  the bankruptcy court could cram-down the loan so that the actual principal balance is $440,000.00 and the rest ($310,000.00) is unsecured debt.

For more, read the DSNews.com article here: http://www.dsnews.com/articles/mortgage-cram-downs-by-bankruptcy-judges-are-taking-place-dbrs-2011-05-02

You can view more about DBRS here: http://dbrs.com/