Real Estate Investing Coaching - Brian Gibbons

Ohio - Attorney general's office sues six foreclosure rescue companies

                           

Attorney general's office sues six foreclosure rescue companies 6 foreclosure rescue companies accused of not helping borrowers Thursday, August 09, 2007 Sheryl Harris Plain Dealer Columnist Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann took aim Wednesday at foreclosure rescue companies that siphon money from people who are in danger of losing their homes. Dann's office sued six companies - two of them based in foreclosure-ridden Cuyahoga County - that solicited money from consumers with promises they could save their homes from foreclosure. Dann said the companies didn't contact lenders or do much else to prevent the homes from being sold, even though they accepted advance payment, ranging from $450 to $10,000. "This may be the 'last chance' money these people have," Dann said. The lawsuits, filed in courts across the state, accused the companies of violating the Consumer Sales Practices Act, but also took the new tack of insisting practitioners of foreclosure rescue must comply with the Debt Adjuster Act, which requires them to have insurance, limit consulting fees, undergo annual audits and keep separate trust accounts for clients. "I believe it's important to take all the arrows in our quiver to attack a business as sleazy as this one," Dann said. Ohio and Cuyahoga County, in particular, are ripe markets for foreclosure rescue companies. Both have frequently topped lists of the most foreclos- ure-ridden places in the country, and Cuyahoga County's foreclosure rates run triple the national average, giving it the dubious distinction of being, as County Treasurer Jim Rokakis often notes, "first and worst." On Wednesday, the attorney general sued: Cary Lavensky, doing business as Home Restoration Services, located in Cleveland. Richard Pinnix, dba Pinnix Business Services, of Shaker Heights. United Foreclosure Managers LLC of Youngstown. American Housing Authority Inc. of Newport Beach, Calif., and a related company, American Housing Financial Inc. of Phoenix. F.A.S., dba Foreclosure Assistance Solutions and Mortgage Second Chance, of Clearwater, Fla. Foreclosure Solutions of Cincinnati. Lavensky said he has been out of the foreclosure rescue business for a year. He said he could recall only one instance in which he had a dispute with a homeowner and, in that case, the family interfered with a planned sale of the home and then demanded a refund. He said he is certain his company complied with Ohio law. "I assure you, all our paperwork was drawn up by an attorney," he said. "This is the first I'm hearing of any of this." Pinnix said that while the attorney general is right in saying he didn't have insurance or separate accounts for clients, "I have saved a lot of people's homes through refinancing and hard-money lending . . . I work 17 hours a day to help my clients. At the end of the day, the truth will come out." Officials of United Foreclosure did not return a phone message left at the company. The suits seek restitution for consumers, fines and an order barring the companies from doing further business until they comply with applicable state laws. To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: sherylharris@plaind.com, 216-999-4409 © 2007 The Plain Dealer                   © 2007 cleveland.com All Rights Reserved.

The 5 Fastest Ways to Fail in Real Estate - Commentary by Brian Gibbons - REISkills.com

In a recent article by Peter Conti (Partner is David Finkel) I thought I would post it here with my comments in RED.

The 5 Fastest Ways to Fail in Real Estate

Mistake Number 1- Not Taking Responsibility For Your Results

You have the ability to create the life of your dreams. In fact, the life you are living right now is a direct result of you. Yes, you. Your mindset, your actions, and your behaviors have led you to have the life you are living right now. When I first heard this I didn’t want to believe it. I wasn’t too happy with where I was at. I was living alone in a tiny two bedroom apartment and was making less than $20,000 a year.

I’d read all the books I could get my hands on… How to think big, the power of positive thinking, real estate, stocks, start your own business, you name it and I had read it.

See my booklist HERE - Brian

So there I was- wanting to be “wealthy” yet not having any kind of a game plan to get me there. So when I discovered that I was responsible for my crappy life, it was tough to admit, but it was also a turning point. You see, if what you’ve done so far has taken you to where you are now today, then you also have the ability to decide what your future is going to look like.

Here’s your first assignment:

Today – before you go to sleep- I want you to write out your goals. Just go crazy and make a really big list. Don’t hold back here, think big Big BIG and make sure to include personal, spiritual, family, financial and health goals. Then put a time next to each of them to indicate when you want to achieve each of your goals. 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, etc.

As you learn more and more about investing you’ll be able to tie in your real estate investing goals to help support your big list. For example, if you want to have a personal trainer to keep you in top notch shape and your trainer will cost you $500 per month, then one of your goals should be to find a property that will provide you with enough cash flow to cover your investment in your personal trainer.

Many people do not plan, they REACT.  and they SUFFER by living ABOVE THEIR MEANS. BJG

Mistake Number 2 - Investing By Your Realtor's Rules

Walk into any real estate office and ask about buying an investment property. Within the first ten minutes a good agent is going to ask you how much money you have to put down. “You’ll need 10 to 20 percent down to buy an investment property” the friendly agent will say. And this is true. You do need 10 to 20 percent down to buy investment property IF you are willing to play using your Realtor’s rules. You see, once you learn to play using a different set of rules, The Mentor Family rules of investing, you’ll discover how to buy everything from single family homes to big commercial properties without using your cash or credit.

EXAMPLES: $1 down for an Option Flip, Sub2 with Land Trust, Sandwich Lease Option, Land Contract, etc.

Mistake Number 3 - Listening to Advice From the Wrong People

As you launch your real estate investing profession you will find that there is no shortage of people who will try to discourage you. Most Realtors who will tell you that you are crazy to think that you can buy with “nothing down”. The people that you work with will wonder why you’d ever consider leaving the corporate nest. Most important of all, those who are closest to you, your family, may say “You think you can do what?”

If you are going to listen to someone’s advice, first make sure that they are at the level of success that you are reaching for. Someone who is making $50,000 a year is not going to be the right person to guide you to making $200,000 a year.

 

Mistake Number 4 - Unwilling To Get An Education

In real estate just like most other areas of life there are 3 ways that you can learn:

 

• Other peoples knowledge
• Your own experience
• Other peoples experience

To tap into knowledge from others, read books, attend seminars, make sure you pour over every single word in this newsletter each and every month so that you can soak up every single piece of information that you can get. This will allow you to create a stream of profits coming into your life as quickly as possible.

 

Your own experience is where you really begin to learn. Someone can get their masters degree in creative real estate investing by reading, listening to audio, and attending seminars, but it’s not until you put what you’ve learned into action that the real learning begins.

I made a $30,000 mistake when I was getting started. I had a home that I could have bought “Subject to” the existing financing. I knew how to use this technique, but I was scared because I hadn’t bought a property “Subject to” before. So I accepted $1,500 to wholesale my contract to another investor. When he made $30,000 on the deal I realized what my lack of confidence just cost me.

 

I’ve advanced the fastest by using other people’s experience. When you are able to learn by “shadowing” an expert or being able to run your deals by someone who knows what they are doing you’ll make fewer mistakes and bigger profits.

When I purchased my first investment property I used the formulas recommended by my Mentor to determine how much I should offer to get the winning bid on the property. That first property made enough money for me to put most of my kids through college. I don’t know where I would have ended up if I wasn’t willing to learn from the experience of others.

 

Mistake Number 5 - Not Willing To Fail In The Beginning

Try to get your real estate investing down perfect before you get started and guess what..? You’ll never get started.

Once you’ve learned one of the many methods to buy without your cash or credit then you’ll need to get out there and start making offers. I was scared to death when I bought my first property. The second property was a tiny bit easier. Last month I bought a $4.2 Million dollar shopping center and didn’t even have to think about it.

To Your Success,

 

Peter

Peter Conti has helped me IMMENSELY with his course on Purchase Option Investing.  His course info is on http://www.resultsnow.com/investoreducation/index.php

I always recommend Peter and David's courses and info.