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Featured Article

The Road to Flipping 1,000 Homes

By Doug Clark of Spike TV's "Flip Men" January 26, 2012 I have always been a bit of a gambler and come from an entrepreneurial upbringing; a childhood friend in the mortgage business asked me to head down to a local foreclosure auction and meet Mike Baird. I cautiously walked up the courthouse steps for the first time and inquired around for Mike so we could shake hands for the first time. I was not prepared for what I was about to witness; an ordinary and unassuming individual approached, proclaimed “buyer beware”, and start firing off addresses of properties impending sales at the auction. Where was the courtroom, the judge, a sheriff? Read Complete Article

Current News and Opinion

11 Metros with 50% Foreclosure Discounts By Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac Vice President January 27, 2012 If you’re looking to save big on a foreclosure purchase, you should consider buying in one of these 11 towns where foreclosure homes on average sold for at least a 50 percent discount in Q3 2011. Strategic Default “Only Choice” for Some By Octavio Nuiry, Staff Writer January 18, 2012 Strategic defaults are on the rise, writes Jon Maddux, CEO of YouWalkAway in the December 2011 issue of the Foreclosure News Report, a monthly newsletter published by RealtyTrac. 2011 Year-End Foreclosure Report: Foreclosures on the Retreat By RealtyTrac Staff January 9, 2012 Foreclosure filings were reported on 1,887,777 U.S. properties in 2011, a decrease of 34 percent in total properties from 2010. Foreclosure activity in 2011 was the lowest since 2007. Exclusive Report: Emerging Foreclosure Trends for 2012 By Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac Director of Marketing Communications January 5, 2012 There was an abundance of good news on the foreclosure front in 2011 that might portend a rosy outlook for 2012. But the housing market has not completely escaped the clutches of the foreclosure crisis. Video: Find Foreclosure Trends in Your Neighborhood By RealtyTrac Staff January 5, 2012 RealtyTrac Stats & Trends allows you to see current and historical foreclosure activity displayed in colorful charts, graphs and heat maps for any state, county, city or ZIP code nationwide. Why We Need More Real Estate Investors By Peter G. Miller December 20, 2011 Investors did it. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, real estate investors had an outsized role in the collapse of the mortgage marketplace and the national economy. Will Washington Dump Foreclosure Prevention Efforts By Peter G. Miller December 16, 2011 It sure didn't take long to raise FHA loan limits. The lower limits went into effect October 1st but were gone by mid-November. Now you can get an FHA loan for as much as $729,750 instead of just $625,500 Will The Occupy Wall Street Movement Impact Foreclosures By Peter G. Miller December 15, 2011 In the 1960s protests against the war in Vietnam and racial segregation were on the news almost every night, a tradition which is now back with the Occupy movement and Bank Transfer Day (November 5th). Scheduled Foreclosure Auctions At 9-Month High as New Foreclosure Wave Builds By RealtyTrac Staff December 14, 2011 Foreclosure filings were reported on 224,394 U.S. properties in November, a 3 percent decrease from the previous month and a 14 percent decrease from November 2010. Would A New Homestead Act Reduce Foreclosures By Peter G. Miller December 12, 2011 It was back in 1862 in the midst of the Civil War that the government passed the first Homestead Act, legislation that would give pioneers 160 acres if they settled west of the Mississippi.