January is historically a sleepy month stemming from the holiday hangover. But this year the first month of the year closed with a crash of economic, political and severe-weather related events that put the world in a freeze frame.
So what should we expect? For starters, a parade of new foreclosures will flood the market in the coming months as banks get their documents in order. Next, it is safe to say the global “tweet goes on”, as political unrest in the Middle East might just be the new normal as social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook play even bigger roles on the internal stage.
At Oppenheim Law, we are watching the situation closely and sharing new strategies for buying, selling, investing or even walking away from real estate in 2011. Join us for yet another black-swan themed event on Wednesday February 9th at 6:00 pm for the monthly Short Sale and Foreclosure Real Estate Workshop sponsored by Oppenheim Law and Weston Title via webcast or come in person.
The ‘black swans’ just keep on coming, as underwater homeowners brace themselves for a new set of rules in 2011. Amid international struggle, national weather crises and local real estate unrest, new data shows that real estate prices continue to drop while short sale rates are skyrocketing.
95 NW 11th St., Boca Raton, FL 33432
Cost: Free with advanced registration
RSVP: To register, email jackie@oplaw.net or call 954.384.6114
We’ll cover how the protests in Egypt, Florida’s new governor’s stimulus ideas, Obama’s agenda, bankrupt states, and even massive snowstorms are poised to make a direct impact on Florida foreclosures and short sales.
This was a historical week. Besides marking the 25th anniversary of the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger – an event that itself marked the end of an era; this week’s headlines included Obama’s new rules/new economy State of the Union; Friday marked the first time in history that part of the Internet went dead as Egypt “unplugged itself” in a move to settle political unrest and finally…the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission delivered the results of its investigation into the causes of the financial and economic crisis.
Technology, politics and the economy seem to be unfolding into one.
First let’s point out, there is a lot of BLAME going on, starting with the 500-page FCIC document, or should I say docu-drama. The in-depth analysis covers how we got to where we are today as it relates to the financial crisis, foreclosure crisis and housing crisis.
As taken from the official FCIC press release:
The Commission concluded that the crisis was avoidable and was caused by:
Widespread failures in financial regulation, including the Federal Reserve’s failure to stem the tide of toxic mortgages;
Dramatic breakdowns in corporate governance including too many financial firms acting recklessly and taking on too much risk;
An explosive mix of excessive borrowing and risk by households and Wall Street that put the financial system on a collision course with crisis;
Key policy makers ill prepared for the crisis, lacking a full understanding of the financial system they oversaw;
And systemic breaches in accountability and ethics at all levels.
But let’s be clear on BLAME; the last person that should be blamed in this mess is the homeowner. (more…)
Today has been deemed “Blue Monday,” the most depressing day of the year. Psychologist Cliff Arnall came up with an actual formula to show that the third Monday in January can be a real downer for many people.
The formula is weather plus debt minus salary multiplied by the time since Christmas to the time since failure to fulfill New Year’s resolutions. During this trying time of the year, people start to deal with post-holiday bills coming in, cold temperatures, and shorter days.
This past weekend, while visiting the Sundance Film Festival, I was surrounded by some of the most talented and creative people in the film industry (not to mention a gorgeous backdrop). There I realized that passion is contagious and also inspirational.
First, find a game plan to find out how to get out of your situation, and take control of your life. In a market where so many of us are upside down due to the many factors of the economy including the menacing real estate market, there is still opportunity.
Check out my video message below from Sundance Film Festival and let’s all figure out the game plan for 2011 and beat the Blue Monday formula. Join me at my next Real Estate Workshop on February 9th when we will focus on using the market to “get out of dodge”.
Today, Weston Title and Oppenheim Law completed one of the largest short sales with JP Morgan Chase. The original note was approximately $6 million, but the bank approved a payoff for almost half that amount. The bank agreed to the haircut in exchange for receiving the $3 million in proceeds.
Further, the bank waived the deficiency judgment demonstrating what Roy Oppenheim has been stating for the past several weeks, “The banks are eager to deal and get the economy back on track.”
In fact, rumor has it that the JP Morgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon, had to sign-off on this deal.
As Oppenheim said two weeks ago in the Sun Sentinel, “The result will be more short sales, loan modifications and ‘meaningful mediations’ that will help stabilize housing prices that have been falling steadily since 2006.
For more on Foreclosures, catch the replay of last week’s Oppenheim Law monthly Foreclosure Defense workshop on Oppenheim Law TV for the next few days!
If the first two weeks of 2011 are any indication, we’re in for a roller coaster year for the real estate economy.
From unleashing the Foreclosure Fraud Files to the Ibanez decision that banks had wrongly foreclosed on two homes, the foreclosure defense climate changed hourly.
Oppenheim echoed a similar sentiment to the Dow Jones MarketWatch and financial news service DebtWire: “I am expecting the banks to do fewer foreclosures and to engage in serious conversation in pre-foreclosure with borrowers.”
In an interview later in the week, Oppenheim told Real Estate Writer Paul Owers “The writing is on the wall that foreclosures aren’t going anywhere,” in the story End in Sight for the Foreclosure Epidemic?
Wondering what this means for Florida homeowners? Is 2011 the year of the short sale or the strategic default? Catch the replay of Oppenheim Law’s monthly Foreclosure Defense workshop on Oppenheim Law TV for the next ten days!
We’re just half way through the first month of 2011 and foreclosure fraud continues to make headline news. Tonight Oppenheim Law will be in Boca Raton hosting our monthly foreclosure defense workshop “The Future of Foreclosures”.
Tonight we will answer your questions live online or in person.
Tune in to the webcast via Oppenheim Law TV for The Future of Foreclosures Workshop
Tonight at 6 p.m.,
or come in person to the Boca Raton studio located at
95 NW 11th St., Boca Raton, FL 33432.
January is historically a sleepy month stemming from the holiday hangover. But this year the first month of the year closed with a crash of economic, political and severe-weather related events that put the world in a freeze frame.
