In this issue:

FreedomEquityMortgage.com

• Exciting News!
• One Newsletter Becomes Two!
• KAREN ZICK PULLS OFF TAKEOVER OF MAJOR MORTGAGE OPERATION
• Real estate fugitives take the money and run
  Part 1: Real estate's most wanted

Zick Stuff

• Political Opinion - Why Do We Have an Overworked Military?
• Inventory of Homes is Rising in Some Parts of U.S.
   

Upcoming Events

FreedomEquityMortgage.com

Exciting News!

Payment based upon ONE PERCENT INTEREST!!!!!  All Fund Mortgage has some super lenders.  In fact they are number one in representing one of the larger U.S. lenders.  We do lots of loans with them.  So many of our students get money to invest in real estate (and maybe pay off their credit cards) by refinancing their homes.   Payment based upon One Percent Interest will create even GREATER payments savings to help our clients put MORE money into their investment accounts and LESS money under the mattress!

This payment rate for Non-Owner Occupied loans is only 1.40%!  That means you can re-finance your investment homes (if your loan to value is not too high.  These prime loans are best at 80% loan to value. (even though we’ve managed to get investors approved for more) and lower your outgo and up your cash flow!

This is a negative ARM which means that you get your money to invest rather than pay down the loan.  The rate on the loan is very low so it is easy to get a better return on your dollar by investing the difference.  Remember, the cheapest money you will ever get is the loan on your home.

Read more about what we can do for you.

One Newsletter Becomes Two!

We are splitting our newsletter in two!

The content of our two newsletters, Advice for the Inpatient Investor and the REIT Real Estate and Mortgage Report, is now quite different.  This one is about mortgages, it is my sounding board, and it is about opportunities with All Fund Mortgage and Freedom Equity Group.  It might take some time for us to set it up, but in the future when you sign up to receive our newsletters you will have the choice to subscribe to either one or both of our newsletters. 

This change does not affect you.  You will always get both newsletters unless you ever decide for some reason (heaven forbid) that you only want one of the two newsletters.  In that case, you can opt out of one and you can still get the other.  No one asked me to do this.  And maybe my brain storm is not needed.  But I would hate to think that you have no choice but to get both newsletters if you only want one of them.  Give us some time to set it up. 

In the meantime, send email to newsletter@zick.com if you would like change your subscription to include just one, not both, of our newsletters.  Tell us if you want to receive just Advice for the Impatient Investor or just the REIT Real Estate and Mortgage Report.

KAREN ZICK PULLS OFF TAKEOVER OF MAJOR MORTGAGE OPERATION

Okay, maybe the puffer of the political year got the best of me.  Karen is taking over my position with All Fund Mortgage.  That means that my associates will now be her associates.  Why?  She really understands the ins and outs of one to four family home loans better than anyone I know.  I am always asking her questions.  Furthermore, new loan originators need lots of hand holding to get them through their first three loans.  I am more the “high five” type!  Additionally, I want her to have a business that will give her a six figure income when I become lazy or slip on a banana peel.

I’ll continue to do what I do best…training, commercial and investment deals and loans.  So, if you happen to have something that says you should go to www.zickhomeloans.com and put in my name, instead put in Karen Zick and recruiter number 20663MP.  Besides, she is so much nicer to work with than me!  ☺

BZ

September's Bonus Article:

Inman is a 'pay for access' news source. The following is the first of three articles we have permission to re-print. They should help you investors understand why lenders are so hard on flip deals, the number one source of loan fraud. It should also make those of you in our Loan Origination program realize why are lenders are so hard on checking the details!  Enjoy.

Real estate fugitives take the money and run
Part 1: Real estate's most wanted

By Glenn Roberts Jr.
Inman News

Editor's note: With billions of dollars flowing in and out of the real estate industry each year, the industry sees its share of fraud and other criminal misdeeds. In this special three-part series, Inman News uncovered the most common schemes, infamous scandals and a host of fraudsters who are still on the lam.

You probably haven't seen Judith H. Hooper lately.

Hooper, 55, is a former mortgage broker who allegedly changed her name to Jerry Dale Hunter and arranged for fraudulent loans to originate through a company called American Mortgage Exchange. She is one of several people who were indicted in an alleged elaborate mortgage fraud scheme, based in Georgia, that collected about $20 million. The alleged "flipping" scheme involved the purchase of residential properties for resale at artificially inflated prices. Those involved reportedly would use fraudulent sellers and borrowers, also known as "straw sellers" and "straw borrowers" to illegally collect mortgage loan proceeds from American Mortgage Exchange, which allegedly was the source for most of the bogus loans.

Hooper, who reportedly left the United States in the summer of 2000 and is now considered a fugitive, may have changed her appearance through plastic surgery, and she may have been living in Belize, according to reports. Several agencies participated in the American Mortgage Exchange investigation, including the FBI, Secret Service, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia, and the Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General.

There may not be a prime-time television show that focuses on real estate's fugitives, or a federal "most wanted" list for notorious real estate criminals who are on the run, but investigative and enforcement agencies haven't forgotten about them. HUD, the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI are among the agencies that would very much like to see these outlaws again.

HUD's Office of Inspector General, for example, publishes a semi-annual report detailing its investigations. The latest Semiannual Report to Congress, which covers Oct. 1, 2003, through March 31, 4004, includes information about a couple of fugitives who were involved in real estate-related fraud. Theresa Holt, who was allegedly involved in a loan fraud scheme involving 100 properties and $5.7 million in loans, is a former employee of North East Austin.

Holt reportedly started up her own company, Share Development Corp., which acquired numerous properties and resold them. "Many of the applications for the mortgage loans contained inflated employment information, including information that some buyers worked for Share Development and Northeast Austin," according to the report. "In addition, buyers, as well as loan officers, were paid $3,000 to $4,000 outside of closing for purchasing the properties." Holt reportedly bolted and is now a fugitive.

Jean Guilbaud, a real estate broker who was indicted in state court in Nassau County, N.Y., on four counts of grand larceny, one count of scheme to defraud, and one count of bail-jumping in connection with his alleged involvement in a $40,000 HUD real estate-owned fraud scheme According to the report, HUD has terminated Guilbaud's approval to bid on HUD-owned properties, and Guilbaud is a fugitive.

In March, the FBI's Los Angeles Division announced the arrest of several individuals for their alleged participation in an eight-year mortgage fraud scheme that generated $30 million in profits. James Douglas Lus, who was allegedly involved in the fraud, is now a fugitive. The participants in this scheme allegedly used fictitious and stolen identities - including the identities of deceased real estate brokers - to obtain hundreds of mortgage loans.

The participants reportedly used the fraudulent identities to "apply for loans posing as real estate agents, mortgage brokers and borrowers," according to an FBI announcement. "In addition, (they) used stolen or phony identities to pose as landlords providing verification of borrowers' income and rent history, gift donors providing money for down payments and insurance companies providing homeowners' insurance. (They) also used stolen or fraudulent identities to establish mail drops, phone numbers and bank accounts and to deal with the California Department of Real Estate." They also allegedly would "flip" properties several times using fraudulent identities, in some cases, the FBI announced.

And then there was Matthew Cox, a former Tampa, Fla., mortgage broker who is sought as the alleged mastermind in a loan-fraud scheme worth over $2.7 million, has been a fugitive since December 2003 and has allegedly committed crimes in Georgia, including mortgage fraud, since he became a fugitive, according to reports. Cox was allegedly participating in mortgage fraud in the Tampa area while he was on probation for mortgage fraud and grand theft. According to court documents, a warrant for Cox's arrest was issued on Dec. 22, 2003.

John T. Reed, an Alamo, Calif., resident who maintains an online rating of "real estate investment gurus" and "best-selling real estate authors," notes that Bill "Tycoon" Greene may be "the biggest character among the real estate gurus," though he does not recommend taking his advice - Greene is now a fugitive. "He made a big splash in the late '70s with his book, 'Two Years for Freedom,' " Reed said stated in his Web description of Greene. Greene, who "was convicted of federal income-tax evasion and sent to prison," later disappeared from a halfway house and "is apparently living in England using the name Dr. William G. Hill."

While there aren't any national television shows dedicated to real estate criminals, the local cable television show "Fugitive Watch," which is delivered to over 1 million San Francisco Bay Area cable viewers, does give some airtime to crimes of all types, including real estate-related fraud.

The show's Web site, Fugitive.com, lists information about Alice E. Navarro, for example, who was "convicted in a real estate fraud case where she befriended and scammed thousands of dollars from Spanish-speaking victims" but reportedly failed to show up for sentencing. Navarro reportedly is not licensed to sell real estate "and there may be other victims throughout California," according to the Web site.

Visit www.inman.com for more real estate articles.

Political Opinion - Why Do We Have an Overworked Military?

Okay, this is my personal opinion.  John Kerry is just now starting to bring up issues I think are important.  I welcome that.  I don’t think that the Bush people have turned a blind side to health insurance; they have been very busy with the 9-11 aftermath and have not addressed it.  I think it will be an issue no matter who is elected and the more it is an issue in the campaign, the harder it will be for Congress to ignore the next president’s recommendations that something gets done.  I hate the current patch work tax code and the same thing holds true.  The more we look at what is wrong the easier it will be to get action during the next four years.

If we look at the records of the candidates, I think we can get a better view of what they will favor in the future.  I have no problem with the right Democrat in the White House.  That is not the issue.  I do have a real concern about the defense of our country.  Many are saying that we are over-working our troops in Iraq.  But if you research the numbers, here is what you will find.

709,000 regular (active duty) personnel; 293,000 reserve troops; eight standing Army divisions; 20 Air Force and Navy air wings with 2,000 combat aircraft and 232 strategic bombers; 19 strategic ballistic missile submarines with 3,114 nuclear warheads on 232 missiles; 500 ICBM with 1,950 warheads; four aircraft carriers and 121 surface combat ships and submarines plus all the support bases, shipyards, and logistical assets needed to sustain such a naval force…these all were eliminated in the years before Bush got into office, and Kerry voted in favor of all of these reductions. In my view, this goes along way to explain why National Guard and Reserve units are now overworked.

And regarding equipment and being strong on defense, Kerry voted against the M1A1 Abrams Tank; every aircraft carrier laid down since 1988; the Aegis Weapon System; the F-15 Strike Eagle; the Block 60 F-16; the P-3 Orion upgrade; the B-1; the B-2; the Patriot Anti-Missile System; the F/A-18; the F-117; and every military appropriation for the development and deployment of every weapons systems since 1988, including a bill for body battle armor for our troops.

Mind you, I am not in favor of mindless spending, but Kerry said two things – “I'm John Kerry, and I'm reporting for duty.” and “Check my record.” That record looks more like a refusal to support any military role for America and supporting a major role for the United Nations which is a political nightmare, which is, in my opinion, full of corruption the likes of which we will never know.

So what did he vote for? John Kerry voted to KILL all anti-terrorism activities of each and every agency of the U.S. Government. He voted to CUT the funding of the FBI by 60%; the CIA by 80%; and NSA by 80%. THEN, he voted to increase OUR funding for U.N operations by 800%!!

I don’t consider Nader a third choice.  And I have given up on us ever getting a “White Knight” to run for office.  I guess we have to do the best with what we have. 
 

Inventory of Homes is Rising in Some Parts of U.S.

Source: Wall Street Journal (08/31/04); Hagerty, James R.

(August 31, 2004) -- The number of houses on the market is finally rising in some parts of the U.S. where shortages have led to soaring prices. The new supply should help soften price increases, and some economists say it may eventually bring prices down in some places where they have risen at double-digit rates in the past few years.

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® reports that the U.S. housing inventory is still tight, at 4.3 months, down from 4.7 months a year earlier, but some markets have seen a noticeable boost in supply.

The inventory of homes for sale in Orange County, Calif., for instance, rose from 1.4 months in April to 7.5 months in July; and year-over-year gains have hit the double digits in more than a dozen New Jersey counties as well as in Boston.

What University of California at Los Angeles economist Edward Leamer calls "a day of reckoning" is expected to arrive slowly, mainly because homeowners would simply stay put if prices dramatically fell.

While some experts worry about appreciation outpacing incomes and rents, NAR chief economist David Lereah and other industry insiders believe that low interest rates will continue to fuel the housing boom.