Nina Davis--Long & Foster Real Estate, INC.

compared to self-directed IRAs.

For more information, you can contact Greg at gprewitt@theIRALLC.com.

Investors seeking a deal on a foreclosed property need to keep some basics in mind

because the transaction isn’t simple. Here are some things your agents should consider

for their clients:

are priced 10 to 15% below non-bank-owned properties.

conditions, they’ll often lower the price incrementally if a home hasn’t sold

after a month.

competitive offers.

the mortgage, it will sometimes agree to a lower price.

Doler, Jul 7, 2008)

Some are calling this the best market for investors since real estate tanked in the early

1980s.

Investors, alone and in groups, are negotiating volume deals as they purchase whole

subdivisions and bundles of 10 to 50 defaulted loans for pennies on the dollar.

"What we're seeing today dwarfs [the 1980s] by five or 10 times," says Bob Leonetti,

president of SMI Funding, an Austin, Texas, company that originates and acquires

private and conventional mortgages. "There are huge opportunities for investors."

"People who have cash positions now are going to do very well," says Central Florida

real estate practitioner Mike Norvell of Developers Capital Realty in Leesburg, Fla. "It's

just crazy the prices you can buy for right now for cash."

Effective October 1, 2008, a new Maryland law will allow a tenant to terminate a lease

when a property owner has not complied with Maryland’s Lead Poisoning Prevention

Program (LPPP). The law requires home contractors seeking a license to provide proof

of lead paint abatement accreditation if the contractors provide such services. The bill

allows a tenant to recover reasonable attorney fees and $2,500 in moving expenses. The

Maryland Lead Poisoning Prevention Program requires owners of older residential rental

properties (pre-1978) to meet specified risk reduction standards. The program

is administered by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). For more

information call the Lead Poisoning Hotline at 1.800.776.2706 or visit

www.mde.state.md.us.

Mortgage rates continued the retreat in the latest week, with the average conforming 30-

year fixed mortgage rate falling to 6.42 percent.

According to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large lenders, the average 30-

year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.45 discount and origination points.

Bankrate's national weekly mortgage survey is conducted each Wednesday from data

provided by the top 10 banks and thrifts in the top 10 markets.

The average 15-year fixed rate mortgage popular for refinancing declined to 5.95 percent,

while the average jumbo 30-year fixed rate held steady at 7.64 percent. Adjustable

mortgage rates were mixed, with the average 1-year ARM rising to 6.21 percent and the

average 5/1 ARM holding at 6.05 percent.

Mounting worries about the economy and the health of the financial system drew

investors out of stocks and into the relative safety of bonds. Mortgage rates are closely

related to yields on risk-free Treasury notes.

Amid the nervousness, mortgage rates touched lows not seen since the first week of

June. But inflation remains an issue, as evidenced by the Consumer Price Index for

June, and will continue to spar with weak economic growth as the factors influence the

direction of mortgage rates. The up and down yo-yo of mortgage rates seems likely to

continue, with rates fluctuating within a range.

Mortgage rates have been on a wild ride since the beginning of the year. The average 30-

year fixed mortgage rate was as low as 5.57 percent in January, meaning that a $200,000

loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,144.38. But at today's rate of 6.42

percent, a $200,000 loan would mean a monthly payment of $1,253.63.

Summary of survey results:

A year ago, 30-year mortgage rates stood at 6.73 percent, 15-year mortgage rates

averaged 6.38 percent, five-year ARMs were at 6.35 percent and one-year ARMs averaged

5.72 percent.

Home foreclosures have hit record highs as sagging home values have left many

borrowers owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. With more empty

homes being dumped on an already glutted market, prices are being pulled lower.

Buyers, meanwhile, have become harder to find as credit has gotten harder to secure.

David Lee, who has managed the $2.5 billion T. Rowe Price Real Estate Fund (TRREX)

since it opened in October 1997, says the following areas of the housing market are

either doing well now or soon will be.

construction going on in the mall business," he notes. "Short of going bankrupt,

we're not convinced that all these retailers can close their way to profitability.

They're going to continue to pay rents to have stores in the highly profitable

malls.”

says.

10, 2008)

The supply of homes dipped 2.4 percent in a year-over-year change in 12 of 18 cities

where ZipRealty Inc. does business, the brokerage says.

The data covers listings of single-family homes, condos, and town houses for sale on

local multiple-listing services. This is the first decline since the firm began keeping tabs

in mid-2006.

The data doesn’t include New York City, but Miller Samuel Inc., an appraisal firm, says

the city’s inventory was up 31 percent compared to June of 2007 because Wall Street

firms have cut jobs.

The following is a list of cities and their percentage of inventory decline:

Boston, MA -10%

Dallas, TX -10.6%

Houston, TX -2.4%

Las Vegas, NV -18.5%

Los Angeles, CA -7.4%

Minneapolis, MN -4.8%

Orange County, CA -15%

Orlando, FL -3.1%

Phoenix, AZ -2.6%

Sacramento, CA -22.4%

San Diego, CA -6.7%

Tampa, FL -7%

Recommended Reading:

1. Ripple Effects From Fannie And Freddie, Nancy Trejos, Washington Post,

content/article/2008/07/12/AR2008071200142.html

Washington Post, Sunday, July 13, 2008; Page A01,

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/12/AR2008071201916.html

5. Rates Drop Across the Board, Washington Post, Saturday, July 19, 2008; Page

content/article/2008/07/18/AR2008071801479.html