Hard Money Loans

More U.S. stocks are trading above their 200-day average price than any time since April, when the Dow began a 14% slump

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Boston, MA, United States (AHN) – Two investors of Genzyme Corp. are suing the biotechnology company for rejecting an $18.5 billion takeover offer from Sanofi Aventis.

According to Bloomberg, the investors have filed a lawsuit in a Boston court accusing Genzyme of depriving investors the right to “to receive maximum value for their shares.”

Sanofi began a hostile takeover of the Massachusetts-based company early this month. The French pharmaceutical giant made a non-binding offer in July to acquire all of Genzyme’s outstanding shares of common stock for $69 per share.

Genzyme chief executive officer and board chairman Henri Termeer had deemed the price too low and called the offer “opportunistic.”

Termeer had sought a better offer, citing Genzyme’s plans to reduce costs and raise production, and the firm’s outlook for its multiple sclerosis drug, alemtuzumab, as well as for Cerezyme, which is for patients with Gaucher disease, and Fabrazyme for those suffering Fabry disease.

Genzyme’s board last week unanimously rejected the latest proposal from Sanofi because the bid is “based on identical financial terms to two previous unsolicited proposals.”

“The offer fails to compensate shareholders for the value of Genzyme’s existing business, which delivered compound annual revenue growth of 23 percent from 2002-2009,” the board added. “The offer price does not adequately compensate Genzyme’s shareholders for the strategic importance and financial benefit to Sanofi-Aventis of a potential transaction with Genzyme.”

The board urged shareholders not to take action, saying a program had been initiated to inform them of “intrinsic value of the company.”

Sanofi insists the amount represents a premium of 38 percent over Genzyme’s unaffected share price of $49.86 on July 1. The drug maker also said discussions with shareholders who own more than 50 percent of Genzyme revealed that shareholders were “frustrated” with the biotech firm’s “persistent refusal to have meaningful discussions.”

Genzyme is one of the world’s largest biotech companies. Founded in Boston in 1981, it specializes in producing drugs for rare genetic disorders, transplant and immune diseases, and cancer.

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If you don’t have enough money saved for a down payment on that home you want to buy, don’t miss this opportunity because you can qualify for no money down loans
. This financial aid is made to finance the purchase price of a home or car. Many large lending institutions select this option for buying their dream things. The no money down loans makes it possible for you to be home owner. Any eligible loan applicant may use this benefit for one house at a time. The house obtained with this loan should be used as a primary place of residence. If you are paying rent you are pretty much throwing your money away. It is possible to get this financial service, but you will be paying something called mortgage insurance.

There are many people who are unable to make down payment before buying one. For them no money down loan is the solution. These loans offer finance for second hand, new cars too. With the introduction this financial help you don’t need to pay down payment to the company. No money down loans provider eliminate the need for this otherwise evil. If you have better credit score you can qualify for low interest rate .No matter how horrible your credit looks on paper thousands of borrowers are approved everyday for no money down loans that give them one hundred percent financing to purchase the car , home , truck or other vehicle that they need it. This kind of loan means that the buyer borrows the full purchase price of the property and doesn’t put down any deposit.

This type of financial aid has been popular in the commercial real estate sector for a while and is becoming popular in the residential sector. To obtain this loan buyers need a reliable source of income. If you meet lending company requirements, they will finance 100% purchase price. Once you have the lenders approval, you can start looking for homes. So getting a new home doesn’t have to be hard.

Foreclosure Real Estate Investing: How NOT To Lose Your Shirt At The Foreclosure Sale For real estate professionals, this past year has been one of the most painful in recent times — defaults are up, homeownership is down, foreclosures have soared and the poorly performing housing sector is starting to create negative ripple effects in the broader national economy. Since all projections indicate that 2008 will be equally as challenging, should property investors run for the hills, put all their money in AAA rated munis, and ride out the storm until the next boom? Absolutely not! There’s no question that 2008 will bring reduced housing demand, lower prices in some areas, and fewer loan options, yet 2008 looks strong for treasure hunters. At HMB, we’ve been seeing investors scoop up bank REO’s for 40 to 50 cents on the dollar and selling them off at nice profits. After all, people will always buy property if they can get a great deal, no matter what the market conditions. Your job is to simply find the best deals. Many great deals will most certainly come from foreclosures over the next 24 months.

If you intend to jump into foreclosure auctions, follow these tips to help insure a profitable transaction: A? Do your homework: I recently had one of my investors call me and ask me if he would be risking anything greater than his security deposit if he simply walked away from a house he purchased at auction. Because he was intimately familiar with the neighborhood, he didn’t bother to visit the property. After the auction, he learned the damage to the property was more extensive than he anticipated. In a aEoehotaE? market, price appreciation could have bailed him out but, in today’s market, he was sunk. Lesson? Never buy a property sight unseen, and make sure to get the best contractor estimates possible prior to auction day. A? Read the advertisement carefully: The devil is in the fine print. You could buy a lot of trouble if you don’t read and understand every word. Examples: Many auctioneers require a Buyer’s premium. In my area, it could be as much as 10%. If your bidding on a $120,000.00 property, that’s an additional $12,000.00 expense! Even worse, you may be required to pay interest on the prior owner’s defaulting Note from date of auction forward to the date of settlement. That’s an additional 30-45 days of interest expense (or more in some instances). Worst of all, in some cases the auction purchaser could be responsible for certain outstanding liens due at the time of sale, such as water, taxes, or even condo liens. Do you really want to be responsible for the prior owner’s $3,000.00 past due HOA bill because you didn’t read the ad? A? Be careful of flipping: Flips are still possible in this market but could be dangerous to the financial health of an unseasoned or careless investor. If you intend to flip to another investor, remember he or she will be leery of buying anywhere close to retail because of the likelihood of additional price erosion over the next few years.

Did you properly discount your bid price for this? Will the property cash flow at your proposed sales price? Many investors use the 1% Rule as the aEoegold standardaE? aE” a $100,000.00 purchase price should yield a renter at $1,000.00. If you don’t carefully account for these factors, you could get stuck in the property. If you are using short-term hard money and your credit is weak, you even run the risk of loan default because you won’t be able to refinance out of your hard money loan. A? Setting property values: In addition to recent comps, you may want to go back to 2004-05 tax assessment records to review pre-bubble pricing. Is it possible for prices to retrace back to those levels? Maybe yes, maybe no, but it doesn’t hurt to bid based upon worst-case scenarios. A? Keep your cool: Don’t get caught up in the emotion of the auction. Know your absolute high price going in. Once the bidding has exceeded that price, don’t even think about it anymore. Walk to your car and leave. There’s always another deal tomorrow. A? Get finances in order before bidding: You will be required to bring to the auction a cashier’s check for the advertised deposit amount. But you may also be asked to increase the initial deposit to 10% of total purchase price within a certain time period after the auction date.

Check with the auctioneer the day of auction. Also, get lender approval prior to the day of auction. A hard money lender can be your best friend in these situations, as an approval from a hard money source accomplishes 2 things: 1) you’ll know up-front whether you’ll be able to close on the property, thereby reducing any risk of losing your deposit; and 2) you’ll get a second, and often expert, opinion on the conservative value of the property. Even if you end up using conventional lending, the hard money approval can give you great peace of mind. A? Insurance: It is critical to get a hazard insurance policy in place the day of auction. Many times, the risk of loss is contractually passed to the successful auction bidder. If you don’t have insurance and the building burns down, you lose! A? Bankruptcy: Call the auctioneer the night before (for early a.m. auctions) or the morning of the auction to make certain the foreclosed-upon borrower has not filed a bankruptcy. A bankruptcy filing stops the foreclosure process, even if it is filed one minute before auction. Probably 90% of foreclosure auctions get cancelled this way, so you’ll waste a lot time if you don’t call beforehand. A? Default: Always remember that the re-auction of a property is almost always aEoeat the risk and expense of the defaulting bidder.aE? This means if you bid on a property and don’t follow through, you could be sued for a lot more than just your deposit. Jeffrey Shiller, Esq. MD DC VA Hard Money Lender

About Author
Jeffrey Shiller, Esq. www.hardmoneybankers.com MD DC VA Hard Money Lender

There are different standards and strategies that real estate investor’s use when evaluating properties. In order for us to get involved with a property, the following standards are judged for the worthiness of any rehab project:
“You should look for the worst house on a decent block”
1) Whether your strategy is to “flip” properties, or to hold them for their rental cash flow, it’s important to be able to draw potential buyers, or strong potential tenants, as quickly as possible. With this in mind, you should look at properties on streets that are maintained properly. This does not limit you to higher end homes. There are many “blue collar” areas that properly maintain the condition of their homes and yards. However, a street that has poorly maintained properties or many vacancies do not lend themselves to fast turn around sales or well suited tenants.
Always remember that this is an investment. You take on a large risk, and a lot of work as a rehabber. No matter how much loving care you put into your property, you can do nothing about the condition of your neighbor’s property.
2) Make certain that there is no structural damage to the property. This could be a fatal blow to your investment!
“You make your money when you buy a property, not when you sell it!”
Purchasing Formula
There are many formulas used for the successful purchase of a rehab project. It’s important to use one. There must always be a comfortable cushion between the purchase price and the selling price of investment property. This cushion price will help you achieve a successful investment, even if you have repair cost over-runs, or hold on to the property longer than you had anticipated. Remember, every day that the property is not sold or rented comes right off your bottom line. The interest, taxes, insurance, and utility bills compound each day. Buying the property at the right price will protect you from Murphy’s Law.
Our Funding formula:
1) Establish an after repair value for your property.
(Get “area comps” and view each one. Pick out the property that has a street that is most similar to your house’s street, and a structure that is closest to your house’s structure, and then compare the square footage, amount of bedrooms and bathrooms that are all listed on the “comps.” This will help establish a real fair market value for your property).

2) Multiply the ARV x .65 (After Repair Value)
(This will give you 65% of the ARV).
3) Establish a comprehensive and accurate list of repairs that you plan to do to the property, and estimate the costs for each repair.
(This is important. If you are knowledgeable and experienced in doing repair work, you may not need help. If you are not experienced or skilled in this, find someone who is and have them draw up a plan. Even if it costs you a little money to get them out there, this could save you thousands of dollars).
4) Subtract the cost of repairs from the 65% value of the ARV. (After Repair Value) This should be the maximum price that you pay for the property! This is a conservative formula, and it usually works well. Remember, anyone can buy a property at close to fair market value, but with your costs and risks, you must do better!
Written by Jim Olivero

Snapshot Of Coastal San Diego’s Luxury Real Estate Markets | Rancho Santa Fe, Del Mar, Coronado, and La Jolla.

While there has been a surge in recent luxury home sales, we have noticed some trends that have become apparent in today’s market, effecting both pricing and sales. Rather than provide puffery, let’s look at some concrete data from the current marketplace provided by Altos Research LLC. Surprisingly, the results have been better than expected; however we need to keep a close eye in the coming months for a more grounded and substantive sample.

For Sellers: The coming months are going to be the best opportunity to sell with low interest rates and the seasonally active marketplace.  Unfortunately, there are many more luxury homes for sale than qualified buyers, which will leave much inventory unsold or stagnant. In looking at pending homes sold in Rancho Santa Fe, Del Mar, Coronado, and La Jolla, most have been priced very aggressively or have had a substantial price reduction prior to the pending date due to softness in the luxury market. Selling an estate in this current market takes aggressive pricing, superior marketing, and a value substantive presentation. This is what buyers are looking for and they are definitely out there to be had. First and foremost, inventory is on the climb throughout San Diego. All markets have shown an uptrend in inventory with data going back to 2007.

Median Asking Prices: Rancho Santa Fe has shown the largest downward trend in median asking price, while the other markets have shown to be a bit more stable. Upon analyzing the recent sales in Rancho Santa Fe it has become apparent many low-priced bank owned or distressed sales have created softness in this upper-tier market.

The Good News: The average days on the market is actually trending downward, showing a surge in demand, however the average amount of days on the market remains slightly above 200 days, a trend indicating active buyers are being selective and cautious.

The Indicators: A good snapshot is how many listing prices are being reduced.  This would signify a weakness in the market with Sellers pricing downward in hopes of a quicker sales. There has been a downward trend in listing price reductions however.

The market active index is still very much a “Buyer’s Market”, all registering below a scale of 15.

For Those Looking To Sell: June, July, and August will be the best opportunity for Sellers as the market cools towards the end of the year and interest rates are likely to increase.  It’s going to be a long crawl back to a more normalized market and REO (Bank Owned) sales will continue to be the benchmark for market value.

Anderson+Boatcher, a strategic partnership under Willis Allen Real Estate, specializes in the Coastal San Diego luxury real estate market. To stay up to date on the Coastal San Diego luxury real estate market and to view the most comprehensive source of real estate opportunities, visit www.anderson-boatcher.com

Top 10 Luxury Home Markets To Watch for Price Increases or Reductions

The Unique Homes Magazine has listed 25 luxury home markets to watch in 2007 in its January issue. According to the Unique Homes report the 25 luxury markets will indicate where the luxury real estate market is heading to. These markets along with features that make them stand out from the rest are worth watching out for.

The following is a brief report on the top 10 luxury home markets to watch for price increases or reductions in 2007.

1. Annapolis, Maryland. The waterfront city located on Chesapeake Bay offers excellent boating and affordable prices compared to Washington’s luxury enclaves. With Washington and Baltimore within reasonable commute, this city is highly desirable.

2. Asheville, North Carolina. An eclectic ambiance and low-key lifestyle attracts people to Asheville which continues to remain one of the hottest places for luxury home buyers.

3. Aspen, Colorado. From a ski enclave this luxury market has grown into a platinum location. With its four-season appeal and restrictive zoning policies, Aspen is still a highly-sought after destination.

4. Atlanta, Georgia. The city offers several new upscale communities, numerous lifestyle amenities, retreats and much sought after waterfront luxury homes.

5. Austin, Texas. A strong real estate market that saw record gains in 2006, the reputable University of Texas, the scenic lakes and the great music attracts buyers to this hill country.

6. Bellevue/Medina, Washington. With prices going up at 28 percent, the market has still not peaked and several upscale neighborhoods are available at a lower price range when compared to other markets.

7. Beverly Hills, California. One of the top ranked luxury markets that is perpetually in demand, Beverly Hills continues to be untarnished and idolized as the Mecca for luxury. Hollywood Hills is currently a hot market for buyers.

8. Idaho. The growing resort markets in the state garner attention for the state that is making its presence felt in the luxury home market.

9. Jupiter, Florida. The boom has arrived here after Tiger Woods’ purchase of a 10-acre estate for $38 m. The market continues to surge on this exclusive island.

10. Manhattan Uptown, downtown, midtown. The luxury market is upbeat with record sales of more than $5 m in 2006 accelerated by Wall Streeters. Co-ops and town houses are favorites among buyers here.

If you are interested in buying or selling a home, condo or any other type of real estate in any of these markets, be sure to seek out the services of a real estate agent to advise you about current local market conditions.

Most real estate purchases are bought with loans so getting a good faith estimate and pre-approval letter from your lender helps the process start off on the right foot. The good faith estimate, or GFE for short, is required by law to be provided by lenders when you are seeking a loan. It lists out the estimated closing costs, monthly payments, and interest rates for the loan program you are looking at getting. The pre-approval letter is provided by lenders once they have run your credit and get your income / debt information. By getting the GFE and pre-approval letter, you can be confident that the loan will get processed with no surprises. There are also additional benefits to getting pre-approval and GFE before you even begin the property search. For one, by discussing your debt to income ratio with your lender and obtaining the GFE, you can determine your maximum price. It helps to know the maximum sales price when shopping around so that you do not waste time and energy looking a over-priced properties, and also vice verse, you do not waste time and energy looking at under-priced properties. You can find an area in your price range that fits your needs and narrow down your search. You also will determine your monthly payments with the GFE. The monthly payments should include the property taxes, insurance, principle, and interest plus any private mortgage insurance (PMI). If the monthly payments are higher than you wanted, then you can adjust your sales price to be lower. Another reason to get your pre-approval and GFE before starting your home search is that you may find out some issues with your credit or financial situation that you could clean up before moving forward with a purchase. For example, the first time I bought a house, I found out that I had a $50 charge on my credit report from 3 years ago, which brought my credit score down. And with a lower credit score, I would have gotten a worse interest rate on the loan. I say ‘would have’ because I was able to pay off this collection and clear up the ding on my credit before going into the loan underwriting process. Finally, by getting a pre-approval letter, you have proof for a seller that a lender has confidence in being able to fund the purchase on your behalf. This helps with presenting offers and negotiating. Many sellers will not even accept an offer unless it is accompanied by a lender’s letter. Furthermore, if you do not have a letter, the seller may counter higher given that he feels he is taking on more risk that you may not be qualified for the loan amount. Also, if you happen to get into a multiple offer situation, your offer will be much stronger with a pre-approval letter.

The community of Clairemont (sometimes called Clairemont Mesa) is located in central San Diego County, California. The community is located off Interstate 5 at Balboa Ave and is within the 92117 Zip code.

The real estate and homes for sale in Clairemont fall into the moderate-income category for San Diego County. The number of homes sold in a particular year is relatively high. For example, during the period from January through July 2006, approximately 183 single-family homes sold. Approximately 226 homes sold for the same period in 2005.

One method to analyze pricing trends for a particular community is to evaluate the median and average price of homes for a particular month, and compare that data against the same period last year. What follows is a comparison of the median price and average price of homes for the past seven months (January through July 2006), compared against the data for the corresponding time period in 2005.

The median price of homes represents the point at which half the homes are above a particular price point, and half the homes are below a particular price point. The average price of homes is calculated by adding up the sales price of all homes sold in a particular month, and dividing that value by the number of homes sold.

The median price of homes in July 2006 was $560,000, compared to $562,500 in July 2005, which represents a 0.9% drop. The average price of homes in July 2006 was $575,114, compared to $585,602 in July 2005, which represents a 2.4% drop. Approximately 21 homes sold in July 2006 and 26 in July 2005. The data provides evidence that there was a downward price trend in July 2006 compared to the same period last year.

The median price of homes in June 2006 was $555,000, compared to $570,000 in June 2005, which represents a 2.6% drop. The average price of homes in June 2006 was $586,758, compared to $584,415 in June 2005, which represents a 0.4% increase. Approximately 30 homes sold in June 2006 and 34 in June 2005. The data for June 2006 was mixed, as median prices declined and average prices rose slightly from the same period last year.

The median price of homes in May 2006 was $550,000, compared to $562,000 in May 2005, which represents a 2.3% drop. The average price of homes in May 2006 was $584,012, compared to $582,000 in May 2005, which represents a 0.3% increase. Approximately 33 homes sold in May 2006 and 37 in May 2005. The data was mixed in June 2006, as median prices declined and average prices rose slightly from the same period last year.

The median price of homes in April 2006 was $564,000, compared to $565,000 in April 2005, which represents a 0.20% drop. The average price of homes in April 2006 was $584,722, compared to $612,897 in April 2005, which represents a 4.6% drop. Approximately 32 homes sold in April 2006 and 36 in April 2005. The data provides evidence that there was a downward price trend in April 2006 compared to the same period last year.

The median price of homes in March 2006 was $558,000, compared to $545,000 in March 2005, which represents a 1.5% increase. The average price of homes in March 2006 was $589,161, compared to $576,227 in March 2005, which represents a 3.60% increase. Approximately 29 homes sold in March 2006 and 39 in March 2005. The data provides evidence that there was an upward price trend in March 2006 compared to the same period last year.

The median price of homes in February 2006 was $560,000, compared to $525,000 in February 2005, which represents a 7.4% increase. The average price of homes in February 2006 was $582,435, compared to $571,708 in February 2005, which represents a 2.50% increase. Approximately 17 home sold in February 2006 and 29 in February 2005. The data provides evidence that there was an upward price trend in February 2006 compared to the same period last year.

The median price of homes was $585,000 in January 2006, compared to $525,000 in January 2005, which represents a 10% increase. The average price of homes in January 2006 was $634,524, compared to $542,708 in January 2005, which represents a 16.9% increase. Approximately 21 homes sold in January 2006 and 25 in January 2005. The data provides evidence that there was an upward price trend in January 2006 compared to the same period last year.

So what does the above data tell us? Overall, there was a 19% decline in the number of homes sold during this period from 2006 to 2005. The pricing trends early in the year (January, February and March) were in the upward direction for both median and average prices, which showed increases year-over-year ranging from 1.5% to 16.9%. However, since then, the pricing trend has been downward or mixed depending on the month. For example, April and July demonstrated downward median and average prices ranging from around half a percent up to 5%. For May and June, the median price was down around 2% from the previous year, and the average price was slightly up around half a percent. These findings suggest that at best, prices have leveled off, and at worst, are starting to decline. Continued monitoring of sale data in subsequent months is needed to identify enduring market trends.

Be sure to consult your Realtor on other factors that influence home pricing before buying or selling real estate in Clairemont.

The price of housing is a major challenge in the United States. Some estimates note that more than 50% of the population cannot afford a median priced home. According to National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), of the total number of new and existing homes sold nationwide during the third quarter, only 40.4 percent were affordable for families earning the median U.S. income of $59,600.

But it is good news that housing affordability on the national level has not changed much in the third quarter in spite of a rise in the mortgage interest rates during the last quarter. This was because many markets saw a slight decrease in their home prices, which helped offset the rise in mortgage rates.

Indianapolis (Indiana) is the most affordable city for homes in America, based on the 2006 third quarter report of the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI). The city achieved this status for the fifth consecutive quarter.

Of the total number of housing units sold in Indianapolis during the third quarter, 86 percent of homes were priced at or below the U.S. median household income of $65,100. Homes in this metro area had a median sales price of $122,000, which is slightly higher from $120,000 of the previous quarter.

It is interesting to note that the most affordable U.S. cities for homes, condos and other real estate are largely from the northern industrial metro areas. The other larger cities that top the list for affordable homes in the third quarter after Indianapolis are Youngstown-Warren-Boardman (Ohio-Pennsylvania); Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn (Michigan); Buffalo-Niagara Falls (New York); and Grand Rapids and Wyoming (Michigan).

The report also lists the top seven smaller cities in America that have the most affordable housing markets. These are: Bay City in Michigan, Springfield in Ohio, Mansfield in Ohio, Lansing-East Lansing in Michigan, Lima in Ohio, Battle Creek in Michigan and Canton-Massillon in Ohio.

For both major metros and small metros, many of the least affordable cities are located in California. The least affordable major metro areas are Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Modesto, Stockton, and San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, in that order. The least affordable smaller metros (less than 500,000 people) include: Salinas, Merced, Madera, Napa, and Santa Barbara-Santa Maria.

The good news for homebuyers is that there are many affordable cities in the United States. Moreover, even for cities that rated poorly for affordability, there may be some communities within the larger city that have affordable housing. For example, although the San Diego metro in California rated poorly overall for affordability, there are some communities in San Diego priced to meet the needs of lower-income home buyers. A good real estate agent can help you choose a community where you want to live based on your housing budget and needs.