Travis Houston

The San Diego market is feeling some pain at the moment in many area due to the massive increase in foreclosures and short sales. Short sales, as of this writing, seem to be more prevalent than foreclosures and much more difficult to get accepted offers with the banks. As time passes the majority of these short sales will most likely turn into bank owned foreclosures. The foreclosures really have been the best value for the money across the board in San Diego. My advice to you as an investor is to focus your energy and time on bank owned foreclosures in the San Diego Metro and North County areas. As gas prices continue to rise along with economic inflation people will be forced to live closer to jobs and commerce. The outter areas of San Diego will thus be less desirable.

A "good time to buy" is when you can reasonably afford to do so. My parameters for a "good time to buy" is when you can finance a property with 10-20% down and have your expenses of ownership and management be covered by the market rent. That way you are not relying on appreciation to cover up a poor investment like many of the so called investors who got burned in the current mortgage debacle.
Yes, there are areas of San Diego that are cash flow with 10-20% down, something we haven't seen in a long time. So, yes, it is a good time to be buying up real estate... as long as you've got staying power, money in reserves and solid property management.

Look at Mission Valley and Mira Mesa for cash flow condos.
Look at Clairemont and Linda Vista for houses and duplexes that cash flow.

Use this site to find FORECLOSURE ONLY MLS Listings:
http://www.SanDiegoForeclosureSearch.com

I'd be happy to strategize with you for appropriate investments to add to your portfolio.

Travis Houston
http://www.Westofthe5.com
858-232-2008
Travis@WestoftheFive.com - Wed Jun 11 2008, 14:31

Margo,

Try this website http://www.SanDiegoForeclosureSearch.com for getting the information you are looking for. This is a free, Foreclosure-Only MLS Search that is tied directly into the San Diego MLS.

First - You can search for Bank Owned Foreclosures 4 different ways.
1. Search by Area.
2. Search by Address
3.Search by MLS #
4. Search by Zip Code.

After you perform your search and you are looking at the details of a particular property you can find out about HOA parking information under the section titled Property Features. It should be listed there for bank owned condos. If it is not listed there the agent did not input this data into the MLS and you can feel free to call me without obligation and I will look it up for you.

Thanks for your question Margo,

Travis Houston
http://www.SanDiegoForeclosureSearch.com - Mon Jun 2 2008, 09:27

http://www.SDForeclosureSearch.com

San Diego Foreclosure Search is a free Foreclosure-Only MLS search for all of San Diego county. You can get addresses, MLS Numbers, Photos and other relevant info here. You can even request a showing of the property from a Realtor.

This search allows you to search, sort and save foreclosed listings that match your specific criteria. The technology ties directly into the San Diego Multiple Listing Service, that's what REALTORS pay to use, and updates the listings numerous times a day. You get the information sent to you via email before many agents even know it's on the market. The speed of this search is very useful for knowing what foreclosure inventory is on the market. It's free for you to use 24 hours a day as often as you like. Currently there are only a handful of foreclosures in OB.

Good luck searching for Foreclosure Listings in 92107 - they are definitely the best deals on the market in San Diego at the moment for particular communities, however the beach communities have not seen as much foreclosure activity as inland San Diego.

http://www.SDForeclosureSearch.com

Travis Houston
West of the Five Real Estate Services
Prudential California Realty
cel: (858) 232-2008
fax: (858) 408-3212
Travis@WestoftheFive.com

WEB: http://www.Westofthe5.com
BLOG: http://www.WestoftheFive.wordpress.com - Sun Jun 1 2008, 15:31

Rich,
http://www.SDForeclosureSearch.com is a free Foreclosure-Only MLS search for all of San Diego county. Currently there are over 1600 listings that are bank owned foreclosure properties. This search allows you to search, sort and save foreclosed listings that match your specific criteria. The technology ties directly into the San Diego Multiple Listing Service, that's what REALTORS pay to use, and updates the listings numerous times a day. You get the information sent to you via email before many agents even know it's on the market. The speed of this search is very useful for knowing what foreclosure inventory is on the market. These properties have been selling quickly due to competitive pricing by banks. It's free for you to use 24 hours a day as often as you like.

Good luck searching for Foreclosure Listings - they are definitely the best deals on the market in San Diego at the moment for particular communities.
http://www.SDForeclosureSearch.com

Travis Houston
West of the Five Real Estate Services
Prudential California Realty
cel: (858) 232-2008
fax: (858) 408-3212
Travis@WestoftheFive.com

WEB: http://www.Westofthe5.com
BLOG: http://www.WestoftheFive.wordpress.com - Sun Jun 1 2008, 15:13

I know lots of painters who advertise their services, but I don't know any painters who have a good Web 2.0 presence. It's time to think outside of the tradition advertising box and get up to speed on internet marketing.

What if you started a blog and posted occasionally, like weekly, with painting tips and valuable information and occasionally even some deals? Try a free site like http://www.Wordpress.com or http://www.Blogspot.com. These are free resources for blogging. They are EASY to use. You could create relationships with home owners, realtors, lenders, property managers and all sorts of other "in-need-of painter-now" clients. These new clients will find you on the internet - it's not just the future of business anymore. Traditional service providers such as yourself would be intelligent to make a presence on the internet with something other than a static website. Try it - you might just like it.

When you get your blog up and running with some content I will happily link to your blog via my blog. http://www.WestoftheFive.wordpress.com. As of this writing I get about 60 people a day reading it. That's small potatoes by the way. I'm sure that many top, local agents who have blogs with massive readership would be happy to link to your blog also. It will create a ton of new business for you. C'mon... Give it a whirl. Not only is it less expensive than taking out a print ad - it will generate far more business with a lasting reach and results if you stick with it.

Good luck mate!

Travis Houston
WEB: http://www.Westofthe5.com
BLOG: http://www.WestoftheFive.wordpress.com - Fri May 30 2008, 10:36