These days, the word Baghdad conjures up ugly pictures in most Americans' minds: War. Terrorism. Heat. Desert. Bombings. Real estate.Excuse me? Did you say real estate? Coverage within the past month about Baghdad’s real estate market–a result of Iraqis' mass exodus from the city–has investors worldwide buzzing. Rents and home prices dropped significantly as Iraqis fled the city in search of more stable living conditions. 
With supply declining, Iraqis are stuck between a rock and a hard place, many searching for homes that simply do not exist. In the face of over 46,000 Iraqis returning to Baghdad from places like Syria, demand is high and supply is null.What does this mean for U.S. investors?Some may argue nothing and say that investors willing to risk buying in such a volatile market may as well invest in San Diego, or Seattle, for that matter, and call it good. The market contains everything from small homes which sell quickly, often after bidding wars, to larger multi-million dollar homes. Others say Baghdad's real estate market is significant. Rising population and real estate prices in any city equal more development, more development means more jobs and more jobs mean…well, you get the point.But why the sudden interest in real estate in this war-torn city?Many of the larger homes have inflated prices because buyers, who have made money off government contracts, corruption and looting, are willing to pay 10 to 15 percent more than the home's value.Some homes are dropping in value–owners desperate to unload properties in less-than-safe neighborhoods. Those homes sell, too–and fast. Both factors are resulting in serious opportunities for investors willing to take the risk.As an investor, would you consider Baghdad? I’m quick to say no–but stopping to think twice.Labels: economics, international, investments, real estate
In a world full of ‘experts’ willing to sell you any kind of ‘expert advice’ on just about anything, a person is scarce to come across a book worthy of purchase. Toss in that same book, and add to it a controversial topic in the real estate industry, and you’ll have people running into next week.Frank Curtin has been featured by NuWire before. I’d like to take a moment to mention what we didn’t spend much time on in the original article about him. Frank has a heart for people – specifically a heart to educate people - that is clear. He is also an investor who works with foreclosures. For some, nay, most people, this could be a challenge. You see, Frank is an investor who’s helping people who are facing foreclosure, and helping investors who work with preforeclosure properties. Not just by offering them a cure to their financial ailments by purchasing their home, but by first diagnosing the ‘disease’.With all due respect to investors who prefer the strategy of buying pre-foreclosure properties – there is a serious problem in our country – serious enough to merit ‘crisis’ level attention. Serious enough to get the government to consider cutting its citizens checks (this is a whole other blog post).The problem does not just lie with predatory lenders, or predatory investors. The problem lies with people who are unable to manage their mortgage commitments due to their life circumstances. The problem has to do with mismanagement of finances coupled with dreams and visions of home ownership. Now, without getting into my personal opinions on personal money management (they are quite strict, and I’ll leave it at that) – I appreciate Frank’s approach to working with his clients in this dire state. I appreciate his willingness to help solve the root of the problem, rather than let visions of dollars direct his actions. I also understand that this approach is unique, and some may disagree with it, which is why I’m writing about it here.Frank is the first to admit that his primary objective with his business is to help people keep their homes. He happens to make money doing it, and that’s fine. He is an investor, after all.
Very simply, Frank and his partner have put together a book called The Mortgage Survival Guide, and an asset planning program to help homeowners facing foreclosure determine where they are in terms of their assets. The materials teach these homeowners how to approach their lender, and work out a mutually acceptable agreement. If, in the long run, the program doesn’t work for the homeowner and they do end up having to foreclose on the property, Frank and his partner have a second solution for them.Where this is important to investors is in the training Frank’s program gives investors who work with preforeclosure situations. He explained it best in our article:
“Following the book publication, we quickly realized that families who are late with their payments aren’t buying anything. So we created The Mortgage Survival Guide Associate Program. Our associate program trains professional real estate investors how to work with homeowners.
The investor buys 60-day mortgage late leads from us, along with a case of books, and they gift it to the homeowners who decide to participate in the program. So with this program, the homeowner will decide for themselves whether or not they can afford their home. When they can, we simply wish them well, and we ask them to consider maybe paying it forward. And when they decide to sell, our investors step in and use a variety of investor strategies, depending on the specific situation, to help that homeowner avoid foreclosure.
The best part of the system is that we have exclusive 60-day mortgage late leads which enable us to reach homeowners long before it’s too late.”
The foreclosure market is controversial – no one can disagree about that. Any topic is going to be difficult when you’re dealing with discussing the lot that life has given someone, and the basic need for food, water and shelter. Throw a family into the mix and there is no denying that there is a major human element in investing in preforeclosure properties.
The undeniable benefit that Frank brings to the game is putting the decision to go into foreclosure back into the hands of the homeowner, empowering them to either find a solution, or bow out gracefully. It allows some dignity in an otherwise demeaning situation.
I believe that investing in foreclosures can be smart for the right investor – the most important part is knowing what motivates you. For Frank and his partner, education comes first, and the investment deal comes second, and I sincerely hope that his approach continues to make waves in the investment world.
Sidenote: If you have a second, visit www.5000families.org- Frank and his partner have teamed up with this site to help families in financial hardship. Labels: economics, finance, people, real estate, service providers
With supply declining, Iraqis are stuck between a rock and a hard place, many searching for homes that simply do not exist. In the face of over 46,000 Iraqis returning to Baghdad from places like Syria, demand is high and supply is null.
