Temper Tantrum Over: But What’s The Reality?

If you read my post of a week ago titled I’m Frustrated and Fed Up you know I was throwing a major temper tantrum regarding the current condition of real estate in America today.   Over the past week I have been working the phones trying to get a handle on when all of this would settle down.  By all of this I mean;

• the foreclosure freeze.
• the financing hurdles real estate investors must go through.
• the banks taking our tax dollars to turn around and screw us every chance they get.
• whether or not to devote any of my future efforts to helping real estate investors buy and/or sell rental housing because I like to spend my time where I can be rewarded for my efforts.

(SIDE NOTE:  If I were an elected official in office right now I’d be really, really nervous. Democrat.  Republican. Doesn’t matter.  I think much of America is mad at you, big banks and and anyone else who just doesn’t seem to get what is going on out here.)

Almost as suddenly as the big banks (I like to say Bank of America but we all know that I’m including Chase, Wells Fargo, etc in the group, right?) froze foreclosures in my state (Kansas) and twenty-two others followed shortly by all 50, they are beginning to lift the freeze.  Bank of America announced yesterday that they would resume foreclosures in the 23 states (Kansas included) because their internal audits found no problems.   Can you actually believe that? Then they will no doubt begin in the other 27 shortly thereafter.

Then today, no doubt as a way to win public support or to quell anger, BOA announces they lost $7.78 billion last quarter.  Of course, if they actually did lose any money (accounting being what it is) I’m sure we the taxpayer will be more than happy to be forced to make up their losses again.  My favorite quote from the release:

“In a dramatic shift, the bank also said it will change its consumer banking strategy to focus on providing customers with incentives to do more business with the bank instead of generating revenue through penalty fees such as overdraft charges.”

Wow!  Imagine that!  A business trying to give the customers what they want and a fair service for a fair price instead of figuring out ways to make a bad situation worse.  Who could have thought of that?  (Answer:  Every surviving small business in America that hasn’t received any federal tax dollars.)

SO WHERE ARE WE NOW
I think we’re at least heading in the right direction as far as real estate investing is concerned.  If the foreclosure market opens back up then we can begin snatching up that inventory again.  But I do believe the damage is done.  There is so much confusion in the market right now and so much worry about where we are going that this will still have a downward effect for the short term.  That’s my opinion anyway.

That works to the real estate investor’s benefit.  If you are pre-approved or a cash buyer and you are ready to go…get ready to go.