The Top 5 Topics

1. Short sale flips are now becoming more common and majorinstitutions are getting on board and approving them, assumingthey are legitimate with full disclosure. We'll talk aboutthis and why 2010 is going to be the Year of the Short Sale.
2. Tired to getting the same objections to short sale flips? We will explain why it is better to involve an investor thandoing short sales the old fashioned way ... and why real estateagents may be doing more harm to their clients by not involving aninvestor.
3. Confused about whether to use an option contract or a standardpurchase agreement? We'll give you all of your possibilitiestonight.
4. Want to figure out how to get low cost transactional funding? We'll show you how to get same day money for 1.95% with no hiddenfees from a company that's done a billion dollars in fundings.
5. We'll talk about the 5 objections most people have with shortsales and how the Short Sales

Riches system overcomes all of theseproblems.And we'll also have a CPA talk about the average profit spread for justtwo months worth of short sale flips ... the answer will surprise you!It is going to be an amazing call ... and I can't wait to see youon it!

Worst 25 Forecast Markets in 2010

Nearly all of the Worst 25 Forecast housing markets in 2010are projected to sustain double-digit deflation for theyear. A broad range of the country's markets compose theworst 25 with a total of 16 states represented, which showsjust how broadly the housing crisis is impacting the U.S.Rising foreclosures and more bank-assisted short sales willsend housing prices lower in the majority of the country in2010. But there are markets that are on the mend moving intorecoveries. Some 44 cities are forecast to appreciate duringthe year, more than in the last four years. Economic volatility, declining prices and restrainedmortgage financing will hinder many of the worst marketsfrom recovering in 2010. But nearly all of the nation'smarkets will move on a path towards stabilization as thesurplus inventory of homes is bought up by buyers.





WORST 25 HOUSING MARKETS 2010 Rank Real Estate Market 2010 Forecast 1. Manhattan, NY − 17.2% 2. Las Vegas, NV − 15.4% 3. Providence, RI − 13.8% 4. Miami , FL − 13.8% 5. Newport, RI − 13.6% 6. Henderson, NV − 13.5% 7. Greenwich, CT − 13.4% 8. Scottsdale, AZ − 12.4% 9. Columbia, SC − 12.2% 10. Charleston, SC − 12.1% 11. Salem, OR − 11.8% 12. Prince George's, MD − 11.6% 13. Phoenix, AZ − 11.3% 14. Brooklyn & Queens, NY − 11.2% 15. Myrtle Beach, SC − 11.2% 16. Ogden UT − 10.9% 17. Bethesda, MY − 10.8% 18. Richmond, VA − 10.8% 19. Portland, OR − 10.4% 20. Palm Beach, FL − 10.4% 21. Maui, HI − 10.3% 22. Stamford, CT − 10.2% 23. Chicago, IL − 10.2% 24. Fresno, CA − 9.8% 25. Oakland, CA − 9.6% * The Worst 25 Markets are composed of cities that havethe highest probability of reaching their forecast deflation in2010 from the more than 250 local markets Housing Predictorforecasts.

DeluxeVirtual Short Sale Investing System

We had an awesome call last night and we had a completelyfull house. We didn’t have 1 empty seat available. My topstudent revealed how he grossed a profit of $580,275.00 onjust 5 deals. We broke these deals down step-by-step to showyou how you can do these deals too. The response wasoverwhelming. I’m taking a vacation for the next few daysand won’t have time to do this presentation again this week.This is what I CAN do. I think this training is so importantfor you to see that I’m going to do it again on Sunday nightat 8:00 pm ET. I know Sunday is a better time for somepeople anyway. This will be the last time I do this trainingas I’ve got some really hot commercial foreclosure trainingfor you coming next week.Register for the encore here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/413783939Now is the time to put your plan in place for luxury homesshort sales in 2010. Doing just one luxury deal per monthwith a profit of $100,000 or more will create a $1.2 Millionbusiness for you in 2010. Get your seat now before they’reall gone. Nothing will be sold on this training. Here’s one of the 157 questions I got yesterday. I’m notgoing to be able to get to all of these questions. Pleasedirect your question to the appropriate coaching emailaddress. We have different email addresses depending on yourmembership level: VIP, VIP Plus, Gold, Platinum. You knowwhat it is for you. You can email support atsupport@dcfawcett.comif you don’t have it and we’ll verify your membership leveland give you the info you need. Ok here’s the question of the day: Kyle says, “I live in an area where there aren't manyhouses over $1 million but I want to get into luxury shortsales. What's the best way to get into short sales in otherareas of the country?”DC: Great questions Kyle. That is the beauty of my VirtualShort Sale Investing system.
You can work in any market of the country without leavingyour home because 100% of the work in the deal is done byyour realtor JV partner and my negotiators. All you have todo is find an agent to work with in any market of thecountry and you are in business as soon as tomorrow. We also train your Realtor JV partners for you so you don’teven have to train them. We have setup a special website foryour JV partners. All you do is send them to this page andwe will teach them. • How to find short sale deals in the MLS for absolutelyZero marketing costs• How to make your offer to listing agents• How to explain the process to the seller• How to handle the BPO process for you to make sure you getthe best possible short sale from the lender and how toresell the property for you You can get plugged into my network when you get my DeluxeVirtual Short Sale Investing System. You’ll become a VIPPlus member and you’ll get immediate access to ournegotiators for your short sale negotiations. You’ll alsoget 2 tickets to come to my VSSI Live Acceleration Event inLos Angeles, Jan. 28th-31st. I made a video for you here:
http://www.vssivip.com/special/You want to locate virtual investing markets for luxuryshort sales that are high in foreclosures, lowest in days onmarket and have homes priced above $500,000. Waterfront andhigh end communities are great. Check this out. I found thisarticle and thought you might enjoy it. These are goodmarkets to work in as well as most parts of California,Arizona, Nevada and Florida.

How to double your wholesale real estate deals

I'd like to share with you a little secret I learned that caninstantly double (or triple) the number of deals you close on ifyou wholesale houses. Have you ever heard of the saying, "The fortune is in the followup?" This is very true in wholesaling houses as well. But it's notabout just following up. it's about following up intelligently.Let's use a hypothetical marketing campaign where you mail out 500postcards/letters to find motivated sellers. There is a goodchance that out of those 500 postcards mailed, you will get 30 ormore calls from sellers, but only 3 or 4 of the calls will be from'motivated' sellers.Out of those people, only one or two (usually just one) of thesemotivated sellers actually fits my criteria that I use to decide ifthe deal is worth my time. Most investors would discard the leadsthat didn't fit their criteria and focus on the one deal that did.What I do (and what you should do also) is create a file of thesemotivated sellers and make a separate marketing campaign thattouches base with them on a regular basis for up to one-full year.You never know what can happen in that time and a deal that mightnot have fit your criteria can change and become a great deal foryou. By consistently putting your name in front of these people (viaemail and/or direct mail), you stand a great chance of closing adecent amount of additional deals.Using this little tactic, you can easily DOUBLE the amount of dealsyou eventually close because you simply followed-up with a separatemarketing campaign to those motivated sellers that almost met yourcriteria. All the best,

'Connect-the-dots' real estateinvesting!

And it's not only safe - it's easy and it's FAST!!!Where else can you find a system where as long as youfollow its blueprint (yes, it has a blueprint!), you canpractically predict what will happen next.
Calling it as easy as A-B-C is an understatement. It's practically 'connect-the-dots' real estateinvesting!It's so easy that even Homer Simpson can do it! (And sinceyou're a whole lot smarter than Homer, you'll definitelysmoke this!) And it's exactly because of the ease of implementation ofthis system that enabled my frien'd to outsource his entirebusiness to VAs (whom he pays like $2 per hour).So now he just stays at home and enjoys his profit's withhis Family. And his students practically do the same - and earn as much!He revealed how to do all these last night on the webinar.

How I will pay you $25,000 to get Rich

I've got some exciting news for you about the webinar. I’ve just turned it up a notch. I’ve decided to give you a FR*EE Gift that sells for $527.
You’ll get this gift when you attend the webinar. You’ll get immediate internet presence and a website that automatically builds your buyers list for you. I’m even going to cover 100% of the hosting cost for this website for you too!
You can only get this gift if you attend the webinar.It gets even better than that! On the webinar, you’re going to discover how and why I’m going to pay you $25,000 to partner with me and my team of negotiators on your short sales deals.
This is unheard of and nobod*y else has theGuts to do it except for ME.Not only am I going to partner with you, I’m also going to pay you $25,000! To get all the details, attend tonight's webinar. We only have 7 seats left!
Register HERE NOW before they’re all gone: http://www.vssivip.com/gowebinar/On the Webinar, You'll Discover: How to setup Realtor JV partners to do 100% of your buying and selling for you in any area ofthe country so you never have to leave the comfort of your own home. How to outsource 100% of your short sale negotiations to my team of loss mitigators.
How I will provide the financing for all of your deals and give you a Proof of funds letter up to $20M.
How you don't need any cash or credit to getstarted immediately because my VSSI system has completely removed the need to spend a single dime of your money on marketing.
How I will pay you $25,000 to get Rich in today's market by using my groundbreaking VSSI system.
Go Here to register for this IMPORTANT call, right NOW:http://www.vssivip.com/gowebinar/3 things you must know about this breakthrough NEW short sale technique:
1. 100% of the Deals are done for you.
2. You spend absolutely ZERO dollars on advertising which is one of the reasons why investors fail in the short sale business.
3. You can do this business from the comfort of your own home without absolutely Zero cash, bad or non-existent credit and no previous experience.

His checks was for US$35,797.57

I was talking to my friend yesterday and he said he went ona 2-month vacation (June-July) and while he was away, hisreal estate investing business continued churning outprofit's.
One of his checks was for US$35,797.57 (made while he wasaway!)My frien'd's secret?
He's going to reveal on tonight'swebinar.https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/276232577In fact, he's not just revealing his secret. My frien'd is going to teach you exactly how to do it!
Take a quick look at what he's going to cover tonight:

1. The safest and FASTest way to invest in real estate inthis economy with no money out of your pocket and even with no experience!
2. A systematic approach to real estate investing wherealmost every single thing you do already has a preset result (You can'tget any more "connect-the-dots" than this!)
3. How to automate your business so it runs like awell-oiled machine with or without you!
4. A system that allows you to acquire and sell propertieslightning fast (this you gotta see especially if you need to makemoney right now!)
5. The easiest system to implement even if you're entirelya newbie! (In fact it's so easy, my frien'd has $2/hour VAs in thePhilippines doing this for him!)
6. How to get the most motivated sellers and the mostqualified buyers online and hit paydirt everytime!
7. How you can learn everything you need to know about aproperty in minutes without leaving your house - even if the propertyis across the country! (You'll love this!)
8. A way to control a property and market it but still havethe unlimite'd opportunit'y to back out from it if you change your mind.
9. The almost 'miraculous' way to sell any deal in justone weekend!
10. How to never lose your way around the paperwork involvedin closing deals ever again.
11. How you can structure deals for maximum profit's butminimum work and almost zero risk!



If you're worried that this system might not work for you,get this: My frien'd is a true 'rags to riches' story. He got towhere he is right now through sheer hardwork and determination.Needless to say, he understands how you may be feeling because he's been there.He developed his systems with one thing in mind: How to makeit as failsafe as possible that the only way for you to failis if you don't do anything.So drop whatever it is you got lined up for tonight andclick the link below so you can join us.

Successful real estate investors

Successful real estate investors make a lot of offers. It's common sense that the more offers you make, the more deals you are going to close. But I want to talk to you today about how an offer can actually be atool to find the "motivated seller" that every investor dreamsabout. After all, this is a business of accepted offers and motivatedsellers are an investors best friend.
Like you, I'm a very busy person.

The last thing I want to do is put a lot of work into something only to find the seller isextremely difficult and I have a little shot at actually getting the property.So I make a lot of initial offers and gauge the responses of the sellers.
The offers I usually make are so low, they're actually embarrassing. As my friend Ron LeGrand says, if you're not embarrassed by your initial offer, it's too high.If a seller comes back to me with a counter offer closer to myoffer then I know he/she is more likely to be a motivated seller.This shows me that I can now invest more time into the deal.
So essentially, the offer is a test. If they simply say no to your offer then they are probably not motivated to sell and you could very well waste a lot of time doing due diligence that will probablynever pay off. You won't know this unless you make the offer, so I hope you understand that making a lot of offers is very important in so many ways.
Of course there are all kinds of opinions of a perfect formula for the offer. But that's for another day.Start to see your initial offer as a way to save valuable time and away to gauge the level of the seller's motivation. This will encourage you to make more and more offers and eventually it willpay off.The best always,Michael Kimble

Master Wholesaler The Short Sale Kid

Ever hear of Drew Downs, Master Wholesaler? Maybe not,because he's my secret weapon for wholesaling properties.When you get a guy this good, it's best to keep him underwraps.Until he gets antsy, and wants out.See, Drew has the most wicked little tips, tricks, andsecrets when it comes to wholesaling properties. Heroutinely closes 5 - 10 per month......and if you do the math, that puts him around the midfive-figures per month. That's a cool half-mil a year.But like I said, he's getting antsy about keeping all thesesecrets to himself. So, I'm going to give him a welldeserved opportunity to spill the beans to you Sundaynight at 8:30 PM ET, 5:30 PM PST.You can sign up for the call here:https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/208547514Now, this is a one-time event. We're not going to tape it,no replays, no second chances. You get it the first time,or you don't get it.
Dude, that would be a shame, because the steps in his dealare sometimes the courthouse steps - yep, it gets dramaticwhen he's in money-making mode. He sometimes picks them upon the courthouse steps themselves.And makes big bucks doing so.Plus, you're eyes are going to go wide in amazement when hereveals how he finds his other buyers and sellers.You've gotta hear it to believe it! And when you do, you'llget all new ideas on how to beat the bushes for big bucksright away - simple stuff that generates cash as soon as you implement them.But you gotta hurry, because this is a one-shot deal. Andthe call's gonna to fill up quickly. Click now:https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/208547514
Talk soon,
Nathan Jurewicz
The Short Sale Kid
P.S. - Just on the buzz before the email, letting a few ofmy pals know, we've already filled up a hundred and twentythree seats! This things going to be jam-packed

Virtual Short Sale Negotiating Strategy

I hope you’re enjoying your weekend. We’re going to aChristmas party tonight. Maybe you are too. I’ve created abrand new training for you and its happening Sunday night soget your Christmas shopping done early. I’m going to show you how you can automate 100% of your short sale negotiations and get the bank’s short saleapproval in the shortest time possible. Virtual short sale negotiating gets short sales approved 3times faster than the old way of negotiating short sales.
I’m going to show you how to bring your short sale businessfrom the Flintstones to the Jetsons. After you discover virtual short sale negotiating, you’llcut 18 hours of work on every short sale file and you’ll getyour short sales approved in 1/3 the time. I’m dead seriousabout this. That’s half your week worth of work on everyfile.
You’ll be able to do 10 times more deals and make 10times more money. I will personally be teaching 100% of this training and I’llalso be revealing how you can get access to our 2-10 dayfunding for your deals. This 10 day money allows you todeals that you couldn’t do with only 1 day money. Thefunding section of the training is towards the end so makesure you stay on till the end. It’s happening this Sunday night at 8:00 pm ET. There willNOT be a replay of this training so get in now and show up.You can’t afford to miss this one. Register here: http://www.dcfawcett.com/go
When you attend this training, you will be able to do 10times more deals in 2010. That means you’ll be making 10times more money in 2010.
I just read an article that saysluxury homes with mortgages over $1M are defaulting at twice
the rate of all other foreclosures.
The proof is in thepudding. Are you ready to claim your piece of the pie?I got this question the other day on my blog from Robert: “D.C. you keep telling me to fill my pipeline and I willmake more money. The problem is I don’t have time to handlethe deals I’m working on now. How do I add more deals to mypipeline?”My response: “Robert, your frustration is a common one on the short salebusiness. You are not alone my frien*d. This is one hurdlethat you must get over and you must get over it in thequickest time possible because it directly affects how muchmoney your business will make for you. You are letting the capacity of your own personal timecontrol your business and you should never let this happen.You should never turn away deals because you don’t have thecapacity to handle them. Never turn off your deal flow!What you need to do is increase your capacity. I know whatyour thinking: “D.C. there are only so many hours in theday. How do I add more hours to my day?” I’m with you. Youcan’t add more hours to your day but you can FRE*E up thehours that you are currently waisting. For example, Robert, I know you’re still negotiating yourshort sales the old fashioned way. When you switch tovirtual short sale negotiating, you’ll FRE*E up 18 hours forEVERY single file you have and you’ll never have to worryabout not having the time to handle more deals ever again.That’s almost half a week for every file you have.
If youare currently working 5 files, that frees up 90 Hours ofyour time. That’s wasted time you could be using spendingtime with your family or doing what you love to do.That’s 2 weeks worth of work! Wouldn’t it be nice to usethat 90 hours to take a vacation? Well, I’m going to showyou how you can do just that while your short sales continueto be negotiated on autopilot while your on vacation on Sunday’s night’s webinar.
Never stop filling your pipeline. That’s just one strategyfor you. I’ll give you another strategy that’s 10 timesstronger on Sunday night’s training.”Join me Sunday night and I’ll show you how to get your lifeback: http://www.dcfawcett.com/go
Go get some more deals and fill your pipeline, DCP.S. This training is not some pitch for you to send me yourdeals. With this virtual short sale negotiating strategy,you keep 100% of the profit. I’m revealing everything Sundaynight. Get access to the training here:

Negotiating short sales

I was sick and tired of the banks losing our short salepackages. It’s a waste of our time to submit your short salepackage to them 3 times because they lose it the first 2times. I was tired of them not calling us back when we submit anoffer or leave them a voicemail, fax, or email.
3 monthsago, I decided to put an end to this nonsense once and for all.
I created a new proprietary process for negotiatingshort sales and I’ve been testing and refining this processfor the last 3 months. I have to tell you the results are nothing short of amazin*g.• Our short sales are getting approved 3 times faster.
• The lenders do not lose our packages anymore. Theyactually get them the first time we send them.
• And they call us back quickly now because of the new waywe present our packages to them. Here’s a deal we did using this new process:
Original Loan Balance: $899,545
Short Sale Approval: $482,405# of days to get approval:
54Sold for $602,000Profit Spread: $119,595
This is how you do short sale deals in today’s market!I’ve tested and proven this process myself. The resultsspeak for themselves.
This process forces banks to handleour short sale files first before anyone else’s. I’m soexcited about this. 2010 is going to be ever better now.
I’mwilling to share my secret weapon to you. It’s called virtual short sale negotiating and I’m revealingeverything on tonight’s training. This is the first timeI’m sharing this with anyone and I may never do it again.
We’re starting at 8:00 pm ET sharp. Be there 5 minutes earlyto make sure you get in because we’ve got a full house.

Pre$ton Ely Office Tape Leaked

Oh, wait a minute ... it says "office." "Pre$ton Ely Office Tape Leaked". Whoops. Freudian slip. Sorry.This tape is making it's rounds right now, that's for sure. Just wanted to make sure you saw it because it is scandalous. http://www.freedomsoft.com/rockthehouse/?a_aid=4abd3dbd29d9cI don't know of any video ever released that shows the inner workings of a real live real estate wholesaling operation the likes of this before. They caught everything on tape ... - Preston & Pete's entire marketing campaign strategies - Their filing system for leads - Footage of them inspecting houses - Pete "The Ninja Negotiator" Skouras negotiating with sellers - Preston never being in the office and pissing Pete off - Their Closings And Piles of ChecksI've honestly never seen anything like it. And best of all? I can show you where to see it free.http://www.freedomsoft.com/rockthehouse/?a_aid=4abd3dbd29d9cGo check it out now before someone yanks it down. You'llget more out of this video than all the home study coursesyou've ever bought combined. Watch. - StacyP.S. I have no idea how long this will be available for freedownload. I'd grab it now.

Real Estate Investing $200 billion industry

So you got yourself a dozen real estate investing coursesthat you just mastered as if your life depended on it.You have a seller and buyer list so long you can lasso five planets from the next galaxy.You picked one of your leads, eager to try out your newlyacquired investing prowess.Now, the question is, "How'd you know if this is a deal?"Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock...Let's face it.One of the toughest part of this business is identifyingwhether you have a winner or a whiner on your hands.And sadly, this is one part of real estate investing thatis best taught and learned through experience.Whatever that is. :-)Most of us cannot afford to fail and learn from experience.That just takes too much time - time you don't have. We need to profit and we need it NOW.Well you're in luck!Watch this video to find out exactly, how you can make sure whether you're looking at a deal or a dill. :-) http://dodeals.com/go.php?l=wowww&e=msubevans@yahoo.comHere, you will learn 5 questions that you should always ask your sellers in order for you to asses if the lead is worthpursuing.The last thing you need is to waste your time, money and effort on something that barely registers in the small-change-o-meter, much less the moolah-meter.It's not rocket science but it's not child's play either.Just go here and watch the video to find out more.

I wanted to make sure your were able to download your F-R-E-E copy of my MAO Cruncher, below is the link just in case:

http://findingmotivatedsellersexposed.com/mao/product/index.php?action=giveaway

Please feel free to give it to someone you know. I even have a place on the download page were you can tell your tweeps if your on twitter.

Thanks

Real Estate Agents See Return Of Foreign Buyers

Canadian investor Arthur Wong is buying condos in Las Vegas
and Phoenix like a shopper at Costco: In bulk, with slashed
prices.

Wong, president of Optimus U.S. Real Estate Fund, has bought
60 condos at heavy discounts from developers in financial trouble.
Wong paid about $62,500 each for 18 Las Vegas condos that
once were priced at about $250,000 apiece.

"Th is could be a once-in-a-generation opportunity for real estate
investment," said Wong, whose Calgary, Alberta-based fund has
already invested $5 million cash and will spend millions more in
the U.S. Southwest over the next several months.

While foreign real estate investment in the first six months of 2009
was lower than last year's level, real estate agents from New York
to Las Vegas say purchases have increased rapidly in recent
months.

Foreign investors have long been attracted to U.S. residential real
estate, drawn by the market's stability compared with other countries.
But the dollar's descent in the past six months has made makes
homes even cheaper for foreigners, and prices are showing signs
of stability.

International investors bought 154,000 homes and condos in the
12-month period ending in May, down nearly 10 percent from
170,000 for the same period a year earlier, the National
Association of Realtors reports.

But since June, the dollar has tumbled by 9 to 11 percent against
currencies like the Japanese yen, the European euro and the
Canadian dollar. The Brazilian real has gained 17 percent against
the dollar in the past six months.

Buyers from Brazil, Canada, France and the Netherlands, for
example, have paid mostly cash for second homes ranging from
$6 million to $15.5 million in condo buildings like 40 East 66th
Street, a stone's throw from Central Park and steps from shopping,
restaurants and nightlife.

"(Foreign investors) love to have everything available to them once
they walk out their front door," said Barbara Russo, an agent with
The Corcoran Group Real Estate in Manhattan.

Replacing the Real Estate Agent With A Website

Selling a home without a real estate agent can save thousands
of dollars in commission fees, but it can also be a painstaking,
confusing task.

Foregoing an agent, however, is easier these days thanks to Web
sites that help homeowners advertise their properties on the hottest
real estate portals and even walk them through figuring out how to
price their home to sell.

Sites such as ForSaleByOwner.com, Owners.com and Fizber.com
don't claim to supplant every service a real estate agent provides,
but they and others come close to giving a seller's home the same
online exposure as one that's marketed by an agent.

That kind of access comes at a price, often in the hundreds of
dollars, and probably means the seller must settle for saving
only half of the 6 percent cut of the sale that traditionally would
be split between the agents for the buyer and seller.

On a $300,000 sale, that's $9,000. Not too shabby.

Still, the median sale price for a for-sale-by-owner property last
year was $153,000, while it was $211,000 for sellers who used
an agent, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Homeowners who sell their property on their own may not always
tap the pool of buyers that an agent can in the open market, which
could reduce the range of offers. Another factor is that, in many
cases, for-sale-by-owner transactions are between people who
knew each other in advance, such as family or acquaintances,
which could also lead to a below-market price.

That hasn't dissuaded many sellers from going it alone, however.

Another Broken Myth: Foreclosures And Crime Rates

Remember when real estate foreclosures were decimating
neighborhoods in Cleveland, eroding neighborhoods in Boston,
creating ghost towns in Chicago?

No? Then maybe you remember the foreclosure-driven crime wave
that hit Washington D.C.; Atlanta, Georgia; and Charlotte, North Carolina;
prompting New York State ACORN President Pat Boone to explain, "It is
common sense that foreclosure and crime go together."

Still drawing a blank? Then surely you recall how 2008 Democratic
presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both
proposed a $30 billion fund to combat crime and blight in high-
foreclosure areas. Republican candidate John McCain considered
rising foreclosure rates so hazardous to civil order that he proposed
having the Treasury Department buy up all the bad home loans in
America.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Massachusetts Connecticut) spelled out the
connection between foreclosure and crime with admirable
specificity last year:

It isn't just the foreclosed property that causes the problem. There's
the next door neighbor, the community that also suffers. For every
one foreclosure in a square block, one-eighth square mile, there is a
decline in value almost immediately of 1 percent of every other home
in that square block. There's an increase of crime of 2 percent almost
immediately in that area.

You don't recall any of this because none of it happened. If the
foreclosure-driven crime trends that journalists and politicians have
been predicting since 2006 had actually come to pass, our streets
would by now be impassible wastelands where Toecutter and
Bubba Zanetti prey upon the citizens with impunity.

Yet crime statistics continue to head downward throughout the country --
even or especially in those areas marked out as foreclosure clusters.
Camden, New Jersey, supposedly America's most crime-ridden city,
has seen a 14 percent crime reduction in 2009.

Prince William County, Virginia, which has the highest rate of foreclosures
in Old Dominion, nevertheless saw its violent crime rate fall by 36.8 percent
between 2008 and 2009. Foreclosure-plagued Oakland, California has
seen a 3 percent annual drop.

Still, the perception that foreclosures are linked to the deterioration of
law-abiding areas is not necessarily susceptible to statistics. Many
intelligent people say they have a sense that crime is getting worse as
more residences end up unoccupied. Again, my own experience
contradicts this: I live in a not-so-nice part of Los Angeles County and
spend plenty of time in less-nice areas (in California nothing ever goes
below nice), yet I am absolutely certain I hear less gunfire and fewer
police helicopters this year than I did in 2006.

Frank Wants $2 Billion To Stop Foreclosures

Once again, Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) is pushing to use
left over TARP money to help unemployed homeowners stave
off foreclosure. He pushed hard for a similar provision in January,
but the Administration put its money on the HAMP program.

Nearly a year later, foreclosures driven my unemployment and the
ailing economy are skyrocketing, HAMP has hardly done any better
than its disastrous predecessor, HOPE Now, and Frank is at it again.
This time, the chairman of the House Financia l Services Committee,
just might succeed in pressuring the Administration Obama to use
$2 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to offer low-interest
loans to Americans who have lost their jobs and are in danger of losing
their homes.

In Massachusetts last week, Frank said the aid would not be for
irresponsible people who bought homes they could not afford or
borrowed money with subprime mortgages. Rather, it would be
for people who bought their houses years ago and were making
regular loan payments until unemployment caused them financial
problems.

In 2008 Congress and Bush originally authorized $700 billion to
save the banks from ruin when the financial crisis peaked late last
year. About $210 billion of the total was never spent.

About 47 banks have repaid $72.9 billion principal of loans from
the TARP program. Another $12.4 billion in intere st and dividends
has been paid to the government, according to the program's
inspector general. General Motors said Monday it intends to start
repaying its loans this quarter.

Frank said he proposes taking the $2 billion in mortgage help from
the interest paid on the government loans. Frank said he believes the
administration already has the authority to extend the financial help to
homeowners from so-called TARP money without permission from
Congress. He said he has been pushing the administration to act.

Obama, however, may be more interested in using the leftover TARP
money to reduce the deficit.

Home Sales Rise to Highest Level In 2.5 Years

Home sales surged for the second month in a row in October,
climbing to the highest level in 2 1/2 years as first-time buyers
rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax credit.

Home sales nationwide are now up nearly 36 percent from their
bottom in January, data Monday showed, though they are still
6 percent below the peak in autumn 2005. At the current sales
pace, there is only a 7-month supply of homes on the market
and in some areas there are bidding wars.

Joey Wilson, 53, and her husband made unsuccessful offers on
20 Las Vegas homes since midsummer before closing on a
four-bedroom, $136,000 home this month.

"It's insane," said Wilson, who relocated from Kentucky. "I've
never seen a market like this before."

The National Association of Realtors said home resales rose
10.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.1 million
in October, from a downwardly revised pace of 5.54 million in
September. It was the biggest monthly increase in a decade,
and far above the 5.65 million pace expected by economists,
according to Thomson Reuters.

Without adjusting for seasonal factors, sales were up 21 percent
from a year earlier and were up in all four regions of the country.
The gains were led a 26 percent increase in the Midwest. Sales
were up 25 percent in the Northeast, 23 percent in the South and
10 percent in the West.