We obviously have not seen the last of foreclosures. With all of the promised bail out money and the continuous plummeting in home prices, who knows when it will all end. Everyone is entitled to their expert opinion and there are a lot out there these days. The truth is that problem is here right now. The question is how to utilize the market with this current issue. If done correctly, there is plenty of money to be made on all sides.



Obviously looking at this from the sales point of view is a no brainer. If you have a ton of cash and excellent credit you would be a moron not to be buying up city blocks right now. The rest of us who are begging, borrowing, and in some cases stealing, that might be a little different. Having said that, looking at this from the property management side, with which I deal directly, there are many different areas this has changed for the benefit of our owners and tenants.

One of the benefits has helped us weeding out the little fish. All of the amateur investors have been going belly up this last year with their properties. This can be a headache in the long run dealing with investors not sure what they are doing. This can make it very difficult to satisfy customers when there are cash flow problems.

Another benefit is finding quality tenants. Most of these tenants could be buying homes if the standards were still similar to a few years ago. In cases like this it has helped find quality past home owners to rent properties. These make ideal tenants for our current investors. Both parties win.

Finally, we are seeing rents in the rise. With the rental market increasing, this allows a more competitive edge for price increases. This obviously would never make an owner unhappy. Sorry, we can get you $100 more a month in rent then a year ago. Will you forgive us? It makes a pleasant conversation when we have that with our owners.

The bottom line is, don't get discouraged with the market. In fact, we are already seeing price increases in sales in some areas. Capitalize on a second bite at the apple as my broker always says. You never know when that apple will be dried up and gone.