Wealth Tip: Get ready to buy for cash!

I want to talk to those of you who are real estate investors out there (or those of you who want to be investors.) With the shifts in the real estate market in many areas of the country I have a word of advice for you—get ready to buy for cash!

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, 4.41 percent of all residential housing was in various stages of pre-foreclosure or foreclosure by the end of August 2006. This number has doubled over the past several years. That rate is even higher when you look at sub-prime and FHA loans which both had delinquency rates of roughly 12 percent as of the first quarter of 2006! Twelve percent! And these rates are climbing.

The next time you drive to your local supermarket to shop, you’ll probably pass 1,000 homes. Of these, statistically speaking, 44 are in pre-foreclosure or foreclosure. That means in your neighborhood within a few minutes’ walk, four to five of your neighbors are delinquent on their loans and in danger of losing their home to foreclosure. These people need your help. As you help them, you’ll earn a healthy profit.