Our annual SJREI Holiday event was a lot of fun!  Be sure to check out the pictures : http://www.momentsofmemories.com/albums/sjreixmas2010/album/

I just want to share with you all some great news I received from the Norris Group! I Survived Real Estate 2009 was recognized with an International Marketing Award for last year’s I Survived Real Estate event.  This particular event was also recognized by two awards from Komen including 2nd most money raised by any team (we were beat out by Boeing) and 1st place in the educational division.  The Norris Group has  helped raise over $105,000 in two years’ time and now their awards total seven including: 

• 2010 Gold Hermes Creative Award: I Survived Real Estate 2009
• 2nd Place Komen Team Fundraising Award 2009
• 1st Place Komen Education Team Fundraiser 2009
• Platinum Hermes Award: I Survived Real Estate 2008
• Gold Marcom Award: I Survived Real Estate 2008
• 1st Place Komen Education Team Fundraiser 2008
• Public Relations Honorable Mention: I Survived Real Estate 2008

Awards season has just begun and I expect the Norris Group will win a few more this year!    The Norris Group just  completed a national press release and SJREI was mentioned in the release.  Be sure to check it out!

 http://www.prweb.com/releases/thenorrisgroup/isurvivedrealestate/prweb4024324.htm

 Click here to view Sean O’Toole’s most recent presentation with SJREI!

Josh Howard’s presentation

We hosted the 2nd San Francisco Bay Expo on Saturday last and it was very well attended, and received; we had lots of great feedback on the education provided and the exhibitors who participated – thank you for your support – over 500 of you spent your Saturday with us! Bruce Norris, the key note speaker, shared that it was a very unstable time to buy for appreciation,  but REO’s were becoming more prevalent in the market place, and given the discounts on those and the current low interest rates this may be a profitable play. 

Join the SJREI Association as we present Investor/Educator John Schaub.  With 35 years of experience, John is one of the “go to” people with regard to creative investing and Building Wealth One House at a Time – the title of his best selling book.  Learn to negotiate deals on houses with terms that will guarantee you a profit.  John has been teaching California investors to buy since 1975. Thousands of California students have followed his advice and made fortunes by simply doing just this. Take advantage of this once in a generation opportunity to buy quality properties at wholesale prices, and with low interest rate loans.   John Schaub Workshop 5/8

Check out the latest newsletter from John Schaub – Lots of great information!

John Schaub Newsletter

Robert Campbell gave a very informative talk at the SJREI last Thursday.  He is one of the few economists really addressing the current economic situation.  He is not your average economist so be prepared for non-main stream views.  Here is a brief summary:

• Robert is a conspiracy theorist.  He calls government a “Criminal Conspiracy.”  He says 1% of Americans own 45% of the wealth and win no matter what happens because of government bailouts.  
• All governments are on life support: Cities, States, Medicare, Soc Security, Fannie, FHA. The government’s job is to print money, and rescue the status-quo and they will continue to do this until the entire monetary systems collapses. He doesn’t know when, but he says we will not be taxed at 66% to cover the national debt payments in 2 years.  He personally invests in silver and gold at this time.  He thinks the collapse will be readjustment of the debt by inflation rather than a new SDR currency created by the IMF.
• The shadow foreclosure market is 10-20 times larger than the REO pool.  Government has stopped foreclosures and the shadow owners are living free in their homes.  He thinks they can live there free until the collapse, or foreclosure. Loan modifications are a waste of money.
• Unemployment benefits continue indefinitely; government has created a new welfare class.   
• 58% of all Option ARMS are in California, mostly high end property’s in our area. These readjust next year.  
• His business advice to us was to cut our losses, if a property is worth less than the loan, walk away. He says you can fix your credit with a $1000 lawyer. The property values will not increase for many years and we are several years away from an upswing.  Any GDP or RE bullish news is part of the mass government manipulation of news and truth.  There is not going to be a recovery any time soon and prices will remain flat or declining.  No green light to buy right now.  Stay tuned…

Sellers are beginning to relent and accept the “new normal” of the market place.  I spoke with someone who just sold a house in San Jose for $250,000 less than it was worth two years ago, finally accepting that new reality on pricing.  Investors, and people with cash, who were sitting on the sidelines are also beginning to participate at a high level  – 26% of buyers nationwide were cash buyers in January. In January in Las Vegas, 50% of the sales were made to cash buyers, in Phoenix 40% were cash buyers. 
 
4.5% of the houses sold in San Diego were owned for six months or less indicating that investors are participating in that market by flipping houses.  These are positive indicators in the real estate market – these sales are consuming inventory, creating further demand in the market place and stabilizing it by removing homes from existing inventory.  Cheaper inventory, and government incentives to first time buyers, low interest rates are all helping the market along. Having said that, our unemployment rate needs to improve to have a sustained recovery.  Our speaker in the East Bay & South Bay this week, Economist Robert Campbell, will further that discussion and share his very interesting perspective on Wednesday and Thursday evening.  Please register early as this meeting always sells out. Members attend free, just register online to secure your spot.

Billionaire Warren Buffett said the U.S. will recover from the residential real estate slump by 2011 as demand for houses catches up with the supply that accumulated during the bubble.

“Within a year or so, residential housing problems should largely be behind us,” Buffett wrote recently in his annual letter to the shareholders of his Berkshire Hathaway. “Prices will remain far below ‘bubble’ levels, of course, but for every seller or lender hurt by this there will be a buyer who benefits. Indeed, many families that couldn’t afford to buy an appropriate home a few years ago now find it well within their means.” 

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2010-03-01-buffett01_ST_N.htm