If you truly want financial freedom, now is the time to invest in pre-foreclosures. Yes, now is the time because foreclosures are at an all time high nationwide, and it isn't going to get better any time soon.

Properly done there will be many millionaires made in this market for the next few years. It's quite simply the law of supply and demand along with the knucklehead lenders that allowed the public to purchase properties of much more than they could afford.

Short sales have been in existence for as long as there have been mortgages. Back then there wasn't a term called a short sale; we just called the lender and asked them if they would take a discount. Today is has become much more supplicated and time consuming to get it done.

The short sale is one of the easiest ways to create instant equity where none existed prior to that point.

When you make an offer to purchase a property, you will sign a purchase or purchase and sales agreement with the seller. This document will be the binding contract and agreement between you and the Seller and the provisions in that document will spell out certain events which must take place before your escrow can close.

Within the purchase agreement will be a provision for the scheduled date of closing.

It is my opinion that building rapport and getting your seller to feel comfortable with, dare I say "like you, is the biggest step toward overcoming any fears or questions that they may have.

Whether sophisticated or not, some sellers ARE going to have questions and you had better be able to answer them in a way that satisfies them. While that may sound scary, remember, no matter how little you know the seller will probably know less.

If you have ever bought or sold real estate, you have probably paid for title insurance. What exactly is title insurance? Why do we need it? How can I save money on title insurance? These are common questions asked by real estate investors.

Whenever title passes, the seller usually gives a deed containing certain guarantees or "warranties" (hence the name "Warranty Deed").

The Garn St. Germain Act carves several exceptions in which the lender may not enforce the due-on-sale:

With respect to a real property loan secured by a lien on residential real property containing less than five dwelling units, including a lien on the stock allocated to a dwelling unit in a cooperative housing corporation, or on a residential manufactured home, a lender may not exercise its option pursuant to a due-on-sale clause upon -

(1) the creation of a lien or other encumbrance subordinate to the lender's security instrument which does not relate to a transfer of rights of occupancy in the property;

(2) the creation of a purchase money security interest for household appliances;

(3) a transfer by devise, descent, or operation of law on the death of a joint tenant or tenant by the entirety;

4) the granting of a leasehold interest of three years or less not containing an option to purchase;

5) a transfer to a relative resulting from the death of a borrower;

6) a transfer where the spouse or children of the borrower become an owner of the property;

(7) a transfer resulting from a decree of a dissolution of marriage, legal separation agreement, or from an incidental property settlement agreement, by which the spouse of the borrower becomes an owner of the property;

(8) a transfer into an inter-vivos trust in which the borrower is and remains a beneficiary and which does not relate to a transfer of rights of occupancy in the property; or

(9) any other transfer or disposition described in regulations prescribed by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board.

The "due-on-sale" clause is probably the most talked about, feared and misunderstood topic in real estate. This article will dispel any misunderstandings you may have about the due-on-sale and suggest a simple, yet effective strategy to get around it.

Before we discuss how to get around the due-on-sale, we must understand what it is and where it came from.

For years, hot-shot speculators made huge profits flipping condos in Florida and Vegas before they were even constructed. All the while, the naysayers in the ivory towers of Wall Street and academia warned of a "housing bubble" that was sure to burst as all bubbles do.

When Fed chairman Alan Greenspan said that national real estate market was "frothy," the writing was really on the wall, and anyone with half a brain could see that we were in for a cooling of the housing market, at best.

One of the cardinal rules of Power Negotiating is that you should ask the other side for more than you expect to get. Henry Kissinger went so far as to say, "Effectiveness at the conference table depends upon overstating one's demands."

Think of some reasons why you should do this:
Why should you ask the store for a bigger discount than you think you have a chance of getting? Why should you ask your boss for an executive suite although you think you'll be lucky to get a private office?

If you're applying for a job, why should you ask for more money and benefits than you think they'll give you? If you're dissatisfied with a meal in a restaurant, why should you ask the captain to cancel the entire bill, even though you think they will take off only the charge for the offending item?

If you're a salesperson: Why, if you are convinced that the buyer wants to spread the business around, should you still ask for it all? Why should you ask for full list price even if you know it's higher than the buyer is paying now?

Why should you ask the other person to invest in the top of the line even when you're convinced they're so budget conscious that they'll never spend that much?
Why should you assume that they'd want to buy your extended service warranty even though you know they've never done that in the past?

If you thought about this, you probably came up with a few good reasons to ask for more than you expect to get.

Accepting your role as a marketer is the thing that will move you out of the rut of occasional mediocre deals and up into a level of sustained success that would not otherwise be possible for you. And this is true of anyone in any other business or industry. The person or company who is most on top of their marketing, makes all the money, and dominates their market.