Despite industry experts who are proclaiming that the credit crunch is over , the commercial real estate lenders we work with at Financial Management Group and respect still don’t see any reason to celebrate just yet. When you take a cold, sober look at the market, you see all kinds of reasons to continue being cautious. 

Like you, of course, we’ve read the various articles about new money pouring into the market  but you have to remember that massive amounts of debt scheduled to mature over the next several years will dwarf that . The degree of deleveraging the market needs to launch  a strong lending market is being slowed down by any number of factors .

In other words, we may have a long way to go before full recovery, and that should give you pause  . 

Recently a report from Commercial Mortgage Alert included an interview with a dozen debt market specialists about the true state of the economy , especially as it affects real estate. The participants were in agreement  on a gradual recovery of originations as market-clearing prices are put into place across asset types, and as worked out properties finally qualify for loans in this new time of stricter than ever underwriting. 

According to these specialists, the most disconcerting factors lies with those mountains of debt that can’t be refinanced. One participant, Jack Tailor of Prudential Real Estate Investors, said “The magnitude of this maturing debt is unprecedented…much larger than we experienced in volume or systemically in the RTC days.”

See now why the party may not have begun yet  ?

Granted, there IS money available for loans. However, if you’re underwater, those funds may be too little too late . Lots of investors saw their equity disappear over the past few months, especially those who highly leveraged real estate purchases since 2006. If you bought back then on the premise that rents and occupancy would continue to rise  , then you now see that reality and expectations don’t always match . Not only that, but in the future , loan underwriting standards have tightened so much that the gap between existing mortgages and takeout financing just gets wider and wider  . 

Deutsche Bank estimates that maturing portfolio and commercial MBS loans will increase at the following pace:
$204 Billion in 2009 
$207 Billion in 2010
$296 Billion in 2111
$338 Billion in 2012

Granted , some new capital is starting to popup here and there within the market . It’s been reported that around 350 property and debt funds have raised an estimated $135 billion of equity since 2008. In addition, REITs have sold $15.6 billion in stock  during 2009 and floated over $9 billion of secured debt. Finally, just since late summer of 2009  four mortgage REIT’s  lined up $1.5 billion through IPOs. 

The problem is we may need a lot more money than that if we’re to get the market back on the road to robust health  . A recent report from Pru Real Estate Research stated that if the $2.8 trillion in mortgages taken out between 2005 and 2008 had to be refinanced in the current economy, the underlying properties would qualify for only $2 trillion in debt. That leaves us about $825 billion short and would have to be supplemented  by new money or writedowns.  

How does this impact your current situation ? What may be your best course of action going forward  ?

The answers of course will vary  for just about everyone. We highly recommend  sitting down with a well qualified, experienced and market-savvy investment manager or consultant that you will find the best path for going forward. Your challenges are naturally different from the next guy . 

Fortunately, we are able to find solutions that help our real estate investment clients weather these dangerous times and to preserve their capital as much as possible, or even to grow it larger. With every challenge, history teaches us , comes an equal or even larger opportunity. 

Do you have to much credit card debt and want to pay it down ? Credit cards are the cause of many bankruptcies and foreclosures, so it’s a big deal to get rid of credit card debt while you can .  There are many solutions to getting out of credit card debt, but some debt help is not always the greatest . If you want the best option for paying off credit cards then you have to do a debt consolidation.

Debt consolidation is great for paying down credit cards and the reason why it works is because you get rid of some of your accounts and combine them to create less payments. The reason you should make less payments is because the more payments you can get rid of the more cash you’ll save, even if you are simply relocating the balances from one account to another one . But do not make the mistake that lots of individuals do and combine all your balances and then rack up the newly zeroed accounts . This is a terrible way to pay off debt, because it will only put you further behind .

Lots of people believe that the best solution for paying off credit card debt is to do a debt settlement, but if you do a debt settlement it will work , but the one bad thing with this is that your credit score will go down . If you don’t care about your Fico score and you just want to pay off debt then you might want to go through a debt settlement instead of a debt consolidation. Debt consolidation and a debt settlement are fantastic to do together, but you just need to decide how you feel about making a quick change to your credit score.  Take the time to learn both of these methods, they are both really good and you should know which will work best for you.

You’ll see plenty of excitement for machine-controlled forex trading systems that provide various levels of opportunities based on an automated forex trading alert.

I’m assuming that you’ve been paying attention lately, you’ll even see ads for some of these forex trading alert software offers. These type of trading systems are sometimes called forex bots or forex robots. Today, I’m sharing some quality forex information to help you.

Many of these websites try to obliterate forex swing trading methods.

Never Unconditionally Accept an Automatic Forex Trading Alert

You’ve seen the outrageous reports like “See Forex Robot Killing $1,000,000/second,” 100% Automated Forex Robot,” & “From $x to $X (with a forex robot managing everything for you).”

Do people fall for this?

Or is there actually something to these automated forex signals?

Before Going Further: NEVER Let a Machine to Bankrupt You

If you hear about someone with a black box software that will automatically make you money, don’t trust them!

Even though a few forex bots promote automatic forex trading systems that will trade for you, that’s the wrong way to use an auto currency trading alert. Allowing a robot manage your money for you is a creative way to set your money on a funeral pyre!

Note: Use Automated Forex Trading Alerts to “Notify You of” Good Opportunities

Before you abandon the forex robots completely, understand that there are some valid uses for them. A computer that closely monitors forex trading prices constantly can be a good ally…

For $125 – $150 you can have one of these forex robots spotting trading opportunities for you twenty four hours daily, five days weekly (the forex market closes  on saturday or sunday).

Believe Forex Trading Techniques

When the forex robot generates a forex trading alert, you’ll still want to look for support & resistance, see if there are any consolidation in the forex charts, use technical indicators, forex trading wave patterns, & fundamental announcements.

There’s Zero Easy Road to Currency Trading Glory

If a computer could trade you from $5 to $25,000 within a decade, all the people would be running that program! Don’t fall into the belief that a robotic forex trading alert will do for you what some of the most brilliant trading brains in history haven’t been able to achieve – effortless financial forex trading!

It’s a ridiculous hallucination that is being used as the recipe for many forex trading scams.

Don’t use the automated forex trading alerts to trade for you, just to tell you when you might find a cool forex trading opportunity.

A respectable credit counseling agency may help you create a repayment program with your creditors and show you better money management strategies to avoid debt down the road. However, many credit counseling services exploit people who are financially vulnerable, so proceed cautiously.

The Federal Trade Commission Act discourages “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” of credit score improvement, debt negotiation or counseling agencies. Some states also provide laws that make it illegal for credit service organizations to assert to be able to improve credit ratings.

And in some states, credit counseling services must register with the state attorney General’s office and have a surety bond to do business.

Voluntary Certification and Accreditation

The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) is an independent not-for-profit organization that sets voluntary standards for consumer credit counseling agencies. The NFCC Council on Accreditation (COA) accredits over 4,000 credit advice plans that meet NFCC standards.

To become accredited by the NFCC, a credit guidance agency should be accepted as non-profit by the IRS and possess the proper local business licenses. To earn NFCC certification, a consumer credit counseling program also needs to use adequate checks and balances to safeguard consumers, including:

• Auditing operating and trust accounts every year
• Offering consumer education programs
• Providing detailed reviews of consumers’ income and debts, and an assessment of how each consumer got into financial trouble, with a written action plan for reducing debt
• Disbursing funds to creditors at least twice a month, or sooner in emergencies
• Giving clients a financial statement at least once every three months

The Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA) is an additional national organization with similar standards.

You need to think before joining a credit guidance agency that does not participate in either of these voluntary organizations.

Warning Signs

What should tip you off that you could be dealing with a less-than-reputable program?

Be cautious about illegal fees, sometimes disguised as contributions. If your setup fees or monthly charges have become high, they might eliminate any gain you could have made against reduced finance charges, and you’d bebetter off negotiating directly with each of your creditors.

Another danger sign can be outrageous statements to instantly repair your credit ranking. Credit rebuilding is really a gradual process, and it’s illegal to try to make positive changes to history of credit by constructing a new, false identity.

You must also avoid advance fee loan scams, where you’re asked to fork over money to get a promised loan. Under the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule, no one can legitimately ask that you pay until you actually receive a loan or credit. So be skeptical of any consolidation loan, get everything written, and do not give your credit card, banking account or Social Security information over the phone or on the internet.

Educate Yourself

The obvious way to protect yourself against unscrupulous credit counselors is to:

• Check out the program’s reputation with your state attorney General and local Better Business Bureau, and find out how long they’ve been in business
• Confirm with your creditors ahead of time that they will work with that particular company
• Understand exactly what services are offered, and whether those services address all of your debts
• Get the specifics of any monthly fees, and find out whether you’ll still be obligated to pay those fees whether or not you continue to participate in the program
• Get all promises in writing
• Read your written agreement carefully

For help with an Athens GA chapter 13, call an Athens Georgia bankruptcy attorney. An Athens bankruptcy law firm could give you the help you need.