If Dominique Strauss-Kahn is tempted to make an early exit from the International Monetary Fund to run for president of France, he will have found plenty of encouraging signs during a stay in Paris this week. The next election is not until 2012 and Strauss-Kahn would have many hurdles to overcome before even getting his…
Short sales are very popular with investors because they represent an opportunity to buy a home at less than market value. However, before stepping into the quicksand, there are a few things investors should be aware of. You may be riding on the Titanic, so diversifyShort sales are a slow process. We have seen competitive cash…
A deal last week has brought Uganda a step closer to becoming a significant oil producer, offering billions of dollars of fresh investment to develop newly discovered oilfields. Italian energy giant Eni said on Monday it had agreed to buy a stake in two large oil exploration blocks in Uganda for up to $1.5bn. For…
Business was bad in Honduras even before the president was ousted in a June coup, unleashing months of political turmoil that have deepened the impoverished country’s economic woes. Honduras was already suffering from the recession in the US, its top trade partner, due to slack demand for its key clothing exports and a plunge in…
Modification of a seller financed real estate note should be done only to salvage a deal from going bad. Let’s look at the case study of a note with Julie and John.For example, if Julie loses her job, and her husband John does not make enough money to make payments on the note, then it…
Now, you don’t have much control over the buyer’s credit rating, but you do have control over the interest rate you set when structuring a note. Below are two scenarios of how the interest rate can affect the cash received when a note is sold to an investor.Both notes are the same in terms of…
A looming government clampdown on CO2 emissions is about to confront an already embattled US coal power industry with two stark options: capture carbon or die. Legislation from Congress or tough new regulatory demands could make it costly to spew greenhouse gases, posing a serious threat to the nation’s coal-fired power plants. With coal the…
Many real estate “gurus” offer insights into how to buy something with no money down – zero down deals. The only problem is that, in most real estate asset types, a zero down deal comes with so many problems that it’s almost impossible to make money with them. A zero down single-family home deal is…
Most mobile home park owners tend to amass a portfolio of several parks, simply because, after acquiring the skill sets, it seems wasteful not to buy “just one more”. But, in reality, they only need to buy one mobile home park to be set for life. How can this be? There are several reasons.Sufficient scale.A…
