Foreclosure activities slowed down in January from a year ago as the number of households that receive default notices fell during the same period. According to Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com, RealtyTrac statistics have shown that although foreclosure filings climbed by 1% from December 2010 to January, they declined by 17% from last year. He adds that only 75,178 homeowners received default notices last month. The figure was said to be the smallest since July 2007. Read the rest of Bob’s article to learn more.

As you may know, there are many ways to make money in the real estate business. There’s flipping, rehabbing, investing in rental properties, wholesaling, mobile home investing, and short sales among others. When investing in real estate, it is very important that you choose the strategy that works for you. But how do you exactly do that? Sharon Vornholt of Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog provides an answer to this question as she features an article made by her friend and fellow investor Shae Bynes. In the article, Shae shares some pointers on how you can identify which real estate investing niche is right for you. Take a look at Sharon’s post to read Shae’s nifty article.

If you want to invest in real estate but don’t know how to get started, Patrick Riddle of MustKnowInvesting.com has great information that you should know. In his newest blog entry, he features a great article made by Samantha Taylor of Mortgage Fit that discusses the seven strategies that aspiring real estate investors should use. Check out Patrick’s latest post now if you want to learn how to make your way into the real estate business without a hitch.

If you want to become a successful real estate investor, you shouldn’t be afraid of rejection. According to Cory Boatright of ShortSaleFundamentals.com, you shouldn’t feel disheartened if you fail to sell a house or a seller rejects your offer. You shouldn’t also blame your customers for your failure, he adds. Instead, you must work harder to ensure your success the next time you sell a house or offer a deal. Read the rest of Cory’s inspiring post to learn more.

Because of a huge drop in home values, more and more households are having underwater mortgages. Citing data from Zillow.com, Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com reveals that the percentage of single-family homes with underwater mortgages jumped from 23.2% to 27% in the fourth quarter of 2010. According to him, a report from Zillow has shown that home values declined by 5.9% during the same period from 2009 and many experts believe that home values will further decline by 5% this year. Check out Bob’s post to read the rest of his story.

Do you want to know which city is a haven for cash buyers? If you do, then Steve’s latest post on BuildBankroll.com is perfect for you. In his newest blog entry, he shares a Wall Street Journal report that shows the number of cash buyers in a particular real estate market. Find out which cities have the biggest and the smallest number of cash buyers by taking a look at Steve’s post now.

Industry experts have recently predicted that the housing market will be saddled with high foreclosure rates for five more years. According to Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com, TrimTabs Investment Research and Baker Avenue Asset Management said it would take four to six years before we see a considerable decline in the number of distressed properties. Economists believe that this will significantly affect the full recovery of the housing market. Read the rest of Bob’s most to learn more.

While most “9-to-5ers” hate their jobs, many of them are afraid of leaving corporate America because they are bound to lose a lot of things – a steady paycheck, good credit, and health insurance among other things. However, financial freedom through real estate investing can be gained by taking risks and if you’re afraid of taking risks, you’ll be forever chained to a job that you don’t enjoy. In her latest post, Sharon Vornholt of Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog features an article made by her friend and fellow investor, Scott Costello. In the article, Scott discusses the common fears of office workers who decide to take the plunge and invest in real estate. He also shares his personal story on how he overcame these fears. Learn from Scott’s experience by checking out Sharon’s newest blog entry now.

It looks like the highly controversial “robo-signing” scandal is far from over. Citing an article from the “American Banker,” Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com reveals that some Notice of Default (NOD) filings in several non-judicial states have been “improper.” According to him, the article reported that several bank employees signed NODs without even verifying if there was indeed a default. Check out Bob’s post to learn more about this story.

Apparently, one of the reasons why some real estate investors don’t want to invest in short sale deals is because of “non-responsive” banks. According to Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com, a Short Sale Daily survey showed that 44.7% of investors consider bank lag issues as the biggest road block when investing in short sales. Bank inflexibility was in second place with 42.1%, followed by taking the deal from approval to closing and banks’ reluctance to accept short sales. Although it is a generally accepted fact that these financial institutions would want to get rid of their non-performing assets, Bob says that banks are acting quite the opposite. Read the rest of his post to learn more.

While it is true that planning and doing your homework can help ensure your success in the real estate business, there are times that you can’t exactly predict what will happen to your investments. In his latest post, Steve of BuildBankRoll.com talks about a similar experience. According to him, they have recently made decent profits from a nice property. However, selling the fix and flip project wasn’t exactly that easy because despite the property being a potential profit magnet, they had a hard time finding buyers for it. Read the rest of Steve’s story by checking out his newest blog entry now.

The government is set to implement new rules regarding the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program or HAFA. According to Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com, the move came after the California Association of Realtors complained that most lenders don’t respond immediately to short sale offers. As part of the changes in the rules, responses to any HAFA short sale request should be made within 30 days. Read the rest of Bob’s post to learn more.

According to latest data from RealtyTRac, foreclosures jumped in 72% of metro areas in the U.S. last year. However, Cory Boatright of ShortSaleFundamentals.com says that despite the sizable increase, the rate of foreclosures in the ten worst-hit areas actually went down. This probably means that there are only a handful of people left to foreclose on, he adds. Take a look at Cory’s blog entry to read the rest of his article.