As a private mortgage buyer, buying private mortgage notes I continue to be amazed at not only the terms of many owner financed notes but the pretty lax way they were allowed to be created. And while I do understand how a desperate home (or commercial property) seller could easily fall into the 'I'll do anything to sell my home' pitfall, many of these tips will not effect the purchase but will still help protect a newly created financial asset ” the private mortgage note.

A group of state attorneys general and banking regulators have sent a letter to federal officials urging them to encourage thrift-servicing operations and national banking institutions to modify more loans to make them affordable to distressed homeowners and contain the number of REO properties.

The State Foreclosure Prevention Working Groups request is contained in a letter sent to Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) director John M. Reich and U.S. Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) John C. Dugan.

The group is intensifying its efforts to reduce the number of REO properties by encouraging more modifications of mortgage loans and other sustainable solutions to prevent the spread of foreclosures.

I was contemplating the economy, increasing interest rates, slowing real estate sales, and the possibility of us being in a real estate market “top” when I thought about how to protect myself against a potential fall in prices. My best choice for making an investment that would make sense in this environment had to be commercial real estate. Before I get to why, let me introduce you to an interesting extension of a concept long used in investment real estate: Other People's Money (OPM). I would have asked Killer, my 21-year-old-real-estate-guru-wondercat to explain this, but he was taking another nap (wouldn't you, if you were his relative age???).