Clark Howard Show Notes – July 15, 2010

How To Profit From Foreclosures, Unemployment Claims, Retirement Shortfalls, and Foreclosures

How To Profit From Foreclosures and Other Real Estate Investments

The ticket window is open for our latest event: How To Profit From Foreclosures and Other Real Estate Investments which will be held on October 2, 2010 at the
Renaissance Waverly.

The EARLY BIRD ticket price is now available – but it won’t be here for long. Right now, you can buy a ticket at the early bird price of $35. There are no other discounts. This is the lowest price you’ll pay for a ticket to this event. After the early bird window closes, the price for these tickets will go up.

Wondering if it’s worthwhile to attend the event? Wondering if you’ll get your money’s worth. Here’s what past attendees say about ThinkGlink/RealWorldSeminars events.

Here’s the current schedule of events:

8a Registration
9a Welcome from Ilyce Glink
9:15a Session I – Success Stories

Real estate investor and bestselling author Andy Heller presents his lease/option strategy for real estate investing success

10a to 10:15a Break – Visit with our Sponsors and Speakers

10:15a Session II – How to buy foreclosed commercial real estate

Our panelists walk you through how to find, value and negotiate for office buildings, strip centers, warehouses and other commercial real estate properties.

11:30a Session III – Hot Vacation Home Investments

12:30p to 1:30 Lunch Break and Keynote: What’s New in HUD Homes?

Eat while you listen to PEMCO spokesperson Shannon Judd as she walks us through what’s new in HUD home sales.

(Food available for purchase at the hotel. Judd’s talk will start at approx. 1p)

1:45p to 2:30 Session IV – Financing Your Real Estate Investment

Mike Rose, of Wells Fargo, joins other top lenders to guide you through the New World of financing your investment real estate

2:30 to 3:15 Session V – Tax and Legal Consequences of Investing in Real Estate

Bring your questions, as our tax experts and real estate lawyers face share what you need to know and the latest legislative changes

SPECIAL AFTER HOURS SESSION 3:30 to 5:00p

What’s going on with the stock market? Top financial planners provide you with their insights into today’s equities markets and what you can do to protect yourself.

(schedule subject to change)

Today on the Clark Howard Show

Have you saved enough for retirement?

Approximately 47 percent of early baby boomers are not expected to have enough money to cover basic living expenses and health care costs during retirement, according to a study released this week by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (ERBI). Still, that’s a better number than the 2003 report projected.

How to Freeze/Unfreeze Your Credit

Ted called the show with some questions about freezing and unfreezing your credit. Here are some of my notes on Credit/Security freezes

Clark Howard also has some credit freeze information on his site.

RealtyTrac’s Latest Foreclosure Numbers

May 2010 was another horrible month for foreclosure filings according to RealtyTrac.. Foreclosure activity passed 300,000 for the 15th month in a row, RealtyTrac’s latest survey revealed. One in every 400 housing units received some sort of foreclosure filing.

While the numbers for foreclosure auctions and and defaults is down, the number of bank repossessions is rising – and will continue to rise.

“The numbers in May continued and confirmed the trends we noticed in April: overall foreclosure activity leveling off while lenders work through the backlog of distressed properties that have built up over the past 20 months,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac in a press release.

“Defaults and scheduled auctions combined increased by 28 percent from 2007 to 2008 and another 32 percent from 2008 to 2009 — creating a build-up of delayed bank repossessions. Lenders appear to be ramping up the pace of completing those forestalled foreclosures even while the inflow of delinquencies into the foreclosure process has slowed.”

Credit Scores Sink To New Lows, According to FICO Data

According to new data released by FICO, Inc., the company that invented the credit score, Americans’ credit scores are sinking. More than 25 percent of consumers now have credit scores of 599 or below. We’re talking 43.4 million people.

Why are their credit scores in such lousy shape? You can thank job losses, foreclosures, short sales, deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure, and a typical American consumers who is carrying way too much credit card debt.

The problem with having low credit today is that banks and mortgage lenders have tightened their credit standards. So, they’re requiring higher credit scores in order to get the best rates and points on different credit card deals and loan programs.