While it’s never nice to be presented with an eviction notice, there are ways to deal with it gracefully.  Even though eviction laws vary from state to state, and every situation is different, there are some things you can do if you find an eviction notice taped to your door.

1. Respond with common courtesy.  If you feel that the eviction is unfair, then the beauty of this country is that you can have your say in the matter in front of a judge.  However, if you really are behind on your payments and/or have broken some sort of agreement to pay (i.e., a lease or mortgage agreement), then you will likely need to have a really good reason for non-payment.  But you can’t go screaming, yelling or cussing at the landlord or the judge.  Be professional, you’ll get farther with both and maybe find some leniency that is fair.  Just be sure that you have your ducks in a row and have documented everything.
2. Initiate a conversation with the landlord and propose some sort of payment arrangement.  Maybe you can’t make the entire $1,000/month payment, but you can make it in pieces.  Chances are your landlord doesn’t want another vacancy, so maybe they would be willing to make arrangements in which you would pay $500 at the beginning of each month and $550 in the middle of the month for a short term.  If possible, show good faith by offering to pay a little more to the landlord (call it capped late fees) for their efforts.
3. Follow through.  Whether you make payment arrangements or some other sort of agreement, you must follow through.  If you can’t keep the arrangement that are agreed to, then ask the landlord if they have another rental that is less expensive for you to move into that will meet your budget.
4. Accept that truth is truth.  Maybe there is no way of working something out and you must really vacate your home before the landlord and sheriff physically move you and your stuff to the curb. There is nothing wrong with downsizing until you get back on your feet.  Your landlord knows that sometimes people fall on hard times and chances are they are not completely heartless, especially if they see that you are trying.  Therefore, be cooperative and when you are back on your feet, you may still be able to use the landlord as a future reference.

Notice that every single one of these tips are related to some sort of communication.  Evictions aren’t pretty, but if you do find yourself in one then take a deep breath and let all the parties know what is going on.  Whether it be an exit plan on how and when you are moving out of the property or a payment arrangement plan, good communication will make a sour situation easier to handle.

When will the nation’s property values begin to appreciate again? This is the $64,000 question that real estate professionals, investors, and mortgage professionals would like to know. The truth is nobody can accurately predict the return of the real estate market.  Like everyone else, I can’t predict the end of this crisis either, but what I can do is tell you what will have to happen to facilitate that change. The answer is quite simple: America must reinvest in herself once again. Without an investment, real estate is as worthless as the Dollar is today.

Think back, or read a history book, about how families in the ’40s and ’50s used to buy homes. Young couples lived with Mom and Dad during the “courtship” prior to getting married, until they had saved 20% to put down on their “dream home”.  They made an investment in America, (i.e. the American dream). In the years that followed we have devalued that investment in lieu of credit and the easy access to it. Property values rose artificially and our nation became addicted to credit.

The value of the dollar has been demolished due to the same principle. When we place value in assets based on their ability to be easily bought and sold versus the value that has been invested in the asset, we devalue its worth. For example, two years ago I could have bought an $800,000 house (and I assure you that I cannot afford a house that expensive). The owner of that asset (the $800k house) placed value on his asset based on the availability of buyers like me who could buy the home. The problem is, this homeowner probably had less than 5% invested in the home. Where do you think that homeowner is today?

Had he put 20% down on his home, he would then own a valuable asset in which he has a real investment. This outlay of cash forces him to buy and sell his home in the same manner he would move an $800k investment around in the stock market – very carefully. Thus, the home has REAL value. However, having bought the home with little or no money down, the asset became disposable and so follows the real estate market.

So, as I said earlier, I cannot predict when the real estate market will bounce back, but I can tell you what needs to happen before it does. America needs to reinvest in herself by getting back to solid buying and selling principles. This strengthens home values, which encourages investors who employ builders who employ carpenters, painters, real estate agents, loan officers and so on. America was built on the “American Dream” which has turned into the “American Nightmare”; she can only be rebuilt by hard working Americans, not by Wall Street.

WHY I OWN REAL ESTATE
And why you should too.

• INCOME - Rent pays for the property & in essence, the tenant is buying the property for you. Aim for positive cash flow, but be willing to endure a little negative cash flow to ensure the potential for future appreciation of the property.
  
  
• DEPRECIATION & OTHER TAX BENEFITS - Depreciation is a non-cash expenditure, and can be used to offset income from other sources. That's a tax shelter. The profit from a home sale is taxed at long term capital gains rates which are lower than regular income tax rates. The profit isn't subject to Social Security tax of over 15% like ordinary income.
  
  
• EQUITY BUILD-UP - Sooner or later, the loans on all of the property you own will be paid off, and after that, it's just taxes. All my mortgages are 15 year.
  
  
• APPRECIATION - Each day houses are worth more than they did the day before. The stock market is volatile, while real estate tends to be stable. When home sales are slow, prices tend to be flat, and when the market's hot, prices tend to jump up, but it's unusual for prices to decline.
  
  
• LEVERAGE - Leverage is the ability to use other people's money to control a large asset. It allows you to acquire and control huge dollar amounts of real estate without having to have a lot of cash. By using the tax deferred exchange technique, you can move from property to property always leveraging your way up in the world of property ownership and never have to pay a dime in income tax.

Price is often one of the largest factors that goes into the decision to purchase a home, during your housing search. So long as they don’t sacrifice other elements that are important to them like size and location, the cheaper the better tends to be most home buyers’ motto. Many homes are selling for far under their actual worth in today’s harsh economic climate. Short sales encompass much of these homes.

When a home owner falls behind on their mortgage payments, short sales occur. The home owner’s mortgage lender agrees to allow the home owner to try to sell the home for a lesser value than what’s still currently owed on it, instead of going through the foreclosure process, which can be emotionally draining for everyone involved. This is not without its caveats, although it can be a great deal for a would-be buyer.

If you find a home you love that happens to be a short sale, you need to get informed on a few separate things. First, a seller’s acceptance is only the first step to obtaining the home on which you’ve put an offer. It’s the lender’s loss to suffer if the home sells for under what’s still owed on the mortgage. The lender consequently is the one to accept or reject any offers placed on the property, as opposed to the seller. You may have to wait up to several months to hear a response back from the lender, even if the seller accepted your offer immediately. If you’re under time constraints to buy a house, you might have to reconsider your options.

Despite the lower house sale price, there may be hidden costs to short sale properties. Most lenders will note in the housing contract after they’ve accepted your offer that the house sale is as-is. Housing inspections are important, and it’s not so much a matter of whether or not to actually have one done but more an issue of whether you can afford to fix anything that the inspector notes as defective. It usually will not be possible to negotiate with a lender any changes in price as a result of the discovered defects.

Short sales can consequently be a good option if you’re looking for a deal of a home to buy. Just be sure to note the pitfalls and keep your expectations realistic during the process.