Paul van Altena's (paulvanaltena) Blog

As the real estate cycle changes I now find myself investing again in bank-owned properties. This is how I began 11 years ago at the bottom of the last cycle. What a ride that was!!! Currently the market is much more appealing to a real estate investor than it was back then. What I am buying curr...

As retirement savings, 401ks, IRAs and stock portfolios have come crashing down along with home values, fear has spread throughout a large segment of the population. The fear is easy to understand. People feel that they have no control over what is happening, which is for the most part true. What...

We are looking for someone who has money that wants to make a great return, by buying fixers to flip. We have an excellent track record-14 years as a licensed General Contractor, 10 years in real estate including buying and selling investment properties (mostly with 1031 tax-deferred exchanges), ...

Don't want to repeat myself too much, but helloooooooooo! Is anyone out there? It is the time to buy!!!!!!! Discount prices everywhere-it's like being a kid in a candy store! In many areas prices are 50% of what they were a couple of years ago, and in some areas multiple offers are becoming commo...

These are trying times indeed! It seems like that this all we hear about. Many people have been caught up in this mess. There is plenty of blame to go around, but that won't help anybody in trouble. What will is a little basic information so people know their options, before the bank decides for ...

As everyone knows, there are alot of foreclosures on the market now! The smart (and big) money is snapping up the deals in large quantities often paying 55 cents on the dollar. I always think that it is good to study successful people who are doing what you would like to do, and learn from them i...

Foreclosures and bank owned properties are a hot market these days for many reasons. Unless you've been hiding under a rock you probably know it's a buyer's market! Great deals are to be had! There are a great number of Placer County foreclosures available. The advantage of bank owned properties ...

One often overlooked method of attracting buyers is to have the seller pay points-buy down the buyers rate. For the seller it is usually cheaper than lowering their asking price, and obviously lowering the price is not popular with sellers. For the buyer this is a huge incentive as getting a lowe...

Most everyone would agree that teamwork leads to a better result, no matter what the objective is. Many real estate professionals promote their teams as they should.  Each member  brings their own expertise and personality into the mix, and as time goes by develop a rapport and knowledge on how b...

As we hear the media speak about the growing foreclosures and falling prices, we might be led to think that real estate investing is a risky proposition!  In fact the opposite is true! As prices ‘correct' to more realistic values and mortgage rates remain at historic lows, the longterm potential ...