The Weekend Review

• Saudi Arabia Allowing Foreign Property Ownership in the Country’s First Freehold City
  Saudi Arabia’s first “freehold” city, called King Abdullah Economic City, will be the first geographic area in that country in which non-Saudi citizens can hold property. The country hopes that this move will help expand the Saudi real estate investing market and create a property explosion to accompany the population explosion that the country has experienced, Emaar Economic City’s chief executive officer told NuWire Investor. French and US companies are already scheduled to inhabit space in the area, along with many other foreign investors.

• Experts Fear that Fannie and Freddie’s Exclusion from Financial Overhaul Could Swamp Taxpayers
  The financial overhaul bill currently slogging its way through congress is designed to protect the “average citizen” from the trials and tribulations of Wall Street and other big investing companies. However, most financial experts agree that if Fannie and Freddie are left out of the bill, the massive debt accrued on the bad mortgages that the two are left holding could leave taxpayers “holding the bill” since banks, lenders and investors are unlikely to want to purchase these poor-risk investments.

• Minnesota Reports Lake Home Foreclosure Trend
  Lake homes in Minnesota, once prime real estate for which buyers might take out second mortgages on their own primary residences just to get a shot at making the down payment on one of these coveted vacation homes, now are plummeting in value and succumbing to foreclosure. The area’s vacation residences have fallen nearly 40% in value, reports the Twin Cities Pioneer Press, and foreclosure rates are jumping by values like 650% in some areas. These homes may not qualify for many “rescue” programs either, since they are often not primary residences, but this does clear much of the red tape out of the way for owners who want to do a plain and simple short sale without having to go through loan modifications and the rest of the federally-mandated processes that are required on primary residences.

P.S. If you haven’t signed up for my Free Short Sale Course yet, then youare really missing out, go here:
http://www.freeshortsalecourse.com/