I don’t know you personally, but I’d be willing to bet there are a few things that we, as Southern Californians, have in common.

I’ve never had a good time driving the 405. I only drive it when I have to and even then- it is begrudgedly. The destination is always worth it, but the trip is somehow just a little longer than what I anticipated.

I’d rather be at the beach than where I am right now. I can see the waves crashing now on the sand of Leo Carrillo beach in Malibu.

I am somewhat fluent in baseball (Go Dodgers!) and I am proud to be seen in my Laker best wearing the names Kobe, Odom, Gasol and Fisher- just a few of my heroes.

And, probably just like you, before I needed to I had never heard of a “short sale” or a “foreclosure specialist.” In fact, I never imagined in real estate heyday of the 90s that we’d ever have the level of housing foreclosures that we are seeing now.

In Los Angeles County, just over 15% of home owners are receiving NODs or Notice of Defaults. This is the first step of the foreclosure process.

You are not alone.

But this bad situation does not have to get worse. Preventing foreclosure and/or protecting your credit when facing an upside down mortgage is possible.

The first thing you can do is find the right investor- someone who is willing to work with you to negotiate the best deal. This is the job of a pre-foreclosure specialist. Like the good people here at BottomLineGrowth, LLC, a Pre-Foreclosure Specialist will use their skills, experience and diligence to work with you to find the right solution.

There are times when the bank has decided that taking repossession of the home is inevitable and a “Short Sale” becomes the best solution to stop the detrimental effect a foreclosure would have on your credit score. In the end, you’ll still have to move, but you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that your debt to the bank will be cleared.

It is important to know that you are not alone. Nationwide 1 out of every 100 homeowners are in trouble with their mortgage payments and millions of people have already lost their homes and their credit.

It is important that you find an attentive and hardworking foreclosure specialist that can advocate the best possible outcome with the bank on your behalf. You don’t have to do this alone.

Questions? Please call our office today. I will personally be happy to take your call.

What have you got to lose?

Besides, it’s easier than a drive on the 405, any day.

Rey A. Marin
BottomLineGrowth, LLC
7041 Owensmouth Avenue
Suite 106
Canoga Park, CA 91303
(818) 888-6733

The weather is finally getting warmer and windows are being opened in the house!  As sunshine enters the house we see it’s time to clean all those cobwebs from the winter months!

While we’re at it, this can also be a perfect time to clean up our finances.  Through biblical principles we can learn ways to “clean up” our ways of managing our money/finances (there are 2350 verses in the Bible about money and possessions) just like cleaning up our homes for the upcoming warmer months ahead.

There are many ways to “clean up” your finances.  The best way to start is to first see how you are spending money.  So track your spending for 30 days then use the Crown Spending Plan Calculator to make a budget.

Whenever you are doing a big “clean up”, you will come across items you no longer need.   Just like with your budget, you will come across items that you really can do without.  For example: services such as the internet, phone service and cable can be consolidated to decrease monthly expense.  Looking closely at your weekly spending can be a real eye opener!  Think about going to Starbucks for coffee one morning at $5.00 for a nice cup of Frappuchino.  That’s fine.  But think about going to Starbucks everyday for a week!  That adds up to $35 a week!  How much does a can of coffee cost and some really good flavored creamer?  Not $35.  Budgeting is not so much doing without but restructuring and doing for less money.

With that extra money you just saved from not buying Starbucks everyday you may be able to pay off credit cards that you seem to never be able to get paid off!   Pay off the ones with the lowest balances first.  The accomplishment of paying off an account is a rewarding and motivating experience.  When you get to accounts with larger balances, then pay off the ones with lower interest first.  Being debt free is really a wonderful feeling!

Forgot to mention what to do with all those items you just cleaned out of the house!  One way to bring a little bit of income is to have a garage sale or sell things online through eBay or CraigsList.  Put all of the profits toward paying off debt or funding your emergency fund.  You will generate extra income to pay down the bills that are keeping you bound to creditors and you will free yourself of things that can clutter your home.

Now one of the last things to do to help yourself in “cleaning up” your finances is to get organized!  Keeping track of your bills and other financial papers will help stop possible late fees and give you that wonderful feeling of knowing where the money is going!

These are just a few steps that can help you on your way to financial freedom!

There are many of us who may have trouble following these suggestions because we may be too busy, and have very limited time.  Managing household finances may take quite a bit of time.  Many of us have attempted to pay off our debt but failed.  As for me, I’d rather spend whatever free time I have with my family.  

Fortunately, there are programs that have helped and still are helping tens of thousands of people pay off their debt in 1/3 to 1/2 the time.  Unfortunately, these programs cost anywhere from $3,500 to $5,000.  There is a program out there that gives you a 7-Day Free Trial of the Full Version of the Software.  The company is BottomLineGrowth (BLG).  If the program is purchased within the trial period, BLG is offering a Special Price of $895.  Lifetime Support is included in the program.  Support is not limited to Technical issues as we also provide Moral Support.  BLG want to see you succeed.  There may be times that you get off track and they’ll be there for you, even just to lend you a shoulder to cry on.  Building a personal relationship with their clients is essential in their business because that is how far they extend their support to ensure your success on a long term basis.

BottomLineGrowth has several Webinars throughout the week that is recommended for you to attend before doing the 7-Day Free Trial.  To attend one of the Webinars, you must RSVP as the seats are limited to 10 people for each Webinar.  This creates a more personal and intimate online meeting environment which allows each attendee to ask as many questions they need to get a better understand of the program.  Go to www.BottomLineGrowthLLC.com to RSVP.

Every year Bankrate.com compiles a list of people’s most off-the-wall attempted tax write offs, reported by CPAs around the country.  This year had some especially humorous cases, where most came from small business owners.  One of them was an entrepreneur who tried listing a $2,000 gynecologist bill as a business expense under “repairs and maintenance.” And another business owner tried to legitimize writing off a $100,000 swimming pool, explaining matter-of-factly that swimming relaxed him which helped with his productivity.  And then there was the dog owner who tried to write off the cost of dog food as a home security system expense.

People have been trying to get out of their tax obligations for thousands of years. The only thing that changed is the methods.  We have not only a legal obligation to pay our taxes, but a moral obligation as well (Romans 13:1-7) “¹Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ²Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ³For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. ⁴For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. ⁵Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. ⁶This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. ⁷Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”

There is nothing more exciting then buying a new home. This is one of the most rewarding experiences, but it’s also very scary. There are so many things that you need to be aware of when you are trying to secure a mortgage, and many things that you will need to take into consideration.

I suggest that you learn as much as you can about the different available mortgages that you have available to you. There are many great programs, but the mortgage industry has changed a great deal over the last few years. At one point anybody was able to get a mortgage regardless of what their situation was. It’s no longer like this, but this doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to qualify for a mortgage.

One of the best pieces of mortgage advice that I can give to you is that you will need to take a good look at just how much mortgage you are going to be able to afford. When you are trying to determine this it’s important that you also take into consideration the taxes and home insurance. I can’t tell you how many times that people forget to add these very important things into their monthly payments.

Another thing that you must keep in mind is that if you think that you are not going to be able to afford the home then you mostly likely looking in the wrong price range.

Getting good sound mortgage advice from a financial professional is going to be the best thing that you can do for yourself. Doing this is going to ensure that you will have a better understanding of exactly how things work. And you will know how to get the questions to all of the many factors that you will need to be taken into consideration.

I am sure you know that the lower the interest rate the better. But there is so much more to interest rates than just that. You can’t always qualify for the lowest interest rate, so what is a bad rate and what is not? Are interest only mortgage’s right for you? Do you get a fixed interest rate or an adjustable and what are the differences?

The answers to those questions are going to help you to get into a mortgage that will be something that you can afford and not over pay. There are many great websites online that will give you good mortgage advice that will definitely help you to get a better understanding of how it works.

There have been some mortgage nightmare stories floating around, and you want to ensure that you are not going to be the person in the next story that you hear. So begin learning all that you can so you don’t end up stuck in a mortgage that you are not going to be able to afford because you are paying more money each and every month than you should be paying. 

One last piece of mortgage advice that I can give to you is this. Before you apply for any mortgage you should start looking into what your credit is at. You don’t want to be surprised when a mortgage broker tells you that your credit isn’t as good as you thought it was and you need to spend some time to improve your score. Give yourself the time to repair your credit before starting the process. This is only going to increase your chances of getting a mortgage and the difference in how much you will pay in interest.
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