Lenders are having difficulty foreclosing on property. The root cause of the problem lies in the loan paperwork completed by the borrower at the time of origination. These vitally important documents are beginning to show up missing, executed incorrectly, lacking originals or lost through the process of the packaging and selling bundles of these loans and/or subsequently selling these bundles more than once.

Read more: Why Lenders are Having Difficulty Foreclosing

With most markets flooded with foreclosures, many investors have tried very hard to cash in on bank owned properties and REOs, only to come up empty handed. As you'll discover on this week's investing report, there's money to be made in foreclosures but you have to be looking in the right places. You'll learn where to find the great foreclosures deals in this current ocean of not-so-good bank owned REO deals.

Read more: Where the Money is in Foreclosures

In this week's investing report, you'll discover the secrets to long distance deals and how you can make a fortune on properties that are NOT in your own backyard. The majority of investors we speak to across this country do not need to look any further for an investing opportunity than their own sphere of influence. It seems like everyone has a friend, co-worker or acquiantance right now who is upside down in their property and needs to get out prior to foreclosure. Oftentimes, these people live in other parts of the country and therefore, require the investor to do a long distance deal.

Read more: Long Distance Deals

Welcome to this week's investing report. In this quick snapshot, you'll gain insight as to what is happening in the market right now and where the BIG money is being made. PLUS, you'll discover the most important actions you should be taking to be cashing in on the greatest short sale and foreclosure boom the world has ever seen (and how you can help people along the way.) In addition, you'll learn why the late summer and early fall is the PERFECT time to pick deals.

Read more: Short Sales & Foreclosures on the Rise

WASHINGTON DC - Freddie Mac just released information indicating that short sales are up 600% from just 2 years ago. This statistic is remarkably powerful considering that 2008 was a record year for short sales. As anticipated (and predicted by this author), short sales continue to rise at astonishing rates. Anyone NOT investing in short sales is missing out on a gigantic portion of the market (as much as 64% of the available properties for sale in some parts of the country). Freddie Mac CEO Ed Haldeman said that Freddie Mac is doing everything it can to prevent more foreclosures and that short sales are becoming an ever-popular tool in situations where foreclosure is immenent and modifications have failed.

Read more: Short Sales Up 600%

Has mortgage servicing behemoth Bank of America clearly defined their policy on how they handle the short sale deficiency? When a short sale is complete, the loss the bank experiences, also known as the short sale deficiency, has always been a very dicey subject. "What happens to the difference?" is the most common question a borrower asks prior to attempting a short sale. And for good reason, because it can mean the difference between owing tens of thousands of dollars and owing zero. Big difference.

Read more: Bank of America Short Sale Deficiency Policy Change?

A very reputable publication, the San Francisco Chronicle, recently posted a story on their website that is a true sign of the times; "Your Mortgage: When It's Time to Walk Away." Wow. Only in America. This comes on the heels of a new government initiative to incentivize and streamline short sales. The new HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives) program is scheduled to go into affect on April 5, 2010 and encourages borrowers to work with their loan servicers for reaching an alternative to foreclosure. Many critics foresee this legislation to be counter-productive to our country's real estate recovery because it will encourage borrowers to walk away from their mortgages.

Read more: Your Mortgage: When to Walk Away

Nearly 50% of all home purchases are distressed properties, either a foreclosure or a short sale, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance Monthly survey of real estate market conditions. What is so fascinating about this finding is that just a few months ago, in November of 2009, this figure was 37%. What has caused this rapid rise in distressed properties and what does it mean to real estate investors? Good questions. That's what I intend to share with you.

Read more: 50% of Home Sales are Distressed Properties

ORLANDO, FL - It was quite an honor to be asked by the folks at Rich Dad to speak on the subject of Short Sales and Foreclosures at their Annual Forum last week. It was four days of 12 hours a day intense real estate investing education. I feel like I met and spoke with just about everyone of the more than 1000 people in attendance in that 96 hour period. What I learned from interviewing all of these different types of investors was quite interesting and I wanted to pass it along to you. (Plus, in case you are wondering about my experiences with hanging out with Robert Kiyosaki himself, I'll touch on that as well.) So onto what I discovered that I think you will find quite intriguing.

Read more: Me and Robert Kiyosaki

Actor celebrity Brian Austin Green (Former 90210 star and now dating screen siren Megan Fox) is selling his home on a short sale. He purchased the home at the height of the market in 2006 for nearly $2,000,000 borrowing almost the entire purchase amount which created a monthly mortgage payment of nearly $70,000 per month. Can you imagine servicing a debt load of that size? Apparently it was too much for even a superstar to handle. Sources say that the economic recession has hit Green hard and his Rep explained that the house is being sold on a short sale for "strategic investment" reasons.

Read more: Trouble on Brian Austin Green's Homefront