Platinum Tax Liens Newsletter - September 2010

PIP-West Does It Again … Tax Lien Acquisitions Exceed 30% Avg. For 4th Straight Year

New Legislation Passed in Illinois Means More Protection For PIP-West Clients With Unredeemed Liens

In year’s past, there was a tremendous amount of concern with regards to initiating foreclosures in IL. The legislation did not protect tax buyers from the potential loss of attorney’s fees should the lien redeem following the initiation of the foreclosure process. With economic changes come legislative changes. Tax buyers are now far more protected should a lien redeem following the initiation of foreclosure. In summary, title agent fees can now be applied to the total cost to redeem the tax liens. If your title agent also happens to be your attorney, then ALL the fees associated with the foreclosure are due and payable if the lien is redeemed. Finding a title agent that also happens to be a state licensed attorney in IL can be a challenge. With PIP-West, the attorney(s) are also our title agents. This enables our clients to have a higher level of protection for their investments than other tax buyers in the same area. PIP-West clients initiated foreclosure on nearly 3 times the tax liens as were done in 2009, thanks to these changes in legislation.

Illinois Tax Sales Are Right Around The Corner!

Can you believe summer is nearly gone?? With the end of summer comes the biggest and busiest time of year for PIP-West and its clients. Illinois Tax Sale Season!! It only lasts a few months, but as your Agent, it feels like a year! As our clients are aware, IL is in such high demand that we start receiving investments (on a first come/first serve basis) as early as July! Those of you who waited until the last minute last year, didn’t get to reap the rewards of those of you who got your investments into us early. So don’t wait! Illinois is a penalty state. That means that if we buy your liens for you at 18% today and it redeems tomorrow, you get 18% on your principal! If it redeems 6 months from now, you get 36%!

The Obama Administration’s $75-Billion Silver Bullet to Fix the Foreclosure Problem Misfires
Editorial by Charles Sells
Director of Acquisitions - PIP-West, LLC.

As the hype of all the new administration’s spending hit the markets, foreclosures slowed - for about a month. Anyone actually in the industry knew a moratorium on Los Angeles and Orange County foreclosures last year would do nothing more than provide a false sense of hope that “change” was on the way. Fast forward nearly 18 months later and guess which two counties in the country have consistently seen the most permanent loan modifications under this struggling program?? If you guessed Los Angeles and Orange County, you are correct! Loan modifications in Los Angeles and Orange County represent nearly 10% of the national average. HOWEVER, foreclosures in these counties represent less than 5% of the national average. Seems that moratorium fueled one of many fires this administration will never be able to extinguish.

With $75-Billion injected in all the wrong ways, the market has continued to post records - in all the wrong directions. To state that this silver bullet “misfired” is to make the assumption that the bullet even had a chance of being fired in the first place. This program had very little chance and now that the money is almost all spent, the signs of its struggle are everywhere. Foreclosures were UP nearly 40% compared to last year’s figures for the same time period. Nearly 50% of trial loan modifications have been canceled since the inception of the program over a year ago. Banks like Wells Fargo are implementing their own programs, which costs tax payers NOTHING and are reporting much better success rates. The administration has stolen our piggy banks to give the money to banks that don’t want the money, or the programs. The facts show that this program is struggling to survive and foreclosures are continuously on the rise.

There is no silver bullet, but there is indeed a silver lining. The flood gates of opportunity that were open to us (as investors) before this administration took charge are slowly cracking back open. The administration’s attempt to limit the free trade this county was founded on has failed. This means more opportunity for our clients in all facets of default real estate for years to come. As politics continue to back-pedal out of our industry and business, the floodgates will re-open and we will be there to catch every opportunity that comes pouring out.

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SCVN Announces Recipients of the 2009 Orange County Emerging Growth Awards

ORANGE COUNTY, CA (Sept. 30, 2009) –Southern California Venture Network (SCVN) is proud to announce the recipients of the 2009 Orange County Emerging Growth Awards.

The awards recognized those companies headquartered in Orange County that have reached between $1- $20 million in yearly revenues, have experienced significant growth over the last 12 months and that have made a positive impact on the local economy.  The recipients of the awards were:

Financial Services: PIP - West, LLC – Established in 2004, Platinum Investment Properties-West (PIP-West) has effectively provided its clients with remarkable profits in REOs, Tax Liens, Tax Deeds and other forms of default real estate opportunity. Nationally recognized, PIP-West is the only agency of its kind, offering its clients extraordinary return on their investments, while allowing them to retain 100% control and ownership of their investments. Investments with PIP-West are 100% owned by clients and “self-directed,” based on the expertise and consultation provided by PIP-West.

Emerging Startup: OptionEase, Inc. — OptionEase Inc. is an on-demand software company delivering financial compliance applications to the CFO using a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model. OptionEase collaborates with the audit community on new application features and functionality as new regulatory issues are adopted and corresponding business rules become standardized. The company’s first product OptionEase is becoming the standard for FAS 123(R) accounting for employee stock options.

Manufacturing: Solarflare Communications – Solarflare is a semiconductor company positioned to be the next communications IC leader. Focused on 10G Ethernet, Solarflare has leading technology in both controller products and physical layer (PHY) technology. Solarflare provides a complete Ethernet solution to its customers, including controller and physical layer silicon, drivers and management software, and NIC manufacturing package.

Software Solutions: Telogis — Telogis’ product portfolio consists of a comprehensive wireless fleet management solution and a robust, proprietary mapping solution for fleet management companies and other telematics OEMs, enterprise users and systems integrators. OnTrack, the Company’s GPS-based fleet productivity and management platform is a scalable, easy-to-use SaaS solution that enables fleet managers to improve productivity and reduce operating costs. The product also provides secure, remote access to real-time GPS vehicle and driver information.

Professional Services: Brand Affinity Technologies (BAT) – Brand Affinity Technologies (BAT) came to market earlier this year with a platform that makes it easy and affordable for advertisers to launch ad campaigns featuring athletes and celebrities. Advertisers use BAT’s platform to identify the most effective celebrity and athlete endorsement talent based on brand and targeting considerations, and to quickly secure licensing rights and approvals. Unlike traditional endorsement deals, BAT-enabled ad campaigns can be up-and-running in a matter of weeks or even days. Currently, BAT’s Platform features more than 2,700 top athletes and celebrities in markets nationwide, and is used by leading advertisers such as Ford and McDonalds.

Medical Technologies: Holter Labs, LLC — Holter Labs is a unique Cardiac monitoring service that offers same-day electronic patient cardiac results. This means that the edited heart study (30-60 pages depending on how long the patient wears the recorder) can be viewed by the physician on the same day of data submission; typically within 8 hours from when the recorder was disconnected from the patient. Most companies and hospitals can take up to 7 to 10 working days to get the report back to the physician. A faster report translates into a quicker response to their patient’s clinical needs.

Green: Mag International, Inc. -- Mag International Inc. (MAG) was founded in 2004 to manufacture and distribute a quality and innovatively-designed line of off-road utility vehicles and accessories. The company has grown dramatically since inception, with sales of $9.3 M in 2008, which includes a major contract with the US Air Force that is historic in the industry. MAG is now recognized by customers and competitors as a strong and viable niche provider of off-road utility vehicles, parts, accessories, and service. The truck, cargo and passenger van offerings include Gas, E-85, Electric and 4-Wheel Drive versions and are sold through both direct and dealer channels.

The award ceremony, held on Sept. 29 at Code Restaurant Lounge, was held in partnership with USC Stevens Institute for Innovation, USC Marshall School of Business Orange County Alumni Association, Chapman University College Extended Education, Chapman University Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics, Harvard Business School Association of Orange County, IEEE Orange County Section and the 7^th-Annual System on Chip conference. Sponsors include TechSpace, Faze3 Graphix, Savant Company, Inc., Amplify Interactive and SoCalTech.com, Creative Vortex and DeMo Communications.

ABOUT SCVN

With over 1,000+ influential members, the Southern California Venture Network is Orange County’s premier entrepreneur and business growth network. SCVN’s mission is to increase the entrepreneurial velocity of both start-up and emerging growth companies through its network of skilled professionals, high-level business contacts, and sources of funding. The goal is to help navigate the many road blocks that often prevent early stage and late stage entrepreneurial companies from reaching their full potential in a timely manner.

As a “venture development” organization, SCVN focuses its efforts on helping those companies with revenues between $1M and $25M and that already have funding in place. It does this by hosting open networking events, invitation-only company presentations, executive educational events, and DealMaker lunches.

Podcast - Don Fullman Tax Lien Servicing

I think it would be good to have a brief description of the contents of the Podcast - ie. a summary or brief outline.

Click to listen to Don Fullman’s recent Podcast on Tax Lien Serving.