thanks so much for watching "strange inheritance." and remember -- you can't take it with you. >> i'm bob massi. for 32 years, i've been practicing law and living in las vegas. i help people with all sorts of real-estate problems, from trying to save their homes to closing major deals. eight years ago, 6,000 people a month moved here, looking for employment and affordable homes. little did anyone know that we would become ground zero for the american real-estate crisis. now, it's a different story. the american dream is back. we're gonna meet real people who faced the same problems as millions across america, and we'll dive deep into a city on the rebound because las vegas was a microcosm of america, and now vegas is back. [ woman vocalizing ]

when you're selling your property, doing some very simple things can give you an amazing bang for your buck. one of those things -- it's called "staging." it's basically remodeling or redecorating your home to make it attractive to any potential buyer -- so important. and the results? they can be dramatic. we tagged along with professional home stager jennifer paxson, as she transformed two properties that are about to hit the market. >> what we do as stagers is we bring furniture in so that people can see how they could live in the space. we make people have an emotional connection so they see the way that they could live life. >> for property number one, jennifer went way beyond traditional staging and worked with the homeowner on repainting, restaining cabinets, and even replacing carpets. >> the style of the home is very traditional. and what we're trying to do is make it transitional because transitional is gonna bring the traditional style as well as

contemporary pieces. contemporary pieces are more of what buyers look for today. it's more livable, it's more realistic, and it's more comfortable. in this room, what we're doing is changing the paint color because what this paint color does is it darkens the room. so, we're bringing in some lighter colors. we're gonna do barstools. we're gonna do accessories, bowls. you'll see a pasta with pasta sauce. so, they can actually connect. in this room, it's gonna be a sofa, a chair. we put down a large area rug. it's a huge transformation when you see the "after." we don't ever want to clutter a space. we just want to accent it. this room here is gonna be the game room. we're actually installing real tvs. we're bringing in a large pool table, some furniture -- like a sofa, some comfortable chairs. this is the formal dining room.

what we're doing in here again is painting to brighten up the room. we're bringing in a large, formal dining table, six chairs. so, i set the table, bring in floral arrangements, things that are again going to have the emotional connection that we can entertain here. this is where we're gonna have our friends and family and enjoy. we're now heading into the master bedroom. we're going to warm up the space by bringing in a large king-sized bed with nightstands, lamps. >> so, jennifer, the last time i was here, there was nothing here. >> we have added furniture and accessories to all the main areas of the home. we've brought in all the master-bedroom furniture. a few weeks ago, this room was vacant. now that the furniture's in, you can imagine yourself sitting by the fire reading a book. >> what's the difference between a stager and a decorator? >> interior design -- we're focusing on decorating for a

person. like, i'd be decorating for you and your taste. only 10% of buyers can visualize what a home actually is going to look like with their furniture. home staging is more about appealing to 90% of the population. the cheapest and most effective thing you can possibly do is paint. it's the best thing to totally transform a home. >> property number two presented some unique challenges. it's another beautiful home with a massive open kitchen that opens out into an unbelievable outside area. >> we have a gorgeous outdoor living space. you have the pool with the grotto, the waterslide. and this room is the master bedroom. what we're going to do here is a large, king-size bed with end tables and lamps. you want the potential buyers to see this room and just fall in love with it. >> you know, jennifer, the last

house was beautiful, but i must tell you, this is magnificent. the last time we were here, a lot of these things weren't here, like this beautiful sitting area... >> mm-hmm. >> ...with just first-class furniture. what did you do in here since the last time we were here? >> this room was completely vacant. what we've done is we've brought in all the accessories to warm up the kitchen. >> mm-hmm. >> i like to make it have a homey feel. the spices are out. the pastas are out. you know, just little touches like that that will connect them to the space. in the living room, we've added a large sectional so they can see themselves and their family having somewhere where they can hang out. >> this magnificent pool area was nothing like this. >> no. this is more of a remodel. they've actually emptied the pool. they're staining, refinishing, and sealing all of the rock area. >> what input does the homeowner have as it relates to the proposals that you make? like, you say, "i think this

dining room should be oak." and somebody says, "oh, i hate oak." >> right. >> so, how do you react to that to make them understand that that's really appropriate? >> well, what i try to do is just convince them. we are looking at your home as a product now. we want to appeal to the 90% of buyers out there. you want the majority of people to like the home when they enter it. >> people have to understand that this is a million-dollar home, but you could do this with really any reasonably priced home. >> yes, any home. >> yeah, and that's an important message out there. great job. this is beautiful. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. there's no way to talk about properties without dealing with the topics of credit. lending and debt -- well, those things can seriously trip you up and haunt you for years. i'll tell you how to protect yourself and come out the other end successfully. plus, behind the scenes at one of the strip's hottest condos. [ woman vocalizing ] liberty mutual stood with me when this guy got a flat tire

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>> nearly every person in america at some point in their lives will need to understand the complicated issues of credit, lending, and debt. but to really understand it all, you first have to go back about ten years before the credit bubble burst. housing prices were booming, and mortgages were being given away like candy. >> we're talking no income, no assets, stated income, stated assets that never were intended to be used on wage earners but then allowed people to get into homes they probably should not have bought. >> there's surely some fault on some homeowners in america that got into the american dream but really shouldn't have been able to get into that american dream. >> in many institutions, you would have a chief lending officer. chief lending officer is chasing production for production's sake, making loans, as many as they can, and not caring about the credit risk. >> soon, millions of people were having trouble paying back the money they had borrowed, and foreclosures skyrocketed. the two most common ways of saving a home from foreclosure

are persuading the banks to modify the loan or doing a short sale, which means selling the property for less than what is owed on the mortgage. >> you had to be in such a sweet spot to get a loan modification. you couldn't make too much money. you couldn't make too little because the banks wanted to see you could afford the payment long term. so, if you weren't in this little, tiny piece of pie that they cut out, you were going through months and months, if not years, of supplying paperwork to the banks, giving them your pay stubs, your bank statements, hardship letters, over and over again on a monthly basis and really getting nowhere. >> it's much better for us to keep a borrower/owner in their home than to take that home back. >> but many responsible people, those doing everything they could to stay afloat but still struggling were often told that the only way they could get help was to actually stop making payments. >> most of the times they said, "well, you know, you can make your payments on time, but wink,

wink, nudge, nudge, you're probably not going to get approved because you're not our problem. you're making the payments. why are we gonna look at you when we have a stack of hundreds on our desk?" >> that are in default. >> that are in default. so, now they have the hit on the credit. they're not getting a modification. and now what do i do? >> now, even though things are getting better, there's still a lot of unpaid debt out there. and when you borrow money that you can't repay, it doesn't just go away. eventually, debt is often sold to debt collectors, sometimes for pennies on the dollar. and to collect on it, they can get very aggressive. when times got tough for jeffrey smith, he turned to payday loans to cover his expenses. >> a knock comes to our door. i open up the door, and it's one of the people from the payday loan companies. a manager is knocking on the door, asking us for money. "i'm sorry. we're going through bankruptcy." >> "no, no. you owe us a debt. you have to pay up." "no, you have to get off my property." "no, no, you have to pay up now." and he wouldn't leave. >> but what if you don't even owe the money? joe hernandez and his wife, well, they were always very

careful to pay their bills on time and keep their credit good. but that didn't seem to matter. >> we started receiving phone calls just out of the blue, and they would call and they would ask for somebody with the last name of hernandez, like mine. and it usually was john or joel or jeff or julie or judy. i continually told them that they had the wrong number and to quit calling us. i thought that would end it, but of course it didn't. >> did they call all times of the day? >> we'd get calls early in the morning, late in the evening, on the weekends. it didn't matter. sometimes we'd know when the phone rang that it was some collection agency trying to collect. sometimes they would call and then about not even a half-hour or an hour later, they would call again. and we could tell by looking at the phone, what phone number it was, and it was the same number. >> how many times do you think they actually called you? >> on a daily basis? >> yes. >> could be anywhere from 3 to 14. we just got tired of the phone calls. it seemed like we were being harassed on a regular basis. it interrupted our life, and we just thought, you know, we just

want them to stop. >> eventually, they couldn't take it anymore, and they called attorney kevin hernandez -- no relation. >> it's a cost benefit that they go through, these collection companies go through. they say, "we'll violate the law this many times," and maybe one or two of these people, like the hernandezes, will seek an attorney. the rest won't, and they can recover off of those people who are scared and who want to pay the debt just to make the calls stop. >> we were told that they were in violation of federal law and that there was some recourse that could be taken to stop the harassing phone calls. >> when you first get a call from what is perceived to be a debt collector, do you think, "well, gee, is there a bill i didn't pay, and i forgot about it?" did that ever come across your mind? >> you know, you kind of think about it, but we know that we're very current on our bills, and we check our credit scores, and there was no credit problems. so, as soon as i realized it, i thought, "well, why am i being harassed for something that i don't owe?" >> there is intimidation and fear and coercion by these -- 'cause these people are really pros.

they're very disciplined people. they're not afraid of rejection. >> one thing i want to make clear is that debt collection in general is a legitimate business. >> sure. >> and so, i don't want to disparage the business in general. but if you look at some of the players in the game, especially here in las vegas, you see that the collection tactics they use, like calling at odd hours of the day, calling multiple times per day, telling people that they're gonna go to prison for a debt, telling people that they've opened a case against them and making up a case number -- these are things that i see all the time, and they're things that are obviously clear violations of the federal law that we use to file these cases. >> if people realize that didn't owe, they probably say, "well, yeah, you owe $100. we'll settle for $50." i'm sure that's a common tactic. >> it is. it is. i've seen as low as $16 in some cases, where they claim that they owe $16, and they have no verification, no basis for it. and they'll tack on fees on top of that to make, you know -- "so, oh, you're gonna pay for this debt? well, now you have to pay for our attorneys' fees or our costs." >> and if you're wondering what

happened to joe hernandez and his wife, whose phone just wouldn't stop ringing? well, they filed suit in federal court. >> it's interesting. as soon as the federal litigation was filed, the calls immediately stopped. >> so many people have lost so much in the last several years because of the real-estate crisis and just enormous amount of debt. and they've been harassed by debt collectors. i'm gonna give you a checklist of what your legal rights are if you're being harassed by a debt collector. and also, you want to see some beautiful condo living on the las vegas strip, the center of las vegas? we'll be right back. this is the property man. [ woman vocalizing ] rethink what's possible. rethink your allergy pills. flonase sensimist allergy relief helps block 6 key inflammatory substances with a gentle mist.

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>> welcome back. i'm bob massi, the property man. more than 500,000 americans buy condos or co-ops every year.

if you're thinking about joining them, go to foxnews.com/propertyman, and i'll tell you what to look for and what to watch out for. but first, let's check out a unique complex right here in the las vegas area. you could find luxury condos in just about any city in america nowadays. so, what makes these special? well, it's the old cliché about real estate -- location, location, location. the veer towers were built in 2010 as part of the city center development, right smack in the middle of las vegas strip. city center has been called a city within a city -- 67 acres of shops and restaurants, hotels, and apartments surrounded by that famous las vegas strip. the veers' unique buildings stand out due to their bright yellow color. and, by the way, they were built tilting outwards at 5-degree angles. let's go get a tour.

we're at the veer towers on las vegas boulevard. this is the famous strip. so, obviously, this is a spectacular place overlooking the strip. tell us about this particular setup. >> this residence is one of our two-bedroom condominiums. we're on the 15th floor, a little over 1,300 square feet. >> we have a kitchen area, dining area, living room, sort of all self-contained. >> correct. clients can purchase them and do whatever they want as far as the decor. what is standard, though, if you look at the kitchens, for example -- the bosch appliances, the countertops. all that stuff's standard, whether you go to a studio or, for that matter, one of our three-bedrooms. our success is really based on where we are. you move these buildings two blocks in either direction, our numbers would be different, completely different. >> vegas has always been known for destination, place to come and hang out, but never for, like midtown manhattan, where people are coming and buying facilities like this, buying a condo to live here or invest in it. so, that's a big change for vegas.

>> i think so. and it's starting to change more in what we're seeing. in other words, when we first started, you would see a lot of the investor market coming. over the last year, it's changing -- a lot of the end-users now. as nice as the hotels are, it's still a hotel room. this is their place. they sleep on their own pillow. >> ♪ ain't it good to come home? ♪ >> here we have obviously a bedroom. >> yeah, you're going into the master bedroom. the thing to point out here is the bathrooms, because these are the standard finishes that we have throughout the building. >> let's talk about the price range. >> okay. >> this is 1,300 and... >> little over 1,300 square feet. >> so, how much is this, if somebody's gonna buy it? >> as you see it here, fully furnished, you're looking at $1,025,000. >> okay. >> turnkey -- everything you see. >> and you go from a studio? >> oh, no, we have condominiums that are $250,000... >> okay. >> ...on up to more than $2 million. >> we'll check out the $2 million apartment in a minute, but first, most owners will tell you that the best part of a condo are the amenities. owners are able to take advantage of these facilities,

like pools and gyms and game rooms and media centers. well, at the veer, there is no exception. so, we just came from this spectacular-looking condo with a view that's unbelievable. so, you think when you're looking at it, how can anything get better than that? >> i'm gonna show you. >> and then you bring me up to this amazing -- 37th floor at the veer. >> we're on the 37th floor. if anybody had any doubt as to where we're located, this is the heart of it. we're in the heart of the strip. >> and you got the fitness center over there. >> we have a fitness center, right, and the media room. >> we only have sunshine about 360 days a year. >> yeah. >> life is good. >> it's not terrible. >> life is good. >> it's not terrible. we're on the 21st floor, and this is a 2-bedroom with a media room. it's a little over 2,200 square feet. >> so, ed, you mentioned the media room, or aka the man cellar. >> let me take you to the man cave. >> yeah. >> come on in. >> here we go. this is living right here. >> this is it, yeah. no, this is a great spot, obviously, to come here and unwind. >> you've been in the real-estate business for a long time. >> yeah. >> in general, when somebody is

buying a condominium, what kind of questions do you think they should be asking you, the person that's representing the veer or any other condominium complex for purposes of answering that question? what direction do you give them? >> i think it's really important that when people buy condominiums, they realize that it's not just buying their little residence. you really are part of a bigger picture, which in this case, for example, veer towers. the association, for example, and the financial standings of the association is something that you want to look into in any condominium purchase, regardless of where you are. let me show you the master bedroom. >> yeah, yeah. i would never have expected to see this kind of closet in a facility like this. >> this residence here is perfectly suited for that individual who does make las vegas their primary home. i tell the clients, "how cool is it that you get to own a piece of what's arguably the most famous boulevard in the world? >> no question about that. ed, thank you so much for your time today. >> thank you, bob. thank you for coming. >> oh, no, fantastic facility, beautiful -- the amenities, the

views. >> and you're welcome anytime. >> thank you, buddy. when we come back, we'll review some of what we learned today in the massi memo. [ woman vocalizing ] ♪ it's a highly contagious disease that can be really serious... especially for my precious new grandchild. it's whooping cough. every family member, including those around new babies, should talk to their doctor or pharmacist about getting vaccinated.

♪ >> welcome back. i'm bob massi, the property man. and now it's time for the massi memo. earlier in the show, we talked about debt collection. everybody gets a letter from a debt collector, they panic. here's what you need to do.

open up the letter. don't be afraid of it. make sure it's a debt that you owe, or you don't owe. if you don't owe the debt, you have rights. you write them a letter, and you say, "hey, this is not my debt. prove it to me that it is." if you check your credit report, it's on your credit report. you say, "hey, that's not my debt. remove it." so, you have rights. don't be afraid of that. debt collectors, for example, they can't garnish or threaten to garnish your wages or put a judgment against you and take your kids away. they do these type of things. they're not supposed to call you late at night. those type of people can be very abusive, and there are specific laws on the books that say you can't do that. so, don't fear it. the biggest problem i have, so many times. we get e-mails. people are afraid. anxiety creates confusion and frustration, which leads to more fear and problems. if you get a registered letter or certified letter, please go get it. it's very important to do that. that's all we have time for today, but there's much more on foxnews.com/propertyman. be sure to send me your

questions and any property stories at propertyman@foxnews.com. i'm bob massi, the property man. i'll see you next week. [ woman vocalizing ] >> i'm bob massi. for 34 years, i've been practicing law and living in las vegas, the center of the recent real-estate crisis. lives were destroyed from coast to coast as the economy tanked. now, well, it's a different story. the american dream is back. and nowhere is that more clear than the sunshine state of florida. so we headed from the strip to the beach to show you how to live the american dream. i'm gonna meet real people who are facing serious problems, take you behind the gates of properties you have to see to believe and give you the tips that everyone needs to navigate the new landscape. because information is power. and the property man has got you covered. [ woman vocalizing ]

thanks for joining me. i'm bob massi. what if you could build the ideal community with every detail designed to enhance the lives of those who live and work there? it's a bold experiment playing out here in a place called lake nona in orlando, florida. ♪ >> lake nona is an 11-square-mile city built from scratch. >> 11 square miles of an integrated, highly collaborative community that's anchored by these clusters of excellence in science, sports, and education with an underpinning and a foundation of technology running through it. and we've designed it from the ground up. >> that means homes, schools, universities, commercial... >> hotels, restaurants, hospitals, sports facilities, shopping centers... >> all built to complement each other with the goal of creating the perfect city of the future. >> most great cities or clusters

take decades to come up. they grow organically. it's over 20, 30, 40 years in a helter-skelter fashion. we had the opportunity here to design everything from the ground up. >> technically, lake nona is part of the city of orlando. but not very long ago, there was only the lake nona country club and empty fields. >> lake nona is one of our jewels. eight years ago, lake nona was a cow pasture. and now, it is fairly unique within the entire country. >> behind me here is what it looked like when we started. it was a large cattle ranch. and this area was primarily used for grazing. ♪ >> then billionaire joe lewis, founder of the global investment company tavistock, bought the golf course and saw those empty fields as an opportunity to do something special. >> joe lewis and i asked ourselves, "where else in the country can you find a few thousand acres of land

next to one of the world's greatest airports that is in a city that's known throughout the world for being family-friendly, is in a tax haven, is in a great climate?" and that's when it hit us. you can't find land like that. >> so lewis and tavistock started buying up the land, 8,000 acres in all. >> he made a challenge. and he said, "please, let's do somethin' special. don't give me more of the same." we don't want the typical, old suburbia. we took that challenge. it inspired us. we think we can make a difference in people's lives here. >> we really have had the luxury and the opportunity to plan everything, to think about where the retail goes, where the office goes, where our medical city is, and where the residential is. with that, you know, comes a great opportunity and also a great responsibility to take things to the next level and kind of push the limits of what we can do here. >> but where do you even begin? they were faced with the chicken or the egg dilemma. >> it's always the conundrum that developers face is,

what comes first, the jobs or the homes? we felt that if we concentrated on the jobs, that everything else would take care of itself. >> so they teamed up with anchor institutions, major universities and hospitals, who agreed to build here in lake nona. >> to have jobs factories, you have to have amazing anchors or partners here, like the university of central florida, the sanford burnham research institute, nemours children's hospital. >> well, it worked. already, lake nona has created more than 5,000 permanent jobs with another 20,000 expected over the next 15 years. that is not counting the jobs created by the $3 billion-worth of construction that has already taken place. and more is coming. behind me, the federal government is almost done building the largest, most state-of-the-art va hospital in the country. >> it's 1,200,000 square feet and has their national simulation center. >> it's one of the biggest jobs engines in the state of florida.

lake nona is the fastest-selling community in central florida. we're adding 1,000 new families to lake nona every 2 years. >> the community development model typically is build houses and then some retail comes in and then the jobs come in. we've been fortunate to be able to deliver on all of those things. >> so communities need to be built all at once. lake nona has six so far. but building communities does not just mean building homes. >> gone are the days where you live in a house in an isolated sort of place. it's really important that we have the nearby schools and we have the grocery store right down the street and we're close to your job. >> we have 7,000 students going to school here, right on our grounds at lake nona, from early-childhood-development centers and through to a graduate education where you can graduate from here with your m.d. or phd and never leave lake nona. >> because of the proximity of the medical city and the ymca and the schools

within the neighborhood, i can ride a bike to work, ride home, and pick up the kids by 6:00 at the after-school program. ♪ >> we've taken the best of what we've seen throughout the country and really the world, brought all different parts and pieces over here. >> to my left, we have the adult pool section of our aquatic center. across the street here, under construction, we have a new restaurant and a market that we're building. we're working right now on a million-square-foot, regional mall, the first phase of which is two hotels and an office building and a bunch of restaurants. we have a wide range of housing types, town homes all the way up to very large, custom-built homes. we have a 290-unit apartment complex that's under construction right down the road. this community is built around neighborhood parks and schools and jobs and all of these things. so we're also building a community that is better. >> when we come back, we'll take

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♪ >> welcome back. i'm bob massi, the property man. i'm standing in lake nona, an 11-square-mile city built from scratch within the borders of orlando. lake nona is being built by the private investment company tavistock and is already grabbing nationwide attention for its medical city. >> there are five major components. ucf has a medical school and a life-sciences college there. the university of florida has a research institute. sanford burnham has a research institute. nemours built a children's hospital. and then the crowning piece is a brand-new, state-of-the-art va hospital. >> they found that the secret to making a great city is clusters. it's the collaboration within the cluster that makes it all work. >> i don't think the eureka moment really happens while

that scientist is in the lab, poring over his test tube. i think what happens is, the eureka moments occur when they're out here socializing at lunches and dinners, getting together. and the geneticist is with the physicist, who's with the scientist, who's with the surgeon. >> many of us are working in the local businesses or the medical life-science community and industry. so i've made deals and collaborations on the soccer fields. [ chuckles ] >> we felt that collaboration was going to be the turbo mechanism for us. the nemours children's hospital, they're able to recruit better doctors, same with the va medical center. because this doctor, if he wants to, can teach at the medical school right across the street, can do cutting-edge research, as well, in the next building across the street. the scientists, they're able to teach. they're able to practice. it's resulted in one of the most richest technology foundations that we could have. we have one gigabit bandwidth that we deliver to the homes

and businesses here. it's basically over 200 times the average speed of a u.s. internet connection. >> we started from scratch and put in all of the conduit and the fiber and all those things. >> that means everybody's internet in lake nona is not just the fastest in the country, but in the entire world. >> you can do amazing things with that. scientists need it. doctors need it when they're getting x-rays across their screens and the type of quality that they need. and the homeowners just absolutely love it. 20% to 30% of our residents work out of their home. and they're able to do so because we give them the right technology to be able to access what they need to. >> two critical quality-of-life components are integrated into every aspect of lake nona -- health and wellness and technology. >> the lake nona community is really a purpose-built place. >> so many people talk about health and wellness today.

but how many people really do it justice? >> how do we nudge activity? we all know that exercise is important. we need to move more. how do we design activity where it doesn't feel like somebody's forcing it upon us? we have 44 miles of trails throughout this community. if you look at urban settings now, a lot of them are having to go back and retrofit with sidewalks and bicycle paths. and all of that is master-planned into the community. >> i ride my bike to work at least once a week. and i've noticed a lot more people. because there are bike lanes, there's sidewalks and trails, a lot more accessibility to running, walking, biking. >> we've retained about 40% in preserves and park space throughout our 8,000 acres. >> there's public parks that are close proximity to everybody's home. >> every morning, there's a switch that goes off, and everyone comes out of their homes, and parents are walking kids to school, kids are walking to school. they're on bikes and scooters,

and other small kids in tow. so it's very vibrant. >> as you walk through the front doors of most of our businesses, you'll see the stairs immediately, and you'll have to search for the elevators. and so the percentage of people that are actually utilizing the stairs is clearly increasing. >> the lake nona life project is a voluntary study that will give researchers ways to keep improving the quality of life. >> it's a multi-generational, multi-decade research project. >> it's sponsored by johnson & johnson, studying how health behaviors can be impacted and how behavior change can take place. >> the insights that come from a project like this can be transformational in terms of the future for medicine and health and wellness. >> and the corporations and the universities that are part of the medical city, well, they enable them to keep finding ways to improve how people live. >> we're excited about a new home that we're building called the intelligent home. the intelligent home of the future is gonna be a lot about sensors

and other things, too, as we continue to drive, you know, new technologies integrated in the house. g.e. is helping us with our new kitchen of the future. and how are we using digital devices and other things to help us with menu preparation and inventory of your foodstuff in your pantry and all those kind of things. >> we've worked very hard to find partners and anchors that think alike, that have the same dream that we have to create the ideal place that inspires human potential through innovative collaboration. we really bound out of bed every day. we think we can make a difference in people's lives here. >> coming up next on the property man, i'll go meet a woman who thought her only options were to let her beautiful property go into foreclosure or do a short sell. but then, she heard of a program that just might save her property. [ woman vocalizing ]

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to help you keep rolling with confidence. go long™. ♪ ♪ >> welcome back. i'm bob massi, the property man. i'm here on a beautiful piece of land just outside of orlando, florida. a woman named suzanne and her mother bought this property in may of 2005. ♪ what a rustic, warm feeling this is. talk about a log-cabin effect, you did a great job. >> yeah. thank you. >> so this is all just -- what type of wood is it? >> this is actually cedar. and then, you have the pine floors. >> the 2,400-square-foot, 3-bedroom, 2-bath property sits on 5 acres with a log-cabin home. >> i needed a place to move my horses. and i wanted to live out here with them. >> was the structure on this property at that time in '05? >> just the home. >> she went on to build a horse barn and two sheds. the area, at that time, was just orange groves, swamp lane and single-lane roads with one blinking light. >> we had just a couple gas stations with a volunteer fire department and a daycare.

>> mm-hmm. >> the closest grocery store was around 25 minutes away. >> suzanne purchased the home for $340,000. she took a home-equity line of credit for $150,000 to improve the property. >> i was able to purchase the home. and it was at a good rate, good value. i put the 20% down. then i took a home-equity line of credit out and was able to clear the property, built the 4,500-square-foot barn, fenced the property, put just a lot of investments into the property. >> unfortunately, suzanne went through divorce, which resulted in both of them moving out. they tried to sell the property, but then, well, the economy collapsed. almost overnight, the value dropped, and she found herself underwater. suddenly, she had very few options other than to try to short-sell the property for $236,000, almost half of what was owed. and she really had no interest in doing that or letting it go to foreclosure.

with no decent offers, well, she decided to rent it out even though the monthly rent was less than a mortgage payment. so you ended up going into your savings, your other sources of money, in order to make the payment. >> correct. i was just paying out of pocket every month. >> she then heard of the program called h.a.r.p., the home affordable refinance program. h.a.r.p. was set up by the federal housing finance agency in march of 2009 to help underwater and near-underwater homeowners to be able to refinance their mortgages. >> i met timothy lucero. he's a friend of mine. >> mm-hmm. >> he is an attorney. and he informed me about the h.a.r.p. loan. >> is that the first time you heard about the h.a.r.p. loan? >> absolutely. my banks did not advertise this loan at all. >> after being unable to refinance through traditional routes, well, she was able to get a h.a.r.p. loan of $401,000. >> the great thing about it was the home wouldn't appraise for what i owed on it. and i wouldn't -- i didn't have to worry about a reappraisal. i didn't have to worry about another credit check or anything like that. they just took the loan and pretty much refinanced it

without any reappraisals. >> people get the h.a.r.p. program mixed up with loan modifications, but they're very different. for example, in a loan modification, you had to show a hardship. you had to be behind in your payments, which upset many people. with h.a.r.p. -- unnecessary. no appraisal necessary. you submit the paperwork, and if you qualify, you get approved for the h.a.r.p. program just like suzanne did. the h.a.r.p. process allowed suzanne to reduce her mortgage payment about $700 a month. the h.a.r.p. refinance cost about $7,250 with a 4.8 interest rate, substantially less. so now, when you rent the house, are you in the good? are you in the black now? >> it is pretty much almost break-even. >> yeah. >> we get a little bit more than the mortgage payment. but it does not cover the taxes or insurances. >> so, let's go through some of the h.a.r.p. bullet points to qualify. first of all, the loan had to be before may 31, 2009. the homeowner had to be current on the loan, not more than 30 days late in the last 6 months.

and here's what you need. it could've been a primary home, a second home, or one- to four-unit investment property. obviously, it had to be a fannie or freddie loan. and the loan to value had to be greater than 80%. the h.a.r.p. program still has legs, but if you talk to most lenders today, it's not really that effective. it did help a certain percentage of people like yourself and others. but a lot of people it didn't. but i will say this to you. some of the people, the reason it didn't work, was because they were fed up with what they went through with lenders and they were so emotionally, just, broken. so what's your message to those who are watching the show here? >> people are so quick to take the fast act and short-sell or foreclose. and they need to research and evaluate the situation. >> here's what's important to understand. you have to do your own due diligence as a homeowner. you have to ask the proper questions

of the proper professionals to find out what programs are out there to be able to try to save your home. they're still there. be very aggressive in finding out what is still available to save your home. >> i think people need to take responsibility and not act fast. >> the one thing that i try to tell people all the time is they got to ask. go to professionals, ask. go to lenders, ask what programs are out there. find competent brokers, real-estate brokers. find out what's going with the property. and also, really try to understand the different kind of loans. congratulations on your decision. you did good. >> thank you. >> up next, the massi memo with information on refinancing that you can't afford to miss, so stick around. [ woman vocalizing ] oh boy. looking for adventure this labor day? holy smokes. oh man, that's pretty intense. look no further than chevrolet. this is a fast car. i feel like i left my soul back there. wow. this has power!

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... ♪ it's a highly contagious disease that can be really serious... especially for my precious new grandchild. it's whooping cough. every family member, including those around new babies, ... program. now, in 2009, the obama administration launched "h.a.r.p." as part of the making home affordable program. what it does, it provides the ability to refinance for people who may not otherwise qualify because of declining home values or reduced access to mortgage insurance. they could get a lower interest rate or what they call a more stable mortgage product. they've existed the program through the end of 2016, which is a good thing. but it's not always easy.

you have to be current on your mortgage, no more than 30 days late in the last 6 months and no more than once in 12 months. this is good to know. not only does it cover primary residence, but second homes and one- to four-unit investment properties -- important for you investors out there. it must be a freddie mac or a fannie mae loan. the loan also has to have been originated prior to may 31, 2009. loan to value -- greater than 80%. this is not, by the way, a loan modification. it is a refinance of your present mortgage payment. and usually, appraisals are not necessary. there are definitely not as many h.a.r.p. refinances being accepted anymore, but if you meet the criteria, please look into it. that's it for today. as always, there's more info on our website at foxnews.com/propertyman. and be sure to send me

your questions or your property stories at propertyman@foxnews.com. i'm bob massi. i'll see you next week. [ woman vocalizing ] president trump making his second trip to texas as hurricane harvey made landfall more than a week ago. >> president trump: to the people affected by hurricane harvey we are with you every single step of the way. to "wa >> the president is working at rebuilding houston and the devastated areas through a builder's eye. >> the entire community in the port arthur and beaumont area are still in as accessible. >> it's day eight and evacuations continue. >> i saw the devastation down there and i was amazed by the commitment of what the texanss are doing to take care of themselves. >> president trump has requeste. nearly $8 billion in initial federal aid for hurricane harvey recover are. >> they're taking care of the pe