Im bob massi, your property man. About 8 of all u. S. Households own timeshares, and the industry generated more than 70 billion last year alone, and it continues to grow. Now, a timeshare is a piece of property for which you own a specific amount of time, usually one week per year, and you use it as your vacation home. If youre thinking about buying one, well, im gonna give you some of the dos and donts and take you inside the latest project, from timeshare giant Westgate Resorts, right behind me, the old Las Vegas Hilton. But first, david siegel, well, hes the founder of westgate, and his story is amazing. In 1980, david siegel owned a small tourist attraction called the mystery funhouse in orlando, florida, and an orange grove. Well, one day a man approached him and offered to buy part of the grove. I said, what are you gonna do with it . He says, im gonna timeshare it. I said, whats that . He explained the concept to me. I fell in love with the concept. I didnt sell him the property. I decided im gonna do it myself. So, did you know what timeshare was at that time . No. No. So, i built 16 villas in the back of the orange grove. Those 16 villas would grow into westgate, the largest privately owned Timeshare Company in the world. Two decades later, his timeshare empire was still expanding. And in 2004, david and his wife, jackie, decided to take on another project, building themselves the largest home in america. Most people would say, why . Why build this home, or. . Why build this i dont think theyd call it a home. Its really the palace, right . Why build this palace . We wanted a large home. We were planning on, like, maybe a 15,000squarefoot home. But by the time on paper that i got what i wanted, like, a huge ballroom, and we started having more kids, we needed extra bedrooms. It just became the largest home in america. We werent trying to build the largest home in america. It just happened. It just happened. Yeah. The 90,000squarefoot house was set to contain 13 bedrooms, 30 bathrooms, a bowling alley, two movie theaters, of course, and a 20car garage. We went on our honeymoon in france, and when we went to versailles, he says, i want to build versailles in america. When we were on the airplane coming back from france, he designed the house on the back of a napkin. Of course he did. He wanted, like, a 10,000squarefoot spa, and i wanted bowling alleys for the kids. And he wanted a movie theater. The estate was about 60 completed. And the economy crashed, almost taking westgate with it. In 2008, when Lehman Brothers went under, and the banks all froze, it was a terrible time for my company. It was a terrible time for the country. I had to do whatever was necessary to see that the company survived. We cut our expenses. We cut our sales. But cutting expenses and worrying about revenues was really not enough. They also had to put the versailles house on hold, and eventually they listed the halfbuilt mansion for sale. Guess what . 100 million. The whole thing was being captured by a documentary filmmaker, who was profiling jackie for a movie called the queen of versailles. Did you enjoy doing that . I hated it. [ both laugh ] that wasnt a maybe, right . I did not like it. He hates it because it makes him look like hes mean, upset about business, like we have a bad marriage and all that, where really he was just mad because the camera people were always around. We had no privacy. Hes a businessman, and business goes up and down. Hes very smart, and obviously hes bounced back so much more than he was even a few years ago. Indeed, david and westgate did bounce back, and the Company Became profitable again, and versailles was never sold. Whats the present status of the house . The house is free and clear, completely paid off. Construction is going on at a very fast pace. We still have two more years to finish it. Its coming out beautiful. Because its taken so long, weve been able to add features that we werent thinking about. In our great room, one thing i would like to do in the design of the floor is to mirror our beautiful, intricate, colorful dome thats in the ceiling. We might have to use semiprecious stones, like onyx, things like that. Its all beautiful marble, exterior. The inside, were putting in gorgeous ceilings. Its gonna be like walking into a french palace when its finished. Were not rushing it. Were going to live there for the rest of our lives, and its not only gonna be a palace, but its gonna be our home. How much longer till its finished . It should be finished in about two years, i think. [ both laugh ] the dates never the date, believe me, when it comes to construction. When we come back, ill take you inside westgates latest gamble right here in vegas and tell you what to watch out for if youre thinking about buying a timeshare. [ woman vocalizing ] the u. S. Needs to develop more renewable and Clean Energy Resources because there are limits to the amount of fossil fuels that we can burn. Since 1925, we have depended on diesel generators, burning approximately a million gallons of diesel fuel a year. Were going through an energy revolution. Our mission is to make offshore wind one of the principle new sources of energy. Not every bank is willing to get involved in a first of its kind project. Citi really stepped up when we needed them. Citi saw the promise of clean energy and they worked really closely with us, financing the first offshore wind farm in the United States. The wind farm will lower power prices. Were polluting the air less. Businesses and homes can rely on a steady source of power. Block island wind farm is a catalyst this will be the first of many offshore wind farms in the u. S. Welcome back. Im bob massi, the property man. When the economy crashed in 08, it took Westgate Resorts crown jewel down with it. And david siegel . Well, he was forced to sell the las vegas ph towers to pay off the mortgage. But he soon set his sights on another historic vegas property. In 1969, Elvis Presley took las vegas by storm and made the International Hotel his home away from home. In fact, he was there before the international was even built, signing a longterm contract while the massive building was still under construction. The international was the first megacasino to be constructed in las vegas, and elvis played soldout shows to screaming fans night after night. In the crowd for those first performances guess who . David siegel. First time i saw elvis perform, we sat in his booth right in the front of the stage, as close as you and i are. Yeah. He sweated so much that during the show, i kept thinking, oh, god, hes gonna get sweat on me. But he would pull out a scarf, and he would wipe it off, and the women well, they stampeded the stage. Ill tell you. It was like a mad frenzy. I remember the first time i saw him, which was in the 70s. I couldnt believe the lines. They wrapped this huge facility outside and around to get in to see him. 837 consecutive soldout performances. Unheard of. Itll never be matched again. The king of rock played the international for eight years straight, until his death in 1977. Never had an empty seat. I saw elvis perform maybe 15 times. I saw him when he was thin, when he was fat, thin, fat. And always gave a great performance. Fastforward a few decades, and the International Becomes the Las Vegas Hilton before the recession unfortunately forced it into foreclosure. With westgate also losing its las vegas property, david siegel, well, he knew exactly what he needed to do. My husband bought this hotel. Years ago, he came here, and he couldnt afford to rent a room for one night. And now, with all his success, he comes back, and he bought the hotel. He just bought it. There were a half a dozen other companies that were also looking at it at the same time. I was the only one that was gonna keep it open. All the others some of them were gonna knock it down, which would have been a tragedy. Yeah. Others were gonna close it for two or three years, reposition it, then reopen it. I would not have bought it and have on my conscience lain off 2,200 people and affected their lives. So, even though its costing more to do the renovations, thats the way im doing it. And now elvis is back in the building. Westgate has teamed up with graceland to unveil the First Permanent elvis exhibit outside of graceland. There are hundreds of neverbeforeseen artifacts, and the elvis experience, which recreates his performances with live bands in the very same showroom where it all began 59 years ago. Guess what . Theres even a wedding chapel. We made a deal to basically make this Graceland West a 30,000squarefoot museum where people could come see pieces of history from elvis that theyve never seen before. Graceland has warehouses full of items that have never been on display. So, were gonna be an extension of graceland. People will be able to see elvis performances with 40piece orchestras and backup singers and just like if they were here back in the 70s. And the towering building itself well, its slowly being converted from the hotel to a giant timeshare complex. Theres 300 beautiful suites included in 3,000 rooms. Its very unusual that 10 of your rooms are suites. We have three sky villas on the roof that are 15,000 square feet each. We took a couple hundred hotel rooms and suites. Were converting them into 80 timeshare units. Ultimately, over the next 30 years, we will have converted every room in the hotel into a luxury timeshare villa. What do you think attracts people to timeshare . During the recession, a lot of people had Beachfront Homes and condominiums in the mountains, and they would use them a few weeks a year. And then they would pay the maintenance and taxes for the whole year. Timeshare its like an airline ticket. You dont buy the whole plane. You buy a seat. You can go anywhere in the world at any time and stay as long as you want or the least amount of time you want. And when you leave, you let someone else worry about it. Mr. Siegel, what do you envision in the future for this hotel . Were not gonna have the wealthy people staying here, although theyre more than welcome. Were not gonna have the kids staying here. Were gonna have the middle america, the people that shop at walmart, people that have basically been ignored. They want to feel like v. I. P. S. And, clearly, there are a lot of people who want to feel like v. I. P. S, particularly in las vegas, and westgates sales have never been stronger. Up next, im gonna introduce you to a couple whos struggling to save their home, and im gonna try to give them some tips to help them save it. [ woman vocalizing ] dont let dust and allergens get between you and lifes beautiful moments. Flonase outperforms the 1 nondrowsy allergy pill. It helps block 6 key inflammatory substances that cause symptoms. Pills block one and 6 is greater than 1. Flonase changes everything. Adults are just kids with much, much better toys. The cclass sedan, coupe and cabriolet. The thrills keep getting better. Lease the c300 sedan for 399 a month at your local mercedesbenz dealer. Mercedesbenz. The best or nothing. Track your pack. Set a curfew, or two. Make dinnertime device free. [ music stops ] [ music plays again ] a smarter way to wifi is awesome. Introducing xfinity xfi. Amazing speed, coverage and control. Change the way you wifi. Xfinity. The future of awesome. Welcome back. Im bob massi, the property man. From coast to coast, the realestate crash devastated millions of people, and even though things have turned around, well, let me tell you. Many are still dealing with the fallout. Let me tell you about dennis and karen. They worked their whole life. They lost their jobs a few years ago. Theyre in their mid60s. And, basically, they cant afford the payment from before. They need the lender to understand their circumstance and to give them the opportunity to keep the house of their dreams that they lived in for 18 years. Its home. This is what it is. We read our books. We watch our videos. We go through the things that normal people do on a daily basis. For years, karen and dennis lived happily in their home and never fell behind on their mortgage payments until the first problem popped up. We unexpectedly got a message from the Insurance Company that they would no longer insure the house because they didnt like the roof. In order to keep the house, you have to have insurance. So, we had to take out a loan against the house. Then their luck turned worse. I lost my job in 2009. They eliminated my job position. And not long after that, dennis lost his job, as well. Things got really bad there for a while after dennis lost his job. We let go of all the pool service we had. We had to let go of the landscaping. We cut out the tv. We cut out cellphones, absolutely everything down to the bone. We got rid of everything that we could to make the payment. Were selling everything we can. Weve sold the motorcycle, sold the treadmill. Were just waiting for the people to pick it up. Making their mortgage payment was the top priority. They tried repeatedly to reach someone at the bank who could work with them. Their staff have a certain script that they read, but you cant really get into actually sit down and speak with anyone. We have a record of having been here for 18 years, all of this time. Were not going to all the sudden abandon our property and run off somewhere. Were, i would think, a very good risk. This is our home. And its small. Its only 1,500 square feet a household of things that weve collected over our lifetime. It would be almost impossible at this point and time to just pick up and move. When youre trying to contact these people to get a loan modification and get refinancing, you feel unstable. You feel just like youre out there and nobody cares about you. Your individuality and integrity is not being taken into consideration by the institutions, and all of a sudden its being yanked out from underneath you. We have always stood up and done the right thing, and we always pay our debts eventually. It was time to check in with karen and dennis and help them save their home of 18 years. How are you . Good to see you. When did you actually move into this home . 1995. At some point a few years ago, i think you told me there was an issue with your roof. Tell us about that. The Insurance Company sent us a notice and said, we can no longer insure your home because your roof is too old. Even though we had had no problems with it before, maintained it. And then we tried to get the refinance. So, you get approved for your loan. Life at least at that point was good. Yeah. It was right after that when i lost my job. Right. When did you go default on your payments . It was right at that same time. It was within one month. 2012. Yeah, one month to that point. Up to that point, im assuming you were maintaining the property. Tell us. What has this forced you to do financially . I see what looks to be a wrapped treadmill over here. Yes. A motorcycle. Well, the motorcycle we had to sell in order to. And the treadmill, and we have some other things, like some things in the house that are worth some money. How were you treated when you tried to contact the lenders yourself . Like a number. All they wanted to hear is, well, when are you getting back to work, and how much money can you pay us, because if you cant, were gonna find somebody who can pay us. When we had this landscaped, the whole thing looked like a beautiful beach area, and all of that grass that you see thats growing in over there none of that was there. It was all sand, all white sand, and the pool. A pristine pool. Obviously, regardless of the condition, you love your home. Yeah. When people come to me with these kinds of issues, the first question i ask them, regardless of age, i say, do you love your home . Yes, i do. Heres the tough part. Those who have the gold make the golden rules. And the gold is with the lender. Yeah. And what you have found out is that there is no loyalty. You are nothing more than a spreadsheet of numbers. Yes, correct. In some tower somewhere, youre a spreadsheet. At this point in time, the short sale is not an alternative. Bankruptcy is not an alternative. Foreclosure is not an alternative. So, we got to go with the loan mod. Got to go there. So, understand that if your loan mod is approved, 9 times out of 10, whatever your arrears are penalties, interest, things like that they will take that, and theyll put it to the back of the loan. Right. But it sounds like youre close, and you deserve it because youve lived here 18 years, youre good citizens, youre great americans. Im going to explain exactly what karen and dennis need to do to save their home, when we get back. And were gonna follow their story and check back with them in a few weeks just to see whats going on. [ woman vocalizing ] [brother] any last words . [boy] karma, danny. Karma [vo] progress is seizing the moment. Your summer moment awaits you, now that the summer of audi sales event is here. Audi will cover your first months lease payment on select models during the summer of audi sales event. con artists. theyll try anything to get your Medicare Card number. So they can steal your identity, commit medicare fraud. What can you do . Guard your card . Guard your card . Just like your credit card. Nobody gets my number, unless i know they should have it. To protect your identity, new Medicare Cards without Social Security numbers will be mailed next year. Visit medicare. Gov fraud stay sharp people copdso to breathe better,athe. I go with anoro. Go your own way copd tries to say, go this way. I say, ill go my own way with anoro. Go your own way oncedaily anoro contains two medicines called bronchodilators, that Work Together to significantly improve lung function all day and all night. Anoro is not for asthma. It contains a type of medicine that increases risk of death in people with asthma. The risk is unknown in copd. Anoro wont replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than once a day. Tell your doctor if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, glaucoma, prostate, bladder, or urinary problems. These may worsen with anoro. Call your doctor if you have worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain while taking anoro. Ask your doctor about anoro. Go your own way get your first prescription free at anoro. Com. Welcome back. Im bob massi, the property man. And now its time for the massi memo. Earlier, we met karen and dennis, fighting to save their home of 18 years. Now, they have a few options, but the only thing i see really thats gonna work for them is a loan modification. They need to get the bank to understand their situation and that its in their best interests to keep them in the home and do something with their mortgage so they could afford the payment. So, im gonna help them with that, and in a few weeks, were gonna update you as to how it worked out. We also looked at westgate timeshares and their beautiful, new property in las vegas. You know, there are different types of timeshares, and before you buy one, you have to decide which ones right for you. So, lets look at them. The right to use buyers can lease the property for a specific time each year. If you have points, buyers can consider staying at various locations. You redeem your points after theyve been accumulated. Also, what we call floating the buyer reserves their own time during a specific time of the year. And a fixed week, which is pretty common the buyer is buying the right to use the same unit, the same time every year. But theres always things to think about when youre buying anything. First of all, if you purchase it. This is a contract, just like when you buy a home. Understand it. Make sure you understand the terms of the contract. Its a longterm commitment. Make sure you understand what costs are involved, maintenance fees, things of that nature. Also, ask if there is an owners club or some type of an association, almost like a homeowners association, because what it does, it lends credibility and protects you as a timeshare owner. By the way, dont get hustled by a slick salesperson i mean no disrespect because when youre buying this, make sure they explain to you exactly what youre buying and explain to you all the costs. Make sure theres no hidden agenda. And, finally, make sure you understand what cancellation terms are of the contract. Most states have a coolingoff period because when we buy a timeshare, were excited. Usually, theres a coolingoff period. If youre a creature of habit, well, timeshares will probably work for you. Theyre meant for people who like to travel, take vacations, and plan out. So, if you take a vacation every year, i think it makes sense for you. You should look into it. Thats it for today, but we have much more on our website. Foxnews. Com propertyman. And be sure to send me your questions or property stories at propertyman foxnews. Com. Im bob massi. Ill see you next week. [ woman vocalizing ] im bob massi. For 34 years, ive been practicing law and living in las vegas, the center of the recent realestate crisis. Lives were destroyed from coast to coast as the economy tanked. Now, well, its 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. Im 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 us. Im bob massi. Hurricanes can cause enormous damage to both property and lives. Katrina caused more than 105 billion in damage and killed more than 1,800 people. Hurricane sandy caused 60 billion in damage. And andrew 45 billion. You want to do what you can always to protect your property and, most important, your family. Take this thing out of here. Bud dietrich is an architect who helps people design homes to keep them safe. And steve perry, one of the best Home Builders in the business, works with him to put the designs to work. If we do a major remodel on a house or do a lot of structural work on a house, typically, we will go in and do hurricane reinforcing while were doing the other improvements in the house. The Insurance Institute for business and home safety tests structures made both with common materials and stronger reinforced materials. Were able to put single and twostory homes into a very realistic hurricanetype scenario with gusty winds and realistic rain. You get those large, hurricaneforce winds. I mean, they can be 150, 180 miles an hour. It can get in there and actually rip that whole structure right apart just like a wind might affect a sail on a sailboat during a real intense gust. And what we see in the video is a home built to code, the way it would be in the middle of the country, standing next to a home built to ibhs fortified building standards, which are a little more rigorous. As the wind speeds increase to the mid90 mile an hour, the gusts are starting to tear at that home, to pull it apart from the outside. The roof starts to lift off. And then, it goes away entirely. Only a few seconds later, because the house is now being pressurized by the winds, the entire house comes apart and becomes a pile of debris. The house is a system. It will either stand or fail as a system. And one part of that building envelope fails, the house is going to come apart. If we get the roofs right in this country, we think we can eliminate about half of all insured property losses in a given year. So we start with the roof as the first line of defense of any house. We want to tie the structure from the roof down to the foundation, kind of like a tree with a big, really good root structure so that, any sort of wind that gets underneath here and starts pulling things up, it has to basically pull the thing up by its roots before it can do any damage. So what we do is we put these connectors at each of one these trusses. Weve got these connectors that each of these studs to the plates here, again at the bottom plate here. And again, that gets all tied to back down in the foundation. A Building Code is the minimum building standard that will allow you to move into your home. Its really kind of scary because in no other important area of our life would we accept a minimum standard. The Building Code is gonna say, well, you dont have to have a connector at each one of these trusses or at each one of these studs. But really, it makes it that much stronger, so its code plus. Nothing is going to be hurricaneproof. But it certainly can be hurricaneresistant. Just using ring shank nails, which double the strength of connections youre already gonna make, cost about 70 to 100 for the average house. Strapping the roof to the walls, which is essential for keeping the house together about 400 to 600 for the average home. For basically 1 of the construction budget, you can actually make your house a whole lot stronger. You cant just address the roof for true disaster resilience. You need to look at the entire building envelope. Thats what we call the roof, the walls, the way the walls are tied to the foundation, the windows, the doors, the garage door. You also want to prevent things from becoming missiles. If debris or projectiles during a heavy windstorm break those windows or blow in the garage door or open the door, now, the house can be pressurized and come apart. Some people buy special storm shutters. Weve seen all the pictures of people boarding up windows with plywood. We dont need to do that anymore. In fact, the codes are mandating that all new windows and doors be called impact resistant. This glass is specially designed to be able to take impacts from any kinds of debris that might get blown into it during the hurricane. And in big storms, anything can become a missile. The potential wind here is phenomenal. So the windows must be designed to withstand a tremendous impact. Lets talk about some of the hurricane hazards stormsurge flooding, flooding from heavy rains, even tropical storms and smaller storms. They can be devastating to the property and your family. Sometimes, lower parts of the house are designed to actually blow out. So if the tidal surge comes in, you get a wave. It could actually blow part of the panels out of the lower section of the house. And theyre designed to do that. But your living space is upstairs. And it would be preserved. We have a terrible history in this country of watching Mother Nature destroy homes and businesses and communities and tear the fabric of those communities apart. And then, we want to put the same pieces back together in the same places in the same ways over and over again. Thats ridiculous. Its not resilient. What we should be doing is building forward, building better, taking that opportunity to learn from the storm, to honor the people whose homes were damaged or who were injured or even died to do things better. Theres much more information on how to fortify your house on our website, foxnews. Com propertyman, and also at disastersafety. Org. Up next jeff vinik, the owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning, is a man with a vision. Hes not content just overhauling his teams arena. Hes spending 2 billion to completely transform the city around it. [ woman vocalizing ] potsch you each drive a ford pickup, right . in unison russ, leland, gary yes. Gary i have a ford f150. Michael ive always been a ford guy. Potsch then i have a real treat for you today. Michael awesome. Potsch im going to show you a next generation pickup. Michael lets do this. Potsch this new truck now has a cornerstep built right into the bumper. Gary super cool. Potsch the bed is made of highstrength steel, which is less susceptible to punctures than aluminum. Jim aluminum is great for a lot of things, but maybe not the bed of a truck. Potsch and best of all, this new truck is actually gary all laughing oh my. Potsch the current chevy silverado. Gary im speechless. Gary this puts my ford truck to shame. James ill tell you, i might be a chevy guy now. laughing you totanobodys hurt, new car. But there will still be pain. It comes when your Insurance Company says theyll only pay threequarters of what it takes to replace it. What are you supposed to do . Drive threequarters of a car . Now if you had Liberty Mutual new car replacement™, youd get your whole car back. I guess they dont want you driving around on three wheels. Smart. With Liberty Mutual new car replacement™, well replace the full value of your car. Liberty stands with you™. Liberty mutual insurance. Caspers truly changed our lives. Im a softer, happier, friendlier version of myself. surps drink casper is like sleeping on a nest woven from a unicorn mane. grunts a mattress of unparalleled value. Best bed ever. Love it, love it, love it. Perfect sleep changes people. yawn kisses baby baby coos transforming your life is as easy as trying casper. Transforming your life is as easy as trying casper. Aaah order their mattress online and test it out for 100 nights. If you dont love it, theyll pick it up and give you your money back. Get great sleep at casper. Com welcome back. Im bob massi. You know, there are people who are known for having bold visions. And there are people, well, they put their money where their mouth is. But jeff vinik, well, he takes both sides of those things to a completely different level. Jeff vinik is the owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team. He has already spent 62 million to upgrade amalie arena, where the lightning play. We have. Abby ,. Pete ,. Clayton ,. Wn here President Trump ,. Reporter , arm, mikedistrict huckabee,. Reporter , ritual its ic, savor it, unsafer or it, physic, physicality, miss management,. Reporter , unity,. Abby sunday get ready for the next revolution,. Todd ,. Abby ,. Clayton , got you outnumbered. The dinosaurs extinction. Dont listen to them. Not appropriate. Now im mashing these potatoes with my stick of butter. Why dont you sit over here. Find your awesome with the Xfinity Stream app. Included with xfinity tv. More to stream to every screen. Clayton coming up. Todd agreed. Abby how will this affect your wallet. Lo and theyre looking at spreadsheets. Theyre not really looking at the person. Even if you would default tomorrow. Right. If they foreclosed on it, even with the mortgages, theyre gonna get all their money out. These homes in this area are very valuable. And i know there wouldnt be any risk for a lender. But, again, they dont look at the whole big picture. The First Mortgage is at. Hes using savings, as so Many Americans have done, but its not enough. I dont want to wait until its gone before i make some, you know, serious decisions about my future. Many americans, veterans and otherwise, to save their home went through retirement savings, you know, liquidated other assets to keep their home only ultimately to lose it. Right. At least in your situation, if you sell it, you walk away with some money. Thats correct. Unfortunately, david, your situations very narrow as to what you can do. Right. Sure. He can do nothing, pay the bills using his savings and hope, of course, that the value of the property goes up. Even though youre spending money to keep it, youre probably gonna recoup it on the back end. He could find a cosigner. Thats not an easy thing to do because youre literally going and asking someone, will you take the same risk that i want . Have you thought. D we are the smartphones ust sell e property. Dont sell your property until you have a job. [ laughs ] right. Because even if you pick up lets say 100,000 from the sale and you want to go buy something wherever you want to buy, you still have to have a stream of income. You also have the right to ask somebody to be a guarantor. A guarantor is a little different, where they only come to you as a guarantor after somebodys defaulted and cant pay it. In this situation, youve got equity. Right. So even if somebody went and guarantored your property, theyre gonna get all their money back. Or, of course, lastly, sell the home, take the equity, guess what go rent a place until he gets a job. And then, he can go qualify, hopefully, for a new loan. By the way, continue to be proactive with lenders. Theres new programs that come up literally every month. Heres the frustrating part of this dialogue. On the property man, weve covered so many topics. Some homeowners, theyve lived in their homes for years and never made a payment, and the house is underwater. Here, we have a great american. We have a veteran. Hes never been late on his payment, going through his savings, and he cant get any help at all. Just doesnt seem right. Up next, in the massi memo, im gonna review the options for people like david who are looking to refinance. Plus, im gonna give you more tips on fortifying your home. So stick around. [ woman vocalizing ] its a highly contagious disease that can be really serious. Especially for my precious new grandchild. Its whooping cough. Every family member, including those around new babies, should talk to their doctor or pharmacist about getting vaccinated. Time now for the massi memo. Kind of like a. Earlier, we looked at making your home disasterresistant. Weve got lots of tips on our website. But here are some of the critical ones. Look into making your home fortified by going to disasterrecovery. Org. Their program has Different Levels of protection, each designed to keep your home in one piece. Protect your windows and doors with special impactresistant glass or shutters because hurricaneforce winds can turn everyday objects into missiles. Remove anything that could go flying before the storm hits. That means prune trees. Remove dead branches as well as Patio Furniture and other loose items. Be sure your roof is designed for uplift. What that means its attached in such a way that wind cant send it flying if it gets underneath. Now, these are simple fixes, but they have to be done before the storm comes in. Its about prevention. Also, we spoke with david, a proud veteran who pays his bills on time, but hes eating up all of his savings and cant. Its important to understand what the lender looks for when evaluating you, particularly for the first time. But not to be smart, can you make the payment on the loan youre asking for . You got to get some expert advice, guys, before beginning to refinance analyze your credit, the extent of your income, are there any red flags . Before you file for an application. Why . So you dont get let down later on. Up front is more important than the back end. That way, you know where you stand. Even though you are the same person currently paying on the same house paying on time with higher interest rate, guess what you are a stranger to the lender. In other words, you bring everything to the table. They treat you like they never knew you before. Thats the nature of the lending industry and a consequence of the last seven to eight years in america. They also will look to your savings and your retirement and your stocks and your bonds and your bank statement. But no matter what, they ultimately look to the stream of income available. How much are you generating every month . If youre employed, theyre gonna look for verification of employment. Its the natural thing to do. And sometimes, you can request a letter from your employer if theres certain issues they need to know about. Only submit listen verified tax returns. Dont fudge anything. As a matter of fact, what lenders are doing now they actually go look to the transcript that the irs has to make sure that what was submitted to back up your tax return is legitimate. If youre selfemployed, get those profitloss statements. Make that bookkeeper and cpa earn their money. All relevant documents monthly back statements, tax returns must be accurate. Look, were all suffering from the sins of the past. Unfortunately, you got to be ready to give more information than you expect. Todd we are upon 9 00 a. M. In new york city, 8 00 a. M. In texas. A fox news alert right now Hurricane Harvey slamming the coast of texas that storm now downgraded to a category 1 overnight but more than 200,000 are without power right now. Clayton the super strong storm hit the United States in more than a decade and could drop close to 50 inches of rain in parts of texas when its am over. You heard us right, 50 inches of rain. Thousands of people already evacuated. Hundreds of thousands of people are without power. Abby this far from over. Harvey made landfall in rockport , as a category 4 hurricane leaving behind a trail of destruction. The storm is expected to leave behind about 40 billion in damage, but President Trump has signed a disaster declaration in texas. Todd as you can see right there, houston one of the areas hit hard but so far, not the area hit the hardest by any stretch of the imagination. We saw matt fins live shot throughout the course of the morning there in texas and the combination of the storm surge combined with the fact that as rick was predicting that area could receive upwards of 58 inches of rain, really