One of the many things that I love about my job as Foreclosure.com Director of Education is to deliver great news!

And that is exactly what I had the opportunity to do last week when we announced the winners of the 2011 Foreclosure.com Scholarship Program. The five winners — one grand prize and four runners up — were selected out of almost 10,000 applicants located throughout the United States. Our $5,000 grand prize winner was a freshman from Parsons — The New School in New York, N.Y., Cindy Clinton.

You can watch the video of our recent conversation above.

Cindy is a delightful, smart and witty woman who I enjoyed interviewing. She mentioned that she had seen our scholarship on FastWeb.com and had made a note to herself to apply before the deadline. I am always impressed when I see an organized young students who have plans and then work those plans.

If you are an undergraduate student and are looking for scholarships then you should not miss out on our 2012 topic. We are now in the process of accepting applications and the deadline is December 1, 2012. I would love to interview you this time next year!

Let’s see what you’ve got.

To read Cindy’s winning essay visit the Foreclosure.com Article Center right here. For more on the Foreclosure.com Scholarship Program, as well as to view the 2012 topic and eligibility/submission requirements, click here.

Foreclosure.com today announced the winners of its 2011 scholarship program, which rewards five current college students with a total of $9,000 to put toward their higher educations.

More than 10,000 current college students nationwide answered the call during the 2011 Foreclosure.com Scholarship Program, submitting essays of 800 to 1,000 words or more that answered the following question:

“You have acquired $150,000 in cash to be used specifically for a distressed real estate purchase such as foreclosures. Outline a detailed strategy that ensures the maximum return on investment, whether it is in terms of financial profit or personal satisfaction … or both.”

Cindy Clinton, a freshman at Parsons – The New School located in New York, N.Y., however, was voted to the head of the class by our panel of third-party judges, winning the $5,000 top prize.

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Believe it or not, but we’re nearly finished with January. How are those New Year commitments working out so far, eh?

If you aren’t as on track as you’d hoped, you are definitely not alone. Making big changes in your life can seem overwhelming, especially when it comes to your finances.

And getting overwhelmed throws many people off track.

Don’t let it happen to you! Now is the time to pursue your real estate investment goals and recommit to growing your wealth through foreclosures, short sales, bankruptcies, rent-to-own homes and more.

Yes, now is the time to recommit, but not only now. Success in life takes courage and perseverance. Recommit to your goals not just once or twice, but every single day. You’ll be amazed at the changes that come your way if only you can focus on your goals!

The January 2012 edition of Foreclosure.com’s free educational newsletter, “Investment Exchange,” is now available, which shows you you the way to a 2012 paved with real estate wealth.

Articles include:

• Site Feature Spotlight: 2012 scholarships for undergraduates
• Website Search Tips: Find foreclosures FREE!
• Hot Off The Press: Real Estate’s latest trend, rent-to-own homes
• Our Success Stories: James Gage on smart real estate investing
• Real Estate Tips: How to get started investing in real estate
• Deals of the Month: Hot foreclosure deals!
• Linda’s Learning Lane: Focus on Wealth

There has never been a more perfect time to invest in distressed real estate. The housing market is inundated with foreclosures and short sales. Interest rates are at all-time lows. Prices are at the lowest we are likely to see in this lifetime.

Don’t miss out on these tremendous opportunities!

To read this month’s free educational newsletter from Foreclosure.com CLICK HERE.

In case you somehow missed the bad news, which borders on impossible, foreclosures are a pretty big problem these days. In fact, the national housing market has been in turmoil for about four years now.

The United States government was initially slow to respond, failing to recognize the magnitude of house of cards (pun intended) that was about to collapse. Eventually, several housing/foreclosure assistance programs, along with their requisite acronyms, were gradually rolled out over time.

Not a single one, or all of them in combination, however, have had their intended impact on recovery. Not yet, anyway.

In fact, in a recent Gallup Poll, 58 percent of Americans want the government to do more to prevent additional foreclosures. In contrast, 34 percent of Americans are against increasing government intervention and prefer that “housing market resolve its problems in its own.”

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Welcome to the foreclosure Twilight Zone, where a distressed homeowner struggles to save his property from bank repossession, while at the same time, attempts to evict the illegal Occupy Wall Street protesters who set up shop in his living room when he (unwisely) decided to leave.

Such is the curious case of Wise Ahadzi, a single father with two young girls, who vacated his house in Brooklyn, N.Y., when he could no longer afford to pay the mortgage. He apparently didn’t realize that he could remain in the home until the foreclosure was complete. In fact, the lender has recently confirmed that he is still the rightful owner of the property until the foreclosure process has run its full course.

Meanwhile, “Occupy” members targeted his house and vowed to fix it up and move in a new family, looking make a bold statement against the major financial institutions that the movement blames for the current economic crisis in the United States.

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