1. Official record: 1bedroom/ 0.75 bath (shower+toilet), the back patio has been converted to a bonus room and used as a second bedroom (small).
2. 720 sq ft indoor, 2040 lot sz. Built in 1915, very well maintened. Previous owner did put a lot of interior upgrades with new appliances and new paint. It’s in move-in condition.
3. It’s a Bank-owned REO property. The previous owner’s unpaid mortgage balance to the bank was $359K. Listing price now is $380K. The comps in the area is about $425K to 475K.
4. Located in a very good neighborhood in Los Angeles. Close to freeway and shopping. School district is just ok, not excellent.
5. Officially, only one parking space available (not a covered garage). Street parking is not a problem.
6. Just listed in the market for 7 days.
7. Buyer would like to pay 20% down, and the credit is excellent.
When Troy and Jane entered into a contract to purchase a short sale on March 24th, they had no idea that they would be still waiting for approval more than four months later. Calls to negotiators are met with full voicemail boxes, emails go unreturned and frustration looms. As Troy and Jane’s buyer’s agent, I am just as much in the dark as they. My SFR and CHS certifications are just as meaningless as my efforts to get in touch with the head loss mitigation, or any of his numerous minions. This is a story that should be a thing of the past. Upstaffing in loss mitigation departments, streamlined government short sale programs and the use of short sale platforms like Equator were all supposed to make the short sale process more bearable for buyers and sellers, and more profitable for major national lenders. Unfortunately, despite the implementation all these new methods and philosophies, time periods for approvals are no more predictable than they were last year.
Don’t get me wrong, the situation has improved. Most large lenders now have systems in place that have defined protocols and time periods that are at least rough guidelines for the approval process, but the end user investor still has the final say in whether or not a deal closes. What most borrowers don’t realize is that when they send their payment to Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase or any other company, they are sending the check to the institution that services their loan, not necessarily the company to whom they owe all that money. Virtually all lenders sold a large percentage of their loans to other financial institutions like Fannie Mae, Freddy Mac and other deep pocket investors, while still maintaining the servicing contracts for these loans. This means that, even after providing mountains of paperwork and waiting for weeks and months at a time, struggling homeowners may still have to wait even longer for the mythical “investor approval”.
Even with just the few dozen short sales that I am personally working on right now, I have some fantastic stories of both triumph and misery! One of the lenders with whom I am currently working bent over backwards to get a sale date postponed at the last minute to help my needy clients; however, despite having had everything they need to render a decision on the short sale approval, we haven’t heard from the negotiator in weeks! One of my negotiators specifically expressed that I had an approval on a file, and would be receiving it via fax in a few minutes. After trying, unsuccessfully, to get in touch with him for three weeks, I was contacted by a supervisor letting me know that he was no longer with the company and I would have a new short sale negotiator assigned to me within forty-eight hours. I am still waiting for the new one! On another property, I informed the seller that we would probably be looking at needing sixty to ninety days to get accepted terms from both lenders, and received written approval on both loans at day twenty-one!
I think the lesson that we can all take from this is that patience will ultimately be rewarded. The process is evolving. As the saying goes, “There are no perfect people, only perfect intentions.” Lenders are now working with borrowers and Realtors far more closely than they have in the past. However slowly, it appears that the short sale process is becoming more user friendly as time progresses. Although Realtors may have to wait for the next market cycle to see any kind of utopian short sale system, homeowners facing foreclosure are far less likely to have the bank pull the rug out from under them than ever before, and helping homeowners is what the whole “short sale thing” is all about.
Jeremy Colonna is a licensed California real estate broker, a Certified Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource (SFR), HAFA Short Sale Specialist (CHS) and noted radio personality. Click here to listen to
www.winwinshortsales.com Ken Wood of Win Win Short Sales tells how to prepare a short sale package for the bank. The things you need to make sure you have are a: – Cover letter – Homeowner authorization – Copy of lender notification letter – Listing agreement – BPO – Rehab and repair estimates – Pictures – Neighborhood Statistics – Signed purchase agreement – Homeowner hardship letter – Supporting Documents of Hardship – Paycheck Stubs – Bank Statements – Income tax returns/W2 – Financial Analysis Worksheet – Estimated Net Sheet (HUD1) for more information, check out our web site at www.winwinshortsales.com
SULTANS OF SWAP: Gold Swap Signals the Roadmap Ahead
The news rocked the global gold market when an almost obscure line item in the back of a 216 page document released by an equally obscure organization was recently unearthed.
I have a contract signed for a short sale. real estate agent said the banks handed over the sale to there lawyer. What does this mean. Can’t seem to get a answer.
I am trying to buy this short sale
My name is Sgt. Barry Maurice Jones; I am an American
soldier, serving in the military with the army’s 3rd
infantry division. With a very desperate need for
assistance, I have summed up courage to contact you.
I found your contact particulars in an address journal on
the internet. I am seeking your kind assistance to move the
sum of US$8m (eight million United States dollars) to you ;
as far as I can be assured that my share will be safe in
your care until I complete my service here.
Source of money:
Some money in US dollars were discovered in dog kennels at a
farm house and guest houses in an estate near one of
Saddam’s old palaces in Baghdad, Iraq during an operation,
and it was agreed by Staff Sgt. Kenneth Buff, Sgt. 1st Class
Daniel Van Ess and I that some part of this money be shared
amongst us before informing anybody about it. Since both of
them saw the money first, they did the informing, while I
played the outsider to protect our interest. This was quite
an illegal thing to do, but I tell you what? No compensation
can make up for the risk we have taken with our lives in
this hell hole, in which my brother in-law was killed by a
road side bomb last time. You will find the story of this
money on the web addresses below:
The above figure was given to me as my share, and to conceal
this kind of money became a problem for me, even after the
initial probe of all soldiers of our command which I was
cleared from; so with the help of a British contact working
here and his office enjoy some immunity, I was able to get
the package out to a safe location entirely out of trouble
spot. He does not know the real contents of the package, and
believes that it belongs to a British/American medical
doctor who died in a raid here in Iraq, and before giving
up, trusted me to hand over the package to his family in
United States. I have now found a much secured way of
getting the package out of Iraq to the country for you to
pick up, and I will discuss this with you when I am sure
that you are willing to assist me, and I believe that my
money will be well secured in your hand because you have the
fear of God.
I want you to tell me how much you will take from this money
for the assistance you will give to me. One passionate
appeal I will make to you is not to discuss this matter with
anybody, should you have reasons to reject this offer,
please and please destroy this message as any leakage of
this information will be too bad for us soldier’s here in
Iraq and tarnish the reputation of other services men. I do
not know how long we will remain here, and I have been shot,
wounded and survived two suicide bomb attacks by the special
grace of God, this and other reasons I will mention later
has prompted me to reach out for help, I honestly want this
matter to be resolved immediately, please contact me as soon
as possible with my non-service private email address which
is for now my only way of communication until I specify
otherwise –
you can reach me on sgtbmjones@gmail.com
God bless you and your family.
Sgt. Barry Maurice Jones
sgtbmjones@yahoo.com.hk
Ohhhh I didnt answer it, but I reported it to yahoo and marked it as spam and I still get everyday from “him”
Im not stupid, I would never give anyone any info. I just want the damn emails to stop…no matter what I do I just keep getting them…
“What is a short sale?” is a commonly asked question amongst homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage payment. Word has gotten out that short sales can help borrowers avoid foreclosure. While this is true, the process is complex and requires authorization from the originating mortgage lender.
There is no simple explanation of what is a short sale. At present, no unified protocol exists, although lenders must abide by certain criteria. Not all properties or borrowers qualify for short selling their property. Nor, are all lenders required to offer this transaction.
Short sale criteria require borrowers to be a minimum of 31 days delinquent on their mortgage note. The appraised property value must be less than the balance due on the loan and borrowers cannot own assets which could be used to repay the debt.
The term ‘short sale’ means the bank allows borrowers to sell their property for less than they owe on their loan. Short sales are usually offered when all other methods to save the home from foreclosure have been exhausted. It is important to understand once a home has entered into foreclosure it is no longer eligible for short sale. Therefore, it is crucial for borrowers to contact their lender when they are unable to continue making mortgage payments.
Short sales are handled through each lender’s loss mitigation department. Once borrowers default on their loan, a loss mitigator is assigned to handle their account. This individual is responsible for assisting the borrower to resolve the delinquency. They do not approve or disapprove short sale requests. Instead they act as a mediator for the borrower and lender.
Mortgage lenders usually require borrowers to submit a short sale hardship letter describing events which caused delinquency of the loan. The letter of hardship is an important element of obtaining short sale approval and borrowers should take time to carefully craft it.
Loss mitigators prefer handwritten letters which include a detailed timeline of events, along with any action taken to overcome financial challenges. Lenders are more apt to grant approval to borrowers who lost their job or encountered medical problems than to those who engage in frivolous spending.
The short sale process takes between four and six months to complete. Borrowers will undergo a financial audit and are required to submit a myriad of documentation to the loss mitigator. Some banks require borrowers to have a buyer in place before granting short sale approval. Others will allow the borrower to list their property through a realtor.
When property is listed through a realtor, banks generally grant a grace period of a few months to locate a buyer. If the property is not sold within the specified timeframe, the lender will commence with foreclosure action.
Last, but not least, it is important to determine what type of short sale is offered through the lender. Two types of short sales exist: Deficiency Judgment and Payment in Full without Pursuit of Deficiency Judgment.
Payment in Full releases borrowers from repayment of the deficiency between the sale price and loan balance. Deficiency judgment requires borrowers to repay the deficit. This can be a substantial amount and take years to repay. Judgments remain on borrowers’ credit reports until paid in full.
California real estate investor and author, Simon Volkov, has published articles and an ebook course to answer the question of “what is a short sale?” Simon has helped hundreds of homeowners obtain short sale approval through his unique “We Buy Houses” program. Learn more about short sales and how they work by visiting www.SimonVolkov.com.
York Co. foreclosures twice U.S. average
York County’s foreclosure rate increased at nearly twice the national average in the first half of the year and is expected to continue to rise, area bankers and real estate agents say.
Negotiate with only one lien holder is the best short sale scenario, but what do you do when there are multiple liens with the same lender? It has been WHB Solutions experience that negotiating with the same lender can be an advantage depending on the lender.
For example, if both the first and second loans were held by Chase, there is a good chance of getting a short sale closed. If there was one loan with Countrywide and a second loan with Bank of America, it will be hard to get a short sale closed. Even though Bank of America bought Countrywide, they have different loss mitigation departments with different short sale approval guidelines.
We a short sale file that we could not close because Bank of America, as the first lender, would only give Countrywide $3000 in a short sale approval. Countrywide wanted $25,000 and would not give a short sale approval unless this was received. We tried to provide reason and arguments on how Countrywide would receive nothing if the property went to foreclosure and that they are technically the same bank and the overall short sale would net more money than going to foreclosure. Countrywide was so stubborn to get their money, they ended up getting nothing. It does not make any sense.
In a case where you have two loans that were originated from the same lender, it has been our experience that the second lien holder is more flexible. A typically response is that the second lien holder would give an approval for $3000 any day, but no full release or giving up their rights to deficiency is provided. Depending on the homeowner’s situation, they may be excluded from any future deficiency rights. Either they prove insolvency to the IRS or they qualify for the primary residence exclusion rules.
Typically, in any short sale negotiations, getting an agreement from the second lien holder should be obtained before going to the first lien holder. If this is not done, you would not have the right numbers to show what the first lender would net. So to avoid going back and forth with the both lenders, find out what the second lien holder is expecting to approve a short sale first.
In the majority of short sales, the first lien holder is the one who files for foreclosure. Once this filing occurs, many times, the second lien holder would move the loan to their Charge Off or Debt Recovery department. We have noticed that it is much easier to obtain an approval when this happens as the guidelines of providing an approval is less strict. At the point it is in debt recovery, the expectation is that the dollar amount they are looking to recover would be less than what would be expected if it was still with the loss mitigation department. Keep in mind that loans sent to a debt recovery department are sold on pennies on the dollar and there is a high possibility where no money would be recovered.
Full Article Resourse: www.whbsolutions.com/blog/
To learn more about how to qualify the best candidate for your short sale transaction visit whbsolutions.com. The number one factor in becoming successful in Short Sale Education, Short Sale Success and Short Sales is to learn how to pre-qualify your deal which includes finding the right buyer.
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