Will the bank help out w/ this at all, or do I need to hire my own title insurance company before closing?

I have found some houses that are currently bank owned (I assume a REO). I have found these through a site that lists pre-foreclosures, foreclosed houses up for auctions, and bank owned properties…
But it won’t list the address, or anything about when the auctions are, and I have no idea who to contact if I am interested in this house without paying for the service. Are these records listed for free anywhere? Can I go to the cityhall of the city the house is in? Do I have to go to each bank to find it out?

I would like to know what short sales are, how to do them, where I can learn more about it and all that juicy info that I need to know about it. I also need to know if this is the right place for a new Real estate investor to start if I have no money on to start this. If not I would also appreciate that info

We are actively looking for a home and there are 3 homes out of a BUNCH of homes that we would be happy with. The 3 homes are short sales. Can we submit an offer for more than one home at a time or do we need to submit one - wait to see if it gets accepted/rejected and THEN submit another one?

My concern is if we submit 2 or more offers and they all get accepted, know what I mean?

A few weeks ago I heard about President Bush signing something to help homeowners avoid paying taxes on their short sales. Banks would issue a 1099 when a short sale was approved, and be taxed on their short sale savings. I need a link to read about that story, please. Thank you !!

Short sale success: Sold in about 30 days
Aaron Friedly of Short Sale USA provides us this week with a recent short sale success story: “As real estate professionals and consumers are well aware, short sales have been very prevalent in the marketplace recently. Due to a variety of reasons,…

Read more on Orange County Register

POLL Southwest Florida Realtors optimistic about new rules for short sales
In the past, there has been nothing “short” about the time it takes to close a short sale, if it happens at all. Federal legislation that took effect Monday could change that – at least for sellers who qualify. Locally and nationally, the new program has the potential to revolutionize the short sale process, if it’s implemented the right way by lenders

Read more on Naples Daily News

First of all, “yes” some short sales take long to sell and “yes” some short sale listings can be frustrating.  But let me tell you this; not all are created equal! With a little patience and a little creativity you can overcome some of the shortcomings of listing pre-foreclosure/short sale properties and make a lot of money by helping homeowners get out from underneath the huge burden of debt and stress they are under.

Let’s deconstruct three of the biggest short sale myths:

Reduced commissions
They take too long
Too hard to close

1.  Reduced Commissions

Yes, it’s true when it comes to a short sale; the lender is in the driver’s seat.  And since they hate to lose money they tend to reduce the amount of commissions by an average of 1%, meaning that if your area pays out 6%, they will only approve 5%, which will be split by both the agents involved in the transaction.

You know what I say to that?  Who cares! Be creative! Did you know that there are 7 additional profit centers that can offset your 1% cut in commission?  Let’s take a look at what they are:

A “Loss Mitigation Fee” via the Lender
A “Loss Mitigation Fee” via the Buyer
A “Loss Mitigation Fee” via the Attorney or Title Company.
A “Loss Mitigation Fee” via the Seller
Referral fee from a listing agent (for doing the loss mitigation work on their short sale).
Buy it as an investment (buy and hold or buy and flip).
Any combination of all of the above!!

The “Loss Mitigation Fee” is a fee that we collect only when we successfully negotiate a short sale and have the foreclosing lender pay for all of the closing costs (the realtor commissions, attorney/title company fees, conveyance taxes, etc.).

2. It Takes Too Long

The average loss mitigator receives an average of 30 NEW files a day.  Not a week, not a month but a DAY!  That is part of the reason that short sales can take a while, but it isn’t the main reason.  The primary reason is because the majority of real estate agents submit short sale packages that are less than adequate and professional!  Meaning;

They are incomplete in terms of paperwork (entire documents are missing)
They are arranged poorly (Yes, that makes a difference!)
They are sent to the wrong person or department (happens very often)
They are incomplete in terms of information (i.e. the financial worksheet isn’t completely filled in)

Those and many more reasons cause short sales to get hung up.  Once again, take what the defense gives you.  If loss mitigators are overwhelmed, then the key is to put together a professional and presentable short sale package guaranteed to get your short sale offer reviewed and approved.

3.  They Are Too Hard to Close

With the right system they are not hard!  Let’s take a look at how to overcome the two biggest reasons why short sales blow up right before the closing.

Not managing expectations
This is a negotiating process.  Make sure you clearly communicate the process every step of the way to the buyer and the seller. We use an online short sale management tool called ManageMyShortSale.com to automatically keep everyone connected to the short sale process, which is updated in real time.
Many deals blow up because real estate agents fail to communicate to both the homeowner and the buyer the current status of the short sale and what to expect when they negotiate with the foreclosing lender(s).
Lack of qualified buyers

The key is not to have only one buyer but to have a pool of qualified buyers that are pre-approved.  The best buyers to keep an eye out for are those that are already pre-approved and that have funds in place to make an actual purchase.

The two easiest ways to do that are:
Start networking with every real estate agent that specializes in buyer’s representation. They are easy to find because it is in all of their advertisements.
Start working closely with every single mortgage broker or direct lender that you know, or that one of your fellow agents knows.

In conclusion, listing pre-foreclosure/short sale properties can take some time to close. However; in this market everyone needs to stick together and help one another out. By building the right network of real estate professionals, we can all ensure that our listings (short sales or not) do not sit out there without a buyer!

For more real estate industry news and loss mitigation blogs and videos visit www.RealEstateBusinessMentors.com or visit www.AskBobLachance.com for any short sale bank negotiating questions.

When you are starting to be behind your mortgage payments, you need to avoid undergoing foreclosure. The negative impact of foreclosure is deeper compared to other ways of settling the unpaid debt. This can scar your credit for years and this is a much- dreaded way to lose your homes.

This is the reason why most people would look into the possibility of short sale. Undergoing short sale does not mean you can escape the negative effects on your credit. However, it certainly has more advantages compared to foreclosure. One, you can be eligible to get a new mortgage after 2 years as opposed to foreclosure which is after 5 years. Second, you can keep your dignity because. Third, credit scores deduction can be as low as 50 points and the effect can be as little as 1 and a half years.

There are so many good things about short sale. However, the challenge lies on how to get your lenders approve your offer. Short sale is known to be a tedious process in the sense that lenders are being critical about it. They want to ascertain well if your offer is worth absorbing the loss.

One way to get your lenders to accept your offer is by understanding their point of you. There are certain things you should know about your lenders and short sale.

Reasons why lenders would settle for short sale

You may wonder why lenders would allow a loss for sale in exchange for the forgiveness of you debt. Well, here is the real reason. They want to reduce their number of non-performing loans.

In lending, loans are considered performing if the borrower is able to keep up with payments on a regular basis. However, once the borrower starts to be in default for 90 days or more, the loan will be considered non-performing. Lenders do not want them because if their number rises, they could be in trouble financially. Non-performing loans can have a negative impact to their financial statements and eventually would put them out of business.

This is the reason why lenders would opt for a short sale. This transaction can minimize the number of non-performing loans of the bank. They would take their chances from this transaction, especially if they already have an increasing number of non-performing loans.

On the other hand, short sale loss is usually lesser than foreclosure. Banks can set an allowable loss for short sale to take place. Moreover, banks would also avoid the hassles of foreclosure if they accept short sale offers.

Additional information about lenders and short sale

The chances of being approved of your short sale offers lies on several considerations. One, if the application of short sale falls within the 180 days grace period before the non-performing loans of the bank will be considered a liability. And two, the loss of short sale is acceptable for the third party investors involved like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. For Fannie Mae, it is acceptable if the loss is less than foreclosure. For Freddie Mac, it is acceptable if the offer reaches 90 to 92 percent of the BPO or Broker’s Price Opinion.