Getting things back in order to do Shorts again...Wow, 10 years later

Hi Melissa,

Over the past two or three years, I've tried to keep our short sale department active as the number of foreclosures dropped and equity soared. I would say that 90+% of our calls have been homeowners with equity but in default. They are looking for ways to refinance, which is impossible with a mortgage default. Further, they can't get a loan modification because of they fail the NPV test (they have equity). Short sales have been all but dead during this time. However, the short sales that remain active have been 100 times more difficult than they were from 2013-2017. State and federal programs have ended - no more incentives or relo money from them). The lenders want above-market prices as they see real estate values continue to climb, while buyers want a steal because the homeowner is in distress.

With the current crisis, we are seeing that most homeowners have received a 3-month forbearance. What is unclear is whether these lenders are going to demand a balloon payment at the end of the forbearance and/or will require some "catch up" payments. If they require either, homeowners are going to be in REAL trouble coming out of this crisis.

Further, if property values take a hit, homeowners who end up in negative equity situations are going to be faced with a tough decision: Keep paying into the negative equity or cut bait (i.e. short or stay). On top of that, anyone that received a loan modification over the last 3 - 5 years (with adjusting interest rates) will need to reexamine their mod terms to see if they are going to work going forward.

To get ready for this next phase, we are gearing up to move people back through the loan modification process and then into short sale if there are no other options. We are brushing up on the new laws (here in California) and looking at the current loss mitigation plans for the big servicers. We have re-hired a couple processors to handle the loan modification work that is sure to come barreling in over the next 6 months.

We need to be ready to help as many people as possible during this time. Some will secure modifications with our help and others will need our Realtor services. It's good to know that knowledgable and experience people like yourself will be ready to step in to help!

Regards

Derik

Replies

Vantis Law Firm May 10, 2020 at 4:23am

Hi Melissa,

Over the past two or three years, I've tried to keep our short sale department active as the number of foreclosures dropped and equity soared. I would say that 90+% of our calls have been homeowners with equity but in default. They are looking for ways to refinance, which is impossible with a mortgage default. Further, they can't get a loan modification because of they fail the NPV test (they have equity). Short sales have been all but dead during this time. However, the short sales that remain active have been 100 times more difficult than they were from 2013-2017. State and federal programs have ended - no more incentives or relo money from them). The lenders want above-market prices as they see real estate values continue to climb, while buyers want a steal because the homeowner is in distress.

With the current crisis, we are seeing that most homeowners have received a 3-month forbearance. What is unclear is whether these lenders are going to demand a balloon payment at the end of the forbearance and/or will require some "catch up" payments. If they require either, homeowners are going to be in REAL trouble coming out of this crisis.

Further, if property values take a hit, homeowners who end up in negative equity situations are going to be faced with a tough decision: Keep paying into the negative equity or cut bait (i.e. short or stay). On top of that, anyone that received a loan modification over the last 3 - 5 years (with adjusting interest rates) will need to reexamine their mod terms to see if they are going to work going forward.

To get ready for this next phase, we are gearing up to move people back through the loan modification process and then into short sale if there are no other options. We are brushing up on the new laws (here in California) and looking at the current loss mitigation plans for the big servicers. We have re-hired a couple processors to handle the loan modification work that is sure to come barreling in over the next 6 months.

We need to be ready to help as many people as possible during this time. Some will secure modifications with our help and others will need our Realtor services. It's good to know that knowledgable and experience people like yourself will be ready to step in to help!

Regards

Derik
Jonathan Katz April 22, 2020 at 4:37am

Equator is really the only portal that is used for large servicers. I believe caliber home loans on government backed loans still uses res.net.

Little tweaks to guidelines have changed for some GSE's over the years, but most things have stayed static. One main change is HAFA went away years ago and most servicers give limited relocation funds if borrower is eligible. The days of large relocation incentives ended awhile ago for most servicers. I rarely see anyone get 10,000 and people that get $3,000 should consider themselves lucky.

We will see if any new programs roll out due to this pandemic in the months to come.

Brett@ishortsalenow.com

310-564-6389

www.ishortsalenow.com

This reply was deleted.