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How do I get a listing or deal? #Investor #Realtor

Short Sales are BACK!

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GUESTS: 
Bryant Tutas 
407-873-2747 
Co-founder of www.ShortSaleSuperstars.com. Working Short Sales every day all day.

Real Estate Broker and Owner of Tutas Towne Realty. A virtual Real Estate company specializing in listing and selling Short Sales and REO properties in the Central Florida Area.

Finding solutions that get your property “sold” is what I do.

Folks, if you need to sell your home then give me a call today and let’s talk! 407-873-2747 All calls are confidential. I can help……

….if you’re facing foreclosure. www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com 
….if you need to sell a Holiday Home. www.BuyProperty.ning.com 
….expose your property to over 500 web sites. www.TutasTowneRealty.com 
….educate you on current market conditions. www.BrokerBryant.com

Mike Linkenauger 
904-733-4911

Main website http://www.short-sale-specialists.com

Short Sale Websites - www.ShortSaleHosting.com
Mike got his start in Real Estate in 2005 at the young age of 26. He immediately established himself as a top producer in the Jacksonville, FL market, moving into the top 1% of agents his first year in the business. As the Florida housing market became depressed in 2007, Mike shifted his focus and immediately found a calling in assisting home owners with a short sale. In no time he amassed an inventory of over 100 short sale listings and quickly established himself as one of the top short sale agents in the State of Florida. As his online presence grew, homeowners from other parts of Florida began contacting him for guidance with a short sale and to be connected with a local short sale agent.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                          For more information, please contact:

Michael Collins, CDPE, SFR, BPOR
608-921-8536
Mike@RockRealtyWI.com

Local Agent Provides Alternatives for Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

Online report outlines alternatives to foreclosure for distressed homeowners in Dane & Rock County Wisconsin, including Janesville, Madison, Milton, Stoughton, Oregon, Monona, Edgerton, McFarland, Evansville, Verona, Fitchburg, Brooklyn & .

Janesville, WI – (3/19/2013) – Local CDPE-designated agent, Michael Collins of Rock Realty, has developed a website providing information describing several opportunities for homeowners to avoid the negative financial impact of foreclosure.

This community resource is available at www.WIShortSaleHomes.com and defines foreclosure alternatives including short sales, loan modifications, and forbearance.

“It’s a concern to me that so few in our community know their options when they start to fall behind on mortgage payments,” Collins said.  “If they act quickly and get informed, they can make informed decisions to find financial stability.”

Foreclosure alternatives such as short sales—which now make up over one-third of real estate closings across the nation—are an increasingly popular way for both homeowners and lenders to minimize their losses in this tough economy.

“More lenders are realizing that they can save money in a short sale versus a foreclosure, and are more likely than they were three years ago to approve a short sale offer.” Collins said.  “This is good news for homeowners because they now have more options than ever.”

The CDPE designation Michael Collins has acquired provides real estate professionals with specific understanding of the complex issues confronting distressed homeowners.  Through comprehensive training and experience, CDPE-designated agents are able to provide solutions for homeowners facing financial hardship in today’s market.

For more information about the CDPE Designation, visit www. CDPE.com

I have to say that I am EXTREMELY pleased that the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act has been extended for another year. If you are a homeowner in distress this is not the time to sit back and relax because there is not guarantee that this will be extended after the end of this year. This is the time for YOU to take ACTION...AND it is the BEST time for YOU to take action. 

In November, I had given numbers of homeowners in default throughout the country. These, of course, were statistics up to the month of November 2012. I was especially shocked by the last statistic of close to 2 million homeowners were in Foreclosure status. That is a great concern and can be avoided by the homeowners taking action, Real Estate Agents getting the word out to the homeowners. 

There are many programs in place to help homeowners either stay in their home (if the numbers make sense) through a loan modification or to exit gracefully with a Short Sale. If a homeowner chooses the latter they are sure to reap the some of the following benefits of selling their home: 

• MORTGAGE DEBT RELIEF ACT: This act will allow homeowners to exclude the forgiven debt on the principal residence from income. 
• THERE IS NO COST TO THE HOMEOWNER: The commission for the sale of the home is paid through the lender. 
• YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE BEHIND IN YOUR PAYMENTS: Depending on your lender, you may be able to move forward with a short sale if you are not behind on your payments! This is huge...as long as you can show a hardship, you may be able to complete a short sale, save your credit, and move on to something better and more affordable.
• CALIFORNIA HOMEOWNER BILL OF RIGHTS: Sellers will benefit from the Single Point of Contact (SPOC) and th end of Dual Tracking. So, the lender/investor can not foreclosure on homeowner in the midst of them performing a short sale (this also applies for a loan modification).
• RELOCATION FEE: Some lenders are offering up to $35,000 for homeowners and tenants to exit the home gracefully and keeping the home is saleable condition. 
• COMMUNITY GROWTH: Although, property values have dropped considerably. Completing a short sale keeps the home from being vacant and/or abandoned. Abandoned homes will continue to bring down the value of the home and the community. 
• GRACEFUL EXIT: The beauty of a short sale is that, although sellers may take a hit on the credit (If they are late on their payments), they will still have the opportunity to purchase again in 2-3 years (as long as they are continue to save and  work on their credit). Not to mention that they have helped the community, agent, lender, and investor.

The bottom line is that homeowners need to open their communication to receive the benefits from the help that is available. 

Tomorrow is the election day of our presidential candidates and homeowners all across the nation are waiting in anticipation for their respective candidate to rescue us from our current economic crisis. The crash of the housing market due to the Subprime Mortgage Crisis was one of the most prominent factors leading to the economic downfall we are facing today.

Whoever becomes president for the next four year term will need to focus much of his efforts in stabilizing the housing market as catalyzing the housing recovery will be in lockstep with our economic recovery. How does Governor Romney and President Obama plan on helping struggling homeowners? Let’s pick their brains a bit on this sensitive subject.

President Barack Obama

What He Did

First, what did Obama do during his 1^st term tenure? Obama’s housing recovery efforts were executed via the Making Home Affordable Program (MHA). The MHA has various programs available and is well known for their HARP – refinancing program, HAFA – Short sale & Deed-in-lieu program, and HAMP – A Loan Modification program. Although results did not meet our expectations, several updates to these programs were implemented throughout the years and these programs did help millions of borrowers at risk of foreclosure.

One well known action he enforced was the $25 billion dollar settlement with 5 of the nation’s largest banks for the robo-signing foreclosure abuses, helping millions of borrowers by reducing their mortgage payments.

Obama’s Plans

Obama’s plan for the housing recovery consists of multiple plans of action including Broad Based Refinancing which helps borrowers who are current on their payments refinance their homes. The plan aims to streamline their refinance program by way of different requirements such as no longer having to submit a new appraisal or tax return when applying for the refinance program. For borrowers in pre-foreclosure, he aims to press mortgage lenders to increase the forbearance period from 4 months (under FHA) and 3 months (under HAMP) to 12 months for homeowners who lost their jobs.

He also plans on expanding the HAMP eligibility, tripling incentives to encourage the reduction of principle for underwater borrowers, and encouraging the GSE’s (Government sponsored enterprises) regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), by promising incentives to Freddie and Fannie if servicers forgive principle in addition to the HAMP modification.

According to Obama’s 2013 FY Budget plan, he also plans on putting $5 Billion to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD’s goals are to keep struggling borrowers in their homes, create jobs in hard hit communities and revitalize areas ravaged by foreclosure.

Governor Mitt Romney

Romney’s Plan

Here are the 5 points directly from Mitt Romney’s website:

• Responsibly sell the 200,000 vacant foreclosed homes owned by the government
• Facilitate foreclosure alternatives for those who cannot afford to pay their mortgage
• Replace complex rules with smart regulation to hold banks accountable, restore a functioning marketplace and restart lending to creditworthy borrowers
• Protect taxpayers from additional risk in the future by reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Although both made promises to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, here is an excerpt from the white paper, Securing the American Dream and the Future of Housing Policy discussing GSE’s reformation.

“End “Too-Big-To-Fail” And Reform Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac. The Romney-Ryan plan will completely end “too-big-to-fail” by reforming the GSEs. The four years since taxpayers took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, spending $140 billion in the process, is too long to wait for reform. Rather than just talk about reform, a Romney-Ryan Administration will protect taxpayers from additional risk in the future by reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and provide a long-term, sustainable solution for the future of housing finance reform in our country.”

One notable option for struggling homeowners from Romney is the Shared Appreciation Modification in which the lender agrees to write down the principal of a mortgage and then get a percentage of the price increase when the home is sold. This way, both parties win. No foreclosure, the borrower gets reduced mortgage payments, and the lender benefits from the appreciation of the home.

What Very Important Factor That Has Been Omitted In Both Plans?

The extension of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007. This act relieves homeowners from receiving a huge tax liability due to the forgiven debt (considered income) when doing a refi, short sale, modification, or even foreclosure. This extension was mentioned in the FY 2013 Budget plan by Obama but we are awfully close to the end of the year and any mention of this is sparse.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Which candidate do you think will actually help struggling homeowners get out of their slump? Please comment on our website: www.seattleshortsaleblog.com All comments are welcome!

Peter

The real estate industry is just like any other major industry segment. The people that work within the industry use specific phrases and words that are not too common in other types of work. Understanding some of the common jargon will help first time buyers feel a little more comfortable with the process.

Mortgage – This is a loan that provides the financing for the purchase of a home. Buyers will sign a promissory note that explains the terms of the loan. The interest rate, amount borrowed and number of payments required to repay the debt are all laid out in this document. A mortgage is different from a car loan or a credit card since a piece of property is used as collateral for the loan.

Appraisal – This is a report that explains the home's value. A professional appraiser will inspect the home and then compare it to other similar homes in the nearby area. Based on common criteria such as location, square footage, age and amenities the appraiser assigns a market value to the property. This is slightly different from a home inspection. A home inspection is designed to point out any areas in need of repair or replacement. An appraisal simply decides how much a home is worth as it currently stands.

Contingency – These are requirements spelled out in the real estate contract that must be completed or met in order for the sale to go through.

For instance, most contracts will have a contingency concerning the appraisal. If the home is not worth the sales price then the buyer may be able to get out of the contract.

Escrow – This refers to the funds, assets or securities being held by a third party separate from the buyer and seller. The buyer will place funds in escrow as proof that they wish to go forward with the sale. Once the seller has met the conditions of the contract the funds will be released.

Disclosures – The buyer must be informed of various details by the seller prior to the purchase. Each area will have slightly different requirements for the disclosures in their location. An example would be the location of a home in a known flood zone. This would affect the homeowner's insurance and could affect the buyer's ability to pay.

Closing – This is the last phase of the property purchase. All parties involved in the transaction will meet at either an attorney's office or an escrow agent's office (title company). The seller, buyer, and any attorney will typically attend the closing. At the closing the seller will receive funds for the transaction and the buyer will sign the necessary documents for the loan. The deed will be transferred from seller to buyer. Finally, the closing costs will be paid based on the agreed terms in the contract.