CLICK HERE & LISTEN: 

http://realestatemarketing.podomatic.com/entry/2014-10-01T15_10_45-07_00

Real Estate Marketing "The Podcast" How do I get listings or deals? #Investor #Realtor

David Bartels LIVE from Anaheim CA presentation

805-413-8000
http://www.homeloanadvocates.com/

Banks grant short sales for two reasons: the seller has a hardship, and the seller owes more on the mortgage than the home is worth.

The seller will need to prepare a financial package for submission to the short sale bank. Each bank has its own guidelines, but the basic procedure is similar from bank to bank.

A few examples of a hardship are:
Unemployment / reduced income
Divorce
Medical emergency
Job transfer out of town
Bankruptcy
Death

The seller’s short sale package will most likely consist of:
Letter of authorization, which lets your agent speak to the bank.
HUD-1 or preliminary net sheet
Completed financial statement
Seller’s hardship letter
2 years of tax returns
2 years of W-2s
Recent payroll stubs
Last 2 months of bank statements
Comparative market analysis or list of recent comparable sales

Writing the Short Sale Offer and Submitting to the Bank

Before a buyer writes a short sale offer, a buyer should ask his or her agent for a list of comparable sales.

Banks are not in the business of giving away a home at rock-bottom pricing. The bank will want to receive somewhat close to market value.

The short sale price may have little bearing on market value and may, in fact, be priced below the comparable sales to encourage multiple offers.

After the seller accepts the offer, the listing agent will send the following items to the bank:
Listing agreement
Executed purchase offer
Buyer’s pre-approval or proof of funds letter and copy of earnest money check
Seller’s short sale package.

The Short Sale Process at the Bank

Buyers may wait a very long time to get a response from the bank. It is imperative for the listing agent to regularly call the bank and keep careful notes of the short sale process.

Buyers may get so tired of waiting for short sale approval that they may feel the need to threaten to cancel if they don’t get an answer within a specified time period.

That type of attitude is self-defeating and will not speed up the short sale process. If buyers are the type with little patience, perhaps a short sale is not for them.

Following is a typical short sale process at the bank:
Bank acknowledges receipt of the file.
A negotiator is assigned.
The bank orders a valuation of the property.
The file is sent for review or to the investor.
The bank may then request that all parties sign an Arms-Length Affidavit.
The bank issues a short sale approval letter.

Some short sales get approval in 3 weeks. Others can take as long as 12 months. A typical Short Sale transaction takes 4-6 months to complete.

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Real Estate Marketing (The Podcast)

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

Short Sales are BACK!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE PODCAST: http://tinyurl.com/qa62n6h

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.

Estimating house repairs accurately for an investment/flip.

Very few people ever buy a car and then find out the amount of the monthly payments and insurance.  Most people sit down with pen and paper, or a computer, and crunch some numbers to make sure they can handle the purchase.   The same thing should be done before buying an investment property.  However, buying a home with the purpose of flipping takes a bit more knowledge and calculation in order to earn a profit when it comes time to sell.

Understand the Difference between Structural Problems and Cosmetic Needs

Even a brand new novice can recognize the need for some paint or fresh carpet.  People that have purchased a home before could possibly spot an older front door or some outdated windows.  However, being able to see and recognize a problem with the structure of a home takes a bit more knowledge and practice.  Pay close attention to these areas and possible problems:

• Areas damaged by water; evidence could be water stains, rippled paint, musty odors or flaking of paint
• Problems with water lines; water supplies that drip or don't run, leaks around toilets, pipes, and water valves
• Presence of pests, especially termites
• Dry and rotten wood

Beyond these trouble spots, it is also important to understand that a home 20+ years old will most likely need some kind of other normal repair such as an updated HVAC system, new roof, or new water heater.

The Right Compromise Makes Everyone Happy

Keep in mind that your goal is to FLIP the home.  That means that you can purchase the home well enough below the market value that you can quickly sell it to someone else for a profit.  If you try to repair too many things, then the price will need to be increased and you could scare off a few investors.

Here is a simple formula that will help you when looking at potential properties.

1. Determine the value of the home after repairs have been made
2. Deduct the money needed to make said repairs.
3. Take this new amount and multiply it by 70%.  This figure is top dollar offer.

Here is a simple example.  You are looking at a home that should be worth $180,000 once it has been repaired.  The money needed to fix it up is $15,000.

In this particular example, if you could purchase the home for $109,000 and sell it for $114,000 you would make a quick $5,000 without lifting a finger.  To make this better, the investor that buys the home from you has enough room to buy the home, make the repairs and sell for a profit.

How to Get Better at Estimating Repair Costs

• Habit of looking at homes – You will need to inspect quite a few homes in order to learn how to recognize particular problems. Seeing the same kind of problem multiple times will teach you what to search for in a home.
• Get acquainted with a contractor – If you are not a contractor yourself then it is a good idea to strike up a friendship with a contractor.  They will be able to give you estimates on your potential properties.  You can also refer work to him to keep him busy.
• Take good notes – When you are looking at a home with a contractor take notes about the problems that he points out and the price for the repair.
• Study material prices – Get accustomed to visiting the local hardware stores to get prices on materials. Knowing when prices are going up, or going down, or certain items will help you make more accurate estimates.

• Top Mistakes Rookies Make in Home Flipping (13.1) Rookie mistakes when flipping a home. With mortgage rates still...
• Tips for Selling a Home during a Slow Market (7.3) Successful Real Estate Agents Reveal Tips for Selling a Home...
• Understanding Requirements of Appraisal for FHA Loans in WI (7.2) Understanding Specific Requirements of Appraisal for FHA Loans in Wisconsin...
• Tips for your first Home Inspection (6.6) Considering the cost of purchasing a home it would make...
• Preparing to Purchase that First Rental Home (6.5) Advice About Purchasing Your First Rental Home/Property (Investment Properties: Part...

American Homeowner Preservation (“AHP”)  announced today the acquisition of 128 non-performing mortgage and REO assets on October 31, 2013. The assets are located nationwide in over 20 states, from California to Florida.AHP utilizes private investors to fund acquisitions of distressed assets from both banks and hedge funds. By taking control of the mortgages or  REOs, AHP can craft viable solutions to keep families in their homes with reduced payments and discounted principal options.  Thus far, AHP has cut monthly payments by an average of almost 40% and provided discounted settlement options to families at amounts averaging less than their half of prior mortgage balances.”We buy these assets at significant discounts. By passing on a good chunk of these discounts to the homeowners, we are able to provide transformative solutions,” said AHP’s Founder and CEO Jorge Newbery. Alternately, if the home is vacant or the family does not want to stay, AHP offers incentives to homeowners to cooperate with deeds in lieu of foreclosure or short sales in order to promptly return the homes back to service. “A vacant home can blight a neighborhood.  Every time we break the gridlock and get a vacant home back into service, that is a big step forward for a neighborhood. Many times, some of these homes have been vacant for years,” Newbery said

AHP is currently crowdfunding to acquire an additional 249 assets for $5,660,000. Interested investors can review the offering at www.ahpinvest.com.  Investors can earn 9% for one year investments, 10.2% for two years and 12% for five years.  “We look forward to keeping more and more struggling families in their homes with realistic long-term solutions, while providing our investors the ability to earn favorable returns in a socially responsible manner,” AHP Chief Operating Officer Verria Kelly added.

American Homeowner Preservation can be contacted at (800) 555-1055 or www.ahpinvest.com.

http://youtu.be/dR8AfQJrXSM

UGH!!!!! Well, one thing's for certain.....we're never at a loss for drama in the world of short sales. I was just speaking with another agent on yesterday who was telling me about her short "sellers" who stopped the transaction a week prior to closing! The listing agent had fully ss approval with a waiver of liability, the buyer's loan had been fully approved through underwriting, and they were just waiting for the closing date to arrive. The Seller's determined that they were not yet ready to begin paying a monthly rental fee...YOU GUESSED IT!!!! They actually wanted to continue to live "rent/mortgage free". Heck, they'd done it for more than two years, so why start now??? The nerve of some people!!!
THEN..... I get to my office and receive an email from the Buyer's agent on one of my short sales. It appears the Buyer, a bulk-purchaser investor, decided to terminate a week prior to closing! Apparently, on the very last day of their due diligence period, they decided that they would not be able to get the originally anticipated rental rate and decided to grab my Seller by the cojones and threaten to terminate if the Seller refused to reduce the contractual price by $15,000! Of course, now we have to take this back to the first and second lienholders and beg for their approval!
Oh well.....at least it's Friday!
 
Vanessa M Calhoun, Real Estate Consultant
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers
209 Newnan Crossing Bypass
Newnan, GA 30263
404-843-2500 (office)
678-406-8432 (direct)
770-254-4985 (fax)
vanessa.calhoun@metrobrokers.com
www.vanessacalhoun.com
 

In the oftentimes chaotic world of short sales, the road from initial list to closing is filled with rough terrain, speedbumps, wrong turns, u-turns, no turns, stop signs, and many detours. Nary a day I fail to hear the laments of yet another agent succumbing to the trials and toils of short sales. In fact, in my 7 years of selling everything from normal market re-sales to REO and short sales, I've dealt with many different (and often frustrating) short sale transactions. In fact, I've had too many to count! I must say, however, that when I first found out about FHA's Pre-Foreclosure Sales Program....I instantly fell in love! It was Short Sale Xanadu!!!

The FHA Pre-Foreclosure Sales Program enables a home owner to short sell his property (provided he has a FHA loan, of course) with a very little amount of fuss and muss. Prior to being officially enrolled into the program, an appraisal is conducted on the property to establish fair market value. Once that magic number arrives on the desk of the Negotiator from the Appraiser, it becomes the list price...VOILA!!! No more guesswork on how much the bank will require for the sale of the property! Not only that, this program takes it a step furthr and gives you their secret formula of how much the bank must net as the market time increases! In addition to letting the listing agent in on the holy grail secret of what the bank has established as market value, the program also has other benefits:

*Up to $1000 in Seller Relocation Assistance (reduced to $750 if it takes more than 3 months to close)

*Pays up to 1% in buyer's closing costs as long as the buyer's using an FHA mortgage (Sometimes they'll pay up to 3% regardless of financing as long as their warm fuzzy number's met. Ask for a variance)

*Allows up to 6% sales commission for agents (yep, we actually get paid for what we do....what a novel idea!)

*Allows up to $1500 towards junior lien discharge

The benefit of knowing EXACTLY what you're dealing with even before the property technically hits the market makes the listing agent more knowledgeable about the short sale process AND makes the property more marketable to the buyer. For these reasons, my love affair with the FHA Pre-Foreclosure Sales Program will never end!

Happy Selling

There's nothing like the simple joys of listing a home on the market, securing a buyer, and closing within a relatively short time frame......NOTHING AT ALL! HOWEVER.......I've just recently been afforded the opportunity of handling a short sale with Bayview Loan Servicing in the first lienholder position. What a treat!!!
 
First, we received a wonderful offer on the property within days of market time and submitted the entire short sale package to Bayview on January 25th. The interior BPO was ordered and completed during the first week of February and we received first lien approval on February 12th!!! What's more???? Bayview has agreed to allocating funds to cover 20% of the balance on the second.....20 FREAKING PERCENT!!!
 
Did I die and go to short sale heaven???????

Vanessa M Calhoun, Real Estate Consultant
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers
209 Newnan Crossing Bypass
Newnan, GA 30263
404-843-2500 (office)
678-406-8432 (direct)
770-254-4985 (fax)
vanessa.calhoun@metrobrokers.com
www.vanessacalhoun.com

Short Sale Information and Favorable Laws in 2012 for California Homeowners

Short Sale Related Laws you should know about as a homeowner

SB 931 Deficiency Waiver on First Mortgage

When First mortgage holder of your loan accepts full payment and satisfaction of all your outstanding first loan from the successful completion of  the sale of your home, your lender is  is prevented from pursuing a deficiency against you even after a short sale. This is great news! What this means to you as a homeowner in California is that this releases you from further liability (deficiency) when the bank accepts and approves your short sale. Click here to read information on SB 931 and see how this may apply to your individual situation. At any rate, whenever you are negotiating a short sale, it would still be beneficial to have your real estate agent ask for the lender to issue a short sale approval letter with the verbiage indicating a waiver of future deficiency and no promissory note.

SB 458 Second Mortgages- Release of Liability after completing a Short Sale in California by 2012

Effective as of July 15, 2011, California homeowners who sell their homes through a short sale and who have subordinate loans such as home equity line of credit (heloc) or fixed secondary mortgages, are now extended the protection against deficiency. This means that if your second lender agrees to the short sale, your lender must accept the proceeds from the short sale as a payment in full of the outstanding balance of the loans. This means that if you are a homeowner in California who sells your home in a short sale that the bank has approved, you will be released from liability (deficiency) not only on your first mortgage (SB 931) but also on your second mortgage under SB 458 in the event that the bank accepts and approves the short sale event.  Receiving short sale approval is not enough, you would have to complete the short sale. Click here to read information on SB 458 and  consult a real estate attorney see how these short sale reltaed laws may apply to your individual situation.

Short Sale Income Tax Relief from Federal Income Tax until 2012

Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 generally allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, short sale, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualifies for the relief. This applies to loans that were used to acquire, build, or improve upon on the home. Consult your tax advisor regarding how this tax relief may apply to your individual situation. If the loans forgiven were loans that you used to purchase the home (purchase money loan) or loans used to build or improve the home, most likely you would not have to pay taxes if you complete a short sale before December 31, 2012. A portion or all of the orgiven amount would be considered taxable income if the forgiven amount, or if portions of the loans forgiven were used for other purposes- i.e. cash out refinance used to payoff i.e. car loans, credit cards to pay vacation expenses, or cash to fund a new business, etc. Please consult a tax advisor.

Click here to read more information on the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007

Short Sale Income Tax Relief from California State Income Tax until 2012

In California, homeowners who sell their home through a short sale may qualify for the California Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief under SB 401, which was enacted on April 12, 2010. This mortgage forgiveness debt relief act allows taxpayers who have had all or part of their loan balance on their principal residence forgiven by their lender to exclude the forgiven debt from California gross income. This tax relief for those who short sell their homes in California apply to discharges of qualified residence indebtedness on or after January 1, 2009 and before January 1, 2013 (Think until 2012). Read more about this from the California Franchise Tax Board website under SB 401.

The California Tax Relief limits the amount of qualified principal indebtedness up to $800,000 for those who file as married, joint, head of household and up to $400,000 for those who file as married/RDP filing separately. See State of California Franchise Tax Board for more details. In order to claim tax relief, your would need to file Form 540 or Form 540X for a previously filed tax return.

Consult your tax advisor regarding how this tax relief may apply to your individual situation.

Clock is Ticking. Unless, laws are extended, you only have until December 31, 2012 to complete a Short Sale

A lof of the laws that favor selling your home through a short sale in California expire by December 31, 2012. This means that if you have decided to short sell your home and qualify to avoid deficiency and not pay taxes on mortgage forgiven debt associated with a short sale, now would be the time in order to close escrow on a short sale by 2012.

Need additional information about short sales?

For a fast response, no-obligation, and confidential consultation regarding selling your home in California through a short sale, fill out contact form below.

Antonio Atoche

310-345-1513

antonio@atocherealestate.com

www.upsidedownlosangeles.com

For more information visit https://www.google.com/

If you're are planning on selling your home and moving up, do your homework before offering your home for sale. Read the following story to see what can happen to home sellers who don't do their math.

A young family sold their home in California, before they determined how to buy their next house. All they thought about was moving into a larger home for their growing family.

Two years before, after this young couple purchased their first home, they bought a minivan with payments and increased their credit card debt with home furnishings purchases. Then, the wife quit working and decided to stay home with their baby. The family still had sufficient money to make all payments on time. They fell in love with a larger new model home in a nearby tract home development. The sales agent convinced them the new home would only cost them another $200 per month.

The family had no problem selling their home. To qualify for the new mortgage payment, they had to pay off the minivan, student loans, and the credit card debt. Out of their home sale proceeds, these payoffs left less than a 10% down payment for their new home.

Because of their changed income and low down payment, they didn't qualify for the new home of their choice. With only 5% down, the couple had to pay higher interest rates on a second to avoid mortgage insurance. Without the wife's second income, the total payment meant that they only qualified for a new mortgage for a home which cost less than the one they sold!

Before you put your home on the market, make sure you can buy the home you want.

Consider the following financial concerns:

Talk to a loan officer and check your credit. Don't get caught after selling your home, when it's too late, to repair any credit issues. Of course, you may have a great down payment from the sale of your home, but other bills like credit card debt, auto loans, and student loans may need to be paid off so you qualify for the new mortgage payments.

Find out how much of a monthly payment and the down payment amount you'll need to buy the home of your choice.

Do the math. How much can you expect to net from selling your home?

1.  Do you have a mortgage prepayment penalty that could eat up a significant amount of your equity?

2.  Determine selling commission expenses. Can you sell your home effectively on your own or do you need to pay 6% of your selling price for a real estate agent's expertise?

3.  Estimate your closing costs. Ask a local closing or escrow company for an estimated closing cost amount for a home in your price range.

4.  How much work does your home need to ready the property for a top-dollar sale? Which upgrades or redecorating expenses make sense financially?

Consider all the expenses of selling, determine your actual profit, match that amount to your down payment, and see how much of a home you can buy with your qualified monthly payment amount. After you do your math homework, you'll be ready to think about selling your home. Don't get caught like this young family and be forced into a lesser home.

I've mentioned numerous times that I have two companies.  One is an electrical contracting company, and the other one is a real estate brokerage.  They overlap more often than not, and my clients in one company end up being clients in the other company.  It's a nice relationship.

The overlap of the two give me a great opportunity to use either company to help my clients.  When I sell a house, I send an electrician in to check the electric system before the clients move in.  If there are issues, he will fix them up to a certain point.  I'll also make a list of other electrical issues that the client may chose to have repaired at a later time. 

How does that pertain to Realtors who don't own two companies?  One way I've found to stay involved in the lives of my clients is to do a couple things.  For instance, this past week, our contracting company did a project for another local business.  During that process, the owner and I took a ride to his second business location.  During the ride, I realized that his auto air conditioner wasn't working. 

He mentioned that he gets it charged every Spring, but he hadn't had time to do it so far.  A couple days later, I was in his area again and I dropped by his shop and charged his car AC.  It took me five minutes and it costs me about $5.  I was thrilled that I knew how to do it, and what did I gain?  A great faithful client, referrals and some of his wares.  

You don't have to be the one doing a service for your clients, but you can give your clients the names of great contractors, lawn-care companies, tailors, painters, auto repair shops, hair salons, restaurants, discount stores nearby, doctors, dog groomers, etc.  You can give information, which is free, or you can do something simple like mow their grass before they move in.  We  do that when we sell a house that is our listing.  Your clients will love you for it.  Dropping back into a client's life briefly keeps your relationship warm and comfortable.

When they need something, they will call you.  You become a trusted resource.  I received three listings this week.  Two of those listings came from clients our contracting company had done electrical projects for.  I almost always find a way to work information about my real estate brokerage and local market conditions into a conversation when meeting electrical clients.  I actually had a client become a Realtor because she got so excited during one of those comments. 

Be the go to person, and people will seek you out. Use your blog as a resource to help others find what they need, and in the process they will find you.  Share your talents, your knowledge and wisdom and you will always have repeat clients and customers.

I have read several news and Blog pieces about 2012 being the bottom of the market and how the best time to purchase a home is now. In good conscious I cannot sit idly by without voicing my opinion.

The news and columnists have based their analysis on the low number of inventory currently on the market for sale and the fact that it is 22% less than this time last year. They further site a 30% increase in property searches on Realtor.com which is one of the top search websites where consumers make purchase decisions. The reporters further substantiate their point by stating that interest rates are the lowest they have been since the great depression. Well folks, I am here to let you in on a few things. I am a distressed property real estate broker and live in the numbers and happenings on the ground. Last year alone I personally closed $17 Million in real estate. More than three quarters of my sales were short sales and bank owned property sales. My job revolves around tracking properties that have defaulted on their mortgage payments and listing the property for sale before it ends up in foreclosure. When properties do end up going to foreclosure the banks also contacts me to sell the properties back into the marketplace as a bank owned property. This is also known as a REO (Real Estate Owned) property.

In dealing with the lenders on a daily basis I have the ability to see how many mortgages are current or behind in any part of California. The numbers are staggering! One in three properties in San Diego County is currently underwater (owe more than what the property is worth).
Many of you may have heard of the “Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007” which is set to expire at the end of 2012. This means that anyone wanting to do a short sale has until the end of this year to get it done to avoid the enormous tax and deficiency implications. As homeowners scramble to do short sales, the banks are absolutely inundated with files. Banks have increased their loss mitigation departments to handle the amount of short sale requests as the deadline draws near.

So to shed further light on the subject of a “recovery,” I would have to say that the reason there is a 22% decrease in inventory on the market for sale is due to the “Robo-signing” debacle which simply held up the foreclosure process for a few months. Furthermore, the lenders have started issuing three month extensions to foreclosure sale dates rather than the standard 30 day extensions. The numbers are artificially adjusted to modify the supply and demand ratio. Also, the news columnists have stated that the average nationwide sales price has started increasing and the market is recovering. This is not quite correct because the number of higher end distressed sales has dramatically increased. In other words, if 100 homes sell at $200K and 900 homes sell at $500K, the average home price may have increased.  However, what they are not saying is that the home that is currently selling at $500K was purchased in 2005 for $900K.  See how they are messing with the numbers. Just because the average nationwide sales price has increased, does not mean we are recovering.

So I would maybe agree that the lower end has reached the bottom whereas the middle and higher end have room to fall.  Far be it from me to state that 2012 is the “Big Housing Recovery.” New young families or recent college graduates will also add to the lower end recovery as they will need to purchase in this range.

The number of Baby Boomers now wanting to downsize will further hamper the prices of the middle and higher end as they add to the supply. There are currently 30 million Americans in this segment of the market.

The FED made an error in judgment a month ago when they stated interest rates would remain low through the end of 2014, which took away the immediate driving force to purchase now. If interest rates would remain low for an extended period of time, why would anyone be in a hurry to purchase when they know how much shadow inventory the lenders are sitting on?

As the world has become a global economy, few have shed light on the fact that China has begun their housing crisis with more than half the cities reporting huge decreases in home prices. This may have an influence on our economy further down the road as this may affect the cost of consumer goods locally.

Gas prices are at an all-time high and could further contribute to inflation and gyrations in the consumer price index.

Unemployment is still stubbornly above 8% and steam rises from the printing presses at the Fed.

I don’t know folks. Recovery 2012?  I am not so sure. And over the years I have learned that in the long run it pays to be honest rather than bending a situation for personal gain. There is a reason I am renting right now. Though the rents are higher, cash will soon be back on the thrown to be crowned King. Don’t be in any hurry to purchase unless you find a great deal.

This is my honest humble opinion.

Hello All,

I've been having a BOA Short Sale since early August and have submitted everything through AMS.  Appraisal has been done, list price has been determined, but PMI company has not approved it yet.  I've left about 10 messages for my negotiator M. Phillips with no response whatsoever. My equator emails keep bouncing back, so my hands were pretty much tied.

That's when  I took my issue to Twitter, specifically to the BofA Twitter Help Team.  I tweeted my issue and the team responded immediately.  They asked me to DM them my contact info and were in touch with me by the next day. 

Of course I had all of my notes in hand when I received the phone call and the Twitter Team member, Karen Gillies, was more than happy to get things escalated to a BofA Manager, who will then escalate it to an AMS manager.  Ms. Gillies was pretty perturb with the negotiator, when I read my notes to her about the negotiator being unresponsive and how things were not updated in Equator.  That made me feel that she could definitely be my ally.

So I'm expecting an updated phone call from her this afternoon or by tomorrow morning.  I will keep you posted for sure.

If you are having problems getting through to AMS or BOA, please try the Twitter Team, #BofA_help, they seem to on their jobs.  I was just watching the Tweets that were coming in and this team were responding to all of them instantly.  Yeah for Social Networking and BOA having the insight to put this in place.

MeLisa Minter, SFR, Broker

Minter Real Estate Services

melisa@homesmint2be.com

This post might step on some toes but it is not meant to. Most REALTORS are on tight budgets now and need candid answers to questions about short
sales, short sale classes and which class or course is better.

I am not professing to be an expert on which class or course of
instruction is better but I will give my unbiased opinion as to which
is better in my opinion.

I currently hold the CDPE designation, I have completed the Short Sale Superstar Course and I recently finished the NAR Designation SFR course.

The CDPE and SFR course are very similar in structure as they teach the
history of lending and selling that put us into the situation we are
in. Both courses spend considerable time talking about aspects that
have nothing to do with actually performing short sales. Both courses
leave out key elements that you as a Real Estate Professional had
better know before you advise a client on a short sale. (especially
when it comes to tax consequences of selling short and Canceled
Debts).

The SFR course dedicates only about 2-2.5 hours on actually doing short sales. Part of the SFR course is doing 3, one hour webinars (you pick from a
list) that is strictly on the honor system.

The SFR course Itook pretty much had a "no question" policy. I feel this was because
of time constraints but I don't think it is reasonable or responsible
on the part of NAR to take such an important topic and condense it to
7.5-8 hours and then not allow a significant question and answer
period. This class should be a two day class at the minimum. That
being said, every class has a couple of village idiots that need to be
kicked out and I don't know how to handle them.

The Short SaleSuperstars course is definitely the least formal of the courses but I
feel it offers the most education by far. This class is taught over
the web through webinars created by Wendy Rulnick and Bryant Tutas.
Wendy and Bryant are ACTIVE REAL ESTATE AGENTS in what many consider
the epicenter of short sales and foreclosures, Florida. When you take
the Short Sale Superstar course you are learning from two agents who
ACTUALLY sell short sales. I think this is a key difference between
the courses, these guys sell short sales and don't just teach. I have
talked to Bryant several times on the phone when I had an issue and he
and Wendy are always quick to email a response to a question, something
that does not happen with the other two programs. The Short Sale
Superstar program is the only program that went over how to do a FHA
short sale.

None of the programs went over any type ofmarketing plan to get the phone ringing for short sales so the jury is
still out on that. Word of mouth, AR blogging and ads seem to be the
best way. My leads have come from my AR blog which I now have a 2nd AR
blog dedicated to Short Sales and Foreclosures.

Mysuggestion? Short Sale Superstars hands down. If you want a
designation get the SFR, it is the cheapest to get and some of the
information is really useful.....that being said, you had best do the
Short Sale Superstars IN ADDITION to CDPE or SFR.

My only suggestion to Short Sale Superstars? Create some type of designation for those that want one. CDPE did it so it should not be too hard.
CDPE is not recognized by NAR and quite frankly the CDPE is a step
above SFR yet much more expensive than either Short Sale Superstars or
SFR.