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Last week, my seller (BofA borrower) forwarded me a letter he had received from BofA about his participation in the HAFA program.

The letter stated:

"if we do not hear from you by October 9, 2010, we will continue processing the short sales as a standard short sale". (meaning non-HAFA)

When I finally reached the negotiator on this file today, she informed me that my seller (BofA borrower) needs to call their toll-free number and let them know that the WILL NOT BE PARTICIPATING IN HAFA, in order for this file to be assigned to a negotiator.

This is the TOTAL OPPOSITE of what their letter of last week said.

Is anyone having similar problems with BofA short sale negotiations right now?

Is anyone getting any approvals?

When I submitted this contract over a month ago (3 negotiators ago), I was assured that this was being "Fast Tracked" that very day.

I'd like to hear what other realtors are doing with their BofA files right now.

Thanks to all you realtors in the trenches out there!

Jon Stewart at it again...this is so funny and pretty much captures the "Foreclosure Crisis" in a rather lewd way...

On top of this, the Attorney General in Florida is investigating 4 law firms for filing fraudulent foreclosure documents. And we have Title Companies refusing to issue policies on some of the foreclosures due to title risk. Richard Zaretsky wrote a great article about this yesterday.

To make matters even worse today I opened up my daily newsletter from the Florida Association of Realtors and found these two articles:

New legal tactic helps associations gain control of abandoned condos

• POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – Oct. 6, 2010 – After winning a lawsuit against Wells Fargo that claimed the bank purposely delayed foreclosure proceedings on a condominium unit for more than a year, a Pompano Beach condo association has been awarded title to the unit without owing a dime on the original $184,400 mortgage. READ THE ARTICLE

Judges revisiting foreclosure cases may help owners but clog market

• TAMPA, Fla. – Oct. 5, 2010 – On Florida’s west coast, where the housing bust has flooded courts with foreclosure filings, the chief judge of the 6th Judicial Circuit has little sympathy for lenders who have routinely submitted flawed and possibly fraudulent foreclosure cases. READ THE ARTICLE

Folks, we are in dire straights!!! As I expected lawsuits are starting to fly. People are getting pissed off at lenders who have been abusing the system for years and are starting to take action.

Foreclosures are no longer the property for buyers looking for a deal. They may get a deal but they will have no assurances that the property won't be taken away from them because the courts have rescinded the foreclosure. A foreclosure is a hostile take over and now these former homeowners have the legal ammunition to not only fight but to win the battle.

So what does all this mean for sellers looking to do a Short Sale? In my opinion Short Sales have just become easier to do. Lenders, not being able to foreclose, are going to be much more receptive to negotiating a Short Sale or settlement with the borrower. And since a Short Sale is a voluntary action on the part of both parties (lender and borrower) they will be a much safer bet for a new buyer. Chances are the Short Sale will not be rescinded and Title Companies will be able to issue a policy. A Short Sale has definitely become more attractive.

Of course this is just my opinion. What's yours?

Are you facing foreclosure in Florida?

LPS Applied Analytics recently announced that there are $464 Billion in mortgages currently in Foreclosure and that Americans are now behindon mortgages worth $1.4 Trillion. Several economists believe thatsomething really bad could be coming down in the coming months. Infact, leading economists are warning of a new financial crisis brewingthat could possibly be worse than the crisis we faced in 2008 and thatwe could see a collapse of some BIG U.S. banks.

Chris Whalen, the Managing Director for Institutional Risk Analytics stated recently in a Politico article, "Non-payment by borrowers andmounting foreclosure backlogs are creating the conditions for thecollapse of some of the largest U.S. banks in 2011."

Many say that there are banks too big to fail an that we cannot allow them to. But we know now that T.A.R.P. didn't work. Those 6 or 7"too-big-to-fail" banks control over 1/2 of all deposits and most ofthose were made even larger by T.A.R.P. But there's another issue withthe smaller Savings and Loans that exist in our communities. When thoselittle banks face both residential and commercial mortgages failing, wemay see a wildfire spread of enormous consequences that the Fed won'tbe able to contain.

Several government and large banks stated this week that they were going to freeze foreclosures for the next few months. This is great forhomeowners during the holidays and comes as good news to thosehomeowners wanting to do the honorable thing and try every option theycan to keep from going into foreclosure. However, with loanmodifications being rare and/or unappealing, this is only prolonging theinevitable and making it worse. Case in point, if you make $115,000income a year and you owe $550,000 there's no rework for that scenariounder the President's program that will makes sense. And what happensin the first few months of 2011 AFTER the freeze is lifted and all thosestalled foreclosures start moving forward again? With an average of180,000 to 200,000 foreclosures a month, how are we going to accommodatethe flood of a million or more homes hitting the market? The good newsis that the freeze may help many who are conducting Short Sales ontheir homes and who are feeling the time crunch.

Time will tell, however we should all be looking to the horizon because a huge storm is looming and time is running out!

By the way, if you or someone you know is at risk of losing a home to foreclosure, please know that there are new options available to avoidthis devastating occurrence. And know that there is someone here you cantrust to help. As a Certified Pre-Foreclosure Specialist, I understandthe ins and outs of Short Sales and Loan Modifications. I am also aWachovia and World Bank trained Pre-Foreclosure expert and well educatedin the Government’s new H.A.F.A. and H.A.M.P. programs for helpinghomeowners facing foreclosure.

CLICK HERE TO AVOID FORECLOSURE

Are you a buyer looking for a home?

CLICK HERE TO SEARCH ALL AVAILABLE HOMES

CLICK HERE TO READ WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID ABOUT MY SERVICES!

Just got a 1st td approval letter from Indymac, where they have reduced the commission to 5%. Has anyone had any luck going back at this point and getting the commission back up to 6% after getting the approval letter with Indymac?

Bob

If you are selling a short sale in Destin Florida, it’s wise to have a title search as soon as you list.

Why? Problem prevention! Title problems can delay short sale closings. You don’t want to find out these issues after you finally get approval, and only have 30 days to close!

Here are some examples of what early title searches have revealed on some of my Destin Florida short sales:

1. Seller is not aware of a mortgage. That means we may have never submitted a short sale package to this lender.

2. Seller lists wrong mortgage companies on letter of authorization. Again, this causes nothing but delays.

3. There is a judgment that must be paid before closing. Judgments can be a huge problem. In Florida, a judgment in the county where the property is located normally has to be paid or otherwise removed before there is a sale. The judgment could be from a credit card company, a mortgage company, or any other creditor. The amounts can be substantial.

4. There is an IRS tax lien that must be resolved. Allow extra time to remove it.

5. Local tax liens. These must be paid or moved prior to closing.

6. There is another title holder. If undisclosed early, time is lost locating the missing party, and ensuring he is cooperative in the sale.

7. The seller should have received a quit-claim deed from an ex-spouse per divorce decree. Find out if the ex-spouse is cooperative at the beginning of the process.

8. Etc. Etc.

These are just examples of issues that would be revealed by an early title search. They seem to be more prevalent with short sales than with traditional sales. It’s best to get your title search done as soon as you list. Solve these problems ahead of time, and move on to a speedier closing.

It's Wendy!

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, Rulnick Realty, Inc.

Call toll-free 1-877-487-9639 local 850-650-7883 ext 204

Email Wendy: itswendy@rulnickrealty.com

Destin FL Real Estate

Destin Short Sales & Pre Foreclosure Help.

Wendy is a short sale and pre-foreclosure specialist and has been featured in "Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine" and "Florida Realtor Magazine". Call Wendy Rulnick, Broker/Owner,to list and sell your home or condo on the Emerald Coast of Florida in Walton, Okaloosa and Santa Rosa County- Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Bluewater Bay, Navarre, Seagrove Beach, Watercolor, Sandestin, Seaside, Crestview, Rosemary Beach, Mary Esther, Shalimar, Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field.

Farmington Hills, MI Short Sales increase by 126% in 2Q 2010. "Each Short Sale is One Less Foreclosure" Says Mike Sher, CDPE (Certified Distress Property Expert) Max Broock Realtors (248) 644-4700 x242 or
www.ShortSaleOaklandCounty.com

This U.S. Treasury 2Q 2010 Mortgage Metrics Report below clearly shows that our distress real estate market will continue to be with us for awhile. The good news is that though foreclosures are still on the rise by 53% in past year,
Short Sales are up by 126% and even Deed-in-Lieu is up by 55%. The amount of
new retention actions (loan modifications) are down -28%. This shows that loan
modifications are not for everyone and many borrowers just have to sell or walk
away.

Clearly the banks, servicers, MI-companies and investors understand that a short sale is in the best interest of all parties. The servicers have hired more staff to service the loss mitigation efforts combined with the new HAFA
programs rolled out earlier this year. The hope is that as short sales increase
the amount of foreclosures will decrease. Though Short Sales are distressed by
nature, they mitigate the damages that foreclosures creates like plummeting home
values, increased crime & vandalism, decreases losses to both bank and
borrower and offers a more dignified exit strategy to the trouble homeowner.

If you would like more information about Short Sales, Short Sale Seminars, Deed
in lieu, credit
issues, Loan
Modifications Options, Foreclosures
or Bankruptcy
in regards to home ownership, please call me (248) 644-4700 x 242, email me mike@mikerealtor.com or find out more at
www.ShortSaleOaklandCounty.com

PSCing to a new base? If you are an Eglin Air Force Base or Hurlburt Field airman and own your home, this could be a problem. You may very well be "upside down" in your mortgage. Meaning, the balance you owe is more than market value of your property. That is a common scenario on the Emerald Coast, in Crestview, Navarre, Fort Walton Beach, and Destin Florida.

When you are in this situation, you have six choices:

1. HAP

2. Short Sale

3. VA Compromise Sale

4. Rent Out Your Property

5. Pay the difference owed out of your own pocket

6. Foreclosure

If your loan was guaranteed by the Veterans Administration (VA), and the other options won't work (obviously you don't want a foreclosure), you can do what is called a VA Compromise Sale. This program is similar to a short sale, but the VA guarantees the payment of a portion of your mortgage to your lender. The lender will handle the processing of your VA Compromise Sale and will use a VA appraiser to ascertain value of your property after they receive a contract. If you meet certain criteria, and your net proceeds are at least 88.13% of the appraised value, your sale may be approved.

The most frequent question I get about VA Compromise Sales is: "Will the VA come after me for the balance?"

The answer is "NO" unless there was "fraud, misrepresentation, or bad faith”.

Here is a quote from VA Home Loan Program:

"The VA guaranty, which protects the lender against loss, encourages the lender to make a loan with terms favorable to the veteran. But if you fail to make the payments you agreed to make, you may lose your home through foreclosure, and you and your family would probably lose all the time and money you had invested in it. If the lender does take a loss, VA must pay the guaranty to the lender, and the amount paid by VA must be repaid by you. If your loan closed on or after January 1,1990, you will owe the Government in the event of a default only if there was fraud, misrepresentation, or bad faith on your part."

The other good news about a VA Compromise Sale (also called Offer In Compromise, Comprise Offer) is that you CAN USE YOUR VA LOAN AGAIN! The caveat is that you must pay back what you owe the VA. Crazy? Not really. Markets change, loan programs change and interest rates change. A VA mortgage may be the best option for you again in the future. At that time, you will have rebuilt your financial strength and may be able to pay back your entitlement. I've had veterans do it!

If you need to do a VA Compromise Sale in Crestview, Navarre, Fort Walton Beach or Destin, Florida, give me a call. I can help.

It's Wendy!

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, Rulnick Realty, Inc.

Call toll-free 1-877-487-9639 or 850-650-7883 ext 204

Email Wendy: itswendy@rulnickrealty.com

HAP, Short Sales & Pre Foreclosure Help.

Wendy is a HAP, short sale, VA Compromise and pre-foreclosure specialist and has been featured in "Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine" and "Florida Realtor Magazine". Call Wendy Rulnick, Broker/Owner,to list and sell your home or condo on the Emerald Coast of Florida in Walton, Okaloosa and Santa Rosa County- Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Bluewater Bay, Navarre, Seagrove Beach, Watercolor, Sandestin, Seaside, Crestview, Rosemary Beach, Mary Esther, Shalimar, Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field.