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too_much_tech.jpg?width=200The world is fast paced with changes being made at the drop of a hat and with the click of a button.  Now more than ever communication is key to lasting relationships with your clients.

 

Technology is a beautiful thing and has worked wonders for my business in terms of on the go statistics, social connections, mobility, photography, videos, on the go web and search, the list can go on and on.

 

But are your clients getting the short end of the stick when it comes to that one on one attention you promised in your presentation?  Are all your gadgets that you use to save you time becoming the automated norm in which people communicate? Does sending an automated mass text or email to them and all your other clients count as true communication? What about a facebook message or tagging them in a tweet..Does that count towards the communication credit? NO!

 

One of the most important aspects of real estate is communication.  It is key in this industry to keep things moving along smoothly and without any misrepresentations or misconceptions.  The more you communicate with your clients about marketing, showings, statistics or even just to say hi, the more comfortable they will feel.  Consistent communication with your clients lets them know that they are not a commission check and you have not forgot their names.  Being able to listen and communicate is what real customer service is about.

 

Now I am not saying that everytime you have something to say or some update to tell them about you need to go knock on their door or have a conference…No, of course not.  I utilize all forms of communication with my clients.  However, I still give them that personal one on one attention.  Sure I will send an email asking them a question one day and a week later I will call them on the phone or stop by their home.

 

The point is, do not allow yourself to be swallowed up by all the available automation technology that is out there… From auto blog posts and facebook updates and tweets, to the auto email messages and I have even come in contact with the auto phone update as well.  I am not saying to never use these tools, but use them sparingly and don’t forget your first priority is customer service and client satisfaction, which in my experience relates directly back to solid personal communication.

Tim Brown
Owner/Broker, Realtor®, ABR,CRS,CDPE®
Auctioneer NCAL#8560
Hines & Associates Realty
TeamHeidi
Direct Line: 704-619-1008
Client Care Line: 704-815-3208
www.CarolinaHomes4Sale.com

 

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Bank of America is making a process change that will reduce the processing time and improve customer service for HAFA Short Sales (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative Program) that are submitted with an offer.

The proposed change goes into effect Dec. 1, 2011, and impacts all short sales submitted with an offer in which the homeowner is eligible for the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA) program.

When a short sale is submitted with an offer and the homeowner is HAFA eligible, we will no longer halt work on the file while waiting to contact the homeowner. HAFA eligible homeowners are no longer required to call our Short Sale Customer Care to indicate whether they will participate in the program.

Instead, real estate agents specializing in short sales can indicate a homeowner's HAFA interest by submitting the necessary documents to Equator within 14 days. During that 14-day window, the short sale will continue moving forward. By the end of the 14 days, if we have not received the requested HAFA documents, we will continue to process the file as a traditional short sale.

This change is being made because we are transitioning the processing of all HAFA short sales with an offer from our outsourced vendor partners to Bank of America associates. A Bank of America specialist will be able to seamlessly transition a file from our traditional process to the HAFA process, thus improving customer service and the borrower and agent experiences. Homeowner's and agents should be aware that Bank of America's outsourced vendor partners will, however, continue to process all short sales submitted without an offer.

Action required:  

Short sales initiated on Equator.com that receive a HAFA eligibility message no longer require homeowners to call Customer Care to confirm their interest.

-  If homeowners wish to participate in HAFA, agents must submit the requested documents within 14 days.  (Note: the 14-day period begins the day the HAFA solicitation letter is mailed to the homeowner. Agents can obtain the date of the letter from homeowner.) 

-  If you are unclear about which documents to submit, contact your short sale specialist via Equator messaging. 

Additional Recommendations:

Homeowners interested in understanding the benefits a HAFA short sale, including the $3,000 relocation incentive at closing are encouraged to review HAFA Program or the HAFA education guide to learn more.

Bank of America also has put together a HAFA Eligibility FAQ for interested homeowners

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Alternatives to Foreclosure in the Los Angeles Area

If you or someone you know in the Los Angeles area is having a difficult time with their home mortgage payments, it is especially important to know what the alternatives to foreclosure might be. Two of the most talked about alternatives are Loan Modification and Short Sale.

 

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Loan Modification: The borrower works with their lender to change the terms of their mortgage loan. This is usually a change in the interest rate and your monthly mortgage payment for a period of time. Unfortunately, not everyone will qualify for a loan modification. Most homeowners will begin to make trial payments (temporary lowered monthly payments) to their lender while they are under review for a modification. Those who are fortunate may be offered a permanent loan modification. However, I have spoken to some people who have been on trial payments for a long while and unfortunately, the mortgage company will reject the loan modification. 

 

Short Sale: If the homeowner has tried for a loan modification and does not qualify, their lender will suggest a short sale of the home. Note, a short sale may still be attempted even if the homeowner does not try the loan modification first. You do not have to apply for a loan modification before a short sale. What is a short sale? When the owner of the home is having difficulty or may be in trouble with their mortgage payments in the near future and the balance is higher than the current market value of the property, the lender will be asked to take less than the amount that they are owed when the house sells. It is important that you work with someone that has experience with short sales because it is a different process than the tradtional real estate transaction. 

 

Feel free to contact me directly at 818-903-2040 to discuss alternatives to foreclosure in the Los Angeles area. 

 

Other areas served:

Agoura Hills, Arleta, Beverly Hills, Box Canyon, Burbank, Calabasas, , Canoga park, Canyon Country, Castaic, Chatsworth, Encino, Glendale, Granada Hills, Hidden Hills, Lake Balboa, Lakeview Terrace, Mission Hills, Newhall, North Hills, North Hollywood, Northridge, Pacoima, Panorama City, Pasadena, Porter Ranch, Reseda, San Fernando, Santa Clarita, Saugus, Sepulveda, Sherman Oaks, South Pasadena, Stevenson Ranch, Studio City, Sun Valley, Sylmar, Tarzana, Toluca Lake, Topanga, Universal City, Valencia, Valley Glen, Valley Village, Van Nuys, West Hills, West Hollywood, West Los Angeles, Westlake Village, Woodland Hills, Winnetka

Bell Canyon, Camarillo, Moorpark, Newbury Park, Oak Park, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Ventura, Westlake Village

IF YOU DO NOT SEE YOUR AREA HERE, PLEASE CONTACT ME. THANK YOU

Experience with Lenders: Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, GMAC, Citimortgage, Citibank, Litton, Aurora Loan, SPS, SLS, etc

Sara Mehrpouyan, CDPE

818-903-2040

Dre#01712757

Rodeo Realty

Los Angeles Real Estate - Los Angeles, Ca Foreclosure & Short Sale Realtor Specialist

www.Short-Sale-Vs-Foreclosure-Help.com

 

source: http://activerain.com/blogsview/2626511/alternatives-to-foreclosure-in-the-los-angeles-area

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12433924875?profile=originalGetting a short sale approved is no easy task. Buyers can, and do, walk away if they feel the transaction is taking too long. Mortgage insurance companies frequently demand unreasonably high contributions from the seller, thus killing the deal. Servicing rights can be transferred to a new lender mid- transaction. The foreclosure auction occurs despite the lender repeatedly telling you that it was postponed. These are only a few examples of what can go wrong. Admittedly, many of the aforementioned reasons are unforeseen and cannot be prevented.The majority of short sales that fail, however, do so because the person handling the transaction makes a mistake and the buyer walks away prior to obtaining short sale approval. While it is imperative that the person handling the short sale negotiation takes certain steps to ensure a successful short sale, the buyer's agent plays an equally important role in the approval process. With a traditional sale, the buyer and seller negotiate against each other, whereas the agents in a short sale must work together to keep the transaction from falling apart. As someone with an extremely high short sale success rate,  I encourage buyer's agents to take the following steps in order to ensure a successful short sale transaction.

 

1. Ask The Listing Agent Important Questions

 The buyer's agent should always inquire as to specific transaction details prior to submitting an offer. You should always begin by asking the listing agent if they will personally be handling the short sale negotiation with the lender. If they use a third-party negotiator, then you will need to speak with that individual in order to determine their experience level. The first thing you need to ascertain from the individual handling the negotiations is the amount of liens encumbering the property. If the homeowner has two loans, then you will need to obtain short sale approval from both lien holders. As you can imagine, this fact, as well as the lenders' identity, will largely dictate how long the short sale transaction should take. Keep in mind, you should also confirm that all taxes are current and, if it is a condominium, whether all condo fees are paid because any delinquencies will result in additional liens that must be released prior to a deed transfer. Once you determine the total amount of liens, you should also ask whether the seller is already in default and, if so, whether a foreclosure auction date is scheduled. The last thing you want to do is spend a couple of months committed to a short sale only to find out that a foreclosure date is imminent. Finally, it is always a good idea to ask the seller why they are seeking a short sale. Although the seller does not need to provide specific details, the buyer does have a right to know whether the seller has a lender approved hardship and, therefore, whether they even qualify for a short sale. If the listing agent or third-party negotiator cannot answer these basic questions, it is highly unlikely that they have enough short sale experience to get your short sale closed.

 

2. Manage Your Buyer's Expectations

 Once you determine that the seller is a qualified short sale candidate, you should next turn your attention your client, the buyer. You should immediately provide the buyer with a reasonable short sale time-line. By doing this, you not only show the buyer that you have done your homework, but you also ensure that all parties are on the same page from the outset of the transaction. On the most basic level, all short sales consist of three stages: (1) offer (2) valuation and (3) negotiation. Thus, if you provide a reasonable estimate of how long each stage will take, it is much more likely that your buyer will remain a party to the transaction, even if an unexpected event occurs, such as the loan being transferred to a new servicer or the lender grossly overvaluing the property. Both of which, by the way, have happened to me. If, however, the buyer enters the transaction with the expectation that the short sale will be approved in one month, the lender never has a reasonable opportunity to complete the short sale approval process. An offer that expires in thirty days is not a strong offer and most likely not the "highest and best" offer because it never has a fighting chance to close. Instead, the buyer and seller should mutually agree upon a time period in which they reasonably expect the short approval to be obtained. That way, all parties are on the same page from the outset of the transaction. The simple task of providing the buyer with a short sale time-line will not only manage the buyer's expectations, but will also discourage casual purchasers from making an offer on a short sale property.

 

3. Eliminate All Contingencies In The Contract

 Simply put, short sale lenders do not like contingencies. The only exception to this rule is the mortgage financing clause and, even in that case, the buyer will have to submit a pre-approval or proof of funds letter showing that they will be able to eliminate the financing contingency shortly after receiving short sale approval. Thus, if you represent a buyer who needs to sell their current home prior to purchasing another, your client should not be looking at short sales. Another common contingency, and a source of contention, involves the property inspection. Most buyer's agents insist upon conducting the inspectionafter the lender approves the short sale. Most listing agents, however, don't like this because it gives the buyer the ability to walk away from the transaction at any time, without cause. In my opinion, an offer that enables the buyer to walk away at anytime is likely not the “highest and best” offer because the buyer is not committing to purchase the property subject only to short sale approval. The post approval inspection gives the buyer another opportunity to back out of the purchase with little or no penalty. The seller, on the other hand, is unequivocally making a commitment to the buyer because they effectively take the property off of the market once they submit the signed offer to their lender. Admittedly, I understand why buyers may want to not want to spend a few hundred dollars up-front on an inspection, but you could easily make the argument that this decision potentially costs the buyer more money in the long run. Keep in mind, once you submit the offer to the lender, you forfeit your right to adjust the purchase price.If you are buying an “As Is” property, such as a short sale, wouldn't you rather take into account all necessary property information prior to submitting your offer to to the bank? In other words, wouldn't it be in the buyer's best interest to find out whether there are any major property condition issues prior to committing to the transaction for 60-90 days? More often than not, a short sale fails because the buyer walks away as a result of the property inspection, not because the seller was unable to obtain short sale approval. Regardless of your point of view, it is always best to deal with the inspection contingency issue at the outset of the short sale transaction so as to avoid any potential disagreements between the buyer and seller.

 

4. Make Sure Buyer Is Prepared To Close Upon Receipt Of Short Sale Approval

Most short sale approval letters are only valid for 30-45 days, and the majority of buyers make the mistake of waiting until receipt of the short sale approval letter before they initiate the financing process. In today's market, it is virtually impossible for a buyer to obtain mortgage financing during this time frame. Moreover, simply obtaining a pre-approval letter from your buyer's lender is insufficient. Anyone with an email address can obtain a pre-approval letter. As the buyer's agent, you need to initiate contact with your buyer's lender and confirm whether they will be able to close within 30-45 days of receiving the short sale approval letter. I always ask the buyer's lender for a list of conditions that need to be satisfied in order to receive a firm mortgage commitment. Next, I make certain that the buyer completes as many of these tasks as possible during the time in which I am working on getting the short sale approved. This way, the buyer simply needs to update their financial information and conduct the appraisal in order to finalize their financing. While most short sale lenders will grant an extension, they are harder and harder to obtain, and in some cases the seller is required to update their financial documents and re-submit the entire file to the investor for review. In my opinion, it is much more efficient, and doesn't cost the buyer anything, if they eliminate all financing conditions during the short sale approval process rather than waiting until the short sale is approved.

 

5. Be Prepared to Negotiate and Engage The Use of a Professional

If you haven't figured it out by now, short sales require the cooperation of all parties involved. Unlike a conventional sale, where the process is primarily adversarial, the buyer and the seller must work together during a short sale in order to get the deal approved. This includes the negotiation. Everybody knows that lenders prefer short sales to foreclosures, but they are not going to give the property away for less than what they deem as fair market value. By agreeing to the short sale, the lender is trying to mitigate their losses. As a result, the lender is going to attempt to cut their losses wherever possible. The most common method is to reduce real estate commissions or seller paid closing fees. Lenders also try to minimize their loss by demanding a cash contribution or promissory note at closing. This is where it pays to engage the use of a short sale professional, even if you are the buyer's agent. The short sale lender typically pays the negotiator's fee, so why wouldn't you take advantage of the negotiator's expertise? Furthermore, by encouraging your client to use an experienced short sale negotiator, you are showing the seller that you are committed to the purchase and taking the necessary steps to get the deal closed as efficiently and effectively as possible. The short sale negotiator should be able to leverage their expertise and get the lender to agree to the short sale with minimal financial damage to all parties. A good negotiator is one that it is able to convince the lender that the proposed offer will result in less of a loss than a foreclosure, while at the same time getting the buyer their desired purchase price and, most important, getting the seller out of a bad situation with minimal credit damage an no deficiency balance owed following the short sale. All parties must be willing to negotiate and showing the lender that everyone is willing to make concessions will greatly increase the likelihood of getting your short sale closed.

 

Related Posts:

Five Tips For Listing Agents To Ensure Short Sale Approval

How To Keep Buyers A Party To A Massachusetts Short Sale Without A Signed Purchase Contract

Five Things To Avoid When Writing Your Short Sale Hardship Letter

 

About the AuthorGreater Boston Short Sales, LLC (GBSS) is Massachusetts’ leading short sale negotiator. GBSS assists buyers, sellers, real estate agents and attorneys with getting their short sales closed. Contact us today if you are a homeowner facing foreclosure or a Realtor seeking assistance with a short sale transaction. GBSS is a MARS provider. Please read our disclaimer HERE.

If you are considering a Massachusetts short sale, and would like a free short sale consultation, please call my office to schedule a meeting or a telephone consultation at (617)264-0376.

 

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