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Has anybody ever done a short sale with this lender?? as i'm finding it extremely difficult to get a good number.

I'd appreciate your help.

Thanks!

Mily Arroyo

Hi folks. Short Sale Designations. How many are there and does having one mean anything? Well there are a whole bunch of designations!!

Having a Short Sale designation means that the agent, at a minimum, knows how to put together a short sale package to send to the lender. They have probably been through several hours of training either live or via the internet.

I'm not aware of ANY designation that requires experience. And that's where the problem lies. An agent can have numerous Short Sale designations and market themselves as: "expert", "specialist", "professional", "genius", "certified", "consultant" and so forth. When the reality is they have NEVER listed and closed on one successful Short Sale. Misleading? You betcha!!!

My designation is real life experience. I don't have any Short Sale designations. I bet I could teach the course though. For me short sales were never difficult. They are a process. It took about 5 minutes to figure out what was included in a short sale package to the lender. All I did was ask them. From there short sales involve negotiating. Well heck I've been negotiating real estate deals for 17 years. A deal's a deal. Nothing new there.

Lender nuances, rules, regs and laws change constantly. These you stay on top of by being in the Short Sale business, listening, asking questions and researching. A designation class may get you started but it certainly won't make you an expert. Only experience will do that. And maybe after another 100 or so closings I'll consider myself one.

So if you are looking to hire a Short Sale agent, don't ask for their designations. Instead ask to see their track record. Here's mine.

Here's a list of some of the more popular designations. I'm sure there are more.

CDPE- Certified Distressed Property Expert

• A Certified Distressed Property Expert® (CDPE) has a thorough understanding of complex issues in today’s turbulent real estate industry and knowledge of foreclosure avoidance options available to homeowners. CDPEs can provide solutions, specifically short sales, for homeowners facing market hardships.

SFR-Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource

• For many real estate professionals, short sales and foreclosures are the new “traditional” real estate transaction. Knowing how to help sellers maneuver the complexities of short sales as well as help buyers pursue short sale and foreclosure opportunities are not merely good skills to have in today’s market — they are critical. And while short sales and foreclosures are not for the faint of heart, agents with the proper tools and training can use these specialty areas to build their business for the long term.

CSP-Certified Short Sale Professional

• Introducing the Certified Short-Sale Professional (CSP) designation course, the only complete short sale and preforeclosure designation course that shows real estate professionals how to become a short sale expert and generate substantial commissions helping homeowners avoid foreclosure.

SSG-Short Sale Genius

• In order to help homeowners recognize what level of expertise an agent has, we have developed a sliding scale designation to identify successful agents vs. just dealing with an agent who "attended" a training. Without the SSG designation, other agents and the general public can not identify who they are working with and if they really are "good" at what they do.

CSSN-Certified Short Sale Negotiator

• This is a one-day course and is focused on the short sale process and the different negotiation techniques required to successfully negotiate a short sale.

CFAC-Certified Floreclosure Alternatives Consultant

• Once you complete the course, you’ll be a trained consultant who understands the alternatives to foreclosure with an emphasis on the short sale process.

CSSA-Certified Short Sale Agent

• Certified Short Sale Agent training provides you with critical knowledge and techniques to increase your business through selling distressed real estate.

ADPR-Accredited Distressed Property Representative

• The Accredited Distressed Property Representative Designation (ADPR) designation is awarded to those who successfully complete the two-day course by passing the final examination.

You know you will love this:

http://www.huliq.com/3257/sweet-justice-main-street-homeowner-forecloses-bank-america

B of A foreclosed on a guy that paid CASH for his home......the guy TRIED to get it straight with B of A, they ignored him (can anyone here relate to being ignored by B of A)????

He took them to court, WON, was ignored AGAIN, and, foreclosed on the B of A branch......AWESOME!!!!!

This is what you are up against dealing with short sales.......I have a LONG list of homeonwers that are just LOVING this story.

Good stuff.

All my best to everyone handling short sales!!!!

With things the way they are and recovery inching a few steps forward and a few steps back, knowing today’s buyer and what their needs and wants are is crucial to getting a client’s home sold in a timely fashion.

Of course price is the main factor in getting a home sold faster but understanding your target audience is also a must when taking into consideration the marketing of a property.  It wouldn’t make sense to market a 4 bedroom home with a pool, finished basement, and state of the art appliances included to a group that is looking at retirement properties.  Nor does it make sense to only make information available via text messages when your target audience is those looking for retirement type properties.

So in working with a seller, it is very important to walk the home, get a sense of the target audience and mold a marketing strategy based on that target audience.  Of course you dont want to eliminate or limit the homes exposure to potential buyers but you also don’t want to be spending your marketing dollars in the wrong place.

Now with understanding that when selling a home you need to focus your marketing dollars on the target audience, what about figuring out how that target audience usually reacts to today’s market and what their trends are.

According to the National Association of Realtors buyers today are as widespread as ever. A few examples…

The National Association of Realtor reports that 47% of all homes purchased from families married with kids are first time home buyers.  Furthermore, unmarried couples buying a home make up 74% of that particular target market. the NAR also reports that 28% of buyer aged 65 and older are looking to buy a home closer to friends and family, while 12% are looking for a smaller home and 10% are entering retirement.

Just by taking a few of these stats a good real estate professional is able to understand the data and act upon it.  If your REALTOR pays attention and monitors what type of buyers are buying your type of home, they will better be able to appropriately list, price, market and sell to a demographic group that is the perfect fit for your home’s personality.

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

Tim Brown is a Owner/Broker, Realtor®, ABR,CRS,CDPE®, Auctioneer NCAL#8560 with Hines & Associates Realty. He currently serves buyers and sellers in Charlotte, Mecklenburgh, Cabarrus, Cornelius, Huntersville, and other surrounding communities in North Carolina. Charlotte Real Estate, Charlotte Homes for Sale

I thought everyone might be interested in hearing what Realtors are saying about the Fannie Mae Short Sale Assistance Desk.  See attachment from Fannie Mae. 

I would also encourage Realtors to contact their MLSs to ensure they have access to this service in their markets.  For more information, visit Fannie Mae's website at:  What are Realtors Saying About the Assistance Desk...https://www.efanniemae.com/is/reprofessionals/pdf/ssadfaqs.pdf

And most importantly, send out updates at least once a week through out the process. I use a personalized email that the Buyer's agent can just forward to their Buyer. If you take these measures your Buyers will stick around more often than not.

Below is a sample of my email update. Notice how I remind them of the time frame for approval and how far along we are in the process. The Buyer's agents love these emails as it helps them to keep their Buyers informed. I mean let's face it...they too do not want to have to go out and sell their Buyer another property. It's better to just work together and get this one closed. I hope this helps.

I have a short sale with Navy Federal Credit Union.  The short sale was approved however the mortgage insurance company is requiring a promissory note from the seller of $15,000.  Her CPA says that would send her into bankruptcy.  The buyers are hanging in there but we are at an impass.  Any ideas?

Shanale

PMZ Real Estate

I have a question for anyone who has come across this situation before.. We have been working with Chase Bank on one of our short sales, this is an FHA loan so the bank had a full appraisal done on the property. We later received an ATP from Chase Bank at 155,000, we signed this contract with FHA as well we received an offer higher than this amount..  This file was later transfered to another negotiator who then reviewed the file and discovered the ATP should have been 185,000.. The question I have is that due to the fact that we have a signed agreement with HUD do they not have to honor this agreement??? 

Someone please help.....

Thanks so much!

If you have been anywhere close to the tv and happen to have a news station on you will know that 2011 has been the biggest year for deadly tornados this country has seen in the last 50 years. So it is important to be educated on ways in which you can storm-proof your investment and work to minimize damage if hurricane or tornado force winds were to strike. As you know in Charlotte we do get our share of wind advisories and tornado and storm warnings.  Being aware of some of the ways in which you can protect your home is a good place to start.

About.com’s Jackie Craven has some good ideas on this. The first place to start is the roof. Gabled roofs are much more likely to fall victim to damage from high winds. These types of roofs however can be reinforced by adding additional braces in the Trusses and at the gable ends. Another route you can take is bringing on a qualified builder to install galvanized metal hurricane straps. This will secure the roof to the walls.

The next item to storm proof would be your windows. Wind that is strong enough to break and shatter glass is a definate safety issue. We all know that when a strong storm is in the area we are all told to stay clear of windows. That is all great to protect us, but what about those windows. The most recommeneded and affordable way to protect your windows is to get storm shutters. Storm shutters are often used as a decorative element to the outside of the house and often overlooked as a functional piece of the home. Being able to easily open and close storm shutters will provide a basic form of protection against those stronger winded storms. If you are not wanting to put storm shutters up, then having pre-measured and cut plywood panels accessible to put in place is a great alternative option.

The next thing we would want to do to storm proof our home is the doors and garage. Many of today’s doors do not have bolt and pins that are strong enough to withstand high force wind storms. You can very cheaply purchase additional bolts that will help withstand the extra strain placed on the door. It is also recommended that you install horizontal bracing in each panel of the garage door.

The Red Cross released a brochure called Against the Wind, which you can read here.

In the end there is no full proof way to 100% guard against these types of winds, but you can take measures to better protect your investment.  The point is that when it comes down to it, the heart of the matter is not necessarily protecting your home, but rather protecting the people inside that make it a home.

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

 
Tim Brown is a Owner/Broker, Realtor®, ABR,CRS,CDPE®, Auctioneer NCAL#8560 with Hines & Associates Realty. He currently serves buyers and sellers in Charlotte, Mecklenburgh, Cabarrus, Cornelius, Huntersville, and other surrounding communities in North Carolina. Charlotte Real Estate, Charlotte Homes for Sale

Some information in this article was borrowed from about.com

I have an escalated file with B of A, and, after 14 months hanging in there, the Buyer pulled out while we were working on obatining a short payoff on teh delinquent condo fees (can't say I blame them for walking after 14 months).

With an APPROVED dollar amount, we quickly found a new BUyer, and, were just informed that WE GET TO START THE PROCESS OVER BECAUSE EQUATOR DOES NOT PERMIT BUYER NAMES TO BE SWITCHED).

Good times and teh Buyer, Seller, agnts, attorneys and title company could all not be happier.

Weird thing - this is a B of A portfolio loan ("BANA"), yep it is THEIR OWN MONEY that is sitting as a non-performing note/asset.

I ahve 2 calls in to asset managers, and, the ususal esclation group I send short sale issues with.

Just when you think B of A and Equator are good to work with WHAM, back to reality!!!!

Thanks B of A...I saw they made the NUMBER ONE company for one thing:

WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE:

http://money.msn.com/investing/the-2011-customer-service-hall-of-shame.aspx?cp-documentid=6821116&GT1=33002

sorry to all for venting, but, short sales get to me sometimes....