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NAILTA supports another extension of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act (MDRA) through 2015.  Why is this important? Several reasons: The law spares homeowners who receive principal reductions on their mortgages from being hit with hefty federal income taxes on the amounts forgiven.


Without it, millions of homeowners who go through or leave their homes following short sales would experience even more financial stress. The law, which is set to expire December 31, 2013, has also provided relief to thousands of people who have debt balances written off as part of loan-modification agreements and is crucial to the $25-billion federal-state robo-signing settlement with large banks.

NAILTA recently issued a revised white paper in support of extensions to the MDRA. Many of our members and represented industry colleagues have handled the ever-growing number of short sale transactions that have helped homeowners avoid foreclosure and maintain the continuity of land transfers. Without the MDRA, the short sale market will collapse and foreclosures will increase putting an already strained real estate market on the way backward.

Independent title agents are still the consumers’ best friend and most trusted professional at a real estate closing. An extension of the MDRA would help millions of distressed homeowners find an alternative to bankruptcy and foreclosure. Extending MDRA will also help small business owners in the title insurance market remain competitive within the title community.

If you are in contact with your local Congressional representative, tell them you support NAILTA and would like them to vote in favor of extending the MDRA.

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To improve the customer experience, Bank of America has enhanced it's home retention application and document collection process in an effort to help customers explore all opportunities to resolve their mortgage delinquency. Changes to their home retention evaluation process have been implemented to support that commitment.

What has changed?


Application & document collection process:
A streamlined application process means that customers will now be evaluated for all availableforeclosure avoidance options and programs for which they are eligible, including loan modificationsshort sales and deed in lieu, at the same time from one loss mitigation application. This approach will give customers more complete information about the range of options available and reassurance that Bank of America is working with them toward an acceptable delinquency resolution.


The short sale process will begin automatically if it is determined that it is the best option for the customer. Customers interested in proceeding with the short sale process can advise the short sale specialist to add the real estate professional of their choice to the file. The same customer documents collected during the home retention evaluation (modification) will be used for the short sale transaction. Eligibility criteria has not changed; however:

  • We will continue to provide our customers with a comprehensive list of all the required documents, which are to be collected at the beginning of the process.  
  • Notification will be provided advising of all options and programs for which the customer was evaluated along with the approval or denial resulting from the evaluation.

Helping customers understand this approach is critical to setting expectations and successfully partnering with them.

Bank of America Short Sale Initiation Process:
The customer may choose to proceed directly to a short sale evaluation and not be evaluated for home retention options first. Ensure the customer contacts their assign Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) to discuss options that are available to them. For this type of direct initiation a Borrower Election Form will be required before an approval can be provided.

  • Customer Initiation: The customer calls Customer Care 1.866.880.1232 to request a short sale without previously being evaluated for home retention options. The Customer or Authorized Third-Party will work with the assigned short sale specialist to upload the required documentation
  • Agent Initiation: The customer's agent or Authorized Third-Party opens the short sale record in Equator ® and assists the customer to upload the required documentation

For both Agent initiated and Customer initiated files, a letter will be sent advising of any missing borrower required documents. In addition, for this type of direct initiation an Advisement letter containing the Borrower Election Form will be sent. The fully executed Borrower Election Form will be required before an approval can be provided.

To save time and avoid delays with the short sale process, borrowers should first explore all available home retention options prior to beginning the short sale or has chosen to pursue a short sale instead.

If you’re facing foreclosure you’re facing some very important decisions. We want you know you’re not alone and we are here to help with any questions you may have to assist you in making the best decisions for your situation. There is no charge for this service and we are happy to help! We offer confidential and professional real estate advice.

The Opland Group  Specializes in  Real Estate Sales, Luxury Home Sales, Short Sales  in;    Bexley    Columbus    Delaware    Downtown    Dublin    Gahanna    Grandview Heights    Granville    Grove City    Groveport    Hilliard   Lewis Center    New Albany    Pickerington    Polaris    Powell      Upper Arlington    Westerville    Worthington

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I have a short sale for a deceased single person with no significant other who passed away. The estate with no positive assets and actually a lot of debt, including $20K in child support, was left to his 2 kids. (He has been divorced for at least 10 years). A person (not ex wife) with no financial interest in the property and who did not inherit anything (except a headache) is handling the estate as the "Special Personal Representative". This person is married and doesn't even live in the State where the vacant home resides. 

CitiMortgage is the bank and they have told me that there is no "outside" investor or MI company. They said that they "are the investor". They are insisting that we have to provide the Personal Representative's SSN so they can pull her credit, her bank statements, paystubs, tax returns, and basically everything as if she is the Borrower. I know that they do this if the non-borrower spouse is the one handling it and maybe there would be a reason to get this info for anyone that has contributed to the household by living there or that is related or has interest possibly in some way. She is basically a stranger, there was no trust, and she has no business relations with the deceased person. She is getting nothing from this.

When I call Citi, they will not put me past the girl who is handling the file who is the person one step before the negotiator and one step after the initial person. This girl will not let me talk to a manager or a negotiator and says that this is a government regulation. I told her it wasn't a government loan and she said that they still have to go from government guidelines. Even the other people I have gotten a hold of at the bank, who want to help, can't (like it isn't possible) for them to get me to someone in the negotiations dept. 

To make a long story shorter, there is a buyer (represented by someone else) who has their loan docs at title, have put $5K into the home to make it FHA lender approved, and have actually paid more than market (in my opinion) for the home. We need to get this through and the personal representative is not going to give out any of her personal financial information. I NEED SOME HELP! DOES ANYONE HAVE A SITUATION LIKE THIS? DOES ANYONE HAVE A NUMBER OR EMAIL OF A HIGHER END MANAGER AT CITIMORTGAGE? ANY SUGGESTIONS?

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Welcome-to-Wisconsin.jpg?width=300The Wisconsin housing statistics are in for October of 2013. Here is an excerpt from what the Wisconsin Realtors® Association (WRA) had to say:

Wisconsin’s red-hot real estate market cooled in October, with sales of existing homes nearly identical to October of last year, according to the most recent housing report issued by the Wisconsin Realtors® Association. October sales were just 0.1 percent lower than last October, representing the first time since July of 2011 that monthly sales did not increase over the previous year. The median sales price however continued to rise, increasing 5.6 percent to $142,500 in October relative to October 2012. On a year-to-date basis, median prices increased 7.5 percent compared to the first 10 months of 2012.

While somewhat surprising, these numbers are not totally unexpected,” said Steve Lane, chairman of the WRA board of directors. “We are comparing sales between two very strong years and two very healthy markets,” he said.

Sales softened in all regions of the state. The strongest regional growth was in the South central region, where sales were up 3.9 percent.

Below are the number of Home Sales and Median House Prices for the state of Wisconsin, Rock County, and Dane County. These stats include Janesville and Madison. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions pertaining to these figures. As you probably have heard, home sales & prices have been increasing over the past few years. Both Dane and Rock counties are showing marked improvements in the number of homes sold and the price at which they are being sold at. As you can see, Rock County was exceptionally strong in October for both the number of homes sold as well as the price at which they sold.

I'd be happy to show you any homes currently listed for sale. Feel free to visit Janesville, WI Home Listings for Sale to search for current properties listed in the Janesville area or visit Madison, WI Homes for Sale for MLS Listings in the Madison area.

If you would like some insight into how much your home is currently worth, I would be happy to provide you with a free comparative market analysis. This is a report that gives a close estimate to what your home might sell for in your current local Wisconsin real estate market. Click below:

What's My Wisconsin Home Worth?

Has your home value fallen below what you currently owe? A short sale may be right for your situation. Visit the following page on Wisconsin Short Sales.

Housing Statistics for the State of Wisconsin:

October 2013
Home Sales: 5,711
Median Home Price: $142,000

October 2012
Home Sales: 5,652
Median Home Price: $135,000

Housing Statistics for Dane County, WI:

October 2013
Home Sales: 513
Median Home Price: $218,000

October 2012
Home Sales: 493
Median Home Price: $198,878

Housing Statistics for Rock County, WI:

October 2013
Home Sales: 168
Median Home Price: $109,000

October 2012
Home Sales: 147
Median Home Price: $85,000

View my report from last month. Wisconsin September 2013 Housing Statistics

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I am having some trouble with a possible short sale listing. The seller who brought me the property is only on the loan and not on title. I am needing some help to determine if I need to have the other people on title removed prior to moving forward with the short sale. Does anyone have any experience with this?

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IRS 1099

The government has not renewed the IRS 1099 rule yet.  No one knows if they are going to renew.  If you have a short sale pending to close it needs to close before the end of the year while the rule is still in place.

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Dear Potential Allied Partner,

 

Wanted to reach out to you with some exciting news and opportunity. As you may or may not know, our Team (Metro Associates) left our previous brokerage to join forces with HER Realtors.

 

In the next few weeks HER Realtors is anticipating rolling out a Statewide Short Sales Division that is anticipated to conduct 700-1100 transactions during its first year of operation. Our Team, Metro Associates, will be involved in this initiative, and I wanted to reach out to you in getting your input or opinion on involvement as well. The HER Realtors Short Sale Division is a concept that unites real estate professionals, with mortgage servicing professionals, to create a unique difference in service for consumers when they need it most. Our HER Realtors Short Sale Division will offer negotiation services, marketing services, online auction services, home repair services, property management services, as well as additional market separator services dedicated to a single point of contact for consumers, as well as mortgage servicing professionals.

 

As this is an opportunity unique to the Ohio real estate market, I wanted to reach out to you for an opportunity of a discussion in how this might fit into your personal business plan for 2014. Please let me know when you might be available in the coming weeks.

 

    Or-Perhaps you know someone in these disciplines to tell me about?

 

ABOUT HER REALTORS:

 

HER Realtors is a full-service real estate company with more than 820 agents and 60 offices throughout Central Ohio, Cincinnati and Dayton. HER Realtors was established in 1956 by Harley E. Rouda, Sr. and has been the dominant full-service brokerage throughout the area since 1964.

 

WHY DID WE MOVE TO H E R ?    To start a Short Sale Division;  HER offers its consumers services that include residential and commercial real estate sales, property management and rental services, relocation excellence,  mortgage, title, warranty, and other home-related, lifestyle services.  The web support and Customer Relationship  support is far superior.

AND – It is a company On The Move!

MY E-MAIL:

BUSH.214@osu.edu

 

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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced changes to their Servicing Guides aimed at helping more borrowers avoid foreclosure through short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure (DILs).

Some of the changes are to align with certain Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rules and regulations that implement the mortgage servicing provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, and some are simply to ease eligibility requirements for liquidation workout options. The new GSE requirements become effective January 10, the same effective date as the CFPB’s new mortgage servicing standards.

Documentation Exceptions. Eligibility for a short sale or DIL with borrower documentation exceptions has been expanded to include borrowers whose mortgage debts have been discharged in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, regardless of the borrower’s FICO score. Additionally, mortgages that were originated as investment properties are no longer eligible for the exception to borrower documentation. Servicers must now review a complete Borrower Response Package (BRP) / Short Sale Package to evaluate these borrowers for a short sale or DIL.

Cash Reserves. Servicers must now submit a short sale or DIL recommendation to Freddie Mac for approval when the borrower’s cash reserves exceed $50,000.

Foreclosure Delays. Servicers and their counsel must delay the next legal action in the foreclosure process when the first complete BRP is received more than 37 days prior to the scheduled foreclosure sale date and evaluation of the package results in an offer to proceed with a short sale or DIL.

Expedited Reviews. Servicers are no longer required to conduct an expedited review when a completed BRP with a short sale purchase offer is received greater than 37 days prior to a scheduled foreclosure sale date. However, servicers must continue to expedite review of a complete BRP received between 37 days and 15 days prior to a scheduled foreclosure sale date.

Trial Period Plans. If a borrower remains eligible for the original Trial Period Plan (TPP) offer after receiving an appeal decision and accepts the original offer, servicers must reissue the original offer with a new TPP due date. Any delinquent amounts accrued during the appeal review process should be included in the modified principal balance.

If you, or someone you know is considering Buying or Selling a Home  in Columbus, Ohio please contact The Opland Group. We offer professional real  estate advice and look forward to helping you achieve your real estate  goals!

The Opland Group Specializes in Real Estate Sales, Luxury Home Sales, Short  Sales in; Bexley Columbus Delaware Downtown Dublin Gahanna Grandview  Heights Granville Grove  City Groveport Hilliard Lewis Center New  Albany Pickerington Polaris Powell Upper  Arlington Westerville Worthington

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