Freddie Mac Encourages Florida Short Sales

The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, more often known by its friendly nickname of Freddie Mac, recently hosted two events in South Florida for local real estate professionals. In this area, which includes Miami Springs and Davie, where the events were held, has approximately 40,000 homes that are lender-owned, and many more that are in some part of the foreclosure process.

The Freddie Mac events provided estate professionals with detailed information about the requirements for short sales. Freddie Mac, as well as Fannie Mae (the Federal National Mortgage Association), avidly promotes short sales over foreclosures. The events were intended to help real estate professionals who may not be as familiar with the short sale procedure gain some understanding of the intricacies of the process, in order to better serve homeowners.

The events discussed the various parties that are involved in short sales, and how agents interact with each of them. They described the short sale process, which is regulated.

They reviewed the required documentation, described what to cover in a pre-listing interview with the seller. When the mortgage is held by Freddie Mac, there are some additional benefits that can be gained. These include an enhanced payoff program, more willingness to look at all deals being offered, and an increased delegation to the seller’s server.

In Florida, the foreclosure process can take quite a long time, and often leaves homeowners with deficiency judgments, lawsuits that result from the unpaid mortgage debt. Short sales are a more appealing option because they protect against deficiency judgments. They are not necessarily less complex than a foreclosure, but they do benefit all the involved parties better.

The seller, and the neighborhood in which the home is located, avoid the stigma associated with foreclosure, which can lead to a snowball effect on the market. The mortgage insurance company is able to minimize its losses. The investor avoids the additional expense and effort of an REO. The real estate agent closes a sale, earning a commission and standing in the neighborhood.

Freddie Mac owns about 60,000 properties across the United States at the present time. They are strongly committed to selling to homeowners, rather than investors or those who purchase homes with the intention of flipping them. Currently, about 70 percent of the homes sold by Freddie Mac go to homeowners.

As many as 50% of mortgages go into foreclosure with no personal contact with the borrower. Freddie Mac is actively engaged in educating homeowners, agents, and lenders with the goal of reducing that number to zero. A study found that many homeowners are under informed about the options that are available to them when they are having trouble meeting mortgage payments.

Freddie Mac also hosts foreclosure prevention workshops for homeowners. A full list of dates and locations is available on the Freddie Mac website. These workshops cover all the options for staying in the home, including refinancing, forbearance, reinstatement, repayment, and modifications. They also cover the options for exiting the home gracefully, short sales and deed-in-lieu.

To Meet or Not to Meet…. The BPO agent

       There is no simple ”yes or no” answer to this question. Over the years I’ve tried many different approaches when it comes to handling the BPO agent. When I first started out in this business I would meet them at the house and provide them with a CMA on the property. I found that some agents would appreciate this while others resented the effort and they took it as me trying to tell them what to do resulting in a very high BPO. Other times I would provide them with a contract with the price that I wanted it to come in at. The challenge is to find out what kind of personality you’re dealing with because everyone’s different. Some agents are compassionate towards other people and when you explain the situation about the seller’s hardship and how you’re trying to help them, then they will also want to help. These agents will go the extra mile to try and get you the price you need in order to help the seller and get the deal done. However, there are other agents that are like dealing with robots. These agents don’t care, don’t want to know, and couldn’t care less about what the situation is. When I encounter someone like this, I don’t offer them any paperwork at all because not only will it not help but they will probably go out of their way to make the BPO higher than it should be.

        Another approach I’ve used that has worked well for me is to tell the BPO agent that the bank wanted me to do my own BPO report in addition to the one they’re doing. Remember, the BPO agent usually gets hired by an agency and they have no idea what the situation is. They can’t get mad or offended because you’re there to do a job just like they are. It’s very common these days for the banks to order 2 BPOs anyway and if they see me taking pictures of every single piece of damage in the house to put in my report, then what do you think they are going to do?  They don’t want their report to look less complete than mine so you can bet they won’t miss a thing either. In this situation you may even get a chance to share and compare notes.

        One of the most effective techniques I’ve used and still use sometimes is to be nice, play dumb and ask a lot of questions on how the process works. By doing this, I find out for sure if the agent is doing what he or she is supposed be doing. I will ask them things like “so you’re here to give a value according to a quick sale price right?” or “So what happens next after you complete your inspection?” This approach in non offensive and you will find out a lot about what type of personality you’re dealing with. I will even ask them at what price they think it will come in at if I feel comfortable enough with them. They worst thing they can say is “I’m not allowed to tell you that”.

        There are certain agents however, that no matter how nice or cooperative you try to be with them, they are just disgruntled and bitter on life and will actually go out of their way to mess up you’re deal. After a while you know exactly who they are because if you do a lot of short sales in the same areas you will get the same BPO agents over and over and it’s very easy to track which ones are good to work with and which ones are not. What I do with the bad ones is put them on my “Black List”. That way everyone in my office knows that when one of these names come up it gets handled differently. Whenever I get one that’s on my blacklist, I just don’t cooperate. When they call to set an appointment, I will usually tell them that the seller is out of town for a week or some other reason that will force them to turn it back over to the agency or bank since these reports are usually due in 72 hrs from the time they get assigned. Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t happen that often and there are only a handful of agents on this list. However, if I know for sure someone is out to mess me up then they will be treated the same way.

       I hope I didn’t offend any BPO agents with this post but short sales are a lot of work and at the end of the day we should all be working together to clean up this housing market. The BPO is an intricate part of doing a successful short sale and if you are doing BPOs, you should understand that the banks are pretty much clueless and they are depending on you to help get them get the deal done. Try and find out about what the situation is from the agent and be part of the solution not the problem. 

Another Foreclosure Sale Stopped Just an Hour Before!

      At 9am this morning we received a frantic call from a buyer’s agent on a deal that we are closing at the end of this week. Supposedly the auction date of today August 1^st at 11am was put on hold according to One West Bank and we even had a motion to cancel letter from the foreclosing attorney. The agent was checking on line and found that the sale was still on schedule! After wasting time calling the lender and trying to get something done we only had one option left and that was to drive down to the courthouse with the seller and a stack of paperwork on the file including the contract, payoff letter, etc. and personally file a motion to cancel the sale. We got there at exactly at 10am with the sale scheduled for 11am. With less than an hour left before the sale we had the seller file a motion to cancel the sale together with all the paperwork and I’m happy to say that it worked!

     We’ve been working this short sale for months with constant communication with the bank and them telling us that the sale was on hold and everything was on track to close. It just goes to show that you can’t leave it up to them to do what they promise they would do. I’m not sure exactly who dropped the ball or if it was intentionally dropped, but I am sure that if we hadn’t taken action and gone down there ourselves to personally file the motion to cancel the sale, it would have gone to sale. Although we haven’t had a close call like this in a while, it was a good reminder to us that sometimes there is a huge disconnect between the banks and the court system and you just can’t leave it in their hands. The fact is that a $10.00 per hr negotiator doesn’t have anything at stake and they probably couldn’t care less about the seller losing their house or you losing a deal.

      The common belief is that you need an attorney to file this type of motion…not true. However, the seller needs to be with you or you must have a power of attorney from the seller. Also, you must have all the paperwork with you that support your claim because if the judge is still not convinced, he can still let the sale happen.

You HAFA Give It A Try!

Many of the agents that I speak with wait to start the short sale process until they have an offer. Big mistake!! Why wait?... Why not try and make some headway with banks before you even have an offer? Maybe the seller can go HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Avoidance) program. The HAFA program offers full deficiency release, $3000 seller for moving costs once approved, and the bank is able to make a decision 10 days after they get an offer. Unfortunately, inexperienced agents would rather wait to get a buyer before even considering HAFA. Don’t wait…get the ball rolling, this will help you to put time on your side not the bank’s.

        

          Once you get a short sale file, research the options that are available for that seller and get moving on something. Most people aren’t even aware that the HAFA program exists so you should definitely find out if you can get them qualified. Even though I’m always the buyer on my short sale deals, I still try to exhaust every option I can to do what’s best for my client. Even if it means that I will make less money on that deal.

           In my experience I’ve found that if you make it not about the money…in the long run you’ll make more money. I’ve gotten countless referrals over the years by going the extra mile for people.

NACA Making a Big Splash!

For those of you who are not yet familiar with NACA… get familiar. It stands for Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America NACA’s  Home Save Program is nationally recognized as the most effective solution for homeowners with an unaffordable mortgage providing these solutions nationwide as the largest such organization. The NACA solution is to restructure the existing mortgage by permanently reducing the interest rate to achieve an affordable mortgage payment. A mortgage restructure is not a refinance that requires eligibility for a new loan (i.e. high credit scores, high property values, etc). Since a restructure reduces either or both the interest rate and/or mortgage principal on the existing first mortgage, there are no mortgage criteria eligibility restrictions. If the homeowner is unemployed NACA provides a forbearance with a minimum payment until that have steady income to have their mortgage restructured. The only homeowners not eligible are investors who own other properties. NACA’S Save the Dream events are amazing with thousands of people having their mortgage payment permanently reduced by over $500 and many by over a $1,000 a month often with interest rates reduced by 3% or 2% and sometimes a principal reduction. They have legally binding contracts with all of the major lender/servicers, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make mortgages affordable. Many people actually receive a permanent restructure the same day! The best part is that all NACA services are FREE.

       In addition to their Home Save program they offer a PURCHASE PROGRAM
NACA provides the best home purchase program in America right now. NACA provides free personalized and comprehensive counseling to all Members to address your particular credit and financial issues and help determine a mortgage payment you can afford. NACA’s counseling and underwriting criteria are “character-based” and not based on credit scores and ratios. This enables them to fulfill their mission of assisting working people who otherwise do not have access to affordable credit. Consequently, the vast majority of NACA Members are low- to moderate-income many of whom have neither perfect credit nor substantial savings.

        The NACA mortgage is unique in that everyone receives the same incredible terms which makes homeownership affordable and you do not need perfect credit.

• No downpayment,
• No closing costs,
• No fees,
• Fixed 30 year below market rate at 4.125% (as of 7/15/2011).

        NACA has established an extremely effective process for you to work through the process. They have established a personalized web-page called a Web-File for each member in their program. Your Web-File is specific to your specific circumstances that provides updated information as well as your status as you work towards purchasing your home. It provides you with updated information including your Task List which identifies your what additional documents and items necessary, ability to make an appointment with your mortgage consultant, conditions necessary to get your bank application approved, and much more.  
       My broker/wife has referred over a dozen people to NACA just in the last two months alone and they love her for it! People have everything to gain and nothing to lose. If you know someone that could use a mortgage restructure or buying a home you would be doing them a huge favor by telling the about NACA.

Using Facebook to Serve Foreclosure Notices?

One of the things which can delay legal cases, even foreclosure filings, is when the courts are having a hard time locating and serving the persons involved. In several other countries this particular problem has already been resolved. According to Facebook statistics, 30 percent of their 500 plus million users are in the United States and it is also currently the top social networking site beating Twitter and MySpace by far. Therefore it should be considered logical for lawyers or document servers to consider using it. In 2009, the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court granted a lawyer’s application to use Facebook to serve lien notices after several failed attempts of serving the documents in person and by e-mail. It was not even the first time the court has agreed to this as it previously allowed serving thru text messages and email.
        Last March, a British lawyer was also allowed to serve court summons to a debtor via Facebook. It was the very first time a British court allowed this and many viewed it as the court’s way of embracing technology and making court processes efficient and effective. It looks to me like more and more countries are adopting this practice of serving legal documents via Facebook. In the US, the practice has yet to be adopted and considering the growing trend among other countries, many people might be wondering if such practice will do more harm than good.
        When you hear news like this, it’s not surprising if your first thought would be about privacy concerns. For starters, Facebook is already under fire due to various issues concerning the privacy of their users and this could possibly be another. But based on the previous cases when legal notices were served via the social networking sites, it would seem the main objective is to make sure the person is notified. If e-mail, text message, fax and even personal visits don’t work, then why not consider Facebook? It can be a reliable and private method of serving foreclosure notices. Of course, there is also the problem of making sure that they’re serving the RIGHT person. This is the tricky part and such burden will be the responsibility of the lawyer, who will have to prove to the court the Facebook account holder is the person concerned.
          Considering most banks are up in their eyeballs in terms of foreclosure cases, serving foreclosure notices via Facebook might help them move ahead. They could even utilize the social networking site to contact the borrower immediately after the missed payment. Lenders can ask for the borrowers Facebook account during mortgage application to ensure all avenues of communication are open and if you’re going that far, you might as well use Facebook to submit and follow up with Short Sale files. It makes perfect sense to me.

Banks Giving Agents Short Sale Leads!?

        Yesterday I read an article at floridarealtors.org entitled “Banks Giving agents short sale leads”. When I read I thought to myself “WOW… This is great news!”

        It means banks are starting to realize that short sales are a win win situation for everyone. The lenders contact the borrowers first and then pass on information of those willing to cooperate in a short sale to local real estate professionals. They are actually providing brokers with pre-screened “warm leads” for short sales! I don’t know about you but I think this is great news. What could be a better referral source than the short sale lender itself? Also, when you contact that seller and tell them that their lender recommended you to help them out, do you think that you’ll get that deal?... If you don’t, then you’re in the wrong business. I don’t know how they go about choosing which agent to send the lead to but I’m pretty sure that agents with the best track record in closing short sales for them would be at the top of the list. I know that’s how I would choose.

       Lenders are doing this in order boost the number of successful workouts and it’s working… Banks that are participating in this have reported a twenty percent increase in short sale closings. Although the article didn’t mention what banks are doing this, I really hope that this becomes a growing trend in our industry. How do I get them to send me some leads? You may be asking. Well... It couldn’t hurt to ask the negotiators that you are currently working with especially if you've already closed a few with them. We’ve actually received several REO listings just by creating some rapport with the negotiator and asking questions.

       At the end of the day, we’re not working with big banks we’re just working with regular people that work inside of big buildings and the stronger the relationship that you can build with them, the better off you’ll be.

Designations are no Substitute for Experience

      Just because someone has Short Sale designations and endorsements it doesn’t mean that they are experts. I believe that experience makes you an expert. It doesn’t matter how many designations or how many short sale classes someone takes. Having a designation means that at least that agent knows how to put together a short sale package to send to the lender. They sat through a class or a webinar and learned how to put together a short sale package. I mean let’s face it… It’s not rocket science!

      It’s important to know that none of these designations require experience. That's where the problem is. 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. This is very misleading for people.

       My designation is real life experience. I don't have any Short Sale designations or endorsements. At the same time I coach agents on how to do successful short sales all of the time. For me short sales were never difficult. They are just a process. It didn’t take me very long 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 and I’ve been a negotiator most of my life. I even have to negotiate with my own kids on a daily basis! A deal is a deal is a deal.

      As far as ever changing rules, regs and laws. You stay on top of these 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. Even after negotiating over 400 successful short sales I still don’t consider myself an expert. Even though that’s what it says on my business card.

     I’m constantly updating my website with testimonials from real clients as well as proof of everything else we’re doing. Once I send a potential client to my website they’re able to see what we’ve done and what we’re about through testimonials, videos, press releases, blogs, etc. So if you are looking to hire a Short Sale company or agent, don't ask for their designations. Instead ask to see proof of their track record.

Short Sale Processing fees… Illegal or not illegal?

        There is a tremendous amount of buzz around whether it’s legal or not to charge an upfront processing fee to do someone’s short sale for them. My understanding is that the only people that are allowed to charge upfront fees to do a short sale or a loan modification are attorneys. That’s why I’ve developed a great relationship with my real estate attorney. As a matter of fact I made him a partner on everything that I do with him. Although I personally don’t charge an upfront fee to my clients for my services, I make sure to charge the short sale lender a significant processing fee payable to my attorney on the HUD [everytime]. I found out that once the bank sees the words “law firm” attached to that fee, they never argue. If you can’t beat them then why not find a way to join them. Unfortunately, because of all the bad press that’s been going around about real estate investors, agents, etc. in the past couple of years… when it comes to short sales, more and more people are turning to attorneys to get the job done. If you’re wondering why sellers aren’t responding to your marketing pieces like they used to…now you know. 

        Let’s face it, those of us that do short sales for a living are facing more challenges than ever before. Especially with all these Bankruptcy attorneys and their “free consultations”. Once people step into that big fancy office… it’s over! They start talking to sellers about deficiency judgments, tax repercussions, promissory notes, etc.

BK attorneys won’t mention the fact that all those things can be eliminated through negotiating with the lender.  Also, I’m sure that they leave out the bad stuff about doing a BK like your credit being toast for 7 to 10 years. Oh, and what about how you can do a bankruptcy on the day before the sale after you’ve exhausted all other options?! Nope, they don’t tell them that either.

        So I’ll say it again, if you can’t beat them then find a way to join them. If you’re a real estate professional, you probably know several real estate attorneys that may or may not be happy with their short sale processing company. Ask… you never know until you ask the question. That’s what I did and once I proved to them that I can deliver on my promises, they started sending me files.

        By the way, If you happen to be a real estate attorney in Central Florida with more short sales than you know what to do with or if you’re not happy with your current processors…contact me so we can talk. I have a full service staff of expert negotiators who know the short sale business inside and out. Just turn the file over to us and we’ll take it from there. Starting with putting together the package complete with listing agreement, submitting it to the bank, negotiating and following up with the bank, meeting the BPO agent, getting the approval letter and then finding the end buyer and delivering to you the complete package so you can close it. We do it all and we do it well.

407-855-4940

Strategic Default vs. Moral Obligation

According to recent surveys done across the US, more and more people that are upside down on there mortgage are purposely starting to default. People are finally waking up to the reality of there situation and making a conscious decision to just stop paying. I can’t say that I blame them. Don't let news reports talking about the "economic recovery" fool you - the Florida real estate market isn't coming back anytime soon.  It will most likely be years before it even starts to recover.  Even if you’re in a position where you can still pay your upside down mortgage, does it make financial sense to keep throwing your money away on a bad investment? Think about it…every dollar you put toward this losing proposition is money that you could put towards securing your family's future.
     

      Some of you may be asking this question… “Don’t I have a moral obligation to keep paying on my mortgage?” The truth is that you entered into an arms-length transaction with your lender in which both of you had competing interests and thus spelled out your obligations in a clear, signed contract. Unless the contract states that you have a "moral obligation to pay," then it's plain and simple - you don't.

      Here are the facts; when you borrowed the money to buy the property, you entered into a business transaction. The lender evaluated the risks and concluded that it was a risk worth taking. For its protection, the lender also required you to put the house up as collateral, as well as any equity you had in the house. The contract spelled out that if you don't pay, the lender has the right to take the property and sell it before you get any of your equity back - if there were any equity left, which of course there isn't if you're upside down. The lender would not have given you the loan if they didn’t think it was a smart business decision. Your choice to enter into this agreement was also a business decision.
 

      You decided to borrow the money and put the property at risk your equity, and your credit rating. It's obvious now, in retrospect, that both you and the lender made a bad decision. At this point the contract spells out what happens if you stop paying: the lender gets the property. However, there are other options like doing a “short sale”, “deed in lieu” or a loan modification. Doing a “Deed in Lieu” is where you sign the deed over to the bank and is basically a voluntary foreclosure which stays on your credit for up to 7 years…ouch!  Most loan modifications that get approved just don’t make financial sense unless they reduce the principle balance of the loan. In my opinion, doing a short sale is by far the best option. By doing a short sale you are able to get your house sold and walk away from the responsibilities of the mortgage. Also, there are programs now like HAFA [Housing Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives] where you can receive up to $3,000.00 back from your lender. As far as your credit is concerned, you’ll only have some late payments to deal with and just about any decent credit repair company can get that off of your record within a year.

  

      Be honest with yourself, there's more to it than just money.  You want your life back!  You want to stop spending your days thinking about your mortgage and living with the constant stress of worrying what's going to happen to you.  You may have gotten used to having this unending pressure in your life, but you probably should stop and take a moment to think about what it's costing you. 

     

     Your value as a person is not determined by the value of your real estate, or how much money you owe to a bank.  You are worth more as an individual than your bank will ever understand. Life is too short, and there are so many things more important than an underwater mortgage. For many people, it's literally the difference between happiness and depression; a smile and a frown; health and disease; hope and despair. Go speak with a real estate professional and find a solution; you owe it to yourself and your family. I'm here to help, it's up to you to take the next step.

Work with the Right People

      Way too often I speak with homeowners who tell me that they already tried a short sale with someone else and it didn’t work. For a homeowner or real estate professional looking to prevent foreclosure, a short sale company can be a big help. Be careful though, contracting an incompetent person can lead to financial disaster if done incorrectly. Real estate agents or investors with little knowledge or experience can do more harm than good. These people are also the reason why more and more homeowners are turning to attorneys and paying big money to negotiate their short sales for them when all the homeowner needs to do is some research. The first thing you should do when you are considering working with a short sale company is Google them. A while back, I had a “bird dog” working for me, he was an amazing salesman and he brought me at least 5 deals a month every month for over a year. One day I decided to Google his name just for kicks… As soon as I hit “Enter” a huge picture of him popped up as being a registered sex offender! Needless to say, I ended my relationship with him immediately and have Googled everyone I’ve met ever since then. My point is that you never know who you’re dealing with until you find out who you’re dealing with.
      Another thing you should do when researching short sale companies is get references from the people they’ve helped in the past. If they are a legitimate short sale company, they will have a company website that you can go to and see testimonials, blogs, informational videos they’ve done etc. If they can’t provide you with anything to establish their credibility… run and don’t look back! Do you really want an inexperienced realtor or investor to get their practice by doing your short sale?... I didn’t think so. Also, be careful when paying someone upfront to negotiate a loan modification or short sale for you. Only an attorney or a mortgage broker is legally allowed to collect upfront fees to do a loan modification or short sale, and if you do decide to go with a Law firm, you should only pay if they are willing to get paid the majority of their fee only after they are successful. Only pay their minimum amount required to get started. You should also follow up with the lender on your own once a week just to make sure that they are doing what you paid them to do.
     As a successful short sale investor, I have been approached by several “services” that claim to provide loss mitigation for homeowners in foreclosure. I was asked to partner and work with them. I had considered it until I realized they were charging homeowners upfront for their “help” and were not following through. To me, this is immoral and wrong,[not to mention illegal]. I came to find out that they wanted to partner with me so that they could use my name and credibility in their marketing.
      Performing due diligence when searching for a company that negotiates short sales is definitely worth your time and effort.

Big Banks… Shady Tactics

      I have client that I’ve been working on his loan modification for 2 years. Today we stopped the auction for the fourth time!  I truly believe that they don’t want to approve this modification even though he clearly qualifies for it according to Fannie Mae guidelines. They’ve done nothing but ask for updated bank statements, pay stubs, etc… you know the drill. Then they tell you they need something else or that they didn’t receive something and after that they’ll tell you that It’s now with a different negotiator and that you have to send everything in again! In the mean time the sale date approaches,  they tell you that they will reschedule the sale and never do. This left me with no choice but to use certain “Ninja Techniques”  just to stop the sale from going through just hours before the sale. I’ve done that four times for him already. The problem with that is… sure it forces the bank to vacate the foreclosure sale and delay the sale another six months… but it will also make you start over again from the beginning.

      I feel extremely bad for people who don’t know about these techniques to stop the sale and try and go about doing a loan mod on their own. Imagine how many people have lost there homes because of these down right “Shady Tactics” [that’s right I said it] that are being used by these big lenders. The truth is that the big banks have routinely committed fraud in their foreclosure filings and their records of how much people owe are too often wrong. And the mortgage modification process, which was meant to help homeowners, has been exposed as an abject failure.

     Salvageable mortgages are being foreclosed because the banks, wearing their “mortgage servicer” hats, find it more profitable to foreclose than modify loans. And even when the banks sincerely try to modify loans, they often seem incompetent. If the banks won’t deal, throw the book at them. Just like it’s been thrown at baseball great Barry Bonds for his comparatively trivial alleged perjury. If we can prosecute Bonds but not the banks, what kind of country are we?

     If you or someone you know is getting bullied by the bank please contact us for a free consultation, we can help. 407-902-7749

Rethink the way you Think.

      Many of us were brought up thinking that you had to own a house or that your name has be attached to a mortgage note for you to have that sense of homeownership and feel secure. Well, what about if your house is upside down? Do you still feel that way?  Of course not! And if you do… then you shouldn’t.  I can’t tell you how many clients that I’ve had that are embarrassed by the fact that their house isn’t worth what it used to be or because they got laid off as a result of the economy. Guess what?...It’s not your fault that the economy is what it is and if you lost your job due to company cut backs then that’s not your fault either.  We have to let go of those old beliefs that have been instilled in us by our parents and the old ways. This is a whole new America we are living in and we really need to start thinking differently about things and homeownership is one of them. If you’re struggling to make the payments on a 350k mortgage on a house that’s only worth 150k in today’s market. Are you really doing the right thing for you and your family? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not recommending to anyone to stop paying on your mortgage. As a matter of fact, if you love where you live and you can afford to keep paying it even if your house isn’t worth what you owe, by all means keep doing what you’re doing if that works for you.

       I’m talking about a much larger group of people who are really struggling to keep there house, people that are currently going into there savings account to pay their mortgage because they don’t want their neighbors to know that they’re having financial problems. I say screw the neighbors!! You have to do what’s best for you and your family. If you’re not behind on your mortgage but you know that you’re about to be then you should definitely start talking to your lender about your situation and see if they can modify your loan. There are currently programs such as the “HOPE NOW” and the “HAMP” [home affordable modification program] that have been put in place by our government to help people to stay in their homes by modifying their loans and making the payment more affordable. Don’t wait until you’ve gone through all your savings before you try to do something about your situation. In some cases we’ve even been able to reduce the principle balance owed by up to 50% for clients that qualify.

             Also, If you really don’t care to stay in the house that you’re living in another great option for you is to do a short sale on it and move on with your life. When I meet with a client for the first time, they will almost always have this misconception that the bank will come after them for the balance of the original mortgage. Once I explain to them that we are able to do the short sale with no promissory note attached and sometimes even get them cash back at closing, they get a look of total relief on there face which makes me feel absolutely great!

             This post is dedicated to people out there that are struggling with there beliefs when it comes to homeownership. It’s a different world we live in today, a world that you can’t allow yourself to think that you are defined by what you own or what you don’t own and especially what your neighbors think. You have to be realistic and start thinking in a different way so you can move forward in a way that is going to benefit the future of you and your family. I hope this was helpful to and as always call me anytime for a free consultation 407-902-7749.

You can’t argue with Stupid,

           Ignorance is everywhere…You see it In the news, at the mall, at the supermarket, the gym… pretty much everywhere you go you have to deal with it. In the world of real estate it’s no different. I’m not claiming to be the smartest guy in the world but when I don’t know something I will either find the right answer for you or just keep my mouth shut. What I won’t do, is talk to about or do something that I’m unsure of just so you won’t think I’m stupid… That would make me look stupid.

      

         For those of you that do short sales… you know exactly what I’m talking about. Whether it’s the inexperienced negotiator you’re working with, someone at the title company that’s always messing up on the Huds and costing you money or the BPO agent that still thinks we’re in a hot market. My opinion is that there are some people who have been in this business for so long that they are just bitter and they get there kicks by trying to mess other people up. Then there are people that should have never gotten into the business in the first place. They really don’t enjoy it, so they don’t take the time to really learn the business. Unfortunately, sometimes these people end up working in a position where they can really muck things up for the rest of us. I’m keeping this really vague because if I start getting into details, I’ll be here all day. Besides… I want to save some stories for my book… “Short Sales, there are no secrets”  LOL

       Anyway, I know how frustrating it can be to deal with ignorance day in and day out. I’ll tell you how I deal with it. 1^st Workout daily and when you’re working out think about the frustrations that you’re currently dealing with, especially the ones that you can’t do anything about. You’ll get an awesome workout and those situations that were bothering you will bother you a little less. 2^nd Talk to a fellow real estate professional about it, in my case, I talk my Broker/wife. Every night we have a discussion over a glass of red wine. We talk about deals, sellers, buyers, title companies, mortgage brokers, realtors, marketing.you name it, and we talk about it. Oh, we also talk about the kids. Many times we come up with solutions to our problems by doing this. Let me tell you something…if it wasn’t for those talks that we have together and being able to vent our frustrations to each other, life would be a lot tougher to deal with.

       So remember… You can’t argue with stupid, but you have to find a way to deal with stupid.

Are You Insane??!

            They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Now are you insane?  If that statement is true then I think there are a lot of insane people in the real estate business.

           Unfortunately with real estate, if you don’t adjust to the market, you won’t survive… as so many real estate professionals found out the hard way. A few years back it was almost too easy to make money. As an investor it was about sending out a few letters and post cards, “getting the deed” and doing the flip and cashing a big check. There was a time when we wouldn’t even get excited unless the spread was at least 30k or more and we were closing between 4-6 deals a month. Well… unfortunately those days are over.

             Now, ever since the market crashed we are having to step out of our comfort zone and do things that we didn’t have to do before and really step up our game. It can be difficult for some people to make the necessary adjustments that are needed to thrive in this market. But you know what? It can be done, and it’s all about testing out new marketing strategies and finding out what works. I tell my coaching students all of the time something that I learned from one of my mentors, Richard Roop…”There is no failure, only feedback”.  

         For those of us who do strictly short sales for a living it is especially difficult right now because of all the shady so called “investors” that are out there giving us a bad name. That’s why people are turning more and more to attorneys to handle their short sales for them. I got so Fed up with it all at one point that I was actually considering getting into a different business. I pulled up local business opportunities on Google and researched several businesses that I could’ve gotten into. I was so happy that I did that because it made me realize that real estate is hands down the best business out there. It actually made me get really excited about doing real estate again. So I started doing different things for marketing and I just kept on until I found what was working now. I think that the secret is to never stop testing out new ideas and strategies and just do things that even if you have doubts, try them anyway. Don’t be INSANE!!!

Short sales vs. bankruptcy

As a real estate consultant in today’s market, I hear this all of the time… “I went to see a bankruptcy attorney and she told me that short sales are trouble and I shouldn’t even bother” or… “My attorney said that if I do a short sale, the bank will come after me for the balance no matter what”. Big surprise! coming  from the attorney that charges $3,000.00 up front to file their bankruptcy papers.
    The best way to determine if you should do a short sale as opposed to filing for bankruptcy is to ask yourself this one simple question. Even though my credit is going to be damaged now, do I want to own a home again sometime in the future? If the answer is yes, then you should seriously consider the idea of doing a short sale instead of a bankruptcy filing. You can always use bankruptcy as a last resort.
     The truth is that just because somebody goes to law school and passes the BAR exam, it doesn’t always mean that they have your best interest at heart. I know what you’re thinking… “But attorneys are known for being some of the nicest, caring and goodhearted people in the world”, but believe it or not some attorneys are just worried about get paid. How else are they going to pay off those student loans? [Fact: not even bankruptcy can eliminate student loans]  Oh, and do you think that attorneys inform these people that they can wait to file for bankruptcy up to 24 hrs before the house goes to auction? They probably don’t even care that a bankruptcy will stay on their credit report for 7 years. Why not? …That’s easy…they don’t have any incentive to care, but most people are just blinded by all those shiny plaques on the wall. So they just go along with whatever the attorney says,  after all…. They are attorneys!
      I think that some better advice would be to tell these people how it really works Something like this; hey, here’s an idea…why don’t you try your best do a short sale so that you can try and salvage your credit, then if it doesn’t work out or if you don’t like the terms that the bank is offering you, we can always file for bankruptcy as a last resort, we can even file the paperwork the day before the auction. Many people have the misconception that filing for bankruptcy will solve their housing problem. It won’t…bankruptcy may buy you some time, but it won’t buy your mortgage. It’s kind of like trying to permanently fix a gas leak with a piece of gum.
      The truth is that many of the people that file for bankruptcy would have been much better off doing a short sale on their property and moving on with their lives. Unfortunately, many of my clients are people that have gone through their bankruptcy and have been discharged by the court so now the Foreclosure process starts all over again and guess what I’m doing for them? You guessed it…a short sale. The only difference is that now they will have a bankruptcy on their credit for 7 years.
    I sincerely hope that I didn’t offend any attorneys with this post …and if I did…then sue me.

“Re-habbing Orlando 101”

Hi I’m John Conde, Owner of Stop Foreclosure Orlando, Inc. Orlando’s premier source for bargain properties

If you want buy a fixer upper I strongly recommend that you really do your home work. Now I’m a pretty experienced real estate investor and over the years have re-habbed close to three hundred houses so I’m going to share a few things with you that I’ve unfortunately learned the hard way. Things that can save you a lot of time, money and frustration.

When you go look at properties you want to make sure that the main components of the house are in overall good shape. Things like the roof, the kitchen, and bathrooms…now you may have to do a little upgrading to those rooms and that’s fine but, unless you’re a seasoned re-habber you should stay away from houses needing any major structural repairs. Now it’s absolutely critical that you know what the after repaired value of the property is. The best thing to do is find a good local realtor to do some comparables for you of recently sold properties in that area and out of all the comparables that the realtor gives you expect that yours will sell at the cheapest price. Don’t try to convince yourself that your house will sell for the highest price on the whole street. That’s just not realistic and you’ll regret thinking that way later. I can’t tell you how many newbie investors I’ve talked to that wanted to get into re-habbing business so badly that they tried to turn a “non-deal” into a “deal” and the end result is always the same…they lost money and came away with a horrible experience. PLEASE DON’T DO THIS YOU WILL REGRET IT!!!

So let’s say you’ve found a good a deal and you’re ready to submit a contract on it. Make sure that you give yourself at least a 7 day inspection period. This will give you plenty of time to get the house thoroughly inspected by a professional home inspector. The inspector will look at things like the electrical system, look for termite damage, the plumbing, etc. All these types of repairs can be really expensive especially if it’s an older house. Believe me…it’s much better to spend a few hundred dollars upfront and maybe lose it than to not be sure about what you’re getting into and be surprised later. Remember…any repair that you have to make that you weren’t expecting to make comes right out of your profit. When the inspector finishes his inspection he will provide you with an inspection report and it will list all the hidden things that he found wrong with the house. The good thing about that is you can use this report to try and negotiate the price down even more with the seller.

Now in the same time frame that your have your inspections done you should be getting estimates for the repairs you need to do. Now there are 2 ways you can do this. One way is to get a general contractor or a “GC” that will give you a quote on the entire job. That’s someone that doesn’t necessarily do the work himself, he usually has a crew to do all the work and his job is just to manage everyone. This is what I do because I work on my business not in my business. Now depending on how involved you want to be and how much time you want to spend at the property this may be your best option. The other good thing about using a good general contractor is that the job gets done much faster and at the end of the day the faster you can finish, the faster you can sell it and move on to the next one. But you will spend more money by using a GC. Oh and…always, always make sure that you check his license and get references this is very important. I found out the hard way that you should never hire someone just because they’re the cheapest. This will always, always end costing you more money and headaches in the long run. Quick tip: If you get the feeling that the guy may be a heavy partier, don’t hire him!! He will definitely have some no show days.

Now if you have extra time on your hands and this is your first project and you’re excited and really want to be involved, then you could try and save some money and play the role of the GC yourself. Make a list of the repairs
That needs to be done and start getting estimates. You should get 3 separate quotes on each repair Quick tip: Be sure that you call contractors that give free estimates, make that clear on the initial call because some guys don’t tell you that they charge for estimates up front, they just hand you a bill. Again, I can’t stress this enough… don’t just go with the cheapest guy out there. You have to ask a lot of questions, get references, and make sure you feel comfortable with them, and do that for each contractor that you’re going to need; the plumber, the carpenter, the painter and so on. Oh, and if you have any skills that you can bring to the table, then by all means role up your sleeves and get to work.

Once you have a really good idea of how much you’re going to spend on fixing up this house and how much you’ll be able to sell it for then you can figure out what your profit will be and is it worth the time that you will be putting into the project. It’s not hard to make money in real estate but you have to do your homework and you have to do all things I talked about in this article.

If you’re interested in finding bargain properties in Orlando visit our website at https://sellmyhouseinorlando.com/ or just call me at 407-902-7749. I hope this information
was helpful to you. Thanks for reading.

Make it “not about the money”… you’ll make more money!

I do a tremendous amount of reading whether it’s newspapers, magazines, blogs, tweets, etc. Most of the reading I do involves what I do for a living…Real Estate Investing in Orlando. The one thing that I am noticing more and more is that real estate professionals are using social media more than ever. Unfortunately, a lot of the content that I’ve seen out there lately doesn’t have much value to it. I would say that a good percentage of it just seems like an ad trying to get the reader to a squeeze page or a website where the whole purpose of the squeeze page is to get your information and add you to some buyers or sellers list. Then once you’re on that list you will receive a weekly or sometimes even a daily email about why you should sell your house to this person or you’ll receive a list of overpriced investment properties. Is that really what the reader signed up for? Did they really get any kind of useful advice out of what they just read?

Don’t get me wrong, I tell my coaching clients all of the time that they need to use social media as part of there marketing. If they aren’t, then they are missing the boat. What I also tell them is to provide good content when they post a blog or an article. Whenever I write an article, blog, free report, etc. I always do it with the intention of providing the reader with at least one thing that would be helpful to them. What I mean by that is the reader actually took something away with them that they can implement or at least think about. I’ve found over the years that when you make it “not about the money”…you make more money!

People are not stupid and when you go out of your way to provide them with good service, not only will they appreciate it but they will come back to you to find a great investment property or to do their short sale for them. Not only that but when they have a friend that needs to stop a foreclosure, they will call you. I guess the moral of this story is… Good Content Is KING!

Good tips to get a great deal on Orlando Homes

In today’s real estate market investment opportunities are everywhere, you just need to know where to look. One good place to start is bank foreclosure listings [REO’s]. In case you don’t know… an REO property is a property that has gone to public auction and the foreclosing bank ended up keeping it because either no one bid high enough or no one bid at all. Both home buyers and investors alike have realized the impressive return potential of these homes. The problem with REO properties [in my experience] is that when you find a good one and you’re ready to submit a contract through the realtor that has it listed, they already have three other offers on the property. Here are a couple of tips that I share with all my clients: First, make sure you have your financing lined up ready to go [ this will keep you from wasting your time and my time], and B, find a good realtor, someone that is aggressive and follows up and someone that has your best interest at heart. You may have to go through a couple to find the right one but there are realtors out there that specialize in REO’s. Also don’t think that just because you’ve submitted an offer at full asking price that you will get it. The realtor has to submit the contract to the bank and then they have to wait for the bank to approve it. This can take up to a couple of weeks sometimes.

To find the best deals around then I would suggest subscribing to a foreclosure listing company in your area. Once you have the service, you can print out a list of homes in the area that you want to live in and mail them a letter. Or if you want to get really aggressive, go knock on their door. When I got started as an investor I went door knocking everyday. Sure you’ll get some doors closed in your face, but if you’re willing to do what most people aren’t, then you will definitely get the best deals out there… I know I do.

If you want to, you can also check out public foreclosure auctions. But you have to make sure you are knowledgeable about the auction rules and regulations in order to come prepared. Also, many times there will be a small group of cash buyers that usually work together at these auctions. Many times when they see a newbie bidding on a house, they will bid on it also, causing the bidding to go up higher than it should and at the end withdraw their bid. They do this to frustrate and discourage people from coming back. I know this because some of these cash buyers are friends of mine. The good news is that pretty soon all of the bidding will be done online thus leveling the playing field.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you do your homework. That means when it’s time to submit a contract, you should have a real estate professional involved. This will keep you from making any major mistakes and ensure that you get a good deal.

Central Fl Foreclosure train... not slowing down
According to records from Central Florida realtors, Home prices are still being dragged down by foreclosures. In the first quarter, the median price for all single-family houses sold, dropped 5% from the median prices in the same quarter last year. For condos even worse it dropped another 13% since last year.

However, according to some real estate analysts. The Florida real estate market has hit its lowest point and has started stabilizing. They explained that several metro areas in Central Florida have posted substantial increases in sales of pre-owned homes in the first quarter and that all metro areas posted increases in condo sales. A total of 38,846 pre-owned homes in Florida were sold during the 1st quarter, marking a sharp 24 percent from the 31,410 homes sold one year earlier. Total first-quarter sales also marked the seventh straight time that year-over-year house sales increased. Although some analysts said that Florida home prices already hit their bottommost level, University of Central Florida analysts contended that prices are still approaching their bottom levels.

The sharp increases home sales were driven by low-priced bank owned homes in two ways: the increased sales of REO units, and the downward price pressure of REO units that made home prices more attractive to buyers. In recent reports released by the Mortgage Bankers Association Florida ranked second with a default rate of 14.65 percent, second only to Nevada, which posted 15.98 percent. Nonetheless, local realtors hope that Florida foreclosures slow down substantially so they would lose their negative price influence on newly-built homes and non-distressed pre-owned homes.

Now what does this all mean to us real estate professionals?… Don’t worry about it! Just keep doing what you’re doing. The foreclosure train in Florida is not slowing down anytime soon. So for us investors or realtors that specialize in distressed properties, keep on truckin! This is the time for us to make some serious money in doing short sales. Right now you should be as busy as you want to be. If you aren’t, it’s only because you’re not marketing yourself enough or this just isn’t for you and you really don’t like doing short sales. My advice to people that really don’t enjoy what they are doing is… find something that you like… Life is too Damn short!