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.