Positive Changes for Bank of America Short Sales

After attending a recent seminar given by Bank of America, I must say I was impressed. They are certainly a major player when it comes to foreclosures and short sales. Bank of America has decided to take a look at how short sales were being processed and have made a lot of positive changes that will benefit the consumer; one being, their goal is to process a short sale within 30 days. This goal is to be implemented by the end of the year.

Talk of "other" incentives for the consumer were mentioned but not clarified, so I will keep you posted on that. All in all, they seem to be making positive changes and are certainly trying to be the "good guy" after all the bad publicity they have received in the past.

Contributed by:
Jeanine Corcoran, CDPE
Coldwell Banker Ackley Reatly
www.FLshortsalePros.com
407-922-3308

The Real Estate Market May Be Changing....Are You Ready?

As we've all seen REO inventory is not what they used to be. There are less homes on the market because the banks are now doing the due diligence to ensure they foreclose properly. This, in addition to the new relief that will be offered soon to home owners having hardship (forbearance extended from 3 to 12 months & and review of applicants who were foreclosed upon between 2009-2010, etc.) may allow owners to stay in their homes longer.

In my opinion, this will not only affect the foreclosure rate but it can negatively impact the rate at which homeowners will decide to do a short sale. Homeowners may just decide to wait it out as long as they can, thereby creating a trickle effect. Bottom line... real estate agents should start rethink their strategy, the market may remain depressed but we may have less properties to turn around. See below....

Second chance for owners who lost homes

WASHINGTON – July 11, 2011 – More than 2 million homeowners who were foreclosed on or were in the process of a foreclosure during 2009 or 2010 can now ask for a review of their case, banking regulators announced this week. Banking regulators say ex-homeowners who might be eligible will receive a letter from their lender explaining their rights.The move is to help identify homeowners who may have been improperly foreclosed upon, Julie Williams, chief counsel of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, said at a congressional hearing.Homeowners who ask for the review will receive a letter explaining their rights.Mortgage servicers will hire independent auditors to conduct reviews of the cases and determine if homeowners should receive financial compensation if the foreclosures were not done properly. They will also look for borrowers who were denied loan modifications when they may have been eligible for one.The reviews are part of the mortgage servicer requirements called for by regulators after an investigation last fall revealed improper foreclosure practices by banks. Banks have until Wednesday to submit plans to the OCC on how they plan to revamp foreclosure practices.

Source: “Foreclosed Home Owners May Seek Case Reviews,” USA Today (July 8, 2011)

Imran MohamedColdwell Banker Ackley Realty
3264 Greenwald WayKissimmee, Fl 34741
Cell: 407-744-1827
Office: 407-846-4040 Ext 626
Fax: 407-846-3407
www.flshortsalepros.com

Forbearance Period Extended for Unemployed Homeowners

New changes were made from the Obama administration on July 7th. This new change will effect homeowners who are unemployed. To read more about it, and to get the facts, this link will tell you more

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=UnemplymtFactSheet.pdf

Contributed by
Jeanine Corcoran
Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE)
Coldwell Banker Ackley Realty
http://www.flshortsalepros.com/

How Long Will it Take to Get an OFFER on my Short Sale Property?

Many times, I've been asked "how long will it take to get a contract on my property?" and I wish the answer was simple but the truth is it depends on how agressively priced it is compared to other properties in the area. When listing a short sale, the agent listing the property will run comparable properties in the area to see what has recently sold. They will decide on the market value and determine the listing price.

Most agents, hopefully, will list the short sale property just a little "above" market value to start. I prefer this stratedgy. To me, it shows the lender that before dropping the price to get an offer, we started at a higher price then gradually lowered the price to finally get an offer. So depending on the agent's stratedgy and how often they make price changes and how the property is being marketed, will depend on how long it takes for you to get an OFFER on your short sale. For some, a month but for others ..........well, let's just say the time waiting for an offer is not SHORT!

Jeanine Corcoran
Coldwell Banker Ackley Realty
www.FLshortsalePros.com

Can You Get a Better Deal on a Short Sale?

You don't know how many times I've been asked this question "Can I get a better deal on a Short Sale rather than a Foreclosure?" A better price? I'm not so sure about that. I sometimes think buyers think the word "short" means something else; perhaps "little" as in I can pay very little for this property or "low" as in let's low ball the bank......I can go on and on. For some reason, some buyers, not all of them, seem to think the banks are desperate and will take any offer just to get the property off of their books.

I don't blame buyers for wanting to get a good deal. Who doesn't want a good deal? But the truth is, lenders will evaluate the offer based on comparable market activity and not just accept anything. They hire a professional to determine the value. Typically an appraisal or a broker price opinion (bpo) are done and sent to the bank. If the BPO or appraisal match come close to the offer, then approval is likely as long as the seller meets the banks criteria for having a "hardship". If the offer is considerably lower than the banks findings, the lender will ask for more money.

This is where the agent needs to educate the buying public. Let's not keep a house under contract for a ridiculously low price; that's just irresponsible. No seller should risk several months waiting for the bank to issue a denial letter or worse yet, get an approval and the buyer is no where to be found! Yikes! C'mon now! There are people involved in these transactions with high hopes of moving on with their lives so let's not play games. Find out what the real market value is from your agent and put in a fair offer. In the end, you will be getting a great deal!

Contributed by Jeanine Corcoran
Coldwell Banker Ackley Realty
www.FLshortsalePros.com

3 Most Common Complaints about Short Sales thru the Eyes of a Buyer

In today's market, it seems that almost every property for sale is a distressed property: either a foreclosure or a short sale. Here are the top 3 complaints I hear from buyers that have had some experience dealing with short sales.

1. "They held my escrow money forever". C'mon folks, forever? I know 90 days may seem like a long time when you are waiting on your dream home, but forever? I guess it does seem like a forever if the short sale doesn't go through. My opinion on this is patience. Buyers have to have a lot of patience. Be prepared to wait a minimum of 90 days on the approval.

2. "The bank took so long to answer and then they countered my offer at a higher price!" I guess the first thing I want to know is, was your offer too low? Did you have your agent run the comparables of similiar properties to make sure you were putting in a good offer? My opinion......don't lowball a short sale. You will only be disappointed in the end result.

3. "I never received any updates from anyone" As frustrating as that can be, I hear this all the time. Unfortunately, your agent can only update you if they are receiving updates from the listing agent. My opinion on that is how about sending your realtor a friendly reminder but don't expect an update more than once week. Hopefully your Realtor won't need a reminder and is calling the listing agent once a week or every 10 days to get an update.

Contributed by Jeanine Corcoran
Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE)
Coldwell Banker Ackley Realty
http://www.flshortsalepros.com/

New Bill introduced to speed Short Sales

A bill named the “Prompt Decision for Qualification for Short Sale Act of 2011” was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in April which would require mortgage lenders to respond to short sale requests within 45 days from the time they receive it. Short sales represent about 13% of recent home sales. This bill may be a boon to thousands of home owners who are unable to keep their home and hope to avoid foreclosure. The short sale process is currently inefficient and time consuming and many potential buyers end up walking away from the sale because of long delays, which invariably causes properties to be foreclosed.

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) is fully supportive of this new bill. NAR had been actively pushing the mortgage industry to revamp the short sales approval process. Short sales are beneficial to lenders because they cost less than foreclosures and it also reduces the negative financial impact on borrowers. Ron Phipps, the president of NAR said “as the leading advocate for home ownership and housing issues, Realtors® want to help more homeowners avoid foreclosure by facilitating a short sale when a family is absolutely unable to keep their home; however, that can only happen if lenders and servicers approve short sale offers in a reasonable amount of time.”

Here’s the problem with the current situation. There are many decision-makers involved in the short sale process including buyers, sellers, investors, servicers, insurers and lenders. All of them must agree to approve or reject each sale. Lenders find it difficult to decide if they must approve or deny a sale. Sometimes this could cause several months of status quo, resulting in potential buyers getting frustrated and canceling their contracts due to a lack of response from lenders, and this results in properties being foreclosed.

According to the proposed bill, the servicer must notify the borrower about the status of their sale within the 45-day deadline. The notification may include approval or denial of the sale process, or a request for additional information and paperwork.

Phipps also stated that “streamlining short sales transactions will reduce the amount of time it takes to sell the property, improve the likelihood that the transaction will close and reduce the overall number of foreclosures. This benefits sellers, lenders, buyers and the entire community.”

This bill has the potential to dramatically reduce the inventory of foreclosed homes across the country. However, it has not yet been assigned to a committee. A similar bill with the same title was introduced in September 2010, but it did not make it to a House committee for debate before the end of the legislative session. NAR has urged Congress to pass this new bill quickly. When passed, the bill would provide much needed relief to millions of home owners by helping them prevent foreclosures. It will also reduce the financial hit on lenders and servicers.

Five Tips for Putting in an Offer on a Short Sale

If you are like most buyers, when you find that house you want, it doesn't matter to you if it's a bank-owned property, a regular owner or a short sale -- but it should. Here are 5 tips you should know when putting in an offer on a short sale:

Tip #1 - Have your realtor find out as much as they can about the seller who is short saling their home. Questions like: how many mortgages does the seller have? Do you have all of the necessary paper work from the seller already so it doesn't hold up the process? Is the seller responding quickly to his/her realtor for anything needed from their lender? These are just a few.

Tip #2 - Put in a good offer for goodness sake! Have your realtor do a price comparison before putting in your offer. There is nothing worse than the seller's lender coming back to you after waiting all that time and asking you for more money.

Tip #3 - If you are financing, get your preapproval through a major lender not Bazooka Bubblegum Fiancing thus showing the lender you are a serious buyer.

Tip #4 - Deposit your escrow money. Once the contract is fully executed (signed by buyer and seller), deposit your earnest money. Again, showing the lender you are serious.

Tip #5 - Be prepared to be patient. Allow at least 90 days to get an answer. If all goes well, it may not take that long but then at least you are prepared.

Contributed by Jeanine Corcoran - Madden
Certified Distress Property Expert (CDPE)
http://www.flshortsalepros.com/

Approached by someone about your loan delinquency? Common scams and how to avoid them

With mortgage delinquencies going through the roof in recent times, scam artists are coming out of the woodworks in droves. In this blog post we will highlight how to identify and avoid some of the common loan delinquency avoidance scams.

Run as far as you can if you encounter any of these red flag situations:

A person or organization guarantees avoiding foreclosure and seeks upfront payment from you to discuss the specifics. The payment they ask may be in the range of one thousand to five thousand dollars and they may have a compelling dog and pony show to make you a believer. No one can guarantee stopping foreclosure proceedings, especially without performing an in depth analysis of your personal situation. Just remember that these scamsters will disappear as soon as they get your money, and they will never talk to a lender.

These sleaze bags claim to have the magic formula for stopping foreclosures dead in their tracks. Of course they will not talk to you without an upfront credit card number from you. They will then charge you for the initial consultation, phone calls and paperwork to get general information which you could have done on your own. Their objective is to lull you into a false sense of trust and security and prevent you from seeking qualified help. They will end up with your money and you will be left with huge credit card bills and an imminent foreclosure.

A person or organization, that asks you to pay them instead of your mortgage lender.

Again, these are unscrupulous criminals whose only agenda is to rip you off and fill up their pockets. Many scam artists create attractive flyers, fake testimonials and impressive credentials to convince their credibility to you. Just tell them you believe in researching everything thoroughly before making a decision…and you will perhaps never hear from them again. Here’s how this scam works:

Let’s say you put your house on the market because you are finding it difficult to make payments anymore. A potential buyer approaches you and offers to pay the full price you are asking and even promises to help you avoid foreclosure. But there is a catch. You are required to deed your property to this buyer and you must also move out immediately. What happens next is this so called buyer simply pockets the monthly mortgage payments you are giving him instead of sending it to your lender. The lender will eventually foreclose on you and you will be left wondering what happened because you were not in your house to read and act upon the bank’s foreclosure notices.

Another variation of this scam is where the so called buyer promises to bring the mortgage current. He will even let you stay in the home, provided you transfer ownership to him. Again, no payments are made by him to your lender and you will soon receive an eviction notice.

A third variant is the “rent or buy it back” offer in which just like the previous two cases, you are required to transfer ownership to this scheming buyer, with the understanding that you will be renting the house from him for an amount that’s lower than your monthly mortgage payment, with an option to let you buy it back from him in the near future. The end result is no different.

Fake counseling agencies

Some online companies with nice websites may convince you they are legit counseling agencies and bait you into giving them your personal information. To ensure that you give them your credit card, they will throw in many freebies such as a free 20 minute consultation to analyze your personal situation (which according to them is a $500 value!), a promise to cut a deal with your lender to lower your interest rate, or negotiate a lower monthly payment plan, etc., which by the way are things you can do on your own without spending a penny.

To avoid becoming a victim to any of these scams, do not give any personal information, credit card number or a check upfront to any individual or company without asking them for sending details in writing. Then call the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org) or your local consumer advocates to verify their authenticity. Most reputable businesses do not use pressure tactics to get your business, or make lofty promises. A prudent thing to do would be to first call your lender or an authentic non-profit credit counseling agency that does not require you to cough up upfront money or your credit card number. You could also contact a licensed professional real estate firm like Coldwell Banker Ackley Realty.

A heightened awareness of foreclosure prevention scams and proactive vigilance is the only way to combat this growing menace. Just remember that if anything sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Visit these websites for more information:

www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/public_affairs/factsheet/docs/fs06.htm

http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/foreclosurescamtips/default.htm

http://www.federalreserveeducation.org/news/multimedia/foreclosure_avoidance_scam_ads.cfm

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre42.shtm

*IMPORTANT NOTICE* to Homeowners

To all homeowners considering a short sale there is a new disclosure that we are required to disclose. See the following:

*IMPORTANT NOTICE* Coldwell Banker Ackley Realty and their associates are not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan. If you stop paying your mortgage, you could lose your home and damage your credit.

contributed by Jeanine Corcoran-Madden
http://www.flshortsalepros.com/

Intro Video to Short Sale Blog

Introduction to Short Sale Blog

by Jeanine Corcoran-Madden

FL Short Sale Pros

Considering a Short Sale?

In today's market, the majority of properties being sold are either REO's which are bank-owned properties or Short Sales which are owned by the seller who is trying to sell their property for less than they owe to their lender. If you are thinking of selling your home because of financial difficulties and you anticipate a short sale, first contact your lender to see if there are any programs to help you stay in your home. Your lender may agree to a modification such as refinancing your loan at a lower interest rate, providing a different payment plan, or providing a forbearance period if your situation is temporary.

When a loan modification still isn't enough to relieve your financial burden, a short sale could be your best option if your property is worth less than is owed and you have a financial hardship such as a job loss, divorce or major medical bills to name just a few.

Contributed by Jeanine Corcoran
www.FLshortsalePros.com/
"We Have A Heart"