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.