Yes, we are tenacious. We keep plugging away. We also use technology to our advantage.

Case in point:

We’re working on getting a very large package in to a very large lender. Their fax machine seems to always have problems. Sometimes the best thing is for us to fax late at night or on the weekends. What we do is compile a large .pdf file and send it via our online fax system.

It still hasn’t made it through yet. We just started Friday morning. But can you imagine the frustration level if you were trying to fax it over and over again with your regular fax machine?

Here’s the Failed Fax list so far for today.

When it does go through (and it will) we’ll get a confirmation via email.

UPDATE: It did go, finally!

Final Score: Their Fax Machine 176 - Our Fax Computer 1

---

Why be like this?

When you could be like this?

That’s what we think too!

Labels: Short Sale Negotiation, Short Sale Success

This is Lynn Pineda.

Lynn works for Keller Williams Partners Realty in Coral Springs, Florida.
She is an experienced agent who consistently shows a great deal of caring for her clients.
She runs a site specifically for those homeowners in trouble.
If you need help anywhere around Coral Springs I’ll urge you to contact her!
Office Phone: (954) 464-1100 or by email info@myshortsalehome.com
Today she shares a successful short sale story with us.

---

Short Sales Do Close

I’m happy to report that Short Sales do happen and do close. In fact, I just closed on one today that gained lender approval on a 1st and 2nd, including Countrywide, that took 39 days for combined approval!

• The 1st took less than 82% of fair market value
• The 2nd took what seems to be a standard for Countrywide at $3000
• The Seller escapes foreclosure and experiences profound joy
• The Buyer received a fabulous home at a great price
• Today I’ve experienced an overwhelming feeling of knowing that I have made a difference in my seller’s life; wow, who can put a price tag on that! And I’ll sleep good tonight.

Join me in cheering on the short sale and never give up trying to make a difference. Short Sales are happening and knowledge is power.

---

Good Job Lynn!

Labels: Short Sale Success

We have agents that have a large amount of files active in our system.
The question always comes up as to how a single agent can manage the work load.

It’s simple.
They have completely changed the way they conduct their business.

They make only one trip to the homeowner.
In that single meeting

• They collect all the documentation.
• They have everything signed (including our docs).
• They take all the pictures,
• They advise the client on the marketing efforts they will and won’t do.
• They let the client know that they will update them once a week.

Back at the office, they compile our package requirements, complete the BPO, and send the whole thing to us.

As the offers come in, they add the Seller’s Estimated Statement from their Escrow Officer and we have a complete package to start negotiating on!

No open houses, no marketing, no expenses.
Minimal effort, maximized efficiency, maximized results.

Labels: Listing Agents, Short Sale, Short Sale Negotiation

Except in the case of Kissing Booths of course.

Buying a Short Sale? You should hope you are late to the party. Yeah, that’s right. In a short sale purchase it’s usually a good thing to be the second in line on an offer.

Here’s why.

I was consoling a client today because her Listing Agent reported to her that there had been only one offer made on the house and they were thinking they might withdraw it. She was worried.

“What if the house doesn’t sell?”

We look at it differently. Any offer, even a bad offer is a good offer.

• It allows us to complete a package.
• It allows to get that package into the Lender’s system.
• It allows us the Lender to assign that package to an Asset Manager.
• It allows the Lender to tell us what they’ll accept. We now have a baseline.
• That allows us start negotiating.

“But what if the Offer is withdrawn or by the time the lender comes back to you, the buyer has bought something else?”

That’s ok. The hardest thing about a short sale is getting to the part where the Lender is actually working on a package. Getting that package into an Asset Manager’s hands is really Step One. The rest is easy.

There will be other offers. When they come in (and they will) the time consuming work will have already been done.

Ever see a Short Sale close in three days? We have. It’s because the groundwork had already been done.

That’s why making a backup offer on a Short Sale in progress might be one of the smartest (and quickest) ways to get accepted and closed.

Go ahead and send a thank you card to the first offer. You owe them!

Labels: Negotiation, Short Sale, Short Sale Negotiation

Suburban Renewal started because we saw a void.
Nobody was actively negotiating on behalf of the homeowner.
Something about that just seemed wrong.

We have 3 main goals.

1. Negotiate to Close
2. Negotiate for 100% Forgiveness / No Restitution / No 1099
3. Negotiate for Full Commission.

We believe strongly in performance based compensation.
Our pricing is here: http://www.suburban-renewal.com/pricing.html
We have an online form to get the action started. http://www.suburban-renewal.com/negotiationrequest.html
Once entered, we'll send you the .pdf of our docs.
Have your client sign and return all to us via our 800 fax (or email, or snail mail).

The listing agent will generally provide the following:

1. Listing Agreement
2. CMA / BPO
3. Copy of the MLS Listing
4. Fully Executed Offers / Contract,
5. Pre-Approval Letter for the Buyer
6. Estimated Seller Net (from your escrow officer)

The Homeowner will provide:

1. Handwritten Hardship Letter (Ask your Agent for an example letter including the 3 things that every letter must have)
2. Proof of hardship listed in letter
3. Complete HUD Form 56142 (download here)
4. Complete Federal Tax Returns for last two years (including all schedules)
5. Most recent 2 Pay Stubs
6. Most recent 2 Bank Statements
7. Copy of Credit Report or Letter of Credit Denial
8. Copy of Notice of Default (if applicable)

We handle the rest.

Our system costs nothing upfront. No Close / No Cost.
Simple performance based compensation.

Labels: Listing Agents, Short Sale Negotiation

I just got off the phone with Loss Mitigation at Ocwen. Correction, make that what used to be Loss Mitigation. As of noon-ish today, Ocwen has left the Short Sale playing field.

According to my contact, (a Loss Mitigator) they announced to the department today via email, that they were done.

Ocwen decided to stop negotiating all short sales. Period.

"None at all?", sheepishly I asked.

"Not a single one. Unless it was already approved", says he.

Curiously, yesterday the deal to sell Ocwen collapsed.

Here I am working on negotiating a short sale. I'm pretty sure the borrower did a Stated Income Loan and lied through his teeth about his income. I'm also pretty sure he used someone else for the Social Security Number. (No, I didn't do his loan!). And I'm pretty sure he has a sub sub prime loan (two subs intended).

There's no loan modification in the books for this borrower.

I asked my LM guy, "So this is going to go to foreclosure, become an REO, and Ocwen will take a bigger loss down the road?"

"Yup, That sure appears to be what they are planning!"

Ocwen, who's shares tanked yesterday, is primarily a loan servicer.

As of December 31, 2006, OCN serviced 473,665 loans under 487 servicing agreements for over 40 clients. These clients include Wall Street Alan-Greenspan-Age-of-Turbulence firms with mortgage securitization platforms, such as Deutsche Bank Bear-Stearns-Troubles , Lehman Brothers, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley, mortgage originators, such as Delta Funding, and governmental agencies, such as the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Revenue from this segment comprised 80%, of its consolidated revenue, during the year ended December 31, 2006. (Reuters)

After I got off the phone I started thinking. This is all speculation on my part...

If Ocwen was the holder of the Note, they would have a vested financial interest in minimizing the overall losses. Accepting a short sale would minimize those potential losses. But Ocwen isn't the holder of the Note. Some Investor is.

In a Short Sale there is going to be a loss. Ocwen will negotiate for what they can, and then pass the remaining balance to the Investor. That loss will be absorbed by the investor. The key is not in the loss, but in the fee generation. In a short sale, Ocwen can charge only a small amount of fees.

On a foreclosure, Ocwen can and will charge up the fees. The Admin Fee, Processing Fee, reloading the Stapler Fee, talking to Mueller Fee. Pretty much any fee they can come up with. These are fees they just couldn't generate with a short sale.

After the Auction, when it goes on the market as an REO... Assuming it sells for the same amount it might have had it been a short sale, Ocwen stands to make much more in fees than had they negotiated a short sale.

Following me so far?

Oh yeah, and who pays for all the loss mitigator salary anyway? Ocwen!

So what do you do when the negotiations for your purchase fall through?

I can just see the BOD saying last night, "If we can't sell this pig of a company, we'll fire the Loss Mitigation Department, stop doing negotiations and rack up the fees! "

Of course, the REO probably won't sell for the amount they could have negotiated the short sale for. But who cares? Not Ocwen, They'll get their trumped up fees no matter what it sells for. It's the investor that's taking the hit - not them.

Ocwen is still in business. Are they not worried that by shooting their investors in the foot that they won't be able to attract new investors to service for?

Or since the buyout fell through, is the corporate plan to make as much as they can before closing shop?

2006 Net Income: 206 Million
2007 Net Income: 38 Million
4th Quarter Net LOSS: almost 7 Million!

Just thinking...

Labels: Ocwen, REO Problems, Short Sale Negotiation

I just sent off a lengthy response to a short sale question. As soon as I hit the send button I thought maybe this is something to put on the blog.

Here's what I wrote:

We're a little different in negotiating the short sale.

We have a multi level approach that hits on several different levels.

We have three main goals

1. Close the deal
2. Negotiate for 100% Forgiveness / No Restitution / No 1099
3. Maintain the commission structure

All three of these are very important to us and to you.

Surprisingly nobody else out there is doing this.

Everyone wants the deal to close - yet nobody is taking the steps we are to insure that the lender accepts the offer.

Instead we see so many taking a wait and see approach.

100% Forgiveness / No Restitution / No 1099, means we are aggressively negotiating to get you out, but also to minimize the financial impact that can or may be imposed on you. Getting out is only half the battle. Deficiency Judgments, or having to pay taxes on the balance are fully negotiable, yet we see time and time again others taking a wait and see approach.

You don't pay us. You don't pay the Agents either. Their commission comes from the proceeds of the sale and are part of the sellers net. Many short sales have reduced commissions. That means the Agents will earn less for their hard work. We've heard of some Agents that refuse to show their clients a short sale. It's important to your success that your home attracts the buyers it needs. To do that you want best insure the greatest number of viewers.
That's why commission is so important.

Labels: Short Sale Bargains, Short Sale Negotiation

Forget everything you thought you knew about Short Sales.
Much of that information is based on systems and procedures that are way behind the times. Not that the old systems aren't still hanging around out there. Even after 10 and 20 years, they're still with us.

The times have changed. Today, the smart Agents have upgraded their old cassette players. They are going with the latest innovations and technologies. They are bringing in the experts to close their short sales.

These experts use new technology, new systems, and have very pervasive ways of getting the deal done. These experts know who they are dealing with. They know the Lender's and they know their position. These experts concentrate on one thing - getting the deal closed.

So the next time you hear a horror story about a short sale gone bad, you can pretty much guess they were listening to the "old tapes".

That's so 1992!

Labels: buying a short sale, Short Sale Negotiation