Why you need to make your website mobile friendly

The writing is on the wall and even more writing is in the palm of your best prospects hands.  Take a look around you.  Everyone is surfing the mobile web.

This is especially important in the housing business.  People look for homes and information while they are mobile.  (For god-sake please pull over before you type in that URL!)

By 2013, annual global IP traffic will reach two-thirds of a zettabyte, according to a forecast of IP traffic issued by Cisco. What is a zettabyte? It is a trillion gigabytes, dummy. (I had to look that up too). 

Mobile internet is the fastest growing segment.

Why are mobile visitors going to your site?  Most of the time, they are looking for specific information that they need while on the go - your phone number or directions to your office.  How many times have you used the Internet to look up a phone number or get an address?

For real estate agents, presenting your listings, formatted for a mobile device is essential.  Often listings are accessible via an RSS feed.  An RSS feed can be easily integrated into a mobile friendly version of your website.

Creating a small website designed for the tiny mobile web screen will give your prospects more reason to do business with you.  You will make it easy for them to get the information they need.

What will it cost?  I am making mobile friendly basic websites for as little as $99 set up fee and $19.95 per month.  Just give me your existing website address and sign up for the free trial, and I will set up a mobile friendly version of your site.

 Go here to give it a try. http://leadsnet.net/freetrial.html

Moratorium on Foreclosing of Homes Sought

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26.  Chairman Franklin Fort of the Home Loan Bank Board told the United Press that the administration is seeking a 60 day moratorium on foreclosure of all mortgages in the United States.

Fort said the program included mortgages on commercial plants as well as private homes and that cooperation of active financial institutions as wells as those in the hands of receivers would be sought.

The above quote is from The Berkeley Daily Gazette Aug 26, 1932

Will history repeat itself?   Will our government make the same mistakes that prolonged the first depression?

Banks increase short sales as MERS foreclosures come into question.

The MERS debacle is having the effect of causing banks to utilize short sales as a way to mitigate losses. MERS stands for Mortgage Electronic Registration System, and is the nominee assigned by lenders to facilitate trading of securitized portfolios of notes guaranteed by deeds of trust.

CNN Money


MERS allowed lenders to circumvent local recording fees to municipalities by keeping the records electronically. The problem is that recently courts have thrown out foreclosures because MERS has no legal standing since they are neither the maker of the note nor a beneficiary.

Watch this video of Rep Grayson.

Short Sale Blog News

News 8 new results for short sales

Growing short sale market feeds vulture investors New Mexico Business Weekly Flopping, a fraudulent way to flip homes, arrived in New Mexico about 18 months ago, but is increasing as more short sales occur, according to area brokers ... See all stories on this topic » New Mexico Business Weekly

The impact of short sales and foreclosures on your credit score Helium Despite current financial difficulties they often consider how either a short sale of foreclosure will limit their future ability to borrow money or enter ... See all stories on this topic »

Determining if you should choose a short sale over a foreclosure Helium As more properties come onto the market as either short sales or foreclosures, it can be difficult for the buyer to make a choice over which represents the ... See all stories on this topic »

Rep. Rooney's Bill Gives Lenders 45 Days on Short Sales Sunshine State News (blog) J., to introduce legislation that will speed short sales and spur growth in the housing market by requiring lenders to decide whether to accept an offer ... See all stories on this topic »

Short of the Day: AAR Corp. Seeking Alpha With short sales we are looking for opportunities in companies that have the ability to move down from where they are. The upside is very limited for AIR ... See all stories on this topic »

CoreLogic: Distressed-Sales Down, But Expected To Rise Mortgageorb by MortgageOrb.com on Thursday 16 September 2010 Distressed sales - real estate owned (REO) and short sale transactions - are at a seven-month low, ... See all stories on this topic »

Blogs 5 new results for short sales

How to Navigate a Short Sale | Buying and Selling | REALTOR.com® Blogs By Lisa Lyons This article on Realtor.com is about the process of short sales. REALTOR.com® Blogs - http://www.realtor.com/blogs/

A Fresh Approach to Short Sales - Banktime.com By Stephanie Those homeowners trying to get through the often-painful process of a short sale to stall off foreclosure are all too often stymied in their attempts – bound by red tape, long delays, and the frustration inherent in the whole process. CD Rates - Savings Account -... - http://banktime.com/

Suntrust Bank Short Sale Process | Santa Clarita | SCV Short Sale ... By Tim Suntrust Bank's short sale department and negotiators rank among the slowest to work with. Good news is that if you have a mortgage with suntrust bank and miss your payments you may be in your home over a year…. SCV Short Sale Center - http://www.scvshortsalecenter.com/

Use a short sale to stop a foreclosure « My Blog About Chicago ... By admin Chicago IL – There are many reasons to use a short sale to stop foreclosure. If you want to keep your home, then you need to attempt a loan modification. If you do not want to keep your home, then you need to consider your options. ... My Blog About Chicago Short Sales... - http://chicago-shortsaleblog.com/

Short Sale Blog News

Short sales soar in California, US Los Angeles Times Instead of taking over homes through foreclosure and then selling them, many lenders are agreeing to short sales, in which a home is sold for less than the ... See all stories on this topic » Los Angeles Times

Study: 1-in-53 short sales is fraudulent OCRegister By JEFF COLLINS Just this week, Altera Real Estate's Steve Thomas reported that the backlog of Orange County short sales is dizzying. About half of OC short ... See all stories on this topic »

ServiceLink's Streamlined Approach Producing Faster Short Sale Turnaround MarketWatch (press release) ServiceLink is also reporting that the timeline from contract approval to closing has been reduced to less than 45 days, providing for a total short sale ... See all stories on this topic »

ESOLA: Another short sale that defies the name North County Times Here I am talking about the short sale. They ought to rename it a "long sale" because well, nothing is short about it. Long streams of paperwork. ... See all stories on this topic »

Chinese drywall short sale denied because of paperwork mistake Wink News A WINK News investigation uncovers a problem with short sales of homes with Chinese drywall. One woman says a paperwork mistake is inflating the price of ... See all stories on this topic »

ServiceLink Streamlines Short Sales to Less than 74 Days Housing Wire ServiceLink now boasts that a streamlined short sale will take less than 74 days. A usual short sale can take over five months. ServiceLink stated that it ... See all stories on this topic »

Selling a home: Pricing right in a housing slump CNBC Foreclosures and short sales, where the owner sells for less than what's owned on the property, complicate matters. Be honest. Are the foreclosures or short ... See all stories on this topic »

PartnerFirst's Pre-Foreclosure Specialist Certification Receives Support from ... PR Newswire (press release) "What impressed me most about PartnerFirst was how intimately they are aware of what it takes to close a short sale," said Mark Starks, Chief Executive ... See all stories on this topic »

Blogs 5 new results for short sales

Lender Losses Mount From Short Sales, Topping $310 Million in 2010 ... By Michael Gerrity According to CoreLogic's (NYSE: CLGX) latest 2010 Short Sales Research Study, lender loss is now over $300 million annually with over half of all short sales occurring in California, Florida, Texas and Arizona. ... REC News Center - http://www.realestatechannel.com/

House Keys | Sun Sentinel Blogs | Short sales triple to 400000 ... The study also found that risk of “unnecessary losses” to lenders happens in one in every 53 short sales. The average amount of unnecessary loss is $41000 per transaction. CoreLogic says the definition of fraud continues to evolve but ... House Keys - http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/housekeys/blog/

Short Sales In Orlando Florida Series – Lesson 3 – The Lender ... By admin Short Sales in Orlando Series overview In Lesson 1 the definition of a short sale was established. The homeowner negotiates with their lender. FactHippo.com - http://www.facthippo.com/

Iowa Short Sale Story - Mortgage Forum - LoanSafe.org By brokepepper Well, after posting and reading (and reading, reading, reading....) I've made my decision. I'm going to go for the short sale. Here are the quick. Mortgage Forum - LoanSafe.org - http://www.loansafe.org/forum/

Florida Short Sale Help | Businesses Taking Advantage of Short ... By admin Considering the impressive savings potential short sales and foreclosures offer buyers, it is not surprising why a lot of businesses or companies in Manatee County are taking advantage of such great investment opportunities. ... Florida Short Sale Help - http://www.floridashortsaleshelp.com/blog/

HAFA Training Video Webinar

This hour long video is essential for anyone in the real estate business. Jason Baker goes through the new HAFA (Home Affordable Modification Alternatives) rules and how it effects your short sale business. He also demonstrates the powerful Short Sale Success (tm) software that will streamline your short sales and make compliance and closings easy. Watch it here

Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Update

The governments HAFA program has had some last minute changes that makes the program twice as appealing to potential short sellers. The foreclosure alternative program now pays out $3000 to homeowners who sell their house for less than they owe - a short sale and now $6000 to second lien holders. Previously the government paid out only $1500.

Lenders are compelled under the new rules to answer a valid offer within ten days. Before theses rules lenders did not have any time constraints and short sales were anything but short.

Lenders who offer HAMP modifications must offer the HAFA program before they can foreclose. The HAFA rules apply only to loans made prior to 2009. The borrower must be "at-risk", which means that they have a verifiable hardship. The program only applies to conforming loans under $729,250 and their first mortgage payment must be less than 31% of income.

http://makinghomeaffordable.gov/hafa.html

Dialing for short sale leads

For the past 6 months or so, I have been executing telemarketing campaigns to generate short sale leads. We start out with old loan modification leads generated on the Internet or by direct response to a TV ad. These leads are then uploaded to a predictive dialer and agents log in remotely to start dialing the campaign.

The script goes something like this..

Hello, this is ____from the Mortgage Help Center, we are following up on the inquiry you made in____________, did you get the help you were looking for? (pause) Do you still need help with mortgage or would you be interested in selling your home?

If the answer is yes, the telemarketer transfers the call to the agent.

The campaign has had mixed results depending on the area we have been targeting. Below you will see the number and type of leads we got.

2000 calls to Southern California 32 loan mod leads 1 short sale lead.

1000 calls to New York City 16 loan mod leads 4 short sale leads.

1000 calls to Las Vegas 22 loan mod leads 7 short sale leads.

The conclusion I draw from these campaigns is that if you are trying to generate short sale leads, you must be able to offer the homeowner that is intent on saving their home alternatives to a short sale - loan modification. After that process has been exhausted, then a short sale is appropriate.

Here is the 5 step strategy that I recommend.

1. Align yourself with a local, reputable loan modification company or attorney.

2. Execute a marketing campaign to contact people who have previously inquired about loan modification.

3. Take loan mod apps from homeowners and pass them on to your partner.

4. Get short sale leads from your partners old book of failed loan mods. (about 65% fail)

5. Repeat

News Alerts For Short Sales Sunday April 18, 2010

News Alerts for: Short Sales

Mohave Valley News March sales help shrink local inventory Mohave Valley News Eight short sales closed in March. Along with the 55 foreclosures that sold, 59 percent of the properties that closed were distressed. ... See all stories on this topic

Selling out for less Jackson Clarion Ledger Uncle Sam has rolled out new legislation aimed at making the alternative - short sales - easier. The government's new legislation, the Home Affordable ... See all stories on this topic

The Virginian-Pilot New rules may help homeowners during a short sale The Virginian-Pilot Short sales have gained a reputation for being long and complicated, both for the seller and potential buyers. Sellers first must convince their lender that ... See all stories on this topic

Changes Coming to the Short Sales Program Prescott eNews Well finally Fannie Mae is addressing Short Sales. They are implementing a new short sale policy so here is what your short sale seller has to look forward ... See all stories on this topic

Distressed property boosts sales at SC resort town Myrtle Beach Sun News "There is actually a dangerous trend happening with the decline of regular sellers versus bank-owned property and short sales," Michelle Hallstrom, ... See all stories on this topic

Why a short sale often takes so long Sarasota Herald-Tribune Sometimes short sales bring more cash than foreclosures, and vice-versa. Which one it is depends on a host of factors, not the least of which is whether a ... See all stories on this topic

On the Market: Short sales Los Angeles Times (blog) For more information about HAMP programs, visit Making Home Affordable.gov or call (888) 995-4673. Here are a few of the many short sales on the market. See all stories on this topic

An Alternative to Foreclosure Wall Street Journal By ANNA PRIOR The federal government launched rules earlier this month to help facilitate short sales. But for some homeowners who are unable to complete a ... See all stories on this topic

Housing rebound uncertain Fort Wayne Journal Gazette In addition, Brown said somewhat depressed housing prices might start to rise if foreclosures and short sales ease. In a foreclosure, a lending institution ... See all stories on this topic

Elder-Care Home Foreclosures, Without Warning New York Times (blog) Jeffrey Lai, an administrator of carehomesusa.net, a four-year-old clearinghouse for such properties, said in an interview that short sales — sales based on ... See all stories on this topic

 

Short Sale News and Links

Homeowners Seeking Short Sales For Underwater Mortgage May Get Help From Lenders Red, White, and Blue Press (blog) While many homeowners are just walking away, caring little for their credit score, others are looking to short sell their home. A short sale has been said ... See all stories on this topic

FHA Guidelines and Seasoning Issues no Problem for Short Sale Funding and ... Emailwire (press release) (blog) Real estate investors who work with pre-foreclosures and short sales have become frustrated due to how difficult it is to close short sales and make a ... See all stories on this topic

Short sales spread to a Sacramento apartment complex Sacramento Bee (blog) It's not news in the least that short sales are a routine now in Sacramento's distressed housing market. But we got a report this afternoon of possibly the ... See all stories on this topic

Short sales are killing market values across entire nation St. George Daily Spectrum The most detrimental trend impacting the market currently is the short sale epidemic. The implications have affected market values nationwide. ... See all stories on this topic

The tax burden for short sales may disappear Santa Rosa Press Democrat (blog) by real.estate Short sales have helped some cash-strapped homeowners get rid of one financial burden, only to be hit by a new one. The term “short sale” ... See all stories on this topic

Federal program aims to shorten the short sale process WWSB ABC 7 Banks now have 10 days to accept or deny an offer on a short sale. This could help the real estate market in Florida and get rid of the flood of short sales ... See all stories on this topic

 

Ozarks First

New Program Helping Struggling Homeowners Avoid Foreclo...Ozarks First HAFA is a new program working with homeowners to short sale their home, if there are no other options. There's also compensation to the seller doing the ... See all stories on this topic

Bottom in Housing Near?

With the pent up demand from investors, seller capitulation and bank foreclosures and REO liquidations, a market bottom seems near.

Freeze On Home Foreclosures Says FOX

The White House is considering changes to its mortgage modification plan that could include a freeze on home foreclosures, sources tell FOX Business.

According to industry officials who have been briefed on the plan, the administration is considering changes that would require home-loan servicing companies to push delinquent borrowers into the Home Affordable Modification Program before they consider foreclosure.

Lenders, investors and mortgage-service companies would be prevented from foreclosing on a homeowner while a home buyer is solicited, responds and eventually goes through a  trial period under HAMP.

Analysts tell FOX Business that the possible changes, if adopted, effectively prevent virtually all foreclosure action in the country for an extended period.

While home prices have recovered and sales activity has picked up, the latest statistics show that the number of foreclosures nationwide continues to rise. Loans that have headed into the foreclosure process rose to 4.58% of all mortgages in the fourth quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Friday.  New delinquencies, however, declined.

The freeze on home foreclosures would be a new step for the Obama Administration, which has pushed banks towards mortgage modifications as part of a solution to solve the ongoing problems in the housing market.

Embracing HAFA – (Home Affordable Modification Alternatives)

Mark Hansen is a mortgage market researcher and analyst.  He has an interesting perspective and a clear understanding of the issues.

By Mark Hansen http://mhanson.com/archives/396?shortsaleleads.org

Embracing HAFA – (Home Affordable Modification Alternatives)

It is time to move on. The best solution going forward is for the banks to fully embrace Treasury’s HAFA (short sales and DIL’s) program, begin to foreclose in earnest like they started to in 2008, and get these properties into the hands of new owners.

We know there is huge demand for distressed real estate from investors and those that really can afford to own a home and prices in the hardest hit regions have stabilized somewhat, at least temporarily. There is a lot of excitement around this one. The initial reaction from the lenders I talk to is very positive — if forced to chose, they much rather have a short sale or DIL than a foreclosure because loss severities are much less for obvious reasons.

They are not doing distressed homeowners any favors through loan mods — the distressed homeowner will be in a better position renting a property that they can really afford instead of being saddled to hundreds of thousands in debt that chews up the majority of their gross income every month. Obviously, this will be painful on many financial institutions but the fact is they can’t kick the can forever. And the longer they kick it, the greater the losses will be when the chicken finally comes home to roost.

One of the biggest unintended consequences of HAMP was creating a lack of distress inventory, which is most in demand. Without REO, which made up a large percentage of total sales last year, the depressed rate of existing home sales in 2009 was as good as it gets for a lot of years. HAFA is exactly what is needed to keep sales counts from tumbling in 2010. The only negative is that because DIL’s are REO and short sales considered ‘distressed’, there will be negative housing implications from significantly increased distressed sales as a percentage of total sales.

This is why I believe that 2010 kicks off a paradigm shift from pretend and extend to the first year of a multi-year drive to finally de-lever through increased asset liquidations spearheaded by the HAFA initiative. Over a lot of years, this is exactly what is need to essentially ‘reset’ the housing market and is where my research centers this year.

Not all short sales are tax exempt.

Former homeowners who had a short sale or foreclosure of their principal residence during 2009 are facing a challenge when preparing their income tax returns.

“When there is a cancellation of debt relating to a principal residence, different results may apply depending on the facts,” says Michael Gray, CPA, author of the Real Estate Tax Handbook. “If the loan was refinanced and cash was used for a purpose other than home improvement, like to buy a car or take a vacation, that part of the loan doesn’t qualify for the federal tax exclusion for cancellation of principal residential indebtedness. If the loan was ‘non-recourse’ (the lender can only look to the property for repayment), the short sale or foreclosure should be reported as a sale for the balance of the mortgage.”

“Some people are simply reporting the cancellation amount from information returns reported by the lenders as income, which is probably wrong, resulting in paying too much tax. To top everything else off, different rules may apply for state income tax reporting. For example, California hasn’t conformed to the federal exclusion for 2009.”

Michael Gray “wrote the book”, the Real Estate Tax Handbook, about real estate taxation and can give your audience vital information they need right now. To interview him, call 408-918-3161.

Where the "Real Money" is being made in short sales.

This video will shock you.  Watch and learn how Goldman Sachs and others at the top of the oligarchy are participating in the fleecing of America.

 www.thinkbigworksmall.com/mypage/player/tbws/23088/1000148

Bank of America Fires Employees Of 21 Years Then Forecloses on Loan He Paid Off!

Here is yet another example of the B of A and their strong arm heavy handed lets rip-him-a-new-one, business practices.

This is a letter to B of A's Brian Moynihan from an ex-employee.

January 17, 2010

Bank of America
Brian Moynihan
100 N. Tryon Street
NC-1-007-18-01
Charlotte, NC. 28255

Dear Mr. Moynihan,

First of all, thank you for taking the time to read and respond to the following request. I have included as much documentation as I currently have available to save you the time of having to do a lot of research.

To begin with, I was laid off from Bank of America in January, 2009, after 21 years of extremely dedicated service. I was a GWIM employee that was one of many that had fallen victim to the business decisions of the bank. This layoff resulted in my being unable to afford my primary residence and we ended up having to complete a short sale to avoid foreclosure. We completed the sale of the property on August 25th, 2009 and Bank of America received the payoff funds on September 1st 2009. Please see pages 1-5 of the attached documents for verification. In addition, page 6 shows the letter from Bank of America acknowledging that my loan has been paid in full.

I assure you the story that follows is 100% accurate and true, however one can only think it to be fiction because it sounds so absurd. From the date the bank received my payoff, and all the way up to today’s date, my nightmare with Bank of America will never seem to end.

It began with the deficiency balance left after the short sale. I am fully aware this would happen and am also aware that I am responsible for that deficiency. The issue is that Bank of America relentlessly called me daily at 4:00am for weeks at a time. This is covered in Case number xxxxxxxx filed with the Office of the Comptroller of Currency. Every time they called, I simply asked if they would call at a more reasonable time and they never would. They only wanted to talk about collecting the deficiency at 4:00am. It was relentless and I finally sent an email to Ken Lewis at the end of September asking for relief and a phone call at a decent time to work out an arrangement. Well, I am sure this email was read by someone in executive relations and not Ken Lewis which I fully expected. The problem you will see comes from page 7 of the attached documents. They obviously had no idea how to read as their response had nothing to do with what I was asking about, and it was talking about my letter to some website I had never heard of in my life.
Since this got me nowhere fast I called executive relations to get someone to understand the issue. They forwarded me to Michelle McCall who handles the mortgage side of executive relations. She listened to my story and said she would handle it. Well, her way of handling it was to put a cease and desist order on my account and turn me over to a collection attorney. See page 8. I never said I was not paying; I only wanted a call at a decent time to work something out. Since these were robocalls, there was never a number I could call back on. After calling the bank again, I was finally able to have the file retrieved from the collection attorney and the representative and I have worked out a payment arrangement. It is very small but you have to remember, I am sending you part of my unemployment check and I am barely able to keep my head above water as it is.

While all of this has been happening with my deficiency balance, I am still receiving tons of mail from Bank of America in reference to my mortgage secured by the property I sold in August. It is October and they still had not paid off my loan. See pages 9 and 10.

Then I start receiving these letters telling me that I do not have insurance and unless I provide proof they will force place insurance. Well, I think the insurance industry frowns upon insuring items you do not actually own or have an interest in. See pages 11 and 12. Each time I received a letter, I would call the bank and try to get them to understand that I sold this property in August and they have had my payoff since September. I was told either that was not their department or some reps would actually look and verify that they did in fact receive my payoff check in September and would open a case to get it resolved. I probably had a total of 10 cases opened from my calls just to get someone to clear this loan off the books and it has still never happened. All of those cases fell into some black hole never to be seen again.

The next wave of mailings about my loan that was to be paid off 3 months earlier started again. This time they were more upsetting than ever. I was now receiving legal notices telling me I owed $423,572.92. See page 13. Can you imagine, after closing on this property in August, now in November I am receiving threatening legal notices knowing that you have been in full receipt of my funds this entire time. Can you imagine my level of frustration and grief over this issue, knowing that I have called on a weekly basis for months just trying to find someone to take ownership of the situation and get this loan off the books?
I was at my wits end when they started calling again day and night relentlessly. It was the robocaller and when the rep comes on the line they start telling me I owe them $25,000.00 in back payments and when can I send in the funds. What???? Are you kidding me I am thinking, and start to tell them the same thing I have told for months now that I sold this property, someone else lives there and has a mortgage on it. They would apologize and hang up. But then the next day the calls just keep coming and coming again. I had finally had enough of being called for payments and insurance so I faxed two short letters pertaining to these matters asking you to cease and desist. See pages 14 and 15. You can see I was quite frustrated with this ordeal. I thought relief was finally on the way as I did receive correspondence back confirming receipt of my letters. See page 16. The calls kept coming so I thought I would reach out to Michelle McCall again as I had her name from my previous dealing with executive relations. She looked and agreed my loan should have been paid off in September. I told her I was extremely frustrated that no one would take ownership of this issue. She said if I received more calls just have them call her. Well, obviously she did nothing because I have received 10 more calls since then, and every time I ask them to contact her they simply ignore the request and it goes back to some queue for them to start ringing my phone again day and night. The fact that my loan has still not been paid off leads to OCC case #xxxxxxxx

As the days go by and the phone keeps ringing, I am finally sent over the deep end when I open the mail and see that Bank of America has actually managed to force place insurance in the amount of $4,242.00 dollars on a property that I sold in August. See page 17. Can you tell me how it is possible to buy insurance on a property you no longer have an interest in? This leads to yet another OCC case #xxxxxxxx.

So, it is now January 17, 2010. A year since I have been laid off from the bank and 5 months since I sold my home that you cannot manage to remove from your books. Can you stop for a minute and think what it felt like for me to lose my home because I could no longer afford it when I lost my job? Can you imagine having to have your credit ruined via a short sale after being a banker for 21 years?

Well, let me tell you it sucks. But to make it worse, it will not go away. Every phone call and piece of mail I receive is just a reminder of what I have lost because I was laid off for doing nothing wrong. The emotional toll is astounding and Bank of America is doing everything possible to keep it going.

I have been seeking legal advice as to what course of action to take next, but it will take awhile. I simply do not have the funds to hire an attorney yet to pursue this matter. I went from earning $100,000/year to $100.00/week. I really have nowhere else to turn but to you and to the media. I have sent this story to all of the major news networks in hopes of someone hearing my plea for assistance. This story sounds so absurd that you would think it cannot be true. I am just one man, but I wonder how many others you have done this to? I will tell you the same thing I told the story editors,” I spent 21 years doing my due diligence for the bank and then I get laid off because they did not do theirs.”

In closing, I am asking you to please take ownership of this issue and finally clear this loan off of your books. As stated earlier, I am paying a very small amount to you monthly to help cover my deficiency balance left from the sale of this home. I will never recoup the funds I once earned and will have to go back to school to earn 1/3 of my previous salary. If there is any way you can forgive this deficiency it would be greatly appreciated. I would also ask to have our credit restored back to normal in relation to the 2 mortgages surrounding this short sale. This is the only derogatory item I have and my credit has always meant a great deal to me. A charge off has killed everything I have worked so hard to maintain.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Vince K.

Source: http://consumerist.com/2010/02/ex-employee-cant-get-bofa-to.html 

Bank of America forecloses on the wrong house.

B of A was served with a law suit last week alleging that they took possession of the wrong house after foreclosing on a nearby property. A clerical error led B of A employees to remove all the contents and change the locks on the wrong property.

Mass. Couple Sue Bank of America Alleging Erroneous Foreclosure Attempt

Strategic defaults OK for big corporations but not homeowners?

Watch this comparison of investors walking away from a $5.4 billion mortgage and the morality of walking away from your own mortgage.

Short Sale Kickbacks

The big banks have found another way to circumvent the law and squeeze more money out of their debt slaves.  Watch this report from CNBC:


http://www.cnbc.com/id/34877347

Getting an FHA loan after doing a short sale.

If you are planning to do a short sale on your home then you need to take into consideration the effects this will have on your credit and your ability to get an FHA loan.  FHA has become the new "sub-prime" and to qualify for an FHA loan you must not have done a short sale “to take advantage of declining market conditions” or to purchase another property at a reduced price.

When you do buy another house you ought to work with a lender that specializes in short sale financing.  Short sale lenders have a better understanding f the complexities of this type of transaction.

Starting in April 2010, lenders will only have 10 days to respond to a short sale offer.  This will speed up the process.