Short Sale Leads

Short Sale News

2011-04-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

Mortgage Leads | Internet Mortgage Marketing | Live Mortgage Calls

Bill Would Speed Short Sales
MortgageLoan.com
Lenders would have to decide within 45 days whether to approve or deny a short sale, under bipartisan legislation introduced this week in Congress. The bill, jointly introduced by Reps. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) and Robert Andrews (DN. ...
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After short sale, `relocation assistance' is taxable to homeowner
Daily Breeze
By Ilyce R. Glink Q: Last year, I had to do a short sale on my home. My lender gave me $3000 in "relocation assistance" payments. I'm now doing my taxes and I would like to know whether "relocation assistance" payments are taxable to the homeowner. ...
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New Legislation Would Make Short Sale Process Quicker
Mortgage Rates & Trends (blog)
Tom Rooney (R-FL), would require banks and mortgage servicers to respond to requests for a short sale within 45 days of the request. The National Association of Realtors immediately lent their support to the proposed bill. While I don't know how much ...
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Mortgage Rates & Trends (blog)

Home Prices Down, Sales Up
Capital Public Radio News
DataQuick's Andrew LePage says the price-drop prompted a bump in sales…by 4%. "About 70% of the properties that resold in March were distressed. They were either a foreclosure resale or a short sale. And in March we had a record 35% of the homes sold ...
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Leasing in style among wealthy
Myrtle Beach Sun News
"The high end got hit last with the wave of foreclosures," and short sales, said Hoffman, who has been an agent for 29 years. "People coming out of those homes have to have a place to go." They may want to stay in the same school districts or close to ...
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West lags behind rest of nation in housing recovery
Lodi News-Sentinel
Carrie Bay writes in a story from DSNEWS.com that an analysis of home prices through the end of February by CoreLogic shows a year-over-year decline of 6.7 percent when distressed properties — REO and pre-foreclosure short sales — are included in the ...
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Market snapshot: Lido Shores
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
While Lido Shores has been affected by the drop in prices since the housing bubble burst (some properties have dropped as much as 50 percent in value), sales have been steady. Of the 17 homes sold over the past two years, only two were short sales, ...
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What Constitutes Fair Market Value in Sarasota?
Patch.com
For the past three years at least, those distressed sales have set the pace for Fair Market Value. Today, as the number of distressed properties on the market diminishes (Only 18% of actively listed properties are distressed - short sales or REOs), ...
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Blogs

1 new result for short sales

Mortgage Leads | Internet Mortgage Marketing | Live Mortgage Calls

Bill gives servicers 45 days to respond to short sales | Bankrate.com
By Polyana da Costa
A new bill that would give lenders 45 days to respond to short sale requests was introduced in the in the US House this week.
Bankrate.com - http://www.bankrate.com/financing/

Web

5 new results for short sales

Mortgage Leads | Internet Mortgage Marketing | Live Mortgage Calls

Bill introduced to speed up short sales « HousingWire
A bill was introduced in the House of Representatives this week, requiring mortgage servicers to respond within 45 days of receiving a short sale request. ...
www.housingwire.com/.../bill-introduced-to-speed-up-short-sa...

Short sale's effect on credit scores: Credit scores will plummet ...
Dear Liz: Do I need to stop making payments for my bank to consider a short sale ? I moved and put my house on the market a year ago but got no bites despite ...
articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/10/.../la-fi-montalk-20110410

Delays in Short Sales Frustrate Home Buyers - Yahoo! News
Charles Wright of Henderson, Nev., fell behind on his mortgage last year after a divorce squeezed his finances. He twice arranged to sell his house for less ...
news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20110415/bs.../1117b4225013122956

Delays in Short Sales Frustrate Home Buyers - BusinessWeek
Short sales could accelerate the resolution of the housing crisis—if the process is streamlined by the big federal mortgage lenders.
www.businessweek.com/.../b4225013122956.htm?...

Short Sales Are Not Just A Check…
I have a short sale I have been working on for a year.
shortsaledailynews.com/short-sales-are-not-just-a-check/

Short Sale News

2011-03-30T09:26:00.001-07:00

Proposed settlement would force banks to allow short sales for
delinquent ...

Los Angeles Times

The requirement to allow so-called short sales would be in
addition to forcing mortgage servicers to reduce the amount some
homeowners owe on their loans, said two officials, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity because negotiations are ongoing. ...

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Short Sales and SB1187

Stock Markets Review

Many of the professionals that provide distressed homeowners with short
sale help were disappointed at the veto of SB 1187. For California
homeowners, this bill would have provided protections against some of
the creditors that have turned out to be a ...

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Homeowners With Negative Equity And Suffering From Unemployment–Short Sale
And ...

Red, White, and Blue Press

Yet, some homeowners have seen such severity arise in relation to their
financial life that they have sought out a short sale or deed
in lieu of foreclosure plan from major servicers like Bank of America,
Wells Fargo, or even JP Morgan Chase. ...

See all stories on this topic »

Potential Tax Implications When Losing Your Home to Foreclosure or Short Sale

Stock Markets Review

When a property is sold as a short sale or lost to foreclosure,
it is treated as a sale or exchange from which you may realize a gain
or loss. The amount of debt that is forgiven is seen as a gain since
this is an amount you will no longer have to pay ...

See all stories on this topic »

Four
States Weigh Bills to Make Appraisers Disregard Foreclosures

US Banker

The rationale for the bills in Illinois, Nevada, Missouri and Maryland
is that the prevalence of foreclosures and short sales — almost
four out of 10 sales in the country are distressed — is distorting the
markets. But lenders are worried that ...

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It's tough to get a mortgage loan out there

Washington Examiner

Borrowers may be able to qualify for a mortgage after a short sale
in as little as two years. "Short sales are a whole other
ballgame because, depending on the state where it took place and the
terms of the sale, lenders can still come after you ...

See all stories on this topic »

More bleak numbers on Twin Cities home prices

Minneapolis Star Tribune

... already have reported local sales data for January and
February, which shows that there's been significant downward pressure
on prices in the Twin Cities metro area because of a steep increase in
sales of foreclosures and in short sales. ...

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The Multi-Agency Mortgage Servicer Settlement, Principal Balance Reductions, Effective Negative Equity, Foreclosures

2011-03-08T16:59:00.000-08:00

by Mark Hanson

1) The $20 Billion Multi-Agency Mortgage Servicer Settlement – A Pee-Hole in a Snow Bank

The BAC/Countrywide $8.6 billion settlement of 2009 — referred to many times during the current multi-agency mortgage servicing investigations — included ~400k borrowers, or $21,500 per loan. Therefore, the $20bb monetary fine being floated to potentially be used for principal reductions for four to seven million borrowers in the delinquency, default or Foreclosure process – $2.6k to $5k per borrower – is a proverbial ‘pee hole in a snow bank’.

It’s only a few percent of what is really needed for an effective principal program, if there is such a thing. I would rather see the money used to buy and rehab condo complexes around the nation and give keys to condos, instead of general assistance checks, to the less fortunate to cover rent.
An apples-to-apples Robo-Settlement based on the BAC settlement would be $86 to $161 BILLION depending on how many were allowed to benefit. And still, reducing principal on every underwater borrower in the country by $21,500 would not do much. Add an Order of Magnitude to that and we are talking – but not even the Fed has a couple of trillion dollars lying around.

A $20bb settlement makes no difference to anything in mortgage and housing that is occurring, or set to occur. As an example of how small of a number $20bb is, new Notice-of-Defaults — the first stage of Foreclosure — in the state of CA totaled $9bb in January alone.

If this settlement – which not incidentally does include an extremely detailed and well-written servicer code of conduct – is accepted then I counter intuitively expect Foreclosure, short sale, and deed-in-lieu liquidations to increase substantially…far beyond what is considered ‘normalized’. This is because as the uncertainty that has been hanging over the servicer’s heads since Robo first broke in September 2010, which has resulted in a decrease of total legal default filings and Foreclosure completions by over 40% as of the end of February, is removed and servicer’s check their ‘conduct boxes’ off on each loan unit, there will be no uncertainty over liquidating when the hand book says it’s okay to do so.

2) Principal Balance Reduction Benefits are Overstated
As a career mortgage banker until 2006 — when it became blatantly obvious mortgage and housing was going to fall off a proverbial cliff and I left the industry to pursue other ventures – I am confident that the primary default driver has more to do with the back-end (total) debt-to-income ratios on the average legacy loan and loan modification being in the stratosphere than negative equity. In fact, on the average HAMP loan modification the median back-end DTI is ~65% of gross income. A household paying 65% of their GROSS monthly income to debt service each month — that can’t save, spend or vacation — is a massive credit risk, plain and simple.

Obviously, if a borrower has 20% equity and 65% debt ratios they can always sell making them less of a risk. But when you combine a high DTI and low to no home equity, it’s toxic. Even Subprime loans only had a maximum total Debt-to-Income ratio allowance of ~55% when they were originated during the bubble years.
A borrower at a 65% total debt-to-gross income ratio is a debt slave whether he is 50% underwater or has 5% equity in the house. There is no difference between the two. Neither can sell their house — pay their mortgage, pay the Realtor 6%, and put a 10% to 20% downpayment on a new house — and re-buy. Both are stuck.

Therefore, unless total debt-to-income ratios are taken considerably lower through long-term household de-leveraging – or complete household balance sheet modifications that target the back-end DTI (the only known way now is through Chapter-13) — no modifications will ever stick in mass.

3) What is to be gained through reducing principal balances on mortgages?
Nobody is asking the primary question in my mind with respect to principal reduction mortgage mods…What is to be gained?

The central planners making the rules will say ‘fewer people will default and go into Foreclosure’. We already discussed that negative equity alone is not a determining factor. Further, if a principal reduction plan was rolled out to the mainstream, then I suspect many would strategically default to take advantage of it. So, principal reduction mods to prevent loan defaults and Foreclosures are hogwash.

However, principal and ‘other debt’ forgiveness to ’unburden the organic homeowner allowing them to participate in the housing market again’ would be highly beneficial. But, of course, this isn’t a quick fix, as homeowners who received mortgage principal and other debt forgiveness could not turn right around and buy houses for various reasons. Further, there just isn’t enough capital at all of the top banks in the nation to bring balances down enough to make it effective. Lastly, demographics are not in the favor of the repeat buyer — especially at the mid-to-higher end of the market — as baby boomers that were such a vital part of the bubble from 2001 through 2007 are not moving up anytime soon. In fact, they are looking to downsize. I suspect that the next time repeat buyers have an outsized benefit on the housing market is when today’s first time buyers can move-up.

Remember, housing has a demand AND supply problem, which most don’t understand. In a normal housing market, the repeat buyer drives volume, followed far behind by first timers and then investors. In this market, the repeat buyer is by and large absent relative to historic averages leaving all the heavy lifting up to first timers and investors who want low priced properties, preferably Foreclosures, REO and short sales. Thus, anything that disrupts the flow of distressed real estate prevents a housing bottom and subsequent recovery.

There is just no way to easily or quickly unleash the organic repeat buyer or unburden them from their extraordinary leverage positions. Actually, the latter could be achieved by offering foreigners immediate US citizenship for the capital investment into residential real estate of at least $500k, but I suspect things would have to get really bad before an idea such as this was floated.

4) Real (Effective) Negative Equity is a much larger problem, as it pertains to housing, than mainstream reports suggest CoreLogic came out today with their latest monthly negative equity figure of 11.1mm borrower’s with mortgages, or 23.1%. But this number doesn’t mean much to me.

What most don’t consider is real, or effective negative equity, as it pertains to repeat buying I touched upon in the item #2. Effective negative equity begins at the point at which the homeowner can’t sell the house and rebuy another, which requires paying a Realtor 6% on the sale and putting 10% to 20% down depending on the type of loan needed.

For example, on a Jumbo purchase in CA effective negative equity begins at 75% CLTV, which is the reason the Jumbo housing market continues to languish and will get worse. In fact, when you lower the CA Jumbo negative equity threshold to 75% CLTV, then 64% of all mortgaged homeowners are effectively underwater. This is also why I believe that Jumbo loans, a clear focus of banks and servicers with respect to modifications, payment plans and workouts for the past year and a half, have not even begun the pain stage that will ultimately come.

In lower house price states such as AZ and NV where it takes 6% to pay a Realtor and 10% down to move-up, down, or across, when you lower the negative equity threshold to 85%, even a greater percentage are effectively ’underwater’.

When national house prices fall another 10% to 20%, entire states will be consumed by effective negative equity putting even more pressure on real estate supply and demand fundamentals.
Bottom Line: Whether the borrower is at a 95% LTV or a 140% LTV, they are in an effective negative equity position. Then it all comes down to debt-to-income ratios. If I was a whole loan long-term investor, I would much rather own a 140% LTV loan on a borrower with a 40% DTI than a 95% LTV loan on a borrower with a 65% DTI. To the 40% DTI borrower, the LTV is an inconvenience. But, the 65% DTI legacy or modified borrower — even at 95% LTV – is trapped and not saving, shopping or vacationing, with few options available. After months or years of being in debtor’s prison, walking away and stripping down the house in order to sell the parts for security deposit and first months rent, moves way up the most likely list.

5) Where do we stand now?

In final, I am always asked about my predictions for total Foreclosures stemming from the bubble years. And I have said the same thing for years.

In short, there have been 3.5 million foreclosures and short sales to date stemming from legacy loans. There are presently ~7.5 million borrowers delinquent, defaulted, or in Foreclosure at present — grows by 100k to 125k per month — of which 75% to 80% will ultimately be liquidated. If another 7.5 million defaults — and modification redefaults — occur over the next three to five years then a total of 12 million to 15 million Foreclosure, short sale, and deed-in-lieu liquidations will occur, meaning we are now ~25% complete in cleansing the infamous 2003-2007 Bubble-Year’s toxic lending cesspool.

Best Regards,
Mark Hanson
www.MHanson.com

Short Sale News

2011-01-26T07:26:00.001-08:00

'Distressed' Home Sales Are Fuzzing The Numbers, Rohnert Park Short Sale
Press Release Mag (press release)
And while the Veterans Administration typically does not approve loans for short sales, according to Gorsiski, the buyers' loan from the VA was approved and ...
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Press Release Mag (press release)

Short Sales: Are You the Weakest Link?
Real Estate News | BiggerPockets.com (blog)
To bad a short sale transaction couldn't be a game show. In a short sale transaction, you have so many team members—each with his or her own responsibility ...
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Real Estate News | BiggerPockets.com (blog)

Doing a Short Sale to Avoid Foreclosure
Stock Markets Review
In this post, we're going to examine the other just as one alternative including the explanation and the process of encountering a short sale. ...
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The Short Sale Process - 10 Steps to a Successful Short Sale
Stock Markets Review
The short sale process is linear, standard in fashion and highly predictable. A Short Sale happens when the proceeds from the sale of a home are not enough ...
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California Law Restricts Lender's Ability to Collect Deficiency Judgement ...
International Business Times
By Bob Hunt | January 25, 2011 10:11 AM EST Effective January 1, 2011, California first trust deed mortgage holders who consent to a short sale of ...
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To lift sales, Panorama North tower renamed The Martin
Las Vegas Review-Journal
... condominium projects in Las Vegas, Panorama struggled with sales shortly after construction, with many of the units entering foreclosure or short sale. ...
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Part 3: Answers to your credit and debt questions
Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)
I was forced to sell it through a short sale for a whopping $83000. I was always on-time with my mortgage payments and had pretty good credit prior to this ...
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Santa Cruz County median home price in December at $503250
San Jose Mercury News
Of those sales, 39 percent involved distressed properties, bank-owned or a short sale, where the home is sold for less than what is owed. ...
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QualityFirst Real Estate Reveals Three Ways Home Sellers Can Maximize The Sale ...
PRLog.Org (press release)
REO's and short sales are almost always in some sort of disrepair or in need of deferred maintenance. One of the things that you can do is make sure your ...

Short Sale News

2011-01-22T08:37:00.001-08:00

Market Insights: Short sale worth purchasing?
Summit Daily News
By DANIEL WEBSTER JOHNSON This home in Breckenridge, that sold as a short sale in February 2010, was well worth the wait and extra effort as the new ...
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Can You Wholesale A Short Sale Property?
Stock Markets Review
If you have negotiated a discount with the bank in a short sale, can you flip the property successfully to another investor? This article analyzes the ...
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The Scoop on Short Sales
Patch
The industry is anticipating a record-setting number of short sale transactions in 2011. Learn all you need to know about this process, that is actually ...
See all stories on this topic »

Valley business briefs for Jan. 22
The Desert Sun
LA QUINTA -- An educational “Conversational Cafe” will offer information about short sales at 10 am today at the Keller Williams Realty Center, ...
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Steps to Starting Your Short Sale Process
Stock Markets Review
A short sale may be right for you. For those who aren't exactly sure what a short sale is, here is a brief description. Simply put a short sale is when the ...
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After saving, buyers got surprise
San Francisco Chronicle
Cogliandro had prepared his clients for this possibility, having seen it happen on many other short sales. His clients agreed to the terms, knowing they ...
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Shorting Stocks: How to Find the Perfect Candidate for Profits
Investing Answers
A short sale is a three-step trading strategy that seeks to capitalize on an anticipated decline in the price of a security. 1) Arrangements are made to ...
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Las Vegas attorney: Bank of America deceived him over loan modification
Las Vegas Sun
"Bank of America has made a pattern of telling consumers, such as plaintiffs, that short sales are an available option. However, Bank of America makes these ...
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Hurting Miami Home Sales Rebound
Housing Predictor
Fueled by lower priced foreclosures and bank assisted short sales, Florida residential sales increased 4% in 2010 over the previous year. ...
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Government Loan Modification Program Helps Some but Not All, Chase Mortgage ...
Press Release Mag (press release)
Those facing a short sale or foreclosure know it can be very stressful and often wonder where to turn. I am here to tell you that “YES” it can be stressful, ...
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Why you need to make your website mobile friendly

2010-11-17T10:19:00.000-08:00

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

2010-10-27T10:17:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-10-11T08:10:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-17T08:14:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-11T16:59:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-07T12:25:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-04T11:13:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-13T10:39:00.001-07:00

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

2010-04-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-07T08:36:00.000-07:00

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?

2010-03-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

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

2010-02-21T21:50:00.000-08:00

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)

2010-02-15T15:53:00.000-08:00

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.

2010-02-12T07:36:00.000-08:00

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.

2010-02-08T12:44:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-02-08T11:46:00.000-08:00

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.

2010-01-31T09:24:00.000-08:00

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?

2010-01-28T17:30:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-15T13:13:00.000-08:00

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.

2010-01-09T09:52:00.000-08:00

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.

Short Sale Leads Websites - Special Offer

2009-12-17T13:35:00.000-08:00

Here is the special offer:

1. NO WEBSITE SETUP FEE
2. FREE LEADS EQUAL TO MONTHLY FEES

From now until the end of the year, when you order a website, the entire amount of your hosting fees is applied to your Cherry Picked Leads account. This way you can get leads even before your website is listed in search engines. Every month that you continue to pay for your website subscription you get that amount credited to your account so you can get the Cherry Picked Leads that are submitted directly by homeowners who are looking for short sale and loan modification information.

How do I get started? Call 530-387-3631, have your credit card ready and the domain name you want to use. Here are examples of sites we have already done so choose a name like these:

*sacramento.shortsaleleads.org
*tampa.shortsaleleads.org
*mountainview.shortsaleleads.org
*yourplacename.shortsaleleads.org

Peter Schiff on Housing Video Blog

2009-12-11T15:23:00.000-08:00

Peter Schiff shows his economic brilliance and foresight in this 10 minute video blog. Mr Schiff, who is running for the US Senate seat occupied by Christopher Dodd was one a few people who correctly foresaw and tried to warn others about the housing bubble. His common sense approach and plain speak make him a likable fellow who is still mocked and ignored by pundits and press for his criticism of mainstream (Obamanomic) thinking.

In this video, Mr. Schiff gives his analysis of the days financial events and talks about the bond market, debt ceiling and a recent WSJ article about people walking away from their homes.

House Flipping Makes A Comeback

2009-12-09T17:33:00.000-08:00

Check out this video from tonight's Kudlow Report.

The experts make the case that you need to be an expert or avail the services of one to make money in foreclosures and short sales.

They make the point that you cannot enter the property and do an inspection to see if the property has been trashed.

The leads offered by www.shortsaleleads.org are contacts with actual homeowners that are interested in doing a short sale.

Treasury Sees Short Sales as Key to Slowing Foreclosures

2009-12-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

Treasury Sees Short Sales as Key to Slowing Foreclosures - eCreditDaily.com

Are banks turning more to short sales? - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Why you're paying too much in property taxes - Atlanta Journal Constitution

Treasury Issues Guidance On Short Sales

2009-12-01T08:22:00.000-08:00

Friday, June 4, 2010
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.

Original Post
Under "The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program" the Treasury will be issuing checks to homeowners for $1500 and $1000 to lenders when they execute a short sale agreement. Second lien holders will get up to $3000 to release their interest in a property. The lender must forgive the unpaid balance on the loan.

Under the new guidelines, lenders have only 10 days to approve or disapprove the transaction.

Here is a link to the Government guidance. https://www.hmpadmin.com/portal/docs/hamp_servicer/sd0909.pdf

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousivMolt/idUSTRE5AT5X520091130

Short Sale Flipping - How To Make $37,500 in 7 Days

2009-11-15T10:54:00.000-08:00

I have seen information like this offered on the Internet for as much as $4995, packaged in a nice DVD work book and forms. Here is what you learn.

Short Sale Flipping.

Short sale flipping is a real estate investment technique that has become very popular recently.

Here is how it works: First you find a homeowner who is behind in his mortgage and owes more than the house is worth. This should be easy as about 35% of the homes in the country are underwater. Next, get the owner to sign a contract that says you will buy his house for 75% of the current value if the bank agrees to relieve him of the mortgage.

Now find a buyer that agrees to buy the house for 90% of the current value. Lets assume the house is worth $250,000 and has a mortgage of $300,000. You offer the bank $187,500. You find a buyer to pay $225,000. You just made $37,500.

Here is an article about folks that are doing this everyday.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20091115/ARTICLE/911151083/-1/NEWSSITEMAP

Real Estate Attorney Stephen Meister Video On Fox Business

2009-11-12T17:12:00.001-08:00

Watch this fascinating discussion about the next bailout and real estate crash with attorney Steven Meister on Fox Business.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/search-results/m/27371346/fed-s-housing-fix-broken.htm

As readers of this blog know I had predicted this crash a year ago and the next "Mother of all bailouts", now finally it has hit the main stream media.

Using geo-targeting in domain names to generate short sale leads

2009-11-09T14:00:00.000-08:00

If you want to get short sale leads in your area you might want to get a domain that targets your specific area and combines your place name with the phrase "short sale". An example of this is http://south-lake-tahoe.shortsaleleads.org. This website is targeted to generate short sale leads in the South Lake Tahoe area. By integrating the place name in the domain name, the search engines will give higher relevance to your website.

Placing links back to your website with keyword anchors you also increase the ranking of your site and achieve a higher placement than a site that does not integrate the place name in the domain name. Be sure your site includes references in context to your target area.

Leadsnet Inc., offers short sale lead generation websites. These sites are made using our proprietary search engine optimization algorithms that get us top results.