Bountiful UTAH – This is good news or bad news, depending on how you look at it. Here is the good news.
If you are a little guy having financial problems, then you are not alone. Even Billionaires are being foreclosed on.
One billionaire real estate developer in Florida had several projects foreclosed on. Another very well known real estate developer is having to re-negotiate mortgages on his investment properties.
Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.
Even a woman who was married to a man who was the richest man in the world at one time is being foreclosed on. Here is the story according to Yahoo Finance:
"Article Title: The Rise and Fall of Patricia Kluge
Former billionaire spouse turned vintner is now facing foreclosure.
It's the kind of story from which movies are made. Sad ones, that is. A beautiful young woman marries a billionaire, divorces and uses her hefty settlement to strike out into a celebrated business, only to lose it all. Rather than a contrived film plot, this is the real-life story of Patricia Kluge.
Last month Kluge, now 62, bid adieu to Albemarle, a beloved Charlottesville, Va., manse. That's when the 200-acre, 45-room estate became the subject of a foreclosure auction on the courthouse steps in downtown Charlottesville. By its ending, creditor Bank of America had repossessed the property for just $15.3 million.
The sales was just the latest in a string of ups and downs for the former heiress. Raised in Iraq under British rule, Kluge worked early in her career as a nude model for first husband Russell Gay at Knave magazine. On a trip to New York City she met John W. Kluge, the founder of Metromedia. The two were married in 1981. By the time they divorced nine years later, Kluge, the husband, was ranked by Forbes as the world's richest man, worth more than $5 billion.
Patricia walked away with a paltry settlement by comparison, estimated to have come to less than $1 million a year, plus Albemarle. The 24,000-square-foot neo-Georgian home boasts a helipad, wine grotto, stables and two kitchens. It is nestled in the Virginia countryside near Thomas Jefferson's Monticello estate.
The seeds of Kluge's financial downfall were sown in 1999 when, along with third husband William Moses, she established the Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard on 960 acres near Albemarle. The couple's plan: Create vintages that would establish Kluge Estate, and subsequently Virginia, as an East Coast mecca for fine wine.
The Kluge Estate Winery quickly won critical acclaim for its bubbly vintages and red-wine blends. Soon Kluge wines were making their way to the dinner tables of society darlings and upscale restaurants. They even graced the menu for Chelsea Clinton's multimillion-dollar wedding weekend last July.
Perhaps intoxicated by her success, Kluge decided to expand aggressively. Over the past five years she took out $65 million in loans, according to public records. The money went into expanding wine production and building a super-luxury subdivision called Vineyard Estates, which was to include 24 multimillion-dollar homes with pools, outdoor kitchens, tennis courts, horse trails -- and even space for private vineyards.
That's when the housing crisis hit. Vineyard Estates failed to draw buyers. Property values plunged.
In 2009 Kluge put Albemarle up for sale. Sotheby's International Realty initially listed it for $100 million. The figure was cut to $48 million in early 2010 and then to $24 million, where it sat until February's bank foreclosure.
Apparently unable to service her debt, Kluge then hired Sotheby's Auction House to host a two-day estate auction on the Albemarle grounds. Up for sale went personal jewelry, art and furniture that included a Chippendale dressing commode that sold for $338,500 and a Qing Dynasty table clock that fetched $3.8 million. All told, 933 items brought in $15.1 million.
Next went the winery itself. Farm Creditor of Virginia, one of Kluge's three major lenders, estimates she poured more than $40 million into the business. Despite critical acclaim for her vintages, Kluge appears to have cranked up production to 30,000 cases a year, only to discover that her company could sell less than half that. Kluge and Moses defaulted on almost $35 million in loans. By mid-December Farm Credit had repossessed Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard after it failed to sell in an auction in which the minimum bid was set at $19 million.
Farm Creditor of Virginia still owns the property and has put a freeze on all operations. The bank plans on April 7 to resell the acreage as six separate tracts in an absolute auction, in which they are sold to the highest bidder with no reserve price. The vineyard's farm equipment will be sold the following day.
With no buyer turning up for Albemarle, Kluge stopped making payments last year and defaulted on nearly $24 million in loans from Bank of America. She received a foreclosure notice in January, and Bank of America picked mid-February to auction off the estate. The bank took possession when no buyers stepped forward with a bid of more than $15.3 million.
There may be a silver lining for Kluge's creditors, if not for the former heiress herself. Donald Trump, a longtime friend of Kluge's, has expressed an interest in taking Albemarle off Bank of America's repossession roster. He has already bought up the 216-acre front lawn.
"Ultimately we'd like to buy the home, but the bank has an unrealistic expectation for the purchase price," asserts Jason D. Greenblatt, general counsel for the Trump Organization. "We do have Right of First Refusal on that piece [the Albemarle home], so that if and when the bank finds a buyer, they would have to come to us first to see if we want to take it."
The Trump Organization also bid in December on Kluge's winery properties, but its offer was rejected by Farm Credit. Greenblatt says he's planning to travel to Charlottesville to tour the grounds and discuss buying the Kluge properties from the banks that now own them.
Kluge remains embroiled in the restitution claims and disputes related to the foreclosures, according to a source close to her, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Kluge herself is remaining mum.
Despite their financial troubles, Kluge and Moses continue to live in a home that many would consider palatial. It's a $3 million Vineyard Estates property they had built on spec back in the days when it seemed as if no real estate deal, or vintage, would ever go sour."
Kluge did what a lot of Average Joes did. She borrowed lots of money and had a hard time making the payments after the economy tanked.
That is some consolation to the person of lower means who bought a big expensive house. How many people bought a house they could afford when the economy was good, but now that their income has dropped they can’t afford it?
Apparently even the rich did it. Thinking about a short sale?
I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at utahhomesaver@gmail.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.
When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (801) 651-0707
Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.
Thinking about a loan modification? Our Layton loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy.
Thanks for reading this, dave forsberg.
dave is a Real Estate Agent at Prudential Utah Real Estate - Bountiful. Layton Short Sales Realtor:
Phone: (801) 651-0707. utahhomesaver@gmail.com.
Greater Salt Lake Short Sales. Real Help for those that need it most.
View My homes for sale at BuyUtahNow.com.
Bountiful UTAH – I recently received a question from Danny. Here was Danny’s Question.
"We have American Home Mortgage Servicing, a loan processor for a Mortgage held by Deutche Bank, adding a 1% “processing fee” that ONLY the buyer can pay at closing.
This was never revealed until we received the short sale approval letter. The buyer is upset.” Durry.
Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.
Here was our answer to Danny’s Question. Yes, the buyer is upset. Buyers think they are in control in today's market. They can't see why they should pay a fee if they are buying a house in a "Buyer's Market."
I think this fee is unethical. We had the fee waived on a short sale we did. Your e-mail indicates that the buyer does not want to pay that fee.
The buyer needs to decide if they will or will not buy the house with the current terms and that fee. If that is the case, then you need to have the buyer put that in writing.
Send that letter to American Home Mortgage Servicing. Here is the problem that AHMSI has.
AHMSI doesn’t own any mortgages. Instead, they act as the front for other entities that own the mortgages.
From the sound of things, the owner of this loan is a pension fund or “Average Joe” stock market investors.
The guy we talked to at AHMSI said they had checked with their legal department on the fee. The legal dept said it was ok.
But, once we threatened to contact the owner of the loan directly they agreed to waive the fee. They only reason they are able to get away with this is because the loan owners never check to see what is happening.
This is such a blatant example of a lender breaching their fiduciary duty to the loan owner. It's wrong. But, do you know why AHMSI can get away with it?
The loan owner doesn't know about the fee being charged. So, let them know about in on your short sale. Find out who owns the loan. Contact them and let them know what AHMSI is doing.
Here is the bottom line. A buyer that has to pay 1% to AHMSI is going to pay 1% less for the house they are purchasing.
This causes the pension fund that owns the loan to lose even more money. What an atrocity! Thinking about a short sale?
I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at utahhomesaver@gmail.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.
When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (801) 651-0707
Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.
Thinking about a loan modification? Our Layton loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy.
Thanks for reading this, dave forsberg.
Dave is a Real Estate Agent at Prudential Utah Real Estate - Bountiful. Layton Short Sales Realtor:
Phone: (801) 651-0707. utahhomesaver@gmail.com.
Greater Salt Lake Short Sales. Real Help for those that need it most.
View My homes for sale at BuyUtahNow.com.
Bountiful UTAH – Sometimes it seems like short sales are tough. “Don’t try to short sale your house. Short Sales never go thru”, people tell you.
Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.
This isn’t true. Here is how one agent beat the odds and succeeded with a short sale.
A member of the Stop Foreclosure Institute told me about a short sale he recently worked on. Here is the story from the member.
“I had a short sale with a large national lender. The loan was owned by Fannie Mae, not the lender. We had an over zealous short sale negotiator.
We had the home on the market for several months and finally received an offer for $180,000. We submitted that to the lender with all the short sale paperwork.
The lender came back and said the price needed to be raised to $257,000 and the seller needed to sign a $50,000 promissory note.
Neither the buyer, nor seller would agree to those terms. At that point, the only alternative was to let the property go to foreclosure. But, I knew that the home would sell for even less than $180,000 and the homeowner would suffer from a foreclosure on their record.
So I did something about it. First, I knew the $180,000 was a good offer that reflected the Fair Market Value of the property. I also knew that Fannie Mae didn’t normally ask for promissory notes.
In fact, Fannie Mae’s policy is to erase the debt when the property is a primary residence. (This home was a primary residence.) Here’s what happened.
I went over the short sale negotiator’s head. I contacted Fannie Mae direct and held a 3 way call with the seller. We found out that the lender had lied. They had never even submitted the offer to Fannie Mae!
They had told us what they thought Fannie Mae should ask for. After I spoke to supervisors in Fannie Mae, I was then called by three different reps for Fannie Mae.
Within 72 hours a supervisor from the lender called up and gave me their net, which was 162k. This was well within the acceptable price of the offer of 187k offer.
The problem was that the buyers were so angry for having to wait 53 days on a 45 day allowance that they walked. However, I met another buyer and we sold the house to them.
The bottom line is the short sale negotiator lied, and got busted lying. I had to send in comparables and beg the BPO agent to get the inside scoop.”
As you can see, some agents are making things happen with short sales. This agent did an awesome job. He thought of calling Fannie Mae direct on his own. As you can see, not taking no for an answer helps you to be successful on a short sale. Thinking about a short sale?
I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at utahhomesaver@gmail.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.
When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (801) 651-0707
Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.
Thinking about a loan modification? Our Layton loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy.
Thanks for reading this, dave forsberg.
dave is a Real Estate Agent at Prudential Utah Real Estate - Bountiful. Layton Short Sales Realtor:
Phone: (801) 651-0707. utahhomesaver@gmail.com.
Greater Salt Lake Short Sales. Real Help for those that need it most.
View My homes for sale at BuyUtahNow.com.
- This bank's stockholders are probably unhappy after losing $50,000 over incompetence.
Bountiful UTAH – I have a good story today about another bank losing their shirt because their short sale process is so tough to work with.
The bank in question is a large, top 20 American Bank. They actually owned the loan in question. So their stockholders lost 50k from their negligence. Ouch!
Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.
Here is the story "I met some buyers at an open house. They told us they were buying a house just down the street from one that we had for sale.
They had a contract to buy the house for $275,000. They knew the house was a short sale. They were getting frustrated because they had been waiting for the short sale to be approved.
They had already been waiting for several months with no answer. They mentioned something about 3 mortgages and the junior mortgages were hard to work with.
5-6 months later we noticed that the house was back on the market. They time the asking price was $229,900. It finally sold several months later for $229,000.
That means this bank lost $46,000 on the lower sales price. In addition, we estimate that the lender lost another $15,000 in lost interest income and property taxes.
That means this lender lost $50,000 to $60,000 because their short sale process was so hard to work with. To be honest, I would be kind of embarrassed if I was the CEO of that bank.
The other thing is that the short sale realtor in question was inexperienced. She had very little experience with short sales, which she openly admitted.
If that lender pushes for a deficiency judgment, that agnet's lack of short sale experience could have cost those home sellers $50,000. Ouch!" Thinking about a short sale?
I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at utahhomesaver@gmail.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.
When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (801) 651-0707
Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.
Thinking about a loan modification? Our Layton loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy.
Thanks for reading this, dave forsberg.
dave is a Real Estate Agent at Prudential Utah Real Estate - Bountiful. Layton Short Sales Realtor:
Phone: (801) 651-0707. utahhomesaver@gmail.com.
Greater Salt Lake Short Sales. Real Help for those that need it most.
View My homes for sale at BuyUtahNow.com.
Bountiful UTAH – Here is a question that the Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received. "I am in the middle of a very long negotiation with Chase.
The seller had me to put a clause into the contract stating “upon approval of short sale by sellers’ lender, lenders, & or affiliates, client, or heirs will be released from any monetary shortages or deficiencies from said sale of stated property upon successful closing and transfer of title from that date and forevermore.”
Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.
The short sale negotiator at the lender, Nathan W, has advised me that he will reject the file and close it out if we don’t remove this from the contract. What do you think?
After reading your comments below, I am not sure of what will happen. How should I pursue this?" James.
Here was our answer: I think the negotiator is getting his ego involved. Many investors waive promissory notes. He is out of line (and breaching his lender's fiduciary duty to the owner of the loan) if the following applies:
1. If it is the loan owner's policy to not pursue a deficiency.
2. If accepting this short sale will net the loan owner more money than a foreclosure.
If those two things apply, then this negotiator is in breach of their fiduciary duty to the loan owner. You and I don't have millions of dollars to pursue a lawsuit, but we can contact the loan owner directly to let them know what is happening.
If they are going to lose money not accepting the short, then they need to know about Chase doing a lousy job.
Now, the negotiator has the authority to demand a promissory note depending upon who the owner of the loan is. Find out who the owner of the loan is.
Fannie, Freddie, FHA, VA, etc. Fannie, Freddie, FHA, and VA will let the borrower go free from all future liability. Obviously that doesn't apply if there is Mortgage Insurance. If the investor is one of those entities, then tell the negotiator that you will be contacting them directly.
When a bank should accept your short sale. A bank should accept your short sale when the following rules apply. All banks and servicers have a fiduciary duty to the investor of the loan.
If they own the loan themselves, they have a fiduciary duty to their stockholders. The duty is to get that investor the most money possible. So, a lender should accept an offer if it will net the most money.
Here is how we can assure the negotiator that the offer will net them the most money. Your only job is to prove that to the negotiator.
Do that by showing them that the property has been on the open market for 60-90 days. We need to be able to show that the house was easy for buyers to see and other agents to show.
Ask them the following, "I'm an experienced agent and I've had this house listed for X days. The seller has lived there the entire time and kept up on the house. It looks good. We have had 43 showings since then.
Out of that, only 3 buyers expressed interest. Out of those 3 buyers, the current buyer is the one willing to pay the most money. I'm doing my job marketing the property.
With the current foreclosure case status, the home won't be foreclosed until June or July. When you foreclose on the house, the owners will move out. The house won't be kept up anymore.
The listing agent will be working on 20 other homes and won't be able to do as good of a job as myself. Do you honestly think the home is going to sell for more money at that time?
They will have to agree that it is a losing proposition. Thinking about a short sale?
I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at utahhomesaver@gmail.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.
When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (801) 651-0707
Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.
Thinking about a loan modification? Our (801) 651-0707 loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy.
Thanks for reading this, dave forsberg.
dave is a Real Estate Agent at Prudential Utah Real Estate - Bountiful. Layton Short Sales Realtor:
Phone: (801) 651-0707. utahhomesaver@gmail.com.
Greater Salt Lake Short Sales. Real Help for those that need it most.
View My homes for sale at BuyUtahNow.com.
Bountiful UTAH – Here is a technique you can use to “strong arm” you’re your lender on your short sale. The number one reason people short sale is to salvage their credit.
After all, a short sale has much less of an impact on your credit than a foreclosure. Despite all this, banks still make short sales tough.
How would you feel if you worked hard on a short sale only to watch it fall apart because you lender dragged their feet?
Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.
Later on the property sells for even less money than the short sale offer you had. I have said in earlier posts that, in my opinion, you could sue the lender for the damage caused to your credit by the foreclosure.
After all, the only reason the short sale wasn’t successful was because they dragged their feet. Here is the technique you can use to strong arm the lender to accept the short sale.
Use your rights as a homeowner to get more information about the BPO. An inaccurate BPO is the number one reason short sales fail.
Getting your hands on a copy of the BPO will help your agent contest an inaccurate BPO. And it would be a big help in any future lawsuit. Here is the step by step strategy:
1. Request a complete itemized payoff from the foreclosing lawyer. In addition, request a copy from the lender themselves. You do this by faxing them a request. Usually you will get an answer in 7-10 business days.
2. Review the payoff to see where the BPO is itemized. If a BPO has ever been ordered, it will most likely by itemized on there. If not, it may be included in some other payoff cost. Get confirmation of that in writing from the lender.
3. Since the BPO is added onto the amount owed by the homeowner, they have a right to a copy under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Fax the lender's legal department a request for a copy of the BPO.
Send a copy of the payoff and circle the spot where you think the BPO payment is. Request a copy for the borrower under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. In addition, also mail the lender's legal department the same request.
If the lender does not comply, then you can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov, The Office of Thrift Supervision at www.ots.treas.gov, the FDIC at www.FDIC.gov, and the Comptroller of the Currency at www.helpwithmybank.gov.
Indicate on your correspondence with the lender that if they do not comply, then you will be filing complaints with those agencies. Thinking about a short sale?
I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at utahhomesaver@gmail.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.
When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (801) 651-0707
Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.
Thinking about a loan modification? Our Layton loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy.
Thanks for reading this, dave forsberg.
dave is a Real Estate Agent at Prudential Utah Real Estate - Bountiful. Layton Short Sales Realtor:
Phone: (801) 651-0707. utahhomesaver@gmail.com.
Greater Salt Lake Short Sales. Real Help for those that need it most.
View My homes for sale at BuyUtahNow.com.
Bountiful UTAH – Many people are shocked that it is often cheaper to short sale and rent that staying in your home with a loan modification.
They find it hard to believe that they can rent a comparable or even nicer home for less than their mortgage. Here are the two factors that make it possible.
Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.
Many homeowners bought homes for more than they are selling for today. A perfect example is a homeowner that paid $150,000 for a home. His mortgage payment was around $1,500 a month.
He stopped paying his payments and moved to a rental. He found a nicer, larger home to rent for $850 a month. He had tried for months to convince his lender to modify his loan.
They wouldn’t drop the payments below $1,200 a month. Even though the home he is renting is nicer than his house, it is selling today for around $105,000.
Someone can buy that house for $105,000 and rent it for $850 a month without losing money. That is what makes it cheaper to rent versus getting a loan modification and staying in your home.
When prices were rising it was actually more expensive to own versus rent. But, everyone wanted to own because their house was supposed to go up in value.
House prices and rental prices have dropped since then. Yes, rents are not at an all time high! The dropped during the economic crisis and have come back up since then.
So, if you are thinking about a loan modification, then first check into the rental market. You will be able to negotiate your loan modification from a position of power.
That will make it more likely that you will get the reduced payment you need so you can keep your home. Thinking about a short sale?
I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at utahhomesaver@gmail.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.
When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (801) 651-0707
Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.
Thinking about a loan modification? Our Layton loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy.
Thanks for reading this, dave forsberg.
dave is a Real Estate Agent at Prudential Utah Real Estate - Bountiful. Layton Short Sales Realtor:
Phone: (801) 651-0707. utahhomesaver@gmail.com.
Greater Salt Lake Short Sales. Real Help for those that need it most.
View My homes for sale at BuyUtahNow.com.
Bountiful UTAH – Barron’s Magazine recently had an article titled "Renter Nation." In it, they detailed the various factors at work that will reduce the homeownership rate in America.
Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.
The homeownership rate has already dropped from 69.2% to 66.9% today. Here is one of the factors Barron’s said would cause the homeownership rate to drop. Experts project that the average American Household will become younger over the next decade.
Younger households are more likely to rent versus purchase a home. However, the article missed another big factor. So many people have ruined their credit and can't qualify for a mortgage.
How many people in America are doing a loan modification, short sale, or let their home be foreclosed upon? It's hard to buy another home when that happens. Demographics, the lousy economy, and the credit disaster combined mean that demand for homes may stay low for a long time.
The positive news is that all of these factors have propped up the rental market. Rental rates are actually increasing in most areas, despite the slow economy.
I think one of the reasons this is happening is because banks are so reluctant to modify loans.
And, even thought rental rates have increased, they are usually lower than owning a home bought at the peak of the market. Thinking about a short sale?
I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at utahhomesaver@gmail.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.
When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (801) 651-0707
Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.
Thinking about a loan modification? Our Layton loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy.
Thanks for reading this, dave forsberg.
dave is a Real Estate Agent at Prudential Utah Real Estate - Bountiful. Layton Short Sales Realtor:
Phone: (801) 651-0707. utahhomesaver@gmail.com.
Greater Salt Lake Short Sales. Real Help for those that need it most.
View My homes for sale at BuyUtahNow.com.
Bountiful UTAH – Here is something that drives inexperienced short sale agents crazy. It is a HUD-1, also called a HUD. HUD is the Federal Agency, the Department of Housing & Urban Development, also called HUD.
A HUD-1 is a document regulated by HUD. It is the financial accounting for a real estate sale. Here is why it is important to a short sale.
Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.
Before a short sale lender will accept a short sale, they want to know what they will net from the sale. A HUD-1 breaks down all the projected closing costs so the lender can see their net.
Most agents are familiar with a HUD-1. They see them at the closing of every home they sell. But, seeing a HUD-1 at a closing is not the same as the familiarity you learn on short sales.
See, if you mess up on that HUD-1, then it puts the short sale transaction in jeopardy. The short sale lender will look at a projected HUD-1 and agree to accept a certain number.
If unexpected costs get added to the HUD-1, then that net goes down. (There are always unexpected costs on a short sale. I can tell you from personal experience.) Now, the agent has to go back and re-negotiate with the short sale lender. That can drag out the process another 60-90 days.
The buyer will usually get frustrated and cancel the contract. Then, the agent has to re-sell the house and start the process all over again.
This is what causes many agents to hate short sales. They didn’t take the HUD-1 seriously and had problems on a short sale. As a result, they think all short sales are impossible.
To truly be successful at short sales, the agent must understand HUD-1s inside and out. They need to make sure that every single projected expense is added to the HUD-1 at the beginning of the negotiations.
Adding them after you have negotiated isn’t going to work. Thinking about a short sale?
I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at utahhomesaver@gmail.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.
When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (801) 651-0707
Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.
Thinking about a loan modification? Our Layton loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy.
Thanks for reading this, dave forsberg.
dave is a Real Estate Agent at Prudential Utah Real Estate - Bountiful. Layton Short Sales Realtor:
Phone: (801) 651-0707. utahhomesaver@gmail.com.
Greater Salt Lake Short Sales. Real Help for those that need it most.
View My homes for sale at BuyUtahNow.com.
Bountiful UTAH – It always amazes me when I hear the stories of agents who talk about horrible short sales are. "Don't waste your time on a short sale", they tell homeowners.
"They are a waste of time. The lenders won't approve them and the process is horrible. The last short sale I worked on took 9 months", they say.
Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.
This gives short sales a bad name. Homeowners mistakenly believe that a short sale is impossible. I am here to tell you that is not true.
The Stop Foreclosure Institute has sold and closed many short sales. There are two keys to being successful. First, you have to understand how the process works. Second, you have to keep an eye on the transaction from start to finish.
Here is the closest comparison I can think of on why some agents hate short sales. Let's say that you are a brand new driver.
You hop into a car, accelerate to 70 miles per hours, turn on cruise control, and then start reading a book. Every 5 minutes or so you look up to check on what is going on with your car.
You aren't successful at driving a car. Your friend is thinking about learning how to drive. "Don't even think about driving a car. Driving just doesn't work and it is impossible to get anywhere", you tell them.
Is what you just said correct? Is driving a car impossible? No, it's not! But, many agents make the same claim about short sales.
They have never studied and learned the process. They have never successfully sold a short sale. But, they are sure ready to tell you that it doesn't work.
Here is what they missed about short sales.
1. You need to be knowledgeable about the process. You need to have a solid understanding of HUD-1s, BPOs, and the short sale guidelines of the entity that owns or insures the loan.
2. You have to stick with the transaction. You need to follow up with the short sale lender regularly. You can't check in on the short sale every week or two. A lender will often ask for something and want it back within 24 hours.
If they don't get what they need, then they will close the file. If you agent isn't checking in regularly, then the short sale file could be closed without their knowledge.
In addition, your agent needs to be able to make sure the HUD-1s and BPOs are accurate. I will explain what those acronyms mean and why they are important in my next post.
Ask the agent you are interviewing why they are important. Thinking about a short sale?
I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at utahhomesaver@gmail.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.
When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (801) 651-0707
Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by Click here to request a copy.
Thanks for reading this, dave forsberg.
dave is a Real Estate Agent at Prudential Utah Real Estate - Bountiful. Layton Short Sales Realtor:
Phone: (801) 651-0707. utahhomesaver@gmail.com.
Greater Salt Lake Short Sales. Real Help for those that need it most.
View My homes for sale at BuyUtahNow.com.
Bountiful UTAH – According to the Philadelphia Inquirer [1], Patrick Rodgers of West Philadelphia was able to "file a foreclosure action against Wells Fargo.
Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.
I bet there are a lot of homeowners facing foreclosure that would love to do the same thing. You work so hard to negotiate a reasonable loan modification in order to keep your home.
But, no one at the lender seems to care. It seems the big lenders are able to live in a protective bubble. They can foreclose on paid off homes and face no consequences.
If they average American did that, they would probably face jail time. So, it's nice to finally see someone turn the tables on a lender.
Here is the story according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
It's not clear how this story will turn out, but right now Patrick Rodgers is living a pay-back fantasy probably shared by millions of struggling U.S. homeowners.
Frustrated by a dispute with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and by his inability to get answers to questions, the West Philadelphia homeowner took the mortgage company to court last fall.
When Wells Fargo still didn't respond, Rodgers got a $1,000 default judgment against it for failing to answer his formal questions, as required by a federal law called the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.
And when the mortgage company didn't pay - does something sound familiar? - Rodgers turned to Philadelphia's sheriff.
The result: At least for the moment, the contents of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, 1341 N. Delaware Ave., are scheduled for sheriff's sale on March 4 to satisfy the judgment and pay about $200 for court and sheriff's costs.
Rodgers has even written his own headline: "Philadelphia homeowner 'forecloses' on Wells Fargo."
Has he really? Not quite. But Rodgers, who lives in the city's Wynnefield Heights section, won at least a momentary upper hand in a fight with Wells Fargo that began nearly two years ago.
Before you leap to conclusions, let's get a few things straight.
Rodgers isn't unemployed, or a deadbeat. He's a music promoter who owns Dancing Ferret Concerts - if industrial, electronic, or goth is your sound, maybe you've been to one of his gigs. He says he's paid all he owes under the terms of his seven-year-old mortgage.
And there's no reason to think that Rodgers' house is "underwater" - worth less than he owes, in banker jargon that has sadly entered Americans' everyday lexicon.
Actually, it was the value of Rodgers' home that apparently sparked the dispute - not what he paid, or what it would fetch if he wanted to move, but what it would cost to fully restore the house if, say, it was struck by a meteorite and burned to the ground.
Rodgers owns a three-story, six-bedroom Tudor on a beautiful street not far from City Avenue. He paid about $180,000 for it in 2002, and for years handled his mortgage without dispute.
But in mid-2009, his insurer delivered troubling news: His homeowners premium would more than double, because Wells Fargo was insisting that he insure the home's full replacement value - about $1 million worth of coverage, the insurer told him.
Rodgers loves his home, neighborhood, and adopted city - he moved here about 17 years ago, after growing up as a child of American parents in the Bahamas.
But he knew that he paid a fraction of what his home would command elsewhere, such as across City Avenue in Bala Cynwyd. That's one advantage of living, as he says, "a short clip away from the wrong side of the tracks."
In such situations, most lenders require a homeowner to insure for a total approximating a home's market value - a good thing for large swaths of Philadelphia, where a home's market value may have little relation to what it would cost to rebuild stone by stone or feature by feature.
All in all, I think it's a great story. I'm sure a lot of homeowners fantasize about doing the same thing. Thinking about a short sale?
I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at utahhomesaver@gmail.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.
When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (801) 651-0707
Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.
Thinking about a loan modification? Our Layton loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy.
Thanks for reading this, dave forsberg.
dave is a Real Estate Agent at Prudential Utah Real Estate - Bountiful. Layton Short Sales Realtor:
Phone: (801) 651-0707. utahhomesaver@gmail.com.
Greater Salt Lake Short Sales. Real Help for those that need it most.
View My homes for sale at BuyUtahNow.com.
David Forsberg specializes in loan modification assistance and short sales in Bountiful Utah. Bountiful Loan Modification Help, Bountiful Short Sales. Bountiful Short Sale Realtor Bountiful UT Short Sales. Bountiful Realtor. Utah Short Sales. Utah Loan Modifications Help.
References
1. http://articles.philly.com/2011-02-15/business/28536236_1_mortgage-fees-full-replacement-value-default-judgment
