Seven Ways You Benefit From A Short Sale. - 12/29/11 08:13 AM
IL – A home owner thinking of a short sale recently asked us why they should short sale versus just walking away and letting their lender foreclose on the home. We gave them the normal answer: “It’s much better for your credit.” That was the first thing that popped into our head. But, I knew there are more benefits to a home owner than simply better credit. So I put together the entire list and here they are. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. 1. The upside down debt is erased in … (2 comments)

Another tip to improve the odds of your short sale offer being approved. - 12/29/11 08:10 AM
IL – If you are selling your home, then ask the buyer to write a letter about why they want to purchase the home. If you are a buyer, then write that letter. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. The listing agent will submit that letter along with the short sale paperwork. With a little luck that letter will help “grease the wheels” and cause the short sale to be approved faster. Short Sale negotiators are human beings. They have emotions that can be touched by a good story. These letters might … (2 comments)

Will your Short Sale Realtor follow up properly to ensure success? - 12/26/11 10:07 PM
IL – We got a short sale approved yesterday. This file was a fiasco from day one. Despite the incompetence we suffered, we got the file approved thru persistent follow up. The first lender handling the file was incredibly incompetent. Their short fax number didn't work. We mailed the short sale package to them and they lost it. We mailed it again and they finally got it. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. We would call, e-mail, and fax the short sale negotiator. He wouldn't get back to us for 2-3 weeks … (0 comments)

Can your Short Sale Realtor beat the 80% short sale failure rate? - 12/26/11 10:05 PM
IL – Some people think that short sales represent a bargain in the real estate world. Some people have said that banks sell short sales for below market value because they want to avoid foreclosure. That isn't true. Yes, banks do prefer to sell a property in foreclosure as a short sale. They know that short sales usually sell for more money than a foreclosure. I am sure you are wondering why. Let me explain. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. The problem is that a lot of time the BPOs are … (1 comments)

Short Sale Help: Another short sale almost killed by lender incompetence - 12/26/11 10:03 PM
IL – We have seen many instances where a short sale that should have been approved was denied. If your short sale realtor doesn't know what they are doing, then you might get stuck with a promissory note that you don't deserve. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Here is a good example of this happening. A real estate agent had a short sale with one of the largest lenders in America. The short sale negotiator said that they would not approve the short sale unless the seller came to closing with … (0 comments)

Short Sales: Questions to ask before hiring a short sale agent - 12/26/11 09:57 PM
IL – The right agent can make the difference between success and failure on your short sale. You risk losing a lot when your agent doesn’t understand short sales. The short sale can be denied and the home foreclosed. Then you have to wait five years to buy another house. Or, the lender may ask you to repay the loss. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Here are the questions I would ask an agent before hiring them. Question #1: How many short sales have you listed and sold in the past … (0 comments)

60 Minutes and The Housing Market – How Does Short Sales in Fit In? - 12/26/11 09:55 PM
IL – If you caught the show 60 Minutes on December 18th you may have been brought up to date with how dim the housing situation may be in many areas. It’s not so much that houses aren’t necessarily selling or that buyers aren’t looking; but instead they brought to our attention an alarming statistic. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Twenty-Five percent of American homeowners today owe more on their homes at this moment than their homes will ever be worth. To prove their point they went to Cleveland, Ohio and … (0 comments)

Short Sales: A technique to make short sales easier - 12/26/11 09:53 PM
IL – I read an interesting book. The author talked about persistence and how it helps you be successful. He told a story about phoning a call center. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. The first person he talked to told him that he couldn't buy something in bulk for a certain price. Rather than argue with her, he instead hung up and called back in. The next person he talked to agreed to sell him the product in bulk for the price he wanted. He got what he wanted a lot … (0 comments)

Why Isn’t My Vacant Home Selling As Fast As Others in the ? - 12/26/11 09:51 PM
IL – Selling a home is part financial, part logic, and a lot of emotion. Everyone knows that feeling when you walk into the home that’s “the one”; you get that breath taking feeling, the butterflies in the belly and that instant view of your family sitting on that couch in front of the fireplace on a cool fall evening. Those are all emotional aspects and selling a home is definitely based upon the emotions of the buyer. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. When you’re selling a home you have to … (0 comments)

Short Sales: Should I Be Embarrassed by Doing a Short Sale - 12/26/11 09:49 PM
IL – Short Sales are a situation that can often cause emotional turmoil as well as financial. It’s amazing how quick people are to judge others but times may be changing when it comes to today’s financial situations. We’re all feeling tough times. We all have seen local businesses close, people we know losing jobs they’ve had for years, and seen how the cost of living increases while the income we’re making doesn’t seem to be keeping the same pace. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Most of us don’t speak “legal-eze” … (0 comments)

Short Sales: The Importance of Curb Appeal When Selling Your Home - 12/26/11 09:45 PM
IL – No matter what the circumstances are when you’re selling your home, you want to get top dollar for it. For the potential owner it’s like their birthday, or Christmas, or Hanukkah. So, why not GIFT WRAP your home for them? As silly as that seems that’s exactly what you are doing when you are putting your home up for sale. You are presenting a large gift to the potential owners and one of the first things to attract their attention is the packaging. You want them to take their first look and say, “That’s the one I want” even … (0 comments)

Short Sale Question: Should I Short Sale Or Declare Bankruptcy? - 12/26/11 09:43 PM
IL – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from James. Here is his question. "I am upside down by $300,000 on my home. I want to move, but I am concerned about having that $300,000 debt chasing me for the rest of my life. A friend mentioned I could get it wiped out in bankruptcy. So, here is my question. Should I short sale and then declare bankruptcy. Or just declare bankruptcy and get rid of the house in the bankruptcy? James." Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Here was … (2 comments)

How Can a Realtor Help Me When I’m Facing Foreclosure? - 12/11/11 07:43 PM
IL – While most people think of realtors as a person you turn to only when you’re buying or selling a home; many don’t realize that a realtor’s expertise in the housing industry can help you in other ways also. If you are facing possible foreclosure, turning to a realtor for help may be one of the smartest options to choose. While realtors can’t give legal advice about handling foreclosures, they can show you many options that are available to you as both a home owner facing possible foreclosure and as a possible home buyer if you should have to release … (2 comments)

Short Sales: Are you facing Foreclosure? - 12/11/11 07:39 PM
IL – What can you do if you are facing a foreclosure? One of the scariest and worse case scenarios for a homeowner is getting so far behind in your payments that foreclosure is leering around the corner. You feel as though you have let everyone, yourself included, down. You feel embarrassed, even if you aren’t actually holding the papers yet. So now what? Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Here are a few tips to help you out: 1.) First off if you’ve been getting letters “threatening “ foreclosure you need … (0 comments)

Short Sales Are Improving - 12/11/11 07:35 PM
IL – We recently saw something positive on short sales with Bank of America. Bank of America recently sent out an email stating that you can no initiate the short sale process without a buyer. The agent can start the process and get things going before a buyer makes an offer to purchase the property. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. This will help to reduce the short sale timeline. All of the documents will be submitted and if the negotiator needs anything else, they can request it earlier in the process. … (0 comments)

Short Sale Question: What Are My Options? - 12/11/11 07:22 PM
IL – The Stop Foreclosure Insitute recently received a question from Denzel. Here was his question. “I purchased my home in 2007 for 365,000 and put 18,000 down. Today I owe approximately 340000. The mortgage is with Wells Fargo. No Second. The same size home is being sold by the builder brand new for 240,000 brand new. I have to move for retirement, and don’t have a job lined up. What are my options. Denzel.” Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Here was our answer to Denzel’s Question. I think a short … (1 comments)

Short Sales: Why Is This Lender Lying To This Homeowner? - 12/03/11 05:59 AM
IL – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from David. Here was his question. “My lender ******** Bank verbally told me that my short sale was approved. However, now they are now telling me that Fannie Mae did not approve the sale. They gave me an option to pay $3,000 upfront and to agree to pay off deficiency. I just cannot afford this option. The pay off amount on the mortgage is $122,000. The buyer is offering $99,000. The bank’s appraiser said the house is worth $92,000. The Buyer has been waiting to buy the house for 11 months. … (1 comments)

Short Sales: More Reasons Why Short Sales Fail - 12/03/11 05:59 AM
IL – We recently gave a couple of common reasons that short sales fail. Today, we will go thru a few more reasons. (To recap, here were the reasons we put in our previous blog post. Reason #1: The sales price is lower than the lender wants. The lender thinks the home is worth more than it is selling for and won’t approve the short sale unless the price is for the value they have. Reason #2: The tenant doesn’t allow the home to be showed. Many tenants do not want the home to be shown to buyers because they will … (1 comments)

Short Sale Myth: Anyone Can Negotiate With The Lender - 12/03/11 05:58 AM
IL – Yes, many people think they can negotiate with the lender. But, some of them don’t have the skills necessary to be successful. Here are a few of the things someone needs before they can negotiate a short sale. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. They must have the ability to understand HUD-1 Closing Statements. The lenders will want a copy of the closing statement, also call a HUD-1. Most people in the lender’s short sale departments are very familiar with HUD-1s. The person negotiating with you will need to answer … (0 comments)

Who Pays The Costs In A Short Sale? - 12/03/11 05:58 AM
IL – You may wonder why a sales contract says the seller pays for certain costs and yet the bank covers the costs. Here is how it works. The sales contract may have a certain clause say: “Seller to pay title and seller’s documentary stamp taxes.” How does the bank pay that cost if it says the seller is paying it? Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. In traditional real estate (non short sale), certain costs are normally paid by the seller and other costs by the buyer. For example, the seller … (0 comments)