Central Florida Orlando Real Estate - full service & investor friendly Realtor specializing in foreclosure, short sale, & bank owned REO houses

SHOCK! Lenders make more money on foreclosures than short sales!?

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:16:53 -0600

Via Pacita Dimacali - e-PRO, SRES, CDPE, MBA East Bay, North CA real estate (Gallagher & Lindsey):

Lenders make more money on foreclosures than from short sales or loan modifications. That's what Steve Harney converyd in a seminar. He caused an earthquake in San Francisco

When loan modifications are turned down, the next thing we attempt is to do the short sales. And we kinow that lenders turn over the short sale accounts to loan servicing companies who make our lives hell getting short sales approved. As such, we should know that these loan servicing companies make MORE money by letting the properties foreclose than to approve the short sales OR the loan modification.

RUMBLE...GRUMBLE...CRIES OF DISMAY!

Did he just confirm what we were afraid of?

So I researched this topic and found a few articles worth reviewing. How did I miss these? Was I under a rock in a desert?

CONSUMERLAW.ORG REPORt ON "Why Servicers Foreclose when They Should Modify And Other Puzzles of Servicer Behavior"

DAILY PRESS headline. Oct, 30 2009. Do Mortgage Lenders Make More Money when a Loan Goes iInto Foreclosure?

HUFFINGTON POST. Oct. 21, 2009, Foreclosures Are More Profitable Than Loan Modifications, According To New Report

Washington Post. July 28, 2009. Foreclosures Are Often In Lenders' Best Interest. Numbers Work Against Government Efforts to Help Homeowners.

ThinkGlink. October 21, 2009. Loan Modification Help: Why Lenders Are Slow To Provide Loan Modifications

Dayton Daily News. Oct. 17, 2009. Drop in foreclosures called "very scary". Lender's actions show they think properties are not worth pursuing.

Mortgage101.com. October 23, 2009. Mortgage Companies Make More on Foreclosures Than They Do Modifying Existing Loans. (This blog refers to the news article on Huffington Post)

FLASHBACK: Huffington Post, June 8, 2009. Short Sales: Banks Blocking Way Out of Foreclosure Crisis

FLASHBACK: Huffington Post, May 15, 2009. Short Sales Stories. Lenders tend tostic with more familian foreclosure process, losing money for everybody.

UPDATE: Huffington Post, November 2, 2009. Homeowners: "Hey Congress, Get Off You A**"

KNOCKING OURSELVES OUT TRYING TO HELP

So are we engaging in self-flagellation helping our distressed clients with their short sales and loan modification?

Are lenders really more likely to foreclose?

Are the short sale servicing companies really trying to help?

Or are they stalling and withholding their help because they know their leaders would rather have the property burn into foreclosure?

Is there no resolution in signt?

There oughta be a law!

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available. Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Kissimmee, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.

Congress Expands And Extends The First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:07:42 -0600

The President did sign this into law on Friday. Should be great for the real estate business. But not that great for the overall debt that America continues to bury itself in. Chris did a great job of explaining the details and changes of this extension.

Via www.OrlandoMortgagePro.com:

Congress both extended and expanded the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit program Thursday.

The White House says the President will sign it into law today.

The up-to-$8000 tax credit's expiration date has been pushed forward to spring, requiring homebuyers to be under contract by April 30, 2010, and to be closed by June 30, 2010.

The program's basic eligibility requirements remain the same:

Buyers can't purchase the home from a parent, spouse, or child

Buyers can't purchase the home from an entity in which they're a majority owner

Buyers can't acquire the home by gift or inheritance

All parties to the purchase must meet eligibility requirements

The new law includes some notable updates, however.

For one, the definition of "first-time home buyer" has been expanded to include most homeowners with at least 5 years in their current home. "Move-up" buyers like these are now eligible for IRS tax credits, but with a cap at $6,500.

This means that you don't have to be a true first-time home buyer to claim the "first-time home buyer tax credit".

Other eligibility changes include:.......

Read the COMPLETE BLOG POST HERE:

Congress Expands And Extends The First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

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Chris is Florida's #1 FHA Mortgage Broker and a syndicated mortgage blogger. He is regular contributor to the three leading industry blog-fronts including The Mortgage Chili Blog, My FHA Mortgage Blog, Top of Mind Networks, the newest contributor to Lenderama and recently featured on Fox35 News.

Chris can be found at
Orlando FHA Loans,
Chris[at]OrlandoMortgagePro[dot]com,
or by calling 407.377.0500 x 210
The FHA Mortgage Pro

that FHA Mortgage Pros go to

when they need an FHA Mortgage Pro.

Orlando FHA Loans | MortgageChiliBlog.com.

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

$8000 Tax credit extension passes U.S. House & Senate

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:38:58 -0600

The $8000 tax credit extension has passed the U.S. House & Senate almost unanimously and is headed to the President's desk for a signature.

Now the tax credit will be good for contracts signed no later than April 30, 2010 and closing no later than June 30, 2010. Additionally existing homeowners who have lived in a principal residence for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 years - these will get a maximum $6500 tax credit.

There are some additional caps on income and some supposedly new anti-fraud measures (ha ha) in place as well.

You can read the full details of this extension at NAR's website.

This is great news for the real estate industry. Not sure how great it is for the national debt though. But I'd rather see the money going to the middle class than to Wall Street zillionaires.

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

A message from the past about capitalism

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:21:44 -0600

This is an interesting little cartoon. Supposedly it was made way back in 1948 when the United States was actually afraid of socialism and communism. My how much things have changed in this country. Capitalism has now become a dirty word synonymous with greed and the "evil rich". Some people forget that capitalists like Henry Ford, Orville & Wilbur Wright, Thomas Edison, Roy Kroc, Walt Disney, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, and thousands of other business owners big and small have created fantastic inventions and millions of jobs for everyone else. If you live in Central Florida, think of what companies like Darden Restaurants, Del Air, Lockheed Martin, Burnham, Triple A, and Rosen Hotels have done for our community. If it wasn't for business owners, the standard of living of just about everyone in the United States and the entire western world wouldn't be a whole lot different than it was back in the 1800's.

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

Great real estate deals we sold in October 2009 - Orlando, Kissimmee, Deltona, Altamonte Springs

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:48:34 -0600

October was another strong month for home sales. Our office sold 32 properties last month and many more are pending for November. Banks love to dump their REO and short sale inventory during the 4th quarter so that it won't be on their books for the new year. Look at some of these great Central Florida home deals that closed in October 2009.

Fisher Drive Morning Glory Lane Pelican Lane

- Fisher Drive, Deltona, FL 32725. This 3 bed/2 bath/2-car garage home was a true investor special. Bank owned REO needing a bunch of work but what do you expect for this sort of price. It sold for the super cheap price of just $46,000 after just 5 days on the market.

- 1st Avenue, Altamonte Springs, FL 32714. 3 bed/1 bath/1-car garage block home. Located in the coveted Lake Brantley school district in Seminole County. House was a true handyman special, but the bank REO department wanted it sold. Seller let this one go for the low low price of just $27,500.

- Morningside Drive, Orlando, FL 32806. Big 4 bed/3.5 bath pool home. Just steps from Lake Lancaster near Delaney Park in downtown Orlando. Owner was motivated and this was priced to sell. After only 6 weeks on the market it sold for $270,000.

- Morning Glory Lane, Kissimmee, FL 34747. This was a fabulous short sale home in Celebration Florida. 4 bed/2.5 bath/2-car garage with spacious kitchen and modern features. At the top of the market this home sold for over $500K but we negotiated a short sale with the bank at just $340,000. We still have one more Celebration short sale home available. Call for details.

- Pelican Lane, Orlando, FL 32803. 3 bed/2 bath block home near downtown Orlando. Bank owned REO and a great wholesale deal. This Audubon Park home sold for just $105,000.

Our office has a constant stream of new bank owned REOs, foreclosures, short sales, and other investor specials. Make sure to sign up for our weekly hot property email list.

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

Can't pay your Realtor dues? Keep your Florida real estate license active with our referral brokerage.

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:04:14 -0600

Before you let your Florida real estate license go inactive, make sure to check out our real estate referral brokerage Sand Dollar Referrals LLC. We have 2 plans - a "hands off" referral plan and a "hands on" active plan for sales associates that want to sell real estate and keep their license active, but can't afford your local ORRA Realtor dues.

What we provide to our referral associates:

Professional help and advice when you need it.
Centrally located Altamonte Springs office. Free use of our conference room and on staff notary.
Free attendance to all monthly sales meetings of Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc.
Earn additional income from our affiliations with local title company Brokers Title and the sale of home warranties.
Easy exit agreement. As long as your expenses and splits are paid in full to us, you can give us 7 days notice to cancel the agreement.
Free access to all member MLS's when you come to our office and work directly with one of our Realtors.
Errors & Omissions insurance paid by the brokerage to cover all your transactions.
If you decide that you want to join the local Realtor association and obtain MLS access for yourself, you can switch your license over to our Realtor-brokerage, Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc., at anytime (subject to broker approval).

What we require of you:

You must have a valid and current Florida real estate license (sales associate or broker associate).
You must pay your DBPR licensing fees and take the continuing education required by law.
You must register your potential customer leads and property deals with us in writing..
But other than that we do not require much else from you. No quotas of any kind. No requirement to list or run all your personal sales through our firm. For the Hands Off Plan just send us your leads, and let us do the work. For the Hands On Plan just work with the broker to sell some properties. Either way when the deal closes, you get paid. How easy is that?

For more details on our commission splits just click over to our website Sand Dollar Referrals LLC . If you are interested in a confidential interview, feel free to contact me anytime.

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

Haunted House for sale???

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:57:42 -0500

Over the years, I've listed a few houses that at least some people considered "haunted." Though I've tried and tried, I've never actually been able to see or feel a ghost in any of these places.

A few years ago, I listed a big 5000 square foot home that sat back a couple hundred feet off the road. The owner was having major renovations done to the home and temporarily moved out of it. I was helping him with overseeing some of the repair work while he was away.

Several of the workers there repeatedly told me that they heard noises, that they heard large crashing sounds in the garage on occasion but nothing had fallen, that doors that they closed at night were wide open the next morning. So I did a little investigation myself. One Friday night after everyone left, I went to the home all by myself. Kind of creepy actually. I called out to the "spirits" to show themselves. Went so far as to actually close every interior door in the house. Nothing ever appeared to me. I came back to the house on Sunday afternoon and low and behold all the doors were still closed. I mentioned all this to the home's owner and he just said that the workers were crazy because he had never seen anything. What a disappointment.

Earlier this spring, I listed a bank REO home. The home was all boarded up, so some of the rooms were pitch black. The bank required me to do a BPO which means I have to take photos of every room. One photo in particular in an upstairs bedroom showed an "orb" in it. You can see that photo below - the "orb is the white circle in the center over the baseboard. Not sure what that thing is. Some people say they are ghosts. Anyway, I came back to inspect the house a few days later and that board nailed to that window had fallen off and was laying on the ground. Now granted these boards were installed by the previous Realtor nearly 3 months earlier and there were 15 other boarded windows in the house and none of them ever fell down during the entire time that I had this house listed. Weird. Luckily that house sold.

My final and weirdest experience was on a rental home that I owned. The home was in foreclosure and filled with trash when I bought it. The lady that sold it to me said that the house was "cursed" and that after 2 years of owning it she was so glad to get rid of it because the house had cold spots in it and made noises at night. Supposedly it "caused the break up of her marriage" and her husband took the kids and went to Miami. She sold the house to me with several dumpsters full of trash left in it. The night after I bought the house, I wanted to go and check out this supposed "curse." I will admit that I did hear a bunch of noises when I was over there. It sounded like the whole house was moving. But it wasn't from ghosts. It was from a rat infestation. 4 dumpster loads of trash later, the house was empty. Still took me a few weeks to kill off a dozen or so huge black rats. I ended up selling that house about a year ago. Nobody that ever rented from me mentioned ghosts or curses, but I did have one more incidence of rodents getting into the house. Who knows for sure?

I'd love to hear other people's "haunted house" experiences. Have a happy and safe Halloween!

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

Update on Casselberry proposed rental tax

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:31:00 -0500

Due to the combined efforts of Central Florida Realty Investors and Orlando Regional Realtor Association, this proposed rental ordinance and tax was defeated 4-1. Several members of both organizations spoke out at the hearing and gave the city commission some alternatives to creating yet another level of bureaucracy.

This is a great victory for private property rights in Central Florida.

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

Medicare fraud is rampant. Is this a taste of what Nationalized healthcare will be like?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:07:24 -0500

This 60 Minutes video will really get your blood boiling. Just imagine how our wonderful federal government will handle Nationalized health care.

While I agree that some major changes need to happen in the health care industry, I don't think government run insurance is the answer. These videos simply re-confirm what many of us have already thought. The President thinks he can pay for his health care plan by rooting out all this fraud. Does he truly believe that a giant government bureaucracy can clean up all this fraud? Seriously, who is he kidding?

Part 1:

Part 2:

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

City of Casselberry Florida proposes new rental regulations and taxes

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:50:52 -0500

The City of Casselberry Florida has a new rental regulation and tax on their horizon. The City of Casselberry is planning on increasing revenue by a "very conservative ... $22,000" by tacking on yet another layer of fees and regulations onto the back of rental property owners most of whom are already strapped financially.

Proposed resolution 09-2088 would force owners of rental properties including single-family homes, condos, mobile homes, and apartment buildings to pay an additional tax each and every year for every unit they own in the city limits of Casselberry. Additionally the property owner would be required to provide their contact information to city hall so that code enforcement could more easily get a hold of them in case of a violation.

Now granted, the tax collector can easily get a hold of property owners each and every November when the property taxes come due. And the Seminole County Property Appraiser website already has maintained on a list of owners and addresses for every parcel within the county. But this isn't good enough. The solution is to tighten the noose around rental owners yet again and end up forcing more of them into foreclosure or bankruptcy in a tough economy.

The 1st hearing on this proposed rental regulation ordinance is this Monday, October 26, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. at the Casselberry city commission chambers.

You can read the entire proposed ordinance here.

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

Will the $8000 tax credit get extended? Washington is undecided.

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:24:50 -0500

An interesting debate is going on in Washington. The National Association of Realtors is doing everything it can to get the $8000 tax credit extended beyond the November 30, 2009 deadline.

However, the White House is still undecided. In a recent CNN article, Shaun Donavon, the Secretary of HUD says the statistics aren't in just yet to show whether this tax credit has spurred the economy.

Apparently the IRS is screaming all types of fraud saying that a significant portion of the tax payers filing for the tax credit may have done so fraudulently. Over 107,000 questionable files have been opened by the IRS according to Fox News. To me that's not surprising. Look at all the fraud and "bonuses" that have been paid out as a result of the TARP money in Fall 2008. Everytime the government creates some new handout or incentive there is always lots of fraud that happens.

Personally I still have mixed emotions on extending the deadline on the tax credit. So I haven't contacted my Congressman either way. Seems like nearly 40% of the buyers in my market are paying cash. So while the tax credit has had some impact, it probably hasn't been as much as they are hyping it up to be. However at the same time I know the tax credit has knocked some buyers off the fence which is a good thing.

It will be interesting to see what happens in December if they don't extend the deadline. If you are planning on taking advantage of this, you better get a contract signed quickly because the time is running out fast.

My bet is that like the Cash For Clunkers program, Washington will allow this program to end and not revive or extend it. But who knows for sure.

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

Keep your Florida real estate license active - no Realtor dues required

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:30:56 -0500

That's right. If you are considering not paying your Realtor dues this October 31, you can sign up with our firm Sand Dollar Referrals LLC and still sell property without being a member of the local board of Realtors or the MLS.

We have 2 different plans available.

If all you want to do is refer leads of family and friends to us, we have our "Hands Off" plan where you can simply send us the lead and we will work on it for you. Or one of our Realtors can match up with you and help you buy or sell a home. When the deal closes you get a referral fee.

Or we have the "Hands On" plan where you can do nearly everything that a dues paying Realtor would do except you don't have to join the board or the MLS.

For exact details on how each plan works, visit our website at www.SandDollarReferrals.com . Then give us a call and we can set up a confidential appointment.

Serving all of Central Florida - Orlando, Winter Park, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Apopka, Kissimmee, Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Sanford, Oviedo, Deltona, Deland, Daytona Beach, Mount Dora, Clermont, Leesburg, Ocala, Winter Haven, Lakeland, Davenport, Melbourne, Titusville, Cocoa Beach, and more.

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

Three million pink slips sent to Congress!

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:37:58 -0500

Via Simon Conway (Picket Fence Realty):

As I write this at 8am on Tuesday 20 October, 2009, some THREE MILLION pink slips have been sent to members of Congress individually addressed, personalized with senders name and address and delivered to all members of Congress by Fed Ex.

Three million after just THREE WEEKS since the campaign started.

The idea was conceived by Janet Porter of Faith2Action and a WND weekly columnist. "They didn't listen to the Tea Parties and the Town Halls; maybe they'll start listening when they're tripping over boxes of Pink Slips and stacking them from floor to ceiling!" she said

"We need to erect a firewall of pink slips before they vote to take our freedoms, our free enterprise, and our very lives with socialized medicine.".

Of course with 2010 approaching, members of the House in particular are looking towards the election - as usual the top priority! This innovative campaign will hopefully have the effect of reminding exactly who they work for!

If you want to be a part of it, just follow the links provided. It is actually a cheap way of sending a very powerful message due to the economies of scale - and Fed Ex WILL deliver.

More from Janet Porter: "There is a revolution brewing across this country," she said. "People are angry about losing their country and they are ready for action. This campaign is just the latest evidence."

Send your pink slips to Congress now

(Copyright © 2009 By Simon L Conway All Rights Reserved.)

Simon Conway is the two-time winner of the FIVE STAR Best in Client Satisfaction for Real Estate Agents in the Orlando area.

Please give me a call if you have questions about the Central Florida real estate market. You can reach me on 407 876 8200. Also visit my web site at www.simonconway.net or www.move2orlando.net

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

Do You Tell The Short Sale Lender "Buyer Walked"?

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:12:30 -0500

Via Wendy Rulnick "Its Wendy!" Destin Short Sales (Rulnick Realty, Inc.):

Karla Leahy started an interesting discussion on www.ShortSaleSuperstars.com. She asked "Do you inform the short sale lender when you no longer have an offer?"

From what I’ve seen the thought process behind not divulging the buyer walked is:

1. The lender will complete an appraisal or BPO that will speed up the next approval

2. The seller’s pre-qualification may be completed and ready for the next attempt

3. With some lenders, you can sneak in a substitute buyer

Bottom line, it “saves time” for the next buyer, the one you hope closes.

BUT--  IS IT RIGHT TO NOT DISCLOSE THE BUYER WALKED? Why should the short sale system be clogged because you are trying to speed up your next offer? Is it right to allow the lender to continue to work on an approval when there is no longer a contract? Sometimes there is another twist on trying to speed up an approval. “Fake” or “starter” offers are sent in to the lenders to get an appraisal ordered, when the “buyer” has no intention of closing. The “buyer” might even be the real estate agent.

Some of the lenders have a few hundred thousand offers in process. HOW MANY ARE LEGITIMATE OFFERS? The “real” buyers (and the sellers) suffer through longer wait times because others have tried to game the system, "dead" deals are being processed or offers with no hope for approval have been submitted.  If lenders were only processing contracts that could actually close, all short sales would be speeded up, right?

So, I ask "Would YOU call the short sale lender and tell them to stop working on the sale if your buyer walked?"

It's Wendy!

Available Short Sale Agent Training:

The Negotiator Interview $27.00
Short Sale Agent Training Webinars 8 Hours of training and materials for $97.00

Short Sale Listing/Submission Package $27.00 Click for details

www.ShortSaleSuperstars.com FREE

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, CRP, CRS, GRI, ABR     Rulnick Realty, Inc.

Destin FL Real Estate

Call toll-free 1-877-ITS-WNDY (1-877-487-9639) or local 850-650-7883 ext 204

Email Wendy: itswendy@rulnickrealty.com

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

The power of social media

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 09:26:33 -0500

Social media definitely works. During the 2008 election cycle, I was constantly blogging about various amendments and tax issues and got interviewed by several TV stations as a direct result of my social media interactions. The internet is where people get a lot of their news anymore.

Via Jim Lee, Knoxville Tennessee Realtor® (Realty Executives Associates):

Wow, an exciting and interesting thing just happened.

I posted on Twitter a graph I created below showing the Knoxville area home sales month to month this year.

19 minutes later my phone is ringing and the news director for WATE , one of our local TV stations is on the phone saying his boss saw it on Twitter and asking permission to use it (with suitable attribution and a quote from me regarding our market) in a news story they're doing this afternoon about our local market.

I get quite a bit of positive feedback from my Facebook and Twitter activities and that phone call was further proof positive that people take notice of what you post there.

A couple of weeks ago I was in a bakery buying a loaf of bread and the guy behind me asked if I was Jim Lee the Realtor. I replied yes and he said I read your blog all the time. You're the only one in town that publishes the actual sales figures instead of just saying the market is great and it's a good time to buy a house.

My blogging has also resulted in a couple of live interviews on local stations including one time the news team met me at a listing and photographed me showing it to some buyers and then interviewed me in the yard (beside my sign) talking about the local market.

Facebook and Twitter directly led to these interviews and recognition in addition to bringing several listings and buyers to me.

If you're reading this on Active Rain you're likely already blogging but you need to make sure you also have a presnce on Facebook and Twitter; it will lead to business.

Jim Lee, CRS, ABR, GRI, ACRE, NAR Certified e-PRO Trainer
*****************************************************************
Visit my blog: www.KnoxvilleTennesseeRealEstateBlog.com
Realty Executives Associates, Knoxville, Tennessee
See all Knoxville area Realtor listings at: www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com
(865) 693-3232, My Personal Toll Free # 1-800-662-2488 ext. 163
mailto:Jim@JimLee.com

Click here to subscribe to my blog and get up to the minute news and reports about real estate in the greater Knoxville, Tennessee area.

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

Central Florida MLS statistics - metro Orlando & Tampa Florida

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:12:41 -0500

I was digging around through some MLS stats yesterday afternoon and put together the following numbers:

Since 7/1/2009 there were: 22,604 residential closings in the 13+ counties that comprise the Mid-Florida MLS. 6,536 were not designated as if they were a distressed sale or not - the MLS started requiring properties to be designated this way on or about September 1.

16,068 were designated as a short sale, bank owned, or neither. Of those 16,068 -- 7,582 (47.2%) were bank owned, 3,524 (21.9%) were short sales, and 4,963 (30.9%) were neither.

Of the 22,604 closings - 9,575 (42.4%) were bought with ALL CASH, 5,511 (24.4%) were bought with FHA or VA mortgages, 6,255 (27.7%) were bought with conventional mortgages, and 1,263 (5.6%) were closed using some other form of creative financing or other financing.

It is surprisng how many cash buyers are out there. It is also surprising how many sales were bank owned compared to the others. Short sales seem to dominate the properties for sale, but are low on the list of closed sales.

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

Market statistics update September 2009 for Orlando - Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Orange & Seminole

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:10:25 -0500

The Orlando Regional Realtor Association released their monthly housing statistics for Orange County and Seminole County for the month of September 2009 (area covers Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Winter Garden, Winter Park, Longwood, etc.). Here is a link to the full housing report.

ORRA Originated Sales

Sept. 2009

5.09%

15,967

4,030

3,858

8,790

857

846

1,014

2,151

Inventory levels dropped slightly from 16,361 in August to 15,967 in September. This continues the decline that started around summertime 2008.

The number of properties currently sale pending is at the highest level ever seen with 8,790 properties under contract. In September 2008, this figure was just 3,256 and in September 2007 it was just 2,012. Big change. However, as of this morning 4,371 of these pending sales were short sales which presently have less than a 1/3 chance of making it to closing. :-(

For the 3rd month in a row, the number of expired and withdrawn listings 1,860 (ones that did not sell and fell off the market) were less than the number of sold listings 2,151. While this number of solds is lower than the June, July, and August numbers it is still very strong considering that the market typically slows down once school starts back up.

The average and median sales prices declined slightly yet again. This is caused by the all the bank owned REOs and the short sales that are driving prices downward. Median price was $125,000 and Average price was $156,400 for September 2009.

The Orlando Sentinel had an article on these figures today if you want to read up on more details. The $8000 tax credit will be expiring in 6 weeks. So it if you want to tap into it, you must do so immediately.

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

Central Florida homes are selling briskly with the $8000 tax credit deadline looming

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 09:44:51 -0500

Interesting story in today's Orlando Sentinel. It goes into depth of one man's saga to try and buy a decent home before the $8000 tax credit runs out. After 4 months of looking, the would be buyer gave up because everything he liked either sold with multiple offers or else could not pass FHA financing standards. Now that we are in mid-October, anybody that doesn't put a house under contract immediately is going to struggle to meet the deadline if they are trying to obtain conventional or FHA financing.

The story points out that nearly all of the decent affordable Orlando homes for sale are selling with multiple offers. Even the bank owned REO houses are selling with multiple offers. The ones that don't sell fast are typically condos with exorbitant fees, homes in marginal neighborhoods, or homes with substantial repairs that make them un-financeable in their current condition. Even the short sales seem to sell fairly quickly. However because a short sale can often take 3-4 months to close, buyers that want to take advantage of the $8000 tax credit before it expires on December 1 are gun-shy of trying to make an offer.

It is an interesting saga. And it will be even more interesting to see how the Central Florida home sales are affected when the tax credit does expire.

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

A True FHA Story - Cashing an $8017.55 First Time Home Buyer IRS Check

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:03:38 -0500

This is a great story. But the most important message to get from the video clip is that the deadline to get a property under contract is looming very near. If you want to buy something, you need to get an offer in immediately because the loan process will take at least 30 days and probably a little bit more.

Via Chris Brown - Florida's #1 FHA Mortgage Broker | Syndicated Mortgage Blogger (www.OrlandoMortgagePro.com):

Watch the Fox 35 Video here.

Andrea Tlumacki was one of the people not afraid to take the plunge... and she has been rewarded for it! With the deadline of the $8000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit approaching - it is urgent to develop a plan of execution. Most people are focused on the restriction of closing before the expiration of Nov. 30th. Fair enough... but many are not building a time line in order to establish milestones that one needs to meet if they desire to witness the delivery of an $8000 Treasury check. This is done by finding the advice of both a rock-solid Realtor and a Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist.

Andrea Tlumacki did. Expert real estate advice - proved priceless. Not only was she able to nail down a low mortgage rate of 4.500%, but received unparalleled direction by utilizing "top-agent" experience to get a purchase price that would make an investor envious. In her interview with Andrea, Tracy Jacim states, "time is running out," and the time to delay is over. Many of us are familiar with Student Syndrome - but the need to:

get approved for a mortgage,

identify a dream home, and

go-under-contract

...has a time line of about a week. Sure, things can be closed a somewhat faster in the proper circumstances, but as volume elevates in the weeks ahead for lenders, the length of time it takes to actually close will be increase. In other words... it is important to engage in the Orlando Real Estate process quickly if you hope to benefit from the First-time Home Buyer Tax Credit before it expires.
Chris is Florida's #1 FHA Mortgage Broker and a syndicated mortgage blogger. He is regular contributor to the three leading industry blog-fronts including The Mortgage Chili Blog, My FHA Mortgage Blog, Top of Mind Networks, and proudly the newest contributor to Lenderama. Chris can be found at Orlando FHA Loans, Chris[at]OrlandoMortgagePro[dot]com, or by calling 407.377.0500 x 210

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available. Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Kissimmee, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.

Hi! I'm From The Federal Government, And I'm Here To Mess With Your Blog!

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:04:13 -0500

Let's see. AIG sets up all these credit default swaps unbeknownst to anybody in the public or media and instead of getting fined or putting the CEOs in prison, they get hundreds of billions of dollars.  Countrywide Home Loans gives sweetheart loans to Congressmen and Washington wants to hide it. But I blog about a friend of mine's small business and the FTC threatens to fine me with $11,000.

Sounds a lot like the Ministry of Truth and Big Brother in George Orwell's novel 1984. Before you threaten me, please throw every executive at AIG who accepted a bonus in prison for a few years. I wave my flag at the FTC in contempt of this new regulation.

Don't Tread on me!!!

Via Patricia Kennedy (Evers & Company Realtors):
It's all over the news around here. The Federal Trade Commission has just revised guidelines about "Endorsements and Testimonials" in advertising. So if you are an independent blogger and you get paid in any way by someone you write a nice post about, you could incur the wrath of the federal government, to the tune of $11,000 per hit, unless you disclose the "payment".

Now, the idea probably isn't to go after Active Rain folk who write Localism posts about their favorite art galleries or restaurants.

But wait!

I often write nice things about the Uptown Cathay, my favorite Pan Asian restaurant and take out place. And Peter, the owner and a very old friend, often pours me a glass of wine while I'm waiting for my crispy beef to cook back in the kitchen. Oh, and he started doing this way before I started to blog. But I guess that, theoretically at least, I'd better disclose the Chardonnay.

And what about the local book store, Politics and Prose, that carries The Irreverent Guide to Real Estate. Oops! I forgot to mention that when I wrote a nice post about their store and coffee shop.

And what if one of the salespeople (also a wonderful friend) who works in the Georgetown boutique I'm writing about later this week passes out my business cards? If that leads to a transaction, I guess I'll get paid for it. OK, if you want one of my business cards, I'm hoping that my friend, Barb, who works at The Pheonix in Georgetown, will give you one!

While I haven't read the entire document, here is an excerpt from the FTC's press release:

"The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that 'material connections' (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers--connections that consumers would not expect--must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other 'word-of-mouth' marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service."

Oh! And this also applies to Facebook Fan pages and maybe even some Tweets!

How on earth they plan to enforce this is way beyond me. I'm certain that Congress is not going to increase the agency's budget so they can go after bloggers like us. But unless they do, I see a lot of room for the people who do get caught up in their net to cry capricious and arbitrary enforcement.

I think the FTC needs to get on with other issues that might, in fact, actually protect us as consumers. Meanwhile, I'm going to try to be safe instead of sorry. I have better things to do with $11,000, like spend it at the Uptown Cathay or The Phoenix or at Politics and Prose Book Store.
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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com   www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.  Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Kissimmee, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.

Great real estate deals in Orlando Florida - September 2009

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:54:53 -0500

After a slight dip in August, September was one of the best months for sales in all of 2009. Buyer demand continues to mount for the $8,000 tax credit. You have to close by 11/30/09 so if you plan on buyng something and obtaining financing you need to get your offers in this week. Otherwise you might miss the deadline. Remember that the end of November contains a bunch of days off for the long Thanksgiving weekend.



    191 Villa Di Este Terrace              5209 Vatican Avenue                    921 Jasmine Street

1. 191 Villa Di Este Terrace, Lake Mary, FL 32746. This was a beautiful 2/2 with garage in the Notting Hill condo complex near Heathrow. This bank owned REO condo sold with multiple offers and ended up selling for significantly over the asking price. Still a bargain at just $65,000. It sold for well over 200K at the height of the boom before the foreclosure.

2. 5209 Vatican Avenue, Orlando, FL 32810. Another great short sale bargain. This was a 3/1 block home in the Lockhart area of Northwest Orlando. Great condition. Sold for just $37,500.

3. 921 Jasmine Street, Kissimmee, FL 34747. Great deal in Celebration Florida. This one had a 1st and 2nd mortgage but after some tough negotiations we were able to get this short sale closed. What a greal deal at $449,000.

4. 1732 Winged Elm Place, Winter Garden, FL 34787. Bank owned REO. Nice 4/3/3 in newer area on the west side of town. At the height of the market it sold for $340K. This sold for a great deal of just $170,000 in September.

5. 616 Yucatan Drive, Orlando, FL 32807. 3/1 block home. Handyman special, bank owned foreclosure deal. What a steal. Sold for just $30,000. You think you can make that bring a positive cash flow?

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com   www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.  Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Kissimmee, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.

REAL ESTATE AGENTS ON HIATUS. . . REAL ESTATE BROKERS CLOSING OFFICES. . . AGENTS "ON REFERRAL". . . AGENTS ON SABATICAL. THEY'LL BE BACK.

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 09:17:23 -0500

This post is very timely as the Orlando Regional Realtor Association put out their annual dues notice just recently. If you aren't ready to shell out another $466 in dues, please make sure to let me know and we can sign you up with our referral company Sand Dollar Referrals LLC . Keep your license active, no Realtor dues to pay, and you still get paid commissions for referring leads to us or working under our supervision.

Via Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD & VA Homes and Real Estate:
REAL ESTATE AGENTS ON HIATUS. . . REAL ESTATE BROKERS CLOSING OFFICES. . . AGENTS "ON REFERRAL". . . AGENTS ON SABATICAL. THEY'LL BE BACK.

A SIGN OF THE TIMES and clearly A REFLECTION OF THE ECONOMY.

Laurie Mindnich writes an intriguing article today about agents dropping out. My question is "Dropping out of what?"

True, many are dropping out of their local, state and national Realtor associations or boards. The fees are outrageous and clearly discourage continued membership in times of economic slow downs.

HOWEVER, are they dropping out of "real estate"? I suspect not. In my view, agents dropping memberships is a cost saving measure dictated by their inability to make the necessary income from their real estate business to maintain their present living expenses and must, by necessity, go to other sources of income.

HOW TO WIN - WIN. . . . PUT YOUR LICENSE "ON REFERRAL". Many brokers will hold your license "on referral" without you being actively engaged in real estate practice on a day to day basis.

IT'S DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN. This isn't the first time I've witnessed this dynamic, agents forced into getting a job to make ends meet and reducing their efforts to generate real estate business. I saw the same thing back in the late 1980s through about 1995. Business was down dramatically due to . . . . . you're gonna love this. . . . . a housing/mortgage industry scandal resulting in the creation of the Resolution Trust Corporation, a government run asset management company with the mission of liquidating real estate assets of the Savings and Loan Associations that had become "insolvent" due to mortgage and appraisal fraud. .

SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO LOOK AT THE IRONY OF HOW MANY TIMES MAN CAN REPEAT THE SAME MISTAKES AND BELIEVE THEY WILL STILL WORK.

O.K.. . . . So the real estate market is in the tank. So it's difficult for many agents to maintain the same level of business they enjoyed during the mid 2000s real estate boom.

When times are tough, the tough get busy. Many agents and brokers have adjusted their business plans and procedures to continue to generate a sufficient level of business to . . stay in business.

KEEP THE LICENSE. If an agent or broker cannot generate sufficient business to stay in business, they do not have to drop out. Once a person is licensed, keeping a license active is easy and not too costly. It's the cost of the NAR Association of Realtors that costs. I'm shelling out about $1,500 next week to adjust my memberships so that I have access to homes listed for sale though out my market area. That's a lot of money. Once paying the national, state and local dues, we still pay for Continuing Education classes to maintain our licenses. We still pay separately for MLS membership and access to listings. We pay and pay and pay.

PUT YOUR LICENSE ON REFERRAL. Keep your CE hours up to date. If you decide to engage in the real estate business in the future, you won't be faced with playing "catch-up" with credit hours. In fact, if you are licensed in good standing, in many areas you can still maintain MLS membership.

STAY UP TO DATE. Maintain your ActiveRain membership and stay on top of the real estate industry news, trends, alerts, and points of interest to you. Folks you meet that may be prospective home buyers or sellers will still be there. You can refer them to trusted experienced agents and you'll receive a referral fee. You are entitled to benifit from your business contacts just as when you were an active agent.

THERE IS A FUTURE. If real estate practice is in your blood, don't get rusty. Get a job if you must, but don't go backwards in your real estate career.   PUT YOUR LICENSE "ON REFERRAL". Drop the NAR memberships and save some $$$$$, but keep your state license.

JUST TAKE A SABBATICAL.
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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com   www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.  Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Kissimmee, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.

Short sales and double closings – the good, the bad, and the ugly – Part 3

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:51:53 -0500

In the first part of this article, I discussed "The Good" Short sales and double closings - the good, the bad, and the ugly - Part 1 things about short sale double closings. In the second part, I discussed the questionably "Bad" things Short sales and double closings - the good, the bad, and the ugly - Part 2 about these type of transactions. Well this last article is the really ugly, possibly criminal stuff. I am not going to re-iterate points I have made in the previous articles. So if you don't understand short sale double closings, then I urge you to go back and re-read the previous articles.



The ugly -

The short sale double closing transaction can get even juicier. I've attended multiple meetings, classes, and seminars over the last year or so where the topic of short sales and double closings came up.

The first time I heard anybody questioning them was in an article by a local real estate attorney about 1 ½ years ago. Then I read about Stewart Title curtailing these transactions. In Fall 2008 I heard it discussed by our local Orlando Regional Realtor Association's attorney at a broker breakfast. Then I heard about it at a small group meeting with the Florida Attorney General's office this Spring. In August  I hear about it yet again at the Florida Association of Realtor's convention - both FAR's attorney as well as the State of Florida Division of Real Estate's attorney spent about 30 minutes each discussing the topic. When the State's enforcing officers start discussing a topic repeatedly that typically means it is only a matter of time before criminal crackdowns begin.

The constant theme I heard from all these people is defrauding either the lender or the borrower as part of the transaction. Not only is fraud a violation of state law, but it is a violation of federal banking laws and could possibly fall into mail fraud, wire fraud, and RICO. We are talking major criminal penalties here. It could also result in the lender unwinding the whole short sale transaction and pursuing additional deficiency judgments against the borrowers.

At the FAR convention, the attorneys both stressed on multiple occasions that if the buyer, their Realtor, the title company, or anyone else is trying to convince the lender that the property is worth one amount when they know for a fact that it can immediately sell for higher that this is FRAUD. Especially if there is a higher offer that is already signed and agreed to behind the scenes and waiting for the closing from seller A to buyer B to happen. That does not mean that the second buyer C's name, contact information, price, or terms have to be revealed.

Some so-called gurus will go so far as to instruct you to send the lender low comparable sales or write up a low Broker Price Opinion (BPO) in order to influence the lender. I've even heard some investor-buyers meeting with BPO agents to influence them about the "terrible" condition of the house. Some people will remove the hot water heater or air-conditioner; some will shake a coke can and spray it on the ceiling to look like a roof leak. Some people will intentionally borrow a beat up car and wear shabby clothes when they meet the Realtor performing the BPO in order to somehow influence that person into feeling sorry for all the parties involved.

Certainly I can understand why someone would want to influence the BPO to be a lower price. And if the buyer was planning on buying the home live in it or keep it as a rental, then I don't see any big problem at all. But if the investor is trying to convince the BPO Realtor and/or the short saling lender that the property is worth only $150,000 when they know for a fact that they can immediately sell it for $160,000, then that is most likely fraud if they don't disclose their intent. The fraud is influencing the lender to accept the lower dollar amount via trickery, strategy, or whatever tactics. This is very similar to some of the tactics that were done in the boom times to convince appraisers to over-inflate the value of the property. Well as the State's attorney said, the mortgage fraud law works both ways - on both over-inflated values and under-inflated values.

So here is my advice from everything I have heard, read, or discussed thus far. If an investor wants to do these short sale double closings then they either (1) need to stay far far away from the valuation and BPO process by the lender, or (2) they need to disclose in writing exactly what they are doing. This includes sending the lender a copy of the second contract (even if the C buyer's name and contact info is crossed out).

Since most investors don't want to do #2 (obviously), then stick with #1. Because if you are doing everything in your power to influence the lender that the property is worth a low value and you know for a fact that you can immediately re-sell it for more, YOU ARE COMMITTING FRAUD plain and simple. I am not going to sugarcoat it. Do not attempt to influence the lender as to the property's value on a short sale double closing. Let the lender come up with the value on their own and let the chips fall where they may.

Here is a link to the federal criminal code. In particular check out sections 1006, 1011, 1012, and 1014. The State attorneys at the FAR convention said that these laws are written liberally for a reason. And remember that nearly all 1st mortgage loans right now are either regulated by, insured by, or owned by the federal government (i.e. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, VA, FHA, USDA, FDIC, etc.).

In fact I am not quite sure how attempting to buy a property gives you the right to negotiate a short sale agreement between 3^rd parties - the borrower and lender are 3^rd parties. As far as I know in all 50 states, only attorneys are allowed to negotiate contracts and agreements between 3^rd parties. However there are typically 3 exceptions to this law - real estate brokers, mortgage brokers, and certain governmental or non-profit agencies.

Florida Statute 475.01 provides what constitutes acting as a real estate broker.

Florida Statue 494.001 and 494.00296 provide the law regarding mortgage brokers.

And obviously a real estate investor is not a government agency or a non-profit entity.

In Florida practicing law without a license is a 3^rd degree felony. Some investors/buyers will argue that the owner gave them "written permission" to negotiate on their behalf. Sorry, that bird won't fly. An owner cannot sign a paper and make you a licensed attorney. Just like an owner cannot sign a document allowing some unlicensed person to install a roof on their house. Because if that was the case, then every wannabe attorney in town would simply have their clients sign a power of attorney or land trust document and thus avoid the hassle and expense of going to 3 years of law school and passing the bar exam. Duh!

I was still a little skeptical about all this actually being true fraud because I couldn't find anyone who had come flat out and put all this in writing. But then I found this memo from Fannie Mae in July 2009.

If you notice on the Fannie Mae website, they don't talk about disclosure at all. The title of their article is simply "Mortgage Fraud News: July 2009." The whole article discusses how title companies and lenders can detect and avoid a short sale double closing. Read that any way you want. Again, this article is on Fannie Mae's website.

Now that I have scared the hell out of you, I want to make two upbeat and positive points on short sales and double closings.

(1) In September 2009, Florida's largest title insurer The Fund issued a much more liberal"clarification" memo on this topic. Fund short sale memo. The Fund is not requiring that the "true sales price/value" be disclosed to the short saling lender, but they are requiring that the "right to sell for a profit" be disclosed in the contract paperwork. However they are also requiring that "no misrepresentations as to the value or ownership of the property" which again goes back to influencing the lender.

(2) Secondly the Fannie Mae memo does not mention an out and out ban on short sale double closings. If it did then lenders, Fannie, Freddie, and a few others would simply not allow a re-sale the property within 30 days or whatever timeframe after the A to B closing. I do see some lenders like Countrywide/Bank of America actually stating this in their closing instruction letters.

Lastly, I have been asked several times by sellers, Realtors, and investors, about doing A to B to A transactions. Basically doing the short sale and then immediately re-conveying or renting the property back to the original owner or a family member at a discounted price. I won't even go there.  Lenders make all parties sign an "Arm's Length Affidavit" at the closing. They know about this type of nonsense. So, enough said about it. Don't do it!

My point in writing this whole series is not to bash any gurus or scare any investor/buyers out of the marketplace. However before you take anyone else's word on doing short sale double closings or any other "creative" technique, you need to make absolutely sure that you are comfortable with what you are doing. Just because a guru or their attorney claims that their way of doing things is perfectly legal doesn't make it so. Plenty of attorneys, real estate brokers, mortgage brokers, and so-called investors have been prosecuted over the years for just about anything you could imagine. In fact just Googling the words "short sale double closing fraud" brings up over 1 Million results.

The good news is that I have yet to hear or read about anyone being prosecuted for any of this. Follow the Fannie Mae memo and the Fund memo to the letter and you should be doing just fine. At least until they change the rules again.

I've said it before, and I will say it again. The whole real estate and mortgage industry is under a giant microscope right now and will be for quite a while into the future. Be very careful where you tread.
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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com   www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.  Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Kissimmee, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.

Mortgage Delinquencies - The Coming Storm

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:36:40 -0500

Anyone in the real estate industry needs to pay serious attention to this article. I posted a similar article back in June about the next wave of foreclosures and featured a 60 Minutes video on it. Here is my previous article: Second wave of foreclosures is coming - big time

All this mess is far from over. If you aren't mastering short sales, loan mods, and REOs right now, you better get busy quickly.

Via Jeff Geoghan MBA - Lancaster PA Real Estate Expert (The Jeff Geoghan Realty Group, Coldwell Banker Lancaster PA):
This is one of those posts where I wish I didn't have to write it, but felt it was so important to my readers that I would be remiss not to at least talk about it.

Everyone out there probably knows somebody who is behind on their mortgage payments, looking for alternatives and likely also just finding out that their home's value has dipped below what their loan amount is. I know some within my own personal circles. It's a tough situation for me to advise them as a professional because it's such a personal challenge to their pride and self-worth, not to mention their plans an dreams for the family. The question we're asking is "when is this going to stop and where are we heading?"

I'm going to put up a few graphs that show the trends nationally with regards to mortgage delinquincies:

This chart is by quarter - Single-family mortgages set a new record delinquency rate in the second quarter of 2009, according to a quarterly survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Those of us in the real estate business see the foreclosure process (just visit the local Sheriff Sale docket to see the current numbers) but the looming delinqency-to-foreclosure issue is far, far larger.

The Wall Street Journal on 8/3/09 reported the following quote: “While subprime mortgages sparked the first round of housing problems two years ago, now "troubles are lurking further up the food chain," says Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at MFR Inc. White-collar job losses have accelerated while more adjustable-rate loans to prime borrowers are resetting to higher payments. ‘You put all that together, it leads me to believe that the next leg down on home prices is going to come from the top,’ he says.”

The first objection someone may have would be to say "yes, but historically those who are delinqent usually get their act together and come current on the mortgage after a while". That WAS true, but not anymore! We call that the "Cure Rate", that is the rate of delinquencies that go back to current. The Wall Street Journal reported on 8/24/09 about a Fitch analysis that found that the Cure Rate from 2000-2006 was 45% (which means about half of people fix their delinquency). However, as of July 2009 the rate had dropped to just 6.6%! That means that over 90% of delinquent customers are going to foreclosure. Take a look again at the above chart...

The next thing someone will say is "well, that's the 'sand states' and not my area". Here's the chart for all 50 states showing the same breakdown of delinquencies and foreclosures. Guess what - most states have a significant problem, especially compared to historical figures.

Now the next thing someone may say is "aren't those loans going to get 'fixed' by a loan modification?" I know several people right now who are applying for a Lancaster County loan modification but are waiting and waiting. I hope it works out for them...

In reality, loan modifications are hardly making a dent. To me, that's a burning question. Why arent banks being more aggressive in giving customers the option to extend their loan and/or reset to a lower rate? Why are they being SO difficult? The people I know don't want to be foreclosed. They CAN make payments. They just need the terms redrawn to allow them to catch & keep up. Loan modifications are not helping us get this crisis under control.

What are the causes of all these delinquencies? Here's a chart that is enlightening:

We hear a lot about adjustable rate mortgages being the culprit, but the reality is that it's the loss of jobs and the tanking real estate market that's the perfect storm. See my previous post on unemployment in the nation, the state and Lancaster County.

Keep in mind, this post is not intended to give us "good news". You may be experiencing good things in your market and that's great. My intent is to get us thinking about the challenges that aren't going away and how we're going to address them as homeowners, agents and professionals. I'd love to hear your ideas!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com   www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.  Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Kissimmee, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.

Is The FDIC Broke? How Could That Be?

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:42:07 -0500

All these bailouts just continue to make me so happy. This article is pretty unbelieveable.
Via Bob Hertzog (Summit Home Consultants):
IS THE FDIC BROKE? HOW COULD THAT BE?

All of the networks are "buzzing" today, saying that the FDIC is going to ask banks to pre-pay their FDIC Insurance Premiums for the next three years. This will bring in roughly $15 Billion for each year that is "pre-paid". Why are they taking such a drastic action? They say that they need to "shore up" their FDIC Fund, due to the large amount of bank failures this year, and they don't want to borrow from the Treasury, as this would appear to be yet another "bank bail-out" in the American Taxpayer's eyes. Click Here to read the MSNBC Article that just came out.

Where did all the money go, you may ask?

Loss Share Agreements! (Ok, not all of it, but A WHOLE BUNCH OF IT)

What is a Loss Share Agreement?

Click Here to read the blog I wrote just over 1 week ago to find out.

I actually got an email today from someone who wrote a blog on the same subject after reading my blog. She decided to take it down out of fear. She found out that the FDIC had visited it 30 times in 2 days, and she got nervous. I guess they're a little concerned about this kind of information getting out to the general public. Can't say I blame them. I'm not internet savvy enough to figure out how to determine who has visited my blogs, but maybe someone can tell me?

The case that my blog revolves around will be featured in a major business news publication at the end of this week. I can only hope that it raises the awareness of the American Public.

Finally, American Taxpayers are going to find out about the shady "sweetheart deals" that the FDIC has been cutting with the likes of none other than George Soros (you know, the MoveOn.org guy). Maybe our fearless leaders will now take notice of where all of this money is going (but I'm not holding my breath)!

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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.

407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com   www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com

We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available.  Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Kissimmee, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.