Just a very brief note on my experiences and my suggestions on how to manage Short Sale deals. 

I can sum it up in one word....diligence! 

 As a listing agent of a short sale:  You will encounter numerous obstacles including the lack of cooperation from your seller.  Stay on top of the forms, get those financials, tax reports...etc all the documentation that the lender is asking for.  It will take more than one request and/or visit with your clients.  Once submitted, call the lender and ensure they get the package.  Push to speak with the negotiator that will handle the file.  Things will NOT happen on their own.  If you have not heard from anyone in a few days, pick up the phone.  These are not average deals that move on their own.  Most important, don't give up on your first obstacle (and there will be several).  Be persistent with the phone calls and keep the big picture in mind.  Your struggles will be rewarded but it will take diligence.

As the buyer's agent: Ensure that the above steps are being done by the selling agent.  Offer to help if necessary even though most actions have to be done by the selling agent.  Become a team with the selling agent and remember that the seller is not in control of the deal....it is the lenders.  In other words, don't get stuck in trying to negotiate price, closing cost, title...etc with the selling agent because they have very little control over this. 

I hope this helps those of you who are in short sale deals or simply searching for knowledge in the successful dealing of these negotiations.

Cheers.

Just recently we received the following conditions in order to get loan approval:

Mandatory fixes: 

2 Year Roof Certification, Stucco wall needs fixing. Master bath toilet must function, Slider in family room must operate, Bedroom outlet cover needed, Garbage disposal outlet cover needed, Cracked glass in bedroom, Exposed wiring to rear of subject/cover plate missing, Lean out unclogged.

I can understand some items but to say you are not going to give a loan because the master bathroom toilet handle is broken....give me a break.  Please share some of your stories.  If you have an FHA Lender that is not like this, then please let me know who it is and I will consider taking my deals there.

Cheers.

For the past 3 months I have been showing clients what they wanted to see....homes requiring fixing, older, cheaper, short sales...etc.  I kept finding homes exactly as they requested and they always found reasons not to buy.  So today, I got brave and said to them, let me show you what I believe is a good deal, within your budget and in a area you will like. 

Funny thing, I showed them several homes that were newer than what they thought they could afford, In a nice area that they once though was bad (now has a beautiful golf coures and newer homes), and was in a turnkey condition.....all for the same price that they have been looking at where they thought was "better".

Let the offers begin.

Cheers. 

I just heard on the news that the deadline for getting your Stimulus Tax Rebate is Oct 10th.  So if you have not received yours I suggest you contact the IRS and investigate.  I know that $600 is a lot of money to me so get on it and get your money.

Cheers.

Unfortunately that is what manny borrowers are now doing even though they are not in financial trouble.  Lets put ourselves in the borrowers frame of mind.

Mr. Borrower has a Mortgage balance of $650,000.  He can still make his payments because his job is ok and he is still making good money.  He knows for a fact that the same houses are now  going for $400,000 in his own neighborhood.  So he thinks...."hmmmm....if I buy this other house for $400,000, I can save $200,000.....yes my credit might get ruined but is the price worth it?"

How do you talk someon out of this thinking?  I will be hones, it is tempting to me if I could pull off buying another home the same as mine and save $200,000....who would not be tempted.  It is in my opinion that this though passes by every current homeowner and manny are simply acting on it.

Cheers.

I recently read a blog titled "My Competition" by Paul Henderson.  After thinking about my comment, I wondered if any of you may be going through a depression state or went through one already.  Paul's blog is a very simple thought on how we seem to focus on fighting everyone else and forget about analyzing ourselves.  What does this have to do with depression you ask?  Well, nothing, except that you cannot grasp the meaning of Paul's message if you are feeling sorry for yourself and doing nothing about it. 

If your depression is a medical condition then I feel for you and suggest you get some help and I hope you feel better soon.  But if your depression is based on this "bad market" and the lack of making any money......then get to work.  I have never been so busy in my life and cannot find enough time in the day to put my ideas into practice.  I am not an overnight success story and I am far from "success" but I feel good that I am doing the best that I can....now!

Once I looked in the mirror and realized I was pointing the finger at everyone but myself, I got off the couch and did what I had to do.  I am still a long way from where I want to be but at least I am on the way.  So I implore you, if you are feeling bad about yourself, stop it, look in the mirror and do what you know needs doing.  Search Active Rain for some helpful motivational tips, business ideas...etc but do something.  You will be surprised at what you can get done when you believe in yourself.

Cheers.

I am doing my best to protect my clients but many Listing agents are not accepting offers unless the clients call their lender and get pre-approved.  The problem is that many of the lenders working with the listing agents are not just trying get pre-approvals, they are trying to steal the client away.  Our clients are then getting caught in this tug of war and many times not submitting the offer simply to protect their credit from being run multiple times. What is taking DRE so long in regulating this.  If my client is pre-approved with a direct lender, why do they have to get pre-approved 10 times by 10 other lenders to make 10 offers.  Rediculous.

OK...I feel better.

Cheers.

I seem to be getting lots of spam from people who are grabbing my email from my business cards that I leave at homes that I visit.  Most of the Spammers are from the business like inspectors, loan officers...etc.  So those I do not mind as much because its possible I may utilize their services.  But don't you just hate it when some uses that card to try and sell you magazines or Monavie.  Maybe listing Realtors need to lock up the business cards.....on second thought, I like knowing how much traffic a certain home is getting.....I don't know.  At this point I do not have a solution for this but I do wish to say this......PLEASE DO NOT USE MY EMAIL TO SPAM ME.

Cheers.

Are you getting tired of this starting sentence?  Everytime I wish to make an offer, I am getting static from the selling REO agent stating that we have to get "their lender" to approve it.  In many cases, their mortgage pre-approval loan officer has nothing to do with the selling institution, they are simply trying to capture (steal) a loan.  This is getting rediculous.  I can understand a pre-approval requirement but why are we being foreced to use the "Sellers" lenders.  I am hoping DRE steps in here soon.

I recently wrote a blogged titled "When Do You Order Your Home Inspection?".  As I read it, I realized that a better suited title for this blog would the title you see above.  So, for those of you who read my previous blog, you can disregard this one because it contains the same material.  I felt so passionate about this subject that I felt it deserving of two titles to ensure it received the maximum exposure.  I just despise the loss of $ (clients or agents) due to our Loan process system in regards to our Real Estate transactions.  Please read, I think you will find it interesting.

I have been running across a dilemma and I was wondering what the majority of you Realtors are doing about this.  When do you order your appraisal and home inspection in regards to your buyers status with the loan process?  In other words, is a pre-approval good enough to ensure that your client will fulfill all their qualifications and obtain their loan.  Otherwise, the money spent on Appraisals and home inspections will be lost......we won't talk about the deposit because that is a huge subject in itself.

I ran this dilemma across my broker and we agreed that it is a delicate balance on protecting your customers money and fulfilling the necessary requirements in a timely manner.  In this one particular case, I have a client who has pre-qualified but the lender advises they still need a lender approval (huh?)

So I challenge you all to question what is a "Pre-Approval" or a "Underwriting Approval" or "Pre-Qual" because in my case, I had all 3 approvals and the loan officer still said..."I have to get the official Underwriters Approval" that comes directly from the lender.  Man talk about confusing.  So, in the mean time the clock is ticking and we have inspections to perform.  And guess what....you guessed it.....the lender came up with a condition that the buyer could not meet. 

Again....we had a "Pre-Approval", "Pre-Qual", "DU Approval" and still the buyer did not qualify.  Now what, the buyer has paid for: An application fee, Appraisal, and home inspection....this sucks!

So my dear colleagues.  Do your do diligence, protect your buyer and work closely with the loan officers.  And remember: A prequal is only that!