short sale negotiations: Here's Why You Should Be Thankful for Short Sales - Happy Thanksgiving - 11/27/13 10:27 PM
With Thanksgiving today and pumpkin pies already in the oven, it’s time for me to say it again: I’m thankful for short sales. (I’m not talking turkey.) Of course, I’m not thankful for short sales in the same way that I am thankful to my wonderful family and the health and happiness of the ones I love, but I do have a strong sense of gratitude for how the largest recession since the Great Depression has completely altered and improved upon my approach to real estate.
Be Thankful for Short Sales
Real estate agents, here are 4 reasons why … (3 comments)

short sale negotiations: When Real Estate Agents Need to Bring the A Game - 11/21/13 08:42 AM
I was recently involved in a very unpleasant situation. I hired a carpet and tile cleaning company to come into my home and clean things up a bit. Although we had never used this particular company before, they came recommended. They come in; they quote the price; they get started. The project takes longer then they anticipate, and they will need to finish up the following day. However, since the company applied their chemicals at the beginning of the project, those chemicals “sat” on the flooring for six or eight hours and, as a result, created thousands of dollars of damage. … (4 comments)

short sale negotiations: When Short Sale Lender Error Makes You Look Bad - 07/10/13 05:41 AM
As short sale negotiators or As short sale listing agents, we are the middlemen (or middle women). We take the short sale package and all of the information provided to us by the short sale seller, and we submit it in a pretty little package to the short sale lender for the lender’s review and processing. We then call or email (or both) a few times a week. We ask the short sale lender if they have everything they need in order to process the short sale. Sometimes they answer, and sometimes they don’t. We leave messages. We ask thought-provoking questions. … (17 comments)

short sale negotiations: 5 Things to Avoid When Working Short Sales - 05/09/13 11:21 PM
I just returned from the Short Sale Expo in Palm Desert, California earlier in the week where I was part of a panel of four top notch short sale experts that were assigned the task of speaking on the top 5 things to avoid when working a short sale transaction.
Here’s what some of the other gurus on the short sale panel had to say on the topic:
Top 5 Things to Avoid When Working Short Sales
Multiple Offers. Short sale lenders prefer to work with one purchase and sale agreement at a time. If the offer is not … (40 comments)

short sale negotiations: Short Sale Webinar This Thursday - Learn to Negotiate Like a Boss - 05/06/13 01:02 PM
Now that we are definitely over the fiscal cliff and into the sequester, it's time to pump up your short sale business for 2013!
You are invited to join me this Thursday May 9 at 10:00 a.m. PST for a free short sale webinar.
What is going to be discussed? This webinar will review the provide you with a handful to tips and tools so that you can boost your listings, better navigate the short sale process, and negotiatie short sales like a boss! I'm hoping you'll get a whole bunch of short sale listings in 2013. 
Who is leading the webinar? I … (2 comments)

short sale negotiations: Getting Short Sales Closed Can Be a Tricky Business - 04/29/13 03:44 AM
In a market with a clear inventory shortage, buyers and their agents are clamoring to find properties to purchase. It’s tough out there, and many agents are writing upwards of ten offers in hopes of getting a single one approved. It takes more then a magic wand to get a short sale approved and closed.
Having recently attended a risk management meeting lead by a prominent real estate attorney, I can attest that we are not the only ones seeing the “crazy” offer as commonplace in this real estate market. The “crazy” offer is an offer that seems so enticing that it borders … (3 comments)

short sale negotiations: Late Mortgage Payments, No Mortgage Payments, and Short Sales - 04/04/13 04:22 AM
A short sale seller recently contacted our office to ask whether he should continue to make his mortgage payments during the short sale process. He also asked what he should do about his HOA monthly dues.
Consciously or knowingly ceasing to make mortgage payments is called strategic default. There are many people that knowingly stop paying the mortgage because they cannot afford to continue to do so, and there are others that opt to stop because they believe that this might accelerate their short sale or their loan modification.
However, the conscious decision to stop making mortgage payments cannot be made … (7 comments)

short sale negotiations: Short Sale Fraud - A Brief Explanation - 02/28/13 10:12 AM
On a daily trip around the Internet, I noticed that the California Association of Realtors® has just updated its legal article on short sale fraud. Fraud stinks. And, if you’ve ever been a victim of some scam, then you become hyper-aware of things (and maybe a little paranoid) because you don’t want to be a victim again.
Here’s what the article says about short sale negotiators:
Question: What is a short sale negotiator?
Answer: A short sale negotiator is generally someone who negotiates and facilitates a short payoff with a seller’s mortgage lender. Because short sales often involve very thick … (9 comments)

short sale negotiations: How to Negotiate a Short Sale With a Junior Lien - 11/15/12 08:49 AM
(This post could also be called How to Play Ping Pong Without a Paddle)
Dear Melissa:
I’m working on a short sale and I am stuck. The first lien holder will only pay second lien holder with $4900 to release their lien, but the second lien holder (after tons of back and forth) says that the minimum they will accept is $8500. I’m stuck. The seller does not have any more money and there is also an HOA lien. What should I do? —Freaked Out in Fontana
 
Dear Freaked Out in Fontana:
I’m sorry to hear about your problem. But, it … (6 comments)

short sale negotiations: How to Dispute a Bad BPO - 03/05/12 10:24 PM
I’m not going to say that I am super strong. I’ve done some martial arts and some kickboxing, but if I hit you, I probably wouldn’t take you to the floor. Nevertheless, I know the best way to fight a bad Broker Price Opinion (BPO). I can knock that baby to the floor in three easy moves. And… here they are:
Meet the BPO agent at the property. In order to be able to intelligently discuss the BPO with the seller’s lien holder, it is a good idea to assure that it has been completed, and that it was completed by … (7 comments)

short sale negotiations: The Skinny on Short Sale Negotiations - 03/01/12 12:53 AM
Some people don’t know this about me, but I don’t just live and breathe short sales. I’m also a world traveler. Not sure how many countries I’ve visited; I’ve lost count. My favorite places to visit are those that are not so westernized. I love to see how other cultures do things, how they live, what they eat, etc. One of my all-time favorite trips was a trip I took many years ago to Morocco. In each of the cities that I visited, we went to the open-air markets where we would check out the wares and do a little shopping.
(7 comments)

short sale negotiations: Short Sale Negotiations – Colonel Mustard Style - 02/15/12 02:47 PM
Remember when it was Colonel Mustard in the dining room with the lead pipe? Well, that would be a much smoother and more efficient death than what you might see in the wacky world of short sales. 
If a short sale were like a game of Clue (by Hasbro), instead of a lead pipe you could be wiped out by an abstract of judgment, an HOA lien, or even an IRS tax lien. Weapons such as these will get in the way of closing the short sale transaction.
The principal way to avoid being killed by one of these weapons is … (8 comments)

short sale negotiations: How to Kill Your Short Sale in 2 Easy Steps - 02/01/12 09:16 AM
Have you ever actually talked until you were blue in the face? Have you ever typed so much that your fingers were bruised?
Neither of those conditions has ever happened to me. However, I have said and typed the following phrase so many times in the last few years that I feel as if I am getting blue in the face and my fingers are a bit numb:
A HOA can be a short sale deal killer.
Why? This is because the fees associated with the HOA transfer to the new buyer (including unpaid HOA dues) may not be paid by … (7 comments)

short sale negotiations: Tempers Flare as the Market Gets More Challenging - 01/23/12 11:33 AM
It’s the beginning of a new year, and many agents have made New Year’s Resolutions: take more listings, do more open houses, send out more direct mail, etc. Generally, it’s a time of year when business people are extremely motivated; it’s an opportunity for a new beginning. 
However, there also seems to be an unfortunate trend, and that trend is anger. Over the past few weeks, I’ve seen more than one escrow officer lose her cool because the bank wasn’t approving the final HUD-1 and couldn’t make sense of the financial breakdown. I’ve also seen buyer’s agents argue with listing agents … (5 comments)

short sale negotiations: Biggest Short Sale Error Ever - 01/16/12 02:30 AM
Do you remember high school math? If you are like me, high school math was something you’d like to forget. I hated when those tests would come back and I would get answers wrong because of really careless mistakes. Perhaps I had written ‘4’ instead of ‘7’. Or perhaps I had done some incorrect simple addition in the midst of a complicated algebraic equation.
Well, the biggest short sale error ever, and one that I have actually stopped a few agents from making on multiple occasions is actually just a careless error—just like those from high school math.
It involves thinking … (10 comments)

short sale negotiations: Second Lien Holders Are Happy Campers? I Think Not! - 01/04/12 02:39 PM
We are going to close a deal today—a short sale with three lien holders. This was like juggling three balls with really greasy hands. When you had your grip on two, the third would fall on the floor. Sometimes we had the first and second in agreement, then the third would hold out for more money. Then, we had the approvals from the first and the third, and we lost the buyer.  When we got a new buyer, the second now wanted more money.
This was a tricky deal and I am sure that everyone will be pleased to see it … (9 comments)

short sale negotiations: Melissa's Top Five from 2011 - 12/29/11 04:34 PM
I’ve just been looking over Google Analytics to review the most popular Short Sale Expeditor® articles for 2011. It’s surprising because some of the posts that I expected to rank got very few hits, yet others created a lot conversation and interest.
Here are the top five Short Sale Expeditor® articles for for 2011. Can you guess what they are about? Bingo! Short Sales ....
 A HAFA Short Sale Is More than a Three Thousand Dollar Incentive. Check out this article and you can download a handy little chart that shows the details of the HAFA program. Short Sale Versus Foreclosure  … (8 comments)

short sale negotiations: What Am I Thankful For - Short Sales - 11/17/11 12:54 PM
Yes, that’s right. You do not need to clean your glasses. I wrote it and I mean it. I’m thankful for short sales, and I’m not talking turkey. Of course, I’m not thankful for short sales in the same way that I am thankful to my awesome family and the health and happiness of the ones I love, but I do have a strong sense of gratitude for how this market and short sales have changed my approach to real estate. 
While I know that short sales have been around for decades, they have never been more common then they are now. Of … (5 comments)

short sale negotiations: Does Operator Error Apply to Short Sale Transactions? - 10/27/11 05:06 PM
I recently heard the following statistic: “90% of problems people have with their computers are due to operator (user) error.” And, while I have tried to confirm that statistic online, I have been unable to do so. Nevertheless, I am still thinking about that number: ninety percent. 
What if 90% of the problems that people associate with their short sale transactions are due to user error? And, more specifically, who is the user or operator? Is it the buyer’s agent? The buyer? The listing agent? The seller? The buyer’s lender? All of a sudden, there are so many people involved in … (6 comments)

short sale negotiations: The Short Sale Super Highway May Have Some Lane Closures - 10/22/11 02:56 AM
Communication is the key to success in just about everything. It will come as no surprise to you that effective and continuous communication is also important when dealing with a short sale transaction. Recently, I advised a Realtor® friend that the his short sale transaction had been submitted to the investor for approval Also, I reminded him that the Trustee’s Sale date for the property was still scheduled for the end of the month.
That last sentence (the one about the sale date) led to an interesting conversation about the California foreclosure process and auction (or Trustee) sale dates. Let me … (9 comments)

 
Melissa Zavala, Broker, Escondido Real Estate, San Diego County (Broadpoint Properties)

Melissa Zavala

Broker, Escondido Real Estate, San Diego County

Escondido, CA

More about me…

Broadpoint Properties

Address: 220 West Second Avenue, Escondido, CA, 92025

Office: (760) 839-3838

Fax: (760) 839-3279



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