Talk about service in lending - this is proof that in many cases - there is none - or worse - the service you get is catastrophic. The epidemic of not providing appropriate service for loans - takes a nasty turn in this blog. Fortunately, I have not experienced this with any of my clients, but the words caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) seem to apply here more than anything I've seen recently...and I've seen a lot.
Clients are making the shift. Big box lenders are so big that they're collapsing on top of their own clients.
I'm dealing with a top three lender rignt now...
As an Attorney!
I've been contacted by the client. The lender had been accepting the mortgage payments, cashing them in and, oh yes.....reporting to the credit bureaus that they hadn't made a payment for nine months and therefore the big box lender began the foreclosure process.
I've spent hours upon hours with the client getting disconnected repeatedly. I'm an attorney looking to help my client, but many disconnections....we called again and again and the bank representative gave us their name and number. Each time we'd call back and invariably each extension was invalid, or surprisingly enough, "Crystal doesn't work at this extension."....can you say....
C'mon now!!!!
I call the president of our company and told him of the fiasco. He found a high up contact in that top three fortune 500 mortgage company to investigate the my client's allegations. What's such an paradox is that they're suing a client for foreclosure claiming that she's failed to make payments. In the mean time she's provided all the statements and cancelled checks to prove that she's never been late with them. As an attorney, I've told her that she has a cause of action against this mortgage company since they they're destroying her credit by reporting he not only as late, but also in foreclosure when the proof is contrary.
But Now??? How about an Update!!!!!
The latest as of this week???? This big box today agreed....to an extent and said the following...
We acknowledge that you've made your payments and made the payments on time. We just don't know where the money is within our company.
Are You Friggin Kidding Me!!!!! That's one caring mortgage company.
"We acknowledge that you've paid on time, but we're not ready to clear your credit or stop the mortgage foreclosure until we can figure out what we did with your money?"
There's a Major Shift Gooing on with Consumers now!!!!
Mortgage Companies are shooting up the list of the top 100 even in a market when big box lenders are collapsing and more are poised to collapse, great companies are rising to the top. Why? Because consumers are begging for someone to care about them.
It used to be that consumers wanted the lowest rate on the block. Now they want a good rate, a really good rate, but for the biggest financial transaction of their lives, they'll trade a little rate to have qualified people investing in their families. They want a relationship. They don't want crappy service for a lower rate.
There are a lot of great companies out there that offer great rates and exceptional service. They might not be the lowest rate in town, but they're fair and they will create a relationship with the client that will inevitably end up with a client for life. Big box???? Transactional, not relational. I'm sorry, I'll take relational over transactional any day. It may not be the cheapest rate in town, but to the client, it's a lot more cost effective. And with the biggest investment in your life isn't it good to have a relationship as well as a point of contact?
Larry Bettag - Regional Vice President, Midwest Region
Part 1 of “This Brokerage Has 750 Listings…..So they must be the best! ” was prompted by the fact that the Westchester NY real estate market had changed and as a result, I was getting more and more questions about what a brokerage brought to the table in terms of marketing. I emphasized the importance of choosing the right agent and that the brokerage itself was of less importance. I also indicated that there was a lot of smoke and mirrors regarding brokerage brands and what that means to the seller in terms of marketing the home.
In the end, I promised a sequel that got into more specifics. So here it is – six major myths about listing a property and marketing a property that are often trumpeted by our own industry. Its been said that if you repeat something often enough it becomes “fact” in the eyes of the consumer. So let’s put some of these “facts” to rest.
Myth #1 – “We have 12 billion to the 10th power active listings, so our reputation speaks for itself!”
Really? How on earth does anyone come to that conclusion? You can have all the listings in the world, but if you can’t sell them, what’s the point? The percentage of sold listings is a bit more pertinant. However, even that number does not discriminate between individual agent performance.
Myth #2 – “Your listing will appear on our website which is on page 1 of Google! That will draw in TONS of buyers”
Yup – it sure will be – along with every other listing in the ENTIRE MLS – whether you are listed with this brokerage or not.
Why? because listings and pictures are like crack-cocaine to buyers and that’s what these sites are designed to lure. The “bait” has to be the entire MLS or the buyer will be on to the next site in very short order. So rest assured your listing will appear on their site just like every other listing on the MLS whether your contract is with them or the small independent broker down the street.
Myth 3# – Our brokerage has the big dollars behind it to fully support your listing!
It sounds really comforting. Many consumers believe that a big listing brokerage must be brimming with money to market their home. Why wouldn’t they do it if they stand to make so much more once the sale is complete?
There are a couple of problems with that notion: 1. That big plush brokerage has a big plush overhead to go with it! That’s a fixed cost that doesn’t go away and in many cases it has become a monster demanding ever more revenue to sustain it. Most brokerages are not nearly so flush with money as they were in years gone by.
2. The other problem is “risk.” By marketing a house the agent or/and brokerage puts money on the table and assumes a financial risk. The risk is that the house won’t sell. No matter how good you are as an agent or broker…its a game that you will not always win.
Most sellers would be shocked at how little a brokerages will actually spend. But the fact is that if a broker is holding 700 listings, how much money can they spend at any one time? If you spend $2000 on each listing that’s $1,400,000 in outlays – with no guarantee of success. HELLO!!! Do you see now what I mean about the risk issue?
Brokerages of this size are generally playing a numbers game. They throw 700 listings up against a wall and some will actually “stick.” The sheer volume of listings necessitate this approach. But how wedded to each listing can a brokerage of that size be? That dedication must fall on the individual agent representing the seller. Since the agent doesn’t carry anything close to a the volume of a major brokerage – each individual listing is of far more importance. This is another reason why sellers should look to the AGENT not the BROKERAGE when selecting a professional to list their house. .
Myth #4 – “Our brokerage has a terrific individual marketing!”
If a brokerage has over 700 listings, how individual can the marketing plan possibly be? Usually that means that the listing will be sucked up into the cookie-cutter marketing machine they throw at every listing.
In fact, if the agent keeps intoning “my brokerage does this, my brokerage does that” it is often a signal that they may well have divorced themselves from all but standard brokerage marketing. In this tough market that’s not a good thing. It is also a sign that nothing truly unique or outside the box will be brought to the table to help move the home.
Myth #5 – “We are the biggest brokerage in the area with the most agents and everyone of them is ‘motivated’ to find you a buyer.
WHOA!!! All I can say to this is RUN THE OTHER WAY!!! This may well mean that they are highly motivated to keep the sale “in-house” which is code for the agents have a financial motivation to do so.
This is a problem on so many levels, it’s hard to know where to begin. For openers it violates the spirit of the MLS. The MLS’s were created to level the playing field between competing brokerages so that buyers and sellers could work with whoever they wanted to without feeling they were at a disadvantage. Creating financial incentives to keep sales in-house throws a monkey wrench into that system.
It may sound great – having 500 agents looking to find you a buyer, but there’s a big elephant in the room. If the listing agent is motivated to keep the sale in house, what will they do if an agent from a competing office brings in the best offer? Will they push an ‘in-house’ offer? Even if it truly isn’t the BEST offer? The answer depends on the individual. I know many agents who would never compromise their sellers…but there are always a few who would. Bottom line: Why work with a brokerage that encourages this since it can almost invites unethical behavior? In the end, the numbers tell the story. There are roughly 6500 agents working in our county. Even if a brokerage had 1000 agents, statistically, it is far more likely that the “best” offer will come from an agent outside the listing brokerage.
Myth #6 – Our big brokerage has a relocation service that brings in gazillions of buyers just panting to see our listings!
Please see myth #5. Any buyer coming in through a relocation service will be looking at the entire MLS inventory…not just the listings within that brokerage.
So there you have it….six common myths about listings, agents, brokerages and marketing. I hope this adds some transparency to an issue that is generally a black box to consumers.
Autumn in lower Westchester NY is a very colorful event.
There is something about the color of the leaves and how it lights up the sky that I find very compelling. Forget leaf peeping in Vermont – our season peaks later, but the foliage is just as amazing. At this time of year, people flock to parks in Westchester NY for the foliage and crisp weather.
This week had been particularly stressful – so Friday afternoon I escaped to the Rockefeller Preserve in Sleepy Hollow to regenerate. Among the many things to do in Westchester, this is among my favorite places to decompress and get back in touch with what it is all about. Although the leaves were more than half gone, the color of the sky and the sunlight caused the remaining leaves light up the sky with a full fall fire. Jade and Tundra – my faithful Huskies accompanied me and enjoyed the blustery cold air. We also ran into a friend from my brokerage – Monique another avid walker, arrived just as I was leaving.
Here are a couple of the photos I snapped along the way. As a nature Preserve, you get to see the beauty of nature’s wild side.
The video was created from still shots that I have collected during the fall of 2009 with a few from 2008 thrown in for good measure. To view the still photos go to my Flickr Feed.
OK, I don't pretend to know all there is to know about the current banking situation. I do know that in many cases I smell a great big rat. But putting one's finger on it is a tad more difficult.
In my opinion, the banks took the TARP money, that means they now owe the country that bailed them out something in return. At the very least, their actions should be leaning towards STABILIING the housing market. Instead, some banks seem inclined to make matters worse by CHOOSING foreclosure over loan modification and short sales.
That is not acceptable at all. They took the money, now they are answerable to the American people. We have to hold their feet to the fire.
Lenders make more money on foreclosures than from short sales or loan modifications. That's what Steve Harney conveyed in a seminar. He caused an earthquakein San Francisco
When loan modifications are turned down, the next thing we attempt is a short sale. And we know 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?
I've written several humorous (and not so humorous) posts about what I call "Big Box Bankmarts." Here is yet another example as to why any bank that is too big to fail should either be broken up or cease to exist.
I refinanced a loan this week for some past clients. I did their purchase loan in 2005. We did an 80-15-5 because they had another home that had not closed yet. The 15% second was a home equity line of credit. Their previous home sold and they paid off the 15% second in March of 2006. They never drewanother dime on the equity line.
June 2008: They received a letter from Countrywide telling them their 0 balance equity line was frozen. They were not allowed to take any draws on the line because the value had decreased. No problem for them. They weren't using the line anyway.
Like lots of other people, the equity in their home has evaporated but current rates are still better than what they had on their first so we put together a Freddie Relief refinance - a great deal for them. We are able to drop their payment $200+ per month and because they didn't have PMI on the original loan, there is no PMI on the refinance even though their LTV is now 95%.
October 2009: Bank of America (aka Countrywide) rears its ugly head! There had never been a Deed of Release recorded for the "no longer usable" home equity line of credit. The title company received a notice from BofA that there would be a $350 Early Termination Fee in order to do the Deed of Release. Early Termination Fee? On a line of credit they were no longer allowed to use?
Really??This Early Termination Fee showing on theHUD1would prevent them from completing the Freddie Relief refinance.
My client took BofA the statement from March 1996 showing where they had paid it off. She took them the letter from June 2008 saying they no longer had a home equity line of credit. She took them the statement showing the $350 Early Termination Fee. She asked them how in the world they could expect an Early Termination Fee when they were the ones who terminated the line. BofA's response - "We didn't close the line. We just won't let you use it." My client spent over an hour discussing this with the Wizards of BofA. At one point they actually told her "if you do your refinance with us we may consider waiving the fee".
Really?? My client told the Wizards of BofA "either this fee gets waived and you allow the title company torecord a Deed of Release or I will go to the Attorney General and see what they think! You CAN NOT haveit bothways! I didn't terminate the equity line - you did."
Guess what? She got it! Refinance paperwork is all signed - we will record and fund on Monday.
BofA - what are you thinking? How many other people are you pulling this stunt on?
Jane Penttinen, Sr. Loan Officer
Sunstreet Mortgage, LLC
520-547-4150
If you, your friends or family require the services of a mortgage professional, please don't hesitate to call me. I am never too busy for any of your referrals.
I've written several humorous (and not so humorous) posts about what I call "Big Box Bankmarts." Here is yet another example as to why any bank that is too big to fail should either be broken up or cease to exist.
I refinanced a loan this week for some past clients. I did their purchase loan in 2005. We did an 80-15-5 because they had another home that had not closed yet. The 15% second was a home equity line of credit. Their previous home sold and they paid off the 15% second in March of 2006. They never drewanother dime on the equity line.
June 2008: They received a letter from Countrywide telling them their 0 balance equity line was frozen. They were not allowed to take any draws on the line because the value had decreased. No problem for them. They weren't using the line anyway.
Like lots of other people, the equity in their home has evaporated but current rates are still better than what they had on their first so we put together a Freddie Relief refinance - a great deal for them. We are able to drop their payment $200+ per month and because they didn't have PMI on the original loan, there is no PMI on the refinance even though their LTV is now 95%.
October 2009: Bank of America (aka Countrywide) rears its ugly head! There had never been a Deed of Release recorded for the "no longer usable" home equity line of credit. The title company received a notice from BofA that there would be a $350 Early Termination Fee in order to do the Deed of Release. Early Termination Fee? On a line of credit they were no longer allowed to use?
Really??This Early Termination Fee showing on theHUD1would prevent them from completing the Freddie Relief refinance.
My client took BofA the statement from March 1996 showing where they had paid it off. She took them the letter from June 2008 saying they no longer had a home equity line of credit. She took them the statement showing the $350 Early Termination Fee. She asked them how in the world they could expect an Early Termination Fee when they were the ones who terminated the line. BofA's response - "We didn't close the line. We just won't let you use it." My client spent over an hour discussing this with the Wizards of BofA. At one point they actually told her "if you do your refinance with us we may consider waiving the fee".
Really?? My client told the Wizards of BofA "either this fee gets waived and you allow the title company torecord a Deed of Release or I will go to the Attorney General and see what they think! You CAN NOT haveit bothways! I didn't terminate the equity line - you did."
Guess what? She got it! Refinance paperwork is all signed - we will record and fund on Monday.
BofA - what are you thinking? How many other people are you pulling this stunt on?
Jane Penttinen, Sr. Loan Officer
Sunstreet Mortgage, LLC
520-547-4150
If you, your friends or family require the services of a mortgage professional, please don't hesitate to call me. I am never too busy for any of your referrals.
Happy Halloween to all! I went to the Halloween Blaze at Van Cortlant Manor in order to deliver to everyone some prime photos from one of the areas primary hot spots for Halloween.. The Halloween “Blaze” celebration is nothing short of amazing with 4000 pumpkins lit up on the 18th Century colonial estate. They make them into dinosaurs, they have black cats, and rats carved into pumpkins, ornate patterns as well as a spaceship, a pirates ship and so much more too numerous to even begin. The tour takes a little over an hour and is worth the trip up from lower Westchester to Croton-on-Hudson…Unfortunately, I’m still playing with the pics. I admit – a professional photographer I am not. I made a mistake with my settings and it was literally too dark to fix!
So, as a poor substitute – I found this video of Bobby Picket singing the “Monster Mash” on YouTube. I’ve heard it every Halloween since I was a child, but I didn’t know the artist behind the voice. His immitation of Boris Karloff made him and the song “The Monster Mash” famous. The song was composed in 1962 and was a major hit. It went through several incarnations – taking off in Britain in the 1970s.
Does size really matter? Do the number of listings or the size of the brokerage have anything to do with the ability of the agent to market and sell a home successfully? Is it the brokerage or the agent that is the determining factor?
What Does the Brokerage Bring to the Table?
One of the biggest issues I encounter on listing presentations are questions regarding the brokerage itself. Most questions revolve around marketing. What does the brokerage do in terms of marketing for the listing?
I think that most sellers assume that since the brokerage is “big” and has capital behind it, that they are the ones spending big bucks on marketing the home. But this is rarely the case. Many big-box national brokerages build on that confusion and perpetuate the myth that their brokerage “brand” makes a significant difference in selling a home for top dollar. They also tout their “marketing package” in terms of the amount of support they offer. Some actually stress that the number of agents in the brokerage somehow makes that brokerage better or somehow more able to move the property. With all the hype and misinformation out there it is small wonder that sellers are confused.
I would challenge these large brokerages who claim that their numbers speak for themselves to enumerate exactly WHAT they do to justify their claims? And while they are at it, I would like to have some hard numbers to back up their success stories. I haven’t seen any of them come up with any marketing advantage that holds up under scrutiny. Most of the time they appear to be blowing smoke. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not slamming big brokerages. That would be rather foolish since the brokerage that I am currently associated with is quite large. What I am trying to do is cut through the hype.
Follow the Advice of Deep Throat:
Who actually sells the listing? The agent or the brokerage? To figure that out you have only to listen to the words of “Deep Throat” in All the President’s Men. He told Robert Redford to “Follow the money!”
If a brokerage has hundreds of agents, it is likely that they have close to 1000 listings. Brokerages are business to make money on sales. For a big brokerage like this – the listings are a numbers game. Throw 1000 up against a wall and maybe half will “stick.” So how important is your individual listing going to be to that brokerage? Answer: not very.
But what about the agent? Most agents have just one to two listings at a time. Top producers can have as manay as 20-30. Agents are paid on commission. If the property doesn’t sell – all the work they did is down the drain….and there is a lot more to than sticking a sign in the ground. When a listing fails to sell an agent is out usually well over 150 hours of time AND they are generally out a good deal of marketing money as well. Do you think that agent cares if your home sells? You better believe it.
Take Home Lesson: Look to the AGENT to market and sell your home.
Stay tuned for part 2 – where some major marketing myths will be revealed.
The Hartsdale NY housing market is in buyer’s market mode. Prices for coops, condos and single family homes all experienced price reductions when compared with the third quarter of the previous year. This was the second year of price reductions for the area. Volume was variable with single-family home sales being down 70% over the previous year while there was a slight increase in the number of coop sales.
Hartsdale Cooperatives:
Coop prices dropped 11.1% over the previous year with the average price being $192k for Q3 2009. That was enough to make them a desirable purchase. This was particularly true of East Hartsdale Ave. Demand remained high and volume was up 1% from 2008. There is a 5.8 month inventory on the market – making it a borderline buyer’s market in terms of inventory. Prices have dropped nearly 15% from Q3 2007 – which is roughly when sales prices peaked. This is still a buyer’s market, but the reduction in inventory and stable sales volume indicates that we may be near the bottom.
Hartsdale Condominiums:
Condos didn’t fare as well as cooperatives. Sales prices were down nearly 13% from the previous year. The average sales price for the third quarter was $370k down from $425k in 2008. Sales volume was down 33.3% and there is currently an 8 month inventory on the market creating a definite buyer’s market. This market didn’t really start declining until after the stock market crash – so it may have some more adjustments ahead.
Hartsdale Single-Family Homes:
The price of a single-family home was up about 2.3% – however, I would not consider this to be a true improvement. The volume was so low, that this probably reflects the nature of the homes that actually sold more than an uptick in prices. Volume is down 70% from Q3 in 2008. Further, that low volume translates into over two years of inventory on the market – making this a definite buyer’s market. The market is down less than 8% from the peak indicating it may have a way to go. Sellers should price homes realistically, while buyers should enjoy great opportunities in the coming months.
Following the stock market crash of 2008, home prices in White Plains finally took a hit. This market had remained remarkably sturdy up to the fourth quarter of 2008. The correction has been an abrupt one. The third quarter market reports reflect a market that is experiencing a major correction. The declines are steady but not alarming. This is the first time that White Plains has have every single factor in buyer’s market territory.
White Plains Cooperatives:
The average price of a cooperative in White Plains has decreased to $181,000 – down $36,000 or near 17% fromQ3 of 2008. Sales volume was also down 38.5%. Although sales picked up over the summer months inventories remain in excess of 12 months. This is an excellent buying opportunity and sellers need to be realistic when pricing their homes.
White Plains Condominiums:
Condos have seen a sharp decline in prices. This is to be expected because during the boom a large number of condos were built creating a “natural” glut. Sales prices are down 16.1% over the previous year to $463,000 – down $89,000 over the previous year. Sales volume was down 20% over the previous year. Once again – this is a buyer’s market and sellers need to price their units to sell.
White Plains Single Family Homes:
Single family homes fared slightly better – at least at the starter level. Homes in the move-up range were another story. WIth jumbo loans hard to get and with a large pool of would-be move up buyers dealing with a depreciating values in the homes they are in – this is to be expected. There is a glimmer of hope for entry level single family homes – but the rest of the market is languishing. Prices are down 13.3% or $85,000 off the Q3 2008 average.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
ig box lenders are so big that they're collapsing on top of their own clients
Lenders make more money on foreclosures than from short sales or loan modifications. That's what 
CONSUMERLAW.ORG REPORt ON "
Excuse me BofA! You CAN NOT have it both ways!
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