Michelle's Blog

The Secret Lives of Short Sale Negotiators

Michelle Schoen (The Permanent Record, LLC) — Wed, 23 May 2007 06:51:16 -0500

The title "short sale negotiator" is a bit limited in capturing the full scope of what people like me offer. A short sale negotiator does so much more than, well, negotiate short sales! Two different levels of service often are available, tailored to your requirements and strengths.

If you prefer to handle the negotiations but tend to get bogged down in the red tape that goes with dealing in short sales and foreclosures, a savvy short sale negotiator often provides a paperwork collection and submission service. For a fee (ours is $350), we will contact the seller on your behalf, collect all of the required paperwork for the short sale package that goes to the lender and submit it, verifying that the paperwork has been received and is all in order. We'll also track down the name of the lender's loss mitigation representative, snagging their direct line if at all possible (as having an actual contact person with an actual phone number is much more beneficial to you and the seller than just contacting the bank's "short sale department"), and we forward this info to you. Lastly, we'll set you up with a reminder service that lets you know at what points in the process that follow-up calls need to be made to the lender. You handle the negotiations, and we'll help you work through the bureaucracy.

We also offer a level of service that provides all of the same helpful aspects of our paperwork collection and submission service, plus we'll handle the follow-up calls and negotiations on your behalf. Put another way: while the paperwork collection and submission service dots all of the I's and crosses some of the T's, our full service option dots all of the I's, crosses all of the T's, and even makes sure those X's are crossed, as necessary.

The short sale process can be a tricky one even to an agent experienced in handling such transactions, but if you let a seasoned short sale negotiator take care of the formalities, your chances for success and increased revenue can be markedly improved!

Michelle Schoen of The Permanent Record LLC started her company and has been a Virtual Assistant since 1990. She is a certified Real Estate Administrative Assistant and Transaction Coordinator. She also designs and updates websites. In addition, she also has a 20+ year background in medical claim billing and collections, authorization acquisition and transcription. She can be reached at michelle.schoen@thepermanentrecord.net or (303) 733-0885.

Michelle Schoen
The Permanent Record, LLC
Real Estate Administrative Assistant & Transaction Coordinator
Website Design & Updates
Short Sale/Foreclosure Negotiations
http://www.thepermanentrecord.net

Five Common Reasons Why Short Sales Fail

Michelle Schoen (The Permanent Record, LLC) — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 23:13:16 -0500

As you may already be aware, short sales are a great way to help create a win-win solution for both a distressed homeowner and a lender, and can also allow you (as an investor) to purchase property at a deep discount.

But, as you may also be aware, a short sale offer isn't an instant panacea for a homeowner's troubles. Sometimes short sales fail. To ensure the success of your short sale offer, make certain that the following bases are covered, else your short sale may be doomed to failure.

1. You should be clear on the level of motivation that the seller has. An unmotivated seller can be a drag on your time and resources; his reluctance to carry out simple tasks like providing paperwork in a timely fashion is a red flag that will underline his overall unwillingness to cooperate. Just because he apparently doesn't understand the gravity of the situation doesn't mean that you have to continue putting forth your time and effort to carry out the short sale. Cut bait now!

2. Short sales are a great way to purchase all types of property at deeply discounted prices, but beware: if you're offering only 20 percent of the home's supposed value, you'd better be able to justify such an offer on paper with pictures and repair estimates that are commensurate with your offer. If not, it doesn't matter how good your relationship is with the lender – you'll still be laughed right out of the bank.

3. As a follow-up to the above, if comparable homes in the market and BPOs seem to be way above your offer, be prepared to justify your offer and why it's so much lower than the closing price of other homes in your market. If not, the lender will likely instead choose to see the foreclosure process to the end.

4. One of the biggest mistakes an investor or purchaser of short sale properties can make is found in the lack of follow-up with the lender. Maintaining periodic contact with the lender can keep you informed of any potential curveballs or pitfalls in the process that can put an end to your short sale aspirations.

5. Have you ever come across a short sale website that promises to stop a foreclosure even if there's as little as one day left before the sheriff's sale? Don’t believe it. My rule of thumb, in fact, is that 3 days isn't enough time to negotiate a short sale. Three days is barely enough time to negotiate a postponement of the foreclosure auction unless all of your paperwork is already filled out, if a sales agreement is in hand, and if your documentation is solid. The sooner that the short sale process is started, the better your chances of short sale success!

Even if you adhere to each of these, it still may be possible that the short sale will fail. But you're guaranteed a better shot at succeeding by avoiding these common roadblocks to short sale pitfalls than otherwise.

* * * * *

Michelle Schoen

The Permanent Record, LLC

Real Estate Administrative Assistant & Transaction Coordinator

Website Design & Updates

Short Sale/Foreclosure Negotiations
http://www.thepermanentrecord.net

Social Networking: Boiler Rooms for Controversy or Great Ways to Network with Like-Minded People?

Michelle Schoen (The Permanent Record, LLC) — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 20:06:53 -0600

I've been thinking recently about social networking sites and my place in them, asking myself the tough questions as to whether they are really worth the time and effort that I put into visiting and posting at such places.

On one hand, it's evident that anytime you put together a group of professionals, whether it's virtual or live, and give them carte blanche to discuss anything pertaining to their work, the conversation will eventually degenerate into backbiting and sniping at one another. This not only detracts from the "professional" designation that we all purport to carry, but is a colossal waste of everyone's time.

Many folks are pretty intent on getting the last word in, and others seem to lack the ability to just walk away from the conversation. Since the relative anonymity of the Internet allows both instigators and defenders to carry on such a discussion without receiving a punch in the nose for their efforts, a lot of these shouting matches can continue unabated for an indefinite period of time. And as easy as it is to just "click away" from these fruitless dialogues, human nature dictates that we love watching car wrecks, so we perpetuate them by taking sides or adding our two cents.

On the other hand, the very concept of worldwide social networking was, pardon the expression, virtually nonexistent a decade ago. Outside of newsgroups specifically devoted to your area of expertise (if you even accessed the Internet at that time), the only way to network with people across the country was through national conventions. These days, there is literally a global bank of knowledge and experience that you can tap into to learn more about what has worked, what might work and what could never work for you and your business.

If a person can "rise above" the sometimes-vicious tone of some supposedly "professional" members of our community and stay focused on the positive things that many of us prefer to take part in, then social networking sites like this one and others do more good for our line of work than any other invention of the last quarter-century. The worldwide wealth of know-how can bring us more ideas than we ever could have come up with on our own, making us all better as individuals and as a community. And that can only be a good thing.

Michelle Schoen
The Permanent Record, LLC
Real Estate Administrative Assistant & Transaction Coordinator
Website Design & Updates
Short Sale/Foreclosure Negotiator
http://www.thepermanentrecord.net

A Quick Primer on the Short Sale Process

Michelle Schoen (The Permanent Record, LLC) — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:33:12 -0600

Homeowners who find themselves in a bad financial situation are pretty much doomed to eventually have their home foreclosed, right?

Wrong. The short sale process is a way to help those homeowners who, for any number of reasons, are unable to pay on their mortgage. Perhaps the main breadwinner has walked out, or maybe there's been a debilitating accident that has left the homeowner unable to make their monthly mortgage payment. Whatever the reason, short sales are a great way to get those homeowners out from underneath their mortgage without doing too much damage to their credit rating. In a nutshell, here is how I handle the short sale process:

After checking various foreclosure lists to see which homes might be candidates for a short sale, the first thing I do is find out who the attorney is; it helps if I already have a relationship with them. Then, I run a Comparable Marketing Analysis; this entails finding out what comparable homes in the area have sold for and how long they were on the market before they sold. This helps me see what the home is actually worth in comparison to what the foreclosure amount is. It also helps to know various neighborhood statistics, including the crime rate, the number of vacant homes in the neighborhood, and the number of/proximity to sex offenders.

Then, I contact the homeowner to find out if they are willing to talk with me – first, with a letter, then with a phone call if their phone number is available. If I am able to get my foot in the door with them, I will make a presentation to them and provide them information on how I can help them get out from under their debt without hurting their credit rating. Usually, the options by this point are a short sale or a foreclosure; the latter is very damaging to a person's credit, so I try to make the homeowner see that a short sale would be the best option. If I am successful, the homeowner will sign an authorization for me to speak with their lender and the attorney to find out more information about the foreclosure, including the balance of the principal, how far behind they are with their payments, appraisal amounts, etc.

At this point, I will also do an impromptu, unofficial inspection of the home, including taking pictures and making note of anything that is defective or broken, or if mold is present, for instance.

After discussions with the lender and the attorney, I'll make an offer on the property and take the homeowner a sales and purchase agreement. This agreement will include multiple contingencies written into it. If the homeowner agrees to the process, I have them start getting paperwork together; there is a very long list of things that have to be turned in when I start the negotiation process with the lender and the attorney.

Then, the negotiation process begins, and I try to work out an equitable solution that is satisfactory to all parties involved: this usually means getting the property off the lender's books, and getting the homeowner out from under a mortgage that they simply can't pay.

Michelle Schoen

The Permanent Record, LLC

Real Estate Administrative Assistant & Transaction Coordinator

Website Design & Updates

Administrative Support Services

http://www.thepermanentrecord.net

Disabled Woman Needs Assistance In Toledo, OH

Michelle Schoen (The Permanent Record, LLC) — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 07:06:00 -0600

I am actually writing this for a dear friend of mine. She is disabled and lives in Toledo, OH. She would like an agent or broker from the area to assist her in buying her first home. She's on an SSDI budget and is interested in looking at pre-foreclosure and HUD homes. Is there anybody in this group who would be willing to assist her?

Thank you!

Michelle Schoen
Real Estate Administrative Assistant & Transaction Coordinator
Website Design & Updates
General Administrative Support Services
http://www.thepermanentrecord.net

Off Topic Blog - School Shootings

Michelle Schoen (The Permanent Record, LLC) — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 22:05:38 -0500

Since nobody has touched on this topic, I felt I could be strong enough to do it. Has anyone even noticed that we've had four school shootings in five days? One girl dead in Colorado, a Principal dead in Wisconsin, several young girls dead in Pennsylvania, one girl killed in Vancouver... my goodness! And we're only a month into the school year!

Speaking as the parent of a murdered child, I can tell you that there is nothing worse. No matter what you compare it to, there is no comparison to the loss of a child.

So as you go about your day, remember these parents. If you live in their communities, reach out to them. Even if they push you away at first, reach out. They're going to need all the love they can get.

Open Houses: How to have a better showing (from a neat freak)

Michelle Schoen (The Permanent Record, LLC) — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 19:51:21 -0500

We went to a couple of open houses in our neighborhood this weekend. I'm that nosey neighbor lady that your mom warned you about. I love open houses! I like to see how other people have decorated, remodeled, everything! I enjoy the creativity. But we're also trying to find our first home. At the age of 39, my husband and I have decided we want to join the ranks of adulthood and purchase our first home. But there are some things you need to think about if you're going to hold an open house. Keep in mind that I'm a neat freak.

Pets. Pets are wonderful. I love my four cats and wouldn't trade them in for the world. However, I do change the litter boxes... a lot. Twice a day. I don't want someone coming into my house and smelling or seeing a dirty cat box. It's a pet peeve. If I walk into your open house and find a dirty litter box with litter on the floor, I'm not going to be very interested in owning the home. Cat litter has urine in it. It's just a fact of life.

So do yourself and everyone else a favor... make sure the litter boxes are either clean or out of sight until visitors leave. Put them in the garage. Put them in the trunk of your car. Whatever works for you. Just don't leave them in the house with feces and urine in them!

If you have a dog, I strongly advise you to clean up the poop in the yard. The smell alone is enough to turn off some buyers. Seeing flies and ants crawling around on and in it... that just doesn't do much for me. There's also the issue of sanitary living conditions. Your doggy probably doesn't like walking in the poop anymore than your visitors do.

Walls. We all leave fingerprints on walls, appliances and various other things around our house. But when I see a light switch that's literally brown and black because of dirt, it's not appealing. Seeing the walls literally dripping with dirt... not appealing. We saw a house this weekend where it was obvious there had been smokers... not so much because you could smell it, but because you could see it dripping down the walls. If your seller is a smoker, it's a good idea to tell them to scrub the walls at least once. It will help to reduce the amount of smoke smell and it will help with the build up of tar and nicotine on the walls. A couple of well placed AirWick automatic battery operated air fresheners is also a very good idea. One costs less than $10 and comes with one can of spray.

Bathrooms. If you have a dirty bathroom, it's not going to show well. Black mold growing along the caulk and up the tile walls is not a good sign. A toilet that obviously doesn't get flushed often enough is not a good sign. Remember, some people are very scent sensitive. Something like that will immediately make them lose interest in a home. Again, one AirWick air freshener would be very helpful.

These are just a few things that kind of set me off when I was walking through open houses in Denver. Hopefully there's some information that will help you to help your seller get just a little more ready for their next open house.

I cannot stand Post-It Notes All Over My Screen & Desk!

Michelle Schoen (The Permanent Record, LLC) — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 16:55:53 -0500

Because I'm a little bit of a neat freak (Read: You can safely eat off my floors), I tend to not like sticky notes. They get stuck to everything that you don't want them stuck to. They refuse to stick to the things you do want them stuck to. So when one of the virtual assistant girls with whom I work gave this link to me, I was in heaven!

http://www.evernote.com/en/

Say goodbye to sticky notes! You can store handwritten notes through your pen and tablet. You can store things you need from blogs, websites, email and more. And the best part? It's free, unless you really want to pay for it.

Enjoy!

Michelle Schoen

The Permanent Record

Real Estate Administrative Assistant & Transaction Coordinator

Website Design for Real Estate Professionals

Administrative Support Services

http://www.thepermanentrecord.net

Offline Contact Relationship Management Software for Real Estate Professionals

Michelle Schoen (The Permanent Record, LLC) — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 18:45:18 -0500

Susan Milner was kind enough to bring up the topic of CRM or Contact Relationship Management in her blog today, so I thought I would give you some of the offline options that are available to you if you're one of those folks who doesn't like having their client information sitting out there online in a strange, unfamiliar world.

Before I go into this though, I would like to thank Christian Real Estate Network for allowing me to have my geeky side! For those who don’t know me, I’m a recovering Network Administrator (MSCE, severe Geek!). So… let’s look at some of the offline options.

ACTive Agent for Outlook – Sonoma Enterprises - $149.00

· Single click access to follow-up appointments, email campaigns (aka email blasts), distribution list management

· Store personal information about the entire seller’s/buyer’s family – great for keeping track of birthdays, anniversaries, etc.

· Multiple user-defined fields for information that’s not already included

· Access to all of the property and transaction information records for each of your contacts

· Ability to store buyer requirements as well as all of the records of all of the properties you have ever shown to this client and their comments/feelings about the properties

Agent Business Builder – Powermate Software (Agent and Broker versions available.) - $399.00

· Address book database

· Interactive Calendar & Planner

· Built-in point-and-click mail merge (116 pre-written letters included)

· Auto-Dialer (phone number and email capable)

· Multiple user-defined fields for information that’s not already included

· Built-in word processor

LeadCommander Professional Series – By DataBasix Technologies - $229.00

· Lead generator – access new leads and import data from multiple sources

· Prospecting System

· Marketing Campaign Manager – market prospects based on multiple pieces of criteria. Track and evaluate your marketing campaigns.

· Customer Tracker

· Client Follow-up Program

· Remote access through the internet

· Form letter database & writer

· Auto-Dialer

· Multiple user-defined fields

In addition to the ones list above, there are many more options out there. This is just a brief overview of a few of them.

Disclaimer: I am not supporting or recommending any of the above options.

Michelle Schoen
The Permanent Record
Real Estate Administrative Assistant & Transaction Coordinator
Website Design for Real Estate Professionals
Administrative Support Services
http://www.thepermanentrecord.net

Because I'm curious by nature...

Michelle Schoen (The Permanent Record, LLC) — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 17:25:07 -0500

I received an email today that has me wondering if anyone has ever used this service or is currently using it? Can you tell me the pros and cons from your viewpoint?

http://www.primeagents.com/

Michelle Schoen

The Permanent Record

Real Estate Administrative Assistant & Transaction Coordinator

Website Design for Real Estate Professionals

Administrative Support Services

http://www.thepermanentrecord.net

What a wonderful way to spend part of an afternoon...

Michelle Schoen (The Permanent Record, LLC) — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 16:04:45 -0500

If you've never had the opportunity to spend any time with Kristal Kraft, you've really missed out. I was lucky enough to spend several hours with this dynamic woman today and feel all the more enriched from the experience. Thank you to Kristal, her daughter Vali, and all of the wonder women at today's luncheon. It was an incredibly rewarding opportunity for this virtual assistant.

Weatherization Assistance in Colorado

Michelle Schoen (The Permanent Record, LLC) — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 18:19:45 -0500

I'm sure there are programs in every state for this type of service. This is specific to Colorado because that's where I happen to live. I'm sure we all know someone who could benefit from this type of assistance no matter what state, city or little town we live in. Keep this in mind as you're driving around and seeing homes that might need this type of assistance. In Colorado, you can call anonymously and refer a neighbor or friend and they will contact the person and ask if they are interested in the free services.

Do you know someone who is low income? Does their heating bill cause them stress every winter? Do they receive energy assistance through LiEAP or receive SSI, SSDI, AFDC, TANF, AND, AB, or COAP? If the answer to these questions is a resounding “Yes”, then please read further.

Help is available for low-income families, elderly and single adults residing in Denver City & County. E$P, Energy $aving Partners, will provide cost-effective energy efficient upgrades to qualifying Coloradans. Weatherization, in addition to furnace and appliance replacement, is available for qualifying households.

Weatherization services include:

Comprehensive energy audit
Attic, wall and crawlspace insulation
Air leakage reduction
Forced air furnace efficiency
Appliance safety inspection
High efficiency lighting survey
Inspection for other potential safety problems

Eligible homes include single-family houses, mobile homes, multifamily units – renters and homeowners! To find out if you or someone you know is eligible for no-cost weatherization services, please call 1-866-HEAT-HELP (1-866-432-8435) or call Sun Power, Inc. at (303) 382-1514.

Sun Power is a non-profit organization dedicated “To provide energy conservation, information and services to the general public, and particularly to low income families and individuals in order to help reduce their dependence on purchased energy”.

(Portions reprinted from http://www.SunPowerInc.org with permission.)

Michelle Schoen

The Permanent Record

Real Estate Administrative Assistant

Real Estate Transaction Coordinator

Administrative Support Services

http://www.thepermanentrecord.net

Less Expensive Ways of Printing

Michelle Schoen (The Permanent Record, LLC) — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 12:14:42 -0500

I saw a blog earlier that asked what kind of printer was recommended for doing newsletter printing, etc. There are less expensive ways of getting this printing done. Instead of buying an expensive printer and buying expensive ink and expensive paper, why not farm it out to a virtual assistant?

Most virtual assistants already have the equipment and software necessary to run a professional newsletter; and we can usually do it for less money than what it's going to cost for you to purchase a high end printer, ink, paper and various other supplies and software. A virtual assistant usually has access to some very good deals on supplies, so the print job shouldn't be outrageously priced.

I have a professional quality Xerox C2424 printer. The quality that this machine puts out is really quite astonishing. Yes, ink is a little expensive. However, you have to weigh the pros and cons of any purchase of this caliber. I needed a high quality printer so I could do our neighborhood newsletter in addition to the many professional print jobs for which I receive payment. I also have very good contacts locally where I get various grades and qualities of paper, postcards and other paper products necessary to complete just about any job for any realtor or broker.

Save yourself some money and headaches. Talk to a virtual assistant and find out what kind of quality they are capable of giving to your print job. Compare the prices of several virtual assistants to find the best deal. Do you really want to spend all of that time babysitting a printer when you could be out there working on the next deal?

Just something to chew on this beautiful Sunday morning!

Michelle Schoen, TCRE, TCTC, TCSD

The Permanent Record

Real Estate Administrative Assistant

Real Estate Transaction Coordinator

Administrative Support Services

http://www.thepermanentrecord.net

Exactly what is the value of having a virtual assistant do your transaction coordination?

Michelle Schoen (The Permanent Record, LLC) — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 12:48:23 -0500

Let's look at this from the standpoint of losing time and losing money. Did you know that the typical real estate professional spends almost 20 hours to complete one transaction? How much money is 20 hours worth to you? How many other sales could you have accomplished during that 20 hour timeframe?

Let's look at time management first. You've just lost 20 hours of your precious time, all because of one transaction. How can a virtual assistant help you to gain back some of that time? He/She can do the transaction coordination for you. Your virtual assistant can order all of the necessary documents and do all of the necessary paperwork. He/She can keep in contact with everyone involved (i.e. the appraiser, the inspector, the loan institution, the title company, the attorney, etc.). He/She will set up all of the necessary appointments. He/She will make sure that everyone is notified. You just reacquired your 20 hours.

We can also look at this from a financial standpoint. As I said, what is 20 hours of your time worth to you? According to http://www.salary.com/, "The median expected salary for a typical Real Estate Sales Agent in the United States is $33,302." Now before you say it, I know that most of you probably make more than that in any given year. For the sake of numbers, we'll just use that figure. If you break it down, it comes out to approximately $640.00 per week, which comes out to approximately $16.00 per hour if you consider a 40 hour week. I'm sure some of you work more hours and some work less; but for the sake of round numbers, let's use $16.00 per hour.

If you've just lost 20 hours of your precious time, then you've also lost approximately $320.00. That doesn't even take into consideration the money you've lost from other sales you could have been working on. Wouldn't you rather spend part of that money on a virtual assistant who does transaction coordination and will take care of all of the documentation and appointment setting? Wouldn't that allow you to go out there and sell more homes?

How much is 20 hours worth to you?

Michelle Schoen, TCRE, TCTC, TCSD
The Permanent Record
Real Estate Administrative Assistant
Real Estate Transaction Coordinator
Administrative Support Services
http://www.thepermanentrecord.net/

"Technology and You"

Michelle Schoen (The Permanent Record, LLC) — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 18:56:09 -0500

Since that's this week's suggested blog subject, I think I'll address a few of the finer points of the technology boom in the real estate industry.

Never before have virtual assistants been in such demand in the real estate industry. Our penchant for the so-called mundane administrative tasks has taken us to new levels of training and creativity. No longer are we doing small typing jobs. Now we're creating the leads, following up on the leads, creating drip email campaigns, creating direct mail campaigns, creating the graphics for listings... and much, much more. No longer are we scraping to get by. No, no! Now we're scrambling to make sure we have enough team members and relationships with other REVA's so that every Real Estate Professional gets the treatment they deserve.

So let's touch briefly on the subject of networking. As a Real Estate Professional, you need and want as much good networking as you can possibly find. That's where a REVA comes in handy. We have our fingers on the pulse of the real estate industry. We know who's doing what. We know who needs what. We know what's going on out there. Remember, we're the ones doing the email and direct mail campaigns for you. We're doing everything we can to be creative about finding those leads and keeping them hot. Bottom Line: We want you to succeed. Your success is our success.

If you've never tried using a virtual assistant, now is a good time. We're in demand and we want to do everything in our power to help you to be the successful salesperson that you know you can be. So let go of those mundane administrative tasks. Pass them to a virtual assistant and see what we can do for you. We'll even handle the dreaded paperwork by doing your transaction coordination. We're here! We're ready!

Michelle Schoen, TCRE, TCTC, TCSD
The Permanent Record
Real Estate Administrative Assistant
Real Estate Transaction Coordinator
http://www.thepermanentrecord.net/

Michelle's Blog

The Secret Lives of Short Sale Negotiators

Recommended Documentation for Short Sales

Five Common Reasons Why Short Sales Fail

Social Networking: Boiler Rooms for Controversy or Great Ways to Network with Like-Minded People?

A Quick Primer on the Short Sale Process

Disabled Woman Needs Assistance In Toledo, OH

Off Topic Blog - School Shootings

Open Houses: How to have a better showing (from a neat freak)

I cannot stand Post-It Notes All Over My Screen & Desk!

Offline Contact Relationship Management Software for Real Estate Professionals

Because I'm curious by nature...

What a wonderful way to spend part of an afternoon...

Weatherization Assistance in Colorado

Less Expensive Ways of Printing

Exactly what is the value of having a virtual assistant do your transaction coordination?

"Technology and You"