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You Let The Bank Do What!?

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Elite Legacy Realty Inc.

Angry FaceAs I'm ranting and raving to myself, I notice some of my staff coming into my office trying to find out what's going on with me this morning. They haven't seen me this upset in a while, but they soon realize that it isn't that bad as I start to explain it to them while I laugh shaking my head in disbelief.

OK, so here's the story. I decided that I would call one of my past clients today to touch base with him. Well, maybe client is too strong of a word since I never actually completed a transaction with him. So let me explain how I met this gentleman.

When I first met him, his property was in pre-foreclosure and he had responded to some of the pre-foreclosure marketing from our foreclosure division. Before some of you out there start thinking that we are vultures, we are not. We are very ethical, and from the feedback that I get from the people that call our foreclosure division, we are the only ones that are giving them free information right over the phone on how to handle their dilemma. We believe in educating the consumer to their rights, and we are on a crusade to stop these so called investors that prey on misinformation to scare homeowners into signing over their deeds.

To continue...when I met with him, he was a chain smoking desperate soul and needed to sell his property yesterday. He told me that he was already working with the bank on getting back on a payment plan, but he needed to sell the property anyway. I asked him some questions about the foreclosure and I was able to calm him down by explaining that he had more time to work through this mess then he realized. I then proceeded to tour the property while taking notes to see if this property would fit our criteria as a purchase. The property was not in good shape. It needed a paint job, new carpeting, new kitchen, baths, and unfortunately he smoked inside the home, so it stank!  For us to buy it and then rehab and flip it would not make sense if he was to make any money on it (helping the seller walk away with money is always our objective). So I recommended that he put it for sale on the retail market at a very competitive price. As I always do, I sat down and showed him what he needed to list the property at in order to sell it quickly and still put money in his pocket, based on different scenarios, as a FSBO and with a Realtor. I gave him a quick investor's seminar 101 by explaining how it didn't make sense for an investor to buy the property and still have him walk away with money. He felt that he would be listing the property and was anxious to do it, but since I felt I was giving him too much information to digest at once, I wanted him to sleep on it. Sure enough, two days later he calls me wanting to have our company list his property.

Forward one and a half weeks later... I get a call from him again telling me that he finally got the mess straightened out with the lender and is going to start making payments again. So now he wants to take the property off the market. Great! I love it when someone can fix their mess and get back on their feet. The day that I am removing the sign from the property, the guy is almost teary eyed, saying how much he appreciates all the help that I've given him and that he is probably going to be selling the property in another year. He even wants a stack of my cards so he can give them out to everyone he knows because, "You're a real straight shooter," he says. We shake hands and part ways.

Forward four months later:

This morning's conversation..."Hey George, this is Phil, I'm just checking up on you to see how's everything with you. How's that loan repayment plan working out for you?"

"Augh, I let it go."

"You what?"

"I let the bank take the house."

"But why, I thought you had worked out a repayment plan with them?"

"Yeah, I thought so too, but the guy that was taking care of it dropped the ball, and then I never heard from him again, and so I just gave up on it."

"George, you know that my company specializes in this stuff, and the reason that we didn't help you with the repayment plan is because you said you already had someone working on it."

"Yeah."

"Oooh, George, how could you let this happen to yourself with me just a phone call away?"

"Yeah, I just got tired of dealing with it."

"You should of called me George, I would of stopped this from happening and helped you keep your equity."

I'm in disbelief that this guy just let about $20,000-$30,000 in hard equity walk away from him. These numbers were based on very aggressive pricing and it was taking into account all his closing costs including Realtor fees.

"Well, George you've got my number, don't ever let yourself be taken like this again. Call me if you ever have any questions about anything, I'm here for you buddy."

"Thanks buddy, I know you are."

Enough said. What can you do when someone gives up on themselves?

Comments (1)

Bryant Tutas
Tutas Towne Realty, Inc and Garden Views Realty, LLC - Winter Garden, FL
Selling Florida one home at a time
Man I hate to hear that Phil. When folks get in this position the stress just becomes unbearable and they just want it to go away. This is when fooolish decisions are made. George needed to make the call. Bummer.
May 18, 2007 12:12 PM