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Be honest: "loan modification" is still foreclosure

By
Property Manager with AmeriTeam Property Management SL#3200658
Be honest: "loan modification" is still foreclosure

OK, here we go.... There may very well be some feathers ruffled by this post- and if some are, so be it. Why my lack of concern for others and the ruffled or unruffled state of their feathers? Simple: the obligation we have towards protecting the public rests on high and above all.

My commitment towards that obligation is strong. So be careful, fellow Realtors: if you are intentionally, willfully and unequivocally seeking to deceive the public, I won't stand for it. I won't stand for any silly games you may want to play or any feeble attempts to parse words at the public's expense for your financial gain. It's low-down, it's dirty, and it's unethical. So whether you've trusted anything I've said in the past, or trust anything I will say in the future (or whether you've ever even heard of me before), trust this: I will do my level best to rid our business of dirtbags like you.

You failed to disclose in your rental listing that the property you have on the market is in foreclosure- and has been since April.

You lied to my clients when they specifically asked you if it was in foreclosure- telling them that the place was "in loan modification".

When I asked you about the property's status, you tried to get your little flim-flam scheme over on me, too- telling me that the place wasn't in foreclosure.

Easy call here: Liar, liar, pants on fire... I don't care what YOU choose to think, fellow Realtor, but until a foreclosure isn't a foreclosure anymore, it's a foreclosure. "Loan modifications" don't always work out- and such a pitifully high number of homeowners that have gotten them have re-defaulted that the granting of the initial one should seldom bring relief to one's mind.

Know something else, Liar Liar Pants-on-fire? I don't really care whether your client gets their modification or not. That might sound bad- but it's true. I don't wish them ill, mind you- but since I don't know them (and they've obviously made one poor decision in hiring you) I hesitate in longing for any relief to come their way.

I'll look out for my clients, though- trust that. I had already discussed the protections one might be afforded under the "Tenant in Foreclosure Act of 2009", and we've now discussed the fact that neither they nor anyone else entering into a lease for your property would benefit from it- as they would not be under bona fide lease prior to the foreclosure's filing.

Our industry doesn't need you or want you, Liar Liar Pants-on-fire. There are already far too many of us busting our tails, doing things the right way and still struggling.

The business would be a much better one without you- or anyone like you- in it.

Be honest: "loan modification" is still foreclosure
Posted by
 
DENNIS B. BURGESS
Property Manager

Licensed Florida Realtor
 
AmeriTeam Property Management
845 N. Garland Ave., #200
Orlando, FL  32801
 
 
 
205-445-4755 cell/direct
407-901-3636 x103 office
407-901-5147 office fax
 
Turning vacant into occupied, and "houses" into "homes"SM
 

Comments (6)

Jordon Wheeler
The Jordon Wheeler Group - Fairburn, GA
J W Group Real Estate Sales and Service

Hey Dennis, I agree with you that we should as real estate professionals be honest when a property is in foreclosure even if the sale has not taken place.  Tenants need to know what to expect if they decide to go forward with leasing the property.  And loan modifications rarely work out.  Some financial advisors have advocated to sellers facing foreclosure to go ahead and lease their property without disclosure to the tenant.  That's a big WRONG! imho.

Continued success to you sir!

Sep 28, 2011 05:30 PM
Karen Anne Stone
New Home Hunters of Fort Worth and Tarrant County - Fort Worth, TX
Fort Worth Real Estate

Dennis:  I am so sorry, but I find this post very disingenuous.  That's some soap box you've climbed up on, my friend.  Shooting from the hip... sounding all-knowing and holier than thou. 

If you don't like what some of your fellow Realtors/Property Managers are doing in your local market... report them to the local Realtor Association.  Lodge a formal complaint.  That would be the better thing to do.

I just wonder if you have any clue how foolish spouting off like this makes you look ?

And... what does a seller getting a loan modification, and your claiming that it is still "a foreclosure" have to do with anything ?  Unless the sellers lose their home... and the lender takes it back, or the local sheriff sells it at the auction on the courthouse steps... how is getting a loan modification "still a foreclosure ?"  Aren't you getting just a little too close to trying to sound like an attorney, perhaps ?

Sep 28, 2011 05:37 PM
Dennis Burgess
AmeriTeam Property Management - Mid Florida, FL
Orlando Property Manager and Realtor

Hi, Jordon:  Thank you for stopping by, and for your comment.  The "we're in a loan modification" is a line I've seen far too often, with precious good coming from them.

Sep 28, 2011 07:30 PM
Pacita Dimacali
Alain Pinel - Oakland, CA
Alameda/Contra Costa Counties CA

I had a client who was two weeks from being foreclosed before he came to me. I succeeded in listing it as aa short sale, got a buyer in one week's time, managed to postpone the foreclosure so that we can work on the short sale.

Then the bank (a separate division) who had already turned him down for his previous attempts for loan modification, sends a letter inviting him to discuss --- you guessed it -- loan modification. The client was hemming and hawing...perhaps, he thought, he can still save his house?

Told him to see a lawyer and be thoroughly advised on his options. Explained to him that getting a loan mod is the same as getting a new loan -- he must prove his ability to pay the loan. If he's already in distress and can't make the payments, how did he think he can pay the modified payments. Besides, the percentage of successful loan mods is dismal.

 

Sep 28, 2011 08:11 PM
Dennis Burgess
AmeriTeam Property Management - Mid Florida, FL
Orlando Property Manager and Realtor

Hi, Karen:  I'll first say thank you for stopping by, and end my thanks there.  Now, I'll address your points one by one:

 

1.  Disingenuous?  "holier-than-thou"?  You don't know me or anything about me other than what you see here- and for you to say that I'm in any way insincere or not truthful is an insult I won't allow to go unabated.  In answer to what I may only assume to be an actual question of your's, that answer is no.  No, I have never had an owner's place go into foreclosure with one set of tenants in place, have those move out, then have to place back out on the market again and deny that the place is in foreclosure.  Never did it, never would.

2.  Did I say that a complaint wasn't underway?  Thank you for your suggestion as to what would be "better" without knowing all of your facts.  My post here and actions elsewhere aren't mutually exclusive.

3.  If looking out for the public good makes me look foolish to you, I hate it for you.  NAR feels differently, though, and that crazy thing called the Code of Ethics and it's Articles 1, 2 and 12 also have things to say about being truthful in our dealings.

4.  Despite my attempts to get my main point across here- and Jordon #1's clear understanding of it- I must've been a little un-clear or something.  Don't know what that could be, but I'll try again here for you:  I don't care if the alleged seller of this place gets a modification or not- don't care, don't care, don't care.  If they get it, great.  If they don't, great.

My point here- in case you missed this aspect of it as well- doesn't even include my thoughts that the current owner has done anything wrong.  Times are tough- and one can't be blamed for trying the modification route.  I give those folks more credit than anyone who's gone the strategic default route, too- for I see good in folks making the effort to stay in their homes- even at some negotiated rate.

No, my point is that this agent did not disclose the foreclosure.  Call it a foreclosure, call it a waiting-on-a-modificaton-thing, call it an Oompaloompa or something- the fact remains that our local MLS has strict and easily-understood rules regarding disclosures that must be made.  This agent didn't follow those rules AND lied about the situation when confronted with the facts.  I'd hope your board expects you to follow rules, too.

5.  What does...have to do with anything?  Again, please see above.  The Tenants in Foreclosure Protection Act of 2009 requires tenants to be in a bona fide lease to be protected.  It's one thing for them to go into a lease knowing they're not protected and assuming the risk- yet another for them to do their best in asking questions and trust a Realtor's word- then find out a short while later that they have 10 days to vacate their home.  That's what it has to do with it.

6.  Practicing law?  Hardly.  It's simply a matter of the divine combination of Florida's open records laws that are the best in America, and God-given common sense and reading ability.  That blessed union lets me see when a lis pendens was filed and summons' served- and also lets me scroll down my screen looking for the word "dismissed" or "dismissal".  There is no "owner says he's getting a modification- hold up" phase that I've ever seen.  Lenders' inaction for a while as negotiations may occur?  No doubt- but that changes neither the disposition of the case nor whether a new lessee would be afforded protection under the 2009 law.

I'll never claim to practice law nor even play one on TV- and it's been a long dang time since I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.  No, I simply stand on the fact that I have real estate licenses in 2 states and do my best to follow laws in both, my 10 and 1/2 years of property management experience including 2+ in dealing with the 2009 law as it's affected our industry- and my desire to protect the public.

Conversation here, agreements, disagreements and all happen from time to time- but I truly have a hard time understanding your lack of concern for the public good.  It shows in your "what does...have to do with anything" and "sheriff" comments- tenants are entitled to be dealt with truthfully and honestly, they're entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of the premises that thir leasehold provides for, and they shouldn't have to worry about being hassled and served with papers throughout their tenancy.

It's just not right- and I'll continue to defend that rather than anyone that's chosen to be untruthful.  Maybe one day you'll do likewise.

Sep 28, 2011 08:53 PM
Dennis Burgess
AmeriTeam Property Management - Mid Florida, FL
Orlando Property Manager and Realtor

Hi, Pacita:  Thank you for stopping by, and for your comment and illustration.  Speaking strictly to the modifications, I've seen very few folks get them- and I had one great owner of mine call to tell me that he'd gotten his taken care of- yet forward me his documents to verify things and see that he got what I'd consider a very bad deal.  Sure, he's "keeping the house", but the "modification" went like this:

Original mortgage he was defaulting on was 6.5% on a 30-year...

His past-due amounts got tacked onto the back of a new, 40-year and the following...

APR Year 1- 4%

Year 2- 5%

Year 3- 6%

Year 4- 7%

Year 5- 8%

Years 6-40...9%.  Also had a clause that prevented him from selling it without the lender's approval- and gave them the right to accelerate his monies due in the event that he was able to do so.

He's a good guy that tried to do what he could to keep his place- and that's admirable.  I just wish he'd had an Option B- 'cause Option A looks like a stinker to me...

Sep 28, 2011 09:08 PM