A Plethora Of Misinformation Always Makes For Interesting Discussions - Consider the RISKS involved when you give "off the cuff" advice!!
AGENTS WHO ADVISE BUYERS OR SELLERS IN MATTERS OUTSIDE THEIR LIMITED EXPERTISE ARE TAKING SIGNIFICANT RISKS.
By limited expertise, I mean outside those duties that fall within our real estate license to practice real estate sales or real estate brokerage.
It's so easy to simply say, "That's outside my expertise, but I'll have a qualified person contact you with the information".
Cindy is right about agents giving detailed information about the future benefits for military or veteran buyers or sellers.
Just think. If the advice you provide is wrong, what is the risk to the borrower or seller??
What is the source of the information you're providing that buyer or seller. Is it something you heard from another agent? Is it something you learned in a CE class?
Better rely on the real estate law of the states in which you practice, published guidelines from HUD, VA, Fannie, Freddie, etc.
OR, go to a real expert. If the question is about lending guidelines, go to a lender. If the question is about real estate law, go to your state's legal source. It's just as good to be the source of the expert as to be the source of the information if there's a risk you could be conveying erroneous information.
Ever wonder why so many of my posts contain excepts from various laws or guidelines?? Fact is, I'm no expert. However, I can usually find the answer to a question from an expert.
We can relate our experience with certain matters that may involve laws, which is why I am comfortable relating my copyright experience.
Cindy has a lot of experience with Veteran Administration financing and is qualified to discuss her experience with VA financing matters.
Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988.
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One great thing about social media is when inaccurate information surfaces you quickly recognize your own and fellow agent's hot buttons.
Even though it's still early in the week two of my hot buttons have been hit and by the reaction of a few other agents who also have seen the information, theirs have as well. The first was a blog post written by an agent (I won't include a link) stating that a veteran or active duty military member would lose their benefits if they completed a short sale or foreclosure. Say what?
A veteran or military member who completes a VA Compromise sale will lose a portion of their future VA Loan Benefits. Per the VA: "Should VA agree to pay the difference between the sales proceeds and the total debt to complete the compromise sale process, the portion of the homeowner’s entitlement used to guaranty his loan will remain tied up until VA is reimbursed in full." This is the only benefit a veteran or active duty service member will lose. It's not their retirement pay, their medical benefits or any other benefit they are entitled to by law. A sweeping statement that states a they will lose their benefits forever is scary and wrong.
The second piece of information is that a short sale or foreclosure automatically means the loss of a security clearance. Apparently this information is being taught in CDPE classes throughout the country. Living in the Washington DC area, where security clearances are a big deal it helps to review the rulings from the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) clarifying how a short sale or foreclosure may be viewed."Twenty-two administrative judge decisions dealing with foreclosures and short sales were reviewed, where clearances were granted and not appealed. These were examined to see what facts were sufficient to meet the initial challenge of convincing an Administrative Judge while at the same time were sufficient to satisfy Department Counsel not to appeal. The common thread in all of these cases is that: (1) applicants were victims of circumstances not of their own doing; (2) they had not been speculators in the housing market who were caught when the bubble burst; (3) they had not succumbed to fraudulent schemes “too good to be true” as a result of their own greed; and (4) they had made good faith efforts to meet their other debts after the loss of their homes by foreclosure or short sale."
I'm not going to tell someone that their security clearance is not in jeopardy if they undertake a short sale or their home goes to foreclosure. At the same time I'm also not going to make a blanket statement that you will for a fact lose your clearance. I have a former short sale client who is employed in a Top Secret Clearance position in the government and another who works for a government contractor with a security clearance. What both of those individuals made sure they did was talk to the appropriate personnel in their offices before they started the short sale process and kept them apprised of what was happening.
It's important for all of us, myself included, to make sure we do as much fact checking as possible before we post a blog. The very same people we are trying to help could be hurt by wrong information.
No Hassle-No Pressure-Just Straight Talk About The Northern Virginia Real Estate Market
If you are interested in learning more about the Northern Virginia Real Estate market including Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax and Prince William Counties give Cindy Jones and CJ Realty Group, Inc a call at 703-346-2213.
Military Relocation Specialist serving military families relocating to and from the Pentagon, Fort Belvoir, Quantico MCB and all of the Military District of Washington installations.Check out www.varealestatetalk.com and www.cjrealtygroup.com for more information.
Licensed in Virginia
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