short sale approval letter: When is a Seterus Short Sale Not a Short Sale?
- 06/19/15 01:57 AM
The games played among lenders in a short sale never cease to amaze, and I guess they get away with it because nobody reports them. Who is gonna complain in a short sale? The real estate agents are too busy with other transactions to hop on a white horse. The sellers just want out. The buyers just want in. And the fat cat bankers are leaning back to smoke those cigars and down that glass of bourbon, counting all the money. Recently, the newest thing I've seen is for a short sale bank to decide it is owed all of the back … (5 comments)
short sale approval letter: What You Don't Know About a Short Sale Approval Letter
- 04/23/13 02:16 AM
Sellers have a great deal of information to absorb when doing a short sale in Sacramento, especially if it's a Cooperative Short Sale through Bank of America. That's because the rules are always changing, new forms can suddenly be required and it's a ton of foreign data to understand. What's simple to a Sacramento short sale agent is complicated to the average seller. Even lawyers have problems understanding what goes on because by nature lawyers are inquisitive and think logically. There is often nothing logical about a short sale. Also, just because a lawyer holds a law degree doesn't mean the … (5 comments)
short sale approval letter: Why Are Cash Investors Winning the Deals in Sacramento?
- 07/27/12 12:31 AM
The biggest obstacle facing us short sale agents in Sacramento lately is closing the buyers' loan. Seems to have spread across the board this month. It's like a nasty little virus that gets passed around or maybe there's something foreign in their Vitaminwater, I don't know but they can't seem to close those loans. It's horrendous. USDA says its loans are backlogged by 30 days, so one of my Lincoln short sales is now delayed. The buyer switched the loan to FHA but, even so, we're still a week behind, and I don't know if the banks will extend. The thing … (9 comments)
short sale approval letter: Why the Short Sale Approval Letter Should Match the HUD
- 06/26/12 11:49 PM
Nobody likes to be backed into a corner. Which is why a buyer's agent in a short sale needs to verify whether the short sale approval letter matches the HUD. The HUD should match the purchase contract. If there are variances in the fees, guess who is likely to pay them? I'll give you a hint, it's not the seller. In California, we have California Civil Code 580e which says, among other things, sellers can't be required to contribute to a short sale. A lender can't make a seller bring money to the table to close. This means all of the … (13 comments)
short sale approval letter: Here is Why You Don't Write Multiple Offers on a Short Sale
- 06/21/12 11:36 PM
A Zip Realty agent told me yesterday about a seller in foreclosure who committed suicide due to the actions of a buyer. A buyer who wrote multiple offers on many short sales, including this particular seller's home. The buyer flaked so the seller pulled the trigger. A Zip Realty agent reportedly found the seller in a pool of blood 2 days later on the floor of his foreclosure home. Bullet hole in the head. I haven't checked it out but I can certainly understand what would drive a seller like that. It's the other side of the nose that some agents … (8 comments)
short sale approval letter: Does Green Tree Violate HAFA Short Sale Guidelines?
- 06/21/12 12:13 AM
Short sale banks will do whatever the banks want. As a Sacramento short sale agent, I witness flagrant and cavalier attitudes toward law over and over. It especially doesn't matter if the transaction is a HAFA short sale, the banks find ways to circumvent federal regulations. Some of them just flat-out violate the guidelines and don't give a hoot. Because where are the short sale police? At Starbucks banging away on their laptops in Facebook, and they don't care about anybody else, either. No, seriously, there are no short sale police. Well, you've got a few government organizations to which you … (7 comments)
short sale approval letter: The Road of a Sacramento Short Sale Agent
- 06/05/12 01:34 AM
Ever have days in which the entire world is banging on your door and screaming its fool head off? Welcome to the world of a Sacramento short sale agent. This is a world where nothing ever stays put where you put it. It’s like a river is floating by your door. You set down your coffee cup and it sails off downstream, just when you need the caffeine the most. Wait, come back, you cry in vain. Maybe it will bang into a riverbank and smash into a million pieces. Maybe it will sink. Maybe it will bob upside a dock … (5 comments)
short sale approval letter: Why a Short Sale Agent Cannot Give Legal Advice
- 06/03/12 11:31 PM
My brain is constantly switching between national and local real estate. That's because when I write about homebuying for the New York Times About.com, I try to lean on the national approach. However, when I write my personal blog, it's from a local viewpoint. When I speak to home buyers and home sellers in Sacramento, it's local. All real estate is local. Yet that doesn't change the fact that when it comes to legal advice, I can't give it. Even if I think I may know the answer, I can't give it to a seller or a buyer. I am not … (9 comments)
short sale approval letter: Chase Short Sale Negotiator Pulls Approval at 11th Hour
- 06/01/12 12:11 AM
Like any Sacramento short sale agent, I can't wait for Chase to adopt Equator. That's the buzz in short sale land. Once Chase gets into Equator this summer, those short sales should run a bit more smoothly. There is nothing inherently wrong with a Chase short sale except that they take too danged long to close. Well, that and negotiators are not notified when they receive a faxed document at the main fax number, so documents get lost. Equator will put a stop to that. Too bad Equator can't fix the rest of what's wrong with Chase. The little twist to … (7 comments)
short sale approval letter: Is That Home for Sale in Carmichael Because I See a Sign in the Yard
- 04/12/12 11:21 PM
On my way to an appointment yesterday, a Lyon real estate agent called. She said she and her clients just got out of her car in front of my listing in Carmichael. Before she could say anything else, I said, "Here's what you do: open the doors, get back in the car and drive away. Don't look back. Just go." This home has been in active short contingent status for 76 days. We have a half dozen offers with a few as a back-up offer, within the first week on the market. Hardly a day goes by that I don't get … (7 comments)
short sale approval letter: I Shall Not But Love You Better After Short Sale Cancellation
- 04/04/12 01:47 AM
If you want to listen to how many ways can I say no, ask me about repairs on a short sale. Or, price renegotiations after short sale approval. There are at least 50 ways to say no to renegotiations after short sale approval. As a Sacramento Short Sale agent, I try to be explicit when I send the approval letter to the buyer. Often I explain to buyer's agents, just in case they've been living under a rock, that their transaction is an AS IS short sale. There are no repairs. No additional credits. No adjustments to price for unforeseen conditions. … (32 comments)
short sale approval letter: What Do You Do When that BPO on Your Short Sale Comes in Too High?
- 01/16/12 03:04 AM
Whenever I list a short sale in the Sacramento area, I run the comparable sales two different ways. And I often get two different answers. When that happens, I know I might have a problem with the BPO. That's because it's tough to say which way of running the comps a BPO agent might use. I can tell you there is not enough money in doing a BPO for a BPO agent to run the comps more than one way. So, the question is which do they use? You can't second-guess that. But if I were to guess, I'd say they … (7 comments)
short sale approval letter: Nobody is Ever So Sure They Are Right as When They Are Wrong
- 12/14/11 02:07 AM
In the interest of time and my personal sanity, there are some emails I don't open. Just delete. I do it based on the title of the email. Like this morning, I received, "Open House in Del Dayo." Another was "Critical Eye Home Inspection." My favorite: "Sudden Values." Into the trash. But in the back of my mind I have this nagging suspicion that one of these days I will throw away a short sale approval letter. That's because the approval letters often arrive looking like spam. First, the bank negotiator fills the title with numbers inherent in the loan. That … (8 comments)
short sale approval letter: The Power of Words
- 11/24/11 03:17 AM
Some guy called me a few days ago demanding to know if I was writing about his company. He blathered on and on as if I knew him when I do not. I felt like saying: Hey, buddy, if the shoe fits, wear it. But no, because I wasn't sure who he was. The one thing I did know was he was getting angrier and angrier. Working himself up into a lather. You're so vain, you probably think this blog is about you. I hung up on Carly Simon. Then, I posted a video in my blog last week at the … (29 comments)
short sale approval letter: It's a Good Idea to Routinely Check in With a Buyer of a Short Sale to See if That Buyer is Still Alive
- 10/11/11 03:55 AM
In theory, it would be a lot of fun right now to be sitting on the ground at Occupy Wall Street. I'd have a blast making up my sign, screaming at passersby and feeling like I was making a statement, accomplishing something. But then I think why? I can stay right here in Sacramento to list and sell short sales. At least I know where the bathroom is. I have my own highs and lows all day long right here in River City. Excitement a Plenty with a capital P. Like yesterday, I finally received short sale approval on a double … (13 comments)
short sale approval letter: How Hard Is It to Get a Loan to Buy a Sacramento Short Sale?
- 09/20/11 03:02 AM
In many Sacramento neighborhoods right now, we have a shortage of inventory. That means there are few homes on the market. If your short sale is on the market in a neighborhood with limited inventory, you should be getting showings. If you're getting showings, you should be getting offers. Fall is a hot market in Sacramento. But what if you're trying to buy a short sale? You could be up against multiple offers. It is not unusual for a seller of a well staged short sale to receive more than one offer. In these instances, a seller can be selective and … (5 comments)
short sale approval letter: Where is My Stinkin' Short Sale Approval Letter?
- 08/10/11 03:01 AM
There is a reason I sometimes ask buyers for my Sacramento short sales to agree to a longer period of time in Section 1 of the short sale addendum. So none of us has to listen to: Where is my stinkin' short sale approval letter? There is also a reason I have spoken to the legal guys over at C.A.R. about changing the default time in Section 1 of the short sale addendum. Because 45 days is an unreasonable expectation. That's not to say I can't get short sale approval in 45 days because sometimes I can. It's that the odds … (10 comments)
short sale approval letter: That Vast, Bottomless, Black Pit Known as Underwriting
- 07/26/11 02:54 AM
I don't care what anybody says, it is a bad sign when a borrower goes into underwriting and doesn't come out for more than a week. Because I am a Sacramento short sale agent, I manage a lot of listings in which borrowers vanish into underwriting. Loan officers stop returning phone calls because, quite likely, they have nothing to say. See, this is the thing with a short sale. A short sale can take so long to get approved that by the time the buyer starts a loan, that buyer's financial picture might have changed. I don't know if it's that … (27 comments)
short sale approval letter: Why an Estimated HUD is Not a Final HUD and an Orangevale Short Sale
- 06/23/11 02:37 AM
Unlike sellers who can choose which Sacramento short sale agent they hire, as an agent, we can't always choose who we get into a transaction with. Sometimes we get stuck with real doozies. When that happens, I try to tell myself that other people are basically innocent. They are only doing the best to which they are capable of doing. Plus, if I am not being helpful, why am I in the business? A negotiator yesterday for LBPS emailed me to say she needed the estimated HUD to show "Final" instead of "estimated." We don't yet have the short sale approval … (5 comments)
short sale approval letter: Can You Get $3,000 For Doing a Short Sale?
- 06/07/11 08:45 AM
If you're the guy who stuck up posters at the California State Capitol advertising that sellers can get $3,000 for doing a short sale, look out. The Department of Real Estate will soon be knocking on your door. Can a seller get $3,000 for doing a short sale in Sacramento or, for that matter, anywhere else in the country? The answer, astonishingly, is yes. But with certain limitations and qualifications. However, agents can't just go around violating RESPA and MARS because they think it's a good way to attract clients. Sellers who qualify for a HAFA short sale may be entitled … (77 comments)
Broker-Associate at RE/MAX Gold, Midtown and Sierra Oaks Sacramento office. Co-partner Weintraub & Wallace Realtors. Selling since 1974. Homebuying expert at The Balance. Weintraub & Wallace sells homes from Galt to Lincoln. <
Author Bio: Elizabeth Weintraub is a Sacramento real estate broker, author, home buying expert for The Balance, a Land Park resident, who specializes not only in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento but sells extensively from Elk Grove to Lincoln. Weintraub is prominently known as the #1 Sacramento Short Sale agent throughout the Sacramento four-county area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 40+ years of real estate experience to work for you.
The games played among lenders in a short sale never cease to amaze, and I guess they get away with it because nobody reports them. Who is gonna complain in a short sale? The real estate agents are too busy with other transactions to hop on a white horse. The sellers just want out. The buyers just want in. And the fat cat bankers are leaning back to smoke those cigars and down that glass of bourbon, counting all the money.
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