listing: Why you should be leery of HAMP/HAFA - 01/28/10 09:06 AM
The new federal rules for the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program announced November 30 Supplemental Directive 0909, to be effective April 5, but available for Lenders to start as soon as they have a policy in place regarding the new program.
While HAMP (Supplemental guideline 0901), the Home Affordable Modification Program, is designed for those who can fit modified payments into their budget at 31% of their total income or less, the HAFA program is for those who need to give up their primary residence because they fall outside the HAMP guidelines or they fail to make HAMP payments.
Every … (0 comments)

listing: Treasury Dept Announces Home Affordable Foreclosures Alternative Program - 01/23/10 11:02 PM
On April 5, 2010, a new Treasury Dept program entitles - Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA) goes into effect. HAFA is part of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).
It provides incentives in connection with a short sale or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure on a loan eligible for modification under the HAMP program. HAFA applies to loans not owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. It is a complex program with 43 pages of guidelines and forms, designed to "simplify" and streamline use of short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosures.
Highlights of the HAFA:
Complements HAMP by providing … (0 comments)

listing: Listing Agents: If you’re not sure - zip it! - 10/03/07 12:49 PM
Thanks to a less than optimal listing agent, two Michigan sellers, David & Susan Henning now have $28,126 less in their savings account. According to today’s issue of RealLawCentral, the buyer toured the property with the listing agent. During the tour they discussed the condition of various parts of the house. The buyer, Shirley Border, asked the listing agent if the roof leaked; the response was swift and certain: “No, it’s a dry roof”.
While going through the property, the purchaser stated she had asthma and would require hardwood floors. At the time, they were in one of the bedrooms that … (10 comments)

listing: DC Broker Owner Commits Fraud & Coughs up $25,000 - 08/28/07 11:26 AM
Some agents think it’s the other guy who gets caught. According to an editorial in Real Law Central,District of Columbia Broker Owner Richard Jenkins became aware of  a property whose owner had Alzheimer’s disease and that would need to be sold in order to pay for the owner’s extended care requirements. Broker Jenkins secured a verbal okay from the Owner’s brother, Benjamin Strauss, put the house on the market, found a buyer, put the buyer’s home on the market, prepared a sales agreement that provided for the seller to pay off the buyer’s Sear’s account - $5,900; a commission for selling … (2 comments)

listing: Business Development Idea: Condemned Properties - 10/22/06 10:03 AM
Around the country, in most states, each county government has a  Health Department. Typically, someone from the Health Department is contacted by a county property appraiser or a neighbor of a property that appears to have been abandoned or the current occupants have allowed the property to deteriorate to the point that it may be unsafe to continue using the property as a residence. Then the Health Department sends out an inspector to make a detailed assessment of the property in terms of suitability for continued use as a residence. Each county will have its own specifics, but all focus on … (1 comments)

listing: Problem Neighbor - 10/16/06 01:27 PM
As a listing agent, sometimes we play peacemaker and try to facilitate neighbor cooperation when something on the neighbor’s side of the fence may discourage buyers from seriously considering your listing for purchase. After all, the purchaser is not just buying a home, they are moving into a neighborhood that will have its strengths and its challenges.
I had a listing several years ago that was next door to a property that was unpleasant to look at, let alone consider moving in next door to. The owner had let the yard overgrow with weeds and what remained of the grass was … (3 comments)

listing: Sorry guys, women really are better Realtors…… - 10/12/06 02:07 AM
Over the last 20 years, I have trained several hundred new agents to learn how to survive and, hopefully, prosper in this very competitive industry. Granted, my sample is limited by my own experiences, but I have read enough other surveys and assessments over the years to know it’s true – women make better Realtors.
Certainly, there are many, many talented men in real estate, but we have had to work very hard at things which, I could say- unfairly – naturally occur to women when thinking and doing real estate. Give me a mother of three children anytime and, I … (8 comments)