realtors: Advising Investors on Short Sales v. REO's - 12/14/10 08:19 AM
Advising Investors on Short Sales v REO's
Property deals abound right now for real estate investors. However, knowing the ins and outs may keep both you and your investors from being surprised by things like hidden fees (penalties, unpaid taxes, etc.) as your property sale moves through the closing process.
REO or bank-owned properties have completed the foreclosure process and may be in worse condition than a short sale property. While they often close faster than a short sale, lenders are sometimes not willing to negotiate the price down very much. Even worse, the generally out-of-state bank is sometimes out of … (0 comments)

realtors: Fannies Five Predictions for 2011 (Humble, TX) - 12/13/10 02:46 PM
Fannies Five Predictions for 2011 Do you wonder what Fannie and Freddie think the new year has in store? Although their track record of success isn't exactly impressive, real estate agents and investors alike should still take notice when Freddie decides to make a prognostication if for no other reason than to understand the mindset at work among clients and the media at large. Analysts for the big duo point to five key predictions they believe will drive real estate during 2011.  1. Continuation of low interest rates. Although interest rates saw a dramatic increase last week, Freddie analysts predict a continuation … (4 comments)

realtors: Do You Meet the BPO Agent on Your Short Sales (humble,TX) - 12/13/10 09:28 AM
Do You Meet the BPO Agent?
There are a lot Realtors and agent's knee deep in short sales. Are you one?  Do you meet the BPO agent at the property? If your answer is "no, not unless I have to" response. Why?
A simple transition of meeting and speaking with the BPO agent could lead to more closed sales, better recognition in your short sale field, and enhanced specific knowledge, associated with truly knowing what you're talking about.
Accomplish the following (after receiving a reasonable contract of sale):1.    If the property is being marketed on a lockbox (vacant or non-vacant): Change … (0 comments)

realtors: Is Real Estate (Humble, TX) Better than Social Security - 11/29/10 03:05 PM
Is Real Estate better than Social Security? (Humble, TX)
Real Cost of Social Security Cuts versus Real Estate Reductions Investors on a fixed income or those thinking about retiring within the next few years are facing some of the most difficult decisions in decades; keep working as long as possible in order to build a better nest egg or try to "make do" and hope against all odds that your money holds out. It's not a simple choice especially with the dual threats of low interest rates combined with Social Security cuts. In fact, what may initially seem like minor modifications in … (0 comments)

realtors: Realtors are YOU Prospecting? - 11/24/10 02:59 PM
Realtors are YOU Prospecting?
Agents, if you want to make it in real estate in this market or any market, you simply MUST be prospecting on a daily basis.
What is prospecting?  It is picking up the phone to make a living.
To go a little deeper, Prospecting is reaching out to people to create a connection that could become a lead that in turn could become a sale.  The sales funnel starts with prospecting touches.  The better you get at prospecting, referral requests, and follow-up, the less people you will have to touch per sale.  This is a simple concept.  … (12 comments)

realtors: Black Friday for Realtors and Investors - 11/24/10 02:55 PM
Prepare Now for Black Friday-Realtors and Investors It's that time of the year when shoppers are out and about picking their way through crowded stores, sorting coupons for cash savings and looking for the most lucrative real estate deals?  Not exactly! Although Black Friday might be the favorite day of the year for retailers, it's less than impressive for many real estate investors. Traditionally, fewer people move over the holidays and battling banks while trying to lock-in rates is less than appealing to most would-be buyers who prefer to wait until after the holiday season is over to resume shopping. So, what is … (5 comments)

realtors: New FTC Rules for MARS - 11/23/10 03:17 PM
New FTC Rules Issued on Mortgage Assistance Relief
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services (MARS) rule. It's designed to protect distressed homeowners from mortgage relief scams that have become all too common. The rule, which takes effect January 31, 2011, bans providers of both foreclosure rescue and loan modification services from collecting fees until the distressed homeowner has a written offer from their loan servicer or lender that they decide to accept.
"At a time when many Americans are struggling to pay their mortgages, peddlers of so-called mortgage relief services have taken hundreds of millions … (2 comments)

realtors: Short Sale Price Decline - 11/23/10 03:14 PM
Short Sale Price Decline
For those of you handling buyers of short sales or who have real estate investors interested in short sales, it looks like Thanksgiving has come a little early for you.
All the recent foreclosure paperwork problems (with the big banks being found out about using robo-signers) are causing some shoppers to stay away from distressed properties. This means more opportunity for you and your investors.
Campbell Surveys' conducts a monthly study of home sales and real estate market conditions and its October survey was answered by more than 3,000 real estate agents nationwide.
These servicing issues disrupted … (4 comments)

realtors: Guide to Short Sale Leads from Wal-Mart Girl - 11/23/10 03:08 PM
Guide to Short Sale Leads from the Wal-Mart Girl
I call her the Wal-Mart Girl because that's where she can be found every Friday from about 3 to 5 p.m. She has been a Realtor in the Wichita, Kansas area for some time now and is the daughter of one of greatest icons in real estate I have ever known, whom will remain anonymous for this story.
One day, the Wal-Mart Girl said to me, "Come on, let's go shopping for groceries." I thought to myself, "Hmmm, some Realtor. We are supposed to be marketing for short sale leads and she … (8 comments)

realtors: Short Sales Realtors and Investors - The Truth Hurts - 11/08/10 04:54 PM
Short Sales Realtors and Investors When the Truth Hurts Hopefully you will be among those that have made the most of the year by taking advantage of historically low interest rates and incredible investment opportunities. But what about the rest of you? Statistically speaking, there are a lot of readers who sit on the sidelines waiting for the "right" time to take action...but somehow, they never quite seem to get around to it. Or perhaps you are somewhere in the middle; you started off strong but seem to be losing momentum. Whatever the reason, it's time to tell yourself the truth.  Sometimes the … (3 comments)

realtors: Do You have a "Like" Button - 11/08/10 04:20 PM
Time to Use the "Like" Button...Do You Have One??In what may initially sound like just another search engine strategy, Bing and Yahoo are actually positioning to make major waves in the market. The Yahoo/Microsoft alliance is designed to switch the way results are viewed and rated. While this may not initially impact Google, who remains the single largest search engine in the nation, it does have the potential to impact ALL (including Google at a later time) search results in fairly dramatic ways. Savvy short sale and real estate professionals should take note and begin putting a plan into action sooner … (4 comments)

realtors: Owner Finance and the SAFE Act - 11/08/10 04:14 PM
 
What's the Deal with Owner Finance & The SAFE Act? The SAFE ACT went into effect October 1, 2010 and since that time, there has been an avalanche of rumors, false information, fear mongering and outright confusion surrounding the facts and status of owner financing. Let's look at some details every real estate agent and investor needs to know about owner financed real estate. The SAFE ACT in a Nutshell The SAFE Act essentially says that you must have a license to sell an owner financed property. The original intent is to crack down on fraud and confusion surrounding the sale of a … (6 comments)

realtors: Are you still prospecting? - 10/20/10 03:53 PM
Are you still prospecting?Prospecting!! Love it or hate it, everyone must master it in order to reap rewards in the real estate business. Whether you are a part-time investor, full-time flip guru or veteran agent chances are you could still benefit from refining your prospecting efforts.Prospecting LogicThere is a natural progression or logic model to the art of prospecting; once mastered it can be used in nearly any industry with fantastic impact. The steps are deceptively simple:1. To increase profits you must first close/sell more properties.2. To close/sell more properties, you need to sign more contracts.3. To sign more contracts, you … (2 comments)

realtors: New Face of Real Estate-Part 2 - 10/19/10 08:27 AM
New Face of Real Estate-Part 2  Knowledge is power so today we are going to take a few minutes to discuss some timely statistics along with a few tips for putting them to work in your own real estate dealings.  1. The "average" buyer personally visits an average of ten properties over a two month period before making a final decision to purchase.Tip: Learn how to gauge effort and motivation then put the 80/20 rule into effect. Motivated buyers that start-strong may be great bets or endless lookers; learn to differentiate the two in order to move forward and close the … (2 comments)

realtors: New Face of Real Estate - 10/19/10 06:51 AM
New Face of Real Estate - Then & Now Real estate has changed dramatically in the past 25 years yet some agents are still doing business in much the same manner as when they first hung a newly minted real estate license on the office wall. Let us take a quick trip down memory lane as well as a glimpse into the near future of real estate to see what clients want and how it matters to both agents and investors. Blast from the Past The year is 1985 and a desirable fixed interest rate is 9%. A real estate license virtually ensured success despite … (2 comments)

realtors: Rules for Rough Road with Short Sales - 09/02/10 06:21 AM
New Rules for the Rough Economic Road Ahead with Short Sales and Real Estate If recent history has taught us anything, it's that good guys don't always finish first. In fact, more than a few of them are barely making ends meet. After a lifetime of saving, setting aside 10% to "pay yourself first" and otherwise playing by the rules, it is disheartening to see a shrinking portfolio, upside down mortgage and mountains of bills piling up. Fortunately, in every cloud there is a silver lining...or to put it another way, in every promised change there remains opportunity. Find out how short … (4 comments)

realtors: Real Estate Resources You Need - 09/02/10 06:16 AM
Best Real Estate Resources You Never Knew Existed
By now everyone has heard of Zillow but when it comes to serious real estate related research, here how to find the best of the best...the type of data the experts use to create those ground-breaking reports and hard hitting case studies. Whether you are working on your next commercial enterprise or simply want to stay abreast of the latest and greatest real estate related information, tap into sure-fire resources to access the best data available.
1. Put a PhD to work. Search thousands of doctoral dissertations to see who is working on … (0 comments)

realtors: BofA Rolls Out Short Sale Program - 09/02/10 06:10 AM
Bank of America To Roll Out Cooperative Short Sale Program
An unnamed source at Bank of America has verified the buzz throughout the short sale community. He says it is true. Bank of America is rolling out a new program designed to approve short sales in two weeks. Some agents have tentatively named it Bank of America HPO short sales but my source called it Bank of America Cooperative Short Sales. It's developed to recognize and embrace the real estate professional.
It's modeled, in part, after a Wachovia short sale. There is no hardship letter. To apply, the listing agent submits … (2 comments)

realtors: What's Better-College or Short Sales? - 07/07/10 06:10 AM
What's Better - College or Short Sales?College certainly had a positive impact on my life, but I also realize there are many among us that don't necessary need to attend college.  Once upon a time, in an economy far- far away, a young person would study hard, go to college and earn a good living with excellent benefits and a big fat retirement account. Like most fairy tales, the reality doesn't quite live up to the modern day expectation. Research conducted by PayScale.com has turned the conventional wisdom of saving up for a college degree on its head. Not only is … (0 comments)

realtors: Chase Bank and Foreclosure Prevention - 05/07/10 03:03 PM
Were You Aware that...
Chase Bank to Host Foreclosure Prevention Counseling
Chase Bank will host multiday foreclosure prevention counseling events in eight markets across the country.  The events will occur over the next five months and the first one will be held in Chicago from May 13-17. Events for Atlanta and Washington, D.C., will follow in June. Dates for the remaining markets - New York, Northern California, Orlando, Phoenix, and Southern California - have not yet been announced.
Now as a real estate investor, how can this benefit you?
Well, do you think that a lot of your prospects (homeowners facing … (2 comments)