short sales: 45 Day Short Sale Approvals or Else! - 04/18/11 11:52 AM
Posted By: Jacob Swodeck, PartnerFirst - Director of Education

 
A new bill that would give servicers 45 days to respond to short sale requests was introduced in the in the U.S. House last week. If passed into law, the Prompt Decision for Qualification of Short Sale Act of 2011, would "require the lender or servicer of a home mortgage, upon a request by the homeowner for a short sale, to make a prompt decision whether to allow the sale."
 
 If this sounds too familiar to you it may be because a similar bill was introduced in September of last … (0 comments)

short sales: Happy Birthday HAFA - 1 Year Old Today! - 04/05/11 12:27 PM
By: Jacob Swodeck, PartnerFirst - Director of Education

I just celebrated my son's one-year birthday late last year.  The party, the presents, the excitement-it was lots of fun!  And there are always those well-intentioned people who asked questions like,  "Is he walking yet, or saying words yet?"  A one year birthday seems to bring about a desire to measure the stature or progress of a thing.  Interestingly enough, HAFA turns one year old today (The Treasury's version).  So, let us ask the questions about its progress, and stature.  Is HAFA up and walking yet?  Or is it still a cute … (1 comments)

short sales: Marketing, Short Sales, and Social Media - A Winning Combination! - 04/30/10 01:52 AM
“The highest level of human connection is when we can see the world through another’s eyes and set aside our own motives in order to fulfill the needs of another”. – Anonymous.
This statement is true now more than ever in the world of marketing and connecting with distressed homeowners. Our future clients do not care how much we sold in 2009, or how many awards we won. The concerns on distressed homeowner’s minds are:
·         Does this person have the answers I seek?
·         Can I trust this agent?
·         How is he/she different than all the rest?
·         … (1 comments)

short sales: Short Sale Odds and Ends - 04/13/10 05:23 AM
Short Sale Odds and Ends -
Watch Those 2nds and Be Your Own "Economist"
Getting second mortgages settled so your short sales can close is a problem with a hundred different faces.  As much as you try to identify what obstacle the 2nd is going to present, they throw a new twist to an old theme and you are back to the drawing board looking for a solution.
Don't let your frustration cause you to lose focus.  Keep in mind that you have responsibility to your homeowner/borrower/seller to give them the information and the guidance they need to make informed decisions … (0 comments)

short sales: The Default Market - 04/13/10 05:02 AM
The Default Market -
Still where the Action is, and where the Action will be
For Real Estate Agents:
For those agents who are trying to figure out where they should put forth effort to build their business to get the best return on their time, the data continues to point to the default market.  While it may be too late to go out and get a bunch of REO accounts, it's not to late to position yourself to benefit from the growing push by lenders, servicers and mortgage investors to resolve delinquent mortgages ahead of foreclosure.
As reported by mortgage … (1 comments)

short sales: No More Faxing to Bank of America - 04/12/10 08:04 AM
No More Faxing to Bank of America
  For those that did not receive a message directly from Bank of America, they announced that effective immediately, they will no longer accept faxed short sale documents.  All documents will need to be scanned and uploaded into Equator.  There were no qualifiers in the announcement, so we are concluding that this applies to all Bank of America short sale transactions, regardless of the investor involved, the location of the property, or the status of the transaction.
 All agents with an active short sale with Bank of America should verify that this applies to their … (1 comments)

short sales: HAFA Could be a Game Changer - 04/06/10 06:55 AM
 
HAFA Could be a Game Changer
But, Be Realistic and Patient Early
For agents doing short sales in numbers, we will likely look back on this week as the blast-off that wasn't - for a rocket ship that did eventually make it into space.  In other words, as well constructed as the HAFA is (with a few faults that we feel will be corrected in time), the servicing industry is not fully prepared to process HAFA short sales in numbers.......yet.
There are headlines everywhere suggesting that HAFA has launched and the rocket boosters are catapulting the program forward:
DSNews - … (4 comments)

short sales: Short Sales Raging Ahead - 03/29/10 08:29 AM
Short Sale Daily News reports:
Short Sale Daily News posted an article recently on the increase of Short Sales from last year to January of this year and some important benefits for banks and homeowners in doing a Short Sale.
     
For full story visit:
http://shortsaledailynews.com/short-sales-raging-ahead/
  
Short Sales Raging Ahead
According to a recently released Campbell/Inside survey, short sales are leading the pack in distressed property sales. Short sale transactions jumped from 10% of home purchases in 2009 to nearly 15.9% of the home purchases last January.
In January, according to the monthly survey of real estate market conditions … (0 comments)

short sales: Bank of America and FHA Financed Flips - 03/26/10 04:33 AM
Bank of America and FHA Financed Flips
Bank of America, in an effort to reduce the chances of abusive short sale flipping activity, has announced that they will allow FHA financing on properties owned for less than 90 days as long as the sales price is not more than 20% higher than the seller's acquisition cost.  An arbitrary number that will potentially jeopardize necessary and legitimate rehab and sell transactions, and why?  Because Bank of America believes it's necessary to have a policy that will limit the number of abusive short sale transactions getting done.  Bank of America's policy is understandable, … (1 comments)

short sales: Short Sales Changes? - 03/25/10 07:15 AM
Short Sales Changes?
What's Really Going to Change on April 5th With HAFA?
For those expecting short sale transactions to get significantly easier when HAFA goes live on April 5th, well, prepare for disappointment.  The key change called for by Supplemental Directive 09-09 on April 5th is that all HAMP servicers are required to have a written policy in place that "is consistent with investor guidelines, that describes the basis on which the servicer will offer the HAFA program to borrowers."  And no, you are not entitled to have a look at the written policy according to Treasury.
As April unfolds … (1 comments)

short sales: Loan Mods, Short Sale and....Lawsuits - 03/24/10 03:53 AM
Loan Mods, Short Sale and....Lawsuits
It was reported in DSNews this morning that a Washington State couple has filed suit against Bank of America for "intentionally" and "systematically" foiling borrower attempts to resolve their mortgage difficulties and avoid foreclosure.  The suit has been filed in federal court in Seattle, and the law firm that has taken the case is seeking class action status.
It was only a matter of time before the class action cash register got rolling on "lender-as-bad-guy" litigation.  The class action lawsuit business is expensive, but for those firms that are good at it, the class action game … (1 comments)

short sales: Government to push lenders to do short sales - 03/22/10 05:55 AM
Below is yet another article regarding the HAFA program and the various opinions as to whether or not it will be successful. The end result of the program will not be known for years and the quick fix many are looking for is most likely not going to occur. Notice, I said "quick fix", but I do believe that the guidelines that are set forth by HAFA will be an excellent guide in dealing with and "assisting" with a solution in regard to a monster of a problem.
Much is mentioned in articles pertaining to HAFA about the lack of resources … (0 comments)

short sales: Battle over taxing 'short sales' rages on - 03/18/10 06:36 AM
By BRIAN JOSEPH bjoseph@ocregister.com
Original Link
April 15 is just a few weeks away, and still the governor and the Legislature can't agree on what to do about short sales.
As we reported earlier, California, unlike the federal government, no longer offers tax relief for mortgage debt forgiveness. Starting in 2009, mortgage debt that your lender forgives when you sell your home at a loss is now taxed, like income.
That means that thousands of Californians who sold their homes at a loss last year in what is commonly known as a short sale are now, depending on their personal tax … (1 comments)

short sales: UNDISCLOSED SHORT SALE PAYMENTS MAY BE ILLEGAL - 03/16/10 06:25 AM
Brought to you by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
UNDISCLOSED SHORT SALE PAYMENTS MAY BE ILLEGAL
Undisclosed payments in short sale transactions, especially those paid outside of escrow, may violate the law, including RESPA, laws against loan fraud, and licensing laws.  Short sale agents have increasingly reported to C.A.R. about requests for agents and their clients to pay junior lienholders and others, oftentimes outside of escrow.
One common scenario is when a short sale seller's senior lender authorizes a payment of $3,000, for example, to extinguish a junior lien, but the junior lender demands that the buyer pays an additional $9,000 … (1 comments)

short sales: California Short Sale Tax Stand-Off - 03/11/10 09:47 AM
California Short Sale Tax Stand-Off
The short-sale debate in California continues to evolve. The Ventura County Star reports  that The Senate today sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a bill that would eliminate huge state income-tax bills faced by people who sold their homes in short sales last year, only to discover that they owed taxes on the amount of their loans that was forgiven in the sale.
Read full story here: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/mar/11/senate-tries-again-with-revised-bill-to-short/
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short sales: Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee sent a letter last week to the heads of 4 of the nations largest banks - 03/11/10 03:31 AM
Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee sent a letter last week to the heads of 4 of the nations largest banks. J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo all received the letter from Rep. Franks. In his letter he informed the CEO's that their banks are the major players in holding notes of second liens and that "Failure to modify these debts has become a major and unnecessary obstacle to thousands of Americans being able to stay in their homes. I urge you in the strongest possible terms to take immediate steps to write … (0 comments)

short sales: WWW.PartnerFirst.org #1 Short Sale Training Network! - 11/24/09 10:05 AM
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short sales: BofA Implements Equator (REOTrans) Platform, as Short Sales Gain Ground - 10/23/09 11:22 AM
Equator formally known as REOTrans has reportedly reached an agreement with Bank of America to be the software solution to streamline the short sale process among major lenders.
Partner First has been involved in encouraging dialogue with Equator (REOTrans) as to the role Partner First and our agent network will play with respect to helping streamline the short sale process. See article below: 
BofA Implements Equator (REOTrans) Platform, as Short Sales Gain Ground
By: Carrie Bay of DSNews.com: Link to Original Article
California-based Equator (formerly known as REOTrans) says it has launched the industry’s first-ever short sale module for a large national lender.
 Although Equator declined … (0 comments)

short sales: Partner First - Join Our Agent Network - 10/23/09 11:07 AM
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short sales: 6% Commission GUARANTEED on your Short Sale Listings! - 10/20/09 05:38 AM
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