wilde law firm: Come on In...The Water's Fine!
- 11/04/13 06:41 AM
So there is an impression among some of the populace that our economic troubles are over, the real estate market is back on track and all of the distressed properties have been taken care of. We all know that none of these assumptions are true.The Federal Reserve is still pumping money into the economy to keep it up, the real estate market is limping along and there are still an enormous amount of distressed properties that must be dealt with.
The interesting thing that I have observed is that there are a growing number of agents that are saying they stay completely away from short … (0 comments)
wilde law firm: Government Backed Loans May Be Delayed
- 11/04/13 06:33 AM
So you have your approval letter and now you are running into problems with the Buyer’s government backed loan. Whenever you take on a short sale an important consideration is the Buyer and the Buyer’s loan. For example, if the property is in unfit condition and requires some repairs prior to making it livable, the Seller may have to complete the repairs prior to closing or put money in escrow if it is a government backed loan such as USDA, HUD, VA or FHA. This is probably not going to happen in many short sale situations. This would be important to … (0 comments)
wilde law firm: More on Stopping a Foreclosure
- 05/06/13 03:06 AM
I know that we have talked about this before but since this is the “Year of Foreclosure,” it warrants an update and reminder. First of all we should remember that there is no right to a short sale and, by extension, no right to a postponement of the foreclosure sale. We are essentially asking the bank or servicer to do us a favor and consider this short sale offer instead of selling the property on the upcoming foreclosure date. We should understand that the bank and the foreclosing attorney have already spent time and money getting into the position to be … (2 comments)
wilde law firm: Short Sales are “Ugly” Law
- 05/06/13 03:00 AM
I have heard real estate law described as “happy law.” That actually makes sense because in a normal real estate closing there may be some bickering over curtains but in the end the buyer is getting the house and the seller is receiving money. In a short sale, however, it is important to understand that the attorney definitely has one foot over the line into ugly law. The Seller is losing their house and usually not receiving any money at closing. Additionally, the Seller may or may not have to pay back the deficiencies. Yes, the Buyer is getting the house … (0 comments)
wilde law firm: Hey, Who is this NationStar and do I Really have to get a Title Opinion Up Front?
- 11/11/12 12:05 PM
I first ran into NationStar a couple of months ago when all of our Aurora loans were serviced- released to NationStar. That is a fancy way of saying that the files were sent to another servicer and we now have to start over with them. Well, not only did we have to start over but we had to supply them with a Title Opinion from an attorney and a BPO (not CMA) from the listing agent. We had four files that went from Aurora to NationStar at that time. Two of those files were also in foreclosure. Normally when we have … (1 comments)
wilde law firm: Banks Take Market Price Offer up a Notch
- 09/27/12 12:05 AM
I have said for several years that the two things you absolutely must have for a successful short sale is a market price offer and the full participation of the Seller. That is still the case but the banks are taking it up a notch.
I have seen language in a certain big-five bank's Approval Letter and Arms Length Transaction Affidavit that states "Buyer and Seller, and/or any agent of the Buyer or Seller, cannot knowingly misrepresent the fair market value of the property during this sale/purchase of the property. Any knowing misrepresentation of the fair market value may cause … (1 comments)
wilde law firm: Who Drives the Short Sale Bus?
- 09/27/12 12:00 AM
Sometimes a reminder is needed about an unfortunate fact that we all have to live with: The bank drives the bus, not us……not the seller, buyer, agent or attorney. We are asking the bank/investor to take a loss on this loan and for that they get the keys. Our job is to keep everything moving forward and on course but we don’t get any time behind the wheel. What can we do and what can’t we do to help keep the bus moving and get this offer to closing? We can’t use the argument that they have already received more than … (2 comments)
wilde law firm: If you are serious about a short sale, get a pre-inspection!
- 08/06/12 11:26 AM
I have already written about the buyer getting the home inspection done earlier instead of later. The absolute best way to handle the home inspection for a short sale, however, is for the Seller to get a pre-inspection before putting it on the market…or at least before there is an offer. If the Seller does not get a pre-inspection then that task is left to the Buyer. The problem is that even though it makes sense on so many different levels for the buyer to get the home inspection early (see Blog #4), they still want to wait until the short … (2 comments)
wilde law firm: How Short Sales will Save the World!
- 03/19/12 09:22 AM
Ok, maybe short sales won't save the planet (does that mean that I don't really need to finish designing my superhero outfit for Captain Short Sale, or maybe The Mighty Short Sale Warrior? I was kind of digging the yellow cape). Anyway, short sales may not stop a speeding train or fix our banking system but they will certainly play an important and growing role in restoring the housing market to a balance. Let's look at the present situation: Millions of properties are in the foreclosure pipeline and millions more are poised on the brink. Properties are underwater to the … (4 comments)
wilde law firm: Oh Those Pesky 2nd’s
- 01/31/12 04:18 AM
10% of the amount owed: As we all know the land of short sales is anything but settled. Even after three years of doing this full time there always seems to be something new coming or going…like unsecured promissory notes or confession of judgments. Over the summer all of the investors and servicers for the 2nd mortgages must have gone to the same seminar. 2nds used to take $3,000 (begrudgingly) to release their secured interest on the property and let the property be sold in a short sale. Now they all seem to want 10% of the amount owed to … (2 comments)
wilde law firm: MULTIPLE SHORT SALE OFFERS
- 12/30/11 10:13 AM
NORTH CAROLINA SHORT SALE ADDENDUM. The North Carolina Short Sale Addendum to the Offer toPurchase and Contract states: “Buyer and Seller understand that additional offers may be receivedby the Seller’s Agent, which must be presented to the Seller pursuant to North Carolina law. Suchoffers may be accepted by the Seller as backup contracts and forwarded to Lien holder for reviewand approval.”The lienholder is not a party to the Offer to Purchase and Contract. The Short Sale Addendumspecifically gives the lienholder the right to accept any offer, regardless of its Effective Date. Thelienholder is taking a loss on this short sale and … (0 comments)
wilde law firm: HERE IS A NEW ONE….FLOPPING
- 12/06/11 03:07 AM
There is a new game in town and it goes by the intimidating name of “Flopping.” Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae also use another name…Mortgage Fraud. Did that get your attention? It should. The real estate agent will encounter this in a number of ways but most ways will be a variation of the following example: A real estate investor will come into your office and want to see your short sale properties. They will want to put a “low ball” offer on a property and will insist that, because they are under contract with the homeowner, all future offers must … (10 comments)
wilde law firm: Why Use a Seller’s Attorney in a Short Sale?
- 11/09/11 05:04 AM
We strongly suggest that the Seller use his/her own closing attorney for a short sale. Our firm requires it if we are facilitating the short sale. Why? Well, if the Seller docs are prepared by the Buyer’s closing attorney, as is usually done in a real estate closing in North Carolina, the Seller ends up with no legal representation in the transaction. By its very nature, the short sale is fraught with legal issues and liability. The Seller’s closing attorney in a short sale should have a consultation with the Seller and review the approval that the bank/servicer has agreed upon … (0 comments)
wilde law firm: Home Owner Associations and Short Sales
- 10/05/11 12:58 PM
If you have not had to negotiate with a Home Owner Association (HOA) regarding past HOA dues in order to get a short sale closed, well you haven’t lived. It is, seriously, one of the more frustrating tasks that we have to handle. It seems that more than half of the HOAs have some hard and fast stance on not accepting anything but a full payoff of the past due amount. I have had a situation where we were racing to get a short sale approved in time to beat the foreclosure sale. We got it approved but had to … (58 comments)
wilde law firm: WHY A BUYER SHOULD WANT A PROFESSIONAL NEGOTIATING THE SHORT SALE
- 09/23/11 05:19 PM
The mantra for a Buyer should be WHAT IS THE FASTEST WAY TO GET MY OFFER APPROVED AND THIS SHORT SALE CLOSED. There is a long track of hurdles to get over between the offer and closing. That list includes: 1) document collection; 2) package compilation and submission (sometimes multiple times); 3) document review and additional document request; 4) valuation; 5) follow up and escalation; 6) negotiations with the bank for the short sale…better known as horse trading; 7) negotiations with the bank regarding the deficiencies; 8) Investor approval; 9) final HUD approval; 10) closing.
There is a misconception … (0 comments)
wilde law firm: WHAT SHOULD WE PUT IN THE ‘DUE DILIGENCE’ SECTION OF THE OFFER?
- 09/13/11 02:50 PM
In North Carolina we now have a Due Diligence Period that can be negotiated and put in the Offer to Purchase and Contract (Offer to Purchase). We could have done it with the old contract but it is now a prominent part of the new Offer to Purchase. In a short sale situation, however, the best thing to put into this section is N/A. Why?
1. The Seller can’t make anything on a short sale. Unless this is a short sale under the HAFA guidelines, the Seller is not allowed to make any money on a short sale. If … (1 comments)
wilde law firm: WHEN SHOULD A SHORT SALE BUYER GET THE INSPECTION DONE?
- 09/08/11 01:11 AM
The simple answer is as soon as possible. I know that the Buyers don’t want to spend $350 for a home inspection before they know if the short sale will get approved. I get that, but lets analyze why it is better to get it done sooner rather than later: 1. Think “AS IS” contract. As you know, a short sale needs to be treated as an “as is” contract. The old game of negotiating an offer price, get the home inspection and then use the results to lower the price even further does not work in a short sale. If … (0 comments)
wilde law firm: Who Can Negotiate a Short Sale?
- 08/17/11 02:35 PM
Completing a short sale involves much more than just sending in an offer that the bank accepts. By definition the Seller’s mortgage and judgment lien debts must be negotiated. There are three issues of liability that face the real estate agent and/or a third party facilitator who takes on the job of negotiating a short sale with a bank in North Carolina. First there is the Unauthorized Practice of Law. Second, and just as important, is the liability that goes with every short sale. Third is the statute concerning Debt Adjusting. 1. The Unauthorized Practice of Law Without a License. A … (43 comments)
wilde law firm: What is the Average Length of Time for a Short Sale?
- 08/05/11 05:33 AM
The Wilde Law Firm is a North Carolina law firm that concentrates exclusively on negotiating short sales. We handle short sale files day in and day out. We keep an eye on any trends or changes on how banks/servicers handle short sales from week to week. At the present time we are receiving most short sale approvals 60 to 90 days after submitting the short sale package. This is a change from just 3 months ago when the files were averaging 45 – 60 days. There are a few banks/servicers that are taking longer still but the major banks/servicers are all … (0 comments)
So there is an impression among some of the populace that our economic troubles are over, the real estate market is back on track and all of the distressed properties have been taken care of. We all know that none of these assumptions are true.The Federal Reserve is still pumping money into the economy to keep it up, the real estate market is limping along and there are still an enormous amount of distressed properties that must be dealt with.
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