We have a certification class today in Seattle and there was a delivery miscommunication about when the study guides were to arrive. Long story short, Cassandra went above and beyond the call of duty to deliver the study guides two hours ahead of when her dispatcher said she could.

Thank you FedEx and thank you Cassandra!

At Ticor Title & Escrow, we have worked very hard to provide a solid and well rounded set of solutions for agents working with Short Sales.  And we’ve had such success with our short sale events with Chris Rockey that we’ve organized a full day of short sale education in Seattle!  Thank you to all who have attended our events and provided such positive feedback!

Join us for this full day FACS Foreclosure Alternatives Consultant program. Our nation’s most comprehensive foreclosure alternatives education at the most competitive price!

Here are the topics that will be covered in the class:

• Understanding the Lenders’ Language
• Listing Short Sale Properties
• Working with the Distressed Homeowner
• Working with Loss Mitigation
• Managing Lien Settlement
• Representing Buyers on Short Sales
• Risk Management
• How to get Short Sales approved faster
• How Agents can protect their commissions

Cost:

Only $129.00 for the full day which includes all course materials
Seating Limited.  *Pass the class guaranteed or you won’t have to pay!

When and Where:

Thursday, March 4th, 2010
9:00 a.m. to 4:30p.m. lunch 12:00 – 1:00
(Registration begins 8.30 am; Attendees are on their own for lunch)
Location:
Keller Williams – Greater Seattle
1307 N 45th Street, Suite 300 – Seattle, WA 98103

To register, please click the button below to visit the class schedule. Find the event for March 4th and click the ‘Buy Now’ link

]]> http://www.ticorshortsale.com/articles/short-sale-webinar-feb-4th.htm/feed 1 http://www.ticorshortsale.com/articles/this-is-why-you-prequal-with-mrs-ticor.htm http://www.ticorshortsale.com/articles/this-is-why-you-prequal-with-mrs-ticor.htm#comments Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:10:45 +0000 ryankalalau http://www.ticorshortsale.com/?p=582

Wednesday, January 27, 2010 – Page updated at 01:14 PM

I appreciate what Eric Prynes is expressing about Short Sales and Sale Fails.  Please read the following as it eludes to why you need to use the MRS PreQual.

Here are some handy stats associated with the article too.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE…

Puyallup Event @ 11:00am:

]]> http://www.ticorshortsale.com/articles/encore-in-person-short-sale-events-puyallup-seattle.htm/feed 2 http://www.ticorshortsale.com/articles/free-webinar-your-diamond-pre-qualification-formula-for-short-sales-jan-18.htm http://www.ticorshortsale.com/articles/free-webinar-your-diamond-pre-qualification-formula-for-short-sales-jan-18.htm#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:36:23 +0000 mattsweet http://www.ticorshortsale.com/?p=543 Join us for a Short Sale Webinar on January 18

]]> http://www.ticorshortsale.com/articles/free-webinar-your-diamond-pre-qualification-formula-for-short-sales-jan-18.htm/feed 2 http://www.ticorshortsale.com/articles/option-arm-resets-oh-my.htm http://www.ticorshortsale.com/articles/option-arm-resets-oh-my.htm#comments Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:35:07 +0000 ryankalalau http://www.ticorshortsale.com/?p=517
Christopher Rockey
Director of Education, Mortgage Resolution Services

This CHART which shows how ALT-A and pay Option Arms are going to be the next issues in the Mortgage Storm.

Why Should a Homeowner Short Sale their property?

Short sales can help a homeowner to sell their home faster by lowering the price to make the house more competitive with other houses. Beyond that there are several other reasons to do a Short Sale especially vs. foreclosure. In my opinion the number one reason is the potential for ‘Full Settlement Language’ against any further recourse the lender can take against the homeowner. Sellers will receive this language in the approval letters and are urged to seek advice from any attorney if there are questions about the reservation of rights or full settlement. Another Great reason is the potential for less tax exposure or an ongoing liability which I cover in the next paragraph. Another reason for Short Sale vs. foreclosure is the ability to purchase a home again sooner with a Short Sale on your credit than a Foreclosure. Homeowners also can rest assured that they do not generally have to pay agent commissions out of pocket, lenders are almost always paying agent commissions. Finally for a homeowner, how about closing this chapter of there life with some dignity. Walking away from the transaction knowing that they have done the right thing.

What about the difference in what’s owed and what the house sells for?

If you short sale your primary residence and you are insolvent, according to the Mortgage Forgiveness Act of 2007, the IRS will forgive the debt owed. If you get signed up with a good tax accountant, you can have your debt written off. Plus with a short sale you can get your lender to agree not to come after you for the remainder balance. Always talk to a CPA about HR 3648 and if your client qualifies for any leniencies based on section 108 of the tax code.

How long does a Short sale take?

From the time your lender receives a complete short sales package can take anywhere from 2 months to 6 months. The key is to have everything your lender needs when they review the package. Remember a complete and well organized file with the loan number(s) on everything.

Do I need a real estate agent?

In nearly every case a lender will require you to have your home listed with a credible Real Estate professional with a proved track record.

I want some money from the sale is that possible?

More than likely they won’t allow if you have a conventional loan. Only FHA makes it possible for the homeowner to receive cash from the short sale of the property. Usually that money goes towards closing costs and whatever money is left over goes to the owner. The most you can receive from a FHA back house is $1,000. This program is called ‘Cash for Cooperation’ and we are looking forward to conventional lenders participating in this more and more.

A company offered me cash if I agree to sell my house to them, is this ok?

No, this is not ok and can cause problems if your lender finds out. Most investors know the rule ‘Buy Low Sell High’ right? I assure you they are not doing you any favors to be your friend they will ALWAYS have an alternative financial motive.

Plus, any company that wants to pay you, but can show your payment on the HUD is not the type of person you want to sell too. They can flake on you at the last minute because you know you can’t receive cash at closing. They will normally agree to pay you some time after closing and vanish a few weeks later.

Visit Our Website
Pricing Schedule
Logon to TransactionPoint

Please join us for this unique webinar where we will be discussing proper pricing strategies. We will also be discussing heavily the ‘Art of the Short Sale Prequalification.‘ We will help agents identify recourse vs. non recourse debt and tax related exposures, with a foreclosure vs. Short Sale. Take advantage of this ‘one of a kind’ webinar, and ask your Title and Escrow representative specific questions you want answered. We will be sure to answer those questions live.

Title: Advanced Short Sale Training
Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Time: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Space is limited.

Reserve your Webinar seat now at:

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/660316801

What Is A Short Sale?

A real estate short sale, or Short Pay, is a negotiation between a homeowner and their mortgage lender. The Short Sale occurs when a home is sold and the sales proceeds do not fully pay off the loans on the property and one or more lenders accept a discounted payoff and allow the sale to close escrow.

Homeowner

We understand that defaulting on your mortgage is a difficult situation. Deciding to be proactive and attempting to resolve your situation is the first step of the process. Mortgage resolution Services is here to help you with the negotiation of your short sale. We understand the lenders language and we can pass that knowledge on to your Real estate professionals.

Not Sure If You Qualify For a Short Sale?

Do you owe more on your property than what you could sell it for, especially after real estate commission, closing costs, late payments, interest, etc?

Have difficulty covering your expenses each month?

Not have money in the bank to cover the difference of what you could sell your house for and what you owe the bank?

Can you document evidence of a hardship?

Are You Having Trouble Making The Payments?

Are you feeling the stress mounting with each missed payment and phone call from your lenders beloved collections department?

Borrowing money from other sources to pay your mortgage?

Getting confused as to what your options are at this point?

Working on this with no prior experience?

The Short Sale process of negotiation is all done through communication with a bank’s loss mitigation or workout department. Extenuating circumstances influence whether or not banks will discount a loan balance. These circumstances are usually related to the current real estate market and the borrower’s financial situation.

A short sale typically is executed to prevent a home foreclosure, but the decision to proceed with a short sale is predicated on the most economic way for the bank to recover the amount owed on the property. Often a bank will allow a short sale if they believe that it will result in a smaller financial loss than foreclosing as there are carrying costs that are associated with a foreclosure. A bank will typically determine the amount of equity (or lack of), by determining the probable selling price from a Broker Price Opinion BPO or through a valuation of an appraisal. For the home owner, advantages include avoidance of a foreclosure on their credit history. A short sale is typically less expensive than a foreclosure. In short, a short sale is nothing more than negotiating with lien holders a payoff for less than what they are owed, or rather a sale of a debt, generally on a piece of real estate, short of the full debt amount. It does not extinguish the remaining balance unless settlement is clearly indicated on the acceptance of offer. You must always talk to an attorney for legal advice and please be sure to contact a CPA for tax advice. There are exceptional benefits of a Short Sale vs. foreclosure for homeowners.

Getting Short Sales sold, approved and closed involves careful handling of several components in a process that frequently has you, the agent, dancing on the head of a pin. Perhaps none more so than pricing strategy which has the agent balancing the need to get an offer to get the file moving with loss mitigation against the impact of the lender ordered broker price opinion (“BPO”). And, the reality that, in the end, an informed buyer is going to demand some degree of discount for tolerating the many aggravations involved in buying a short sale.

A quick point for moving forward-

It is truly astounding how lenders are unable to grasp the extent to which the inefficiencies of the Short Sale process have a negative impact on the price an informed buyer will pay for a Short Sale property. It is not the obligation of the buyer to tolerate weeks of waiting and being told the things they can’t have (home warranties, repairs and such), all so that the same buyer can overpay for the property.

It’s clear, lenders don’t operate In our world. The question is “In what world does that kind of thinking work?”

Now, how to price a Short Sale for a sale and an approval

1. Do not base your initial list price on the outstanding loan balances.

Be respectful of the loss the lender is going to absorb, but don’t factor the loan balance(s) into your pricing strategy. The lender will expect you to do everything possible to maximize their recovery of capital, but they do recognize that their loan balance is not directly indicative of market value.

2. Set the initial list price at, or above the level at which you expect the lender BPO to come in.

Shortly after Loss Mitigation starts working on your Short Sale file they will order a BPO. The value conclusion in the BPO is typically based on sold comparable properties within ¼ to ½ mile. Put yourself in the shoes of the agent/broker/appraiser who is going to be given the BPO assignment and get to a value estimate based only on closed sales – then list the property there.

BPO’s frequently come in with value conclusions that are higher than similar, unsold and currently available properties. Consequently if you list the property at the level at which you expect the BPO to come in, you will be listing at a price that is likely above that at which you will be able to draw a legitimate offer to purchase. Start at that price nonetheless, so you can later demonstrate to the lender that you made an effort to get an offer at the BPO amount.

3. Because the foreclosure process marches on, you need to move quickly- to get the price to a level that will draw a legitimate offer.

Assuming you have 30 to 90 days to work with, reduce your list price by approximately 3% every ten to fifteen days until you get to a level that generates buyer activity sufficient to generate a legitimate offer.

4. From the day you list the property, track activity on the property as you make the price adjustments necessary to get an offer.

When the lender’s BPO comes in at a value above that of the offer on your Short Sale property, you need to have solid data to provide to the lender demonstrating:

a) that the offer you have is at or close to true market value for the property, and;
b) that the value conclusion in the lender’s BPO is likely unattainable given the current condition of the market

Keep track of the dates price adjustments are made, the number of days on market at each price level, the number of showings and offers at each price level, as well as the number of unsold comparable properties within ½ mile of the subject property.

At the end of the day the property needs to be sold; if not as a Short Sale now, then as an REO later. As much as we would like to see Short Sale properties sell quickly at a price the lender finds acceptable, the fact is there will be battles to be fought on value. Your chances of dealing successfully on the value issue increase significantly if you execute a well thought out pricing strategy from the beginning of the listing.