July 23rd, 2010 by Harvey Blankfeld
As a Realtor that takes pride in personal development, I find it important to continually get educated. I have recently taken a number of very comprehensive courses related to Short Sales and I find my head spinning with all of the various acronyms and other abbreviations.
Consumers are hearing about HAMP, HAFA, FNMA(fannie mae), FDMC(freddie mac), REO, Prom Note, etc. As Realtors we are given designations for taking these classes. I am now a CSP, CSAA and PSC. Now I take pride in the fact that I have taken the additional course work to garner these designations, but I don’t believe any agent that works in our business and takes pride in their work worries about a designation. I wish to add that each class added to my knowledge and each class will help me and my clients as we continue to work through this economic mess.
One of the most important things I learned was that I have to continue to monitor the changes that are coming our way in the area of Short Sales. We have seen short sales handled in so many different ways the last several years and the process is ever evolving. I don’t believe we will ever find any specific method that can be used universally and that is a challenge. But, that is truly the challenge with any Real Estate deal. No two are alike.
We face many challenges as Realtors, but none greater than our current market. Values have dropped so much that Short Sales will be a major part of Real Estate for the next decade. I will continue to add to my personal alphabet soup as long as it continues to allow me to serve my clients better.
Tags: agents, buying homes, downward market, hardship, las vegas, Personal Development, short sales
Posted in Las Vegas Foreclosures, Las Vegas Home Sales, Las Vegas Short Sales | No Comments »
March 5th, 2010 by Christina Yeakel
It is something that we normally seek but rarely find. And when we do achieve balance in our lives it becomes obvious to all those around us and to ourselves. Everything “works better”; we are able to handle the daily stresses well and we are much more efficient in our work and relationships. I am not going to pretend to have a system to achieve balance in our lives; but I do believe it comes from a solid understanding of ourselves, coupled with a strong faith in others and most importantly a higher power.
This great country of ours is seeking balance. We want things to work better and to eliminate the financial and political stresses that plague us. I am an optimist and I believe we are reawakening as a Nation, reacquainting ourselves to the principles that this country was founded upon. We are relying much more on those we trust and putting our faith in a political system that by its nature requires balance as its foundation.
As this country changes, my hope is that we truly seek efficiencies and build upon our relationships with each other, melding our personal and political views for the sake of preserving our individual rights and freedoms.
Tags: balance, economy, efficiency, ethics, hardship, market, trends
Posted in Personal Development | No Comments »
January 25th, 2010 by Harvey Blankfeld
Today I find myself writing this blog to relieve the stress of dealing with a bank on a short sale. Now I believe that just about everyone understands that Short Sales are difficult. They are difficult on sellers, buyers and agents. This short sale however is not only difficult, it just won’t go away.
In May of last year we took a listing. It was a short sale and the owner was very concerned about the time it would take and the toll it would take on her life. We received an offer in June and submitted the package to the bank for approval. We toiled for 5 months with the bank and got re-routed, re-started, re-negotiated and just regurgitated until in December we caught a break.
My client, the seller, met a lady that knew someone that knew someone else that might be able to help us. At first I thought it was just a hoax to get my client to send a check to someone, but it wasn’t. The man we found out was a big shot at the bank and he looked into the deal and got it approved in about 48 hours.
We proceeded to closing with great haste as we thought we were just dreaming and didn’t want the bank to re-something to us again. The good news is the deal closed in December. You would hope this story would end at this happy albeit drawn out point. Unfortunately it doesn’t end here.
Just today 1/25/2010, I get a call from the buyer’s agent. She is panicked and doesn’t know what to do. The buyers have received a letter from the bank telling them that the home is going to be auctioned on the courthouse steps on February 12, 2010. The buyers naturally told the bank that they had just purchased this home from them and they paid cash. The bank told the buyers, they must be mistaken and they should bring the account current or suffer the consequences of a foreclosure. The buyers spend the better part of the day talking to various people at the bank and trying to get them to understand that they are making a horrible mistake. The bank continually reminds them that they need to get the balance paid or suffer the ordeal of being put out on the street.
When the buyers agent called me to tell me this story, I let her know that I wasn’t sure what we could do, but we would certainly try to explain the situation to the bank and get them to understand. I had heard of a similar circumstance from a colleague, but I wasn’t really certain what to do. We called earlier today and they sent my assistant on a wild goose chase of transfers and disconnects. I then called the bank myself and was subjected to the same typical re-routing. I eventually got a person to actually listen to the situation. She then, to her credit, got her supervisor involved and I got to have a civil conversation with a person that would save them from terrible embarrassment, not to mention potential litigation.
The supervisor dug into the file and discovered that the negotiator that was handling the Short Sale never closed the file. She never let anyone else know that the money was received and the home had been recorded in the new buyers name. This is the same negotiator that dragged the process on for more than 5 months with no progress. I know the banks have it tough with so many people attempting to sell their homes as short sales, but they must be more professional, and they must be at least efficient enough to actually close a file properly and not subject a buyer to this kind of scare.
The buyer is very relieved and actually having a good chuckle about it now, but I would be willing to bet the bank wouldn’t be laughing had they actually sold the home again and put this owner out. I bet the bank would have been subjected to a significant financial hardship of their own.
Tags: banks, buyers, ethics, foreclosure, hardship, las vegas, lenders, negotiate, real estate, sellers, short sales
Posted in Las Vegas Short Sales | 1 Comment »
January 24th, 2010 by Shelley Brown
A fable according to Webster’s Dictionary is “a fictitious story meant to teach a moral lesson”. Aesop is the best known fable writer and most of us are familiar with his stories such as “The Tortoise and The Hare”. A lesser known fable is “The Wolf and The Crane”. For the purpose of my fable, the leading roles will be played by The Homeowner (the Crane) and The Big Bad Bank (the Wolf).
The homeowner purchased her home at the height of the Las Vegas boom. She scraped together her down payment and stretched her budget to the max. Times were good and it seemed like the right way to go before the prices got higher and homes were out of her reach. She was able to afford a $250,000 home. Her mortgage was adjustable and the payment barely affordable, but with both her and her husband’s salaries, they could make it. Of course, her credit was spotless. The American dream was realized.
After they settled into their home, they worked hard on finishing it with backyard landscaping, a covered patio, and all the things they felt they needed to make it a home. Things were going great. Then, WHAM! Las Vegas was changing- times were tough, business was off, and consequently, her husband was laid off. She was lucky – she had a great boss who cut everything else but kept her at her current salary. In addition to her husband’s layoff, her loan rate adjusted and her payment went up. Her neighbors also hit on hard times and abandoned their homes. The average $250,000 price in her neighborhood dropped to $95,000.
She was in a quandary. Should she join the group of neighbors and go into foreclosure or try to do the “right thing”? She had heard about this new thing called a “loan modification”. She contacted The Big Bad Bank and the process began. She filled out all the paperwork and had the right qualifications. It looked like a sure thing.
After several months, lo and behold, her loan modification was approved! Her payment was reduced $500!! Now, remember her loan period was extended another ten years, but it still seemed like the right thing to do. She began to pay the lower payment as they instructed. Being a vigilant person with regard to her credit, she decided to check her credit report after three months. The Big Bad Bank had reported her late to the credit bureau THREE TIMES!
When she called, she was told that her loan modification was a “trial” or “temporary” modification. She said, “But I paid what you asked!” The Big Bad Bank said, “But you paid less than your original agreement. We accepted it but it was not what you agreed to when you bought the house.” The homeowner is disputing the late payments with the credit bureau and is hoping for the best.
This homeowner was trying to do the right thing. The moral of the fable “The Wolf and The Crane” is “In serving the wicked, expect no reward, and be thankful if you escape injury for your pains”. The moral of my story is “When you try to do the right thing, the wolf still may eat you”.
By the way, This story is NOT fiction…
Tags: banks, downward market, ethics, hardship, lenders, loan modification, market, mortgage, negotiate, negotiator, trends
Posted in Las Vegas Loan Modifications | No Comments »
January 11th, 2010 by Shelley Brown
My mother was a teacher. She always made sure her children did their homework every night- NO EXCUSES! However, I do remember kids who never had their homework done and always had some sort of an excuse such as “I couldn’t find a pencil”, “No one at home would help me”, etc. It was never believed or tolerated by any savvy teacher. The teacher was in control, not the students.
We are in an era of a new kind of real estate where we ask for the cooperation of a mortgage holder to allow us to sell a house (that has dropped so much in value) for less than the homeowner owes on the property. The homeowner is put through a grueling process and must provide detailed financial information as well as a hardship letter about why he needs to sell. At best, the process is difficult for all parties involved. The real estate agent spends hours on the phone (many of them “on hold”), the seller never knows when he has to move, and the buyer doesn’t know if he is even getting the house!!! Patience, patience, patience is required.
The banks have taken a difficult process (like homework) and made it a ridiculous farce. I have decided to write what I believe to be are the Top Ten Reasons Why A Short Sale Takes So Long. I am using some of the exact quotes we have been given by negotiators, customer service representatives, and any idiot at the mortgage company who happens to answer the phone.
#10. “We are missing the authorization to speak to you and we have to start over again”. (Even though we have faxed it 10 times and have the confirmations to prove it)
#9. “The computer crashed and we lost the file. We have to start over again”.
#8. “You have been assigned a new negotiator and we have to start over again.”
#7 “Our phone system is having problems and you are talking to someone in Texas when you need to speak to someone in California. Call next week and start over again.”
#6. “We converted the files to a new computer system and we have to start over again.”
#5. “We closed our company and transferred the file to another mortgage company and we have to start over again.”
#4 “We changed the loan number and we have to start over again.”
#3 “We merged with another company and formed a third servicing company and we have to start over again.”
#2 “We never got access to get in to do the appraisal and we need to start over again.” (Access to vacant land? Where is the front door?)
And the NUMBER ONE REASON short sales take so long…
#1 “The dog ate the short sale package and we have to start over again!”
Seriously, we really have heard most of the reasons above. We cannot understand why the banks are making the process so difficult and often buyers and sellers take their frustrations out on their agents. We all have to be patient and graciously “start over again” when the banks ask us. The banks are in control, not the agents. Remember the race with the tortoise and the hare? We all need to act like the tortoise and just keep moving to the finish line of the race and have a successful closing for both the buyer and the seller. In essence, short sales are never really “short”!
Tags: agents, banks, buyers, downward market, hardship, las vegas, lenders, mortgage, negotiate, negotiator, real estate, sellers, short sales
Posted in Las Vegas Short Sales | 1 Comment »
