March 25th, 2010 by Shelley Brown
Years ago, when the world was in balance and real estate agents were in step with each other, an offer was written for a client and then presented to the seller. The offer was either accepted, rejected, or countered in a timely manner. Everyone knew what was going on and the clients viewed the agents as professional, responsive, and knowledgeable.
Now that banks control a large portion of our market, the agents have educated the buyers to know that it may be weeks for a reply or you may never hear at all! (The listing status may just be changed to “no longer available” in the computer). Why are we dealing with short sales in the same manner which is disrespectful to other agents and their clients?????
In a short sale, the seller of the property (NOT the bank with the mortgage!) signs the offer. Have we not prepared our sellers to be available to accept an offer?? The seller should be encouraged to sign an offer with a buyer that has these important qualifications:
1. Time to wait for the short sale to be approved.
2. Education that some of the costs they ask for may be turned down by the bank approving the short sale.
3. An “at list” offer- not a crazy bidding war offer. The bank with the short sale may ask for more so the buyer’s agent needs to prepare the buyers that they may have to increase their offer.
4. A professional agent that addresses the above items in the letter accompanying the offer.
5. An investor’s offer may not be the best offer because generally, they are making more than one offer.
6. Finally, EARNEST money with the offer and a willingness to place it in escrow!
Let’s answer (in a timely manner), the buyers that are willing to give us an offer that comes closest to meeting the criteria above! Let’s see some professionalism in real estate in cases where we have some control.
Tags: agents, banks, buyers, buying homes, downward market, las vegas, market, mortgage, negotiate, real estate, sellers, selling homes, short sales, trends
Posted in Las Vegas Short Sales | No Comments »
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 »
