Category: Mortgage Companies

Fannie Mae Short Sales Just Got Shorter

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Fannie Mae

I believe that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac as well as most all other lending institutions finally acknowledge the importance of the realtor’s role in the short sale process.

It seems like yesterday [back in 2004] when we started doing short sales. Orlando realtors like myself that specialized in doing only short sales dealt with frustration everyday.

Short sales were rare and many lenders weren’t equipped to properly handle the short sale process. And when you did complete a short sale, getting your hard earned commission from the lender at the closing was like pulling teeth. Thankfully, we’ve come a long way since then and most lenders are very aware of how to handle a short sale efficiently.

In 2008 shortly after the bubble burst in 2007, the US Department of Treasury introduced the Making Home Affordable Program aka “HAMP”.  The intention was to reach out to struggling homeowners that wanted to try and keep their homes as opposed to selling them via short sale or losing them to foreclosure. The program was extremely successful at what it was supposed to do which was help homeowners modify their mortgage so that they could keep their home.

By this time, “short sale” was a pretty common term for anyone who owned a house or anyone who watched the local news for that matter. Lenders were also getting used to processing short sales and even started offering several different “Cash for Keys” programs as an incentive to homeowners who agreed to short sale their home. Even though, overall, short sales are still complicated and time consuming many lenders have seen the light and have taken leaps and bounds in streamlining the the short sale process.

Fannie Mae [Federal National Mortgage Association] announced recently that they will attempt to assist listing agents that want to pursue a Fannie Mae short sale. In order to understand Fannie Mae’s new and improved process, you have to understand how short sales work.

 

What Changes Were Made With Fannie Mae Short Sales?

Fannie Mae just introduced a new website www home path for short sales .com. At the time of the listing, Fannie Mae will now provide list price guidelines. In addition, the agency will work directly with the listing agent or seller to get the 1st lien approval. The next step for Fannie Mae is to allow realtors to negotiate an offer directly through them saving us even more time.

 

Jennifer Zamora Orlando Realtor

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Orlando Mortgage Brokers Speak Out

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Mortgage Brokers Spill Their Guts

Recently, top mortgage brokers in Central Florida were asked what their biggest challenges were in their industry. A few of them had this to say…

Some claim that the mortgage market still has ways to go before it fully recovers and that home sales are still below normal levels when you compare them to last year. Brokers feel that inventory levels still haven’t quite caught up with the demand. They went on to say that many people are still reluctant to buy because of the overall lack of confidence in the job market.  All of these factors have a tremendous impact on home purchases in Orlando. Some believe that there is a building demand from new families as well as baby boomers that want to move into a smaller space to begin their retirement.

A mortgage broker’s role is to help their clients understand the entire process involved with a mortgage and how to make sense of it so that they can become homeowners or refinance their existing mortgage. As an Orlando Realtor, I depend heavily on my relationship with a few select mortgage brokers that have proven what they can do through past transactions. It works the same way for them. I get a steady stream of short-sale clients from the mortgage brokers that I work with because they know that I’m an Orlando short sale expert and they can count on me to get the job done.            

  

Customer Service Is King …                                                                                                                                                                              Mortgage brokers would also be wise to really focus on making their customer’s experience a good one. I can’t tell you how many times mortgage brokers get blamed when something goes wrong at the closing table. Turn around time is key when you do mortgages and the most successful mortgage brokers are the ones that get the job done and get it done fast. Even though mortgage brokers take a lot of heat when something goes wrong at the closing table, People should understand that many times it’s completely out of the mortgage broker’s hands.

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Banks Can Take Your Assets After Foreclosure!

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Stop Foreclosure Before It Starts

Are you behind on your mortgage and worried that the lender might go after your other assets if your home gets foreclosed on?

Unfortunately, it can happen if you live in Florida. This scenario can occur in an instance where if the bank is unable to recoup the full amount of the loan especially if it’s a large loan.

With such a large number of Orlando foreclosures still looming many homeowners are wondering if their lender can garnish their salary or personal bank accounts.

The problems that can crop up from a typical foreclosure sale don’t usually occur until after the sale has taken place and the bank ends up with the short end of the stick.

Here in Florida lenders can go to the court for a “deficiency judgment” in order to try and collect the rest of the money that is owed after the foreclosure. With a deficiency judgment in their possession, banks can go after your personal assets like a car or a boat. However, if the asset isn’t yet paid off, then the lender will have to settle for the second position after the lender for the car or boat, etc.

Florida lenders don’t usually go after a person’s assets following a foreclosure sale especially if they don’t see much to tap into.The truth is that collecting judgments is extremely time-consuming and can be quite costly to the bank.

Banks will pay more attention to homeowners with homes that are worth millions of dollars because the larger the loan the bigger the loss. In these cases, the lenders will check the borrower’s bank accounts especially if the accounts are with the same bank. Depending on the situation, banks can move to freeze or garnish these accounts. Banks will also go after businesses that default on large commercial properties.

Just When You Thought It Was Over

There’s another risk that exists for smaller borrowers that may occur down the line. Many times, banks end up selling off these types of judgments to investors or collection agencies for pennies on the dollar. These agencies hire people that are dedicated to hound people any way they can for a settlement. Since judgments are valid for up to twenty years, it gives them more than enough time to come after the borrower for the balance due.

Avoiding A Deficiency Judgment

The best way to avoid a deficiency judgment is for people to deal with their mortgage problems head-on. take action! If a borrower has the chance to pursue a short sale with their lender then they should do it. Not dealing with the problem is the absolute worst thing that someone can do to themselves. It’s like having a financial ticking time bomb on their hands. Borrowers are soo much better off working with the bank as opposed to avoiding them.

Hire A Short Sale Expert

It’s extremely important that the short sale payoff be recorded as a “full payoff”. To ensure that things are done correctly, enlist the help of a short sale expert. Find a short-sale realtor in your area that has a high closing ratio. Avoid realtors that aren’t experienced in the short sale arena or that have only done a few. Selling a home is one of the most, if not the most important transaction of a person’s life so it’s crucial that they find the best-qualified realtor for the job.

 

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Orlando Home Values Are In The Eye Of The Beholder

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Real Estate Is Not An Exact Science…Not Even Close! 

The truth is that there are many variables involved and I’m not just talking about physical variables like granite countertops and travertine floors. I’m talking about other aspects like the motivations and the desires of both sellers and buyers. It can be very difficult to account for more value or less value when you bring the human element into the mix. Sure, it’s easy to pull up data for value trends in a certain area, but you have to blend that data with variables that are present in each situation.

Working as a Realtor in Orlando since 2004, I realized long ago that real estate is about people and every person is different with different needs and different motivations. Orlando home values can differ drastically depending on who you’re talking to.

These days most home buyers know exactly what they want. What may be considered valuable to one person may be viewed as a negative to another. Does the home provide a specific need for the new buyer? A perfect example of this can be a home with a pool. Living in Orlando especially, I personally place tremendous value on having a pool in the backyard so that my family and I can cool off on those hot summer days.

However, there are people who prefer to not have a pool. Having a pool for them could represent having more things to maintain and more expensive or maybe they have small children who can’t swim. To these people, having a pool is a huge negative and they may not want to even consider looking at a home with a pool.

Other examples that can influence buyers with a specific need may include having an in-law suite, one-story or two-story floor plans, a master on the main floor, a handicapped-friendly floor plan, etc. Some may place the quality of the construction and the home’s design at the top of the list.

Elements outside of the home itself like living in a specific school district, being close to public transportation, or having a pond view can also increase or decrease the appeal of a home depending on what the homeowner is looking for.

People will always be willing to pay more for what they perceive to be valuable to them in their lifestyle. A Home’s Value has to be measured in two different ways: On paper – what the data says and, how well it will serve the buyer and their needs.

Appraisal Value Is The Only Thing That Matters To Lenders

I’ve seen single-family homes in Orlando with bowling alleys, batting cages, and even basketball courts…indoors! However, while a house may contain all these luxurious features, the problem is that these items are considered to be over improvements and just don’t add any “dollars and cents” value to the home.

Although a buyer or a seller may place more value on a home for personal preferences, the lenders are only interested in the appraised value. Attempting to challenge an appraisal in these situations is close to impossible. Underwriters typically do not like to think outside of the box.

 

 

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Loan Transfers, Not Just For Delinquent Mortgages

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Most people are under the assumption that a loan has to be in delinquent status in order to be transferred. The truth is that any loan can be transferred at any time the bank wishes. Remember the fine print that you speed read through at the closing? 

Somewhere in that fine print, it states that your mortgage company reserves the right to sell or transfer your loan at any time they wish after the closing. That means that the lender has the right to sell your loan to another lending institution without your permission.

Usually, mortgage companies will give you a written notice in the mail informing you that your loan has been or will be transferred to the new lender or servicing company.

However, I’ve had many clients tell me that they were made aware of the transfer only through a welcome letter from the new lender. Sometimes loans get transferred multiple times. Just because your loan was transferred once, it doesn’t mean that it won’t get transferred again…and again, etc.

Unless you pay off your loan in full, you will never have control over who controls your mortgage.

Mortgage Transfers Are Especially Challenging for Short Sale Realtors

For real estate agents like myself that specialize in doing Orlando short sales, this can be an extremely frustrating situation. You can have hours, days, weeks, and even months invested in a short sale file then… WHAMMO!!  Out of the blue the loan gets transferred to another lender. It wouldn’t be such a big deal if they would just transfer the complete file over to the next lender so that we could just pick up where we left off. But that’s not the case……that’s never the case!

The new lender requires the agent to submit the entire short sale package again from scratch. The only thing that does transfer over it seems is the pending sale date. So not only are you forced to waste a lot more time submitting the new file, getting a hold of the negotiator, etc. but the sale date doesn’t usually get delayed.

This has happened so many times to me that you wouldn’t bother me any more right? Wrong… this has to be the most frustrating thing that can happen to a short sale realtor especially if you’ve been working the file for several months. However, sometimes it’s a blessing in disguise if you’re lucky enough to get a lender that’s more flexible with their terms or guidelines other times homeowners end up with a lender with a much stricter set of rules.

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