Category: Orlando Short Sales

How To Hire A Short Sale Realtor – Video

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

How To Hire A Short Sale Realtor  Video

 

When you hire a Short Sale Realtor t to take on your short sale, It’s just like hiring an attorney to represent you in some legal matter, so obviously you want someone with experience and a good track record.

The agent you choose is going to be dealing with your lender on your behalf which is a huge responsibility.

 

To begin with, they have to put together your entire file correctly to then move to the next steps of sending in offers, counteroffers, scheduling inspections, arranging showings, etc.

 

Right now there are a ton of cash incentive programs are out there and it’s important that your real estate agent is aware what programs you may qualify for or you could end up losing out on that those incentives.

 

Short selling a home is serious business. In fact, selling a house is one of the most important decisions a person will have to make in their lifetime,so it’s important that you hire a realtor that specializes in short sales.
What’s the best way to research an agent?
Like anything else these days, I recommend that you start your search with Google

 

Type in terms like “Orlando short sales” “short sale specialist” etc. A top short sale agent will have a strong online presence.
You should then choose 2 or 3 of them from the first page on the search results

 

Make sure that the agents that you choose are experienced in your area.

 

You should then start the interview process by asking these agents some key questions such as the following:

1- How many successful short sales have they done?, How many have they done in the past six months?, What’s their closing rate?
2- How many active short-sale listings do they have currently?

3- Do you have any references or testimonials from past clients? And is it OK to contact them?
This will give you a very clear picture of what you can expect moving forward.

 

 

If you follow the steps mentioned above, then you will know exactly which one to choose. Because remember, it’s not just about being a good agent. It’s also who do you feel comfortable with.

 

Short selling a home will be one of the most important transactions of your life. So it really is worth the extra effort to thoroughly research the agents you’re thinking of hiring before signing that listing agreement.

 

Feel free to contact us with any more questions you may have at 407-902-7750 or visit https://orlandorealtyconsultants.com/short-sales/

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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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Avoid Orlando Short Sale Fraud

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Avoid Short Sale Fraud!

The mortgage industry is once again experiencing an increase in short sales. Since 2012 the number of short sales with Freddie Mac has gone up substantially. This rising trend will leave the Orlando real estate market a target for short sale fraud.

What’s A Short Sale

A short sale can happen when a homeowner can longer pay the mortgage on their property and the lender allows them to sell the home for a discount of the principal balance owed to the bank or investor. Banks are willing to do this because they can avoid taking the property through a costly foreclosure process.

Homeowners benefit by avoiding a foreclosure on their credit which can last up to 7 years as opposed to a short sale which stays on your credit for an average of two years. Many times homeowners are eligible for relocation costs from the lender. This amount is usually around $3,000.00.

What’s Short Sale Fraud?

Without trying to sound like an attorney, short sale fraud can basically be described as deceitfulness or trickery when directly related to a short sale transaction. Fraud can appear in many different ways during a short sale and on both sides of the transaction.

It’s deliberate misrepresentation or omission of a fact or circumstance that would convince the lender to go through with a transaction that a lender would not approve if they were aware of all the facts.

 

Some Examples Of Short Sale Fraud

1-The buyer of the short sale property selling or “flipping” the property immediately after the closing. This type of transaction can also be referred to as a “double” or “simultaneous” closing and can sometimes involve the use of two separate title companies.

An example would be if the seller or borrower owed $150,000 on a home that is only worth $100,000. The short sale lender accepts an offer of $75,000 from the realtor or facilitator. The buyer will then have a buyer lined up for $95,000 and both transactions close on the same day and the facilitator pockets the difference thus increasing the lender’s net losses.

2-The borrower’s hardship was fabricated for the purpose of getting the short payoff approved.

3- The short sale facilitator purposely damages the property in order for the BPO [brokers price opinion] to come in lower than it would if the property hadn’t been damaged.

 

Preventing Short Sale Fraud

The best way to avoid any type of fraudulent situation when it comes to a short sale transaction is to research thoroughly research the short sale realtor before listing your house with them. Ask for references, Google them, and check out any reviews that may have been posted. These days it’s even recommended to check out someone’s Facebook page to get some insight into what kind of person they are.

It’s also a good idea to avoid getting involved with facilitators that are unlicensed or if they want you to use a realtor that is controlled by them.

 

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Who Makes The Final Decision On An Orlando Short Sale?

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando Short Sale Help

 

 

Is your mortgage with one of the large banks like Bank of America, Chase or Wells Fargo? You may be surprised to hear that these lenders don’t usually make the decision on whether or not to approve your Orlando short sale.

It’s a common misconception really but the truth is that these lenders are just servicing these loans for the Investor.

So, who is the investor you ask? The investor in most of these scenarios is usually a corporation, a hedge fund or a firm on Wall Street. It could also be a what’s called MBS or “Mortgage Backed Securities”.

The “Investor”  can also be a government-sponsored entity like Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. These are referred to as GSEs or “Government Sponsored Entities“.  What most people don’t know is that if your lender or servicer refuses your short sale, your Orlando realtor can contact the investor directly. Most real estate agents are unaware of this and will typically go by whatever the servicing company decides.

Usually, when we contact the investor after the short sale has been denied by the bank or servicing company, we get them to reassess the short sale. It’s a matter of convincing them to accept the short sale based on the hardship of the homeowner and the true market value of the home taking into account all of the repairs that need to happen in order to get the home market-ready.

What we’ve noticed from our own experience is that the “Investor” or “third party” will do a much better job of assessing the short sale offer that was put forth… especially, because it’s their money. After they review the file and if it makes sense to them. The short sale offer is then approved and the investor will ensure that the servicing company is aware of what took place. 

This has proven to be helpful in cases where the lender has asked for a seller contribution and they threaten to close the file unless the homeowner agrees to sign a promissory note for the deficiency.  Sometimes servicing companies will reject a short sale without good reason. Other times the negotiator will have demands that just plain irrational such as wanting more than fair market value or not considering the repairs that need to happen.

 

Why Orlando Short Sale Negotiators Kill Fair Deals?

Being an Orlando short sale realtor for so many years I still get frustrated when the negotiator stands in the way of a perfectly fair transaction. Why in the world would a negotiator do this? I’ve come up with several theories like maybe they get a bonus for obtaining a higher offer and closing it…or maybe they’re just bitter.      

I realize that this might be a surprise to many homeowners but the truth is that this happens more times than it should. If you’re having trouble getting your short sale approved, then find out who the investor is and inform them of what their servicing company is doing to you.  

Our company has been able to get several Orlando short sales approved just by bypassing the servicing company and contacting the investor directly whenever the servicer doesn’t cooperate. If you or someone you know needs help with an Orlando short sale contact us at 407-902-7750 or just visit https://orlandorealtyconsultants.com/short-sales/

 

 

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When Short Sales Fall Short

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

There are no guarantees in life and when it comes to negotiating Orlando short sales, this is especially true. Although lenders have come a long way in terms of approving more short sales, easing up on their guidelines, and even offering cash incentives to homeowners that are willing to cooperate, there are still when can fall apart. These are some of the most common reasons why short sales fall apart.

 HOA Bullies and Short Sales

Delinquent HOA fees are one of the biggest reasons for a short sale not getting approved. Many times the lender in 1st position will only allow the homeowners association to receive 12 months of payments as a settlement. Unfortunately, sometimes delinquent HOA fees can be in the tens of thousands of dollars and they would rather let the home go to foreclosure than to take such a big hit. And If you can’t get either side to budge then the deal will not happen.

 

Stubborn Junior Lien Holders

The 1st mortgage holder in a short sale is always in the first position with the exception of tax liens. Typically, all lenders will only allow a fraction of what is owed to be paid to junior lien holders like 2nd and 3rd mortgages. The problem is that not all second lien holders are willing to negotiate and if they are willing to take a discount, it’s still not enough to please the 1st mortgage holder. Unlike HOA liens that will be paid 12 months of fees if the house goes to foreclosure, a junior lienholder could potentially end up with nothing if the house goes to auction.

Bad BPO’s

A BPO aka “brokers price opinion” is a report completed by a local broker or realtor who comes out to the home and gives their opinion of what the home is worth. The BPO then becomes the starting point of the negotiations between the listing agent and the short sale lender. It seems that lately there’s been a rash of bad BPOs. When the BPO value comes in too high then the home will be overpriced and have little or no chance to be sold. If this happens, then your only chance of making something happen is to convince the bank to order another BPO.

 

 Lenders In Denial

After all the progress that’s been made in the short sale industry, there are still lenders out there that choose to remain stubborn about accepting short sales. It makes absolutely no sense to me at all. For some reason, lenders have trouble realizing that if they don’t negotiate, they end up losing a lot more money than they need to. They have to pay attorneys big money to take a property through foreclosure and if it does get sold at public auction, it ends up selling for much less than what’s owed anyway!

 

 

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