Tag: Florida short sales

Fannie Mae Making great Strides in the Orlando Short Sale Process

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Fannie Mae is taking the Lead on making short sales move even faster for Orlando homeowners

It’s amazing to see how far certain lenders have come in the way of helping homeowners to get their Orlando short sales approved. In the not-so-distant past, some of the major lenders were hell bent on making the short sale process a nightmare for not only the homeowners but also, the short sale realtors that had to work the entire process. Then even after you’ve submitted the complete package to the lender dotting every I and crossing every t, you would then have to re-submit the entire short sale package several times over either because it needed to be updated or the lender had lost it or claimed to have never received it. I know this may sound absurd to some of you but believe it or not, this used to happen on just about every single file at least once or twice.

It’s only been in the last year or so that we’ve seen a drastic change in the way that lenders handle Orlando short sales in General. There are systems in place such as HudHomes.Gov that some lenders use which make short sales move along a lot faster. And with systems like these in place, no longer can negotiators claim to have never received certain documents or that they’ve lost them. It’s as easy as logging into your account and uploading every page that they request. This was just one of the steps which began to streamline the short sale process.

Since then, there have been laws implemented by congress which require lenders to respond within 60 days of a short sale offer being presented, this was Huge! Even bigger, was when Lenders started giving homeowners large “Cash for Keys” incentives to complete short sales. Not only were homeowners able to get their debt forgiven, but they were able to receive enough cash at closing to start over in a new life.

Most recently, Fannie has come out with new guidelines for loan servicers to follow.  The new guidelines are a part of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Servicing Alignment Initiative. The idea is to prevent more foreclosures and help neighborhoods to stabilize.

Fannie Mae’s new guideline changes

• Hardships. Servicers will now be permitted to approve a short sale for borrowers who have certain kinds of hardships but are still current on their loans. Also, in order to reduce paperwork, no documentation of hardship will be required for borrowers who are 90 days or more delinquent and have a credit score lower than 620.

• 2nd-lien payments limited to $6,000. Before, 2nd lien holders often attempted to negotiate higher payments. The loan servicer will be able to offer the maximum payment of $6,000 in order to facilitate the transaction. By setting a standard payout amount and a limit for every transaction, Fannie Mae is removing the guesswork in order to accelerate the short sale process.

• Servicers will have more authority to approve and complete short sales. All servicers will have the authority to approve and complete short sales that conform to the requirements without receiving individual approval from Fannie Mae. Sometimes this part of the process added several months to short sale negotiations.

Jenny Zamora Lic RE Broker, Orlando

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Orlando Real Estate, one of the Nations Highest in Asking Prices, but we won’t be Fooled Again!

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

 Orlando Real Estate is Hotter than ever right now

As of a year ago in August asking prices are up 8.6% which means that we are actually eighth in the nation, tied with San Jose California. This is good news for Orlando homeowners who elected to ride the storm out since the crash in 2007. These homeowners who have been wanting to sell their Orlando property but didn’t want to take a huge loss are now able to sell and even make a profit depending on how much they owe.

Orlando real estate Experts can speculate all they want to and try and predict what the future of Orlando real estate will be, but the fact is that only time will tell. One thing that I always try to advise my clients about is to be very careful when buying Orlando Real estate, especially as an investment. Sure, buying Orlando realty as an investment can be a great idea if you buy it right and don’t let your emotions cloud you’re thinking.

Homebuyers should never depend on Orlando Real estate appreciating when making their decision to buy. This is where a whole lot of people got into a whole lot f trouble in past years. In 2006 people went into a frenzy buying up houses and condos in new construction properties in Orlando with an “I can’t go wrong attitude” thinking that they were going to make a killing. And the fact is that many investors did make a killing doing just that. But there were many more people that lost everything and have never recovered. I know this because working as Orlando Short Sale specialist, most of my clients are short sale clients. I’ve had clients that have had 20 and 30 properties and they now have  20 and 3o properties in default and upside down.

Orlando home buyers should never forget what happened in 2007

As hot as the Orlando real estate market is today, I really hope that people don’t fall into that trance again where they believe that Orlando home prices will only rise and can never fall, that kind of thinking is what got everyone into trouble in the first place.

If you’re thinking of purchasing a home in Orlando, consult with a proven Orlando Real estate expert so that you can make educated decisions on your approach to the world of Orlando Real estate investing.

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Avoiding the Orlando Loan Modification Mine Field

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Loan modifications have helped thousands of Orlando homeowners to keep their homes.

However, you must be aware of the fine print and know exactly what it will mean to you. Sometimes the terms of a loan modification are often worse than the original mortgage. The best loan modifications are when you are able to not only reduce your payment but reduce the principal balance of the loan. Many loan mods are structured so that your payment gets reduced but you still have to pay off the entire amount of the original mortgage plus penalties. In my opinion, these types of loan modifications are just not worth agreeing to. If your house is only worth $100,000.00 and your loan amount is $200,000.00 why on earth would you want to end up paying that entire amount?

Push for a loan modification with principal balance reduction

Banks will always try to get you to agree to what suits them better, this is why you have to be a tough negotiator, don’t just agree with the first proposal that they put in front of you. You have to remember that banks also want to come to an agreement. It costs lenders a lot of time and money to take someone through the foreclosure process. The best thing you can do is hire an Orlando real estate attorney that specializes in loan modifications. If you try to go at it alone with your lender, it could end up costing you a lot more money in the long run. Sure, a good Orlando real estate attorney may cost you a couple of grand upfront, but you’ll have a much better chance if you have an experienced negotiator in your corner.

5 things to watch out for when negotiating an Orlando loan modification

1- Your lender has the option of dropping all penalties. Don’t be bullied into a take-it or leave-it trap where they give you the option to pay off the penalties upfront or have them roll the penalties into the balance. You should demand that they wave all penalties as part of the deal.

2- Sometimes lenders will try to get you to agree that if they lose the original loan documents, you must assist the lender in reproducing them. As ridiculous as this may sound, it’s true and you should never agree to something like this. It comes down to the lender having additional legal protection if they screw up. A clause like this has absolutely no benefit to you.

3- Step by step rate increases that are too steep for you to afford or balloon payments that become due before you have time to be prepared for them.

4- Don’t agree to payments that you really can’t afford. When doing a loan modification, the idea is to make the loan affordable to you and your family. Be realistic, don’t put yourself into a position where your budget is soo tight that you’re only one major car repair away from being in default again.

5- Don’t agree to an interest rate that can automatically adjust based on an index over which you have no control.

An Orlando Short Sale may be your best option

As you can see, there are a lot of things that you need to watch out for when entering into a loan modification with your lender. The fact of the matter is that even when you have the bank’s best offer on the table, it still may not be good enough.

You may be much better off doing an Orlando short sale.  At the end of the day, it’s just a house, it’s not part of your family. By doing an Orlando short sale, not only will you be free of your lender forever, but you can get enough cash back to start over and get yourself into a much better situation than you would be agreeing to the terms of a loan modification.

As always, if you have questions about anything to do with Orlando real estate. Call us and set up a free consultation with an Orlando real estate expert.

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Buyers Beware of Scams on Orlando Short Sale Approvals

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Orlando  Short Sales becoming a popular target for Scammers

 

There’s a scam out there for everything and the world of Orlando real estate is no exception. Recently there’s been an outbreak of people trying to pull scams with title companies and short sales, here’s how it works. Scammers are mimicking major lender’s approval letters, including similar language and the bank’s logo. The letters look soo real that they’ve actually gotten away with it several times.

In some cases these scammers or “scumbags” use short sale approval letters that they fabricated to carry out there schemes. The result is that Orlando homebuyers purchase homes that they thought they had clear title to when in reality these properties where not only devalued but had huge liens attached to the property.

In other instances these scammers go so far as to assume the identities of unsuspecting Orlando homeowners or sometimes pretend to represent short sale lenders issuing bogus payoff letters approving short sales for ridiculously low amounts. These scams allegedly have resulted in more than $10,000,000.00 in losses.

In a short sale, a seller has the lender’s permission to unload the home for less than what’s owed on the mortgage.

It seems that luxury Orlando homes are the biggest target for these types of swindlers because they get bigger payoffs… when it actually works.

The reason these scams work is because of a huge lack in communication between title companies and short sale lenders

According to Mortgage Daily.com., Florida tops the nation in mortgage fraud,  The Dallas-based trade publication said more than $260 million worth of fraud was being investigated in the Sunshine State at the end of the first quarter of the year.

If you or someone you know are involved in any kind of Orlando real estate transaction, make sure that you’re working with a proven Orlando realtor.

 

 

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More Senior Citizens Facing Orlando Foreclosure

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Older Americans who own Orlando real estate are not immune to the foreclosure process

Many Americans that are 55+, grew up thinking that real estate in Orlando would only appreciate in value and that you need to own a house to be financially secure. That way of thinking was passed on from there parents and was shared by just about everyone else in that generation. Unfortunately, according to AARP Senior Americans got in just as much hot water as the younger generations.

The perception is that older Americans are more housing secure than younger people, but the truth is that millions of Americans that are over the age of 55 are carrying more mortgage debt than ever before, over three million of which are at risk of losing their homes.  And as of December 2011, approximately 3.5 million loans of people age 55+ were upside down, meaning that their home is worth less than the loan amount. From 2007 to 2011, a staggering 1.5 million + older Americans lost their homes to foreclosure.

Even though older Americans still have lower foreclosure rates than people that are under 55, they are increasing at an alarming rate.

Older Americans weren’t immune to the Orlando real estate boom and bust. They took out equity lines of credit when Orlando property values shot up, sold their homes for retail prices and purchased investment properties that floundered just like everybody else.

 The biggest difference here is that if you’re under 55 and lose your house to foreclosure, you still have time to get back on your feet through hard work and perseverance. Older Americans don’t have this option because the truth of the matter is that time is not on their side. When I think about Older people losing their homes to foreclosure, it literally brings tears to my eyes, it’s just really sad.
 
For generations, home ownership has been a safety net in retirement, the report notes. Equity that built up over decades could be tapped for medical bills, supplement fixed incomes or help transition into an assisted living facility. If a senior needs to transition to an assisted living facility but can’t sell his house to get the money to pay for it, then that’s a huge problem.

Gail Matillo, director of elder housing for the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, recommends seniors call a local aging resource center if they are having trouble with house payments. The statewide hot line is 800-863-5337.

If you are in need of an Orlando Short Sale, call us for a free consultation.

 

 

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