Is There Money In Short Sales?

We have been swamped lately, so I haven't had time to work on either our blog or our new website. But it is all coming together now and you will all be pleasantly surprised by the new stuff. In the meantime you'll have to watch a video of my blunt opinion on 'Short Sale Investors'
Enjoy,


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The Market Glut

A quarterly Wall Street Journal survey of housing data in 28 major metro areas shows that the glut of unsold homes listed for sale is shrinking in most of them. In many cases, sales have been stimulated by investors who are grabbing what they see as bargains on homes that can be turned into rentals. Metro areas with the biggest drops in for-sale signs include Sacramento and Orange County in California and the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.

The recent headlines give a mixed picture. On Monday, the Census Bureau reported that new home sales in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 464,000 units, down 33% from September 2007. The median sales price for new homes in September was $218,400, down 9% from a year earlier. Last week, the National Association of Realtors said sales of previously occupied homes in September edged up 1.4% from the depressed year-earlier level, the first such rise since November 2005, largely reflecting sales of foreclosed homes.

Housing analysts caution that many homes that aren't currently listed for sale may hit the market in the next year or two. This looming supply includes pending foreclosures and homes temporarily taken off the market while their owners await stronger demand. With banks chopping prices on foreclosed homes, other sellers are giving up and taking their homes off of the market.

Meanwhile, credit remains tight, consumer confidence is crumbling, and job losses are removing some potential buyers from the market while pushing others toward foreclosure.

Mortgage rates jumped Monday amid continued turmoil in the credit markets. Some mortgage firms quoted rates of 6.5% or more for standard 30-year fixed-rate loans. That was up from an average of 6.2% last week.

Despite all the gloom and doom, some people believe it isn't too early to pick up bargains. One key, they say, is a deep understanding of the local demand for rental housing.

You can't go wrong if you use the basic math. As yourself, or better do some research on how much you can you the property for. If the yearly rent = 10% of what you pay for the property, then it is worth looking into.

Now is the time to pick up rentals and invest, every 3/2 that you pick up below $145.000 and that you can rent at $1,300 a month is worth considering. Even if you don't count on making 12 months rent but just 11 months that is still an income of $14,300.
Now deduct insurance and taxes, say $4,300 then you're left with $10,000 0r 6.9% return on investment. Not bad in today's market add to this the fact that you have picked this home up at a bargain price. You can't go wrong.


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This Week's Financial Advice For Joe the Plumber

This week is packed with economic releases and major events that will likely lead to a fair amount of volatility in the markets and mortgage pricing. There are seven reports scheduled for release along with another FOMC meeting.
The first of the week's news comes late tomorrow morning with the release of September's New Home Sales. This data covers the remaining 15% of home sales that last week's Existing Home Sales report tracked and is this week's least important data. It is expected to show a decline in sales, but regardless of its results I am not expecting it to have a significant impact on mortgage rates tomorrow.

The first important data will be posted Tuesday morning with the release of the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) for the month of October. This Conference Board index will be posted at 10:00 AM and gives us a measurement of consumer willingness to spend. It is expected to show a sizable decline in confidence from last month's 59.8 reading, indicating that consumers are less likely to make large purchases in the near future. As long as the reading doesn't exceed the forecasted 52.0, we will likely see the bond market react favorably to this report. This data is watched closely because consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy.

The week's FOMC meeting is a two-day meeting that begins Tuesday and adjourns Wednesday afternoon. Assuming the Fed stands pat and leaves rates unchanged, traders will be looking at the post-meeting statement for any indication of the Fed's next move. Since there is a fair amount of uncertainty and a lack of a strong consensus of what the Fed will do here, the move itself, if it happens, will likely cause plenty of volatility in addition to the post-meeting statement. The meeting will adjourn at 2:00 PM Wednesday, so look for quite a bit of volatility during afternoon hours.

Wednesday morning, the Commerce Department will post Durable Goods Orders for September. This report gives us a measurement of manufacturing sector strength by tracking orders at U.S. factories for big-ticket items. Analysts are currently calling for a drop in new orders of approximately 1.0%. If we see a smaller than expected decline in orders, mortgage rates will probably rise as bond prices fall. A weaker than expected reading should be good news for the bond market and mortgage rates, but this data can be quite volatile from month to month and is difficult to forecast.

The next relevant data is the preliminary reading of the 3rd Quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) early Thursday morning. The GDP is considered to be the benchmark measurement of economic growth because it is the sum of all goods and services produced in the U.S. and therefore is likely to have a major impact on the financial markets and mortgage pricing. There are three versions of this report, each a month apart. Thursday's release is the first and usually h as the biggest impact on the markets. Current forecasts call for a decline of approximately 0.5% in the GDP. If this report does show a decline, I am expecting to see the bond market rally and mortgage rates to fall.

There are three reports scheduled for release Friday. The first is the 3rd Quarter Employment Cost Index (ECI), which tracks employer costs for salaries and benefits. Rapidly rising costs raises wage inflation concerns and may hurt bond prices. It is expected to show an increase in costs of 0.7%. A smaller than expected increase would be good news for bonds and mortgage rates.

September's Personal Income and Outlays report will also be posted early Friday. This data gives us an indication of consumer ability to spend and current spending habits. It is important to the markets because consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy. Rising income generally indicates that consumers have more money to spend, making econ omic growth more of a possibility. This is bad news for the bond market and mortgage rates because it raises inflation concerns, making long-term securities such as mortgage related bonds less attractive to investors. Analysts are expecting to see an increase of 0.1% in income and decline in outlays of 0.2%.

The week's last report comes at 10:00 AM ET Friday when the University of Michigan updates their Index of Consumer Sentiment for this month. Current forecasts show this index remaining nearly unchanged from this month's preliminary reading of 57.5. This index is important because it helps us measure consumer confidence, which is believed to indicate consumers' willingness to spend. Since consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy, any related data is considered to be important.
When Joe The Plumber came to me asking when to lock in his mortgage for his newly purchased home. I had to answer the following:
Overall, it is difficult to peg a single day of the week as being the most important. The data being posted Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday is very important to the markets. The FOMC meeting is the single most important event of the week, but we may see noticeable movement in mortgage rates several days this week. Accordingly, please maintain contact with your mortgage professional.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.

You know what Joe's answer was?

I'll wait till after the elections...

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Super cool song

To all my SEO friends.

I made a new little info video and was browsing YouTube and stumbled upon this cool song.

Thought my friends of the Thirty Day Challenge would enjoy and I hope you all agree it's a change to all my posts on Real Estate.

Have fun,

Embedded Video

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Can I stay in My house once I am served foreclosure papers?

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The Florida Foreclosure Process

Florida Foreclosures

Foreclosures happen in Florida when a homeowner is severely delinquent in payments or can no longer make payments on the mortgage. Any hardship can contribute to the foreclosure process beginning: an injury preventing work, the loss of a job, a divorce or other financial strains. Foreclosure is the process of the bank or lending institution getting the property back and reselling it to recoup their money.

Florida is a judicial state. This means that all foreclosures must use the court system for processing. Since banks differ and the courts are involved, the foreclosure process time line varies slightly between individual cases. The average time frame is five to six months from the beginning steps until the finalization of a foreclosure.

Steps Taken to Foreclosure

The first steps fall under the pre-foreclosure period. The mortgage holder is late with payment, but remain in the property while the foreclosure proceedings progress.

Notice of Default

The Notice of Default is the first indication of late payment. It is a written notice sent to the mortgage holder by the mortgage lender. It will state how much money is owed and how late the payment is. A Notice of Default will state what you need to do in order to become current on your payments and prevent foreclosure from happening.

Lis Pendens

Lis Pendens is Latin for "suit pending." [1] This may refer to any pending lawsuit or to a specific situation with a public notice of litigation in this case it is paperwork filed by the mortgage lender in the county courthouse. It states their intention to sue the property owners if they do not receive the mortgage monies. The court then creates the paperwork that notifies all parties involved about the upcoming lawsuit and the terms.

Notice of Action

Notice of Action is the next step in the foreclosure process. When a mortgage holder cannot pay the terms stated in the Notice of Default and goes further in delinquency, a Notice of Action is posted in the local newspaper. It states the mortgage lender’s written demands to be paid on their loan and their intent to take back the property if the payment is not made.

Once the Notice of Action is posted, the formal foreclosure process takes place.

Foreclosure Action

A foreclosure action, which is a lawsuit filed under the county where the property is located, is made. This states the intent of the mortgage company to evict the residents and take over ownership of the property. They will post the date and time of the auction where the property will be sold, anywhere from three to six weeks in the future.

Redemption

At any time before the auction of the property, the mortgage holder can take back the property if they can pay off the mortgage in full. If they can pay for the mortgage in full, the proceedings are halted and the mortgage holders can move in and reassume ownership of the property.

Sheriff’s Sale

The last step of the foreclosure process is the Sheriff’s sale. This is where the property is auctioned off to the highest bidder at the county courthouse. The price is low to begin, but can escalate if it is in a hot location. Once another bidder has won the auction and the property, the former mortgage holder has terminated all of their rights to the property. Within ten days of the successful sale, the title is transferred to the winning bidder.



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Staging tips to make your house stand out.

Making Your House Stand Out in Today's Market As the real estate industry continues its downward trend, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to sell your home. Prices have dropped, there are more listings than ever to choose from and sellers are giving incredible deals to buyers.
Here are a few tips to make your home stand out.

Curb Appeal Curb appeal is the first way to draw attention to your home. Since it is the first thing that anyone sees, you want the “WOW” factor. I know people that have bought houses just because of the spectacular landscaping. I also know people who have not even bothered looking inside of a house because of the condition of the exterior.
Make sure the exterior of the house is in tip-top shape so the potential buyer immediately wants to see the inside.
The following is your list of items to maintain curb appeal:
• Cut grass
• Trim all hedges and bushes
• Add mulch, mulch, mulch, mulch to beds
• Have flowering plants or potted flowers on the porch
• Keep junk out of sight and place in the backyard or in a shed
• Clean all cluttering debris such as sticks, garbage, old magazines, etc.
• Replace all the light bulbs surrounding the house
• Check the doorbell!
You want the inside of your house to wow potential buyers just as much as the outside. The following checklist gives ultimate interior appeal.
Make sure all items are completed before the first showing of your house is scheduled.
• Clean! Every floor, window, closet and cupboard!
• Remove excess clutter, toys, paperwork and knick-knacks. Clutter makes counter tops and rooms appear smaller than they really are.
• Paint the walls in dirty rooms or where a room needs brightening. Bright rooms give the appearance that they are more spacious.
• Make repairs to anything needed – hinges, doorknobs, plaster, steps, plumbing, etc.
• Replace all burned out light bulbs.
• Wash all window coverings. Open all of the curtains and blinds before a showing. Natural light makes a room appear bigger.
• Open the doors and windows before a showing to fill the home with fresh air.

When the inside and outside are clean and neat, you may need to provide a bigger incentive to your potential buyers. If the house has repairs that you didn’t have the time or cash to fix, you can offer credit towards the purchase price. That way, you acknowledge the repairs and give the buyer a discount for accepting the home as is.
Another option is to offer an allotment if your house needs new carpeting or flooring. Buyers like allotments because they get the item new, plus they get to pick out their colors. A win-win situation for everyone.
The time spent cleaning, making minor repairs, and providing incentives for major repairs, will make your home stand out above the competition.
Although these little fixes may require some time and effort, selling quickly in a tough market will be worth the effort in the end!


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If you have sold a property in a short sale are other properties you own at risk for the deficiency?

You should not have a deficiency after a short sale.
Unless you have a previous foreclosure on your record.

That is just what short sale is all about.

Here is and extract out of one of the lenders approval letters:

"Lender or its investors will not pursue a deficiency judgment if the shortsale closes on the referenced loan. If the shortsale does not close, then the referenced loan secured by the Note and Security Instrument shall remain in full force and effect and we will pursue all remedies under the Note and Security Instrument."

It says clearly "no deficiency judgment", so you won't be pursued.

The beauty of the short sale is that it creates a win/win for everybody:
- The seller/borrower gets debt forgiveness and has no deficiency judgment against him. On top of that his credit report will show the debt as settled so that's not bad.
- The Lender does not have to spend $50,000 or more in foreclosure fees.
- The new buyer is getting a steal of a deal.
- The Realtor gets a commission out of the proceeds.

Isn’t that sweet?

So, don't worry, if the short sale is handled by a licensed professional then you should be having no problems afterwards.




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A Foreclosure advice to stay maried for life

A TIP TO HELP YOU STAY MARRIED FOR LIFE, Even when Foreclosure papers are served to you or your spouse:

Don't Panic

If you have the tendency to panic when unexpected news comes your way, work on changing that behavior. Your spouse may fear telling you certain things because of your reactions. Your panic could be harming communication.

Just be proactive, read carefully what you are being served with, seek advice of a lawyers or real estate agent and act accordingly.

It's so important to stick together in though times that I just wanted to share this with you.

Check out our website for more info on short sales, deed in lieu and foreclosure.

Be strong, there are more important things in life that a house.



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have to work on it

One of the conditions of a short sale is that the seller/borrower does not receive any proceeds from the sale.

In a recent short sale agreement the lender wrote the following:

"The sellers will not receive any proceeds from this short sale transaction. If there are any remaining escrow funds or refunds they will not be returned to the seller, they will be sent to Countrywide to offset the loss"

Most lenders will ask you to sign an assignment of unearned premium refund. This is a document signed by the seller/borrower addressed to the insurer whereas the insured cancels the policy and requests the insurance company to refund to the Lender all unearned premium and or unpaid claims.

Unfortunately, you will not see any money coming back to you and I understand that, in a situation where you lose your home and also your down payment, all extra income is welcome.

But look at it this way, you won't have a deficiency judgment filled against you and the payoff will show up in your credit report as a partial payment and a settled debt.

With a successful short sale the seller/borrower will be able to get a new mortgage after 18 months. Not bad when you look at the loss that the lender takes.

That is why I recommend a short Sale as the best solution to people that are facing a hardship and are 'upside down' on the mortgage.


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Foreclosure on White House avoided thanks to Short Sale

It is a fact that when you don't pay the mortgage you are facing foreclosure.

And not everyone can print money to bail out...

On the other hand, what's the point for the bank to foreclose on a property when it is worth less than the mortgage?

In today's market more and more people have properties that are 'upside down' and there are many advantages for both lender as owner to find common grounds.

That's what happened to Bobby A. who bought a beautiful white house in Windermere, Florida.
He could not pay the mortgage anymore and was facing foreclosure when he got a letter in the mail from MonkeySold.
He decided to try and use the solution offered in the letter and two weeks later an open house was organized with a bidding process on the house.
This resulted in a contract on the house that could be submitted to the bank for a short sale.

Short sale is a great solution for people facing foreclosure because in that case the bank does not need to spend money on the foreclosure process, nor does it need to buy back the property and maintain it to further sell it at a bigger loss.

More and more people are coming to MonkeySold for help.
We have developed a processing system that reduces the time to get a response from the bank on a short sale by 50 to 70%, says Timothy Swider.
Timothy, who is one of the leading partners in MonkeySold, has put his airline pilot training to work in the company. By creating checklists and standardizing documents and processes he has turned the administrative heart of the company in a well oiled production machine. With state of the art technology, powered by Apple, the company now processes 10times more short sale files than when it started 6 months ago.

The company will handle more than 200 short sale files a month and is ready to take on more.

What are the benefits of selling your home in a short sale?
Besides of avoiding the hassle, costs and fear of going through a foreclosure procedure there is a much greater benefit. People can stay in their home until the sale is closed and notice will be sent to the credit bureau agencies to report the mortgage as "settled for less than the amount due' On top of that there are no fees charged for the program as all related costs are paid out of the proceeds of the sale.

So why wait?
Get that Monkey of your back now and call 866 614 6993 or visit www.monkeysold.com





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Get real after viewing this. Go Short Sale! Not for sensitive viewers.

This is reality folks. If you are in trouble then don't let it come this far. There's something called 'Denial' ... get out of it, get real, ask for help. And most off all inform your spouse and loved ones. Facing foreclosure is hard, but with the right help and advise, it will just be one of those seasons in life. Let it pass, get through and move on. Helath, Love and Friendship are more important than a piece of property.

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Condo or Townhouse, the new Money Pit

Prices of Condo's have dropped significantly faster than single family home prices in Orlando.
The average single family home price is now $200,000, but the average condo price is $120,000. The problem is that as a owner of a condo you don;t have control over the condo fees.

Buying a condominium is not buying a free-standing, single family home. An element of politics enters your life when you choose to purchase a condo, as you will be turning over decision making on how the property will be maintained – or not maintained – to a board of directors. When you buy a condo, you become part of a condominium association, established by a declaration of condominium, with by-laws, rules, and fees, all governed by that board of directors.

A condominium is a legal concept where a group of people have banded together into a single economic unit, a community created as a corporation, which share the expenses for maintaining the common areas (sometimes called “common elements”) and separately, their own individual unit. Condo fees are established to maintain those common areas, and budget for major expenditures coming in the future.

Condo fees are established by the board of directors of the condo association, usually on an annual basis. They should take into account not only historical data on expenses, such as heating and lighting common areas, but also be forecasting future needs such as roof replacements and large projects that will face the association, as a whole, sometime in the future. The board also needs to adequately insure the common areas, so in case of a major catastrophe, the financial burden to the individual unit owners is limited.

These fees, or assessments, are charged to the individual unit owners on a regular basis, either monthly, quarterly, or annually. And sometimes, if the condo board has not been thinking ahead, via a special assessment that could literally bankrupt the individual unit owner and cause the condo association to foreclose on their unit for non-payment.


Condo fees will, inevitably, rise every year, since certain common area expenses will, inevitably, rise every year, too. Condominium fees (some call them “dues”) are akin to taxes, which (in a perfect world) are used for the common good, and improvement of the environment around you. Those dues also have legal weight, since if you fail to pay them, there is an automatic lien on your unit (usually) for the amount of those dues which the condo board has the authority to foreclose on.

Items common to every condominium budget:

* Utility expenses
* Common area maintenance expenses
* Common area reserves
* Insurance expenses
* Real estate taxes
* Audit fees

In larger condo associations, there may be income sources to consider, such as parking structures, pools, tennis courts, etc. The condo board determines whether or not those facilities will be available to the general public – for a fee – or solely available to the condo members and their guests. In some cases, there also may be ancillary facilities such as meeting rooms, party rooms, and such which the condo board can charge a fee for use.

Common area reserves are established for long-range planning – What happens when a critical component such as a central boiler or cooling system wears out, or the roof needs replaced?

The condo board can address the issue of the eventual failure of major components in one of two ways. They can ignore that eventually these components will fail, and put the full burden of that expense on the people owning units within the building at the time the component needs to be replaced; or, charge a projected amount, based on the expected life-expectancy of the component and the estimated cost to replace it to each unit owner annually, and invest those funds until such time as they are needed.

If the board fails to adequately reserve funds for the failure of a major component, they will be forced to levy a special assessment in order to pay for it. That special assessment could be a major hit, immediately due in full. This leaves the individual unit owner with the burden for planning, and saving, for that financial hit to occur.

This primer on condo fees, and what they cover, should prove valuable to you in analyzing whether condo ownership is right for you, whether a specific condominium association is where you want to be, and a good primer for a fledgling condominium board member struggling to understand what they’ve gotten themselves into by agreeing to be on the board.





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Why does a 90 year old woman shoots herself after being served with foreclosure notice?

Addie Polk, 90, of Akron, Ohio, became a symbol of the nation's home mortgage crisis when she was hospitalized after shooting herself at least twice in the upper body Wednesday afternoon.

This lady was terrified after being served with a foreclosure notice.

My advice is not to worry when you are getting served, you don't have to leave the house. Don't let people's horror stories frighten you.

Once you are served, and believe me you WANT to be served, you have 20 days to reply.

So...Just Reply!!

Please reply!!

Reply whatever you want, I suggest that you reply that you are working with a Realtor on a short sale and that the package is in the landers hands and that it is waiting to be signed off and that you are requesting for a 180 days delay in foreclosure to get the paperwork done.

And believe me or not you will get extra time

So don't panic but be proactive, work with your lender.

Ask advice from a legal counsel or from a licensed real estate agent,
These should have standard letters and specialized attorneys lined up to help you, just call us and remember don't panic!

CU
next time,
Monk








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Hud Foreclosures Only $100 downpayment required

Effective immediately, FHA has extended the $100 HUD Repo Program that allows borrowers to purchase HUD-owned properties. In addition to requiring only a $100 down payment, borrowers may also obtain financing up to 110% of the loan amount. Appraiser-required repairs up to $5,000 and all closing costs and pre-paid expenses may be financed up to 110% of the lesser of the appraised value or purchase price.

In many cases, additional HUD incentives apply. In some markets, additional borrower incentives, as high as $2,500, may be used toward closing costs and pre-paid expenses. In more limited markets, selling real estate agents may also be eligible for up to $500 in sales incentives when borrowers choose certain FHA financing. These incentives are provided by HUD, and may be changed or discontinued by HUD at any time.

HUD-owned properties may be researched on the Web sites of the management companies each
FHA Homeownership Center has hired to market HUD-owned properties under their jurisdiction.
FHA provides a link to each state’s management company at http://www.hud.gov/homes

.. NHMS – Florida, New York, New Jersey, Ohio

Not all states and/or counties may be eligible for the $100 down program.

I thought you all might be interested in this, have a great day!

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Short sales are the way to go!

Short sales are the way to go!
And I know, believe me. I have lost all my savings by investing in real estate. Although I was cautious and have been putting 20 to 30% down. I still got in trouble because of a high vacancy rate.
So let me share some experience.
When you see it coming and you know you’re going to fall behind, you are desperately trying to save your credit.
So first thing you do is trying to be pro active.
You call the bank, explain the situation and ask for a loan modification or any other help.
And what do they reply?
Sorry, can’t help you.
Why?
You’re not behind in payments.
So? You’re telling me that I have to stop paying in order to get you to help me?
Uhh,
It’s so frustrating but it is a fact, you have to stop paying for them to listen or help!
Well, when you stop paying, your credit gets a hit.
Result of that is that they won’t help you because now you have bad credit.
So, they are shooting themselves in the foot.
Now, here’s the deal.
In a short sale the bank accepts a lower payoff, they waive deficiency Judgment and it appears on your credit report as a settled debt.
That’s much better than a foreclosure or judgment.
Now You’ll be able to apply for another loan in about 18 months.
Why would a lender do that?
They look at the actual value of the property, that means today’s value, Not what you owe.
Because they know if they foreclose they are only going to get market value or below anyway.
On top of that, a foreclosure is costing the lender on average $50,000 and it is bad for the lenders credit score as now they have an increase in foreclosures. So they are seen as bad lenders, and as a result of that they need more reserves, that means less money to work with.
Are you still with me?
The best is yet to come
So, Now the lender accepts my buyers short sale offer, forgives me the difference in what I owe and what the property is sold for AND waives deficiency judgment against me.
Good Stuff.
Now watch out!
When you decide to go that route, make sure that you use a licensed Realtor or specialized processing company. Don’t try this on your own!
Do you due diligence, ask the Realtor how many short sales he has successfully done, check out the Better Business Bureau. Because time is of the essence. And the clock is ticking.
Also once you work with someone, keep checking with your lender, nothing wrong with checking if your Realtor does his job.
Last but not least, make sure you have an offer on the property!
Any offer will do.
Why?
Because, again, your Lender won’t move as long as you don’t make him to.
Why does an offer make them move?
They have to, because if they don’t, you will tell the Judge.
So, now they appoint an appraiser, they check out the value and will get back to you with a Yeah or Nay.
When it’s a Nay, you’ll know how much they are looking for and believe me they are not unreasonable.
As long as you or your Realtor don’t come up with one of those ‘investors’ offers and try to steal the property from the bank, they will accept any offer that is close to market value.
So what are you waiting for?
Get that Monkey Off of Your Back!
Go short sale!

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Doc Stamps on Short Sales

Great  News that I wanted to share………..Have a great day

 

Department of Revenue final official letter ruling doc stamps on short sales are not due on loan amount forgiven by existing lender over the amount paid off from the sales proceeds where the amount of the excess debt is forgiven or released.

 

Note that doc stamps would be due up to the full amount of the debt less the amount paid from the sale proceeds if the lender takes back a note for the amount not paid in the sale or does not provide a release of the obligation in full.

 

PMI Insurance and Short Sales... Buyer Beware

Some new info on the short sale business that people should be aware of when they have a loan that includes PMI insurance:

Be aware, the PMI Co. in some cases, are requesting the Home Owner doing the Short Sale, to sign a Promissory Note before proceeding with a Short Sale. This is happening more times than not and the homeowner is often surprised and does not want to sign these. Now these are often notes, spread out over periods of 60 to 72 months resulting in payments around $155 a month.

Now I don't know how people reason when they are comfronted with this request but if it was me I'd sign immediately.

If signing that note and making those payments helps me to get a debt forgiven that runs in the ten thousands of dollars. Then this is really a drop in the ocean.

I'm not saying there is a note presented every time, I'm saying there is a great possibility. Now, the PMI Co. are also running behind because of the extreme increase in Short Sales.

Anyway, we at MonkeySold are committed to help our clients as much as we can and often we come up with solutions to find some kind of funding to help lower these notes.

We just sold another monkey

Yeah, we did it again. We sold another Monkey this Sunday night.
That's what we do, we take the Monkey off your back!
After a two day open house, we conducted a succesfull bidding and sold the house to a qualified buyer.
So, just for fun I want to treat you on another MonleySold related video from Youtube. Enjoy!

From an experienced appraiser.

Hey Guys,

I've just got this email from Todd Vandermay, who is an experienced appraiser here in the Orlando ares. His email speaks for itself. Therefore I just copy pasted it. It is a must read! Although no fun.

We are half way through 2008 and the market is still in decline. In this area where we live, I have first hand experience that values have dropped 25% to 50% over the past 2+ years (early 2006 to mid 2008), depending on the home and location. The more artificially inflated the value of the home at its peak, the more the drop now. A really desirable home in a hot community has only dropped 25% from its peak. Understandably, I guess, most people want to believe that their house value is up 10% to down 10%, depending on their level of denial. If they have tried to sell, they have probably had their bubble of denial popped. (And yet, I heard a former president of our local Realtor’s board adamantly and arrogantly proclaim last month that “you are crazy if you don’t realize the bottom is here.”)

I have been in the appraisal business for 24 years and I have never been in a market like this. If you are lucky like myself, and still in this business, congratulations. If we can be of any help in surviving this market, please give me a call. We still provide the same quality reports and quick turn times at a competitive fee. I hope to hear from you soon.

Todd VanderMay

Appraisal Services of Orlando

(B) 407-898-1152

(C) 407-221-6283

(F) 407-895-2060

Todd@AppraisalServicesOrlando.com

I Know I shouldn't... but making fun of yourself can be healthy

My wife gave me a plaque the other day, it read: 'LIVE SIMPLY, SO THAT OTHERS MAY SIMPLY LIVE...' words from Ghandi.

So, I will live the simple life. Helping people sell their homes and helping people fight foreclosure.

What they go through, I am going through myself... Actually I said to myself, you have to have lived it in order to understand and to help. (LOL)
Many of my investments aren't worth the money I owe to the bank, not to mention the downpayment that is vaporized.

Maybe I should do what I preach and just dump it all. Why throwing good money after bad money?

Anyway with all this in mind I want you to enjoy this funny song that I've picked up on Youtube.
As I said in the headline, we better laugh with it all.
Timothy, my partner in MonkeySold says... "Live and Learn."
Enjoy:

Another day has gone by

Hey Friends,

Another day has gone by.

I just learned on the radio that blogging seems t be good therapy for the soul, I don't know what to think of it, but it sure feels good to write down some words at the end of the day.

We got our second closing ready, remember, the one that was going to close today? well that didn't happen, but I got the extension signed and finally have the monies in escrow. The extension is set for 31st of this month... let's hope it'll happen.

Our third one also needed an extension signed till end of the week and I'm just of the phone with the buyers' realtor and she's on her way to get that done. Now it's hoping for that second Mortgage Holder to come trough with an agreement. Otherwise we'll need to get our attorney involved and have him contact the judge. Another option is getting hold of a supervisor at the bank and be nasty... I prefer the first option.

Anyway, today we have signed another property for a weekend Monkey Sale, this time it's an investors' property. A nice rehabbed home.

This evening I've spend some time calling people that contacted us moths ago but where not ready to use our services. A good thing I did that because some people changed their mind and where happy to hear from us.

Tomorrow we'll have a training on how to modify our website and make better use of it. I really am looking forward to that because it needs a lot of work.

Keep checking on us and you'll see the progress.

CU

One down 2 to go

Hey Friends, just a quick update.

Remember the one we needed to close with agreement from the first mortgage holder and an expired one from the second? Well it all cam trough. The bank gave us until the 28th to close.

Now I am chasing the title company and the buyer so that they can get their act together.

The one that needs to close tomorrow is still No Go. I called the buyer's agent and asked for an extension. Meanwhile I chase this second mortgage holder for an answer.

Then the other one that needs to close on the 17th. I've sent him all he needs. Still think they can't pull this one of in 2 days.

On the marketing side all goes well, we are getting more than 800 letters out this week, talking about how we can help people. Let's hope some of them listen :-)

Also marketing of our next weekend sale goes on schedule, tomorrow John takes pictures and prepares the video tour so check that one out on www.sellthatmonkey.com

Today a lady called she's upside down on all her properties, three months behind in payments on two of them. I think we can help by negotiating a short sale. But she still is in denial ...

Denial is your worst enemy

I have a friend who picks houses up from people in distress, he asks them the following question: on a scale from 0 to 10 how do you judge your motivation to sell? when they reply anything below a 10, he replies... call me when you are a 10

that means call me when you're desperate...

I really hope that I can catch people before they turn into a 10

Our goal is to HELP not to take advantage... but some people still think they'll solve it... an they won't..

too bad

Another week starts

Another week starts

Hey guys I was going to journal, showing how we do things around here.

This is going to be a hectic week. We need to prepare a home for next weekend Quick Close Sale and we need to get 3 closings done. On one we finally have the approval from the 1st Mortgage Holder, we already had an approval from the second Mortgage Holder so you would think we're good to go right? Well no, the approval from the second was valid 30 days and it took the first more than that to make up his mind. So we need to chase that second.

Then we have a closing planned for the 17th and we don't have the money in escrow yet. I spoke with the Mortgage broker and buyer on Saturday and the both assured me that all would be okay. Well I don't think so, I need to chase this as they don't even have an appraisal done.

On the 3rd house I have an approval of the first Mortgage Holder but the second has been a nightmare. We have a contract for sale to close on the 15th and desperately need that agreement from the second. If not foreclosure is set for the 21st...

Those are this weeks priorities.

I'll keep you posted

How it all started

I would like to start this blog by telling how MonkeySold came to life.

So, here's the story.

A couple of years ago I made some good money and decided to invest it all in Real Estate. I took some 'Investors' classes, became a Real Estate Agent and a Mortgage Broker and started buying single family homes and some Commercial Real Estate.

All my properties where bought with 20 to 50% down and all was going well.

Every year I would refinance some properties and use the cash to buy some new ones.

All was going well until I had 7 vacancies and the market started to tank.

I really needed to sell some assets and I really needed to do it quickly.

A friend of mine advised me to look into a Quick Close Sales method, and that's how I found myself at a training course in Quick Sales (some call it 2 day sales). The course left me all pumped up, as a sales pro and marketeer, I really am convinced that today's Real Estate market needs some aggressive sales methods and this method is not only innovative it is also the fastest way to sell.

So I found myself motivated, ready to conquer the world of Real Estate but with no client or home to try out my new skills.

And as I am a firm believer in getting your feet wet and learn by trial and error, I desperately needed a home owner who wanted to use my newly acquired skills.

A couple of days later I am having breakfast with a friend of whom I know that he has his home on the market and I'm telling him about my new revolutionary sales methods. He tells me that he has been praying for someone to help him as he really is pressured to sell his home.

It took him two weeks to convince his Realtor, who had the listing for more than a year, to release him from the listing agreement.

That gave me 2 weeks to get my act together and to deliver proof of concept.

2 weeks later we had an open house at his property and sold the home that Sunday night for a little bit more than what was owed to the bank.

The good part was that the bank offered me a Real Estate commission on the sale.

Next thing you know, we're selling a home every weekend.

Not every home sells for what is owed to the bank, but I learned that the bank takes the offers that I bring them as they know that this method is giving them the highest and best value the market can offer.

So now 'MonkeySold' is not only a solution for selling a home fast but it has also become an expert in Short Sales.

This blog is intended to share the story of helping people.