Frank Wible, ReMax Foreclosure Agent

www.NewLoanPackage.com - Do It Yourself Loan Modification!

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:46:00 +0000

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Doing a loan modification is easy. All you need is the right instructions and the forms the lender will require. Frank Wible, the nation’s number one short sale realtor has performed hundreds of these loan modifications for his clients.

NOW, the same documents and instructions that have been used by his staff are now available for download. You will not believe how easy it is to modify your own loan. It’s time to take advantage of this governmental opportunity to reduce your payments and possibly, your entire loan amount.

Take a look at the website we have setup for you and you will see what we mean…

NewLoanPackage.com

Frank Wible, LLC

Turnersville, NJ 08012

fwible@gmail.com

Phone: 856-745-7700

Fax: 856-228-4433

PS: Realtors and Agents are welcome to use this package to provide Loan Modification Services for their clients

Countrywide: I can honestly say this is a first for me!

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 01:10:00 +0000

In February, I successfully completed and closed a short sale with Countrywide. The process was a nightmare and it took almost 6 months to get completed (many complicated issues on this one).

I represented the buyer and the seller in this transaction. Although I was able to keep it together, the buyer was frustrated by the time it closed. But, all is good now, they are happy with their purchase.

Now almost August, the new owner calls me today (6 months after he closed) FREEKING out. Why? Because he has a notice on the door that the home was just sold in Sherriff sale!

After the call from the new owner, I ran to the office. I pulled the file and reviewed everything...it was all fine. I called Countrywide immediately. After reviewing the documents with the person on the phone we discover the loss mitigation representative reversed a digit in the account number on the approval letter and closing instructions. OMG!! So OK, how are we going to fix it!??

That loss mitigation representative and their boss no longer work at Countywide. The account we wired the money to is a Bank of America account (we closed right in the middle of the merger), and the person I had on the phone had no idea what to do. The highest person I could get to; the regional director also had no idea what happened and what to do about it. They told me they will start an investigation! WHAT DO I TELL THIS HOMEOWNER RIGHT NOW?

The moral of this story, and it is a true one, verify everything on your approval letters. Do not leave anything to chance! I have no idea how this is going to turn out, but it's a big mess!!

I can honestly say this is a first for me!

Good Luck!

Frank Wible

Short Sale Agents and Lenders In a Tug-A-War!

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 15:07:00 +0000

Bad news continues to surface as quality solutions for homeowners continue to remain anonymous or hidden. FDIC shutters two more regional banks; The 28 branches of 1st National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank, operating in Nevada, Arizona and California, were closed late Friday. The IndyMac fallout continues to create havoc among depositors and investors. Wachovia lays of 10,000 employees and the FDIC places them on the top of their "close doors" watch list. Foreclosure filings up 120%; 220,000 homes were lost to bank repossessions in the second quarter of 2008. A total of 739,714 more foreclosure filings were recorded during that three-month period. Because foreclosure filings are growing so quickly, RealtyTrac will have to reevaluate its foreclosure forecast of an estimated 2 million for the year. Less than midway through the year, we're already at 1.4 million foreclosures, so there're going to be significantly raising this projection. Could we hit over 3 million??!!

Every year 600,000 families with 1.35 million children experience homelessness in the United States, making up about 50 percent of the homeless population (3.2 Million) over the course of the year. (Source: National Alliance to End Homelessness). Foreclosure has NOT been a major factor in homelessness when this study was done. Average household = 3.5 people. That's 11 Million people losing the home they live in!

What does all this bad news mean to a homeowner looking to resolve the negative equity, foreclosure, or resetting ARM mortgage issues with their home? Well, without a viable solution presenting itself shortly, it may mean you will become part of a national statistic and epidemic.

One option is short selling your home. But in this down market it has become questionable at best. Like a juggler, a short sale agent needs to keep so many items in the air in order to complete the transaction and save you from foreclosure. The tasks are overwhelming and the success rate is starting to drop like a brick off a bridge. A short sale agent/expert needs to be aware and juggle the following;

The Buyer – keeping them onboard is one of the hardest balls to keep in the air. Dream home purchases become nightmares during the short sale process.
The Buyer's Agent – Pushing for answers in order to secure the home for their buyer, and quite frankly get paid! ("I knew I should not have shown my qualified buyer that short sale house!" – a very common phrase heard throughout real estate offices.)
The Lender – An uncontrollable, unrealistic and unaware force that makes the decision as they want, when they want. No consideration for any party in the transaction other than their investors. This system is so broken even the best of the best find it difficult to navigate these illogical waters.
The Seller – Unforeseen liens, judgments and other issues that always seem to make the deal so much harder. Self sabotage is starting to surface now as sellers begin to become frustrated after months of waiting, and call the lenders to negotiate themselves. (And by the way- they have the right to do it!)
Lien Holders – An entity that has claim to the home such as a second mortgage, judgment holder, or Unites States of America via a tax lien.
The Market – Through the process of the short sale, other homes come on the market that match yours in price and forces the buyer to reconsider their purchase. You have no control over this at all.
Mortgage Granters – Short sales take so long, at anytime the buyer's mortgage company could remove a program, change a program, or simply change guidelines that now place the buyer in "NON-APPROVAL" status. Deal Dead!

With everything listed above, there is no doubt you need to find an agent that has a complete understanding of doing a short sale and holding the deal together. This, at the very least, gives you half a chance to get the deal to the table. But I can assure you there is no guarantee.

Over the past years, I've seen things go from bad to worse. A canned response from most lenders when a short sale package has been presented is "please call back in 45 days to confirm receipt." Forty five days to confirm you've simply received it??!! That's crazy! The entire short sale process has now escalated to four months or better to complete. If lenders claim these time frame issues are based on sheer volume, and if RealtyTrac was wrong on their projections by more than fifty percent, does that mean current short sale time lines my increase by fifty percent as well? I'm not sure our national economy can afford to let this happen.

Keeping the deal together is an almost impossible now. If we add fifty percent to that time we could be looking at a six month average. This is when, in my opinion, short sales will end. I may have an investor or two that would be willing to hold on for half a year (at a low offer price), but there is no way we will hold traditional home buyer to a six month window.

With a system that is obviously broken or flawed at best, and a process that requires an immense amount of resources and money to facilitate, why is no one doing anything about it?

Recently I've noticed a large number of counter offers from lenders. Some counters higher than full market value. Does this indicator show us that lenders have in fact made up their minds on the short sale market? Not to do them, or are they hurting for the money. I think it's the money. As indicated, 220,000 homes became bank owned last quarter according to RealtyTrac. This number, for those of you not following the REO market, is absolutely staggering. I can't help to wonder how many had short sale contracts on them. How many homeowners tried to avoid the blemish of foreclosure through a short sale but were unsuccessful? And more importantly, which of the items I listed above being juggled dropped to make it fall apart? My bet is number one (the buyer walked because of the wait time) in most cases.

I recently, and accidently attended a foreclosure law seminar. Silly me thinking it was for Realtors. I didn't find out until I was there, it was for lawyers only! I was never asked if I was a lawyer, so I stayed. The entire seminar was on how to represent your client (the lender) through the foreclosure process and how to "decrease" the time it takes to foreclose. Keeping in mind that New Jersey is a judicial state, and is averaging over eight months for the process. In the end, I was educated on how to speed up the process for a lender to foreclose. However, that information, by default, gave me a complete insight on how to sabotage the process and slow it back down…legally! Great information when I am representing my seller in foreclosure! Maybe I should write a book! Hahahaha! Although under full disclosure, I would never give "legal" advice to my clients.

Knowing that we could see a major (50%) increase in the time it takes to produce a short sale, it will place many sellers in jeopardy of losing the home before a short sale can even be complete. Contacting a lawyer to delay (sabotage) the process may be their only option. But why bother? Even if they do, they buyer will never stay around long enough to close the deal anyway. If you can, having a lawyer when it comes to anything real estate or foreclosure related is always a good idea, and they can help.

We as agents work daily to make one persons housing nightmare end and another persons housing dream come true. We do it without really thinking what we've done. We do it because it's our job, our business and how we put bread on our table. Never realizing the power we have achieved to make a transaction like a short sale take place.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is one of the largest organizations in the world, and I believe, together with the lenders has the power to facilitate a change to this foreclosure and short sale abomination. Realtors are in fact lender advocates, not their enemy. Working together we can assist one another to minimize the damages of the housing mess and work towards a common solution. It's fairly obvious that as of today, we are not working as a team, but against one another. The hard facts and statistics show this to be true.

Even I, as a short sale trainer teach from experience only, not fact. To date, not a single lender has provided factual instruction, training or faster facilitation programs. Why is this? We submit our "best guess" package only to find out 45 days later that items are missing. In most cases, items were not missing, it's just something new you now require from the seller. Why was this new requirement ever published? I propose instead of spending millions daily to facilitate and manage the incomplete or incorrect short sale package we work together to make every package complete.

This broad stroke idea is one of many that could be facilitated and save you millions. Why is it a tug a war between us? Short sale properties should require the holding lender approve the mortgage for the new buyer (like you do in your REO program). Simple items like this can not only save, and make you millions, but place the unfortunate American family losing their home in a position to buy again more quickly (without a foreclosure on their credit).

So many things can be done that are not. So many fights take place between negotiator and agent (or lawyer), when things can obviously be so much easier. Nothing in me believes your intention is to take the property back. The oldest proverb in the real estate business "the bank does not want it back" must still hold true. So let's bring this back to a reality! We as Realtors ask you to take a giant step backwards and realize there is an answer. The answer is there, but sometimes you really can't see the forest for the trees! Listening to us is a better option that closing your doors!

Frank Wible
REMAX ALL Pros
National Short Sale Agent and Homeowner Advocate.
www.ShortSaleNJ.com

Short Sale System Level Flaws Are Identified.

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:53:00 +0000

If you read 100 different agent blogs about foreclosures and short sales and you undoubtedly will have 100 different opinions about how to successfully achieve and complete one. You will also hear to (1) avoid them if possible; (2) tasks to complete when you have a short sale listing; (3) what you should do first; (4) what lenders to avoid and which to work with; (5) and what to do as a buyer or seller stuck in a short sale scenario. All good advice by the way…and there really are no wrong opinions. This is a business that truly has no rules, and as much as "the experts" would like to give you advice to this problem, it really is a "learn as you go approach." Each problem and situation is unique.

Providing advice via a blog like ActiveRain, seminars or training classes; criticizing or bashing lenders about the short sale process; and giving our own personal direction and secrets on doing short sales all seem to be a tactical and misguided approach to the overall inflating foreclosure problem. As agents and legal professionals, what is our strategic approach to resolve this problem? Tactical vs. strategic defined as: If you no longer want milk in this world, do you take on the overwhelming task of killing every dairy cow in the world? (Tactical approach), or do you simply destroy the few dairy farms that are producing the milk? (Strategic approach)

It's fairly obvious that a tactical approach to our nation's short sale problem is never going to get the job done. We, as professionals need to define a strategy that does not include facing this major systems flaw one short sale at a time.

I've completed so many short sales I've lost count. I've trained agents across the country on every facet of short sales, and I've done radio, television and blogged until my fingers hurt to help and assist homeowners and agents facilitate and streamline the short sale process. Overall, I feel great on the work that I have done, so why does the situation seem to be getting worse? Like most, I did not focus on the strategic problem, only the tactical solution.

Recently, my focus and energies have been to create a group of professionals and with the help of some of the top consulting firms, address these lender process issues from a more strategic approach. This goes way beyond me trying to create a short sale business selling homes; it's more of a 911 call to the lenders. (If you've completed quite a few short sales in your area, and would like to be an professional associate in this venture, you can email me directly fwible@remax.net).

For example, a hedge fund buys the paper (a mortgage note) from the lender. The purchase price for this note is thirty seven to forty five cents ($0.37) on the dollar. The lender sells 500 notes to this hedge fund, and they are paid "today", in advance for these notes. However, the hedge fund requires the lender to continue to service the note until a short sale or REO sale is complete. When money is ultimately collected, all proceeds go the hedge fund. Remember, the lender already took the loss and got their money back at the beginning! Have you ever heard as a short sale agent, the "investor" has to approve this? Now you know what that statement means. In some cases, it's the initial investor of the loan, but lately, not often.

What motivation does a lender president or CEO have to implement a streamline process in order to facilitate a quick short sale? They have already taken a loss on the note when they sold it to the hedge fund, received their money upfront, and now are nothing more than collection agents for the hedge fund. And remember, in most case they do not receive any additional money once the loan is closed with the borrower (via a short sale or payoff). Have you recently receive a counter offer on your short sale that you thought was crazy? That could be the lender trying to receive a bonus for collecting more than the hedge fund was expecting on the return. Additionally, lenders are paid, (almost as commissioned agents), from the hedge fund if they have to take the property back and sell it through their REO department. In other words, they get paid more to take it back!

If you as a short sale agent ever thought you were fighting an uphill battle, you're right. This is big business and huge profits are made on these hedge fund levels. I personally never have a shortage of hedge funds calling me asking if I have REO tapes (lists) for purchase. Now we all know why.

So, the lender collects the money they need fast (to stay afloat and pay margins), the hedge fund makes a ton of profits for their investors, and the collateral damage is well worth the return.

The major flaw is simply that the damage it is creating is more than just collateral. We see the damages continuing and starting to worsen and dig deeper as these hedge funds continue to get rich. The real estate market is never going to correct itself as long as qualified buyers continue chasing the fantasy of this foreclosure inventory. If this continues, traditional inventory will sit much longer and become stale. It could even force traditional listing into short sale or foreclosure scenario. This circle will never end until this is cleaned up. As we see it, this will eventually affect more people than they can call collateral. Just FYI, quite a few politicians have money in these hedge funds!

Don't believe that greed cannot blind! The amount of money being made at levels is more than you and I may never understand…is amazing. Let's face it, if that was my/your money in the hedge fund we would not see the flaw either, or maybe we would not want to (blind by greed).

The example above is only one of the process flaws we've identified in the lender short sale systems. So I ask, helping sellers on an individual short sale basis does help, but how much? We are so focused on the tactical planning, training, education and assistance of the short sale that we never thought about if we were really helping the overall situation. And do we care? We as agents have to make a living, so knowing how to do a short sale is not a bad thing and it keeps us going. However, overall, I would rather focus my talents and knowledge to assist in the normalization of this insane market. My opinion is that it does not, or did not, have to be this bad, but studies show it will get worse before it gets better.

Thanks for reading!

Frank Wible

Foreclosures from State to State.

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:36:00 +0000

Jack Broad wrote a very compelling article about the time lines from State to State. I would never post his entire article, however I will post some of his data. (His website: http://www.theticasystems.com/)

Jack wrote: In this article, I want to convey some thoughts about foreclosure timelines. What they are and how they can impact various market participants. Recently I performed an analysis of state-level foreclosure timelines. Here's some of what I found. ----

Fastest Foreclosure States (listed alphabetically)

State                     #Months
Alabama              2.34
Arkansas              3.08
DC                          2.70
Georgia                2.58
Maryland             2.79
Michigan              3.22
Missouri               2.06
New Hampshire 2.88
Tennessee          2.15
Texas                    2.85
Virginia                 1.89

Slowest Foreclosure States

State                     #Months
Delaware             6.92
Florida                  6.13
Iowa                      8.54
Illinois                   7.28
Indiana                 7.23
Kentucky             7.34
Louisiana             6.19
Maine                   8.83
New Jersey        7.51
New York            7.05
Ohio                      8.03
Pennsylvania     7.10
Vermont              8.39

Since I started serious blogging about foreclosure and short sales, my national referral business has exploded. I have given out quite a few referrals nationwide. Yet, to this day, I still have no idea how a short sale or foreclosure agent can help a client that let's say lives in Maryland where the process before a client is on the streets is less than three months. We all know (for those of us that do short sales), that it takes much longer than three months simply to get a short sale approval. What can you tell these clients and how can you help them? Being that my national referral business is really starting to climb, I would like to know what your process is to help these people in the states where the foreclosure process is so quick. Please post your comments on what can be done and what you do to help. Thanks for your feedback. Part of this post is for my business research, but most of it is because I feel the stress my clients have (and put me through) when we in New Jersey have quite a bit of time, I can only imagine how your clients (and yourself) feel when the time line is such a crunch!!

Frank Wible
REMAX ALL PROS

Short Sale Debate: 3.5% or 50% Split? Which is better?

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:45:00 +0000

When you negotiate your client's short sale, there is no doubt that you and the buyer's agent stand to have the commissions cut. It has become more common and understood that when involved with a short sale, you will be paid less.

You don't want to post this assumed cut down commission in the MLS because the lender may in fact pay the full commission, or even higher sometimes. So you take the listing at 7% (just in case they cut you), and you publish 3.5% in the MLS. Once you have an offer, you start the process. Months later you are approved, but with a cut commission (of course), and you settle.

Just so we are all clear, no matter what the lender cut your commissions down to (normally 5% - 2.5% for each broker), you published 3.5% in the MLS. The buyer's agent and broker DOES have the right to seek your office for the remaining amount between what they received at closing from the lender and what you published in the MLS! If this happens, it can only add insult to injury when you've worked so hard just to get your listing closed.

Even in the contract you've created and sent to the lender says 7% as you try to slip that larger amount by them. However, to protect yourself, you add in your contract that "commissions are subject to the same third party approval." Yes, we agents know the deal. We know if our buyer's purchase a short sale our commission can be cut. This is now just a general understanding among agents. Or is it?

Remember, what is published in the MLS is what YOUR office is offering, not what the seller is offering. It's your office listing! So are you responsible for the balance? I sure hope I do not start a landslide of agents going back to their short sale deals and trying to get more commission from this post, but I want to know what everyone's thoughts are on this topic.

I recently started to post "50%CS" or "Fifty Percent Commission Split" in the MLS. I place in the agent notes that the listing was taken at 7% but subject to third party approval. This issue has never come up with my office, but it gives you something to think about!

Frank Wible

Short Sale Investment Properties… The straight through title

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:33:00 +0000

The short sale foreclosure business seems like a smart place to start when looking to enter the investment properties business, but is it? Being an investor for many years before I started my career as a Realtor, and seeing the business from both sides, I'm not sure that it's something worth getting into.

Sometimes the temptation to get involved with a short sale deal is great, but each time I find it better for me to walk away. The sheer intrigue has lead me to explore different options that other investors have presented (to me) for purchasing short sales. Each one always lands at a dead end. I will create a blog posting for each that has been presented to me (just for length issues alone). Any comments are certainly welcome.

The straight through title…
Investors have approached me on this quite a bit. The seller signs the quick-claim deed of the house over to the investor, and the investor hires me or some other agent to sell the house on the market. All-the-while, the investor has it under contract to purchase the home as a short sale. Sometimes they even want to hire me to capture both sides of them purchasing it and negotiate the short sale itself. Greed can really kick in, and this starts to sound real good. You get both sides on the initial purchase and you will get a least one side when the retail buyer buys it from the investor. To a starving agent this sounds really good! The problem is this. If you place the home on the market and get offers higher than the one you presented to the lender from the investor, there is an element of mortgage fraud on your part. Additionally who do you represent? The investor never filed that deed, so the homeowner is still on the hook for the mortgage, deficiencies, transfer taxes, etc. And quite frankly still owns the home. If you know the home is worth more (and the proof is in the higher retail offers you have been getting while on the market), you are screwing the lender and possibly the home owner in the deal. This is bad!

Now you have sold the home on the market and the investors short sale is approved (let's say for $150.000 short sale approval and a $190,000 retail sale). The investor is happy and you schedule the closing. But wait, whose name is on the retail contract of sale, the original home owner or the investor? Most likely it will be the investor even know the deed has not yet been filed. Ok, so you go to closing. Now the investor wants to so a simultaneous close. He has convinced the title company to close the retail deal first and use that money to fund the deal of him buying it. Don't laugh; I have seen this done quite a bit! These are the non-closing investors…the ones that try to do a deal when they have no money to close first. The title company does a class A title from the homeowner to the investor and never insures it. The retail buyer uses the same title company so they insure it then, so it should be OK…NOT! Even if the investor owned it for a split second, and the title is passed straight through, if that investor has judgments, the title is not clean to the retail buyer. Wonder what will happen when the retail buyer goes to sell it? What a STUPID title company!!!

In this scenario, so many laws have been broken and so many things went wrong. Yet, every day I hear it being done. So many investors have asked me to do this with them, and I simply walk away. Everyone has the story about the guy that made $30k for doing nothing. Did you hear about the 25 guys that are now facing law suites and possible jail time because they did the same thing. Be careful when investing and always have a lawyer review your process. The short sale business has become a large flood-gate for people wanting entry into the real estate investment world, but make sure it does not land you in jail! In the days to come, short sale deals that take place will be under a huge amount of scrutiny and you want to make sure your deal is clean. The bottom line is, when it comes to a short sale deal. Purchase the deal if you can at a good price…CLOSE IT…then sell the property. It's not the "No Money Down" way they tell you can happen on TV infomercials, but I'm telling you it's the only legal way in my opinion. And again, I don't know the laws in all states.

My next post will be about the new and fancy "transfer deed to a real estate trust" process.

Frank Wible
REMAX ALL PROS
Foreclosure and Short Sale Authority
http://www.ShortSaleNJ.com/

FHA Loans and Short Sales; agents may suffer again

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:33:00 +0000

Just FYI for all agents not doing their own loss mitigation/negotiation work for their short sales...

H.U.D announced that legal fees for sellers, processing fees, loss mitigation fees, as well as many other fees will NOT be allowed on a short sale settlement sheet where the home was purchased with, and shorting an FHA loan. This was a major hit for quite a few deals going on from what I understand. My lawyer friends that do loss mitigation work for other agents and are paid on the settlement sheet for legal fees to the seller lost 30% of their files today (because they now can't get paid).

Loss mitigation companies that charge for their services on the settlement sheet back to the lender will be removed from this as well. Make sure you check with your sellers to see what type of loan they have if you are outsourcing your negotiations. Ultimately the money for these out sourced services (if you need to outsource it) has to come from somewhere, looks like the agents are about to take another hit on their commissions!

Any comments or further details on this subject are welcome.

Frank Wible
REMAX ALL PROS
http://www.ShortSaleNJ.com/

Lenders so focused on negotiations forget there is a buyer…

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 01:10:00 +0000

Each and every short sale holds hostage a buyer waiting to know if they own the home. If an investor is the buyer, they can wait for the answer, but what about the young couple waiting to see if this is going to be their new home? The wait could be devastating.

I have agents working for me on my team, and even they're beginning to say, "Frank, we would rather show our buyer a home that's not a short sale." In many ways, I am starting to agree with them. Sure, short sales may be a great deal sometimes, but with lenders now looking for almost full market value, is it really? Plus, is it worth the long delayed wait?

Lenders seem to be so focused on protecting their investors and creating their profit and loss on the deal that they forget there is a buyer allowing this deal to exist at all. Sure, it's not really the lenders problem, but if they think about it, it soon might be. Obtaining buyers in my business is not hard; selling short sales and foreclosures is very sexy business. Everyone wants to work with the foreclosure agent because they have the best deals and buyers think we hold the key to the treasures. When foreclosure agents begin to say they don't want to show a short sale to their own buyers, this speaks volumes, and should make the lenders take notice to the problem!

I'm sure my agents aren't the only ones that feel this way. With this rumbling starting to take place now; soon the masses will be made aware of the issues, if not already, and begin to walk away. Lenders will no longer be bogged down with short sale applications, because there won't be any buyers for these foreclosed properties. Short sales and foreclosures will become known as the "the good non-obtainable deal not worth pursuing."

Short sale listing agents complain about the time it takes for a short sale to be approved, yet we push forward to assist the sellers in a bad situation. The buyers however seem to get lost in the shuffle and are expected to be patient with the good deal they are getting. Buyers that leave the deal while waiting for an answer are tagged as "uncooperative." This could not be farther from the truth. How can we expect them to put their lives on hold as we protect the sellers from the bad situation they face with the lenders? In fact, additional wait time is sometimes a good thing for sellers.

Lenders seeking market value only continue to hurt themselves as broader marketing and additional buyers that assist in driving the price to this value disappear. Buyers that do dare to venture continue to cancel contracts after long waiting periods, and short sale agents continue to work harder for nothing. The only remaining buyers will be investors that will drive the prices opposite of what the lenders expect. It seems to me that the short sale craze for traditional buyers could come to a fast halt.

Lenders and hardships have placed homeowners in very bad situations. I will always continue to help these people! It's what I do, and what I'm passionate about. However, my next sales meeting with my staff will be the green light to avoid short sales if they so choose, and bring their clients/buyers to non-foreclosure homes.

Thanks for reading my blog posts;

Frank Wible
REMAX ALL PROS
ShortSaleNJ.com

Foreclosure Period from State to State…

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 22:48:00 +0000

The foreclosure process is just that, a process, not an event. Once you have missed payments, a process will begin in order for the lien holder, your lender to take back the property. Some states are so quick while other take much longer (see chart below).

Unless you live in Tennessee or Virginia, you do have time to deal with the issues and possibly save your home. I'm not sure what the deal is with those two states, can anyone shed any light on the subject and confirm this time period being true?

Either way, when my mailings go out to people that are in foreclosure, it's a staggering number of returned postcards marked "property vacant." Most people think once they receive the notice of foreclosure, there will be a police officer or sheriff at their door in a few hours to remove them. Other feel as though there is a huge sign they nail to the front of your house that says, "This house in foreclosure because they did not make their payments." So embarrassed by the thought, they abandon the home. I'm not sure about all states, but in New Jersey, none of this happens. Make sure you call a lawyer or real estate professional in your area before just walking from the home.

On another note, and there may be some bankruptcy lawyers here, so I'm sorry, but what is the deal with telling your clients to simply walk away from the home? Why would anyone want to do this? I hear this all the time, and I don't understand why the homeowner should do this. Is a short sale or possible regular sale not better? I know if there is equity, you need trustee approval to sell, but why not try instead of making a recommendation to just walk away?

Real Estate agents that are in the foreclosure and short sale business will always provide you with additional options when you're facing foreclosure.

State	Judicial	Period	Sale Publication
AL	Yes	49-74 Days	21 Days
AK	Yes	105 Days	65 Days
AZ	Yes	102 Days	41 Days
AR	Yes	70 Days	30 Days
CA	Yes	117 Days	21 Days
CO	Yes	91 Days	14 Days
CT	No	62 Days	NA
DE	No	170-210	60-90 Days
DC	Yes	47 Days	18 Days
FL	No	135 Days	NA
GA	Yes	37 Days	32 Days
HA	Yes	220 Days	60 Days
ID	Yes	150 Days	45 Days
IL	No	300 Days	NA
IN	No	261 Days	120 Days
IA	Yes	160 Days	30 Days
KS	No	130 Days	21 Days
KY	No	147 Days	NA
LA	No	180 Days	NA
ME	No	240 Days	30 Days
MD	No	46 Days	30 Days
MA	No	75 Days	41 Days
MI	Yes	60 Days	30 Days
MN	Yes	90-100 Days	7 Days
MS	Yes	90 Days	30 Days
MO	Yes	60 Days	10 Days
MT	Yes	150 Days	50 Days
NE	No	142 Days	NA
NV	Yes	116 Days	80 Days
NH	Yes	59 Days	24 Days
NJ	No	270 Days	NA
NM	No	180 Days	NA
NY	No	445 Days	NA
NC	Yes	110 Days	25 Days
ND	No	150 Days	NA
OH	No	217 Days	NA
OK	Yes	186 Days	NA
OR	Yes	150 Days	30 Days
PA	No	270 Days	NA
RI	Yes	62 Days	21 Days
SC	No	150 Days	NA
SD	Yes	150 Days	23 Days
TN	Yes	40-45 Days	20-25 Days
TX	Yes	27 Days	NA
UT	No	142 Days	NA
VT	No	95 Days	NA
VA	Yes	45 Days	14-28 Days
WA	Yes	135 Days	90 Days
WV	Yes	60-90 Days	30-60 Days
WI	Yes	290 Days	NA
WY	Yes	60 days	25 Days

Thank you for reading my blog!

Frank Wible
REMAX ALL PROS
ShortSaleNJ.com

Home Buyers Waiting For Market To Bottom Begin to Move In…

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 15:58:00 +0000

Buyers, waiting in the wings to purchase that fantastic deal on their new home may not want to wait much longer. Personally being a major name in the foreclosure and short sale markets, buyers contact me constantly asking me to find them that steal, and willing to wait for it. Working with many of them, I'm starting to advise not to wait for that perfect deal/steal. Being a buyer in this market has afforded you the time to wait and see, but this time may be coming to a close. Interest rates falling to new lows have sparked even the most gun-shy buyers to pull the trigger. Traditionally, February through June has been the busiest months for home sale transactions, and it looks like we are off to a great start for this year as well.

Over one hundred and twenty five showings already logged for my listings the first three days February. This compared to only sixty eight the entire last week of January. Smart buyers are now thinking this is the time to move forward may leave the deal you've been waiting for unavailable. At my closing on Friday, my buyer purchased a $300,000 home with a fantastic payment of around $1574.00. The interest rate was bought down to below five percent, and the value of the home came in at around $340,000. This buyer saw the opportunity to own a new home, with $40,000 in possible equity, for a little more than he was paying for rent.

I cringe when I make the statement "lenders know what's going on," but on my short sales, lenders have started negotiating to "market value" in order to be accepted. What do they know, and what do they see to begin this shift in their short sale and foreclosure decision making? They don't want them back so how do they know they will obtain market value if they wait? Although greed blinded them in lending money during the boom, I guarantee they are monitoring everything closely now.

Buyers in today's market are in a much better position than before, but may need to make their move in order the seal a great deal. So close to the foreclosure and short sale market (a major factor in what drives the market down), I see the winds of change. Thank God for the global economy, it's looking like strong stabilization is coming.

Home Buyers Waiting For Market To Bottom…

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 15:42:00 +0000

Short Sale Agents Go Into "Burn Out" Status...Quickly!

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 22:05:00 +0000

FRANK WIBLE-- Friday night, and I sit here thinking of the many appointments I have tomorrow. Most entries on my calendar are listings that will probably require a short sale. I wonder how much more I want to do. I don't mind hard work, but this is getting out of control. Countless short sales under contract in full blown negotiations, 60+ additional active short sale listings, and my phone NEVER stops ringing off the wall. Can't miss a single one...it could be a lender!

I don't mind hard work, but the lenders are sucking the life out of me. I've been doing this a while folks and have great contacts at these lenders. Even with that special direct line to the right people, it does not help as much as I'd like.

As you prepare your short sale package with a smile, you're proud that you obtained a great offer for this lender (just shy of full market value). Quickly and without reason they come back with a counter offer. Thank God you hit the mute button before you say out-load what they can do with their counter offer! As your jaw drops, you start to believe every negotiator makes their own rules as they go along. No consistency even throughout the same lender. The last one you sold for 70% of market value gets a quick approval and settlement. The one you're working now with the counteroffer, they want more than principal balance on the damn loan! It drives you crazy! I can read client financials quickly, understand the mortgage backed securities market, mortgage insurance criteria and underwriting data, completely understand lender guidelines and market valuations, work with, and make recommendations on proposed profit and loss statements, and can do borrower credit based analyses quickly. Plus, I can negotiate better than most! None of this matters. Lender negotiations seems to be an event without rules.

Weeks, sometimes months later, buyer agents have given up and now have their buyers contacting you directly for updates, and openly share stories on how they will soon be homeless if you don't get them an answer soon. Your seller is sitting in the kitchen contemplating taking the cyanide pills sitting in the downstairs bathroom. You on the other hand, come home, kick the dog and look through the medicine cabinet for the Ambien (sleeping pills) so you even stand a chance of sleeping tonight. You begin to realize you're not getting paid a psychiatrists salary, yet you have become one on many levels. It all starts to hit you.

Soon the idea of getting back to traditional real estate looks as good as that brownie loaded with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup you just ate; as you stress eat yourself into pants 4 sizes larger than you wore when you decided short sales where a good idea!

Tomorrow you wake up and make the call to the same lender once again. You stress, you worry, you feel burnt, but you put your best game on, and have your argument ready based on real factual data. On hold for 2 hrs this time, which is sadly not as bad as past calls, but you start self reflecting during the elevator on-hold music, and begin to think the whole world has gone mad (including you). Your phone has been beeping like crazy with call waiting and clients screaming, but you can't answer in fear of missing the slippery and evasive representative on your case. The loss mitigator finally answers, reads the standard "this call will be recorded speech", AND RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE CUTS YOUR COMMISSION! You quickly reach for another brownie!

This story, although extreme, is probably the sentiment of most short sale agents. It's not for the weak at heart and it may cost you your sanity before you see the closing table. This is me venting after a long day, but unfortunately bears so many truths.

As I sit here, I can only say this; if your goal is to make money in the short sale business, and your heart is not into helping the client, you will not make it! It takes heart, integrity, and a true concern for your client for you to last. It's the only thing that keeps your beat up, tired body going and your mind focused. If you're in the short sale business because you're chasing the money only, get out while you can.

Best of luck to all short sale agents as we move forward and "Save a nation of homes...one at a time."

Frank Wible
REMAX ALL PROS
ShortSaleNJ.com

NationalForeclosureGroup.com

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:48:00 +0000

National Foreclosure Group - Agents Providing Assistance to Homeowners!

We have created a special site for agents and professionals that provide services and advice to homeowners that are in foreclosure. This is a free service and you can create an account right away.

Once you create an account, make sure you make a post in your state so that homeowners can find you.

We are promoting this site heavy through Google and other search engine advertising, national newspapers, and other national advertising campaigns. We would like to have you as a new provider.

We welcome you to visit http://www.NationalForeclosureGroup.com/

Thank You!

http://www.NationalForeclosureGroup.com/

Visit Foreclosure Agents

Can someone please ring the real estate closing bell...

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:44:00 +0000

At the very least, a bad day on Wall Street has a definitive end; the sound of the closing bell. After a full day watching the stock market drop, we take comfort in knowing tomorrow it may rally back. When can we expect someone to ring this closing bell on the real estate market? How much worse will it get?

The past year has been the most painful in decades for residential real estate, as foreclosures increase, and defaults continue to rise on less-creditworthy borrowers creating a broader credit squeeze. House prices fell, home ownership dropped, foreclosures soared, and the housing market emerged as the entire basis of our economy.

Unfortunately, relief from these housing woes is unlikely anytime soon. Daniel Mudd, chief executive of government-sponsored mortgage investor Fannie Mae, expects prices to continue on this decline as foreclosures rise in 2008, possibly well into 2009. RealtyTrac®, the leading online marketplace for foreclosure data, released its October 2007 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows a total of 224,451 foreclosure filings nationwide. House prices tumbled in 2007; 6.5% as of October, while an additional 3,711 New Jersey foreclosure have been filed this month alone.

As bargain seekers line up to purchase their new home or investment property, finding a lender to approve their loan has become a real challenge. Metaphorically speaking, ringing the closing bell for real estate professionals has a whole different meaning. Buyers not willing to commit, or last minute mortgage guideline changes, makes every closing a challenge. It's become a nail bitter until the final closing day for all parties involved in the transaction.

Federal Housing Authority (FHA) backed loans may be the only light at the end of this dark tunnel. FHA reform reached an important milestone recently when the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved its version of the legislation, the bill passed by a vote of 93-1.

The new FHA reform will raise the limit on FHA loans to at least $417,000. Some areas of the country will see an increase go as high as $829,750. This FHA increase will help people countrywide who are facing foreclosure refinance under these new terms, and help many new home buyers obtain lower interest loans, with less money down (as low as 1%). However, the biggest stumbling block to a compromise is a feature of the House bill which establishes a new housing trust fund for troubled borrowers and would require FHA to contribute to it.

Experts predict a bottom to the housing market sometime in 2009, but only if the economy stays relatively strong. If it slides into broad-based recession, it won't be until the end of the decade that the housing market finds a bottom.

Frank Wible from REMAX All Pros in Turnersville, NJ is a nationwide foreclosure, short sale and real estate market authority. If you have any questions, Frank can be reached directly by emailing fwible@remax.net or calling his office at (856) 228-7990 Ext 150. Additional information is available at www.ShortSaleNJ.com.

Countrywide says it's not filing for bankruptcy

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:32:00 +0000

Countrywide says it's not filing for bankruptcy as shares slump5:10p ET January 8, 2008 (MarketWatch) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Countrywide Financial Corp. said Tuesday that it's not filing for bankruptcy as speculation swirls about the mortgage lender needing billions of dollars in extra cash to survive.

Shares of Countrywide slumped 28% to close at $5.47, the lowest level in more than a decade.

"There is no substance to the rumor that Countrywide is planning to file for bankruptcy," the company said in a statement emailed to MarketWatch.

Countrywide also said that it's not aware of any leading agencies that are considering downgrading the company's ratings.

As the largest mortgage lender in the United States, Countrywide has been hit hard by the subprime-fueled credit crisis. The company has stopped offering many types of more-profitable, riskier home loans and is focusing on selling mortgages that conform to the standards of government-sponsored enterprises like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. However, Fannie and Freddie have suffered big mortgage losses themselves in recent months.

"Countrywide is severely challenged and might falter if it does not receive an infusion of at least $4 billion within the next couple of weeks," Egan-Jones Ratings Co., a ratings agency, wrote in a note Tuesday. "The GSEs likely curtailing purchases have hurt Countrywide."

The casualties of this market continue...

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:29:00 +0000

Pulling up to a client's home today I noticed it looked vacant. I looked in the door and saw the young husband sitting on a folding chair watching TV. I knocked and he quickly answered. A very nice family came running after him and I made my standard small talk. This was their first home and they were very happy to be living in such a nice neighborhood on their budget.

As time passed, I learned that they signed an exotic loan to buy the home. The mortgage company convinced them they could afford the home of their dreams at a payment they could afford. I think he forgot to disclose the teeth on this loan!

The house looked like they were moving out. So I asked the client where they were moving to. He replied, oh we do not know yet. I questioned why the house looked empty. The next statement is what shocked me. "The mortgage collections representative told them that they took the loan, and they should be responsible and sell their stuff in order to make the payments or they will be forced onto the streets through foreclosure." This house was cleaned out!

I don't blame mortgage companies, Realtors or anyone else for people not reading the small print. If they don't, this is what can happen. Anyone can hire a lawyer for a few hundred bucks before they sign on the dotted line for a loan or home. I'm not even upset about what the collections department told these people to do (sell their stuff). I only type this story to illustrate the casualties of this market are real people that need our help, education and compassion. We're all suffering from this difficult market, but let's be thankful for what we have.

Lenders struggle to deal with pre-foreclosure overload

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:27:00 +0000

FRANK WIBLE //Turnersville, NJ// For more than two years, unpleasant surprises and market rumors have continued to create mayhem in the real estate market. Government agencies, although ambiguous, have announced repeated solutions for homeowners facing foreclosure; however, are lenders prepared to provide this support?

Countrywide Homes Loans, the largest lender in the nation, is reportedly receiving over one hundred and fifty short sale applications each day. Loss mitigation and customer service departments are so overwhelmed with requests that it could take as long as six weeks simply to be assigned an account representative.

The process of homeowners seeking foreclosure resolution from lenders seems to imitate the "take a number" line at the local deli. Even after communication is achieved, does the lender's proposed solution warrant the wait?

Homeowners struggling with their mortgage payments are offered a "loan forbearance" almost immediately. This forbearance agreement creates equal monthly payments to pay off any past due amount on the loan. The repayment plan is based on the homeowner's current financial situation, and a large deposit is normally expected from the homeowner upfront. Once an agreement is reached, the homeowner makes the added payments each month in addition to the normal mortgage amount. Helpful for some, homeowners currently struggling with their mortgage payments often cannot afford the extra payment each month. In most cases, this solution will only delay the inevitable, and can be a formula for quick devastation.

Another solution, "loan modification", may also be available, but is much more difficult to obtain or even be offered by the lender. Utilizing the existing mortgage company to refinance the debt, extend, and/or change the terms of the debt, back payments are added to the principal balance and a new loan is created. The interest rate and payments are normally higher, but in most cases manageable.

A short sale is a proposed solution we hear lenders offering clients regularly, and is the process of the lender or lenders accepting a discounted payoff on the mortgage and allowing the homeowner to sell the home and avoid foreclosure costs. Lenders are quick to offer this solution, but huge backlogs make the process painstaking for both the borrower and buyer of the property.

If this insurmountable task of dealing with this overflow is even possible, lenders need to address the situation as foreclosure numbers increase throughout the nation. Lender representatives I have spoken to directly, where backlogs are so massive, obtaining a resolution to save each home due to this backlog is impossible. "Well, sometimes we just have to write them off", said this senior loss mitigation representative. National title company representatives we 'have spoken to believe that lenders are letting properties go into foreclosure and sheriff's sale simply because they cannot handle the workload. Homeowners trying to digest losing their home because the lender was too busy, then wrote them off, will probably not sit well.

If you find yourself in the situation where you need to speak, or negotiate a solution with your lender, it may pay to seek professional assistance from a lawyer or real estate professional. Agents or lawyers specializing in lender negotiations, traditionally have a specific individual, and their contact information, for most lenders. Having this existing relationship helps cut through the backlog and allows them to speak directly with a decision maker.

Frank Wible from REMAX All Pros in Turnersville, NJ is a nationwide foreclosure, short sale and real estate market authority. If you have any questions, Frank can be reached directly by emailing fwible@remax.net or calling his office at (856) 228-7990 Ext 150. Additional information is available at http://www.shortsalenj.com/.

Homeowners Fall Victim to Loss Mitigation/Foreclosure Services

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 23:31:00 +0000

Homeowners Fall Victim to Loss Mitigation/Foreclosure Services.

Frank Wible /REMAX ALL PROS/ - The term “Loss Mitigation” has become a common term with home owners and real estate professionals throughout New Jersey. This term commonly associated with a short sale (also known as a short payoff) when a lender or lenders accept a discounted payoff on your mortgage. This almost necessary method of selling a home in today’s market has created a new opportunity for entrepreneurs; homeowner loss mitigation or counseling services. Loss mitigation, meaning to mitigate, or minimize loss, is traditionally a department maintained by most mortgage companies to do just that; minimize their loss.

With sellers in despair, they look in every direction to avoid losing their homes to foreclosure. Calling investors, real estate agents, family members or whoever they can to assist them out of their financial mess. Now they can add one more to the list, a loss mitigation specialist.

With no formal training required, one can become a loss mitigation specialist with limited, or no knowledge of the real estate mortgage or foreclosure business. This in itself is downright scary. Someone you don’t know, without any training, is going to charge you a fee for a service they have never successfully performed. Loss mitigation for a home owner is a very detailed and complicated process that if not done correctly, could place the home owner in a much worse position.

Homeowner loss mitigation or counseling, when successful, should produce an agreement between the homeowner and the mortgage company so that the homeowner may keep, or sell their home with terms that are acceptable by both parties. A small or nominal fee is normally associated with the transaction if the homeowner intends to keep their home. Homeowners desperately looking for solutions have once again fallen victim to large upfront fees, unsuccessful results, and land in a worse position from when they first started.

Though it’s hard to know exactly where to turn to for guidance and direction, a neutral third party trained to help homeowners is always a good place to start. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (www.hud.gov) maintains a nationwide directory of more than 2,300 HUD-approved agencies where counselors can evaluate your situation and create a multistep action plan. This plan may include negotiating a loan modification with your lender, helping you slash monthly expenses or referring your to an attorney if they think you have been a victim of mortgage fraud. Most of these counseling services are free. I personally maintain a working relationship with most of the New Jersey agencies on this list. Each time we’ve used them, it has produced fantastic results.

In my experience, it’s always best to make sure you contact an attorney or real estate professional for objective advice before signing anything related to loss mitigation or the sale of your home. If you or someone you know needs assistance with their mortgage, please contact me or someone at my office and we can point you in the right direction.

Frank Wible's Foreclosure/Short Sale Team is a highly specialized group of industry leaders that include lawyers, accountants, lender negotiators, mortgage partners and a national network of specially trained real estate agents. For more information, please call REMAX All Pros and Frank Wible at 856-228-7990 Ext 150.

Homeowners demonstrated outside Countrywide!

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 03:25:00 +0000

CNN: Homeowners demonstrated outside Countrywide Financial offices Tuesday, demanding the mortgage giant help them avoid foreclosure...

http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/28/real_estate/bc.apfn.ca.countrywidef.ap/

When is the last time we all saw this happen?
___________________________________________________________________________

This is not a rally against oil prices or political issues; this is an organized rally for people to save their homes.

The fact that enough people were ready and willing to organize an event like this scares me more than anything.

With the feeling of further pending doom for the real estate market I ask where this is all heading. Is the END of this near?

I can't help but wonder who was at this rally? Was it the people that are in foreclosure or the neighbors of homes that have been taken back from Sheriff/Trustee sales? Article really does not indicate.

My office is in Gloucester County New Jersey, I just received the reports that sales dollars are up for this quarter! Yes, inventory is up as well, but keeping the sales dollars up makes one think how bad is it?

Being that all I do is foreclosures and short sales as my main business model and have for years, I can tell you that people are in dire need of assistance out there. It seems on the surface that the only bail out will have to come from the Government of this one. Should they rally in Washington instead; and will it help? Are the airlines more important than the credit and housing markets? Do airlines employ more people than the real estate and credit markets? Isn't the NAR the largest organization in the world? I do know this, a company that has lost over 75% of its value (Countrywide), can not help people that are losing their homes. Countrywide setup a fund? HA! I don't see that happening anytime soon!

U.S. home foreclosure filings in October edged up 2 percent from September but at 224,451 were a whopping 94 percent higher than a year earlier, real estate data firm RealtyTrac said Thursday.

Frank Wible
REMAX ALL PROS
http://activerain.com/fwible

The lenders will eventually walk away! WHAT??

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 02:45:00 +0000

Many houses in Cleveland's central city neighborhoods have been so damaged by looting, fires and weather that they are almost total losses. The lenders will eventually walk away from them.

"The lenders will come to us and say, 'We just can't hold the properties any longer. We don't want to pay the demolition costs. Here's the property,' " said Jim Rokakis, Treasurer of Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, one of the cities hardest hit by foreclosures.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/29/real_estate/foreclosure_tax_drop/index.htm?postversion=2007112914

MY 2 CENTS:
DOES ANYONE ELSE SEE A PROBLEM WITH THIS? Agents on the battlefront continuously fight with lenders on a regular basis for approval on their short sales. Most agents even choose to walk away from the frontline of lender business because the fight is just too difficult. Yet, I see news posts like this and I can't help but think someone, somewhere is missing something. Who is controlling and making the decisions at the lender loss mitigation departments? Are they insane? Forget the sellers, the buyers, and agents, what about the Share Holders and investors? Do they know their investments and assets are being burned then given away? I smell class action law suit

Buying a Foreclosure Property...Myths and Truths!

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 02:44:00 +0000

Do I have To Pay Cash?
No! You do not have to pay cash if you are buying a foreclosure or short sale. It's just like any real estate transaction. You can purchase the home with a mortgage, and the mortgage can be any type. (FHA, VA, Conventional, Etc.). If you want to pay cash, that's ok too. Contact me or one of my sales representatives for more information on how you can get started.

Property Condition & Inspections
You will have the opportunity to have a traditional home inspection, termite inspection, and any other inspection you like when purchasing a foreclosure or short sale property. In most cases, anything you find wrong with the house will not be fixed by the seller. You do have the right to cancel the contract if you find major problems. There will be a dollar limit in the contract that allows you to do so. Let's say the limit is $1,000. If you find issues with the house that would be greater than $1,000 to fix it, you have a right to move forward and fix the issues yourself, or back out of the contract. You are completely protected.

Liens Against the Property
This is a common question. Will there be liens against the property when I purchase it? Am I responsible for them and the taxes? When you purchase a home in foreclosure, there are no liens that will not be removed before you close. When you close, the title company will make sure that all liens and judgements are removed or they will not give you a "Clear To Close". That means one thing, you're not closing if there are any liens they can't remove. The title company will be providing you title insurance when you buy and close. They would not provide you that insurance if the title was not clean and cleared by them. And the search by the title company is extensive!

How Long Does it Take to Close?
Purchasing a foreclosure that does not require a short sale, can be closed on right away. You and the seller negotiate the closing date and time and that's when you close. When purchasing a property that does require a short sale, the process can take up to 8 weeks or more. in some cases, we have obtained the approval from the lender in as little as 2 days. But most times it does take longer. The good news for the buyer is, it's worth waiting for! You're normally getting a great deal!

The Short Sale Listing: Making sure you're right!

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 02:43:00 +0000

The Short Sale Listing:

How can you determine if the property needs to be sold in a short-sale?
The obvious answer is if the seller is upside down in the mortgage versus the property value, it's a short-sale. But are the conditions right for a short-sale? Does the seller have a hardship that will make a good argument with the lender? If the seller has missed payments, or is about to miss their first payment, the seller has experienced a true hardship (loss job, etc.), and the value of the property is less then they owe, you could have the makings of a short-sale. Just be careful, one mistake I have seen agents do after knowing I am available to them is to have tunnel vision. Everything is a short-sale! I mean why not? They are easy to sell, sellers don't bug you because they don't care what you get, and it's exciting! When their traditional listings are sitting and not selling, this gets the blood pumping again. Don't get this tunnel vision! Short-sale listings should be well thought out, and careful calculations formulated to determine the best course of action.

How do you price the short-sale, and what does the lender want to see?
I have no idea why this is different in each state, and maybe it's not, but I have seen different states do different things. The deals I do in Florida, the lender wants to see the house on the market for at least 30 days, yet here in New Jersey they never care. Any insight you may have on this, please feel free to post it here. When the listing is taken, make sure that you list the property at or near market value. Of course market value has a whole new meaning these days, right? You're the expert, again, do the calculations based on condition, market area, and obviously what is selling in the area. Remember, the lender at the very least will ask for a copy of the listing agreement. So don't lose your minds when creating this agreement. Don't price it insanely! Enter the listing into your MLS as listed, and for that beginning price. After that, there are really no formulas that the lender will need to see. It's now up to the individual agent. I start to drop the price within a few days. I have been doing this so long, that I have the lowest price in my head already. All based on all my prior calculations, lender formulas where I know it will be accepted, and other surrounding conditions. I run to that number pretty fast. I want all my short-sale properties under contract with-in three weeks! Once under contract, just make sure you can justify the selling price to the lender, or it's going to be a long ride for nothing!

What are some of dos-and-don'ts when listing a short-sale?
One thing I see inexperienced agents to is put "requires short-sale approval" in the public section of the MLS. This is a big mistake! If the lender sees this in the MLS, they will not be happy. The property did not have a fair chance to sell at close to, or at market price, because your post in the public notes brought out all the bargain hunters. However do make sure a notice is in the agent notes. Another common mistake is to put "Requires Short-Sale Approval", this is wrong! You're putting yourself and your seller in liabilities way. Make sure you put "Requires Third Party Approval" instead. This way if there are other liens you have to deal with (IRS, Judgments, Etc.), this disclosure covers that as well. There are many more dos-and-don'ts when listing a short-sale, but I can't give away all my secrets!

Best of luck in your short-sale business, I hope you all have a great 2008!

Frank Wible
Realtor, Loss Mitigation Supervisor
http://www.shortsalenj.com/

BLOG: http://activerain.com/groups/foreclosedata

Lenders Suggesting Short-Sale to Clients...

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 02:42:00 +0000

CLIP FROM WALL STRET JOURNAL:
Mr. Perez, the graphic artist facing foreclosure, said recently that he spent two weeks talking to Citigroup, but the bank never offered him a modification. Earlier this month, he says, a representative urged him to unload his house through a "short sale," meaning that if the house sold for less than the outstanding mortgage, Citigroup wouldn't go after him for the difference. Mr. Perez wouldn't wind up with a foreclosure on his credit record, and Citigroup would save money on legal and auction expenses.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119603917642103489.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The opportunity is not only presenting itself, the lenders are providing clients to us! In this changing market, so many people need the assistance of a short-sale agent. When they have no one else to turn to I hope we are all prepared!

This is not even close to the first time I have heard this. Clients I have all over New Jersey have said this to me over and over again. It's a shame what is happening out in the market, but even lenders see there is only one solution to the problem.

THERE'S A QUESTION HERE I PROMISE YOU...
Does and should the lender disclose the possible taxes that may come with this short-sale?

I would like to hear your opinion on this subject. What are your thoughts? I know what I have heard from my 100's of short-sale clients. What have you heard?

The Real Estate Market in 2008...Hold Tight!

noreply@blogger.com (Frank Wible) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 02:41:00 +0000

We've all seen the market drop in 2007 like a rock. How do we all see the coming years? Being that I have been following the market for a long time, I see the 2008 market to be total anarchy! Sorry that I had to say that for the people that were looking for a better year next year, I just don't see it happening.

The real estate boom that started almost five years ago started because how easy it was to obtain financing to purchase the house. As a matter of fact, the five year ARM loan with an 80/20 mortgage was so popular; I almost can't remember closing a deal without that type of financing. Let's skip ahead to the sub-prime market. The sub-prime frenzy started almost three years ago. As the joke went, as long as you had a heart beat, you got the money. Just like all of us, I closed many deals during this time. Most of the deals I closed had three year ARM 80/20 mortgages.

If you look at the market today and how hard it is to refinance and how equity is a must to obtain a refinance, how can all these people get out of the ARM mortgages they have? Both the five year ARMs from five years ago, and the three year ARMs from three years ago are all expected to swing in 2008. When payments go as high as 30-40% per month how will the homeowner survive with no refinancing options?

When all this takes place, there will be a mad rush to try to sell the property and buyers will have many homes to choose from. More and more people will find themselves with no equity, no buyers and no way out. Short sales will pretty much become as popular as the ARM loans during the boom! This is all just my opinion.

ABOUT FRANK WIBLE:

Frank Wible is no stranger to foreclosures and difficult real estate markets. He has spent his entire real estate career focused on the people involved in foreclosure. As heard on the radio and seen on TV, Frank Wible is often called by the media to provide market analysis and assistance to listeners that call in because they are in financial trouble with their homes. http://www.shortsalenj.com/

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