My disclaimer: I’m not an attorney or a CPA. I just do a lot of short sales and therefore have formed an opinion. And you know what they say about opinions!

Bank of America is promoting their “Coop Short Sale” program. This is a program where they pre determine the value of a home and then work with the homeowner and agent  to list the home as a short sale with an “approved” price. In theory this is a wonderful idea. In practice so far . . . the jury is still out. We have several homes in this program. The guidelines state that the seller will have no deficiency possibility and that the seller will be eligible for up to $2,500 in “relocation assistance”. We have received “approved” prices on these properties and now have submitted offers on a couple. So far, we are still having the same kind of delays and slow processing times that we have with our “traditional” short sales. I’m not sure yet what the “coop short sale” has solved, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed and I’ll let you know what happens.

Spectacular custom home on large secluded lot in desirable Lake Grove area. Custom quality features include box ceiling in great room, tons of built-ins,2 laundry rooms, bonus room with wet bar. Home includes lake-boat easement.

Full Details

http://www.searchingportlandhomes.com/listing/mlsid/210/propertyid/11217229/syndicated/1/cgltguid/5C64C9DC-11B1-4A98-8EC8-359BD95EA21B/?ts=crg

Listing Courtesy of Rick Sadle, Keller Williams Realty Profes.

My disclaimer: I’m not an attorney or a CPA. I just do a lot of short sales and therefore have formed an opinion. And you know what they say about opinions!

Let’s all be committed. I don’t mean that we should all be committed to an asylum. I mean that if a buyer and a seller are going to come together and agree on an offer. Let’s close the sale. Too many times, a real estate agent will give the advice to a buyer that they shouldn’t count on closing a short sale. Or that they should keep looking at homes after making an offer on a short sale. Too many times, listing agents won’t advise his/her seller that they should seek some commitment from the buyer. They advise their clients to keep looking for other offers.

The problem with this is that since short sales can take some time, the buyer will almost always move on emotionally and start looking again. They find another house and bam, they make an offer on that house and cancel the first offer before the short sale approval can be obtained. This whole process seems to repeat itself often. The answer is that these deals are real deals and should be treated as such. Buyers should understand that it will take a while and be committed. Sellers should understand that they can and should ask for some commitment from the buyer. Earnest money deposited in escrow? Inspection period to begin immediately? These are a couple of things I ask for from a buyer’s agent on my short sale listings.

If everybody became committed, short sales would become much easier.

Do you know somebody who is upside down  or is facing foreclosure? Call us, we may be able to help!

My disclaimer: I’m not an attorney or a CPA. I just do a lot of short sales and therefore have formed an opinion. And you know what they say about opinions!

So here’s the question. Are Real Estate Brokers in Oregon allowed to negotiate short sales? Well. . . . the answer is so complex that I won’t bother to try to navigate through the confusing maze of what a Real Estate Broker can do and what they can’t in the State of Oregon. What I can say is that a broker in Oregon who is not registered with the State as a “Debt Management Service Provider” is severely limited in the services they can provide.

How do I know this? Well. . . since I have done a lot of short sales, the State came to me and asked me to get registered. They asked me (very nicely) not to give advice on short sales, blog on short sales etc. until I had done so.

Now I have to be honest. At first I was irritated. There are thousands of Brokers in the Portland area who take short sale listings and have no experience with them (and probably shouldn’t be trying to help distressed homeowners), but then it hit me, I am now in a pretty exclusive club. I (and now my company Sunset Foreclosure Solutions) am one of very few brokers in the Portland and surrounding areas who are licensed with the state of Oregon to negotiate short sales specifically. We have a $25,000 bond for exactly that purpose.

If you or anyone you know is in distress and needs answers, please call us. We may be able to help!

For more information on the Debt Management Service Provider Law, please visit:   http://dfcs.oregon.gov/debt_mgmt.html 

My disclaimer: I’m not an attorney or a CPA. I just do a lot of short sales and therefore have formed an opinion. And you know what they say about opinions!

It seems that the finger pointing continues. . .  Now some of the investors who are taking losses in short sales and foreclosures are suing the banks who originated the loans that they bought.  Some investors who allegedly include Freddie Mac are suing the banks for misrepresenting the risks associated with sub prime loans. The banks contend that the investors knew the risks and that’s why they were taking the kind of profits that they were. Interesting that nobody wants to pay for the rampant speculation that was going on. The investors were thrilled with the profits, the banks liked the servicing fee etc. 

My opinion is that money was made that was never really there.  Homeowners are having to give it back in the form of their houses. Banks and investors are having to give it back in the form of short sales and foreclosures. That’s it. I know everyone wants to pass the buck, but it’s got to stop somewhere.

Again, just my humble opinion.

Cherry Park short sale! Sprawling daylight basement ranch with updated kitchen, hardwood floors, 2 fireplaces, manicured back yard, and more. Room for everyone! Buyer to verify all info.

Full Details

http://www.SEARCHINGPORTLANDHOMES.COM/listing/mlsid/210/propertyid/10039164/syndicated/1/cgltguid/6AAA8AF9-F583-4059-A56B-70F784694DE3/?ts=crg

Listing Courtesy of Rick Sadle, Keller Williams SunsetCorridor

My disclaimer: I’m not an attorney or a CPA. I just do a lot of short sales and therefore have formed an opinion. And you know what they say about opinions!

Bank of America seems to be operating at a more efficient pace right now. We seem to be more able to talk to the right people right now. It seems like I’m problem solving with an actual live person from Bank of America almost every day. This would have been unheard of just a couple of months ago. Now I don’t want to  make people believe that they have it all figured out, but they sure are more responsive currently. And on top of that, the people I’m talking to seem to be looking for solutions instead of just saying no.

We have gotten two approvals from BofA through this problem solving in the last 3 days and have been able to help our clients sell their house through a short sale.

It’s been a good week helping homeowners sell their houses!

Beautiful townhouse style condo in the desireable Northwest Portland area Alphabet District. Built new in 2006, stylish design, huge living room, granite countertops, hardwood floors, big office, off street parking, A/C, and more.

Full Details

http://www.SEARCHINGPORTLANDHOMES.COM/listing/mlsid/210/propertyid/10022084/syndicated/1/cgltguid/0C382CB5-B4C6-4D5C-9EFD-09CB1261111C/?ts=crg

Listing Courtesy of Rick Sadle, Keller Williams SunsetCorridor

My disclaimer: I’m not an attorney or a CPA. I just do a lot of short sales and therefore have formed an opinion. And you know what they say about opinions!

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you’ve probably seen me write about it before; but in short sales you have to pad your HUD. Too many inexperienced agents tell me all the time that they finally get an approval letter and by the time they are ready to close, it’s no good. The terms of the approval no longer match their closing statement and now the deal has a chance of falling apart. Now the reason for this is really just not understanding short sales completely.

What’s most important to a lender in a short sale is their net. In the HUD (estimated closing statement) that you give them, you are telling them what their net is. If you give them a HUD based on a 30 day close, then you are making a huge mistake. By the time you actually get the approval, that HUD is probably at least 60-90 days old. Since their net will change, now the approval letter that you get is already null and void. That’s before you even get started.

PAD YOUR HUD!!!

If you’re a homeowner in distress and have no idea what I’m talking about or an agent that needs help with one of your short sales fill out the form below:

My disclaimer: I’m not an attorney or a CPA. I just do a lot of short sales and therefore have formed an opinion. And you know what they say about opinions!

Bank of America announced yesterday that it will start moving forward with foreclosures in the 23 states requiring judicial review. Oregon is not one of them. Wow! Apparently it didn’t take them long to “examine” their foreclosure process.

If you have been involved with Bank of America in a foreclosure or a short sale recently, leave a comment below. We’d love to hear your feedback.