As I have been commonly ‘on the fence’ about HAFA and its promise as a solution or deception upon a devastated America, one positive about HAFA does ring true. All lien holders in the HAFA sale must agree to close the books and not seek deficiency judgments from the borrower. In the otherwise ‘Traditional’ short sale approval models, once the sale closes and unless otherwise stated, the Banks have 4 years to seek and consider going after Short Sale borrowers for these deficiencies.
Under Obama’s “Making Home Affordable”, The HAFA program (still in its infancy) is the prize among many Californians who will be able to ward off having to defend claims for deficiency by debt holders looking to recapture substantial losses. This is spoken through the logic of the Trust Deed as legally defined and is at the heart of California’s Home Mortgage origination style. Simply put, Lenders cannot seek deficiency on Purchase Money loans.
Who else loves HAFA for the above reasons? Realtors® do.
It has been a challenge for the real estate industry to accept and mitigate the glue that attaches itself to sales closings like a ball and chain. This matter of potential liability in the event of deficiency claims from lenders against borrowers has been a concern to both responsible Brokers and to their Risk Management staff. The scenario moves quickly from the initial delivery of complaint on the borrower to a claim against the real estate office. The Borrowers statements go anywhere from “Our Agent didn’t warn us” to “Our Agent told us this would be legally safe”.
This is the best reason why I teach Agents to be extremely risk management oriented by delivering personal communications to our Clients, memorializing that we DID advise them to obtain legal and tax counseling. What may always remain in the life of real estate, are the many Clients who will just NOT DO IT!
One difficult question Realtors must take lightly when asked is “Is a Short Sale the best thing for me?” What is unfortunate is that many in the real estate industry are attending classes’ in Short Sales, tooling up greater market share, learning whatever they can in a perplexing expertise, riddled in misfortune, lacking in oversight and with twilight time periods for guidelines. The greater concern here might be ‘How can I safely navigate through all this and prosper financially’? I hope prosperity is part of our goals.
Here is the best tip I can offer my students, clients and colleagues today in the world of Short Sale and HAFA. While 3 out of 4 Attorneys I have spoken to have sided with Bankruptcy as the best scenario for possibly 2 out of 3 pre-foreclosure borrowers, I sought out to meet my new best friend. Since the matter of 3rd party Short Sale Negotiators has become prevalent in the industry and another potentially legal suicide, I found the perfect referral resource in the services of Price Law Group in Los Angeles. I am going to say why, though I also want to qualify it with the addition that I am about supporting “Prosperity”, and NOT ‘a pure soul should not make money’ consciousness. That is ridiculous. Real Estate Agents are Professionals that deserve to be as prosperous as any other Professional. I believe that in integrity selling, it is that commitment to the greater good of the Client that will orchestrate the successes, which will follow an organized plan.
My soapbox on third party Negotiators or coordinators will continue to bark at an un-sheltering sky. The arena is full of everything from licensing issues and total incompetence to ethical and MLS infringements worth denouncing. What I want for my clients is what is best for them, period! Real Estate is also a referral business. When I have a pre-foreclosure Client call a firm like Price Law, they are first of all, calling the largest Bankruptcy firm in California, Second of all, they have an exponentially fitting ‘free consultation’ that will document your legal referral, help the client determine what might actually be best. When it is determined that the Client is ripe for Short Sale, You now have one of the most respected Law Firms willing and able to facilitate your Short Sale as the Third Party Negotiators while your job as the Agent can really be about the services you provide expertly and the growth of your business.
While I certainly didn’t invent the wise words “Do the right thing” and “See you at the TOP”, these are the root of my teachings in real estate training, coaching and seminars. I always invite interested parties to contact me personally for more information.
Copyright © 2010
Bryan Ridgley
Monday, August 30, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Is HAFA a SCAM on A Distressed America?
HYPE, Government misguided efforts, ?
Right feels left and left, right this morning, so my first HAFA point is that HAFA Requires the Deed in Lou Agreement as part of it’s so called wisdom and ordinary manner. This part of the process is passed over like the air conditioning feature in the new Ford Fiesta at the Vegas dealerships hot August clearance sale.
HAFA may require that the homeowner continues to pay up to 31% of their gross income to their senior lien holder. (Junior lien holders excluded). This means that once the distressed borrower applies and is awarded, they may have to resume payments on their mortgage.
HAFA makes no provision for securing any agreements with junior lien holders or judgment debt holders as part of their preapproval short sale program. This means that if the homeowner does not have a professional Realtor following them through the HAMP process and pre-negotiate their junior liens prior to the HAFA application, their exist some predetermined sticky wickets that are natural barriers to the closing steps. A large percentage of these sales will fall out and these distressed homeowners will for in all intensive purposes be placed on the streets.
It also requires the signed authorization and agreement for the deed in Lou of foreclosure which can be activated if they miss a payment provision. Under ordinary circumstances, these distressed homeowners can stay in their home for an additional 90 plus 21 days if the lender foreclosed under the traditional Notice of Default and Trustee Sale process. It is kind of like saying, “hey distressed homeowner, rather than you staying in your home with no payment under the traditional short sale process without your being able to continue to stay throughout the traditional foreclosure process, we will allow you the opportunity to suffer a myriad of red tape, forms and deadlines for your reinstating some form of payments and agreeing that if you miss one of these payments, you will turn over your deed and vacate the premises immediately”
Further, “In exchange for all this hassle, we will divert your first lien holder’s ability to go after you in the future for any deficiency judgment right they may have under the traditional short pay process, however, you are on your own with regard to junior lien holders”
Short Sales are in fact no different than a traditional sale with the exception that the property is financially upside down and the sale must be subject to the Sellers lender to approve the debt imbalance. Everything else about these sales are no different, The Seller is still obligated to disclose defects to the buyer and the buyer is still on notice to and should have the opportunity to investigate the condition of the property. The ‘blood on the street’ rule need more apply as we must add the factors which expose both the greedy and unethical. Legal and ethical challenges ensue as the brokerage industry navigates through the potential deficiency possibilities distressed homeowners may face which can easily allow brokers to be more culpable in cross complaints; both negligence and misrepresentation.
I state in many of my Short Sale Seminars, articles and consulting to Realtors nationwide, to invest in the education necessary to circumvent these stop gaps from happening to their prospects and Clients before the process begins. Many legal soothsayers, perhaps along with myself are predicting another new potential litigation wave against the real estate industry and brokerages as a result of what these distressed homeowners may state was “so called, our professional advice: in helping them with these timely short sale mitigation options. The fact is real estate brokerages pay dearly for expensive E&O (Errors and Omissions) insurance policies and appear to be the only ‘deep pocket’ left above ground after a real estate sale transaction has closed escrow. Most Plaintiff Attorneys know that when it comes to the average value of a nuisance claim is within the grasp of the Brokerages deductable of their E&O policy, they will usually be encourages to settle the case without admitting to any guilt.
Real Estate Agents may now register for a Short Sale and HAFA coaching program that offers both ‘Skyrocketing Income’ measures and Risk Management consulting. Contact Bryan Ridgley at bkr@pacbell.net for more information and to “Jumpstart” your bank deposits!
Bryan Ridgley
Copyright © 2010
Bookmark & Share
Right feels left and left, right this morning, so my first HAFA point is that HAFA Requires the Deed in Lou Agreement as part of it’s so called wisdom and ordinary manner. This part of the process is passed over like the air conditioning feature in the new Ford Fiesta at the Vegas dealerships hot August clearance sale.
HAFA may require that the homeowner continues to pay up to 31% of their gross income to their senior lien holder. (Junior lien holders excluded). This means that once the distressed borrower applies and is awarded, they may have to resume payments on their mortgage.
HAFA makes no provision for securing any agreements with junior lien holders or judgment debt holders as part of their preapproval short sale program. This means that if the homeowner does not have a professional Realtor following them through the HAMP process and pre-negotiate their junior liens prior to the HAFA application, their exist some predetermined sticky wickets that are natural barriers to the closing steps. A large percentage of these sales will fall out and these distressed homeowners will for in all intensive purposes be placed on the streets.
It also requires the signed authorization and agreement for the deed in Lou of foreclosure which can be activated if they miss a payment provision. Under ordinary circumstances, these distressed homeowners can stay in their home for an additional 90 plus 21 days if the lender foreclosed under the traditional Notice of Default and Trustee Sale process. It is kind of like saying, “hey distressed homeowner, rather than you staying in your home with no payment under the traditional short sale process without your being able to continue to stay throughout the traditional foreclosure process, we will allow you the opportunity to suffer a myriad of red tape, forms and deadlines for your reinstating some form of payments and agreeing that if you miss one of these payments, you will turn over your deed and vacate the premises immediately”
Further, “In exchange for all this hassle, we will divert your first lien holder’s ability to go after you in the future for any deficiency judgment right they may have under the traditional short pay process, however, you are on your own with regard to junior lien holders”
Short Sales are in fact no different than a traditional sale with the exception that the property is financially upside down and the sale must be subject to the Sellers lender to approve the debt imbalance. Everything else about these sales are no different, The Seller is still obligated to disclose defects to the buyer and the buyer is still on notice to and should have the opportunity to investigate the condition of the property. The ‘blood on the street’ rule need more apply as we must add the factors which expose both the greedy and unethical. Legal and ethical challenges ensue as the brokerage industry navigates through the potential deficiency possibilities distressed homeowners may face which can easily allow brokers to be more culpable in cross complaints; both negligence and misrepresentation.
I state in many of my Short Sale Seminars, articles and consulting to Realtors nationwide, to invest in the education necessary to circumvent these stop gaps from happening to their prospects and Clients before the process begins. Many legal soothsayers, perhaps along with myself are predicting another new potential litigation wave against the real estate industry and brokerages as a result of what these distressed homeowners may state was “so called, our professional advice: in helping them with these timely short sale mitigation options. The fact is real estate brokerages pay dearly for expensive E&O (Errors and Omissions) insurance policies and appear to be the only ‘deep pocket’ left above ground after a real estate sale transaction has closed escrow. Most Plaintiff Attorneys know that when it comes to the average value of a nuisance claim is within the grasp of the Brokerages deductable of their E&O policy, they will usually be encourages to settle the case without admitting to any guilt.
Real Estate Agents may now register for a Short Sale and HAFA coaching program that offers both ‘Skyrocketing Income’ measures and Risk Management consulting. Contact Bryan Ridgley at bkr@pacbell.net for more information and to “Jumpstart” your bank deposits!
Bryan Ridgley
Copyright © 2010
Bookmark & Share
Friday, July 2, 2010
Blue Cantaloupe, Poke Dot Zebras, Flying Toasters and HAFA
Yes… My thoughts on the HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives) program as of this morning. When I woke, it must have took me an hour to find my soapbox after reading an article on HAFA scams aimed at distressed homeowners.
While Obama’s “Making Home Affordable” program which includes both HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Program) and HAFA rolled out earlier this year, despite the many news briefings, articles, lender notifications to defaulting borrowers and the Real Estate Agents canvassing their market niches, there hasn’t been enough time as of yet for the entire jury to return.
These programs were intended to both incentivize lending and servicing institutions to cooperate and to streamline the “Short Sale” process currently plaguing distressed homeowners across the nation. As HAFA rolled out on April 5th, many direct lenders had only provided their loss mitigation staffs with minimal information.
Another Stop gap was given when it was announced that both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the two largest mortgage securers in the country were exempt from HAFA guidelines provided they invented their own. Both of these organizations have now published their versions which mimic Obama’s with only slight variances, and some between each others. One may look out and observe this alone as a recipe for confusion for the industries that must facilitate these sales as Real Estate Agents and major Banks collect the questions and concerns of millions of borrowers already distressed by their personal hardships.
While it should not be a ‘news flash’ today that the world of real estate has taken itself upside down over the last three years, some distressed homeowners still have little idea that help has been available through “the Short Sale”. Public awareness media has now taken the shift to the HAMP and HAFA process while a large segment of the default population will prove to rest outside of HAFA’s eligibility requirements. The guidelines are specific to homeowners who reside in their homes as their primary residence, exempting those who have vacated their homes without proof of recent relocation and investment property owners. These situations may still be reviewed through the traditional short sale process for those who qualify.
What presses my attention in this writing is that very few Realtors and Lenders have enough of these closings to provide relevant testimony as to the success of these programs for reality inspired seekers of truth. Secondly, I still sleep rather dumbfounded at the level by which real estate Agents have electively pursued the educational opportunities available in this pre-foreclosure specialty. There exist dozens of recognized real estate trainers and both private and Realtor Association certifications which endorse this pre-foreclosure market as a specialty. While this education is verifiably fundamental, it is in likeness to differences between what is studied in preparation toward passing a licensing exam the street knowledge successful Agents found necessary to conquer ‘Million Dollar Club’ recognition.
A dangerous element the industry had witnessed in the category of education was oriented toward the advantage of investment buyers teaming with real estate attorneys boasting theories which provoked real estate Agents to secure low ball offers shortly after showcasing their listings in order to “get the ball rolling”. The old ‘Blood in the Streets’ movement sought claim to being the hero to both the distressed and to hungry Agents who may have had little memory of the short sale cycle of the mid 90’s. It is almost humorous to me that the many who had driven this investment philosophy the first year of this market turning era in 2007 are now victims of distress themselves or are defaulting on mortgages strategically.
In respect to positive turning of tides, Realtors who are setting a responsible example of professional expertise have not only graduated recognized professional designation courses, they have also invested in other educational seminars which expand on these and offer additional practical, theoretical and psychological training in dealing with both counseling distressed homeowners along with compassionate and tactical methods of dealing with their uneducated Agents counterparts whom are likely to bring forth their awaiting Buyers. These are the ‘New School’ Agents of our time.
This raise of the bar is as equally important in my opinion and is an element of what I saw missing when my Short Sale training seminars were incepted and are currently offered to Agents in Southern California under the title of “The Short Sale SHIFT”. Agents interested in more information on these courses may inquire directly through The OracleGroup, Los Angeles, contact me directly or may pre-order my book scheduled to be released this August.
Until then, it is currently a coming beautiful day in Southern California and my heart extends a wonderful wish to everyone for a safe, healthy and happy 4th of July this weekend.
Bryan Ridgley
Copyright © 2010
Bookmark & Share
While Obama’s “Making Home Affordable” program which includes both HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Program) and HAFA rolled out earlier this year, despite the many news briefings, articles, lender notifications to defaulting borrowers and the Real Estate Agents canvassing their market niches, there hasn’t been enough time as of yet for the entire jury to return.
These programs were intended to both incentivize lending and servicing institutions to cooperate and to streamline the “Short Sale” process currently plaguing distressed homeowners across the nation. As HAFA rolled out on April 5th, many direct lenders had only provided their loss mitigation staffs with minimal information.
Another Stop gap was given when it was announced that both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the two largest mortgage securers in the country were exempt from HAFA guidelines provided they invented their own. Both of these organizations have now published their versions which mimic Obama’s with only slight variances, and some between each others. One may look out and observe this alone as a recipe for confusion for the industries that must facilitate these sales as Real Estate Agents and major Banks collect the questions and concerns of millions of borrowers already distressed by their personal hardships.
While it should not be a ‘news flash’ today that the world of real estate has taken itself upside down over the last three years, some distressed homeowners still have little idea that help has been available through “the Short Sale”. Public awareness media has now taken the shift to the HAMP and HAFA process while a large segment of the default population will prove to rest outside of HAFA’s eligibility requirements. The guidelines are specific to homeowners who reside in their homes as their primary residence, exempting those who have vacated their homes without proof of recent relocation and investment property owners. These situations may still be reviewed through the traditional short sale process for those who qualify.
What presses my attention in this writing is that very few Realtors and Lenders have enough of these closings to provide relevant testimony as to the success of these programs for reality inspired seekers of truth. Secondly, I still sleep rather dumbfounded at the level by which real estate Agents have electively pursued the educational opportunities available in this pre-foreclosure specialty. There exist dozens of recognized real estate trainers and both private and Realtor Association certifications which endorse this pre-foreclosure market as a specialty. While this education is verifiably fundamental, it is in likeness to differences between what is studied in preparation toward passing a licensing exam the street knowledge successful Agents found necessary to conquer ‘Million Dollar Club’ recognition.
A dangerous element the industry had witnessed in the category of education was oriented toward the advantage of investment buyers teaming with real estate attorneys boasting theories which provoked real estate Agents to secure low ball offers shortly after showcasing their listings in order to “get the ball rolling”. The old ‘Blood in the Streets’ movement sought claim to being the hero to both the distressed and to hungry Agents who may have had little memory of the short sale cycle of the mid 90’s. It is almost humorous to me that the many who had driven this investment philosophy the first year of this market turning era in 2007 are now victims of distress themselves or are defaulting on mortgages strategically.
In respect to positive turning of tides, Realtors who are setting a responsible example of professional expertise have not only graduated recognized professional designation courses, they have also invested in other educational seminars which expand on these and offer additional practical, theoretical and psychological training in dealing with both counseling distressed homeowners along with compassionate and tactical methods of dealing with their uneducated Agents counterparts whom are likely to bring forth their awaiting Buyers. These are the ‘New School’ Agents of our time.
This raise of the bar is as equally important in my opinion and is an element of what I saw missing when my Short Sale training seminars were incepted and are currently offered to Agents in Southern California under the title of “The Short Sale SHIFT”. Agents interested in more information on these courses may inquire directly through The OracleGroup, Los Angeles, contact me directly or may pre-order my book scheduled to be released this August.
Until then, it is currently a coming beautiful day in Southern California and my heart extends a wonderful wish to everyone for a safe, healthy and happy 4th of July this weekend.
Bryan Ridgley
Copyright © 2010
Bookmark & Share
Monday, June 28, 2010
MLM and the Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging
The parallels of new age of positive thinking, inspirational and success quoting in social networking, wealth and prosperity coaching and the desires of the many to navigate a challenging economy have birthed a new wave of home based business opportunity proliferation.
MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) or Human Based Marketing is the new ‘hip’ in society today. Referral based marketing models are showing up in most every consumer segment and product category. From singular one time purchases to a multitude of juice clubs, one stop shopping portals offering discount pricing on every consumer need in life, to greeting cards, legal and Financial services. Most which rely on initial enrollment packages, auto shipments and continuing entries on your monthly credit card statements.
Many forms of network marketing methods from home Pampered Chef and Tupperware parties to theater hall meetings geared at hyping regular everyday nutritional products as miracle cures, hypnotizing presentations peppered by testimonials, inspirational stories of wealth in a can and provocative value proposition statements designed to impact people to act without further investigation. Meet-up groups, 5 minute dating formats applied to networking a product or service and educational trainings by FREE internet webinars encouraging additional opt-ins. Everything from the exciting to the droning mundane is available and marketed to those looking to supplement their monthly bottom lines.
Referral platforms are showing up in more corporate settings masked as profit sharing programs such as the Keller Williams Real Estate company’s business model which has received accolades from educational institutions such as Stanford University. Other Real Estate Firms like Exit Realty, Intero and Sellstate have jump on this recruitment platform since the success of Keller Williams. With the plunge of home sales nationally, Agents along with their mortgage counterparts have been the targets of MLM recruiters as many of these independent contractors scramble to make ends meet.
When so many people are suffering while the middle of the month equals the end of the money, the hype of prosperity though network marketing and home based businesses capture the interest of multitudes of the otherwise simple minded blue collar. The promise of wealth packaged in the illusion of boating on the islands of Hawaii sipping Mai Tai’s may ease most by the suggestion that anyone can succeed like the leaders who make the claims that they themselves bypassed their own financial woes by jumped aboard, experiencing untold fortunes like a dancer in the night.
Facts tell, stories SELL and every other enrollment approach is underwritten to move the multitudes into these programs without censorship or due diligence. While some of these companies may appear to boast a higher quality product, many of them are the same or less quality than those we can purchase at our local discount food mart. Even the latest weight loss craze has found its answer in the PX90, Shakeology movement. This company offers to give its distributors (Coaches) existing customers answering their infomercials in the hopes its multi-level minded Coaches can sell them additional nutritional products containing what appears to be the everyday ingredients found in most other commercial meal replacement and protein brands found in every health store and most major gyms across the country at nearly half the cost.
While I may seem mad about this, maybe even negative, my message here is really the opposite. All the above exists in our society and I can as well stand on my soapbox and claim it is all good. I too have joined a dozen of them over the last 30 years and have found some of the best products on the marketplace, though few of them penciled out to fit my long term financial expectations.
The message here is that most opportunities are jumped on with little intelligence applied and before a match is found with the passions of the heart. It must be a project that combines your passions with where you place the legacy you wish to aspire to, while it synchs with the reality of the actual opportunity. For those who really want to succeed in an endeavor that can be proven to compensate based on the efforts of the people that make that sale as opposed to a pay down that benefits those at the top, I invite you to contact me. I have spent years examining marketing protocols of both the traditional and the trendy, while also supporting a compassionate approach to the human potential movement. I will share with you what may vibe deep with your heartfelt desire to help others.
Copyright © 2010
Bryan Ridgley
Bookmark & Share
MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) or Human Based Marketing is the new ‘hip’ in society today. Referral based marketing models are showing up in most every consumer segment and product category. From singular one time purchases to a multitude of juice clubs, one stop shopping portals offering discount pricing on every consumer need in life, to greeting cards, legal and Financial services. Most which rely on initial enrollment packages, auto shipments and continuing entries on your monthly credit card statements.
Many forms of network marketing methods from home Pampered Chef and Tupperware parties to theater hall meetings geared at hyping regular everyday nutritional products as miracle cures, hypnotizing presentations peppered by testimonials, inspirational stories of wealth in a can and provocative value proposition statements designed to impact people to act without further investigation. Meet-up groups, 5 minute dating formats applied to networking a product or service and educational trainings by FREE internet webinars encouraging additional opt-ins. Everything from the exciting to the droning mundane is available and marketed to those looking to supplement their monthly bottom lines.
Referral platforms are showing up in more corporate settings masked as profit sharing programs such as the Keller Williams Real Estate company’s business model which has received accolades from educational institutions such as Stanford University. Other Real Estate Firms like Exit Realty, Intero and Sellstate have jump on this recruitment platform since the success of Keller Williams. With the plunge of home sales nationally, Agents along with their mortgage counterparts have been the targets of MLM recruiters as many of these independent contractors scramble to make ends meet.
When so many people are suffering while the middle of the month equals the end of the money, the hype of prosperity though network marketing and home based businesses capture the interest of multitudes of the otherwise simple minded blue collar. The promise of wealth packaged in the illusion of boating on the islands of Hawaii sipping Mai Tai’s may ease most by the suggestion that anyone can succeed like the leaders who make the claims that they themselves bypassed their own financial woes by jumped aboard, experiencing untold fortunes like a dancer in the night.
Facts tell, stories SELL and every other enrollment approach is underwritten to move the multitudes into these programs without censorship or due diligence. While some of these companies may appear to boast a higher quality product, many of them are the same or less quality than those we can purchase at our local discount food mart. Even the latest weight loss craze has found its answer in the PX90, Shakeology movement. This company offers to give its distributors (Coaches) existing customers answering their infomercials in the hopes its multi-level minded Coaches can sell them additional nutritional products containing what appears to be the everyday ingredients found in most other commercial meal replacement and protein brands found in every health store and most major gyms across the country at nearly half the cost.
While I may seem mad about this, maybe even negative, my message here is really the opposite. All the above exists in our society and I can as well stand on my soapbox and claim it is all good. I too have joined a dozen of them over the last 30 years and have found some of the best products on the marketplace, though few of them penciled out to fit my long term financial expectations.
The message here is that most opportunities are jumped on with little intelligence applied and before a match is found with the passions of the heart. It must be a project that combines your passions with where you place the legacy you wish to aspire to, while it synchs with the reality of the actual opportunity. For those who really want to succeed in an endeavor that can be proven to compensate based on the efforts of the people that make that sale as opposed to a pay down that benefits those at the top, I invite you to contact me. I have spent years examining marketing protocols of both the traditional and the trendy, while also supporting a compassionate approach to the human potential movement. I will share with you what may vibe deep with your heartfelt desire to help others.
Copyright © 2010
Bryan Ridgley
Bookmark & Share Monday, June 14, 2010
How Do Probate Real Estate Sales Dodge The Court Confirmation Process?
Who determines how, if and when a Probate property is offered through the Independent Administration of Estates Act (I.A.E.A) is often a question that runs through an inquiring Real Estate Agents mind. Is it under the power of the court? The Attorney, the Executor? Who has the power? Is it by Will or chance? Is there a rhythm, a reason why a court conformation or not? Is it a matter of cost or expense that determines this fated disposition?
There are two aspects of this mystery I feel are important to cover in such a small space and at the risk of interest lost in examining this short and sweet cut into an otherwise mundane dynamic. The first is to provide a refresh explanation of the intent of California Probate. We may all know someone who has told us the story of a family member’s passing and the following evils of numerous relatives roosting like vultures hovering over the will and inheritance. I have personally watched this happen to many Clients, friends and associates who have been afflicted by one or more siblings, third cousins or even hopeful palimony partners claiming untold shares upon the bequeathed estate.
The purpose of the Probate system is of course to prevent these situations from getting out of hand and that fairness and equity of distribution is observed by an independent and non-partial authority (a Judge). This Probate system has a due process which even provides for a court appointed ‘Referee’ to adequately appraise the value of certain components of the estate such as the Real Estate involved. It further requires waiting periods, the postings of ‘Public Notice’ of sale of real property along with an ‘Overbidding’ or ‘Auction’ held at the ‘Court Confirmation’ of sale before the Judge in the Probate Court.
The Independent Administration of Estates Act (I.A.E.A) allows the sale of real property to bypass this ‘Court Confirmation’ process by allowing the Executor to liquidate real property in a manner which appears similar to a traditional sale at less expense in most cases to the Estate. In most of the Probates cases I have handled or that have been brought to my attention, have granted the executor ‘Full Power’ of sale, though most Attorneys automatically file the sale of the real property through the normal court confirmation process. I reserve comment here as to Attorney integrity because most of the Attorneys I have personally engaged with have been awesome and have recognized which cases are most situated for this act or procedure with regard to the realities of Beneficiary circumstance. The matter of the rights of Heirs of the Estate should always be of the first and foremost concern to both the Executor and the Attorney.
Take the case where the Heirs of the Estate are a Brother and Sister, neither have children or dependants, have a solid friendly relationship, a mutually concessive desire to half the proceeds and close out the Estate would benefit by this Estate Act, leveraging time and expense and each other’s overall welfare. The provisions of the Act do contain that adequate notices are delivered to any and all individuals who come forward to claim a piece of the pie and even dispute a sale in progress within the Act.
I believe the reason we do not see this method being more common is both a matter of education and Attorney Risk Management. I at one time had Probate sales included along on my list to specialties in my practice. I teach real estate Agents that when they are brought into a referred situation where an executor is open to being educated in the options the Probate systems provides for, the Executor might have that needed influence to project this alternative at their Attorneys table in the beginning of the process or even refer a Client an Attorney who is open minded to consider whether the case itself may be a proper match for the known beneficiaries or Heirs of the Estate.
In my next article, I will share a court room drama that will shock most real estate Agents and prevent a common, uncommon commissiondectomy. Until then, I am always available for private coaching or consultation in most applications of risk management and loss mitigation.
Copyright © 2010 Bryan Ridgley
Bryan is both a Real Estate and Health and Wellness Coach and Educator. He is currently available for both personal and group coaching and training in Stress Management, Real Estate Loss Mitigation. He currently lives in Los Angeles and Consults in the real estate, health and wellness and legal industries.
Bookmark & Share
There are two aspects of this mystery I feel are important to cover in such a small space and at the risk of interest lost in examining this short and sweet cut into an otherwise mundane dynamic. The first is to provide a refresh explanation of the intent of California Probate. We may all know someone who has told us the story of a family member’s passing and the following evils of numerous relatives roosting like vultures hovering over the will and inheritance. I have personally watched this happen to many Clients, friends and associates who have been afflicted by one or more siblings, third cousins or even hopeful palimony partners claiming untold shares upon the bequeathed estate.
The purpose of the Probate system is of course to prevent these situations from getting out of hand and that fairness and equity of distribution is observed by an independent and non-partial authority (a Judge). This Probate system has a due process which even provides for a court appointed ‘Referee’ to adequately appraise the value of certain components of the estate such as the Real Estate involved. It further requires waiting periods, the postings of ‘Public Notice’ of sale of real property along with an ‘Overbidding’ or ‘Auction’ held at the ‘Court Confirmation’ of sale before the Judge in the Probate Court.
The Independent Administration of Estates Act (I.A.E.A) allows the sale of real property to bypass this ‘Court Confirmation’ process by allowing the Executor to liquidate real property in a manner which appears similar to a traditional sale at less expense in most cases to the Estate. In most of the Probates cases I have handled or that have been brought to my attention, have granted the executor ‘Full Power’ of sale, though most Attorneys automatically file the sale of the real property through the normal court confirmation process. I reserve comment here as to Attorney integrity because most of the Attorneys I have personally engaged with have been awesome and have recognized which cases are most situated for this act or procedure with regard to the realities of Beneficiary circumstance. The matter of the rights of Heirs of the Estate should always be of the first and foremost concern to both the Executor and the Attorney.
Take the case where the Heirs of the Estate are a Brother and Sister, neither have children or dependants, have a solid friendly relationship, a mutually concessive desire to half the proceeds and close out the Estate would benefit by this Estate Act, leveraging time and expense and each other’s overall welfare. The provisions of the Act do contain that adequate notices are delivered to any and all individuals who come forward to claim a piece of the pie and even dispute a sale in progress within the Act.
I believe the reason we do not see this method being more common is both a matter of education and Attorney Risk Management. I at one time had Probate sales included along on my list to specialties in my practice. I teach real estate Agents that when they are brought into a referred situation where an executor is open to being educated in the options the Probate systems provides for, the Executor might have that needed influence to project this alternative at their Attorneys table in the beginning of the process or even refer a Client an Attorney who is open minded to consider whether the case itself may be a proper match for the known beneficiaries or Heirs of the Estate.
In my next article, I will share a court room drama that will shock most real estate Agents and prevent a common, uncommon commissiondectomy. Until then, I am always available for private coaching or consultation in most applications of risk management and loss mitigation.
Copyright © 2010 Bryan Ridgley
Bryan is both a Real Estate and Health and Wellness Coach and Educator. He is currently available for both personal and group coaching and training in Stress Management, Real Estate Loss Mitigation. He currently lives in Los Angeles and Consults in the real estate, health and wellness and legal industries.
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Friday, June 4, 2010
Strategic Short Sales May be HAFA Intolerant
This just in! Real Estate Agents should now be acquainted with the term Strategic Short Sale.
Agents who have experienced easy accessibility with these common characters will confirm their differing motivational expressions over those who face losing it all. These ‘stressed’, but not ‘distressed’ property owners represent over 10% of the market inventory in most metropolitan areas. The personal experience I have gained in consulting in strategic situations is that these owners for the most part do not care to save the property unless they can settle the matter with an unreasonable amount of principal reduction on the mortgage.
Understanding the psychological pattern that occurs with the steps that lead most people behind can help us counsel these prospects. Most people will place financial stress on their menus with the overuse of credit or draining their savings before considering a mortgage default. As these resources dwindle, the home becomes a matter outside of just the heart. The Strategic Defaulter will not commonly fit this pattern and for the most part, may not even qualify for lenience in most Short Sale underwriting scenarios.
When residential borrowers present themselves in a compare to like fashion as Investors would in the commercial playing field, Agents may serve them better by referring these Strategic shakers to a mitigation attorney or specialist in modification. Chances are, the psychologies may be a better match as these defaulters would rather settle these issues long before the mortgage gets too far behind as the protection of their credit is usually more at issue than the defaults inspired by achieving victim status.
Mitigation Attorneys have legal tools and resources that are completely off limits to other practitioners in any other category including real estate licensees. The survey results from cases I have followed up are astonishing as some distressed borrowers found relief in resets and principal reduction that would shatter ones thinking, especially if you were a Distressed Seller that signed a sizable promissory note to close a Short Sale in the traditional model.
While I have also expressed in Seminars and other articles that some of the Mitigation firms out there may not favor the interests of most, I find exceptions that I even wish were regularly possible for the majority. What my goal is in the educational setting for Realtors is that they determine the motivations of the players in the projects they take on, identify when it is that they may be more motivated than the prospect and leverage their time by referring them immediately and finding the golden gooses out there that can be helped by straight shooting.
Ultimately, the manner by which the current real estate recession works itself out against the constraints of other financial corrections needed for overall recovery. Each of us concerned are admonished to be both knowledgeable and professional in our estimation of where individual situations have their merit and our ever present openness and focus to how we may assist other without discrimination or self serving motivation.
Copyright © 2010 Bryan Ridgley
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Agents who have experienced easy accessibility with these common characters will confirm their differing motivational expressions over those who face losing it all. These ‘stressed’, but not ‘distressed’ property owners represent over 10% of the market inventory in most metropolitan areas. The personal experience I have gained in consulting in strategic situations is that these owners for the most part do not care to save the property unless they can settle the matter with an unreasonable amount of principal reduction on the mortgage.
Understanding the psychological pattern that occurs with the steps that lead most people behind can help us counsel these prospects. Most people will place financial stress on their menus with the overuse of credit or draining their savings before considering a mortgage default. As these resources dwindle, the home becomes a matter outside of just the heart. The Strategic Defaulter will not commonly fit this pattern and for the most part, may not even qualify for lenience in most Short Sale underwriting scenarios.
When residential borrowers present themselves in a compare to like fashion as Investors would in the commercial playing field, Agents may serve them better by referring these Strategic shakers to a mitigation attorney or specialist in modification. Chances are, the psychologies may be a better match as these defaulters would rather settle these issues long before the mortgage gets too far behind as the protection of their credit is usually more at issue than the defaults inspired by achieving victim status.
Mitigation Attorneys have legal tools and resources that are completely off limits to other practitioners in any other category including real estate licensees. The survey results from cases I have followed up are astonishing as some distressed borrowers found relief in resets and principal reduction that would shatter ones thinking, especially if you were a Distressed Seller that signed a sizable promissory note to close a Short Sale in the traditional model.
While I have also expressed in Seminars and other articles that some of the Mitigation firms out there may not favor the interests of most, I find exceptions that I even wish were regularly possible for the majority. What my goal is in the educational setting for Realtors is that they determine the motivations of the players in the projects they take on, identify when it is that they may be more motivated than the prospect and leverage their time by referring them immediately and finding the golden gooses out there that can be helped by straight shooting.
Ultimately, the manner by which the current real estate recession works itself out against the constraints of other financial corrections needed for overall recovery. Each of us concerned are admonished to be both knowledgeable and professional in our estimation of where individual situations have their merit and our ever present openness and focus to how we may assist other without discrimination or self serving motivation.
Copyright © 2010 Bryan Ridgley
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Short Sales under the HAFA Program
With an Upside Down real estate market, the Short Sale has become a fully focused reality of life today in “Real Estate”. This reality stretches into the very fabric of real estate warfare as Agents, Brokerages and the “Mine the Miners” industries sow to captivate the coming explosion of market share.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has made no challenges to the notion that in the coming 2 years, up to 70% of the action will be engulfed in pre-foreclosure and distressed property sales. In a recent Zillow report, it was disclosed the over 21% of the nations mortgages are connected to properties that are “Upside Down”.
The numbers of situations sited in these Short Sale projections do not include the numbers of homeowners who are within the 5% equity bracket. These are the marginal cases where the closing costs of sale represent the tip out of balance, and into that ‘Upside Down’ world of economical hardship.
While the promise of the HAMP and HAFA plans make good sense in a recovering economy, the challenges of implementation are so far reaching that its April 5th, 2010 effective date has itself, compromised the meaning or definition of the word ‘effective’. The originating steps to Lender compliance to the rules of HAFA gave exemption for certain groups to devise their own set of guidelines provided that were congruent with the overall mission of HAFA. Now June, the industry still awaits the formal release of guidelines to be announced by both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the two largest insurers of mortgages in the USA.
You can ask a thousand Realtors of their experiences with Short Sales and the common syllabuses ’will include ‘long waits, unclear procedures, elusive guidelines and a continuous staging of the depressive wake of negative mindset, over their own plights of keeping up with the jones's.
Trying to get a short sale approved is a challenge with no certainty of a successful outcome. With differences in servicer requirements, varying attentions to a pre-listing investigation and decision-making time frames, the path to righteousness in the Short Sales process remains elusive to most engaging in the process. Each servicer, each transaction, varies on a case-to-case basis.
The challenges for the industry today is to becoming more familiar with the HAFA program, be ready for action when implementation takes hold later this year and getting back into some of the basics the majority of Agents have trained themselves to bypass. Most of us understand the meaning of “reading between the lines”, though in the world of short sales, those meanings equated “Too much hassle” for the investment of time it takes, then only to hurry up and wait.
There is another way and more coming as we turn to the next chapter, so keep the eyes open.
Copyright © 2010 Bryan Ridgley
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The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has made no challenges to the notion that in the coming 2 years, up to 70% of the action will be engulfed in pre-foreclosure and distressed property sales. In a recent Zillow report, it was disclosed the over 21% of the nations mortgages are connected to properties that are “Upside Down”.
The numbers of situations sited in these Short Sale projections do not include the numbers of homeowners who are within the 5% equity bracket. These are the marginal cases where the closing costs of sale represent the tip out of balance, and into that ‘Upside Down’ world of economical hardship.
While the promise of the HAMP and HAFA plans make good sense in a recovering economy, the challenges of implementation are so far reaching that its April 5th, 2010 effective date has itself, compromised the meaning or definition of the word ‘effective’. The originating steps to Lender compliance to the rules of HAFA gave exemption for certain groups to devise their own set of guidelines provided that were congruent with the overall mission of HAFA. Now June, the industry still awaits the formal release of guidelines to be announced by both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the two largest insurers of mortgages in the USA.
You can ask a thousand Realtors of their experiences with Short Sales and the common syllabuses ’will include ‘long waits, unclear procedures, elusive guidelines and a continuous staging of the depressive wake of negative mindset, over their own plights of keeping up with the jones's.
Trying to get a short sale approved is a challenge with no certainty of a successful outcome. With differences in servicer requirements, varying attentions to a pre-listing investigation and decision-making time frames, the path to righteousness in the Short Sales process remains elusive to most engaging in the process. Each servicer, each transaction, varies on a case-to-case basis.
The challenges for the industry today is to becoming more familiar with the HAFA program, be ready for action when implementation takes hold later this year and getting back into some of the basics the majority of Agents have trained themselves to bypass. Most of us understand the meaning of “reading between the lines”, though in the world of short sales, those meanings equated “Too much hassle” for the investment of time it takes, then only to hurry up and wait.
There is another way and more coming as we turn to the next chapter, so keep the eyes open.
Copyright © 2010 Bryan Ridgley
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Saturday, May 29, 2010
HAFA Changes Real Estate Agent Prospecting Protocols
While the times are surely changing, the streamlining of the Short Sale process per HAFA and as similar to the Wachovia Program now adopted by Well Fargo Bank will be changing the way Agents will be finding these Sellers as well as changing the way these Sellers approach the marketplace and find us.
While distressed Sellers have been difficult for many Agents and other vendors to reach in the past, The HAFA component will likely change the way distressed Sellers affiliate with brokerages and other service providers.
There are two issues which will cause a shift in the initial steps of the process. One is that the Distressed Sellers are more likely to be accessible to their Bank because of all the recent press about “cash for keys” types of credits or even cash paid upfront to facilitate a timely sale.
Secondly, Once Agents find that these Sellers are no longer hiding under the house, in the official setting of governmental reprieve, these Sellers will be handed Pre-approved Short Sale commitments that the Seller in turn will be asked to provide to the Agent of their choice. The Pre-approval will have a net figure, theoretically based on the Short Sales Lenders appraisal, cost guidelines and quotas they configure based on these formulas and areas of individual considerations which a property and Borrower may command.
This all equals a severe change from the considered norm. This is a change which is predicted to also change the mindset of most Borrowers turning Seller. So, to further illustrate this in a more captive manner, let us propose the following questions to the experienced Short Sales Agent...
1. When was the last time you remember a distressed Seller ask you where and how often you advertise their home in the newspaper?
2. Have these distressed Seller’s expressed concern about how completive you might be with commission rates or professional fees?
3. When was the last time a distressed Seller asked you how many homes have you sold in my neighborhood?
If you are an experienced Agent and have listed many a Distressed Property, chances are that you have never heard Sellers have these types of concerns. These concerns are usually associated with a Seller who may have considerable equity in their property. At the very least, they are the concerns one may have while being focused on and invested in the process.
For the most part, this focus and clarity of purpose has been missing for the majority of Agents dealing with distressed Sellers. We have gotten use to dealing with these situations in a manner which we place double attention of enrolling their cooperation and fighting them to ultimately affect a complete hardship package to accompany a purchase agreement.
This recent addition of HAFA on the initial steps a distressed Seller will be prompted is likely to change the entire mindset they will take toward choosing an Agent to represent the Short Sale of their property. With this key, Real Estate Agents will have to step up their prospecting game and be prepared to face the uncommon prospect of having to show their wares like we have with the more traditional equity Seller.
Copyright © Bryan Ridgley
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While distressed Sellers have been difficult for many Agents and other vendors to reach in the past, The HAFA component will likely change the way distressed Sellers affiliate with brokerages and other service providers.
There are two issues which will cause a shift in the initial steps of the process. One is that the Distressed Sellers are more likely to be accessible to their Bank because of all the recent press about “cash for keys” types of credits or even cash paid upfront to facilitate a timely sale.
Secondly, Once Agents find that these Sellers are no longer hiding under the house, in the official setting of governmental reprieve, these Sellers will be handed Pre-approved Short Sale commitments that the Seller in turn will be asked to provide to the Agent of their choice. The Pre-approval will have a net figure, theoretically based on the Short Sales Lenders appraisal, cost guidelines and quotas they configure based on these formulas and areas of individual considerations which a property and Borrower may command.
This all equals a severe change from the considered norm. This is a change which is predicted to also change the mindset of most Borrowers turning Seller. So, to further illustrate this in a more captive manner, let us propose the following questions to the experienced Short Sales Agent...
1. When was the last time you remember a distressed Seller ask you where and how often you advertise their home in the newspaper?
2. Have these distressed Seller’s expressed concern about how completive you might be with commission rates or professional fees?
3. When was the last time a distressed Seller asked you how many homes have you sold in my neighborhood?
If you are an experienced Agent and have listed many a Distressed Property, chances are that you have never heard Sellers have these types of concerns. These concerns are usually associated with a Seller who may have considerable equity in their property. At the very least, they are the concerns one may have while being focused on and invested in the process.
For the most part, this focus and clarity of purpose has been missing for the majority of Agents dealing with distressed Sellers. We have gotten use to dealing with these situations in a manner which we place double attention of enrolling their cooperation and fighting them to ultimately affect a complete hardship package to accompany a purchase agreement.
This recent addition of HAFA on the initial steps a distressed Seller will be prompted is likely to change the entire mindset they will take toward choosing an Agent to represent the Short Sale of their property. With this key, Real Estate Agents will have to step up their prospecting game and be prepared to face the uncommon prospect of having to show their wares like we have with the more traditional equity Seller.
Copyright © Bryan Ridgley
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Thursday, May 20, 2010
Be Careful Advertising Yourself as a HAFA or Short Sale Specialist
I thought I would help shed light on some myths that are being shared publically by real estate Agents about HAFA, as they may be miss-leading.
It may be known that Agents have a window period to capture as many distressed homeowners as they can, place them under their wing before lenders start referring Affiliates or Servicer referred Agents. The style by which some Agents are lead generating may place them under scrutiny.
Of the many variants I have seen circulating is a mailer or flyer that states “I am a Short Sale Specialist” or “I am a HAFA Specialist and I will get you $3,000 from your Bank to move” Another is “I am a Short Sale Specialist and have all cash Investor Clients that also negotiate with the Bank” (This one being the most litigious in my opinion).
The Department of Real Estate (In the State of California) has placed Deputy Investigators on Duty to harbor the phones for tips and reports on these types of public representations as well as outright Mortgage Fraud.
The pressures are surmounting on many Agents as they try to navigate the Short Sales process, one that none of us can accurately define. We have a working definition on what a Short Sale is, and while HAFA promises help for non-exempt homeowners, many loans are still currently exempt due to factors such as where and how the loans were originated.
While Obama’s program brings promise to many defaulted homeowners, it’s procedural mechanics and guidelines still leave many open doors for miss-haps in closing these deals as lenders may not provide for certain liens and title matters prior to their Short Sale Pre-Approvals.
It is suggested that in the many case files of Investor defaults, the non HAFA zone will continue to exist, making it every Agents responsibility to continue educating themselves on the Short Sale process which is projected to continue throughout the next two to three years.
When advertising yourself as a “Short Sale Specialist” or “Pre-Foreclosure Specialist” or “Consultant”, you are wise to study up on the “Standards of Practice” Articles and in the NAR or Local Associations “Code of Ethics”. The use of the term “Specialist” comes with it an added responsibility of covering all your bases including whatever it is that you may not know that you don’t know.
Lastly, MLS rules prohibit the use of commission reductions due to the pass on cost of a third party Negotiator. While the MLS “Private or Agent remarks” section provides to warn or disclose to Selling Agents that they may share a Bank imposed commission reduction, it is an MLS Violation to directly reduce an commission offering to impose a Negotiator’s fee to the Selling Agent or Buyer.
I have the answer to this too… though you’ll have to look out for my next article.
Copyright © Bryan Ridgley
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It may be known that Agents have a window period to capture as many distressed homeowners as they can, place them under their wing before lenders start referring Affiliates or Servicer referred Agents. The style by which some Agents are lead generating may place them under scrutiny.
Of the many variants I have seen circulating is a mailer or flyer that states “I am a Short Sale Specialist” or “I am a HAFA Specialist and I will get you $3,000 from your Bank to move” Another is “I am a Short Sale Specialist and have all cash Investor Clients that also negotiate with the Bank” (This one being the most litigious in my opinion).
The Department of Real Estate (In the State of California) has placed Deputy Investigators on Duty to harbor the phones for tips and reports on these types of public representations as well as outright Mortgage Fraud.
The pressures are surmounting on many Agents as they try to navigate the Short Sales process, one that none of us can accurately define. We have a working definition on what a Short Sale is, and while HAFA promises help for non-exempt homeowners, many loans are still currently exempt due to factors such as where and how the loans were originated.
While Obama’s program brings promise to many defaulted homeowners, it’s procedural mechanics and guidelines still leave many open doors for miss-haps in closing these deals as lenders may not provide for certain liens and title matters prior to their Short Sale Pre-Approvals.
It is suggested that in the many case files of Investor defaults, the non HAFA zone will continue to exist, making it every Agents responsibility to continue educating themselves on the Short Sale process which is projected to continue throughout the next two to three years.
When advertising yourself as a “Short Sale Specialist” or “Pre-Foreclosure Specialist” or “Consultant”, you are wise to study up on the “Standards of Practice” Articles and in the NAR or Local Associations “Code of Ethics”. The use of the term “Specialist” comes with it an added responsibility of covering all your bases including whatever it is that you may not know that you don’t know.
Lastly, MLS rules prohibit the use of commission reductions due to the pass on cost of a third party Negotiator. While the MLS “Private or Agent remarks” section provides to warn or disclose to Selling Agents that they may share a Bank imposed commission reduction, it is an MLS Violation to directly reduce an commission offering to impose a Negotiator’s fee to the Selling Agent or Buyer.
I have the answer to this too… though you’ll have to look out for my next article.
Copyright © Bryan Ridgley
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Wednesday, May 19, 2010
What Every Short Sale Agent should Know Today
Ah ha, and its true... Some will, some won't; SO WHAT! The fact is, even when rigorously qualifying these properties and their occupants, not all Short Sales are easy passages. What holds the account for the national stats of Short Sale failures is that we hadn’t as professionals 1. Known the complexities and hoops we would have to account for as any other profession must metamorphose itself from an avalanche of change. 2. We dove in and placed little value or emphasis on Buyer performance until after the Short Sale lender has in fact, approved the sale. 3. The Underwriters are mentality thinking, "That's Backwards"!
There are other learning curves we have taken in the mix of these distressed sales. Junior lien holders, tax liens, HOA judgments and arrearage’s make not be items that will be fully absorbed by the Short Sale lender and must be accounted for.
Another mindset infraction commonly plaguing these transaction is that Agents representing Buyers in these purchases seem to feel it part of their Fiduciary responsibility to keep their Buyer financially and attentively innocent until the Short Sale lender approves the sale. I am always dealing with this question in talks and Seminars I facilitate. I tell Agents with this consideration about the number of Buyers, Sellers and Agents out there that tell the stories we hear when the Short Sales sounded easy, and that were approved in a short amount of time. Stories that truly express the belief that Short Sale property can represent an extra value proposition over its REO competition. There is usually a live Seller that is disclosing what they know about the property, their usually maintaining the property and have not excavated the cabinetry and poured cement down the plumbing drains. There may be value there, enough to justify a Buyers investing four or five hundred dollars to perform an inspection, investigate the property and remove that contingency from the transaction early, even though there exists that risk that the sale may not go through.
Some of us may be rigorously staunch lead generators. If we are, we know to systemize and prioritize our leads to leverage our production percentages. Why would it be any different with regard to the waiting game of short sale process purgatory?
With millions or offers being submitted, depending on the size of the Bank or Servicers, incoming files are opened, processed through some system which favors priority and leverage. These must at many times be sifted out from hundreds of files by someone perhaps not as experienced in making the final dispositions on these sale files.
Regardless of the various styles of this sifting and sorting you can make a serious difference in the timing by which your package sorted into ACTION.
First of all, you would think that the first thing a lender would do is look at all the cool stuff in the Sellers hardship package and place their sole excitement on that above all. The quality of this part of the package though important is secondary in purgatory. Sorry, there are other elements to a swift ready closing that might mean the leveraging of their time.
If the lender does what they are supposed to do in the bigger picture of loss mitigation, a mitigating factor would logically include time. With the old school of Short Sales representation, we place our Sellers (and Buyers) in a nonperforming sale, and then chase an uncommitted Buyer after a Lender Approval many months after contract; we create time in working against us. We do this time after time, though with the many successes we do have with 2nd and 3rd Buyers, we know we eventually get many of these deals closed.
Part of the perpetuating mindset that hoaxes our deals is our insistence that because we are use to working the way of the Old School, that we run the risk of losing our Buyers by asking them to place the very "Skin" in the deal, that may singly be the cause most Short Sales that have been approved within the first 60 days. If this writing creates any kind of movement, my hope is that is causes every Agent in our profession to get some additional mindset training. Then the most knowable of us will prosper quickly. (End)
© 2010 Bryan Ridgley
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There are other learning curves we have taken in the mix of these distressed sales. Junior lien holders, tax liens, HOA judgments and arrearage’s make not be items that will be fully absorbed by the Short Sale lender and must be accounted for.
Another mindset infraction commonly plaguing these transaction is that Agents representing Buyers in these purchases seem to feel it part of their Fiduciary responsibility to keep their Buyer financially and attentively innocent until the Short Sale lender approves the sale. I am always dealing with this question in talks and Seminars I facilitate. I tell Agents with this consideration about the number of Buyers, Sellers and Agents out there that tell the stories we hear when the Short Sales sounded easy, and that were approved in a short amount of time. Stories that truly express the belief that Short Sale property can represent an extra value proposition over its REO competition. There is usually a live Seller that is disclosing what they know about the property, their usually maintaining the property and have not excavated the cabinetry and poured cement down the plumbing drains. There may be value there, enough to justify a Buyers investing four or five hundred dollars to perform an inspection, investigate the property and remove that contingency from the transaction early, even though there exists that risk that the sale may not go through.
Some of us may be rigorously staunch lead generators. If we are, we know to systemize and prioritize our leads to leverage our production percentages. Why would it be any different with regard to the waiting game of short sale process purgatory?
With millions or offers being submitted, depending on the size of the Bank or Servicers, incoming files are opened, processed through some system which favors priority and leverage. These must at many times be sifted out from hundreds of files by someone perhaps not as experienced in making the final dispositions on these sale files.
Regardless of the various styles of this sifting and sorting you can make a serious difference in the timing by which your package sorted into ACTION.
First of all, you would think that the first thing a lender would do is look at all the cool stuff in the Sellers hardship package and place their sole excitement on that above all. The quality of this part of the package though important is secondary in purgatory. Sorry, there are other elements to a swift ready closing that might mean the leveraging of their time.
If the lender does what they are supposed to do in the bigger picture of loss mitigation, a mitigating factor would logically include time. With the old school of Short Sales representation, we place our Sellers (and Buyers) in a nonperforming sale, and then chase an uncommitted Buyer after a Lender Approval many months after contract; we create time in working against us. We do this time after time, though with the many successes we do have with 2nd and 3rd Buyers, we know we eventually get many of these deals closed.
Part of the perpetuating mindset that hoaxes our deals is our insistence that because we are use to working the way of the Old School, that we run the risk of losing our Buyers by asking them to place the very "Skin" in the deal, that may singly be the cause most Short Sales that have been approved within the first 60 days. If this writing creates any kind of movement, my hope is that is causes every Agent in our profession to get some additional mindset training. Then the most knowable of us will prosper quickly. (End)
© 2010 Bryan Ridgley
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Friday, May 14, 2010
Social Network Marketing Lesson 1
We live in exponential times. Whether your online habits are casual or focused, “when you get to it or habitual”, everyone is out there at their own pace, just like on Route 66 or the 101 freeway.
For those that have not reached the new world or online generation, we might be surprised to find out that over 50% of Search Engine entries and results are on the Names of People. People are interested in other People.
It would be easy to pass this off ignorantly thinking, yes… Who isn’t looking for the latest 411 on Celebrities and other Famous People? It may be a significant portion of the majority that utilizes their online experience to be casually entertained. While many Corporations, Business Professions and Online Marketing industries are capitalizing on their Internet presence with a strategy. Others are phishing, spamming and contributing to the online pollution in the same way the masses have polluted the earth; though that’s not the song I intended to sing here.
Like on the portals of Reality TV, we have to ‘get a grip’ that our experiences of online socialization are not a proven science, are as individual as the next person and that while there are multitudes of people entertaining each other and themselves, there are others soliciting, collecting, sorting, search mongering and data basing all of this in the spirit of progress and capitalism.
We are now being taught to be careful of what we say, how we act and responsible we behave online as being online is not the anonymous platform that existed years ago. Corporations and Companies now have Internet Commerce, Social Networking and Advertising budgets, Departments that dedicate their focus on both online presence and Online Mitigation of their Branding Integrity. This at times may include the online behaviors of their associates and employees.
We can learn from the Masters of Branding and market dominance by both putting ourselves out there in an impactful way, as well as placing our ears out there to understand which markets we may be penetrating. In a nut shell the premise may be as easy as asking the question “What are they saying about me?
So your initial task in your quest for Mastery is to simply Google yourself, then Wait for my next article.
Copyright © 2010 Bryan Ridgley
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For those that have not reached the new world or online generation, we might be surprised to find out that over 50% of Search Engine entries and results are on the Names of People. People are interested in other People.
It would be easy to pass this off ignorantly thinking, yes… Who isn’t looking for the latest 411 on Celebrities and other Famous People? It may be a significant portion of the majority that utilizes their online experience to be casually entertained. While many Corporations, Business Professions and Online Marketing industries are capitalizing on their Internet presence with a strategy. Others are phishing, spamming and contributing to the online pollution in the same way the masses have polluted the earth; though that’s not the song I intended to sing here.
Like on the portals of Reality TV, we have to ‘get a grip’ that our experiences of online socialization are not a proven science, are as individual as the next person and that while there are multitudes of people entertaining each other and themselves, there are others soliciting, collecting, sorting, search mongering and data basing all of this in the spirit of progress and capitalism.
We are now being taught to be careful of what we say, how we act and responsible we behave online as being online is not the anonymous platform that existed years ago. Corporations and Companies now have Internet Commerce, Social Networking and Advertising budgets, Departments that dedicate their focus on both online presence and Online Mitigation of their Branding Integrity. This at times may include the online behaviors of their associates and employees.
We can learn from the Masters of Branding and market dominance by both putting ourselves out there in an impactful way, as well as placing our ears out there to understand which markets we may be penetrating. In a nut shell the premise may be as easy as asking the question “What are they saying about me?
So your initial task in your quest for Mastery is to simply Google yourself, then Wait for my next article.
Copyright © 2010 Bryan Ridgley
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Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Do Not Be Attached To Outcomes
While pursuing our dreams, we know there are others in our paths who are having a rotten day, are not happy with their circumstances in life and who represent an obstacle to our least path of resistance. The Peaceful Warrior at all of life’s battles in the choice we have to make. It is the attention we may place or not place on our ability to rightfully respond to a negative comment with a positively inspirational lead into forwarding the spirit of growth and prosperity, or react to it through our inadequacies that cause us to re-strike, or our needs to be respected, accepted, loved or right.
What we may be missing in our relationships professionally is the map, the standard form or owner’s manual to guiding ourselves productively. We know from the many whom came forward through history and wonder things like, how could Colonel Sanders hear NO 100 times let alone over 1000 times before he heard YES. We have to have a grip here that life is about the choices we make because the choices we make now are the new chains of cause and effect that we forward into our future. It is akin to the Universal Law of Attraction as with other Universal or Natural Law we navigate as we pass through this time zone of physical life. We Share this life with others who by elementary physics have a different point of view and an ever revealing life experience and perception of life, set of values and belief systems as equally unique and individual.
When we are working in a profession that is clearly defined, intimate to specific human needs and producing career vehicle (Maybe even express their passions), we can know up ahead are other humans we must face and even grow with. When we view others with the position of judgment, pre-disposition or expectation, the teachers of life tell us in advance we will be encumbered by disappointment and failing grace. When having a solution that is so obvious that supply and demand markets are so in need, remembering the Big Idea, the Bigger Picture, The Wider View of marketing you is that we work to be compassionate, steadfast to forwarding the positive, the Win/Win, the rightful thinking globally and acting locally and the Torch of leadership to the following generations.
Copyright © Bryan Ridgley
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Bryan is both a Real Estate and Health and Wellness Coach and Educator. He is currently available for both personal and group coaching and training in Stress Management, Molecular Hydration and Real Estate Loss Mitigation. He currently lives in Los Angeles and Consults in the real estate, health and legal industries.
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What we may be missing in our relationships professionally is the map, the standard form or owner’s manual to guiding ourselves productively. We know from the many whom came forward through history and wonder things like, how could Colonel Sanders hear NO 100 times let alone over 1000 times before he heard YES. We have to have a grip here that life is about the choices we make because the choices we make now are the new chains of cause and effect that we forward into our future. It is akin to the Universal Law of Attraction as with other Universal or Natural Law we navigate as we pass through this time zone of physical life. We Share this life with others who by elementary physics have a different point of view and an ever revealing life experience and perception of life, set of values and belief systems as equally unique and individual.
When we are working in a profession that is clearly defined, intimate to specific human needs and producing career vehicle (Maybe even express their passions), we can know up ahead are other humans we must face and even grow with. When we view others with the position of judgment, pre-disposition or expectation, the teachers of life tell us in advance we will be encumbered by disappointment and failing grace. When having a solution that is so obvious that supply and demand markets are so in need, remembering the Big Idea, the Bigger Picture, The Wider View of marketing you is that we work to be compassionate, steadfast to forwarding the positive, the Win/Win, the rightful thinking globally and acting locally and the Torch of leadership to the following generations.
Copyright © Bryan Ridgley
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Bryan is both a Real Estate and Health and Wellness Coach and Educator. He is currently available for both personal and group coaching and training in Stress Management, Molecular Hydration and Real Estate Loss Mitigation. He currently lives in Los Angeles and Consults in the real estate, health and legal industries.
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Friday, April 30, 2010
Short Sale Mitigation, Consumers Should Be Warned! (Mitigation Firms)
Distressed property owners suffer the confusion of solution along with the stresses of their financial hardships. Once a default filing reaches the public 411, every joker and legitimate provider of pre-foreclosure services gets the memo. Mortgage Brokers, Realtors, Mitigation Attorneys, Investors and Short Sale Scam Artists prey on the chance for their piece of the buck.
One solution offered to distressed homeowners is the use of Mitigation Services provided by firms qualified in their State to provide these services. For example in California, they are most likely Legal Firms. The Legal approach to negotiating with lenders adds the sledgehammer in cases for example, when it is discovered that when the mortgage was originated, the consumer disclosures were not properly executed. Law Firms are poised with the perceived authority they personify to the public, though it has been debated by many lenders as to their effectiveness over other solutions offered by Brokerages staffed with Short Sale Specialists. Re-finance is commonly impossible.
Mitigation Firms have proved to be an exceptional way for many distressed homeowners to save themselves by saving their homes. If that is your situation, I would not call a real estate firm until after the modification process proved a disqualification. The banks are not going to throw you under the bus if your mortgage is tied to HEMP or HAFA guidelines. HEMP and HAFA are government mandates President Obama rushed through to squash the red tape in the pre-foreclosure process and to help restore pride of homeownership to millions of Americans. HEMP relates to Modification and HAFA tags on HEMP with Short Sale guidelines and protocol. While the programs have honorable intent, there are many mortgages in default which are exempt from these governmental compliances. This is one example where Mitigation Firms provide an equitable and valued Consumer Service.
Here is the Warning! Many Mitigation Firms make their money on Advance Fees, often disclosed as Fees for Service. When you examine the services and fees due in phases, the bulk of the fee is more like a nonrefundable retainer in exchange for the same roundup of the homeowner’s documents and Short Sale packaging as would be included in the Brokerage Commissions paid in the sale of the property. There is a New School of Real Estate Short Sale Specialists out their trained in these pre-foreclosure lender regiments and can supplement the Short Sale Banks bottom-line more equitably. The advice here would be that before signing any Agreement for Mitigation Services, it would be wise to forward the agreement to a second Mitigation Expert, Attorney or Specialist for a Consultation.
Copyright © Bryan Ridgley
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One solution offered to distressed homeowners is the use of Mitigation Services provided by firms qualified in their State to provide these services. For example in California, they are most likely Legal Firms. The Legal approach to negotiating with lenders adds the sledgehammer in cases for example, when it is discovered that when the mortgage was originated, the consumer disclosures were not properly executed. Law Firms are poised with the perceived authority they personify to the public, though it has been debated by many lenders as to their effectiveness over other solutions offered by Brokerages staffed with Short Sale Specialists. Re-finance is commonly impossible.
Mitigation Firms have proved to be an exceptional way for many distressed homeowners to save themselves by saving their homes. If that is your situation, I would not call a real estate firm until after the modification process proved a disqualification. The banks are not going to throw you under the bus if your mortgage is tied to HEMP or HAFA guidelines. HEMP and HAFA are government mandates President Obama rushed through to squash the red tape in the pre-foreclosure process and to help restore pride of homeownership to millions of Americans. HEMP relates to Modification and HAFA tags on HEMP with Short Sale guidelines and protocol. While the programs have honorable intent, there are many mortgages in default which are exempt from these governmental compliances. This is one example where Mitigation Firms provide an equitable and valued Consumer Service.
Here is the Warning! Many Mitigation Firms make their money on Advance Fees, often disclosed as Fees for Service. When you examine the services and fees due in phases, the bulk of the fee is more like a nonrefundable retainer in exchange for the same roundup of the homeowner’s documents and Short Sale packaging as would be included in the Brokerage Commissions paid in the sale of the property. There is a New School of Real Estate Short Sale Specialists out their trained in these pre-foreclosure lender regiments and can supplement the Short Sale Banks bottom-line more equitably. The advice here would be that before signing any Agreement for Mitigation Services, it would be wise to forward the agreement to a second Mitigation Expert, Attorney or Specialist for a Consultation.
Copyright © Bryan Ridgley
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