default (26)
Well 2013 is upon us and it will be interesting to see what takes place. As there are many reports of the housing market springing up there are also many mortgages still in default.
Here is an interesting article from Survival and Prosperity, about the next foreclosure wave and how it may impact the housing recovery.
What say you?
Today NAWRB announces the appointment of Elizabeth Goodchild to the national trade group's board of directors. "We're excited to announce Elizabeth's new role with the organization. We went through a rigorous vetting process to fill this vacancy, and Elizabeth has all the skills and passion we were looking for in a new Director. Her business's specialized real estate services, relocation, distressed asset disposition, and short sales, plus her experience in publishing and education makes Elizabeth a natural fit for our board," said Patno.
Goodchild will serve in her new role until bi-annual elections scheduled to be held in early 2013. NAWRB, a trade group representing women-owned businesses in the housing economy, is one of the most visible trade groups in mortgage default media and generates over $200,000 a year in media attention on behalf of its member businesses.
To read the full press release click here: NAWRB Board member Elizabeth Goodchild.
It’s Women History Month. Let’s honor those women who have changed our lives. As a national women's association, NAWRB pays homage to influential women all month. “Being persons, then, women are citizens; and no state has a right to make any law, or to enforce any old law, that shall abridge their privileges or immunities.” Susan B. Anthony proclaimed during the suffrage movement.
National Association of Women REO Brokerages to launch new website Monday
Be sure to visit National Association of Women REO Brokerages' new website this Monday, January 23, 2012. NAWRB has a refreshed looked and is fill with lots of information, tools and resources.
Be sure to check it out:
We would like to hear your feedback on your experience.
New Year’s Resolutions
With all the holiday cheer, it’s time to sit down and take to paper all of the goals that we will strive for in the New Year.
- Revamp your office – make it more efficient and organize those piles of files sitting around
- Challenge your self – take one those tasks that you have been procrastinating with
- Invest in a good time management calendar or make it a point to use your Outlook calendar. Learn a new feature on your outlook that will increase your productivity.
- Get up-to-date with technology – see how you can optimize your technology
- Start that social media forum – see what’s trending and make sure you don’t fall behind
- Modernize your marketing plan – how can you tap into a new market, create a niche
- Volunteer – Get involved in your community – you will enjoy every minute of it!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Listen in to an event focused on Women’s Entrepreneurship. Please join us online today at 3 p.m. EST. You can watch live at WhiteHouse.gov/live.
This is your opportunity to ask questions on federal policies and programs for women entrepreneurial and diversity opportunities.
Yes, after one agent tries, unsuccessfully, to sell this home 97 days, posting ONE front photo, a 2nd agent tried for another 137 days until finally they sold it for $66,000 LESS than asking price. After I Staged it and relisted for more than $55,000 of what was paid for, we have 4 offers in ONE day, all over asking price!
Here are a few more photos http://www.postlets.com/res/4332472
(link will only be available up to 30 days from this post)
FULL POST BELOW, AFTER PHOTOS
This is JUST ONE example of why sellers should HIRE a STAGER and/or a STAGING REALTOR when selling!
BEFORE & AFTER
The story of this listing goes something like this...
Previous seller & agent, who should remain unnamed to protect their "innocence", try to sell this home for 137 days without any success! And prior to that, another seller/agent tried selling for another 97 days! But that agent could only muster taking ONE photo of the front. Not unusual to see that, right? I mean, after all it is so difficult to take digital photos because than you have to download, upload…exhausting! Boggles the mind! Anyway, the home looked pretty much the same except it was missing a chandelier and the hood over the stove.
It appears that no one had any ideas as to how to make it look better in order to find a buyer, NOR (may I add) any buyer had the VISION to picture it a little dressed up! Why not?? So, this seller finally sells for over $66,000 LESS. New, SMART owner enters, hires me (BECAUSE I am a Staging Realtor….see, I told you he was smart!) to relist, at over $55,000 of what he paid for it, and gets even more in ONE day!
This post doesn’t only show (known fact) sellers that the smallest effort in “Staging” their product can make and pay big, BUT also that buyers need to be able to spot potential BEFORE someone comes in and stages it, THEN they’re willing to pay much more, for something that’s not even staying with the property!! Buyer need to keep an open mind when it comes to seeing the potential in homes they’re buying. This staging did not include any heavy furniture or anything. The heaviest thing is the folding patio set!!
The interesting thing is that many agents, like myself, offer our Staging services FREE of charge as part of our service, but in spite of the clear benefit many sellers, especially REO owners, are either not grasping the concept, or their reps simply don’t care. Not sure which is it - maybe someone can comment/clarify. If you, as a seller/AM, are giving 100s of listings to one agent, you clearly aren't interested or focused on maximizing returns for yourself or your clients. This may not be your fault, I know that so don’t get mad! Maybe your hands are “tied” as to what you can do or who you hire to list your assets, but the fact remains the same - maximizing returns through QUALITY marketing is not at the forefront of how you/your employer does business. Can you change that? If so, you should at least try! The difference in the quality of service you receive will astound you.
The consequence of doing business based on quantity (as if it needs reinterating), devalues all our homes and hurts communities all across our country, where values are already affecting many people’s lives!
To summarize just this example: No staging =no offers! Staging =4 offers the first day, including cash offers for NO LESS than asking, and others for much more over asking!
Where ever you are, whatever your local market, seek the services of listing agents who offer Staging as part of their service, when possible. If you have a boss, you WILL impress them!!
If you like this post, visit http://stagingrealtors.ning.com/ for other related posts, and to join the group!
I frequently hear the question "Can I short sell my house if I have not stopped making payments." The answer to this depends on your lender, the investor on the loan, and the phases of the moon. However, at least right now, if you have a loan with Wells Fargo then at this moment in time they will look at approving a short sale if you have not stopped making your payments. Wells Fargo has two different review processes, one for currently defaulted and one for eminent defaults. So if you are currently making your payments, but you have circumstances which will make it impossible for you to make the payments in the future then you are likely to have an eminent default and can potentially qualify for a short sale. Nothing is for ever, and with short sales there are no guarantees, but it is worth a try.
If you have any questions about short sales in San Mateo or Santa County please feel free to contact me.
Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams Realty
marcy@marcymoyer.com
650-619-9285
D.R.E. 01191194
Federal Government Disclaimer (MARS): 1. You may stop doing business with us at any time. You may accept or reject the offer of mortgage assistance we obtain from your lender [or servicer]. If you reject the offer, you do not have to pay us. If you accept the offer, you will have to pay us commission as agreed to in listing contract for our services. 2. Marcy Moyer of Keller Williams Realty is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender; and 3. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.
Marcy Moyer Keller Williams Realty Palo Alto, Ca. Specialist in Trust and Probate Sales
How will this effect your current short sale negotiations? Direct
approved assigned short sales are coming fast but are current BofA REO agents
going to get those listings?
Bank of America Home Loans has announced that it will exit the
reverse mortgage origination business and move the unit’s operational resources
into other critical areas serving customers. Bank of America Home Loans will
continue to serve the needs of existing reverse mortgage customers and those
with loans in process.
“We made the strategic decision to exit the reverse business due
to competing demands and priorities that require investments and resources be
focused on other key areas of our business,” said Doug Jones, consumer sales
and institutional mortgage services executive for Bank of America Home Loans.
“We fully understand the critical sensitivity of ensuring that our senior
customers are provided with the same level of excellent customer service that
we have provided in the past.”
On Thursday, Bank of America announced the definitive sale of its
Balboa Insurance organization to the QBE Insurance Group Ltd. The exit from the
reverse mortgage market is an additional step in the efforts of Bank of America
Home Loans to focus on its core mortgage operations.
Bank of America Home Loans entered the reverse mortgage business
in 2006 and expanded its presence in 2007 following the acquisition of Reverse
Mortgage of America in 2007 and Countrywide Financial Corporation in 2008.
Associates not redeployed will have the opportunity to apply for open positions
at Bank of America.
Bank of America President and Chief Executive Officer Brian
Moynihan also announced changes to Bank of America Home Loans and Insurance that
will continue the company’s strong momentum in extending home mortgage credit
while improving its leading mortgage modification programs for distressed
homeowners and resolving legacy mortgage issues.
The decision is the latest in a series of significant actions
taken to resolve outstanding mortgage-related issues while solidifying the
company’s leading position in mortgage finance. Bank of America in September
2010 initiated a self-assessment of default servicing, and in October became
the first servicer to voluntarily suspend foreclosure sales in all 50 states
while evaluating the process. While the review of the foreclosure process found
that the underlying grounds for foreclosure decisions has been accurate, Bank
of America implemented a series of improvements—including staffing, customer
impact, and quality controls.
Barbara Desoer, Bank of America Home Loans president, will
continue building the mortgage business for Bank of America. Desoer is
responsible for servicing loans for the more than 12 million mortgage customers
who remain current on their accounts, and for implementing the bank’s strategy
to be the preferred mortgage choice for its 50 million household customers
going forward. In 2010, Bank of America delivered $306 billion in quality mortgage
lending to 1.4 million customers.
At the same time, a newly formed unit, Legacy Asset Servicing, has
been established. Terry Laughlin will lead this unit and be responsible for
servicing all defaulted loans, and for servicing discontinued residential mortgage
products. In this role, Laughlin will oversee the bank’s mortgage modification
and foreclosure programs, and continue to be responsible for resolving
residential mortgage representation and warranties repurchase claims.
“This alignment allows two strong executives and their teams to
continue to lead the strongest home loans business in the industry, while
providing greater focus on resolving legacy mortgage issues,” said Moynihan.
“We believe this will best serve customers—both those seeking homeownership and
those who face mortgage challenges—as well as our shareholders and the
communities we serve.”
Yep, it ROCKS!
I have made so many wonderful contacts and friends here. Read some stuff, send some emails. If you are truly looking to connect and not to just *GET SOMETHING* from someone you will be happy you found this group!
I am also a member of WinDS (charter member) and I am member of NAHREP AZ and NAHREP Vegas and also AREAA AZ and AREAA Vegas. I also highly recommend all of these listed groups for the great connections and educational opportunities.
5 Simple Things Sellers Should Know About the Value of Home Staging
1: The cost of staging is always less than your first price reduction!
It is a known fact that two things are key in selling real estate….price and location.
So why stage? Many reasons! STANDING OUT from the competition is one, especially in today’s down market where buyers see home after home, without being able to make up their minds. Very often even the same floor plan comes up repeatedly. Staging makes a home stand out from the rest in a great way! Staging is the surest way to “help” the buyer envision living in the space.
2: Staging does not need to always be a full-blown/fully furnished affair!
‘Staging’ for the purpose of selling means to assess each property, and stage/address issues on a case-by-case basis. Some property conditions may not lend themselves to staging, and that’s fine. Staging is about having the presence of mind to address distractions as needed, (if/when allowed) or financially reasonable.
3: Staging is done with ONE goal - Guiding a buyer’s eye toward functionality!
Too often distractions distract buyers from seeing the true positives in a home. Staging is about removing those distractions, whether it’s a harsh paint color, minor repairs, or just trash and grime. Too many broken “small” details left undone WILL lead buyers to think there are other hidden problems.
4: Staging is about removing doubt that a property it’s not worth its asking price!
In today’s market buyers have choices, and they’re able to compare what’s on the market. Two exact floor plans will be set apart by their condition. In today’s market of HUGE homes makes it a daunting task for a buyer to just imagine having to paint an entire house with soaring walls, when there is another exact home down the street for the same price! If there is ANYTHING broken or dirty, it MUST be addressed - otherwise a buyer will feel overwhelmed and move on to the next house. Staging does NOT always mean adding “furnishings” anymore. I can mean addressing the smallest of details and distractions, as supposed to just sticking a For Sale sign in the yard and adding “sold AS-IS” on the MLS!
5: Home Staging is about helping buyers visualize their dreams coming true!
When we Stage a home we’re helping buyers gap their lifestyle dream, from what “is”, to what “will be”. Helping a buyer envision themselves living (hassle-free) in the property, is what Staging is about. When a buyer can see themselves living in the home, wallets open.
Why should sellers list with REALTORS® WHO STAGE?
Because Staging Realtors consistently do more, and innately go beyond what’s expected to market HOMES (not just houses). Staging Realtors try to envision and connect the dots with what buyers look for in a HOME. Studies show buyers pay top dollar when they fall in love with THE perfect HOME!
Here’s an EXAMPLE of how Non-Staging gent and a Staging-Realtor market the SAME space!
This concept also include Realtors who even though they don't do Staging themselves, they use the services of a Home Staging Professional.
This home was on the market for 63 days with a NON-Staging agent, but on the market for only 7 days after being Staged, by yours truly, before receiving the accepted offer, and consequently TWO backup offers.
By the way, this was an REO listing.
Due to recent developments in the default real estate industry, we (as default professionals) have seen an explosion of real estate schools offering default courses in specific niches like, Short Sale, REO and Loan Modification.
Of course, I am sure we all can agree, a quality education can be expensive but, well worth it however, why would someone pay a premium for a quality education? For many of us, this question is mute simply because know the benefits of such an education.
The problem I see in the default industry with these real estate schools is that many of them are over promising, under delivering or plain negligent and in some cases, possibly even fraudulent with their claims. We know this to be the case due to the increased number of professionals adding their voice to the chorus of complaints, negative blogs and outright hostility towards many of these real estate schools.
So, if I was in the market looking for an education, what would I look for to make sure, I am getting a quality education. Below is my list of requirements any school would have to offer to get me to write them a check.
- Books: If I am going to pay for a class, I want more than just a handout or screen shots of the slide presentation, I want a book. I want a book because, this lets me know that someone within in the school’s organization sat down and committed his knowledge and experience to paper. This is important to me because it commits the writer and instructor to a process of improvement and refinement. To be more specific, when students have a book, they are likely to go through, read it, question it and pose those question to their instructors and get answers. This Q & A process allows the instructor to refine the material, make changes to improve the material and becomes the single authority the class is built around. A book is very important.
- Experienced Instructors: An experienced instructor is invaluable and very well worth their weight in gold. The experience of the instructor, coupled with the knowledgebase of an actual training manual / book, creates an environment where learning is maximized. Experienced instructors give the book and class a level of integrity that can’t be and shouldn’t be discounted. As a student, I expect that if I were to ask a question about a particular subject matter being taught in class, my instructor should be able to answer my question or, at the very least, have a resource from his experience to get that answer with no difficulty.
- Uncompromised Integrity: The days of testing a students’ knowledgebase with an open book test are gone! If I am going to pay good money for a course, I expect that when I am done and it’s time to test my retained knowledge that I can’t just go and grab my book, open it up and look up the answer. I have never understood the purpose of these types of test. As a student, I took the course not to just get the “certification or designation” but, to actually better myself and increase my knowledgebase and likewise, I expect to be tested in such a way that evaluates my level of retention honestly so I may strive for success. Too many times I have seen agents walk into a training class with computers, IPads, mobile devices and the such because, the class was secondary to whatever else was going on. The class expectation was lowered because they knew the test was open book and all they had to do was be a warm body in a seat for a couple of days. This isn’t a class I want to be a part of.
- Certification / Designation: If I spend the time, money and energy to truly learn and become a subject matter expert in my niche, I better get a designation or at least a certification. For many of you, this may not be important because, many of you carry certification and designations that came from open book test. I am looking for a certification or designation that isn’t achieved by just paying my $499.99 onetime fee and my annual $99.99. Give us a certification, designation that means something, that was something I worked hard for and people know I worked hard for.
- Open Doors: People go to Harvard or Stanford not simply because they are good schools but, because they also know that those names on a resume will open a door. In other words, students know that paying $100,000.00(+) for a education will pay off as a long term investment, 10 (+) fold. Too many real estate schools are charging premiums for education yet, not a single door is ever opened with that education. Granted, I am sure that the majority of the time, the student can hold a good portion of the blame, when it comes to not making their education work for themselves but, I have never met a poor Harvard graduate. My point is, students expect that if they are going to pay a premium, it better be returned in business. I don’t think this is too much to ask, hell….I would expect it myself if I were looking for a default course to take. The reason many of these real estate courses out there today don’t open doors is because, they aren’t built around traditional education philosophies and instead are nothing more than money grabbers who make empty promises but, what is worse, the industry knows it and therefore, they do not open doors.
- Mentoring: After I pay my premium, take my test, graduate the program, I want to know that I have a forum, a site, somewhere to go to find advice or provide advice to others who follow. Mentoring is key to a quality education because it’s a part of the process to open doors. People who have made it and can contribute a portion of their success to their education can then turn around and bring others up behind them through a quality mentoring program. Granted, I don’t necessarily need a one on one mentor but, at the very least, I need a library of sorts that I can go to, look things up, chat with other members and further my learning by staying on the cutting edge of what is happening real time in the real world.
- No Annual Fees: I shouldn’t have to continually pay for my education, certification or designation. A education isn’t a service, it’s a product and therefore, should be priced around the idea that I will only pay once. I don’t got to the grocery store, buy a box of Macaroni and Cheese and then pay for it every week so, why would I do that with an education, I wouldn’t! Annual fees are nothing more than a education provider to milk his current students out of their hard earned cash because that provider knows it’s harder to obtain new students than it is to simply get current students to agree to give you annual fees when they sign up for your course in the first place. Annual fees allows education providers to become stagnate and lazy and I don’t want to pay them.
My point is, these 7 bullets are my concerns about what is happening in the real estate education industry. If I can’t get a majority of these 7 items filled, I don’t buy the class. Sad to say, really because, why can’t we have a choice where we aren’t looking to purchase based on these 7 points so much we are looking at the actual quality of education.
REOPro is launching our certification, designation for short sales this year and let me assure you, every single one of these points will be met. Granted, it won’t be cheap and many people may see the REOPro Short Sale Designation as cost prohibitive however, I promise I won’t ever offer a educational course unless we can meet every single one of the points I mentioned above.The first and foremost impression was the humbleness of Mr. Bobby Funk. What is the saying? You have 3-10 seconds to make a GOOD first impression... Well, he definitely did that and after actually talking with Mr. Funk, my first impression of him was confirmed!!
How often do you meet the CEO of an asset company??? I never have....Awesome!! Then there is Ms. Angelique...She took time out to probably meet and speak with every participant attending the conference. All supporting staff and CFO, etc. were all accessible throughout the ENTIRE two-day conference.
I was exposed to sheer "top dogs" (no disrespect). Ms. Shelly Kaye, thank you for accepting my application into member with Women In Default Services. I will see you in Las Vegas. Okay, then the icing on the cake.....I was invited and welcomed to sit next to and have lunch with Marla Webb. Marla is was a GREAT pleasure to meet you. You are such a beautiful person, inside and out!!.
Finally, to all of the new associates that I met, exchanged business cards with and soon to meet. We are blessed to have taken this leap of faith and partner ourselves with an awesome company!!
Jessee, thanks for always keeping all of REOPRO agents in the loop with current events and information.
