Im getting orders from many portals.  This reminds me of 3 years ago when everyone was trying to do loan mods (what a joke)  Anyway, orders are coming faster than I can handle them and Im having to turn some down. Ive noticed that there is a higher percentage of very hard to do properties as compared to 'the old days'.  Many are not worth the time.  After 3,000 BPOs Im tired of the entire thing. Yeah, kept the light bill paid but I dont have a new sailboat anchored off the coast of Greece so Im getting out.

Thing is, what is al this activity and will it last?  Its because lenders had been standing back watching supreme court decisions and different government agencies that were wading into the fray to put protection measures for consumers. Joke number two. Now the lenders, who had been changing to judicial foreclosure to get around laws designed for auction foreclosure, are brave and starting to fight. They do not and NEVER DID want to loan mod. They do want full non judicial foreclosaure so they can make use of any mortgage insurance and get government backed money thrown at them to keep them healthy.

ANd now another ugly face of theirs is showing---REOS , instead of being placed in the market through real estate brokers, will be sold in bulk as securities to big money concerns. We are becoming a rental nation with huge corps as the landlords.  This new flurry is mostly short sale and some full FC, at least thats what mine are with more full interiors than Ive had for a long time.

Going to last? No. Nope. It will start to decline. We also have a few million owners, especially those who actually got loan mods, going back to default but not in numbers weve bee used to. Even FARVV is cutting back and reducing fees to brokers. They see the writing on the wall. These are the beginning death throws, my friends. If you aregoing to depend on BPOS for a living, better have a backup job in plan.

Want to promote your ActiveRain, Twitter, WordPress or other blog on REO Pro? Want to do it automatically? Here's how:

You can build readership for your ActiveRain or other blog by adding the RSS feed to REO Pro. It'll automatically get posted on all of your REO Pro blog & discussion posts, which is good for the search engines and also great for building readership. Also, it will update automatically with your latest stories as soon as you post them!

First, find the RSS feed you want to add. In this case, since the URL for my ActiveRain blog is "http://activerain.com/blogs/timventura", then my RSS feed for ActiveRain is "http://activerain.com/blogs/timventura/rss".

Feeling confused? Here's an easier way to find it: You've got an ActiveRain user name, right? Mine is "timventura". Well, replace the capital letters in the following url and that's your ActiveRain RSS feed: http://activerain.com/blogs/USERNAME/rss

Test this URL to make sure it shows a valid page, and then copy URL for your RSS feed to notepad, or write it down so you don't forget it. Don't use ActiveRain? I'll give you some more example feeds you can use below.

Second, login to REO Pro, then go to the "My Page" link in the main menu bar. This takes you to your profile page - this shows your picture & vital stats on the top left hand corner of the page, and shows all your user profile info in the middle of the page. My profile page is here: http://reopro.ning.com/profile/TimVentura - so you're looking for a page that looks similar to this one.

On your profile page, scroll down, down down - and look for a box called "RSS" on the left-hand side of the page. It's right above the "Gifts Received" Box, and looks like the picture below. Click the "Edit" button once you find it.

Third, enter a name for your feed into the "Title" box, and then paste your RSS feed URL into the "URL" box. Click "save" and you're done! It may take a moment to show up, but if it doesn't show up with a list of stories, then you might want to test your RSS feed here. If the stories DO show up, then congratulations - you're all done!

Here's a bonus: AFTER you've clicked save, you can click the "+Add RSS" link again and add a second feed to your profile! That might require showing a fewer number of stories per feed, but it lets you add stories from multiple sources to build readership for all your writing.

Some Useful RSS Feeds:

Replace the capital letters with your own specific information, and make sure to test your feed here if it doesn't seem to be working.

Twitter: https://api.twitter.com/1/statuses/user_timeline.rss?screen_name=USERNAME

ActiveRain: http://activerain.com/blogs/USERNAME/rss

YouTube: https://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/USERNAME/uploads

WordPress: http://www.MYWEBSITE.com/feed

Other Feeds: Click here to see directions for lots of other feeds, including Facebook.

How to Purchase a Home in 2013

As this new year begins many people are setting goals, making resolutions and generally planning for a better year. If you are one of the people considering a home purchase in the upcoming year there is some sound advice to follow in order to make the process smoother and ensure that you get in to a home that truly makes you happy.

Be Realistic About Your Finances

If you are currently renting a nice place for $650 a month then it would seem unreasonable to think that you could afford a home with a loan payment of $1,000. WHY, you may ask? Because the expense of owning a home goes well beyond the monthly payment. There are other things like mowing the lawn, keeping the furnace and air conditioner maintained, repainting every few years, updating the bathroom, replacing an appliance or two, and the list goes on. Understanding the expense for these items will help you set your budget accordingly and hopefully prevent you from getting in to a home that you cannot afford.

Talk to an Experienced Mortgage Broker

After determining how much you can comfortably afford for a home, it is time to chat with a mortgage broker. The broker can look over your finances, your credit history, employment history and the length of time you have lived at your current address and determine the best loan for your needs. A broker can also get offer from multiple lenders in order to get the best rate for your mortgage.

It is wise to let the broker know how much you are comfortable paying each month so that they can use this information to establish a price range for your home. Most people can financially afford more than they are willing to pay. Having the right budget amount will help when you begin looking at homes.

Talk to an Experienced Real Estate Agent

Now that you are firm in the amount you can afford monthly for a payment and you have an approval from a mortgage lender it is time to talk to an experienced real estate agent. A good agent will sit down with you and listen to your wishes in order to decide which homes could meet your needs. Using the price range provided by the mortgage lender, the agent can focus on homes that fall in your budget and prevent wasting time on homes that are too expensive. An agent can also focus on other parameters such as a specific school zone, homes with particular features, size of the home and other things that are important to you.

Don’t put it off any longer. Sit down with a calculator and decide how much you can afford. Then make the decision to make 2013 the year that you become a homeowner!

Related posts:

1. Getting Pre-Approved for a Mortgage Before Looking for a WI Home 
   
   
2. Using FHA 203K Loan to Purchase a Fixer-Upper
   
   
3. 4 Tips to Determine How Much Mortgage You Can Afford
   
   
4. Keep Your Home Purchase on Track
   
   
5. Tips on Buying Your First Wisconsin Home

I just heard an incredible story that I don't know is true or not but, the point the story makes is going to be a key to any aspiring REO agents success and that is what I want to talk about.

So, Lisa the REO Listing Agent calls me wanting to know if I had ever heard of Rodger the REO Expert. I told Lisa yes, I had heard of Rodger. She stops me mid sentence and ask me if I think he is any good. I wasn't sure exactly what she was referring to so I asked her, good at what? Lisa tells me that Rodger is selling a program where he can get you into REO Bank of North America and he only charges $20,000.00.

After I picked up my chin from the floor I started laughing, it's only $20,000.00, I would charge more than that....I thought to myself. She asked me why I was laughing and I asked her, if Rodger guaranteed she would make her money back. She said on yeah, he told me he could get me in to REO Bank of North America in a couple of months when I join him and a representative of REO Bank at the conference in Dallas later in July. So, I asked her, did he give you that guarantee in writing? She said no however, he was sending over documents via email. I told her to call me when she got the documents.

So, a couple days go by, I heard nothing back from Lisa so, I called her. She got the documents, she was all excited, she was finally going to be in at REO Bank of North America in just a couple of months. So, I asked her, did he give you a guarantee. She said yeah, it's right here in these documents so, I asked he if she wouldn't mind letting me look them over for her, what could it hurt, having an extra pair of eyes, right? A few minutes later, I have the agreement .....and.....well, I didn't see any guarantee.

I called her up and I was like, Lisa, Lisa, Lisa, can you tell me where the guarantee is. She says, yeah, look at page 3, first paragraph......

I read it over and I didn't see any guarantee but I did see, a statement on their commitment to doing all they can to help her get introduced to a Bank of America employee.

I explained to her, what my thoughts on the agreement were and I told her, Lisa...one part of this you are not catching is something the Bank refers to as "Business Need". The bank, regardless of how experienced, nice, bubbly, and charming you are has to have a business need in your area before they are just going to add you to their ranks. Without that, regardless of how much you pay for access, you won't get in. Well, she just didn't want to hear that. Rodger the REO Expert had this big, nice agreement, had a nice car, was at all the conventions speaking, he had to have the inside scoop. In fact, Rodger even gave her references of others he had helped, 2 in fact. So, against my advice, off to the races she went. Paid the $20,000...all up front and now we are about 8 months down the road and she still isn't a REO Listing Agent...with anyone, Rodger is telling her that he is going to shop her out to a couple other banks.

Needless to say, she is beyond pissed off, that $20,000 she paid was her 401k she cashed out and here we are in the midst of tax season and she doesn't have the money to pay the penalty. She can't do much about Rodger, the agreement she signed was very clear and specific, all he was doing was selling access to one person....one bank and if that didn't work out...for whatever the reason, he would shop her around to others.

I guess she got what she paid for.

It's coming up on 2012 and I wanted to take a look at some predictions I had made for 2011 and just how well I did....or didn't do.

In my blog, "More Housing Predictions for 2011 part 2" one of my predictions was, "Lack of substantial job growth"

Well, I would say I was pretty on target for that prediction. I had mentioned that I didn't believe the underlying problems to the economy were going to be addressed and therefore, we couldn't expect a robust recovery, if one at all.

In my blog, "More Housing Predictions for 2011 part 2" one of my predictions was, "Government Home Retention Programs prevent a Real Estate Bottom."

Once again, I would say I was pretty darn accurate about real estate not hitting a bottom. The Federal Government hasn't released any new statistics on the recent success or lack of success on their foreclosure prevention programs however, with the increasing or steady number of NODs and Foreclosures, I would suspect that we haven't hit a bottom yet and yes, a lot can be laid at the feet of our government who is instructing banks to avoid foreclosing. I remember at the start of 2011, when I was out doing relocation assistance negotiations, people had been in their homes for 4-6 months before I showed up....now it's more like 14-24 months......no bottom in sight anytime soon.

In my blog, "More Housing Predictions for 2011 part 2" one of my predictions was, "Energy Prices will Rise to Un-precedent levels"

Now, on this prediction, I can't really say I was spot on but, I can say I was close. You see, we never made it to $5.00 a gallon for gas but, commodity prices in general are skyrocketing. In fact, most commodities like, cotton, sugar, gold and others are reaching record levels or surpassed record levels. This is obviously a sign of inflation concerns, higher cost, weak dollar. So, I won't say I was spot on but, I will say I was on track with this one.

In my blog, "More Housing Predictions for 2011 part 2" one of my predictions was, "Credit Tighterning"

I predicted that credit tightening would continue and it would become increasingly harder for the average citizen to get a loan......have you tried to get a loan lately......you better have a 650 fico and at least 15% down.

In my blog, "More Housing Predictions for 2011 part 2" one of my predictions was, " Unforeseen National Crisis"

More specifically, I predicted that obviously I can't predict a unforessen national crisis but, I am glad to say that on this prediction, I was wrong. At least, I am not aware of a "national crisis" of global concern.

All said and done, I would say I was pretty accurate....maybe a little skimpy on details but, 2012 predictions are coming and I assure you, I will detail those predictions up.

So you have to sell. Here is what you should do.

FIND A REALTOR

1.  You can not do this on your own. The banks will want the home to be extensively marketed and you can not do that as a FSBO. Since the lender will pay the real estate commissions that should not be a concern.

2.  Gather your financial information. You will need 2 years tax returns, 2 months bank statements form all accounts, 2 months statements from all investment accounts, profit and loss for 2 years from any self employment.

3. Fill out a financial statement which shows all your income and expenses

4. Write a hardship letter which explains why you need to do a short sale

5. Make your home available for showings and open houses

6. Keep your financials updated every month and give the bank everything they ask for

7. Accept the best offer you can get on the property

8. Be PATIENT

If you have any questions about short sales in San Mateo or Santa Clara County please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

D.R.E.  01191194

I have not heard this topic brought up much when taking REO courses and online discussions on how to grow your businees. I have read talks of failed banks on post and names of banks along with a direct link to US Treasury in various places but not how it relates to growing your REO business. I have to think there are numerous ways to use this list to help to gain new listings after all these banks have assets they are holding and if the bank is closing this would most likely direct you to think they may be toxic assets.

FDIC: Failed Bank List  here is a link to find the official list.

The FDIC has released the financial statistics on the banking industry for the of 2011 to date 116 .

As of May 20, 2011, the FDIC has participated in the closing of 116 banks this year.

With the first two quarter results now available we can observe the actual shrinkage in the number of banks in the United States.

On March 31, 2011 there were 6,453 banks in the United States, 77 less than existed on December 31, 2010.

There were 6,773 banks in existence a year earlier.

At the start of the recession in December 2009, there were 7,284 banks in the banking system.

The largest drop in banks in the first quarter was in the smallest institutions: there were 51 fewer banks with assets of less than $100 million at the end of the quarter than at the end of 2010.

Banks between $100 million in asset size and $1.0 billion in asset size dropped in number by 34 units.

The movie to big to fail showed for the first time on HBO this past Monday. I am sure this will bring many to do some research on the current status of the relief programs that are out there.

Capital Purchase Program (CPP), under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) in October 2008.

Four groups of entities receiving CPP funds have been created for this report:

1. CPP (I) Assets greater than $100 billion.
2. CPP (II) Assets between $10 billion and $100 billion.
3. CPP (III) Assets between $1 billion and $10 billion.
4. CPP (IV) Assets less than $1 billion.

Detailed information on reporting can be found at the Federal Financial Institutions Examinations Council website (http://www.ffiec.gov) and at the Board of Governors website (http://www.federalreserve.gov) under "Reporting Forms". In general, only bank holding companies with consolidated assets greater than $500 million are required to submit Y-9C reports.

Public-Private Investment Program for Legacy Assets

SIGTARP:

“The Legacy Securities Program continues to develop, and on July 8, 2009, Treasury announced the selection of nine PPIF managers that will receive debt and equity financing of up to $30 billion in TARP funds during the initial capital-raising efforts for the PPIFs. Treasury has stated that PPIP, originally intended to involve up to $1 trillion in total funds, may involve up to $75 billion of TARP funds. ”

“According to Treasury, “the goal of the Legacy Securities Program is to restart the market for legacy securities, allowing banks and other financial institutions to free up capital and stimulate the extension of new credit.” For the purposes of PPIP, legacy securities are ABS supported by real estate-related loans issued before January 1, 2009, and originally rated AAA (or an equivalent rating) by two or more NRSROs. Private investors and Treasury will co-invest in PPIFs to purchase these assets from financial institutions. Furthermore, Treasury will offer debt financing to the PPIF equal to or double the total private equity investment. Treasury, the PPIF manager (which is required to invest at least $20 million of its own money in the PPIF), and the private investors will share in PPIF profits on a pro rata basis. PPIF losses will be shared on a pro rata basis up to each participant’s investment amount. As of September 30, 2009, there were no asset purchases.”

Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF).

Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) -- A U.S. government program aimed at reviving the mortgage-backed securities market returned more than triple what stocks or bonds gained in the past year.

October 22, 2010, 4:21 PM EDT

(Updates with professor’s comment in eighth paragraph.)

The eight funds created under the Public-Private Investment Program, or PPIP,

PPIP Funds Surge 36% in First Year, Treasury Says

This week’s Ask the AM really spurred me into action. I hear moans and groans all the time from agent s who just don’t like social networking. They gripe about how time consuming it is or they were never successful or, it’s too monotonous, or……….whatever else and all I got to say is, SO BAD, SO SAD, AINT YOU GLAD YOUR MOMA AINT YOUR DAD!

As Ned points out in the article, someone is using Social Networking and taking your business. This mysterious agent has become savvy enough to create a LinkedIn profile or Facebook page and is now using it with maximum force.

You see, while your setting back, accepting those listing assignments, this mysterious agent is sharing tweets or swapping emails or learning about your Asset Manager’s terrible weekend because they lost their dog Sparky (thanks Ned). Before you know it, this agent and your Asset Manager are developing a friendship vs. a business relationship. So, when the next assignment get sent out, who do you think is going to get it?

Granted, I know social networks take time to create…..I created REOPro for goodness sake however, I can’t stress to each of you, your lack of involvement is at your own detriment. Now, you may never have a social network of a thousand or more or ever have a goal to reach twenty five thousand but, a well oiled social network of a few hundred and make a huge difference.

Here is the stark cold truth. Asset Managers are loosing their jobs, getting re-assigned or simply dropping out and all this is happening because the business is changing so, what do you think these Asset Managers are doing when they are no longer Asset Managers? Well, let me tell you, they are getting real estate licenses and taking over territories for their friends back at the Bank or Asset Management Companies. My point is, if you aren’t on a first name basis, dirty joke telling, birthday card sending, meet up at the conference having drinks relationship………………..someone else is or is trying to be.

Now, as many of you know, I try to adhere to a high standard of morals and ethics so, don’t misconstrue what I am trying to say. No, you don’t go put in hardwood floors at your Asset Manager’s vacation home or send them a Visa Gift Card worth $5,000.00 to their P.O. Box , hopefully if you did they would refuse it but, you do call them regularly if nothing more to just shoot the breeze or say “Hi”.

Let me put this another way, hopefully it will ring true to you. REOPro currently has over 18,000 invites to join our network that are outstanding. In other words, these are members who downloaded their address books in to our system and REOPro system each person an invite to join. By now, we should have blown though our goal of 25,000 member however, I am still only getting maybe 15-20 new members a day. This is contributable to the fact that many of the people who received an invite never got a follow up saying, “check out this network”. Social networking is a lot like that follow up. If you don’t follow up and say “Hi” or learn about people, then why would anyone want to invest in you?

I will leave you with a quote, who it came from, I have no idea but, here it is…….

“A lead will make you some money, a follow up will make you rich”, I like to change that around a bit and say……

“A lead will make you some money, a active social network will ensure your kids don’t have to work”