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****THIS BLOG ENTRY WAS ORIGINALLY WRIITEN BY ME FOR ACTIVERAIN BUT I THOUGHT IT TO BE USEFUL HERE*** Go ahead and use it publically if you want to!

Whether you are the buyer OR the seller, participating in shortsale proceedings can try your patience, but can be less stressful if you are working with the right agent. Shortale tranacting is defineitely not for the non-dedicated. I am therefore going to lay down expectations of operating on both sides of the transaction. IN ALL CASES MAKE SURE YOUR AGENT IS ACCESSIBLE. My clients will call me late at night to check in and they know I will answer them. Do they have a specialization , either Partner First Preforeclosure Certified or the more common Certified Distressed Property Expert certification?

IF YOU ARE THE BUYER...

All I must say is to hurry up and wait! Well ok there is a little more to it than that. Shortsale proceedings are dependent upon the bank really. The short sale right now that I have can get me an approval in about 2 weeks and they are the most efficient I have seen. I have a shortsale on the buying side with Bof A and Chase and they might have an approval in 2 weeks more as we have been in the process for about a month now. One agent told me that US bank was taking several months(which I fail to believe really in this HAFA era). The listing agent should know what sort of time line they are on because you do not want to be held up for something that may not fufill. Shortsales have a high failure rate, especially if there are two lenders. The listing agent should update your agent regularly as to progress of the transaction. No communication is a bad sign...I have a client buyer that wanted frequent updates . I called and emailed the listing agent to no avail. She called him on her own as she went to the owner's house, and the listing agent then apolgetically updated me on the progress. Try not to ask for too much. Banks like cash offers especially in these situations because they can reduce their costs of payouts. They sometimes will pay closing costs but not always and they will not pay for a negotiator....that will come from the buyer's agent or the buyer's pocket! Don't think about "repairs" because you will not get any. In short , the less you ask for , the better. Lowball offers do not work. If the listing indicates" approved " shortsale than that is a good sign that that is the minimum price they will accept. Offer that if not more!

If you are the seller...

Please cooperate fully with your agent. They will need lots of financial information that the lenders will need to see to justify the shorting: Paystubs, Bank Statements, Letter of Authorization, and the Hardship letter. Don't be surprised if the lender issues their own paperwork as this will happen about 75% of the time. Make sure your agent expalins the merits of each offer. Reject lowball offers as this will waste everyone's time. If your bank has filed a default notice, or threatened a sale at auction, they only thing that will stop the clock is a bona fide offer near the approved price. The bank will send out an evaluator to verify the validity of the offer. They might initially approve a slightly low offer if it is close to BPO price.Please know too that although you may detest your bank that they may require a note to be signed by you that you will pay them x amount of dollars (Greentree wants 5% of the sales price). This is generally much better than a foreclosure since you can buy again in 3 years vs 7 years if you get a government backed loan (FHA,VA,FNMA,Freddie Mac)

Check with your agent if they use a negotiator in the process ( a lawyer negotiator is the best) as they may be able to help stem the impact. They should never charge you for the services as the fees come from the agents or sometimes the buyers. The agent can go at it himself but it is very time consuming. Be aware of the negotiators with an "investor" They will flip the property and this is generally not ethical. Be aware also that they need a RE license just like your agent.

Make sure that your home is accessible to prospective buyers. It may be an inconvience but you need as much exposure as possible to several eligible buyers and you really do not have time to stall. REMEMBER FORECLOSURE STINGS!

Don't Steal My Photos Man!

Those who have worked with me any amount of time know one of my biggest pet peeves....... DO NOT STEAL MY PHOTOS FOR YOUR LISTING!

As a easier way to keep up with my local market, I have myself set up in the MLS's to get daily updates of new listing as they come on the market, like all good agents should, right? This morning I get my usual 5 or 6 emails from the MLS on new listings and one of them has one of my old REO listings that expired in June that was just re-listed. No problems, I expected the bank to assign a new agent as I had that troublesome property for over a year and was ready to get rid of it.

As I was looking at the report I noticed that the photos looked familiar, so I pulled up my old listing and sure enough, they were my original photos..... ALL of them! There is NO description of the house, no private comments other then “See attached documents”..... which there were not any. And other important information was missing like “No Certificate of Occupancy Issued”, etc. (new construction)

Well, I'm still a pretty good friend with the bank's property manager, so I sent her an email. One to check on her to see how they weathered the current hurricane and to let her know that she needs to tell the agent that using photos from another brokerage is against MLS rules, not to mention it's just plain lazy!

Then I looked up the other listing we had of developed building lots. He did a little better there, but I guess he did not like my photos because it looks like he just rode through the subdivision taking pictures of any open space he THOUGHT was a building lot. The funny part is he had 3 or 4 pictures of properties we SOLD last year that the bank no longer owns! The listing has no information on lot numbers that are for sale. And had a nice picture of a STOP SIGN! Lol

New Construction REO's take more research then a normal listing. And I would have gladly given this agent my folder on this property.... before now. But don't steal my work because you are too dang lazy to take a few photos of your new listing!

I want to say to any asset manager who might read this, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE double check your agents! You have no idea how much liability or lost sales these “Lazy” agents are causing! If you do not have the time to do so yourself, hire an agent in that area to “shop” your listing agents. They will tell you real quick if there is a problem! A quality listing agent will not mind at all if they get “shopped”, it helps them stay on their toes! I welcome it any time!

I really don’t know why this is so hard for so many to understand.

The Government doesn’t make money, it takes money. All the money it spends comes from taxes and that money comes from you and me. I should say, it’s taken from you and me.

When the Government decides to spend enormous amounts of our money on stimulus programs all they are doing is moving resources from one area to another and creating a temporary shallow relief, if it does anything at all. For example, remember cash for clunkers, cash for caulkers, bank bailout, summer of recovery and the latest the housing tax credit. All of which, did no permanent correction or fix to this economy. After this many attempts, what is it going to take for our leadership to understand…..it’s not working, STOP!

Let’s focus on the recent housing tax credit. Did you see the reports the month after it expired, existing housing sales dropped by 27%, in one month! The worse home sales decline on record, since we started keeping records from 1968. In mid August when these terrible numbers came out, we saw reports that asked, “Has the Housing Recovery Stalled?” I got one thing to ask, Seriously?

A stimulus isn’t a recovery. A stimulus is nothing more than a temporary shallow fix so, if in the mean time you aren’t implementing solid economic strategies that instill confidence, fix corruption and allow business and individuals to make as much money as they can, recovery will never happen.

Today we learned the unemployment numbers rose to 9.6%. Let’s get down to brass tax, if people don’t have an income, people can’t keep or buy homes. Folks, unless the Government gets serious about creating jobs, foreclosure will be around for a long time.

How does anyone create a job?

Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Tax Payer need to be confident enough to invest in their communities by opening up a sandwich shop, a bike retailer, a coffee house, a “you fill in the blank”.

Confidence is key to our housing recovery. Business owners need to know what their expenses are and more importantly that they aren’t going up. This Government has got all of us asking, how much for Obama Care, how much for the next bailout, how much does Barney Frank want to spend, don’t forget, Nancy Pelosi wants some to. Who is going to go out, and put their life savings in an environment where the bottom line is hazy at best?

MARKET REPORT

This fall promises to be very good for me in real estate. The media may indicate that things look bad, but since August, some of my oldest prospects (3 yrs+/-) have decided to get serious about purchasing their first home. Pricing in the Southern California area continues to struggle to climb and does so ever gradually. The bulk of my deals are related to short sales in some form and banks apparently still take an inordinate time to approve things. I can tell you that GMAC is fairly quick since I have a listing with them as the sr lien holder, but for my buyer interested in a US Bank...the listing agent told me it would be several months for an answer. Bank of America and Chase seem to promise more speed, about a month of wait time each or so I am told. We will see if I close a couple this month.

Adding to the fuel here is the continued bidding war that easily discourages my buyers. I really think we need more inventory on the market as there are several buyers that are presently renters that would love a chance to own.

Reopro's Direction

My Realtor association currently has a program funded by realtors for first buyers that will GRANT up to $7000 for a home provided that they a) can qualify for a loan and b) buy in the association service area, subject to available funds. Last year they paid $225,000 in assistance. There are other requirements as well but I think we could promote ourselves by giving back to the community. Make this plan universal. Secondly since REOpro is given a referral when we obtain business here, a great member benefit would be free Realty Pilot since it is required to receive work. I had to drop Realty Pilot due to no work but would bring it back if I received work from it. I have to sell this to the CFO in my family...my wife and she is very keen on money leaks. She hit the roof when I recently told her how much I spend on lead generation. I have also considered too making a future donation as I close deals this fall.

Code of ethics

And now for the cutting stuff!

I still notice that the REO agents in my area, particularly the market dominator or two still insist that they run the show but sometimes they falter. So here it goes

• Be accurate with your listings: if there is a potential FHA issue, please tell me in the listing remarks. Don't tell me that my offer was rejected due to type of financing if it has foundation or other problems. You just wasted my and my clients time.
• Please put your OWN phone number if you use a combo box to get the combo. Or use the Supra box which is better. Don't just put the office number because they go home at 5 and I show property at 6 pm.You might actually get an offer.
• Stop asking for cross approvals! My loan officer says that everytime we do that it injures my buyer's score, because they pull credit again. If what Jesse says is right about our size, the banks will know that we are a force and they will not be able to dictate terms. Side item: This invites corruption as somehow the deals that are financed by the REO lender are the ones that get accepted.
• Have you noticed your property has code violations? Saw a REO that had a city notice posted a few weeks earlier...was now fading on the front door. Cities want all of your REO's registered at city hall. They have to keep the neighborhood to standard. I know I would be personally inspecting my inventory at least once a week.
• Please give me a number that I can contact YOU....not some vague email that answers all questions supposedly. Yes I do want to know how many offers you have as my client wants to have a chance at buying it. I may have to also advise you of wasp nests or bee hives that need rapid attention. Maybe I need to know a little about the house you are selling.
• By the way I really do want to thank you for a pleasurable transaction when all is said and done. Actually had a listing agent/investor tell me that he could not wait to get into escrow withme again because I was easy to get in touch with....does anyone want to move to Pomona or Chino? I can make it happen for your client! Imagine what would happen to our profession if listing agents hugged buyer's agents? Ok , I will settle for Starbuck's!

Anyway good night everyone...hope to hear from you soon.

John Accornero in the Whittier/La Mirada area

I was literally stunned today when I learned that HUD and many of the largest sevicing lenders have partnered to expand the government's "First Look" program through the Neighborhood Stabilization Programs (NSPs) in place around the country. These programs are exactly the wrong prescription at precisely the wrong time. The First Look program and NSPs are certainly not new, they further erode housing stability, and prescribe a shot of tequila after a night of binge drinking.

The First look program came into being around the beginning of 2010, and was a result of home buyers not being able to compete with investors in the open market. Back in the spring, there were very few homes on the market for sale in Arizona, and the Home Buyer Tax Credit was pumping along, building buyer demand. The problem was, every time a home came onto the market, a cash investor would offer over the asking price, and financed home purchasers simply could not compete. Because of appraisal restrictions, financed buyers cannot pay more for a home than it will appraise for. Cash buyers can pay whatever they want. This worked great for lenders and investors. The lenders got more than the property was even worth, and investors got rental properties to put back on the market. (It is worth noting here that many families are experiencing foreclosure, and cannot find a rental home on their markets. The market needs more rentals.)

Housing advocacy groups denounced this investor glut as a travesty of social justice that needed to be stopped, so that more homeowners could buy homes (with borrowed money and more "sub-prime," low down payment loans, by the way. Sound familiar?). Government responded with the First Look program. The program was deceptively simple: only owner-occupied purchasers would be allowed to make offers on properties within the first 15 days of being on the open market. This would presumably ensure that homeowners got "first dibs" on properties for sale. In reality, the program had limited effect, as it was shortly thereafter that banks glutted the market with more homes, making the point kinda moot.

NSPs came into being to help foreclosure blight. An NSP is simply a local, county, or state community housing authority that has been given millions of dollars in tax-payer money from the Feds to buy foreclosed homes. What will they do with these homes? They can fix them up and resell them, or they can turn them into section 8 housing. You don't really need to use your imagination to figure out which will actually happen. Even before this introduction of a strong and prominent role for NSPs, the "unintended?" consequences have already ensued.

The combination of the First Look program with the NSPs has produced the glaring problem of government nepotism. See, now when a property comes to market, the NSPs are automatically notified of the property, and are given the right to purchase the property before anyone else. Please note that when I say "before anyone else," I am NOT talking about other investors. I'm actually talking about homeowners. The reality of the program is this: if an NSP wants the property, it gets the property, no questions asked.

Allow me to provide an example: A property comes onto the market. It is a nice home at a great price, and people want it. So, let's say that 5 potential buyers (these are owner-occupants) arrive with offers on the property. The lender begins to negotiate the price as high as they can get, and let us suggest that a particular buyer is willing to pay $120,000 for this home. Done deal, right? Not so fast. An NSP has also noticed the home, and would like to purchase it for their rental program. So the NSP puts in an offer of $90,000. What happens next is simply stunning: all potential private purchasers are kicked to the curb, and the home is sold to the NSP at the reduced price. In fact, NSPs are mandated to be able to purchase these homes for 1% less than market value.

The combination of these two programs is deadly stuff to the housing maket. The anti-competition that these programs engender, along with the sizeable expansion of Section 8 housing is NOT was this market needs.

Allen

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

-Robert A. Heinlein

Kind of makes you tired just reading it, but how true is that. In these days, we have to have a diverse set of skills. It’s also very important to identify talented team members that can help us excel in all of the areas we must be experts at.

Hello Everyone

I am so torn about heading to Dallas for this conference. Today is the deadline to sign up to get 100. off soooo ... I do have a friend that lives in Dallas i could stay with but then I would need a rental car... Then I would have all this work here i home that I would have to cover while im away. At the same time I need the classes, designations etc. and not to mention the networking.... Any advice or comments

While doing some BPO work today for some multi-family houses it still amazes me the number of agents who do not fill out many of the non-required fields in the MLS.

It also was interesting that many of these "slim" MLS listings are REO properties.

Do people not realize that if you fail to fill out fields such as, # of units, number of bedrooms, number of baths, total sq feet, than many people doing searches for properties will NEVER SEE YOU LISTING IN MLS.

I also love the MLS description when people write... "Bank owned"... and nothing else.

I try to fill out full data fields, give multiple pictues (good and bad), and write an accurate description in the remarks field. No wonder my last 4 sales averaged 45 DOM.

That's my rant for the day.

It never fails that during and at the end of each transaction I have a co-op Agent tell me what a pleasure it was to work with me and my Team. I don’t take these compliments lightly and am grateful for the pleasant relationships I have built with these agents over the years. I also know that by continuing to treat people with kindness and respect, they will want to show my properties and write offers every opportunity they get.

On the other hand, I have found my kindness abused by seemingly aggressive agents who would like to tell me how to do my job and what my client can and can’t do. Very politely I explain what the requirements are and that their client agreed to these requirements when they signed the Addendums.

On the flip side, I received a number of buyer referrals this year that did end up buying REO properties. Need I say, I was not treated nearly as well as I treat others. Now I know you may be thinking, this is another Agent bantering about REO Agents doing a poor job in hopes of securing more listings. While I love the idea of more listings, that is not the purpose of bringing this subject to light.

I remember at Five Star last year a number of Agents whining and complaining to a panel about what a poor job the REO Agents in their marketplace do. No one wants to hear that, and the panel quickly addressed the topic and said that they would not listen to any of it. That was not the purpose of the panel/forum.

I have read nightmare stories of Buyer’s Agents experiences and how REO Agents are such villains. I just figured they were all jealous of the Agents being assigned listings, but I gotta tell ya, after a few of my experiences this year, there may be more truth to that than I ever imagined.

While I realize with the heavy flow of business some of us saw the last two years, that from time-to-time calls were not returned promptly or we didn’t immediately respond to a request for more information as quick as someone would have liked. (It was typically due to their inability to read MLS Remarks). However, is it really necessary to treat a co-op Agent like they are a complete idiot? FYI Listing Agents I have sold more than one REO in my life! On both the Listing Side and the Buying Side!

How about inspection repairs? How often does an Agent come to you requesting repairs on behalf of their Buyer when all of our client’s have “As Is” clauses? Do you tell them to go pound sand? I sure hope not, because in not so nice of terms, that’s precisely what I was told.

Is it really so hard to realize we are dealing with human beings with feelings on the other side. Real live Buyers who are emotionally invested in the process, and in short supply I might add. And, while I believe it is our duty to protect our Asset Managers from these emotions and turmoil, I do not believe it necessary to treat the co-op Agent and ultimately their Buyers with anything but respect.

We all love and appreciate the testimonials and praise our asset managers give us. Below is one from a former Ocwen supervisor that I respected highly. OCWEN is still one of my best Clients and I still have the upmost respect for the company and all of their employees. I was distressed to see the YouTube Video on our front page portraying OCWEN in a negative manner. In my many years, 20 plus, of dealing in REO and now Short sales I could write a book on all the bad experiences with many, many asset management companies. I will say for OCWEN they have stepped up to the plate with me on numerous occasions and always have done the right thing whenever an error or problem was presented. I have high regard and respect for OCWEN and will continue until otherwise proven wrong and I do not think the front page of a great blog like REOPRO is a place to discredit any company regardless of the situation.

"Barbra your patience and unwavering commitment to excellence in providing superior service are unmatched by any other of the many agents with whom I have worked over the years. My demands and my expectations were probably unrealistic but not once did your mannerism, attitude or cordiality ever change. I admire your calm control, your tremendous knowledge of all the intricate rules and regulations of the Real Estate business. You are the best and I thank you for all you have done to assist me to sell all my REO properties in Georgia. I will never hesitate to recommend you to anyone who may want to sell or purchase real estate. I predict a highly successful career in the field of Real Estate for you. I have strong confidence in your ability to win every time. In my many years of working as an Asset Manager for Ocwen I have never met anyone as resourceful, supportive and caring as you.

Thank you and best wishes in all your endeavors.

Balasubramanian (Bala) Swaminathan

Manager REO Sales

Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC

Not to toot my own horn……………….ok…………….maybe a little but, it’s worth writing about.

I got an email from one of my Asset Manager’s a couple days ago, an Asset Manager I don’t hear much from. Don’t get me wrong, he keeps me busy, I have 6 of his listings but, as far as communication……we just don’t talk much. It really never bothered me, I always figured that if I am really doing my job well, he shouldn’t have to communicate with me much anyways but, after about 2 months of complete silence I started to wonder. Does he not like me, does he think ill of me, why isn’t he shooting me an email once in a while rather than res.net task.

I wake up one morning last week and boom….just out of nowhere, I get this email.

“I wish all my agents were as on top of things as you are!!! Not sure I have conveyed this before but the reason I am not calling or emailing you very often is because you are clearly very competent and doing a great job; I have a ton of agents who are not. If you ever really need me please call.”

Thanks!!!

Mark

What he doesn’t know, I was gleaming like a little school girl with a crush on my gym teacher. Better yet, I stopped and thought to myself, how many other agents out there…..even the good ones can say they get a compliment like this.

Mark actually feels he can put me on auto pilot and let go. Granted, I am sure that isn’t his normal practice, he is a very aware Asset Manage but, none the less, the point was made.

This is the type of business all of us REO agents who are currently working inventory should be running. Our Asset Managers should feel and be comfortable and CONFIDENT enough to say, in writing..,

“you are clearly very competent and doing a great job”

In fact, I have made it a goal of mine, I want to get at least one written compliment from my Asset Managers a month.

Just another thought real quick, before I end this blog. This kind of compliment shows you the passion I have for what I do. Passion that wakes me up in the morning, causes me to commit to not just doing my job but, making sure I am the best at my job. I didn’t enter the default real estate industry because it’s the hot market right now, I entered because I love it.

For all you Realtors who have decided that this default thing may be around longer than you expected and well…..you are going to have to try to make it happen or get out all together…..let me just say, “YOU BETTER WORK IT” because, I have set the bar high and if you don’t have passion, commitment, tenacity and a love for this industry, don’t expect to catch up.