Talking Real Estate

With all the news about foreclosures sweeping the nation, does anyone kow where to turn? Many of the real estate agents that sold people their homes are no longer there to help them now they are in a bind. Lenders are not willing to workout a deal and refinance the mortgages. And homeowners don’t know where to turn, besides out the door and off to somewhere else.
After seeing all that has been taking place with the foreclosures, I decided someone needed to help these people. So I took it upon myself to study and learn from some of the top short sale experts in the country. I now have the knowledge and skills to help people deal with their situation by providing them solutions. The key to obtaining the best solution is in the timing of when someone contacts me. It is crucial that to provide the most number of options and best for the owner, we need to start before they get behind on payments or are being late. Once the bank has filed a Notice Of Default (NOD)or Notice Of Trustees Sale (NTS), their option become more limited as the clock is ticking.

Here is a list of options I provide every homeowner:

1- List their home and try to sell it
This is a good option to start with for homeowners who are behind on payments or know they will not be able to keep up with them. The problem we face is that the value of the home is usually less than what is owed. If that is the case, once we obtain an offer we will negotiate with the bank to accept less than what is owed on the home, known as a short sale.

2- A Loan Modification
This is best approached before a NOD is filed. Some people are having success and with the new bills being passed by the government, even more people should be able to use this option. I do caution people who exercise the option to use the new HOPE Program to refinance their home, as it is basically an Equity Agreement with the government. When you use thier program, they will require that should you sell your home in the future, they will receive at least 50% of the equity in your home. If you think investors are shady, now you have the government taking an investment stand and obtaining an interest in millions of dollars of private property, at the exense of the tax payers and homeowners. I also have a group of attorneys who assist homeowners who may have been taken advantage of or had illegal loans done. They deal directly witht the banks legal department, often saving homeowners thousands of dollars on payments and interest.

3-Forbearance Agreement
This works when you can afford the payment, but fell behind on payments due to short term interuption or financial problem. Basically you work out a repayment plan with the lender, which will temporarily increase your payments over a period of time to catch you back up.

4-Subject to
This works when an investor is willing to make up the back payments and take over the home “subject to” existing financing. They may do an equity agreement with the owner or the owner may move on knowing they can’t afford the home and the investor resales or leases out the home. 2-5 years later the investor refinances out the home and the homeowner moves on with their share of equity if that was the agreement.

5-Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
Not being an attorney doesn’t allow me to provide legal guidance or advice, but I do inform them that this is an option and they should speak with their attorney for more information about the process.

6-Deed-in-Lieu
This is the worst of all options in my opinion. You maight as well just let the home go to foreclosure as this just simplifies the process for the bank and you end up with nothing in the end any way, besides a possible 1099 or deficiency judgement.

7-Short Sale
If we are unable to help a home owner get a loan modification or find another way to keep their home, this is the next best option. I work this from a different angle than many agents. I actually will make an offer on the home myself as an investor. I then do all the negotiations with the banks to take less than what is owed on the home. This is not a simple task and takes good negotiation skills and specilaized knowledge, which I have obtained through months of training and coaching. Once I get the banks approval, I find another buyer to buy the home from me. At times, I may find a buyer who will lease it back to the current owner for a period of time, making it a win-win-win for everyone. The homeowner avoids a foreclosure and I always negotiate out the deficiency judgement. The bank wins by not having the home sit on their books for months and loosing money. They are in the business to lend money, not own real estate. And I win by making a little cash on the deal, as a fee for my service.

These are all the simplifed versions. When I meet with a distressed homeowner, I go through each of them in much more detail. I always advise them to speak with their attorney and tax accountant to obtain any legal advice or ask their questions. I provide them all the forms I use so they can review over them as well.

Well I hope you never have to be faced with chosing one of these solutions, but should you or anyone you know be in a situation and needing help, please contact me. I specilize in helping people in distressed situations and I am here to help. Call 805-616-5398 or visit my site at www.ForeclosureSolutions4You.com