Central Florida Short Sales

Hi folks. If you have been paying attention to the news over the last couple of weeks then you know that Chase, GMAC and Bank of America have suspended foreclosures in 23 States, including Florida. This is all related to employees signing documents and submitting them to the courts even though they never read them.

On top of this, the Attorney General in Florida is investigating 4 law firms for filing fraudulent foreclosure documents. And we have Title Companies refusing to issue policies on some of the foreclosures due to title risk.  Richard Zaretsky wrote a great article about this yesterday.

To make matters even worse today I opened up my daily newsletter from the Florida Association of Realtors and found these two articles:

New legal tactic helps associations gain control of abandoned condos

• POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – Oct. 6, 2010 – After winning a lawsuit against Wells Fargo that claimed the bank purposely delayed foreclosure proceedings on a condominium unit for more than a year, a Pompano Beach condo association has been awarded title to the unit without owing a dime on the original $184,400 mortgage. READ THE ARTICLE

Judges revisiting foreclosure cases may help owners but clog market

• TAMPA, Fla. – Oct. 5, 2010 – On Florida’s west coast, where the housing bust has flooded courts with foreclosure filings, the chief judge of the 6th Judicial Circuit has little sympathy for lenders who have routinely submitted flawed and possibly fraudulent foreclosure cases. READ THE ARTICLE

Folks, we are in dire straights!!! As I expected lawsuits are starting to fly. People are getting pissed off at lenders who have been abusing the system for years and are starting to take action.

Foreclosures are no longer the property for buyers looking for a deal. They may get a deal but they will have no assurances that the property won't be taken away from them because the courts have rescinded the foreclosure. A foreclosure is a hostile take over and now these former homeowners have the legal ammunition to not only fight but to win the battle.

So what does all this mean for sellers looking to do a Short Sale? In my opinion Short Sales have just become easier to do. Lenders, not being able to foreclose, are going to be much more receptive to negotiating a Short Sale or settlement with the borrower. And since a Short Sale is a voluntary action on the part of both parties (lender and borrower) they will be a much safer bet for a new buyer. Chances are the Short Sale will not be rescinded and Title Companies will be able to issue a policy. A Short Sale has definitely become more attractive.

Of course this is just my opinion. What's yours?

Are you facing foreclosure in Florida?

.......ramming it home!!!

You know I read stuff like the article below and it really just pisses me off. Brokers and agents like myself have been busting our butts for several years now working Short Sales to help salvage people's credit and help reduce the losses to the lenders. 

Short Sales help keep neighbiorhood values up and are  a service to the community. We convince people to not just walk away from their obligations but instead to try and do the right thing. Then I read this........

Lenders use deeds-in-lieu to clear out inventory

WASHINGTON – June 30, 2010 – Thanks to new federal programs that offer cash incentives......

It’s cheaper for lenders to do deeds-in-lieu because it gives them overnight control of the property. With mortgage rates at less than 5 percent, lenders believe that they can resell a property faster and on more favorable terms than they would receive going through a short sale.

Matt Vernon, an expert in short sales and deed-in-lieu deals for Bank of America, says his company is offering cash incentives that range from $3,000 to $15,000 to persuade troubled borrowers to sign on.........READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

Source: Washington Post, Ken Harney (06/26/2010)

You Lenders suck!! That's all I have to say about this. What say you?

Folks. This Lakeland Florida Short Sale has room to roam with 4 bedrooms/2.5 baths with 2885 sq ft of living area and built in 2005.

Located in Hunters Greene.

Hi Folks. A few weeks ago I decided to start asking my past Short Sale Sellers to send me the Release of Mortgage notice once they received it from their lender after the short sale was completed.

I’m just getting started on my quest but have received several “Release of Mortgage” notices thus far. As I was reading through them I noticed 2 things that were the same even though the Lenders were completely different.

First they all state “…..acknowledge that it has received full payment and satisfaction, and in consideration thereof, does hereby cancel and discharge said Mortgage”.

And secondly the “Original Mortgagee” as stated in all of the releases thus far is……..“Mortgage Electronic Registration Services, Inc.” or MERS.

So whether the lender/servicer was Bank of America, Wells Fargo or Chase (the 3 notices I have received)  the “Original Mortgagee is MERS.

MERS, from what I understand, steps between the original Lender and the servicer. It acts as the nominee for the Lender and the servicer. Nominee: A person or organization in whose name a security is registered though true ownership is held by another party.

So when MERS is involved we have no clue who the true owner of the mortgage is. I wonder how this will affect Lenders going after a Deficiency Judgment in the future?

MERS is a privately owned company with some pretty serious players as shareholders.

Their mission is to…“Register every mortgage loan in the United States into the MERS System".

OK so what am I missing here? Does this company have way too much control or are they truly nothing more than a registration company? Help me out here. What say you?

Do NOT be foreclosed on! Avoid foreclosure. Short Sales DO close.

Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com

Copyright © 2009 http://www.brokerbryant.com/ | All Rights Reserved

In response to your counter offer, BofA will not budge. They rejected your offer of $500. Below are the 2 options they have given.

Do NOT be foreclosed on! Avoid foreclosure. Short Sales DO close.

Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com

Bryant Tutas
Broker/Owner
Tutas Towne Realty, Inc
Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker
http://CentralFloridaShortSales.com

http://ShortSaleSuperStars.com

Are you a Florida REALTOR(R) looking for a change? Check it out.

CENTRAL FLORIDA REALTOR(r) OPPORTUNITIES

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It only took 7 months BUT we have another Bank Of America Short Sale Approval.

Location:

• Kissimmee Florida.

Details:

• Placed on the market with Tutas Towne Realty on March 1, 2009 at $89,000.

• Went pending on April 17th at $79,000 all cash Buyer.

Mortgages:

• $188,000 owed on the 1st Mortgage with Bank of America.

• $25,000 owed on the 2nd with Real Time Solutions.

Challenges:

• Keeping the Buyer on board for almost 7 months.

• The 2nd started out with Bank of America and was sold to Real Time Solutions about 5 months into the transaction.

• The Seller is an investor than owns multiple properties.

Outcome:

• Bank of America netted $69,000 (37% of what was owed).

• The 2nd received $3,000

• Only $500 cash contribution required from the Seller.

• NO note

• Happy Seller. Happy Buyer, Happy Agents

Do NOT be foreclosed on! Avoid foreclosure. Short Sales DO close.

Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com

Bryant Tutas
Broker/Owner
Tutas Towne Realty, Inc
Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker
http://CentralFloridaShortSales.com

http://ShortSaleSuperStars.com

Are you a Florida REALTOR(R) looking for a change? Check it out.

CENTRAL FLORIDA REALTOR(r) OPPORTUNITIES

Copyright © 2009 http://www.brokerbryant.com/ | All Rights Reserved

Avoid foreclosure. Another successful Short Sale Closing with Fifth Third Bank.

Mortgage amount: $185,000.00

Sales price: $87,500.00

Lender agreed to 3% in closing costs and a 6% commission.

Net to Lender: $77,078.00 (42% of amount owed)

Fannie Mae was the Investor and there was Mortgage Insurance (MI).

Challenges:

• The Mortgage Insurance company started out wanting $60,000 in any combination of cash and/or promissory note. We negotiated for 2 weeks. The Seller ended up bringing $1,000 to closing. No note.

• The first Buyer walked after keeping the property off the market for 60 days. The 2nd Buyer closed 38 days after going under contract.
  

Total time from placing the property on the market until closing: 205 days.

Seller testimonial:

Dear Bryant

"I want to personally thank you for your exemplary handling of our recent real estate transaction. From day one you were a professional; courteously and patiently guiding me through the entire process. Your response time was unparalleled; you responded to my emails and phone calls within minutes, as if I were your only client!

And I believe that’s what every seller (and buyer) wants – to get the idea, or enjoy the feeling, that Bryant Tutas is their exclusive agent! I tried quite a few real estate agents before I finally came to you, and you jumped into action from day one! My property had been on the market for more than a year; within days of contacting you I had my first real offer, and very soon the house was in contract. We just closed a few days ago, and I am so grateful for all your help. Thank you Bryant, for everything!" MARK

Do NOT be foreclosed on! Avoid foreclosure. Short Sales DO close.

Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com

Bryant Tutas
Broker/Owner
Tutas Towne Realty, Inc
Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker
http://CentralFloridaShortSales.com

http://ShortSaleSuperStars.com

Are you a Florida REALTOR(R) looking for a change? Check it out.

CENTRAL FLORIDA REALTOR(r) OPPORTUNITIES

Copyright © 2009 http://www.brokerbryant.com/ | All Rights Reserved

Hi folks. Last night I was cruising around Craigslist.com deciding whether or not to place some ads for my short sale services. It's getting a little sleazy over there. Ads for short sale services, loan mods and foreclosures assistance are every where.

Some were pretty good and some were.....well.........just check out this one:

• Do You Need To Hold Off Your Foreclosure?

• Do You Need Time to Arange a Short Sale?

• Do You Just Want to Stay in Your Home For Up to 15 Months?

• For $200/month we Offer a Money Back Gaurantee if we Can't Stall Your Foreclosure.

I copied this advertisment directly from Craigslist. THIS IS NOT MY AD!!!

So I guess you can now pay people to do nothing more than help you beat the system. How crappy is that?

What say you?

***If you are facing foreclosure then please contact me. They are legal ways to avoid forelcosure.

Copyright © 2009 http://www.brokerbryant.com/ | All Rights Reserved

Bryant Tutas
Broker/Owner
Tutas Towne Realty, Inc
Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker
http://CentralFloridaShortSales.com/

***The content of this blog is solely my opinion***

Hi folks. Today I have mixed emotions. Lenn Harley has a great featured post today basically showing how asinine our Government has been by throwing away trillions of dollars to bail out banks while ignoring the true issue……lack of equity.  According to Lenn (and I agree) we have an equity problem in this country. Until this problem is solved nothing else matters.

Homeowners will need to move or want to move at some point and if they can’t sell because they owe too much they are stuck. So they are forced to make hard decisions. Some will stay and stick it out but I’m afraid many more will just walk away and let their homes be foreclosed on.

In my opinion, this is going to be the next major waive of foreclosures. Right now it seems like things are starting to get better. In some of the hardest hit areas inventory is down and sales are up. Don’t be fooled. This is the eye of the storm.

Banks have been slower to foreclose and in fact, according to some sources, have more than 500,000 properties that they are sitting on.  My guess is that this number is higher. These will be released to the market soon.

Now, I am a firm believer in meeting your financial obligations. I know I do. TLW and I sold several of our properties last year and had to bring large sums of money to closing on a couple of them. It sucked. But we did it anyway.

However, there are many people where bringing money to closing is just not possible. What would you do if you had a better job opportunity that would require you to move BUT you were upside down on your mortgage by 200 grand or so? A loan mod won’t work and you don’t qualify for a Short Sale. Do you just stay in your house? Or do you walk?

My question is…..Why won’t the lenders do a Short Sale anyway?  Why does there have to be a hardship? Why can’t the hardship be that you are stuck in a situation that is not going to change for a decade or more? I mean let’s face it, at some point, MOST people will need to sell. Unless they have an option to Short Sale without proving a hardship they are screwed and we are screwed.

One of my Sellers received this today:

• I have reviewed the information submitted and the sellers do not qualify for any liquidation options. They are showing a large surplus income and they do qualify for home savings options. I need to know that they are interested in pursuing home retention and would need a rescinding of the listing so that we can proceed with home saving options. I need to know this no later than Friday, May 22nd.

That “large surplus income” is from the husband who makes about $700 a week and a wife who is on unemployment. They owe over $200,000 on a property that is worth $60,000. They have never refinanced. Hubby’s job relocated him to  a different store and he now has to commute over 100 miles a day FURTHER than when they bought the house.

This property will now be foreclosed on even though I have a cash buyer under contract at a price higher than the property will be worth in a few months. This foreclosure, that is avoidable, will drag property values down even further in this neighborhood.

The owners credit will be shot, the Buyer misses out on a good buy, the neighborhood’s values will take another hit, I wasted 2 months of my time and the Lender…….will get some more money from us, the tax payers.

Does this suck or what?

CENTRAL FLORIDA REAL ESTATE SHORT SALE INFORMATION

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