Central Florida Short Sales

Will the Short Sale Lender Really Make You Pay a Deficiency?

Bryant Tutas-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 08:51:03 -0400

Hi folks. Do you ever wonder what happens after the Short Sale? If the lien holder states they will be contacting you after closing to make arrangements for you to pay the rest of the money you owe....do you believe them? Well you should.

I had a closing a few months ago where Bank of America was the 2nd lien holder. The lien was a HELOC (home equity line of credit) for $65,000. For those of us that work Short Sales we know that these HELOCs can be very unforgiving. The reason is that these loans are normally taken out after the property was purchased. In many cases the funds from the HELOC were used to purchase "toys", e.g., furnishings, cars, vacations and other goodies that having nothing to with real estate. The holder of the HELOC, in this case Bank of America, are not too anxious to take a loss while the borrower is driving around in a free and clear Hummer.

When it came time to negotiate the HELOC on the property the best we could do was get them the $6,500 allowed from the 1st lien holder, GMAC. Bank of America accepted this amount.

However, Bank of America's Short Sale approval letter specifically stated that the deficiency of $59,500 was to be charged off as a COLLECTIBLE balance and that they would be in contact with the borrower to make arrangements to pay this balance. Bank of America would not forgive the "Short".

The seller was however being forgiven almost $300,000 from GMAC on the 1st lien In fact, GMAC was stating that the 1st would be satisfied in full. Being that this was the case the seller decided to accept the terms from Bank of America, close the transaction and deal with the shortage later.

The transaction closed and all was well.

About 90 days after closing Bank of America contacted the seller to make arrangements for the money he still owed. The Seller negotiated with them for a couple of weeks and was able to get Bank of America to accept $2,500 as payment in full!

So in the end it all turned out very well. For a total payment of $2,500 the seller was able to be unencumbered from a combined debt of more than $350,000!! And he avoided having a foreclosure on his credit. I would say he did very well. What say you?

Are you facing foreclosure in Florida?

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

Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com

***I am NOT an Attorney nor do I play one on TV. Click the button below for my Bio.

Please do NOT commit Fraud To Get A Short Sale Accepted!

Bryant Tutas-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:01:21 -0400

We all know Short Sales can be very frustrating. Short Sale Lenders can make decisions that make absolutely no sense to us as agents. There are many times where we are tempted to be overly creative to get a deal through. Folks....being creative is OK. Committing fraud is a crime.

Not all Short Sales are successful. There are Sellers that will be foreclosed on. This is a fact. All we can do is our best. The only 100% way to NOT be foreclosed on is to make the mortgage payments. If you don't make your mortgage payments then the Lender has the right to foreclose on you and take your property away.

A Short Sale is one of the remedies the Lender has to avoid the cost of foreclosure. But make no mistake about it they do NOT have to choose this option. We can do everything possible to get the Lender to accept a Short Sale but they may sill foreclose.

Earlier today I deleted the comment below from www.ShortSaleSuperStars.com and wrote the writer an email letting him know that we do not in anyway condone this practice. Wendy Rulnick and I started www.ShortSaleSuperStars.com to help folks in our industry successfully close Short Sales by doing them the right way. Please stay above board. Sellers are facing very difficult times and the last thing they need is an agent suggesting they do things that may come back to haunt them. OK here it is:

"This is what you do. You negotiate the offer with the buyer and the seller and get all parties to sign. Then... with permission of the parties, you rewrite a new front page of the contract with a lower purchase price and send that amount in to the lender with the offer and hardship package. I would make the purchase price about $20,000 lower because they always seem to come back and want at least $15,000 more than the offer that is submitted. This must be their MO. In any case, it worked like a charm. Then... you tell the BPO agent that the offer price is what you sent into Carrington. I hated to resort to these tactics, but Carrington messed with my sellers for over one year. The only bummer is they gave us an approval letter for 20 days because we were getting close to the foreclosure date. I asked for an extension because the buyer was not able to meet the deadline. We needed TWO more days to complete the closing. They came back and reduced our commissions to 3% for both side TOTAL! To top things off, Kirk the SR VP told the closing atty's mitagator that he hates realtors. Go figure."

What do you think? Fraud or no fraud?

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

Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com

***I am NOT an Attorney nor do I play one on TV. Click the button below for my Bio.

COLLECTION OF DELINQUENT ASSESSMENTS THRU RENT - POWERFUL TOOL FOR FLORIDA ASSOCIATIONS

Bryant Tutas-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:05:37 -0400

Hi folks. Richard Zaretsky has written a great post about the new law in Florida giving Home Owner Associations in Florida the right to collect their dues directly from the tenant when the landlord stops paying.

I have mixed feelings about this. Although I agree something needed to be done. Too many communities are suffering due to the HOAs running out of money. I've witnessed first hand HOA office employeees doing yard work and pool maintenance because the HOA is having difficulties collecting fees and therefore cannot pay the service people.

Anyway...I'll let Richard explain the law to you.

Via Richard Zaretsky, Florida Real Estate Attorney (Richard P. Zaretsky P.A. - Bd Certified Real Estate Attorney):

Will collecting rents from tenants of delinquent owners help cash strapped associations? Florida enacted Florida Statutes 718.116(11) for condominium associations and 720.3085(8) for homeowner and property associations (and property associations) and 719.108(10) for cooperative associations effective July 1, 2010. These laws are essentially identical and allow an Association to directly collect rents from Tenants occupying the home and if the Tenant fails to pay the Association, to evict the Tenant as if the Association were the landlord.

But I have been fielding many questions regarding this law, so it is time to address the most popular. (A copy of the 720.3085(8) is at the end of this article and the condominium /co-op statute is nearly identical).

1. The Association assessment(s) must be delinquent. The statute does not define delinquent, but the declaration or rules and regulations most likely does. It does not apply to special assessments, but only regular budgeted assessments.

2. The obligation of the Tenant is to future monetary obligations. The statute addresses future monetary obligations. The key here is what is a "future monetary obligation"? We can see from the application of the term that it is not the rent or monies due to the landlord, but only monies due to the Association. Thus we are going to safely assume that future monetary obligation means monies due to the Association in the future, and not the past due assessments. "In the future" means AFTER the mandatory written notice to the Tenant that the assessment or rent (see below) is to be paid to the Association.

3. If the Tenant is paying the Association according to a demand made by the Association, the Owner cannot evict the Tenant. This appears a bit too broad as the statute says that the Tenant is immune from "any claim" from the Owner. If the Tenant has put the property in disrepair does this mean the Owner has no recourse to evict? This is probably not the intent of the statute but it is an area that will need clarification. Also, as you will read below, if the differential between the monetary obligation and the full amount of the rent is not paid by the Tenant to the Owner, the Tenant can be in breach of the lease. The statute says that if the Tenant is paying the monetary obligation, the Owner cannot evict since the Tenant is "immune from any claim" of the Owner. This is problematic for the Owner and subject to interpretation and application by the courts. It would make sense that if the balance of the rent not paid to the Association under the Association demand is not paid to the Owner, the Tenant should be subject to eviction by the Owner. The statute is not meant to be a shield for the wrongful conduct of the Tenant.

4. The Tenant is to pay "the rent" to the Association upon its written demand. This would seem to throw some cloud of doubt as to what the Association is supposed to collect - whether just the "monetary obligations" or is it "the rent"? In this part (sub-paragraph (a) of the section of the statute it says the Tenant pays "the rent" to the Association. There is a distinguishing qualifier though - This seems to apply only in the case where the Tenant has paid "prepaid rent" to the Owner. In such case the statute says that the future rents (rents still to be paid) are to be paid to the Association which seems to mean the entire rental payment and not just the monetary obligation.

5. If the Association is collecting "the rent" and the sums collected exceed the "monetary obligation", what happens to the surplus? The statute is silent on this question. However, the Association will likely have to account to the Owner for the monies (surplus funds) that it holds that are not for "monetary obligations" (ie: assessments) that accrued after the written notice. Since the statute only applies to assessments after delinquency, theoretically the Association could sue the Owner in the appropriate jurisdictional court (County or Circuit, depending on amount) for a money judgment on the delinquency withoutresorting to the long and expensive lien and foreclosure procedure. It could then attach through a Writ of Attachment the surplus funds. The question is actually then, are there really surplus funds? The answer may be that the rents received after the "pre-paid" rents must be applied to all assessments that accrued subsequent to the written notice to the Tenant that it must pay the rents to the Association. (Remember, those assessments did not get paid because the rent has been "pre-paid" to the Owner and the Owner did not submit them to the Association). After those post-notice assessments are paid, any remaining rents would belong to the Owner and must be paid to the Owner, just as if there had been no pre-paid rent.

THE NEXT STEP - Where this is going is already being seen. Associations should consider creating a "pre-notice lease addendum" for all new leases. This addendum (some Associations are already using this concept) becomes part of the lease with the Tenant and advises the Tenant in advance that it is the Tenant's obligation to pay the regular maintenance assessment to the Association, notwithstanding the terms of the lease.

A copy of the general language of the statute follows. There are small technical changes to differentiate between a unit and a parcel.

Section 720.3085(8) - If the parcel is occupied by a Tenant and the parcel Owner is delinquent in paying any monetary obligation due to the association, the association may demand that the Tenant pay to the association the future monetary obligations related to the parcel. The demand is continuing in nature, and upon demand, the Tenant must continue to pay the monetary obligations until the association releases the Tenant or the Tenant discontinues tenancy in the parcel. A Tenant who acts in good faith in response to a written demand from an association is immune from any claim from the parcel Owner.

(a) If the Tenant prepaid rent to the parcel Owner before receiving the demand from the association and provides written evidence of paying the rent to the association within 14 days after receiving the demand, the Tenant shall receive credit for the prepaid rent for the applicable period and must make any subsequent rental payments to the association to be credited against the monetary obligations of the parcel Owner to the association. The association shall, upon request, provide the Tenant with written receipts for payments made. The association shall mail written notice to the parcel Owner of the association's demand that the Tenant pay monetary obligations to the association.

(b) The Tenant is not liable for increases in the amount of the monetary obligations due unless the Tenant was notified in writing of the increase at least 10 days before the date on which the rent is due. The Tenant shall be given a credit against rents due to the parcel Owner in the amount of assessments paid to the association.

(c) The association may issue notices under s. 83.56and may sue for eviction under ss. 83.59-83.625 as if the association were a landlord under part II of chapter 83 if the Tenant fails to pay a monetary obligation. However, the association is not otherwise considered a landlord under chapter 83 and specifically has no duties under s. 83.51.

(d) The Tenant does not, by virtue of payment of monetary obligations, have any of the rights of a parcel Owner to vote in any election or to examine the books and records of the association.

(e) A court may supersede the effect of this subsection by appointing a receiver.

Copyright 2010 Richard P. Zaretsky, Esq.

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Be sure to contact your own attorney for your state laws, and always consult your own attorney on any legal decision you need to make. This article is for information purposes and is not specific advice to any one reader.

Richard Zaretsky, Esq., RICHARD P. ZARETSKY P.A. ATTORNEYS AT LAW, 1655 PALM BEACH LAKES BLVD, SUITE 900, WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA 33401, PHONE 561 689 6660 email: RPZ99@Florida-Counsel.com - FLORIDA BAR BOARD CERTIFIED IN REAL ESTATE LAW - We assist Brokers and Sellers with Short Sales and Modifications and Consult with Brokers and Sellers Nationwide! Shortsales@Florida-Counsel.com New Website www.Florida-Counsel.com.

See our easy to understand articles at:

TABLE OF CONTENTS - SHORT SALE AND LOAN MODIFICATION ARTICLES

Short Sales Can Be Frustrating. However You Do NOT Have To Go It Alone!!!

Bryant Tutas-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 17:54:06 -0400

Hi folks. Have Short Sales got you down? I know from experience that dealing with Short Sales all day every day can be very frustrating. BUT......it is what it is. NAR put up a good fight a few years back to keep Banks out of Real Estate. And NAR won!!! You wouldn't think that today would you? Banks found their own way to control the Real Estate market.....REOs and Short Sales.

I struggle with this because I'm a control freak. Not only do I have to be in control but things have to make sense to me.

Kind of funny in this current market isn't it? I have no control and nothing makes sense. But Real Estate is what I do. So I have to keep moving forward. I have to figure out how to work within the system. People in my market need my help and I would be letting them down if I didn't learn everything I can about Short Sales.

That's why Wendy Rulnick and I created www.ShortSaleSuperStars.com. We needed a place to go where we could get help and support from others in our industry that are going through the same things. If you haven't joined us yet then you are missing out. We now have almost 3,600 members who are helping each other with Short Sales.

You do NOT have to go it alone. Pop on over an join us. We'd love to have you. Here are some samples of the conversations going on today:

***CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO JOIN US. BUYERS AND SELLERS ARE WELCOME***

Are you facing foreclosure in Florida?

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

Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com

***I am NOT an Attorney nor do I play one on TV. Click the button below for my Bio.

How to live in your house for 3 years without making any payments!!

Bryant Tutas-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:55:15 -0400

OK so I was going to share this earth shattering secret today but........I got nothin'. My head is empty.

This is what dealing with short sales all week will do to you.

Have a great Labor Day Weekend!!!

Are you facing foreclosure in Florida?

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

Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com

***I am NOT an Attorney nor do I play one on TV. Click the button below for my Bio.

IBM is now in the Short Sale Business as LBPS...

Bryant Tutas-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:48:41 -0400

.......Lender Business Processing Service. Not quite sure how long they have been offering their servies to lenders but I have just had my first experience with them this week. In fact, I am on hold with them as I write this article. I've been on hold for over 2 hours!!!

I wrote a post a few weeks back about receiving Short Sale approval from Chase in 5 days. My approval was good until August 23rd. I had a really great Chase negotiator by the name of Gregory Williams. Mr. Williams is awesome at what he does and always responded to me very quickly. I emailed him last Friday asking for an extension of a couple days so we could get the transaction closed. He called me immediately to let me know the file had been sent over to LBPS and Chase had nothing else to do with it. YIKES!!! This is NOT what you want to hear 2 days prior to closing!!

Anyway, like the good little Broker I am, I did not let it derail me and instead just picked up the phone and called LBPS. That's when the fun and games began. I have now spent a total of 6 hours on hold this week and still have not sorted anything out. In fact, that 6 hours has been spent doing nothing more than holding to confirm that my LBPS 3rd Party Authorization has been received and approved!

I fear this is going to be a very painful experience. While I was writing this article (still on hold) I received an email from one of my other Sellers to let me know his loan was also just sold to LBPS. Oh well....no one ever said our jobs were supposed to be easy. I guess I best figure out the LBPS system!

Here's some info put out by IBM LBPS.

Folks, if you have a loan being serviced by IBM Lender Buisness Processing Service (LBPS) and are facing foreclosure, PLEASE contact me so I can help.

Are you facing foreclosure in Florida?

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

Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com

***I am NOT an Attorney nor do I play one on TV. Click the button below for my Bio.

Why a Strategic Short Sale May Make Sense.

Bryant Tutas-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:38:09 -0400

Hi folks. Let's talk about this Strategic Short Sale thing a little. I know there are many people that just can't understand why anybody would do a Short Sale if they can afford their mortgage payment and they do not have a hardship. In fact, there are those that would call this immoral. Well OK then.

My job is not to judge. My job is to inform people so they can make a decision based on facts, their needs and what's best for them. And as much as it sucks a Strategic Short Sale MAY be the best option. Just because someone can afford their mortgage payment does not mean continuing to make it is the best way to go.

This post will give you some hard cold financial data. Do with it what you may.

First, you have to remember that in my area property values are down 75% and in some communities as much as 85%!!!! Folks that purchased from 2003-2007 with 20% down are still way up side down. Just to put our decline into perspective.....the average house in Poinciana, in the year 2000, sold for $81,000 and $56 per sq ft. Today, 2010, they are selling for $72,500 and $41 per sq ft. Unfortunately our MLS data only goes back 10 years so I can't see how far back values have gone. But we do know houses are worth less today than they were 10 years ago!!

If you purchased a house in Poinciana Florida in 2006 at $220,500 (average 2006 selling price) and put 20% down ($44,100) today, that house is worth $72,750! Your PITI (principle, interest, taxes, insurance) payment, if you have an interest rate of 6.75%, would be roughly $1,450 per month. You would still owe $168,000. This is 232% of what the house is now worth (LTV). So just to be EVEN on your mortgage, values would have to increase by 132%!! Of course this doesn't include the $44,100 you put down.

So.....should you continue paying? Only you know the answer to that question. Just remember that until values increase by 132% you will STILL be upside down on your mortgage.

If you did decide to do a Strategic Short Sale today and rent a similar house you would save approximately $700 per month. If you invested $400 of that savings at 5% you would have almost $28,000 at the end of 5 years. If you kept your mortgage instead you would still owe $150,500. What would your house be worth in 5 years? I have no clue. But I can only guess that it would not have appreciated 100%. That means if you needed to sale in 5 years you would SILL have to do a Short Sale. Do you take the hit now or take it later?

The numbers are staggering. What say you?

Are you facing foreclosure in Florida?

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

Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com

***I am NOT an Attorney nor do I play one on TV. Click the button below for my Bio.

It Was a Good Week for Florida Short Sale Approvals at Tutas Towne Realty

Bryant Tutas-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:27:27 -0400

Hi folks. Short Sales DO get approved. It just takes patience, organization and negotiating skills. In the last 7 days the following lenders have issued approvals for our Florida Short Sales.

Orlando Florida Short Sale with Bank of America

Property sold for $127,000. The amount owed Bank of America is $200,000 on the first and $38,000 on the 2nd. The 1st agreed to $109,894 (55%) the 2nd $3,000 (8%). The property was listed in March 2010. Bank of America denied a contract of $130,000 in April. This week they accepted $127,000!! I guess their decision back in April cost them us another few thousand.

Davenport Florida Short Sale with US Bank (FHA) and PNC Bank

Property sold for $60,000. Since FHA will only allow $2,500 to be paid towards the 2nd the Buyer agreed to pay PNC Bank an additional $4,000. US Bank was owed $93,500 and accepted $51,000 (53%) and the 2nd with PNC Bank was owed $61,500 they accepted $6,150 (10%). We had a buyer that fell out last week because they would not come up with the additional $4,000 for the 2nd. We placed it back on the market and found another buyer in one day.

Kissimmee Florida Short Sale with Bank of America

Property sold for $60,000. This one has taken over a year. Bank of America was owed $190,000 and accepted $54,000 (28%) the 2nd also with Bank of America was owed $38,000 and accepted $2,350 (6%). We have gone through 5 buyers on this one. The Buyer that is closing has been under contract for a year. Patience galore!!

Tutas Towne Realty has already successfully negotiated Short Sales with the following Lenders.

Chase
Sun Trust
GMAC
Wells Fargo
Bank of America
US Bank
PNC Bank
Citi
HomeEq
Fifth Third Bank
ING Direct
GreenTree
Capital One
ASC
First Horizon
E-Trade
Transland Financial
USA Bank
IBM LBPS

Can we add you to our list of successful Short Sales?

Are you facing foreclosure in Florida?

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

Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com

***I am NOT an Attorney nor do I play one on TV. Click the button below for my Bio.

Do I Need a Hardship to do a Short Sale?

Bryant Tutas-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:26:05 -0400

Well that's a good question. What do you think? Most folks would probably answer this question with a resounding YES! But...what if I told you the answer is "No....you don't necessarily need a hardship to qualify for a Short Sale. You may be able to do a Strategic Short Sale". Heck, big business and lenders do them all the time.

One reason lenders/investors may approve the Strategic Short Sale is that the hardship in no way changes the financial outcome of the Short Sale for the lender. The numbers are still the same. In fact, the numbers may even be better for the lender on a Strategic Short Sale because the Seller is in a financial position to contribute. So why wouldn't they approve it?

Now while you may not have to have a hardship to do a Short Sale you may very well be required to be delinquent on your payments. This is mostly due to government intrusion into the process. For example HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative) requires the mortgage to be: "delinquent or default is reasonably forseeable."

Also, if you have an FHA loan: "At the time the PFS (pre-foreclosure sale) closes the loan must be in default (i.e. delinquent more than 30 days)." FHA DOES require a hardship.

If you are way upside down on your mortgage and see no light at the end of the tunnel then you have to ask yourself some hard questions. The reality is that most of us will have to move for some reason over the next 5-7 years. So ask yourself:

If I'm upside down on my mortgage today will I still be upside down in 5 years if I have to move then?

Would my family be better off if I took the financial hit today instead of waiting?

If I did a Strategic Short Sale today would I be able to rent a property for my family and save a substantial amount of money each month?

How will going through a Strategic Short Sale affect my credit and will my interest rates on my credit cards go up drastically?

How will a Strategic Short Sale affect my job (security clearance)?

Ask yourself hard questions. Seek legal advice from an experienced Attorney. Talk to your CPA. Have a family meeting.

Then if you decide that a Strategic Short Sale is the option for you, remember, there are no guarantees it will work. You may be asked to contribute to the "Short". What I tell potential Sellers when they ask the question is... "If you have no hardship and you have assets or sufficient income the bank may very well want some of it. You may have to bring a cash contribution to closing and they may also want you to sign a promissory note. But you may very well have your Strategic Short Sale approved."

These are difficult times and that require making difficult decisions. Let me know if I can help.

Are you facing foreclosure in Florida?

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

Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com

***I am NOT an Attorney nor do I play one on TV. Click the button below for my Bio.

NON-Negotiators Negotiating Short Sales. A Recipe For Failure!

Bryant Tutas-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 08:39:13 -0400

Title Companies handling Short Sale "negotiations" is the new trend in my area. I quote "negotiations" because they don't really handle negotiations at all. Instead they do what Title Companies do....shuffle paperwork. Here's an excerpt from one National company's solicitation to agents.

Now folks there may be Title Companies that are doing a good job with Short Sales but I have yet to experience one. I guess the issue is that handing your Short Sale over to a Title Company is handing it off to a 9-5 Monday through Friday hourly employee. They are NOT going to spend the time required to push your particular Short Sale through to closing. They are NOT negotiators. They are office workers. And there's nothing wrong with this unless.......you are counting on them to help you avoid foreclosure and salvage your credit.

Just yesterday I had a Title Company contact me on one of my Buyer side transactions. They were asking me for the Buyer's personal information including his first 5 digits of his social security number. Agents that handle Short sales everyday know this information is being requested because it is a Bank of America Short Sale and the Title Company is getting ready to initiate the Short Sale through the Equator system. Entering the Buyer's details is one of the very first tasks. Nothing wrong with this either except for with this particular transaction we have had the property under contract for 2 months!!!

This means that for 2 months this file has just been sitting. Two months of wasted time. Two months closer to foreclosure for these unsuspecting Sellers. Heck....my experience with Equator tells me that this file could have already been approved in this amount of time.

Agents that handle their own Short Sales from beginning to end do NOT sit on a file for 2 months. We are proactive. We follow up on our Short Sales at least twice a week if not more. We push the transaction along we don't just wait for things to happen. And most importantly we DO negotiate "the terms of approval and acceptance on the Seller's behalf." That's our job. That why we get paid.

So folks, if you are facing foreclosure, PLEASE hire a negotiator NOT a paperwork shuffler. You'll be glad you did.

Are you facing foreclosure in Florida?

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

Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com

***I am NOT an Attorney nor do I play one on TV. Click the button below for my Bio.

Sun Trust Short Sale Approved and Closed in Kissimmee Florida

Bryant Tutas-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:58:31 -0400

Well this one was not easy. Sun Trust took 11 months to approve this Short Sale! Nine of those were waiting on the file to be assigned to a negotiator. During this time we lost 2 buyers and finally found one to stick.....I thought. About 3 weeks ago I received the approval to close. Even though I had communicated with the Buyer's agent every week for the last 9 months I found out a week before closing that the Buyer had changed his mind!!!

So....I had to place the property back on the market as an "approved short sale". We needed a cash buyer that could close in 7 days at the full asking price. Luckily we found one. Lolita' Clay from Exit Realty brought a full price cash Buyer and they closed today. 3 days before the Short Sale approvals expired. Way to go Lolita!!!

Property:

4 bedroom 2 bath condo in Legacy Dunes. Legacy Dunes is a Short term rental community about 5 minutes from the main gate of Disney World in Orlando Florida. The condo was purchased in July 2006 for a whooping $335,400!! We sold it yesterday, 4 years later, for..........$60,000!!! That's a decrease in value of 82%.

Hardship:

Loss of income

Liens:

1st with Sun Trust for $269,150. Settled for $62,183 or $.23 cents on the dollar.

2nd with Sun Trust for $30,350. Settled for $10,973 or $.64 cents on the dolllar

HOA lien for $6,000. Received full payment from the Seller.

Details:

The Seller had to contribute $17,500 to Sun Trust plus had to pay the $6,000 to the HOA. No promissory note and Sun Trust issued a Waiver of Deficiency for both liens.

Another successful Central Florida Short Sale by Tutas Towne Realty!!

Are you facing foreclosure on your Sun Trust Mortgage? If so........

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

Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com

***I am NOT an Attorney nor do I play one on TV. Click the button below for my Bio.

Tenants in Florida Can Now Be Ordered to Pay HOA Fees!

Bryant Tutas-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:56:50 -0400

Hi folks. As most of you know Florida has been hit very hard by the Real Estate bust. One of the biggest issues we have is Home Owner Associations (HOA) that are struggling to stay afloat due to so many owners not paying their HOA Fees.

Tutas Towne Realty works quite a bit with foreign investors and insolvent HOAs are a major issue. Communities built for vacation homes usually have HOAs that have high fees. When these fees aren't being paid the community is in dire straights. Community pools cannot be serviced. Lawns are not mowed. Group insurance policies get canceled. And of course these service people are experiencing a loss of income because of it. It's a nightmare for the HOA, property owners, buyers, agents and lenders.

To try and help these HOAs Florida passed a new law that went into effect July 1st. Check it out......

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – July 19, 2010 – Under a new Florida law, homeowner association boards can go after renters for association fees when the homeowners fail to pay up. READ THE ARTICLE HERE

Foreclosures, short sales and distressed sellers are hurting the economy in many ways. Things are going to get far worse before they get better in Florida. That's a fact. Whether you believe it or not...it's still true. What say you?

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

Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com

***I am NOT an Attorney nor do I play one on TV. Click the button below for my Bio.

Helpful Info for the Bank of America Short Sale Site for Sellers

Bryant Tutas-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:31:05 -0400

Hi Folks. If you are involved with any Bank of America Short Sales then you know that they have been using www.Equator.com to help make the process go smoother. My opinion is that it is working like a charm. Bank of America Short Sale approvals are coming in 45-60 days instead of the 6-12 months they used to take.

The Equator system is quite simple. Just upload the contract information and away you go. If you do your assigned "tasks" in a timely fashion you shouldn't have much difficulties.

However, you also have to make sure the Seller is doing their tasks on time. Sellers have to call into Bank of America to start the process as well. I usually have them do this the same day I start the Short Sale through Equator. When they call in Bank of America will give them a password and direct them to the consumer portal at www.BankofAmerica.com/ShortSale This site is where the Sellers will enter all of their financial information.

I like this new system a lot because I no longer have to handle the sellers tax returns, bank statements, pay check stubs and financial statement. BUT....it's my job to make sure they are prepared. First they have to be able to have all of these documents in PDF files to upload. One file for each document. If they don't have a scanner to do this they can email me the documents. Since I use an Efax it will automatically convert the fax into PDF files. I can then just attach the files to an email and send it back to my seller. They now have a PDF file to upload. Simple.

I also prepare them for the info that is needed by sending them the file below. This way they can fill in the blanks BEFORE they log on to the Bank of America Short Sale portal.

Being successful at Short Sales is all about being organized and educating our Buyers, Sellers and other agents. I hope this helps. If you need more help pop over and join us at www.ShortSaleSuperStars.com That's where the pros hang out.

Seller Equator Pack

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

Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com

***I am NOT an Attorney nor do I play one on TV. Click the button below for my Bio.

Chase Short Sale Approval in 5 days!!!

Bryant Tutas-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:48:45 -0400

Short Sales never cease to amaze me. Just when I'm really getting fed up with how slow Chase is they give me an approval in 5 business days!!! The other Chase Short Sales I have done all took 6 months or more so this one was truly a surprise. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.

One of the reasons this one got approved so quickly is that the Seller had been working with Chase for over a year trying get a loan mod and then trying to do a Short Sale by herself. By the time she finally listed the property with me she already had a negotiator contact.

I listed the property and sold it the very next day. I called the negotiator and all he wanted was the contract and the HUD statement. These were sent over on July 1st and we received the written approval on July 8th!!

Property:

3 bedroom 2 bath pool home in Winter Haven Florida. Tenant occupied.

Hardship:

Loss of income

Liens:

1st with Chase for $196,500

2nd with Chase for $64,500

Details:

The property was placed on the market on June 23rd. Went pending June 25th. Short Sale was submitted on July 1 and was approved on July 8th. No seller concessions or contributions.

Chase agreed to a purchase price of $105,000 with a NET to them of $96,270 or.... 37 cents on the dolllar.

Are you facing foreclosure on your Chase mortgage? If so........

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

Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com

***I am NOT an Attorney nor do I play one on TV. Click the button below for my Bio.

Another Successful Florida Short Sale With Bank of America.

Bryant Tutas-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:09:53 -0400

This wasn't the easiest Short Sale but after 14 months and 5 buyers we finally got it closed. Another Florida Short Sale success story.

The property:

3 bedroom 2 bath single family home located in Saint Cloud Florida. It was bought new in 2006 for $253,500. The owner was transferred almost immediately and was never able to move in. It has never been lived in.

Liens:

Mortgage with Bank of America for $235,000

HOA lien for $3,800

County lien of $300 for mowing

Hardship:

Loss of income

Issues:

This property was placed on the market in March of 2009. It was actually a referral from an ActiveRain member. The biggest issue was that the community this property is located in has a CDD (Community Development District). The annual "fee" for this CDD is $2,700 a year. This is on top of the taxes and the HOA fee. So basically the cost to live in this house is well over $600 a month BEFORE you add in the mortgage and the insurance. This is OK on an expensive property but when the property is less than $100,000 the cost is way out of line. This exorbitant cost is the reason we had 4 buyers that could not or would not close. Here's a good article on CDDs in Florida.

Anyway, we were able to find a buyer that was willing to pay the costs of living in this community. Bank of America would only pay $1,000 towards the HOA lien so I had to negotiate this down as low I could get it. I got it from $3,800 to $3,100 and the seller was able to borrow money to pay the $2,100 that Bank of America would not pay. I personally paid the county mowing lien to help get the transaction closed.

The property sold for $91,000 and Bank of America accepted $81,829 on the $235,000 that was owed. Or 35 cents on the dollar. Do you need help with your Florida Short Sale?

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

Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com

***I am NOT an Attorney nor do I play one on TV. Click the button below for my Bio.