Archive for 'avoid foreclosure'

Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone  the facts about loan modifications!!

Today is a great day to tell anyone and everyone you see and know Happy Valentine’s Day. Many of the Sellers that are upside down on their home are stressed out and don’t know what to do.  First off, I want all Sellers to know that when they got a loan from the bank their money was given to the bank from an investor.  This investor could be a trust, reit, or maybe the government.  The bank guaranteed the investor or group of investors a set interest rate.  Many Sellers are attempting a loan modification hoping to keep their house.  I always ask my Sellers if could wave my wand what do you want from the bank.  Most of them will answer that they want the bank to reduce their balance on their loan or they want a certain amount for their monthly payment.  Here are some facts I want to share this Valentine’s Day with the Sellers:

1.  During a loan modification the bank is still continuing with the foreclosure.

2.  I have not spoken with a Seller yet that got a reduction in the value of their home on a homesteaded property and I have done over 500 short sales.

3. The monthly payment the Seller wants makes no sense.  They are not considering how much their taxes and insurance is on the property nor are they considering the interest that will be charged for the loan amount.  Example:  Seller owes $300,00,000 on the loan at 4% for 30 years is $1,432.25  – Yearly Taxes are $3,000 per year $250.00 a month – Insurance is $1,500 per year – $125.00 per month –  Total monthly payment NOT INCLUDING HOA (homeowners association dues) would be $1,807.25.  Many Sellers want a lower payment than this amount because they can’t afford it.

4.  I have only seen the bank take the monthly payments that they are behind plus interest, late fees and attorney fees and add it to the end of the mortgage and/or change it to a 40 year mortgage.  Which would make their monthly payment $1,253.82 on the loan plus taxes and insurance would be $1,628.82.

So on Valentine’s Day I just want to let all the Sellers going through this difficult time that your home is where your heart is and may God Bless you during this difficult time.

So should a Seller do a short sale? First you need a good negotiator working on your file.  Benefits of a short sale:

1.  The Forgiveness of Debt Act which expires on December 31, 2013 allows Sellers who own their properties as homestead to waive the tax ramifications should the bank forgive the debt.  Up to 1 Million Dollars for a Single Individual and $2 Million Dollars for a married couple.

2.  The Bank will report the short sale on their credit report as being settled for less.

3.  The Sellers may receive some money to relocate.

4.  The Sellers may not have to pay a cash contribution or a promissory note.  Again this depends on your negotiator/realtor.

5.  The Bank will not go after the Seller for the difference if you get a full satisfaction otherwise they have the right to collect on the Seller for up to 25 years.

6.  The stress is gone and they have relocated into a bigger and better home most of the time.

I would recommend on this Valentine’s Day that a Seller give their family and themselves the gift of decision.  Please read my Special Report on Foreclosure which talks about all your options.  www.FreeFactsAboutForeclosure.com

 

Again your home is where your HEART IS and your family will go wherever you go.

May this Valentine’s Day you find peace.

Kimberlee Frank – Broker

www.SellFastRealty.com

 

 

 

 

 

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Sellers in Central Florida sell their house

Sellers in Central Florida sell their house

Are you a Seller that needs to sell your house FAST?  Many Sellers are confused as to whether they should let their house go to foreclosure or do a short sale.  Sell Fast Realty is closing on three closings today where the Sellers attempted to do loan modifications and were denied.  They were ready to walk away from the house and let the bank chase them with a deficiency judgment for 25 years.  It takes a lot of courage to make the right decision that will affect the family for their lives.  Sellers are in control when they are doing a short sale as we always put a provision in the contract “That this offer is subject to the Bank taking a discount, waiving the deficiency judgment and is acceptable to the Seller”.

 

If you are unsure which way to go, check out my special report at www.FreeFactsAboutForeclosure.com to educate you on all your options.

 

 

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Homeowner Associations Getting Out of Control in Florida

Wow – What a crazy week I had.  I am writing this article to let everyone know what is going on with Homeowner Associations during a short sale.  First off, I want everyone to understand that Homeowner Associations have the right to personally go after each and every Seller regarding their dues and it can become a personal judgment against the Seller.

Many homeowners are behind on their houses payments are being forced into foreclosure.  When it comes to a short sale, all liens or amounts due on the property for potential liens will need to be discounted and/or paid off in full.  Florida has many properties that have homeowner associations dues.  Some have more than one homeowner association.

It use to be so easy to negotiate with the homeowner association regarding the dues owed on a property.  A couple of years ago Florida passed a law that guaranteed the homeowner associations one year worth of dues should the house go into foreclosure.  This law did not take into consideration what if the homeowner needed to do a short sale.  When the law first past, many homeowner associations would  not even consider negotiating on the balance due to them during a short sale because they knew that the Bank would have to pay them at least one year worth of dues should the property go to foreclosure.

Recently, I had not just one deal but three deals where the homeowner associations would not agree to accept the short sale discount that the Bank offered.  All three properties were under $60,000 and were getting more than 1 year worth of homeowner association dues.  The worst part of negotiating with the homeowner associations they request an estoppel fee to be paid upfront  for providing the homeowner with the total amount due for homeowner associations fees.  The estoppel fee is either paid to the management company and/or an attorney.  The price ranges from $100 to $500.  This is totally crazy because if you contacted your mortgage company for a payoff their would be a nominal fee of $15 for the payoff figure.  Who do you think is paying the fee prior to finding out of they will NOT agree to the discount? We have to guess at the amount due based on what the homeowner informs us and when we know we are getting close to a short sale approval, the estoppel fee is paid by the title company and/or the homeowner.   I am now requesting my sellers to pay for the estoppel if they are more than 1 year behind on their homeowner associations dues.  In addition, after reviewing the amount due to the homeowner associations, they are including late fees, interest fees, attorney fees, broken blind fees, non-approved tenant fees and more.  A homeowner association bill that was originally $900 for late dues is now $21,000 based on the above junk fees.  $1,000 for broken blinds, give me a break they can only see the blinds from outside the unit.  I do understand they don’t want junky properties however, how would they like boarded up properties or broken windows like there are in many states.

I totally understand that right now it is tough for the homeowner associations as they are taking a big hit due to the non-payers.  In addition I feel sorry for all the homeowners whose dues are being raised to cover the homeowners in foreclosure.  However, do the homeowners who are current really know what is going on.  Do they know that many houses could be sold if the homeowners association would agree to a discount versus allowing the house go to foreclosure which decrease the value of their properties more?  I kind of doubt it!  If they did, they would be in agreement that having some monies being paid now and a new neighbor paying their homeowner dues is better than waiting the 749 days which is the time line for many foreclosure actions in Florida.

I am still working on two of the three properties dealing with the attorneys from the homeowner associations to get them to accept $4,000 now and a new buyer which would avoid the homeowner going into foreclosure.  The last negotiation I had with the attorney for the homeowner associations refused to talk to me and would only speak through her secretary.  We were off by $1,800 which the attorney said “have the buyer, realtors and title company take a discount”.  It is bad enough that the short sale lender is reducing commissions to realtors to 5% or 4% if you a good enough agent to list the property and find a buyer, now the homeowner associations are working against the people who are helping them stabilize their community by selling their homes.  This is totally wrong!

If you are a homeowner and you are going through foreclosure, I would recommend to do your best to keep up your homeowner associations dues or they can come after you personally.  If you are a realtor, I would highly recommend that you find out from your homeowner how far behind they are on their dues.  If you are a homeowner paying your dues, attend your board meetings and find out what are they doing on short sales.  You do have the right to speak at a board meeting.

We are all working together to improve the economy, can we all play nice?  I would sure hope so.  I did close one of the three deals but had to pay $300 towards the homeowner associations dues.  I didn’t like it at all, however, it was the only way to get the deal through.  I would have loved to walk away from the deal and tell them forget it.  However, there were circumstances that stopped me from doing so.  The short sale approval letter was expiring and the bpo value on the property would be expiring too so that would mean another bpo value from the bank and more paperwork from the homeowners plus my homeowner would still have the same problem next time.  The buyer had to be out of their place and had given notice so that would mean possibly a new buyer.  I am a great negotiator when in comes to playing poker (that is what I call negotiating), however, I knew when to fold and close the deal for the benefit of all parties including the homeowner associations.

Receive Great Short Sale Tips from FREE SHORT SALE MANIFESTO FOR REALTORS – CLICK THE LINK:

 

https://vw942.infusionsoft.com/app/form/short-sale-manifesto-for-realtors

 

Kimberlee Frank

www.SellFastRealty.com

407-888-3433

 

 

 

 

 

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