November, 2011

Realty — No Comments
26
Nov 11

Shorter Short Sales???

SHORTER SHORT SALES?

BofA Reduces Short Sale Approvals To 2 Weeks

I’ll believe it when I see it. Bank of America has been notorious in the past for long, drawn out short sales, but in an ‘exclusive’ webinar this week with BofA top brass the announcement of new policies and procedures to expedite short sale approvals was announced.

“We have some GREAT news for those of you that have your mortgage with Bank of America. I just attended an “exclusive” LIVE webinar with Kimberly Dawson, a Vice President at BofA that oversees their short sale operations. BofA holds almost 25% of the mortgage market and processed almost 100,000 short sales in 2010. They are estimating exceeding that in 2011…….They will close approximately 10,000 short sales per month.

How Bank of American is changing their short sales process?

BofA is “pre-approving” short sales before they are even listed on the MLS. This is much different from the “normal” short sale where we list the home, get a contract, gather all the paperwork, submit to the lender, and then WAIT. BofA is calling this a ‘Cooperative Short Sale.’”

In addition to the ‘pre-approving’ of short sales, Bank of America will also be utilizing a new internet software that will assist with document management and ultimately streamlining the entire process for the bank and short sale processors.

Bank of America’s program to help automate the short sale process
“BofA has also implemented a new web-based short sale tool called Equator (http://www.Equator.com). It is a transaction mgmt system that has GREATLY increased the speed and efficiency of the short sale process. We are very experienced in using the tool and we love it! It has made my life much easier. We used to fax documents to BofA and they would get lost….multiple times! It was a nightmare. No more.”
Ayers, Rich. “BofA is reducing short sale approval to approx 2 weeks!” The Ayers Team. WEBSITE: ayersteam.com/real-estate-blog/bofa-is-reducing-short-sale-approval-to-approx-2-weeks/ January 21, 2011 (accessed January 22, 2011).

Our personal experience with Equator is much less impressive then the article states. Our office handles a lot of short sale transactions and we have seen short sale paper work lost and sometimes Equator feels like a short sale purgatory. It would be great to see Bank of America get their short sale process time frame down considerably. The article also states that the typical BofA short sale time line from open to close is between 1 and 4 months. From our short sale experience, this could not be farther from the truth. Rarely do we see BofA approve a short sale in under 4 months, though we have had some quick BofA short sale closes, most of BofA’s short sales take much longer then 4 months to complete.

Overall, it is good that BofA is changing their short sale process, this part is long over due. Our major question with this new policy change is this…did BofA improve their short sale process because of internal mandates or pending legislation from investors and property owners?

Realty — No Comments
22
Nov 11

How to Transfer Money Home Fast and Cheap

Step 1

Gather the account number information of your home country bank account that you want to transfer money to and from.

Step 2

Gather the account number information of the bank account in a different country that you would like to transfer money to and from.

Step 3

You can use this system to send money to and from yourself, or to and from your family and friends in other countries for very cheap rates. Much cheaper than normal bank transfers which often charge you + to send money, and sometimes another + to receive your funds. It is also cheaper than Western Union and other types of money wiring services. This is also an alternative to PayPal which is often not available or is limited in many countries.

Step 4

This payment transfer system is called Moneybookers. It’s very easy and you can use it to transfer money to and from almost all major countries.
Sign up for a free Moneybookers account here:
http://www.moneybookers.com/app/?rid=7338020

Step 5

Go here for a step-by-step guided process of the easy registration: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OWr5S7-ur8Y

Step 6

Once you are signed up, you can easily add money to your Moneybookers account online from your bank account and transfer to a bank account in another country. You can also add money to your Moneybookers account from a credit card and transfer to another bank account. It really makes transferring money easy and is a much better and cheaper way to transfer money if you don’t want to pay for all of the bank transfer fees. Note: If you are signing up as a US resident, you should register with the foreign address that you will be sending money to or from. If you are adding a US bank account, you should enter your foreign bank account first, then your US bank account after.

Step7

This is a comparison of the fees to send money via bank transfer, check, and Moneybookers.

Realty — No Comments
10
Nov 11

Stop Foreclosure How to Use Right of Redemption Laws For Foreclosures

Once your home has been sold as a foreclosure property at an auction, right of redemption laws allow homeowners a certain amount of time to buy their property back. The thing about the law is that it can apply to more than just the homeowner. It can apply to any person that has a legal interest in the property. This could mean creditors as well as lending institutions. The amount of time the homeowner has to buy back or redeem their property can range from up to two years with some being as little as six months.

Right of redemption laws vary from state to state. Foreclosure lawyers can help you when it comes to stopping foreclosure. For those who live in illinoisn the redemption period can be 7 months from the time the foreclosure notice was filed or less depending on the time the final judgement was entered. In california the redemption period is different because it is dependent on how much the property will sell for, as in the case the home sells for enough to cover the mortgage the person will have 3 months to redeem the property. So if the home sells for less than what is owed on the home the period can be one year. 

For homeowners located in Florida the redemption period actually ends the day the property is sold, if the court reviews the sale of the home to confirm fair market value it could prolong the redemption process past the sold date. It is important to note that you will have to pay any outstanding mortgage principle along with interest payments, taxes and cost incurred by the lender.

If you are unable to repurchase the home during the redemption period you can sell your rights to someone else for a few thousand dollars. Some states are non judicial foreclosure which means home loans are collaterized as deeds of trusts rather than as a home mortgage so all sales are final and there is no redemption period after the home is sold at auction.

Non judicial foreclosures are quicker and easier, as well as less expensive, so for a real estate foreclosure investor they will have to take precautions when dealing with states that have redemption laws, it would be to your advantage to purchase the rights of redemption laws from the homeowner directly to maintain control.

Going through the redemption foreclosure process can be daunting, but you will be happy to know that once you default. You are in a positon to stop the foreclosure before your home is sold at auction. Many lenders will help you with a mortgage loan modification or forbearance.

If you find yourself in this situation caused by a wrongful foreclosure  and the holder of the deed to the property is Fannie Mae, try to negotiate with them especially if you are not in a position to pay all that is owed. It may help to work with a foreclosure attorney.

Realty — No Comments
3
Nov 11

The Future Of Ecommerce Sales Is Promising?but Is Yours?

There is no question that over time, ecommerce sales have continued to rise as more and more people turn to the internet for their shopping. It’s much easier to take a quick commute to your computer, surf the net for a short while, and purchase what you are looking for than it is to go out to a store for the same thing. Because of this, the future of ecommerce sales is looking bright.

The online market is growing at a level far above that of the retail market, which is making anyone with the need to make money turn to the internet. The problem is you aren’t the only one in the world with the idea to start an online business. With millions of people turning to the internet to try and strike gold with ecommerce sales, the competition has become ever so high online.

Anyone can start up an online business with the plan of making a large income.

However, because the competition is so steep, people don’t realize the effort that is required to make it in the internet business. If you have aspirations of becoming another statistic of someone successfully starting up a business online, you have to be willing to put in the effort to reach out to the public.

Without a doubt, the statistics are in favor of those going into ecommerce sales.

In the fourth quarter of 2005, US retail ecommerce sales totaled .5 billion. That was an increase of 27.5% just from the third quarter of 2005. So as you can see, more and more people are shopping online creating the possibility for success in an online business.

With the high competition online, it is essential that you have two things to make it in ecommerce sales; a well thought out plan and a quality marketing campaign.

If you create a website without planning out who your target market is, how you will advertise, and how you can keep in contact with customers, you are setting yourself up for failure.

The more in-depth your plan is to begin with, the better your chances will be of succeeding.

There is nobody saying you have to stick with your plan throughout your business’s existence, but it will help you develop into a money-making site. The marketing campaign is the same way. If nobody knows about your business, how do you expect to make money? The more thought out your marketing campaign is, the better chance you have of generating a higher traffic volume.

Despite the high competition in the internet industry, the future of ecommerce sales is bright.

As more and more people turn to the internet for their shopping, the availability and need for more online businesses will continue to increase throughout time.

Realty — No Comments
2
Nov 11

Study Sees Racial Makeup in California Complete Foreclosures

With all the fallout surrounding the kind of lending practices that started the recent recession, it’s no wonder that there’s a new group that has studiedcomplete in California and found some interesting statistics.

The Center for Responsible Lending is a nonprofit organization that has found that Latinos are more likely to suffer complete foreclosures than any other group of non-Hispanic borrowers that were studied in California. The study’s findings also indicated that many people did buy within their means and in fact 75% of the complete foreclosures were very modest homes that people bought within their budgets.

The center’s report also went on to find that Latino and African-American borrowers were at a higher risk of suffering with a complete foreclosure because they seemed to be more susceptible to the subprime mortgages that were a large part of the problem in the beginning.

It also looks like a push by various Hispanic groups to have their people enjoy the American dream may have backfired. The US Census Bureau reports that between 2000 and 2007 people of Hispanic background outpaced the rest of America when it came to home ownership. Latinos at that time were pressured by various groups including Hispanic lawmakers to buy at the exact moment when subprime mortgages were beginning to soar.

Although there are various factors contributing to the soaring complete foreclosures in California and nationwide, the fact remains that these homes remain a solid investment. Places like ForeclosureConnections.com have listings of thousands of complete foreclosures in every state in the country as well as a customer service department that is hard at work 24 hours a day seven days a week to serve you.

When you sign up at ForeclosureConnections.com, you’ll also get a FREE Foreclosure Listings Investment EBook that will help you answer many of your questions.

Andrew Jones is an author with great knowledge of complete foreclosures. He has several years of experience in writing about real estate. For more information on complete foreclosures please visit ForeclosureConnections.com.

Realty — No Comments
1
Nov 11

Avoid Foreclosure by Getting a Loan Modification

Many homeowners these days are facing tough economic times and are finding it increasingly more and more difficult to make ends meet. As unemployment rates around the country continue to spiral upward, homeowners are facing the sobering reality of possibly losing their homes. Many do not know how to avoid foreclosure. Banks are not really cooperating as they should and there are many reasons for that, but the big reason is that banks are not in the business of saving people money. They are huge, heartless corporations and could care less about anything but making money. This is the awful truth but the sooner that homeowners realize this, the faster they will realize that they cannot go directly to their lender to get a loan modification.

There are many reputable, licensed companies that offer loan modification services and you can find them by searching for them on the internet. You can also check up on them easily by going to the department of real estate site and checking their license status and see if there are any complaints or cases against them. You can also go to the Better Business Bureau (also online) and check to make sure there are no complaints. These companies do charge a fee, though most are not allowed to charge an upfront fee. That does not mean that they have to complete the modification before they get paid. It just means that they have to perform some services before they can charge anything. Again, you can check a company’s history and reputation fairly easily.

It is recommended that homeowners employ the services of these professional loan modification experts if they wish to avoid foreclosure. Many homeowners will think they are saving money by going directly to the lending institution and requesting a loan modification but they are taking a big risk. Most banks have very small Loss Mitigation departments and they are overwhelmed with requests from homeowners and from the loan modification companies. Most of the time, homeowners try and follow the steps provided by their lender but without guidance they may not indicate the correct amount of income or allowable deductions, or miss some of the numerous required documentation. When the loss mitigation department personnel open a file that is incomplete they may just automatically decline the modification request or request updated information. Most homeowners do not have the time or patience to follow through with all of these requests and so they just stop trying or they get discouraged once they are declined.

To avoid foreclosure and get a low monthly payment that they can afford they need to be patient and persistent. By going to a professional, reputable company they can avoid the pitfalls of going directly to their lender themselves.