New Short Sale Process ( Streamlined ) We'll SEE

Author: National Association of REALTORS

Responding to the call of the National Association of REALTORS®, on May 14, 2009, the Obama Administration announced incentives and uniform procedures for short sales under its new Foreclosure Alternatives Program (FAP). For borrowers who are unable to retain their home under the Making Home Affordable Loan Modification Program, the servicer may consider a short sale or, if that is not successful, a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. Participating servicers must comply with program requirements so long as they do not conflict with contractual agreements with investors.

Borrowers (Homeowners). Borrowers/homeowners qualify under the FAP if they meet minimum eligibility requirements for the Home Affordable Modification program but don�t qualify for a modification or do not successfully complete the three month trial period. Before proceeding with a foreclosure, servicers must determine if a short sale is appropriate. Incentives.Incentives include: (1) $1,000 for servicers for successful completion of a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure; (2) $1,500 for borrowers/homeowners to help with relocation expenses; and (3) up to $1,000 toward the cost of paying junior lien holders to release their liens (one dollar from the government for every $2 paid by the investors to the second lien holders). Standardized Documents. The program will include streamlined and standardized documents, including a Short Sale Agreement and an Offer Acceptance Letter.

The goal is to minimize complexity and increase use of the short sale option.Property Valuation by Appraisal or BPO. Servicers will independently establish both property value and minimum acceptable net return, in accordance with investor requirements. The price may be determined based on an appraisal or one or more broker price opinions (BPOs), issued no more than 120 days before the date of the short sale agreement. Timeline. In the Short Sale Agreement, servicers must give borrowers/homeowners at least 90 days to market and sell the property, or up to one year, depending on market conditions. Property must be listed with a licensed real estate professional with experience in the neighborhood. No foreclosure may take place during the marketing period (at least 90 days) specified in the Short Sale Agreement. Commissions.

The Short Sale Agreement must specify the reasonable and customary real estate commissions and costs that may be deducted from the sales price. The servicer must agree not to negotiate a lower commission after an offer has been received. No Borrower Fees. Servicers may not charge fees to borrowers/homeowners for participating in the FAP. Program Expiration. The program is in effect through 2012.

Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure Option. Servicers have the option to require the borrower/homeowner to agree to deed the property to the servicer in exchange for a release from the debt if the property does not sell within the time allowed in the Short Sale Agreement (plus any extensions).

Social Media and Networking Info..YIKES

I wanted to ask all of you Real Estate Agents and Investors... If you had a company that could set up a complete online Social Media and Networking presence for you and your companywould you take advantage of it ?

They would professionally set you up on numerous Socail Media sites that all work in conjunction with each other that relay and tie back into your main company or personal Agent Site or Blog. They would include widgets, badgets, anchor texts and much more wherever possible getting you ranked high and extreme exposure..

This would be more than just having a facebook page, this would take full advantage of 20 plus sites all tied working to get you leads. They would even be able to manage all of your campaigns on a continuous basis, allowing you to reap the benefits and taking up very little of your time.

They will even set up your blog if you don't already have one and link it all together.

I wanted to get your thoughts on this and see if this service is something a Real Estate Agent or Investor would like to take advantage of being everything in the marketing world is now based on your online strenght..

Let me know your thoughts

Take Care,
Jarred

Marketing Tips for Leads !!

Wanted to ask what problems people are running into with their Marketing. What are you doing, what is working and what isn't working.

Post your comments and I will respond and see if I can help and give you some good pointers.

Wanted to ask if you think Real Estate Investors would find it helpful if their was a company that had Phone Verified, Qualified and Comped leads from people who are looking to sell ?

Take Care,
Jarred

Clean Websites ??

The First step of your business especially in this day and age is to have a CLEAN website. You know exactly what I mean by this. Just think how many times you have searched for something on the Internet, you get to the website and you are totally at a loss of where to go next. Streamline your site and get rid of all the extra disorder. Just like a business plan you want to have a cation that gets you to your end goal, a website should follow the same process.

Make the path easy to follow for your potential clients and determine what you want your end goal to be. For example, do you want them to subscribe to something so you can capture their info, call you, email you or do you want them to check back often for new posts.. Regardless of what you pick make sure that is the central idea of the site. Even go as far as to put everything on paper, this makes it more tangible and holds you to your plan. There is always something about having a plan in writing, it makes it feel much more serious.

And one of the most important things, Think like your potential client ask yourself what is important. If nothing else, follow this simple rule and visitors to your site will hang around much longer and hopefully give you business..

Take Care,
Jarred Bonica