Seller Contributions

 Thanks to my friend Cari at Lotus Realty Group for her awesome articles which I love to post with her permission here from time to time. She and her team have a great reputation managing and closing your short sale files...give her a call. 

LOTUS REALTY GROUP

Seller Contributions

We are seeing more and more lenders asking for either a cash contribution or a new promissory note if they feel that the homeowner does not have a strong enough hardship and see in the homeowner’s financial s the ability to contribute.

 Here is the issue we are repeatedly running into.  The lender will ask for a cash contribution or new note. When the REALTOR presents the terms to the homeowner the homeowner is upset and the answer out of the gate is no or, if the homeowner will contribute to show good faith, it is usually a number that will offend the lender. Once the lender declines the offer the REALTORS scramble to come up with money from other sources which is usually out of their commission. OUCH! That doesn’t feel good.

It has been my experience that setting the proper expectations upfront at the listing appointment with a client will ensure that most problems are manageable. A thoroughly qualified client and your know how should allow you to rationally deal with the issues at hand.  Whether it is good or bad news they will be prepared and you will know upfront whether the homeowner’s offer is realistically going to satisfy the lender.

How does the lender decide what the contribution will be?

Typically the lender will expect up to 30% of their loss.  For example if the bank is writing off $50,000 then they will want a note for $15,000. We are seeing promissory notes between $10,000 -$20,000, 0% payable over a 5, 10 or 15 year period. Occasionally they will add an interest rate however I have only seen that once this year.

Can this be negotiated down?

It depends on the situation. If you take on a client where the hardship is not that strong, there is money in the bank and assets showing an ability to contribute then there is a high probability that the homeowner will have to contribute something to show good faith and close the deal.

If you have a client who is right on the edge then it may be negotiable. We have successfully reduced the amount requested by the bank in both of these cases however banks are getting tougher with their guidelines. To ensure fewer complications in the short sale process, again, set expectations up front with your client.

The times we do not see contributions countered by lenders is when we have a traditional short sale with a a true hardship a) insolvency b) change in income  and c) financial s are showing NO ability to contribute.

The other key is to have the right offer.

Rule of the thumb to decrease your chances of a contribution counter from the lender:

a)    Qualify your client (ask the right questions) and make sure they qualify.

b)    Set expectations. They may or may not have the ability to contribute however, make sure that your client understands that a contribution is a possibility and find out how much they can give to show good faith and if they would be willing to sign a new promissory note.  Calculate the loss the lender will take and multiply this number by 30%. This will give you an idea of what the bank may request.  Tell your client about this up front and start educating them so that when the time comes they are prepared to work with you.  The closer their offer is to that number the more likely it is that your deal will close.

c)     Whatever offer you bring to the table, if you can keep it between 90-95% of what’s owed on the property it may lessen the chance that the lender will ask for a contribution.

How does it help my client to contribute?

If a homeowner has the ability to show some good faith it gives them more of a chance to be released from the full liability of the note.  In other words they will not be pursued for deficiency judgment.  It will also give them a far higher chance for success.

How do I stop paying fees out of my commissions?

Simply take the deals that make sense.  Structure these deals properly from the beginning and set the proper expectations with sellers AND buyers. Sellers should be paying seller contributions and BUYERS should be paying additional liens on the property. PERIOD. And this can be accomplished by?

-       Setting expectations!!

Tip of the week:

It is not our job to make our clients happy. I see REALTORS make the mistake due to wanting a listing so badly or wanting to impress the homeowner that they will only tell the homeowner what they feel  the homeowner wants to hear.  The homeowner doesn’t think it’s our job to make them happy. We are the only ones that feel it is our job to make everyone happy.  They feel it is our job to tell them the truth and help them sell their house. Don’t tell them what they want to hear, tell them what they need to hear. Come from an authentic place. Make sure they know exactly what will happen next or what could happen next (play by play) and you will only gain their trust and confidence.

(Quote) The very essence of leadership is its purpose. And the purpose of leadership is to accomplish a task. That is what leadership does–and what it does is more important than what it is or how it works.
~Colonel Dandridge M. Malone

lOTUS rEALTY gROUP 

PROFESSIONAL SHORT SALE NEGOTIATORS 

At Lotus Realty GROUP, helping people ethically succeed is at the forefront of who we are...

Call today to find out how Lotus Realty Group can assist you in closing your short sale transactions or go to WWW.LotusRealtyGroup.com

---

Cari Drolet - Founder
Lotus Realty Group

Certified Distressed Property Expert

400 S. Sierra Ave. Ste. 102
Solana Beach, CA 92075
(858) 764-7300 P.
(858) 755-7544 F.
(760) 707-3072 C.
Cari@LotusRealtyGroup.com
www.LotusRealtyGroup.com

Does The Foreclosure Moratorium Affect Short Sales?

 You more than likely have heard that many banks nationwide are placing a moratorium on foreclosures while they and the government work out the legal issues in judicial states*. I have had a lot of inquiries in regards to short sales. The number one concern REALTORS have is does this affect short sales and how does it affect those that are currently in the negotiation process with the banks?

Of course when the moratorium was announced this was one of my concerns as well.  I have done a lot of research and made a lot of phone calls to all the banks that we work with (Chase, Bank of America, GMAC, Wells Fargo, CITI Group, Wachovia and other banks) that may be participating in the foreclosure moratorium and the answer is NO.

Foreclosures and short sales are two different processes used by a bank to complete a similar outcome.   However, since the short sale is initiated by the home owner and NOT the bank and does not involve a legal process, short sales will not be affected.  In fact, due to the frustration that the moratorium places on those who want to be out of their home quickly, we may see more short sales on the market. 

This moratorium is not surprising. The banks are overwhelmed with the high volume of transactions and will continue to be unless they have the systems in place and properly trained employees ready to handle this volume. What is more disappointing is knowing that many homes could have been saved if the paperwork was read thoroughly and processed accordingly . This is not okay. This only frightens homeowners and stops them from reaching out for help. Who can they trust? Maybe some of these homeowners could have been processed as a short sale if they had the right real estate professional to guide them.

 * California is a non- judicial state however to date, Bank of America is the only lender that has extended its foreclosure moratorium to California, where the vast majority of foreclosures are conducted without a court order.

How can I do my part as a Real Estate professional?

I believe short sales are still the best alternative to avoid foreclosure for homeowners that simply cannot qualify for a loan modification. Here are some tips that will help you moving forward:

a)      Arm yourself with the most up to date short sale information so that you are able to give informed answers to questions that a homeowner in pre-foreclosure might have. Homeowners need someone to tell them what to do. They need to know all the options available to them.

b)     Gain their trust. LISTEN to them. Offer them some hope. Offer to help them find a rental and get them enrolled in a credit recovery program at the end of the transaction. This will make them feel that you truly have their best interest in mind and are here to help them achieve their goals.

c)      Have them talk to a Real Estate attorney and a CPA to understand the tax ramifications and possibility of a deficiency judgment. 

d)     Make sure your client has been thoroughly pre-qualified and have all your documents collected and paperwork completed with no holes.

e)      Actively list the property creating a listing history to support the value of the offer.

f)       Submit a complete package and follow up tenaciously.

It is our job to ensure proper procedure has been followed and all paperwork is true and complete. Whoever is on the other end at the bank may not be looking as deeply into your transaction as you are and therefore not giving you a fair chance to negotiate the transaction, so the goal is to know your transaction inside and out and educate the person receiving it at the bank.

I believe if we can do our part and help as many people as we can in their time of need we will persevere under any set of circumstances.

(Quote) "All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership." --John Kenneth Galbraith

LOTUS REALTY GROUP

PROFESSIONAL SHORT SALE NEGOTIATORS 

At Lotus Realty GROUP, helping people ethically succeed is at the forefront of who we are...

Call today to find out how Lotus Realty Group can assist you in closing your short sale transactions or go to WWW.LotusRealtyGroup.com

---

Getting Listings With Post Cards and Door Hangers

Here's a link to the call you've all been waiting so patiently for. The best way to view is to copy and paste the link into your browser bar.




http://www.bigupload.com/files/DUSXFJ7OK8/getlstings.wmv.zip.html

Short Sales: Let the Agent Beware

If a  transaction is a short sale, the real estate agent handling the sale might  be liable to the buyer if that fact is not disclosed up front. This week a  California Court of Appeal issued a decision which imposes a duty upon a  seller’s agent to disclose that the seller’s existing loans far exceed the  contract purchase price. Holmes v. Summer, __ Cal.App.4th. ___  (2010 Daily Journal D.A.R. 15614) (filed October 6, 2010).  In this case the seller’s agent listed for sale  a residential property for $749,000. The property was subject to three  deeds of trust totaling debts of $1,140,000, thus the sale would have to  be a “short sale.” No disclosure of the existing loan amounts were made in  the MLS listing or to the buyer prior to executing the purchase  contract. The purchase contract provided that the buyer  would purchase the property free and clear of any liens. After entering  into the contract the buyer sold the buyer’s existing home in order to  purchase the property. The seller was not able to get the three lenders to  agree to a 35% reduction in the existing loans, and then defaulted on the  obligation to sell the property free and clear of liens. Instead of suing  the seller for a breach of the contract and failure to disclose the  problem with the loans up front, the buyer sued the seller’s agent. The  trial court surmised that the seller was broke and thus the buyer went  after the agent’s “deep pockets.” The trial court dismissed the buyer’s case,  holding that the agent had no duty to disclose the loan information. The  Court of Appeal reversed that decision. It held that in this instance the  listing agent had a duty to disclose to the buyer the existence of deeds  of trust of record and the extent to which the property was “underwater.”  Furthermore, the disclosure had to be made before the buyer signed the  purchase contract. The Court of Appeal indicated that where there was such  a substantial over encumbrance of the property “there is a duty on that  agent or broker to disclose the state of affairs to the buyer, so the  buyer can make an informed choice whether or not to enter into the  transaction that has a considerable risk of failure.” This conflicts with another duty of real estate  agents, i.e., the duty not to disclose clients’ confidential information.  The court stated that both the “duty to disclose and the duty to maintain  client confidentiality is clearly involved [in this case].” The court  opined that deeds of trust, being in the public record, are not  “confidential information” and that the basic duty of an agent to treat  each party to the transaction “honestly and fairly” trumps the agent’s  duty of confidentiality to the seller. To avoid the conflict, the court  suggested the agent must obtain the seller’s permission to disclose such  confidential information to a buyer before the buyer enters into a  contract to purchase the property. Otherwise, the agent would be  proceeding at his or her own “peril of liability in the event the  transaction goes awry due to the undisclosed risks involved.” This case involved facts about existing loans  that made a short sale extremely unlikely to succeed. What if the loans  were smaller? What if there were fewer lenders? What if the seller has a  pending divorce or bankruptcy? Is a listing agent required to disclose  such confidential information to the buyer? This decision might open the  floodgates to other claims against listing agents for failure to disclose  confidential information about a seller’s financial situation or other  relevant circumstances that might make it difficult for the seller to  consummate the sale. It is going to be important for agents to carefully  assess the risks and rewards when selling distressed properties, and to  beware of this disclosure obligation. For additional assistance in this area of  law please feel free to contact us:
Luce Forward's Real Estate Transactions  Group. <http://contactus.luce.com/rs/ct.aspx?ct=24F76918D0AE4EE0CCD189A9D629981991B04C81E0B42EEC7AC6476C5FCEFD35E9412>     Joseph S.  Stuart
Partner
949.732.3711
jstuart@luce.com
Attorney Bio <http://contactus.luce.com/rs/ct.aspx?ct=24F76918D0AE4EE0CCD189A9D629981991A84693E9A135EB6FC743414AC65>  Robert J.  Bell
Partner
619.699.2533
rbell@luce.com  

Attorney Bio <http://contactus.luce.com/rs/ct.aspx?ct=24F76918D0AE4EE0CCD189A9D629981991B04682E9A329FA7EDE4E4FA>  Real  Estate Transactions <http://contactus.luce.com/rs/ct.aspx?ct=24F76918D0AE4EE0CCD189A9D629981991B04C81E0B42EEC7AC647474CDBE73FFB5E0B89D0C407994>  Printer-Friendly  PDF Version <http://contactus.luce.com/rs/ct.aspx?ct=24F76918D0AE4EE0CCD189A9D629981991B1418FFEA52EF977D7516C4EDEEF309> 

B of A halts foreclosure sales in all 50 states

(Re-blogged - this article was written by Kathleen Pender)

Bank of America has decided to temporarily halt foreclosure sales in all 50 states.
In a statement, spokeswoman Dan Frahm said, "Bank of America has extended our review of foreclosure documents to all 50 states. We will stop foreclosure sales until our assessment has been satisfactorily completed. Our ongoing assessment shows the basis for our past foreclosure decisions is accurate. We continue to serve the interests of our customers, investors and communities. Providing solutions for distressed homeowners remains our primary focus."

A spokeswoman elaborated that BofA will continue the foreclosure process on delinquent borrowers, but will not proceed to judgment or with a foreclosure sale at this time. Foreclosure sales scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 9 or later will be stopped and rescheduled at a later date. The bank estimates it will begin rescheduling foreclosure sales on Nov. 1 or earlier.

BofA was one of three banks, along with GMAC Mortgage and JPMorgan Chase, that halted certain forclosure activities in 23 states where foreclosures are handled in court. The banks made the move after it came out in testimony and depositions that some of their employees had "robo-signed" court documents they hadn't really read.

California, where most foreclosures are handled out of court, was not among the 23 states. However, Attorney General Jerry Brown had called on Chase and GMAC (part of Ally Financial) to stop foreclosing on homes in California unless they can immediately prove they are complying with a state law that requires them to try to contact borrowers to discuss modifications and other alternatives before foreclosing.

California Assembly member Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, this week called on the two state agencies that oversee banks (the Department of Corporations and the Department of Financial Institutions) to impose a 60-day moratorium on foreclosures so that they can investigate whether lenders in California are following that law and another that requires them to have and follow a modification plan.
This week, House speaker Nancy Pelosi and other California Democrats wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and others asking them to investigate to investigate "possible violations of law or regulations by financial institutions in their handling of delinquent mofigages, mortgage modifications, and foreclosures."

Some real estate experts say a foreclosure moratorium could cause home prices to rise temporarily as foreclosed homes, which are usually priced at a discount to homes not in foreclosure, are taken off the market.

"In the short term it will keep foreclosures from happening," and that could create an "artificial" boost in prices, says G.U. Kruger, chief economist with HousingEcon.com. But it also could "prolong the malaise" in the real estate market, says Brad Kemp, director of regional research at Beacon Economics.

Consumer groups have come out in favor of a nationwide moratorium to make sure that homeowners are not forced out of their homes based on faulty paperwork. Consumers Union said today that "lenders and servicers should be required to stop all foreclosures until they can demonstrate compliance with all laws, regulations, contract guidelines, and stated internal policies, related to foreclosure, loan modifications, and other forms of foreclosure avoidance."

For more on the subject, see my Tuesday column here.
Posted By: Kathleen Pender (Email) | October 08 2010 at 10:17 AM

Listed Under: Banking, Debt, Housing, Real estate

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/pender/detail?entry_id=74136&tsp=1#ixzz124UFCuy7

Need A World Class Team Member To Get Your Short Sales Approved? Cari Is Your Girl!

LOTUS REALTY GROUP

Setting expectation with buyers in a Short Sale

 Buyers who are putting offers on short sale listings have been a revolving door now more than ever. This is not good for all parties involved. When a lender issues an approval they want to close in 30 days and extensions are harder and harder to get approved. I recently had a short sale transaction that I had been negotiating for a REALTOR for 3 months. I obtained an approval within a month of submitting the package. A 6% commission and a credit to the buyer were also approved. However, while I was negotiating these terms the REALTOR had already lost the first buyer and buyer #3 was withdrawing their offer. The short sale negotiator was so frustrated with amount of times she had to change the numbers, fax over a new approval and postpone the sale date that she informed me that there will be no more extensions given regardless if there is another offer or not and she was firm on this. Where we stand as of now is we are forced to try and get another committed buyer and try not let a perfectly good approval go to waste. TBD….

How frustrating. After putting together a perfect deal the deal is now in jeopardy because of a lack of commitment from the buyer. We cannot afford this kind of turnover. Lenders are tightening their standards and they are just looking for a reason to reject a file. We are not doing a good service for the homeowner in default if we can’t hold on to a buyer and we are wasting our time. I understand there are certain circumstances that are out of our control but there are things that we can do to minimize the risk of losing a buyer.

My goal is to help you succeed with the right tools so that everyone wins with the least amount of unnecessary stress and frustration. It has been my experience that if we set the proper expectation up front and then stand firm on those expectations, we have a better chance of minimizing our risk.  Following are some tips to bear in mind when accepting an offer on a short sale listing.  I am hopeful that these will help you become more effective and efficient, offering the highest level of customer service for all parties involved.

Tips to getting a committed buyer:

1.      The moment you get an offer submitted, send a counter and addendum explaining the following:

Counter:

a)      Buyer agrees to keep offer active for a minimum of 60 days from seller acceptance and that credits from seller to the buyer may not be approved by lender.

b)     Property to be sold strictly as is with no repairs or termite clearance to be provided by seller or lender.

c)      Seller to select all services except for termite and home inspection companies.

d)     Buyer to provide DU approval from their lender and proof of funds immediately.

e)      All parties to agree to extend original offer dated ( enter date)

Addendum:

a)      Buyer shall deposit a minimum of $1,000 into escrow within 17 days of seller acceptance. If buyer decides to exit this contract prior to the 60 day commitment period, buyer to forfeit $500 of good faith deposit.

b)     Buyer to remove all inspection contingencies within 17 days of seller acceptance.

c)      Seller shall deliver property disclosures and any reports in seller’s possession within 7 days of seller acceptance of this offer.

d)     All parties understand that this is a short sale. All terms and conditions are subject to lender approval, including but not limited to price, commissions and cost.

e)      Property being sold as is and buyer to pay for any third party fees incurred by seller but not paid by seller/short sale lender including but not limited to property taxes, title fees, liens, HOA fees, for a total amount not to exceed ( enter amount).

f)       Buyer agrees to close escrow 30 days after receipt of lender’s final approval of short sale. Buyer understands that the lender may charge per diem penalties to buyer should buyer fail to close within the 30 day time frame.

2.      Have a conversation with the buyer in addition to getting these signed.  Should the lender not approve seller credits is the buyer able to still proceed with the transaction?

3.      Once the offer has been accepted lines of communication need to remain open at least once a week informing the buyer and the buyer’s agent of any new break through. Even if there is no new news to report, still communicate with them so they know you are actively working on the file.

If we can set the expectation up front and lay it all out on the line for the buyer and they still sign the contract and follow our procedure, we have increased our chances by more than half of having a committed buyer in place.

Buyers have been this deals number one killer.  In short sales we must do all we can to find a solution. Though buyers may still remain a revolving door, I believe if we do our part we will minimize the chance of the deal falling through due to a weak buyer. If the old way is not working then we have nothing to lose so it may be time to try something different.

(Quote) Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.

George S. Patton

LOTUS REALTY GROUP

PROFESSIONAL SHORT SALE NEGOTIATORS 

At Lotus Realty GROUP, helping people ethically succeed is at the forefront of who we are ...

Call today to find out how Lotus Realty Group can assist you in closing your short sale transactions or go to WWW.LotusRealtyGroup.com

---

Cari Drolet - Founder
Lotus Realty Group

Certified Distressed Property Expert

400 S. Sierra Ave. Ste. 102
Solana Beach, CA 92075
(858) 764-7300 P.
(858) 755-7544 F.
(760) 707-3072 C. Cari@LotusRealtyGroup.com www.LotusRealtyGroup.com

Pssst.....Hey Realtor, How's Your Game?

Dear fellow Real Estate Professionals,

What kind of a person are you? Are you more likely aiming to knock it out of the park or just not get kicked off the team? If you fall into the latter category, seek inspiration. Seriously. You've got to have a reason why or it's pretty impossible. If you fall mostly into the first category, let me ask you some more, very important questions. These are important questions because I believe how successful you are or are not hinges upon your answers to them. My tools and assistance help provide yes answers to a few of these below however some depend entirely upon you.

• Do you have a clear, measurable, weekly prospecting plan? (marketing message delivered to"x" amount of new contacts per day)
  

• Is your plan written down?
  

• Is your plan reflected in your daily calendar?

• Do you succeed at "living into your daily calendar activities" more than 90% of the time?

• Are you making use of automated (toll free #s, email drip campaigns) technology and do you understand and control it easily?

• Are you employing "viral" systems in your marketing efforts? (video, social media, ebooks, etc).
  

• Do you have a specific, well defined, manageable geographic farm area that you are striving to become the local real estate weather person for?
  

• How well can you tell your "story"? Is it ready for prime time? Master your words. "this may or may not apply to you but I know you know someone who owes more on their home than it's worth..." or "it's not about me - they don't ever have to call me. In fact, they'll probably call YOU to say thanks for the book!"
  

It's pretty simple science. Your ability to inflect a high degree of confidence in your tone, enhanced by a sure and confident stance and facial gestures cause others to believe you. If you have certainty, clarity and conviction in your tone and words when you tell people you can help them sell their home, they also will believe you.

On your team!
Chris Sylvada

Always we hope...

Always we hope someone else has the answer, some other place will be better, some other time it will all turn out. This is it; no one else has the answer, no other place will be better, and it has already turned out.
- Lao tzu

Simple Listing Solutions: Need Some Immediate Business?

Simple Listing Solutions: Need Some Immediate Business?

Need Some Immediate Business?

If you need some immediate business, ask yourself: What am I currently doing to get referrals from my sphere of influence? Sometimes it can be as simple as picking up the phone and saying, "Hey mom I need your help. Please don't keep me a secret". My Money Making Business cards have produced some great results for agents. You can often times generate an immediate referral by slipping 3 or 4 of them into a card with a hand written personal note to your friends, family and advocates letting them know about your book (see www.SimpleListingSolutions.com to get your own) and asking them to help you make others aware of it. Your friends, family, past clients, advocates, teammates, dentist, chiropractor....all want to help but you have to ask! People enjoy helping people. We all feel good when we help others but we often have to confront our own issues about not wanting to ask for help, as if we somehow don't deserve it when in fact, we do!

Remember that when asking for help, you need to be clear on the kind of help you'd like. When someone asks you how to help you need to be able to respond with clear instructions like this: "Well, I've put together a book that will let people understand the options they have if they currently owe more on their home or investment property than it's worth. Can you think of someone you might know at your work or church or gym who might currently be in that situation? Would you give them my card and let them know that they can visit my website to get this book?

Stay in touch with your sphere of influence constantly and you will stay "top of consciousness" with them when they run into a friend or colleague who could use some good real estate advice and assistance. Slip off peoples radar screens or create the impression you don't need anybody's help and who knows what's slipping right by!

Zen & The Art Of Real Estate Marketing

What you think about you bring about so be careful what you spend your time thinking about!

If you're always thinking, "I need more business" or "I need this listing to sell" than you'll just continue to feed the need by giving energy to it. The thought and feeling of needing means that you don't have something. Not having that something will only increase if you keep putting thought energy into the not having, and needing it.

Does that make sense?

I always pay attention to my "self-talk" and make moment to moment conscious efforts to shape it in order to fit my intentions. By paying attention to the voices in my head I'm able to correct them when they start to go needy on me. I say things not only to myself, but out loud to my clients all the time that sound like this, "The perfect house for you is right around the corner! If it's not on the market yet, it's coming soon" or, "the buyer of this house is going to have a large down payment, be willing to close according to our schedule and be a pleasure to work with - you'll see!"

Now, it's critical that when this "perfect" buyer comes along (the one I've attracted through the power of positive thought plus a little help from my bag of tools) that "I" show up in a way that makes them want to continue to be perfect and work according to my sellers tricky closing requirements - or whatever.

My coach, friend and mentor used to say it like this, "Chris, talk to me in a way that makes me want to serve you". Have you ever tried talking to the woman behind the mile long check in line at the airport whose obviously about to have a melt down in a way that would make her honored to serve you? I have and it gotten bumped up into 1st Class when the flight was full coming home from a business trip on the east coast!
"Who we be" and "how we show up" in our daily interactions with the world is, I believe, fundamental to a healthy real estate practice. Our clients notice and appreciate it so much so that they continue to not only use our services, but become actively involved in referring people to us because they want their referral to have the same experience they had.


I've studied the Japanese martial art of Aikido for many years. In aikido, there are zero attacks. In other words, you can't really walk up and "do aikido" on someone, yet is is extremely martial. If someone throws a punch or grabs you, aikido techniques could be used to instantly break an arm, hand, elbow or drive them into the ground face first. Aikido is a circular as opposed to linear art and is very beautiful to watch and arguably the most technically difficult to learn of all martial arts.

The mat we train on is representative of the world we live in and our life in general. I've noticed that karate and other "striking" arts tend to create, or at least reinforce a mindset of "I strike" - as opposed to "I will not be struck", which is Aikido. Again, the focus is on "who you be". I am not a striker or kicker of people; I am a person who will not be struck or kicked - it's very different. O'Sensei, the founder of Aikido once said, "you can not wrap the world in leather but you can make leather moccasins". 

How do we learn to walk in this often sharp and jagged world? The way seems simple enough to me.
If I want referrals, I be referrable. Want more business? Make the light of my authenticity and true desire to serve shine brightly and then put myself in front of people who need to buy and sell. I stop "needing" and start attracting through paying attention to who I be and know that it is coming if I just keep knowing it.

 

Are YOU UsingThe Magic Money Making Business Cards?

This is an email reply to a new agent using the Simple Listing System that I wanted to share and make public. She asked me what it would take to start listing two short sales a week using the tools found right here if you don't already know what I'm talking about.

I'd suggest you do a Google search for business card printing done fast and cheap and get plenty of these suckers quick and be generous in handing them out! In fact, every time you visit a Starbucks you leave 3-5 behind at the condiment bar. If you just keep handing out the card while repeating the magic words over and over this may or may not apply to you but I know you know someone... every chance you get you'll start listing properties in no time.

The Simple Listing System door hangers and business cards will be your best friends if you are consistently delivering them. Can you commit to learning the pitch and then knocking on 100 doors a week and handing them the card or the door hanger? If you do that, you'll list two properties a week. It may take some time as you plod and discover your way through hotter and more productive communities and cooler, less productive ones but in time your story will become rock solid and your ability to nail the best communities for prospecting will sharpen and grow stronger. So will your legs, self confidence and self esteem!

Becoming a listing machine can be fun with the right conversation happening between your ears but it requires dedication and the reliable, methodical, consistent approach of a guy like Lance Armstrong who will wake up every morning and knock out a 70-80 mile spin on his bike before having breakfast and heading to the gym regardless of the weather. The result of that sort of dedication is that you end up with little to no competition!

To a very large degree for many of us this becomes more about mastering the skill of re-inventing ourselves than it is which tool do I use?

You say you want to list 2 a week? That's 8 in a month. That's 24 in 90 days and nearly 100 transactions over 12 months. Let's say you do that and have a 90% close rate - what would that look like? How would your life be different? Hold that vision and know you can easily list 2 a week since others are doing that and more and I'll guarantee that you'll experience wonderful, positive, confidence boosting growth in the direction you're aimed.

On your team!

Chris,

Is Foreclosure Right for You

Posted: Wednesday, February 6, 2008 12:00 am | Updated: 7:19 am, Thu Dec 3, 2009.

By KELLY BENNETT Voice Staff Writer

 

Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008 | If you're sick of paying your mortgage while your house loses value, just walk away. Such unconventional advice could only follow one of the most bizarre housing booms in history, where lenders no longer required down payments or paycheck stubs. Then, mailboxes bulged with mortgage offers printed on glossy postcards, urging homeowners to refinance, to tap their newfound equity, to invest in a second or third home.

But that abandon-ship advice, phrased a variety of ways, isn't relegated to the societal fringes anymore. At least one company is gaining traction with its message to homeowners: "Is foreclosure right for you?" One of their shiniest claims tells underwater homeowners they may be able to stay in their house, payment-free, for eight months after going into foreclosure.

That company, San Diego-based You Walk Away LLC, has garnered national media attention, including a recent spot on Nightline on ABC News, to tout its $995 service, which fits homeowners "facing or considering foreclosure" with a set of legal information and services.
Their idea: It's sometimes better to deal with the fallout from foreclosure than keep paying the mortgage on a house that's worth nowhere close to its original price. They even affiliate themselves with a group they say can sometimes erase the foreclosure mark from credit reports.
And so foreclosure, the destination once reserved for people with no other choice, becomes just that — a choice.

But critics say the concept overlooks the spirit of the mortgage contract entirely. They say there are moral and economic implications — up to the national level — of painting foreclosure as anything other than a credit-marring disaster.

Co-founders Jon Maddux and Chad Ruyle say they got into the business to help people in foreclosure; their website launched Jan. 1. They claim they don't persuade clients one way or another.
"This is their last option, and we're just guiding them through that," Ruyle said. "We are not promoting people getting out of a contractual obligation."

In fact, Ruyle said, the penalty of foreclosure is actually one of those specific terms in the mortgage contract — it clearly states if the borrower ceases to make payments, the bank will take the house back.
"We're playing by the lenders' rules," he said.

Ruyle and Maddux say they are trying to help people know what to expect in that eight-month period between when a homeowner might choose to quit making payments and when a bank repossesses the house.
Involved in the You Walk Away package is legal information about foreclosure, as well as a single meeting each with an independent attorney, a CPA to answer tax questions and a credit repair service that seeks to erase the foreclosure from homeowners' credit. So far, the partners have fielded "hundreds and hundreds" of interest calls and have signed up just fewer than 100 clients, they said.
They've even printed up postcards, reminiscent of those boom days, to alert homeowners to their service. Tricia Moore, a mortgage broker in Pacific Beach, received one of the cards in the mail recently.
"The postcards are coming," she said. "It's the same energy level, the same consumer bombardment from the old days. It's nuts."

People shouldn't get into or out of housing contracts just to make or avoid losing money, said Gabe del Rio, director of the Housing Opportunities Collaborative, a nonprofit consortium of homeownership and housing counseling groups.

"Housing prices have always gone up and fallen and gone back up again — putting a timeline to it intelligently is impossible," del Rio said. "If you're buying a home for an investment, that's not the reason we recommend. It should be so that it's your home. Whether or not it has equity in it, it's actually pointless."
The up-and-down equity watching was far from the mind of one University City homeowner, who bought a one-bedroom condo there in May 2004. He financed it 100 percent, planning to stay in the unit for at least two years before selling and maybe moving up.
But the market stopped ascending and his family grew and now the homeowner is weighing his options. He asked for his name to be withheld to avoid the stigma — and potential legal implications — while he contemplates foreclosure.

After buying the condo, he got married, and when his wife became pregnant a year ago, they knew the condo wouldn't be enough space. At that point, the unit would've sold for about $30,000 to $40,000 less than he'd paid. He decided to hang on to the unit and hope for a market turnaround. In the meantime, he moved out with his wife and baby, and they lease the condo to a tenant for about $1,000 a month less than they pay for the interest-only option on their monthly mortgage payment, while also paying their rent elsewhere.
Every once in a while, he checks online to see what comparable units are selling for. The value has dropped to about two-thirds of what he paid now, he estimated.

"This is so much beyond my worst expectations," he said. "I don't see it coming back anytime soon. Is it going to take five years, 10 years, just to get back to where it was then?"
He joins a growing group of people facing the leave-or-stay quandary.
"I want to honor what I signed," he said. "But I have to make a business decision that I have to make for my family. I don't completely understand all of my options yet."

It's that confused homeowner that Ruyle and Maddux hope find their service.
"We're giving them peace of mind through information," Ruyle said. "Knowing, OK, here's what's going to happen."

But del Rio said that information shouldn't cost any money. Much of it is available online, he said. And his consortium and dozens of foreclosure counselors have been helping San Diegans deal with their housing burdens.

He says groups like Just Walk Away are opportunistic and are glossing over a key truth: "foreclosure is the worst thing you could have on your credit," he said.
"They should say 'Just a Foreclosure,'" he said. "They're preying on people's bad situation, on someone's desperate situation. [Homeowners] are desperate for someone to come in who's not their lender and give them what they perceive to be help."

The businessmen don't dispute the information's availability online.
"You can find out the information if you work hard enough, but you're not guaranteed that the conclusions you come to are going to be correct," Ruyle said. "Part of it's experience, the experience we have — there's info there that you can't just read about."

Maddux said they're partially saving people time and a headache — he said they've heard from people who aren't sleeping because they're "searching Google until 3 in the morning."
"Anything that's out there, whether it's oil changes or what, you can do it yourself," he said. "But we have people crying to us on the phone — a lot of people feel like they're alone in it. And we know how to help them see the light at the end of the tunnel."

Ruyle acknowledged the critics, largely in the region's robust housing blogosphere, who label them "just another scam on homeowners."

"We're certainly in a business for profit, but I don't think we're taking advantage of homeowners," he said. "We tried to come up with a price, and many will save many more times than that."

They've been involved in real estate in many forms, they said, from sales to finance to law. Now they've joined the cottage industry of businesses looking to cater to the needs of people stuck in the slump.

"We get e-mails from, I think, people who don’t really know what's going on," Maddux said of the business's critics. "They just assume that we're perpetuating the problem with foreclosures and the economy. They're quick to judge.

"We're really not trying to judge people," he continued. "How do you make the best out of a bad situation?"

Please contact Kelly Bennett directly with your thoughts, ideas, personal stories or tips. Or send a letter to the editor.

Converting Loan Mod Prospects To Short Sale Listings

I understand that a common challenge many agents who prospect for short sale listings by door knocking encounter is not knowing how to respond to the person answering the door who politely dismisses the information being offered with a statement as simple as,"We're having our loan modified."

If you've ever experienced anything like this and didn't like your response, read mine below (spoken in my language) and see if it fits for you. If so, I invite you to use this exact technique in your market. You'll find the tools right here and a practice video right here.


Scene: Front door of home targeted from my Pre-NOD list after meeting specific search criteria requirements.

"Knock, knock, knock..... " - door opens. I'm positioned several feet back and sideways (non-threatening) as if preparing to turn and walk off.

Home Owner: "Can I help you....?"

Me:  "Hi. My names __________ . I'm a local real estate consultant and I'm just out this evening meeting the neighbors and promoting a book I've put together and I wanted to put a few of these in your hands.

At this point I'd be holding out several of my money making business cards I created specifically for farming short sales that you can see right here. 

(cont): ...this may or may not apply to you but I know you know somebody here in San Diego who owes more on their home than it's worth and I know they'll want one of these. They can log on and for the next week they can save $37 bucks and get it for free. This book holds their hand and walks them through the process of a real estate short sale showing them step-by-step how they can sell their home at it's current market value for FREE! Their lender pays everything. They owe nothing. They get out from underneath the house. There's no foreclosure on their credit report. They walk away."


Home owner: "Well we're having our loan modified because...."


Me: "Wow that's great! Has it been approved already? Can I ask you a question? If you were flying across the Atlantic, even though you didn't expect any issues with your flight, wouldn't you still want to know where the emergency exits and life vests were located?Think of this book as your emergency exit and parachute combined if for whatever reason the loan modification turns into something you suddenly don't want to do or doesn't work out. You don't have to use it. Just keep it."

Now what?

Now I just left a viral ebook that positions me as a short sale guru in the hands of someone who owes more on their home than it's worth and probably knows others in the same boat.

Not bad.

At every door and with every conversation I create and leave open a stronger possibility of potential future business by delivering the right message, to the right market, at the right time and by utilizing technology to follow up for me in a meaningful but automated way. Ordering my book gifts them with the information they seek while capturing their email address so that my 10 letter automated drip campaign with free advice and tips can continue to provide value while positioning me as their #1 option and making it easier for them to connect with me.

A MUST Read For Realtors

The original article can be found on www.SFGate.com here: click here
Monday, April 19, 2010 (SF Chronicle)
Homes Lost, But Some 2nd-Mortgage Debts Remain
Carolyn Said, Chronicle Staff Writer

Eleven days after losing his home to foreclosure, Jorge, a Napa construction worker, received an ominous letter in the mail. It said he still owed $78,000 on his home's second loan.
"I was afraid and felt pressured," said Jorge, who asked that his name be withheld because he is embarrassed about his situation. "I called them to say I had already lost the house in a foreclosure," he said, speaking in Spanish through a translator. "They told me it doesn't matter, you have to pay the money anyway."
Jorge's experience is being mirrored elsewhere. Debt collectors are starting to hound people who lost their homes to foreclosures or short sales over their second mortgages.
In California, a foreclosure generally wipes out the borrowers' obligation on the main mortgage but not necessarily on other home loans.
"We've seen a lot of folks coming to us, saying, 'I was foreclosed on, now these people say I owe $150,000 for my second loan; I thought everything was going to go away, what do I do now?' " said Noah Zinner, an attorney with Housing & Economic Rights Advocates in Oakland.
Some experts think the trend will accelerate, causing foreclosure pain to linger.
"I think the other shoe is going to drop soon," said Shannon Jones, a real estate attorney in Danville who gets several calls a day from people concerned about their liabilities post-foreclosure. "In the next two years we will see a huge volume of (debt collection on) second loans. We're seeing a number of lenders start filing suit or turn them over to collection companies."
California is a nonrecourse state, meaning lenders cannot pursue borrowers for unpaid balances on home-purchase loans. However, home loans not used for the purchase - home equity lines of credit and second loans taken out after purchase - are recourse loans, which means lenders are legally entitled to collect the unpaid balance. Depending on the type of loan, they have four to six years to pursue borrowers, Jones said. Pursuing borrower
Refinanced mortgages do become recourse loans, but in California a nonjudicial foreclosure - the most common kind - eliminates the borrower's liability to the lender that carried out the foreclosure, which is generally the main lender. A second lender for a nonpurchase loan, however, still has "recourse," or the right to pursue the borrower.
In Jorge's case, he took out the second loan to buy his house, so it is nonrecourse debt, and he cannot be sued for the unpaid balance. A debt collector can, however, ask him to pay "voluntarily." Class action planned
For several months, Jorge continued to receive letters and phone calls from both his bank and a debt collector asking him to pay.
"The servicer says there is nothing that prohibits the borrower from voluntarily paying us," Zinner said. "There is no question it's sneaky, but it's not illegal for them to do that. If they were to threaten to sue, that would clearly be illegal."
"I suspect they're just dealing with volume," said Maeve Elise Brown, executive director of the Oakland group. "(Debt collectors) buy the debt for 10 cents on the dollar and figure they'll browbeat a certain percentage of homeowners into paying them, whether the money is lawfully due or not."
Housing & Economic Rights Advocates has partnered with attorney Will Kennedy of Santa Clara to represent Jorge and plans to pursue a class-action case on behalf of other borrowers with nonrecourse loans whose lenders dunned them for that debt.
"Many people are in Jorge's situation and don't realize they're under no obligation to make any more payments after a foreclosure," Kennedy said.
Loans after purchase
But millions of borrowers do have recourse loans that they took out after purchase, which means lenders have a legal right to pursue them for unpaid balances.
In California during the boom real estate years - 2005 to 2007 - homeowners took out 2.88 million home equity lines of credit and 1.18 million nonpurchase second loans, according to First American CoreLogic, which tracks loan data. The total was 4 million such recourse loans totaling $485.3 billion.
Some experts think lenders may pick whom to pursue by probing defaulted borrowers' net worth.
Rick Harper, director of housing at Consumer Credit Counseling Services of San Francisco, which staffs the federal HOPE for Homeowners hot line, said his workers tell borrowers who are considering default that their second loans could make them liable to debt collection.
"Depending on what the holder of that note wants to do, it can make their (the borrowers') life miserable," he said. "Most of the (lenders) do an asset test to see if there's anything there. They can run credit reports, use investigative services, get their hands on the applications they used when they applied for a loan." Applications for loan modifications and short sales also require disclosure of assets. Banks check assets
At Wells Fargo, Mary Berg, a spokeswoman for the Home Equity Group, said in an e-mail: "On a case-by-case basis, after a review of the borrower's situation, we do sometimes pursue deficiency balances in states that allow this type of activity. We only pursue deficiency judgments if we determine that the borrower has the ability to repay the entire or a portion of the balance."
Wells, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase hold the lion's share of U.S.
second liens, according to Inside Mortgage Finance. BofA has $147 billion, Wells $124 billion and Chase $118 billion, it says.
Chase wrote off about $4.6 billion in home equity loans in 2009, and has said it expects to write off up to $5.6 billion of the loans this year.
Chase declined to comment. BofA did not return requests for comment.
Jones, the Danville real estate attorney, said she's turned down some second-loan clients.
For instance, one Bay Area man had borrowed $52,000 on a home equity line of credit for a home that ended up in foreclosure.
"The lender filed suit against him and he asked me to defend him," she said. "I said, 'You don't have a defense. You borrowed the money, you spent the money. You signed a promissory note and said you would pay it back.' "
Often, such borrowers end up settling with the lender for pennies on the dollar, Jones said. "You can't get blood from a turnip," she said.
Bankruptcy option
Margot Saunders, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center, said bankruptcy may be the best option for some people to wipe out liability for their second loans.
"People with a second mortgage who are facing foreclosure should go to bankruptcy to get rid of the unsecured second-mortgage note," she said.
"They should do it as soon as they're foreclosed upon, because that's when they're at rock-bottom, not when they've started to rebuild (their finances)."
Other attorneys said borrowers should try to discharge their second liens before a foreclosure or short sale by offering the lender a percentage of the amount due.
Home Affordable Modification Program, the government's foreclosure-prevention plan, recently added provisions encouraging lenders to settle or modify second loans. If adopted by lenders, that could help people who lose their homes in the future avoid pursuit by debt collectors, but it won't do anything for the millions who already lost their homes in recent years.
"It will be hard for people in our state to start over again, if they sometimes lawfully and sometimes unlawfully end up getting pursued for pretty significant-sized debt," Brown said.
E-mail Carolyn Said at csaid@sfchronicle.com.

Copyright 2010 SF ChronicleThe original article can be found on www.SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2010/04/19/MN3C1CQGOC.DTL

Got An Attitude Towards Open Houses?

Reprint from my Active Rain blog in 2007

I thought about titling this blog "How To Insure Your New Listing Generates Your Next Three Transactions" but it was too long. As I reported in my last blog entry, my FREE CAR WASH OPEN HOUSE continues to work wonders. I've taken one new listing and secured three new buyer clients over the past three weekends. I repeated the process yesterday and scheduled another listing appointment for Thursday evening.

There are several key things at play here I've noticed. The yellow signs promoting a FREE CAR WASH next to all of my open house signs definitely draw more traffic. Initially, it drew all the neighbors, which was great since these are potential sellers or people who may know a buyer for my listing.

The best thing however is that it creates an atmosphere that allows for and even inspires visitors to truly engage in a meaningful dialogue with me. They no longer see me as "sales person" and instead see me as a thoughtful and creative guy who works harder and smarter than the average Realtor for his seller clients.

This is totally on purpose and completely staged. I call this "conscious positioning" and it stems from my understanding that it's not "what we say we do" but what people "catch us doing" that builds lasting impressions. I imagine most open house / selling environments are pretty similar, where people seem to be withdrawn and not wanting to be engaged, let alone provide us with their email address and other contact information.

In the environment I've created I find visitors immediately walk in with a positive expectation of me and a genuine desire and willingness to engage me in dialogue. This is on purpose networking!

Watch me demonstrate some powerful tools and dialogue for squeezing more listings from your open houses:
View Simple Listing System Video on Youtube

 How many different ways can you think of to set the stage that will inspire people to engage with you at your next open house? I'd love to hear what others come up and wish you all the best of success.

A MUST Have Tool For Serious Real Estate Pros

Just like the mobile phone and G.P.S. have changed the shape of our profession, here's a link to the product I'd suggest EVERY real estate professional MUST own. www.theflip.com

I can't tell you how easy it is to pull these out, shoot a high quality video with high grade audio (up close stuff only - not good for filming water skiing from the beach) and plug it right into any U.S.B port (no wires) on your computer and start uploading video onto Youtube, Facebook, Active Rain, Craigslist, e-mail, anywhere within seconds.

Why is that important?

Imagine a series of 2-3 minute  video's you create over time. In fact, imagine having an entire video library. What sorts of video's? Well, the sky is the limit when you've got your marketing mind active but why not start with your emails? How simple would it be to have a PS in your automated signature block that say's:

PS. Watch this 3 minute video to learn how you can receive $3,000.00 to help with moving and other expenses after the successful completion of your real estate short sale http://www.Youtube.HAFA/notreallink

The viral power of video on the internet is incredible and the benefits FAR outweigh the minor start up costs and learning curve required to get started. Video in your web-site is a GREAT way to increase your organic rankings. Your own Youtube page? Easy, free, mandatory. Are you blogging? Video. Active Rain? Video. Facebook? Video. Craigslist? Video.

The keys to doing great interviews of one's self are this:

• Make sure you provide content of value.
• Don't try to be a comedian unless you really are one and even then...
• As my old mentor and friend Joe Stumpf would say, "Land the plane!" In other words, have a story to tell and tell it in a direct, clear, concise and logical format - in other words don't jump around in your story. It should follow a circular path from beginning to middle to end or you'll lose people and they'll tune you out.
• MOST IMPORTANT: Give yourself permission to be here and do this. No one asked what you look or sound like and it should not be an issue so don't you make it one. You have permission to stand on stage in front of the whole world and fall down in this life, you should try it! Give yourself a break. Be gentle on you. Give yourself permission to stutter or whatever - tell your story like you're telling it to your very biggest fan ever who loves you no matter what. People will connect with your AUTHENTICITY. By all means be professional, be an educator, be an adviser, be a consultant but... be REAL.

In fact, why not watch my video on using video.  And feel free to take at look at my free YouTube page.

Search my name (Chris Sylvada and/or Instaclose properties) on Youtube and check out all the past bank-owned property tours I've posted. Get started today! Go take action on this now!! Bank owned property tours, video messages, community tours, buyer tips, seller tips - get this stuff up onto your social networking sites for FREE today. Be sure to include LINKS as I've done above to your real estate web-site, blog, etc.

PS. If you like this blog, would you consider not keeping it a secret? Your referrals of other real estate professionals really means a lot to me and is great appreciated - thank you kindly!