Master Short Sales

Issue 5 for Ohioans Financial Freedom thru Choice

2008-10-20T17:39:00.001-04:00

Dear Ohioans:
(Everbody else, this could be coming to your state next!)

Have you read, I mean really read, Issue 5 to be on the ballot in Ohio on November 4th?

Here we are real estate investors, trying to find buyers, realizing credit is tightening, trying to keep the government out of our business and Issue 5 wants the State level to keep track of borrowers of short term loans, ss#, and the number of short term loans we get per year. Next it could be long term loans.

The Government, the politicians, the law makers just keep chipping away at our ability to make our own decisions and chipping away at our rights. It will only stop when we let them roll over us.

I have always told my tenants to not use "rent a centers". They will pay much more for a stove, refrigerator, washer or dryer than they would ever pay for it in a store or on a credit card. This is another option of free enterprise and charging more for a service than necessary. But people need the commodity they sell. And they do have a choice. And isn't that what American has always been about? Capitalism and choices?

And now they want to pass a law allowing us to limit our use of check cashing stores. What happened to capitalism? Free enterprise? Isn't it the right of the people to make a decision? Good or Bad? And then pay the consciences? (Ya, I know. Then there was the Bail Out)

Education is good. Manditory education on a financial literacy course is a little different. Why don't they teach this in schools?

How to balance your check book.
How to create a budget
How to stick to that budget.
How income should be MORE than expenses.

I'm voting NO on Issue 5. I want to:

Keep my personal information out of yet another Government database
Make my own financial decisions
Protect good paying jobs with benefits (voting Yes will put 6000 neighbors out of work)
keep 1600 lenders with jobs
Preserve my choice of lending options

Read BEFORE you vote!

http://www.ohioans4financialfreedom.com/

Deb This is an unpaid political comment McMillan

The Short Sale Queen

PS The elections will be over soon and my new membership site will be up. Hang in there. I'll be back to website updates, short sales and changes in the market place soon!

Did I mention I've closed 3 short sale deals in the last 2 weeks? :)

Don't believe YOU can't make a difference-YOU CAN

2008-10-20T13:06:00.001-04:00

I hate double negatives too. I'm never quite sure what they are trying to say. However, Don't believe this one. One person CAN make a difference. Only if you go to the polls and vote. Let your opinion be counted.

The news reports are saying the election is all sewn up. No need to vote because one party has already won.

Not true. It will be true if you don't cast your vote. Take the time to find out the facts. You will find it within yourself to make a good decision.

You can/will/do make a difference. Be the American you know you are and can be. It only takes one vote to change the tide. Go to the poles and let your opinion be counted.

Are we ready to "spread the wealth around?"

I believe my readers have always been special. Willing to give up Friday night beer drinking parties, give up sitting around all week long watching TV and drinking - being a couch potato. You are different.

We are the ones making the extra money to provide something a little better for our families. To be willing to go out and get something better, learn a little more, take the extra step, extra education and put it to use to better our lives. Not be mandated by the government to pay for financial literacy courses - that's Issue 5 in Ohio and more on that later. We have been making our own financial decisions.

And even if some of us did go into foreclosure, we are only a loser when we give up. Try, try and try again. My mom told me that. And that's exactly what Thomas Edison did when invented the light bulb and the thousand other things he discovered while trying to get electricity.

Those who don't take the extra step, extra education, go the extra mile don't deserve more.

But the Democratic party says take from the "haves" and give to the "have nots". Socialism, call it what you will (and what it is today will be different than what it might be called tomorrow, maybe communism) is taking from the people who are giving the something extra to better their families to give to the couch potatoes who aren't willing to get up and get more for themselves.

This new democratic party will be taking more taxes from the middle class and everybody...no matter what they say now...and giving it to those who make less. Very scary.

I don't want the government's money. I want the kick in the pants from myself, from my coach, even my significant other to make more money when we need something else than to expect someone to give it to me.

We are independent. We should not be dependent on the government.

There was a poll this weekend. 44% of the people believed in spreading the wealth around. 40% of the population don't pay taxes so only 4 where wanting the government help.

Keep watching. I will be coming out with a new Short Sale Queen membership site. What's on the agenda first?

The Declaration of Financial Independence. When in the course of investor events....

http://www.shortsalequeen.com/

Stay turned. thanks for reading. And go vote!

Deb McMillan
The Short Sale Queen

What Have We done Now?

2008-10-13T10:12:00.000-04:00

Well the 700 Billion dollar Bailout has passed. The stocks are down. Oh! The stocks are up. The world banks are collasping too. And now they are talking about Nationalizing the banks to save it. And give even more money.

Where are they going to get that money? Oh, print more. And raise taxes.

Nationalizing the banks means Socializing the banks. The banks own industry, commerce, we become a socialized country. That means an underground to be a capitalist.

We gave Henry Paulsen the authority to do just about anything he wants with that money.

What is the answer? Vote next month. Vote for anyone whose record has shown that have voted to NOT raise taxes in the past. Otherwise, all taxes will increase. Not just the upper class.

Gas Taxes will increase - hits everybody
Corporation taxes increase - hits everybody (because Corps will raise their prices on their products they sell to everybody, milk, bread, boats, cigarettes, drugs, etc.)
All other taxes will increase to pay for health care for everyone

Health care and education are not a right. But both candidates will take tax money to pay for it.

How does all this affect short sales, which really in my topic. No freed up credit will allow no one to buy our houses. Business won't be as usual.

If only someone would look at changing the 90 day seasoning rule.

PreForeclosures and The Government.

2008-10-05T12:53:00.000-04:00

PreForeclosures and The Government. Help or Hinder?
or
Is the Bail-Out Really going to Bail Us Out?

We certainly hope it will make a difference. There are lots of doubts. And whose to say that with the same people overseeing the new money that was overseeing the money before (which is why we got into this problem) the same thing won't happen.

Money would go to congressional, legislative and presidential candidates for their campaign fund.
Bad governmental policy is what got us here.

allowing anybody to get a loan whether their creditqualified or not
allowing the banks to give their reserves to congress in the form of campaign contributions (Obama was #3on the list for receiving the most in money from Fannie Mae)

http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/09/update-fannie-mae-and-freddie.html
http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/07/top-senate-recipients-of-fanni.html

More Buyers, More Lending

It could give banks the money they need, clear off the bad debt and let there be buyers. Peoplewho can get a loan and buy our houses after we get "shorter" short sale. (I have to say I didn't create that phrase. Nathan Embry did. But I really like it and I'm using it. I think it describes exactly what we can do in this market. And it will only get better or shorter :) )

And we should be able to get a shorter short sale. The banks want these houses off their books. The government will feel the same when they get them. They will be overwhelmed.

I believe the same banks will service them. They can't afford to train thousands of new loss mitigators to re-work loans and short sales. There will just be new guidelines. And, like always, and the way business is in Corporate America, if the new guidelines don't provide the desired results, they will change the guidelines.

How do I know this? What I do know is Fannie Mae called Countrywide on Friday September 26th. They said and I repeat "if a rebuttal BPO comes in, split the difference and accept the price".

Is that something good to know?

Did you hear what they said? Submit a rebuttal BPO!!!!!!Usually submitting a lower bpo that the realtor isn't difficult. I'm not saying lie. I'm saying don't lie! The property values today are decreasing (depreciating) just about everywhere. You will 99% of the time be able to find lower value properties.

Easy! Think outside of the box!

Use houses that are distressed...have already gone to foreclosure sale. Let the bank know. The bank is looking for something in writing to confirm their sale price. They don't want to be seen as only giving friends good prices. (The loss mitigators don't want to make the news headlines like the CEO's etc. are) They must have data. And now they will accept it.

Stay tuned right here. The www.shortsalequeen.com to get monthly coaching and all the updates you'll need to get your deals closed in these new "shorter" short sale times!

Deb McMillan
Believe in Your Own Success!

Fannie, Freddie and Pre Foreclosures

2008-09-14T12:35:00.000-04:00

What changes will be made at Fannie and Freddie, the 2 biggest mortgage companies in the country, and will they affect Pre-Foreclosure?

I doubt the pre foreclosure short sale process will be changed anytime soon. There is too much more to do to keep the giants running now and the goal is to get them to be running profitably first. I doubt they are looking at how to recapture a profit in the repossessed properties for quite while.

I also don't believe it has a chance in heaven of being solved in two months before the current presidency or Congress changes. So...what's next?

In the paper today it was discussed the 3 possible ways to save/restructure Fannie/Freddie. As I read the options, it will be a battle.

One way to "save" them (and that's an oxymoron with this particular path) is wait until they "right" themselves (remember the only way to right them at this point was with yours and my taxes dollars gushing in to back them - billions of dollars if you remember) and return them to the way they were (when we had to give tax dollars to save them) before now - conservatorship (let the government run them- which is exactly who is running them when they were run into the ground) and add safeguards to prevent another crisis - huh!

Yes, I'm sure they would like that way. These Congress people long defended Freddie and Fannie in their current state because they did provide more affordable housing. Affordable housing for the lower income people who, due to Congress voting to give people loans when they have:

no down payment,
no way of saving for one,
have a low credit score and
no talents, skills or money to ensure repairs where made to the house,

able to buy a house anyway.

Isn't that law one of the main contributors to the foreclosure crises to begin with?

I also heard on radio talk show this week that 16 of 25 supports of Fannie and Freddie to keep the status quo were democrats getting BIG payouts (err campaign contributions) from these organizations. ..over the last 20 years.

That's like "thank you for your support, here's $500,000 for your campaign." Yes, I'd hate for it to change if I was making that kind of money for just voting YES.

A second option was to made by Sr. officials at the Treasury Department to shrink the companies and turn them into private utilities. This would make their profits and activities tightly regulated and their large investment portfolios reduced.

Seems to me though I remember utilities having plenty of scandals of their own and losing money. Maybe they just have less scandals. And aren't they still regulated by the government? Isn't the government overseeing Fannie and Freddie the problem?

The third option - and I'm saving my personal favorite for last - is to privatize it. Let the government taxes bail it out (it already has) and let it right itself. Break it into small private companies and let them sell stock. Be pubic. Make a profit. And if or when they get into trouble the next time, the Federal Government has NO business to bail them out. They sink or swim.

Sometimes it seems we have to remind the government leaders we are not a socialist country. We are CAPITALISTS. Say it again, and repeat after me: we are capitalists. We make choices to invest our money. Sometimes we make a lot more money. Sometimes we break even. Sometimes we lose our shirts. But it is our choice and we don't expect the government to bail us out. We invest money we can afford to lose. And if we lose, we learn something to do better the next time. That's capitalism.

Obvioulsy, I vote for #3. Right now while Freddie and Fannie are in conservatorship , Freddie and Fannie are being run by the exact same people who got it in the position it is in right now. How scary is that?

Pre Foreclosure Changes w/Freddie and Fannie?

2008-09-08T00:07:00.000-04:00

This week the government should be taking over Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae the already government backed mortgage lenders.

Now there are more questions than actual information about how Freddie and Fannie will change or if they will. Apparently, the leaders overstated the company's capital resources and financial stability.

Meaning they are no longer stable and have no capital reserves to bail themselves out if/when things go south or expenses go up and income goes down...which is what is happening now.

About 5 years ago, Freddie's Executive Officers manipuated the books by about $6 Billion and apparently that is happening again. And the current top executives are being pushed out too.

It's believed that
1. the cost of borrowing money from Freddie or Fannie will decrease
2. They will continue to buy and sell home loans
3. home prices will not stop falling
4. Foreclosures will continue to rise

While foreclosures continuing is a bad things for the homeowners, the economy and the tax payers (us) who are bailing out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae again, it is the time to buy real estate and do close short sales.

With any hope Freddie and Fannie's new leader will understand discount and selling houses fast. Do you think we have a chance?

I'll b keeping my eye on this and working directly with banks. Anything new to help us, I'll let you know!

Deb McMillan
Short Sale Queen

PreForeclosures Will Be Even harder To Close if....

2008-09-01T10:45:00.000-04:00

Obama makes it to President. He Wants us to give him our lives and our decisions. Obama supported the Washington, D.C. gun ban - until he flip-flopped his position after the Supreme Court ruled against it.

He has pledged to raise taxes.
He wants the government to control our health care.
He is beholden to, and shares the same views, of the radical Left and environmental extremists that continually assault our property rights and who oppose developing a small portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), oppose building nuclear power plants, and oppose developing domestic coal and oil shale deposits.
He supported a moratorium on offshore drilling - until he changed his position (once over 70% of Americans supported lifting it).

A vote for Obama is a vote for government-mandated redistribution of wealth. (from http://www.governmentpirates.com/)

Is this scary?

My big concern is since we have given up prayer in schools, the 10 commandments in the court houses, pray at sports games, we are ripe for the picking to kick out Christanity and become a Muslum country. Does that scare anybody? Then the Islamic extremist will be able to move right in and come out of hiding and be like Detroit - hear the minerets 5 times a day - praising Allah.

You may have hated Bush, you may think McCain is no good, but Obama seems to be exactly what and why our forefathers left England and came to the New World years ago.

To gain property rights,
Not have "the religon of the day stuffed down our throats",
Leave the tyranny of the ruler behind and
Have the ability to govern ourselves.

We have these things now. Although we give them up a little bit with each law that is passed. With Obama, they may go quickly. Our Congress isn't strong enough to vote against him on all the laws he may pass. And those guys are pretty liberal themselves so they may just vote with him.

It goes back to the old saying "Power Corrupts" "Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely" and

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

I know I said I wasn't going to talk politics and I only did on how it will affect real estate. Well, sorta.

To learn more about buying in depressed econmy and before we have to fight to keep our property go to www.shortsalequeen.com and keep your eye on the membership site coming soon!

2008-09-01T10:32:00.000-04:00

OK, I don't like to be political but as a real estate investor this seems to be a no brainer. Who are you going to vote for"

John McCain says “The need to protect private property rights - once so obvious to Madison and Adams - is now becoming lost in a tangle of intrusive government takings. Nowhere has this been truer than in (that) disastrous decision," Kelo v. New London, Connecticut Supreme Court ruling allowing cities to use its powers of eminent domain to seize homes and businesses to benefit developers and generate more tax revenue.

McCain strenuously opposed the disastrous Kelo v. New London and has vowed to support a constitutional amendment to protect private property rights and recognizes that “property is the fruit of one’s labor. Property rights protection means that the individual reaps the rewards from the sweat of his brow, not the government or those who control the government.” He even has a petition on his Web site in support of property rights. (infor from www.governmentpirates.com)

Yeah! for McCain. He's got my vote.

We are losing many other rights as a new candidate takes office. If this guy says he'll vote FOR property rights, it's not a sure thing he will. He is just like the others, liable to change his mind as the wind changes. However, Saying it now gives him a much better chance of saying yes later!

For ways to buy property at deep disounts go back to www.shortsalequeen.com Sign up to for the up coming membership site for short sales. Keep watching!

Deb the Short Sale Queen!
Long Live the Queen! and become a member of the Queen's Round Table

FHA 90 Day Seasoning in Wholesaling Pre Foreclosures

2008-08-17T15:26:00.001-04:00

FHA 90 Seasoning and Pre Foreclosure

Yes, about 2 months ago President Bush and Federal Housing Commissioner Brian Montgomery of the FHA passed a law to waive the 90-day seasoning rule for 1 year we thought would help closing house purchases in pre foreclosure wholesale short sales faster.

Seasoning and Investor Pre Foreclosure Wholesale Short Sale Purchases
If it included pre foreclosure wholesale short sales, I sure haven’t seen it yet. The government, surprise, surprise is working for the banks. They want the banks to be able to close their REO properties quickly (like they do anything quick) and be able to get their negative asset houses off of their books and save neighborhoods.

The government or banks or legislators still don’t believe the investors who do create win-win deals for the banks and sellers, make money for themselves, save neighborhoods, slow the amount of vacant boarded up buildings need a little help to close those deals. Last time I checked we were still a Capitalist country and making a profit was a good thing to do. And isn’t that why banks are closing their doors - because they aren’t making a profit? The new regulations they continue to mount against investors is staggering.

I thought for a few short moments that the new law would help us - the investor. Allow us to close deals without 90 seasoning. So I gave it a try. I was stopped in my tracks. It is still up to the end lender and FHA won’t close without the previous seller being on the Deed for a minimum of 90 days or more.

Creative Law Abiding Seasoning and Pre Foreclosure Wholesale Solutions
Investors have had to find creative ways to get around the legislation written in the past. We are continuing to do that now.

I have had one deal stopped from not having seasoning. Fortunately, I had contingencies in my offer that allowed me to get out of the deal if the 90 days still affected pre foreclosure wholesale short sale closing. And I’ve somewhat solved the problem in other ways too. OK, not solve but get around it and make it work…for now.

I immediately changed the way I accepted buyers. If I haven’t recorded a deed and I only have an Option to Purchase on the property, I don’t accept FHA loans to buy the house. If you are listing it in the MLS, you can make a note of it there too.

Yes, I’m missing out on some buyers. Because right now, FHA is just about the only lender accepting anybody with a low credit score. On the other hand, if they want the house bad enough and they can, they will get approved for Conventional or even VA financing.

Get the Deed in SeasoningToo
And the pre foreclosure houses that I’m short saling and wholesaling and we aren’t close to closing, we are getting the deed. We are recording it early (of course) and getting the option to purchase then moving forward.

We are in the process of closing these deals. The hiccups we’ve had so far we've been able to be overcome. I’ll keep you up to date of how we do get around any more and what you’ll need to do to get your pre foreclosure wholesale short sales closed smoothly and easily!

And now I invite you to learn other tips when working on your short sales by getting this free report www.shortsalequeen.com/free-special-short-sale-profits-report.htm

Update of Previous FHA Seasoning Rule

2008-06-23T14:10:00.000-04:00

I jumped the gun. It looks like (and we shouldn't be surprised) we may not benefit so much from the waiving of the seasoning rule. It will probably be determined by the end lender whether to allow seasoning to be waived for the buyer.

So it's not a one size fits all. The change is for the benefit of the banks selling REO's but I could believe an arguement could and will be made to use if for pre-foreclosures. So don't take no for an answer. Keep pushing to see what they will do.

Many times if the end buyer is strong - good credit, high credit score, the end lender may just let it pass.

I say "if they say no, they just don't have enough information. If the appraisal comes back at your sale value, it should be easy. Give the lender more information. Get at least 3 no's before you give up!"

Deb McMillan
Short Sale Queen

PreForeclosures and TONS of Updates

2008-06-21T16:08:00.000-04:00

Yep, I've been MIA a long time. I was preparing for my boot camp at the end of May.

I have to say it went really well. Lots of students, lots of information, three days of giving people the key to get themselves to financial freedom. All they have to do is read the manuals, listen to the CD's and learn even more on the weekly coaching calls. It was a great event. Those students WILL be closing deals and making lots of money in no time!

And we spent a lot of time talking about the seasoning rule. How, if at all, you can get around it, work with it, make it work for us.

Seasoning is the new owner being on the deed for longer than 90 days before it is sold to someone with a govenment back loan, such as FHA, Freddie Mac, etc. That knocks out the "flipping" of a property, selling it to quick after the rehab, etc.

And now, it's a mute point. The rule has been changed! For a year anyway, but some time is better than no time. The comment made by the head of the FHA was it "will allow home buypers to purchase foreclosure homes in much greater numbers and ease the excess supply of unsold homes in the neighborhoods across the country". They are getting it!

That's the good news. The negative comments came later. "It's not going to have as much an impact as one would assume, because most of the properties aren't going to meet FHA standands." But if investors buy the house, fix the house and resell the house - quickly (which is what we do because the longer we hold the house the more expensive it is due to holding costs - lender fees, no return on income, etc.) we will be able to do a second house and a third and fifth, etc. sooner because our cash or credit is not tied up.

So go out there and buy a preforeclosure house! Fix it and sell it or just resell it to an FHA buyer and get your money back and buy another! Now is the time.

And learn how to buy a preforeclosure house (short sale) at http://www.shortsalequeen.com/

The most up to date information on preforeclosure short sales anywhere is here. Get weekly coaching too! http://www.shortsalequeen.com/SA/CoachingSalesLetter.htm

Stayed tuned cause I have a lot more updates!

More PreForeclosure Short Sale Banking News

2008-04-05T20:14:00.000-04:00

How do preforeclosure short sales fit into the banks new plans?

The banks are hurting and they aren't rolling over easily. They are looking at many possibilities.

Large companies such as Citibank, Citimortgage - Actually CitiGroup is getting pressure to break up into smaller banks...they way they were...So that when they fall or get more defaulted loans than one bank should be allowed to have, it doesn't shattered 1/2 of the world.

If smaller banks fell apart, the damage would be contained.

The banking industry is pretty powerful. I do see them splitting due to pressure but I don't see if hurting the preforeclosure short sale world. So we can feel good about that.

It's bank's like Ocwen (which I reported in my last blog) refusing to do short sales that are the banks that don't make any sense. We should be worried about that. This will hurt the economy much more than banks splitting up into smaller units.

I heard another rumor today. Looks like Countrywide may not be doing short sales for investor loans anymore.

That would hurt. But what I did hear is that the loans were "disapproved". I'm not sure what that means. Ocwen is telling you immediately that they won't accept short sales. Don't waste your time sending in paperwork. Disapproved sounds like the bank may have looked at the file then "disapproved" it. So maybe it is a case by case basis. And I didn't hear what the value was. Maybe it was really low.

More on this as I hear about it.

The tough news this week is serious. Stewart Title will not be insuring any more short sales period. This is serious. Not just double closes, short sales period. that means that the title companies, escrow companies and lawyers who close loans and use Stewart Title to guarantee with title insurance will NOT be doing so on short sales.

There is apparently a lawsuit going on in Indianapolis that is accusing fraud. So Stewart is writing an across the board statement - no closing short sales.

We/investors and short sales can save the financial world but they just won't let us. What is wrong with this picture?

Stay tuned. I have a great topic for next time and a homework assignment for you too! (that just might help save the world - financial world that is)

Get Preforclosure Short Sale Coaching from the best and for less than $7 a day! Sign up here!

The Short Sale Queen’s Coaching

Deb McMillan
The Short Sale Queen
Keeping you informed of the latest in getting short sales closed everywhere!

Ocwen Bank is Refusing to Work Preforeclosure Short Sales

2008-03-30T15:23:00.000-04:00

Ocwen Bank is Refusing to Work
Preforeclosure Short Sales

If your calling banks on a daily or weekly basis, then
maybe you already know this.

Ocwen Bank is no longer working preforeclosure short sales to
save homeowners from foreclosure.

At first glance this seems like a really dumb idea. At second
glance too because I keep trying to find the logic in this
decision and I can't.

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid.

But apparently Ocwen doesn't think so. And try to lodge a
complaint. You get outsourced to India who doesn't
really "get it" in the first place so you might as well
write a note and throw it in the fire place.

Why Not Preforeclosure Short Sales?

They are in full earnest now doing loan modifications.
And if they don't work, homeowner can't make the payments
or the homeowner has already moved out of the house
and doesn't want to move back, the house will only go
to foreclosure. The bank will graciously do a "deed in lieu"
of foreclosure. Isn't that big of them?

I found this out by calling today to negotiate a short sale at Ocwen
Bank. They currently only will talk to the homeowner and review
their income situation. They request that "realtors" not call any
more and they also request that the realtors insist that their clients
(that the realtor can no longer help) call the bank.

Now, as you know, I'm not a realtor. But it was pretty clear that
they meant me and other investors like me to not call and request
a pre foreclosure short sale either. This is remarkable!

Loan Modification instead of a
Preforeclosure Short Sale

Don't misunderstand. A loan modification for the homeowner
is a good thing. I successfully completed some and worked on
others. The banks should have started this long ago.

Working to keep the homeowner in the house saves the
house from vandals, saves the neighborhoods and helps the
banks' keep paying, caring people in the asset they
worked very hard to acquire.

More Frequency

Doing it more often and with less stringent guidelines before the
problem got so out of hand would have been a great thing. Doing
it now and excluding an option for the homeowner is selfish
on the bank's part, too little too late and I don't believe it will
have the desired effect of saving the homeowner and the home.
It's kinda' like the government getting involved. They don't have
a clue about the problem so who can they come up with an effective
solution?

Once a foreclosure notice from the courts and the bank get to the
homeowner, the homeowner often panics. They know they owe
the money. They know they shouldn't be living in something
they are not paying for so they pack up and move out.

Why would these same people want to move back in? The
house is now a horrible memory for them. They spent money
they didn't have to pack up and find a place they could afford.

The banks are ruthless which is what many of my homeowners
say and believe. Ocwen has just proved it and I pray the
other banks do not follow suit in an effort to "help" the homeowner.

Sign up for tips, techniques and other easy steps to get more
short sales closed right here!

All the Short Sale Queen Tips and Tricks

Deb McMillan
The Short Sale Queen®
Believe in Your Own Success!

One of World's Largest Bank collapses and is bought by JPMorgan

2008-03-17T05:43:00.000-04:00

The news is scary when you read about mortgage companies and losses and how preforeclosure short sales fit in.

What does all this mean? Is a recession near? To buy cheap houses or not to buy cheap houses? And how cheap is cheap enough?

JPMorgan is buying Bear Stearns for $2/share. This deal represents a 98.8% discount to its book value as on February 29, 2008. I like that discount but it's pretty scarey wondering how you fit in.

The banks are going to have to start getting rid of more property while people are willing to buy. This kind of news may be making buyers skidish.

Preforeclosure Short Sale or Foreclosure Sale Formula
The banks' formula to accept short sales is 180 days on market before the final REO sale by an end buyer.

In today's market this is not accurate and banks will continue to lose money if they don't change this obvious calculation error that has changed over the last year.

180 DOM gives a false number of what the bank will have into the property at the time of foreclosure sale. It insists that a buyer pay more to keep this house from going to foreclosure sale. The buyer now has the liability and will take the hit if the values keep dropping.

Talk to your loss mitigator about this number in his equation. Ask his/her "what is your value for DOM? Do you really believe that is accurate? You've seen the data I've provided you and it is not close to that." Get him/her to use a much longer number because the house will be on the market much longer than 180 days!

Deb looking out for more ways to get discounts McMillan
Stay tuned here with
The Short Sale Queen®
And Believe in Your Own Success!

deb@shortsalequeen.com

Lost Paperwork sends Preforeclosure Short Sale Business in a Tizzy?!

2008-03-12T02:24:00.000-04:00

Is it possible that banks can lose your mortgage documents and you can't get foreclosured...there would be no reason for a preforeclosure short sale.

Apparently in the hayday's of subprime lending, lenders were selling the notes so quickly after the ink was dry, that the necessary documents didn't get recorded, assigned when re-sold and if you don't own it (and prove that you own it) you can't foreclosure.

This is good for some homeowners. If you remember, back in December, a Cleveland judge threw out 14 foreclosure cases (and we reported it here) because the assignments to the new bank owner were never recorded. The bank could not foreclosure and still haven't found the paperwork. The debt moved forward, but the paperwork stayed behind in filing cabinets, in computer files or just collecting dust on a desk. Sad but true. They got their money and dropped the ball for the follow up work.

The work of re-establishing the chain of ownership could slow down the housing correction even longer. Some borrowers have simply stopped paying on these loans, in hopes they can play the system and live in the house for free for a lot longer.

What does this mean to us as preforeclosure short sale investors? The high foreclosure rate goes on and on. What a great business to get into! And you can learn all the tips, techniques, negotiating a short sale strategies at

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Deb McMillan
Believe in Your Success!

For Those who Think They have Come Across Everything in Pre Foreclosure Short Sales!

2008-03-09T10:51:00.000-04:00

For Those who think they have come across everything in Pre Foreclosure Short Sales!

The longer you do this real estate short sale preforeclosure business, the more you realize you have NOT seen everything.

We have a buyer for a house we have negotiated a short sale with the bank for. The buyer came from out of state through internet marketing. The buyer has almost 1,000,000 dollars in 1031 Tax Exchange money to spend on real estate.

1031 Tax Free Exchange
1031 Tax Exchange money comes from when you sell a property, identify it as using it in a tax exchange, have a third party handle the closing for you so you never touch the money. The money sits in the tax exchange company's escrow account until the final closing date. that final closing date must be within 180 days or you will lose the ability to NOT pay taxes on the sale.

That's the point here. To sell a property you have owned for along time, have no more depreciation deductions on it so you sell it, no taxes are due, you buy another property and can take depreciation expenses on the new building.

There are lots of hoops to jump through to get here but well worth it when it is done.

Federal Prison
Well our Tax Exchange buyer, as it got closer to the closing date, is in Federal Prison. When you have committed a Federal offense, you lose some rights. Now, I did know you couldn't vote ever again in life when this happened. You also can't own a gun ever again.

However, I didn't realize you can't buy and sell property - at least while you are in Federal prison.

Our buyer does have a POA (Power of Attorney) for somebody else (his sister) to sign for him. Apparently, she or he or they are mad at each other. She says she will not be a part of this closing or anything to do with him. So we don't have a buyer and the 2nd extension has run out to close our deal.

What's Left?
Pay the sister some money to sign? Don't know if that will work, but if we don't ask, I'm sure it won't work. We'll keep trying. This is a $21K profit deal. Hard to say no before we have tried absolutely everything. Stayed turned. It's not over till the POA says no for sure or the bank does. We won't give up!

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Mortgage Lending Slowing Down -May effect Buyers of Preforeclosure short sales!

2008-02-22T14:16:00.000-05:00

Have you heard that not many lenders are passing out mortgages any more and it could affect buyers for Preforeclosure short sale discounted buyers?

If you've tried to get a loan to buy a house or any property, you probably do know. Without great credit, nobody wants to lend money.

The market is so tight, the lenders want to get out of the business. Many mortgage brokers are doing Commerical lending only. Mortgage companies are even discounting "A" paper.

That means mortgages that are held by people with really good credit are being sold at a discount. Why? Not because there is doubt they will pay but because the Note holder wants out.

Merrill Lynch lost $25,000,000,000.00 and still kept their doors open. Is that amazing? Yes, that is $25 Billion. Yes, with a B. Ouch! How do you keep your doors open after a loss like that? Do what you have to do to NOT do it again. And apparently that is get out of the residential mortgage business.

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Pay Preforeclosure Short Sale Prices in Redemption?

2008-02-21T18:01:00.000-05:00

Is it true that banks would accept a preforeclosure short sale price after the foreclosure sale?

It's true. this will be about the 4-5 time I've heard the banks say they would not stop the foreclosure sale. They would, however, if your price was good, they would sell it to you at the short sale price during the redemption period.

The redemption period is the time AFTER the foreclosure sale when the defaulted homeowner has time to buy the house back. In my counties in Southern Ohio and most of Ohio it is about 30 days. It is the length of time it takes to have the deed changed into the name of the new buyer, whether it be the bank or someone at the sale.

In Michigan, it is six months. So you see it can vary drastically by state. It is a state law.

I had 4 deals in Detroit that did go to sale. Two of the four banks said they would still sell it during the redemption period. I've had 2 in Cincinnati say they would still sell it during the 30 day redemption.

This saves time and money for the banks. The homeowner can stay in the house during the time of redemption. so in Michigan, it is another 6 months that the banks lose the monthly payment and interest. They also have to pay taxes and insurance on the property during the time. It can be expensive.

So if the bank won't stop the foreclosure sale, ASK if they will sell it during the redemption period. The worse they can say is no. Ya' Got toAsk! Deb

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New Possible Fraud - New Reason to Reduce Pre Foreclosure

2008-02-03T16:23:00.001-05:00

New Possible Fraud - New Reason to Reduce Preforeclosure
Short Sale Values to the Bank

When determining value, are sheriff's paid extra when the value is high? Could this be happening in appraisals for preforeclosure short sales too? This is something I'm always on the look at for. A reason to convince the bank their value of a house is too high. Well, today's paper gave me a reason I'd never ever thought of. And it's a good one too,

It can't be used in all instances. You'll have to wait until the sheriff has an appraisal for the house as they set a foreclosure sale date. But it's usable!

Appraisers Were getting a Percentage of the Value

This morning's paper said that the appraisers that work for the sheriff are paid based on a percentage of the value they put on the home. This is a drive-by appraisal. They don't see the inside of the house. They can't see the inside of the house because they see 50 houses per day. There's no way they can go inside any of them and still see 50 per day.

They have been giving wrong values-high values on the houses-so they can get more commission when appraising the house. But we already knew that. But we didn't know about the sheriff's appraisers getting a percentage of the value they determine! I figured it was a flat fee.

On February 1 (3 day's ago), How they are paid is being changed

The appraisers will be paid per parcel. In my county, 3 appraisers go out together in one car to see 50 houses per day. There are just two appraisers in my surrounding counties. So they divide the total number of parcels by 3 or the number of appraisers per car and that's how much they get paid.

I closed on a house last week that had 3 parcels. At $250 per parcel times 2 (appraisers in this county), they got $750 divided by 2. Not bad. $375 each for house-assuming it is only one parcel.

Let's figure this out. Let's say each house is one parcel. So 50 parcels per day times $250 each (in the cheap counties) equals $12,500 divided by 2 appraisers = $6,250 per day.

Are You Thinking of Changing Professions?
Anybody interested in changing professions? Be sure to include in your budget donating $1000 per year to the Sheriff's re-election campaign. This will make sure you keep your job each year!

So the value for the sheriffs' office is based on the exterior of the property only. It can easily have the highest values in the neighborhood being used as the comps--no matter what the interior condition.

With this formula, the bank can deny your "real" short sale value. They can just wait until the sheriff sale. Buy it back with the expectation they will get much more than is a realistic value as the sale price.

And they won't. It will take a year to get it back, list it with a realtor, and lower the cost enough to get a buyer at its real value. The bank loses. But so do we when our value is already real for today's market.

You'll need to find out what appraisers make in your county. Each county that was in the article had a different payment for the appraisers.

Check out this link to the Enquirer Article. Cut out the couple paragraphs near the end to use with your packet to the bank. Spell it out in your cover letter what it means so maybe, just maybe the bank will accept your offer.

Cincinnati Enqurier Article

To Your Investing Success
Deb McMillan
The Short Sale Queen®

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2008-02-03T16:23:00.000-05:00

New Possible Fraud - New Reason to Reduce Pre Foreclosure
Short Sale Values to the Bank

This is something I'm always on the look at for. A reason to convince the bank their value of a house is too high. Well, today's paper gave me a reason I'd never ever thought of. And it's a good one too,

It can't be used in all instances. You'll have to wait until the sheriff has an appraisal for the house as they set a foreclosure sale date. But it's usable!

Appraisers Were getting a Percentage of the Value

This morning's paper said that the appraisers that work for the sheriff are paid based on a percentage of the value they put on the home. This is a drive-by appraisal. They don't see the inside of the house. They can't see the inside of the house because they see 50 houses per day. There's no way they can go inside any of them and still see 50 per day.

They have been giving wrong values-high values on the houses-so they can get more commission when appraising the house. But we already knew that. But we didn't know about the sheriff's appraisers getting a percentage of the value they determine! I figured it was a flat fee.

On February 1 (3 day's ago), How they are paid is being changed

The appraisers will be paid per parcel. In my county, 3 appraisers go out together in one car to see 50 houses per day. There are just two appraisers in my surrounding counties. So they divide the total number of parcels by 3 or the number of appraisers per car and that's how much they get paid.

I closed on a house last week that had 3 parcels. At $250 per parcel times 2 (appraisers in this county), they got $750 divided by 2. Not bad. $375 each for house-assuming it is only one parcel.

Let's figure this out. Let's say each house is one parcel. So 50 parcels per day times $250 each (in the cheap counties) equals $12,500 divided by 2 appraisers = $6,250 per day.

Are You Thinking of Changing Professions?
Anybody interested in changing professions? Be sure to include in your budget donating $1000 per year to the Sheriff's re-election campaign. This will make sure you keep your job each year!

So the value for the sheriffs' office is based on the exterior of the property only. It can easily have the highest values in the neighborhood being used as the comps--no matter what the interior condition.

With this formula, the bank can deny your "real" short sale value. They can just wait until the sheriff sale. Buy it back with the expectation they will get much more than is a realistic value as the sale price.

And they won't. It will take a year to get it back, list it with a realtor, and lower the cost enough to get a buyer at its real value. The bank loses. But so do we when our value is already real for today's market.

You'll need to find out what appraisers make in your county. Each county that was in the article had a different payment for the appraisers.

Check out this link to the Enquirer Article. Cut out the couple paragraphs near the end to use with your packet to the bank. Spell it out in your cover letter what it means so maybe, just maybe the bank will accept your offer.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080203/BIZ01/802030304&GID=aIFG5nh1YTxJX8/LktkCQ/ohTn2E+oxsPhIEQNe3VHY%3D

To Your Investing Success
Deb McMillan
The Short Sale Queen®

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Do You Feel like with Countrywide being bought could effect the how preforeclosure short sales are completed?

2008-01-20T14:09:00.000-05:00

Yes, Countrywide changed hands in the last week. They've been bought by Bank of America. Could this effect how we do business as preforeclosure short salers?

This is suppose to keep them from going down the tubes-out of business. I think the question in one of the newspapers was it would be a job for the kazillions of homeowners trying to figure out who to send they mortgage payment to if Countrywide wasn't bought by the same company.

That didn't happen. Countrywide was bought by one company, Bank of America. And Countrywide has already changed their phone message saying nothing would change as Bank of America does start to move in.

Will This Make Short Sales Easier?
I don't think a single thing will change in reference to getting short sales accepted. If the BPO or appraisal doesn't match your offer, the chance is exceedingly great that you won't get your offer accepted.

The bank has to get as much money as possible out of every single sale - short sale, foreclosure sale, it doesn't matter. Conventional loans may not have as much rules to conform to but believe me they are being audited even heavier than before.

If the bank can't explain why a house was sold for a particular price, someone will lose their job. They have to sell those houses within a certain percentage of the BPO, appraised value or current market value. That's the way the game is played.

They have to get the most money for it to please the auditors, investors, stock holders. Yes, they don't want to take them back, but they will if they believe they will make more money selling it another way.

Honestly, the BPO agents (or their spouse) are also REO listing agents. And they want the listing AFTER the foreclosure sale. They are using the highest prices they can find...unless the house is in such terrible repair the REO agent thinks they couldn't sell it.

Then they might have the short sale buyer get the "better" (lower) number.

Always ask your loss mitigator the addresses of the houses that were used as comps for your subject house. Argue whether these are good comps. Basement/no basement. Garage/no garage. Distance from the subject.

If there are better comps closer to your type of house and lower in value, show these to the bank. Dispute the BPO value. Get pictures. And remember, don't take the first no or maybe even the 3rd no as an answer. Dispute it with facts!

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The Next Best Thing...

2008-01-20T13:20:00.000-05:00

I'm going to go off topic today and talk about something beside preforeclosure short sales. I'll get back on short sales in the very next post. I still think you will find this worth reading.

My 2nd cousin is in the Navy and is a Commander of a supply and Search and Rescue helicopter squadron. He invited us to a Change of Command Ceremony in Norfolk, VA this weekend. He will be stepping down as Commander but going on to 3rd in command of a large ship. The ceremony was to reward him for a job well done.

It was really exciting watching all of them in their dress uniforms, walking in formation, saluting. All different to me, a non military girl from the mid-west.

I was thrilled to be included in the ceremony. I have to admit that all we did...after the ceremony...was party. er...celebrate! But it was an honor to be invited.

Here where I am, the Midwest, far from coastal bases and any other military commands or daily reminders that we have military to keep us free, and a female well over the age of thinking about being the brave, the few, etc. I take for granted the men and women that put their lives on the line for our freedom every day.

I have to say the people under Michael's command love their jobs and their commander and that has to make everything - leading and following - easier. But to get up every day, knowing that you are training to one day be in battle and have the choice of their life or yours, has to be a thought provoking, get the most out of today kind of life.

Our military men and women will never be monetarily rich but they are rich in non-monetary matters. It seems to me they would be closer to their families, their God, each other - the things and people that give them strength and courage.

Is our faith that strong?

My cousin must have told me a dozen times how glad he was that I was there. He introduced me to everybody as his cousin from Ohio - who came so far to see him. It was really a small thing., at least in my mind. I am very proud of him and I wanted to see the ceremony. I felt like I gave so little but I got so much out of the weekend and I brought him so much pleasure just by being there. (It made picking up the wrong suit case at the airport and forgetting my camera so incidental.) Sometimes the little things we give of ourselves have exponential power to others and we don't even realize it.

If you have ever seen me speak at an OREIA dinner or even at my boot camps when the topics get emotional, I am. Emotional that is. This ceremony was that way too. Michael was a man who loves his job and the 230 men and women who serve under him...and leaving them all behind. He is a man whose family showed up to support him in this event. He is a man who turns over the leadership of his command to his 2nd in command, a trusted confident, a perfect transition, but leaving behind what he had built and loved over the last 2 years. It was an emotional event.

Reach out to someone and give of yourself. See how great it feels. That small act you give may just get your next short sale closed. Are the two related? Hard to say. The Universe is a large and mysterious thing and I believe they are all connected.

Say a prayer for our soldiers. No matter what your opinion of the war, these men and women give their time, days, and lives for us to be free and to have the freedom to be rich if that is what we choose.

Deb
Taking time out from short sales to be grateful for what I have and what I can give

Intriguing Conversation over Steak and Wine

2007-11-10T10:38:00.000-05:00

The OREIA Conference is over, again. The best day in an event planners life if the day after the event. I'm convinced that is true. There is so much work to do to be ready for a 4 day event like this conference. It builds and builds. Then there are the people who want to sign up 24 -124 hours before the event. Whew. The good part is I am giving up the job forever. :)

I've been doing it for 10 years. You start making changes for the next year the day after the event is over. Then you are off about 2 months doing nothing for the event, then start marketing again to get early sign ups. It continues until 24 hours before the event. But now, I'm done. No more vendor shows. Whew Who! I can devote more time to
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More time for short sales and OdorXit (the other product I have that does take my focus away). But it does keep me from being bored, it's a great product for investors and stinky houses, mold, and even the Super Bug, MRSA. Kills the superbug 100% (not 99.9% like chlorine - which is what is allowing 19,000+ deaths from Staph infection - after leaving the hospital - each year. It is a great product and you can check it out at
The Worlds' Only Known 100% Staph Infection Killer

I' went to a marketing meeting after OREIA and learned a lot of great stuff too. But the best is the dinner I'm having tonight with a family friend.

This family friend (don't get bored here because there is a reason I am telling this) I've know for years. He is Marty's x-wife's son. I've know him almost as long as I've know Marty - 19+ years. But I just found out his occupation.

He is a Loss Mitigator! How cool is that? And I invited him over for dinner - steak wine, and all the brain dump I can handle. So stayed tuned. I'll be back tomorrow to let you know the details! There just might be a new training product out of all this. In the mean time, you can see the latest in training products from the Short Sale Queen
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Deb

Where Am I Today

2007-10-25T10:39:00.000-04:00

One of the many jobs I have fulfilled in real estate is with the Ohio Real Estate Investors Association. I have put 50-60 vendors in their annual Conference and Expo for the last approximately 10 years as the Vendor Chair for OREIA. It's always been a good show, vendors and speakers.

I've been the President of the organization for 3 years as well. I got the OREIA PAC and Legislative Committee finally approved by the board so we as real estate investors could actually fight bad legislation in the State of Ohio. The PAC has been very successful at stop bad legislation and saving investor tens of thousands of dollars in tax dollars that legislators wanted to charge investors. Ya!

I am up here this week end again for the 2007 Convention and Expo. It promises lots of Great speakers, Peter Conti, and more with how to make it big in real estate right now. I believe short sales is the way, but you know there are many ways to make money in any economy, no matter how many banks are going out of business. You just have to be flexible and open to new ideas.

I'm still working on my short sales and more of them! On the drive from Cincinnati to Columbus yesterday, I stopped in a little berg at their court house to try to get delinquent taxes reduced on a burn out property that the taxes are more than I want to pay for the house. It's a burn out with tear down orders. The bank wan'ts 9-12K NET and the taxes themselves are $10K. The first 2 people I talked to all stated the foreclosure laws and that the taxes get paid first, they must get their money for the schools, hospitals ya ya ya. Don't you understand that you won't get anything if the 6-family gets town down and no one buys it? It's policy.

So I went to see the Proscuter. Don't ask me why. If that person was reasonable, I didn't care. And I changed my beginning point. "I want to pass all the burecuraty" I understand the foreclosure laws. I understand how and when the taxes get paid. However, If we don't buy it and it gets torn down, and the bank stops the foreclosure, and the owner can't pay the taxes you get nothing. Not even the 1/2 I am offering. Can't we go around the buracuracy (not law) and do something different that will still benefit both of us?

It is all in the words you use. The building is 6 blocks from the Prosecuor's office. She will be driving by and checking it out. For the first stage and the first definite "nos", I'm excited this actually might go somewhere.

For more unique negotiating ideas and tips you must have the home study course brought to you by the Short Sale Queen. We still buy and work short sales and fit in the miscellaneous events in our spare time.

Deb

More Bank Closings Can it effect Preforeclosure Short Sales?

2007-10-24T18:27:00.000-04:00

Wow, did you hear that US Bank laid off 3000 people in their investment banking division today? The banking situation keeps getting worse. Is this good or bad for preforeclosure short sale buyers and sellers?

That's not necessarily bad news. That means they will have to hire somebody else to fill some of those jobs and there's more short sales out there to buy.

There are people out there with money and you can be one of them. Buying at deep discounts in todays' market is the way to go. And rest assured, the banks that are left will be selling off properties by the end of the year.

If you've got short sale deals with banks and are waiting and waiting for them to get back to you with an answer, be prepared because I predict as we get closer to the end of year the banks will have a lot of deals that they want closed by Dec. 31st!

Be lining up your private lenders and have lots of cash on hand. You'll have a lot of houses to get closed by the end of the year and speed makes for better discounts!

Deb