Lenders pursue homeowners after Foreclosure or Short Sales

REALTORS, be very, very careful when negotiating with the mortgage companies.  Your clients (the homeowners) may want to pursue and possible sue you after closing a short sale if you led them to believe they would be free of their house trouble.  If you are working with a homeowner attempting a short sale, remember two important facts:

According to stats in the Houston [...]

Modification is Not for Every Borrower according to a Treasury Adviser

Two questions borrowers frequently ask us,

“How did my neighbor get into HAMP (and/or get a loan modification) but I can’t?
“Do I have to be delinquent to get a workout plan?”

The best answers typically are:

The secret Black Box recipe may not mix well with your situation (read more here on this) because your loan may be [...]

Mind the P&L, as in Payoffs and Liens

This is a re-print of an article I wrote for Real Estate Executive Magazine for this month’s issue.
Mind the P&L, as in Payoffs and Liens
Understanding your seller’s complete financial picture has long been a best practice of top producing REALTORS but that task has become more important and more complicated.  It’s not just declining [...]

Bank of America wants to collect twice on Short Sales?

Wow.  You can’t make this stuff up!
About two months ago we helped a family, whose house was in Porter, Texas, short sale their home.  A key component of a successful short sale is protecting the homeowner and their REALTOR from the mortgage company because while these companies can be sneaky and unethical they are also [...]

Strategic defaulters put downward pressure on values

Sadly less than 20% of all homeowners facing a foreclosure situation choose to list their house for sale.
The mortgage unit of Citigroup says one in five borrowers who defaults does so willingly, even though they’re able to pay the mortgage. “It’s a very large number, and it’s a very, very significant risk to the housing recovery,” [...]