Purchasing a Short Sale

August 21st, 2008 Posted in Short Sale, foreclosure | 3 Comments »

Purchasing a short sale can be a difficult process.  Ask most any realtor if they are working short sales and you are likely to get an answer like “I am but I hate it and the process takes too long”. 

 

Often during the process would be buyers grow impatient of waiting for the banks approval on the short sale price.  When that happens, the buyer sometimes withdraws the offer and  moves on to another property that is easier to buy. 

 

The reason for the long process is twofold.  First, the banks are overwhelmed with such requests.  Second, most realtors have neither the time nor the resources necessary to process and negotiate a short sale.

 

We highly encourage those that are interested in purchasing a short sale to use a professional negotiating company like The Borrowers Advocate, LLC  based in Frederick, Maryland. 

 

Companies such as this specialize in negotiating with banks.  The best of these companies have staff members with banking backgrounds and a standard format for submitting and processing each transaction. 

 

A recent article from the Frederick News Post speaks to the difficulty of purchasing a Short Sale.  It borders on recommending that would be buyers choose an easier purchase but says little about the great values that can be had with a little expertise and patience. 

 

Although purchasing a short sale can sometimes take as many as three months, companies like The Borrowers Advocate can make the process much easier and very often much faster at no cost to the buyer. 

 

So don’t be afraid to buy a short sale.   Contact your realtor and discuss using a company that specializes is helping you with your transactions. You can get in to your next home for well below market value. 

 

Get some help.  Be a little bit patient and get the home of your dreams for way less than your neighbors paid!

 

Todd Morganti

Short Sale Software

August 13th, 2008 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

We process and negotiate Short Sales while you are getting more listings and selling more homes.  Don’t sit on hold with the bank trying to get an answer on a Short Sale that is taking too long.  Let us take care of that and get your deal closed before the buyer gives up and walks away. 

Those of you who have been been working with us on your Short Sales have heard me talk about our system and why it is better than the rest.  We have developed a system of submitting Short Sale requests that is absolutely the best in the industry.  Not only has the feedback from lenders been fantastic but more importantly we are proving it by getting approvals more quickly than others.  In July alone we got Short Sale Approvals from 31 lenders.  Each approval was granted in less than 30 days and 3 of these were granted in less than 2 weeks!  Very few submissions take longer than 30 days for an answer when you submit via The Borrowers Advocate, LLC.

After speaking with several lenders, numerous realtors and even a few competitors throughout the country, I am absolutely convinced that the reason for our success is our presentation and managment of the process. 

Simply put, we put together the best Short Sale Request package there is.  Our staff is made up entirely of people with experienced banking backgrounds from some of the largest lenders in America.  We know what the lenders want, we speak their language and we get the best results for you, your client and everyone involved.  When the lender opens it, it is easy to read, complete in every way with all required documentation in one package.  It tells a story.  It leads the bank to the right decision. 

Take a moment and do a Google search for “Short Sale Software”.  You will get a few hits from companies claiming to process short sales and a couple of others with “short sale” software that is really nothing more than a checklist of required documents and perhaps a minimal database application. 

Our Short Sale Software system was created and designed entirely around our format for submitting Short Sales.  It takes into consideration every possible document and communication necessary.  It time stamps every activity and makes tracking the progress of one or multiple files easy with the click of a mouse. 

There is absolutely no other Short Sale or Loan Modification application software like it any where in the industry.

Below is a screen shot of the summary page.  Once all documents are uploaded, the software sorts and merges the entire file in specific order to submit to the bank.  Submission is done directly from the screen you see here via fax or email.  It is stamped with date and time sent and all communications with the bank are also tracked until an approval or other decisioin has been issued.

Don’t sit around waiting months for a Short Sale approval while the buyers give up and move on!  The people at The Borrowers Advocate, LLC are here to help.  Our staff is made up entirely of people with experienced banking backgrounds from some of the largest lenders in America.  We know what the lenders want, we speak their language and we get the best results for you, your client and everyone involved.

Close your Short Sale faster!  Contact us today!

Short Sale Software

July 28th, 2008 Posted in Short Sale | No Comments »

It’s finally here!  For months now we have been working to have a software program designed for our use to process and negotiate short sales that also tracks, records, saves and streamlines all of the processes that go with it. 

We looked at several other “short sale software” programs.  There are a handful that are actually not too bad particularly for the price and for the person who is trying to manage their own sales and purchases of short sale properties and/or REO properties.  None of these applications however really do much other than attempt to make sure that you have the right documents and a somewhat organized format when you submit your request to the lender.

We needed something more.  The Borrowers Advocate, LLC is growing rapidly.  Honestly though I am thrilled and proud of our growth, I did not anticipate growing as much as we have so quickly.  If you are a realtor, banker or other professional that is acquainted with The Short Sale Process or with Loan Modifications you have an idea how many pages just one package can contain.  On average our Short Sale Packages have been running between 85 and 110 pages per request.  Now multiply that by as many as 75 separate packages and that is what we are dealing with. 

None of the Short Sale or Foreclosure software packages on the market could accurately manage and streamline what we are trying to accomplish.  The number one complaint of most Realtors and others involved in the Short Sale process is the time that it takes to get an approval from the bank.  The reason we are successful is because in most cases we are getting the answers more quickly than the next guy.  Why?  Because we are submitting exactly what the banks want and we speak their language.  We know exactly how to put togeher a great package that not only gets looked at sooner but also leads the lender to the right decision. 

We did have a problem though.  With our growth came the realization that our method of sumission and follow up is too labor intensive to handle more than about 35 files at once.  I needed a solution that would make the process easier for our existing processors and minimize the need for additional hires. 

So I called a friend of a friend who writes software for major corporations.  His primary focus is data bases and I explained what we were looking for.  A few weeks later he came to our headquarters and spen several hours with me.  He watched and learned all the things we do.  I explained details and told him of my ‘vision’ for the product we needed to help us run more efficiently. 

I needed ONE program which would manage each property, each realtor, each lender, property seller, purchaser, foreclosure attorney, etc…  I needed that same program to be able to take all or any piece of each component and merge it in to one file in the order requested regardless of the order received.  I needed it to tell me when something was missing and also alert me when a file was complete and ready to submit.  I needed to be able to send and receive emails directly from this program and easily track progress of a file from start to finish.  I needed it to be so efficient that anyone could open a file and know exactly what was happening with it.  Any person could open it and see whether it was complete and submitted and in process or still waiting for docs.  They would be able to easily access any previous notes or actions in the file and pick up immediatelyt where someone else left off. I could see the entire thing in my head but had no idea if it could really be done or not.

Well…I am proud to say it IS done!  We now have what I am certain is the absolute most advanced and most user friendly software in the industry for processing and negotiating Short Sales, Loan Modifications and REOs.  Soon I will have a demo or at least some screen shots to show everyone.  In the meantime, if you would like to hear more about it or if you need assistance processing and negotiating a short sale of your own, visit our website http://www.theborrowersadvocate.org or contact me tmorganti@theborrowersadvocate.org

Talk to you soon

Todd

Stay or Walk Away?

May 21st, 2008 Posted in Credit, Finance, Loans, Mortgage, foreclosure | No Comments »

 

 

 

If you have examined all of your options and believe that staying in your home is no longer realistic you may be thinking about just walking away.  While walking away does indeed seem to be a growing trend it is rarely the best solution. 

 

Walking away, (Foreclosure) does not protect you in any way from further collection.  Walking away means that you will have a foreclosure on your credit and no matter what people tell you, this IS a big deal. 

 

Having played a big part in who gets loans and who does not for many years I can assure you that foreclosure is just about the worst thing that can happen to your credit.  A foreclosure is worse than Bankrupcty in the eyes of most lenders.  Obviously both is even worse…but a Bankruptcy where the mortgage is reconfirmed (not included) is usually far less damaging than a foreclosure, with or without a bankruptcy.  Eventually you are going to want to purchase another home.  You will be able to do so much sooner if you can avoid foreclosure. 

 

A Short Sale may be the best solution for you.  The Borrowers Advocate can help you or your real estate agent facilitate a short sale approval much faster than other companies.

 

So what is a Short Sale?

A Short Sale is when a bank or mortgage lender agrees to discount a loan balance due to an economic hardship on the part of the borrower. The home owner/debtor sells the mortgaged property for less than the outstanding balance of the loan, and turns over the proceeds of the sale to the lender in full satisfaction of the mortgage debt.

Extenuating circumstances influence whether or not banks will accept a Short Sale offer. These circumstances are usually related to the current real estate market and the individual borrower’s financial situation.

Avoiding Foreclosure is the primary reason for wanting to do a Short Sale.  For the homeowner, a short sale usually does not damage credit nearly as much as a foreclosure or a bankruptcy would.  For the bank, a Short Sale is often a much better solution than foreclosure as well.  Foreclosure is a very expensive process for the bank.  Legal fees, property maintenance, advertising fees, real estate fees and a much lower resale or auction price can quickly add up to a 50 or 60 percent loss to the bank.  Approving a reasonable short sale is often in everyone’s best interest.

So getting your bank to approve a short sale should be pretty easy given the above information right?  WRONG. 

Nearly two thirds of all Short Sale contracts never close.  This happens for two reasons.  One, many Real Estate Agents are often not well versed or well equipped to negotiate with the bank.  Two, Banks are often extremely slow to respond to short sale requests, they can be difficult to reach and in some cases are unsure of their own position on the subject.

The key to getting a short sale request approved lies in proper presentation to the right people at the bank, the decision makers. The experts at The Borrowers Advocate are well equipped to get Short Sale requests approved quickly.  They know exactly what is needed and how to present your case to the bank.  They have developed relationships with the right people in loss mitigation departments at many of the largest banks and they have a  technology platform which enables them to track and monitor every transaction until completion.  Unlike many other companies, they can electronically track and monitor on a daily basis the status of every Short Sale transaction and receive alerts when something is taking too long.  Other companies often take several weeks or even months to get an answer from the bank.  The Borrowers Advocate  can usually get answers within 7 to 10 business days, allowing your Short Sale transaction to move much faster and increasing the chances of a successful closing.