Debbie Ward-Terry

Archive for the ‘Short Sales and Foreclosures’ Category

Fannie Mae is considering punishing people that walk away from their unpaid mortgages.  Their goal is force homeowners faced with foreclosure to surrender their homes through either a lender-approved short sale of by a deed in lieu.   There are alternatives for distressed homeowners.  Visit www.HelpMeCDPE.com or call 863-577-2600 and ask to speak with a Certified Distressed Property Expert.  To read the entire article in the Ledger about Fannie Mae’s threat to punish homeowners that simply walk away from their mortgage click HERE.

Finally some good news regarding the foreclosures in Florida.  The foreclosure filings were down significantly for the first quarter in comparison to the previous two years.  I believe this is in part due to the fact that the banks are finally getting easier to work with regarding short sales, which are keeping struggling homeowners from foreclosure.  As a Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE), the process is becoming a little easier, although still time consuming.  But helping homeowners avoid the dreaded “F” word gives me great satisfaction. 

Click HERE to read the entire article in today’s Ledger regarding foreclosure filings being down during the first quarter of 2010.

Beware of shady short sale transactions, and investors flipping to make a quick buck.  There are bad apples in every bunch, and the real estate profession is no different.   Two Connecticut real estate agents found a way to profit in the housing bust: Buy low, sell fast. Their tactic was also illegal. The two are scheduled to be sentenced in Hartford’s federal court in August after pleading guilty to fraud. Their crime involved persuading lenders to approve the sale of homes for less than the balance owed — known as a short sale — without disclosing that there were better offers.  They then flipped the houses for a profit.  Believe it or not, this is also happening right here in Central Florida.

The scam involves a practice called “flipping,” In that scheme, investors or home buyers hire realtors to assess a home for less than its market value and convince banks to accept a sale at an undervalued price.  The buyer conceals from the lender that he has lined up a higher offer and then quickly resells the property for a profit.

Short sales are an important tool that can help both the bank and the borrower it’s just that greedy people are always trying to find ways of profiting.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the California Department of Real Estate and mortgage finance company Freddie Mac have warned that such schemes may be spreading after a plunge in values left homeowners owing more than their properties are worth. The scams threaten to deepen losses for lenders that are increasingly agreeing to short sales as an alternative to more costly foreclosures.

An Obama administration effort to boost short sales may increase incentives for fraud, Neil Barofsky, special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, wrote in an April 20 report to Congress. The government, through its Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program, that month began offering as much as $1,500 to servicers, $2,000 to investors and $3,000 to homeowners who close short sales.  “It appears that the program may lack necessary antifraud protections,” Barofsky wrote.

The Treasury has “put reasonable protections in place” to prevent short-sale fraud, requiring that the buyer and seller have no hidden relationship and banning most resales within 90 days, said Laurie Maggiano, policy director of the department’s Homeownership Preservation Office in Washington.  But the experienced flippers are still finding a way around it.

Foreclosure is not the answer for the homeowners in crisis, which seems to be increasing throughout Polk County, Florida.

I’ve heard horror stories of homeowners packing up during the middle of the night, and homeowners that have actually mailed their keys back to the lender and just walk away from their homes. There is another alternative, one that you should seriously consider as soon as you find yourself in a distressed situation. Doing a short sale on your home is so much more beneficial to your credit and much easier and quicker to repair than having a foreclosure on your record.
A foreclosure stays on your credit report for 10 years, and if you buy another home in the future, you have to disclose on the credit application if you have EVER had a foreclosure, there is no time limit on that. With a short sale, you can begin building your credit immediately, and can usually have it completely repaired in a 2 year timeframe. A foreclosure can affect your credit score by 300 points…for each loan, so if you have a first and a second mortgage, or line of credit, it could be as much as 600 points. With a short sale, your late payments will show on your credit report, but typically it only affects your credit score by about 50 points. So, you can see that it is much easier to repair your credit with a short sale vs. a foreclosure.

A Realtor that is trained and has experience in short sales will be your new best friend! Insist on a Realtor that is a Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE). Short sales listed with a CDPE agent have an 85% success rate of selling and closing, which avoids foreclosure for the homeowner, while the national average of short sales closing with Realtors is 10 to 12%. That’s because there are many, many Realtors taking listings that are short sales and they have no idea what they are doing. This can be devastating for the homeowner.

Alex Charfen founder of the Distressed Property Institute believes that homeowners surrounded by a strong CDPE real estate agent team including legal and financial referrals have the greatest chance of avoiding foreclosure and at minimal financial investment to the homeowner.

If you are behind on your mortgage payments, feel you may be facing foreclosure or simply have questions regarding the short sale or foreclosure process, please contact our office at 863-577-2600, and we will schedule a confidential phone interview with one of our CDPE agents. We are here and ready to help. Time is of the essence, so please call today if you need help, or to discuss your options to avoid foreclosure.

Fourteen Realtors® from Realty World Homes of Distinction have earned the prestigious Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation, having completed extensive training in foreclosure avoidance and short sales. This is invaluable expertise to offer at a time when the area is ravaged by “distressed” homes in the foreclosure process.

Historically, a percentage of homes have always been in foreclosure. With the recent challenges in the subprime lending market, this percentage has grown dramatically. “We felt it was important to acquire the specialized knowledge needed to assist home owners in need,” said Debbie Ward-Terry, one of the Realty World agents to earn the CPDE designation, “and to further enhance the ability to provide homeowners with every option available to find the best solution for their situation.”

Rapid growth in what once was a niche market requires Realtors® to gain specialized knowledge and learn new processes that will allow them to successfully assist homeowners in need. The Distressed Property Institute provides the tools and information Realtors® need to help distressed homeowners avoid foreclosure and move forward with their lives.

More than 11 percent of American homeowners are either delinquent on their mortgages or in foreclosure, according to the National Delinquency Report from the Mortgage Brokers Association

. The number of borrowers at least one month behind in their payments – but not in foreclosure – rose to nearly 8 percent during the fourth quarter of 2008. That is the highest rate of delinquency ever recorded by the survey, which began in 1972. It reflects a record 13 percent jump compared to the third quarter.
referrals have the greatest chance of avoiding foreclosure and at minimal financal investment to the homeowner.