December 17th, 2010

Hello and Welcome to Xima’s Webinar Training Archive for December 17th, 2010. Here are some of the questions our subscribers asked in today’s training. Please watch the video to see the answer to all these questions and more:

• Q: how do you use the new version to find comprable properties. i now where it is on the old version but i couldn’t find it on the new version.
• Q: how do you pull up 4 plex preforeclosures?
• Q: what is the best way to get new listings
• Q: I haven’t been able to figure out how to create custom tempelates for reports.  In the old version, we cam select from the list of fields.  Now I can’t find that list of fields.
• Q: How can I dictate the order of fields to appear in the excel report?
• Q: how can you get the comps?
• Q: can you also get pre n o d . for example, if somone has been late on the past but the bank has not file lis pendis on the  property yet
• Q: how old is your list
• Q: can i get home owner’s phone numbers?
• Q: can i screen out certain banks?
• Q: for example if don’t want to deal with bank of america. can i screen it out on my search
• Q: How do you save a search/selection criteria for repeat/future use?
• Q: ALSO, can the EXCEL output report be manipulated prior to production or must I do it manually afterward?
• Q: Where does all the owner info (like phone numbers) come from?

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A short sale is a sale of real estate in which the proceeds from the sale fall short of the balance owed on a loan secured by the property sold.

In a short sale, the bank or mortgage lender agrees to discount a loan balance due to an economic or financial hardship on the part of the mortgagor. This negotiation is all done through communication with a bank’s loss mitigation or workout department. 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, sometimes (but not always) in full satisfaction of the debt. In such instances, the lender would have the right to approve or disapprove of a proposed sale. Extenuating circumstances influence whether or not banks will discount a loan balance. These circumstances are usually related to the current real estate market and the borrower’s financial situation.

A short sale typically is executed to prevent a home foreclosure, but the decision to proceed with a short sale is predicated on the most economic way for the bank to recover the amount owed on the property. Often a bank will allow a short sale if they believe that it will result in a smaller financial loss than foreclosing as there are carrying costs that are associated with a foreclosure. A bank will typically determine the amount of equity (or lack of), by determining the probable selling price from a Broker Price Opinion( BPO) (also known as a Broker Opinion of Value (BOV) or through a valuation of an appraisal. For the home owner, advantages include avoidance of a foreclosure on their credit history and partial control of the monetary deficiency. A short sale is typically faster and less expensive than a foreclosure. In short, a short sale is nothing more than negotiating with lien holders a payoff for less than what they are owed, or rather a sale of a debt, generally on a piece of real estate, short of the full debt amount. It does not extinguish the remaining balance unless settlement is clearly indicated on the acceptance of offer.

Short sales are common in standard business transactions in recognition that creditors are not doing debtors a favor but, rather, engaging in a business transaction when extending credit. When it makes no business sense or is economically not feasible to retain an asset, businesses default on their loans (called bonds). It is not uncommon for business bonds to trade on the after-market for a small fraction of their face value in realization of the likelihood of these future defaults.

Negotiations

Lenders have a department (typically called “loss mitigation”) that processes potential short sale transactions. Today, lenders may accept short sale offers or requests for short sales even if a Notice of Default has not been issued or recorded with the locality where the property is located. Given the unprecedented and overwhelming number of losses that mortgage lenders have suffered from the 2009 foreclosure crisis, they are now more willing to accept short sales than ever before. This is great news for borrowers who are “under water” ” or in other words those who owe more on their mortgage than their property is worth and are having trouble selling to avoid foreclosure because of this.

Lenders have a varying tolerance for short sales and mitigated losses. The majority of lenders have a pre-determined criteria for such transactions. Other distressed lenders may allow any reasonable offer subject to a loss mitigator’s approval. Multiple levels of approvals and conditions are very common with short sales. Junior liens – such as second mortgages, HELOC lenders, and HOA (special assessment liens) – may need to approve the short sale. Frequent objectors to short sales include tax lien holders (income, estate or corporate franchise tax – as opposed to real property taxes, which have priority even when unrecorded) and mechanic’s lien holders. It is possible for junior lien holders to prevent the short sale. If the lender required mortgage insurance on the loan, the insurer will likely also be party to negotiations as they may be asked to pay out a claim to offset the lender’s loss in the short sale. The wide array of parties, parameters and processes involved in a short sale makes it a relatively complex and highly specialized type of real estate transaction which is why unfortunately short sale deals have a high failure rate and often do not close on time to save homeowners from foreclosure when they are not handled by a knowledgeable and experienced professional. The best sources of knowledge and expertise in short sales are short sale negotiators, loss mitigation specialists, and real estate lawyers who specialize in short sale.

One thing a buyer should know about a short sale is there is no necessary commitment by the bank to sell the house. When the bank completes a short sale they have to write off the difference between their loan amount and the lesser proceeds from the escrow, something they wish to avoid. You may go through all the paperwork to make an offer on the house, pay for inspections, and put down a deposit to start the sale process. After you have made your offer, the bank may try to convince the seller to refinance their loan and stay in the house, which avoids the bank having to take the write off. Any short sale contract includes a contingency where the bank must approve the sale. If the bank persuades the seller to refinance the house, the bank doesn’t approve the short sale and the buyer gets their deposit back. In this situation the bank has tied up several months of the buyers time and now the buyer must start the buying process over again. So if you have a fixed time period to get in a specific city or neighborhood you may be better off with a foreclosure (the bank formally took possession of the property) or a situation where the seller has equity. So in a short sale situation look for clues like has the seller moved out (revealed they have no intention of staying in the property) and/or grill the selling realtor about how much the selling bank has agreed to sell the house at (the price you want to offer).

Credit Reporting

A short sale does adversely affect a person’s credit report, though the negative impact is typically less than a foreclosure. Short sales are a type of settlement. Like all entries except for bankruptcy, short sales remain on a credit report for seven years. Depending upon other credit information it is typically possible to obtain another mortgage 1-3 years after a short sale.]

While it is frequent if not common for a lender to forgive the balance of the loan in question, it is unlikely that a lien holder that is not a mortgagee will forgive any of their balance. Further, it is common for a lender to omit updating mortgage balances zero balance after a short sale. However, willfully misrepresenting information on a credit report can constitute libel in some jurisdictions, and lenders may be sued in civil court for engaging in this behavior.

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MORE INFORMATION

Xima USA provides the best and most accurate foreclosure and pre-foreclosure information, data, and statistics available, making it a valuable resource to invest wisely Xima USA offers you everything you need to profit from foreclosure investing. It is your one stop destination to search for foreclosed homes, foreclosures Florida, properties with positive equity, short sale, pre-foreclosures or distressed homes. It creates comprehensive property comparison reports in a specific area, giving you a very powerful tool when making or negotiating an offer. XimaUSA is mainly geared towards real estate brokers and investors, and the main purpose is to identify the best investment properties. You are able to search for properties with 30%, 40%, or even 50% equity, and identify possible short sales. You can also identify distressed sellers and FSBOs, so you may easily get those hot listings.

All this information is collected from many different sources and presented to you in one place, in a very easy format. This will give you the ability to get MLS listings information, public records, mortgage, pre-foreclosure and foreclosure details, you can get comparables of active listings, closed sales and rentals. Best of all, you can customize and print reports, mailing lists and labels for easy mailings.

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Flipping houses is becoming increasingly popular. Unfortunately, the popularity of the idea is creating a bit of competition among those who would love to try it out for the first time.

However a few very smart investors in Florida are using a Revolutionary Tool that allows them to find the Best Deals available. Go Here to review this awesome Secret Weapon some investors are using to generate a Fortune in Real Estate

The increased competition often serves to drive up the costs involved in purchasing the profit, which only manages to lower the profit potential. However if you find a good deal and feel that the property is a good candidate for a flip you can ask yourself the following questions to help you determine whether or not the property really is a good candidate.

1)      Have you had a qualified inspection and determined that there are only minor repairs that need to be made to the property and the landscaping? This is important because every repair that needs to be made will eat into your budget. You want to complete the project with as little extra money invested as possible in order to get the greatest return on your real estate investment possible.

2)      Is the property suitable for the neighborhood? By this I mean is the property a three-bedroom house build for families in the middle of a retirement community or is it a one bedroom, cottage-style home in the midst of family houses? These aren’t exactly a good match and can cause problems when it comes time to sell.

3)      Can the neighborhood bear the price you need to bring in from the flip? If you are creating an upscale home in a marginal neighborhood you are almost guaranteeing a loss on your investment. You want to find a house in need of repairs selling cheap in a neighborhood of much better houses so that it can bring in the profit you are hoping to get when all is said and done.

4)      Can you make the changes you envision for the house on your budget and without significantly changing the structure of the house? This is a biggie and one that often gets overlooked. You do not want to start knocking out walls or creating additions when flipping a house. That is something you should leave for the new owners. You want to make as few waves as possible and only make changes that will improve the value of the home.

5)      Can you improve the value of the home enough to make it worth your while in a short amount of time? This is another big deal when it comes to a house flip. It takes time and money to make the changes that most “flippers” have in mind for their investment, especially first time flippers. Do you have the time to stick with it and the money to cover the carrying costs while you are in the process of making the changes?

6)      Is the property in a high demand neighborhood, city, etc. for selling properties? Another common mistake is buying in areas that are hard sells for buyers. It is often quite simple to find lower priced properties that are attractive at first glance however; if you can’t sell the property you purchase to flip it really defeats the purpose of putting all that time, effort, and money into making the improvements.

7)      Can you do the work or will you need professionals and if so, will it still be cost effective? Be careful that you do not overestimate your abilities in this if possible. It is great to think you can put down a hardwood floor but the reality of doing it is quite another matter. Be sure you have a realistic understanding of the potential costs involved in the flip and whether or not the property will still be profitable in the worst-case scenario.

Answer these questions when checking out potential real estate investment and house flipping properties and you should be well on your way to a successful flip, at least as far as the selection of the property goes. You should also find a house to flip that you like as you will likely be spending a great deal of time there.

P.S. We make money in Real Estate when we buy, not when we sell. Check out how you can make the Best buying decisions in Real Estate

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