The Obama administration will Announce  on Monday changes to government refinancing program, changes that will help underwater borrowers. If your home is worth less than your mortgage and it is backed by Fannie or Freddy you will be able to refinance to a lower rate. Also FHFA ( Federal Housing Finance Agency) will waive certain fees for borrowers who refinance to a shorter term of lets say 15 years instead of the regular 30 years.  This is to aim for homeowners to pay down the amount they owe at a faster rate. This program is also gearing at getting more banks to participate by eliminating the burden of banks from buying back HARP loans if they found underwriting problems.

The administration is just adding and remodeling  the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) to allow more underwater homeowners to reduce their mortgage debt by taking advantage of today’s rock-bottom interest rates. This is another way of tackling the housing market.  Let’s hope this is better than HARP, because the aim of HARP was to help millions of homeowners refinance and modify their mortgage, but only about 850,000 homeowners or so were able to take advantage of the program.

This will not be a fix everything type of program because some homeowners will still be left out, and I also believe most homeowners will not be able to take advantage of  waiving the  fees to refinance, because a shorter period of time like 15 years mortgage,means a higher monthly mortgage payments.

If you are interested in selling your House in the Boston area visit http://www.Masseigroup.com

This is a graph of the US homeownership from 1965-2010, do you see the decline; it is still declining to level of the great depression. In the 4th Quarter of 2010 Homeownership was at 66.5% our lowest level since 1998.

Now my perspective is what happened during the Great depression?
Yes, you got it right, the great depression created more millionaires, or wealth transfer than any other time in the history of America, and REAL ESTATE was a Great part of that. Think about it everything that is happening now is a transfer of wealth, please understand when someone is losing something the value is being transfer somewhere else. What is happening to this country working class is atrocious, but that is not your fault, the folks to blame are indeed Wall Street, The government, and from time to time the homeowners.

I am not here to point the finger and play the blame game, because it has been overplayed in the past 5 years. What I am here to tell you is, this really is the best time to invest in REAL ESTATE, it is the best time since the great depression to buy properties. I know that lending guidelines are stricter, but it is still the GREATEST time to invest in real estate. Think of the home inventory that is out there, banks are still unloading properties, as for price, home values in most market will not start going up until 2020, yes 2020, you read that right. So home prices are at their lowest in years, this Market is much better than the Mid 1980s market due to the lowest interest rate ever.

So if you have missed to make a mark in the past 5 years you have the next 9 years to bulk up your portfolio. You do not need cash to start investing in real estate all you need is education and a good network. Do you know that the government has programs that actually forgive your loan, if you buy and sell properties to low income families in certain area, those loans are like Grants. Consider this as you servicing the community. If home prices are low, and the amount of inventory too high, you get steeper discount, which in turn allow you to sell, or keep your investment depending if it is long term or short term, but if you are selling, you can actually sell it under market value and still make a pretty nice profit.

If there was a Real Estate GOD, he would have said “Go Forth and Invest in this real estate market, and ye shall be prosper for many years to come”
Stop sitting on the sideline and guessing about it, throw your hat in the ring, and start making money, and helping families in this trying economic times.

If the video is too small please click on it so you can watch it on youtube, I hope this was helpful to you

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Hope  this is helpful, it was done very quick, so just shoot an email if you have more question.

Since we are in the tax season, I Thought this would be very appropriate for homeowners to know, when dealing with a short sale or a foreclosure lender has a few possible ways to handle the deficiency balance, which is the portion of the mortgage debt not covered by the sale of the home. The lender can attempt to collect the deficiency balance from the seller after the property has closed, lender may require the seller to sign an unsecured promissory note for the deficiency balance as a condition of agreeing to the short sale. If the new note is for less than the balance of the original debt, the difference would be considered canceled, or forgiven, debt. The best one is, the lender may agree to cancel the entire deficiency balance.

The last statement may sound good but please be aware that the IRS considers any canceled mortgage debt as ordinary income. This means that the amount forgiven is taxed at the same rate as ordinary income somewhere between 15 % and 30%. In addition, because the IRS requires the lender to file a 1099-C form stating the amount of the canceled debt, Friendly Uncle Sam will have a record of the exact amount of the debt that was canceled. A seller will also receive a copy of the 1099-C to use in filing income taxes. The seller’s home state would also consider the canceled debt as ordinary income.

I am not trying to scare you but there are ways to handle this please visit http://www.shortsalesedu.info/Short_Sale_Q_A.html and scroll tot he question “How will a short sale affect my taxes? And make sure to click on the link for “The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt relief Act of 2007” in there you will find the exceptions to the rule regarding the 1099 C.

After watching the Quick videos answering a few questions about short Sales Real Estate, visit this site for the Most important questions and Answers about short sale http://shortsalesedu.info/Short_Sale_Q_A.html

Sample First letter
Tips on How to Avoid Foreclosure!

Are you having trouble keeping up with your mortgage payments? Have you received a notice from your lender asking you to contact them?

· Don’t ignore the problem.

The further behind you become, the harder it will be to reinstate your loan and the more likely that you will lose your home.

· Contact your lender as soon as you realize that you have a problem.

Lenders do not want your house. They have options to help borrowers through difficult financial times.

· Open and respond to all mail from your lender.

The first notices you receive will offer good information about foreclosure prevention options that can help you weather financial problems. Later mail may include important notice of pending legal action. Your failure to open the mail will not be an excuse in foreclosure court. So OPEN ALL MAILS FROM YOUR LENDER

· Know your mortgage rights.

Find your loan documents and read them so you know what your lender may do if you can’t make your payments. Learn about the foreclosure laws and timeframes in your state (as every state is different) by contacting the State Government Housing Office. Or simply visit www.ftc.com for your consumer rights

· Understand foreclosure prevention options.

Valuable information about foreclosure prevention, call us at XXXXXXXX Option can also be found on the internet at www.massequityrealty.com or call me directly at XXXXXXXX for more information on how to prevent your foreclosure.

· Prioritize your spending.

After healthcare, keeping your house should be your first priority. Review your finances and see where you can cut spending in order to make your mortgage payment. Look for optional expenses-cable TV, memberships, entertainment-that you can eliminate. Delay payments on credit cards and other “unsecured” debt until you have paid your mortgage.

· Avoid foreclosure prevention companies.

You don’t need to pay fees for foreclosure prevention help-use that money to pay the mortgage instead. Many for-profit companies will contact you promising to negotiate with your lender. While these may be legitimate businesses, they will charge you a hefty fee. You can do this by yourself if you open the letter and call your lender

· Don’t lose your house to foreclosure recovery scams!

Be aware of the Vultures out there practicing foreclosure scams, many firms will claims that they can stop your foreclosure immediately if you sign a document appointing them to act on your behalf, you may well be signing over the title to your property and becoming a renter in your own home! Never sign a legal document without reading and understanding all the terms and getting professional advice from an attorney, a trusted real estate professional.

Sincerely

(Your name)

P.S. Hopefully by the time you receive this letter you would be able to bring the mortgage current, but please don’t throw this letter away, put it in with your mortgage and other valuable documents, if you ever need help or need to sell the home feel free to call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx

www.shortsalesedu.com www.massequityrealty.com www.shortsalesedu.info

It appears that there are a few changes out there regarding short sales Real estate.  We have some new laws, which are very good for investors doing short sales legally.  Those laws basically get rid of all the bad apples who are taking advantage of homeowners, all the scam artist out there.  You should familiarize yourself with the real estate laws of the states your are conducting your short sales business in. There is only so much a short seller can do. Crossing legal boundaries can easily result in judicial problems. This is why the short seller must dominate the local, state and federal regulations of this business. In real estate, the law is most often broken by not being aware, rather than by willful intention. However, the law is not forgiving of ignorance. So make it a priority that you disclose everything and understand your state real estate law when it comes to short sales.

Something I noticed recently

This is what I notice in regards to Citimortgages in the past month. Now to submit a short sale package to citi, A listing agreement is required.  I spoke to 3 different loss mitigators al of them basically say a listing agreement is required because they want to see that the property is in the market.  it does not matter if it is a brand new home or a run down property a listing agreement is required  for them to consider  your short sale package but the good news is  this agreement could be just a public ad, like a craiglist.org ad within the past 90 days, or a listing on FSBO and so on.  If other investors who have some deal with citimortgages have gone through that as well please leave a comment.

A suggestion

I will suggest that instead of sending just three or 6 regular comps with your short sale package you should get a realtor to do a CMA for you, if it is a real estate agent you work with this should be free.  You should also be offering about 60% of the principal mortgage.  There is an excess of properties out there, supply is far higher than demand for you to be offering 80% of the mortgage like 2006 or beginning of 2007 is not in your interest.  It is only fair that you should go for deeper discount on your REOs and short sales deal.  This trend should last for at least the next two years because unemployment will get higher, folks will default on their loans and the bank still have a massive amount of REOs that are not on the market.  For more information download our free e-book at http://www.winderalexandre.com

To learn more on Short Sales visit http://www.shortsalesedu.com http://www.shortsalesedu.info

Double closing using transaction Funding firm

Ebook

Be knowledgeable: Nothing beats good training. In real estate, the more you learn, the more you earn. In this business, education pays off. Knowing the short sale business in and out allows you to quickly assess foreclosure situations and determine whether or not to be involved.

Understand the foreclosure process: The principles of foreclosure are timeless and basically universal. However, foreclosure law varies state to state. Each state has its own foreclosure version. In the least, a short seller must master this.

Know the legal boundaries: There is only so much a short seller can do. Crossing legal boundaries can easily result in judicial problems. This is why the short seller must dominate the local, state and federal regulations of this business. In real estate, the law is most often broken by not being aware, rather than by willful intention. However, the law is not forgiving of ignorance. So make it a priority that you disclose everything and understand your state real estate law when it comes to short sales.

Work only with motivated clients: Pre-disposed clients are open to be helped. It is only fair for the client to ask questions and request references. The short seller’s confidence, knowledge and sincerity should be enough to overcome this. However, it is waste of time to have to convince people to work with you so you can help them, you should set up a system where you can dispose and stop wasting time on clients who are only wasting your time.

Be helpful, not judgmental: Clients needing a short sale are providing a financial opportunity in exchange for your help. The short seller needs to be grateful to have this chance. Not only that, the moment the short seller passes from being helpful to being judgmental, the business relationship will become strained. Judgmental thoughts negatively affect interactions with clients. Like this, inevitably, attitudes will create problems. Too many problems and the transaction will not close. Incomplete transactions are a waste of time, energy and emotion.

Make sure the client understands the benefits of a short sale: A short sale is always better than a foreclosure. However, this is not always evident to the client. The main benefit of a short sale is reduced credit rating damage. Damaged credit through foreclosure will result in the homeowner having to pay high interest rates for years and years. Not only that, if a short sale is not negotiated, in many instances, the homeowner will remain owing on the home despite no longer owning it. Home equity loans or cash-out second mortgages not fully paid by the foreclosure remain the homeowner’s responsibility. Not owing after the foreclosure is definitely a short sale benefit. Other benefits to the seller:

• In some cases seller can remain in the property during the sale.

• Seller may be released from liability with the loan.

• Seller has time to make other living arrangements.

• Seller can avoid a foreclosure on their credit history.

• Seller may be able to avoid bankruptcy.

Clearly explain what needs to be done. Short sales take time, effort, have a protocol and require the client’s full collaboration. Clearly and properly explaining to the client the short sale process delineates expectations, responsibilities and outcome possibilities, not only that, tough choices may have to be made. An educated client tends to be emotionally and mentally prepared. The payoff of a few minutes invested in educating the client is a smoother transaction.

Fully disclose to the client and the bank: Tell exactly what, how and why things need to be done. This will keep the client from having any doubts. Doubts lead to discomfort. Discomfort leads to lack of trust. Clients that do not trust soon think that the agent or investor has something to hide. Once this happens, despite the best intentions, matters are questioned. The end result is usually an incomplete transaction. Incomplete transactions are a waste of opportunity. Disclosed to the bank what you are doing, you don’t want the deal to falter at the closing table. You must also disclose to the end buyer lender so they could know that this property might have been close on three hours or two days ago.

Ensure earnings: Short sales take time, effort and expertise. This needs to be rewarded. To make sense, a short sale transaction needs to be win-win-win. The homeowner avoids foreclosure and its ongoing negative ramifications. The lender recovers more of the loaned principal sooner. It is only fair that the short seller be rewarded for this. Whether the short seller earns through commission, re-sale or rental income, that profit is the result of others benefiting. If others benefit the short seller should benefit too.

Get testimonials: Testimonials are a great referral basis. Nothing beats evidence of satisfied clients. Testimonials are proof of competence, experience and honesty. Only satisfied clients write testimonials. What is the key to obtaining testimonials? “Ask and you shall receive”. Happy clients will gladly testify in favor of persons that helped them out of a bad situation. Lenders often provide testimonials too. Asking is for free. The best way to obtain a testimonial is to ask for it immediately after the transaction has been finalized. Better yet, right prior to closing, ask the client if so far they are happy how things are going. If they are, ask them to, after closing, write a little note you to show others. This will pre-commit the client. After that, the longer it passes, the lower the quality and the lesser the likelihood a testimonial will be created.

Short sales are very interesting transactions. Plenty of well-trained real estate professionals make a good living with them. Following these ten tips will ensure continued success in your real estate endeavor.