Real Estate Wiz Kid | Short Sale Negotiator | Arizona Realtor | Foreclosure Help

So you all know by now that I am a short sale negotiator and Realtor. I negotiate Phoenix and Scottsdale short sales for hours every day. I obviously have my personal opinions and bias about short sales and their process. Since this site is intended for others to learn about short sales I decided to give some suggestions on different articles to read from other top bloggers.

• Steve Belt - RealPhoenixLiving.com
• Kelly Koehler - MyTucsonBlog.com
• Jonathan Dalton - AllPhoenixRealEstate.com
• Washington Post - WashingtonPost.com

Please read these articles. They are all very insightful and written by great writers!

Thanks for reading.

- Jeff Buettner
Real Estate Wiz Kid

AHHHH! I think I need to short sale my house ?!?

Short sales are all over the Arizona as we all know. Short sales pop up in all neihborhoods in all price ranges. It is no surprise though that we tend to see more short sales in what I like to call the short sale prone areas. These areas in my mind are the Phoenix area and its outskirts (Outside the 101 Loop). I tend to believe we will start seeing more and more short sales in the Scottsdale area. I know you are asking, why, Jeff, will we see more Scottsdale short sales?

• More Scottsdale Short Sales Reason 1: Scottsdale homes tend to be higher priced therefor Scottsdale short sales will have to depreciate through more equity.
• More Scottsdale Short Sales Reason 2: Purchasers of Scottsdale homes tend to have more cash reserves to save their home from becoming a Scottsdale short sale longer.
• More Scottsdale Short Sales Reason 3: Scottsdale homes tend to be be bought with a larger down payment which builds in more equity, once again, prolonging it from becoming a Scottsdale short sale.

Thanks for reading and come back soon.

- Jeff Buettner
Real Estate Wiz Kid

How do I stop foreclosure on my Phoenix home?

I wrote post once explaining that certain banks are trying different things to make short sales go a little smoother. The influence for that post was Aurora implementing an online short sale update website. Aurora has created this new website for quicker and frankly easier short sale updates. One goes on the website, enters in their short sale loan number and some security info and your in. Well my friends, this short sale solution has not done much at all. I logged on today…. and the short sale updates where about a month old. I apologize to evryone. I know everyone is always crossing their fingers for the day when we can get faster updates and a smoother short sale process. Unfortunately my friends, that day has not come for short sales.

Thanks for reading.

- Jeff Buettner
Real Estate Wiz Kid

Where can I find a reliable Arizona Short Sale negotiator?

So I am negotiating on a short sale with the bank First Horizon. I have only had a few short sales with them but their routine seems to be similar to the others. Anyways, after I sent in the short sale paperwork I made a few phone calls to their loss mitigation department in which the hold time exceeded a hour every time. Eventually I was able to get the short sale negotiators extension. I have called the short sale negotiator at least three times a week for the past month. Everytime I call I get Jane Doe is at lunch, Jane Doe is at break, Jane Doe is at home. Every single time. EVERY TIME!!!!! It has gotten past the point of frustrating. Now everytime I call, I know what to expect and just laugh. It is so ridulous, I have gotten one voicemail returned. Lucky for me, i have a few contacts at most banks. I was able to get a hold of another short sale negotiator who sits next Jane Doe and now I am able to get updates from her.

Who else has short sale negotiator nightmare stories?

Thanks for reading.

- Jeff Buettner
Real Estate Wiz Kid

Who is experienced with Phoenix real estate?

I realize when heading down the pre-foreclosure road you have many things to think about. There is a lot even when is comes down to short sales. In my mind, when considering any preforeclosure method, especially a short sale, you have to look at two main categories. The first main ramification when looking at short sales is the legal side. The second short sale ramification are tax issues.

Short Sale Legal Ramifications to Consider:

• Promissory Note
• Banks Legally Pursuing You
• Anti Deficiency laws

Short Sale Tax Ramifications to Consider:

• 1099C
• Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007

Consider all these things while raking a short sale or any pre-foreclosure route. Any seasoned short sale negotiator will have solutions, answers, and paths for knowledge for all these hurdles.

Thanks for reading!

- Jeff Buettner
Real Estate Wiz Kid

Short Sale? What is it?

Sometimes people get discouraged with short sales when they really don’t need to be. A lot of times when they call in to get an update on their short sale they get told they have a new short sale negotiator. People feel as if their short sale has taken a step back. This is not always the case. These days, some banks, give you three different short sale negotiators.

• Short Sale Negotiator #1: The first short sale negotiator makes sure you have given them all the necessary paperwork and then orders the BPO/appraisal.
• Short Sale Negotiator #2: The second short sale negotiator, once the BPO is back, review all the numbers and makes sure the short sale is selling at FMV. ( Fair Market Value) If they feel your short sale is along the lines they need it to be they send it to the investor on the loan.
• Short Sale Negotiator #3: Once it is back from the investor, the third short sale negotiator draws up your approved short sale letter and you are done!

I hope this gave you a little more insight into a short sale!

Thanks for reading!

- Jeff Buettner
Real Estate Wiz Kid

I’m upside down on my house and need to do a short sale in Phoenix…

Short sales can be so frustraing when you spend two months calling on them only to have the buyer back out on the last second. This is the reason why so many realtors don’t want to even touch short sales. Short sales are hard on everyone.

- Jeff Buettner
Real Estate Wiz Kid

I would like to talk to someone about my Scottsdale real estate…

When doing research about short sales in your area, make sure you find someone who knows what they are talking about. Just because they are high on a search “scottsdale short sale” doesn’t mean they are the best. I found a site today while searching scottsdale short sale that was ranked high for the following reason. They had about 100 links all to pretty much duplicate information labeled like this…

“Scottsdale Short Sale
Scottsdale Short Sales
Scottsdale Short Sale Help
Scottsdale Short Sale Information
Scottsdale Short Sale Negotiator
Scottsdale Short Sale Realtor
Scottsdale Short Advise
Short Sale in Scottsdale
Stop Foreclosure with a Scottsdale Short Sale”

Don’t be fooled with sites ranked high because of this. Call and verify to make sure they actually know about scottsdale short sales. Or look into their site for some actual information!

Thanks

- Jeff Buettner
Real Estate Wiz Kid

I would like to talk to a Phoenix Realtor about selling my house…

So whether you are a  short sale negotiator or someone undergoing a short sale, you may realize some of the banks are trying to step up their game. A few banks are trying to “make short sales easier”. When I say make short sales easier, I mean they are trying to lessen their short sale work load. What a few banks have done is put short sale updates online. You litterally go to their website, click short sale update, answer a few security questions and your in! But oh wait…. Oh ya, the updates on the website are weeks old. The short sale information has to be noted a certain way and isn’t updated regularly. What a bust! I guess this does allow hope for the future of short sales. Thanks for reading once again!

- Jeff Buettner
Real Estate Wiz Kid

So I spoke with a loss mitigation representative working on short sales in Phoenix. She works out of the Countrywide office in Tempe, AZ. I was slightly frustrated when talking with her because one of my short sale packages just wasn’t getting to the short sale department. No matter how many times I sent it no one was receiving this package. In was during my rant of frustration that this lovely woman provided words of realization. She explained that they, the Countrywide short sale department, received a couple thousand faxes a day at least.  I took a few seconds and imagined a small room with papers shooting out of an extremely small and outdated fax machine. I chuckled to my self, thanked the woman for her time, and hung up the phone with a new found perspective.

- Jeff Buettner
Real Estate Wiz Kid

I would like to talk to a Scottsdale Realtor about selling my house…

Short Sales are a hot topic these days. You see short sales all over the news. A lot of people need short sales and a lot of agents think they can negotiate short sales. Why all of this might be the case, most don’t realize how draining short sales can get on all parties.

Here’s a rather simple example.

Lets say Mr. and Mrs. Smith need to short sale their Phoenix home. They go to their trusted Phoenix realtor that they have known for years and originally bought their current house from. This Phoenix real estate agent has never negotiated a short sale before and doesn’t want to risk anything for Mr. and Mrs. Smith.  She comes to someone like me who has been negotiating phoenix short sales for quite some time now and decides she wants to partner. I collect all needed paperwork and start short sale negotiations with the bank.

Here is where the trouble starts.

The realtor starts marketing the Phoenix short sale and gets a two offers. She sends them to me right away and once again they go to the bank. The bank moves extremely slow and as we all know, a short sale normally takes roughly 8 weeks but can go as high as 12. During this time Mr. and Mrs. Smith get more and more worried with each passing day that their Phoenix short sale is going to turn into a Phoenix foreclosure. So they start calling their trusted real estate agent and friend everyday about the short sale. Everyday they want to know if their short sale has any update.

What are both buyer’s agents doing during this time. Oh ya! They are getting pressured from their buyer’s wondering where the approval is on their short sale investment. So now the buyer’s agents call the listing agent everyday wanting an update. To make a long story short all this pressure then gets moved unto the negotiator who starts calling the banks everyday. The banks want to help but they have only a couple thousand other Phoenix short sales.

What can you do to stop this?

If you are involved in a short sale, please voice to everyone that a short sale is a long and tedious process and everyone needs to be patient. You have nothing to worry about if you have an experienced negotiator who knows what they are talking about!

Thanks for reading.

- Jeff Buettner
Real Estate Wiz Kid

So there have been a few rumors floating around about short sales these days. I have heard a few and here they are. It was brought to my attention some people believe banks will try and freeze short sales. Completely freeze all short sales! Why would the banks freeze short sales? The reasoning behind this madness would be because they are unsure about their fate with the government. Because the banks don’t know how the government is going act exactly. They theoretically wouldn’t want to short sell a home for 90 cents on the dollar or 70 cents on the loan if they could potentially get more from the government. For this reason, some think short sales will go on a temporary hiatus. They think short sales will be put on pause. Do I think this will occur? I have to believe not but who can be 100% sure. I will let you know if I see any changes or unusual difficulties in my short sales. Thanks for reading and come back soon for more!

- Jeff Buettner
Real Estate Wiz Kid

The phoenix short sale market is somewhat unique. Phoenix short sales are a dime a dozen and can be found in every shape and size. What makes the phoenix short sale market so different is the giant growth that the phoenix area went through. People saw phoenix as an opportunity. For that reason, growth multiplied, demand went up and prices sky rocketed. Everyone felt the outskirts of phoenix would eventually make its way to center. Making the outskirts the thriving part of the city. Since the recession, there has been a major drop in prices causing more short sales in phoenix then ever before. The phoenix short sale market is like no other and here are a few facts that might help you gain an edge.

• Phoenix short sales tend to be great investment oppurtunities.
• Phoenix short sales tend to be a little more common due to the Arizona Anti-Deficiency laws.

Things you might want to watch out for are :

• Phoenix short sales tend to be investment properties owned by investors.
• Investors who have one phoenix short sale tend to have more  phoenix short sales. While this isn’t always an issue, sometimes when someone has more than one problem property, adequate attention isn’t always given evenly.
• So be careful when looking at properties.

Thanks for reading and keep checking back!

- Jeff Buettner
Real Estate Wiz Kid

Where can I find a reliable Arizona Short Sale negotiator?

So here we are. Probably roughly two years in to the sky rocket of short sales and we see just another tactic from the bank to kick us all who are involved in short sales. Short sales are becoming more and more difficult because they are becoming more and more common. If you would have asked a group of real estate agents a year ago what a short sale was the majority wouldn’t know what you are talking about. Now a days the words short sale come up more regularly than closed deal.

So what are the banks doing? Well the have employed several methods to try and save their behinds. The newest one? A bank, that will go nameless for now, has set up a triage group to I guess weed out the bad short sale contracts. The low ball offers we like to call them.

What is this group actually doing? They are plugging information into a computer to calculate rough numbers on which they are basing someone’s future on. Thats right! They are flat out declining short sales before a short sale negotiator is assigned, before a BPO is done, and before you even talk to the short sale department. They are doing all this just on some rough numbers a computer spit out to them. Kind of harsh don’t you think? I surely do. Thanks for reading and come back soon.

- - Jeff Buettner
Real Estate Wiz Kid

I come to you today with a warning. I warn you to be careful about choosing a short sale negotiator. A short sale negotiator is one of the biggest decisions when trying to get out of foreclosure. Short sales are very difficult. They require a lot of time, work, and connections. Now a days more and more realtors are trying to do short sales. While I do encourage real estate agents to try them, I would personally never become one of these guinea pigs. I would would do a little research about short sales first and here are some of the questions I would ask!

• How long have you been negotiating short sales?
• How many short sales have you negotiated?
• What is your percentage of short sale files approved?
• How much time do you devote to short sale negotiating?
• What are the legal ramifications of a short sale in my state?
• And ask as many questions as you can think of about the short sale process!

If the answers they provide aren’t clear or up to your standards than that means they probably haven’t negotiated too many short sales in their time. You want to go to a real estate agent or company that devotes the majority of their time to them. They will have the most knowledge and know the correct techniques. Have a great day!

-Jeff Buettner
Real Estate Wiz Kid

Oh ya! Want more about short sales? Try this post!
How To Use This Site To Learn More About Short Sales

Where can I find a reliable Arizona Short Sale negotiator?

So the main reason this blog was created is to promote real estate education. I am going to explain how to get the most out of ths site and how to learn the most about short sales. Thanks for reading !

• Definitions: Start off by reading up on some of the technical definitions of the industry’s most important words.
• Short Sales: Read the short sale defintion and all posts under the short sale category.
• Subscribe: Subscribe to RealEstateWizKid.com RSS Feed.
• And last but not least is come back for more !!!

Thanks for reading ! I hope you are having a great weekend!

- Jeff Buettner
Real Estate Wiz Kid

Where can I find a reliable Arizona Short Sale negotiator?