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NEW Short Sale Guidelines From Freddie Mac And Fannie Mae

Jeffrey — Tue, 01 May 2012 17:07:55 +0000

As everyone knows, short sales can be a pain. Patience is needed as a bank can draw out the process and provide vague unclear answers as to why the process is taking several months. Now, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae take a step forward to shorten the short sale process.

Starting in June of 2012, all Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac backed short sales will be processed within 30 business days. If this is not completed, a weekly update will be provided as to what the hold up is. If this is not done, monetary fines will be given to the lender.

This is done as an attempt to hold the lenders accountable for the long wait times, unclear updates, and obvious delays.

If you have any questions about the Arizona short sale process, please don’t ever hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Jeff Buettner

Make Yourself An Expert At Short Sales

Jeffrey — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:54:24 +0000

It’s unfortunate as a percentage of the phone calls I receive are from desperate homeowners. They aren’t desperate because they are nearing foreclosure but because they aren’t sure how to proceed forward from their particular position. They are lost or confused and their short sale agent has mislead them in one way or another.

This isn’t uncommon. Short sales are rough and to get a straight answer (from the bank, buyers, or agents) isn’t as easy as it sounds. So what can you do? Do you just roll over and let the fate of your credit and home rest in the hands of a short sale agent you have spoken to once? I don’t think that’s a good idea.

I think you need to make yourself a short sale expert. Before choosing a Short Sale Realtor, call and speak to 3-5 of them. You should know short sale regulations and normal procedures like it’s the back of your hand. After hearing the pitch, call the agent you spoke with earlier in the day and ask them some questions this new agent brought up.

Without multiple points of reference, how do you know an agent is being honest or truthful? How do you know they are knowledgeable or even have their real estate license?

Stay sharp and keep yourself informed.

Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,

Jeff Buettner

The bank has to _________

Jeffrey — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:25:25 +0000

I speak with a handful of homeowners every week who are facing foreclosure or who are considering a short sale. There is a common misconception in regard to short sales/foreclosure. The general public feels the banks HAVE to do this or are required to GIVE that. At the end of the day, that is just not the case.

The short sale is at the bank’s discrepancy. Period. They can ask for whatever they want, take as long as they want, or , frankly, just never return your phone calls. Now, as we know, this doesn’t happen. Banks do want to get short sales done because it nets them more money but they don’t HAVE TO do anything.

Even states where the bank legally has to respond within 60 days, guess what, it’s not helping any. If they bank hasn’t done their calculations within 60 days, but they have to respond, that response is going to be a NO.

Just something to think about as we enter a new week.

Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Jeff Buettner

Am I Upside Down On My Mortgage?

Jeffrey — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:50:08 +0000

There are a lot of statistics out there in regard to short sales in Arizona and the housing crisis. Some of these statistics will quote “homeowners who are upside down on their mortgage”. One of the qualification of doing an Arizona short sale is being upside on your mortgage.

Here is a great video that talk about the specifics of being upside on your mortgage and how a short sale can help.

If you have any questions, please don’t ever hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Jeff Buettner

What is an Arm’s Length Transaction? How does it affect short sales in Arizona?

Jeffrey — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:37:41 +0000

An Arm’s Length Transaction has to do with the relationships between the parties involved in a particular transaction. More often than not, a short sale lender will require all parties of the short sale to sign an Arm’s Length Addendum.

Embedded below is a very good video about what makes up an Arm’s Length Transaction and how it might affect your Arizona short sale.

Thanks for reading our Arizona short sale blog.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at the “Contact Us” page.

Jeff Buettner

Arizona Short Sale Help, Where To Get It

Jeffrey — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:00:06 +0000

Believe it or not, I read a statistic the other day that said close to 80% of individuals never talk to any kind of professional before or during the time their home goes into foreclosure. This shocked me. Their home is close to arizona foreclosure and they just don’t speak to anyone about it! They don’t get any kind of short sale help, or foreclosure advice, or have a lawyer or accountant review anything.

So, if you’re looking for Arizona Short Sale Help, who should you turn to? There are three major professionals you should turn to.

* Arizona Short Sale Realtor ~ That’s right, the first person you should speak to is a Realtor. They will be able to put a value on your home, see how much you’re underwater, and explain the short sale process to you.

* An Accountant / CPA ~ That’s right. There are some tax ramifications with going through a short sale or foreclosure. you should talk to a CPA to discuss how it will affect you.

* A Real Estate Lawyer ~ Depending on your loan situation, you might want to have a real estate lawyer review your loan documents. Your Arizona Short Sale Realtor will be able to tell you if your loan situation is unique or not.

If you have any additional short sale questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.

Thanks.

Jeffrey Buettner

Why Most Agent’s Won’t Ever Succeed At Short Sales

Jeffrey — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:25:37 +0000

After talking to a ton of people day in and day out about short sales, I often get quoted the very low success percentages that the media has thrown together. I have heard people say on average only 40%, 30%, and even 20% of all short sales get approved. How is it that there are some agents getting only 20% approved while others are getting upwards of 80% you ask?

The answer is painfully simple. Determination. Determination is the single most important factor in getting approvals on short sales. Everyone knows the hoops the bank makes you jump through are ridiculous, but that’s not going to change too much. Most have been asked by a lender tell them to call them back in 3-6 weeks…. Really?

The thing that shocks me the most is the agents who listen to these asinine requests. If you truly want to get your file closed, why are you waiting 3 weeks to get an update on your file?

Here are the three rules to getting your deal approved.

* Don’t take no for an answer. (If someone tells you no, you do and talk to someone else.)

* Touch” your file every other day. This means you have to call, fax, email someone from the bank about your file every other day. (It doesn’t matter how long they asked you to wait to call back.)

* If something goes beyond to normal human logic, ESCALATE the file! (They shouldn’t be giving you 3 days to close on a deal that the buyer needs to obtain a loan.)

Following those three simple rules and showing a little determination, you should significantly increase the number of short sales you get approved. If your currently going through a short sale and you feel your agent isn’t doing the above, call me!

Thanks for reading.

Jeff Buettner

Google Can’t Determine A Short Sale Negotiator’s Level Of Expertise

Jeffrey — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 20:25:28 +0000

In Scottsdale and throughout Arizona, there is what I like to call a short sale pandemic. There are a few facts in regard to short sales and real estate floating around that are very troubling. The majority of individuals looking to sell their home or are in need of Scottsdale short sale assistance, hire the first Realtor they speak too! Rarely does an individual get a second opinion. Most don’t even question what the first “short sale expert” they talk to has to say.

Now, if all Scottsdale short sale experts were found via a professional referral or a name being dropped by a friend who has gone through a short sale before, we wouldn’t have such an issue. Unfortunately, almost all homeowners looking for short sale assistance in Arizona go straight to the internet and Google.

Studies show that when a search term is typed into Google, over 50% of the individuals who searched that term or keyword phrase click on, spend the most time on, and call the number on the site listed in the very first position. So essentially, Google who is determining who the short sale experts are, who is assisting the homeowners, who is attempting to help the individuals who are in need of dire Scottsdale short sale help. They are determining this without actually knowing if they are experts or not.

Anyone can build a website. Anyone can type out “Scottsdale Short Sale Expert”. Anyone can claim to be an expert. The responsibility is on YOU. Ask questions, see what their history with short sales are, and if something sounds fishy, CALL SOMEONE ELSE! Ask how many short sales in Scottsdale they have done. Ask how many contact over at the short sale banks are. And ask how long they have been working short sales!

Be smart and you won’t regret it.

Arizona Short Sale Negotiators Can’t Charge An Up Front Fee

Jeffrey — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 18:06:36 +0000

Some new laws and regulations are in the process of being out into place regarding how short sales are handled and the individuals that handle these particular short sales.

One regulation to be exact, is what I want to talk about.

“Numerous regulations have recently been enacted governing short sale negotiations. In short, these regulations generally provide that a licensed real estate broker/salesperson representing a seller in a real estate transaction may negotiate a short sale with the lender provided that the broker/salesperson does not charge an additional fee for the service. The ADRE will begin enforcing these regulations on March 1, 2011.”

That is straight from the Short Sale Negotiator Guidelines article distributed by The Arizona Department Of Real Estate.

How Does This Affect Arizona Short Sales?

There were a lot of companies good and bad charging upfront fees to homeowners before starting their Arizona short sales. Now, this is not an option. Realtors and loan officers negotiating short sales can only get compensated through real estate commission. This commission is paid by the bank out of the funds of the sale. Essentially, nothing is coming out of pocket from the homeowner.

What is the downside for Arizona Short Sales?

In my opinion, a small fee from the homeowner, $200-$400, helps the smoothness of the short sale transaction for a couple of reason.

The homeowner who is willing to pay this up front fee has more skin in the game. They are always more responsive and helpful throughout the short sale. I have a short sale closing ratio of about 93%. The ones that don’t succeed, believe it or not, is usually the fault of the homeowner. They takes weeks as apposed to days to get me needed paperwork. They don’t return my calls when important information needs to be discussed. They are fickle about showings. These issues can cause a huge problem.
As you can see from my statistic above, not all short sales go through. This small fee can cover some of the overhead if the homeowner is non-compliant.

Ultimately, what is my opinion on the new regualtion?

I think this new regulation is great. Unfortunately, there were a lot of companies, some reputable and others scams, that were convincing homeowners to come out of pocket $1000-$4000 before initiating these short sales! These homeowners would shell out enormous amounts of money just to have their short sale negotiators disappear or do a horrible job. I believe this new law will weed out the bad seeds so to say. It will allow only the good negotiators, the ones trying to actually help short sale homeowners, to receive business. Hopefully the easiness of scammers and con artists to take advantage will disappear.

Ultimately, I think this is the push in the right direction that short sales in Arizona need.

If you need a free Scottsdale short sale consultation, I am always available. Please don’t hesitate to call me at 480-365-8025. If you talk to someone now who is trying to charge you an upfront fee, RUN!!!!!!!

Jeff Buettner

Short Sale Basics: Bio Of Fannie Mae

Jeffrey — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 18:24:30 +0000

Fannie Mae, the Federal National Mortgage Association, was setup with an aim to give the ability to the lenders to reinvest their assets and offer them additional and more secure lending options. FNMA helps the secondary mortgage market and has helped Americans for the past few decades by increasing the number of lenders and thereby providing easier access to credit.

As per official records, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac accounted for guarantee of nearly 56.8% of $12 trillion mortgage business in the United States in year 2008.

However, during the recent financial downturn, the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has been considered as a major event in the financial and housing sector. Federal Housing Finance Agency annouced conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in September, 2008. The FHFA decision was supported by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Benanke and Treasury Secterary as well.

However, the conservatorship of Fannie Mae had a major impact on various US banks holding preference shares of FNMA as they had to write down the value of their portfolios.

After its setup as Government Sponsored Enterprise in year 1968, Fannie Mae went through major changes over a period of time. In year 1977, the Congress signed Community Reinvestment Act. In year 1981, Fannie Mae issued mortgage backed securities. During the rule of Bill Clinton, Fannie Mae was asked to offer mortgage loans to moderate as well as low income groups, to enable them for easier housing. This led to higher rate of interest for subprime borrowers and also led to increase in demand of housing in United States.

Credit was easier and HUD issued warning about the risk associated with easy credit. However, in year 2004, the high-risk subprime loans were allowed again under government plans to offer affordable housing to low income groups.

As per latest reports from FHFA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Max still account for $5.4 trillion of mortgage market in US. A recent announcement in June 2010 has pointed towards delisting of securities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from New York Stock Exchange.