The pros and cons of short sales vs equity sales...

The pros and cons of short sales vs equity sales...
(Digested Version)

Short sale: May have to wait 3 to 6 months for an approval from the bank but will get best value because banks make approvals according to appraisal on file and they do new appraisals every three months, standard.

Equity Sale: These are few because they are in competition with REO (bank owned) properties and short sales which both now make up about 85% of the market inventory. Also, the seller usually overprices their properties in hopes of getting more, so they are usually looked over because there is usually a short sale or REO property in the same, if not better condition, and at a lower price.

REO: Bank owned properties, the downside, they are bank owned and the seller may have left the property in horrible condition. They are now making efforts to prevent that by offering the seller's (or tenants) cash for keys to leave the property in good condition. In addition, FHA has recently announced that the 90-day flip rule (which was not allowing any FHA buyer to purchase any property that had not been on the market for a minimum of 90 days) is being postponed beginning Feb 1.

Alot of info to digest, but let me know if you have any additional questions!

90 Day Flip Rule Waived

90 Day Flip Rule Waived - Real Estate Investors Rejoice! If you're a real estate investor who has avoided deals because of the 90 day resale or flip rule, go find a deal! Friday, January 15, 2010, the FHA waived the rule, and will finance homes with no requirement for seasoning in a flip starting February 1st.

Need an Approval from Franklin Credit (In Jr Lien position)?

We just received an approval from Franklin Credit and after much back and forth (one year to be exact), we also received the truth as to what the REALLY are trying to attain.

When your offer with Franklin Credit is declined, Franklin Credit and its employees are instructed to tell you that they cannot give dollar amounts, you just need to resend a better offer. For the past three months, our strategy has been to "up" our offer to them, starting at the promissory note for 10K, then increasing in increments of 20, and slowly increasing the cash contribution to them. This was based on the fact that they won't disclose an acceptable amount, and the threads which I had read regarding strategy and acceptance with Franklin Credit.

However, I am assuming it was our lucky day when we got a rep on the phone who stated the following (directly from our system file notes): "(Rep) asked how much is he able to bring to the table? I informed of the promissory note of 15,000. (Rep) states regardless if promissory note is signed or not, a minimum of 10% which is 16,342.00 has to be paid. (Rep) advised to send an updated HUD with the corrected payoff amount and resend the higher offer to fax 201-839-XXXX Attention (Rep). "

We of course called back the next day to confirm the info, but were told (reprimanded would be more like it) that the rep should not have told us that because, again, they are not allowed to disclose figures.

However, on 11/30/09 we acted on the payoff of 10% and were told today that the approval letter had mailed to title (which was weird as well) yesterday. (UPDATE: I just received the letter in my email as well).

I recommend cutting to the chase and "finding" 10 percent of the balance owed and get it over with. They are not the most pleasant people to deal with either.

I also recommend dealing ONLY with the supervisor once you know that your acceptable offer is there for fast expedition (and she's much nicer to deal with). Email me if you'd like that info (sorry, REALTOR's only) (keisha.mathews@century21.com)

Because this info is so hard to come by, I only ask that you PLEASE respect her info and DO NOT bother her until you are ready to go straight to the ten percent. If you bother her with the small stuff you may make it harder on others trying to attain legitimate approvals.

Hope that helps! See ya in escrow!

Keisha M. Mathews, CDPE, REALTOR® | License# 01439130
The Short Sale LadyTM | Century 21 Landmark Network
(916) 266-4835 office - direct | (916) 405-3886 efax
DEDICATED TO PARTNERING WITH LOSS MITIGATORS TO REDUCE FORECLOSURES!

How long do you think the market will be classified as a Short Sale market?

Another item to consider are the empending foreclosures yet to be released into the marketplace. Chances are, due to the last financial fiasco, banks are not going to release all of these REOs at once as some are predicting. As is with investments, when large investors/stockholders pull out their holdings, they do it slowly and under the radar, undetectable so as not to disturb the marketplace. If a large investor pulled out of a company all at once, others surely would follow and chaos would ensue.

Banks are probably going to pull one from the investor playbook and "trickle" these properties back onto the market, thus extending/prolonging this current down market. With these REOs still on the market, the social mindset is that these are bargain basement properties and other properties on the market that wish to compete will have to be priced accordingly.

With, so many variables and unknowns, the answer to your question is simply, no one knows.

Do you think there's anything i can do to put a hold on the forclosure till I'm able to modify or short sale?

Usually, as long as there is a workout in progress (short sale or loan modification), your bank will postpone the foreclosure. The only concern is that they usually won't postpone until days before the foreclosure so it is important to stay on top of the scheduled date and make sure the modification negotiator is following up with the foreclosure department to ensure the foreclosure postponement request has been made and that the sale has been postponed.

Hope that helps!

I'm current on my mortgage. Will my lender consider a short sale? Some will if loans are not dilenquent. We can put your file together!