About Short Sales

for everything you need to know about short sales, REO and bank owned properties.

Archive for August, 2008

The Short Sale Hardship Letter

Saturday, August 23rd, 2008

In the communication with the lender when trying to facilitate a Short Sale, the Hardship Letter has to be very effective to gain sympathy and assistance from the lender with the short sale. The sadder you make it and the more proof you can provide regarding the financial situation the better. Describe how the financial situation came about and make a plea to the lender to work with you on the payments. Lenders know there are extenuating circumstances and will accept the fact that a job was lost, medical bills are overwhelming or some other serious problem has affected your financial situation. Be honest with them and share as much of your present situation as you can with them. Think of the lender as your friend and they will respond in the same manner.

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Success Secrets Real Estate Investors Cannot Afford To Neglect

Thursday, August 21st, 2008
by Jeff Kaller

You probably have - or used to have - a friend like Jonathan. Maybe he spent a couple of years in college, maybe he dropped out before he finished. He’s average looking, kind of quiet and doesn’t really stand out in a crowd. In fact, you’re fairly certain that you’re much more knowledgeable than him about your mutual interests and business, and yet, the other day, you and he were talking about your common interests in real estate investing, and it turns out that he’s been involved in it for 6 months and has done as much as you did in the past year!

So what gives? Maybe he’s an investing whiz, but maybe, he’s just doing something you’re not. And that something may very well have to do with the way he’s thinking about himself, his investments, and his future. It’s possible that your outlook on yourself may be holding you back, so consider implementing these positive thinking strategies in all areas of your life - especially your investing portfolio - and get ready to take off!

1. Positive Thinking Is Contagious. If you’re positive about your abilities, other people will be too. And the more faith you have in yourself, the more you’ll be inspired to fulfill your obligations and take your business and your life to the next level. And as your outlook improves, so will the mindsets of the people around you - so you’ll all be supporting each other in individual and group growth!

2. Always use positive words in your inner dialogue. If you constantly reaffirm to yourself that you Will succeed, you’re less likely to fall to feelings of inadequacy that can lead to giving up and letting things slide.

3. Visualize several successive successful outcomes. If your goal is to make a million dollars, that’s great. And you need to visualize that outcome With It’s Implications constantly.

Not only will this motivate you and maintain your faith, but it will prevent you from stalling upon the attainment of your goal. What will you do with that million? Will that be enough for you to do it once? Don’t just think about how to spend it, but imagine how you’ll make a (surprise, surprise) POSITIVE impact on your life and the lives of your loved ones with future goals. The simplest positive steps can drastically alter your life upon implementation. So take control of the things closest to you - your mind and your heart - in order to seize the success you deserve.

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Bank Owned Properties For Investing

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008
by Steven McCarthy

Have you ever considered bank owned property, for investing? Foreclosure investing will comprise buying a home after the original mortgagor defaults and loses ownership of the property. If you’re thinking about getting into foreclosure investing then you must be the kind of person who is interested in researching a properties history and doing minor repairs to increase the profit potential of your investment property.

That is why investors are springing up all over the country to buy bank owned properties. Why is buying a bank owned property such a good idea? The truth is in most cases your buying foreclosed properties below market value and depending on the situation the discount off market value could be five to forty percent. It depends on many things like repairs the location you are considering buying a foreclosed property.

Knowledge is definitely power! If the property makes sense for you, then you must act fast and make the purchase before other investors scoop it up. Buying a foreclosed property requires that you follow many steps. In most cases of foreclosure, the lender(usually a bank) has taken back ownership of the house.

The sheer temptation to snatch-up a deal like that is almost unbearable to pass up. The average price on bank owned property for sale is well below market value. There are some properties that have been selling as cheap as thirty to forty percent below market. Another advantage to buying foreclosed homes is that the banks are bent upon getting these foreclosed homes off their books. Work with the bank in coming up with the best deal possible. Sometimes a lender will waive portions of the closing costs. Some have even offered a deal on the down payment or interest rate.

Besides the price and availability of bank owned properties, they also make owning a home more affordable. The prices for homes have fallen, yet still remains out of reach. You may need a single family home, but cannot find one that fits your pocket. Foreclosures are basically bad news for some and good news for others. For the savvy investor, these are the days when investment properties are not only abundant, but priced to sell.

Always make use of a realtor and check with your attorney before you start signing any papers. The laws on bank owned properties are a little different. You will want to know that you have all your papers in order and all titles, taxes, deeds and other red tape are legal and binding.

This motivation, combined with the principle of supply and demand, results in foreclosed properties being available to investors below their market value. The difference between what an investor sells a property for, minus acquisition cost and expense, is the investor’s profit. Investors can increase this profit in two ways. The first is to maximize what they sell the property for by making improvements. Since foreclosed properties are taken against the wishes of the homeowners, they will not be in pristine shape without some work before re-selling, as a traditionally marketed real estate is.

So bank owned property will frequently need some minor repairs, upgrades or improvements that the investor can make which will increase the selling price of the property. Another way the investor can increase their profit margin is by reducing the cost of acquiring the property. An alternative way to do this is to buy bank owned property.

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