About Short Sales

There’s one common theme that shows up over and over in emails, blog posts, Ask campaigns and phone calls. Year after year, it’s always the same. But I don’t think I ever realized the extent of what you were asking for, until now. Do you know what I’m talking about?

You want a short cut, not just a process, but a short cut for the system, a short cut for the program, the Cliff notes of the book, you want the magic pill.

Poof, it’s done.

Actually, now that I’m writing this I can think of a couple Internet marketing things I’d like that magic pill for myself, but I’ve never found one and I don’t believe it really exists.

I’m not saying it’s an inherently bad thing to want it boiled down to the barest of effort, to almost eliminate the learning curve. I know it’s not that you’re lazy. I get that you’re totally and frustratingly overwhelmed. There’s way too much information and too many offers and too many programs that say you can’t live without this new and improved tool that will instantly transform your business.

In very few instances that may be true.

But it’s not always possible. Most of the time there is some level of work on your part and a learning curve involved. How much time, money and effort will vary depending on what you’re doing and also to a certain extent what level of success you choose to achieve.

You do consciously or sub-consciously choose your level of success by choosing your level of commitment and the level of education you decide to buy. Yes, I said buy, because most high level education that leads to lasting success is something you buy. From a $7 report to a $100,000 a year mentoring program. You choose.

I understand your financial ability plays a role in what you buy, but you need to understand that your financial situation will rarely shift on it’s own without you taking a leap of faith and possibly putting something on a credit card, or a few credit cards. In the first 2 years I was learning this business I built up quite a library of resource that helped me grow and I was initially putting out a lot more money than I was taking in. I took a leap of faith. Without doing that I don’t believe I would be where I am today.

Most people need more to be successful than just one quick fix and thats what Ive been thinking about the last few days. Ive been asking myself how can I put together all the different pieces I teach into a cohesive package that delivers exactly what you need.

So I’ve laid all the piece out here for you. If you think there’s one you need right now grab it and run with it.

There are 4 areas that will help you build your business and also allow you to live the life of your dreams. It’s a process and you need to cover all four areas to sustain the success you build.

1. Introspection: Who are you? What do you want in your life? What will make you change?

2. Out-Picturing: What is your passion? How are you going to design and create the life of your dreams? What will the business be that funds all this?

3. Sales and Communication Skills: How are you going to speak to your target market about what you’ve created? What kind of branding,marketing materials, sales copy, talks, presentations are you going to create to bring in new clients? What is going to be the foundation of how you speak your business in the world? How will you learn to effectively communicate with your clients?

4. Putting It All Together and Growing: Where will you get the tools, strategies,and training to continuously take your business and your life to the next level?

Here’s some of your comments that have been keeping me up at night working on a way to put it all together to give you the easiest, most streamlined solution:

“Ive spent the last 2 years or so chasing the wind online (and spending a ton!) but learning all the outer ring aspects like marketing, sales copy, writing articles, etc., etc., etc.I just cant find that niche for me.”

“I feel like Im tied up because once I get that piece of the puzzle I think I could move rather quickly. But like you said, most of the material out today doesnt really show or teach you how to dig that outmost assume you already have that or just tell you to use PLR materials which I really dont want to do.”

I know I have side stepped topics in the past because of this has already been addressed only to see someone else recycle the topic in a new package.

“you are talking directly to me about the expert that discourages you from getting out there with your message.”

“I have always been known as an ideas guy, but I am miserable at putting things into action.”

“…multiple interest, but when it comes to narrowing choices down and implementation, I fail miserably”

“To actually hone in on a certain niche, and be able to express my single most passion has been a trying journey. Spending untold dollars on courses on both personal development, and learning the ways of internet marketing has been continual, but now it is time to stop and just go for it.”

“Converting ones true passion into a monetarily successful reality can be daunting.”

All 4 elements are essential even if you feel like you have one specific piece that’s holding you back. The thing is, you’re willing to go there at a different rate of speed and to a different depth than someone else may be. And then there are the fears-known or unknown-that have kept you where you are right now, or at least moving forward much slower than what’s possible for you. Honestly, if it wasnt scary for you on some level, you would have already done it. And most often the blocks you are aware of are the symptoms, not the cause.

If youre ready to get your life on track and build a business that will have a solid foundation, then the best way to do that is to take the weekend and get it done. If you want everything all wrapped up into one neat little package, a stripped down ‘essentials only’ system to getting past all the concerns that are expressed in the comments below, I’ve been listening to the requests for a live event.

The questions you want to ask yourself are, “how much is it costing me to take lesser action in my life today than what I know is possible? And how long am I willing to settle for less?”

It is possible to move past all of these concerns in a matter of hours, just one short weekend. Are you ready?

If you are like the rest of us, your home has recently dropped in value by a whole lot. There comes a time when you have to ask yourself if it makes sense anymore to continue the monthly agony of pouring money, time and effort into a never ending black hole. It may be time for you to look at some of your exit options, short of foreclosure. Here’s how I determined my position, and how I decided if I need a house short sale.

1) Get a Great Realtor: I would interview a number of them, and find a good fit for your situation. Preferably, they have a degree in finance and a brokers license in real estate. Don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions, because its your life, your house short sale, and your money! You don’t want to find someone that will make a bad situation worse! Be careful of the referral service mills too. They always ask for money up front, and that should be a big red flag! All of the legitimate realtors I found will never ask you for a dime. They pay all costs including advertising, and the bank pays them a finders fee.

2) What’s the Home Worth Today? Get a good valuation from your realtor. In reality, when you meet to talk, she should already have the comps ready to hand you. Don’t waste your money on a official appraisal as it won’t be used anyway. This is one situation where you want to be incredibly realistic, even pessimistic about the value, and not succumb to emotional attachment for the house. The more upside down you are in the loan, the greater chance for success in your house short sale.

3) Now Do Some Figuring: Here’s where I figured out if I needed a short sale. You can follow along with your own numbers: Take your total loan amount, and subtract the present value of the house. Not what it’s worth, but how much you can get for it TODAY. This is how much your “Upside Down” in the loan. Then, figure your annual expenses including a year’s worth of payments, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and repairs. This is your “Yearly Cost” to keep the house. Now, take the amount your upside down and multiply it by 8%. We will assume the best case scenario. In a FAST appreciating market, this is how much your house value would go up each year, if the housing bubble was over today. (yeah right!) We’ll call this number: “Appreciation per Year.” Finally, divide the Upside Down amount, by Appreciation per Year. This is how many years it will take just to break even with the amount you owe on your loan. No profit, no realized appreciation. Now look at your Yearly Cost to Keep the House. Is it worth it to keep it for that many years?

To illustrate: Let’s say you bought a duplex with a $1,000,000 loan. In just one year it has depreciated drastically and will sell for only $800,000. Is it a good idea to seek a short sale?

Upside Down: $900,000 – $700,000 = $200,000 Estimated Annual Costs: Include all your yearly expenses = $60,000 Appreciation: A health growth real estate market = $200,000 x .08 = $16,000

Verdict: It will take 12.5 years of appreciation at 8% per year, just to break even with the original value of the property, and to get there, it will cost $60,00 per year! In addition, after 12.5 years of suffering, full ownership of the house is still far away and over $750,000 will have been paid in mortgage payments and expenses.

You don’t have to guess what I decided to do. My numbers we’re very similar to these. I know I’ll take a hit on my credit, but for me, 2 -3 years to rebuild my credit is a lot better than 12.5 years of suffering. I’m going to call it quits and live to fight another day.