Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The specific damages a foreclosed homeowner might ask to be compensated for by their lender after a rejected short sale

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I am following up on a the previous blog from “Arman”. His loan was owned by Fannie Mae and the company handling the loan for Fannie Mae was rejecting an excellent short sale offer for no reason.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.

So in this scenario, when one finally gets in front of a jury and show how this company’s negligence caused Fannie Mae to lose $15,000 (what the projected lose may be) and that it hurt the borrower as well, the jury may award damages.

Here are some of the damages a foreclosed homeowner might be able to ask for.

Credit Damage. A foreclosure is much more damaging long term to your credit than a short sale. For the next 7 years they will have to answer yes to the standard question that is on most credit applications: "Have you had property foreclosed upon or given title or deed in lieu thereof in the last 7 years?"

Harm from a potentially larger amount being owed to the owner of the loan. If the short sale was turned down, and as a result the home sold for less as a foreclosure, the owner of the loan could pursue the homeowner for more money in some US States.

This would be a much easier argument after the foreclosed home sold and you have a copy of the sale prices of the home and the original short sale offer in hand.

These are two things that are the most likely to be approved by a jury. If you can think of additional damages, then please post them in the comments section below.

There is something else very interesting this home seller has said. When he talked to a women at the lender and asked why they were rejecting the short sale offer, she replied "We or some of our investors will buy it.”

That sounds pretty fishy to me. I have seen other people who handle loans for a third party owner profit from the loan owner’s loss.

For example, one company charges the buyer a $1,500 to $5,000 fee for buying the short sale. If the buyer won’t pay, then they won’t approve the short sale. Remember, they are being paid by the owner of the loan.

In fact, they are paid very well. The business is so profitable that IBM Computers recently opened a subsidiary loan servicing company.

Thinking about a short sale? I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at Ashish@CalCapHomes.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail. If you prefer, then you can call me at 818 259 3455.

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our Loan Modification Kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your lender. Click here to request a copy.

Thanks for reading this, Ashish Trivedi.

Ashish is a Real Estate Broker - Ashish Trivedi at California Capital.
Phone: 818 259 3455. Ashish@CalCapHomes.com.

Secure Your Future

View My homes for sale at http://www.calcaphomes.com/.
Short Sale Realtor. Short Sales. Realtor.

Copyright 2010 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. The views expressed here are Ashish Trivedi's personal views and do not reflect the views of California Capital. This information on The specific damages a foreclosed homeowner might ask to be compensated for by their lender after a rejected short sale is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

What To Do When An Excellent Short Sale Offer Is Rejected

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Here's a scenario presented from a follow up question from "Arman".  His loan was owned by Fannie Mae and the company handling the loan for Fannie Mae was rejecting an excellent short sale offer for no reason.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.

Here is a quick recap of what Arman may be recommended to do by a legal professional .



Step #1: Call up IBM and demand a written letter explaining why they are declining the short sale offer.

Step #2: Write down what you project your damages are going to be if the property is foreclosed upon instead of sold as a short sale.

Step #3: Call up the company handling the loan for Fannie Mae and tell them if they reject the short sale for no reason and the house is foreclosed, then you will be suing them for those specific damages you drew up in Step #2.

Here is the basis for a lawsuit. Fannie Mae is the owner of his loan. If the short sale offer is rejected, then the property will be foreclosed.

In most cases, foreclosed properties sell for 10-15% less than the short sale offer. I can show you countless examples of this happening.

The company handling his loan is not his “lender.” They were hired by Fannie Mae to collect payments and do what is in Fannie Mae’s best interest.

The basis for the lawsuit against this company is that they are not doing everything they can to help Fannie Mae net the most money from the property sale. As a result of them not doing their job, Arman may have a foreclosure on his record.

We all know that a foreclosure will be much more damaging to his credit history. He will have other damages as well. That may be the basis of his lawsuit.

When Arman get in front of a jury and shows how this company’s negligence caused Fannie Mae to lose $15,000 (what's projected they will lose) and that it hurts him as well, the jury may deam it fit to award damages.

In tomorrow’s blog post will details the specific damages one might be able to ask to be compensated for by the lender.

Thinking about a short sale? I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at Ashish@CalCapHomes.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail. If you prefer, then you can call me at 818 259 3455.

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our Loan Modification Kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your lender. Click here to request a copy.

Thanks for reading this, Ashish Trivedi.
Ashish is a Real Estate Broker at California Capital.
Phone: 818 259 3455. Ashish@EastLionRE.com
Secure Your Future
View My homes for sale at http://www.eastlionre.com/.
Short Sale Realtor. Short Sales. Realtor.

Copyright 2010 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. The views expressed here are Ashish Trivedi's personal views and do not reflect the views of California Capital. This information on Short Sales: Are homeowners able to sue their lender for damages after a foreclosure is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Question from homeowner: I want to avoid foreclosure, but my lender won’t let me

The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Arman. Here is his question.

I am a Seller trying to avoid foreclosure. My agent has a buyer and his offer is with the lender from last seven months. Now the lender told us that Fannie Mae investor refused the short sale offer and the house is going to foreclosure early next week.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.

The lender’s own appraisal shows the house is worth $120K. The offer we have is for $150K. I told the lender that it is unlikely they will receive and offer for 150k after the foreclosure. She replied and said, "We or some of our investors will buy it"!!!

I don't want a foreclose on my record. Is there anything I can do to stop the foreclosure? Thanks a lot for your help. Arman.

Arman gave me a bunch more details. I will relate them here and then tell you what I recommend that he do. He told me the loan is owned by Fannie Mae, and a third party lender is “servicing” the loan for them.

Here was my recommendation to him. I have negotiated lots of short sales. The only reason a lender should turn down a short sale is when their numbers (from an actuarial viewpoint) show that they will reduce their losses with a foreclosure.

That has always been the case on any short sale I have ever negotiated. (Or I should say most of them. Some have been rejected for other reasons, but they are almost always monetary reasons.)

Here is what I would do if I was you.

Step #1: Call up IBM and demand a written letter explaining why they are declining the short sale offer.

Step #2: Write down what you project your damages are going to be if the property is foreclosed upon instead of sold as a short sale.

Step #3: Call up the company handling the loan for Fannie Mae. (Remember, they are not your lender. They are paid by Fannie Mae to do their job in a competent manner.) Tell them if they reject the short sale for no reason and the house is foreclosed, then you will be suing them for those specific damages you drew up in Step #2.

I will go into more details about potential damages and the basis for a lawsuit in my next couple of blog posts.

Thinking about a short sale? I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at Ashish@CalCapHomes.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail. If you prefer, then you can call me at 818 259 3455.

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our Loan Modification Kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your lender. Click here to request a copy.

Thanks for reading this, Ashish Trivedi.

Ashish is a Real Estate Broker at California Capital.
Phone: 818 259 3455. Ashish@CalCapHomes.com.

Secure Your Future
View My homes for sale at http://www.calcaphomes.com/.
Short Sale Realtor. Short Sales. Realtor.

Copyright 2010 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. The views expressed here are Ashish Trivedi's personal views and do not reflect the views of California Capital. This information on Question from homeowner: I want to avoid foreclosure, but my lender won’t let me is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Short Sales: High property taxes are forcing some people into foreclosure

- I just saw the second of two articles about homeowners losing their home or property because of high property taxes. Most of the stories were based in the Northeast, where the property taxes are much more expensive.

I one story, http://www.wbaltv.com/r/25677444/detail.html, a Maryland Woman is going on a hunger strike to bring attention to the situation.

The story makes it sound like high property taxes caused her mortgage payment to go up by 40%. That is a huge jump in property taxes. I have seen some people’s property taxes jump by $200 to $400 myself.

In another story, a lady in Connecticut lost some property next to her house after a drawn out tax dispute. Here is the link to the news report: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFQzxY2Mlxo. The new owner of the land put up a chain blocking the driveway that she uses to access her property.

You would think that in a time of economic trouble, the cities and counties would be lowering our property taxes not raising them!

Most American’s income has gone down, not up. But, that doesn’t stop the cities and counties from raising property tax rates.

Thinking about a short sale? I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at Ashish@CalCapHomes.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail. If you prefer, then you can call me at 818 259 3455.

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our Loan Modification Kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your lender. Click here to request a copy.

Thanks for reading this, Ashish Trivedi.

Ashish is a Real Estate Broker - Ashish Trivedi at California Capital.

Phone: 818 259 3455. Ashish@CalCapHomes.com.

Secure Your Future

View My homes for sale at http://www.calcaphomes.com/.
Short Sale Realtor. Short Sales. Realtor.

pyright 2010 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. The views expressed here are Ashish Trivedi's personal views and do not reflect the views of California Capital. This information on Short Sales: High property taxes are forcing some people into foreclosure is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Question from homeowner: My homeowner’s insurance won’t renew my policy because my loan is in foreclosure

The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Tim. Here is Tim’s Question.

“I have an elderly friend who recently finalized a loan modification through her lender. The mortgage company shows on their website that the mod has been processed and the new terms are in effect.

However, since foreclosure proceedings were begun before the mod was approved, her homeowner’s insurance holder will not renew her coverage policy, since the local Clerk of Courts records show that the loan is in a foreclosure process.

The mortgage company has not sent the Clerk of Courts notice that the foreclosure case is closed. What can she do to avoid losing her insurance coverage?”

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

An elderly person almost loses their home to foreclosure and manages to save it at the last minute, only to find out her insurance company wants to kick her to the curb?

Give me a break! That’s pathetic. If I had my insurance with that company, I would fire them immediately!

Here is my suggestion. The first thing your friend should do is to contact the State Insurance Commissioner and the State Attorney General.

Insurance is highly regulated. There are things that insurance companies are allowed to charge more money for and things that they are not allowed to charge more.

I doubt that paying your mortgage late is one of them. More than likely, the insurance company is breaking the insurance regulations of the state.

(This is one of the things we use when negotiating short sales. We have studied to learn all the rules and guidelines. When a lender doesn’t follow a short sale guideline, we will report them to the appropriate agency.)

If that doesn’t work, then I would recommend your friend contact the local media. That is a dastardly thing for the insurance company to do. I’m sure that the general public would agree as well. I think the media would like the story.

Thinking about a short sale? I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at Ashish@CalCapHomes.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail. If you prefer, then you can call me at 818 259 3455.
Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our Loan Modification Kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your lender. Click here to request a copy.

Thanks for reading this, Ashish Trivedi.

Ashish is a Real Estate Broker at California Capital.
Phone: 818 259 3455. Ashish@CalCapHomes.com.

Secure Your Future
View My homes for sale at http://www.calcaphomes.com/.
Short Sale Realtor. Short Sales. Realtor.

Copyright 2010 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. The views expressed here are Ashish Trivedi's personal views and do not reflect the views of California Capital. This information on Short Sales:Question from homeowner: My homeowner’s insurance won’t renew my policy because my loan is in foreclosure is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Question from homeowner: My lender just sold my loan. Is that a good thing?

- The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from James. “My loan was just sold. I was making payments to CitiFinancial and they sold it to Nationstar. Is that good or bad?” James asked.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Here is the answer. It’s neither good nor bad. In fact, I don’t think your loan was sold. You see, most loans were packaged up and sold to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or Wall Street.

James’s loan was more than likely packaged up and sold off. I asked him who his original lender was. He said it was a company called First Magnus. (First Magnus declared bankruptcy in 2007 and was afterwards closed.)

The Stop Foreclosure Institute has negotiated short sales on loans that were originally with First Magnus. The last one was sold to a large Wall Street Firm and securitized.

That means James’s loan could be owned by anyone. More than likely it is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. If not, then it was probably sold to a Wall Street Firm.

The owner of the loan hired CitiFinancial to act as their front man. That means Citi collected the payments, handled escrows and accounting, and manages debt collections and foreclosures.

More than likely Nationstar did not buy the loan. Instead whoever owns the loan hired them to act as the front man instead of Citi.

Thinking about a short sale? I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at Ashish@CalCapHomes.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail. If you prefer, then you can call me at 818 259 3455.

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our Loan Modification Kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your lender. Click here to request a copy.

Thanks for reading this, Ashish Trivedi.

Ashish is a Real Estate Broker Ashish Trivedi at California Capital.
Phone: 818 259 3455. Ashish@CalCapHomes.com.

Secure Your Future
View My homes for sale at http://www.calcaphomes.com/.
Short Sale Realtor. Short Sales. Realtor.



Copyright 2010 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. The views expressed here are Ashish Trivedi's personal views and do not reflect the views of California Capital. This information on Question from homeowner: My lender just sold my loan. Is that a good thing is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Short Sales: I Thought It Would Work, But It Didn't!

- I'm sure you have heard about forensic loan audits. I've heard people say how wonderful they are. "Your lender will approve your short sale right away", claims one.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

An agent told me a story about forensic loan audits. He worked with a woman who was trying to short sales 3 houses. He knew they were short sales and was glad to list them for sale.

There was a guy involved who was supposed to be doing all the "negotiating" with the lender. Little did this agent know this guy was trying to flip the houses. This guy had a forensic loan audit done.

He claims he paid foreclosure defense lawyers out of his own pocket. He did all this stuff in an attempt to force the lender to approve the short sale.

The only problem was the lender didn't care. The short sale negotiators at the lender were not going to approve the short sale offers so this guy could resell the home for a profit.

"We know this guy is trying to flip the house. We won't approve the short sale as long as he is doing that", they said.

This was despite the claims that some have made that a forensic loan audit will have lenders trip over themselves to approve the short sale.

Please consider this story before you spend $800 to $1,000 on a “Forensic Loan Audit.” I am in the business and talk to homeowners facing foreclosure every day.

I have only heard a few stories where a “forensic loan audit” made a difference to the lender. I’m not saying that they don’t work. I just want to warn you to check them out before spending big bucks for one.

Thinking about a short sale? I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at Ashish@CalCapHomes.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail. If you prefer, then you can call me at 818 259 3455.

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our Loan Modification Kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your lender. Click here to request a copy.

Thanks for reading this, Ashish Trivedi.

Ashish is a Real Estate Ashish Trivedi at California Capital.
Phone: 818 259 3455. Ashish@CalCapHomes.com.
Secure Your Future
View My homes for sale at http://www.calcaphomes.com/.
Short Sale Realtor. Short Sales. Realtor.

Copyright 2010 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. The views expressed here are Ashish Trivedi's personal views and do not reflect the views of California Capital. This information on Short Sales: I thought it would work, but it didn't is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Short Sales: How to Know When The Short Sale Negotiator Is Lying To You

- Negotiating short sales is tough. In my opinion, some of the banks are not making good financial decisions. "We won't approve the file without the financials completely filled out," they say.


Or, they tell you the numbers won't work when the investor guidelines actually say to approve the short sale. If the agent doesn't know who owns the loan (or their short sale guidelines), then the bank negotiators can lie to them. They don't know any better. Let me give you an example.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently closed a short sale that where the owner of the loan was the Federal National Mortgage Association, also called Fannie Mae.

The bank's appraiser said the home was worth 220k. Because of prior experience with Fannie Mae Short Sales, I knew what they would accept as a percentage of the value. The short sale offer being presented would net them $6,000 more than that number.

The negotiator countered. She said the buyers needed to pay even more for the house. We asked the buyers if they would raise their offer.

They told us that it was their highest offer. They had looked at a bunch of other homes for sale. If their offer wasn't accepted they already had another home in mind that they would purchase.

Most agents don't know the guidelines for short sales. They would have taken the short sale negotiator at face value. As a result, the short sale would have been rejected.

The buyer would have bought the other house and the seller would be at risk of losing the home to foreclosure.

Fortunately, we knew the short sale guidelines. Because we knew the numbers and the guidelines, we were able to push the negotiator for an approval. The file was approved and the sale closed a little while later.

Thinking about a short sale? I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at Ashish@CalCapHomes.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail. If you prefer, then you can call me at 818 259 3455.

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our Loan Modification Kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your lender. Click here to request a copy.

Thanks for reading this, Ashish Trivedi.
Ashish is a Real Estate Ashish Trivedi at California Capital.
Phone: 818 259 3455. Ashish@CalCapHomes.com.

Secure Your Future

View My homes for sale at http://www.calcaphomes.com/.

Short Sale Realtor. Short Sales. Realtor.

Copyright 2010 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. The views expressed here are Ashish Trivedi's personal views and do not reflect the views of California Capital. This information on Short Sales: How to know when the short sale negotiator is lying to you is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Friday, November 12, 2010

What To Do When They Won't Allow You To "Escalate" The Short Sale File

- Yesterday I gave you a good example of why you should "escalate" a short sale file. The Stop Foreclosure Institute took a short sale that wasn't going to be approved, pushed for an approval, and received it.

As a result a homeowner avoided foreclosure, a buyer was able to buy the home they wanted, the bank reduced their losses, and we made a little money.

There are a few problems you may run into when you attempt to escalate a file. Sometimes the negotiator won't give you their supervisor's info. They won't order a new appraisal or help you out.

Most people would be at a dead end. Here is how to get their supervisor's contact info.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Call the lender's short sale 800 number. Tell the person answering that you are working on a file with the short sale negotiator and you need to talk to their supervisor.

Say something like, "We've talked to the buyers. They will not raise their offer. We've had this house listed for 94 days and this is the best offer we have received. The buyers asked me to call and plead their case."

Most of the time, they will give you the supervisor's name and e-mail address. Always ask for the fax and phone number as well. Most of the time you won't get that, but sometimes you can.

Before we escalated a file, we were scared to do it. What if the negotiator got mad? This held us back, and honestly it hurt everyone

The reality is that the negotiators don't get mad at all. When we are at a logjam with a file, and we have a good case on why they should accept the offer, then we do the logical thing and escalate the file.

Thinking about a short sale? I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at Ashish@CalCapHomes.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail. If you prefer, then you can call me at 818 259 3455.

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our Loan Modification Kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your lender. Click here to request a copy.

Thanks for reading this, Ashish Trivedi.

Ashish is a Real Estate Ashish Trivedi at California Capital.

Phone: 818 259 3455. Ashish@CalCapHomes.com.

Secure Your Future
View My homes for sale at http://www.calcaphomes.com/.

Short Sale Realtor. Short Sales. Realtor.

Copyright 2010 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. The views expressed here are Ashish Trivedi's personal views and do not reflect the views of California Capital. This information on Short Sales: What to do when they won't allow you to "escalate" the short sale file is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.