Richmond Foreclosure Prevention has already received dozens of approvals this year on behalf of clients AND had our fee approved out of the proceeds of sale. That means that dozens of Realtors just this past quarter have had a full-time team of expert short sale negotiators working for them and their clients....FOR FREE!!!!
Don't do your next short sale alone. Contact R.F.P. Inc. for more information
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| Short Sales Rise
From 17% if Feb to 19.6% in March
| Short sales rose from 17% of all sales in Feb to 19.6% of all sales in March and continue to outpace REO's. This is good news for Realtors and homeowners and I take it as an indicator of a couple positive trends.
1. Buyers are more willing than ever to consider short sales as options for them to purchase
2. Realtors, on both sides of the transaction, are becoming more informed about short sales and less afraid of the problems that can be associated with them.
3. Banks are READ MORE
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| New Short Sale Rule in Force
Banks Step Up Delinquency Policies
| A quick policy update for you and your clients. Lately, we have seen some short sales delayed because the borrower was not late on their mortgage payments. In the past, if the seller met three of the four short sale criteria (read criteria here) but was not yet late on their mortgage, a short sale could still be initiated and accomplished.
Lately, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and VHDA has been enforcing policies already on the books to cancel any short sale application if the borrower is not behind on their payments. A representative for Fannie Mae told me that they are now requiring a borrower READ MORE
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Please Lie to Me
Quarter 1, 2011 Tells Its Tale
| They say that numbers don't lie. Sometimes I wish they did.
The truth is that as the first quarter 2011 numbers trickle in from trade groups like NAR, Fannie Mae, Realtytrac and others we see some disturbing trends and clouds on the horizon for housing values. The best news to come out of this data is that it seems, barring some setbacks, we are finally approaching the floor on real estate values. For those of you who are more optimistic, I am happy for you, but the numbers don't support the idea that we have even reached the bottom yet. Values are still dropping nationally, locally, and in all market types.
The median home price is down 5.9% from this time last year to $159,600 according to NAR
Here's a summary of some of the most significant first quarter figures and their current and coming effect on housing values.
1. 40% of all sales were distressed sales, either REO's or short sales READ MORE |
| Battle-Tested Scripts
How to Say it Better
| I get a lot of requests from Realtors to speak with their clients regarding short sales to explain the process and answer their questions. Although, I am more than happy to do so, I thought I would supply some scripts or outlines of how I address certain issues and commonly asked questions by both the sellers and buyers or buyer's agents in a short sale transaction.
The attached Battle-tested scripts address questions like:
"Should I keep paying my mortgage?"-Seller
"Am I going to owe the bank anything?"-Seller
READ MORE
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| New 45 Day Short Sale Bill
Prompt Decision for Qualification for Short Sale Act of 2011
| Reps. Tom Rooney (R-Florida) and Robert Andrews (D-New Jersey), introduced their new, concisely dubbed "Prompt Decision for Qualification for Short Sale Act of 2011" recently in an attempt to require ALL servicers to either approve, deny or otherwise respond to all complete short sale applications within 45 days of receipt by the bank. It is essentially the same as the "Prompt Decision for Qualification for Short Sale Act of 2010" which never made it to a vote.....but they wisely changed the year in the name.
The National Association of Realtors is apparently prepared to back the bill, which should indicate it is not completely misconceived. Among the questions I have are; What triggers the 45 days response time? READ MORE |
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Sincerely,
Matt James
Richmond Foreclosure Prevention
(M) 804.833.9188
(F) 804.368.1114
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