Want to buy a Cape Coral home in 2012? 5 Things To Do NOW

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If 2012 is your year for home hunting and purchase, here is a list of 5 things you should consider to do NOW before anything else.

  1. 1. Check your credit. And I’m serious about that. Make a copy of your credit report online and review anything that can show negative transaction. Call the credit bureau in charge and fix your problem. There is nothing worse than finding the perfect home at the perfect price, getting ready with the down payment and everything and learn that you have been denied because of your bad credit. So, if there is any problem there, fix it now.

  1. 2. Do your homework. Do you research online about 1 month before buying. Check the neighborhood, the market value, compare the foreclosure with the regular market, learn about short sale and see if it’s for you. Shop around for the best terms mortgage out there, call 4 or 5 mortgage broker and compare what they need and they fees/expenses. Ask them what documents you need to be qualified. Ask to be approved for a loan before even getting out to see properties. It’s frustrating to fall in love with a home that is price at $10,000 more than you can afford. Everything else will be disappointing at that point!

  1. 3. Fluff up your down payment. Make sure to have a full understanding of the money you have to bring at closing, all fees including. Again, it’s frustrating to be short of a couple of thousands dollars in front of the home of your dreams. Get your finance in place and ready to go.

  1. 4. Grow your cash. You’re gonna to move. So double check all that stuff that you didn’t use for the last 12 months or more. You won’t probably never use it ever. So make a big yard sale of that stuff, sell them on ebay or on craigslist and keep the money for your down payment or for some work you’ll need to do in your new home, like painting or new moldings.

  1. 5. Be prepared. If you want to purchase a great deal, like a foreclosure, be prepared. I wrote a guideline about being prepared to make an offer on a foreclosure: Cape Coral Foreclosure . I have come across a lot of excited people like kids in front of a toy getting frustrated with those above asking price multiple offers. So being psychologically prepared will help you to handle your purchase.


Once you have everything ready and you have prepared yourself for your 2012 home purchase, feel free to give me a call at 239-240-7346 and I’ll prepare some visits and will help you during your transaction to make it as smooth as possible.

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Comments (0) Dec 17 2011

Fraud with a Smartphone

Posted: under Realtor® Tools.

The Florida Land Title Association recently reported an incident to its members where a title agent fell victim to a fraud scheme involving a Smartphone and a new app that allows a check to be deposited by using the Smartphone’s camera to take a picture of the front and back of the check.

A couple was issued a check for closing proceeds. They then left the agent’s office but returned several hours later and asked the agent to wire the proceeds instead. The agent took the check back, voided it (rather than stopping payment on it) and wired the proceeds to the couple’s account. The agent did not realize that the couple had already deposited the check using a Smartphone, causing a shortage in the trust account. 

More and more banks, and even online payment sites like PayPal, offer downloadable applications for Smartphones that use the phone’s camera feature to take a picture of the front and back of a check and deposit it into the payee’s account. The real danger in this technology is there are no markings on the check indicating whether it has been processed because the image is only scanned and not run through a machine as it would have been had it been deposited at an ATM or with a bank teller.

The key to preventing such a scam is to protect your checks as if they were cash while they are in your office and also to refuse to exchange them for other forms of payment after they have left your office. Also, keep signed checks within your sight during the closing. Leaving signed checks on the closing table while you leave for a moment may allow a party to take a picture of the front and back of the check with a Smartphone and deposit it. Upon returning to the room, you might then be asked to wire the proceeds instead. This scam may not be caught until it is too late because the check will have been deposited without being removed from the closing room.

Please check with your title underwriter or the Florida Land Title Association for more information about fraud prevention related to closing transactions.

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Comments (0) Aug 27 2011

10 Short Sales questions and tips

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Here are 10 frequently asked short sales made questions which are incredibly useful especially if you are just getting started or contemplating quick sales as a means to acquiring pre-foreclosures.

1. What occurs on the seller’s credit rating when they permit an investor to short sell their property?

What typically takes place is the loan will show up as “paid” on their credit report; even so there will probably be a notation that says “settled for less than originally owed” or something along these lines. It’s additional favorable for a homeowner to small promote than to have a foreclosures on their credit report.

2. Where do you find investors for short sales?

Depending on where you live, you may see buyers who advertise with bandit signs or in your local newspaper. Call the investors directly and ask them if they’re experienced in performing short product sales and if they would be interested in working with you. Another good place is your nearby real estate investors club meeting.

3. Define a short sales?

A short selling is really a form of pre-foreclosure sale made and occurs when the mortgagee agrees to accept much less than the loan volume to avoid foreclosure. A negotiated short sale results inside a discounted buy price for the buyer. The buyer would finance the acquisition significantly the same as in any conventional realty acquisition.!. but devoid of the luxury of time.

4. Can an proprietor profit from a short sale?

The seller can’t profit (monetarily) from a pre-foreclosure short sale.!!! But you will find usually exceptions towards the rule.

5. How do bankruptcies affect the possibility of carrying out a short sale?

Most mortgagees won’t take into account a short sale if the house owner is in bankruptcy.!.why? Due to the fact negotiating a short sale made payoff is considered a collection activity. Collection activities are prohibited in bankruptcy.

6. Can somebody tell me what paperwork do I have to include inside a short sale package?

Documents depend on the lender. Each loan company has diverse requirements. It is typical to require hardship letter, buy and sales contract, ECOR, settlement statement (HUD 1), net sheet, pay stubs, bank statements, personal financial sheet (monthly budget), amongst other things.

7. What percentage of mortgage firms send somebody out for an appraisal on a achievable short sale?

All lenders order a BPO or full appraisal of the asset prior to making their decision to accept or reject the short purchase offer. This is there only way of assessing the worth of your home.

8. How late in the pre-foreclosure procedure can you begin a short sale?

Attempt to allow a window of at least 90 days to effectuate a mortgagee approved, pre-foreclosure Short Sale made.

9. What is a Due on Sale clause?

“Due on Sale” Clause (DOS) Provision inside a mortgage or deed of trust calling for the total payoff of your loan balance inside event of a selling or transfer of title towards the secured genuine asset. A contract provision which authorizes the loan provider, at its choice, to declare immediately due and payable sums secured by the lender’s security instrument upon a purchase of all or any part of the genuine home securing the loan devoid of the lender’s prior written consent.

For purposes of this definition, a sale or transfer indicates the conveyance of authentic house of any proper, title or interest therein, regardless of whether legal or equitable, regardless of whether voluntary or involuntary, by for deed, leasehold interest with a term greater than three years, lease-option contract or any other technique of conveyance of true home interests. Standard language which states that the mortgage must be paid when a house is sold.

10. Will banks enable a short sale when the owner has some or a beneficial sum of equity?

If a asset has what the financial institution would consider a substantial quantity of equity, chances are they would take into account allowing the asset to foreclose and then reselling it closer towards the retail value. Focus on homes that don’t have much equity. Your job will be to create the fairness in the home by negotiating a successful short sale made.

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Comments (1) Sep 12 2010

Unbelievable strong SW Florida seller’s market!

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I made a couple of offers this week. Both were full price offers, one on a property in Cape Coral and the other one in Lehigh Acres. Thoses properties were freshly on the market that I put an offer right away. And I said right away, because those offers are number 8 and number 9. I have had no success with the first 7 properties for different reasons: too late or offering a 3% to 10% below asking.

But I learn from my mistake and I was offering a full price, the first day. Well, guess what, My offers are a back up because the banks have accepted what I think are better offers. But again, I will learn from this and will offer more than asking price for the next ones.

The amazing strong SW Florida seller’s market remind me when I was living in Pembroke Pines and had multiple offers the very same day when I put the listing on the MLS. If I was purchasing foreclosures or maybe even short sales, I can easily understand the multiple offer situation. Or maybe I should focus on foreclosed properties and offer twice the price, ending by paying a fair market value. But when it occurs with regular homes, it’s obvious that medias are spreading inaccurate information.

Here in TN, at least East TN, it is still a deep buyer’s market, but without any. I see 20% CAP rate investment properties getting no showing, and therefore, even less offers, or this 3bed/2bath residential with no taker at a mere $25,000, bought from the builder in 2005 for $140,000. Not even investors are showing up to buy those which rent for about $950-$1,100/month!

It seems that few miles will make a huge difference these days…

2207 NE 1st Ave, Cape Coral, FL

2207 NE 1st Ave, Cape Coral, FL

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Comments (0) Jan 08 2010

Short sales document: Short payoff offer & proposal letter

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This is the short payoff offer I use when I need to present the offer and the short sale package to the lender.
You can copy/paste it and use it as you wish.

SHORT PAYOFF OFFER & PROPOSAL LETTER

Date: November 18, 2009
To: Amy Butler – Loss Mitigation Representative
Lender: Acme Bank
Loan Number: 011-12-1234
Borrower Name: John F. Doe
Property Address: 123 Main St. Miami, FL 33141
Auction Date: 1/ 12/2010

*** NET AMOUNT OF SHORT SALE OFFER TO ACME BANK $168,000.00 ***

Dear Ms. Butler:

We are submitting for your review and subsequent approval, this comprehensive SHORT SALE
SUMMARY PACKAGE pursuant to our recent telephone conversation regarding the possibility of a discounted payoff on the aforementioned defaulted mortgage loan.

We are working very closely with your Borrower to facilitate a sale of the above referenced property. We have in fact entered into a purchase and sale contract (attached). I represent the Buyer and my clients are seeking to buy the property without the need for a mortgage contingency and subject only to your approval of this short sale proposal. Inspections have been completed. This sale requires and is only contingent upon your approval of the short sale offer subsequent to your approval of our request for a discounted payoff, we can close very quickly. We guarantee a cash based closing of the transaction within 5-10 days of acceptance of our offer.

We have been given complete authorization by the Borrower to discuss the mortgage loan that is presently in default that you are seeking to foreclose. We have again included a signed Letter of Authorization executed by the Borrower, which has been previously faxed to you.
Our contract offer to the Seller, Mr. John F. Doe, is $181,000.00 which will net your bank $168,000.00 after all closing costs and expenses which you can see on the Estimated HUD Statement attached hereto.

We understand that in order for our offer to be accepted that there may be additional due diligence which may need to be completed. Should a second Broker’s Price Opinion (BPO) be necessary, or if one has never been completed, we urge you to have one completed and as we have control of the property we would like to meet with your representative to ensure a proper assessment of the scope of repairs of the subject property and a true and accurate appraisal of the estimated “AS-IS” value of the subject property.
In order to obtain the most accurate valuation, it is our belief that it is imperative that the interior of the house be viewed and that the BPO not be limited to a cursory drive-by viewing or desktop appraisal or automated valuation.

Loan Number: 011-12-1234
Borrower Name: John F. Doe
Property Address: 123 Main St.
Miami, FL 33141
Auction Date: 1/12/2010

We can provide interior access to the house to your representative and will meet with your
representative with 48 hours notice.
As an auction date is pending in the very near future, (January 12, 2010) we believe TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE in resolving this matter. We are prepared to close this transaction within 5-10 business days from receiving written notification of your acceptance of this offer or our acceptance of any counter offer that you may make in response to our offer.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us as necessary as we stand ready to
facilitate and expediting a short sale payoff on the aforementioned loan.

Sincerely,

Your name

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Comments (2) Jan 05 2010

Real Estate agent: documents you need for your short sales.

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First of all, understand the short sales.

A short sale is a transaction that happens when a homeowner is owning more money on his/her home than what it is worth in today’s Real Estate market, and when the bank or the lender is willing to take less than what the homeowner owes.
Most of the time, that bank or lender will be able to collect more money with a short sale than if the homeowner goes into bankruptcy or foreclosure. That’s why they will be listening to short sales under certain circumstances.
For the homeowner, the short sale transaction is a better situation than going bankrupt or foreclosed. They credit will be hurt for 2 or 3 years instead of the 7+ years in a foreclosure situation.

Secondly, here are a list of documents you will need in order to prepare the short sale transaction with the bank representative:

FOR THE REALTOR:

  • ~ Signed letter of authorization from seller authorizing you to negotiate with the lender on their behalf.
  • ~ Letter of facts about the property. Everything that is wrong with the property and why it is impossible to sell it at a higher price.
  • ~ Current Market Analysis. Highlight comparable sales that reflect the lower value.
  • ~ Photographs. Remember, the photographs aren’t to highlight a charming house. Photograph evidence of damage, bad location, etc…
  • ~ Evidence of all showings and feedback. Explain to lender results and conversations you’ve had while trying to sell the property.
  • ~ Copy of listing contract/MLS Listing/MLS history.
  • ~ Current “AS IS” CMA.
  • ~ Copy of purchase contract if you have one.
  • ~ Preliminary HUD
  • ~ Make sure the seller has a detailed, tear jerking letter of hardship. See an example here
  • ~ Sales and services Quotes

Also, insert copies of the following if any:
1. Code Violations
2. Fines
3. Hearing Information regarding the maintenance of the property
4. Evidence of lawsuits the City is filing against lenders
5. Evidence of pending litigation or changes in the law
6. Insert Tenant / Landlord provisions if it helps your case
7. Evidence of the town / city’s enforcement of fines against other banks
8. Latent Material Defect
9. Sexual offenders and predators

FROM THE SELLER:

    -Two years tax returns and W-2’s.
    -Three months bank statements.
    -Pay stubs for last 30 days.
    -Detailed monthly budget.
    -All mortgages with account numbers.
    -Copy of the deed.
    -Copy of the note and/or mortgage
    -Pending bankruptcy, or other action/judgment or lis pendens.
    -Tear jerking hardship letter. See an example here

Buyers generally get a lot more house for their money in a short sale situation, because these properties are usually very competitively priced in order for the sellers to unload them before they end up in foreclosure. It’s a very good situation for them. The only downside I see is often the multiple offers situation for those short sale properties. But there are a lot of short sale properties available in the Cape Coral Florida market than in other parts of the country, so this area is the place to buy!.

So, if you are thinking of buying a short sale, here are 3 tips:

1 – Find a Realtor with short sales experience. There are many rigorous short sales and foreclosure training programs available to real estate agents, including the Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) and the Short Sales and Foreclosures Resource Certification (SFR). If you wish to purchase a short sale property in Cape Coral, Florida, or anywhere else for that matter, you will greatly increase your chances of getting your deal to closing if your agent is experienced and comfortable with short sales….either through a short sales certification program, or through hard knocks experience in the field.

2 – Get pre-approved. No short sale offer will be considered without a pre-approval or a proof of funds letter. If you have not yet been pre-approved by a local lender and are not sure who to call, your real estate agent is a good source of referrals. The pre-qualification process generally takes less than 30 minutes, and can be done over the phone, however, a pre-approval takes longer but is better than a pre-qualification. Make sure you work with a local lender – today’s wild & woolly finance environment means that you greatly increase your chances of closing a deal if you use a local lender with a good reputation. All short sale offers must be submitted with a pre-approval letter, or with a proof of funds, as bank’s statements, in the case of a cash transaction.

3) Submit your highest and best offer the first time around! Lenders generally do not counteroffer….they will either say “Yes” or “No”. So if you are going to go through the process of waiting 60 days or more to hear back from the lender, you will greatly increase your chances of hearing that “Yes!” if you submit a good, solid offer with no contingencies.

Once you submit an offer that is approved by the seller, the seller has to submit your offer to their lender to see if the lender will accept the offer as well….remember, in a short sale situation the lender is agreeing to accept less than what the homeowner owes on the mortgage…..and the lender is going to do whatever they can to minimize the amount of that loss to their bottom line. Parting with their profits is not something that comes easy to lenders…..so it takes awhile to find out if they are willing to take the level of financial beating that is inherent in the amount you are offering. Sometimes the wait can be up to 90 days….sometimes much more (the amount of the wait often depends upon which lender holds the paper).

Look at the frustrating wait time as the price you pay for getting the chance to get a home you might not otherwise be able to afford.

If you want to receive listing from banks, this program will give tremendous help to get in the game as well.

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Comments (0) Dec 31 2009

Short sales documents

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There are a significant number of short sales in the Cape Coral area. And I see also a significant number or Real Estate agent that have a false idea of what is a short sale. A short sale is a Real Estate transaction where a homeowner is selling his/her property. It is NOT the lender who is selling it. The lender just takes a loss. If you are involved in a short sale transaction, here are the documents needed:

Purchase and sale agreement.
This is the contract, the accepted offer. This document shows that an owner is willing to transfer ownership of the property to a buyer, under a specific set of conditions and/or terms. The purchase and sale agreement needs to be well-executed. To be legally binding, it must be signed by all who have their name on the deed.

Hardship Letter.
The hardship letter is an important document written by a homeowner to his/her lender, explaining the reasons for being unable to continue paying the mortgage. To be effective, it must state the homeowner’s situation, show concern, and demonstrate that the homeowner is taking action for the problem to be resolved. It is even better if this letter is hand written and not very long.

Homeowner’s financial statement.
This is a document presenting all income, assets and liabilities. The homeowner and all co-borrowers must be included on this worksheet.

Latest two bank statements.
If the homeowner has more than one account, all the statements must be presented.

Latest two pay stubs if any.
If the homeowner has more than one job, all the stubs must be shown. Unemployed homeowners must present the latest available. Self-employed individuals can provide a profit and loss report.

Last two years tax returns.
Sometimes, homeowners in a foreclosure situation have missed filing their taxes. In this case, present the latest available and write a personal note to the lender explaining the situation very clearly.

Last two years W-2s.
Employers provide this to employees and the IRS every year. Provide the latest available.

In addition, if relevant and available, you may include the following list of documents. Those may be useful as well. In some instances, they are absolutely necessary.

    * Death certificate
    * Divorce decree
    * Incarceration decree
    * Bankruptcy discharge letter
    * Relief from stay
    * Proof of disability
    * Insurance claims
    * Police reports
    * Court approvals
    * Anything that may be useful

Additional Documents.
Once in contact with the lender, these two additional documents will be needed.

Listing agreement.
Lenders want to see if the property is listed or has been listed by an agent. They like to see that homeowners are serious about selling and did everything in their power to sell it, or to be out of their problem. This is also a must for real estate agent commission allowance.

HUD-1.
This is the RESPA compliant settlement net sheet. RESPA stands for Real Estate Settlement Provisions Act. It shows who gets paid what, and how much. This document shows the main thing the lender wants to know: How much the lender will get. You can get in touch with you favorite title company to have it ready as a good faith estimate.

Those are the documents needed for a short sale to be negotiated and it is important for Real Estate agent to be ready right away. That will help you, your sellers and the buyer’s agents. The more complete, the better. The degree of what is acceptable varies from lender to lender. Some lenders are more demanding than others. Have all these documents. The short sale will go a lot smoother.

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Comments (1) Dec 26 2009

Pricing it right in a Buyer’s market

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You don’t have to be a Real Estate agent to know that market values have been, and probably still are, dropping nationwide. And still, some are creating an upside-down effect whereby the remaining mortgage proves higher than appraisal itself.

But when it’s time for you to go for a listing presentation, when the time comes to pricing out a property, sellers often have an ego when it comes to their own home. Make sure to be prepared and show all evidence you can get about market pricing. Try to let them know to leave their ego at the door. You must present your homework and go from there or leave. Yes, you got that right, l-e-a-v-e. An overpriced property in today’s market has no chance to compete with the foreclosure and short sales environment. Leaving will be the best advice you can give to yourself at that point.

The price is right could not be a truer analogy. A homes market value will be primarily based upon those homes most comparable to yours in square footage, style and age that have sold within the past six months in a 2-5 mile radius of your location. This is what the bank underwriters base their determination on. It’s not that a Realtor® is a moron, it’s not that John Doe down the road sold his house for a heck of a lot more a year ago, it’s an industry standard that makes absolutely no exceptions. Realtors know the industry and this is what you need to teach.

Let sellers understand that buyers today are savvy. They’re on the web, tuned into the news, reading articles. They want to be seduced and their looking for enticements. If a duplicate house is selling on your road for $200,000, then price yours at $195,000 and throw in a cleaning service to sweeten the deal. Many buyers are strapped for cash and offering to pay part, or all of their closing costs will definitely prompt a quicker sale. That another option for sellers that can be the little je-ne-sais-quoi which can bring the signature at the bottom of the purchase contract.

Remember, when the Price Is Right, all parties walk away with a smile on their face. When the price is not right, you’ll get the sellers on your shoulders blaming you for your failures…

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Comments (2) Dec 12 2009

Mastering Short Sales

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If you are a Real Estate agent, you will most likely be confronted to short sales soon or later, especially if you are in Florida. Here are some tips to master those short sales.

First start off listing the property right in the mid range of all the other comps and current listings in the neighborhood. If the comps and current listings range from $150K – $180K for example, then you want to
start off listing your property around $165K.

Secondly, you reduce the list price by about 3% each week until you receive an offer on the property.
So in this example you would drop the list price by about $5K each week until you received a solid offer.

Remember, when you first list the property you will also be submitting a COMPLETED Short Sale packet to the lender (with a lowball offer)… Once you do this the lender will order a BPO which will usually take 3-4 weeks to complete.

So in this example, by the third week of lowering your list price you would be the lowest priced property in the area, which would also be about the same time that the BPO would be completed by the lender.

This means that when you do receive a solid offer on the property, you will be able to get an answer from the lender very quickly, now that the BPO has already been done.

Another possibility in this situation is that you drop the list price from $165K to $160K after the first week and you then get an offer on the property… Now you can leave the list price at $160K while you work on getting this very strong offer approved by the lender…

Remember, if you started listing it to low, you would never have received an offer this high…
When you use this strategy you can also show the lender your activity report on the property. You can show them that you made an attempt to get them the highest possible offer.

Here is why this is important…

The lender knows if they ever had to Foreclose on the property, they would have to pay attorney fees, auctions fees, and the process may take more than 6 months.

And that’s not all…

After all that time and money, they would have to list the property as an REO and do the same thing that you just did! List the property and then keep dropping the price until they get an offer.

Here is the key…

By showing the lender that you have already done exactly what they would have to do, and that you can save them 6 months of expenses, it will make your offer much more likely to get approved. If you can get a dollar number for those expenses, the bank will see you know what you talking about and will most likely follow you advice, and even gives you more listings.

This is the only way to make sure your Short Sales get completed in a timely manner and you don’t waste your valuable time with listings that sit on the market with no activity for months.

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Comments (0) Dec 01 2009

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