All Forum Posts by: Carmelita Sams

I've never tried brokering notes. Several years ago I worked for a
real estate broker who was successful with brokering notes, but I never
got involved myself.

Are you still holding on to your notes?

Arnada80,

I admire your ambition. Here's a management training company I just found out about. The Institute of Real Estate Management (irem.org). If you click on
the education link, then the college/resources link, you can take a self test to
see if property management is for you or not.

Of course I'll bet you'll want to check out the rest of their site as well. :type:

Good luck whatever you decide!

Carmie

mrothe,

here's a couple of sites that you may find helpful.

cyberhomes.com

zillow.com

They're not as targeted as a CMA, but do provide ballpark figures.

Hope you find these helpful. :wink:

Jon,

You're not being cynical at all. And I agree that a homeowner could do a workout agreement on their own if they have the time, patience and knowledge. However I was merely trying to answer NCREOATTORNEY's
question about fees. I've never seen American Loss Mitigation's contract so
I can't say for sure what kind of guarantee they have. I don't know about the other companies out there.

Just keep in mind that for a lot of homeowners facing foreclosure, that element of fear sets in. Sometimes they won't respond to letters or calls from
their lender, so they don't realize that help is available until it's too late.

NCREOATTORNEY,

I don't consider myself an expert in loss mitigation, however I think I know enough to answer your question. Years ago I telemarketed for a company that was selling loss mitigation education. I almost remember the sales pitch word for word. 8) Anyway to answer your question the fee is paid by the client/homeowner. Usually equal to one month's mortgage payment. I'm not referring to short sales, but to loan modification or some other workout agreement with the lender to keep the owner in the house.

Loan workout agreements are best suited for someone who wants to stay in their home and only had a temporary setback. But now they're able to afford payments again. The company that provides this education is still around and was started by Stan Schultz a couple of decades ago. There's been a lot of copykats since then but I won't mention any names.

Do a search on Schultz and Schultz and also American Loss Mitigation Institute. They're out of Virginia. They're faqs page may answer some more of your questions.

Good Luck! :wink:

Carmie

There's two associations I know of that may be helpful to you. One is REOMAC. I don't know much about them other than the fact that a Chicago broker that I know is a member and he named some REO listing heavy hitters as members, too.

The one I really like is NRBA, which stands for NATIONAL REO BROKERS ASSOCIATION. I learned about them through a local Keller Williams agent that deals with REO's.

What I like most about them is their question and answer (faq) page about what to expect and what skills you need to be an REO broker. I think you'll find their faq's page very helpful.

Depending on what type of access you have to the MLS, look in the comments section. If it says any of the following; corporate-owned, as-is, certified funds for earnest money deposit, cash only/proof of funds, must do own termite inspection, no contingencies, etc. then the chances are good it's an REO. :type:

Go to Ocwen's and Premiere Asset Services' site. They're two of the biggest. Look up REO's in your state. Note who the listing agents are. Then contact those agents and ask if they'll keep you notified of any new listings.

Hi Mike,

It depends on what your state's foreclosure process is. I'm in Illinois, which utilizes the judicial process. (hope I termed that correctly!) 8)

Anyway I'll try to answer your question in three parts.

Early stage: The property still belongs to the owner. Assuming you have
contact with him/her, have them sign an "Authorization to Release Information" form. The lender won't talk to you about the deal unless they
have permission from the owner. Then you can begin negotiating. You'll want to ask for the Loss Mitigation Dept. Sometimes it'll help if you just ask the lender what needs to be done to make the deal work.

Already foreclosed: Now the property is an REO. However here in Illinois
there is a time period of about 30 to 45 days, between the actual sale date and the court approval of the sale, where you still might be able to negotiate with the lender before it gets listed. Of course once it's listed then you have to deal with the listing agent.

Empty for months: If the property's been vacant for a while, that doesn't
necessarily mean that it's an Reo. Have a Realtor friend look it up to see if it's listed. If not, then leave a note at the property in question that you have an interest in buying it. Talk to the neighbors to see if they know the owner's whereabouts. Leave them with your contact info.

In summary it takes a lot of patience dealing with the lenders and some savvy detective work finding the owners. If your budget allows I would subscribe to a reputable foreclosure service.

Hope this helps and GOOD LUCK!!!

I'm new to this forum and I notice there's not a lot of info about buying and selling notes. And most of the posts about notes are a few months back.

Here's a tip that some of you may find helpful. Do a google search on Lorelei Stevens. She's been in the note business 30+ years. She recently came out with a book titled "Fast Cash: How I Made Fortune Buying Notes". It's available at libraries and bookstores.

Her website gives a lot of basic but solid information and she's doesn't link to every other rei guru out there.

Hope you find this tip helpful. :wink:

T-bone77,

I agree with you. Learning from your biggest mistake. I listened to a friend's recommendation about a company that uses an investor's credit to buy property and supposedly manage it for monthly cash flow. Well, after 3 months they stopped making the payments and I ended up losing 2 houses to foreclosure.

I already knew a little about foreclosures before the purchase, but I definitely
learned a whole lot more going through the process myself. So I'll be sure to do my own due diligence from now on. :type:

Happy Holidays! :mrgreen: