All Forum Posts by: James Harkness

Thanks Steve, that is a good idea. I will look into it.

Also, let us know what areas specifically you have had difficulty with in the past. It will help everyone here to focus on answers that will actually help you out.

Jon,

Yes, we modify over 500 of our commercial (investor) loans every month. I agree with what you say, but its a business decision between minimizing pain to our investors by keeping the loans performing, or going through the expensive foreclosure process.

P NW- I am not thinking of buying the property, just wondering why on earth the mortgage company would not consider a modification and would rather foreclose on a rooming house.

Steve- At this point, I appreciate the offer to get me in touch with the investor, but I am going to hold off on doing that right now. I was basically looking to see if anyone else was having trouble with their rooming house or had trouble in the past. I am considering working with my friend and dealing directly with his mortgage company to help him get modified.

Thank you all for your replies.

Exactly... I remember originating loans on rooming houses was very, very difficult. And in this market, I cannot imagine that there would be much value to a rooming house. I would think that the borrower would have some negotiating power when it comes to doing a modification (being as I know what goes into modifying a loan too).

Of course I understand that the bank made the loan knowing that one day they might take it back, but I think that a simple mod would allow them to not have to take it on their books. A foreclosure would most likely net a lot lower number than if they did a mod.

Does anyone have experience buying, managing, or selling rooming houses? I hear that they can be a real pain and are extremely management intensive. I have a friend who is having difficulty making payments on his rooming house right now and it doesn't look like his mortgage company wants to modify for him. I cannot understand what a mortgage company would want with a rooming house on their books. Please share your experiences with rooming houses. I appreciate it.

It all depends on what the property is worth. Wells Fargo will do an analysis of the NPV of a foreclosure vs. the NPV of doing a short sale. I've done some short sales where we have accepted a value of less than 34k below what the borrower owes. I'm not Wells Fargo though. Chances are, especially since this is an Ohio property, that it's value has drastically declined over the past three years.

Thanks Sean, I appreciate the information. Very helpful

What constitutes a "major renovation" and how do you go about getting the tax abatement?

Sorry to distract from the purpose of your question, but I am interested in what you are saying here.

I have located a 3bed/1.5 bath row home in a nice part of Philly that is vacant and boarded up. Did some research and found that it is owned by a 72 yr old who lives out of state. I want to make an offer on the home. I cannot find a phone number, but do have a mailing address.

My question: How do I approach/make an offer. Obviously I will have to send a letter, but how do I say, "Are you willing to sell the property?" and if so, how do I say, "I want to pay you the least possible for it. What is that number?". Clearly I would never say it that way, but essentially that is what I am trying to accomplish. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.

Mike,

As an asset manager for a large bank, I handle a large volume of modifications. I do not know of a bank that will modify your loan without a verified hardship.