All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Back to the original issue of this post: the "Short Payoff Fraud" question. I just saw this webinar recording and it explained everything very clearly by a CA real estate attorney.

(Disclaimer: you don't have to buy anything or click on any link you don't want to. :D )

http://shortsalefundamentals.com/timer/gtw/stream/view-ballard.html

To explain how a house can be priced differently for B investor vs C buyer on the same day, I like how they used the example of Kelley Blue Book for showing 3 values of the same used car: you got a trade-in price, a private seller price, and dealer's suggested retail price. Another example is value-added service of detailing a car by employee costs $45 but adds $1500 to the car's price tag. There's so much information. I will warn you in advance that it's L-O-N-G!!! Best to download the MP4 video and watch on your computer at your leisure. I hope this helps us investors clarify and persuade the doubters. I'm feeling better already. :)

Is anyone using this? I saw a webinar on it and found the concept intriguing, but the price tag is holding me back. I looked on Amazon.com and ordered a couple of books on this subject to get a basic idea (books on their way...). If anyone has experience with Jason Medley and his course, please share your thoughts. Thank you!

You're right Sam, in numerous short sale courses I have taken, they all warn against submitting multiple offers to the bank on a short sale, so obviously agents have been doing it this way that screw up the deals so bad that they are now telling us NOT to do it but submit one signed offer until it gets approved and hold any other offers as backups only. That's why I'm confused on this so-called disclosure thing (where you "have to" proactively tell the bank about every offer or you're being unethical/illegal) because why go stir the pot with the lender? If you got 3 backup offers and they're higher, wouldn't that just kill your chances with the bank thinking maybe more better offers would come up if they wait long enough? And if agents are advised to submit only one offer by these short sale trainers/gurus, what difference does it make if an investor is involved in the deal and they're getting buyers who's willing to pay the higher price? I think someone is making up these so-called rules to keep us from making money! :P

Happy 4th of July! USA rocks! Thanks for all your input. According to my broker, the issue seems to be how you as B investor present your lowball offer to the bank while trying to market the same property to a C buyer at a higher price. He said it's fraud if we don't report the higher price offer to the bank, and as Realtors we are held to higher standards and scrutiny, and that even if we're not the listing agent or principal, as long as someone out there is willing to pay more for the property, we have a duty to "disclose" -- tell the bank; failure to do so is fraud. This flies in the face of common sense and agency rules. I can't wrap my head around this. I agree on full disclosure, but I think this is going too far.

My broker just used this case in his short sale workshop as an example to prove that realtors should not be a principal to buy or flip short sales, but to act as an agent only. He said the only legal way is to do it with option contract or assignment. I need to know what is actually "legal" because it seems every day someone comes up with a new advice against realtors investing in short sales apart from becoming the listing agent. I am all confused. Do I need to give up my license in order to invest in short sales? Is it possible to do it while licensed and avoid potential legal problems? I'm a new investor but I don't want to get cut off at the knees before I even have a chance to begin. Someone point me to the right direction please.