All Forum Posts by: William Alston

I notice that the best tenants always check me out and come by more than once before they decide.

Another good test for previewing tenants is this..
Anybody in a hurry is running from something..

How soon can we move in?

cuz my las' landlord was reel mean and didn't treat me fair and
if I waits too long you'll be able to find out 'bout the non-awful de-strainer thingy he's gonna file since he put that 3 day watchamacallit on the door again and this time I ain't payin'

My firm handles short sale negotiations as well.

There is no upfront fee and our negotiations are always paid by the lender if at all.

We have been experimenting with strategies for getting repairs and retrofits done at the lender's expense as well.

A larger group is forming right now under the banner of providing SB1137
compliance here in California.
The negotiations can take place for clients anywhere in the US though with this strategy.
Those of you in this business that wish to discuss compliance services in your local area should PM me.

And these negotiators deserve to be paid.
it is an entirely separate skill set and a different job than marketing the property.
As long as it comes from the lender then you aren't "paying " it anymore than you are paying the other costs of the transaction like title escrow etc.
The hardest working person on my short sale team is the negotiator in the a short sale transactions.
Stick together and demand the bank pay these fees. The reason the banks cut commissions etc is because they can. If more realtors would toughen up or get out of the negotiation business (which is brand new) and let people like Mitsu and my girl earn a living the job would be easier.
Mitsu I like you already, want some more deals? PM me.

What we have been doing out here on the left coast is having the buyer ask for a credit of 1-2% in the contract.
It is one more bargaining chip is all when the short sale negotiator makes a deal, says you have a deal, just waiting for the final investor approval, and then the investor comes back after everybody hears the deal is done and they cut the commissions or other closing costs from the seller's side.
They are playing you like a harp from hell but as long as people get taken by it they will keep doing it.

Rule number one in short sales
There are no rules
As David Peeples and Nick Johnson point out above is what I have seen proven time and again.
Somebody says it can't be done but nobody told David or Nick that it couldn't be done or at least thye had the snes to say "Why Not" so they did it anyway.
Its all about skill, patience and luck but there are no friggin rules.
Call Mitsu or somebody like her.
This is the real America meeting here, making something out of nothing, creating new businesses that pay well, give personal satisfaction and serve a growing need in America,

STOP BANK SEX NOW
If you ain't gonna kiss me or buy me dinner just leave me alone Mr. Chase Wamu FARGO.

Y'all,
They are all in a transition not just Indy Mac (which used to be a people friendly bank until some rumor mill started a run on them). Some serious poo poo is about to hit the fan. At the end of the civil war it was the carpet baggers coming to "help" the South.
Our government is throwing money around ...and new laws around... which no one understands and the banks are changing management staff, as well as the rank and file instead of dealing with the problem systematically.
No business can run this way. It is not an institutional problem it is a systemic problem, the sharks are circling for the free money hand outs and the new compliance people (hell I am trying this new niche out) are looking for ways to become vendors or oversight people to collect the giveaways.

I will say it again the ugly is only just started.
Do the math.
1.The banks can not handle the short sales and foreclosures they have now.

2. They are losing trained staff not gaining it.

3. Missed payments are on the rise not on the decline (and every mush mouth loan modification the lenders do which creates lower payments and negative amortization instead of real debt relief sets up another time bomb.
Where does this lead?
More of the same only more chaotic in its execution.

My suggestion is that the investors continue to create their own lending pools (since the banks are now out of the lending business and are going to concentrate on screwing up the resale market.)

This is a huge opportunity to fill a gap that will be entirely unregulated and if not filled by men and women of good will then it will be filled with thieves.

Also people here... like the short sale buyers... and the loss mitigation people should form teams of HOPE/ HELP people and take this direct to the public and actually help.
Not only are you doing a good service but you get first crack at everything before the banks get to NOD it and screw it all up.

Drawings are on the table for this I have met with people working on it in various teams with different approaches.
There was talk of joining forces here to create a fund to invest.
Here is a good investment, giving away the same info we are giving away here now but to any needy homeowner, (not on this site but through other portals)
and while doing what you are doing here you get to hear from everyone who is about to go into foreclosure before they actually do and now you don't have to run to the court house and get the filings each day or buy the lists. You would own the lists.. Now they come to you.

One last point about agents, don't use them if they are not skilled. Their services are free to you as a buyer so why not get the best available. I am in a network of smart hard working people that can smell a good deal from a bad one without help, they can close em too without help, so why use the new guy who is probably risking his license and his MLS privileges by "giving you access" when there are skillful people who work for the same low price of ZERO cost to any buyer
I even list my clients properties for free and it makes me more money in the long run. The whole industry is upside down and backwards. Stay here learn here, trust me on this bro.. I've been around the block with the best and this is a class crew of honest people here helping you just to help you.. what's the world coming to anyway.

There is a growing cadre of skillful people who negotiate these things for you and charge you nothing but bill the lender for what they can at close of the short sale.
With this layer between you there is much that can be effected. Most of the contracts REO's are sold under are illusory and against public policy but since the DA's golf with the bankers nobody is going to jail for it. The way that banks line item veto real estate commissions in a short sale transaction is also a tort , interfering with a contractual relationship or some language.
Out here in sunny California we have been collaborating with one another to share these stories and strategies to stay out in front of the banks. You can not win every hand no matter what.
But arming one's self with the semblance of authority is sometimes enough for us. The lenders people often know they are doing something wrong even if they don't know what.
I can find real estate people and investors I can teach this too but I have not yet found an attorney that gets these concepts and that will work only for pay at the end.

Da Deep,
Listen to your friends here. You are a buyer in a buyer's market. You are letting bad advice, none of which came from people here, to take away your advantage in bargaining.
Step back and save your money.
Here is something to consider in determining value..
If it was as good a deal as you seem to believe a more experienced investor would see this also. The people here are all saying RUN.
There are more deals coming than you can imagine. Talk to people like those here until you get a good understanding of what you are doing.
What I have learned with short sales is that there are no rules. If you are a good negotiator, are patient and professional in your dealings with the lender's people they will give you just about anything within reason. You have to be prepared to say no to more deals than you say yes to especially when there are so many choices.

J W
I am a broker that does a lot of this type of work and the advice about no down is right on point. Short sales can go on for a long time and all of my contracts say no deposit, no time periods to run, no obligation at all until the bank signs off on the deal in writing.

You would do well to get your money back and run because Nick spelled it out in very precise terms.
Many agents think they know what they are doing , they might even be real nice people but this is a game where the banks move the goal posts all the time.
My cash buyers put up POF (proof of funds) and we tie that property up for the price of one blank contract for as long as the bank wants to play dumb.
The negotiator I use is one of the best. I trained her and now she runs circles around me. Nobody gets paid until the deal is done, that's how you keep loan people and real estate people interested in your goals. Remember to tell them clearly what you want at the start. Anybody who doesn't get it.. just move on.

Remember it is a good idea to learn short sales and the rules of the road because it is a better deal for everybody involved, it is easier to get everyone's cooperation. The icing on the cake is the new legislation at the federal level and also individual state laws that are making it very unpleasant for the banks to continue to build REO inventory. In California cities can now fine REO properties 1,000/day per code violation for unsafe and substandard houses.
I am working with private and public entities here to implement the compliance procedures and the lenders handling our local properties are becoming very cooperative.

Joshua,
That's all I needed to hear.....
I'm going to put my head down in my cubicle and get back to work.
Where's the little smiley icon that is growling with raised hackles?