The Dirty Little Secret About Doing a Short Sale to Avoid Foreclosure

 

What they don’t tell you

After failing to get their loan modification approved. Most homeowners resort to doing a short sale to avoid foreclosure.

For those who have heard the term short sale but not quite sure what it is, here is a simple example to help you understand.

Homeowner A owes the bank $100 and has stopped making payments on the mortgage.

Homeowner A’s property is only worth $60

Homeowner A partners with A buyer to present a cash offer to the bank of $50

The bank accepts the short offer and releases Homeowner A from the liability of $50 which he should still owe.

Homeowner A walks away from the home, taking a small hit to his credit score, but gets to start over fresh.

What most people don’t tell you is that the IRS can still tax Homeowner A on that $50 forgiven debt, as it can now be considered income. Homeowner A will then be responsible for paying a percentage of the $50 as tax.

This is not always the case, as sometimes the IRS does not come after the homeowner, but it is a possibility that you should know about.

 

Learn 9 Ways You Can Avoid Foreclosure

Flip through this short presentation to know what your options are when facing a possible foreclosure.

How To Evict A Tenant In Broward County

A landlord should always be aware of unlawful eviction actions to ensure that they are complying with Florida laws. For example, a landlord is prohibited from doing the following upon non-payment of rent by a tenant:

• Changing the locks on the tenant’s door to prohibit entry;
• Removing the door from the unit to deter the tenant from staying there;
• Removing appliances from the unit to make it difficult to live there;
• Turning off or intercept water, electricity, or other utilities to drive the tenant out;
• Removing the tenant’s belongings from the unit; and
• Any other action that constitutes “self-help” eviction.

Evictions must be done through the civil court system and there are specific procedures and timelines that must be followed for an eviction to be lawful and valid. The following are some of the steps of the process of evicting a tenant for not paying rent:

• Provide notice to the tenant of rent owed and/or your intention of terminating the lease agreement.
• If the notice does not cause the tenant to pay rent owed, you must file a complaint with the court.
• Notice of the complaint and a summons must be served on the tenant in the proper manner.
• If the tenant does not pay you or respond to the court within five day of being served, you can request a court order for an eviction.
• If the tenant answers the complaint to dispute the eviction and amount of unpaid rent, you must attend a hearing for the court to decide whether eviction is appropriate. You will need to provide evidence of unpaid rent and the tenant has the chance to refute your claims or to show evidence that withholding of rent was legally justified.
• If the judge orders an eviction, the tenant has 24 hours to leave the premises. If the tenant still refuses to leave, the sheriff can then remove the tenant and their belongings.

The process of eviction is very specific with many requirements, so it is always wise to have an experienced landlord-tenant lawyer navigating the eviction process for you.

Source – http://www.turnpikelaw.com/evicting-a-tenant-for-unpaid-rent/

With These 7 Questions, You Now Have The Power To Check The Status Of Your Loan Modification

Too often we speak with homeowners and they have no idea what the status of their loan modification is. Has the application been submitted? is it in review? has it been denied?

If you are facing a situation where it is possible to get foreclosed upon by your lender, it is imperative that you are in the know about what is going on (especially if you have an auction date).

“My lawyer is handling it” is not good enough! We have seen this story play out so many times to the detriment on the homeowner.

As the homeowner, you are the one who has it all to lose and a sense of urgency is needed to resolve your situation quickly.

If you are not getting clear answers from your lawyer or real estate professional you are working with, take matters into your own hands by calling the lender yourself.

Download the following questionnaire and ask your lender the 7 questions. You will have a better idea of your loan modification situation when those questions have been answered.

From there you will have valuable information to make the next move in resolving your situation.

FREE DOWNLOAD BELOW:

QUESTIONS TO VERIFY LOAN MODIFICATION

Homeowners Need To Be Doing These 3 Things After The Short Sale Package Has Been Submitted

So….You have decided to do a short sale to avoid foreclosure…Great!

You have already met with your short sale specialist, handed over the necessary documents, and your short sale package has been submitted to the servicing lender. So what now?

The downfall of many homeowners in a foreclosure situation is not coming to terms with reality and being stuck in denial. A short sale is a good option for a fresh start.

As a homeowner, having the awareness to be decisive in this situation has to be commended, because it will be the difference between no debt and hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

To ensure a smooth transition for your family during the short sale process, here are a few steps you need to start taking immediately after your short sale package has been submitted:

• Save money – Developing the habit of saving early in the process can mean having that extra cash to help with moving expenses, pay for rent or anything else that may come up during the transition period.

• Actively look for somewhere else to live – Regularly check listings for where you want to live, so you are familiar with what is available in the market and at what price. The last thing you want to be doing is scrambling around to find a place last minute after the short sale is approved. You should have 3 to 5 places on your radar from early, so that when it is actually time to move, you are not starting this process from scratch.

• Make arrangement to sell or get rid of unwanted items/ furniture – Start lightening the load early, so the actual move is less hassling. Think about all the items in the house you are definitely not taking with you to the new location and figure out what you’re going to do with them. You could have a garage sale or give them away. The point is to start thinking about this as soon as possible.

If you are currently involved with a short sale, here is a more detailed look at the entire process, so you know what else to expect. (Even if you don’t read through the entire article, the info-graphic at the end will give you a good idea of what to expect —> See Entire Short Sale Process Here

Home Owners Need These Items To Start The Short Sale Process (FAQ)

When speaking to home owners who are facing the possibility for foreclosure, one of the most common questions we get asked is: What items are needed in order to do a Short Sale on the house?

Here is the complete list:

1. Loan # and Bank information for all mortgages (Mortgage Statements)
2. Information on HOA (Name and contact information to management company)
3. Hardship letter (Typed not written – dated and signed)
4. Last 2 yrs of Tax returns (must be signed)
5. Pay stubs for last 30 days
6. Last 60 days bank statements (All Pages must be included)
7. Current Utility Bill on the property (for HAFA purposes)
8. Short Sale Package From Lender

The home owner should try to get this information as quick as possible (1 to 2 weeks max), because the information is time sensitive. If  take 6 weeks to gather all the information the bank can request more up to date information because the information you originally gathered is out of date. This will just waste more time and give the home owner more work to do.

For a more detailed look at the entire short sale process, take a look at the following article/ diagram.

How To Make Money – Earn $1000 Commission (Broward County)

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN EARNING $1000?

Here are the Steps:

1. Do you know anybody in Broward County who needs to sell their property fast for CASH?
2. If the answer is yes, refer the homeowner to RKI Properties by contacting 954-693-6004 or rkipros@gmail.com
3. When the property is purchased…You get paid $1000

Please Note – Not all referrals will be purchased. We are professional investors (using our own money), therefore the purchase must make sense as an investment. This will be determined after seeing the condition of the property.

Please share if you know anyone who would be interested.

5 Pitfalls to avoid when selling your property FOR SALE BY OWNER

Trying to sell your home by yourself (For Sale By Owner) can be a daunting task. Here are 5 mistakes to avoid that will ensure you will sell your house much faster:

1. Over Pricing The House

We would all love to get the highest price possible for our property, but in reality this does not happen very often. All you are really doing by starting out with a high price is turning off potential buyers. It really doesn’t matter that you just spent money updating the bathrooms and the kitchen. If other similar houses in the neighborhood are not updated and selling in a certain price range, it is highly unlikely that buyers are going to be willing to pay the extra for yours, especially if they are buying it as a rental. Be realistic and don’t scare off perfectly good buyers with an emotionally high price. Search your property address on Zillow to get a rough estimate of how much it is worth and how much similar properties sold for.

2. Thinking That a Sign In The Front Yard Will Get The Property Sold

You have to be prepared to do marketing if you want to sell your property (for sale by owner). Not to say that it is impossible for someone to see your sign and make you a reasonable offer, but you are missing out on a huge chunk of potential buyers if you don’t spend time, energy and money on marketing outside of your neighborhood. This could lead to selling your house faster and/or getting a higher price.

Consider listing your property on websites like Craigslist , Forsalebyowner.com. These sites will put your property in front of people who are actively looking to buy.

A strategy that I would highly recommend in today’s world would be to do some advertising on Facebook. Facebook is the largest social network in the world with over 1.4 billion active users. This platform is extremely powerful in that you can specifically target by location and specific demographics. For example you could easily target people who like Home Depot that live within a 10 mile radius of your property. If you are not that familiar with the platform, there are tons of videos on YouTube to show you how.

These are just a few ideas, but be creative and don’t just rely on the sign.

3. Signing a Contract With An Unqualified Buyer

Another mistake to avoid is accepting offers from unqualified buyers. This will just waste your time, especially if you want to sell the house quickly. You will have to start the process from scratch if someone is unable to close on the property. To avoid this, ask the potential buyer to contact a lender and get pre-qualified before accepting any offers. You can also verify this yourself with the lender if you are unsure.

4. Use Poor Quality Pictures

It is a little known secret in the real estate industry that great pictures can sell a property. I would edit that a bit to say great pictures can generate enough interest for someone to come out and see the property. That being said, hire a photographer, borrow a camera or do what you have to do to get high quality images of your property.

No matter how great the place is in real life, if someone sees dingy pictures, that is a big turn off. You could be chasing away potential buyers. Also remember that when you are taking pictures, you are not just selling a house, you are selling a lifestyle.

5. Not Preparing The Property For Sale

This should be common sense, but it occurs very often. If you are trying to sell your house, PLEASE ensure that repairs are done and problems fixed before trying to sell. There is no bigger turn off to a buyer than walking into the kitchen or bathroom and realizing that there are plumbing issues or a section of the roof is falling apart. This is really an invitation for a low ball offer.

Another very important step is to have a professional cleaning done (at minimum) to bring the spark back into the property. Get those carpets clean and all the stains off the walls! 

Another ignored task is skimping on the landscaping. The property maybe in great shape but if the curb appeal is off, buyers may not even want to go in. Hire a landscaper and get the outside of the property in tip top shape.

Share these tips with a homeowner who is trying to sell!

Generate Multiple Cash Offers For Your House In A Short Period Of Time – For Sale By Owner

Over the past few months, we have really put a lot of time and energy into understanding what it like for homeowners in BROWARD COUNTY who need to sell their homes in a relatively short amount of time. Our goal was to come up with a non-traditional solution which involved NO COMMISSIONS, was fast, fair and convenient. We believe we have now found that solution…

In order to do this we have decided to partner with the Broward Real Estate Investor Association to leverage our investor networks of over 2000 CASH BUYERS and hedge funds to any homeowner in Broward County who needs to sell their property… If you are really serious about selling your property fast, please call 954-693-6004 for one of us to come out and take a look at the property. Let us know your best price and we will send it out to our network of investors who are currently looking for properties to buy in Broward County. The aim of this process is to generate multiple cash offers for your property in a short period of time. No BS. No Fees. No Commissions. Nothing to lose

New Service in Fort Lauderdale Lets You Snuggle With Puppies During your Lunch Break to Reduce Stress (Humane Society)

The Humane Society Of Broward County, an animal shelter in Fort Lauderdale (2070 Griffin Road), has launched a service that delivers shelter animals for hour-long visits to workplaces. The name of the program is called “Snuggle Delivery” and gives the animals a chance to socialize with potential owners. On the other hand it also gives people on the job (in the area) an outlet to reduce stress by snuggling up with a cute puppy or kitten during their lunch hour.

This service requires a minimum donation of $150, so maybe someone at the office can organize donations from interested persons to make up this amount. The animals make these workplace visits with documents in case anyone wants to adopt on spot.

This is a really cool local concept we came across and wanted to share. Please share it with anyone you think maybe interested.

Get in contact with the Humane Society by going here

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