Yesterday I attended a continuing education class, “Understanding Short Sales and REO’s in Today’s Market”. The class was co-taught by Rebecca Riley St. Thomas, Sr. Loan Officer with AmeriFirst Financial, and a Realtor, Brian Gubernick with Homehelpers Consultants. I have attended several different short sale classes in the past but this by far was the most informative.
Rebecca has been in the mortgage industry for over 14 years and has a wealth of knowledge. She gave us insight from a lenders perspective on what events caused the mortgage meltdown, how we got to where we are, and when we might be out of the woods. She went over 2009 sales stats for Phoenix Metro, provided graphs charting the ARM reset schedule, foreclosures by city, touched on the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007, and outlined the Fannie Mae Guidelines in regards to loan qualification after a bankruptcy, foreclosure, short sale and Deed-In-Lieu.
Brian has been working short sales for over 4 1/2 years. He has a team that consists of himself and 4 others that work solely as listing agents for short sale properties. As one of the pioneers in the short sale world, he explained what qualifies a property for a short sale, options for the seller, the 5 stages of the short sale process, best practices and techniques for closing a high percentage of transactions, seven secrets to closing short sales successfully, and he provided us with 10 Short Sale Questions Answered by a Bank Loss Mitigator which I will share here with you.
Q: Why does it take so long to get a response on an offer?
A: Incomplete packages are set aside. The borrower must supply financial information, tax returns, a hardship letter and more. Often times the package is checked in by a file clerk who is trained to put the incomplete packages on the bottom of the stack.
Q: How many short sales are you currently working on?
A: Approximately 400 files, of these, I would say that some 100 files are workable
Q: Does it matter if the property is owned by an LLC or individual?
A: It does not matter
Q: Does the type of hardship the borrower is facing make a difference?
A: Though we want the borrower to provide hardship, the type of hardship does not matter.
Q: Why do you require a Broker Price Opinion?
A: It is cheaper, faster and shorter (usually 2 pages) than an appraisal.
Q: How long does a Broker Price Opinion take?
A: Usually 10 days. First we need a complete short sale package (including an offer to purchase). We don’t order the BPO until then. Once the BPO is completed, it is reviewed by our valuation department.
Q: Do you simply reject low offers?
A: Not really. We have certain targets we are trying to reach. We also have a certain dollar amount loss we are willing to accept. Tell me why the offer is low and why it should be considered.
Q: Will you postpone the foreclosure if a short sale offer is in play?
A: If it looks like we are close to accomplishing a short sale.
Q: Do you ever change a BPO once it is received?
A: No. Why would we? The value is what it is. Incidentally, we don’t disclose the BPO results.
Q: Do you require the home to be listed prior to a short sale?
A: No. If the home is not listed, we will talk directly to the buyer/investor.
Have questions about obtaining a mortgage? Rebecca can be reached at 602-326-9606 or by e-mail at rebecca@amerifirst.us.
Are you a distressed owner needing assistance or guidance with listing your home as a short sale? Brian can be reached at 480-314-4442, by e-mail: brian@homehelperconsultants.com, or visit their website at www.homehelperconsultants.com
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Thanks for the nice read. Very informative post.