Lendisphere

Mega-Builder D.R. Horton must have really hit the skids.  According to BusinessWeek’s Hot Property, they’ve hired on a pint-sized new spokesman for their “Short Sale Priced” communities, and I’m guessing they signed him on for less than half-price. 

Sure.  He’s short.  He’s cute.  But this little guy is far from wholesome builder material. 

 I’ll give you a hint:  he’s fresh from the courtroom trying to prevent his ex-girlfriend from globally distributing a tape of them … um …. watching TV together.  And other stuff. 

Stumped?  That spokesman is none other than…Verne Troyer, better known to many of you as Mini Me of Austin Powers fame! 

And while we’re on the subject of “short”, I’d like to use this opportunity to segue into a quick chat about a piece of documentation underwriters are starting to get persnickety about:  the Short Sale Acceptance.  I’ll be brief.   J 

When I request the Short Sale Acceptance from the listing agent in a short sale transaction, invariably they send me the Short Sale Addendum.  Not the same thing at all.

The Addendum becomes a part of the real estate contract.  But the Acceptance is an actual letter from the bank that is foreclosing, acknowledging that they agree to accept a smaller payoff than what is owed on the house. 

These letters are tricky, and they are all different.  As a lender, I’m not too concerned with the differences in the wording – but as a listing agent, it’s good to know the differences. 

 Some letters are absolutely specific, and release the mortgage and absolutely forgive the deficiency.  But other letters may state that the bank accepts the short payoff, offering a full “Release and Satisfaction” of the mortgage, but be careful here:  this does NOT necessarily mean that they are releasing the Promissory Note.  In other words, if there is no specific mention of any cancellation of the Promissory Note, there is no forgiveness of the deficiency. 

That deficiency balance may eventually find its way on to your client’s credit report.  In other words, he is saved from a full-scale FORECLOSURE, but that deficiency still shows up as a “charge off”, and the liability shows as “TBD” – making it just as hard or harder for your client to move past that problem than if they had just completed a clean foreclosure proceeding and started fresh.  

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              I VALUE YOUR COMMENTS         cg 

Zillow has made my life a living hell at times.  Clients enter their property address into the shiny, white box, see the computerized result, and then call me in a panic over what their house is — or, more often - is NOT worth anymore.

After they remove the paper bag from their mouths and they are able to compose themselves, my advice is always the same:   “CALL YOUR REALTOR.  Zillow is only a statistical anaylsis.  Without the human interpretation and expertise that a realtor can provide - Zillow is basically just a bucket of bolts.  A machine simply can’t determine the true value of your house like an experienced realtor”.

So yes, Zillow definitely causes unnecessary heartburn with homeowners - they need to be educated as to Zillow’s limitations.  But maybe it’s time to give the devil his due.  The silver lining is that Zillow can actually put a little more cash in your pocket.  And you don’t have to sell your soul.  In fact it doesn’t cost you a single penny:  Real Estate marketing guru Sara Bonert has put together an outstanding list of the Top Ten Ways Realtors Can Use Zillow.  Check it out.

                 WHAT DO YOU THINK OF  ZILLOW ?  

You came all the way over here to be entertained.  To be informed.  To pick up some perfect little piece of lending advice, or a new trick on how to push through a real estate obstacle that’s been in your face for a month.  At the very least, you wanted a dang t-shirt. 

And all you got was a construction zone. 

Well, keep the faith, Pilgrims. The new blog will be up in days with something timely, relevant, and sure to elevate your business AND your mood.

You can count on it.

In the meantime, be sure to take a couple minutes to indulge your inner control freak by actually controlling the weather with the mere stroke of a key:   did you happen to notice you can toggle between the “summer skin” and “winter skin” on the masthead of this site?  Summer.  Winter.  Summer.  Winter.  It’s fantastic.

From personal observation, I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll bounce back from summer to winter at least three times.  And when you’ve had your fill, you will find yourself sitting a bit straighter in your desk chair.  You’ll take a few deep cleansing breaths.  And in the end, my friend, you will leave here feeling a little more empowered than when you first stopped in.

Now’s your time.  Go do it.