Short Payoff Outcomes
Posted November 24th, 2008
This is critical information. If you are about to be engaged in a short sale transaction you MUST understand this important fact: Short sales are type of short payoff outcome.
The term short sale is loosely used to refer to any negotiation in which a secured creditor accepts as payment less than what is owed. The terms of this acceptance have distinctive debt relief, collection and tax implications. This brief article explains this critical subject.
Note: For precision, in this article professional level terminology is used.
- The property owner will be referred to as the debtor
- Banks will be referred to as creditors
- Secured creditor is a bank that has a mortgage on a property
- Releasing an interest in a property is removing the mortgage. This is needed to make a property marketable. Without this, the property is difficult to sell.
Short Payoffs
In real estate, a short payoff is an arrangement in which a secured creditor releases its interest in a property that is collateral for debt, by accepting less than full payment. Since the creditor is getting paid short of the full debt payoff, this phenomenon is called a short payoff.
There are two types of short payoffs: Short Sale & Release of Lien. Although they are similar, these two types of short payoff are extremely different.
Short Sale: In a short sale a creditor accepts less than full payoff for the debt, releases it interest in the property and forgives the debtor for any short fall. The property owner no longer owes anything to the creditor. Because of this, a short sale is debt relief. According to the IRS, debt relief is financial betterment. Therefore a short sale is a taxable event. Because of this, and to be able write off the loss, the creditor will issue the property owner an IRS 1099 C, Cancelation of Debt. Typically, if the property owner is insolvent, and with the use of a good CPA, there is no increase in tax burden to the property owner. The debtor should also look at the Mortgage Debt Relief Act
Release of Lien: In a release of lien, the creditor releases its interest on a property for less than owed, but does not forgive the unpaid debt caused by the short fall. The property owner still owes to the creditor. Typically the property owner and the creditor arrange for some sort of payment plan. A release of lien is not debt forgiveness, so there is no 1099. However, the property owner will no longer be able to apply debt payment interests as tax write-off.
Off course most property owners prefer a short sale over a release of lien; however that is not always possible. The type of short payoff available to the property owner depends mostly on the property owner’s financial situation, ability to pay, and how easy a collections target the debtor is.
By far, the most common type of short payoff is the release of lien. The term short sale is liberally use in reference to any type of short pay off. As such, the fact that someone mentions the term “short sale”, does not necessarily mean a true short sale. Through the years this has led to plenty of disappointment, disputes, personal financial disasters and a bad end to lots real estate careers.
When Short Sale? When Release of Lien?
Whether a property owner will get a short sale or a release of lien depends on the type of debt secured by the property and the chances of the creditor successfully collecting the debt.
When a Short Sale: Typically a creditor will allow the short sale of a property when it is impossible, or very difficult to collect any further funds from a debtor. This extreme example illustrates the situation. An older property owner, now living on social security income, in a rented apartment, and just discharged from bankruptcy Chapter 7 is impossible to collect on. In this case creditor will either approve a short sale or foreclose.
When a Release of Lien: Typically a creditor will insist on a release of lien if the debtor has present and/or future ability to pay, and is a good collections target. This extreme example clearly illustrates matters. A younger doctor going through a nasty divorce may presently be totally insolvent. However, as soon as the divorce situation is resolved, chances are that the doctor will be financially fit again. So he will have ability to pay. Not only that, for a collections company, such a professional is easy to locate and harass. It would be very easy for a collector to attempt garnishing wages. To make it worse, such actions can have huge negative effects in the doctor’s career (increase insurance premiums, stigma, etc). Therefore, most likely the young doctor will end up only with a release of lien, and most likely be almost happy to make payments.
Most releases of lien take place with cash-out second mortgages and home equity lines of credit (HELOC). In these cases, typically the creditor with the first mortgage forecloses, gets paid most of the debt at foreclosure sale or ends up owning the property. After the foreclosure, the junior creditors (second mortgage, HELOC, etc), are no longer secured by the property. However, the property owner still remains indebted to these creditors. These creditors will attempt to collect. Collection efforts will be aggressive if the size of the debt is large enough, and the chances of collecting of very good. So going back to the extreme example of the young doctor, such individual has no escape. He will be collected anyway. The question is how. With a release of lien, the young doctor will right away be in a payment plan he can handle. With a foreclosure, the young doctor will be chased by aggressive collectors. For a professional like him, with a lot to lose, this would be a terrible situation.
Hopefully this article clearly illustrates short payoffs. I used extreme examples because they are easier to visualize. Most individuals fall in a category somewhere between these two extremes. Just remember: A short payoff is when the creditor lets the debtor sell for less than what is owed. In the short sale the remaining debt is forgiven. In the release of lien it is not.
Copyright Reserved
Oscar Morante, Advanced Real Estate Concepts, LLC
Un-authorized reproduction prohibited
Single-Day Acquisition Funds for Double Escrow Transactions
Posted October 23rd, 2008
- Transactions Are Perishable Items
- Opportunities Don’t Wait
- There Are Few Second Chances (Specially In Real Estate)
- We Fund Your Transactions NOW
Funding Program Description
We fund the acquisition side of double escrow transactions. Funding provided for 24 hours maximum, from one banking day to the next. No holding over any period of time. We provide escrow instructions specially designed for this type of closing.
Background:
A true double escrow transaction has two components: Acquisition and Re-Sale. Proper disclosures are required.
- Acquisition: Investor buys the property (with re-sale funds)
- Re-Sale: The investor sells the property to the end user (for more than the acquisition cost)
As of the beginning of 2008, title companies have become increasingly less comfortable with flips. There is nothing wrong with double escrows. However, increased risks, additional lender escrow instructions and other factors, are making this type of closings more challenging. Funding double escrow transactions using re-sale profits still happens, but it is less easy. Our double escrow alternative funding is designed to help you overcome these issues and keep making money. We can fund up to 3′000,000, so basically everything is within your range.
Funding Program Outline
Our double escrow alternative funding is designed for you to succeed. All you need to do is be knowledgeable and bring a ready to close transaction. All costs are payable at closing. This is ZERO DOWN investment at its best.
Funding Approval Response Time:
- Usually within 24 hours
- See Transaction Submission (below)
Cost Structure:
- Typical Funding Fee: 3 Points
- Typical Escrow Fee: $500
- Minimum Fee: $3000
- Other Costs: NOT Common - Up-front estimate provided
- Cost Payment: All due closing and payable from transaction profits proceeds
Requirements:
- READY TO CLOSE transaction
- Evident Profit Spread
- Sufficient time (see time frames)
- Be knowledgeable
Time Frames:
- Typical Time Frame: 72 hours
- Ideal Time Frame: Submit Monday. Close Friday.
- Better Yet: Have more time and plenty of fall back dates
Transaction Submission
Provide all the acquisition, re-sale and supporting documents.
Acquisition Documents:
- Purchase and sell agreement
- Preliminary settlement statements (HUD1 for residential short sales)
- Settlement letters (short sale approval)
- Payoff statements
- Any releases
Re-Sale Documents:
- Purchase and sell agreement
- Preliminary settlement statements (HUD1 for residential)
- End buyer proof of funding. Better if it is a clear-to-close approval.
Submit Transactions To:
Oscar Morante, Advanced Real Estate Concepts, LLC
- Email: oscar@bestshortsales.com
- Fax: 503-296-5663
- Ph: 971-222-3734
Funding Pre-Approvals
Send request for funding pre-approval letter via email to Oscar Morante at oscar@bestshortsales.com
Information Needed:
- Investor name
- Company Name
- Address
- Fax
- Short transaction explanation paragraph (so I can better help you)
- Subject property address
- Request “Blanket Letter” if you make multiple offers or do not yet have a defined target property
www.1-DayMoney.com
Real Estate is About People
Posted October 22nd, 2008
I am glad you are still interested in Short Sales. Hopefully you enjoyed yesterday’s free lesson. Today I want to share with you something very important: The real estate business is not really about buildings. It is about people. Without people land is worthless and structures meaningless.
It is people that own and pay for houses and buildings. People finance real estate and borrow against too. Real estate is inert. Buildings, houses and land don’t make decisions. The people that own them do. As such, default and foreclosure problems are caused by people.
The best place to start working on a short sale is by understanding the default causes and nature of the homeowner. The FREE video lesson below will give a good insight into foreclosure causes and help you understand yours.
If you benefited and enjoyed this free lesson, and need master Short Sales, take Short Sales A-Z Online Video Course. This will be one of the best real estate investments you will ever make.
Click HERE for a $250 Single Payment
Click HERE for 2 Easy $130 Payments
Short Sales: My First Four Lessons
Posted October 21st, 2008
Short Sales are an interesting phenomenon. In a Short Sale, a property is discounted such that, with lender’s approval, an owner sells a property for less than what is owed. This is hard to believe. However, these days, this phenomenon is commonplace. This is how I got hooked on short sales.
Lesson #1:
To me it still feels like yesterday. Time flies. This happened in 2004. After studying as much as possible about short sales, I decided to go out into the market, search for properties and actually do flips. After a couple of months, I learned my first lesson: Only work with motivated clients, who I can help and who appreciate my efforts.
Lesson #2:
So I got my chance. This is how it happened. I was driving through a neighborhood which I was considering for my marketing efforts. As I was driving by, I noted several properties which I though would be worthwhile making offers on. I even jotted down some addresses. That same afternoon, a Friday, I got my weekly NOD list. To my surprise, one of the properties on my list was in default. I located the homeowner’s number. To my even bigger surprise, the owners were friendly to me, and better yet, open to my proposal. They had just being discharged for bankruptcy chapter seven. Mistakenly thinking they no longer owned the property, they had moved out. They made it clear that they wanted to save as much of their credit as possible. They wanted to avoid foreclosure. Here I learned my second lesson: Clients need to be open to being helped.
Lesson #3:
I made an offer for $160K. That meant that the first mortgage would get paid in full and the second only would get $1000. The second mortgage holder made a BPO and the property came out at $200K. This was almost $100K less than a similar property a block away that had just been restored. As such, there was around $30K of equity. Not bad, but not good enough for a flip. So I asked the bank rep the following: If I buy the property now, without an agent, would they discount the cost of an agent’s commission and closing costs at a total of 7%? They said yes. That gave me an additional $14K to play with. That same afternoon I placed a sign at the property for $224K. The next morning, a Sunday, I had a cash offer for $220K.
Monday morning I met the end buyer. He was fresh out of college, but was well coached by his sister, a mortgage broker, and his dad, a real estate attorney. I could have been greedy and asked for more. But here’s the third lesson: Greed kills deals. Cash closes deals!
Lesson #4:
It felt like an eternity, but it only took two weeks to get the settlement letters. I closed the transaction in a double escrow. Without any cash down, I made around $24K! Not only that: The end buyer got a great deal. The homeowner avoided foreclosure and bought another property a year later! This taught me my fourth lesson: Happy clients give great testimonials!
Short Sales have been good to me. Sure they are a bit of work. But what isn’t? Today, as an agent, investor and trainer, I entirely make my living out of short sales. Presently, and for the next several years, short sales will be over 40% of the residential real estate sales. That is a huge percentage. Basically, the short sale flood has no end in sight. Go with the flow: learn how to do short sales!
My Proposal
I would like the opportunity and privilege to be your short sale trainer. Get Short Sales A-Z. This will be one of the best real estate investments you will ever make. Whether you are an agent or investor, you will learn all the ropes of the business. All this can be done in one afternoon. So in a few hours, you will be good to go. After that, all you need to do is start taking action. Deals are abundant, so there is no lack of business.
Order Short Sales A-Z Now
Click HERE for a $250 Single Payment
Click HERE for 2 Easy $130 Payments
A Few Things About Short Sales
Posted October 16th, 2008
Hi! This is Oscar. I am glad you subscribed to BestShortSales.com yesterday. Thanks for considering me and Short Sales A-Z for your short sales training. We have lots of events and activities that will be of interesting to you. For the next few weeks I will be sharing with you a few important things about Short Sales.
Whether you are an agent or investor, you are absolutely doing the right thing by looking into short sales. For the foreseeable future, this is the segment of the real estate market that will be growing the most. In fact, these days, it is almost inevitable to not run into them. If you want to thrive in short sales, BestShortSales.com is the site to visit, and Short Sales A-Z is the by far the Best Short Sales Course there is.
%$name$%, I am both an investor and a real estate broker. I believe that in real estate the more you learn, the more you earn. As you, I invest heavily in my real estate education and strive to be as well rounded as possible. The reason is simple: Education Pays. I am extremely active in Short Sales. I created Short Sales A-Z because to be good at something two things are necessary: Practicing in the real world, and teaching to others.
I am 100% confident that you will be very happy with my Short Sales A-Z Video course. Short Sales A-Z will teach you all the needed skills to start closing transaction right away. Short Sales A-Z is both in-depth and easy to understand. I believe that education needs to be fun, not painful. With this in mind, I created a course both enjoyable and immediately applicable. Short Sales A-Z is delivered to you in highly graphical video format, with a downloadable work book in case you like printed material. You will not need to go through endless boring binders. In five hours, which you can complete at your own leisure and pace, you will become a short sale expert. Not only that. The course will be in your computer and you can review any segment any time.
Order Short Sales A-Z Online Now
If you are into Short Sales this is it! This course will pay for itself over and over. You will have no regrets. Short Sales A-Z is extremely well priced and includes all future updates. This is the best deal you will ever find in a Short Sales course.
Here Are Some Student Quotes:
This is the best course I have found on short sales. It was easy to understand and easy to follow. It covers the entire process from start to finish, truly excellent. I say all of this as a Real Estate Broker I have purchase other material in the past and nothing compares.
Luis Pezzini
www.SunsetStripRealty.com
Los Angeles, California
Short Sales A-Z is a great course. I definitely got a lot of bang for the buck. I say this as an already very experienced investor. I own apartment buildings, a development company and a short sale company. We re-sell, sell on contract and retail several properties a month. Our investments are in the mid-Willamette Valley and the Oregon Coast. Short Sales A-Z greatly helped me tune up on short sales and better take advantage of this field. I am very happy with the course.
Shawn Phillips
Innovative Investments
Investor, Corvallis, Oregon
“We bought Short Sales A-Z on Friday and were up to date and running on the subject by Monday. We are seasoned agents and have taken lots of courses. This course is in-depth and at the same time easy to understand. This course is not about dream selling, it is about knowing the subject and making it in Short Sales.”
Kirk & Doreen
Crystal Real Estate Services
Agents, San Jose, CA
Why Short Sales A-Z Online
Posted October 16th, 2008
This is Why You Should Get Short Sales A-Z Online:
- You will greatly increase your real estate commission and flip income.
- Short Sales is were the RE business is presently at, and will be, in foreseeable future.
- There is an endless demand for this skill.
- The clients are easy to identify.
- There are more clients than competitors.
- Even in the best economic times there is a demand for Short Sales.
You will find Short Sales A-Z Online, my online class extremely competitive.
- I offer the most bang for the buck. Make your own comparisons.
- You will get all the knowledge needed to close transactions now.
- Not only that. Short Sales A-Z Online is presented in a highly graphical style that will allow you to internalize the info quickly.
- In addition, you have the benefit of reviewing the material as often as possible, with minimal effort.
- The most common feedback I get about Short Sales A-Z online has to do with how detailed and in depth, yet entertaining it is. Entertainment was not my original objective, but it is a certainly a great by-product.
- Short Sales A-Z provides all the transactional knowledge required to consummate transactions with the benefit of definitely not been boring.
- Short Sales A-Z Online makes learning short sales fun.
- This course will pay for itself over and over.
On top of all Short Sales A-Z is extremely well priced. At $250 you can’t go wrong. We even have a payment plan.
Short Sale Principle #1: Be Helpful
Posted October 16th, 2008
Hi, this is Oscar again.
Today I would like share with you maybe the most important principle in Short Sales. This simple principle will make you lots of money and ensure you earn well for years and years, not just in short sales but in any business.
Be Helpful: Take care of your clients, and they will take care of you.
The Short Sales business is a clear example of a business in which one person’s poison is another person’s meal. To be successful in Short Sales, you need to resolve the seller’s and the creditor’s financial problem associated with the property. Whether you are an agent or an investor, as a short seller, your job is to fix this situation such that the both seller and creditor arrive to an acceptable compromise. It is your ability to solve these issues that makes you valuable.
For you to provide a solution, and therefore be helpful, there needs to a real and perceived problem.
- The seller and the creditor need to have a problem
- The seller and the creditor need to perceive the problem
Let me explain you:
In life, perception is reality. That a client’s property is causing a huge financial problem doesn’t necessarily mean that the client is aware of the long term consequences. Sometimes the client perceives that loosing the property is not a big deal. As a result, despite truly needing your help, the client will feel that you are un-necessary. In this case you can’t be helpful to him. So move on. It will be a waste of time.
The same is true in the case of the creditor. If the creditor, correctly or mistakenly, perceives he can recover more of the debt through a foreclosure sale, the creditor will not cooperate. In this case, arrive at the best possible solution, or move on.
Work Only Motivated Clients & Creditors
As you can see, it is not just the problem that makes clients and creditors cooperate, but almost as importantly, their perception of the problem. Motivated clients and creditors correctly acknowledge and perceive the situation. Therefore they consider you helpful to their needs. Work only with motivated clients and creditors. You will have a lot more closings!
Short Sale Effectiveness
If you are serious about Short Sales, I strongly recommend you to take Short Sales A-Z. This downloadable online video course is comprehensive. It will teach you all the ropes of the business. The knowledge you will acquire will pay for itself over and over. Not only that. Unlike other short sale materials, this course is concise, enjoyable to study and easy to review. With this course there is no need to go through tons of binders and endless repetitive CDs. In five hours you will be ready to start acting. HERE is what other students say.
Invest in Your Education
I guarantee you Short Sales A-Z will be one of the best real estate investments you will ever make. What you will learn will pay for itself over and over!
A Great Value
Short Sales A-Z gives you the most value of any of the courses out there. Do your own research to confirm this. There are plenty of courses available. Most of them are several times more expensive and offer less. Others offer un-necessary coaching with far away trainers. If they cost less, they are usually teasers designed for you to buy a more expensive program.
Order Short Sales A-Z Now
Double Escrow Alternative Funding Web Meeting 10-24-08
Posted October 14th, 2008
Web Meeting Date: 10-24-08
Time: 1:00pm PST.
Sign Up At: www.BestShortSales.com/deaf/
Looking for more transactions? Consider double escrows. This is how it works: You buy and sell a property the same day!. No out of pocket expenses! This is one of my favorite types of transactions. Agents make more commission, investors eam more in flips. If you are an agent, you are not excluded from this. Try it. You will like it. Attend out next web meeting on Double Escrow Alternative Funding. Below is the announcement.
Double Escrow Web Meeting
This is our most attended meeting. Because of demand, this web meeting will re-occur once a month.
Do you have any double escrows about ready to close? Let us know in advance. We can help you. If for any reason your double close requires aquisition funding count on us.
In a nut shell, here is our program:
- We fund the aquisition part of your double escrow.
- Our charge is 3 points plus $500.
- Usually no other costs are need.
- If there is any additional cost, you will be informed up-front
- The best: It is all payable at closing. No out of pocket expenses!
Do you need proof of funding? Just let us know about your project. If it sounds feasible, we will send you a pre-approval letter.
To know more about this funding program, sign up at www.bestshortsales.com/deaf/.
Oscar Morante
971-222-3734
Double Escrow Funding Recomendations
Posted October 5th, 2008
Jeremy:
Thanks for considering me for your short sales needs. In terms of the coupon, I just discontinued the coupon you mentioned last Friday. The service that gave you that coupon will update as of tomorrow morning.
A good bit of the double escrow information, in addition to the double escrow exit strategy is in the earlier chapters as well. If I were you I would do all the chapters. It is only 5 hours and you can do it in one shot or break it down. At least see chapters 14 and 15 as well. That way you will not find isolated info.
The more complicated the financing, the less likely the double close will be successful. Chances are that if your end buyer has little or no down payment, and a federally backed loan, it will not work. That is clearly explained in the course. For this type of transaction you will need better quality end buyers. Sign up at www.bestshortsales.com/deaf/ for our next double escrow web meeting.
I look forward to doing business with you.
Sincerely,
Oscar
At 04:28 PM 10/5/2008, you wrote:
Hi Oscar,
I purchased the A-Z shortsell video.. Which by the way, I tried to use the USPS50 coupon code to buy and was not able to get the discount to take. I have been reviewing the sections on double escrows and assignment of contract sale. The end buyer who is being respresented by another agent then the listing agent. The buyer is getting VA financing, so I am not sure this will be a good fit. I saw on your site something about a dry and wet double escrow.. I did not find this in the material I downloaded. I’de love to do this deal, but realize it might not be the best. I would like to put together some other ones though. My friend and realtor has several listings for shortsale. I am sure we could get a few of these to work. I just want to be specific as to how disclose these transactions on the listings themselves. I’m anxious to do some investing in this market. So any help you can give and funding for these deals would greatly be appreciated..
Sincerely,
Jeremy
Jeremy:
I want to help you. For that you will need to bring all the components together in a ready to close state. Time is of the essence. So do it quick. Consider taking my Short Sales A-Z Course. There is a chapter dedicated to the exclusive subject of double close. Click HERE for more info.
Oscar
At 02:04 PM 10/4/2008, you wrote:
I don’t have those docs put together.. I do not know how to put these together.. I have the purchase contract I signed and the seller signed.. I have the release lien letter and instructions from the bank for the shortsale. The realtor has a purchase contract from the end buyer for 180K.. What other forms or addendums do we need to put together to facilitate this?
Sincerely,
Jeremy
— On Sat, 10/4/08, Oscar Morante
Jeremy:
I can help you with the funding. Let me know the timelines and
send me the acquisition and resale docs. We need at least 72 hours. Ideally we start a Monday and close a Thursday.
Oscar
At 12:24 PM 10/4/2008, you wrote:
Hi Oscar,
I saw your blog with a gal named Myrna after doing a search onyahoo and google for double escrows.. I was especially interested finding out more and the temporary funding you do to make this possible. I have a situation that may fit this type of transaction.. I have a friend who was loosing his house and I put in an offer to stall the foreclosure of the house.. I low balled expecting the bank to counter.. They accepted the offer. Meanwhile he had it listed with our realotr friend to try and get more offers on it for a real buyer to purchase. We found one who would like to purchase it for 180K and we had offered 150K with a bunch of junk fees netting the bank a payoff of 131K.. I’de really like to make a profit on this on even other in the future.. Please let me know how we can structure this and if you would like to provide the temp funding for this to close.
Oscar Morante
www.bestshortsales.com
www.rapidforeclosuredata.com
Short Sale Processing For Agents
Posted October 4th, 2008
Short Sale Expertise Working For You
Short Sale Facilitation Service
For Real Estate Agents
- Get results
- See your transaction move quickly
- Eliminate headaches
- Earn your full commission
- Focus on more transactions
- Get better discounts
- Nationwide Expertise
What We Do
- Negotiate short sales in behalf real estate agents
- Stop foreclosure sales
- Obtain short sale agreements from banks
- Make banks pay for your commission
- Allow you to focus on getting more business
- Empower you to make more money
Opportunities Don’t Wait
All real estate transactions are perishable items. The longer it takes, the less likely it is going to happen. Lost opportunities almost never come back. This is especially true with properties in foreclosure. The clock is ticking and things need to start happening. We understand the urgency of your transactions.
The Clock is Ticking
In real estate, time is of the essence. Closing transactions rapidly is always very important. With properties in pre-foreclosure, being able to close transactions really fast is vital. We understand this better than anyone. Short sale processing is our business. Seeing your short sale accepted and the transaction closed is our highest priority.
Its a Matter of Who You Know
Our short sale experts have the needed connections with banks and trustees to get your short sale accepted. Although we are not buddies with the banks, we contact their loss mitigation departments several times a week. We are familiar with them. Often we negotiate with bank repts with which we have already dealt with before. We even have a great rapport with many of them. All this, combined with our experience and large transaction volume gives us a very high success rate. We know what we are doing. We process an average of 30 short sales a month. All these homes were saved from auction and agents got their commissions. We process short sales nationwide.
An Efficient System
As you already know, short sales are a lot of work. It is because we have an efficient system that we can accomplish so much.
Stay Informed
As the transaction progresses you will remain informed with up-to-the-minute information about your transactions progress. For the we use RELAY Internet based transaction management software. Want an update? Just log in to RELAY.
Make More Money - Less Work
Focus on getting transactions and closing them. We do the paperwork. Closing deals makes you money. Not doing paperwork means you work less.
We work on your behalf and accomplish results that match your expectations.
Want Results?
