Take action now to turn it around in 2012

Recent economic upheaval has taken a hefty toll. Looking forward to 2012, it’s impossible to know what’s next and the kind of an impact that an upturn or a downturn at the national level stands to have on your family’s finances.

Regardless of what happens in Washington or on Wall Street, two things are very clear: you are not alone and now is the time to prepare for a new normal.

With a national epidemic of unemployment or underemployment, and 25 percent of the homeowners in the country owing more on their home than they could net for it in today’s market, homeownership for many has become a financial liability. Not being able to make payments on a home that you can’t afford to sell feels like an awful trap, but the fact is, there are solutions—and foreclosing on your mortgage is not one of them.

Loan modification is an option for many and banks are increasingly willing to negotiate short sales. In many cases, they’re offering sizable financial incentives to help financially strapped homeowners to get a fresh start on their lives.

As real estate professional who has achieved the Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation, it is my mission to give homeowners the gift of a fresh start. 

Contact me TODAY and let’s get started.

Foreclosure Fears Foster True Grief

Reports of foreclosures by the millions have been in the news so much over the past few years that to some, it might seem like the new normal.  

 

But as a real estate professional who is in the trenches with financially stressed homeowners every day, it never for a second feels to me like business-as-usual.

The prospect of losing ones home is right up there among the major sources of grief, and often, it goes hand in hand with other tragic setbacks such as the loss of a job, a divorce, death of a loved one, mounting medical bills or skyrocketing mortgage payments.

Unfortunately, the first stage of grief is denial, and that’s even more the case when the threat of foreclosure is looming. No one wants to talk about or admit financial troubles—even when millions of others have founds themselves in a similar spot.  It’s completely understandable, but for homeowners who are behind on mortgage payments, decisive action is often the most critical step toward ensuring the best possible solution.

As a real estate professional who has sought out the Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation, I help homeowners to deal with every aspect of the grief and uncertainty that accompanies a mortgage which is no longer manageable. In the process, I help them to get on a path of financial solvency. Visit my website for more information, www.smartshortsales.net

If you or someone you care about would like to change the course of a life that’s facing foreclosure, I get it and I can help.

It's Time to Take Another Look at Short Sales

As recently as a few months ago, if you would have told a real estate agent who specialized in short sales that they’d be raving about a lender’s stellar service and rapid approval times—not to mention significant cash incentives for financially strapped homeowners for pursuing a short sale—you’d have gotten some strange looks.

That’s all changed.  And it’s changed faster and to a greater extent than most real estate professionals ever could have imagined.

With a glut of bank-owned properties dragging down the recovery of the real estate market, as well as the national economy, major lenders are more eager than ever before to avoid foreclosure. So they’ve sharpened their focus on short sales. Big time.

The biggest lenders in the country have staffed up to ensure rapid processing of short sale applications. They’ve ponied up with cash incentives at closing for homeowners who pursue a short sale. And they’re proactively reaching out to CDPE agents and putting them in touch with delinquent borrowers.

This is big news and the media has not really caught onto it yet. What’s important for you to know is that whatever you’ve read or heard in the past about long lag times and frustrations with short sales is probably no longer the case.

As a member of the CDPEAdvanced community, I’m tapped into major lenders and on top of major developments affecting short sales and bank-owned properties.  I invite you to visit my www.smartshortsales.net to learn more and feel free to contact me any time at (912) 655-7674 or robsmartshortsales@gmail.com if you or anyone you know is struggling with an unmanageable mortgage.

Renewed Trust for Tough Times

Does it feel like trust is one of the major casualties of the economic meltdown of 2008 – followed by the “Great Recession,” the “Jobless Recovery” and now the threat of a “Double Dip Recession?”

Weren’t we assured that home values were destined to go up and up and up?

There have been lots of promises that help is on the way—and lots of warnings of scams and schemes that have only served to confuse the matter. So where’s a homeowner who’s underwater or overleveraged to turn?

Here’s the bottom line: the choices that homeowners make when they feel they are at the end of their rope will have ramifications for years to come on their ability to qualify for credit, their job prospects, their security clearance and their overall finances. When a family’s financial trajectory is rapidly heading in a negative direction, there’s no substitute for the helping hand of a knowledgeable expert who has the integrity, the experience and the training to reverse the course—someone who is tapped into regulatory initiatives and can separate fact from fiction.

It is my mission to serve as a credible source of information and perspective to homeowners who have found themselves in a tough situation and need help sorting through their options. That’s why I sought out the Certified Distressed Property (CDPE) designation—the most renowned and recognized credential in the distressed property field, and it’s why I continue to stay on top of regulatory and industry developments that impact options available to homeowners who are struggling with their current financial situations.

My message to homeowners who do not know where to turn: there is hope. Foreclosure is not inevitable and neither the government nor your bank wants to see that happen. No one expected to find themselves on the brink of foreclosure, but I have worked with countless clients who have managed to turn their financial trajectory around and get on a path of financial recovery. 

It CAN be done! And it would be my privilege to help.

Handling the Stress of an Unaffordable Mortgage Payment

Whenever I research the latest foreclosure and distressed property statistics, the sheer number of Americans facing the stress of losing their homes amazes me.  It is my goal to help as many homeowners I can either stay in their homes or relieve the burden of their mortgages. Knowing that there are so many that need my help is a driving force for me to continue doing what I do.

In fact, I just released another report that I’ve made available on my website today at www.smartshortsales.net . It explains the CDPE designation and lists 10 options that homeowners can take advantage of to relieve the stress that comes with owing their mortgage lenders more money than they can afford to pay.

The report also draws a contrast between short sales and foreclosures. Unfortunately, there’s a growing trend of “strategic defaulters” who think it’s smart to let their home go into foreclosure. As any one who follows this blog knows, there is nothing strategic about foreclosure; it’s one of the most long-lasting, negative financial challenges you can go through.

I’m excited about acting as a resource for more homeowners who have questions about what they should do. As always, if you know homeowners who may need my help, have them contact me immediately! Together, we can put them back on the path to financial stability.

Foreclosures Down In Georgia

The following article from Realty Trac states that number of foreclosures is down in Georgia. for the first half of 2011.  The same is true for Chatham County.  One reason in addition to the information provided by Realty Trac is the banks are working with real estate agents who bring short sale opportunities to the banks.  The banks prefer a short sale to a foreclosure and or an REO.  As a subscriber to Realty Trac, I am pleased to forward the following information to you.

Foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 60,870 Georgia properties during the first six months of 2011, an 18 percent drop from the second half of 2010 and 15 percent below the level reported for the first half of last year, according to the Midyear 2011 Foreclosure Market Report just released by RealtyTrac^®. The state remained fifth highest in foreclosure rate nationally, reporting 1.50 percent of its housing units received a foreclosure filing during the six-month period.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 9,715 Georgia properties in June, down 8 percent from May and down 20 percent from June 2010. One in every 418 Georgia housing units received a foreclosure filing in June, the eighth highest state foreclosure rate in the nation.

 

Newton and Walton counties posts top foreclosure rate at midyear

Newton and Walton counties posted the state’s top county foreclosure rate for the first half of 2011 each with one in every 32 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing — 3.5 times the national average and 2.1 times the state average. Henry and Barrow counties came in second highest for the six-month period, with one in every 34 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing — 3.3 times the national average and twice the state average.

Fulton County has state’s highest foreclosure total

Fulton County had the highest level of foreclosure activity in the state, reporting 7,762 properties with foreclosure filings for the period. Gwinnett County was second highest, reporting 6,947 properties with foreclosure filings. Dekalb County came in third, tallying 5,953 properties with foreclosure filings. Fourth highest was Cobb County, where 4,638 properties with foreclosure filings were reported. Clayton County was fifth, reporting 2,719 properties with foreclosure filings for the first half of the year.

State a top contributor to nation’s foreclosure total in first half of 2011

Georgia accounted for 5 percent of the 1,170,402 properties with foreclosure filings reported nationwide for the first half of 2011. Total U.S. activity decreased 25 percent from the second half of 2010, and was down 29 percent from the level reported for the first half of 2010. One in every 111 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the first six months of the year.

“It would be nice to report that foreclosure activity is dropping as a result of improvements in the economy or the housing market,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Unfortunately, with unemployment rates inching back up, consumer confidence weak and home sales and prices continuing to languish, this doesn’t appear to be the case.

“Processing and procedural delays are pushing foreclosures further and further out – we estimate that as many as 1 million foreclosure actions that should have taken place in 2011 will now happen in 2012, or perhaps even later. This casts an ominous shadow over the housing market, where recovery is unlikely to happen until the current and forthcoming inventory of distressed properties can be whittled down to a manageable number.”

Up a Creek Without a Paddle

After two years of experience working as a CDPE Advanced and successfully achieving the designation as an Associate Broker, I transferred my Real Estate license to Prudential Southeast Coastal Properties, located here in Savannah. The downfall in the real estate market convinced me that business as usually was no longer an option. For the past two years I have been active with homeowners who needed help with their distressed properties.

As a CDPE Advanced (Certified Distressed Property Expert), CIAS (Certified Investor Agent Specialists), DPP (Distressed Property Professional), REO Specialists and Associate Broker, I am trained and qualified to help individuals and other agents who have issues with their distressed properties.

Over the past 24 plus months the average number of homes advertised per month in Chatham County ranges between 250—350. Of the properties advertised 100—150 are sold each month on the court house steps. 5-10 of these homes are purchased by individual or investor groups and the remaining return to the banks as REO properties. Unfortunately, 70+% of the homeowners who have properties sold at the monthly foreclose auction on the courthouse steps never talked to a real estate professional.

Due to a number of reasons, many agents elect not to be involved with distressed properties and the short process. Due to the complexity, ever changing rules and regulations, plus the time and energy that required, it is not surprising that many agents elect not to participate.

Quite frankly 90-95% of the real estate professionals are “Up the Creek without a Paddle” when it comes to short sales and distressed properties. I am now offering a “Paddle” to those professionals who find themselves “Up the Creek”!

Along with offering a Paddle, I am also offering several commission referral plans:

1. 25% of the listing commission will be paid for the name and contact information of individuals who desire assistance with the short sale process. This referral fee is charged to the individual who elects not to be involved in the listing procedure or the negotiating process with the banks.
2. 50-50% split of the listing commission will agents who select to be responsible for the listing process but not the negotiating with the banks process.
3. The listing agent will pay a 25% of the listing fee for assistance and directions through out the short sale process.

For more detailed information, contact Rob Sales @ Prudential Southeast Coastal Properties.

Office: 912-355-4171
Cell: 912-655-7674
Fax: 888-325-0711
Email: robsmartshortsales@gmail.com
Website: www.smartshortsales.net