Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mike Linkenauger on May 30, 2011 at 2:13pm

We haven't before, but my experience is that if done correctly, a short sale can get the sale stopped.  There are of course many different tactics to use to postpone a sale as well, depending on what state you are in.  I would be curious as to WHAT exactly they did that an agent with a good attorney can't do, and what services exactly they provide.

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Permalink Reply by Angela Alfe on July 15, 2011 at 1:13pm

FNMA will not stop a foreclosure for a short sale...you will actually have to get a court order to make them stop.

I'm very leery about any business that claims to do what the seller's attorney can do.  And, as we all know, no agent should be doing a short sale without a good, qualified attorney...who is, 9 times out of 10, paid for by the lender.

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Permalink Reply by Kim Chitwood www.kimchitwood.com on May 31, 2011 at 2:10pm

I was just told about using a forensic audit to stop the foreclosure process. You ask for a QWR (qualified written response) where they have to produce the original loan app, as well as original paperwork associated with the loan. I'm about to try it on one that is going to auction on 6/7 just got an offer in on it today.

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Permalink Reply by Gloria Oquendo on May 31, 2011 at 2:43pm

It is depend of the state and the bank that you are working with.

Here in NJ your client can request an extension for one month and sometimes your bank do that by themselves if you have an offer on it; if not it is a little complicated but, you can try it with them to.

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Permalink Reply by S. Goldsmith on May 31, 2011 at 6:59pm

Back when we did loan modifications a client of ours was in danger of being for foreclosed.  They were approved for a final and then declined due to the banks confusion about the occupancy. We were down to the wire and the homeowner contacted a company that guaranteed they could stop the foreclosure (along with future ones).  

 

Ultimately after much hard work and escalation the denial of the modification was overturned!  However the Foreclosure postponement company wanted to be paid for the services...even though they didn't actually stop anything. They began to call and threaten the homeowner.

 

Fast forward to a few months later when the homeowner called her bank to check on her loan because she wanted to receive paper statements.  She was told by the bank that the property was in bankruptcy!  Mysteriously a Grant Deed had been signed by the "homeowner" placing an unknown person on the property!  She went to the Recorders Office to find a forged Grant Deed with her signature...notarized and all!  The homeowner lives in the SF Bay Area and this was all done in Southern California.  Additionally, the document with that record # pulls up a completely different Grant Deed for another house and different parties!  At this point the Recorder's Office is investigating because this was clearly fraud.  The bank won't get involved as they only see "bankruptcy" status. The homeowner has no idea what to do.  She's requested a copy of the signature page from the notary journal (the secretary of state supplied the mailing address of the notary) and is working to dispute this.

 

Be careful about these types of companies!  If they put themselves on title it will make selling the house even harder...and short sales are enough work as it is!

 

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Permalink Reply by Rick Devine on June 27, 2011 at 2:28pm

Do you guys know names of these companies to look out for?

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Permalink Reply by Mike Linkenauger on June 27, 2011 at 4:45pm

I had one looser I had to kick off of here the other day.  Posted like four different advertisements after being warned each time NOT to advertise services on here!

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Permalink Reply by Sheyenne Schultz on June 29, 2011 at 3:28pm

Some of my clients have used these companies and like everything...there are good companies and bad ones. Usually what these companies do is "cloud title" and the way they do that is by adding other people to the grant deed or having the owner grant the property to other people so now 3 people are on title instead of 1, the owner, etc. And they keep changing it every 3 to 4 months, because the trustee companies can get their papers together within that time to file on all and take the house back. This is why these trustee delay companies want a fee from the homeowner upfront and then a monthly payment that is way below what the homeowner was paying when paying their mortgage. Usually the fee is anywhere from 500 to 1000 per mo.  These companies are usually used by owners and agents where the owner decided to wait til like 2 wks before the auction date before finally deciding to do a short sale. It works to where you can get the sale postponed until you get approval, then once you have your approval letter, they reverse everything or clear title or lift the stay so the property can close escrow during the approval time frame.

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Permalink Reply by Rick Devine on June 29, 2011 at 4:50pm

this is a little different. What they do is the owner rents back from them on a 3 year lease. In this time they are suing the bank for things they may have found incorrect on loan docs or other things. Their hope is the bank will either see the cost they will incur with these court appearances or the posabilty they may lose altogther. This comany gets the bank to sell them the loan at a reduced amount. The owners (now renters) rent for 12 months at a highly reduced amount. After that the company holding the loan now finances them 1% above prime no pmi and price is 90% of appraised value. Seems to be a good option for someone with no other options.

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Permalink Reply by Sheyenne Schultz on June 29, 2011 at 3:35pm

Hi Kim, a forensic loan audit is completely different than doing a QWR...asking for a Qualified Written Request.

Hiring an attorney to do a forensic loan audit helps the homeowner, not a listing agent trying to do a short sale. The loan audit takes time  some from 4-6 months or up to 1 year or more. It depends who your attorney is, etc. This is done by people who truly want to stay in the home and exert pressure on the bank to give them the modification. Of course, the attorney will charge a retainer fee to see if you qualify for the forensic audit, and then to move forward, plus a monthly fee again to delay the sale while they are going thru the audit process.

A QWR or Qualified Written Request is done by either the homeowner or an attorney or could even be us agents, when someone wants to know WHO the investor is on the loan. As u know, when we do short sales, the lenders we are doing the short sales with are only the "servicers" on the homeowners loans, they are not the investor. YOu have the right to send in a QWR to the lender asking who the investors are and possibly who MI is? Once this request is received by the lender, they have up to 20 days to comply otherwise if they take longer or do not comply it is a RESPA violation. This is a good thing to do at the beginning of ALL Short sales now, so you will know who the investor is. How many times have we been told doing short sales by the lender that the INVESTOR has declined this or that? Really? THen go OVER the lenders head directly to the investors..Half the time, the file has never even been presented to the investors who then overturn the lender or servicer's decisions.  Hope this helps

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Permalink Reply by Mike Linkenauger on June 30, 2011 at 12:59am

There are SO many "not so bright" agents out there marketing themselves as "distressed property experts" who really don't know their heads from their tails when it comes to these matters.  I'm so grateful that we have so many GOOD, knowledgeable, and experienced agents around the country not only in our referral network but also that are active on this forum!  You guys are truly a great resource!

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Permalink Reply by Sara Gasparrini on July 28, 2011 at 7:58am

CDPE Designation is a MUST ~ I am the only one I KNOW in my market area that has obtained it : (

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