I have been prominent in two separate stories in the media this past week regarding default properties and their effect on the market and the borrower. This past Sunday I was in the New York Times, and on Tuesday I was in a nice piece on AOL Daily Finance. The Times piece centered on strategic … Read More…
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How Do You Price a Short Sale?
Categories: Short salesTags: avoiding foreclosure, New York short sale Realtor, pricingAfter two similar discussions the past week, it would be wise to address how a short sale should be priced. After all, if the offer submitted to the lender is subject to approval and therefore not a certainty, all the more that the asking price is also a hypothesis. It is. But, as educated guesses … Read More…
Can an Owner Reject an Offer in a Short Sale?
Categories: Commentary, Short salesTags: avoiding foreclosure, low offers, New York short sales, Owners rights, rejecting offers, Westchester short sale RealtorContrary to what some may think, an owner is not obligated to submit every offer to the lender for approval in order to do a short sale. As a matter of fact, there are offers that an owner should never submit to the lender. That is the owner’s right, as they still hold title and … Read More…
NY Times: Banks Resisting Short Sales
Categories: CommentaryTags: avoiding foreclosure, Bank of America, foreclosure moratorium, New York short sales, New York TimesThe top emailed story on the New York Times website today, Short Sales Resisted as Foreclosures Are Revived, is over 2 days old. That it remains pinned as the top story to share is significant, especially to anyone in New York who is facing foreclosure or in a short sale. Bank of America has, after … Read More…
Short Sale Fraud and Strawmen
Categories: CommentaryTags: New York short sale agent, New York short sales, short sale fraudThis article in today’s NY Times makes reference to banks being reticent to approve short sale because of a fear of fraud. This is not the first I have heard the concern, and while any fraud is wrong, the argument is a straw man excuse to not streamline the process. Are there fraudulent short sales, … Read More…
Who Negotiates a Short Sale in New York?
Categories: CommentaryTags: HUD-1, Negotiation, New York short salesRecently, a listing brokerage instructed one of my agents to include a HUD-1 as part of our client’s offer on that brokerage’s short sale listing. To say that it was a peculiar request is an understatement; The HUD-1, which is a mandatory form in any transaction involving a mortgage financing, itemizes and documents all expenses … Read More…
Weak Leadership
Categories: CommentaryTags: 2010 election, foreclosure moratorium, PoliticiansBeing a businessman I seldom delve into politics in this platform, but it is clear to me that part of the problem in affecting a sustainable recovery is a lack of political will in our current leadership, including the White House, after reading this gem in the Times on the foreclosure fraud crisis: the Obama … Read More…
Foreclosure Moratorium Will Boost New York Short Sales
Categories: CommentaryTags: foreclosure moratorium, New York short sales, robo signingNow that Bank of America has joined Chase and GMAC in suspending foreclosures in 23 states (BoA is actually suspending them in all 50), including New York, the entire industry is abuzz with questions as to what the consequences are for the market, a recovery, and most of all, distressed homeowners. Now known as the robo-signing scandal, … Read More…
Who Pays the Commission in a Short Sale?
Categories: CommentaryTags: commission, short sale commissionsWhen a question is asked of me more than once it is a good bet that it is a common one, so I’ll post briefly today on who pays the commission in short sale. The answer is simple: The lender pays the real estate commission. In a regular sale, real estate commission is paid from … Read More…
Yonkers Short Sale: Do You Need an Attorney? YES
Categories: Success StoriesTags: buying a short sale, New York short sale Realtor, Westchester short sale Realtor, Yonkers short salesHere’s one from the other side of the closing table, where I represented buyers on a 5-month odyssey to purchase a short sale in Yonkers. It made me appreciate the waiting game that buyers must endure, and how valuable status updates are to home purchasers of a short sale in order to stay engaged and committed to … Read More…