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Woodland Hills, CA (PRWEB) October 20, 2007
Under a dark cloud of record-breaking foreclosure rates, real estate lenders, servicers and brokers met with loss mitigation experts to discuss short sales as one of the more effective ways in preventing the dreaded foreclosure. The panel took place at the fourth Annual Five Star Default Servicing conference in Dallas, Texas. The conference was successful at bringing together professionals from various mortgage lending and default servicing divisions, all aimed with the goal of enhancing the effectiveness of default services, and bringing to light the current issues and potential resolutions in the field of real estate.
Eli Tene, president of I Short Sale, Inc. (ishortsale.com,) a leading short sale negotiation company for borrowers and agents, was one of the specialists who led the panel that focused on the effectiveness of short sale as a loss mitigation tool. “In this tumultuous time, education is paramount. This conference absolutely facilitated this need and gave thousands of industry professionals access into loss mitigation methods that work.”
This year, the Five Star Default Servicing conference was under a dark cloud of record-breaking national foreclosure rates, and a sky rocketing inventory of unsold homes. According to Amy Crew Cutts, deputy chief economist for Freddie Mac and a keynote speaker at the Five Star Conference, “economic indicators suggest the U.S. has a 50 percent chance of experiencing a significant recession within the next six months with the financial markets creating a lot of trouble for mortgage borrowers…the risk of recession is quite high.” Foreclosures have been rising nationwide for over a year. In California, for instance, there was a 300 percent increase in August 2007 alone. Home prices have been declining significantly, leaving some homeowners owing more than their house is actually worth; this has caused a nationwide alarm.
Predictably, foreclosure prevention was one of the “hot topics” in the conference this year. Tene, who has negotiated thousands of short sales throughout the past 19 years of his career, discussed the advantages of short sales and the best methods of completing these complex transactions. Tene also answered a myriad of questions from eager participants, providing much sought after insight into a seemingly superior foreclosure prevention method.
Woodland, CA (PRWEB) November 17, 2007
I Short Sale, Inc. (http://www.ishortsale.com), a leading nationwide provider of short sale negotiations and other loss mitigation solutions, has consistently made an effort to deliver education to distressed homeowners, lenders, but most importantly, Realtors. “Ensuring that Realtors are armed with the tools necessary to navigate the current cycle and provide exceptional service to their customers is the key to helping the economy as a whole,” states Eli Tene, President.
Recently, I Short Sale has held seminars in Dallas, Miami and Phoenix to deliver the facts and provide strategies to help Realtors stay afloat. “We are not trying to keep our expertise under lock and key by any means; sharing our knowledge will pay long term dividends and build clients for life,” states Tene.
The company has concentrated on some of the most powerful metrics in the market that speak for themselves:
Top Ten States in Foreclosure Filings per Households (http://www.money.cnn.com):
1)
McLean, VA (PRWEB) February 14, 2008
A new Web site, http://www.96short.com has been launched to help overextended homeowners in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. The site offers information and assistance to homeowners who are falling behind on their mortgage payments and may be facing foreclosure.
“A short sale offers an alternative to foreclosure, bankruptcy or just walking away from your home if you can’t make the payments,” says Matt Martin, co-founder of 96short.com. “A short sale means selling your home for less than what is owed on the mortgage. Short sales can be a good deal for many borrowers – those with piggy-back mortgages, mortgages that exceed the current market value of the property and other overextended homeowners – provided the lender agrees to accept the proceeds of these short sales as payment in full,” says Martin.
Martin, who is president of Matt Martin Real Estate, LLC and part of Re/Max Distinctive, works with a team of experienced short sale professionals, who negotiate with the lender on behalf of the homeowner.
Martin’s team of short sales negotiators has closed more than 10,000 short sales and foreclosure prevention cases in 14 years. He says that if they were to put an average on each case over the past 14 years, they would value them at no less than $ 100,000 each or $ 1,000,000,000 in savings to consumers.
“Here is an example,” says Martin. “We met a great couple who had purchased a home in Bristow, VA, $ 630,000 at the height of the market in late 2004.They had taken a Pay Option or Negative Amortizing loan for the property and, when they contacted us, they owed close to $ 700,000 because of the negative amortization. The biggest problem was that the property was only worth $ 550,000 and, after fees and commissions, they would only be left with around $ 510,000 to pay towards the mortgage. We negotiated a short sale with the lender to write off the $ 190,000. The lender only asked for $ 5,000 in return for the write-down. The couple was then able to buy a new home in the same neighborhood for $ 200,000 less than what they were stuck with in their old home.”
Martin is working with an attorney, Doug Callabresi of the Green Law Group, P.C., also a co-founder of 96short.com. Callabresi has been representing clients in short sales for nearly a year. He has successfully represented many sellers in short sale transactions and currently represents nearly 100 short sale clients. In addition to negotiating down a seller’s debt, Callabresi focuses on the potential credit and tax ramifications to sellers and the treatment of deficiencies.
As part of their turn-around process, Martin and Callabresi refer clients to Ameriprise Financial, Inc. to help them set up a financial plan to avoid unhealthy financial situations in the future. Ameriprise is offering these services at a minimal fee.
According to Forbes.com, 79% more U.S. homes foreclosed in 2007 than in 2006 (data from RealtyTrac).While the metro Washington area has not been as hard hit as other areas of the country, Loudoun, Prince William and Stafford Counties posted 219, 167 and 262 foreclosures as of November 2007, respectively. January figures from Loudoun County showed foreclosure activity continuing to increase.
Recent mortgage woes have been exacerbated by trends of 100% financing and the increased popularity of adjustable rate mortgages, which are now resetting. Dramatic changes in the real estate market have also caused a general decline in home prices. Personal reasons such as illness or job loss can also affect a borrower’s ability to pay.
“Most homeowners who are unable to pay their monthly mortgage payments don’t know about the options available to them,” says Martin. “If they are having problems, they should talk to their lender as soon as possible. We can help them do that. On average, a short sale takes about 90 days, is much less traumatic on the family and allows borrowers to be back on their feet much more quickly.”
For more information on short sales, visit the 96short Web site or call 888-96short (toll free).
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Woodland Hills, CA (PRWEB) February 23, 2008
I Short Sale, Inc. (http://www.ishortsale.com), the leading nationwide provider of short sale negotiations and other loss mitigation solutions, continued its Short Sale Seminar series today at the Hilton Hotel in Costa Mesa, California.
“As the real estate market continues to tighten, realtors and brokers need to be armed with the necessary tools to navigate effectively and continue to provide exceptional service to their customers,” said Eli Tene, Chief Executive Officer of I Short Sale. “When a borrower thinks they are left with no other options but foreclosure, realtors and brokers must step in and recommend the best solution. Understanding how to help should be the first question on every realtor’s mind.”
I Short Sale seminars go into specific detail about current market conditions, common property owner hardship, rationale for avoiding a foreclosure, short sale strategies, and effective techniques for realtors to not only recognize clients for short sale, but also to facilitate successful transactions. “We take a proactive approach to education by trying to show attendees the detrimental affects of foreclosures and ways to avoid this grueling process,” said Raffi Tal, Chief Operating Officer of I Short Sale. “By providing knowledge on successful short sale strategies, we have received so much positive feedback and have successfully assisted thousands of realtors, brokers, lenders and other industry professionals nationwide.”
Other important topics discussed during the seminar included the new legislation signed by President Bush in December 2007, helping homeowners in deep mortgage trouble. The most significant change under the new law is tax relief for people who sell their home for less than the remaining balance on their mortgage. “This new legislation is great news for homeowners. The last thing the government should do is come after someone who is in such a troubled situation. This new law is an example of what the legislature can do to mitigate the pain of the mortgage crisis for some homeowners,” stated Tal.
Other speakers included David Cavarra, Head Negotiator for I Short Sale, Inc. and Steven Roseman, Attorney, for Roseman & Antoni, LLP. “Steve Roseman provided some meaningful insight into current legal issues affecting the short sale process and important issues to look out for in the future. His contribution was very helpful to everyone who attended and we thank him for his perspective,” stated Tene.
Recently, I Short Sale held seminars in Dallas, Miami and Phoenix and is planning another seminar at the Beverly Hills Hilton on March 12, 2008.
To learn more about I Short Sale or find out about upcoming seminar series, call (877) 90-SHORT.
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Bristow, VA (PRWEB) March 4, 2008
Matt Martin of Matt Martin Real Estate arranged a short sale to help Jordan and Holly Santiago escape from an upside-down mortgage.
The Santiagos’ mortgage payments were going up and the value of their home was going down. With the collapse of the real estate market, they owned more to the bank than their house was worth. Martin and his team of short sale negotiators arranged a short sale with the Santiagos’ lender. The short sale saved the couple $ 150,000 and enabled them to buy a new house with a mortgage they can afford.
They thought negative amortization loan would save them money:
The Santiagos signed on for a reverse amortization mortgage in 2006 as part of a refinance of their two-year-old home in Bristow, Virginia. They bought the home for $ 630,000 at the height of the market in late 2004. They were paying $ 4,300.00 a month on a 30-year fixed mortgage.
“We weren’t one of these sub-prime types of people,” said Santiago. Both Santiagos are employed. He is a network engineer and Holly is a small-business banker. “If we have stayed with our fixed-rate loan, we would have had no problem, but we were led into the negative amortization loan by someone we thought was our friend.
“After our first year in the house, we were approached by a mortgage broker about being able to reduce our monthly payments,” said Santiago. “We thought he had our best interests at heart. He introduced us to this new loan. We didn’t pay attention to what negative amortization was or to the prepayment penalties.”
They refinanced the house with the negative amortization loan and were paying $ 3,200.00 a month.
They were in an upside-down mortgage situation:
Several months into the loan, the Santiagos found themselves in an upside-down mortgage situation — owing more to the bank than their house was worth.
“I usually just pay the mortgage over the phone,” said Santiago. He did this for several months and then received a notice in the mail from their lender that there were several payment options on the loan, including a fully amortized payment which was $ 3,000 more than the Santiagos had been paying. The notice also informed them that there was a ceiling on the loan amount, which they were approaching.
With a negative amortization loan, the homeowner pays only part of the interest and the remaining balance of the interest is added to the principal owed on the mortgage. This causes the balance owed to increase each month.
“We knew there was no way we could maintain these payments,” said Santiago. “We decided we would put the home on the market and cut our losses.” That was July 2007. By this time, they owned nearly $ 700,000 because of the negative amortization and, because of the drop in the real estate market, the house was worth only $ 550,000.
Their realtor did some research and found Martin, a Northern Virginia realtor who specializes in short sales. Martin worked with the Santiagos to accomplish the short sale, save their credit and help them find a new house they could afford.
“After talking with Matt and his group, we felt they had a good solid team to get us through the process,” said Santiago. From start to finish, the short sale process took about five to six months. They closed the short sale on January 15, 2008. Martin’s group negotiated with the lender to write off the $ 150,000 difference between the loan and short sale. The lender only asked for $ 5,000 in return for the write-off.
“I didn’t have to deal with the bank. Matt and his team did everything for me. They got us through this pretty gracefully,” said Santiago. “We’ve been told that this process will not be listed on our credit as a foreclosure but as a ‘closed-paid’ debt settlement.”
Meanwhile, Santiago and his wife have bought another home in nearby Gainesville, Virginia. They paid $ 406,000, including all closing costs. They have a 30-year fixed rate loan with payments they can afford.
About Matt Martin and 96short.com:
Martin, president of Matt Martin Real Estate, LLC, and part of Re/Max Distinctive, specializes in short sales. He has assembled a team of experienced short sale professionals, who negotiate with the lender on behalf of the homeowner. Martin works with an attorney, Doug Callabresi of the Green Law Group, P.C.
Martin and Callabresi have launched a Website — http://www.96short.com — to help educate overextended homeowners in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Homeowners can find information on the Web site or by calling 888-96short (toll free).
Martin’s team of short sales negotiators has closed more than 10,000 short sales and foreclosure prevention cases in 14 years. He says that if they were to put an average on each case over the past 14 years, they would value them at no less than $ 100,000 each or $ 1billion in savings to consumers.
For more information, please visit http://www.96short.com or call 888-96short toll free.
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