Birmingham, MI

Just closed on a great home right in Down Town Birmingham!! Yes it was a Foreclosure and yes it took for ever to close, but well worth it. After texting my buyer about the home moments after it went back on the market. We walked through the door and knew it was a steal of a deal. How did he know, because we lost 3 other homes just like this one because we wrote too late and too low.

This time, we were not going to be 2^nd fiddle. I pulled out my netbook and wireless internet card and wrote the offer right then, while sitting on the dirty hardwood floors of living room. Other buyers were walking over us as I feverishly typed. Full price, short inspection time, inserted an approved buyer signature with an approval letter, copy of the earnest money used in the last failed attempt and metro faxed it right to the listing office.

That is what it takes to get steal of deal!! Speed is the key. Tip, make sure your realtor is equipped with 21^st century skills, or get another realtor who is. And if you are looking in South Eastern Michigan, I should be that Realtor.

Mike Sher, CDPE: http://hosted.cdpe.com/MikeRealtor/

Office: (248) 644-4700x242 Fax :(248) 499-1020 4120 Telegraph Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302 E-mail: mike@mikerealtor.com

CDPE (Certified Distress Property Expert)

MCAR, Short Sale Trainer Max Brook and Real Estate One Short Sale Specialist.

The Mike Realtor Team Blog - Metro Detroit/Oakland County Servicing in Southeast Oakland County, Auburn Hills, Birmingham, Bloomfield, Berkley, Beverly Hills, Canton, Clawson, Farmington Hills, Ferndale, Huntington Woods, Northville, Novi, Pleasant Ridge, Plymouth, Royal Oak, Rochester Hills, West Bloomfield, Troy, etc.

Often Realtors, Clients or Friends ask me what is the key to Short Sale success. As you can guess from the Churchill quote above, "ACTION" is the key to success. This quote also covers why Short Sales fail "INACTION". Below I have listed examples of Action and Inaction: so you know the difference.

Action:

1. Faxing 3^rd party authorizations the day you get the listing & ordering pre-title.
2. Getting the hardship package scanned and prep with in the first weeks of the listing.
3. Lowering the list price every 10-15 days until you get an offer
4. Calling the back every time you fax them document then two to four times a week once you have an offer in.
5. Taking great notes!
6. Having your HUD done with 48 hours of getting an offer
7. Faxing in your offer with in 72 hours of getting an offer.
8. Meeting the BPO/Appraiser at the home.
9. When calling the banks, always asking where we are in the process and what can be done to speed things up.
10. Keeping the Seller and Buyer Agent up to speed.
11. Always pressing on after every success and/or failure until you close.

Inaction:

1. Never getting anything in advance.
2. Faxing in 3^rd party authorizations months after taking on the listing.
3. Not scanning documents at all.
4. Never calling the bank regularly and not taking notes.
5. Not meeting the BPO/Appraiser at the home.
6. Not keeping all parties informed of the progress.
7. Not lowering the price regularly.
8. Not getting a HUD or Title work timely.
9. Not asking questions when calling the bank.
10. Giving up at the first bump in the road.

Mike Sher, CDPE: http://hosted.cdpe.com/MikeRealtor/

Office: (248) 644-4700x242 Fax :(248) 499-1020 4120 Telegraph Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302 E-mail: mike@mikerealtor.com

CDPE (Certified Distress Property Expert)

MCAR, Short Sale Trainer Max Brook and Real Estate One Short Sale Specialist.

The Mike Realtor Team Blog - Metro Detroit/Oakland County Servicing in Southeast Oakland County, Auburn Hills, Birmingham, Bloomfield, Berkley, Beverly Hills, Canton, Clawson, Farmington Hills, Ferndale, Huntington Woods, Northville, Novi, Pleasant Ridge, Plymouth, Royal Oak, Rochester Hills, West Bloomfield, Troy, etc. We worked with: Bank of America, Country Wide, HSBC, EverHome, Litton, GMAC, Chase, Wells Fargo, Flagstar, Fifth Third, Charter One, Comerica, Am Trust, US Bank, National City But, We Can Help!

This is a competitive real estate market. If you have to sell and can not, perhaps it is time to look at a Short Sale. The Mike Realtor Team has performed dozens of Short Sales for professionals who have lost their job, income has declined, medical problems, relocation, retirement, divorce, loss of spouse, unable to make ends meet, or other reasons not listed.

There are opportunities in distressed properties. Review of this article may be of assistance to you. http://www.cre-advice.com/blog/foreclosure-fortunes/ Feel free to call Robert Pliska for opportunities in the local or national area.

I have recently expanded my team to an additional processor to call on the banks. She asked me if I could include a list of pertinent questions to ask the Short Sale or Loss Mitigation Departments. So here they are in no specific order of importance.

1. Where do we fax the 3rd party Authorization? What is the best # to call back to ask if they got it?

2. Who is the investor?

3. What does the investor offer 2nd liens?

4. Is their a Mortgage Insurance (MI/PMI) company?

5. What is your short sale process?

6. Do you want the hardship package now, or wait til we get an offer? What documents do you rewuire in your Hardship Package?

7. Is this a FHA loan?

8. Has a BPO/Appraisal been done, what did it come back at?

9. When will a BPO/Appraisal be ordered?

10. From offer to approval, on average how much time does it take?

11. What Dept processes Short Sales? What is the best fax number, phone and email for your dept? (seldom do you get the email).

12. Did you get our last fax? How long shoot we wait until we refax?

13. Do we have a negotiator? When can we expect get a negotiator? Has anyone update the notes since last we called?

14. What is our negotiator's contact info plus email?

15. What is the best way to expedite the process?

16. Has a Sheriff Sale been scheduled and if yes, how can we postpone it?

17. Is the borrower in default?

18. Has the borrower's file been put into another program that will slow down the short sale process, like HOPE or loan modification?

19. Can the home owner make partial payments to slow down the process of default, i.e. Forbearance?

20. Can you escalate this file?

Mike Sher, CDPE: http://hosted.cdpe.com/MikeRealtor/

Office: (248) 644-4700x242 Fax :(248) 499-1020 Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302 E-mail: mike@mikerealtor.com

CDPE (Certified Distress Property Expert)

MCAR, Short Sale Trainer Max Brook and Real Estate One Short Sale Specialist.

The Mike Realtor Team Blog - Metro Detroit/Oakland County Servicing in Southeast Oakland County, Auburn Hills, Birmingham, Bloomfield, Berkley, Beverly Hills, Canton, Clawson, Farmington Hills, Ferndale, Huntington Woods, Northville, Novi, Pleasant Ridge, Plymouth, Royal Oak, Rochester Hills, West Bloomfield, Troy, etc. We worked with: Bank of America, Country Wide, HSBC, EverHome, Litton, GMAC, Chase, Wells Fargo, Flagstar, Fifth Third, Charter One, Comerica, Am Trust, US Bank, National City But, We Can Help! This is a competitive real estate market. If you have to sell and can not, perhaps it is time to look at a Short Sale. The Mike Realtor Team has performed dozens of Short Sales for professionals who have lost their job, income has declined, medical problems, relocation, retirement, divorce, loss of spouse, unable to make ends meet, or other reasons not listed.

Right Sizing Your Single Tenant NNN Opportunities!

Robert Pliska, CRE, CPA

Birmingham, Michigan

It has been reported in several recent news stories and data services that single tenant net lease opportunities are still being completed in today’s market – especially those in the lower dollar size range. New York City based-Real Capital Analytics recently reported that sales actually rose! Accordingly, we have been asked by many of our investors to “right size” these opportunities for them - note some of the positives and areas that should be addressed before they take the plunge into these investments in today’s market.

To an investor, single tenant NNN opportunities provide some great positive aspects! These include (1) little, if any, management is required allowing many passive investors to purchase (2) good for section 1031 exchanges where an investor can currently avoid tax on sales of previous properties, (3) ability for the smaller investor to purchase smaller properties which can allow a purchase with cash only (eliminating bank financing issues which can be a problem in today’s market) or reducing risk by purchasing a multitude of properties, (4) can get very good credit on some opportunities insuring the investor will get paid on their lease over a long term on typically a monthly basis (5) easier to purchase in other markets than the investor’s own since much of the underwriting is more on the credit and viability of the tenant rather than the actual real estate (6) typically long term leases allowing the investor a rent check every month for a long period of time (7) many have lease bumps which protect against inflation and (8) can use tax advantages such as depreciation and sec 1031 to reduce the investor’s taxes One example of a single tenant NNN opportunity is http://sale.svn.com/concentra.

Many considerations should be reviewed, though, before plunging into purchasing these properties. These include (1) getting good credit tenants behind the lease insuring that the investor will be paid over the length of the lease – there is only one tenant! (2) obtaining good corporate credit is typically preferred versus only a franchisee credit - assuming the corporate credit is acceptable (3) determining landlord expenses, if any, which can reduce the investor’s return (4) determining the success of the tenant in that specific location - it is better to have property that is operating rather than one that potentially may become vacant (5) determining that the price per foot on the real estate is not totally out of sink with the location and value of the real estate (6) making sure that if you originally get corporate credit it stays corporate credit over the length of the lease and cannot be transferred to the franchisee/operator (7) obtaining lease increases which can be a hedge against inflation (8) determining the ability to exit the investment if necessary (9) understanding the business, motives and objectives of the investor’s tenant. See Robert Pliska for the author’s single tenant NNN opportunities and properties on the market.

Balancing the above issues and determining the objectives and status of the investor is important. Finding the appropriate rate of return for the investment in the specific circumstances should be reviewed in detail. The higher the risks, the higher the return the investor should receive. Astute advisors substantially involved in the real estate industry for a long time may be helpful to assist the investor in making more informed, objective, safe and profitable decisions for your specific circumstances – to “right size” investments for you!