Adriana West

Today, someone asked me what kind of creative ideas have I used in my business to become so successful in Short Sales. This is a very interesting question, and one which made me think about what had been these creative ideas.

Being a Short Sale Specialist for more than two years, very early in my career I understood that my practice must not focus exclusively and only in doing a Short Sale on every property that came to my attention. One of the things that makes me feel very proud is complementing my services with help to the Homeowners - not only with their Short Sale on their property. For many Homeowners, the solution is not a Short Sale, maybe it is a payment plan to recover the overdue payments, or a loan modification.

I have helped many clients with these processes as well. Sometimes I get the feeling of being in a satire when I being the process of modification with a lender, and their response is to raise the monthly payment or make a second loan for the homeowner for the past debt that they owe. I ask: Do these people think it is going to make it any better to add an extra payment for the homeowner who has already shown that they cannot pay for and because of that are behind.

Well, even so, I have had many good experiences, with many homeowners able to stay in their houses, no longer facing foreclosures. And these are clients for a lifetime - clients who generate the referrals that comprise 78% of my business. There have been people who only needed a few months of help in order to look for better work, renegotiate their medical bills, or maybe restructure their finances in a short time of crisis.

If you would like to work with an agent who takes creativity seriously every day in overcoming the difficulties in dealings with the lenders, contact me and ask me what I can do for you.

A few days ago, talking with a loan officer about the government's plan to give a stimulus for the lenders to refinance the loans that are in default, and the government would commit to buying them. This loan officer told me that "the government does not obligate the lender to do this, it is only a suggestion that they make to the lenders, but they are not obligated to do so."

Now, let's look at the reality: in order to refinance any property, the first thing that must happen is an appraisal. It is no secret that in several states, people owe more than their houses are worth.

Some questions would be:

• Who is going to pay the difference between the refinanced amount when the property does not appraise for the loan value?
• If the property does not have any equity, who will be responsible for paying for the months the borrower is behind, and refinance it for the same value as when the person first purchased it years go?
• Will the lender pay the closing costs, including the appraisal?

At the end of the day, the lenders will be able to use this money for other types of transactions, and the benefit will go only and exclusively to the lenders.

Personally, I hope that they use some of that money to create a Loss Mitigation department that is more efficient and quick, and the Short Sales can move more rapidly with a timeframe more acceptable for the serious buyers.

Take a look at what the short sale process is like, and give me a call to see how I can help you. And leave a comment here telling us what you think of how the bailout is being managed and what the government should do now.

Even though the percentage of short sales I've closed has been very high (85% of them were successful), the remaining 15% leaves a bitter taste in my soul. And I always come to the same conclusion: If I had a little more time.... It would have been another successful transaction.

Short Sale transactions are full of emotions. None of us would like to be in this position and lose that for which we have worked for many years, a home for our children and our family. When those emotions pull at our hearts and hinder our reasoning, we are not only playing with our house, but also with a person's complete financial future.

Studying the cases of properties that go to foreclosure, we have seen the same path: the person had high hopes when they asked for help. The large part of the houses that I have had in Short Sales which have gone to foreclosure have done so because the sellers called me when they were already 3 months behind in their payments. What that ends up meaning is that we've lost at least 2 months in marketing the house, receiving an offer, and starting the Short Sale process. A small percentage was because the Banks were being completely unreasonable, with things like giving me a counteroffer that was completely impossible to achieve, and the buyer decides to move on to another property. By the way, the big majority of those unreasonable banks are now bankrupt themselves. I wonder why...

People have been asking me: and now what? My response is very conservative: I don't know, but I believe that the mortgage companies are going to be more open to accepting short sales, and are not going to continue choking the market with more and more foreclosures. I think that after a year and a half of FORECLOSURE MADNESS, finally the lenders are beginning to be realistic: this path isn't working.

So let me help you be in my 85% success rate, or even improve it. Give me a call before the clock starts ticking down. Give me the time to help get you out of trouble and save your financial future. As a Short Sale Specialist, let my experience work for you and help you through the process with more confidence and less worry. For more information on what a short sale is and how it works, go to my FAQ.

While you (and I), like many Americans, may not like the bailout bill much, it is pretty clear we were facing financial turmoil if something had not been done. The argument is that while this bails out Wall Street, what does it do for Main Street (me)? It is a confusing bill and a confusing time. But one of the things I always try to do is to help you Understand the Language of Real Estate, and this will affect the Real Estate market pretty directly.

The root of the whole problem was that banks could no longer borrow from each other, and therefore could not lend to the public. This was because there are limits on the amount of money that can be loaned, based on the amount of cash you have on hand. Banks had already loaned that limit, and sometimes more. The amount that they can borrow against is also based on the value of their "portfolio" which is directly tied to the price of your house. With the market in decline, almost all houses are worth less than they were a while ago, reducing the amount that the banks had in assets. If the banks can't get money, they can't loan it to you - or to the person who wants to buy your house.

The basic principle of the program is that the government will buy some mortgages from the companies holding them. This gives those mortgage companies more money. This changes an asset that they can't borrow on, the mortgage with a undervalued house, with one they can - cash. This frees up the pipeline and allows the buyer to get the mortgage to buy your house. And it extends beyond the Real Estate market, so that people can continue to buy cars, fund their business operations, get student loans, etc.

There are those that argue there were other answers, and no doubt there probably were. However, this is what got passed, and whatever else it means, it opens up the possibility to buy houses again. This supports the entire market by keeping house prices from dropping further. It is like my Short Sale process. When I make a deal that allows the buyer to get a great deal on a house, the seller to get out of financial trouble, and the lender to get back most of their principle without the cost of a foreclosure, it is a drop in the bucket that helps the overall economy. This bill works in a similar way for the whole market.

Will it work? That remains to be seen. But the general sentiment is that it is better than doing nothing. Tell me what you think? Who wins in this deal? Do you benefit? Will it work in the long run? What will it mean to average people? Give us your opinion, by leaving a comment here.

To get more information about me, please check out my website and my blog.

Yes, short sales can take a while to work through, and here is an example. Back in May, I published an article about Interviewing the agent who will represent you. The transaction that inspired that story will close this week.
The controversy at the heart of that article was whether to choose the "expert in the neighborhood" or the "short sale expert". It was a high-end home in a prestigious neighborhood, and the Seller was worried about choosing between el The Neighborhood specialist (Agent) or an agent outside his neighborhood who specialized in Short Sales. Well, the client chose me, the Short Sale Specialist.

The transaction took months, including several long weeks of negotiations with the Lenders, multiple competing offers with contentious agents, and lots of care making sure the Seller and his Lenders accepted an offer, did not foreclose on the house, and protected their financial future. The transaction is closing this week, both lenders will receive a fair amount on their loans, the buyer gets a good house at a great price, and the seller gets out of his oppressive mortgage owing nothing and no more damage to his credit report. The only ones who lost out were the foreclosure lawyers.

And the client is thrilled. To quote the survey I received back from him: "Sometimes you look back and you know you've made some good decisions and some bad ones. My wife and I often commented to each other that we chose Adriana to handle our sale. ...looking back at the complexity of this type of transaction, there is no way a ‘normal' agent could have helped us with all the things that came up."

This is the kind of success story I got into the Short Sale specialty for. I help everyone reach a mutually beneficial transaction, and know that I've done a great job. Even more important in the long run: giving someone a second chance to start over financially, learning from past mistakes.

If you are looking at the need for a short sale, please make sure you do your homework and select an agent who knows this process, a Short Sale Specialist. Give me a call and let me tell you how I can help you. With me, you can expect extrordinary experience and service, as well as caring attention to your personal needs - like this client's financial future and getting a second opportunity.