Bryan Knight

Las Vegas is leading the nation with the number of homes going into foreclosure status. Here is a list of myths or misunderstandings that Las Vegas homeowners have about foreclosure properties.

Myth 1: I can still save my home even after it has gone to foreclosure auction and has been bought back bay the bank.

Truth: While I won't say that is a totally impossible I have yet to read about or hear about anyone being able to save their home after the foreclosure sale has been completed.

Myth 2: I had someone I know make an offer on my home as a short sale and even though they performed the foreclosure sale they are still working on the offer.

Truth: If your home has gone to foreclosure sale, that means that what ever offers the bank were working on were most likely declined. After foreclosure sale your offer would be null and void being that you (the previous homeowner) no longer legally own the property, thus you can't legally sell a property that you don't own.

Myth 3: After the foreclosure sale, I checked the tax records and I'm still listed as the owner, so I still do legally own my property.

Truth: In the state of Nevada, it is not a requirement that a transaction be recorded with the county assesor office for a transaction to be legally binding. So on the trustee sale date, when the bank buys back the property, they are the legal owners of the property from that day forward whether it's been recorded at the Clark county assessors office or not.

Bryan Knight, REO specialist in Las Vegas, NV

Follow me at www.twitter.com/KnightREO

As a Las Vegas REO agent, I see many homeowners that are still in there homes after a trustee sale has been completed believing that some attorney or negotiation company is still going to "save me from foreclosure". I just had this situation last week with an occupant named Arlene. I got the assignment that had just gone to foreclosure auction the day before and been bought back by the bank. I went to the property to check occupancy, found it to still be occupied by the former owner Arlene. She stated that she has a attorney that is negotiating with the bank to allow her to keep her house and that she was going to buy her house back from the bank.

Let me say that I can't count how many times that I've heard prior owners state something along these lines. The problem is to date, I have never personally experienced, nor have known anyone that has experienced anyonebeing able to "save" their home after it's already gone to foreclosure auction. Now, laws due vary on a state to state level. Some states have redemption periods, Nevada does not. Some states may have some type of loophole to let you keep your home, to my knowledge and experience Nevada does not.

So, back to Arlene, she declined to talk to me because her "attorney" told her not to and for her to wait for something official from her "lender". Here's the problem. Once your house has gone through the foreclosure process and been auctioned off and bought back by the bank, you previous "lender" has no further to communicate with you. The file at the lender level is transferred from the loss mitigation department to the REO department. Those two departments in most cases don't even speak with each other. They are separate and have two totally different focuses. The REO departments only focus is to get that property turned around, bank on the market and sold as quickly as possible for the most amount of dollars that they can reasonably get. So to the REO department, you (the previous homeowner) are impeding them from being able to do their job by continuing to occupy the property. They have no motivation to allow you to stay in property and waste time with hopes of doing something that is virtually impossible to do.

I told Arlene that being that she didn't want to speak to me anymore that I was going to have to report back to the bank that she has declined her Cash for Keys offer and recommend that they proceed with a formal eviction. She stated that "No I didn't say that I've declined the Cash for Keys offer, but I don't want to speak to you. I'm going to wait for something official from the bank." I tried to explain to her that I am the banks official representative and that she wouldn't be contact by anyone else from the bank, but she didn't believe me and ended the conversation. That said, I reported back to the bank that the occupant declined the CFK (Cash for Keys) offer and within an hour I was CC'd on an email from the bank to the eviction attorney to proceed with an immediate eviction.

Arlene had her "attorney" call me and he was the fast / slick talking guy that was talking about the H4H (Hope for homeowner) program that that I had better read up on it because it was going to put all of us REO agents out of business. I asked him had he ever "saved" someones home AFTER it had already been sold back to the bank and he was silent. Then he state "Well I'm working like three dozen of these cases." He said "I know that you guys get arthorized 3500 dollars from the bank and offer the occupant 500 dollars and then pocket the difference." When I told him that that's not the way it works he said "Yes it does, I see it all the time!" This is simply false.

I wanted to write about this because this "attorney" is going have Arlene (single mom with 3 kids) get evicted out of her house with no money and absolutely nothing to show for it. He has her brainwashed to listen to no one but him. I could have gotten her a good bit of monies to cover her moving expenses and she would have had a guaranteed set amount of time to move out without having to worry about the sheriff showing up at the door and saying it's time to go we're changing the locks and you don't have time to get your stuff out!

Don't let this happen to you. Educate yourself. If you're in this situation or something similar to it prepare yourself before the trustee sale date to move. Have another place lined up to stay and have the funds available to move. Even if you're offered Cash for Keys, you don't get those funds until you've already moved out and the property has been checked by the bank representative to make sure that all personal property inside and out has been removed and that it's left in a broom swept condition.

For more information on Las Vegas Foreclosures dont hesitate to call us at 1-800-977-0959

Bryan Knight REO specialist in Las Vegas, NV

UPDATE: 2-25-2009 Guess who called me last week wanting to negotiate a cash for keys.................Arlene's "attorney"!!!!! Yes, he called acting like it wasn't him that I had talked with earlier and was nasty with me. He finally came around to see that you can't "save" a person from foreclosure AFTER their house has already been foreclosed on!!! Haha An he tried to tell me I didn't know what I was talking about!!! And HE'S the ATTORNEY!!! Unbelievable.

Follow me at www.twitter.com/KnightREO

I'm sitting here listening the President Barack Obama give is inauguration speech and I'm wondering like many of you what changes can we expect in the near future? For those of us in the REO business are things going to speed up?......slow down?........change in some way?........ I'm being told to lace up your running shoes because the flood gates are getting ready to open.

What do you think?.........What have your heard?..........

Speak

Bryan Knight, REO Specialist in Las Vegas, NV

Follow me at www.twitter.com/KnightREO

Woah, almost 70% of listing in Las Vegas, Nevada are short sales or REO / Bank Owned!!!!

Follow me at www.twitter.com/KnightREO

Did you know that HUD has a program where if you are using FHA financing when purchasing a HUD owned home as an owner occupant, that you can put just 100 dollars down!!! Who says that the days of 100 percent financing are over!!!

Also did you know that investors can purchase as many HUD owned homes as they can afford!! I attended a HUD class by the local HUD listing agent from Clark county, Nevada and he stated that HUD homes are "flying under the radar", and very few people are taking advantage of the great deals that HUD homes can offer. Most of the homes had no more than one offer on the property. Many had no offers at all on them!! Not like typical well priced REO homes that have multiple offers on them!!!

Everything with HUD is done online, but you do need a real estate agent to represent you to submit your offer. For more information contact us at (800) 977-0959

Bryan Knight, REO specialist in Las Vegas, NV

Follow me at www.twitter.com/KnightREO