Paul & Jerri Stracener

I am a Certified Distressed Property Expert and handle short sales for homeowners with a hardship that has caused them to be unable to pay their mortgage payments. I know this is a terrible stress for many and I am happy to be able to provide the service. There are many steps to a short sale that will make it move along quickly. I have the knowledge and am actively seeking homeowner that need my service to avoid foreclosure.

I am currently working on 4 short sales and 3 of them are with Bank of America. One of these properties was listed in November of 2008. We listed the home at a fair price and slowly reduced the price until we received an offer. Once I got the offer ready along with the 68 page package of information, it was sent in to Bank of America. I understand that the banks are not able to keep up with the number of short sale offers being submitted. However, after a year, you would think this could be worked out. I know Bank of America can process a new loan quickly. Couldn't the same processors be allowed to do some of the work on short sales? Even if it did have to go to a "final negotiator", at least the basic information could be verified by a local employee.

The process that's being used now is not working. An offer I received in March was terminated in June after the bank gave a counter offer that was $10,000 over the price the home was listed at at that time. I had documented all showings and price reductions and it was obvious that nobody was interested in buying the house at the higher price. Not this buyer either... then the negotiator asked if I could get $5,000 more. This buyer was not in the mood to negotiate after waiting 4 months with no communication from the lender.

I increased the list price by $10,000 more than the price at that time. Nothing... so, I started reducing the price. When it was back to the same price that had gotten offers last time, I got an offer. Actually, I ended up with one excellent offer and 2 back up offers that were also good offers. After 3 months, the first buyer terminated, then the 2 back up offerers increased their offers. After about 2 weeks, one of them terminated then a month after that, the 2nd one terminated.

During this process, I was checking with the bank every week to get an update on the status. I was getting nervous that I wouldn't have an offer when the bank decided to let me know if they would accept. I wouldn't dare tell them that the buyer had walked. Then they'd just close the file and I'd have to start over for the 3rd time. Luckily I now have 2 offers, both lower than the many that have terminated. And still no word from the bank, other than that I should hear something in the next 30 days.

To make it worse, I have managed to stop foreclosure twice on this property. However, every time, the foreclosure attorney sets it up for 2 months later. Then, when that time comes, I call Bank of America and they tell me it's not set for foreclosure. However, it's being advertised in the newspaper and the closing attorney says they have authorization from Bank of America to sell it. Monday, I can start requesting that the foreclosure be stopped -- they only allow me to start the process 5 days prior to foreclosure!

This house has been vacant for about 9 months and neighbors are calling me to get the grass cut, the property is showing many signs of neglect. One neighbor called to tell me that a tree fell from this property and hit his fence. I don't know how all this will work out in the end. The current homeowner has moved, has many health problems, has lost a signification source of income, and is unable to take care of anything associated with this home.

Some of the banks have been excellent to work with. If it wasn't in everyones best interest to do short sales, I would be able to understand. However, the average cost for a foreclosure is $30,000-$40,000. If we can get a home sold for $10,000-$20,000 under the current market price, that's got to be a better deal for everyone.

Benefit for the homeowner - no foreclosure, they can stay in the house until it sells, and a short sale is much less damaging on the credit report than a foreclosure.

Benefit for the lender - no foreclosure - they don't have to be reponsible for upkeep of property, don't have to go through the process of securing property, getting the propety in saleable condition and maintaining the property until it sells. Buyers see foreclosures as a better opportunity to get a great deal, usually making lower offers. Many times foreclosed properties have damage that can be very expensive to correct. If a buyer is getting an FHA loan, certain repairs must be made to qualify for the loan.

Even though it can be difficult to get a short sale approved, I will continue working on them. It is so rewarding to help an owner that feels like he's at the end of his rope. This can relieve a tremendous burden from a distressed owner.

Bank of America is working with an outside company to get their short sale offers handled faster. This is great news! I have worked on several Bank of America short sales but recently lost one due to the slooow response to the offer. The buyer got tired of waiting and withdrew the offer before we could get a response from the bank. I know they are overwhelmed with requests for loan modifications and short sales but if they can't handle them, nobody wins.

I am very hopeful that this new development will make a big difference in processing short sales. It is to the benefit of everyone for the bank to accept reasonable offers on properties that are near foreclosure. There are definate rules for getting a home sold by short sale but if followed, this process can keep a homeowner from foreclosure and keep the loss for the lender to a minimum.

If you need help to determine if you are eligible for a short sale, call us.

more information on this at http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=179414,00.htm

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Here is a link to a very interesting site from NPR regarding foreclosure rates in all parts of the country. You can see every county and the number of foreclosures in each area.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111494514

The map comes from Realty Trac.