Dennis Erickson

I marketed the home for 6 months, two low offers, limited showings.

The client elects to do a short sale. I contact their attorney. He approves the move.

I get an all-cash offer, $5,000 over asking price. I submit the package to the first and second lienholders. The second reduces their $160,000 second to $16,000 within 10 days of submission. Well alrighty for Wells Fargo!

The first, Chase Mortgage, takes their sweet time. Forget about Directive 09-09 HAMP. They're ignoring it. Six weeks later and dozens of messages, emails, letters to her, still no call from the negotiator. I call again. I'm told my sellers, unknown to me, have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief. I contact their attorney who screams at me, "It's none of your business!" The clients are weeping on the phone, "We were told by the attorney this wouldn't affect our short sale!"

Whatever.

Now I hear B of A is stepping in to the middle of an ongoing short sale and paying the sellers $7500.00 to give a deed in lieu of foreclosure, freezing agents out of commissions and bypassing any agreements. Buyers are being shoved aside, agents too.

Why in the world would any sane person go near a S.H.O.R.T. SALE?

I'm listening....,

At first blush, the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) Program Supplemental Directive 09-09 appears to be a game-changer in the hotly-contested battle raging between distressed homesellers, their real estate representatives and mortgage servicing entities.

As part of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), HAFA will provide financial incentives to servicers and borrowers who elect a short sale or deed-in-lieu to avoid foreclosure.

The new directive will become effective April 5, 2010, according to a press release attributed to the HAMP Support Center.

Key elements to the directive include prohibiting the servicer fromr reducing real estate commissions beyond the agreed rate reflected in the original listing agreement as a condition for approving the short sale. It also requires servicers to respond to a submitted offer within 10 days of receipt and, most importantly, for qualifying borrowers with qualifying loans, requires lenders to fully release borrowers from future liability for the debt.

This is huge! The directive also provides for a $1,000.00 servicer incentive and $1500.00 seller moving expense incentive.

See a copy of the directive at HMPadmin.com

It appears, at last, the administration has provided a means to begin to unplug the system. Your thoughts?

It was me.

It's time to stop blaming the lenders, the consumers, the Realtors, the Wall Street gurus, Hank Paulson, George Bush, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, all of them, innocent. Pure as the driven snow. Blameless.

I did it. I woke up early one morning and, as I embarked on my quest for total world domination, I decided the best way to get what I want (unlimited golf and free sandwiches at Eagle Bend golf course for life) was to bring the American economy to its knees, humble the populace with the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression, take over their health care, decrease their access to capital so I had more money than they did and then MAKE MY DEMANDS! FREE SANDWICHES! WHOA!

But I've decided to give up golf. The only people who'll play with me are Geitner, Obama, Bush, Paulson...,

Sorry.

I've listed 12,200 square feet of warehouse/retail space near Bozeman Montana, asking price is $1,120,000.00 USD. The owner will lease back the entire property for two years at a cap rate of 7.3% making this a low-risk and attractive offering for a 1031 exchanger or cash laden investor.

Hint: ask your clients where they've "Parked" their investment dollars during these tumultuous times. Often they'll say, "My bank and I'm getting a lousy 2% interest."

This property is comprised of seven commecial condominium units, brand new, equipped with radiant overhead heat, ADA compliant bathrooms, 18-foot sidewalls, 14-foot overhead doors, super insualtion package of R-38 in sidewalls and R-50 in the ceiling. High quality.

The seller is creative and motivated. He wants to remain in one unit for a minimum of three years and will act as a manager if needed. For the asking price of $1,120,000 he will deposit, at closing, $170,000.00 in an escrow account and each month the escrow agent will send your client a check for $7,083.00 every month for 24 months following closing. It's a genuine no-brainer.

I offer Active Rain participants a 30% referral fee or 3% cooperating agent commission for fully representing your client in the transaction.

Let's make it rain!

I'm thinking of getting a baseball bat for my office.

The new proposed $15,000 tax credit for home buyers is working already! I met with a client today who came in to start looking at houses PROMPTED PRIMARILY BY THE PROPOSED $15,000 TAX CREDIT BEING CONSIDERED AS PART OF THE LATEST BAIL-OUT PACKAGE! Cool, right?

Maybe a plastic bat. Red. I like red.

I was excited to meet him. He was intelligent and quickly came to the point. He said he wanted to take advantage of the tax credit by buying a house and then moving out, renting the place and buying another house and so on. I calmly explained that I didn't think that was the intent of the legislation, and that the way the credit was proposed that probably wouldn't work. "Who's gonna know?" he asked. "I will. You will. And eventually, since you need to FILE TAXES TO GET A TAX CREDIT, the IRS will," I replied, with a sort of smile.

A red foam bat. Big one. Scary looking, but nothing they could send you to prison for if you had to use it.

He didn't like the answer, but hey, by this time I didn't like him much. We're in a real crisis and this cowboy wants to try and screw somebody. I tried to be polite. I tried to understand. I even made an attempt to convince myself the guy was just trying to be creative and that he'd come to his senses eventually and maybe even buy a house from me. But the experience just left me sort of empty. Vacant. Feeling a little soulless. I thanked him for coming in, nice to meet you, blah blah blah, but I think Mr. Buyer you need to rethink this strategy. It's a bad one. He didn't like that, either.

On second thought, maybe wood. Yeah, wood.