Beautiful theories...
The art of short sale is one of the most simple and beautiful theories I have ever seen.
But I'm afraid I don't see how it can be done so easily. I just spoke with a lender who said the minimum ownership length for him to finance a house is six months.
If I don't have all my ducks in a row, how do I make a short sale work? I didn't write "or assignees" on the sales contract I created for this short sale deal. So I can't assign it. I can't double-close to an average homeowner because of the seasoning rule. The only investor I know in this area, from my portrayal, is described as wanting to "have me for lunch" by one of the most esteemed members of this board.
So I'm stuck... or so it seems. I'm trying very, very hard not to lose my determination with this; I'm trying very hard to hold onto that spirit of creativity, that hope of no matter what it "can be done".
I'm afraid I just don't see how. And I'm even more afraid I won't have a chance to learn how before *I'm* calling the "I Buy Houses" guy for help.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm a poor sport; I'll be the first to admit it. I've given up on so many things before. But I truly feel that Short Sales are a viable, plausible option.
Am I stupid? Am I not trying hard enough? Or am I just missing some small piece of the puzzle?
I need a beautiful reality. I pray somehow I will find it...and I hope you can beat it into my thick head. I beg you.
Andrew
First of all son, you need to adjust your attitude.
I do short sales all the time and they do work.
One key is to sell your self to the lender.
And for just $4995.00 you can get the rest. "JUST KIDDEN"
Need more details of your short sale attempt and property numbers to help.
[addsig]
I appreciate your wisdom and candor. It is sorely needed, and I am grateful.
Well, I'll try to give as much info as I can think of:
House is 5 yrs old, 1200 sqfeet, 3 bdrm, 1 bath; 1st mortgage is $98k, 2nd is $50k. House is worth $100-105k maybe. Brand-new houses in same area/size/etc. sell for about $110k. House in the same neighborhood with very similar specs sold as REO for $88k. When I found comps to fax to the lenders, they were $79k, $94k, $106k, $108k and $124k respectively. Square footage did vary though, from 1000' to 1600'.
I don't care if I even make $500 from it. We're broke.
How do I sell myself to the lender? If the bank's policy is 6-mo seasoning, how do I change their mind? Heck, I found this broker through TCI and even he has to have the seasoning.
I have someone I think would be very interested in the property if the numbers are right. But they're not going to make a deal with a lender who breaks kneecaps for late payments.
I'd rather do this than work with an investor simply for the safety of it, I wouldn't be as afraid of being taken advantage of. And I'd be helping them into a better situation.
Thank you JohnMichael for the cheering up and for the help.
Andrew
wonderboy1999
I am so sorry for not getting back to you sooner.
Email me and I will send you a mini course that I teach on this subject.
Just to help
[addsig]
wonderboy1999,
You have one of the best offering to help you so do not let yourself down or John Michael, follow through.
There was a student of mine going through what you are going through. My advice was this is how we learn, whether or not you get this deal, it will prepare you for the next one.
So you really do not lose, you gain knowledge to help you put the next one together.
John $Cash$ Locke
wonderboy1999,
Don't get so stressed! Take a deep breath and relax. You will get through this one. You obviously have some great guys behind you all the way.
Like John said, you never "fail". You learn from your mistakes and know what not to do next time around. Isn't that how most people learn how to do everyday tasks? You learned how to walk by falling, getting up and doing it again until you got it right. Remember, practice makes perfect. These are your baby steps, don't give up or you will never learn to walk...
Tanya[ Edited by tanya1215 on Date 03/05/2003 ]
Andrew:
JohnMichael and JohnLocke offer some very good advice. I would just add not to get stuck on only one investing method. The more methods you know, the better your chances of success. It doesn't matter how you get the deal, but whether you get the deal (assuming it meets your investing criteria). You catch more fish when you have more lines in the water and you get more deals when you have more investing techniques (i.e., tools of our trade) available to you. For me if I find out the property does not have enough equity in it, I usually switch to a different technique (such as negotiating discounts from junior lien holders or negotiating a favorable long-term lease option to let capture the upside on the real estate depreciation for a low cost).
If you don't have much money to work with, secure the deal, find a passive investor that has some money, and then show them how the deal will make them better money than the loosy stock market or bank account (not to mention the tax benefits -- doctors and lawyers short on time but with lots of dollars usually like people finding them deals and managing the deal for them since they have little time to deal with trying to find good deals). All you need is one or two good passive investors to make alot of money (for yourself and the investor). My wife works in an operating room and you would be surprised by the bragging doctors do about their investments while performing surgeries. That is where I usually find investors -- referrals from doctors that have already done deals with me.
Persevere and it will pay off!
Taxjunkie
Hi John,
I have been lurking on the foreclosure/shortsale forum. I, myself, have started to attempt some short sales (currently have 7 in the pipeline) and had a few questions.
I have studied the material from Dwan Bent and Sharon extensively. I am curious if your experience with short sales matches what they say. Specifically that they get 7/10 deals successfully completed and sometimes at 50% to what the homeowner owes the lender. From my limited experience, this does not coincide with what I am hearing from the banks I’m speaking with now. Any insight would be appreciated.
Another problem I have is too many potential short sale leads. I need some way of filtering the list down to a manageable level. Do you have any set criteria that you use before attempting the short sale? Things such as lender, amount owed vs property value, amount owed on 2nd, etc…..
I would love to see that mini course that you offered to wonderboy if possible.
Thanks