Short sale advice needed on rentals

[tc4gold]

HI,

I have 4 rentals in default, two are close to auction date. THey won't do loan modification. I have one person who has offered a low short sale on 3 of them, they don't want to be a landlord but want to help me out. I told them to sell through a realtor immediately if they get it approved (they are trying to save me from having a foreclosure on record). All have been for sale with local realtor for over 3 months, no offers despite advertising short sale. I put packages in with Aurora, indymac and Wells Fargo. I am getting the run around on all of them and never get the same story twice though indymac today gave me some kind of hope they might see this through if the realtor gets a HUD 1 to them today. My credit is shot so I can't save it, I want to save my other properties to sell so the liens on those can get paid. How do I find an attorney in Tennessee and Maine that will help and wait for payment from the banks? How do I negotiate getting them to not put a deficiency judgment out there as in those states they can. I will have some small equity in my personal residence and I want to preserve what little i have there.
I don't know where to go from here or should I let them go to foreclosure and be done but can they still come after me for a deficiency judgement then?

[cary_bouldin]

Most state bars have a free lawyer referral service, check online for the state you are interested in. (In Oregon for example it is OSbar.org)

Then they will ask you what kind of lawyer you need, real estate or mortgage or whatever, they will give you some names of local lawyers and then you will need to call and discuss your situation and discuss fees or funding at that time. Usually the phone visit is free, and the initial consultation might be a few bucks. It is probably a place to start with those types of questions. If the person you talk to is not willing to do something on a contingency basis, you may want to ask if they know someone that does it that way.

[markmc2000]

If you are not getting offers on your properties, you may need to drop the price. I just kept dropping the price agressively every couple of weeks unitl getting an offer and now both of mine are in contract. The real trick is finding a good Real estate agent that can negotiate with the banks and getting an offer is a matter of price.

Good luck

[tc4gold]

Hi and thanks for the response, we have dropped the price 4 times, advertised short sale and even offered owner terms. My manager says investors are sitting tight waiting for the REO's because the banks are letting them go cheap. One of my properties now has a severe flea infestation, the tenant jumped ship, it needs paint, new carpet, new vinly just to name a few things. I told them to put no money into it until the bank agrees to do something. If they take it back I wasted my money, if I don't do something no one will look at it?

I do have an investor in another state now who is putting a severly low ball offer in to see if it gets accepted so we will see. The agent is the best so far and I have been through 4 of them but she is a afraid to put this low offer in so I am having someone else be my negotiator. Will keep you posted. What a mess, I am just hoping they won't go for a deficiency judgement as this is a state that can if they want.

Are you now regrouping and starting over?

[markmc2000]

Your saying that a guy from another state is putting in a "low ball" offer. That is my point. One needs to price the homes as low ballers to sell!

[faith]

Originally Posted by tc4gold

HI,

Originally Posted by tc4gold

I have 4 rentals in default, two are close to auction date. THey won't do loan modification. I have one person who has offered a low short sale on 3 of them, they don't want to be a landlord but want to help me out. I told them to sell through a realtor immediately if they get it approved (they are trying to save me from having a foreclosure on record). All have been for sale with local realtor for over 3 months, no offers despite advertising short sale. I put packages in with Aurora, indymac and Wells Fargo. I am getting the run around on all of them and never get the same story twice though indymac today gave me some kind of hope they might see this through if the realtor gets a HUD 1 to them today. My credit is shot so I can't save it, I want to save my other properties to sell so the liens on those can get paid. How do I find an attorney in Tennessee and Maine that will help and wait for payment from the banks? How do I negotiate getting them to not put a deficiency judgment out there as in those states they can. I will have some small equity in my personal residence and I want to preserve what little i have there.
I don't know where to go from here or should I let them go to foreclosure and be done but can they still come after me for a deficiency judgement then?

Hello and welcome to this forum,
When you sell your house via Short Sale you need to list your home with a Real Estate Agent with experienced doing Short Sale. You need to price your house right in order to get a buyer, because without a buyer your lender will not approve the Short Sale. Go to zillow.com to get the recent homes sold in your area. Your house should be priced
within 85-90% of the fair market value.

See the link provided regarding Short Sale outpost in this forum:

Short Sale Outpost - Loan Modification Forum - LoanSafe.org

You may also try to do a Deed-in-lieu to avoid foreclosure.
A deed in lieu of foreclosure actually offers numerous benefits to both borrower and lender. The primary and most important advantage to the borrower is that it immediately releases them from most or all the indebtedness involved with the loan and default. A second advantage to the borrower is they avoid the proceeding and public knowledge of a foreclosure. Also, the borrower can often get better terms by going with a deed in lieu of foreclosure, than if they have a formal foreclosure.

The main advantage to the lender is a major reduction in the time and costs it takes to proceed with a non-judicial foreclosure and their can be other advantages to the lender if the borrower ends up filing for bankruptcy afterwards.

To be considered a deed in lieu of foreclosure the debt must be secured by the property that is being transferred, and the settlement amount agreed to must be at least equal to the fair market value of the property.

The deed in lieu of foreclosure is always entered into on a voluntarily basis and in good faith by both parties. Because the deed in lieu of foreclosure is required to be voluntary, most lenders will often require a written offer of such a conveyance from the borrower that specifically states that they are offering to enter into the negotiations on a voluntary basis. This conveyance enacts the "parole evidence rule" and protects the lender from any future claims by the borrower that they were pressured in to the settlement or the lender acted into bad faith.

With a deed-in-lieu the homeowner is allowed to voluntarily relinquish the home when they have not been able to make payments as a final effort to avoid foreclosure. While the homeowner will basically not be able to stay in their home, this is still a better option than foreclosure.

When the lender eventually resells the home, if the amount they net is less than the amount of the mortgage the lender is likely to file for a deficiency judgment. What’s a deficiency judgment? This is a possible court judgment against a borrower, which can be requested by the lender who has not received full payment of the amount owed. Also, the lender will be required to file a 1099-A with the IRS showing the deficiency which might have tax implications.

So, while a deed-in-lieu is better than a foreclosure, a short sale might still be your best option. A short sale is when the lender agrees to take less than what is owed on the mortgage.

The link below may give you an idea about deficiciency judgment.

Deficiency Judgments After Foreclosure - Do Banks Really Sue For Them?

[mattw]

I also have a second home in Tenn. I'm going through a relator on a short sale attempt. I hane not contacted my lender who is Citi mortgage the realator said he would do that. I'm behind 4 months and the realator has had only had 2 offers on the cabin and both are 125k deficiency. Should I contact my Lender and if so how? That is why I got a relator in the first place I went through trying to get a loan Mod. and after sending hardship letters in and all the other paper work along with it and starting all this back in Dec of 2008. Citimortgage put me in a forebarence which cost me 6k then said they couldn't do a loan mod because it was a second home. How do I get in contact with anyone in citimortgage shortsale dept. Thanks WAYNE

[faith]

Originally Posted by mattw

I also have a second home in Tenn. I'm going through a relator on a short sale attempt. I hane not contacted my lender who is Citi mortgage the realator said he would do that. I'm behind 4 months and the realator has had only had 2 offers on the cabin and both are 125k deficiency. Should I contact my Lender and if so how? That is why I got a relator in the first place I went through trying to get a loan Mod. and after sending hardship letters in and all the other paper work along with it and starting all this back in Dec of 2008. Citimortgage put me in a forebarence which cost me 6k then said they couldn't do a loan mod because it was a second home. How do I get in contact with anyone in citimortgage shortsale dept. Thanks WAYNE

Hello and welcome to the forum,
Did you ask your realtor if he has experienced doing Short Sale? You need to work with your realtor if you want the Short Sale be approved by your lender.

The first thing you need to do is to ask your realtor to do a Short Sale package which includes the HUD1 form, the listing price, your contract and a letter signed by you addressed to Citi stating you are authorizing your realtor estate agent to talk to your lender, financial hardship letter, put your last four ssn and your account number to the letter..

You need to price the house right to get a buyer. Without a buyer who makes an offer to buy your house, the lender will not approve the short Sale In your case, you have two offers, your realtor should have contacted the lender and submit the offer to them with your letter authorizing them to talk to your agent.

You have to help your agent if you want this to be successful. I called, email, fax and sent letters to CW to my negotiator and their Executive team twice a week. I bombarded them with calls and letters certified all the way to the higher ups. I went to their website and check their requirements of Short Sale and passed it on to my agent. I got all the email address and phone numbers through this forum thank God for Moe but I never stopped until my Short Sale was approved. Every time I called, emailed or sent letter to my Negotiator I informed my agent and we have constant communication so both of us worked calling on the Executive team and Negotiator of CW non stopped until it was approved.

You need to list your house within 60-90 days, some lenders required to be late in payments within 3 months, so you're ok. If you have listed it to your realtor agent in Dec of 2008 the listing should expired in 6 months and if he is not doing a good job, let the listing expired and hire someone else. I recommend 21st Century Real Estate agent but make sure you checked the BBB first for good rating and check the background.

Try contacting the executive team number for LoanSafe members and see if they will be able to give you the executive team for Short Sale and the Negotiator's phone numbers and email. The number below is for Loan Modification, I can't find anything for Short Sale. When you call mention that you are member of Loansafe .......you can also email them as well...........
1-866-255-3901
homeownerhelp@citi.com

Check zillow.com to see the list of recent sold homes in your area and price your house within 85-90% of the fair market value or the recent sold homes whichever is greater, to attract buyers and this is also the guidelines of the lender to have the Short Sale approved.

The link below may help you also.

Citi Mortgage & Citi Financial Homeowner Help Center - Loan Modification Forum - LoanSafe.org

Short Sale Outpost - Loan Modification Forum - LoanSafe.org

God bless and take care