How to Expedite the Loan Modification Process

November 2, 2009Scott MacDonald Leave a comment

As a Member of the Top 5 in Real Estate Network®, I am frequently asked these
days for my advice on loan modification…specifically, how quickly new loan
terms can be arranged. Waiting to find out if your application for loan
modification has been accepted can be a nerve-wracking and frustrating
experience—especially if you’re still receiving late payment notices and
creditor calls. Here are some important insights into the loan modification
process from consumer advocate and author Ralph R. Roberts.

1. The loan modification
process typically takes 30 to 90 days, depending mostly on your
lender. The loan modification timeline, however, is not set in stone. The more
complex your situation, the longer the process takes. Borrowers with a lot of
collateral issues can see their loans take longer than what has become the
typical 30- to 90-day timeframe.

2. A professional can
often reduce the amount of time required by processing your
paperwork efficiently, presenting your application exactly the way the lender
wants it, and knowing from past experience what the lender is able and
typically willing to agree to. Find out how long the process is likely to take
and mark the dates on your calendar.

3. Refer all matters to
the professional who is representing your loan modification.
Anything you say to the lender could confuse things or compromise your
representative’s ability to negotiate the best deal on your behalf.

4. Log all phone calls and
correspondence between you and your lender or representative. Keep track of
important dates. Consistent follow up is paramount to a successful
modification.

5. Explore other
options. If the lender denies your request for a loan
modification or presents an offer that you cannot accept, you will need a plan
B. Consult a real estate agent about listing your home for sale. Talk to a
mortgage broker or loan officer about refinancing. Speak with a bankruptcy
attorney to find out whether filing bankruptcy would be a better choice.

6. You might continue to
receive delinquency notices or late payment phone calls. Push
to have all default and foreclosure actions put on hold while your workout
attempts are underway.

The loan modification process can be long and trying, but doing your part to
keep the process on track by remaining informed can increase your chances of a
positive outcome and reduce stress. For more advice on loan modification,
please e-mail me—I can point you in the right
direction. Please also forward this important information to your social
network; it just might help someone you know.

Demand Success Today

October 29, 2009Scott MacDonald Leave a comment

As you know, RE/MAX officials were in town yesterday.
Here is what was shared! Click on the link for the presentation.

Demand
Success Today

The Economy –

Right now our recovery is considered to be a jobless
recovery because we continue to lose jobs yet; the economy is pulling out of
the recession without creating jobs. The nation’s jobless rate won’t be back to
4.5 % until 2014.

Most companies have cut back and will not rehire people they
let go. The car business most definitely won’t hire their people back –
everything is cheaper in China and a lot of production is being exported there.

Housing will have a hard time helping economy get out of
recession because new home sales have plummeted so far down.

America is responsible for 27 % of the world’s GNP China is
7% within 30 years China will lead world in production.

Foreclosures –

Build your resume, contact the right people and give right
presentation to get REO business

There are 3.5 million foreclosure filings per year expected
in 2009 and 2010

25 % of homeowners with a mortgage are underwater

A huge number of commercial loan maturities are coming due
in 2011 and 2012 which will put pressure on this sector.

Savings rate is 7 % today as a result of people’s fear over
job loss, their property values being down, and they can’t use their house as a
piggy bank anymore plus their 401K’s are down so consumers have become less
likely to spend.

You can’t use yesterday’s business methods to make money in
today’s market and expect to be in business tomorrow.

Number of Realtors –

800,000 in 2000

1,400,000 in 2006

1,100,000 in 2009

Need 900,000 for more agents to be successful

LIFO last in first out is a great rule for real estate when
referring to Realtors

9.7 million Distressed properties right now, 4.7
million will sell over the next few years – many will renegotiate to stay in
their properties.

RE/MAX has 6 % of agent total and handles 26 to 28 % of REO
sales

Systemized and standardized process for short sales is
expected to be announced within 2 business days. This is coming from the
government and discussions with Liniger.

NAR has a new designation to handle short sales – SFR.
RE/MAX agents can get discount on Mainstreet – contact me for details

Rebuild USA 203k specialists

There is a new foreclosure tab on remax.com. Don’t
forget to register as well as update your profiles email address, education,
designation, specialties to get leads. You must have a designation to
receive leads for short sales and foreclosures – don’t delay, do it today!

Know your market and its dynamics –

Our market is predominantly 1^st time buyers and
investors – get into these business arenas.

Generations –

Baby boomers 3 more moves downsizing selling buying selling
smaller house moving in with their kids or family members

Generation X –

50 % not married yet and most have no kids. They are
just now beginning to buy houses skeptical but loyal

Millennials –

Very different on line, no high pressure, knowledgeable,
instant everything

When dealing with online leads, have the shot gun approach –
send out response to 5 agents and the first to respond gets the lead.

80 % of Americans have nothing to retire on assisted living
or nursing homes or moving in with family

Social media will take you to the next level take pictures
of clients after settlement do portraits get busy getting involved with it
today – don’t delay it is not going away.

The crowd was enthused – you should be too! Get
it? Got it? Good!

Breakfast with Dave Liniger and Krisi Graning

October 29, 2009Scott MacDonald Leave a comment

The purpose
of the breakfast was to encourage open dialogue on our region to take back to
policy leaders. Looking to get pulse on market to show congressman and
governors what is happening in the trenches.
According to Dave, NAR has lost credibility with the government.

One agent
has 11 properties under contract and all have appraisal issues.

Inventory
levels are low. Foreclosure process has been slowed by Obama’s policies on
occupancy rules and how people who are living in properties are treated. If a tenant can produce a lease, they can
stay in the property until the lease term ends.
Issues are – who gets the rent and how can the lease they produce be
validated – this is a bad policy people!

The media
still creates problems by sending mixed messages to viewers which continues to
wan consumer confidence on all levels.

Appraisers
don’t understand market and understand reality of our pricing and trends. It appears that too many are under qualified,
unprofessional and unfamiliar with areas they are appraising.

Under
$400,000.00 market is strong – upwards of 18 contracts on houses.

HVCC has
lead to incompetent people appraising our property resulting in low appraisals

All real
estate is local agents and appraisers need to be local.

Agent
quality is low with REO’s across the board agent professionalism and ethics is
not up to par with what the consumer demands.

Take new HUD
1 to your asset managers for a training session to build better relationships
and get more assets to sell.

No FHA or VA
contracts has hurt many first time home buyers trying to take advantage on
$8,000.00 tax credit.

Extension of
unemployment benefits was to be voted on last night the first time tax credit
may be attached to that bill – stay tuned.
Tax credit extension would be the tiered down version.

Get up to
speed with the market, understand its challenges and become a success – Get
it? Got it? Good!

Now, go sell
something!

Business Planning Retreat

October 26, 2009Scott MacDonald Leave a comment

A great time was had by all!
Our weekend at the Hyatt in Cambridge, MD started off with golf and spa
treatments. The course offered beautiful
views, challenging holes, and plenty of opportunities to talk trash! The spa offered hot stone massages, Swedish
massages, facials, and sauna/steam showers.
It was an appropriate way to get everyone in the right frame of mind to
take their business to the next level.

The theme of this year’s business planning was Around the
World. We started off in our RE/MAX Hot
Air Balloons in Middleburg, VA where we visualized our trip (our
businesses). We had to determine our
course of action for our trip going forward by first reviewing where we had
come from in 2009. We analyzed what our
key performance indicators are for 2010 and how we will measure success. Additionally, we set short term and long
range goals to set our course for success.

Our next stop was a crash landing in Greenland where we were
kidnapped and had to participate in a dog sled race to get our balloon
back. In Greenland, we had to determine
how to problem solve our way out of the mess we were in (short sales,
unprofessional agents, foreclosures, etc), think strategically on how we were
going to get ourselves out of these situations and continue to set our course
for success by reviewing our “why” of being in business.

Luckily, we were able to get our balloon back and get back
in the air to look at our business from a higher altitude! But, guess what? We got blown off course and crashed landed in
a boat in Luxor, Egypt where we had to navigate the Nile 350 miles to get our
balloon repaired. We were on our way to
accomplishing this by looking for new opportunities available to us and how to
build upon them and grow them and ask ourselves if we have currently taken
advantage of them in today’s market when we were arrested! We had to analyze our negotiating skills and
how to improve upon them based upon challenges we faced as well as realize we
need to have contingency plans in place to handle each situation we encounter
in our market. As we handled these
challenges, we were able to move on!

Believing we were going to sail smoothly home – we once
again experienced a challenge – another crash as our balloon got a tear from
high altitudes and we landed on the Great Wall of China. While in China, we had to improve our
communication skills – listening, being the first order of business in
developing better communication skills.
Then we moved on to looking at non verbal communication, tonality and
other forms of communication others use to communicate. We considered the options available to
redefine our business and reinvent ourselves in the process. As markets change so must we. Our balloon is repaired and we are back in
flight and on our way to success again!

I think you know what happens, we have an emergency
landing. This time in Pago Pago! It is an extremely poor island where it was
time to reflect on what is important to us – our value system. We reviewed what is important to us today and
what values are going to carry us to where we want to be in the future. Self analysis is a strategy to help us grow
both personally and professionally! This
also incorporated accepting change in ourselves, our business, and why this is a
critical piece to success in any endeavor we undertake.

On the last leg of our trip home, we realized at our high
altitude that flying high isn’t the only key to success. We must have the right attitude to get us
there. It is important to manage our thoughts
and actions to develop the right habits to lead us to a successful career!

Finally, we were home with a our travel log that included
short term goals, long term goals and an action plan to get us to success. We set a meeting to discuss our trip and
review our progress in 90 days. Our
travel logs were shared and we are going to hold others accountable to their
success in our next meeting!

We discussed the importance of getting away, putting things
in writing, and being held accountable to our objectives we can attain much
greater success. We hope that you will
join us on our next journey because by failing to plan, you are planning to
fail. Get it? Got it?
Good!

Now, go sell something!

Here We Go Again

October 22, 2009Scott MacDonald Leave a comment

Platinum Club October

Asset managers are checking up on their listers to make sure
properties are being marketed properly.
If you are listing foreclosure properties – tighten up if you want to
keep your listings!

2^nd quarter is when the next “wave” of foreclosures
is to be released – here we go again!

3 month moratorium on foreclosures is more here say yet
properties are going to foreclosure in November. Apparently, the banks are going to do away
“stages” of appraisals.

Ekko works well with short sales, S5 is OK –nothing above
the others, and Advanced Title gets them done.

Banks have stacks of short sales to work through – Bryan had
4 approved in the last week – 1 in 70 days, 2 in 3 to 4 months and 1 in 6
months. It seems as if the Asset Manager
makes all of the difference not necessarily the bank.

Take short sale listings to generate buyer s leads and close
them because chances are your listing
won’t close. Short sales make the agents look incompetent.

Buyers are indecisive and becoming unrealistic – coming up
with excessive home inspection lists.

Upper bracket prices continue to fall and those buyers are
more cautious. People are backing out of
remodeling contracts as well – the economy is their excuse of why they aren’t
moving forward. National news and lack
of details about our market is making them uncomfortable in both scenarios.

Are there more listings coming on the market? The answer is yes – inventory is low put it
on now.

Builder activity is on the rise. One builder, Van Metre is up 40% and is
raising their prices – NVR posted a 50%
increase over last year’s sales.

We all believe Tax Credit for first time buyers will be
extended. As previously discussed each
real estate transaction “touches” 29 different industries and generates $62,000
in capital to the economy.

We also believe that the loan limit will go back to $625,500
and remain there as prices are lower – we all have had fewer sales above the
$700,000 price range. Also, the
government may want to diminish their exposure and not raise it back up.

Condo associations need to be proactive to get their
properties approved FHA after November 2, 2009 – no one has heard of any
associations taking the lead. Be sure to
make sure the project is in process of approval prior to finalizing
contacts. No more spot approvals with
FHA after this date. Here
are the outlines of the program – lots of questions are still
unanswered. Will this kill the condo
market?

What does all of this mean?
Professional Realtors are more valuable and more needed today more than
ever. Get it? Got it?
Good!

Now, go sell something!

It’s time to invest!

October 20, 2009Scott MacDonald Leave a comment

What was the first thought that came into your mind? Was it about the stock market? Or was it about buying investment properties? Perhaps you thought it was getting others to invest in the previous two areas of opportunities. Now, what do you believe this statement is about? What does invest mean? Dictionary.com says it means :

1.	To put (money) to use, by purchase or expenditure, in something offering potential profitable returns, as interest, income, or appreciation in value.

2.	To use (money), as in accumulating something: to invest large sums in books or education.

3.	To use, give, or devote (time, talent, etc.), as for a purpose or to achieve something: He invested a lot of time in growing himself personally and professionally.

Well, taking this into account, my intention was that it is time to invest in yourself and your business. The top companies in the world invest in their people – you should invest in you as well! If companies do it, why don’t you?

The real estate market, the economy and your business are not out of the woods yet. Yes, some aspects of the economy are stabilizing but we have a long way to go – foreclosure numbers, default rates, and unemployment rates (although reported to have slowed) continue to rise. Therefore, now is the time to invest in your business. It has become obvious to me that during times like these, many agents get too involved “in” their business when in fact, if they want their business to soar to the next level, they should get involved working “on” their business – today. It is time to reflect on what is working and what isn’t – where are trends in our area heading – who are key players in the industry and what are they doing – more importantly, what are you doing? Are you attending training? If not, why not. If you are involved in foreclosures, are you going to conferences out of town to meet new people, strategize and get new accounts? If not, why not? If you are doing short sales, are you meeting with experts who are experiencing success in the business locally and nationally to learn more about trends and what they are doing to be successful? If not, why not? Are you taking advantage of the free educational opportunities your association is making available to you? If not, why not? Are you taking advantage of one on one opportunities with your broker, fellow agents or a coaching program to help get through the market we are in and are going to encounter? Again, if not, why not?

These examples could go on for some time. It is my belief that you need to get out of your house, get out from behind your desk and educate yourself or else you will be left behind – doing what you’ve always done and get the results you’ve always gotten will not propel you to success. Times change, programs change, economies fluctuate and you need to as well if you want to succeed now and in the future.

It is important not to confuse activity with accomplishment. Determine what you want to accomplish and what you need to do to achieve what you set out to do. If you get willowed in the mire of day to day activities, put blinders on to what is happening around you, get out and network with others, and ask yourself how can you accomplish “big” things in your life. It is my opinion you need to invest in you today. Attend trainings, get coaching, attend business planning (it’s not too late), get a designation, attend mastermind sessions, go to real estate information exchanges. Take the time to get educated – NOW! Get it? Got it? Good!

Now go sell something!

Walter Bond, Kathy O’Neal…what a great day of speakers!

October 16, 2009Scott MacDonald 1 Comment

Today’s speaker at our exclusive business development group Accelerent was Walter Bond who amazed the crowd with his personality, flair and common business sense to help us “sell” our way out of the recession. Here are a few of his tips: strive to be the top in your business – whatever your chosen field may be; connect with people – don’t just communicate; execute the principals of the of your business – be fundamentally sound; differentiate yourself and most importantly be likable! As we know, people buy from people they know, like and trust. They know you by branding yourself, they like you because they you “connect”/build rapport with them and the trust you through your knowledge, skill and expertise you display in your business. Also, to be the best, carve out your niche!

Our Top Producer Panelist in today’s training was Kathy O’Neal

Team of 3 plus Kathy

Unlicensed assistant – visual tours, schedules appointments, client coordinator

Part time IT guy – does videos, website design, blogs

Husband – writes blog, works internet stuff, but they don’t do twitter or Facebook or Linkedin

Kathy – the face of the team

Videos are of testimonials, interview Kathy, buyer process – people know you before you meet them – think about

Incorporate video into your program – financing, seeing properties, writing contracts, settlement, foreclosures, short sales

Now send video emails introducing yourself

Keep up with past clients – know market area – newsletter – client party (cut down Christmas Trees nic– birthday cakes about

Podbeam – podcasts that are hosted by another

Blog a few times a week – interview clients, potential buyers

Thoughts on the market – under $400 is hot – people who would put house on the market don’t know they can sell their house in today’s market – not enough houses for sale – lots of buyers out there – not enough move up buyers – not too many appraisal problems – think prices are coming down, sell now – foreclosures are coming so not sure how this will affect values, we know where it is now – appreciate agents who answer phones

Keys to success – do the basics, good service, keep up with your client base, figure out what you do well and keep doing it, keep up with the market, connect with people, be a real person, look for new trends.

Here are the numbers!

Active inventory is down 56% from 2008 with onluy 5,850 active listings on the market. The vacancy rate is holding steady at 28% of the market leaving us with a 1.7 months supply of houses for sale.

The rental market has a 1.9 month supply of rentals on the market with 3,004 properties currently for rent.

Now, go sell something!

All is quiet on the Western Front

September 18, 2009Scott MacDonald Leave a comment

All is the same over the last month or so – same issues with short sales, foreclosures, etc

Agents are being more demanding and asking for shorter timelines – short sales are bringing out the worst in other agents. Agent’s frustration over short sales are carrying over into other transactions. Agents have an all gloves off mentality. Buyers and sellers are also frustrated because of timing of getting deals done, HVCC, TIL, etc.

Nip unprofessionalism behavior in the bud. Track all conversations in writing with agents.

First time buyers are antsy – wanting deals to be done so they get the tax credit, get rates locked in, and get closed.

Notice of trustee sales is at an all time high

The highest month of foreclosures were September of ’08 – trustee sales today are 30% higher than that

Market is slowing – sales are down because inventory levels are down

Commercial market is about to tank – financing is gone – only sources are pension funds, insurance money and conduit lenders are the only avenues. No new construction can be financed either. Churches and schools are building but back log is diminishing. Commercial market is in directly opposite of residential market. Death, divorce and relocation are our salvation as well – people have to move!

Titanium is in control of 31,000 people in our area who are in one form of distress – not foreclosed on by the bank yet.

The attached article was also discussed.

Outlying areas are coming back strong – we are doing better than other counties – including Maryland.

That’s it – go sell something!

Interesting market update

September 16, 2009Scott MacDonald Leave a comment

It is an interesting time in the market right now. For the first time in a long time, there are not a lot of changes in our market to report – it is the same ole story – which is kind of nice. Over the last several weeks, we have reported shifts which were affecting our industry and we were on top of for our clients and agents alike. Last month we talked about short sales, foreclosures and those trials and tribulations. Right now everything is flat in terms of news. The inventory levels are down, buyers are still out looking for homes, the hot price ranges remain hot and we are ready to help!

What makes me wonder is, is now the calm before the storm? As we’ve been speaking about over the last several weeks, many questions have been raised that we cannot answer – yet. Many of our questions include the short sale process, inventory levels, release of foreclosures by banks, and other concerns over distressed properties still have not been answered. Additionally, we have impending issues we are dealing with such as the first times tax buyer credit coming to an end on November 30, …will that be extended with all of the billions of dollars being spent by the government? When will interest rates rise…is looming on our horizon – how soon will that happen? Foreclosures are slowing being released…will they be released all at once and will that have an impact on our values? How much can the government spend to buy mortgage backed securities against the Federal Reserve’s advice and how will this impact us going forward. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered and only time will tell what the outcome will be for the housing market. So, for now, there is nothing turbulent to write or speak about today. All’s well that ends well I guess will be the theme of this month’s update. Mortgage rates are great, buyers are buying, houses are selling, and we are still working to make it all happen for our clients. Let’s hope we get more of the same going forward!

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Real estate

How to Expedite the Loan Modification Process

Breakfast with Dave Liniger and Krisi Graning

Business Planning Retreat

Here We Go Again

It’s time to invest!

Walter Bond, Kathy O’Neal…what a great day of speakers!

All is quiet on the Western Front

Interesting market update

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