Posts from — April 2008

A short sale is when a lender agrees to take less than what is owed on the mortgage so that the property can be sold. A short sale is a great way to avoid foreclosure and is commonly referred to as pre-foreclosure. The effects on credit scoring from a short sale are far less damaging than a foreclosure.

The road to a successful short sale can be slow, complicated, and time consuming, however can be the best option for a seller who has a negative equity position in their property.

The most important thing to remember is that the bank does not want to lose money. It is necessary to convince the lender that they will lose FAR LESS money by doing a short sale than by foreclosing on the property.

Here are the basic items you will need in your tool box to convince the bank(s) to accept a short sale:

1. Time - It will take time to prepare the documentation and contact the correct department at the bank.
2. Patience & Persistence - Remember “You attract more flies with Honey than Vinegar.” Be calm and patient with the people at the bank. They are not going to make it easy, but be patient and persistent and keep calling until you get to the correct person. Once you get the correct person or department, document everything discussed as well as their complete contact information including an e-mail address.
3. Request a Short Sale Package - The package will detail the process and documents you need to complete to start the short sale process.
4. Prepare a Hardship Letter - The hardship letter is a detailed description of why you ended up in this situation. Be as specific as possible. The more heart wrenching the better.
5. 2 Years of Tax Returns
6. 2 Months Pay Stubs (if employed)
7. At Least 2 Months of Bank Statements
8. Financial Worksheet - This is a list of assets, liabilities, income and expenses. Most lenders will have their own form to complete.

The above list are the basic items you need in your tool box to negotiate with the bank. Of course, it is always best to consult someone who has experience with the short sale process such as a Realtor or an Attorney. Make sure to ask if they have successfully negotiated short sales in the past.

Search for Seminole Real Estate Now!

The city of Seminole is located in Pinellas County Florida and neighbored by Largo to the north, St. Petersburg to the south, Pinellas Park to the east, the intercoastal waterway to the west, and within minutes of the gulf beaches. Seminole is home to a large retiree population, seasonal residents and is also popular with younger families because of the great reputation of the school system and for its central location in the county. Seminole is known for great fishing, boating, hiking, biking trails, and outdoor recreation at Lake Seminole Park, which consists of 250 acres adjacent to Lake Seminole. Whatever your interest, it is sure to be found in Seminole, Florida.

CLEARWATER, FLORIDA - Keller Williams Realty is experiencing tremendous growth in the Tampa Bay real estate market and the Tampa Tribune wrote this past Sunday that the agents are the “heart and soul” of its success. As many real estate companies are shutting down offices and closing doors, Keller Williams Realty is growing. In part to the misfortune of many of the smaller companies and the budget bloated companies who are not equipped to survive in the current changing real estate market. Keller Williams Realty is an open book company and all expenses and operations are reviewed by the agent partners and owners.

Here is the article by Leslie Farrell from the Tampa Tribune:

“The success Keller Williams is enjoying throughout the Tampa Bay area is due to the training, consulting and tools it offers its agents and the agency’s culture of philanthropy, says Kevin Chadwick, owner of Keller Williams offices in Apollo Beach, Bloomingdale, Brandon, Plant City and South Tampa.

“Keller Williams is a real estate training and consulting company thinly disguised as a real estate company,” he says. “We do more specific training for our agents than any other agency on the planet.

“I’ve been a broker in Tampa Bay for over 25 years and I’ve never seen a company that has more systems, models and tools for agents’ use to go out into the field, compete and win.”

For Keller Williams clients, highly trained agents translate into better resources and quicker sales, Chadwick says.

“The benefit to our customers is that they are going to get the most informed agent on current market trends and what’s happening in the marketplace right this second,” he says. “Not only that, but they will also learn how to capitalize on that information to either sell their home faster for the most amount of money in the least amount of time or for a buyer to be able to find that very special home with unique characteristics that they are looking for.”

Chadwick says this expertise gives Keller Williams agents an advantage. And the proof is the company’s performance during the past 18 months in a challenging market, he adds, noting that his Keller Williams Group has become the top ranked Keller Williams office in Florida.

“Keller Williams has more inventory [homes for sale] than any other real estate company in Tampa,” he says. “Keller Williams also, in the past 12 months, has sold more homes than any other real estate company in Hillsborough County.”

Chadwick says the company’s success in Florida is particularly exciting because it’s relatively new to the area. In 1983, Keller Williams was started in Austin, Texas. In 2000, the agency opened its first Bay area office in Brandon. In the past six years, the company has grown to include more than 1,500 agents in the Tampa Bay area, he says.

According to the National Association of Realtors, Keller Williams has been the fastest growing national real estate firm for the past eight years and is the only national real estate company to report growing in size and sales in 2007.

The sense of teamwork at the company fuels its success, Chadwick says.

In many real estate agencies, agents compete against one another. At Keller Williams, agents “share trade secrets and help each other,” he says. “We believe that together we all achieve more.”

Keller Williams agents view each other as partners because they share profits and have a voice in company decisions, he adds.

Agents also are encouraged to be active in the community and each office chooses a charitable organization to support through the company’s community fundraising arm, KW Cares. They also donate their time to local charities. Chadwick serves on the board for the Alpha House, a local nonprofit that assists pregnant women in crisis.

“Agents who choose Keller Williams may choose it for the systems, tools and models that can help their business succeed, but they stay with Keller Williams because of the culture here,” Chadwick says. “The culture of this company is the heart and soul of how and why we do business.”"