Ben Pargman's Short Sale Insights

Working on a Dream

2009-04-27T15:58:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I surprised Deena with tickets to see her first love . . . Bruce Springsteen (I’ve always known I was second). Deena grew up in Philadelphia and has been a die-hard Bruce fan her whole life. She starts screaming in the restaurant like a 13 year old uh . . . just being told she’s going to the concert of her favorite band.

An hour later, we were downtown when Bruce and the E-street band took the stage. They played non-stop for 3 hours. It was an amazing show. The guy is almost 60 and pours out passion, energy, and power that kept a packed arena on their feet singing along with every song. And while I didn’t grow up a fan, after 13 year of marriage to someone who did – I can say that this time – it was our third Bruce concert – I knew the words to most of the songs and rocked along with the rest of the crowd who all seemed to be from Freehold, NJ.

Perhaps more than ever before, Bruce’s music is relevant to the times we live in. He sings about and for the heart and soul of this country – about real people and real lives and real struggles. The entire E-Street Band came to the front of the stage for the soulful “Hard Times Come Again No More”, their rock/gospel interpretation of Stephen C. Foster's 1854 work. The room was totally dark except the drum kit under lit in red for “The Rising” – Bruce’s invitation to recover and rebuild after 9/11. In response to a fan’s sign that he pulled up on stage, he dedicated “Jungleland” to Atlanta teens.

They played some new tunes from the new Working on a Dream album – we listened mesmerized to “Outlaw Pete” – a dark story in a minor key of a kid who struggled to overcome the rough lot he was born into. The title track “Working on a Dream” speaks to anyone still in progress, who sees can see hope, and is willing to see a brighter day before us. Bruce’s mid song narrative challenged us to “build a house here tonight . . . a house built on hope, on love, on dreams, and noise!”

And that’s where his music hit me the way I imagine it has affected my wife and millions of other life long fans. Whether it’s Lou Brown’s Millionaire Maker event or my own seminars, or any other room I am honored to teach – nobody enters an investment real estate training venue unless they too are working on a dream. You are not likely to be reading a blog about Short Sales unless you too are a work in progress. We don’t buy that first book, say ‘yes’ to an infomercial, or walk into a training seminar unless we too see Hope for something better, unless we are willing to pursue a brighter day, and unless we are have a dream of building a house built on hope, love a little noise.

Sure, when I teach the focus is largely on the mechanics and techniques of real estate investment strategies, but nobody comes to see me because they have a deep burning fascination with the nuanced distinctions between lien releases versus satisfactions. That may be the practical question they need answered, but behind every questioning mind of a real estate investor is a work in progress, the hope for a better life, and the willingness for something for the better.

The same is true of homeowners and sellers on the other side of Short Sale transactions. Look, facing foreclosure is not a good thing, but given that owners finds themselves in this situation because of past decisions, market conditions and/or hardship events that just happened to fall on them, pursuing a Short Sale requires a homeowner who also hopes for something better. A Short Sale is not an easy thing to pull off – it is a long hard journey to successfully find a negotiated settlement with a lender to avoid foreclosure.

Many sellers just give up – why bother, just let the house go to foreclosure – they reason. But some sellers are willing to fight for a better day, that day when they can say they sold their house as a regular seller at a settlement agent’s office like anyone else, that they do not have a foreclosure or bankruptcy stamped on their credit to haunt them for 7 or 10 years, that they moved on their terms and did not face an eviction. Without a foreclosure, and without a Bankruptcy, the Short Sale affords a seller an opportunity for a new day, a fresh start and their own Rising.

Short Sales are the transaction for those Working on a Dream – for a homeowner down on their luck, facing a rough spot in life but who is willing to build a house of Hope for a better day, and for an investor who is willing to work hard, add value, and be part of the healing of this nation’s economic mess one house, one family, one mortgage at a time.

Many artists believe that their role is to elevate the audience away from the drudgery of their lives for the time they are on stage. To the contrary, Bruce shines the spotlight right into the heart and soul of life’s struggles to sing for a brighter day. And in that music there is the inspiration to keep Working on a Dream.

If you were Born to Run and think Short Sale investing may be your ticket the Glory Days yet to come, just click here and ask for my FREE Short Sale mini-course.

He just wants to be told what to do, Step-By-Step

2009-04-05T13:30:00.001-04:00

The Short Sale world has gone absolutely bonkers in the last 6 months! There are more deals out there than anyone can handle. There are also more home-study courses, product launches, and self-appointed “gurus” than ever before. So much so that last week after speaking as a guest teacher at a Jeff Adams seminar, a Key Holder actually came up to me and was upset that I had not held a live training event in 6 months!

I started out the year thinking that now was not the time for more live seminars. This was the year to just put your head down and do deals! And while it certainly is the time to do deals, Perry made an important point:

He’s been inundated with products, launches, emails, and videos from all directions and he’s overwhelmed with information. He’s got stacks of “Free Reports”, “Home Study Courses” and “Information Products” but, like me, learns the most when in a live classroom environment. He likes to be able to see real deals in real time, ask the people doing them questions, touch and feel the paperwork in the presence of people who know how to use it and surround himself with like minded people on the same journey he is on.

Bottom line – he just wants to sit down and have someone show him step by step exactly what to do and have the opportunity to ask questions and fill in the blank spots when something does not make sense.

Okay, Perry – let me think about it - >>>>VIDEO HERE<<<<

Student Yells at Ben In Front of Jeff Adams’ Entire Seminar!

2009-04-03T10:30:00.001-04:00

I taught last week at Jeff Adams Seminar in LA and a Key Holder comes up to me and heckles me in front of the entire room. He says:

“I’m so sick of seeing all these “Home Study Courses” “Video Trainings” and “Coaching” programs from other supposed Short Sale experts where you cannot get to talk to a human!

Ben, I signed up with you because I heard from a number of people that you are the best teacher and that your live training would put all the noise in perspective, but it’s already April and you have not had an event in almost 6 months and I’m pretty upset about that!”

Well Perry, I apologize. I’m in the Short Sale business and not the event business and my plan for 2009 was to focus on taking advantage of this historic moment in time for me, my family and my Key Holders . . . and that is exactly what I’ve been doing this year with record results!

So he says "well that's fine for you - but what about us?!"

Oooo . . . that hurt.

>>>>>Okay - we'll think about doing an event sometime soon Perry - just for you! Here's the video<<<<

Pirates Attack

2009-03-10T14:51:00.004-04:00

This weekend was the "yes we had a blizzard last weekend, but this weekend it's a beautiful spring day". So Deena and I met friends at Mexican restaurant where we sat outside to enjoy the weather. It's our three boys and their buddies - another two boys for a total of 5 boys between the ages of 2 and 8. We sit down off to the side away from everyone where we won't disturb anyone. This of course worked until all the tables fill up around us.

Then a clown comes over and gives out balloon swords - great idea clown, thanks. What does this band of brothers do with their swords? They attack the next table - balloons and nachos are flying everywhere. Other than a few balloon swords lost over the wall, the table of twenty-somethings are crushed to defeat in a blazing salsa battle. They had good spirits about the whole thing, but they were caught totally off guard, without the proper defenses and without proper preparation - which made me think . . . It's not like people prepare to be in a situation where they need a Short Sale.

A foreclosure can crop up fairly quickly on almost anyone. Even without some aggressive creative mortgage - if laid off or faced with a personal set back, how long could the average person survive before they would be in a situation where a Short Sale becomes relevant in this market?Do you or someone you know find yourself owing more on a property than what it is worth with no ability to make the payment moving forward? You're not alone . . . but it is very important that you do not bury your head in the sand and ignore the situation. While most of my writing is directed at investors and real estate agents, here are a few thoughts offered directly for homeowners:

1. Be Honest with Yourself and any professional you talk with. Look, even though there a several million people facing foreclosure right now - it's still not something most people are proud of, just don't lie or misrepresent reality to yourself or others.

2. Call your lender. Your lender is NOT your friend and they may or may not give you advice that is in your best interest, BUT they cannot help you if you do not return their phone calls or reach out to them. Lenders are aggressively pursuing loan modifications now that may enable you to stay in your house, but you've got to talk with them. (Just take everything they tell you with a healthy does of skepticism and remember, they are not your friend.)

3. Make up your mind and decide. Can you stay in the house or is it time to leave? If you have some income (maybe less than before) and can afford some payments, then a modification may enable you to stay in the house. However, if you have no income or drastically reduced income then it may be time to come to grips with moving. (Note - there may be plenty of time before you actually have to move, but you must make up your mind one way or the other because that will determine what direction you take in terms of strategies.)

4. If you cannot work a modification that enables you to stay in the house, then go for the short sale before giving up, accepting foreclosure or doing a deed in lieu of foreclosure. The successful short sale can result in your lender agreeing to accept as full satisfaction of your debt whatever proceeds come out of the approved sale. It is a true win-win where you get to sell your house through a regular transaction at a closing table, the bank accepts whatever money comes out of that transaction and you do not go through foreclosure.

5. Once you have determined that it is time to sell your house and go, then find a team that can make the Short Sale happen successfully for you. Don’t try to do the Short Sale yourself or with an agent that is nice but does not know the ins-and-outs of Short Sales. Just because “your agent” did a great job a few years ago for you and you like them, does not mean they understand short sales and are the right person to help you with this situation. Short Sales are long frustrating and painful negotiations with lenders. The process will take a long time and be extremely frustrating – don’t go it alone or with someone who doesn’t know what they are doing.

6. The most successful team is one made up of a well funded real estate investor and an experienced real estate agent. One without the other may leave you short on your short sale. There are many well intentioned real estate agents out there who certainly will list your property, but do they have intimate understanding of the short sale process? Similarly, there are many real estate investors out there but if they are not tapped into the retail market, they may successfully obtain a Short Sale and yet not be in a position to close the transaction. Ask any agent or investor you meet with to see a list of successful transactions that they have recently completed in your area. They should be able to show you some that have closed successfully - remember, the key is "house sold successfully with a Short Sale" not just a obtained a Short Sale approval letter.

If you do not know where to start, visit http://www.shortsaleluxuryhome.com/ and there is further discussion and a list of frequently asked questions. They've got a long list of agents and investor teams across the country that they can put you in touch with (at not cost to you).

Next post - I’ll go into a little more detail why the investor/real estate agent team is so important to your success if you have recently been attacked by the potential of a Short Sale or foreclosure.

And if you were sitting next to my crazy band of pirates on Sunday, please accept my apologies - sometimes attacks come without warning even if we try to prevent them.

Zombies Attack

2009-03-04T14:17:00.002-05:00

My office was attacked by zombies yesterday. Some of my staff couldn’t get into our parking lot, my windows were blocked over, police surrounded both entrances to the building, and about a hundred zombies staggered around outside on a very cold day.

Apparently the downtown block where my office building sits was the perfect location for filming a new Woody Harrelson horror/comedy film (not sure exactly what genre that is) called Zombieland . . . and the Zombies attacked our office building. Production trucks took up our parking lot, white tents covered my office window, and cables, trucks, crates, people, and even a stunt dog camped out for the day.

It was fun to spend a few minutes over lunch watching what goes into filming a major motion picture. There were cranes and booms and dozens of people standing around crates and boxes full of equipment. Lots of white tents, white trucks, a huge porta-poty and yes, even those “director chairs” with the names of key people stitched into the backs.

What impressed me the most was how much time, energy, and talent went into every moment of “filming”. The scene I watched involved an actress getting out of her car at a gas station, looking fearfully under her car and then greeting a gas station attendant as he walked out of the garage – maybe the entire thing would end up being 10 seconds in the theatre, but it took about 45 minutes to film.

The actor was on all fours looking under the car – then someone yelled “rolling”, the actor looked around and then someone yelled “take” and then an attendant would run over and give the actress a coat while cameras were moved, lights adjusted, and who knows what else. At least 50 people each ran around doing a particular task. I’m not sure what they were doing – but it was clear that each little element came with its own expert – someone who clearly was “the crane guy”, the lady in charge of audio, the guy in charge of lights – all experts running their individual area of expertise.

Then 10 minutes later …. “rolling” and 10 seconds of filming and then repeat over and over again. After a couple of minutes, it was actually boring to watch and after I finished my sandwich, I returned to my office to the work of Short Sales – which I realized is much like making movies.

What you see on the internet about short sales - what makes a good YouTube video about Short Sales – is the finished, edited product: the bank has approved the short sale, the seller is happy, the buyer is ecstatic, the house is in great shape . . . now fade to the picture of the profit check – pan to tears of joy . . . and roll credits – the win-win-win deal that everyone can feel good about. Yes, the finished Short Sale movie is a compelling, exciting, and moving story.

However, the day-to-day work of actually getting that finished product is often tedious, frustrating, and yes, boring. Weeks and often months can go by waiting for a bank to respond, and there is a lot of work in moving offers, making adjustments and “re-shooting”. Many times the light is not where you want it to be and things can go wrong on the set. Many real estate agents and real estate investors come to my company after buying someone else’s hyped film. Sure it’s easy to get excited about short sales, but actually getting to that finished product (and check) can be somewhat daunting sometimes.

Back at my desk, I reviewed customer feedback sheets – several glowing “thank you’s” from four customers who each closed deals successfully last week and one phone call thank you from a student who was just leaving the bank after depositing a check for over $8,000 from a closing that happened earlier in the day. His “movie was in the can” – the deal closed and done with the check in the bank.

However, also in the stack was a “complaint”. One of our customers was concerned that the Short Sale had taken too long – that months had gone by without any answers and she was getting frustrated. I’ll reach out to her today and explain that even though the finished product of a Short Sale when all done is an amazing and dramatic thing – the actual process is often long and frustrating. Making a good deal takes patience – especially when it comes to Short Sales. Depending on what bank you are dealing with, a short sale approval can easily take three months – sure, sometimes less, but honestly, sometimes more.

Despite the commotion outside, the actual work inside my office was not affected by zombies yesterday. Whether or not Zombieland turns out to be a great work of art or not (can’t say I’ve been to a good horror/comedy lately – or ever), watching the professionals at work provided a good lesson for all of us working to create something new, compelling, and exciting: very often great things come from an apparently slow, methodical, and often boring process which requires great skill and patience.

In movies and in Short Sales, often a good production just takes some time and patience.

For a great movie about Short Sales and a FREE audio course on how you too can get your first Short Sale check in the can – CLICK HERE to check out this zombie >>>

A Day for Habitat

2009-02-26T13:44:00.002-05:00

With all the focus on the housing crisis in the news media, a few of us from The Short Sale Service took some time from our personal schedule to give back a little to the housing community in a different way than what we do on a daily basis at work.

We volunteered a day on a Habitat for Humanity project. The day started with donuts and coffee on site. The house was pretty close to being finished and our team was to bring it across the home stretch. We were each assigned a job.

Somehow they put John up on the roof – that just didn’t look safe. Jennifer, Matt and Jeff were put on the paint crew, Terri worked inside on trim and somehow Corey and I ended up with carpentry. Corey and I fixed and trimmed out the attic door and then built a door to the crawlspace. (Nailing into cinder blocks isn’t easy, but I did enjoy the chop-saw.) By the end of the day, the house was ready for its final cleaning and dedication ceremony and nobody suffered any major injuries!)

Everyday my staff and I contribute to fixing the housing mess by doing Short Sales, but this time we were able to contribute a different way. It felt good to know that yet another family is enjoying their new home because of the work of my team – even if on this particular house, it had nothing to do with a Short Sale.

13 Million Short Sales - The Obama Plan

2009-02-19T09:05:00.003-05:00

Yesterday President Obama announced a plan to help stop the crush of foreclosures, restore housing prices and stop the downward spiral that was “unraveling home ownership, the middle class and the American Dream itself.”

The plan may cost you and me as much as $275 billion with $75 billion coming in the form of direct spending to keep people in their homes with the balance providing additional financial backing for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Here’s what the plan involves: First, homeowners who are still current on their payments, but who are paying high interest rates and cannot refinance because they do not have enough equity in their homes would be given more refinance options. Second, the government would provide direct subsidies to lenders to make loan modifications.

Third, the amount of credit available for mortgages in general would be increased by giving $200 billion to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Finally, these incentives appear to be presented to lenders in exchange for the bankruptcy cram-down provisions that would allow bankruptcy judges to modify term of mortgages in a bankruptcy. Other than the bankruptcy cram-down all three elements of the plan can be implemented without acts of Congress.

The President stated, “this plan will not save every home, but it will give millions of families resigned to financial ruin a chance to rebuild.” I agree. By giving direct subsidies to lenders to do loan modification, I would expect to see an increase in loans modified to keep homeowners in their homes. This would indeed be a good thing for the economy, the housing market, and therefore a good thing for real estate professionals – agents and investors.

However, the plan has significant limitations that will assure that real estate investors and agents who specialize in Short Sales will have an abundance of opportunity in the years to come.

The first limitation is that the plan only offers hope to those homeowners who do not have an income that can form the basis for a modification. If the homeowner has lost their income and cannot qualify for a new modified mortgage, then the plan (appropriately) offers no help.

Secondly, the plan offers no help to those homeowners who are significantly underwater or owe more on the house than what it is worth. The new refinance provisions would allow refinances where the old requirement of 20% equity has evaporated due to declining home values; however, if a homeowner owes more than what the property is worth, no relief (again appropriately) will be found under the plan. It is estimated that the plan would help less than 1 million of the 14 million homeowners who are under water. (That still leaves a stagger potential of 13 million Short Sales.)

The third limitation is that the Plan does not address second mortgages. The Administration said that second mortgages were often made by a different lender and that would greatly complicate negotiations over loan modifications. With the vast majority of loans made during the housing bubble involving piggy-backs, 80/20s and the like, it is unclear just how many households could even avail themselves of the President’s Plan if it does not address second mortgages.

Finally, outside of the bankruptcy cram-down, the entire Plan requires the lender’s voluntary participation. If the lender concludes that a foreclosure is a better alternative to the modification, even with the government’s subsidy, then there is nothing requiring (appropriately) the lender to modify the loan.

In conclusion, other than the bankruptcy cram-down proposal that I find frightening, there is nothing in the President’s plan that I find objectionable. In fact, I think the proposals make a lot of sense and may actually help a few people stay in their homes. To the extent that the Plan actually reduces some foreclosures – that will only be a good thing for the housing markets and the economy and that in turn will be good for real estate investors, agents, and other professionals.

Those who have studied Short Sales with me know that as a threshold prerequisite, a Short Sale is appropriate only when a seller has explored and exhausted all other options and the seller has decided it is time to leave the house. The President himself recognized the Plan has limitations and will not stop all foreclosures and fore those that the Plan does not help, Short Sales will remain the final and very important last chance to avoid foreclosure. With approximately 1 in 10 home mortgages currently in some stage of default or foreclosure, there will be no shortage of opportunity for real estate professionals who understand the role of Short Sales to continue to add value and construct transactions where modification programs are ineffective or not appropriate. That still leaves about 13 million potential Short Sales out there in need of our participation.

If you would like to know how you can add value, make money, and help fix this housing mess for the 13 million household that the government’s Plan won’t help - just ask for my FREE downloadable mini-course on Short Sale Basics – it’s your just for the asking.

Scratch Scratch

2009-02-05T07:48:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I wrote about the government’s report of the dismal results of the “Hope for Homeowners” – all of 25 homes have been “saved” under the program since its inception.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m in favor of anything that keeps people in their homes, reduces foreclosures and helps fix the country’s economic mess. However, when someone owes a debt on a house for more than what it is worth and the homeowner/borrower cannot afford to make payments to their lender, then the lender has only two choices – take a haircut now or later.

A lender holding an interest in property that is not worth more than the mortgage they hold can take a haircut before foreclosure or after a foreclosure. If they take the haircut before foreclosure, then it has two options – take a haircut and then keep the original homeowner in the house or take the haircut and let them sell it to someone else.

If the homeowner has an income that allows them to “afford the house” by making the monthly payments, then banks should work with borrowers to modify loans so the borrower can stay. However, when a borrower just cannot afford the house – regardless of whatever new terms a bank might allow, then it’s a Short Sale that allows both lender and seller to avoid foreclosure.
As congress assesses the limitations of its “actions” from the summer it would be wise to acknowledge that foreclosure is a symptom of an underlying problem – both for the individual homeowner and the economy as a whole. Just like putting cream on a rash – you might stop the itch temporarily, but unless we get at what’s going on inside and underneath, then the rash comes back.

Short Sales are an essential, important, and appropriate part of the correction of the housing market. Go ahead and put as much topical cream on your itch as you want . . . but when you are ready to get to the root of what irritating you . . . I’ll send you my Top 10 Short Sale Solution Secrets – just ask for it, that is if you have the itch.

I Told You So

2009-02-04T17:04:00.003-05:00

Last summer Congress passed a housing bill aimed at easing the mortgage foreclosure crisis. One part of the bill was designed to help homeowners who were having trouble with their high-rate mortgages to stay in their homes by offering refinancing into lower-cost, government-backed loans.

At the time, many real estate investors and bloggers cried “but this will take away short sales!” I encouraged everyone to relax and stay focused on fundamentals. I suggested that, while I sure hoped the government could fix the problem and that we would all be better off if it does, don’t place too much hope for the government’s “Hope for Homeowners” program.

Besides, I argued, even if the government does help the estimated 300,000 to 400,000 homeowners stay in their houses there would still be a few million short sales out there to keep you busy. Check out this series of posts from the summer.

Well . . . yesterday, The Federal Housing Administration reported on the results of the program and . . . are you ready . . . get this . . . 25 loans have closed under the program since it started in October! That's 25 period. Not 25,000 - just twenty five. Are you kidding me! That’s what we do at The Short Sale Service in one sorta-average month and we're not the federal government!

So, do I get an “I told you”?

Several reasons are suggested for the programs limited success: . . . it's not a great deal for homeowners . . . loan fees and interest rates are high . . . borrowers have to certify they did not provide misleading information to bankers . . . and if the value of a house increases, homeowners have to share that equity with the government.

These “excuses” miss the main point – that we are in the middle (hopefully the towards the end of the middle) of a market correction – prices must adjust from the inflated values of the past years and the market will adjust no matter what “programs” are put in place to slow foreclosures.

Everything else is commentary or political theater. But since I enjoy good theater, we’ll continue this discussion in the next post.

Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T22:55:00.002-05:00

Like many Americans, today I watched as President Obama took the oath of office and I listened carefully to the words he chose to mark the occasion. I spent the inauguration hour at my kid’s school and watched the ceremonies with my wife in our eldest’s second grade classroom. It just seemed the right setting to witness this bit of history.

President Obama’s speech took me overseas and back through time 60 years through issues that go far beyond my daily focus of Short Sales. However, at moments I thought he was speaking directly to us . . . those real estate professionals at the frontline of the mortgage crisis.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood . . . . Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered.

Yes, he seemed to be speaking directly to those of us in real estate – those who enjoyed the roaring bubble of just a few years ago, and others who are suffering now because of poor decisions then. He seemed to speak to the individuals who exploited and the masses that were along for the ride and the innocent who did not know any better, and the ignorant who didn’t know to look closer.

And then he hit on what is perhaps the most dangerous result of the crisis:

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land -- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Here Mr. Obama challenged each of us to not fall victim to such negative thinking. No, I don’t think the President has been reading my blog, but he might as well have been for this is the message I have been writing about for over a year now (just flip through the old entries). Your greatest enemy is your own fears and your own loss of confidence.

On Thursday I spoke to a group in Orlando. Normally I give my presentation, stick around to answer a few questions, and then get on the first available flight back to my kids. This time, however, I wanted to prove to the audience that the depression on the news and in their heads did not have to govern their future. I gave the audience a “One Hour Challenge”, a script and specific instructions on how to spend one hour that would jump-start their journey.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the fainthearted -- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward prosperity and freedom.

No, in one hour my new students did not immediately create checks out of the thin air. I always teach, “this is not a get rich quick scheme - it is however get rich much faster than the rest of the world but you have to be willing to work a little bit for it”. Yes, greatness must be earned and it goes to the risk-takes, the doers and the makers of things. Greatness goes to those who are willing to step up, try something new, even fail at first but keep going. Greatness goes to those who see opportunity and take action – not just sit there and critique why it can’t work.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act -- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth.

Alex took my “One Hour Challenge” three days ago. Today I was on the phone with him reviewing five deals that came out of the One Hour Challenge. The truth is three probably won’t get too far and out of the two that remain maybe only one will work out. However, that one little Short Sale has the potential to help a Seller avoid a foreclosure, move on with her life without a bankruptcy or lingering debt, meet her obligations to her lender and sell her house with the dignity of any normal home seller. And for Alex – it could easily bring to his home $50,000 or more for the work, effort, and value he will bring to the transaction.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

While Alex is well on his way, among his classmates there were those whose short memories prevented them from being a doer. Either they don’t believe it can happen despite the dozen real life examples that I showed them, or they don’t believe they can rise to the occasion, or they are too afraid of the own success? I don’t know why good people with overwhelming evidence before them will get excited but then not take the first step towards their own big plans?

For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

Yes, our world has changed. The tools and strategies that worked for you just a couple of years ago do not work today. Those who “tried it” last year will find things very different today whether they tried it and were successful or not. The world has changed and if you do not have current information then you are trying to play a new game with old rules.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.

If you look back over many earlier blog posts you will see a consistent theme on these pages with respect to the mortgage crisis - government may play an important role, but government can not fix this. The housing crisis is the correction of a market – that must correct itself one house, one mortgage, and one family at a time. When it comes down to it, the housing market corrects through the actions of individuals – you and me and our faith and determination.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true.

There are two ways to engage in real estate Some practice a slash and burn bottom line driven get the money however you can doing whatever it takes perspective. To those who mistakenly follow this path – your success will be brief and will quickly be undone. Others of us realize that with each real estate transaction there is the opportunity to help someone, to add value, and create something new, better, and bigger than could have been without us. Real estate transactions require people to see the opportunity, construct a deal, pull it together, and make it happen. These deals concern not just property and paper, but people and a good transaction is “win-win or no-deal”.

At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people: "Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

You may very well be in your own financial ‘winter’. You may have recently lost a job or otherwise fallen on hard times; however, spring always follows winter and we have a long history of rising to the occasions. There is nothing that is more professionally satisfying to me than to know I was an integral part of someone turning their winter into spring, that because of what I was able to show someone – they went out and did good work, helped someone, and on one deal made more money than they did the entire previous year from that old job. It absolutely can happen for you.

With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Exciting days are ahead for you and I look forward to being part of what you do this year for your future generations.

Want "The One Hour Challenge"?, CLICK HERE.

Max The Rock Star!

2009-01-14T07:48:00.003-05:00

The other day my kids and I went downstairs to play a little Rock Band after dinner and before bedtime. (It’s a great way to get a 2, 5, and 8 year old to wind down and get ready for bed – okay, not really.)

Apparently, my future Jonas Brothers have been practicing without me. While I was flailing around on the drums (and got kicked off - Syd had to take over), all of a sudden I realize that my 5 year old Max is singing “The Eye of the Tiger” and he actually knows all the words! How and when did that happen?

Completely losing track of where I was, I got kicked off as the drummer when my attention shifted to how surreal it was listening to a 5 year old sing

So many times, it happens too fast  You change your passion for glory

Max – just what passions have you changed for glory in your 5 years? You know, Max, it’s not too late to pursue your dreams, son. Don’t give up!

Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past  

Yes, for a lot of people, sometimes life just carries you away and you turn around wondering what happened to your dreams.

How ridiculous this sounds coming from a 5 year old! However, why is it perfectly acceptable for adults to talk this way! I cannot stand listening or watching the news right now. It’s also hard to talk to many people out there who are just overrun with negativity and bad news. It’s like the news of an economic depression gives you permission to be personally emotionally depressed as well – like it is now okay to give up on your dreams and trade in your passions.

It is funny when it comes out of a 5 year old singing words that he has no idea what he is saying and, of course such statements are ridiculous for someone with only half a decade of life experience. But those of us who are a little older must make such songs equally ridiculous.

Success requires that you do not take solace or comfort in others or your own misfortune.
Economic upheavals can be amazing opportunities. They shake things up, force things out, and turn things upside down – and all of this can be wonderfully positive, even if a little dizzying in the moment.

Challenges that may appear on their face to be painful or extremely difficult may have been placed before us for a reason - perhaps to force a change for the good or be the motivation for something new and different.

So what is 2009 going to be for you? Are you going to join the chorus of bad news whiners? You going to sing the economic meltdown blues?

Or, are you going to rock like my 5 year old?

Risin' up, straight to the top
Have the guts, got the glory

Sing it Maxie!

Get Ready for an Avalanche of Short Sale Approvals!

2009-01-12T07:37:00.002-05:00

I wrote last week that 2009 is likely to be the biggest year yet for Short Sales and that if you
thought 2008 was big – ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet!’

There has been a slight dip in the overall number of Short Sales approved in the last couple of months due to the moratorium on foreclosure by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which began on November 26 and was set to expire on January 9, 2009. When announced, the program was estimated to assist 6,000 homeowners avoid foreclosure by directing the mortgage servicers to postpone foreclosure proceedings. The relief would allow time to participate in the Streamlined Modification Program and enable borrowers to stay in their homes under modified mortgage terms.

Personally, I think the temporary moratorium and delay on foreclosures is great public policy. Foreclosures are not good for most of the economy – banks, homeowners, the economy - and if Fannie and Freddie can give their servicers some extra time to work out deals to keep borrowers in their home – this is a good thing, even for real estate investors. (We will all be better off when the housing market returns to some degree of health.)

On Friday, Fannie and Freddie announced that they would extend the moratorium until January 30, 2009. So for at least another couple of weeks foreclosure will continue to be on hold for many borrowers.

Most Short Sales are approved when a foreclosure is imminent. Lenders generally delay a decision on a Short Sale approval until they can weigh all their options and make a decision as to which is in their best interest. Or more practically speaking, a Short Sale just often does not get the attention of a decision maker at the lender until the last minute before foreclosure. Given the staggering volume of defaults servicers have to process, Short Sale approvals tend to come when a foreclosure is right around the corner. It therefore makes sense that with a foreclosure moratorium in place, you may have seen a dip in your Short Sale approvals in the last two months.

However, no matter how many modifications are worked out between borrowers and lenders, the majority of them fail in a short period of time and the borrower and lender find themselves facing a new foreclosure a few months down the road. If a borrower cannot afford to make payments and the debt on the property exceeds the value then a foreclosure is inevitable and the lender will either accept a Short Sale or take the house back REO – it is inevitable.

That inevitable day of reckoning appears to be coming in February as the moratorium is now set to be lifted at the end of January. Mortgage defaults are not good things, but given that they are the result of a market correction, they are upon us. Lenders and borrowers can delay the inevitable, but if a borrower can not make payments, at some point the power of the market correction will force a lender to accept a REO property or a Short Sale.

Get ready, with the moratorium scheduled to end at the end of the month, that decision day is coming in February.

To prepare yourself now on how to structure win-win-win transactions to make a lot of money while helping ease the pain of the housing correction one loan, one house, and one family at a time, just ask for my FREE CD on Short Sale Basics and we’ll send right out to you – without delay.

2009 Will Be the Biggest Year Yet for Short Sales!

2009-01-09T17:18:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year! If you thought 2008 was big for Short Sales, you haven’t seen anything yet! In fact, there were several forces at play in 2008 that actually slowed Short Sales down a bit.

Yesterday, Citigroup came forward in a deal with Senate leaders to support legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges to alter home loans in an effort to prevent foreclosures. Other lenders are expected to follow. The so-called "cramdown" proposal has been kicked around for a while now but has not yet made its way into law. It appears as if the legislation to make this change will find its way into President Elect Obama’s stimulus package and may become law soon.

Personally, I think this is bad public policy – if a borrower and a lender enter into a loan, and the borrower defaults, the lender should have a choice to work out a deal with that borrower or avail itself of the remedies available to it – which include foreclosure.

However, my personal public policy opinions aside – should the “cramdown” provisions make their way into bankruptcy law, this will result in a greater volume of Short Sales approved by lenders. When a borrower reaches the Short-Sale-Stop-of-Last-Resort (I always assume a borrower has pursued every other available option in an effort to stay in their house before considering a Short Sale) the only options left are Short Sale or Bankruptcy.

In evaluating whether or not to accept a Short Sale offer, Lenders are not motivated by the threat of bankruptcy as they can easily obtain a Motion for Relief of Stay and then proceed with the foreclosure action. Currently, a Bankruptcy serves to delay a foreclosure, but other than the delay, a bankruptcy has very little impact on a lender’s decision to accept or deny a Short Sale offer.

However, if the Bankruptcy court has the ability to force modified terms on a Lender, it seem that Lenders would place more value on the short offer in hand rather than risking what possible draconian terms may be crammed down their throats by judge’s order. As the majority of creditors fail out of their bankruptcy plans to begin with, forced modifications through the courts will not solve the housing crisis for borrowers, lenders, or the economy.

However, for those of us with an interest in Short Sales, the threat of bankruptcy cramdowns is likely to make 2009 “your best year ever!”

For more information on how Short Sales can be utilized effectively to create win-win-win transactions that help heal the economic crisis one mortgage, one house, and one family at a time without a burden on the bankruptcy courts, simply ask for my FREE CD on Short Sale Basics, and we’ll cram one out your way.

Word From the Negotiators

2008-11-12T10:00:00.001-05:00

Stephen Covey says "seek first to understand, then to be understood." This principle governs my team meetings with my staff where we always open with a sharing of: What are the Banks Saying Right Now?

Here is a brief outline of what my negotiators are saying is going on right now on the cutting edge front line of the Short Sale world:

Banks seem to be changing their attitude for the better. They recognize that Short Sales are an important part of the solution and seem to be taking Short Sales more seriously than in months past.
Banks are postponing more foreclosure sales to consider Short Sales. There is an appreciation that running fast to foreclosure does not serve anyone's interest and they are giving more time to consider deals.
In general banks appear to be more cooperative, and better staffed than a few months ago.
However, banks are placing more scrutiny on their own BPOs. They do not seem to trust their own values and are second guessing their own numbers.
Bank representatives are more overwhelmed and overworked than ever.

Of course these are general observations that may or may not directly translate to your individual deal - but it is the latest direct from the front lines.

For more my FREE CD on Short Sale Basics, just ask.

New Breakthroughs

2008-11-10T09:35:00.000-05:00

New Breakthroughs!

Watch out you Short Sale Hot Shots, there is a new crop of highly trained and very enthusiastic Key Holders on the loose. We just completed our Beginner's Short Sale Breakthrough Training last week and there were some amazing Breakthroughs!

You have exceeded my expectations! Job well done. Thank you so much. This is the best real estate training I have ever attended. I really appreciated y our people, your tricks, strategies, techniques and sense of humor.

- Carolita Powell

Ben really helped pull everything together following the Ron LeGrand QTRE boot camp.

- Nick Freestone

Excellent program! I like all the deal analysis and the time with the actual negotiators.

- Gary Huffman

Before your Short Sale Breakthrough Event I just didn't get how I could actually do one of these deals, but now I do. I know exactly what I need to do to make it happen. This is by far the best event in real estate I have attended! The training was excellent, fun, and a great quality use of my time. Great support staff. Very smoothly run. Thank you.

- Barbara Riley

Before studying with you Ben, I did not fully understand how Short Sales worked, but now I get it. Thank you. I have attended many other seminars and I liked yours the best! You presented the information better.

- Linda Montana

I wish I had come here before attending so many of the other seminars I have gone to. Ben is an excellent and gifted teacher who is able to explain complicated things and make them clear. Now I have the tools!

- Becky McIntyre

All of the pieces of a complicated puzzle of Short Sales were very well explained. I was more than impressed with the quality and entertaining Ben Pargman. You could not have done better. A 10!

- Roger Poe

The Short Sale Breakthrough Event is rich in content. Ben was generous in sharing knowledge with a great patience as teachers and a willingness to take us through the process step by step.

- Lee Davis!

The Short Sale Breakthrough Event will help me be more successful with Short Sales because it pulled all the pieces together to give me more confidence in knowing what a good deal looks like, how to analyze it and plan my exit strategy. I now have a success plan. The event was one of the most comprehensive and in-depth I have attended. Ben went through everything step by step, page by page. Ben's enthusiasm together with all the real-life situations. Thank you! Thank you!

- Saundra Davis

This event gave me the tools I need to do it! It is one of the best if not THE BEST trainings I have every attended! Ben's honesty and integrity really shows when he teaches. Thank you Ben.

- Jim Cather

Ben, The Short Sale Breakthrough Event connected all the dots for me.

- Jodi Kruse

Watch out! There is a highly trained crop of new kids on the block. Keep an eye out for these names on future Success Teleconferences when they share the success stories that they will trace back to their Breakthrough training.

Check out www.theshortsaleservice.com for 2009 dates for this amazing training or in the meanwhile, just ask for our FREE CD on Short Sale Basics.

A Call I Didn't Plan to Make

2008-11-06T10:11:00.001-05:00

You know when you accidently hit a key on your cell phone and it dials a random number? So I’m walking into the Red Cross on Monday to give blood when I look down at the phone and realize I’m connected to someone I hadn’t intended on dialing. The ear buds are in my ears already so it’s hard to not say “hello?”

I accidently dialed a Seller of a house I purchased after doing a Short Sales some 5 or 6 years ago. It was a good deal. I felt good about helping this Seller and I sold the house quickly and made over $50,000 on the one deal.

Here’s what I hear:

M: Hello Ben? Hi it’s Michelle – I saw you called and I was so glad to see your name pop up on my phone. How are you? What can I do for you – so happy to hear from you?

B: I’m fine Michelle, actually, it was one of those phone auto-dial mistake moments, but I’m glad I accidently called – how are you doing?

M: Oh, I’m doing fantastic – things are really going well for me. After you helped out with that house, I was able to get my feet back under me and start a new chapter of my life. My business is doing really well, I’m doing great, and I’m just so glad to be able to tell you, and say thank you –again.

B: Wow, Michelle, that sure is great – it’s so nice to hear that things are going well.

M: Ben, you saw me at a difficult time, but I just want you to know that you were a huge part of why I was able to turn things around and be here today to say that I’m doing really well. Thanks for everything you did for me and if there is anything I can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask. Thank you.

Wow! How about that for an epilogue? I made a lot of money on that deal, but perhaps more importantly, I made a friend and truly helped someone at a crucial point in their life. Because of what I know and know how to do, there is a person out there that emerged from their financial crisis healthier, happier, and ultimately better off.

Short Sales are powerful stuff – that is if you want to make a lot of money and feel good about the work you do. When done correctly, you can help a lot of people and do win-win-win deals. For more information on how to make a lot of money helping people with Short Sales, just ask for my FREE CD and we’ll get you started.

Yes We Can!

2008-11-05T13:38:00.008-05:00

Regardless of whether you voted Red or Blue yesterday, there is no doubt that today is a moment of great Change for our country. The American people spoke loudly and clearly that a new direction is needed in Washington and throughout this great nation.

In his acceptance speech last night, Present-elect Obama challenged all of us to work together towards this Change and reminded us that we each are part of the solution to the many challenges our country faces. With respect to the mortgage mess, Sen. Obama said

Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers. In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people.

His words call attention to our individual responsibility in our daily lives and in our professional work. He challenged us to be part of the fixing of problems, not only at a personal level, but at the national level as well.

Fixing the financial crisis will not be accomplished solely by the policies of a new administration or an act of Congress. Rather, the economic mess we face will be cleaned up in part by the actions, decision, and choices of those of us engaged and active in the individual transaction that make up the economy. Therefore, you and I in our daily work and pursuit of individual business and economic opportunity greatly affect the direction of the change, the fixing, and the healing.

Short Sales present a powerful example of the role that individual economic activity has as part of fixing the economic mess. Short Sales are the vehicle by which a house’s broken financial structure is corrected while allowing a homeowner to move on to the next chapter of their lives with dignity, while providing the best of all available alternatives for a lender, while at the same time rewarding a professional for the difficult work of solving one piece of the mortgage mess – one house at a time.

Short Sales are relevant at perhaps the worst moment of a homeowner’s life (at least financially). A transaction involving a Short Sale requires extensive interpersonal skills and sensitivity. And like any sharp power tool, they can be used in the right hands to accomplish great things and create beautiful works of art, or in the wrong hands to worsen an already difficult situation.

Let today be the beginning of a great new day for our country – regardless of how you voted yesterday. Join me in bringing lofty ideals to the day to day work that we do where the tire hits the road and our pen hits the paper. Short Sales when done correctly can be beautiful, powerful, rewarding, and abundantly profitable.

Let’s seek to be paid very well for adding value, helping people, being part of the solution, and facilitating the healing of broken systems. As our President-elect said last night,

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

Amen.

FREE CD on Short Sale Basics

The Agent Magnet

2008-10-23T17:54:00.004-04:00

Back in August I wrote a series of posts that discussed the importance of working with real estate agents.

With the global financial crisis worsening and the real estate markets in even more trouble now, real estate agents have become an even more essential piece of the equation.

Our Key Holder Bob Massey has taken this charge and developed an entire new system designed to assist real estate investors seak out and work with real estate agents.

The Agent Magnet gives you the tools you need to generate massive cash flow for your business, either full or part time! The Agent Magnet includes the scripts, letters, emails, flyers, postcards, web site, systems and knowledge you need to expand your marketing and structure deals! The Agent Magnet shows a Real Estate Investor how to:

Recruit an army of professional birddogs to bring Buyers and Sellers for FREE
Turn Real Estate Agents into best friends
Drastically reduce marketing costs
Use effective, one-time marketing methods that will keep bringing deals
Do multiple $25,000 – $100,000+ wholesale deals month after month
Create financial stability by filling pipeline with deals
Identify what is a good deal and what is not
Sell properties before buying them without ever putting up another sign
Buy and sell houses with no private money

The Agent Magnet includes a customized web site to attract Agents and bring deals 24/7.Plus, The Agent Magnet is packed full of proven templates, checklists, DVD and audio examples, and forms, including:

Letters, flyers, postcards and emails to bring in deals
Forms to guide Agents to prescreen your deals for you
Presentation to encourage Agents to bring you deals
Scripts and checklists to use when you talk to Agents and Brokers
Paperwork and checklist for meeting with a Seller
And a whole lot more…

Bob has been working with The Short Sale Service for a few years now to do a great number of successful transactions. He's put all that he has learned in working with Agents into a brand new System to share with you his proven techniques.

Be the first in your marget to be . . . The Agent Magnet

Respect for the Other Team

2008-10-10T09:00:00.001-04:00

In football, everyone on both sides, in the stands and watching on TV knows that the better the opponents, the better the outcome. As soon as a game looks like a blowout, we click over to a "good game" - one that's close with two good teams battling for the win.

The same can be said in sorting out the mortgages mess down at the field of play. As professional third party negotiators, The Short Sale Service brings better deals, better opportunity, and a better outcome to the banks’ servicers thrown onto the field of loss mitigation. We do the important work of filtering out underperforming players – deals too weak to merit the bank’s attention. We keep time wasters off the field so the heavily taxed defensive line can focus on deals that actually make plays. We do the important work of collecting, organizing, and assembling the significant amount of paperwork required by lenders to entertain a Short Sale offer.

And then there’s the work we do off the field that benefits the lenders and servicers. Top notch football programs may spend a total of 12 or so hours a year in regulation playtime, but hundreds of hours a year in practice and preparation. Similarly, the time we spend on the phone actively engaged in a negotiation with a lender is a fraction of the significant time spent on each deal managing expectations of buyers and sellers, educating real estate agents as to the intricacies of working with lenders, educating various parties as to the journey ahead, and keeping all parties level headed during the long and frustrating process engaged with a lender.

The vast majority of lenders recognize the contribution we make to the quality of play in their game and the value we bring to their stressful and demanding task of successfully doing their job. We are routinely told that “we make it easier” for the lender to wade through the avalanche of work on their desk, that “we make transactions move faster” through the process because of our professionalism, that we “lighten the burden” of individual loss mitigators at banks because we handle so much of the front line “questions, education, and handholding” that comes with Short Sales, and that we “speed up the process” because we assemble all the various bits and pieces so the servicer’s loss mitigation representatives receives everything in an complete and orderly manner.

The vast majority of sensible servicers recognize that we raise the quality of the game for them and therefore increase their overall success with their mission to mitigate losses to their investors. They may not like the touchdown at their expense on any one single game, but overall, the vast majority of servicers recognize that the better the opponent, the better the outcome for their overall mission.

The core of The Short Sale Service's work involves direct contact with lenders and their servicing arms. These are the people at the front lines of the mortgage meltdown crisis. These are real people, charged with doing an often overwhelming task of sorting through the mess that other divisions of their organizations made. While we meet head to head in often fierce scuffles over anyone particular deal, my respect and admiration goes out to them as individual professionals charged with cleaning up a mess they did not create.

They are “the other side”, but the better, smarter, and stronger they are professionally, the better the outcome for us, our customers, the banks, and the economy as a whole. Yes, the better the opponents, the better the outcome.

As far as this weekend’s college football, I’ll be watching the good games – you know, the ones were two more or less equally talented teams battle each other to the very end. Those are the games worth watching.

The Players on the Field

2008-10-08T14:38:00.002-04:00

The past couple of weeks have been an amazing and historic time. Bank collapses, mergers, buyouts and bailouts have been the top news story. As the mortgage meltdown crisis scrolls across the bottom of the TV, my thoughts this week have been with the individual players on the field of this mess.

The news media is obsessively focused on “the banks” as institutions – which ones are folding, being taken over or have a chance to succeed. TV clips show big buildings with the signs of the banks hanging over a New York street or a suburban parking lot. The bank’s vital signs are reduced to stock prices, shareholder value, and percentages of “toxic loans”. If there is any discussion of the individual people in these buildings, the media focuses on the kings and lords of the banking world, the CEO’s and executives as targets of blame.

Through The Short Sale Service, Inc., I have significant insight into the lives of the individuals down on the field in the conflict of the mortgage meltdown: the offensive and defensive lines on the gridiron of mortgage crisis working, fighting, thinking, and building towards a solution: one house, one mortgage, and one family at a time.

The players in this battle for a healthier real estate market are, on one side of the field, the loss mitigation representatives, negotiators, supervisors, and managers of the lender’s loss mitigation department. On the “other side” of the field are the real estate professionals – the real estate agents, brokers, and investors. Like apposing sides of a great college football rivalry, these sides beat heads on a daily basis trying to push the ball into (or keep it out of) the redzone and score touchdowns at the expense of the other team.

Real estate investors and agents have few kind works for the bank’s loss mitigation defensive linemen. Real Estate professionals are in the game to make big plays, score big touchdowns, and reap the rewards of winning the game. Real estate professionals, agents, investors, and the individual homebuyer eager to move her family into their next home, all want the same thing – to get a great deal on a house for the best price possible. Collectively, they are “the buying market”.

On the other side of the field, the bank’s loss mitigation department is charged with playing defense, protecting as much turf as possible, and not giving up touchdown victories to the other side. Their name says it all – they are there to “mitigate” the “loss”. Real estate investors and agents get little love around the water coolers inside the bank’s loss mitigation locker room. A bank’s loss mitigation supervisor’s blood boils with resentment when they learn that a purchaser played the game effectively, executed a good deal, and bragged about a profit from one deal that exceeds his annual salary. Understandable, the bank may feel that this win was at their expense.

However, as heated as any one contest in a great rivalry might get, as much as UF may “hate” FSU or Georgia Tech may “despise” Georgia, somewhere behind the hype and noise of Game Day is a silent respect of the opponent and an understanding that without “the other side” there would be nothing but a bunch of random, strangely dressed guys roaming around a grass lawn.

Yes, behind the base emotions of any one particular contest is a more sophisticated understanding that - the better the opponent, the better the outcome and the better the result. In football, when two good teams play each other, the contest reaches a higher level, there is more interest from the TV networks, more tickets are sold, more money comes into the schools, and more attention is given to the athletes – yes, everyone on both sides knows that the better the opponent, the better the outcome.

Next Post - "Respect for The Other Team"

This Week's News and Your Short Sales

2008-09-19T08:00:00.003-04:00

From this week’s economic catastrophe news headlines: Lehman Brothers files bankruptcy, the US taxpayers bailout AIG, and Bank of America buys Merrill Lynch. And of course that’s just on the heels of the government’s takeover of Fannie and Freddie. What does all the chaos mean for your Short Sales?

First, in the big picture - all the bad news is good news for the few people in this country who understand Short Sales and how they facilitate the market correction. The worse it is in the news, the better it is for those facilitating the market correction appropriately one mortgage, one house, and one family at a time.

As I have said many times before, when the stock market moves, numbers on a computer screen change in a day – as it did this week revealing the largest losses on the stock market since 9/11. However, when the housing market corrects, it does so slowly, one mortgage, one house, and one family at a time.

In addition, each data point (a house) does not change in the market without the skill and work of people – someone has to get the house ready to sell, clean it up, move people out, sell the house, buy it, and undertake the technical and legal requirements of transferring title. When the debt on a property exceeds its value, the Short Sale is the gate that is required to be opened in order to allow the market correcting transaction data-points to move.

So, with horrible economic news there is the opportunity for those professionals who understand the appropriate use of Short Sale to make a tremendous amount of money because there are a tremendous amount to “data-points” that require adjustment in this market. Quite simply, there is just an astounding amount of work that must be done to dig the country out of the this mess and those that do it will be paid.

However, with real estate, these “data-points” are people and their homes and therefore, movement of a correcting market is a delicate, time intensive and often emotionally intensive undertaking. This is why success with Short Sales eludes many. The successful short sale real estate professional must have not only the technical “how-to” knowledge of Short Sales, but also the sensitivity, tact, and finesse necessary to add value to the lives of real people who are anything but mere “data-points”.

If you are new to Short Sales, then get started the right way by listening to my FREE Short Sale Basics CD . It’s a free gift, just ask for and then maybe you see the news a little differently.

Troubled Waters - Why I don't like Swimming

2008-09-17T08:56:00.001-04:00

This morning, as I was trying to warm up in the pool at 6 o’clock, I decided that I really don’t like swimming. The water was cold and wet and the sky was dark as the dead of night.

For starters – the whole waking up at 5 am is just ridiculous. In order to do that, I have to get to bed at a reasonable time which means I have to get my work done during the day and not let it spill over into the “after dinner block”. Oh, and to get to bed on time, we have to get the kids to bed on time – which is no small victory. To get the kids to bed on time, we have to get showers and story time going on time and to do that we have to have dinner on time. To have dinner on time, I have to get home on time.

To get home on time, I have to get everything done in the work day which takes planning my day out in advance, staying focused on my plan and not being pulled off track by unimportant distractions. To have an efficient day like that, I have to plan out my week – usually Sunday nights – I sit down and study my annual plan, where I am in relationship to my quarterly goals, and what priorities need my attention in the week ahead.

Now, to have such a plan, clearly defined goals, and established priorities takes some work – an ongoing study of the skills and power of intellect and emotion. And that’s a lifetime of effort.

Yep, I just don’t like swimming – it’s wet, cold, and way too early in the morning. However, if I hit that water on any given morning it means that a lifetime of work, study, commitment, choices, and opportunities have come together in alignment to allow me the gift of an hour and half to move, breath, stretch, and challenge myself physically.

Hitting the water this morning means that yesterday I worked my plan and had a productive day. Hitting the water this morning means that yesterday I was a great father and husband. Hitting the water this morning means that yesterday I delivered outstanding value and service to my customers – it means I helped thousands of people on their own journey. It means that I helped my customers make money, help other people, and contribute to the growth and prosperity of their families and communities.

This work is more important than ever given a record 2 million households facing foreclosure. Yes, there is much critical work to be done. So while I did not necessarily enjoy waking up at 5 am this morning, the fact that I did means that yesterday I had a productive day, added value to my customers, and helped this country’s economy move a few lengths of the pool closer to warmer waters and a brighter day.

Fishing In Rich Waters

2008-09-15T08:45:00.001-04:00

We took the kids to a trout farm for their first fishing experience. It was my dad’s idea – a grandfather/grandson right of passage I guess. It was a hoot. My wife didn’t want anything to do with it and my mom took a hook in the finger (she’s okay).

The 2 year old was all excited about fishing – that is until he caught a fish – which freaked him out. As soon as he pulled it in he started crying and ran away.

The 5 year old and the 7 year old were too busy pulling fish out of the water and into the bucket – one after the other until our bucket was overflowing with fish. See that’s the thing about fishing in a trout farm stocked with fish – you know you are going to catch a lot.

People ask me all the time – what percentage of the Short Sales will be successful. My answer is not what they want to hear – “it depends on the waters you fish in” I say. If you are fishing in waters where there are no fish, well - you are not going to be too successful and your guide will have to say something like “it’s called fishing, not catching”.

If however, you go in search of deals in rich waters overflowing with fish, you will succeed. There is no way that the kids could have put a hook with bait in the water without pulling in fish at the trout farm.

So, if you go fishing – what is your fishing success rate? It depends on where you fish, what you are fishing for, what equipment you are using, and who your guide is doesn’t it?

So what is your Short Sale success rate? Well, it truly depends on where you are working, what type of deals you are working on, and what tools you are using.

I see real estate professionals who pull in deals like the big boys pulled in trout. I also see those that catch one and then get scarred and run away crying not know what to do with it, and of course, there are those who just don’t know what they are doing and spend all day wondering why they can’t catch a deal.

If you would like to know how we catch the big Short Sales and how we can point you towards the easier fishing – simply ask for my FREE Short Sale Basics CD and I’ll take you to the rich waters.

Do You Get It?

2008-09-12T08:45:00.002-04:00

Last weekend I took the 7 year old and the 5 year old to see the Braves play the Nationals at Turner Field. We enjoyed a beautiful late summer day at the ball park – I said yes to pretzels and snow cones, but held the line at the cotton candy.

The most fascinating thing was to see the difference between the 5 year old and the 7 year old in their focus on the game. The big guy was totally into the game and watched every play and could tell you the count, inning, score – everything at anytime. The 5 year old was more interested in the cartoon games played on the big TV screen and the accompanying ball park circus – which is just fine for a five year old.

The most obvious difference between the two is age of course, but the other difference is that the 7 year old just played baseball in the spring – he had studied the game – and wow did it make a difference.

In my work with real estate professionals trying to get their piece of this great buying opportunity, I see those who have studied the game and get it - and then there are those that are just missing a few things to understand what is going on.

If you see all that is going on around you, but are not really understanding the Short Sale game, I have a FREE CD just for you. It’s called Short Sale Basics and it is FREE for the asking. Just ask for it. The CD won’t turn you into a Professional Baseball player overnight, but it will give you everything you need to know to get started making major league money with Short Sales!

Back to School

2008-09-10T09:44:00.003-04:00

We took the 2 year old to his first day of school. Well, its not real school but don’t tell him that. It’s a half day program three days a week and he loves it! The little two and a half year old was ready for some “classroom stimulation.” We walked into the classroom on the first day, he runs right over to a purple elephant, picks it up and yells at me “Daddy, ‘phant!”

The big boys have been back to school for two weeks now. They are in the groove – they love going to school, and they love coming home from school. It is absolutely amazing to see their brains spark, ignite, and fire on new concepts, words, ideas, and skills. The 2nd grader is reading up a storm – sitting by himself and plowing through books – what a big guy!

Both of my parents are teachers and I guess it’s in the blood. One of the most rewarding experiences I get in my work is the opportunity to teach. A great way to get started with “Short Sales as Ben sees it” is to listen to my FREE CD that I recorded to help you get started with Short Sales.

When the little one came home from school that first day, he ran over to a deck of flashcards and holding up the animal with the long trunk and big ears, yelled “Daddy, El-e-phant!” Wow, look what one day of school can do for a two and a half year old. Can you imagine what a little education can do for you and your business?! Just ask for it and we’ll send you the Short Sale Basics CD right away.

Buying at Steps Not For Amateurs

2008-09-08T14:45:00.005-04:00

A recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle highlighted the dramatic discounts lenders are taking at foreclosure auction sales. Foreclosure auction discounts have gone from 3 percent in January 2007 to 38 percent on average in California in August, and one-third of the properties auctioned in August were discounted by 50 percent or more according to a source cited in the article.

This is just another indicator of the tremendous impact the mortgage crisis continues to have on lenders and their struggle to cope with an avalanche of foreclosures. When a lender has a mortgage on a property for more than what the property is currently worth and the borrower defaults, that lender is going to take a hit – one way or another:

The lender will take the hit before the foreclosure – that’s a Short Sale.

The lender will take the hit at the foreclosure – that’s the foreclosures Auction, or

The lender will take the hit after the foreclosure – that’s selling REO (real estate owned).

The only one of the three options that helps the Seller avoid a foreclosure, move out of their house with dignity, and move forward with the rest of their life not having a foreclosure on their credit – is the Short Sale.

It is the Short Sale that allows the Seller to avoid a foreclosure. Buying at the steps does not and buying REO does not.

The Short Sale also gives investors the best opportunity to arrange financing and undertake due diligence. The Short Sale will take some time to negotiate and during that time you can arrange your financing and inspect the property, run title, and make yourself comfortable with the investment.

The San Francisco Chronicle article highlights the risks of buying at the courthouse steps. For starters, you have to show up with cash or cashier’s checks. If you are buying a $200,000 house at auction, you have to have $200,000 in cash or cashier’s checks in your pocket. Next, you do not generally have the opportunity to inspect the property, crawl underneath, look in the attic, or compile your repair list. When buying at the steps you may get to drive by the house to make sure its there, but that’s about it.

Finally, perhaps the biggest risk of buying at the steps is that there is no due diligence period to run title. Be careful that what appears to be a deep discount on a property may just be a second mortgage – buy that and you’re stuck with taking over the first mortgage too.

The article cautions that foreclosures at the courthouse steps are “no place for amateurs”. If you want your piece of the mortgage crisis opportunity and the big discounts that the lenders are giving, the safer way in is to learn about Short Sales.

With Short Sales, you can have time to inspect the property, run title, make sure you know what you are buying, do your due diligence, and arrange traditional financing.

To learn more about Short Sale Basics, simply ask for my FREE CD and we’ll send it right out to you. There are great bargains out there and banks are giving huge discounts – just be careful how you go about entering the market - you don’t want to get burned your first time.

Real Estate Lessons from the Olympics

2008-08-21T10:18:00.002-04:00

Michael Phelps, Jason Lezak, and Dara Torres stand out as delivering the most memorable swims this Olympics – but they actually represented only a portion of the overall number of Olympic and World Records that were crushed last week in Beijing's Water Cube. Twenty five world records were set during the Olympic swim competition in Beijing – that is the most at any Olympics since Montreal in 1976 and more than the last two Olympics combined.

The word at the pool from the people I swim with in the morning suggest three reasons why so many records fell in Beijing: (1) the new pool, (2) the new suites, and (3) the new training regimens. One might think that there would be a limit on how fast a human body can move from one end of a pool to another, but yet we keep breaking records, pushing boundaries and proving that what was once not possible suddenly is very doable.

First, the Beijing Water Cube pool is deeper than most, has wider side lanes, and larger lane ropes – three physical conditions that reduce waves and make for a faster environment. Next, those suites are so radical – they are less water resistant than human skin – that countries that don’t use them protested. Finally, the training – Michael Phelps is in the pool five hours a day working harder than swimmers ever worked.

Real estate professional can learn a lot from Olympic swimmers. The reasons given for all those records relate to the environment (the pool), the equipment (the suites), and training (work ethic and commitment).

First, the pool we swim in - unlike the Water Cube, our waters are rougher than ever. The mortgage crisis has sent waves crashing down all around. This means it may actually be harder to do what you used to be able to do in calmer waters. It also means that there are fewer swimmers in the pool – fewer competitors willing to train that hard.

Second, the equipment – like the suites – is better than ever. Technology enables real estate professionals to get better information faster than ever. We have multiple resources available to take phone calls, collect leads, manage marketing, list properties, sort data, analyze opportunities, and communicate with our teams. Technology has pushed real estate professionals into a new level of competition and those who do not keep up may be left in our wake.

Finally, as with the swimmers, it is a more serious game now. The competition among real estate agents and investors is stronger than ever. Real estate does not have to be a full time occupation, but it does take a serious focus and commitment to reach success. For the latest and greatest on the environment, equipment, and training necessary to swim with the best in the Short Sale business, just ask for my FREE CD and I’ll blast it on over to you at world record speed.

Don’t Put an Age Limit on Your Dreams.

2008-08-19T18:32:00.001-04:00

, I am absolutely in awe of Michael Phelps’ 8 gold medals, blown away by Jason Lezak’s anchor legs of the relays, and inspired by 41 year old Dara Torres’ Silver Medal in the 50 free. Yes, last week I was glued to the TV and mesmerized by the accomplishments of the USA swim team.

I feel a connection to the swimmers as this was my sport in high school. Ok, I wasn’t anywhere close to being an Olympic swimmer, but I did have a couple of City and District Championships and a State semifinal to my name. I spent much of my youth staring at the black line at the bottom of a pool but by the time college came around, I was ready to hang up the goggles.

However, a few months ago, I put the goggles back on and I have been swimming regularly a few times a week – at 5:45 in the morning! It’s not easy getting up that early – but once I hit that water, it is exhilarating. I immediately go back to drills, lessons, and thoughts of practices from years ago. It may be over 20 years now, but it still feels the same - or at least close enough that I can’t tell the difference.

After her double Silver Medal performance on the last night of the Olympic swim competition, Dara Torres was asked what lessons she would pass along to her 2 year old daughter. Without missing a beat she said, “don’t put an age limit on your dreams.” Wow – that was Olympic greatness and perhaps the reason the whole world watches.

Torres’ statement struck home especially strong since so much of my work as a teacher touches people who have refused to put an age limit on their dreams. People come to real estate investing for many reasons, but one of the most popular is to catch up financially from where they are to where you want to be. Often a majority of our students will be couples beginning their second careers after retiring (or perhaps being laid off or downsized) from the first.

Investing in real estate, when done correctly, can do for your retirement in a short period of time what your retirement savings failed to do over what seems like an entire lifetime. I have taught many “second career” or “retired” new investors how Short Sales can be the key to unlocking their dreams regardless of what age they start. There are few things more professionally satisfying than knowing I have helped real people who, like Dara Torres, have not let age put a limit on their dreams.

If you want to know how Short Sales can play a role in unlocking your dreams, I have FREE CD that I’m happy to send you – regardless of your age or the last time you went for a swim.

Does Your Short Sale Have Good Feng Shui? – Part 3 – Results not Theory

2008-08-15T09:41:00.004-04:00

This week I have been writing about the Feng Shui consultant that came to the house for Deena’s birthday present and after making one little adjustment – moving our two year olds’ bed, he (and his parents) had their first full night sleep in two years. One little adjustment recommended by a professional immediately brought immediate and life changing results!

So, now the big question – do your Short Sales have Feng Shui? The serious question is - are your trying to figure out the mysteries of Short Sales on your own? Or maybe you found a book or some course on the internet? Look – I could have bought a book on Feng Shui yes, there is Fung Shui for Dummies – the books would have made a nice gift for Deena’s birthday (not suggesting of course that my wife is a dummy). She would have read them and I might have read a chapter or two. But that information would have remained “interesting academia” and the books would have gone on the shelf. Maybe we would have written down a thing or two to do sometime when we got around to it.

But I didn’t want more “interesting academia” – I wanted action and results. The beautiful thing about hiring a consultant was that she put things in perspective for us specifically to our situation. She didn’t hand us 500 pages of theory or a list of 100 things to check in the house. Rather, we walked around and she made a small and manageable list of a few things that if we took immediate action, we would see immediate and significant results.

This is what The Short Sale Service does for your Short Sales – we bring our years of expertise and experience to you so you don’t have to wander the mysteries of Short Sales alone – we can be your feng shui consultant for your deals – brining you that slight adjustment that you might never had seen, known, or appreciated that makes all the difference.

I am a believer now – I have two full nights of sleep as evidence. If you are struggling to put some Short Sales to bed, let the professionals help you. To get started, I have a FREE CD on Short Sale Basics that I’ll send you – just ask for it and we’ll send it straight out to you. Who knows, fixing hours of fighting with frustration on your deals may just be as easy as moving one little thing from one place to another. Let’s bring some bring some Feng Shui to your Short Sales!

Does Your Short Sale Have Good Feng Shui? – Part 2 – Success from Slight Adjustments

2008-08-14T10:05:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I told you about the Feng Shui consultant that came to the house for Deena’s birthday present and after making one little adjustment – moving our two year olds’ bed, he (and his parents) had their first full night sleep in two years. One little adjustment recommended by a professional immediately brought immediate and life changing results!

Okay, so that was one night, what about the second night? Tuesday night I hosted The Short Sale Service’s Monthly Short Sale Success Webinar. Every month I get on the phone live with The Service’s Director of Service and we analyze the real short Sale success stories from the previous month. The fastest way to obtain a new success is to model someone who has already succeeded.

The Short Sale Service gives its Key Holders the opportunity to learn from and model successful Key Holders every month in its Short Sale Success Webinar. We go live with our Key Holders to share the success stories of the previous month and let you study all the real live intimate details of success. The great benefit to our Key Holders of the Success Webinar is the opportunity to study real deals – not hypothetical made up perfect examples, but real, actual, fresh cases hot off the presses.

Usually on call night, I’ll get Manny’s bedtime started with a few stories (that takes about an hour), Deena will read to the big boys and then at 8:30 pm she will come into relieve me so I can do the call at 9pm. By the time I’m done with the call at 10pm, Deena is usually passed out on Manny’s floor and Manny – well, he’s often still up. But that was before we paid a professional consultant to tell us his bed was on the wrong side of the room!

Tuesday night Deena taught a Spin Class (stationary bicycles exercise) at the gym so she didn’t get home till 8pm. By the time she came home, Manny was in bed and asleep after about 20 minutes of story time! She was amazed! It had never happened before. And guess what – night number two of full sleep – he woke up at 6:30 am after sleeping through the night for the second time in his life!

Oh, and the call was amazing – we worked through some huge discounts – I was even impressed! A total of $1.8 Million Dollars in discounts in one month! The Webinar is an exclusive benefit for our Key Holders, but you can join us for the next two for free – we’ll give you the info when you request my FREE CD on Short Sale Basics. You’ll definitely pick up at least a few recommendations from professionals that will bring immediate and positive change to your Short Sale journey.

Okay, so beyond freeing me to be available for the Short Sale Success Webinar, what does our Feng Shui expereicece have to do with Short Sales? Well . . . tune in tomorrow.

Does Your Short Sale Have Good Feng Shui? – Part 1 – Advice from a Professional

2008-08-13T11:20:00.002-04:00

This is a fascinating story. My wife Deena’s birthday was Monday and for a surprise birthday present I had a Feng Shui consultant come to our house. I thought it would be part a fun and kooky birthday present, but also there was a part of me seriously curious about – well, our Feng Shui.

Feng Shui is an ancient art and science developed over 3,000 years ago in China which addresses how to balance the energies of a space to assure the health and good fortune for people inhabiting it. "Feng" means "wind" and "shui" means "water" (pronounced fung-shway), and in Chinese culture, gentle wind and clear water have always been associated with good harvest and good health, thus "good feng shui" came to mean good livelihood and fortune.

So the birthday comes and at 11am the Feng Shui consultant rings the bell. We sit down at the kitchen table with the plans of the house and she begins to apply the principles of Feng Shui to the floor plan. After reviewing the orientation of the house and where the front door is, she points out where the wealth, family, health, knowledge, career, helpful people, travel, creativity, children, relationships, fame and reputation, and earth areas of the house are located.

There were times when I had to suppress a chuckle, but overall I was fascinated, engaged, and relieved to learn that our home fundamentally has very good feng shui (phew!)

Then we start walking around the house with the marked up floor plan and here was the Twilight Zone moment - she walks into the 2 year olds’ room and pronounces “this child does not sleep well”. Deena and I look at each other in amazement and report “well, you are correct, Manny fights a 2 hour battle every night to go to bed and then wakes up at 2 am screaming and comes into our room. He has never slept through the night in 2 years.”

The professional consultant says, “well of course, you have his bed placed in the worst possible of locations – it is directly opposite the door which is directly in front of the stair landing. All the energy of the downstairs house, from the large family room and the windows and the front door of the house – it all flows directly at his bed and that is just way too much energy for a 2 year old to process – no doubt this child has trouble sleeping.”

Deena and I were in shock – we hadn’t told her anything about Manny’s sleep habits. So where do we move the bed? That was a little difficult. One wall has windows – no beds under windows; one wall has a gabled slanted section to the ceiling – that apparently is also a no-no; and the third wall is in front of the door which we now know is a no-no. That left one small wall between the door and the closet – not where we would have thought a bed would go, but eager for our first full night sleep in two years, we quickly moved the bed and switched some other furniture around according to the consultant’s plan. Immediately the room felt better – it looked better too.

Of course the big test came that night. Remember, we’re talking about a 2 year old – so this is not someone who could conceptualize logically what was going on or fake the results just to mess with us. So…with the bed in the new feng shui location, he fell asleep in ten minutes with no crying and no battles. And are you ready for this – and for the first time in his life, he slept through the entire night, waking up at a completely amazing 7 am!

We could not believe it. We were amazed! One little adjustment that took a few seconds to implement made a significant change in our lives! Not to mention, the comfort it must have brought to Manny.

So what does this have to do with Short Sales? To be continued . . . tomorrow.

The Sky is Falling!

2008-08-07T13:13:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I wrote about Las Vegas and its delcing market - today I'll give you some specific thoughts for addressing rapidly decling markets.

It is a common question we get here at the The Service. If values in my market are falling so fast, how do I know what the property will be worth if the Short Sale takes a few months to get approved?
This is a real issue, especially in rapidly declining markets. We tackled this in depth at the last Breakthrough Event but here are a few tips to help you address the opportunity:

-- Always “Start with the End in Mind” – Remember, the Short Sale Approval alone is worthless unless you’ve structured a good deal. In a market where values are rapidly declining, I’m less concerned with “comps” and “appraisals” and more interested in what someone on the street who knows that neighborhood can tell me I can sell the house for.

-- When there is chaos in a market, it is harder to rely on computer print outs and spreadsheets – you’ve got to get your feet in the mud and get real. If your seller or the seller’s agent tells you that they have received three offers in the past two weeks at $850,000, $825,000 and $835,000 – I do not care that the “comps” or a recent appraisal or some computer generated model tells you that the “house is worth $1.1M” – the market is telling you that today the house is worth about $825,000 – at least right now.

-- If your market is depreciating rapidly, by the time the Short is approved in two months maybe it will be worth less – say $800,000. Okay, now with an exit strategy based on $800,000 what is your deal? Are you an agent who will sell it at $800,000, an investor who needs to purchase it at a significant discount off the $800,000 to cover the costs of your investment, rehab, profit, etc.?

-- And here’s the big one – make sure you are buying something that you can sell. There are neighborhoods where the market is close to dead – nothing is selling and there are dozens of houses sitting vacant. Time will have to heal this “no mans land” but you don’t have to. If you are interested in a Quick Turn deal – then fish in ponds where you know there are fish people want to eat! I don’t care where you live; there are neighborhoods in your town where people are lined up to buy – at the right price. Fish there. Be selective.

-- Or, if you are well capitalized and in it for the long haul – then you can scoop up an entire neighborhood that no one else wants at great values – but be prepared for the long haul. You must manage this asset while the market heals itself.

-- Finding deals is not the big issue right now – there are all over! (If you don’t know where to get deals – then you must get yourself to our next Breakthrough Event – this is the easy part right now. The challenge is selling – but that’s the whole point of the Short Sale – if you can buy it right, then you can sell it right. I don’t care if the house was worth $2M last year and this year it is only worth $1.5M – if it truly is worth $1.5M today, then IT WILL SELL IT QUICKLY at $1.4M.

Yes, the sky is falling – or at lease values are dropping very rapidly in many markets. Remember – investors are rewarded for making wise decisions in the context of the current market. If what worked last year is not working now, then it just means you need new strategies to adapt to this market. If you'd like my FREE CD which will explain how Short Sales can help you respond to this current market, just let me and we'll send it right out.

Viva Las Vegas!

2008-08-06T17:00:00.004-04:00

I watched the movie 21 on an airplane last week – awesome film about a group of MIT students who go off to Vegas to beat the casinos at Blackjack. A friend gave me book Bringing Down the House which provides the “true story” behind the film. I read all but two chapters on the next flight. Both book and movie present a riveting tour behind the scenes of Las Vegas.

Las Vegas is a unique town – from its architecture to its economy to its real estate – what happens in Vegas . . . well, it is different.

I just hung up the phone with an investment team from Las Vegas. They have successfully obtained several Short Sales, but are having a difficult time selling the properties.

At The Short Sale Service, we spend our days facilitating Short Sales for real estate professionals. Most of our time is spent buried in the technical details of Short Sale negotiations. However, the most important ingredient to success is knowing your exit strategy before you begin the complicated and frustrating journey of a Short Sale. My suggestions to them had less to do with Short Sales and more to do with being selective about where they invest their energies.

I thought I would share with you a few gems that came out of that conversation:

Remember that a Short Sale alone is not a deal – rather it is merely a payoff letter. A Short Sale at the wrong price or in the wrong deal is worthless. As with practically all journeys, you must begin the Short Sale journey knowing how you are going to get out of the swamp before you dive in. In other words, once we get this Approval letter – what are you going to do with it? Don’t be the dog that actually catches the car and then says “now what”.

Structuring an effective Exit Strategy means being selective. In today’s market the challenge is not buying houses, but rather selling them. A Short Sale is merely a tool to unlock a buying opportunity – and in this market, finding the opportunity is the easy part (assuming you know what you are doing). The challenge today is how are you selling?

When I asked the Vegas team at what price are houses moving in the subdivision we were talking about, they said – “nothing is moving, regardless of price – it’s a dead market”. Well then, I asked the question “if nothing is selling in that market, why would you buy there? Don’t forget, as an investor – you are in the business of buying and selling assets.” Mmmmmm …

Certainly there are other neighborhoods in Las Vegas where houses are selling. Maybe not at the same prices as year, but there are still plenty of houses selling – you just have to figure out where.

The Vegas market is down close to 30% in the last 12 months. That is a staggering decline. What looks like a good opportunity when you start the Short Sale may not be a good opportunity by the time you get an approval. Succeeding in a seriously down market requires specific strategies that ultimately tie into an exit plan.

With an abundance of opportunity, being more selective about the location, the style, the price range, and neighborhood is more important than ever.

I have about two chapters to go in the book so if there is a big lesson – I haven’t gotten there yet. But so far it is clear that there is a lot of money to be made in Las Vegas, but you better know what you are doing – because if you do not know what you are doing - the house sometimes gives, but almost always takes back.
If the opportunity in this market excites you, do not show up at the tables without studying the game first. I’ll send you a FREE CD on Short Sale Basics to get you started. Both the book and the movie start out with the players studying the basics before they even step foot in a casino. With real estate, if you know the fundamentals, you do not have to feel like you are gambling.

President Signs Housing Bill

2008-08-01T09:40:00.001-04:00

President Bush signed the big housing bill into law yesterday. While I have already discussed the bill extensively in earlier posts, here is a summary of a few provisions that I think are relevant to your business:

- Sellers to refinance to avoid foreclosure. FHA will be allowed to insure up to $300 billion in new 30-year fixed-rate mortgages for at-risk borrowers in owner-occupied homes if their lenders agree to write down loan balances to 90% of the homes' current appraised value.

Some investors have whined that this will “take Short Sales away from us”. Grow up and stop whining. There are close to 3 Million expected foreclosures coming down the pipeline and this new program is expected to at most help about 400,000 of them. The short-refinances will only apply to owner occupied houses where the seller wants to stay in the house and can demonstrate the ability to make payments going forward – these shouldn’t be the people you are talking to anyway.

This is such a minority of the situations that I see in reality. The deals that work come about when a Seller wants out, cannot afford to stay, and will cooperate to facilitate the Short Sale. Since the day I wrote my first book on Short Sales, if the seller wants to stay in the house – I’ve always said – stay away – there is no role for an investor or agent when a Seller wants to stay in the house. If you would like some more information on “Short Sales Basics according to Ben”, just ask for my FREE CD and we’ll send it right out.

- New home-buyer credit. The new law includes a tax refund for first-time home buyers worth up to 10% of a home's purchase price but no more than $7,500. This could be good for investors and agents as it might incent some new first time homebuyers.

- Ban on down-payment assistance from sellers. The new law eliminates a program that has allowed sellers to provide down payment assistance for FHA loans. The law would also increase to 3.5% from 3% the down payment requirement for borrowers getting FHA loans. Whatever they gave to the market by providing home-buyer credit discussed above, they just took away with a ban on down-payment assistance. This will hurt new home buyers. But remember, it only applies if your buyer is using an FHA loan.

- The Big Bailout! The new law provides grants to states to buy foreclosed properties. The law grants $4 billion to states to buy up and rehabilitate foreclosed properties. This is simply stupid – see earlier posts.

- The Big Blank Check. The new law provides temporary authority for the Treasury to lend a financial hand to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac if the Treasury deems it necessary to help stabilize markets. The law includes provisions that let Treasury offer Fannie and Freddie an unlimited line of credit and buy stock in the companies. The provisions expire in 18 months.

It is my sincerely hope that these measures help improve our nation’s economy and the housing market. Yes, I believe that that a better housing market will ultimately be better for all of us – investors and agents alike. However, I do not believe the government can do much to fix it. The housing market must heal itself and the pain in the marketplace is part of the cure.

There is a tremendous opportunity right now to help people and make a lot of money helping the market correct itself. (Because unlike stocks the housing market does not moves without you and me facilitating the correction one house, one loan, and one family at a time.

For more on Short Sale and how they can be used to make money while facilitating the market correction, just ask for my FREE CD Short Sale Basics.

Freddie Helps Short Sales: Great News!

2008-07-31T17:35:00.001-04:00

Fantastic news today for every real estate agent, investor, seller, and buyer with an interest in Short Sales! Freddie Mac is doubling the amount of money it pays loan servicers for each successful Short Sale!

The loan servicer is what most of you call “the bank” – Countrywide, Wells Fargo, HSBC, etc. – these institutions merely “service” the mortgages for other investors by collecting payments, sending notices, processing foreclosures, and working out Short Sales. The actual money (and decision maker) is an investor and the largest investors are Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

Freddie also announced that it will give more time to negotiate workouts in states with fast foreclosure processes.

Freddie will pay Servicers $2,200 for each short sale it successfully negotiates. (This is the money the bank’s investor will pay to its servicer ("the bank") for processing the Short Sale – it is not money that you, The Short Sale Service, an agent, or an investor will get.)

But the great news is that the people we work with – the Servicers - will have more incentive to work a Short Sale and presumably there will be more resources available to staff loss mitigation departments appropriately because the value to the Servicer of doing a Short Sales just increased dramatically.

It is absolutely phenomenal news that proves the good work done with Short Sales is respected and valued by the agency and hopefully will translate to shorter processing times and better deals for all parties involved – sellers, investors, agents, servicers, and the agencies alike!

In the otherwise frustrating arena of dealing with lenders, this is a welcome bit of fantastic news!

President Signs Housing Bill

In other news today, President Bush signed into law the big housing bill that I have already discussed extensively in earlier posts. The bill aims to boost the struggling housing market and bolster Fannie and Freddie.

I’ll post a summary of the bill tomorrow.

Life is Good

2008-07-29T09:33:00.005-04:00

You know those t-shirts with the smiling stick figure proclaiming Life is Good – I see them all the time – and I couldn’t agree more. Yes, I am blessed with a wonderful life – a beautiful, happy, and healthy family – an amazing wife, incredible kids, great friends, and work that I thoroughly enjoy.

I get to help people everyday do good deals that help people, help the economy, and make people tons of money. In addition to doing my own deals, every once in a while I get to teach and show people what is possible – show them new ways of improving their own lives, helping people, and making money. Yes, Life is Good and it is real estate that makes it possible.

But when you hit a rough spot, I’ve got a suggestion for you. See I needed a pick me up this weekend - I tried wakeboarding for the first time and it didn’t go so well.

I thought I’d be a natural and be up the first time. I can surf, ski, am a competitive swimmer, and a fish in the water – so naturally I thought there would be no way Ben Pargman would not just find the wakeboard thing to be easy.

But it was not to be. I tried several times, but just couldn't get up. So frustrating! After I took the board off and calmed down, I realized, there is just something that I didn’t know – some technique that eluded me – and we were on the boat with 6 kids and 2 other dads who also had never done this before. Guess what we were missing. . . someone who could tell us what we were doing wrong and show us how to do it right – someone who had been down this road before.

After my fourth face plant, I thought I had used up my fair share of turns so I put the board up for another day, and let the kids have a chance. My 7 year old, on the other hand was up and riding on his third attempt. Go Syd! You Stinker!

Of course I see parallels to Short Sales in everything I do – and my attempt at wakeboarding is no exception. There is no doubt in my mind that if had taken that journey with someone who had gone down the road before me - someone experienced with wakeboarding, that person could have told me what I was doing wrong and then in two seconds I could have done it. If you’re not succeeding, it just means there is something you don’t know - whether you're talking about wakeboarding, Short Sales, business, or real estate.

So – what can we learn? Go down the road with someone who has been there before – don’t assume you’ll be like my 7 year old who just picks it up naturally the first time. If you want help with Short Sales, just ask for my FREE CD and I’ll keep you from falling on your face.

Which takes us back to the pick-me up from the rough spot. After a moment of frustration, I put the wakeboard aside and jumped on the WaveRunner - that will fix you. You just can’t be bummed out when you’re flying over the water at 50 miles an hour. Here's a little piece of advice - if you every get too bummed out about the mortgage mess, a frustrating short sale, or something else that's not going the way you want - get on a WaveRunnner.

Yes, Life is Good!

P.S. If I have any Wakeboard-Guru Key Holders out there - please call the office, I could use a little mentorship. Thanks!

Very Bad Debt

2008-07-25T14:20:00.003-04:00

Yesterday the House passed legislation aimed to help 400,000 homeowners facing foreclosure and help shore up Fannie and Freddie.

Some of you have asked “Will this reduce the role of Short Sales?” Hardly!

First of all – the bill itself only attempts to reach about 400,000 of the some 3 million homeowners expected to lose their houses in the next year. There will still be 2,600,000 potential Short Sales – way more than every real estate agent and investor – if we all worked together to help every seller in need – could ever begin to handle.

Second – the bill’s provision are only applicable IF a lender CHOOSES to enter into a modification to allow the borrower to remain in the property AND IF the borrower desires to stay in the property. If a homeowner wants to stay in their home and there is a possibility to help them accomplish that goal – I can only hope that the homeowner succeeds in keeping their home – however they figure it out.

However, lenders have always been able to structure modifications with borrowers who wanted to stay in the house – but they haven’t. Modifications to keep homeowners in their houses has not stopped record foreclosures because the homeowners hit by the foreclosure crisis are largely in houses they can not afford even under modified terms.

Remember, a Short Sale is appropriate only if a Seller has decided to leave the house and sell. Therefore, a homeowner who wants to stay in the house and refinance is not a potential Short Sale candidate anyway.

Short Sales are appropriate tools to help a seller who has decided they cannot stay in the house and has concluded that it is time to leave. (Need help with the basics? Just ask for my FREE CD on Short Sale Basic and we’ll send it right out to you.) If a Seller can figure out a way to stay in the house themselves without a Short Sale, then more power to them.

Even if there is something in the government’s plan that does help a few homeowners stay in their houses, then this is also a good thing for all real estate professionals. A reduction in the number of Sellers loosing their houses will contribute to a healthier real estate market which in the end will be better for all real estate professionals.

However, as I have written previously, I do not think government can fix the housing crisis. The “crisis” we are experiencing is merely the market correcting itself from the over exuberance of a few years ago. It is the crisis and the correction itself that is the fix to the problem. And the pain experienced in the marketplace now is the symptom of a market healing itself.

The housing bill is a government bailout - period – no matter how you spin it. The sad reality is that it will largely bail out banks and not homeowners. It will be paid for by an increase in our government’s deficit spending. It seems the bill merely attempts to shift the costs of overextending and making bad housing decisions from individual homeowners to all taxpayers. By shifting the bad debt from lender’s poor lending decision to the nation’s deficit, the bill may fix the mortgage woe’s of a few by increasing the burden on the nation.

New Member of the Real Estate Investor Club: Your Local Government

2008-07-24T09:27:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, the House passed legislation aimed at helping 400,000 homeowners facing foreclosure and helping shore up Fannie and Freddie.

Among several items which I discussed yesterday, the bill provides $3.9 billion in grants to local governments to buy foreclosed properties. President Bush fought this provision for some time before giving in under the pressure to “do something”. Before he caved to the pressure, he had it right.

As my earlier post suggests, I’m not a big fan of this legislation. First, I do not think the government can fix the problem of a market correcting itself, and second, I think is a huge government bailout that shifts the burden from the lender’s who made stupid lending decisions to taxpayers by increasing deficit spending. (The bill just moves bad debt from borrowers to lenders to taxpayers.)

The most absurd provision of the bill is the allocation of $3.9 BILLION (with a B) to local governments to buy foreclosed properties. Yes, the newest member of your local real estate investor’s club just may be you city’s mayor. I can see it now . . . billboards with your mayor’s face . . . proclaiming: “The City of Smallville – We Buy Houses!” I see the City Council voting on whether to paint the kitchen off-white or “more of a taupe”. Local citizens could make public comments on whether the city should install stainless steel or white appliances. And the public works department could be tapped to undertake the repairs. (How many city employees does it take to change a light bulb?)

At least local government is well prepared to undertake the messy work of cleaning up and fixing foreclosure properties. Most local governments have surplus resources – having fixed all the potholes, sidewalks, roads, schools – and are eagerly looking for places to put their public works crews to good use. With a slush fund of $3.9 Billion dollars, your local government will be quite a big shot at your local real estate investors club.

It won’t be all bad news. Those people with close connections to local politicians, campaign contributors, and other insiders will have access to great deals from local government after it buys houses from banks with federal taxpayer money. City governments can then sell the properties to the well connected supporters of city counsel members, mayors, and city employees – so don’t worry, there will be plenty bargains out there for the well connected.

I can’t think of a more ridiculous response to the mortgage mess than to turn local governments into real estate investors. Buying, cleaning, fixing up, and selling houses is not an easy thing to do successfully. The market does a great job of humbling those who do not do it well and rewarding those who figure it out. The housing market is in the middle of healing itself –let it get healthy without sending in woefully ill prepared local governments to do the job of skilled investors.

When the local governments get burned in the marketplace by doing bad deals – it will be the local taxpayers who will have to pay to bale them out . . . again. But since it sure looks like something that is going to happen - tell your mayor and city counsel now that there are great training opportunities at your local real estate club to learn the art of investing in real estate.

The House Bill

2008-07-23T23:13:00.012-04:00

WOW!!! Lot’s of exciting things to write about this week. Many of you have written wondering where I was last week. I was not writing here, but we were going non-stop from early morning to late at night at The Live Short Sale Breakthrough Event. There is a lot I want to tell you about – it was an amazing experience . . . great deals . . . great ideas . . . great people . . . and, yes – great Breakthroughs. I’ll tell you more about Breakthrough later, but first, there has been a lot of action in Congress today that you should know about.

The House just passed legislation aimed at helping 400,000 homeowners facing foreclosure and at helping shore up Fannie and Freddie.

Today’s 272-152 vote came after President Bush announced backing off a threatened veto. The White House objected to $3.9 billion in grants the bill would provide for local government to purchase foreclosed properties. It is expected the bill will become law soon after the Senate signs off.

Here’s a brief summary of what the bill does:

Gives the Treasury Department the power to extend Fannie and Freddie an unlimited line of credit and buy an unspecified amount of their stock;

Lets hundreds of thousands of homeowners refinance into more affordable, fixed-rate loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration;

Creates a new regulator with tighter controls for Fannie and Freddie and modernizes the FHA;

Provides about $15 billion in housing tax breaks, including a credit of up to $7,500 for first-time home buyers for people who bought homes between April 9, 2008, and July 1, 2009;

Provides $3.9 billion in grants to local governments to buy foreclosed properties;

Sets a cap of $625,000 on the loans that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may buy and the FHA may insure. It lets them buy and back mortgages up to 15 percent above the median home price in certain areas; and

To pay for it all - the bill increases the statutory limit on the national debt by $800 billion, to $10.6 trillion.

As I have written previously, I do not think government can fix the housing crisis. The “crisis” we are experiencing is merely the market correcting itself from the over exuberance of a few years ago. It is the crisis and the correction itself that is the fix to the problem. And the pain experienced in the marketplace now is the symptom of a market healing itself.

The solution to the housing mess is to help the market heal itself - one house, one mortgage, and one family at a time. Short Sales play an indespensible role in this process. If you have not received my FREE CD on Short Sale Basics - just let me know and we'll send it right out to you.

As far as the House Bill and what you should know, we’ll get into more detail over the next few days.

What If I Have Half a Seller? – Part II

2008-07-11T09:07:00.000-04:00

It is not uncommon to receive a phone call from a “half a Seller”. There are two different types of Half-Sellers. Yesterday, we discussed the situation when two people own the house (say a husband and wife) and you have communication with only one of the two parties.

The other situation involves what I call Seller/Borrower Bifurcation. It is very common to receive calls from victims where the person calling you asking for help is the Borrower who has signed a Note and whose credit is being affected, but title to the property is in “their former partner”.

The ex-partner is often not available as they have long since skipped town and disconnected their cell phone. In this situation, we may be able to negotiate a Short Sale, but without the cooperation (or some other way) of getting title to the property from the other party, you cannot purchase the property and get good title.

Bottom line…to do a successful Short Sale transaction, you need the Seller (all parts) and the Borrower.

What If I Have Half a Seller? – Part I

2008-07-10T09:05:00.000-04:00

It is not uncommon to receive a phone call from a “half a Seller”. There are two different types of Half-Sellers.
If Husband and Wife both own the house and you get a call from one but not the other, you have half a Seller from which you cannot purchase the entire house. You certainly can have one point of contact between the two of them, but they both must be willing to do the deal with you and sign the paperwork. If He is and She is not, then you do not have a deal. Stop.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at the other scenario where you may have half a Seller.

Which Lenders are Giving the Best Discounts?

2008-07-09T10:34:00.001-04:00

I get this question every time I teach or speak publically. Lenders go into and out of phases of being easier or harder to work with. Last year my negotiators complained all the time about Wells Fargo, but enjoyed working with Countrywide. Today, it is the exact opposite – Wells appears to have their act together, yet one has to wonder what is going on at Countrywide.

However, trying to identify which lenders to work with is not a valuable use of your time. There are so many variables that go into whether or not a Lender will grant a Short Sale that real estate professionals are not well served trying to master these ever changing variables Lender by Lender.

Just because a particular Lender does not approve your Short Sale this month does not mean that it won’t approve it next month. Keep your focus on what makes a good Short Sale opportunity and leave the guess work as to what Lenders might be “in the mood” this month to Seminar hallway gossip – it just does not matter.

It would be a shame if you did not attempt a Short Sale that could work out successfully only because you are prejudiced by rumors that xBank is or is not doing Short Sales. Get your education on the fundaments. Know what you are doing and keep your focus on structuring win-win transactions that serve all parties involved.

On Top of The World

2008-07-08T10:20:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I told you that Deena and I just returned from a seminar as students and that we climbed to the top of a telephone pole (a real telephone pole, just not connected to any telephone wires) and jumped off. Ok, so that may need a little further explanation.

We were strapped into a climbing harness and connected to a safety line. The line did not help us climb and was only there with safety and to help on the way down. We climbed up on little staples that were hammered into the pole. The climb for me was rather easy – that is until I reached the top. That’s where we were told to stand on top of the pole.

There is this thing about being at the top of the pole – there is nothing else to hang onto up there. On the climb up, there is something in front of your or above you to hang onto and put your focus on, but when you get to the top, there is nothing but clear sky. There is no hand rail or rope to grab onto and help you up the final step – just you and the top of the pole.

WOW! How profound! Isn’t this true of your journey with real estate? Isn’t this true so often with real estate deals? It’s easy to follow the crowd, but when it gets to the end, you are often left on your own to make the hard decisions?

I wasn’t alone, of course. Down below some 60 feet or so on the ground were Deena and new friends cheering me on and professionals guiding me. They coached me through it – “look up”, “one more step”, “arms out” were some of the keys to success.

I really thought it would be easier than it was. Those of you who have attended Breakthrough, know that we literally break through barriers, and I thought “I’d been there, done that.” But this was new.

The climb up was easy. Then I got to the top and ran out of pole to climb. The next task was to use the last staple and hurl myself up on the top of the pole. The pole started swaying. I was not afraid for my safety – I was tethered to a safety line – but I did begin to panic that I would not successfully complete the task at hand. I remember hearing the crowd below yell “look up” – sounded like good advice, so I looked up and got my focus and then took the step. A split second later I was standing on top of the world. It’s a nice view from up here.

At our Live Short Sale Breakthrough event, I am not going to run you up a telephone pole. But we will provide the instruction and support to get you up and over your challenges with Short Sales and get you to the top. I had a tremendous experience last week as a student and I can’t wait to bring some of these new lessons to help you with the specific step by step instruction on Short Sales that you get at Breakthrough.

The room is currently booked full to capacity so if you are interested in attending, you must call The Short Sale Service Customer Care at 404-446-1310 immediately and see if a seat opens up. See you next week at the top.

The Power of the Room

2008-07-07T15:14:00.005-04:00

Deena and I just returned from a seminar as students. I have pages of notes on ways to improve the experience of our customers, our employees, and the overall impact we can make to help people. We climbed to the top of a telephone pole (a real telephone pole, just not connected to any telephone wires) and jumped off, we read, we studied, we sang, and we learned a tremendous amount about ourselves, our business, and the opportunity we have to add value to customers and the economy. It was an outstanding experience!

I learned more in those few days away than I would have in a year of reading by myself back at home. A seminar environment presents a unique learning opportunity for adults. Our lives are so busy, so hectic, and so jammed packed with other people’s urgencies that it is hard to grow, learn, and think in the course of our normal routines.

That’s why even now, as the host of one of the best educational seminars in the country, I still carve out time every year to attend events as a student. By largely putting aside the demands of the normal routine, I have new clarity on what I can do as a business owner and service provider to make our excellent service even better – so watch out!

I understand why our Live Short Sale Breakthrough alumni have a 54% higher success rate than non-alumni. There is Power in the Room. Your last chance to attend the Live Short Sale Breakthrough Event this year may be next week in Orlando. We currently do not have any more Live Breakthrough Events scheduled for 2008. The room is currently booked full to capacity so if you are interested in attending, you must call The Short Sale Service Customer Care at 404-446-1310 immediately and see if a seat opens up.

It was so refreshing last week to attend an event as a student and appreciate the Power of the Room. I look forward to joining many of you next week live in Orlando and brining that Power to your Short Sale business.

Government to the Rescue: A Summary

2008-07-04T16:40:00.000-04:00

To summarize our week long study of the Senate’s plan to respond to the mortgage crisis, I hope that our government can and does act in a way that helps to stabilize the housing market and helps borrowers who are facing difficult times. A more stabilized real estate market will only help real estate investors and agents in addition to Sellers.

The current foreclosure crisis is merely the undoing of the exuberance of the real estate bubble of a few years ago and the market is doing what markets do to regain health – it corrects itself. I am not optimistic that government can do much to stop the inevitable correction of the market. Good government policy might ease the landing a bit, but bad government policy can make things worse.

Either way, the housing market cannot correct itself without our active involvement – the work of the real estate professional. When the stock market corrects, numbers change on a computer screen in seconds. However, when the housing market corrects, you and I - American entrepreneurs who invest our time and resources – must roll up our sleeves and fix this market one house, one mortgage, and one family at a time. It is work that is essential to the economy’s health and therefore the laws of economics reward it handsomely. Despite the Senate’s efforts, it is work the government cannot do itself no matter what ultimately comes out of Congress this summer.

To those of you working with me as agents of change in healing the nation’s housing crisis, keep up the good work! Sellers, Lenders, Neighborhoods, and yes, our government needs us and can not do it without us.

Ben’s Opinion on the Bill

2008-07-03T11:11:00.003-04:00

Nobody from the White House or Senate has called for my opinion on the U.S. Senate’s response to the mortgage crisis we have been discussing this week. However, just in case you tried to call and could not get through – here’s my two sense on the Senate proposed legislation:

Providing Tax credits to allow first time home buyers to buy unoccupied houses. Great idea! As long as the credit is available to a buyer of an unoccupied house regardless of who owns the property - including investors. Hey Washington – who do you think is actually out there cleaning up this mess? It is the real estate investors who provide the essential contribution to the economy and are the agents of change in this market correction – all efforts should be made to reward and encourage the American entrepreneurs who take risk in hopes of a return and engage in the hard and often messy work of restoring an abandoned ex-foreclose to the market. If you want to give tax credits to encourage Buyers to buy foreclosure, make sure the credit is available when the buyer buys from an investor.

Allow distressed borrowers and their lenders to refinance into more affordable mortgages with a federal guarantee. Dumb idea. If our government wants to bale out irresponsible lenders and bowers and can find a way to pay for it without sticking it to taxpayers in a way that can help stabilize the market, then go for it. But if I had to guess, you are wasting your time. The market will do what the market will do – and right now it has to correct from the bubble of a few years ago and if someone borrowed more than they can handle to buy a house they can’t afford from a lender who didn’t care where their money went – well, there isn’t much the taxpayer should do or can do to fix that. Let the market correct itself – it always does.

Provide money for local governments to purchase foreclosed properties. Idiotic idea. You must be kidding me! We are going to allocate millions of dollars to have local government buy, renovate, fix, and sell distressed properties?! I take it back – tell you what . . . any local government that wants to get into the business of investing in residential real estate foreclosure fix up – that’s fine with me if they can demonstrate that they have fixed the potholes, parks, emergency services, water, sewage, and school systems that are their core responsibilities. There are well qualified people and businesses trained to fix up houses and get them back on the tax roles and into the marketplace – let the investors take the risk, spend the money, and make the profit so we can pay taxes so our local government can provide water and fix the potholes! But using tax dollars to turn local government into real estate speculators? Unbelievable dumb idea!

Provide money for counseling. Great idea – but counseling needs to be done on the front end not after it is too late. The time to become educated on the responsibilities of being a homeowner and a mortgagor is before you become one. When a borrower is already locked into a bad situation, counseling has marginal value. But I can not argue against providing educational opportunities -- besides – our government is running on a borrowed money anyway, so why not borrow some more money to counsel our citizens facing foreclosure on their options after its too late.

I have a better idea – send Congress and the President to Debt Counseling. (I’ll tell you what I really think about the Senate proposal tomorrow.)

Refinancing Out of Foreclosure

2008-07-02T10:25:00.001-04:00

This week I’m writing about the United States Senate’s proposed response to the mortgage crisis. The most interesting part of the bill is the refinance piece – ostensibly opening up the door to more loan modifications to keep people in their houses.

Is this end of the motivated seller? Hardly! The Senate plan of helping refinance homeowners avoid foreclosure and stay in the their homes only works if a lender is willing to lend again to a borrower who is willing to borrow again and fight to stay in their house.

The current great flood of foreclosures is a correction of the bubble of a few years ago and the vetting out of mortgages that should never have been given to people who bought houses they should not have purchased. (I’m not saying this is what is causing all foreclosures –just that this has been a major contributor to the bubble.) These borrowers understand now that the game of musical chairs has been played and lost and its time to get out of the circle – they do not want to nor can they stay in the house. This is why I conclude that the Senate Plan will not impact the opportunities available to real estate investors or agents. Yes, the plan would keep a few homeowners in their houses, but the vast majority do not want to or can not stay in their current situation and will resort to traditional avenues made available by investors.

Since the first day of The Short Sale Service years ago when the market was very different, I have always taught that a Short Sale is something to try when a Seller is ready to walk away from the house and has exhausted all other options. The Short Sale is the point of last resort for a homeowner and if there is another strategy that a homeowner can employ to save their house – they should pursue it and you should not attempt a Short Sale.

A Seller who has maintained employment, is on their feet, and just needs to get out of a ridiculous loan that is difficult to refinance because of the declining housing market may be given another shot to avoid foreclosure under the Senate proposal. However, a seller who has experienced a hardship, can not make payments going forward and wants out of the house will find no more comfort under the Senate’s Plan than their current options.

As this Seller makes up only a small percentage of the pool of potential deals out there, I do not see the Senate plan negatively affecting investor opportunity. And as I’ve discussed above, if saving a few of these Sellers from foreclosure helps stabilize the market, then that will be good not only for Sellers, but real estate professionals alike.

Will Congress Make Short Sales Disappear?

2008-07-01T10:18:00.001-04:00

This week I’m writing about the United States Senate’s proposed response to the mortgage crisis.

The most interesting part of the bill is the refinance piece – ostensibly opening up the door to more loan modifications to keep people in their houses.

In theory this could be a good thing for the economy and for real estate investors and agents.
If the program is effective, this could take a few Short Sales away from the pool of potential deals. If the Seller can save themselves with a modification/refinance, then they will not need to call you.

This potential “loss of business” does not worry me a bit. First of all, the challenge now for most real estate investors is not that you cannot find a Short Sale opportunity or a house to buy, but rather that you do not know what to do with it when you get it because it is very difficult to sell a house in this market. (We cover this extensively at Breakthrough incidentally.)

Keeping a few homeowners in their houses it is hoped would contribute to stabilizing the market. A more stable real estate market would actually be a good thing for most real estate agents and investors if the opportunity to sell balanced out with the current disproportionate opportunity to buy. Keeping the homeowners in their homes that could afford to do so and keeping their houses off the market would reduce supply, contribute to bringing the market back into balance, and make it easier to sell houses and do deals!

However, there’s a catch that makes me think this program will have little if any such impact. We’ll cover that tomorrow.

Congress to the Rescue?

2008-06-30T10:06:00.003-04:00

Many of you have asked about last week’s U.S. Senate proposal to respond to the foreclosure crisis and how it might affect your Short Sale opportunities.

What an amazing time to be at the forefront of the battle against the mortgage crisis! There is action in practically every state legislature and in Congress. However, with all the chaos – our fundamentals stay the same and the principles upon which The Short Sale Service was created remain true and provide the answers to much of the recent excitement.

In a nut shell, the more government tries to control the housing market, the more inefficiency will be created which will ultimately create more opportunities for Short Sales and real estate professionals. There is no shortage of Short Sale opportunities out there right now – more than any single investor or agent could ever handle. Even if the Senate plan saves some people from loosing their homes (which I hope it does), there will still be an avalanche of opportunity, more than anyone could handle.

Here are some of the major elements of the proposed legislation. The Senate bill would:

Allow distressed borrowers and their lenders to refinance into more affordable mortgages with a federal guarantee,

Provide a tax credit to first time home buyers to buy unoccupied houses,

Increase the limit on loan values that Freddie and Fannie could purchase from lenders,

Provide money for local governments to purchase foreclosed properties,

Provide money for counseling, and

Create a trust fund to pay for it all.

The most interesting part of the bill is the refinance piece – ostensibly opening up the door to more loan modifications to keep people in their houses.

Does this mean that Short Sales will disappear because the Senate plan will save everyone and keep them in their houses? I’ll tell you what I think tomorrow.

Real Estate Agents: Why Wouldn’t They Do It Themselves

2008-06-27T09:28:00.003-04:00

A focus for us right now is helping Key Holders work with real estate agents as they’ve got a tremendous amount of deals right now and they generally don’t know what to do with them. On a recent Short Sale Service Stars Webinar, I interviewed a Key Holder who has taken what we’ve taught him and built a huge referral machine from real estate agents. Here are a couple of golden nuggets from the call:

Key Holder: It’s kind of interesting to me because there are some realtors that are actually very good at short sales but, when you break it down and you put it in dollars and cents but, more importantly you put it the aspect of time where they’re getting paid more but you’re also freeing them up from the monotony of doing short sales- unless they are just somebody who loves doing short sales they’re going to work with you. It doesn’t take any cost, there’s no marketing, we do market the other 20% obviously comes from our marketing but, it’s a gift that keeps on giving. Because when you’re successful these realtors, they obviously, continue to refer to you but, they also spread your name. We have one high end waterfront realtor, she’s one of the top waterfront realtors that has made this statement to people that want her to list properties or to place offers on short sale candidates that she will not do any without us, period. And, it’s a pretty powerful statement for one of the top water frontrealtors, luxury realtors in all of Florida.

Ben: Wow, what a team you’ve pulled together I’m proud to be on that team. That’s phenomenal and, just to be clear about what happens next, so, you sign up the short sale in the traditional way that we teach at BREAKTHROUGH and through our stuff and then you get the materials up to us, we negotiate the short sale and then, in this particular situation you, the agent keeps working to find a buyer?

Matt: Absolutely. You know, the first conversation with the realtor’s obviously to get them comfortable with our program. Obviously, we have to have the seller involved but, if we have buy in from the realtor, the seller typically follows so, our next move is obviously to speak with the seller. We go over our program with the seller and if they want to move forward then we just follow your system and do what you’ve taught us.

That’s good stuff from a great Key Holder doing outstanding stuff. He’s promised to share more in Orlando, so you’ll get a chance to go into greater details with us personally. Until then, enjoy the weekend and we’ll pick up next week!

Real Estate Agents: Structuring the Commissions

2008-06-26T11:05:00.006-04:00

This week, I’m writing about the importance of working with real estate agents in this market. On a recent Webinar, I interviewed one of our Key Holder customers, Matt who is successfully working WITH real estate agents. This week, I’ve been sharing with you some selected highlights form the interview. Matt has agreed to come to the Live Breakthrough Event in Orlando July 14 to 17 as a Visiting Professor and share his success stories with us live.

Ben: So, Matt – tell us about the commission structure that gets the real estate agent’s attention. Talk to me like I’m the agent . . .

Matt: Ok . . . What if I were to tell you that if we were successful in doing the short sale and we got the property sold . . . you’re going to get paid anywhere up to 8.5% plus I’ve just freed up 20 hours of your time. What can you do with 20 hours of time? You can probably go out list more houses; you can probably find more buyers or possibly even spend some of that with your family. Why wouldn’t you want to work with us?

Agent: I can’t think of a reason why I wouldn’t.

Matt: Now, if I was you, I’m calling you out of the blue and, you may have some trepidation so, what I’d suggest is call some of our references. I’ve got several references and all you really have to do is mention my name. If after speaking with them, I’m going to leave you my number, if you want to do business with us or if you want to meet, please call me. If not, I’ll never call you again, is that fair?

Ben: Fair enough.

Matt’s promised me that he’ll spill it all with us live at Breakthrough next month, but meanwhile, let’s see what else we can get for you tomorrow on the blog.

Real Estate Agents: Initial Conversation

2008-06-25T12:38:00.005-04:00

This week, I’m writing about the importance of working with real estate agents in this market. On a recent Webinar, I interviewed one of our Key Holder customers, Matt who is successfully working WITH real estate agents. For the next few days, I’ll share with you some selected highlights form the interview. Matt has agreed to come to the Live Breakthrough Event in Orlando July 14 to 17 as a Visiting Professor and share his success stories with us live.

So here’s some of the transcript of the call:

Ben: So, take us through how you initially lay the groundwork with the agents:

Matt: Sure, well first we have one of our broker partners, it’s an automated program in the MLS system, send me for the three county area, all listings that have key words such as foreclosure, short sale, distress. And, what I do every morning I’ll go through them and if the properties are ones that meet our specs, I’ll e-mail her back, I’ll get the name and the number of realtor either she will follow up with that realtor or we will. We will then speak to that realtor and or broker; discuss with them how our program works and, again, if we speak with 10, 5 are interested and 3 ultimately work with us. But, those 3 that will work with us are repeat referrers. And it’s just…

Ben: So, you’ll say this agent: so, I’m the agent and you’re you, and let’s play a little role play.

Agent: Hi, I’m Fred and I have this million dollar property and my client owes more on it than it’s worth so, they need one of those short sale things. So, I need an offer.

Matt: Absolutely Fred. We, just so you know, we specialize in short sales. We do two to three a week; we got about 60 to 70 going at this point. More importantly, 80% of what we do comes from referrals and, I’ll tell you why. When you do a short sale typically, if you are successful, how much are you ultimately paid?

Agent: Well the bank usually kind of negotiates us, see, down, we’ll be lucky to get 2% maybe 3% on the short sale and then you know, that’s if we get it because it takes a lot of brain damage to do even that.

Matt: Okay, so if you’re successful you’ll make maybe 2% possibly 3% if you’re good. If you’re a good negotiator and you sound like you probably are so, we’ll give the benefit of a doubt to you that you’re going to make 3%. How many hours a week do you think you spend working shorts? If you’re working, you told me you were working on 10 or 15 short sales. How many hours a week are you personally working on those?

Agent: Oh it’s become ridiculous. I mean, I can barely have even the time to do, take track care of my clients of my listings, I mean, I’ve got my assistant doing it. But, we really don’t know what we’re doing. It’s just, it’s a nightmare, it takes ridiculous it’s like it’s sucking the life out of my office.

Matt: So, I would guess based on what we have spoken about, that you’re probably spending 20, 25 hours a week on following up with short sales and getting the paperwork in and tracking down replacement paperwork. Would that be a good assessment?

Matt has volunteered to join me in Orlando as a Visiting Professor and show you exactly what happens beyond this conversation. . . .and we’ll pick up some more tomorrow.

Real Estate Agents: Building the Dream Team

2008-06-24T11:01:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I wrote about the importance of working with real estate agents in this market. Unlike a year ago when few people knew what a Short Sale was and many sellers were too embarrassed to talk with anyone but an “underground real estate investor”, today things are very different. After a year of relentless front page news coverage of foreclosures, Short Sales and foreclosures are a more commonly addressed topic for the general population, there is less stigma and taboo for regular people and combined with the sheer volume of foreclosures out there, much of this activity is going to real estate agents.

The real estate agents want to help their clients, but the reality of Short Sales hasn’t changed – they are still time consuming, complicated, and frustrating and therefore few real estate agents want to deal with or are set up to handle the work of the Short Sale.

On a recent Webinar, I interviewed one of our Key Holder customers, Matt, who is successfully working WITH real estate agents. For the next few days, I’ll share with you some selected highlights from the interview. Matt has agreed to come to the Live Breakthrough Event in Orlando July 14 to 17 as a Visiting Professor and share his success stories with us live.

But while we're waiting, here are some highlights from the call:

Matt: I’ll tell you one thing that impresses me about your team Ben is that they have patience. I’m a pretty demanding person and my partner is as well. If it can be done, you guys get it done so, I had tried short sales myself for five months before finding you guys and it was a complete waste of time. So, you guys have great follow up, great patience and, obviously you’re delivering the goods to us and a bunch of other Key Holders.

Ben: Matt, I appreciate that and respect your contributions all along. And, that’s to me why you’re one of our stars. Tell us about the deal here that Jeff pulled up for us in Pinellas county Florida. Can you tell us a little about this deal?

Matt: Yeah, absolutely. This particular deal as, roughly, 80% of our business came from a referral from a realtor. A realtor had a client that had a property that was worth what was owed, so, owed was 675 was probably worth 675 maybe. She referred us to the client. It was a water front property. Two mortgages same lender. We had a contractor go out and do an estimate. We were able to build a very, very, good case based on the hardship, based on the days on market, based on the condition of the property. And, we were able to successfully close this in a relatively short period of time. We had it on the market. What we do is we pre-market the property while we’re doing the short sale. The same realtor that brought us the deal found us a buyer. The buyer came in at 351 cash; he was ready to wait for as long as it took because of the value of the property. He was going to wait 6 months if we needed to.

Your team was able to successfully negotiate the property down for us . . . and we closed it for a net profit to us of 51,000. And that’s on top of paying the referring realtor a commission of about 20,000. And, we kind of have a different philosophy than several people out there may have: we pay our referring realtors very, very well because we know they’re going to continue to bring us these high end deals and these high profit deals. So it worked out very, very, well.

Ben: There’s a lesson I wish everyone on the phone would take away. First, you said it, pay your people well. And, that’s true in life, I mean, across the board with all this. You have a real-estate agent bringing you deals? Do not negotiate a commission down on someone who’s feeding you.

Matt: Well, I tell you, if I can give any advice to anybody, treat the people that refer to you right. We get 80%, and we’ve gone from getting about 5% of our business from referrals to 80%. And, the reason is the realtor, the world that we work with are our biggest cheerleaders.

Ben: So, take us through how you initially lay the groundwork with the agents:

Matt: Sure, well first we . . . .

Matt is a great Key Holder – he’s brought some good experience from the corporate world to his real estate business: take care of people who feed you. And in this market, that may mean working with Real Estate Agents. To meet Matt and find out what he learned from me about doing successful deals and incorporated that into his “work with the agents program”, join us in Orlando, July 14 – 17 for your Short Sale Breakthrough. Oh, all right . . . I’ll continue with more good stuff tomorrow.

Real Estate Agents: Your New Best Friend

2008-06-23T12:51:00.002-04:00

Guess who is your new best friend in Real Estate investing? For many years real estate investors were often encouraged in their training to “get the real estate agent out of the way”. Investors often did not want to or couldn’t work with agents. However, in today’s market, your local real estate agent may just be your new best friend and an essential part of your dream team.

In the past few weeks the number of successful deals that we have negotiated at The Short Sale Service involving real estate agents has increased significantly. Several of the big dollar profits that have been the subject of Key Holder Success Post Card Series come out of deals where an agent brought the deal to the Key Holder and then found the ultimate buyer for the Key Holder. Real Estate agents today are an important part of your success.

First, a few years ago, Short Sales were not widely know outside of the real estate investor world. Sure, agents knew what they were, but they didn’t have to mess with them – for most real estate agents, there was plenty of business to pursue without the hassle of Short Sales.

Today, the market is completely different. The avalanche of foreclosures has changed the landscape of the broader real estate market and real estate agents must face this new reality. This means agents can no longer dismiss Short Sales – they have to take them seriously. Indeed, in many markets – most properties are overleveraged and if an agent has any hope of closing a deal, a Short Sale is an essential part of the puzzle. Bottom line – agents are starting to pay attention to Short Sales.

This can be good news for real estate investors – at least those who make nice with their new best friends.

FHA Waives 90 day Waiting Period?

2008-06-20T12:52:00.003-04:00

You may have seen new reports this week that FHA has waived its 90 day waiting period and you may be getting excited thinking an end to that pesky seasoning issue may be at hand. Don’t get excited. The rule change doesn’t do much if anything for real estate investors.

As you may know, since 2003 HUD has a regulation in place where they do not insure mortgages if the seller has not owned the property for more than 90 days. This has been around for 5 years. HUD is our government insuring mortgages issued by other lenders. Not all loans are "HUD loans" so this 90 day policy doesn't affect everyone - just HUD borrowers and therefore, investors who would like to sell houses to such buyers. If you sell to buyers getting HUD backed loans – this is a real issues and effectively shuts down simultaneous closings.

The tidal wave of new foreclosures has presented the following situation - a lender takes back the property through foreclosure - now it cannot sell the property to a buyer getting a HUD insured loan for 90 days. A silly reality that regulators have concluded is contributing to the build up of vacant REO properties and hurting housing markets.

FHA issued a new policy (PDF) last Friday that waives the 90 day waiting period for lenders who took a property back at foreclosure and for vendors who are selling foreclosed properties for lenders.

Bottom line for Short Sale investors – not much of anything has changed. The intent of the waiver appears not to assist investors purchasing and then selling foreclosed home – only to allow lenders to sell the homes directly to buyers with HUD financing.

Bottom line for Real Estate Agents – this new policy should unlock the opportunity to move REOs to end user Buyers with HUD loans.

Alaska Take Away #5

2008-06-19T14:10:00.001-04:00

Alaska Take Away #4

2008-06-18T14:58:00.004-04:00

This week, I’m writing about my recent trip to Alaska! I served as guest expert faculty on the Financial Freedom Network’s (ffn) Annual Freedom Cruise. We took the kids on a week cruise with Ron LeGrand and ffn. We’re studied Short Sales and spent time with many Key Holders – discussed your deals and your businesses.

Alaska Take Away #4: We spent one day in Alaska whale watching. It was an amazing experience. Whales spend 90% of their time under water, so eventhough they are the world’s largest animal, watching them from above water is quite a challenge. As our whale watching tour boat raced out to sea, our guide managed our expectations – he told us that whale watching was really “whale waiting”, that whales don’t “appear on schedule” and that there was no way to predict when a whale would come up to be seen or for how long he might stick around.

Well if that isn’t a whale of an analogy for Short Sales! First – whales are . . . well, big – very big – they move slowly and don’t respond too much to others – they do what they want and go where they want. Banks are like whales – they’re big complicated institutions that move at their own pace – you’ll have about as much luck moving a bank to respond to your schedule on a Short Sale as you would moving a whale to respond to your whale watching convenience.

Whales do not appear when you’re ready for them; neither do Short Sales. Just because you paid for you tour and this is the one afternoon that you are available to see them does not mean that the whales will come to you when you’re ready for them. Similarly, banks don’t approve Short Sales on your schedule. Just because you have a closing scheduled and are ready to go does not mean the behemoth bank will deliver an approval on your schedule.

Successful Short Sale Approvals come after much waiting. Short Sale negotiation is primarily Short Sale Waiting-On-Hold-Trying-to-Get-Through-to-Someone-from-a-far-off-ecosystem. Months can go by waiting to see the tail – that Short Sale Approval in writing.

But like whales, when Short Sales work out, they produce some of the largest and most dramatic of all deals in real estate. By successfully structuring win-win transactions that are in the best interest of the lender, the seller, and a buyer – a Short Sale produces the big victory that all parties can be proud of.

The team we hired to take us whale watching, however, was very good. They had years of experience and knew what they were doing. After managing our expectations, the pros took us to where they thought we would find whales – and within a few minutes we were treated to the spectacular sighting of a humpback blowing its spout, cresting above the water and then waving its huge fluke as it dove – a breathtaking experience. Over the next few hours, we saw about a dozen whales – we were patient, accepted that we were not in control and had to play according to the whale’s schedule, and then we let the pros do what they do best. As a result of going in with the successful approach, we enjoyed rare and thrilling close encounters with the biggest of all earth’s creatures.

Short Sales are the whales of real estate – big, slow, frustrating to watch, yet beautiful upon encounter. Chase them with the guide of professionals who can get you to them as efficiently as possible, but understand that they don’t necessarily come out on your schedule.

Alaska Take Away #3

2008-06-12T14:34:00.001-04:00

This week, I’m writing about last week’s trip to Alaska! I served as guest expert faculty on the Financial Freedom Network’s (ffn) Annual Freedom Cruise. We took the kids on a week cruise with Ron LeGrand and ffn. We’re studied Short Sales and spent time with many Key Holders – discussed your deals and your businesses.

Alaska Take Away #3: One of the nicest things about being on a big cruise ship is that practically everything can be done for you. There is someone that cleans your room twice a day and makes your bed. You need your shoes shined, just put them in the basket and leave them outside your door. You have laundry, just drop it in the bag. In the mood for some entertainment, just walk into the theatre. And of course, if your hungry – there are choices at any time of day – all you have to do is make the decision of where to go – formal, casual, buffet, pool side, or burgers and pizza – whatever you’re in the mood for – it’s done for you. Part of the vacation luxury of the cruise experience is that for one week, you can pretty much not worry about doing much for yourself because it’s all done for you.

The Short Sale Service was the first company years ago to say “We’ll do the Short Sale for you!” For the first time a leveraged model of Short Sale negotiation was offered to the real estate investor and brokerage communities. For many years, seller, buyers, investors, and agents struggled with the daunting, frustrating, and time consuming process of working a Short Sale through a major lender’s bureaucracy.

To this day, there are dozens of resources for teaching you how to do Short Sales yourself – courses, seminars, books, tapes – but there remains only one original Short Sale Service – the nation’s #1 Short Sale Negotiators.

Look, doing a Short Sales is no cruise, but at least you can have someone take care of most of the frustrating and time consuming aspects of dealing with the lenders so you have time for more important things – like … Chocolate Extravaganza Buffet at 11:30 pm – why not?

Alaska Take Away #2: There Is Opportunity In All Direction

2008-06-11T15:20:00.004-04:00

This week, I’m writing about last week’s trip to Alaska! I served as guest expert faculty on the Financial Freedom Network’s (ffn) Annual Freedom Cruise. We took the kids on a week cruise with Ron LeGrand and ffn. We’re studied Short Sales and spent time with many Key Holders – discussed your deals and your businesses.

Alaska Take Away #2: There is beautiful opportunity all around. Perhaps the most striking observation about Alaska is the scope and scale of the landscape – it is grand beyond description – you truly have to experience it. In all directions and as far as you can see, there is grandeur and beauty. There isn’t just one pretty view or one big mountain – rather the opportunity to take in nature’s majesty is all over and in every direction.

I’ve noticed a theme in the attitude of the group we are traveling with – a group dominated by successful investors and Key Holders. The conversations among this group are about how to maximize this amazing moment in time – that there are bargains everywhere and that now is the time to jump and push it hard in real estate.

A common theme that kept coming up in General Sessions was that the vast majority of leads generated are over leveraged houses with no equity. One participant complained, “how are we supposed to find deals when all my calls are from overleveraged sellers”. The answer of another faculty member was – “what’s wrong with an overflow of calls from overleveraged sellers? That’s a pile of potential Short Sales.” Send them to www.theshortsaleservice.com and see what happens.

The point is this is a tremendous opportunity right now, while the whole country is “on sale”. Not all Short Sales will work out, but if you can generate healthy flow of leads, and use the power of leverage to do the work then odds are you will have success.

The members of the successful group enjoying the abundance of Alaska did not spend their time complaining about “how bad things are” rather they were eagerly exploring ways to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities that are all around us right now. Like the beauty of the Alaskan wilderness – opportunity is all around us and in every direction.

Alaska Take Away #1: Success Requires Company

2008-06-10T13:09:00.007-04:00

We just returned from Alaska! I served as guest expert faculty on the Financial Freedom Network’s (ffn) Annual Freedom Cruise. We took the kids on a week cruise with Ron LeGrand and ffn. I taught sessions on Short Sales and spent time with many Key Holders – discussing your deals and your businesses. We had an absolutely amazing experience and for the next few days, I’ll share some of my Alaska Take Aways with you.

Alaska Take Away #1: Success requires company. Whether it was the staff on the cruise ship, the successful Key Holders we are cruising with, or the local people who showed us the amazing Alaska wilderness, nobody does it alone.

Everyone in business should take a cruise at least once if for no other reason than to experience the efficiency and witness the teamwork that is required to deliver meals, entertainment, water, towels, services, and other necessaries to 2,000 people on a boat. As an entrepreneur, I find it inspirational to see just how “tight a ship” can be run – with everything in its place, every staff person serving a distinct and essential role, and no room for anyone or anything that is not adding value to the overall safety and enjoyment of the experience.

Off the boat I observed that even though Alaska is the least densely populated of the States, survival in this great state requires team work. We went whale watching and saw about a dozen whales – a breathtaking site. The naturalist guide provided the educational background and information about the whales – told us what was going on when we saw them and gave us the exact moment to have our cameras ready. Captain Larry, however, knew how to drive the boat to get us to where the whales where – it took a team.

Captain Larry pointed out a lighthouse – a small house sitting all by itself on an otherwise deserted point. Larry said John lived out there and ran the light house. Captain Larry brings necessaries out to John occasionally. John drops a bucket down to the water with money and Captain Larry gets him his goods. An extreme example that even in one of the most remote places on earth and while engaged in one of the loneliest jobs in the economy – it still takes a team – maybe a small one, but it can’t be done alone.

I’ve also enjoyed spending time with many Key Holders – generally, successful ones with several successful Short Sales under their belt (who else can afford the time and money to spend a week touring Alaska!) Bob, Brian, Larry, Tim – as we spoke about your business and your success with the Short Sale Service, I couldn’t help observe how you each talked about the value of your team – your partners, staff, family, and yes – the Short Sale Service. A common theme that runs throughout this group of successful Key Holders is an understanding and appreciation of team. Can you do a Short Sale yourself? Sure, but being successful in business requires a team – and that you can’t do all by yourself out in the wilderness.

Wondering what you did wrong?

2008-05-29T13:43:00.003-04:00

A Short Sale is the voluntary agreement of a lender. Always remember – a Short Sale is something a bank can do IF it feels like doing it. Yes, I am lawyer by training – but we don’t sue banks for Short Sales. I often joke – there is no such thing as a “writ of habeas Short Sale” – it doesn’t exist.

I hear it very often: “I followed the checklist, I went to someone else’s boot camp, I did exactly what they said and it didn’t work – what did I do wrong?” Well, you probably did do something wrong. (That’s why having professionals do things for you is a good idea.) But let’s assume you didn’t do anything wrong and you followed that checklist exactly the way you should have – the reality about Short Sales is that you can do everything right and the lender just not go for it.

Remember – a Short Sale is the voluntary agreement of a lender to do something it doesn’t have to do.

First Things First

2008-05-28T15:41:00.001-04:00

Starting a new blog gives me the opportunity to ask “so what is the first thing I want to say?” What is the foundation from which all other posts will follow? With millions of people hanging on every word – what is the first offering?

Easy – success with Short Sales begins with a humbling and a respect for the basics – the very definition of a Short Sale – while it may seem overly obvious – the most important thing you can do to be successful with Short Sales is to remember exactly what one is –

A Short Sale is a voluntary agreement of a lender to do something it does not have to do – accept less money than is owed as an alternative to foreclosure.

This might seem overly obvious, but the secret to success – as an investor, as a real estate agent, or even as a homeowner – is found right here in this simple definition. Let’s break it down word by word – but let’s take it one day at a time.

Doing Well By Doing Good - Let's Get Started

2008-05-27T15:53:00.004-04:00

Ok, ok – I’ll do it! How many people have told me: “Ben, you’re the leading expert in the field, you created the leveraged service model for Short Sales, you run the nation’s leading team of Short Sale negotiators, and you speak all over the country for the top real estate educators – but you don’t have a blog!” Gasp!

Ok, ok. You’ve asked for it – here it is. Welcome to Ben's Blog – Short Sales, Real Estate Investing and Doing Well By Doing Good. Oh, and the occasional update on the kids which you always ask about.

But first – a couple of ground rules - the blog will contain my current thoughts and ideas about Short Sales. I’ll address and share cutting edge concepts gleaned from the several hundred Short Sales we negotiate every month.

However, the blog will not attempt to be a “How To” instruction set on Short Sales or real estate investing. We have spent years developing high quality step-by-step instructions and resources for customers of The Short Sale Service – and a blog is not the proper format to attempt to duplicate that information.

So the Blog will pick up where we are right now and move forward. If you need the basics – visit TheShortSaleService.com and we’ll send you a FREE Short Sale Basics CD to get you caught up.

But if you want to know what’s going on at The Short Sale Service and what’s going through Ben’s mind as the nation barrels through the post-mortgage meltdown market correction, then you’re in the right place at the right time. Enjoy!