This video was brought to my attention today, I found it to be disturbing and interesting at the same time.

It’s a Mini-Riot over the removal of Section 8 Housing in New Orleans, due to the Katrina hurricane, and damages associated with it.

As of recent days, there has been a rumor circulating the real estate community that Craigslist will be introducing fines to curb abuse by real estate agents and other entities.

The list includes :

A. If craigslist establishes limits on the frequency with which you may
access the Service, or terminates your access to or use of the Service, you
agree to pay craigslist one hundred dollars ($100) for each message posted
in excess of such limits or for each day on which you access craigslist in
excess of such limits, whichever is higher.

B. If you send unsolicited email advertisements to craigslist email
addresses or through craigslist computer systems, you agree to pay
craigslist twenty five dollars ($25) for each such email.

C. If you post Content in violation of the TOU, other than as described
above, you agree to pay craigslist one hundred dollars ($100) for each
Item of Content posted. In its sole discretion, craigslist may elect
to issue a warning before assessing damages.

D. If you are a Posting Agent that uses the Service in violation of the
TOU, in addition to any liquidated damages under clause (d), you agree to
pay craigslist one hundred dollars ($100) for each and every Item you post
in violation of the TOU. A Posting Agent will also be deemed an agent of
the party engaging the Posting Agent to access the Service (the
“Principal”), and the Principal (by engaging the Posting Agent in
violation of the TOU) agrees to pay craigslist an additional one hundred
dollars ($100) for each Item posted by the Posting Agent on behalf of
the Principal in violation of the TOU.

E. If you aggregate, display, copy, duplicate, reproduce, or otherwise
exploit for any purpose any Content (except for your own Content) in
violation of these Terms without craigslist’s express written permission,
you agree to pay craigslist three thousand dollars ($3,000) for each day
on which you engage in such conduct.

While it’s admirable that CL wants to introduce fines (I am not against fines for abusive activity at all). I truely believe it would be hard to incorporate fines for such a large base of users.

OCWEN Asset management has recently informed many agents that in December they will be auctioning many properties in selected areas.

As you may remember , PAS/Wells Fargo recently held a auction of many of their properties with Williams & Williams auctions.

In the past ,when I have visited auctions for REO properties, many have sold above market value, and many have sold well below market value (Some at half market value). I’ve been told by various asset managers that the average market value return of a auction is 80%.

Be sure to watch Ocwen’s website (http://www.ocwen.com/) for more information

I happened to run into a NEW website soliciting to real estate agents , and try to separate them from their money.

REOPrep.com is trying to copy, or produce their own similar version to what REOtrans.com has been offering for over a year. They are charging agents $2.40 per MONTH in an attempt to solicit bank
listings.

It’s amazing to me to see companies try to take advantage of economically weak agents, as many newer agents are the ones going to these services. Unfortunately, I have not seen ANY properties that have been assigned from this service to agents. With REOtrans.com you  can tell the aproximate level of REO properties in a given area, to judge whether or not the service works (I like the service and do subscribe).

Interestingly enough, I performed a whois search on this website, and they have only been around since APRIL of this year, even though the website has copyright dates from 2001…..Quite interesting.

I want to save time like EVERYONE else and have spent at least 3 hours trying to locate EMC’s Actual Loss mitigation number and OCWEN’s as well.

These are current as of November 2008.

EMC Loss Mitigation/Recovery Department -
866-325-4314
214-626-4702(Fax)

OCWEN Loss Mitigation Department
1-877-596-8580
407-737-8580(Fax)

I hope these numbers help you out, as I would of paid good money to save myself the headache of calling EMC mortgage well over a dozen times over the course of a few days.

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The lenders goal is first for their properties to be managed secondly for them to be sold. The Banks objective and goal is to get the property sold in 3 months. So get your ducks in a row! Remember you are the banks eyes and ears and they are looking for YOU the real estate agent to be their property manager and take care of that asset until you execute the final goal of selling the property thereby liquidating that asset for them. In order for you to have a bank consider you for the job of an REO Listing agent you must represent you are prepared to do exactly that. So BE PREPARED!
What you need to do next is:
•· HAVE A MARKETING PLAN-Some Broker owners can assist you with this if you don’t already have one. It will include the following points
•· Have all your service providers such as lock smiths, eviction service companies, plumbers, electricians, drywall, landscapers, trash-out companies, pool, termite, roofer, handymen etc., all service providers who have agreed to register with the asset management company you will be doing business. It is imperative you have identified your team, spoken with them letting them know that they will need to register with the Asset Management company and provide their license, insurance and bonding. I personally recommend having more than one of these contractors since you must guarantee the asset management company timely service or your listing will be reassigned to another agent. Remember the banks are most interested in meeting health, safety and code requirements. Note: Banks select their own title, escrow, and attorney. and do require you have buyers qualify with them or a specific lender as a level of insurance the buyers have a lender that can perform the loan closing. This does not mean that it is mandatory that they use their lender.
•· Know your city police department phone number, retired senior volunteers through the police department and grafitti hotline-PROGRAM THIS IN YOUR CELL PHONE as well as your service companies!
•· Know your broker preview and caravan in your area.
•· Have a REO website
•· Have the ability to drive by and inspect each listing every single week and conduct a weekly open house. Either you or one of your team members must be present.
•· Have “Rambo Gear”-sturdy shoes, digital camera, light bulbs, flash light, garden gloves, towel (never leave empty light sockets)
•· Know how to get a property FHA approved
•· If you are located in an area that requires your home to be winterized know that you must turn faucets to slowest drip,….drip….drip and leaving them dripping, with drains open. Make sure the furnace pilot is on, set thermostat to lowest temperature or 55 degrees. Be sure all windows and exterior doors are closed tight, to limit drafts. Open all cabinet doors under sinks for circulation.
•· Have your lead generation and commission sharing agreements spelled out with your team members. Have a buyers agent
•· Have open house folders, guest book for sign in, maps of the city, open house signs, opinion sheet for visiting agents.
•· Know the difference between a pre qualification and pre approval and learn how to identify legitimate loan pre approvals.
•· Know your market statistics and inventory
•· Know the minimum documentation required with a purchase offer submission and always guarantee that it is complete when presenting to the REO Asset Firm.
•· Have good access to e mail-you will have to respond within 24 hours of receiving the assignment.
•· Know e-signing technology (available through some Asset Management Companies)
•· Lastly, weekly check all the above sytems to make sure they are operational. Always document condition of home in sign in sheet.
Provided your license is in good standing and once you have put all these elements together you are ready to apply with the major institutional lenders and mortgage banks across the country. Some require that you include your resume.
What you can expect in your listing package when you receive an assignment?
In your listing package you can expect to have the following elements:
Address, listing contract, initial condition report form, marketing plan check list, valuation report, preliminary title report, utility authorization, no trespassing signs instructions, home warranty confirmation.

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As a sign of the times, PAS (The company that Wells Fargo outsources the majority of their REO Listings to). Has recently sent an email out, informing many agents that they are no longer able to work with their company.

From my understanding, they’ve trimmed back the herd in bulk , good and bad agents were both let go (Although I assume that more bad agents than good agents were let go).

Some are saying that this has to do with the USGOV bailout and purchasing bad debt, which would include large volumes of foreclosures, other say the volume is just down.

Whatever it is, one thing is certain – Getting into REO listings just got a little harder, as PAS was one of the best, well oiled companies to work with.

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Reverse Mortgages – What’s the deal?

I hear this term tossed about from time and time and have seen the commercials on TV. I decided to do a little investigating and I’ll share with you what I found out.

A reverse mortgage is available only to homeowners age 62 and older. It is a loan against the equity in a home that does not have to be paid as long as the homeowners live there. Homeowners can receive payments from the lender in lump sums, monthly payments or as a line of credit. At such time as the borrower dies, sells the house or permanently moves away, the loan must be paid in full including all interest and other charges.

There are reverse mortgages available from state and local governments. FHA insures a reverse mortgage called the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM). FHA insured reverse mortgages have an age requirement, required counseling and education, and a current appraisal. However, there are no income or credit qualifications. FHA also allows for up to a four-unit home and FHA approved condominiums and manufactured homes. These loans usually have to be used for specific purposes such as taxes or repairs.

Reverse mortgages are also available from banks, mortgage companies and savings associations. These can be used for any purpose. The amount you can borrow from the private sector reverse mortgages will probably depend on your age, home value, location and and cost of the loan (fees, etc.).

The AARP website gave a good example of why this “too-good-to-be-true” loan probably is. “For a 74-year-old borrower living in a $250,000 home in May of 2006 who borrows one-half of the maximum loan amount at closing, the total amount paid during her remaining life expectancy (12 years) could be about $7,800.” After totaling the “upfront and ongoing costs described for this 74-year old borrower…..would total about $25,000.”

I’m most definitely not a finance expert nor claim to be. However, I found several websites that had a lot of good information.

Aarp.org

Fha.com

Fanniemae.com

Ffsenior.com

As with any financial decision, the more you know the better. And be sure to get multiple opinions from a variety of sources.

Witten by Lesley Wolfe

Information is for academic purposes only, please seek the advice of appropriate professionals when considering a large financial decision, like a reverse mortgage.

Please Note : You are reading Blog #4 in a series of articles about Deutsche Bank. Please review the other articles, as they may answer any other questions you may have that this particular articles does not cover.

Part #1 The long search for a deal
Part #2 I Did It!
Part #3 How to Contact Deutsche Bank’s REO Department
Part #4 Other Notes About Deutsche Bank

I decided that I would post up another message about contacting Deutsche Bank’s REO Department.

After well over a hundred (Right now easily more than 200) emails about how to contact them. I decided on posting a very simple message about how to contact the bank’s REO Department (Or Lack Thereof)

As SOME of you know, yet the majority do not, The Deutsche Bank REO Department does not accept inbound phone calls. I have had Real Estate Agents, Investors , Banks , Asset management companies and Hedge Funds call me about how to call them ,and there’s just NO WAY TO DO IT without having a very personal contact with someone inside the department.

So , my advice is , if you really, really, really want to contact Deutche Bank’s REO Department, visit one of their office in Santa Anna California, and meet them in person if possible.

As I have stated in my other post at http://realestatecircleville.wordpress.com/2008/01/29/how-to-contact-deutsche-banks-reo-department20696/ the only way to get information on individual properties is to send them a fax of the specific property’s deed of trust, by calling 714-247-6000 and then ask to be connected to their REO hot line.

As always, you CAN email me at brandon.schlichter@realliving.comif you are looking in general to buy a foreclosed property , or are a hedge fund manager looking for bulk REO packages (Yes, they DO exist, but are 50%-60% LTV and have a minimum buy-in of $20m).

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I thought that I would post up a little article about one of the things I’ve been working on over the past few months.

I’ve decided that I’m really going to try and learn EVERYTHING I can possibly learn about real estate, and that includes rehab , building and the associated things.

So, the other day I decide I’m going to look at purchasing painting equipment. I did sign up with a Sherwin Williams contractor account, which was great. In addition , I decided that I needed a good airless paint sprayer.

Most of the sprayers I’ve found were in the $200-$300 range, which I expected, as they do save money over the long run (From what I hear).

That was until I found this gem of a website : http://www.gleempaint.com/paint-crew-770-recon.html Not only do they have this sprayer rebuilt, but for $79.99! Which is a great deal, as one of these from a major retailer will be around $199.

10-10-2008 – I received the sprayer today, so far it works out pretty good, it’s got some definite power to it which I didn’t expect since I’ve never used one before. I can’t wait to try this out on a large project. Cleanup was much worse than I thought , but I guess that’s what you get for all the benefits. I’ve been told that these are almost throw-away sprayers so I will log how many uses I get before problems. The sprayer hose seems VERY ruggedly built, and should allow a long lifespan.