The Agent University

The waterfall is flowing, the candle is lit, soft music is playing and I’m finally getting over my writer’s block. It is amazing what a Zen moment will do for your productivity and, in turn, your profitability.

Are you going so fast through your day that you forget to stop? If so, it’s high time that you stop and smell the roses. It is a standing joke in my family that I don’t even see the roses let alone stop to smell them. Do you have that same problem?

I find that when I can center and meditate even a few minutes a day, the results end up being more creativity, less stress and my priorities seem to be more clearly defined. It’s important for us to look back on what we have accomplished to evaluate were we are going in the future.

Buyers can take a lot of our time. Working with asset managers and sellers can be overwhelming. We need to remember that this life we are living is each our individual track. You get to decide how fast and furious you want to go or how slow and methodical you want to be.

My suggestion to you is to take a few minutes — even if it is just 10 minutes — and reflect and meditate. Meditate on where you have been and where you want to go.

Creating Zen in our lives is just as important (if not more important) than creating Zen when we stage and/or sell a home.

I’m excited and filled with hope about the new short sale rules. I believe these new rules have the potential to change the complexion of our entire real estate marketplace.

Ultimately, if administered properly, it will help many more homeowners avoid foreclosure by holding together transactions buyers have previously abandoned because of excessive delays in response caused by the inferior short sale process of many servicers.

Granted, the timelines have improved dramatically from the beginning of this default debacle and, frankly, the delays are not all the servicers fault. One of the biggest challenges they have faced (besides the massive overload because of the volume of distressed properties, understaffing, etc.), is the age old challenge of missing or incomplete paperwork in the packages turned in by the Realtor community. Believe me, I get that after processing thousands of Real Estate-Owned (REO) offers with constant missing initials, prequalification letters, etc.

Of course, the lost paperwork, constant refaxing, understaffing and poor systems setup to process the sales on the servicer side had something to do with it, too, but when it floods, some of the house get washed away and if you have 600 files stacked up, someone is going to be at the bottom of that pile.

The good news is the servicers recognize their former processing challenges and are staffing up for the next wave and the necessity to be compliant with these new rules.

My hope has been strengthened based on the involvement I’ve seen already with multiple servicers to educate the Realtor community in advance of their new processes and commitment to comply and speed up the short sale process. I’m glad to see it — everyone has certainly had enough time to adjust to the distressed market scenario and, I’m sure, anxious to see it go away.

New Short Sale Rule Highlights

Now, let’s discuss some of the highlights of the new rules instituted by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has instituted new rules effective June 1, 2012, which are designed to speed up the short sale process due to overwhelming homeowner complaints with the current system. These changes are huge and they all benefit the homeowner like never before.

This is the first stage of the rule changes found in the

from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. By the end of the year there will be announcements regarding additional enhancements addressing borrower eligibility and evaluation, documentation, simplification, property valuation, fraud mitigation, payments to subordinate lien holders, and mortgage insurance.

2011 Average Short Sale – 308 Days To Complete

To put this change in perspective, there were 88,303 short sales in the fourth quarter of last year and the average short sale took 308 days to process, according to recent industry statistics.

After June 1, 2012, servicers will be in violation of the requirements if they take longer than 30 days to reply in more than 10 percent of the short sale requests. They will face fines of $1 million for the first offense and up to $5 million for repeated violations.

New Requirements For Servicers

• Servicers (mortgage holders) must review and respond to requests for short sales within 30 calendar days from receipt of a short sale offer and a complete borrower response package.
• Notify borrowers within 30 days if any documents are missing from the request.
• Notify borrowers immediately if a deficiency payment is needed to approve the short sale and provide an estimated amount of the payment.
• Lender must form an internal group to review all short sale requests.
• Provide weekly status updates to the borrower if the short sale offer is still under review after 30 calendar days.
• Make and communicate final decisions to the borrower within 60 calendar days of receipt of the offer and complete borrower response package.

The State Attorney General is directed to conduct quarterly reviews and report any violations of the new mandated requirements.

These new requirements are also incorporated into the government’s Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA) programs. This program allows the homeowner to receive up to $3,000 relocation incentive in addition to any lender incentives. Some lender incentives can be as much as $25,000 depending upon the borrower’s individual lender and circumstances.

These federal government changes should improve the process and give the homeowner a smoother and faster path to full recovery.

URGENT Deadline – Mortgage Debt Relief Act Ends Dec. 2012

One other critical issue worth mentioning here is impending deadline of the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007. This act basically relieves the tax consequences for the homeowner from the short sale deficiency and expires in Dec. 2012.

It is imperative for homeowners contemplating a short sale to understand the additional tax consequences if they wait on their short sale until next year.

Servicers Held Accountable

There is no question the federal government has listened to the homeowner and is going to hold the servicers accountable. I expect servicers to embrace these sweeping changes, not only because of the huge potential fines to be levied, but because of the economic preference of short sales versus foreclosures.

Something about the huge savings in carrying costs, attorney fees, repairs to bring to market, avoidance of vandalism challenges, appliance and copper piping theft, etc., may have a higher appeal than dealing out more foreclosures.

Just call that a hunch.

Homeowner Recovery – All s NOT Lost!

It is significant for the homeowner to note that after the short sale, most lenders will approve the homeowner for a new mortgage in as few as two years (some even sooner, depending on individual circumstances, loan to value criteria, etc.).

Sidenote: I would like to briefly extend a huge thank you to Retired Colonel Leon Ray, who is my HomeStyle Team Short Sale Director for providing his input and research on this article.

How Are You Marketing To Obtain Short Sale Listings?

We have a multi-faceted approach to obtaining short sale listings and utilize cross channels to attempt to contact distressed homeowners. Our goal is not so much on obtaining short sale listings as it is to seek out and educate the homeowners on their options to avoid foreclosure and possibly rescue their home first and foremost.

Marketing Channels

Our marketing includes community outreach and education, social media, webinars, seminars, e-mail marketing, Internet marketing, free online reports, QR Codes, SMS text, direct mail, door hangers, telemarketing, video, blogging and good old door knocking.

Our RE/MAX Diamond HomeStyle Team has also formed a Home Rescue Team to help educate homeowners on their alternatives to foreclosure including eligibility questionnaires for:

• HAFA (Gov’t site: Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives)
• HARP (Gov’t site: Home Affordable Refinance Program)
• HAMP (Gov’t site: Home Affordable Modification Program)
• 2MP (Gov’t site: Second Lien Modification Program)

Arizona Foreclosure Prevention Task Force

In addition, one of the most recent activities we are going to be involved in is the Arizona Foreclosure Prevention Task Force. Several of the other top performing Realtors in our area were also called on to participate in this wonderful community outreach project.

Multiple monthly educational events have been taking place with outstanding turnouts from homeowners wanting to explore their options. Now, because of popular demand, a massive amount of outreach events are scheduled throughout the rest of 2012 we’ll be participating in and running break-out educational sessions side by side with the servicers and our peers.

What’s great about these upcoming events is that some of the servicers are going to be participating on-site and could even give immediate approval of the best option available for the homeowner right at the event.

How’s that for exciting!

Majority Of Homeowners Never Explore Their Options

Considering the sad reality that a majority of homeowners go to foreclosure without ever even exploring their other options or opening their mail from the servicers attempting to offer them assistance (even when it includes offers of monetary relocation assistance), it behooves us to be diligent (if not on a quest) as Realtors to get the right information to the homeowners in distress.

Especially considering that many homeowners are being told that walking away from their mortgage and letting the bank foreclose by doing a “Strategic Default” is their best possible option. Unfortunately, it has terrible consequences they need to be aware of.

Short Sale May Be Best Option

A short sale may ultimately be the route to go, but until we’ve fully investigated the other options available to see if this really is the best alternative, we have to do what’s best and right for our potential client first.

Naturally, we want to be there to help accommodate the short sale and we would all prefer to be the Realtor of choice after determining this is the best option. Who better to walk them through the process than ourselves, right? But, we must keep in mind, it is more of a give to receive scenario. In other words, uncover, discover and discard the worst options first before closing for the listing.

The fact is, I’ve taught people for years that true success begins when you genuinely and honestly begin caring about the people on the other side of the desk. If you put your wallet first, you might as well get out of the business – people can see that a mile away.

Thanks for your time! Have a great day and remember to never forget, “You’re worth it!”

About Joe Martin
Joe is a national columnist, advanced REO trainer, marketing / social media marketing expert & Broker/Co-Owner of RE/MAX Diamond servicing the Phoenix Metropolitan area. He leads the Top 100 RE/MAX Team in the World (2009/2011), has sold over 1500 homes since 2008, was inducted into the RE/MAX Lifetime Achievement Hall of Fame & has repeatedly won the coveted Diamond & Chairman’s Level Top Producer Achievement Awards. Joe has served on the Board of Directors for HAREP, is an active member of NAREB, NAHREP & AAREA and carries multiple REO certifications & industry designations, including the highly sought after membership in the National REO Brokers Association and Wall Street Journal’s List of Top 400 Real Estate Professionals. In 2010 he was a speaker/panelist at the default industries renowned Five Star Default conference in Dallas, Texas and also serves as a charter member of the 5-Star Federation of REO Certified Experts (FORCE). Joe loves helping others achieve success, is involved in community charities including Make-A-Wish, Children’s Miracle Network, Room For Joy and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. He enjoys sharing that “Happiness is a Product of Forgiveness” and helping others realize they are truly “worth it!”. He also loves reading, writing, speaking, training, marketing, boating, walks on the beach, majestic sunsets, listening to the waves roll in and scuba diving.

Below are the most recent agents to earn their Certified Foreclosure Agent, Certified Short Sale Agent (CSSA), Certified Commercial Foreclosure Agent and/or Graduate Investor Series designation(s) through The Agent University. These highly-trained professionals are now equipped with the knowledge and power necessary to be leaders in their fields.

Congratulations!

• Lance Twedt – Certified Short Sale Agent
• Donald Torrence — Master Investor Series
• Kathleen Griffin — Certified Foreclosure Agent Specialist | Certified Short Sale Agent
• Donald Torrence – Certified Foreclosure Agent Specialist | Certified Short Sale Agent
• Ann Fry – Certified Foreclosure Agent Specialist 
• James Ware – Certified Short Sale Agent
• Doug Swierczynski – Certified Short Sale Agent
• Aileen Kennedy – Certified Foreclosure Agent Specialist 
• Dianna Farnell – Certified Short Sale Agent
• Jan Bazal – Certified Foreclosure Agent Specialist 
• Debra Hecht – Certified Foreclosure Agent Specialist 
• Joanne Colangelo – Certified Foreclosure Agent Specialist 
• Nancy Shattuck — Certified Foreclosure Agent Specialist
• Bill Hilton — Certified Foreclosure Agent Specialist 

In addition to being industry leaders, all graduates can take advantage of The Agent University’s exclusive LinkedIn page to share their best practices and marketing secrets. LinkedIn is the leading way for professionals to connect with one another and capitalize on each others expertise.

The United States government is unveiling yet another initiative to further speed up the short sale process.

The new guidelines from the Federal Housing Finance Agency will go into effect June 15, 2012. In a nutshell, they stipulate further regulations for lenders to help process short sales more quickly. Lenders will be required to respond to short sale offers on Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-guaranteed loans in 30 calendar days or less.

The move is another step forward in an effort to expedite the short sale process, which became notoriously slow in the wake of the mortgage crisis. As of this month, short sales are taking an average of 306 days to close, much longer than the pre-crisis 2006 statistic of 113 days.

For a market that is currently saturated with short sales and has tens of thousands more expected to hit the market in the coming months, 306 days is simply too long. By requiring lenders to respond to short sale offers in a timelier manner, it is hoped that more balance will be restored to the real estate market and property values will begin to bounce back.

Banks have also begun offering significant financial incentives to distressed homeowners on the verge of foreclosure. Bank of America, for example, is giving between $2,500 and $30,000 to qualified short sellers as a relocation package to help get them out of the property they can no longer afford and back on their feet elsewhere.

To learn more about the new short sale guidelines and how they will affect your business, don’t miss our free upcoming webinar on May 31, 2012. Linda Yates, our Director of Education, will detail the changes so that you can integrate them into your own business as soon as possible.

Do you think of yourself as a “brand?”

If not, you’re probably missing out on a vastly more profitable real estate business. Think about the biggest, wealthiest businesses in the world — their brands were deliberately developed and are widely recognized (and extraordinarily lucrative) as a result.

Even if your business is just you, it’s still in your best interests to develop a brand around yourself and what you do.

There has never been a better time to brand yourself as a short sale expert. With so many listings being short sales and so many buyers and sellers looking to get the most out of today’s real estate market, the timing is perfect to create your own brand as the “go-to” short sale guru in your area(s).

It may be a little out of your comfort zone, but that’s what our expert, affordable short sale training is for. Work both sides of the short sale angle for maximum commissions by catering to both buyers and sellers.

Buyers want an expert who knows how to negotiate with the banks and pinpoint those diamond-in-the-rough properties that will score them instant equity. Our short sale training can help you learn the ever-changing short sale dynamic so that you can clearly explain them to your buyers and help them leverage those changes to their advantage.

Sellers want an agent who is sensitive to their financial situation and can help them navigate the short sale process in the most beneficial way possible. For agents, that means knowing what incentive programs (such as Bank of America’s up to $30,000 in short sale relocation incentives) are available to short sale clients and how to get the deal done as efficiently as possible.

Branding yourself is simply a matter of getting the right education under your belt and then going where your target business is. The Agent University can help you do both.

You’ve probably heard a lot about our Certified Short Sale Agent (CSSA) program by now. Maybe you’ve read through the course descriptions and even thought about signing up.

Well, what’s stopping you? If you’re one of the ever-shrinking number of agents who haven’t gotten their CSSA designations from The Agent University, you’re only holding yourself back.

In just five On Demand, online courses that you can take from the comfort of home on your own schedule, you’ll learn everything you need to know to integrate a successful short sale career into your real estate business.

The Agent University’s CSSA program is well respected and widely acknowledged to be the best short sale training available. That’s because our program was developed by the masterminds behind the number one-rated distressed property website, Foreclosure.com, and because our cutting-edge courses are led by hand-picked experts who want to help you make the most of your real estate career.

Let’s face it: If you’re waiting for the market to “turn around” or “bounce back” to the way it once was, you’re living in a dream world. For the foreseeable future, a short sale-driven market is the new real estate reality.

You have only two choices: Get on board or get left in the dust.

We’ve recently upgraded our CSSA program to provide enhanced value to our agents in response to the rapidly-evolving short sale industry. On May 31, 2012, our Director of Education Linda Yates will lead a hands-on session detailing the new short sale rules and how they affect your business. To register right now (it’s free) click here.

This new training is critical not just for CSSA students, but for all real estate agents with even the slightest inclination toward short sales. The new rules affect everybody, so the sooner you get them under your belt, the better off you’ll be.

This special training is free for all agents, so be sure not to miss out. And, if you’re a CSSA student, definitely do not skip this critical training — it’s your key to understanding the latest developments in the short sale arena.

To register right now (it’s free) click here.

Deric Beckett is a busy real estate agent with Coldwell Banker in Maryland. And thanks to The Agent University and Foreclosure.com, he’s getting even busier.

Deric already has his Certified Foreclosure Agent and Certified Short Sale Agent (CSSA) designations through The Agent University. He’s learned firsthand how valuable relevant market training can be.

“I am very pleased with the results thus far,” Deric told us in a glowing testimonial. “Lori Sands [our Agent Services Account Manager] explained the benefits of the classes and showed me how to promote myself to the millions of people who visit Foreclosure.com monthly. I continue to support and recommend membership to anyone interested in working with buyers or looking to buy properties.”

The reason that Foreclosure.com has such a large and loyal following is because of its accurate listings and quality data, not to mention the fact that distressed real estate is red-hot news right now.

If buyers understand nothing else about foreclosures and short sales, they understand that they could potentially get a landmark real estate deal if only they knew how to navigate the process.

Deric is one of the savvy agents, positioning himself to be the person buyers want to call when they’re interested in purchasing real estate. His Certified Foreclosure Agent and CSSA designations give his business serious credibility, so buyers can trust they will be working with an expert on today’s unique real estate market to get the job done.

Right now, the Foreclosure.com website is working hard to promote Deric’s short sale and foreclosure expertise to the many, many prospective buyers looking for a distressed real estate expert in his area(s). We could be doing the same for your business in your target area, too, for less than the cost of a single open house advertisement.

Get trained up and put yourself out there – no more excuses. Learn more at The Agent University.

When you need your car repaired, you take it to a mechanic. When you want a gourmet meal, you visit a five-star restaurant.

When your buyers want to explore the short sales in your area, whom do they go to? Is it you? If not, why not?

You’ve been hearing about short sales for ages, but for many buyers, distressed real estate is unfamiliar territory and they aren’t sure whether a short sale would be right for them or not.

To get those buyers’ business, you need to position yourself as the “go-to” real estate expert who specializes in short sales. It can be tempting to label yourself as a jack of all trades – and sometimes that works – but if you market yourself as a short sale specialist, you can be sure you’ll be getting more leads and commissions in the fastest growing area of today’s real estate market.

Take a look at our tips and tricks in this month’s newsletter to get the short sale aspect of your business up and running so that you can draw in those leads and steer your business where the money is:

Short sales.