Minnesota Short Sale Homes

This article was written by Mario a licensed agent that specializes in mn short sale homes

Your question is more of a marketing question then how to get into pre-foreclosure. My suggestion is to goto barnes and noble and pick up a

couple books on it. You would be suprised on how much there is on this

topic these days. even a couple years ago it was hard to find anything on

them but now it is common knowledge. Reading these forums will get the

majority of your questions answered that come to mind after reading a

couple books and getting the foundation laid.

As for the examples of marketing that you mentioned… To each his own.

Court house works well but you need to have a different message then

everyone else, be consistant at sending the letters, and do mass amounts

because it is a numbers game. Bandit signs work wonders, calling

houses for rent, looking on post sites, and even talking to agents that dont

do shorts because right now agents are sitting down with a lot of

sellers that cant list the traditional way because they owe too much and

the agent doesnt know that they could do a short sale. tell the agent

that you want every contact they get that they can not list because the

seller is upside down and just tell them you have alternative ways of

helping the seller. if the agent cant help them… tell them to at least

let you help them.

Most importantly, before you step into deep water you need to at least

know how to tread water, let alone swim. The worst thing you can do is

get a seller and not have a clue on where to start. so go do a little

reading and research to get comfortable and then start looking for

sellers. I dont agree with being an expert before you start because the only

way you become one is by doing it and messing up from time to time so

dont let research hold you paralized but u need to have a plan. I

always tell people who get stuck in research mode, you goto the library and

i will goto the bank.

Good luck!

Ron did a longer more detailed article at this link for minnesota short sale

Don’t Do MN Foreclosure Leasebacks

This article is written by Mario and agent that does specalize with mn short sale homes

Dont do the lease back for two reasons:

1) depending on your state laws it is sometimes very risk for the buyer

to do it and not come across as a preditor. I live in MN and we have

so many stupid laws to protect people but at the same time it is because

some people take advantage of and screw people that are already down

and out. In our state it is Very hard to do a foreclosure bailout

legally and usually not even worth it because they regulate how much you can

charge in interest and term and reapercussions and even how much more

you can sell it back to them for that it just takes the money out of it

and lets the seller/tenant walk all over you if they choose. Now

remember it’s not like someone is looking over your shoulder to make sure you

are doing it legally but at the same time all it takes is a

seller/tenant with a victom mentality to turn around and say that you were using

preditory tactics to steal their house and you have a mess on your

hands.

2)If they are that far behind right now with their BANK then why would

they hesitate to not pay you when they know you will make the mortgage

payment either way because it effects you. Now i am also not telling

you that the seller/tenant deliberately didnt make their mortgage payment

but there is a reason lenders look at credit reports… it shows thier

track history and the level of risk a lender is taking when giving

them a line of credit. You need to pay attention to the persons history.

if he is still in the same line of work and has no other form of income,

it is simply a matter of time before this person hits the same

financial situation again but this time you are the “bank” and you are the

jerk that has to evict them from their own house.

Lease backs are very risky and i have friends that did them for a while

and will never do them again because of the amount of times that

people they were trying to help turned around and screwed them and stayed in

the house as long as they could to make the situation even harder on

the investor.

Do it right and buy it outright from him and if you want to deal with a

tenant, put one in that has a good track record of paying thier bills.

that is y it is so important to ask them what their plan is if they

are not going to sell, because that is most likely their only option

besides foreclosure.

Ron did a longer more detailed article at this link for minnesota short sale

Minnesota Short Sale Homes

This article comes from Mario, and agent, who has done a lot of mn short sale homes

The deed into the trust is not recorded until the day of closing. So although a deed transfers ownership rights (whether recorded or not) you cant transfer it twice. So when i am first getting docs
signed i do have them sign the deed and get it notarized but I dont record it until the day of closing. I have the closer record it with all the other docs she is overnighting to the county.
both the trust buying from the seller and end buyer buying from trust must happen on the same day. In order to avoid any confusion when the end buyer is getting financing lined up (because they will not see the name of the trust on title or tax records but will see the trustee on the
executed pa) i will tell the end buyers agent or the buyer that we have very RECENTLY deeded the property into a trust to avoid having liens put against the property before the closing and tell them that is why a
trustee executed the pa and is now in charge of managing the sale of the property. Although there is nothing wrong with it, if you have read any of my other posts you will know how I feel about this but, most agents dont understand real estate if it is not the most simple structure
and a lot of advanced investors dont even understand trusts so you want to keep things as simple to understand as possible for them to avoid confusion and having to over explain everything for an hour.
This is probably the most confusing part for people because they are used to hearing about “subject to” deals where they walk away with a deed and go to record it and then can go sell it when ever they want. Its a little different because of the seller’s lender’s guidelines in the short sale approval letter.
Hope that helps. let me know if you have anymore questions.

Ron did a longer more detailed article at this link for minnesota short sale

Ron wrote an article about the minnesota short sale process

This article was written by Mario about assignments for investing in real estate…

Mario is an agent who specializes in mn short sales

Your assignment shouldnt be an issue depending on how you word it with the lender. All you do is get the original offer accepted with the seller’s bank. after that is done, assign the contract to a new buyer and
that agreement is between you and the new buyer. That is not part of closing. MAKE the buyer pay you his fee up front. that is where things get messed up, if you are trying to get paid your assignment fee out of closing. Only deal with people who can actualy afford to do the deal, it will save you headaches in the end. Once again, have them pay you the
assignment fee and then contact the seller’s lender and tell them that you needed to change the name of the borrower because that buyer will not be able to perform. Dont lie and say their financing fell through or
anything like that because you always want to be honest. make it seem as though you are doing them a favor by finding a new buyer for them really fast with the Same terms, same close date, same net, just different borrower. Bet you $100 that they say “oh… ok”. have them send over the new acceptance letter. Be ready for the lender to request a new preapproval letter for the new borrower. Obviously the last guy didnt come through so they want to make sure the new guy can actually perform.  These mitigators are used to buyers financing falling through and they are thankful that they dont need to get an entirely new package approved from management because they have a million other deals they are working on. they may request a copy of the purchase agreement with the new borrowers name on it but that takes all of 2 mins to throw the new one on there.

As for land trusts… we use the regularly and when it comes to short sales, they need to be used a little differently. In a normal transaction most people have the sellers deed the house into the trust and leave them as beneficiaries until the day of close (to avoid due on sale claus and just to know that they are not hiding anything from their lender) and the day of closing will have the seller assign their beneficiary interests over to the buyer. at that time the 1st buyer goes to closing table and sells it to end buyer. with short sales, it is a little different because you are dealing with the sellers lender and then you need to remember that the seller can not recieve any proceeds. so in that case the house needs to stay in seller name until closing and then seller sells to trust, that you are the beneficiary of and then the trust sells it to end buyer. if the seller is ever beneficiary of the trust in a short sale, it will cause problems with the sellers lender because THE SELLER CANT GET ANY PROCEEDS.

If you just want to use the trust to assign the deal then someone before me was right. Get a purchase agreement accepted from the sellers lender with the trust being the buyer. You are the beneficiary of the trust. Then you go get an assignment contract to assign beneficiary interest in the trust not to assign the purchase agreement. Most likely you will keep yourself or a nuetral person as the trustee to keep things simple so at closing you or an attorney or neutral person still will sign for the trust. if you change trustee then you will need to do more paperwork and it is somewhat un-neccessary (cant spell).

Please make sure that you consult with your attorney about the simo close and land trusts. Laws in my state are different then yours and to make sure we are always doing things within the law, we do the closingswith an attorneys office instead of a normal title company. that way we know that we are doing things the right way.  Hope that stuff helps cuz my fingers are sore!

Thanks Mario for the great article, we have his future articles in the “Mario” category

At the bottom of this article we have added the new   “Financial Incentives and Uniform Process for Short Sale” that just came out in late May, 2009 by the Obama Administration, see the bottom of this article for details.

Your first step for solving this problem is to please call 763-300-1648 Ron ron@minnesotainvestors.com, we will help you with the entire short sale process.  Most people over financed have about 4-5 main fears:

1. Will I be able to get another home with bad credit?  There are tons of c/d and rent to own homes, we have the solution

2. Will it affect my credit? Yes, but what’s credit these days, you can get rent to own and c/d’s with bad credit, maybe finance 2-3 years

3. Will there be a tax burden? Currently there is a great tax benefit in effect,take advantage  http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=179414,00.html

4. Will I have to move out right away and be on the street?  Likely not, the foreclosure timeline is quite long, giving you planning time

5. Will it be a big hassle?  No, there is some upfront signing of paperwork, we negotiate with the bank and handle the rest

Now that we have that out of the way, call us 763-300-1648 or email ron@minnesotainvestors.com and let’s get started, more info below

Minnesota Short Sale Homes

What is the difference between a real estate short sale vs. foreclosure home and what does it mean and how does it work? This is a popular and important question in today’s national economy. I will define a short sale for you later in this article, but first I want to tell you why their seem to be so many short sales going on right now, so I will get into the definition of short sale in just one moment, but first please let me go over some of the common reasons and situations on how a homeowner gets into the situation and then on how to save your home from foreclosure through what’s known as the short sale process. I believe some of the most common situations that the homeowner gets into resulting in pre-foreclosure, is that they get behind on payments, and soon they are facing foreclosure, they soon learn that due to the current real estate market and how home values are going down quickly It’s then, that the homeowner realizes they have little or no equity and therefore they can’t afford to even pay real estate commissions. If it’s an investor or burnt out landlord they may get into a situation where it needs too many repairs, of which they can’t afford, and then the property becomes a vacant house due to many reasons like a job transfer, or a sudden need to move. Here is where the homeowner needs help and at this point we will call upon a short sale specialist as we now have an owner with a mortgage with a lender like Countrywide or a bank like Wells Fargo with a short sale house situation.  We may have you talk to a real estate attorney about Minnesota Foreclosure short sale law.

The definition of a Real Estate Short Sale is: A lender’s agreement to accept less than is owed (short payoff), as an alternative to foreclosure.

A message to all of my readers, I am going to try to keep updating this article over a period of time as I learn new ideas and information to help homeowners, investors, buyers, and anyone related to real estate with this popular subject. Let me now get into some short sale information and see if I can help answer a lot of the questions about the process and how shortsales work in Minnesota, let’s go over why a lender would even do a short sale.

Why Would a Bank do a Short Sale?

Banks are not in the real estate business and what I mean by that is the banks do not want your house back through the foreclosure process, they don’t want to own the property, they want to only lend money. Banks are in the lending and interest business. The reason a bank is willing to do a short sale is that the entire foreclosure process in addition to other costs can equal $50,000+ easily by the time the bank sells the house they get back through foreclosure. The lender offering the property for less than the underlying debt, or anything under $50,000 discount could be worth it to them. For example, let’s say a home owner owes $200,000 on a house and it’s now worth only $175,000 and the seller found a buyer for the $175,000. In this scenario, there is $200,000 owing on the property, so therefore it would take a “short payoff” on the banks part, just to get the deal done. Sometimes lenders will even count the loan as paid in full even with the discounted difference, but not always, it’s a negotiable item. The Four parties that are involved in a short sale are:
1. The owner of the property that is being foreclosed upon
2. A buyer that is interested in the property; maybe an investor seeking a discount
3. The third party that is servicing the loan, the lender itself, or a servicing company
(Conventional, FHA, VA, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, etc.)
4. PMI- Private Mortgage Insurance company with the lender

What is the Timeline for Foreclosures in Minnesota?
Here is a diagram: http://mnrealtor.com/consumer/ForeclosureProcess.pdf

2: The Mortgage: After the promissory note is signed, the borrower then gives the bank a mortgage and he/she(buyer) becomes the mortgagor and the bank becomes the mortgagee. This mortgage document will contain the following provisions:

• Acceleration Clause upon default: this provision would give the lender the right to seize the property if the borrower were not to honor the terms of the promissory note. This right, that the borrower has, would end as soon as the borrower cures the default by catching up on any delinquent amount in the arrears, if the buyer refinances, or if the buyer sells the property and pays off the loan.
  
• Due On Sale Clause: this provision would give the bank the right to call the loan due upon the transfer or (conveyance) in the property. The lender does have the right to do this per the provision in writing, but doesn’t always enforce it.
  
• Mortgage Covenants: these covenants known as rules or (promises) force the borrower to do certain things such as: make sure the property is insured and keep the property in good repair, pay property taxes, essentially it’s in there to protect the lender.

What then is considered default status?

The mortgagor is required to make the agreed upon payments on a monthly basis; however, a typical real estate mortgage would include terms requiring the mortgagor (borrower) to do more than just make the agreed upon payments. Such as, the mortgagor is required to maintain property insurance on the property, pay all real estate taxes that become due, and maintain the property for the benefit of the mortgagor and the mortgagee (lender) which was just stated above. In addition, the mortgage may include a provision that would prohibit the sale of all or of any portion of the property without the prior written consent of the mortgagee. These provision, as mentioned above, would be the due on sale clause. If the mortgagor would fail to abide by any of the terms in the mortgage, he or she (by definition) is in default status. Most real estate mortgages would have a “Power of Sale Clause” that would give the mortgagee the ability to legally take possession of the property.

Under Minnesota law, there are two methods of foreclosing a real estate mortgage:

Foreclosure by Advertisement (Non Judicial) (most common method)

To initiate a foreclosure by advertisement in Minnesota, the creditor(lender) would need to prepare what is referred to as a “Notice of Mortgage Foreclosure Sale”. This notice must specify in writing, the name of the mortgagor, the mortgagee, as well as the original principal amount that is secured by the mortgage, the date the mortgage was originated, the amount the lender claims to be due on the mortgage including taxes paid by the mortgagee, when and where the mortgage was recorded, a description of the mortgaged property, the time and place the sale will take place, and the time that will be allowed by Minnesota law for redemption by the mortgagor. When this notice has been prepared by the creditor, it must be published in a “qualified” newspaper in the same county in which the foreclosing property is located for a period of at least six weeks prior to the sheriff sale. After the foreclosure notice has been prepared and the publication (advertisement) has now begun. The debtor may have the right to reinstate the mortgage. This right the borrower(debtor) has to reinstate is. to be guaranteed by actual Minnesota law even though the creditor/lender may have already accelerated the balance due under the mortgage prior to the initiation of foreclosure proceedings. For the borrower to reinstate the mortgage, the borrower must pay to the mortgagee the amount of the default at the time the mortgage foreclosure proceedings were first initiated plus all accrued costs of foreclosure up to the date of reinstatement, this would include half of any attorney’s fees allowed by law or $150, whichever is greater. If the borrower were to reinstates the mortgage that they are behind on, the foreclosure proceeding would stop at that point, but to reinstate the mortgage, the required back payments in arrears must be paid prior to the sheriff’s sale taking place. I wouldn’t recommend waiting until the last minute on this.

2) Foreclosure by Action (Judicial) (Very rare method in Minnesota)

To initiate a foreclosure by action in Minnesota, a summons and complaint would need to be served according to the “Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure”. The complaint would name as it’s defendants, all current owners of the property, any other lien holders, and those with any right to possession of all or even a portion of the premises. If no party were to defend the action, then the mortgagee may obtain from the court that it be deemed a valid mortgage. If any of the defendants object, a trial may be necessary to establish the right of the mortgagee to whom will foreclose. Once the court has made its decision, the sheriff would then publish a notice of sale for a six-week period of time.

If the debtor (borrower) is a resident of the county in which the mortgaged property is located, a copy of this judgment of the court and in addition the sheriff’s notice of sale must be served to the the one in debt (borrower). After serving the notice of sale on this debtor, the sheriff must post the notice of sale for the six weeks. At the sheriff sale, the sheriff may sell the property only to cash bidders, except for the mortgagee, which can bid (pledge) its total mortgage and debt. Following this sheriff sale, the sheriff would report the sale to the court, which would then confirm the sale.

Once the court has confirmed this sale, at that point the statutory period of redemption for the debtor would then begin. The time periods for redemption of a foreclosure in Minnesota are the same as for foreclosure by Advertisement. Under either method of foreclosure in Minnesota, any junior lien holders may redeem at the foreclosure sale if the mortgagor fails to redeem. These junior lien holders may redeem if, before the expiration of the mortgagor’s redemption period, they have filed for record, a “notice of intention to redeem”.

The junior lien holders are each given a period of five days within which to redeem the property, and this is based on the priority of their claims or liens on the property (the recorded order) in most all cases, against the property. If the amount that is realized at the sale turns out to be less than the amount due on the underlying debt, the creditor may then be able to obtain a deficiency judgment against the mortgagor, but if the statutory redemption period is six months (very standard) a deficiency judgment can be obtained against the mortgagor “only” if foreclosure was by action. No deficiency judgment can be obtained against a mortgagor, if the “redemption period is six months”, and “foreclosure was by advertisement”. If the redemption period is twelve months, a deficiency judgment could be sought after the borrower.

The Redemption Period:
The redemption period is the time immediately following the Sheriff Sale. During the redemption period the mortgage on the home is no longer valid and the lender will not accept anything, but full payment of the loan. This leaves the homeowner with two options at this point: either sell the property or refinance the property. The mortgagor must redeem within six months of the date of the sale unless one or more of the following did apply, in which case the redemption period can be up to twelve months:

-The mortgage was executed prior to July 1, 1967. • The amount claimed due and owing as of the date of the notice of foreclosure sale is less than 66-2/3 percent of the original principal amount secured by the mortgage. • The mortgage was executed prior to July 1, 1987, and the mortgaged property, as of the date of the execution of the mortgage, exceeded ten acres in size.

-The mortgage was executed prior to August 1, 1994, and the mortgaged property, as of the date of the execution of the mortgage, exceeded ten acres but did not exceed 40 acres in size and was in agricultural use as defined by Minnesota statute. • The mortgaged property, as of the date of the execution of the mortgage, exceeded 40 acres in size. • The mortgage was executed on or after August 1, 1994, and the mortgaged property, as of the date of the execution of the mortgage, exceeded ten acres but did not exceed 40 acres in size and was in agricultural use, as defined by Minnesota statute.

What is the Authorization to Release Form?
View this Authorization to Release info form
This form would be 1 of many items in the Short Sale to Package.

Here is an example of the language you would see in a Authorization to Release info:

Borrower/Owner:

Social Security Number:

Property Address:

I/We hereby authorize______________________

and it’s agents to obtain any and all information with respect to the following items:

1. Any and all information on my existing loan, including but not limited to:

My mortgage loan with (Lender)_______________________________

Under Loan Number:________________________________________

2. Any and all information on any existing liens against the above named property, including but not limited to information for any lien holder/and or their attorneys

3. This document may be reproduced by the individual or company to obtain information from multiple sources as needed

Please provide________________________________________

with any and all information requested on our behalf

{Borrower’s Signatures}

{Co-Borrower’s Signatures}

How Does a Short Sale Hurt or Affect Your Credit Score or Report?

This is a very common question asked all the time as far as what effect it will have, how a short sale on your record will affect your credit score and credit report. A short sale in general will affect your credit report less than a full foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure. You can have a “settlement paid in full” negotiated with the lender, and obviously this will show better than simply doing nothing. No one may know exactly to perfection what the difference is in points on how your credit score would be affected whether you do a short sale vs. a foreclosure. If you are behind in payments and you owe too much on the house, what choices do you really have anyways, you are over financed. If you have lots of money, assets, reserves, and a high net worth and you just don’t feel like making payments or feel like paying down your principle balance, your lender won’t want to do a short sale. They will first want to get financial info from you, and a written hardship letter. This will make it quite clear to the bank that your only option is some help from the lender. This is where you see a seller that has a property listed on the MLS reading as “subject to bank approval”. A full foreclosure can stay on your credit for up to 7 years. I recently heard that Freddie Mac was trying to pass some new laws for their company that would not allow some borrowers to finance a home for up to 5 years through them. This was more in the cases where people were just walking away, and didn’t have a true hardship case. Currently you can get a FHA loan where your last foreclosure was only 3 years ago. That’s how it is in the current market. You can always just go buy on a contract for deed, get into a rent to own, or rent a property while you are improving your credit. As a general rule you can still get loans with 30 day late payment on your record, it becomes less likely with a 60 day late, and very hard with 90 day late mortgage payment, etc. Also in today’s market you can get a lender and the loss mitigation department to agree to a short sale without being behind on payments. In the recent past you had to be behind up to 90 days. It’s slowly been easier and easier as the lenders want to solve this currently large problem with foreclosures. You will probably have many questions about credit, credit repair, bankruptcy, and how all of this affects you and works together, the guy you will want to talk to locally is: Todd Rooker 763-383-0959, he is the owner of Armor Financial Services Credit and Debt Specialists. He is good to talk to about credit repair, financial planning, and he can even refer you to a specialized bankruptcy attorney that understands short sales and a tax specialist on how the “short payoff”, 1099, or deficiency judgment could affect you as it relates to your taxes. There are situations where you, as the seller, are “insolvent” as the definition put forth by the IRS. Please consult a tax advisor on this. You should check out the new Fannie Mae guidelines for foreclosures and short sales. This is why you don’t want to walk away Walk Away Vs. Short Sale

How Does Bankruptcy and Short Sale Work Together

I am going to refer this over to Todd Rooker 763-383-0959 a specialist mentioned above with credit repair knowledge, Todd can refer you to an attorney that specializes and understands the affect of bankruptcy and the foreclosure process. As a general rule a bankruptcy doesn’t stop a foreclosure, and in some cases it can only slow it down. Situations where a bankruptcy is done before the sheriff sale could slow down, or postpone the sheriff sale, whereas if it happens during the redemption period it would just take place within that redemption window, so my understanding is that before the sheriff sale would be where you are slowing it down. Being in foreclosure prior to the sheriff sale and prior to the foreclosure being filed by the bank would be considered a pre-foreclosure. Also the lender must file a motion asking for the foreclosure to proceed. I would highly suggest that you go over this with a bankruptcy attorney who does this every day for a living. You will be getting a letter known as an “Affidavit of Abandonment for Real Estate & Asset”.

How Do I Buy a Short Sale?
As a buyer you want to know what is in mn for sale and when you find out you’ll ask how to make an offer to buy a short sale house? When buying a short sale home it’s recommended you work with a buyer’s agent or a listing agent that is working with the 3^rd party short sale negotiator, or directly talking with the loss mitigation department at the bank. They will be able to update you on what’s going on. You are probably wondering where to find them. Typically you are looking for an agent that is listing houses on the MLS stating in the agent remarks such as “subject to bank approval”, “subject to a short sale”, this is a “lender mediated transaction”, “subject to 3^rd party approval”. These are the types of phrases you are looking for. This agent could likely be in the business of negotiating short sales all of the time. When you call them just tell them you are a buyer looking for some help. After you look at some of the available properties they have on their short sale list. After you find the right property you like just like any other transaction, you will have the agent write up a short sale offer that will get submitted to the bank.

How Do I Work With a Short Sale Real Estate Agent
There are REALTORS® that do specialize in short sales and foreclosures. That is the type of real estate agent you should work with. They are going to understand the paperwork, the short sale process and all of the timelines that are involved. The agent will meet with the homeowner and they will go over the paperwork, have you sign it, collect it and get it into the negotiator, so that they can submit it with the package to the lender. The agent could put a sign in the yard if the seller agrees as well as get the property listed, and start getting showings on the property, make phone calls, return phone calls. The listing agent can review purchase agreements, write up purchase agreements, sometimes can even work with the buyer’s also. The listing agent works very hard along the way to keep the homeowner informed throughout the entire process. When these houses are listed on the MLS, it may read something like subject to 3rd party approval or subject to lender approval, since it requires the lender to lower the price to get it done.

After the sheriff’s sale during the redemption period?
Some questions that often get brought up are about the redemption period which takes place after the sheriff sale (This section will be updated soon, check back)

How Do I Get Additional Short Sale Classes and Training?

One of my favorite training classes I have taken is a Saturday class based on the program Secrets of the Short Sale created by Steve Dillon also presented by Curtis Brooks. This is a short sale course that these two came up with that they spent a lot of time and research on from their experiences, and someday I hope to check it out myself. There is a popular course out there by Tom Butler called Short Sale Magic. I see it advertised online everywhere. Either of these programs are perfect for those investors that want to get into the business and start there own short sale company. It’s important that you learn the proper requirements and procedures in the business, proper forms, laws, tips and how to properly service your clients after you have sent in the initial short sale full packet. Please remember when listing your properties for sale to put in the “agent remarks” online that the sale is “subject to a short sale”, so that the buyers know it’s not a conforming traditional sale. One of the things you will get from the many training books and classes out there is how to really be an expert at how to do negotiations with the bank and their loss mitigation department. Soon after doing many transaction and calls in which you have spoken to this department at the bank, after enough times you will be known as the loss mitigation specialist! When you first meet with your seller(clients) you will be collecting a lot of their personal information (this is listed at the bottom of this article) and after you gain all of this info and decide that you can move forward with their situation, you will be getting some contracts signed for the short sale. One of the many items you will need from the seller is what’s referred to as a “hardship letter”. This is best presented to the bank if it’s hand written by the seller describing their current situation and why they are not able to make the payments in the coming future. This will be one of many items in your package that you will send into the lender before you would get an approval later on. Your goal would be to eventually build up a lot of referrals and leads and create a very efficient short sale system.

How Does a Short Sale Affect Me With Taxes?

This is a very imporant question, and has a newer answer as of the end of 2007, in regards to a big tax rule that took place: http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=179414,00.html Being that I am not a tax advisor I will not get into this question and topic too deeply, and also I have attached numerous great articles from the IRS, and attorney’s below for further reading about short sale taxes and the 1099 the homeowner could receive in the future. We will want to make sure that the short sale expert negotiator does his/her best to help you out. I have listened to many experts and been to many short sale seminar and training, and they all seem to have a different view, or at the very least explain it in a different way. As a general rule in Minnesota, when you go through the foreclosure process, that lender who does go through a standard 6 month redemption by the way of advertisement has in effect relinquished their rights at coming after the borrower for a deficiency judgment on the short sale. However, you are looking to sell the property for less than what is owing before it would go back to the bank. Therefore with this situation, when the short sale negotiator talks to the bank they will need to get a letter approved by the lender to waive any future deficiency judgment against the seller and consider it a “full settlement paid in full”. Please keep in mind that lenders can still come after anyone that signed on the original promissory note that guaranteed and signed this note. In addition the other lien positions didn’t initiate the foreclosure, so they still have the right to come after the seller for a deficiency judgment. Also many lenders will do what’s called a “partial release” where they detach the lien (mortgage) from the property so that the property can be sold and clear title can be passed to the next buyer. Depending on the negotiations with the lender, this promissory note can become a judgment and the lender can later come after the homeowner for that amount they guaranteed. Also please keep in mind if you sell it on a short sale, or the bank ends up with it back, eventually their will be a “loss” showing to the lender of which the lender will take that difference (amount owing – amount sold for) and even if they don’t’ come after you for a deficiency judgment they can always pass that information onto the IRS, and at the timing and choice of the lender can 1099 the homeowner possibly 1, 2, or 3 years later when it would make sense for the IRS, to show it as a loss on their tax records for that year. This part of the transaction can get pretty complicated, so I think you should seek advice of a tax advisor, I would also recommend you talk to Todd Rooker on this as well as he can put you in touch with the right tax advisor.

How to Find My Next Property Now That I Have Bad Credit?

Now that you feel that you have bad credit currently or know that you soon will have bad credit, you need to plan on your next property that you will live in. You will want to consider the fact that the foreclosure process in Minnesota is long, and during negotiations with the bank it takes some time, so you will have to make a decision if you are able to make future payments, if you are going to save that money up, or what you decide to do. If you need a Minnesot place to rent. All of them allow for bad credit and previous foreclosures, bankruptcy, etc in almost all cases. The more money you have to put down, the more rights you’ll have on the home, and the closer to ownership you’ll be. Check this site for updates, and as of right now, for only 6% down you can buy and own a house on a contract for deed, allowing yourself a few years to get your credit better and qualify for a home in the future. There are plenty of properties out there for those even with not so great credit, so please don’t worry about that, there are plenty of vacant properties.

CONCLUSION:

Let me first say that I always appreciate the opportunity to educate everyone on the short sale and foreclosure process here in Minnesota, and how I can answer everyone’s questions in this article. Let me say I am a real estate agent and broker and I am not an attorney and not a tax advisor, so I please ask everyone to seek guidance in regards to those topics as there are many foreclosure laws as well as many important tax consequences to consider when doing a short sale. Please see my disclaimer at the bottom of this page. I also would like to add that I am more than happy to talk to homeowners that decide to get help to do the short sale procedure. In addition, also short sale and foreclosure agents that want to refer their leads for negotiating a short sale. I will only be able to take leads for the state of Minnesota for right now, possibly on the border of Wisconsin. I welcome all leads of yours. Please read below as I let you know which questions I will need the answers to. You may fax the answers to these questions to 763-390-0011, you may email the answers to ron@minnesotainvestors.com, or I can email you a form and you can fill it out, which could save us all some time. Before working with myself or a short sale agent please read Minnesota’s agency disclosure.

Please contact me at the following info:
Ron Orr, Jr.
Real Estate Agent/Broker
MinnesotaInvestors.com, Inc.
Phone:763-546-9090
Fax:763-390-0011
ron@minnesotainvestors.com

LEAD INFO NEEDED FROM SELLER:

1^st Lender Info:
Lender Name:
Amount Owing:
Monthly Payment:
Payments Behind:
Reinstatement Amount:
Type of Loan: Conventional, FHA,VA
Do you pay PMI:
Account #:

2^nd Lender Info:
Lender Name:
Amount Owing:
Monthly Payment:
Payments Behind:
Reinstatement Amount:
Type of Loan: Conventional, FHA,VA
Do you pay PMI:
Account #:

Property Info:
Are you working with a real estate agent currently? MLS#?
Address: City: Zip: County:
Bed: Bath: Garage Stalls:
Property Style Type: Multi-Unit? Sq Ft? Year Built?
Estimated Market Value:
Does it need repairs: Estimated $:
List of repairs needed:
Sheriff Sale Date:
End of Redemption Date:
Is the property currently occupied or vacant?
Have you had a bankruptcy? Date When? Date Discharged: Chapter 7? Chapter 13?
Other liens on the property? Any judgments? Past due water bills? Past Due Taxes?

Short Sale Documents that we will need soon from the homeowner are:
1. Signed Authorization to Release form
2. Tax returns for the last 2 years (1040)
3. Pay stubs from last 2 months (+spouse)
4. Bank statements last 3 months+ (joint accounts)
5. Recent mortgage statements for all properties
6. Hardship letter (handwritten)
7. Financial form will be provided
8. P&L statement for Self Employed and Properties

Related Articles:
Taxation of Forgiven Debt: The 1099C & You written Feb 24, 2006

Excerpts from IRS publications 544 and 507 Regarding Form 1099-C

Seller’s Legal and Tax Liability in Short Sales April 22, 2008

H.R. 3648 The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007
Questions and Answers on Home Foreclosure and Debt Cancellation

Also the recent reset chart of ARM loans about to adjust

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Components/ArtAndPhoto-Fronts/BUSINESS/2008/October/081021/Next-foreclosure-wave2.gif

http://bp3.blogger.com/_pMscxxELHEg/RxzD0s_7EYI/AAAAAAAABB4/ljDSXZhMG3o/s1600-h/IMFresets.jpg

Disclaimer: MinnesotaInvestors.com, Inc. is a licensed Minnesota real estate broker. Minnesotainvestors.com, Inc. handles the marketing end of short sales, provides education and answers questions. Our affiliate short sale specialist will later assist you. The information on this page and the website are for information and educational purposes ONLY and cannot be deemed as legal or tax advice. Please consult your attorney for any legal advice regarding your foreclosure process, your CPA and/or account for tax related questions.

Please contact me at the following info:
Ron Orr, Jr.
Real Estate Agent/Broker
MinnesotaInvestors.com, Inc.
Phone:763-300-1648
Fax:763-390-0011
ron@minnesotainvestors.com

Obama Administration Announces

*Financial Incentives and Uniform Process for Short Sales*

Responding to the call of the National Association of REALTORSR, the Obama

Administration has announced incentives and uniform procedures for short

sales under its new Foreclosure Alternatives Program (FAP). For borrowers

who do not qualify to have their loans modified on a permanent basis under

the Making Home Affordable Program, the servicer may consider a short sale

or, if that is not successful, a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure (DIL).

* Borrowers (Homeowners). Borrowers qualify under the FAP if they meet

minimum eligibility requirements for the Home Affordable Modification

program but don’t qualify for a modification or do not successfully complete

the three month trial period. Before proceeding with a foreclosure,

servicers must determine if a short sale is appropriate.

* Incentives. Incentives include: (1) $1,000 for servicers for successful

completion of a short sale or DIL; (2) $1,500 for borrowers to help with

relocation expenses; and (3) up to $1,000 toward the cost of paying junior

lien holders to release their liens (one dollar from the government for

every $2 paid by the investors to the second lien holders).

* Standardized Documents. The program will include streamlined and

standardized documents, including a Short Sale Agreement and an Offer

Acceptance Letter. The goal is to minimize complexity and increase use of

the short sale option.

* Property Valuation by Appraisal or BPO. Servicers will independently

establish both property value and minimum acceptable net return, in

accordance with investor requirements. The price may be determined based on

an appraisal or one or more broker price opinions (BPOs), issued no more

than 120 days before the date of the short sale agreement.

* Timeline. Servicers must give borrows at least 90 days to market and sell

the property, or up to one year, depending on market conditions. Property

must be listed with a licensed real estate professional with experience in

the neighborhood. No foreclosure may take place during the marketing period

(at least 90 days) specified in the Short Sale Agreement.

* Commissions. The Short Sale Agreement must specify the reasonable and

customary real estate commissions and costs that may be deducted from the

sales price. The servicer must agree not to negotiate a lower commission

after an offer has been received.

* No Borrower Fees. Servicers may not charge fees to borrowers for

participating in the FAP.

* Program Expiration. The program is in effect through 2012.

DIL Option. Servicers have the option to require the borrower to agree to

deed the property to the servicer in exchange for a release from the debt if

the property does not sell within the time allowed in the Short Sale

Agreement (plus any extensions).