Should I Continue Paying My Credit Cards During A Charleston Short Sale?

Charleston SC – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Paul. Here is Paul's Question.

"I am selling my house as a short sale. I am behind on the mortgage payments. Do you think I should still pay my credit cards?" Paul.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.

Here is our answer. I all depends on what is important to you. Can you afford your mortgage payment if you stopped paying the credit cards?

If the answer is yes and you don't want to move, then I would recommend that you stop paying the credit cards. Obviously that will hurt your credit.

But, if you want to keep your home, then you will probably think it is worth it. Then again, I have seen people who would rather have the good credit.

However, if you do want to move, then it would be better to keep paying the cards and short selling the house.

Missed mortgage payments won't have to much of an impact on your credit score 12-18 months down the road, especially if you short sale.

However, a credit card that you never pay on again will stay on your credit for a longer time. The debt will show up as written off and that impacts your credit for a longer time than missed payments.

Thinking about a short sale?

I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at JeffCook@JeffCookRealEstate.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (843) 608-9520

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our Charleston loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy.

Thanks for reading this, Jeff Cook.

Jeff is a Real Estate Agent at AgentOwned Realty Co.

Phone: (843) 608-9520. JeffCook@JeffCookRealEstate.



View My homes for sale at www.JeffCookRealEstate.com.

Jeff Cook specializes in loan modification assistance and short sales in Charleston South Carolina. Charleston Loan Modification Help, Charleston short sales. Charleston short sale realtor. Charleston SC Short Sales. Charleston Realtor.

Copyright 2011 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Important Notice

Jeff Cook, AgentOwned Realty Co, and the Stop Foreclosure Institute are not affiliated in any way, shape, or form with the government. Our services have not been reviewed or endorse by the government or your lender. Most lenders willingly work with agents on short sales. Why?

Because most short sales are beneficial to a lender. If you accept our offer to help you on a short sale, your lender may not agree to a short sale or to modify your loan. We do offer a loan modification kit.

However, the likelihood of negotiating a modification is like everything else in life. It takes work and persistence to convince your lender to modify your loan. No matter what you or we do, your lender may not approve a loan modification.

We do not recommend that you stop paying your mortgage, because this will cause damage to your credit and could cause you to lose your home. Because we know avoiding foreclosure is so important to any homeowner, we recommend that you speak with the appropriate legal or tax advisor before making any decision.

This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing.

You have the option to reject a short sale or loan modification from your lender if it does not meet your approval. If you decide not to go thru with the short sale, then you do not have to pay us our fee. We normally make a real estate sales commission for helping you on a short sale.

The views expressed here are Cook's personal views and do not reflect the views of AgentOwned Realty Co.

This information on Should I Continue Paying My Credit Cards During A Charleston Short Sale? is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Charleston Short Sales: How One Agent Overcame The Odds

Charleston SC – Sometimes it seems like short sales are tough. “Don’t try to short sale your house. Short Sales never go thru”, people tell you.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.

This isn’t true. Here is how one agent beat the odds and succeeded with a short sale.

A member of the Stop Foreclosure Institute told me about a short sale he recently worked on. Here is the story from the member.

“I had a short sale with a large national lender. The loan was owned by Fannie Mae, not the lender. We had an over zealous short sale negotiator.

We had the home on the market for several months and finally received an offer for $180,000. We submitted that to the lender with all the short sale paperwork.

The lender came back and said the price needed to be raised to $257,000 and the seller needed to sign a $50,000 promissory note.

Neither the buyer, nor seller would agree to those terms. At that point, the only alternative was to let the property go to foreclosure. But, I knew that the home would sell for even less than $180,000 and the homeowner would suffer from a foreclosure on their record.

So I did something about it. First, I knew the $180,000 was a good offer that reflected the Fair Market Value of the property. I also knew that Fannie Mae didn’t normally ask for promissory notes.

In fact, Fannie Mae’s policy is to erase the debt when the property is a primary residence. (This home was a primary residence.) Here’s what happened.

I went over the short sale negotiator’s head. I contacted Fannie Mae direct and held a 3 way call with the seller. We found out that the lender had lied. They had never even submitted the offer to Fannie Mae!

They had told us what they thought Fannie Mae should ask for. After I spoke to supervisors in Fannie Mae, I was then called by three different reps for Fannie Mae.

Within 72 hours a supervisor from the lender called up and gave me their net, which was 162k. This was well within the acceptable price of the offer of 187k offer.

The problem was that the buyers were so angry for having to wait 53 days on a 45 day allowance that they walked. However, I met another buyer and we sold the house to them.

The bottom line is the short sale negotiator lied, and got busted lying. I had to send in comparables and beg the BPO agent to get the inside scoop.”

As you can see, some agents are making things happen with short sales. This agent did an awesome job. He thought of calling Fannie Mae direct on his own. As you can see, not taking no for an answer helps you to be successful on a short sale. Thinking about a short sale?

I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at JeffCook@JeffCookRealEstate.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (843) 608-9520

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our Charleston loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy.

Thanks for reading this, Jeff Cook.

Jeff is a Real Estate Agent at AgentOwned Realty Co.

Phone: (843) 608-9520. JeffCook@JeffCookRealEstate.com.



View My homes for sale at www.jeffcookrealestate.com.

Jeff Cook specializes in loan modification assistance and short sales in Charleston South Carolina. Charleston Loan Modification Help, Charleston short sales. Charleston short sale realtor. Charleston SC Short Sales. Charleston Realtor.

Copyright 2011 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Important Notice

Jeff Cook, AgentOwned Realty Co, and the Stop Foreclosure Institute are not affiliated in any way, shape, or form with the government. Our services have not been reviewed or endorse by the government or your lender. Most lenders willingly work with agents on short sales. Why?

Because most short sales are beneficial to a lender. If you accept our offer to help you on a short sale, your lender may not agree to a short sale or to modify your loan. We do offer a loan modification kit.

However, the likelihood of negotiating a modification is like everything else in life. It takes work and persistence to convince your lender to modify your loan. No matter what you or we do, your lender may not approve a loan modification.

We do not recommend that you stop paying your mortgage, because this will cause damage to your credit and could cause you to lose your home. Because we know avoiding foreclosure is so important to any homeowner, we recommend that you speak with the appropriate legal or tax advisor before making any decision.

This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing.

You have the option to reject a short sale or loan modification from your lender if it does not meet your approval. If you decide not to go thru with the short sale, then you do not have to pay us our fee. We normally make a real estate sales commission for helping you on a short sale.

The views expressed here are Cook's personal views and do not reflect the views of AgentOwned Realty Co.

This information on Charleston Short Sales: How One Agent Overcame The Odds is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Charleston Short Sales: Another Example Of Lenders Attempting To Abuse Their Power

Charleston SC – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Durry. Here was Durry’s Question.

"We have American Home Mortgage Servicing, a loan processor for a Mortgage held by Deutche Bank, adding a 1% “processing fee” that ONLY the buyer can pay at closing.

This was never revealed until we received the short sale approval letter. The buyer is upset.” Durry.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.

Here was our answer to Durry’s Question. Yes, the buyer is upset. Buyers think they are in control in today's market. They can't see why they should pay a fee if they are buying a house in a "Buyer's Market."

I think this fee is unethical. We had the fee waived on a short sale we did. Your e-mail indicates that the buyer does not want to pay that fee.

The buyer needs to decide if they will or will not buy the house with the current terms and that fee. If that is the case, then you need to have the buyer put that in writing.

Send that letter to American Home Mortgage Servicing. Here is the problem that AHMSI has.

AHMSI doesn’t own any mortgages. Instead, they act as the front for other entities that own the mortgages.

From the sound of things, the owner of this loan is a pension fund or “Average Joe” stock market investors.

The guy we talked to at AHMSI said they had checked with their legal department on the fee. The legal dept said it was ok.

But, once we threatened to contact the owner of the loan directly they agreed to waive the fee. They only reason they are able to get away with this is because the loan owners never check to see what is happening.

This is such a blatant example of a lender breaching their fiduciary duty to the loan owner. It's wrong. But, do you know why AHMSI can get away with it?

The loan owner doesn't know about the fee being charged. So, let them know about in on your short sale. Find out who owns the loan. Contact them and let them know what AHMSI is doing.

Here is the bottom line. A buyer that has to pay 1% to AHMSI is going to pay 1% less for the house they are purchasing.

This causes the pension fund that owns the loan to lose even more money. What an atrocity! Thinking about a short sale?

I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at JeffCook@JeffCookRealEstate.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (843) 608-9520

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our Charleston loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy.

Thanks for reading this, Jeff Cook.

Jeff is a Real Estate Agent at AgentOwned Realty Co.

Phone: (843) 608-9520. JeffCook@JeffCookRealEstate.com.



View My homes for sale at www.JeffCookRealEstate.com.

Jeff Cook specializes in loan modification assistance and short sales in Charleston South Carolina. Charleston Loan Modification Help, Charleston short sales. Charleston short sale realtor. Charleston SC Short Sales. Charleston Realtor.

Copyright 2011 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Important Notice

Jeff Cook, AgentOwned Realty Co, and the Stop Foreclosure Institute are not affiliated in any way, shape, or form with the government. Our services have not been reviewed or endorse by the government or your lender. Most lenders willingly work with agents on short sales. Why?

Because most short sales are beneficial to a lender. If you accept our offer to help you on a short sale, your lender may not agree to a short sale or to modify your loan. We do offer a loan modification kit.

However, the likelihood of negotiating a modification is like everything else in life. It takes work and persistence to convince your lender to modify your loan. No matter what you or we do, your lender may not approve a loan modification.

We do not recommend that you stop paying your mortgage, because this will cause damage to your credit and could cause you to lose your home. Because we know avoiding foreclosure is so important to any homeowner, we recommend that you speak with the appropriate legal or tax advisor before making any decision.

This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing.

You have the option to reject a short sale or loan modification from your lender if it does not meet your approval. If you decide not to go thru with the short sale, then you do not have to pay us our fee. We normally make a real estate sales commission for helping you on a short sale.

The views expressed here are Cook's personal views and do not reflect the views of AgentOwned Realty Co.

This information on Charleston Short Sales: Another Example Of Lenders Attempting To Abuse Their Power is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

What The Big Banks Don’t Want You To Know About Charleston Short Sales

Charleston SC – Here is a shocking fact that most of the American Public doesn’t know. Most mortgages are not owned by banks.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.

In addition, most of the huge losses on bad mortgages was not lost by the banks themselves. Instead, the biggest loser was Uncle Sam, thru the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Most mortgages are sold after they are made. We estimate that around 75-80% of all mortgages were sold before the housing crisis.

This means that the large lenders didn’t take the hit on the bad mortgages they originated. Instead, Uncle Sam often took the hit.

Another large buyer of mortgages were pension funds and retirement funds. Do you think the Average American was fleeced by Wall Street?

But, here is something even more appalling. It appears that they are still being fleeced by the big banks. You see, those were sold to Uncle Sam or a pension fund.

However, in many cases those mortgages are still being handled by the original entity that made the bad loan. They are required to act in the loan owner's best interest.

But, in many cases the lenders are not doing a good job trying to maximize the return on defaulted mortgages.

Remember yesterday’s blog post about the lender charging a 1% fee to the home buyer on a short sale? That fee only reduced what the loan owner was able to get for the bad mortgage. Thinking about a short sale?

I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at JeffCook@JeffCookRealEstate.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (843) 608-9520

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our Charleston loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy.

Thanks for reading this, Jeff Cook.

Jeff is a Real Estate Agent at AgentOwned Realty Co.

Phone: (843) 608-9520. JeffCook@JeffCookRealEstate.com.



View My homes for sale at www.JeffCookRealEstate.com.

Jeff Cook specializes in loan modification assistance and short sales in Charleston South Carolina. Charleston Loan Modification Help, Charleston short sales. Charleston short sale realtor. Charleston SC Short Sales. Charleston Realtor.

Copyright 2011 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Important Notice

Jeff Cook, AgentOwned Realty Co, and the Stop Foreclosure Institute are not affiliated in any way, shape, or form with the government. Our services have not been reviewed or endorse by the government or your lender. Most lenders willingly work with agents on short sales. Why?

Because most short sales are beneficial to a lender. If you accept our offer to help you on a short sale, your lender may not agree to a short sale or to modify your loan. We do offer a loan modification kit.

However, the likelihood of negotiating a modification is like everything else in life. It takes work and persistence to convince your lender to modify your loan. No matter what you or we do, your lender may not approve a loan modification.

We do not recommend that you stop paying your mortgage, because this will cause damage to your credit and could cause you to lose your home. Because we know avoiding foreclosure is so important to any homeowner, we recommend that you speak with the appropriate legal or tax advisor before making any decision.

This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing.

You have the option to reject a short sale or loan modification from your lender if it does not meet your approval. If you decide not to go thru with the short sale, then you do not have to pay us our fee. We normally make a real estate sales commission for helping you on a short sale.

The views expressed here are Cook's personal views and do not reflect the views of AgentOwned Realty Co.

This information on What The Big Banks Don’t Want You To Know About Charleston Short Sales is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Charleston Short Sales: This Short Sale Negotiator Isn't Doing His Job

Charleston SC – Here is a question that the Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received. "I am in the middle of a very long negotiation with Chase.

The seller had me to put a clause into the contract stating “upon approval of short sale by sellers’ lender, lenders, & or affiliates, client, or heirs will be released from any monetary shortages or deficiencies from said sale of stated property upon successful closing and transfer of title from that date and forevermore.”

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.

The short sale negotiator at the lender, Nathan W, has advised me that he will reject the file and close it out if we don’t remove this from the contract. What do you think?

After reading your comments below, I am not sure of what will happen. How should I pursue this?" James.

Here was our answer: I think the negotiator is getting his ego involved. Many investors waive promissory notes. He is out of line (and breaching his lender's fiduciary duty to the owner of the loan) if the following applies:

1. If it is the loan owner's policy to not pursue a deficiency.

2. If accepting this short sale will net the loan owner more money than a foreclosure.

If those two things apply, then this negotiator is in breach of their fiduciary duty to the loan owner. You and I don't have millions of dollars to pursue a lawsuit, but we can contact the loan owner directly to let them know what is happening.

If they are going to lose money not accepting the short, then they need to know about Chase doing a lousy job.

Now, the negotiator has the authority to demand a promissory note depending upon who the owner of the loan is. Find out who the owner of the loan is.

Fannie, Freddie, FHA, VA, etc. Fannie, Freddie, FHA, and VA will let the borrower go free from all future liability. Obviously that doesn't apply if there is Mortgage Insurance. If the investor is one of those entities, then tell the negotiator that you will be contacting them directly.

When a bank should accept your short sale. A bank should accept your short sale when the following rules apply. All banks and servicers have a fiduciary duty to the investor of the loan.

If they own the loan themselves, they have a fiduciary duty to their stockholders. The duty is to get that investor the most money possible. So, a lender should accept an offer if it will net the most money.

Here is how we can assure the negotiator that the offer will net them the most money. Your only job is to prove that to the negotiator.

Do that by showing them that the property has been on the open market for 60-90 days. We need to be able to show that the house was easy for buyers to see and other agents to show.

Ask them the following, "I'm an experienced agent and I've had this house listed for X days. The seller has lived there the entire time and kept up on the house. It looks good. We have had 43 showings since then.

Out of that, only 3 buyers expressed interest. Out of those 3 buyers, the current buyer is the one willing to pay the most money. I'm doing my job marketing the property.

With the current foreclosure case status, the home won't be foreclosed until June or July. When you foreclose on the house, the owners will move out. The house won't be kept up anymore.

The listing agent will be working on 20 other homes and won't be able to do as good of a job as myself. Do you honestly think the home is going to sell for more money at that time?

They will have to agree that it is a losing proposition. Thinking about a short sale?

I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at JeffCook@JeffCookRealEstate.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (843) 608-9520

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our (843) 608-9520 loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy.

Thanks for reading this, Jeff Cook.

Jeff is a Real Estate Agent at AgentOwned Realty Co.

Phone: (843) 608-9520. JeffCook@JeffCookRealEstate.com.



View My homes for sale at www.JeffCookRealEstate.com.

Jeff Cook specializes in loan modification assistance and short sales in Charleston South Carolina. Charleston Loan Modification Help, Charleston short sales. Charleston short sale realtor. Charleston SC Short Sales. Charleston Realtor.

Copyright 2011 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Important Notice

Jeff Cook, AgentOwned Realty Co, and the Stop Foreclosure Institute are not affiliated in any way, shape, or form with the government. Our services have not been reviewed or endorse by the government or your lender. Most lenders willingly work with agents on short sales. Why?

Because most short sales are beneficial to a lender. If you accept our offer to help you on a short sale, your lender may not agree to a short sale or to modify your loan. We do offer a loan modification kit.

However, the likelihood of negotiating a modification is like everything else in life. It takes work and persistence to convince your lender to modify your loan. No matter what you or we do, your lender may not approve a loan modification.

We do not recommend that you stop paying your mortgage, because this will cause damage to your credit and could cause you to lose your home. Because we know avoiding foreclosure is so important to any homeowner, we recommend that you speak with the appropriate legal or tax advisor before making any decision.

This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing.

You have the option to reject a short sale or loan modification from your lender if it does not meet your approval. If you decide not to go thru with the short sale, then you do not have to pay us our fee. We normally make a real estate sales commission for helping you on a short sale.

The views expressed here are Cook's personal views and do not reflect the views of AgentOwned Realty Co.

This information on Charleston Short Sales: This Short Sale Negotiator Isn't Doing His Job is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.