All Forum Posts by: Kristian Peter

In CA everything is Public, and there are several services out there that provide an easy to review list of everything relating to foreclosures. The top 2 are ForeclosureRadar.com and RealtyTrac.com - Google Maps even has a search where it shows all Real Estate Listings, and one of the chekc boxes is to display Foreclosures.

Excellent points by everyone, and Scott is exactly right that a negotiation fee always affects the seller's bottom line, and is actually paid by the buyer, if the buyer is seeking the lowest price possible. Every transaction has to have at least one negotiator, be it a real estate agent, paid negotiator, attorney, or the seller.

The basis for the above mentioned scenario, is that the attorney firm handles everything, there is no additional cost to the seller (who gets legal service), and the agents (if the property is listed, get paid a 6% commission), and the buyer (if they are paying retail) pays nothing additional. If the buyer is attempting to purchase the short sale on a wholesale level, then the lender must still Net the amount that is required on their internal BPO, minus costs.

My thought is to let the attorneys do the negotiation, provide legal services, and get these things closed at a 94% clip. Or you can pay someone like Scott to negotiate, you will pay less, but there will be no legal insulation, and we all know that 3-5 years from now, the airways will be full of late night TV ads from the Law Offices of Joe Shmoe that state, "Did you do a short sale in the last 7 years, if so, you may be entitled to..."

If this is a retail short sale, then it's a no-brainer for the agent, get 6% for no work, and have no liability. If this is a wholesale investment purchase, you may pay a little more for the attorney to review everything, but your liability will be greatly decreased in the future.

We've got 4 in the pipeline so far, and 3 approvals (one in 20 days). These are all retail sales, where we are the listing broker. When a wholesale investment opportunity comes along, we'll see if there is any difference. We have not seen lenders discount much from BPO value minus costs, but every now-and-then, there is a nice all-cash, fix-and-flip opportunity. I'll keep you posted as we get more short sales approved using the attorneys, and my main objective is to streamline the process and limit liability for the least out-of-pocket expense.

The easiest way to write multiple offers utilizing the same funds is to get a cashier's check made out to the buying entity (ie ABC, LLC). Have a cashier's check made out for $5k or $10k or $50k to ABC, LLC. Make a copy of the cashier's check, and then re-deposit it. Send in a copy of the cashier's check with all offers that are made, and let the agent know that the buyer will endorse the cashier's check to escrow as soon as escrow is open.

This is the method that has worked the best for us, and if anyone has a better method, please let me know? We tend to write 50+ offers per week, and do not have time to send in copies of 50 checks...

As long as the POF is current (within 30 days), assuming that you are purchasing all-cash, then the seller should be fine. Hopefully we all get more offers accepted!

Bill, I guess that you are right, and that is why the attorneys have negotiators that handle the entire Short Sale, and close them at a 94% clip. The negotiators are in the attorneys office and get paid via the attorney fee from the lender. Is your negotiator getting more than 90% approvals, and how much are you paying them?

I'm sold on the fact that you get legal representation for the seller, and it is at no cost to anyone, but the lender. I am a real estate broker, and have paid $1500+ to get short sales negotiated with no legal representation for the seller. This just seems like a better alternative.

James, most of the negotiators that we have worked with charge the Realtor a portion of their commission, as very few (if any) lenders accept a negotiation fee on th HUD. In this scenario, the attorney charges the lender an 'Attorney Fee' which is paid on the HUD. The attorney offers their legal services to the seller, and insulates all parties in the transaction from any potential future legal issues. The attorney is also available to negotiate any deficiency judgement and get them removed by the lender.

So, legal services, and a 94% success rate, for no charge (except to the lender). It's not revolutionary, but it is extremely beneficial. Can you ask for more than a free service that also limits your future liability?

The lawyers that we just started working with can confirm that they have in-house negotiators that are getting approvals on 94% of their files in an average of 61 days (excluding BoA and Chase, which are a pain in the butt for everyone).

If they truely have a 94% success rate, and it is Free (we do not pay for a negotiator), then I really believe that it can revolutionize how people approach and close short sales. Just wondering if anyone else has had success with attorneys and short sales?

Charles, I appreciate your experience. We gave them a list of everything that we typically use in a Flip, and they created a spreadsheet with item numbers. We can walk-through a house, fill out the spreadsheet (paint, flooring, cabinets, appliances, counters, fixtures, bathrooms, etc), and have a complete bid back the same day for materials. We just have to estimate labor, and can make our purchase contract out based on the exact costs, rather than getting contractor bids. This is my first time working with Lowes, and I just wondered if others have had success, or tried this approach?

We recently starting working with a group of attorneys in CA that negotiate every aspect of the Short Sale, and provide legal services directly to the seller. The best aspect of the attorneys is that they charge the bank their legal fee, and we pay nothing, the buyer and seller pay nothing, and the real estate agents keep their 6% commission.

Has anyone else used a similar service, and what were the results?

We have had a great time with the Commercial Services Desk at Lowes. They price our materials for all of our Flips, and we are utilizing very high quality products at discounts of 15% to 25% from retail. The best part about the service is that they deliver everything on a palate to the property within 48 hours.

Has anyone else worked with them, and had a good / bad experience?

We usually give our finders an LOI and POF, and let them find the deals, structure the contracts, and get verbal acceptance from the seller. Once we have seen the due diligence on the property, we execute contracts and wire funds to escrow.

As a Finder, make sure that you get a fee agreement from the investor up front, so that you can get paid through escrow.