All Forum Posts by: Sam Sagor

I will take a stab at this - I have only a smattering of experience here so please feel free to correct / disagree with me.

Why? Trying to get a discount offer accepted or are you just trying to guess slightly under the REO price and tie up the property before it goes to REO invetsors ? Interesting but worth the wait / morass of incompetence?

• Are there secondary liens on the property which also need to be settled? If there is more than one secondary lien, I'd probably pass, as negotiations are too difficult.

- Why are you negotiating a short sale then? Difficultly means barrier to entry - you may actually get a good discount.

• Has the lender ordered a BPO or appraisal yet? If so, can we find out the amount, or ask if our estimated value is in the ballpark?

- If you were able to get this it would be fantastically useful but would you trust it? The bank / agent can tell you a BPO but that doesn't have to be the real one. How would you know they were telling the truth?

• What is the typical discount a lender will permit below the BPO price (assuming standard closing fees, agent commissions, and negotiation fees are being assessed)? As stated, there HAS to be a discount to induce a buyer to put up with the uncertainty of this process. Is it 10%? 15%?

http://www.howtodothings.com/finance-real-estate/how-to-determine-a-real-estate-short-sale-purchase-offer

Typically it's suppose to be :
FHA 82%
VA 88%
Fannie 90-92%
Freddie 92%
Conventional 80% - ?

There was that thread a while back about what lowball offers are getting accepted the average was 78% last I checked.

• Presumably an investor/agent could waive his portion and enjoy an advantage, just like with an REO, by yielding a higher "net" to the lender. Correct?

So you plan to tie it up and waiving a discount?

• Is the listing always "pended" when the seller signs an offer? Even if pended, is there a way for the LA to communicate to other buyers' agents that "yes, there is an offer but it's very low and probably won't fly. Get your backup offer in and you'll have a great shot." If that happens, I assume the LA is obligated to submit all such higher offers to the lender?

I assume it's still there so that you can. I asked about a SS and they told me that they were very far along the process with a buyer and had somebody in second place. So I think they can tell you if it isn't going to fly otherwise you are free to offer. It doesn't matter if somebody else made said " very low offer". You have a better chance if you put up a stronger offer say in terms of EMD, how you are financing.

• If $500 or $1,000 EMD is collected, is escrow always "opened", or is there some sort of short-cut process for holding the funds, given the uncertainty of the transaction closing. (I've read that only 20-25% of SS's close, versus 80% for conventional transactions).

I guess no. These are shunned for a reason. I think you'd want to put in more than that. Or do SS investors fish with low EMD and then step up if it looks like it will get accepted? (say the bank contacts them)

• If a buyer makes an offer that will net the lender less than their minimum, will they counter with their minimum (like HUD)? Or will they typically counter above the minimum to try to negotiate a larger amount if possible? Obviously, it's not in the best interest of the bank to play with the buyer too much and cause the SS to fail, if they can in fact get the minimum, especially considering the foreclosure clock that is ticking.

"Obviously, it's not in the best interest of the bank to play with the buyer too much and cause the SS to fail" Is this obvious to the bank? Sadly, I think they want to do the REO vs give you the best deal. The clock is ticking but if they will not make as much selling as a shortsale as an REO they'll do the better option.

• Is there a dollar amount (or % amount) that the SS needs to be better than a foreclosure price for the lender to approve the SS? IOW, how much might a lender assume a foreclosure will "cost" in terms of legal fees, carrying costs of a vacant property, potential vandalism, etc?

Depends on the lender I would say. Where is the house? How fast are REOs going?

Think about water sustainability too. If your audience likes the environment angle it's going to earn points. Here in Hawaii you see lots of PV systems with catchment water ... I am not a fan of the huge metal tub on property but you can do a cistern (the under ground version) or well. Then it's a zero energy with an even smaller environmental footprint.

Just replace it. How much does it cost to get vinegar, drive the item over there and use at least an hour of time you could have been doing something better for meeting your goals? It's a shower head, make it you responsibility and thank the stars it wasn't the fridge, the stove, or the mysterious hole in the wall.

The love of my life has asked me what to make of the following situation. This is not for a property I own :

Story time for a parent :

There is a tenant we'll call him Mister Ed, living in a rent controlled apartment in NY, NY E 25th str. It's a nice place for students as it's by a major college and they are driving rents up it's 2.5k - 3.5k a month for a comparable apartment. He pays 1k and lives a miserable existence because for some reason he is responsible for his own repairs for the last few decades (not sure if this is purposeful campaign to get rid of him). There are only 2 tenants still on this kind of rent control in 20 unit building. Some time ago maybe 3-5 years back Ed's landlord approached him and offered to pay 40k for him to pack up and move out. Ed turned it down - flash forward 2 years he lost is job / retired at 65. My fiancee wants to help the poor fool get as much as he can and help buy a house for him. She instructed him to ask the landlord and see if she would reinstate the offer: he has not acted for 1.5 years because ED doesn't want to talk to "those property managing bozos". Living there is a non-sustainable situation for Ed and he wants to move but doesn't think he can. He worked as a social worker in Harlem for decades and gave a chunk of his paycheck to his clients. This was a life-safer for some of them but horrible for his own finances. He's got nothing but the apartment ... so he holds out for cash he is too proud to ask for. She is aware there is probably no helping him at this point but came to me to ask if we can negotiate with the landlord because he's too paranoid to help himself.

She suggested this would mean getting in contact with Ed's landlord and offering to get Ed moved along by the end of the month for 50k. (building has done well thanks to renovation and packing college students into each room) Ed will stay despite the living conditions probably for the rest of his life. So at 1.5k -2.5k more coming in a month that seems win-win to me. I am stumped as to how I'd put this together.

What is this called simply cash for keys? Is there something that needs to be taken care of to get rid of the rent control? What would the process be? Cashiers check to Ed on checkout? Is there a better way to go about this - where the landlord knows he's leaving and Ed knows the "bozos" are giving him good money? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

You've come to the right place. You should read about various strategies here to build confidence and find the one that suits you. Read the articles check the blogs just learn before you leap and you don't have to be afraid. You could screw up but investment is a powerful tool when you learn how to use it. That said try to see if you can get an internship in the flying if not airline industry. Have you tried cargo? Ferrying passengers? Corporate pilot? In the U.S helicopter tours are an option especially in Hawaii. Look beyond borders and maybe you can find where that flight training will take you. Also investing in different countries calls for a little research. The U.S is all out of whack right now so you can get interesting deals it's probably very different where you are. You don't need to pick just one basket. Check out international options. Try going to the country (as a steward) and getting a feel for it.
- and Good Luck

I do know that pawn shops buy physical cards. It is shady how the giftcards are obtained in the first place (possibly theft and return). I have never tried it personally but there does seem to be a few other posts about this. Suppose you could get a broker to come with you the first time if you are putting that much business his way or that 24 vouch for someone else mentioned.

Getting enough cards? Maybe the pawn broker establishing that you will buy x amount for 90-80% discount idea might work better. Then you can get a lot of cards together at once. They buy at 60% -70% or less so they will be happy to make the difference. And that will result in more cards per month. If you're buying small say $1000 or less orders you could. There is the chance it might piss off the people you have relationships with there i.e contractor desk. I would question does this actually reduce risk?

I have gotten codes for these quickly but that was a long time ago. If Eric is right about that try seeing if you can find a pawn broker that will give you a better discount 85%-75%. Wait for them to trickle in or use to chip away at monthly orders.

So it is inherently better to get a card with over 10% discount from the pawn shop or other seller. And then use the contractor's desk.

I was just wondering why use the 10% coupon if the card had a better discount say 85% retail value. And wanted to check if they stacked because this seemed the only reason I could see you using a 10% coupon. That or it's hard to obtain from pawn shop/ your contact.

@Ed O have you been able to use the 10% coupon with giftcard with contractor's discount? (x3 discounts) If they do not stack why not get a gift card at a better than 10% discount then combine with contractor's desk percent off?

I second the idea for BP getting their own discounts as several REI clubs do this why not do it? Suggest Home, depot Lowes, and amazon if we can get it(probably not). Though some places let you exchange for gift cards one for another i.e bestbuy let's you buy Amazon card with another giftcard. Lowes does not. Unless you get lucky.

I will suggest those are real however it was a bit pricey to do that. J Scott had a better idea. AnnualCreditReport.com for 7.95 seems the most efficient option. I'm going to go try that.

Why do they give a free report ?
They are required to give you the one report free by federal law ... from the FAQs
"In addition to consumers who are eligible for a free credit report through the Annual Credit Report Request Service; consumers in some states are eligible for a free credit report under state law. The following states have laws that make free credit reports available to consumers: Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Vermont."