Speed Equity FACT vs. Fiction . . . MATH vs. MYTH

This is incredibly funny. EnjoyWe REALTORS are a narcissistic bunch.  A revelation, I know.  From the bus stop advertising that depicts an attentive agent fielding calls on a pink cell phone to the glamor shot of an agent with his toy poodles on a "For Sale" sign in front of an overshadowed house...

#9 in the series CANCELLATION OF DEBT INCOME - WHAT IF THERE IS NO 1099? When DON'T you have to report forgiven debt as income? One of the biggest issues that potential short sellers and those in foreclosure ask me is whether they have to get a 1099 for any forgiven debt from their lender.  With...

#8 in the series Whether to agree to a negotiated promissory note in a short sale or allow the house to go to foreclosure is one of the most discussed topics around.  It deserves a simple comparison. [February 3, 2010 update - see today's article on this subject at CNN MONEY.] My previous articl...

#7 in the series I was negotiating on a very large problem mortgage today with a high-up executive at the servicing firm.  He made a comment that I thought peculiar and I called him to task on the matter. The comment was that "after the foreclosure sale, lenders seldom bother to get a court orde...

#6 in the series We get so many questions about what is a DEFICIENCY JUDGMENT and how it differs from other possibilities including DEED IN LIEU OF FORECLOSURE or SHORT SALE.  Recent blogs and Broker Bryant provided a request that I write a detailed article explaining and differentiating these t...

#5 in the series The Distressed Property Owner's "Goal" is an interesting situation for each individual and for each individual experiencing this event, it is different.  I like to help my client visualize creating a solution or "goal" by telling a visualization story. Imagine you are in a dark ...

#4 in the series This seems to be THE NUMBER ONE question I get.  Unfortunately there are several answers and which  is correct for you depends on the circumstances.  I will address the common scenarios in this article. Policy in my office is to never "tell" - as in "instruct" - our borrower cli...

#3 in the seriesI had just too many borrowers that "should have known better" in the office this week - so I feel very conservative just now - just to the right of Bill O'Reilly. We do a lot of short sales in my law and title agency offices.  They come in from all sources - Realtors, referrals, l...

#2 in the seriesWe get at least one call a day at my office on short sales.  It is really amazing how many people - professionals as well as potential sellers - do not even know what the term "short sale" means.  This blog assumes you have actually worked a short sale already -- if you have -- or...

  For those of you wanting to learn about short sales. The series of blogs by Attorney Richard Zaretsky, I believe, is the best place to start. I spent over 13 hours going through his 100+ blog posts. I then decided to re-blog in the sequence I think the articles make the most sense for those sta...