Long time Harris Real Estate University Students know that the problem isn’t the payment…its the principle. Today the FHFA announced a new program to assist homeowners. Note that this does not include principal reduction as a solution. This new plan is limited to: “extending the term, reducing the interest rate, and forbearing interest”

Harris Real Estate University will be announcing a new people-helping…money-making opportunity for agents over the next few weeks….doing loan mods!  Lets be super clear about this next point..

There will be no slow down for the demand for Agents who know how to do short sales…and of course, the REO listings will continue to surge.

This is intended to help “thousands” (a drop in the bucket unless it is several hundred thousand), and seems to encourage homeowners to stop making payments until they are 90 days late.

Helpful questions and answers:

Q: What is a streamlined modification?

A: A streamlined modification is a modification that requires less documentation and less processing. In this case, the streamlined modification seeks to create a monthly mortgage payment that is sustainable for troubled borrowers by targeting a benchmark ratio of housing payment to monthly gross household income.

Q: What is the benchmark ratio?

A: This is the first time the industry has agreed on an industry standard. The benchmark ratio for calculating the affordable payment is 38 percent of monthly gross household income. Once the affordable payment is determined, there are several steps the servicer can take to create that payment – extending the term, reducing the interest rate, and forbearing interest. In the event that the affordable payment is still beyond the borrower’s means, the borrower’s situation will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis using a cash flow budget.

Q: Why is it necessary?

A: With the rise in serious delinquencies and increasing number of loans in foreclosure, this program will help borrowers who have missed three or more payments, but want to keep their homes. Because the eligibility requirements and process are streamlined and consistent, the program will allow servicers to reach more borrowers more quickly.

Q: Who is eligible?

A: The highest risk borrower, who has missed three payments or more, owns and occupies the property as a primary residence, and has not filed bankruptcy. The loan is a Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae or portfolio loan with participating investors. To qualify for the streamlined modification, the borrower must certify that he or she experienced a hardship or change in financial circumstances, and did not purposely default to obtain a modification.

Q: Why must the borrower be 90 days delinquent? Why not earlier in the delinquency cycle?

A: This is a streamlined solution targeted to reach the most at risk borrower. For borrowers who do not qualify, other solutions are available. This in no way substitutes for the meaningful efforts by all servicers and investors that are currently in place. The 212,000 workouts reported by HOPE NOIW in September are testimony to that fact. We will continue to see those efforts produce meaningful results.

Q: How many people will this help?

A: While difficult to assess, it is clear delinquencies are predicted to continue well into 2009. Foreclosure estimates are significant. Having a streamlined approach will assist many borrowers who default and more quickly. We estimate this will ultimately help thousands of borrowers.

Q: How do borrowers apply?

A: To be considered for the program, a seriously delinquent borrower should contact his or her servicer and provide the requested information – monthly gross household income, association dues and fees, and a hardship statement.

Q: How do borrowers complete the modification process?

A: Upon receiving the Modification Agreement from the servicer, the borrower signs it and returns it with the 1st payment at the modified terms along with income verification. Once the borrower makes three payments at the modified terms and the account is current as of day 90 of the modified plan, the modification is complete.

Q: When will servicers start offering this program?

A: We expect that by December 15th, servicers will be positioned to work with eligible borrowers.

Now, click here for all the call in info:

http://instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=4616355

1)    Plug and Play marketing ideas to easily list short sales.
2)    Exactly what to put in the ‘package’ that must be submitted.
3)    Communicate with the lenders and get them to call you back.
4)    Step-by-Step how to do short sales, how to get started now.
5)    Plus, many more secrets revealed.

You will love the ideas and energy you will get from this call. Expect to take pages of great notes.

Before its too late,
Click here NOW for all the call in info:

Speak with you soon,

ALL ABOARD!

Realtors, hang on for a wild ride…..

There is no doubt that our real estate markets are in a full blown recession. In most real estate markets property is depreciating at 2%+ per month. For example, in California property has depreciated 30%+ this year alone. Even if your market has yet to feel the effects of this massive shift in our economy..know that its coming your way.

Be clear, we are not anywhere near the “bottom”  of this real estate downturn. Markets will get much more challenging for sellers. More foreclosures, more short sales, more depreciation. 2009, 2010 and maybe even 2011 we will see even greater real estate market turmoil….

Nationally our economy is entering into the worst recession of our lifetimes….

……..one of the richest people in the world now agrees with us….

Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates said the U.S. economy is headed for a “fairly significant recession,” and that the unemployment rate may peak at more than 9 percent. To put that into perspective, our current unemployment rate is less that half that now.

Agents need to buckle down and be financially, mentally and emotionally prepared for real estate markets (and the nations overall economy) to be in a recessive state for some time to come.

Clearly one of the best opportunities in this market is knowing how to easily list and sell Short Sales. Get started now by downloading your Free 7 Part Agent Short Sale Secrets crash course. Instant free download now.

Don’t make the same mistake that so many fellow agents are making…holding out hope that the ‘Clouds Will Clear’ anytime soon. Agents who are waiting for the market to improve won’t be in the real estate business by the time this economic cycle has ended.

Here’s the thing…when you accept the challenge to get your business and personal finances in order you will thrive in this market. Our students know that this is not a sellers market, this is not a buyers market-this is an agents market. Agents who have the skills and knowledge are making tons of money in this market.

How do I know? Well, simple. HREU has literally hundreds of Realtor Coaching clients who are having their best years ever. Yes, they are helping more people and making more money than they ever did in the previous ‘Hot Market’

Learn what these elite agents know and you will experience the success they are enjoying.

Start here….

10 Step System to Thrive In This Market (Same system used by our Superstars)

1. Wake Up. Stop spending money out of habit. For the next week keep a log of everywhere your money goes. Be totally awake and aware whenever you grab for your wallet. Start questioning yourself on every purchase.

2. Know How Much You Cost to Exist. You are spending money every day-even if you never leave your house. Your housing expenses, your utilities, your food etc. Know exactly how much you are spending per month (see point 1) and then divide by 30. That will tell you exactly how much you cost to exist every day. Bet its more than you think.

3. Go Through Every Bill and Question It. True story: We had a Realtor call us the other day asking to enroll in our short sale program. Her challenge, she was broke. We suggested that she should go through all of her monthly bills and question them. Start with your insurance, price shop. Cut back on Starbucks. Is a cup of coffee really worth $3? She did this and found $1800 that she could completely cut out of her monthly overhead. You need to do the same.

4. Drop Your Spend-y Friends. You know who they are. These are the friends who always want to “go shopping.” People who live to spend should be kept at an arms length in this market. Some people see all of their worth in how others see them. Ask yourself if you think this way as well…become aware of your thought regarding your consumption.

5. Stop Thinking of Yourself as a Consumer. When was it that us Americans went from being called ‘citizens’ to being called a “consumer.” You are not what you consume. You are not what you drive, what you wear. Define yourself by your own terms.

6. Track Your Time…Hour by Hour. For the next week, now that you are tracking your expenses, track your time. Keep a log of what you are doing hour by hour for the next week. Be honest with yourself about where your time is going. Here is the thing, chances are you are ‘working’ 8+ hours per day but, only doing things that will result in a pay check for 1-2 hours per day.

7. Pay Off All Your Debts. Imagine what you would feel like if you had no debts. Most agents work because they have to. They have so much legacy overhead. Meaning, they are paying off the luxury bling-bling lifestyle that they may have been living from the past sellers market. Pay that debt off.

8. The More You Learn The More You Will Earn. You already know this to be true. But, man is it ever true for this market. BE the go-to agent in your office, in your market for short sales. Be the local short sale expert. Learn the exact process to take REO listings. You already know REOs are controlling the market..be the agent with those listings.

9. Save Money and Protect It. Now that you are in control of your spending, have paid off your debts…start saving. Simple savings plan system. Take 10% (or more) from every penny you earn. If your Mom gives you $100 for your birthday save $10. You get a commission for $10,000…sock away $1,000. Pay yourself first. When you get that commission check go to the back and transfer 10% into a savings account then pay the other bills.

10. More Intensity vs Simply More Time. Yes, you will have to work hard in this recession. Chances are you will have to work harder now than you ever have to before. But, be careful not to confuse ‘Time Spent Working’ with ‘Instensity’. In other words, focus on what you are getting done during the day vs simply how much time you are spending. HREU Superstars Don’t work in the evenings and Don’t work on the weekends…why? Because they are working intensely durng the day. Are you?

Going forward every agent must know how to list and sell REOs or Bank Owned homes. Get started now by grabbing your FREE copy of our newest book, Agent REO Secrets. Instant free download now.

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Borrowers who took out a mortgage on or before Jan. 1 can apply if they have made at least six payments on their existing loan and they do not own a second home. If their lender goes along with the deal, they can refinance into a 30-year, fixed-rate loan.

They will need to verify that they cannot pay their existing loan without help and that their monthly payments were more than 31 percent of their gross monthly income as of March.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the new Hope for Homeowners program could help 400,000 people during its three-year life span.

“But compare that to the fact that we had 300,000 foreclosure filings in the last month alone,” said John Taylor, chief executive of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a housing advocacy group. “Have no illusions, this is going to help some homeowners, but it’s not going to solve the foreclosure crisis by any stretch.”

The final participation numbers will depend largely on lenders. The FHA doesn’t make loans directly; it insures loans by private lenders.

In this program, the FHA will insure a loan for only 90 percent of the home’s current value. With home prices plunging, borrowers who have little or no equity left in their homes need the lender to forgive the rest of the debt in order to qualify for the refinancing

Some lenders have resisted doing that in the recent past, preferring instead to lower interest rates or rearrange payment schedules on troubled loans. “Lenders are looking at this as a last resort,” said Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance. Of the 369,000 people who refinanced in the past year using a previous version of this program, only 1 percent of them were delinquent, according to the FHA.

Complicating matters is that borrowers who financed their homes using two loans must get both lenders to agree to refinance, even though the second-mortgage lender most likely will not get paid off under this arrangement.

Yesterday, Preston acknowledged that for lenders, the new program “may not be the preferred route in many situations.”

The FHA has received $29.5 million so far to upgrade its technology and hire new staff to handle this program, housing officials said.

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What does it mean when the “American Dream” of home ownership becomes the “American Nightmare”?

What effect will the bank bail out have on Short Sales? This graph estimates that by the end of the year, 15,000,000 Americans will be upside down/ have negative equity in their homes. It also estimates that a very real potential 23,500,000 Americans will eventually become upside down in their homes if the true peak to trough decline reaches 35%. This is a very realistic probability.

Not every homeowner with negative equity will default, in fact many of these homeowners will only be underwater by a few percent. But if we estimate one half of homeowners with negative equity will eventually default, use a 50% loss severity, and a 35% price decline (23.6 million households with negative equity), and use the median house price from the Census Bureau of $216 thousand, we get $1.3 trillion in mortgage losses for lenders.

We have been predicting that real estate short sales would become faster and more streamlined as the housing crisis because a full fledged housing crash. Now that the global economy is under attact we expect to see our prediction coming to reality over the next 90 days. Fellow agents, get ready….take as many short sale listings as you can. The only way to slow the tsunami of foreclosures is short sales and…the goverment knows this.

Fellow agents, learn the exact step by step process to build your short sale business. Instant free download of our 7 part Agent Short Sale Secrets crash course.

(Source of graph: Calculated Risk)

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Ok, before you watch this TRY to keep an open mind. YES, this is political…and I will warn you right now if you are a Democrat you won’t like the content of this video. We are Republi-Crats meaning..we see things from both sides. I am posting this video because it does a great job to explain the history of the housing mess. WARNING: Not Bi-Partisan in any way…YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

****This is the Short Sale Call For New Student Enrollments..If you are an existing student feel free to join us but, this is not your weekly coaching call. Be sure to check www.HarrisRealEstateUniversity.com for this weeks schedule****

Hello,

Remember, this Wednesday July 30th at 12:00nn PST, 3:00pm EST……
You are registered for the F -R -E -E Agent Short Sale Secrets teleconference.

The teleconference is completely full. 100% of the spots have been
taken.

But, your ’seat’ has been reserved.

Now, click here for all the call in info:
http://instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=3559719 ?——Go Here Now.

If you’re market is anything like mine nearly every home for sale
is a ‘Short Sale’ listing. Now, you will learn exactly how to:

1)    Plug and Play marketing ideas to easily list short sales.
2)    Exactly what to put in the ‘package’ that must be submitted.
3)    Communicate with the lenders and get them to call you back.
4)    Step-by-Step how to do short sales, how to get started now.
5)    Plus, many more secrets revealed.

You will love the ideas and energy you will get from this call.
Expect to take pages of great notes.

One more thing..I know this sounds crazy. Please don’t share the
info about this call with other agents. This call is completely full.

Before its too late……

Click here NOW for all the call in info:
http://instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=3559719 ?——-Important Link.

Speak with you soon,
Tim and Julie Harris

P.S. This is not a ‘fluff call’. We respect your time and will be
giving you the information you must have to cash in on the Short
Sale listings explosion that is taking place now.

P.P.S. This call is taking place at 12:00 pm PST, 1:00 pm MTN, 2:00
pm CTR, 3 pm EST.

Realtor coaching. Real estate training. Tim and Julie Harris. Harris Real Estate University. Realtor. BPO. How to get REO listings. Agent Short Sale Secrets. Realtor Short Sale.