Mortgage Market Share Report June 2011

?Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; from discord find harmony; in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.? ~ Albert Einstein

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?During the last three years we?ve been introduced to many new concepts. Mortgage modifications, robo-signers, qualified residential mortgages, Appraisal Vendor misManagement firms, mortgage backed security put backs, TARP and HAFA immediately come to mind. We?ve dealt with new RESPA regulations, new TILA regulations (several times), and coming soon new rules from the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. Somewhere, amid all the change, there must be opportunities, right?

?One opportunity that we?ve pursued involves short sales. That?s when the seller?s mortgage holder agrees to take less than what is owed on the loan but still releases their mortgage. We?ve dealt with short sales for about five years. By and large, they?ve been very disruptive to our closing business. Each one was a fire drill and no one involved was ever happy with the process. Last winter we decided that there must be a better way.?

?That better way we call ISSAC?Improving Short Sale Approvals and Closings. The goal of ISSAC is to help Realtors? and their clients by prequalifying short sale sellers, submitting complete short sale packages to lenders for approval, and closing the transaction in a reasonable time frame. (Reasonable for most short sales is sixty to seventy-five days.) Kara Oltman, our Vice-President, Settlement Services is in charge of the program. Both Kara and I completed extensive training and earned professional designations as Certified Default Resolution Closing Specialists. ?

?So how many potential short sales are there? To get an idea, look at the Mortgages under $50,000 chart in our report. Several years ago thousands of home equity and piggy back mortgages were made in Monroe County. Some banks lent to 125% of assessed valuation. Although locally our values haven?t cratered like some markets, there still are a number of upside down homeowners in our community.

?The ISSAC program includes a two hour training session in our office, currently conducted once a month. Short sales applications are similar to mortgage loan applications. There are a number of details and contingencies that must be accounted for. The training session covers all of that. After the training Realtors? are better equipped to represent their clients on either side of a short sale transaction.

?We feel that ISSAC benefits the entire community. Each approved short sale is one less home lost to foreclosure; Sellers get to move on and start over; Buyers get the home they want; the neighborhood avoids an abandoned house with three feet of weeds and broken windows.

?We?re excited to offer our assistance. Contact Kara, Tammy Walker or me for further details.

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~John Bethell