Archive for the ‘Marketing’ Category

How To Manage And Market Foreclosures

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

When a bank’s level of non-performing loans and foreclosed assets increases to the point that the bank’s costs and expenses exceed its revenues, the resulting deficit erodes the bank’s net worth and reduces stockholders’ equity.  Depending upon the particular bank’s level of net worth, a serious problem will result at some point in time unless steps are taken to mitigate the problems.  This article deals with the administration of real estate properties that have already been foreclosed.

It is imperative that the lender examine and thoroughly understand both the loan documents for the particular loan and foreclosure laws in the area where the collateral property is located.   Depending upon the various factors contained in loan documents and the nuances of state foreclosure laws, there are usually factors that dictate the timing of when a foreclosure must be initiated.Sometimes, a lender not foreclosing on time might result in heavy delays in the process, allowing further arrearages to accrue and possible damage to the collateral property.

Once the foreclosure decision is made, the bank needs to automatically involve its foreclosed property department.  In a commercial bank, foreclosed real estate properties are referred to as Other Real Estate Owned, or “OREO,” as distinct from real estate owned and used in the operation of the bank, such as the main bank building and bank branch properties.  The equivalent term at savings banks is Real Estate Owned or “REO.”

Here are some guidelines for the successful management of foreclosed properties:

  • Make sure that the homeowners’ or fire and extended casualty insurance is cancelled and that the property is added to the bank’s blanket insurance policy for foreclosed properties.(Note: I have seen homes and buildings lost to fires when there wasn’t insurance coverage, due to sloppiness in monitoring the transition.)
  • Assign the responsibility for managing foreclosed properties to one person.If the amount of foreclosures is large enough to be the sole focus of one or two people fulltime, then almost certainly you will need a new-hire.  Don’t rely on the loan officers that initiated the problem loans to begin with to now miraculously solve the problems that they could not foresee in the beginning.It is beneficial to have some “space” between the OREO/REO managers and the borrowers of the loan.
  • Once the properties are foreclosed or abandoned, secure them immediately.There must be a central key repository in the OREO or REO department.
  • Keep the properties looking decent.  Do whatever is required to avoid deterioration of the properties.There are no buyers who enjoy unattractive properties.
  • If the property has problems, find a specialist in buying and fixing up properties, and provide financing to make the deal workable and attractive.  Include a commitment to provide financing for the ultimate customer to whom the fix-up specialist will sell.
  • Get “For Sale” signs up immediately after foreclosure.  (Note:  It is astonishing to me how many times I have gone into OREO and REO operations and found management amazed that a property has not sold, yet there is no “For Sale” sign on it!)
  • Only list with a real estate agent if truly necessary.  Your OREO or REO department will know more about the property than any real estate agent, and your financing to the purchaser will be a major selling point.You should be one making the calls on financing, instead of a real estate agent.
  • Talk to the neighbors of the foreclosed property.  Often, their families and friends are prospective purchasers.  Your offering favorable financing might be the factor that tilts the scales in favor of a relative relocating close to another relative.
  • Inspect the properties regularly, and document what you find.  Take any needed corrective actions immediately.
  • Offer good financial packages to allure buyers.Keep in mind that the sooner you make a sale, the sooner the property can make money back instead of spending it.
  • Consider holding periods and the net present value of a probable future sale when setting a sales price.The “net” in net present value allows for the holding costs which include taxes, maintenance, and any expenditures such as carpeting and other expenditures that may be required for good property marketing.
  • Attend OREO and REO activities at Board of Directors meetings.  Directors often have market knowledge and contacts that can help with OREO / REO problems.

Getting all of these done can be quite a challenge.  It requires special expertise to initiate all of these various activities and to keep them moving toward the multiple finish lines

This article was written by a professional banking expert witness. He is a consultant and banking regulator, has successfully administered hundreds of millions of dollars of foreclosed properties including houses, condominiums, subdivisions, raw land, apartments, offices, and more across the USA.  He is available on a contract basis to discuss your bank’s particular needs at an expert witness services company. See all professional and legal expert witnesses with full C.V.’s.

The Full-Service Real estate Factor

Sunday, May 9th, 2010

Realestate MLS. Real estate customers are forever checking for new and much better approaches to save income and lessen expenses. As such, paying out property commissions for real estate agents that could volume to tens of 1000s of us dollars isn’t regarded as a cost-effective selection for these savings-minded men and women (especially thinking about the express with the economy as of late). In any case, is it definitely well worth the effort and funds to retain the services of a full-service real estate factor around, say, a discount support? That could be a reasonable and oft-asked dilemma, and its response is dependent on one’s circumstances.

Style of Marketplace

If you are a home seller alternatively of the household buyer, then you probably comprehend how the MLS (A number of Itemizing Service) is all you will ever require in relation to promoting your household. As soon as you plop a home into the MLS database (hardly a challenging project), you’ll quickly get an offer far more generally than not, so in these conditions, a full-service broker is not necessary in your case to obtain a sale. Nonetheless, will an MLS offer you be the highest cost you can get to suit your needs house?

Realestate Listings. Listings that get offered for sale at top prices are normally those exposed to the most customers and are proven well, marketed well, and priced properly. At any rate, a buyer’s market place happens when the inventory of products surpass the number of potential buyers. In this problem, some houses won’t get sold in any way. Due to the fact of the sluggish think in the real estate industry at present, we’re presently in a very buyer’s market of sorts. For that reason, the added work and expertise of competent brokers are most appreciated in the course of these circumstances.

MLS and the web

Listings that hit on-line MLS databases without having an accompanying photograph are homes which might be commonly ignored by potential buyers and real estate agents alike without even a second believed. The same as with everything else promotion-related, the presentation of the product goes a extended, long way in having it sold. A photo is really worth a thousand words and, on this circumstance, a huge selection of tens of thousands of us dollars.

Most with the MLS out there can take from eight to twelve household photographs in the granted itemizing. Which is the purpose why a lot of full-service real estate property agencies hire expert photographers to shoot double the pictures required to be able to existing the property inside the best doable light. All the same, right here are a handful of tips for real estate agents to adhere to in relation to photographing images for an MLS catalogue:

Realestate Agents. Each picture must have an accompanying, full-length description that entices prospective purchasers to look at the listing.

Get specialist photographers who are proficient and affected person adequate to notify that happen to be the ideal angles needed to capture by far the most light, sharpness, contrast, and color in a presented promotional picture.

Preserve in thoughts the should resize and crop pictures in order to highlight their ideal attributes. A little bit of artistry is essential when placing the last touches to your photos.

What’s additional, a token photograph that is haphazardly taken by the MLS’s folks alternatively of an agent-hired specialized can serve being a sign that your real estate factor is lazy, uncaring, and unprofessional in terms of handling your listing. He likely isn’t serious ample or paid perfectly good enough to properly market place his customer’s property.

Real Estate Investing In The Age Of Government Intervention

Monday, March 15th, 2010

The term virtual real estate investing likely brings a number of things to mind. You might immediately leap to real estate investing being real estate portfolios and real estate retirement plans and hard money lenders or you may think instead of short sales, bulk reo investing and virtual real estate investing. Likely you also wonder how these things will factor into your life as a real estate investor in the current economy.

There is a great deal to know about real estate investing. The best way to optimize your real estate investing education is to know the basics ahead of time. Whether you are interested in short sales, bulk reo sales, virtual real estate or just improving your abilities as a real estate investor, you need to know some real estate investing basics in order to succeed. You should review these three real estate investing basics to learn things even some experts do not know:

1. You always will get a positive result from investing in real estate investing education. Every real estate deal has the potential to create thousands of dollars in potential wealth. The knowledge of how to get that wealth is the key to your success. When you know about real estate your odds of success increase with each real estate deal. Implementation of your small educational investments yields big results.

2. You can succeed in real estate investing in any economy. Many people think that you can only succeed in real estate when the economy is booming. In reality, poor economies are great for real estate investors. You can often find properties to buy at deep discounts. You might also find deals that simply would not exist in a booming economy. Poor economies can have the tide turned based on real estate investing. Short sales, bulk reo sales and virtual real estate all thrive when the economy is less than thriving. You can save yourself and others from major financial woes if you know how to do these deals.

3. You do not need to have a great deal of money if you want to be a successful real estate investor. You can be a success in real estate investing no matter how much money you have on your own. There are a lot of deals that you can do with other people’s money. If you are a good investment private lenders may let you use their money. An investor who is a good investment knows as much as they can when it comes to real estate investing. This will help you show private lenders that you are a good investment if they do not know about real estate investing themselves.

Real estate investing is a good way to generate a great deal of wealth. You will have the ability to create income in any economy. By using a base of knowledge of real estate investing, short sales, bulk reo sales and virtual real estate you can create success for yourself. Knowing the basics of real estate investing will help you succeed as a real estate investor. Knowing some real estate investing basics (beyond what older gurus like Robert Allen teach) and applying them will help you succeed as a real estate investor.

Great real estate investing resources are available at RealEstate.BryanEllis.com.

Real Estate Investing Tips For Today’s Market

Monday, March 15th, 2010

It is likely that you think of a number of things when you hear the words virtual real estate investing. If you are already familiar with real estate investing you may think of short sales, bulk reo investing and virtual real estate investing or you may think of it in terms of real estate portfolios and real estate retirement plans or even hard money lenders. Likely you also wonder how these things will factor into your life as a real estate investor in the current economy.

There is a lot to learn about real estate investing. The best way to get the most out of your real estate investing education is to be familiar with some basic information ahead of time. No matter whether you are interested in short sales, bulk reo sales, virtual real estate or just enhancing your knowledge as a real estate investor, knowing some real estate investing basics will help you succeed. Here are three real estate investing basics that even some experts do not really know:

1. Real estate investing education always yields positive. Every good real estate deal represents thousands of dollars in potential wealth. Getting the wealth is the key to your success. When you know about real estate your odds of success increase with each real estate deal. Small investments yield big results when you invest in learning and then implement what you learn.

2. Any economy allows for success in real estate investing. Lots of people believe that real estate success is only possible in a booming economy. In reality, a bad economic situation is not bad for real estate investors. You can often buy properties at deep discounts. Additionally, you may find deals that would not exist in a booming economy. Real estate investing may also turn the tide for a poor economy. When the economy is not so good, short sales, bulk reo sales and virtual real estate are great. You will be able to save yourself and others from serious financial difficulties if you know how to do these deals.

3. You do not need to have a great deal of money if you want to be a successful real estate investor. You can succeed in the real estate investing arena no matter how much money you are working with. Many types of deals enable you to use other people’s money to do them. If you look like a good investment a private lender may let you use their money. A person who is a solid investment knows as much as possible about real estate investing. This will help you show people that you are a good investment if they have the money to help you with real estate investing but they do not know how to use it.

Real estate investing is a good way to generate a great deal of wealth. You will be able to create an income no matter what the economy. You can create your own success using your knowledge of short sales, real estate investing, bulk reo sales and virtual real estate. Knowing the basics of real estate investing will help you succeed as a real estate investor. Knowing some real estate investing basics (beyond what older gurus like Robert Allen teach) and applying them will help you succeed as a real estate investor.

Great real estate investing resources are available at RealEstate.BryanEllis.com.

Real Estate Investing Basics For Today’s Market

Saturday, March 6th, 2010

It is likely that you think of a number of things when you hear the words virtual real estate investing. You might immediately leap to real estate investing being real estate portfolios and real estate retirement plans and hard money lenders or you may think instead of short sales, bulk reo investing and virtual real estate investing. You may also consider what roles these things play in your life as a real estate investor in different economies.

You can learn a lot about real estate investing. The best way to optimize your real estate investing education is to know the basics ahead of time. Short sales, bulk reo sales, virtual real estate and general real estate investor abilities all are improved by knowing some basics of real estate investing. You should review these three real estate investing basics to learn things even some experts do not know:

1. You always will get a positive result from investing in real estate investing education. Each real estate deal can represent thousands of dollars in potential wealth. Understanding how to get that wealth will be the key to your success. Learning as much as possible about real estate will increase your odds of success whenever you do a real estate deal. Implementation of your small educational investments yields big results.

2. You can succeed in real estate investing regardless of the state of the economy. Many people think (wrongly) that you can only succeed in real estate when the economy booms. You should remember that a bad economic situation is not usually bad for real estate investors. You frequently can get properties at deep discounts. In addition, you can find deals that simply would not exist in a booming economy. Poor economies can turn based on active real estate investing. Short sales, bulk reo sales and virtual real estate all thrive when the economy is less than thriving. You will have the option of saving yourself and possibly others from serious financial difficulties if you know about these types of deals.

3. You do not need to have a great deal of money if you want to be a successful real estate investor. You can succeed in real estate investing no matter how much money you have. There are lots of deals that you can use other people’s money to do. If you appear to be a solid investment you may be able to use a private lender’s money. A person who is a solid investment knows as much as possible about real estate investing. This will help you show private lenders that you are a good investment if they do not know about real estate investing themselves.

You can generate lots of wealth by real estate investing. You will be able to create an income no matter what the economy. Using knowledge of real estate investing, short sales, bulk reo sales and virtual real estate you will be able to create success for yourself. Knowing the basics of real estate investing will help you succeed as a real estate investor. Knowing some real estate investing basics (beyond what older gurus like Robert Allen teach) and applying them will help you succeed as a real estate investor.

Great real estate investing resources are available at RealEstate.BryanEllis.com.

Real Estate Investing Basics For Today’s Market

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

It is likely that you think of a number of things when you hear the words virtual real estate investing. You might immediately leap to real estate investing being real estate portfolios and real estate retirement plans or you may think instead of short sales, bulk reo investing and virtual real estate investing. You may also consider what roles these things play in your life as a real estate investor in different economies.

You can learn a lot about real estate investing. The best way to optimize your real estate investing education is to know the basics ahead of time. Short sales, bulk reo sales, virtual real estate and general real estate investor abilities all are improved by knowing some basics of real estate investing. You should review these three real estate investing basics to learn things even some experts do not know:

1. You always will get a positive result from investing in real estate investing education. Each real estate deal can represent thousands of dollars in potential wealth. Understanding how to get that wealth will be the key to your success. Learning as much as possible about real estate will increase your odds of success whenever you do a real estate deal. Implementation of your small educational investments yields big results.

2. You can succeed in real estate investing regardless of the state of the economy. Many people think (wrongly) that you can only succeed in real estate when the economy booms. You should remember that a bad economic situation is not usually bad for real estate investors. You frequently can get properties at deep discounts. In addition, you can find deals that simply would not exist in a booming economy. Poor economies can turn based on active real estate investing. Short sales, bulk reo sales and virtual real estate all thrive when the economy is less than thriving. You will have the option of saving yourself and possibly others from serious financial difficulties if you know about these types of deals.

3. You do not need to have a great deal of money if you want to be a successful real estate investor. You can succeed in real estate investing no matter how much money you have. There are lots of deals that you can use other people’s money to do. If you appear to be a solid investment you may be able to use a private lender’s money. A person who is a solid investment knows as much as possible about real estate investing. This will help you show private lenders that you are a good investment if they do not know about real estate investing themselves.

You can generate lots of wealth by real estate investing. You will be able to create an income no matter what the economy. Using knowledge of real estate investing, short sales, bulk reo sales and virtual real estate you will be able to create success for yourself. Knowing the basics of real estate investing will help you succeed as a real estate investor. Knowing some real estate investing basics (beyond what older gurus like Robert Allen teach) and applying them will help you succeed as a real estate investor.

Great real estate investing resources are available at RealEstate.BryanEllis.com.

When You Can’t Pay For Your Medicine, What Do You Do?

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

Prescription medicine help is available to millions of Americans. You have probably heard or seen ads or commercials that patients can obtain their prescription medication for free, or at a low cost. Have you seen the Help For Prescription bus? Television personality Montel Williams talks about an organization who assists people obtain help if they can not pay for the medication they are prescribed. These prescriptions help them with their illness. There is even an orange van who crosses the countryside to promote free prescription drugs programs. When cost saving measures are not enough to help meet the expense of prescription medication, there are a quantity of plans designed to help the individual stretch your health care dollar. Hospitals, medical schools, government agencies, and even prescription drug companies themselves provide a variety of strategies to assist those in need of assistance. You’ll possible have some help applying for these programs, and may well have to make available certain private financial details, but the payback can be enormous.

It is especially tough for some people to afford their prescriptions if they do not have insurance. This is specially true with prostate cancer patients.

Let’s say you have been getting chemo, except it causes an upset stomach, thus you are given a anti-nausea medicines to go along with it. After that, the chemotherapy has caused you to become anemic, so you need to have a prescription for an iron supplement. It becomes a nasty cycle. What it amounts to is that a cancer patient could very easy be spending more for medications than their house payment!

What are you to do if you need to have assistance paying for your medicines?

The one thing you don’t want to do is stop taking your drugs. There are quite a lot of plans available that offer free and reduced cost medicines assistance.

• Social Services- All hospitals have a social worker who might help you find grants and other programs aimed at helping you with your health care needs. This may be your opening stop in searching for assistance. At all times enlighten your doctor of medicine if you cannot pay for prescription drugs or medical care. He or she might know of a package firsthand to assist you, too.

• PPARx- The Partnership for Prescription Assistance is a group intended at assisting residents who can not come up with the money for their prescription medication. They have produced a database of in excess of 550  programs and more than 5000 prescription medication provided for reduced or no cost aid. They help in determining what you are qualified for and applying for the help. The service is free and provided online.

• Prescription drug Companies- A lot of individuals wouldn’t think prescription drug companies offer assistance, nevertheless countless might. Astra zenaca gives a prescription medication package for persons taking their drugs and cannot find the money for them. Discover the producer of the medicine by asking your physician or pharmacist and try out the web site for drugs assistance programs.

You aren’t the only one with this problem. There is no basis to be uncomfortable.

Get Ready Before You List Your Home

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Beautifully Staged Model Homes

Are you going to sell your house? Many people list their homes, go through the inconvenience of making it available for showings, and then wonder why it hasn’t sold after 2 or 3 months. That’s not the right way to sell a house. You have to prepare your house before it is shown to the first Realtor or buyer. Your best opportunity to get a sale is that first week when it’s new on the market. If your house doesn’t sparkle, Realtors won’t bring their buyers. Even those who see it for the first time after it’s been on the market a while will wonder why it’s still on the market. Many will believe that it is overpriced, whether or not that’s true.

One of the most important things you can do is to make sure your home shows like a model. New home builders know how to stage a home. Take a look at the video above, featuring San Diego new homes by Brookfield. Don’t they look warm and inviting? Your home probably looks inviting to you – after all, it is your home – but you need to take a step back and make it inviting to people who don’t already love it.

First, make sure it looks like there’s a lot of space. Remove the clutter from the kitchen counters. Get rid of furniture, especially any furniture that’s too big for the room. You might as well start your packing now – you’re going to move anyway? Put it in storage – it’s well worth the cost if you can get your home sold quickly. When you’re deciding how much stuff needs to go, don’t use the current situation as a starting point. Instead, start by imagining that the house is empty. Now what does it need? A sofa, a television, a dining table, beds in the bedrooms? It doesn’t need all your cds, your knick-knacks, a sewing machine, a bean bag chair, etc. Home buyers will imagine moving their things into any house they look at. Make sure they can see that there is a lot of space for their things. Do not forget the closets. Buyers will look to see how much room there is. If the closets are full to the top, they’ll think this home has insufficient space.

Next, neutralize it. Any personalization could be unattractive to some buyers. If you have a room painted burgundy, paint it off-white before you list your house. Look at the model homes. Any kind of buyer could imagine moving into these homes. A buyer will personalize their new home their way over time, but it has to be at least acceptable to anyone right now.

Make sure there’s plenty of light. Add light fixtures, buy additional lamps, or open the drapes. Light helps make your home look bigger and more neutral.

Curb appeal is the term Realtors use for how does your home look when you first drive up?  I the front yard is a little boring, buyers won’t be excited about going in. If it’s overgrown or messy, they’ll have a negative opinion before they walk in the door. Don’t rely on the Realtor to help potential buyers get past that. They’re human too. They’ll show their buyers houses that they’re excited about. It sets the tone for the whole showing, so don’t skimp here.

Fix the little things. Is there a chip in the bathroom sink? Do trees and shrubs need to be trimmed? Is the grout stained? When a home doesn’t sparkle, buyers don’t even realize why they don’t like it. A new coat of paint goes a long way.

Here is the hardest part. It is your home. It’s almost impossible to look at it with an impartial eye. It would be a good idea to have somebody else assess the situation. There are professional stagers available. You could have someone do it for you, or just come in and make recommendations that you can carry out. Or you could find an impartial person to evaluate it. Your Realtor might not be the ideal candidate because they don’t want to offend you and maybe lose your business. It should be someone who isn’t familiar with your home. Your family and friend would have the same problem you have. You need to be willing and able to hear the negatives about the home you love, and that’s challenging.If you can find the wherewithall to do that, your house will look great to Realtors and buyers viewing the newest home on the market. You will be rewarded with a better sale price and a quicker sale.

Rockrose new homes Carlsbad is the newest community by Brookfield San Diego. Stop in and see how beautifully the models show.

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