I’m a realtor looking to get short sale listings and learn more about short sales in general.

I purchased my home in April of 2006 for $675,000, no money down. It is now worth roughly $525,000 and I am facing foreclosure. I have not re-financed and my understanding is that I have a non-recourse loan. Will I owe the IRS taxes when my property is foreclosed on?

I live in central NJ with still high real estate market, but plenty of foreclosure and short sale.
There is a house listed for 509k in short sale. It seems to be in good condition in a nice area. So I was wondering how low offer should I put on this house?

Owner builder construction loans are hard to sell, because it is difficult to generate leads. There is no established list of interested owner builders to whom you can send out direct mailings.

Therefore, owner builders have to find you. This is where having an online presence is vital, but you need more than the standard, simple information request form if you want to be successful in marketing to any group of clients like owner builders.

Why should you pay any attention to the marketing techniques for owner builders? Chances are good you don’t sell owner builder loans. Chances are good you don’t even care what an owner builder is.

But, the lessons from marketing owner builder construction loans are the same lessons that all marketers can apply whenever selling to clients that either have a long lead time or who have to actually qualify before being able to make the purchase.

Owner builder construction loans, perhaps similarly to a product you sell, require not only that the owner builder wants to purchase them. Also, the owner builder has to be financially qualified to be able to purchase them.

It doesn’t matter how good of a salesman you are if your client isn’t going to be approved for the purchase financially.

Second, owner builder construction loans have a very long lead time before the sale is finalized. Owner builders have to get blueprints, apply for building permits, compile a budget to build their home, etc. The owner builder planning process could take a few months.

Compare this to most products that get sold online, for which the transaction might happen literally within a few minutes.

So, if you are selling a product or service like owner builder loans that require a long lead time and a stringent client qualification process, then there is a simple online marketing tool that you can use to streamline your sales process.

Instead of using the standard, simple online information request form on your website, try using a longer, more intensive information request form that requires your potential clients to jump through a few hoops to submit their information.

It sounds counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? Wouldn’t you get more leads if you had a short, simple online form that would allow you to market to more people?

Yes. And, no.

You would have more leads, but they wouldn’t be qualified, motivated leads. And, you would be wasting your time, energy, and money marketing to them.

In the owner builder example, it is very useful to use a long, laborious info request form, because you know that the people who fill out the form are very motivated and extremely interested in your product.

If the owner builder weren’t interested, he wouldn’t spend the time filling out a long, detailed request form. In fact, in this example, you would have your owner builder fill out a form with almost 50 fields just to get you to contact them with more information.

They would fill in information about their construction project, as well as information about their financial qualifications. This way, you could spend your time following up with the owner builders who are going to be qualified for your product. You don’t have to spend your time trying to sell your product to people who won’t meet your qualifications.

And, you will know that they are all very interested in speaking with you. Nobody would fill out 50 questions about being an owner builder if they didn’t want to speak to you about your owner builder construction loan.

Therefore, the long form serves a couple of very important purposes. It allows you to weed out the leads who aren’t going to qualify to purchase your product. And, just as important, it makes your leads jump through a few hoops to ensure that they are very interested before ever contacting you.

It’s good positioning for you. By the time you contact your lead, you will know they want to speak to you. Any emails or follow-ups that you send them will be welcomed.

Make no mistake, there is a time and place for simple, short info request forms on your websites. If you are selling a product with a short lead time and that requires no specific buyer qualifications other than interest in your product, then a short form is a perfect online lead generation tool.

On the other hand, if you are selling a product like an owner builder construction loan, then you will want to use a longer, more detailed information request form that makes your new leads jump through a few hoops to make them raise their hands and show interest in your product. Plus, you will be able to get enough information about them to pre-qualify them before spending too much time.

Do not be scared to make the leap to a longer online information request form. Your number of leads will go down, but the number of qualified, interested leads will not. You’ll have more time to focus on the truly qualified leads. Your sales will go up. Your profits will go up.

Owner builders have proven that this method works. It can work for you as well. Owner builder construction loans are much easier to sell when you are dealing with clients who are qualified and interested in the product. Owner builders are no different from any of your potential clients.

I have been aswering questions for people on and off of the Internet and I have gotten at least twelve people asking me to help them with their finances. I am thinking it might be worth it to start a credit repair company. Most people are willing to pay $50 -$70 a month for my services. What should I do?

no one who doesn’t want to clear the bad credit issues from his credit report. Sample credit repair letters help you to accurately ask the credit reporting agencies to fix the problems in your credit rating report. Take a look at your report properly and try to find more and more issues which can be fixed. Write credit repair letter to the agencies so that they clear the misunderstandings from the report. If this is not done, this might raise issues for next time when you are buying something on credit. These sample credit repair letters usually help the consumers in order to make the credit reporting agencies understand well about the errors in a particular report so that the credit bureaus take appropriate steps to fix it.

Several companies provide their consumers with sample credit repair letters so that it helps them to clear up negative issues in their credit reports. A good credit report is a must to do shopping on credit and live a better life.

The most common problem which many people face is the listing of inaccurate facts in their reports for which they are not responsible. These mistakes will deteriorate your credit report. For instance, two identical looking social security numbers might result in wrong data entry which might turn good credit report into bad and vice versa. Same goes with identical names and states, etc. You always own the right to challenge such mistakes which damage your report. This kind of inaccurate and incorrect information should get fixed soon and sample credit repair letters can be a real help in notifying the credit bureau about such issues and get them fixed.

Many companies provide the professionally written credit repair letters which are clearly written and point right on the issues which you need to highlight. People usually tend to get extremely confused when they find inaccuracies in their credit report. Some try to ask friends for ways to fix that and some even look on the Internet. The best way for this is to send a professionally written sample credit repair letter to the concerned agency and get your bad credit report cleared off the errors.

It is better to get a copy of your credit report from all three agencies before you start your credit repair letter writing campaign. According to the law, credit bureaus are supposed to send you one copy of your credit report every year without any additional charges. These professionally written letters make things clear and have all the information in them which all the three major credit reporting agencies need in order to fix your credit report and clear it off the issues which you have requested them.

This process is not so hard, all you need to do is to go online or write to them for a request to send the report. At the most they might ask you for an identity proof. Once they are sure that you are the right person they send it right on. After you get your report in hand, watch it carefully and make sure that all the creditors listed are your account holders. Also, check all the information if it is correct or not. If anything is wrong in it, here comes the role of a credit repair letter.

If and when you find inaccuracies in your credit report, write a credit repair letter to the agency stating the issues and possible remedies. It is then their duty to check it all, fix it and also to send you a new credit report. It is always better to mail them the report and keep a record of delivery receipt with you. If and when you don’t get a delivery receipt, send a follow up credit repair letter

Well written credit repair letters are always in demand by people to get their credit report fixed by correcting inaccurate details. Such letters highlight the problems in your credit report in such a manner that the agencies notice them and also fix them thus improving your credit ratings.

For easy tips and techniques visit Easy Credit Repair Kit.

I have already purchased a fixer upper house for pretty cheap..I now need the money to rehab the property….

Were you the victim of Predatory Lending? Deceptive and predatory lending practices were all too common between 2001 and 2008, as the lawyers at www.ConsumerDebtAdvocate.net find over 90% of all loans we perform a forensic analysis on have multiple violations.  If you took out a new mortgage loan during this period of time it is highly likely that there were violations in Truth in Lending, RESPA, Section 32, or Regulation Z.  Even the best educated consumers may have been victims of predatory lending practices.  CDA’s Attorney’s offer a complete forensic analysis of your loan documents by a recognized expert in the field who has over 30 years of experience helping consumers. CDA uses the results as leverage to force your lender to restructure your loan terms, or as an alternative, suing to challenge the validity of the loan itself. If you win a predatory lending case in court, you will often receive your home’s Deed free and clear, plus be re-paid all payments and fees you have made from the time you took out the loan.

Common Predatory Lending Practices:

?  Predatory lenders use deceptive or aggressive practices to sell   their loans, often targeting certain neighborhoods

?  Predatory lenders strip equity form homes through excessive fees without considering the borrower’s ability to repay the loan, sometimes resulting in foreclosure

?  Predatory lenders use prepayment penalties and adjustable loans that increase without regard to market conditions.

?  Predatory Lenders offer you one rate and fee structure, but change the loan terms at the last minute without proper disclosures.

?  Predatory lenders may use Spanish speakers to gain the trust and confidence of Hispanic Homeowners.

?  Predatory lenders charge excessive fees, points, and interest rates.

?  If you did a “stated income” or “stated asset” loan, you likely were the victim of mortgage fraud.

?  If you are elderly (over age 65), you may also be the victim of Elderly Abuse.

Common Indicators of Predatory Lending:  

Excessive Points, late charges, and pre-payment penalties: Loan origination fees and other charges can cost many thousands of dollars, even if your were promised a “No Fee” or “No Charge” loan.  Pre-payment penalties may make it very expensive to refinance or sell your home.

High Interest rate: Victims of predatory lending pay a higher interest rate than the national average or pay an interest rate not commensurate with  their credit score.

Asset-based Lending: Rather than receiving a loan based upon your ability to repay the loan, you were given a loan based on how much equity you had and were able to pull out or pay as fees.  You may have been encouraged to “inflate” your income or it was done without your knowledge so your could “afford” the loan. They may lend you more than you could afford to repay, as the lender would get the full amount of equity if they foreclosed on your property even if the loan was small.

Misrepresentations: The loan officer may offer you one set of terms (including rate and fees) and then change them at closing. They may also misrepresent the terms such you signed.

Balloon Payment: A large sum of money due at the end of the loan that is often beyond your ability to repay, often causing you to lose the home. IT is also illegal in sub-prime loan under HOEPA regulations.

Discrimination: The lender charges a woman, older adult, or minority consumer more than a similar consumer who is not a member of that group.

What Can You Do?

There are several important documents you should have received as part of the loan process to better help you understand your loan.  Three days before you signed loan documents your lender must have provided you with a Good Faith Estimate that should outline your rate and fees.  At closing, compare this to the Settlement Statement or HUD-1. It tells you where all the money you are borrowing will go.  If there are any differences between the Good Faith Estimate and the HUD-1, make sure you agree with them before you sign.

You should also study the Truth in Lending disclosures which detail how much you are paying for your loan, what the percentage rate and APR is, and what you will owe at the end of the loan. Also review the contract to determine if there are prepayment penalties that lock you into the loan for a pre-determined period of time.  IF you feel you were a victim of predatory lending, it is critical you get a forensic review of these documents before the statute of limitation runs out. Some violations can restart the rescission clock and you will have up to three years from the time you discover the violations to address them.

I am being offered an oppurtunity to assume a home loan on a older but remoldeled 4br/2bth home. The owner says he’s not making any profit off of it due to the raise in propert taxes and home owner’s insurance. I feel that its a great chance to own 11,000sq/ft of land and property, but I need to know the downfalls of assuming a mortgage. Does the home still have to be inspected? I think the house has termite issues since its older and has a unsealed crawspace. How will I know I’m not merely assuming someone elses problems? What would protect me from being scamed? Is this really a blessing? Maybe maybe not?

The death of a loved one is never easy. Not only is it emotionally disturbing, but financially as well. So if you’re suffering from depression caused by the loss of a loved one, you hardly have time to notice your mortgage bills sitting their on your kitchen table. When you are not able to pay these mortgage bills, you might be in danger of losing your house as well.

Foreclosures happen when monthly payments for mortgage loans are not met. When a month has gone by since your last bill was sent to you and you still are unable to meet the monthly dues, a notice of a foreclosure will be sent to you.

What is a foreclosure?

In mortgage deals concerning real estate property such as a house, the house is held as a security for the payment of loans. This means that the mortgagor (the owner of the house) ‘trades’ his or her house for a lump sum or an amount loaned by a bank but the mortgagor still maintains ownership of the house by paying mortgage bills. In the event that the mortgagor is unable to pay these bills or satisfy any other requirements that are specified on the bond or deal, a foreclosure can happen. A foreclosure is essentially a legal step that the lender makes when a loan is defaulted. The lender does this to recover the amount owed by the mortgagor. The foreclosure process begins when the lender issues a public notice of a default called a Notice of Default or Lis Pendens.

Foreclosures usually end in three ways: 1) through a pre-foreclosure, 2) through a public auction and 3) repossession

What is a pre-foreclosure?

In a pre-foreclosure, the debtor reinstates the loan either through a mortgage modification process wherein he or she pursues another mortgage package or agrees to pay the amount of debt he or she has in a span of time set by the bank or as stated in mortgage laws governing the area. This period is called a redemption period. It usually lasts only a month after the petitioning for the foreclosure.

How does a foreclosure end through a public auction?

A foreclosure can be settled through a public auction if both parties (the bank or lender and the mortgagor) agree to settle their dispute through a public auction. During the redemption period, the debtor puts up his or her property for sale in an auction to pay off his or her remaining loan balance. In this case, the debtor is agrees to sell his or her property and the rights to it to the highest bidder of the public auction.

What is repossession?

Repossessions happen when the mortgagor has exhausted all means of paying this or her debts to bank or lender. The bank or lender will take over the ownership of the house to compensate for the financial loss it has incurred throughout the mortgage period. A repossession greatly damages a person’s credit history.

A foreclosure that ends in any one of the abovementioned ways can destroy one’s credibility and can hamper a person’s borrowing power. Either that or you lose any money you would have earned in selling the property. Fortunately, there is hope. There is a company in California that purchases properties directly from the owners. Cashout Options is the company that will provide you with suitable foreclosure solutions and present to you a viable and hard to resist all cash offer. Cashout Options has experts that will help you in stopping foreclosures and save you from incurring a dent in your credit history. It has an outstanding group of personnel to supply you with the adequate foreclosure assistance that you need. With its short sale services, you can be assured that you will get the best and fastest deals while still avoiding foreclosures. By filling up an online request form, Cashout Options will try to get in touch with you in as fast as 48 hours and will provide you with all the foreclosure help that you need.