Saturday, January 26, 2008

Short Sale Myths

If you're looking to create big results in your real estate investing business (even in a bad market) this is probably the most important message you'll read.

Here's the reason. Most investors are missing out on a huge number of potential deals that SHOULD be theirs.

They're missing out because they don't have the right tools to get the deal done and profit from them.

One of those tools is knowing how to do a Short Sale.

Just to make sure we're on the same page, a short sale is simply when a lender accepts less for a home than is currently owned.

Now a few years ago, doing short sales was an optional skill to have. These days, things are quite different. And if you don't do short sales, you could be in for a pretty rough ride.

So if short sales are so powerful, why aren't more agents doing them?

Because there's a huge obstacle in the way. And based on my experience, the biggest obstacle to doing short sales (and putting more money in your pocket) is simply that there is a TON of misinformation floating out there about them.

The good news is most of the information is just myth. It's not true. And it's time you got the facts.

So here are the "Most Common Myths Keeping You From Doing Short Sales."

Let's jump right in...

Short Sale Myth: Banks Won't Do Them...

A few years ago, when the market was hot, this was largely the case. Banks had no financial incentive to do short sales. There was simply no need.

Today, things are different...

Banks are in business to make money. And they can't make money when their customers default on their mortgages. Plus... when a bank is forced to foreclose on a property, that inventory prevents the bank from lending a certain amount of money. And a bank can't make money if it can't lend money.

A foreclosure is bad business for a bank. That means there is a huge upside for doing short sales. And these days, banks are motivated to minimize risk as much as possible. A short sale does that for them.

Short Sale Myth: Not All Banks Do Them...

This one is simple. ALL major lenders do short sales. In fact, they have entire departments dedicated to that very thing. It's called the loss mitigation department.

It's just that sometimes what they SAY they'll do and what they'll actually do are two different things.

When you know the facts, you're in the driver's seat.

Short Sale Myth: Lenders Won't Pay Real Estate Agents Commissions...

The bank doesn't care about commissions. The bank cares about their bottom line.

Don't fall for this myth. It could be a very expensive mistake.

Short Sale Myth: Short Sales are HARD...

This is one of the most dangerous myths keeping real estate investors from profiting from short sales.

Short sales are fairly straightforward. You don't need special connections with the lenders and you don't need any "secret sauce."

To do short sales, you have to learn the process. It's a new skill that most investors simply don't know... yet. But there is a simple step-by-step way to do it.

Of course, you can't take two steps without tripping over the newest "we'll close your short sale for you" company. They charge a fee for this "service." And it's often non-refundable.

Some mortgage loan officers have also thrown their hats into the game. They smelled profits and became overnight "short sale" experts. Also, starving real estate agents have now crowned themselves as short sale experts” nothing could be further from the truth. Actually real estate agents usually cause a deal to die with the lender or in committee due to their inexperience. Note: There is an exception to every rule, including the last statement I made, so let me qualify my statement; 99% of agents don’t know how to do a successful short sale which will benefit the investor.

Here's the problem with that:

There really is no good reason to leave money on the table or pay someone else to close your short sales. Doing short sales is something that any investor can learn... quickly.

Short sales are not rocket science; however, they are an “Art”! That’s why I call my course “The Art of The Short Sale”. And once you know how to do them, you'll wonder why you didn't learn a LONG time ago.

Please visit my website for more details http://www.jgage.com

To your success,

James Gage