Hi to all,
Are their any investors doing short sales in the state of Maryland?
Several buyer’s agents told me that all the listings in the MLS already have attorneys or the listing agent doing the short sale.
Is this true? Has anyone else had this exprience? Or is it best just to go to another state to look for short sales? Thanks.
Peter114,
This is very common nationwide that most of them already have an attorney and a realtor is doing the short sale. This is really not a big deal at all. Any property that is in pre-foreclosure the bank will assign an attorney. The listing agent most of the time will do the short sale. At least 80% of the other properties will never hit the MLS until it is bank owned. Most homeowners are in denial (and that is more then a river in egypt). Some of them are working with investors that might and might not get something done on the property. If you were to go to the county and get the list of NOD or NED (Notification of Default or Notice of election of Demand) you would see that only 10% or less of the houses are really listed.
Hope this helped
BTW I have 6 going in Maryland
Thanks Summit for the info.
I know some of the short sale gurus mentioned contacting the listing agents to put offers on their listings. I see where you are coming from in your message.
Well out of 200 agent contacts, only one agent responded and he said that he did not want to work with anyone that planned to buy then immediately resell a property.
Do you have a license? How do you handle or get around the Maryland restrictive pre-foreclosure law (PHIFA) for foreclosure consultants and investors, since thes regulations have criminal and civil penalties?
Thanks.
Honestly if you are doing good business you have nothing to worry about. That being said I do not have a license in Maryland. And I am not worried about that at all. I am lincensed in many other states. The way I run my business is not the normal way to do short sales anyway. I simply negotiate them I never make promise to purchase anything. I did 212 Short Sales last month and still made enough to pay the bills without buying a house. Had a buyer for 194 of them though. And still made my money. Hope this helped.
Hi Summit,
That’s the way I thought…if one is doing honest business and DISCLOSE everything, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.
The various attorneys here have various definitions of the Maryland PHIFA Laws. Seems that everyone has a differrent definition of the law.
Our REI Club advises EXTREME caution since there are criminal and civil penaties for Unlicensed investors working in the pre-foreclosure and foreclosure market directly with homeowners. Our REI Club advisegoing through a licensed agent, but that’s a catch 22. I conatcted about 200 agents to offer to buy the property if I’m (my loss mitigators/attorneys) allowed to negotitae the short sale. I also mention full commission plus bonus but get no respond.
Anyway, thanks for all your help.
If you bring the transaction to the table you have a better position of finding a realtor to list it for you. Most listing realtors want to protect their sellers interest and if you bring a scenario outside of the norm it will not be entertained. However, if you find the distressed seller who wants out of the property, contract with that seller, then find a realtor to list it in the MLS. NOW YOU HAVE ALL THE CONTROL AS TO WHO CAN NEGOTIATE WITH THE BANK AND YOU HAVE THE MOST PRECIOUS COMMODITY CONTROL
Forgot to mentioned I am a licensed realtor in MD running a successful negotiation business. Almost all mt transaction are referred from other realtors I have worked with in the past. Realtors have to trust you to want to relinquish control of their supposedly commission. Hope this helps.
Hi melrealtor
Thanks for clearing that up. I understand what you are saying.
I purchased some short sale information from a short sale guru that advised to have agents bring you their listed short sales deals. You offer to buy the property if you are allowed to negotiate the short sale and you tell them all the benefits of working with you. So far no agents have shown any interest.
Regarding the Maryland PHIFA, it was must understanding that investors must have an agent to contact homeowners in default or pre-foreclosure. Short sale investors are considered foreclosure consultants and could not directly contact homeowners in default or pre-foreclosure.
What is your understanding on this issue? Thanks.
Peter you must garner yourself a copy of the Foreclosure consultant agreement, just to have first hand information. See iof the person you bought the course from has a copy to extend to you. It specifically spells out the dos and the donts. I have not paid much attention to the investor section since i am a realtor, therefore, I am not able to assist to that end.
You could also call an attorney and ask, or visit a real estate investment club and pitch your question to any attornet there, with the promise of future deals.
Good luck
Hi Mel,
Yes I have a copy of the Maryland PHIFA Law. Realtors are exempt and our REI Club advises using a realtor to deal with pre-forelcosure properties, to be safe since there is a $10k fine and 3 yr. jail time penalty involved for violations of the law.
Some attorneys and investors at REI Clubs have varying interpretation of the law. I contacted the Attorney General Office, but so far they have not given me a clear answer yet. Still waiting.
The way I undertand it, an investors would be considered a foreclosure consultant and must be licensed or else work through a licensed.
As I previously mentioned, most realtors say they do their own short sales and don’t response to an investor with an offer to buy property and negotiate the short sale.
Since you are a licensed Realtor, is it doable for an investor to offer to purchase the short sale if the listing agent is negotiating the deal and the BPO price is acceptable to the investor? Thanks.
Where can I find short sale in Santa Cruz California? Does anyone has this information? Please share. :help