You cannot get too emotionally attached to any one deal and a good way to avoid it is to have several deals in your pipeline. Also, good bargaining tools and tips are all around the internet. One of my favorite is having the homeowner threatening Chapter 13 as well as the cash reserves argument. For each loan, the lender has to set aside cash reserves in the amount of as much as 3x the amount the loan that they cannot lend out.
So if a loan is 100K, they have to set aside up to 300K that they cannot lend. It’s like dead money. Then there’s costs that they have to pay like property taxes, forced insurance (which is 3x what you or I would pay), etc. These are monthly charges that can more than triple the original mortgage amount that the lender has to pay as long as the house sits. In a down market like it is today with the avg DOM being upward of six months, if they do the math and your phone rings with a counter, you have just found a motivated seller. But you have to let the Loss Mit Rep know that you know what you are talking about and make your case of how dealing with you NOW will favor them in the long run because it will save them $$. And who knows, if you negotiate right, you may even get them to waive the Deficiency Judgement if possible. :smile
Remember, Every SS Deal is a yes with proper negotiating.
Cb