Asheville ECO-GREEN Real Estate

Dateline Asheville, North Carolina, June, 2009
News and Views from Asheville's Greenolina, Real Estate Eco-Steward 

Quite unexpectedly, I found myself fascinated with short sales this year.(2009)  Not the homeowners' challenging actuality, mind you- that I will cover in another post-  but intrigued with  the short sale process - in general- and then, how to get our  ducks in a row when it comes to the 2009 version of that very process. 

You might  think that a  specialist in conservation real estate and land would NOT be curious about short sales. But it is 2009, and I am.  Three (3) short sale  seminars from various experts, one crowded learning session for REALTORS by two short sale experts/ real estate attorneys right here in Asheville, and  hours consulting with  CPA s  find me compelled to continue my research.... 

I suspect there is a lot more to unearth about the nuances of short sales.    I plan to take at least one of our own Broker Bryant's short sales  webinars  (it is just $27 per session) and I continue to search out and read articles  on the subject. An article from Robert Freedman is a senior editor of REALTOR® magazine caught my attention today.  In it, Mr. Freedman talks  about the pitfalls, sticky wickets and legal consequences when REALTORS® work with short sales. 

He lists seven (7) short sale pitfalls, cautioning real estate professionals
  to get their ducks in a row ...

1. Misrepresenting tax consequences. 
2. Misrepresenting how secondary debt is treated.
3. Acting on inappropriate lender requests for seller contributions. 
4. Breaching fiduciary duty. 
5. Providing poor oversight of a loss mitigation company.
6. Lacking the required license to undertake loss mitigation. 
7. Facilitating transactions not listed on the HUD-1 form.

Resources: Links to Freedman's full article and a few others I found of interest:

Short Sales: The New Wild West
From pushy lenders to aggressive investors, there are many challenges that real estate practitioners must overcome in the new world of distressed sales.

Tips for Disclosing a Short Sale
Short sales present two disclosure challenges - finding a reliable source of correct information about the physical condition of the property and deciding how and when to make a situational disclosure about the owner's financial distress.

Short Sales: Sorting Out Commission Issues
Some MLSs have a rule requiring listing agents to let their colleagues know if a listing is, or is potentially, a short sale, and thus subject to a possible last-minute change in the commission by the lender.

About the "ducks in a row" photo: It was taken by janeAnne (c'est mois) on a recent local getaway for the afternoon at one of our excellent and obviously entertaining picnic spots along the French Broad River near Asheville.
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(*)/'(*)    ..........      ............to keep on rolling into the sustainable  world you can create today and tomorrow!. .........................    .............with OBJECTIVE FIDUCIARY COUNSEL. ECO STEWARDS' LEARNING TOURS.Serving Asheville's First Time  and Relocation LAND and Home Buyers.

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