Housing News

Short Sale Time Limited, Commission Reductions Banned

Published

11 years ago

December 1, 2009

Short sales brightening up

White House Alters Short Sale Guidelines Today, the U.S. Treasury Department released their highly anticipated guidance on a plan for mortgage companies to expedite short sales as well as demanded mortgage servicers make loan modifications permanent rather than continue to shuffle distressed homeowners out the door.

Coldwell Banker Realtor, Maya Paveza said that the changes will “be wonderful in helping Buyers have more options, and agents to get compensated for their work. Short sales have degraded so much in the last three years, and some Lenders hold the position they would rather wait for a foreclosure and a market recovery.”

The new guidance plan comes with huge news for Realtors– mortgage servicing companies may no longer reduce real estate commissions on the sale which will likely lead to more agents jumping on to the short sale bandwagon.

The new guidelines set limits on the time it takes a bank to approve an offer which is a massive shift in the entire short sale landscape. The new rules also “caps the aggregate proceeds to subordinate lien holders at $3,000” and require the borrower be released in full from future liabilities.

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Related Topics:Economy Mortgage short sales

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Lani Rosales, COO + News Director

Lani is the Chief Operating Officer at The American Genius - she has co-authored a book, co-founded BASHH and Austin Digital Jobs, and is a seasoned business writer and editorialist with a penchant for the irreverent.

26 Comments

bficker

December 1, 2009 at 1:35 am

I didn’t see any link back to the details on these guidelines. Any idea on where I can find out more about them? I don’t see how any of the stuff mentioned can be regulated, fwiw.

Reply
Real Estate Feeds

December 1, 2009 at 5:54 am

Short Sale Time Limited, Commission Reductions Banned: Short sales brightening up
Today, the U.S. Treasury Departme… https://bit.ly/89X7hx

Reply
Short Sales ASAP

December 1, 2009 at 7:18 am

Short Sale Time Limited, Commission Reductions Banned https://bit.ly/89X7hx #LoanMod

Reply
realdiggity

December 1, 2009 at 9:02 am

Short Sale Time Limited, Commission Reductions Banned: comments https://bit.ly/4w656F

Reply
Aubrey Kipp

December 1, 2009 at 9:58 am

on Real estate: Short Sale Time Limited, Commission Reductions Banned https://bit.ly/8cAxko

Reply
Lani Rosales

December 1, 2009 at 10:27 am

Despite the emergency status of statements made, the guidelines have not been published in full, this is all based on statements by Obama and the Treasury Department. Will be interesting to see how they plan on wrangling something so big. Will their involvement be a good or a bad thing, what do you think?

Reply
- bficker
  
  December 1, 2009 at 11:09 am
  
  Bad thing. They can not force banks to work like that. They can try, but it will never happen. The banks don’t have enough people; the Gov’t doesn’t have anybody to regulate this. It seriously just sounds like a bunch of hot air to make it sound like they are helping when they actually have no control over it.
  
  Reply
Matt Thomson

December 1, 2009 at 11:03 am

What does it mean that banks can no longer reduce agent commissions? As a listing agent, can I list a shortsale at 10% and the bank has to pay it? Or are they fixing commissions at 6%? 5%?

Reply
- bficker
  
  December 1, 2009 at 11:10 am
  
  Exactly. So we can’t fix prices and have an industry wide commission but the Gov’t can fix it for us? Sounds like it will work out well. /sarcasm
  
  Reply
Benn Rosales

December 1, 2009 at 11:24 am

I think the banks are being told to honor the commission offered by the listing agent and not reduce it willy nilly as a wedge on whether the bank will accept the offer on a shortsale. At least you’ll know what the agreed terms are going in by what’s in the mls, and not some secretary in the legal department.

I don’t care what language they use, the idea of pushing banks to streamline is the real news here, coupled with on site treasury officials to pinpoint bottlenecks and relieve pressure is a good thing- this should have been done 5 years ago in California- all eyes on the problems can bring better solutions for institutions with unique issues.

Reply
FamilyHOMES4You

December 1, 2009 at 1:36 pm

Short Sale Time Limited, Commission Reductions Banned: Lani is the New Media Director here at AgentGenius.com and w… https://bit.ly/89X7hx

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Lani Rosales

December 1, 2009 at 2:43 pm

I just heard through the grapevine that some of the requirements that are now public include servicers having to approve or disapprove a short sale request within 10 days and when done, the transaction must fully release the borrower. More details to come, I’m sure.

Reply
Pam Buda

December 1, 2009 at 2:47 pm

Hi Lani and Benn–can you provide some links as the source of your article? I have not heard any of this and am curious to learn more about it. All I have been hearing about is the move to pressure banks on loan mods.

Thanks!

Reply
- Benn Rosales
  
  December 1, 2009 at 3:18 pm
  
  It looks like a link was broken, here you go Pam https://www.hmpadmin.com/portal/docs/news/hampupdate113009.pdf
  
  Reply
Tamara Dorris

December 1, 2009 at 3:00 pm

This will be difficult to regulate, but it is, nevertheless, good news…at least getting us on the right track. I can’t wait to get to my RE class tonight and tell me students about this.

Thanks Lani, for keeping us informed!

tamara

Reply
- Lani Rosales
  
  December 2, 2009 at 12:50 am
  
  No problem, Tamara! 🙂 Thanks for reading! 🙂
  
  Reply
Patrick King

December 1, 2009 at 3:16 pm

@agentgenius Short Sale Time Limited, Commission Reductions Banned https://bit.ly/60Tr10

Reply
Craig Broussard

December 1, 2009 at 8:53 pm

Short Sale Time Limited, Commission Reductions Banned https://bit.ly/89X7hx

Reply
Jim Gatos

December 1, 2009 at 11:16 pm

If this is true, thank the heavens!

If this is true…

Reply
- Lani Rosales
  
  December 2, 2009 at 12:51 am
  
  Oh it’s true, indeed. Now we’ll see if this goes anywhere or if it’s a PR move.
  
  Reply
Marika Kary

December 2, 2009 at 3:36 pm

RT @REBooming: Short Sale Time Limited, Commission Reductions Banned https://bit.ly/89X7hx

Reply
Frankie J. Mozell

December 8, 2009 at 9:12 pm

I look forward in helping my current clients avoid the devasting impact of foreclosure even faster through the new 10 day “answer” streamline. Bottom line for the agents who have been in the trenches for a longtime this is a just and due reward!

Reply
Ivy Takenaka

June 15, 2010 at 12:49 am

@agentgenius Short Sale Time Limited, Commission Reductions Banned https://bit.ly/60Tr10

Reply

Austin

Austin tops the list of best places to buy a home

When looking to buy a home, taking the long view is important before making such a huge investment – where are the best places to make that commitment?

Published

5 years ago

May 29, 2015

Lani Rosales, COO + News Director

Looking at the bigger picture

(REALUOSO.COM) – Let us first express that although we are completely biased about Texas (we’re headquartered here, I personally grew up here), the data is not – Texas is the best. That’s a scientific fact. There’s a running joke in Austin that if there is a list of “best places to [anything],” we’re on it, and the joke causes eye rolls instead of humility (we’re sore winners and sore losers in this town).

That said, SelfStorage.com dug into the data and determined that the top 12 places to buy a home are currently Texas and North Carolina (and Portland, I guess you’re okay too or whatever).

They examined the nerdiest of numbers from the compound annual growth rate in inflation-adjusted GDP to cost premium, affordability, taxes, job growth, and housing availability.

“Buying a house is a big decision and a big commitment,” the company notes. “Although U.S. home prices have risen in the long term, the last decade has shown that path is sometimes full of twists, turns, dizzying heights and steep, abrupt falls. Today, home prices are stabilizing and increasing in most areas of the U.S.”

Click here to continue reading the list of the 12 best places to buy a home…

Housing News

Average age of houses on the rise, so is it now better or worse to buy new?

With aging housing in America, are first-time buyers better off buying new or existing homes? The average age of a home is rising, as is the price of new housing, so a shift could be upon us.

Published

6 years ago

March 2, 2015

Dawn Brotherton, Staff Writer

The average home age is higher than ever

(REALUOSO.COM) – In a survey from the Department of Housing and Urban Development American Housing Survey (AHS), the median age of homes in the United States was 35 years old. In Texas, homes are a bit younger with the median age between 19 – 29 years. The northeast has the oldest homes, with the median age between 50 – 61 years. In 1985, the median age of a home was only 23 years.

With more houses around 40 years old, the National Association of Realtors asserts that homeowners will have to undertake remodeling and renovation projects before selling unless the home is sold as-is, in which case the buyer will be responsible to update their new residence. Even homeowners who aren’t selling will need to consider remodeling for structural and aesthetic reasons.

Prices of new homes on the rise

Newer homes cost more than they used to. The price differential between new homes and older homes has increased from 10 percent traditionally to around 37 percent in 2014. This is due to rising construction costs, scarcity of lots, and a low inventory of new homes that doesn’t meet the demand.

Click here to continue reading this story…

Housing News

Are Realtors the real loser in the fight between Zillow Group and Move, Inc.?

The last year has been one of dramatic and rapid change in the real estate tech sector, but Realtors are vulnerable, and we’re worried.

Published

6 years ago

February 25, 2015

Lani Rosales, COO + News Director

Why Realtors are vulnerable to these rapid changes

(REALUOSO.COM) – Corporate warfare demands headlines in every industry, but in the real estate tech sector, a storm has been brewing for years, which in the last year has come to a head. Zillow Group and Move, Inc. (which is owned by News Corp. and operates ListHub, Realtor.com, TopProducer, and other brands) have been competing for a decade now, and the race has appeared to be an aggressive yet polite boxing match. Last year, the gloves came off, and now, they’ve drawn swords and appear to want blood.

Note: We’ll let you decide which company plays which role in the image above.

So how then, does any of this make Realtors the victims of this sword fight? Let’s get everyone up to speed, and then we’ll discuss.

1. Zillow poaches top talent, Move/NAR sues

It all started last year when the gloves came off – Move’s Chief Strategy Officer (who was also Realtor.com’s President), Errol Samuelson jumped ship and joined Zillow on the same day he phoned in his resignation without notice. He left under questionable circumstances, which has led to a lengthy legal battle (wherein Move and NAR have sued Zillow and Samuelson over allegations of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriation of trade secrets), with the most recent motion being for contempt, which a judge granted to Move/NAR after the mysterious “Samuelson Memo” surfaced.

Salt was added to the wound when Move awarded Samuelson’s job to Move veteran, Curt Beardsley, who days after Samuelson left, also defected to Zillow. This too led to a lawsuit, with allegations including breach of contract, violation of corporations code, illegal dumping of stocks, and Move has sought restitution. These charges are extremely serious, but demanded slightly less attention than the ongoing lawsuit against Samuelson.