This year, a record number of homes were lost to foreclosure in the first 3 months. This may show that banks are starting to catch up on all of the delinquencies and are actually taking action, in the form of foreclosing.

The number of homes taken back by banks jumped 35% this quarter from the same quarter only 1 year ago. Additionally, households facing foreclosure rose by 16% this quarter, as opposed to last year’s same quarter.

Right now, we’re on track for the banks to repossess over 1 MILLION homes this year. 1 out of every 138 homes with a mortgage has received some type of foreclosure notice.

Things seemed to ease a bit with the government’s push on foreclosure recovery and moratoriums, but now it seems to be backfiring, because banks are now starting to process all of the back inventory that was delayed with those plans.

Although it’s a grim outlook for many homeowners, things can be different for those that step in to help. Foreclosure investors and real estate professionals can not only help out many homeowners, they can also make incredible profits by doing so.

Either the banks will take back these houses and leave the homeowners with nothing, or investors and real estate professionals will step in and make a difference. Something IS going to happen.

You can read the Yahoo article on Surging Foreclosure Rates Here

Please leave your thoughts in the comment section.

David Corbaley

In this post I’m going to cover strategies that may help get a foreclosure postponed.

I talk to students all around the country, and one of the main questions I get is “How can I postpone a foreclosure?”. I’m going to give you a tried and true method for postponing foreclosure in this post, whether this is a property going through the short sale process, or not. If you’re a homeowner reading this (yes, homeowners find this site all the time), there should be some good info in here for you as well. We’ve stopped foreclosure sales with only one or two days left before the foreclosure auction!

How to Postpone Foreclosure During a Short Sale:

Most that read this blog are investors or real estate agents, and many of the properties you deal with right now are upside down, so you’re dealing with a short sale. The best way to get a foreclosure stopped or postponed is… Submit a COMPLETE short sale package! Yep, it can be that simple. Postponing foreclosure really isn’t that hard. There’s a little more to it, but this is the start.

When I say complete short sale package, I mean you MUST include everything required for the lender to take you seriously:

1. Last mortgage statement
2. Last 2 months pay statements
3. Last 2 years tax returns
4. Hardship letter
5. Purchase agreement
6. HUD-1
7. Financial statement (note: you may need to use the one provide by their lender)
8. Anything additional required by the lender for the short sale

Here’s the process: Get an authorization to release information from the homeowner and send that to the lender. Follow up and ask the lender what they require for the short sale package (their forms, any specific requirements, etc.). Find out where to fax/email the short sale package. SEND the package and FOLLOW UP! Keep following up until you talk with someone that can make decisions (loss mitigator) about the sale, and they also have access to the person that can give them permission to postpone the foreclosure sale.

Be aggressive and diligent when doing this (just not rude). If the foreclosure sale date is close and you’re serious about postponing foreclosure, you must be on top of this. You’ll find that most lenders are unorganized, and it will be YOU that needs to navigate the path to get this done.

The keys here are to be complete, efficient, and diligent. Follow up as often as you need to so you can get this accomplished. If the lender postpones the foreclosure, it will likely be for 30 days or more, which will give you time that you need.

Postponing Foreclosure Without a Short Sale:

This can be very easy to do, provided you speak to the right person at the lender. Usually the loss mitigator for that specific account.

Postponing foreclosure with a sale of the property that will cover full payoff of the loan and any back payments and fees is very attractive to the lender, you just need to be able to let someone that matters know your intent. I’ve seen many times where this was attempted, yet the decision maker at the lender never knew, so the house went to foreclosure! Sad.

Here’s the process for postponing foreclosure, it’s similar, yet easier than above:

Contact the lender and get an authorization to release info to the right department. Follow up and once you can speak with them, let them know that you have an offer that will completely payoff all debt to the lender. Be SURE to tell them this is NOT a short sale. Once you have your contact, you will send:

1. Purchase agreement
2. HUD-1
3. Listing agreement if applicable

That’s it! Then your job is to FOLLOW UP until you know the right person has this info. They should stop the foreclosure sale very quickly now. Postponing foreclosure is certainly their best bet.

A few side notes:

You must be sure to follow up, while not being rude or pushy. It’s a delicate balance.

Some states/areas require that you be licensed in order to talk to a homeowner’s lender about a short sale or postponing foreclosure – know your area’s laws.

Always be careful of getting in a position where you can be considered “at fault” for not getting the homeowner’s foreclosure stopped.

To summarize, postponing foreclosure CAN be done quickly, if you know the steps.

I hope this helps. Please leave any comments you may have or your own tips on postponing foreclosure below.

David Corbaley

I wanted to give you an update on a program that can be awesome for selling your houses when doing short sales and foreclosures.  It can also be great if you’re buying and holding.
The HUD 203K program is designed for properties that need repairs or need to be rehabbed. Keep in mind that the HUD 203k program doesn’t loan the money, they insure the money for the lender making the loan.
This program can be excellent for investors in the short sale and foreclosure arena, because you can now sell to potential buyers who get qualified for the HUD 203K program. It’s also a great tool for real estate agents that deal with short sales and foreclosures (who doesn’t nowadays, right?).
The HUD 203k loan program is different than a typical rehab loan, because with a rehab loan, the term is usually temporary until the property is completely rehabbed, then the loan will be converted into a long term loan. With HUD 203k, the loan is made in full and set as a long term loan from the beginning, based on the estimated “after repaired” value. The purchase is made, and repair funds are put into escrow and used as needed.
The eligible property must be a one to four unit property that is more than a year old. Also, a single family home can be converted to multi-family, up to four units, or a multi-family can be converted to single.
Bottom line, this program is awesome, and you should know about it when doing your short sale and foreclosure investments, or even just wholesaling! This gives you a great tool for your arsenal when it comes to finding buyers, or providing ideas for their financing. It also keeps you from having to do rehabs yourself before selling. Just find it, get it under contract, and sell it! I wish they would have had this program a few years ago, it would have saved me some time and money with my short sales. This is an excellent tool for short sale and foreclosure businesses.
You can visit our main site any time for more foreclosure training techniques.
You can get more information on the HUD 203K program on the HUD website.

David Corbaley

We’re Better, Badder, and more Awesomer than before! (is that a word?)

Top Foreclosure Training has undegone some massive positive changes in the last few months!

We’ve entirely re-created our short sale home study course to reflect the changes in today’s foreclosure investing markets.

Our member’s area has been completely revamped and has countless tools available for members inside; short sale training videos, audios, documents, training replays, you name it, it’s there.

Our intent is to provide world class short sale training so you can make the most out of your investing career. Foreclosures are at an all time high, and things aren’t getting better anytime soon, have you noticed

We have excellent training programs available for both beginners, and advanced investors who want to be successful with foreclosure investing. We can provide negotiation services, funding for your deals (transactional funding), one on one coaching, EVERYTHING you could possibly need to be successful!

If you haven’t yet, get our FREE short sale e-book series for the best foreclosure training available and learn what REALLY works!

Hot Issue! – Double Closings

Every now and then, somebody asks me if I’m scared to be investing in real estate in such a turbulent market. When they ask this question, they usually want to know two things. First, how am I getting all the deals financed, and second, am I scared the market will turn for the worse (value decline) and I’ll end up with a house I can’t sell. These are very valid questions, and questions of a person who does not understand the value of (or has never heard of) the double closing (also called a simultaneous closing).

So what is a double closing? Simply put, it’s a transaction where somebody buys a property, and turns around and sells it immediately afterward, many times the same day. There are pros and cons to this type of transaction, both of which we’ll cover in this article. But first, let me tell you that in today’s market, the pros very much outweigh the cons!

Before we go any further, let’s start by saying that this type of transaction is legal, always has been legal, and always will be legal (although I am not an attorney). There is absolutely nothing wrong with buying a house and turning right around and selling it the exact same day. It is happening countless times, in every single state, and every single day in this nation. David and I have done countless numbers of them, and our students have done, and continue to do, the same.

Ok, so what are the pros of this transaction? Well, the biggest benefit to this type of transaction, and the main reason most investors use it, is that it allows you to buy and sell a property without funding it. For those of you who have watched late night television, THIS is how you can buy and sell real estate “with no money and no credit!” Yes, this is the answer and the magic bullet for those of you who were wondering how someone can possibly buy and sell property with zero credit and no money! Well, it is done all the time, and the person buying and selling the same day is never asked about funds or credit score. It’s an awesome way to close deals!

Another huge benefit to closing this way is that you can flip properties without taking possession of the property for more than a few minutes. What this means is that you can buy and sell houses in a turbulent market, even a severely declining market, and be protected! And if you use incorporate Land Trusts in your double closings, you never even show up on title anywhere! So nobody can look to see how many properties you are flipping (if you wanted to hide it). So as you can see, there are many HUGE benefits to the double closing.

Ok then, you ask, what are the cons to doing this type of closing? Well, there can be a few challenges to this closing. The first is the timing of the whole thing. You need to get the seller and your end buyer lined up to close on the exact same day. And if you’re incorporating the double closing with a short sale, this can be very tricky and stressful. A second con to this type of closing is title seasoning.

If your end buyer is using traditional financing to get the deal closed, and they have title seasoning requirements, you are going to have some hurdles to cross before being able to get it closed, and it could very well kill the deal. If you are doing a traditional double closing without Land Trusts or Options, then your end buyer may have to use a “non conforming” lender who does not require title seasoning. Land Trusts and Options (to a certain degree) help with the title seasoning, and that’s the topic of another discussion.

So as you can see, there are some challenges to the double closing, but it is a fantastic tool that you can use in your real estate business to minimize your risk with buying and selling real estate, especially in a tough market like what we have today. Learn the secret strategies of buying foreclosed homes!

We wish you the best with your investing!!!

You’ve seen it on the evening news:
“Terrible Investor dupes homeowner out of everything by tricking them into signing away their title!”

Now, we know you wouldn’t do this on purpose, but many investors are doing it all over the country, every day. Most of them don’t even realize they’re doing it, they’ve just been taught by someone who doesn’t care (or know themselves!).

Are you using a Land Trust? Are you recording a deed? Guess what; If you answer yes, you are most likely falling into that very dangerous trap! You need to take action and learn the proper methods immediately!

Using a Land Trust can be fine, provided you use it correctly, which most people don’t. You should wait until you’re ready to close before assigning Beneficial Interest, and if you think the homeowner won’t be available, you should have specific wording in your agreement that states even though you are doing the assignment of Beneficial Interest, it SHALL NOT be executed until the time that you specify. That assignment form should also be held in an escrow account or at your closers office.

If you record any type of deed, or assign beneficial interest, you’ve just crossed a line that can get you into LOADS of trouble. You have taken away any possibilty of that homeowner being able to pursue any other means to solve their foreclosure problem.

If their house then goes to foreclosure, and they decide that you had anything to do with it, or that you didn’t do enough to help them during the situation, all they need to do is go share your transaction with an attorney and guess what; You’d better be ready to lose some sleep. That attorney is going to do his/her best to chew you up. Best case, you’ll spend alot of money on your own attorney and lose alot of sleep. Not to mention get plenty of new grey hair.

If you sign up your deals correctly, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. Whenever someone says “get the deed”, RUN. Run the other way as fast as you can, because they don’t know what they’re talking about.

Our students know exactly how to sign up deals. As a matter of fact, we teach them MANY different ways to sign up deals, so everyone will have a method that works.

If you want to know what our students know, and how to have true success in the short sale arena, Learn about buying foreclosed homes.

Please don’t be the investor on your local nightly news! Learn the RIGHT way.

With the current state of the real estate and financial markets, it seems everyone thinks there is a great opportunity in the foreclosure market. Let me set this straight – There IS, IF you do it correctly!

Buying foreclosed homes can be an incredible way to “buy low, sell high(er)), but there are also several pitfalls that you can fall in to  if you’re not very careful.

Buying at the foreclosure sale isn’t necessarily the best way to go. There may be major problems with the property that you don’t know about, since most people who buy at auction never see the inside of the property, especially if it’s occupied.

Additionally, there is cash required typically, or at least within a few days of the winning bid. This can be difficult for most would be investors, AND you’re also risking that capital on something that could potentially be very risky.

There is a better way. The Short Sale.

When you buy directly from the homeowner via a short sale, there are several huge benefits; You get to see the property, and even inspect it professionally if you choose. You can insert specific clauses into your pruchase contract that give you an “out” if you decide not to move forward. Sometimes you may not get an approval letter from the foreclosing lender in the amount that you wish, or at all.

You can also work on lining up a buyer for the house while you or your negotiation company is negotiating the short sale. You can then do what’s called a “Simultaneous Close”, where you buy and resell the same day, virtually eliminating any risk, while capturing a profit.

To learn more about short sales and investing in foreclosures, you can visit our page and get a free ebook on the subject that actually covers more than most paid for courses. Learn the Secrets to Buying Foreclosed Homes.

Sincerely,

David Corbaley

So, here I am in Minnesota. I left Raleigh a few days ago, and it was 70 degrees. We land in Minnesota to snow and some serious cold! Tonight it will get down to 9 degrees BELOW ZERO! Can somebody tell me again why I’m here?

So my pregnant wife and two kids went to bed at 9pm. I headed off to Caribou Coffee to work on…

LOAN MODIFICATION TRAINING for Monday!

Wow, for those of you who have signed up, get ready for an AWESOME 2009! You’re going to see on Monday that not only are Loan Mods the biggest thing to hit real estate in over a century, but we have put together a system that will compensate you in many ways! Yes, you can get compensated for MORE than just referring a loan mod to the attorney group.

You’re going to see exactly HOW to submit a loan mod.

You’re also going to see why Loan mods are legal for EVERY profession.

Legal for Agents
Legal for Loan officers
Legal for Investors
Legal in Florida
Legal in California

Folks, this is so huge, I can’t even begin to tell you!

David and I have spent MONTHS putting this system together for you, and on Monday you will see what I’m talking about.

I have NEVER been so excited about anyting in real estate. In fact, I haven’t been this excited since I flew the F-15C for the very first time.

Get ready to be blown away!

See you on Monday night’s training!

Oh, and please send your questions to: Questions@TopForeclosureTraining.com. I’ll be sure to compile the list and get everything answered for you so you can kick off 2009 in the right way.

Take care everybody! Have a great holiday season!

Marty Schulting
TFT Co-Founder and Coach
Accelerated Loan Mods Co-Founder

I am sad to see so many short sale investors not using the HUD-1 to maximize their profits. It is so easy to increase (in some cases double) your paycheck from your double / simultaneous closing by appropriately using the strategies as I show them in this video.

Good luck with your short sales! As always, let us know if there is anything we can do to help you with your business!

Take care,

Marty Schulting
www.TopForeclosureTraining.com
Co-founder and Coach

TURN DOWN THE VOLUME ON YOUR COMPUTER!!!!!

Sorry, this video is loud, it’s because the jet is so loud. The KC-135 is basically an old airliner, but it’s without all the insulation to keep everything quiet, so this airplane is loud as sin. Sorry if I blasted your speakers on this one.

We refueled this B-1 over the Mediterranean before the guys continued on their mission. Our next flight is tomorrow. Not sure what we’re doing yet, but I’ll be sure to take my camera to see what I can tape.

I hope everyone is safe and doing well!

I’m working on a lot of cool projects over here that will definitely help everyone’s businesses!

Take care, and hope to speak with you soon!

Marty Schulting
Top Foreclosure Training