Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Short Sales - 3 Key Factors Gurus Never Tell You About How To Do Short Sales

For those of you who are new to the Short Sale arena or new to real estate investment, let's first define what a "short sale" is and what it's SUPPOSED to accomplish. A short sale is the process of negotiating with a Mortgage Lender to convince them to accept less than the Homeowner's mortgage balance as payment in full for the property in order to prevent foreclosure, eliminate the nonperforming loan from the Lender's balance sheet, and allow savvy real estate investors to profit from purchasing property below market value. A Short Sale is generally a great strategy to use when a Homeowner is behind on their payments and owes close to or more than what the property is actually worth. The state of being "Upside Down" (Debt > Equity) is the ideal situation when targeting short sale candidates and getting these deals done successfully on a consistent basis.

Negotiating a short sale is SUPPOSED to help the Lender and the Homeowner in default by preventing the foreclosure, wiping the slate clean for the Homeowner, and providing that Homeowner with an opportunity for a fresh start--and providing the investor with a substantial discount vs. Fair Market Value (FMV) to earn a reasonable profit on the immediate sale or on a fix & flip sale down the road. However, it doesn't always work out that way. Experience has taught me that these 3 Key Factors are HUGE components of the harsh reality you can expect throughout the short sale negotiation & completion process.

KEY SHORT SALE FACTOR #1:

Short Sales - 3 Key Factors Gurus Never Tell You About How To Do Short Sales

In spite of the reality that we're in the midst of a tremendous foreclosure tsunami, some Lenders are still irrational and downright idiotic in their decision-making process. Case & Point: GMAC will only accept short sales that come in @ 90~100% of fair market value (FMV). So, they've effectively taken the "short" out of "short sale"! Now ain't that just dandy? OK, time to whip out your calculators and see how much profit we real estate investors can bang out buying short sales @ 95% of FMV. Hello! Time for a reality check!

KEY SHORT SALE FACTOR #2:

Regardless of the fact that we always include a line item on our Purchase & Sales Agreement (PSA) stating: "This offer is contingent upon Buyer arranging for [Lender] to accept $________ as full payment WITHOUT pursuit of a deficiency judgment against Seller for the mortgage that Mortgagee holds on the Property", some Lenders completely IGNORE that contractual line item. For example, HSBC is notorious for NOT waiving deficiency judgments.

Buried among the standard jargon on HSBC's short sale acceptance letter is "HSBC Mortgage Services will retain the note on this loan. The customer shall be responsible for any deficiency remaining on the balance. All terms of the original note shall remain in force." Wait a minute! So, HSBC agrees to do the short sale so long as they don't end up short? They'll discount their lien as long as they get the whole thing!? Wow! What a deal! The bottom line is that after you've painstakingly negotiated to get HSBC to agree to accept a short sale you realize that you've been hoodwinked because the deal is contingent upon the fact that it's NOT really a short sale at all. Welcome to Crazy World!

The slick tactic here is that HSBC is making a brazen attempt to get your clients to bind themselves contractually to pay the deficiency as part of this "short sale" (ya know, the kind where they'd still owe 'em everything). C'mon guys! We've gotta stand firm and do like Nancy Reagan on this one--JUST SAY "NO"! In spite of the existence of less-than cooperative Lenders with unhealthy attitudes, this HAS to become the Golden Age of Short Sales because Lenders simply can NOT keep being idiots and stockpiling REOs in perpetuity. Something's gotta give!

KEY FACTOR #3:

There's one document that none of my colleagues ever seem to include in their short sale packages perhaps because I've never seen it on the documentation list of HOW TO DO SHORT SALE programs. Since that document didn't exist, I just had to invent what I call the Offer Price Determination (OPD), which basically walks the Lender through the process of exactly how we've determined our offer price. A sample of our unique, Radiant Properties OPD is available to you for FREE on our website, with which I'll provide you below.

For those of us who've endured the short sale process, we're aware that influencing the BPO (Broker's Price Opinion) is perhaps THE most critical aspect of getting our short sale offer accepted and closing the deal. When I personally meet the BPO Broker at the subject property, I hand her or him the BPO Packet that I've carefully prepared just for them. That BPO Packet generally includes:

  • Comps @ or near our offer price
  • Detailed Rehab/Repair Estimate
  • Homeowner/Seller's Hardship Letter
  • PSA
  • OPD

For many of you, the mounds of required documentation is the scariest aspect of short sales. To alleviate that fear, Real Estate Profit Pro (REPP), an indispensable tool created & developed by my mentor, friend, and confidant--mega successful real Estate Investor, GERALD ROMINE is THE system that all PROFESSIONAL real estate investors should use to quickly & efficiently prepare short sale paperwork AUTOMATICALLY. So when the foreclosure glut causes the mortgage industry to implode (more acutely than it already has) as a result of the Lenders' own greed & lack of foresight, since YOU will have access to this information and powerful tools like Real Estate Profit Pro, you'll be fully prepared to swoop in, clean up the bloody mess, then reap your profits using REPP--your powerful secret weapon to complete massive short sale packages in just minutes!

When you've made the wise decision to have REPP & real estate investment superstar Gerald Romine on your side, you too will be armed & ready to locate & complete the REAL Deals with the Lenders that will eventually be FORCED to become flexible enough to work with you to help them put an end to the foreclosure glut and CREATE WINNING SITUATIONS for Homeowners, Lenders, YOU, and your real estate investment business!

Since many Lenders are still in SERIOUS denial about this foreclosure mess that THEY created, realistically, some short sales will work--others won't. So, the idea is to be sure to have a system in place to analyze deals and make offers quickly. Since I've been fortunate enough to have direct access to Gerald Romine and Real Estate Profit Pro since my very first real estate investment deal, I must admit that I've been operating at a tremendously unfair advantage vs. my competition. The GREAT NEWS is that when you visit the Radiant Properties website, you too can access this powerful REPP unfair advantage!

When you arrive at the Radiant Properties website, just look on the left menu, then click on the link to check it out. While you're there, you can also click on the menu link to get your FREE sample of our unique, proprietary Offer Price Determination document that will MAKE YOU MONEY by giving you an unfair advantage over your competitors within the short sale investment arena. When you apply this new knowledge and Real Estate Profit Pro to your real estate investment business, you'll certainly notice the difference in your bottom line soon enough. Since we intend to include the OPD worksheet in an upcoming short sale system that will soon be FOR SALE, the OPD Sample will only be available for FREE on our site for a VERY limited timeframe. So you'd be wise to hurry!

Finally, now that you're fully aware of these 3 Key Factors Gurus NEVER Tell You About HOW TO DO SHORT SALES, just visit our Radiant Properties website listed below, get the REPP and FREE OPD info you need, then go negotiate & CLOSE a PROFITABLE short sale deal! Short sales aren't easy, but you can successfully close these deals on a consistent basis--when you have the right tools...

Short Sales - 3 Key Factors Gurus Never Tell You About How To Do Short Sales
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Charles Emery, CEO of Radiant Properties LLC is a Real Estate Acquisition Specialist who has negotiated tons of short sales. To get your FREE proprietary OPD Sample and discover Real Estate Profit Pro so you can learn HOW TO DO SHORT SALES quickly & efficiently by streamlining the short sale documentation process, empowering you to rapidly analyze profitability so you can MAKE MORE OFFERS and CLOSE MORE PROFITABLE DEALS, just visit ==> [http://www.radiantproperties.biz]

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Friday, January 25, 2013

The VA Offers Loan Programs For Fixer Upper Homes

One of the many uniqueness of a VA guaranteed loan is the possibility of buying a house and using some of the proceeds of the loan(s) to fix it up before you move in. The only other type of loan similar to this might be construction permanent financing (also guaranteed by the VA). In other words, the VA will under certain circumstances guaranty loans so you can purchase and rehabilitate (rehab) a house that needs repair and that you and the lender knew required repair before closing. You won't find that anywhere else.

Basically, you will have two loans, one for the initial purchase and a second or supplemental loan for the rehab work. That first loan will almost certainly require your house to appraise and pass inspection, even in its banged up state. In other words, the sink will need to have running water and the furnace will need to heat the house. You must coordinate the purchase and the rehab carefully with not only your lender but also with a licensed appraiser before you make any commitments. While this adds a level of complexity not normally found in residential mortgage lending, bear in mind that the United States Government is about to back the deal with a guaranty. Go for it!

Some Key Rules

The VA Offers Loan Programs For Fixer Upper Homes

It is important for you to know about some of the key rules established by the VA for this type of deal. The headings below have been changed to assist the reader and not all of the rules are restated here-just the ones that seem high profile.

A. VA may guarantee a loan for alteration and repair

o of a residence already owned by the veteran and occupied as a home, or

o made in conjunction with a purchase loan on the property.

B. The alterations and repairs must be those ordinarily found on similar property of comparable value in the community

C. The cost of alterations and repairs to structures may be included in a loan for the purchase of improved property to the extent that their value supports the loan amount.

D. A supplemental loan is a loan for the alteration, improvement, or repair of a residential property. The residential property must

o secure an existing VA-guaranteed loan, and

o be owned and occupied by the veteran, or the veteran will reoccupy upon completion of major alterations, repairs, or improvements.

E. The alterations, improvements, or repairs must

o be for the purpose of substantially protecting or improving the basic livability or utility of the property, and

o be restricted primarily to the maintenance, replacement, improvement or acquisition of real property, including fixtures.

F. Installation of features such as barbecue pits, swimming pools, etc., does not meet this requirement.

G. No more than 30 percent of the loan proceeds may be used for the maintenance, replacement, improvement, repair or acquisition of nonfixtures or quasi-fixtures such as refrigeration, cooking, washing, and heating equipment, and the equipment must be related to or supplement the principal alteration for which the loan is proposed

H. A supplemental loan will require the prior approval of VA if

o the loan will be made by a lender who is not the holder of the currently guaranteed obligation

o the loan is to be made by a lender that does not have authority to close loans on an automatic basis, or

An oblige liable on the currently outstanding obligation will be released from personal liability by operation of law or otherwise

If this type of deal sounds appealing, submit your application to your loan officer and carefully walk through a dress rehearsal with everyone involved including an appraiser and a home inspector who are licensed and know what they are doing. This is another of many ways to convert your VA loan guaranty to a ticket to higher net worth. It is among the ways to get the most bang for your buck.

Caveat: this is an opinion of the author and not to be relied upon as a substitute for any advice offered by your lender who will be the final arbiter of everything discussed here.

Copyright 2009 © Thomas Kerns McKnight, JD, CMB

The VA Offers Loan Programs For Fixer Upper Homes
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Thomas McKnight
President VA Loan Trust
http://valoantrust.com
If you need more information regarding loans of this type please visit our website. If you need a loan of this type we can also help you obtain this loan through the VA.

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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Rules to Setting Business Goals and Objectives: Why and How to be SMART

We all know that nothing runs without a plan, and a plan cannot run without having its objectives set.

That applies to any kind of plan, whether we're talking business or personal finances, university degrees or NGO programs, website promotion or weight loss.

Setting objectives and milestones is of crucial importance for any planning activity and is the core of its success, or failure.
Knowing how to set objectives is not exactly rocket science in terms of complexity, but any strategist should know the basic rules of how to formulate and propose objectives. We will see in this article why objectives play such a major role within a company's planning and strategic activities, how they influence all business processes, and we will review some guidelines of setting objectives.

Rules to Setting Business Goals and Objectives: Why and How to be SMART

The Importance of Setting Objectives

One might wonder why we need to establish objectives in the first place, why not let the company or a specific activity just run smoothly into the future and see where it gets. That would be the case only if we really do not care whether the activity in discussion will be successful or not: but then, to use a popular saying, "if something deserves to be performed, then it deserves to be performed well". In other words, if we don't care for the results, we should not proceed with the action at all.

Setting objectives before taking any action is the only right thing to do, for several reasons:

- it gives a target to aim to, therefore all actions and efforts will be focused on attaining the objective instead of being inefficiently used;

- gives participants a sense of direction, a glimpse of where they're going to;

- motivates the leaders and their teams, since it is quite the custom of establishing some sort of reward once the team successfully completed a project;

- offers the support in evaluating the success of an action or project.

The 5 Rules of Setting Objectives: Be SMART!

I am sure most managers and leaders know what SMART stands for, well, at least when it comes of establishing objectives. However, I have seen some of them who cannot fully explain the five characteristics of a good-established objective - things are somehow blurry and confused in their minds. Since they can't explain in details what SMART objectives really are, it is highly doubtful that they will always be able to formulate such objectives.

It is still unclear from where the confusion comes: perhaps there are too many sources of information, each of them with a slightly different approach upon what a SMART objective really is; or perhaps most people only briefly "heard" about it and they never get to reach the substance behind the packaging.

Either way, let us try to uncover the meaning of the SMART acronym and see how we can formulate efficient objectives.
SMART illustrates the 5 characteristics of an efficient objective; it stands for Specific - Measurable - Attainable - Relevant - Timely.

1. Be SPECIFIC!

When it comes of business planning, "specific" illustrates a situation that is easily identified and understood. It is usually linked to some mathematical determinant that imprints a specific character to a given action: most common determinants are numbers, ratios and fractions, percentages, frequencies. In this case, being "specific" means being "precise".

Example: when you tell your team "I need this report in several copies", you did not provide the team with a specific instruction. It is unclear what the determinant "several" means: for some it can be three, for some can be a hundred. A much better instruction would sound like "I need this report in 5 copies" - your team will know exactly what you expect and will have less chances to fail in delivering the desired result.

2. Be MEASURABLE!

When we say that an objective, a goal, must be measurable, we mean there is a stringent need to have the possibility to measure, to track the action(s) associated with the given objective.

We must set up a distinct system or establish clear procedures of how the actions will be monitored, measured and recorded. If an objective and the actions pertaining to it cannot be quantified, it is most likely that the objective is wrongly formulated and we should reconsider it.

Example: "our business must grow" is an obscure, non-measurable objective. What exactly should we measure in order to find out if the objective was met? But if we change it to "our business must grow in sales volume with 20%", we've got one measurable objective: the measure being the percentage sales rise from present moment to the given moment in the future. We can calculate this very easy, based on the recorded sales figures.

3. Be ATTAINABLE!

Some use the term "achievable" instead of "attainable", which you will see it is merely a synonym and we should not get stuck in analyzing which one is correct. Both are.

It is understood that each leader will want his company / unit to give outstanding performances; this is the spirit of competition and such thinking is much needed. However, when setting objectives, one should deeply analyze first the factors determining the success or failure of these objectives. Think of your team, of your capacities, of motivation: are they sufficient in order for the objectives to be met? Do you have the means and capabilities to achieve them?

Think it through and be honest and realistic to yourself: are you really capable of attaining the goals you've set or are you most likely headed to disappointment? Always set objectives that have a fair chance to be met: of course, they don't need to be "easily" attained, you're entitled to set difficult ones as long as they're realistic and not futile.

Example: you own a newborn movers company and you set the objective of "becoming no. 1 movers within the state". The problem is you only have 3 trucks available, while all your competitors have 10 and up. Your goal is not attainable; try instead a more realistic one, such as "reaching the Top 5 fastest growing movers company in the state".

4. Be RELEVANT!

This notion is a little more difficult to be perceived in its full meaning; therefore we will start explaining it by using an example in the first place.

Imagine yourself going to the IT department and telling them they need to increase the profit to revenue ratio by 5%. They will probably look at you in astonishment and mumble something undistinguished about managers and the way they mess up with people's minds.

Can you tell what is wrong with the objective above? Of course! The IT department has no idea what you were talking about and there's nothing they can do about it - their job is to develop and maintain your computerized infrastructure, not to understand your economic speech. What you can do it setting an objective that the IT department can have an impact upon, and which will eventually lead to the increase you wanted in the first place. What about asking them to reduce expenditures for hardware and software by 10% monthly and be more cautious with the consumables within their department by not exceeding the allocated budget? They will surely understand what they need to do because the objective is relevant for their group.

Therefore, the quality of an objective to be "relevant" refers to setting appropriate objectives for a given individual or team: you need to think if they can truly do something about it or is it irrelevant for the job they perform.

5. Be TIMELY!

No much to discuss about this aspect, since it is probably the easiest to be understood and applied.

Any usable and performable objective must have a clear timeframe of when it should start and/or when it should end. Without having a timeframe specified, it is practically impossible to say if the objective is met or not.

For example, if you just say "we need to raise profit by 500000 units", you will never be able to tell if the objective was achieved or not, one can always say "well, we'll do it next year". Instead, if you say "we need to raise profit by 500000 units within 6 months from now", anyone can see in 6 months if the goal was attained or not. Without a clear, distinct timeframe, no objective is any good.

Rules to Setting Business Goals and Objectives: Why and How to be SMART
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Otilia is a young certified professional with expertise in eMarketing and eBusiness, currently working as independent consultant and ePublisher. She developed and teach her own online course in "Principles of eMarketing" and is also a volunteer Economics teacher. You can contact her via her Marketing resources portal at TeaWithEdge.com

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Sunday, January 20, 2013

Government Assistance Programs For Single Mothers

Programs that Help Ensure Healthy Children

The federal and each state government dedicate government aid for single mothers. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is responsible for allocating the government assistance for single mothers programs. DHHS has a federal office, each state has a state Department of Health and Human Services and every county has a local DHHS office. County offices are sometimes referred to as the Department of Social Services.

Government entities (like DHHS) recognize the additional and unique challenges a single mother faces when meeting the needs of children and offer government aid to single mothers in the form of programs that meet basic needs such as food, shelter, medical care. When a child's basic needs are met they do better in school, have higher self-esteem and a better chance of becoming a productive citizen.

Government Assistance Programs For Single Mothers

The goal of this assistance for single mothers is not just to meet the basic needs of a single mum household, but also to hopefully keep a cycle of poverty from forming. The goal is that government aid for single mothers to help children grow, learn and not become a poverty statistic when reaching adulthood.

Medical Care Assistance

Many single mothers either do not have employer sponsored health insurance for their children (due to none offered) or they cannot afford the health insurance premium along with the other expenses of supporting a household with children.

Medical Assistance is available through your local Department of Health and Human Services or Department of Social Services. Some programs offer medical assistance government aid for single mothers and their children (not just the children).

The medical government assistance for single mothers and their children covers routine doctor visits, immunization and health programs, emergency and catastrophic care. Some states require a minimal co pay for prescriptions and doctor visits.

Food Assistance

The food assistance program includes reduced or free school lunches for children, food stamps and the Women's, Infants and Children program (WIC). Government aid for single mothers in the WIC program provides nutritional foods (such as cheese, juice, milk and infant formula). A woman receives food vouchers to purchase the foods at the grocery store.

Energy Assistance for Heating

This program offers heating assistance in the cold months to single moms.

Housing Assistance (HUD)

HUD administers two government assistance programs for single moms to help low income households with renting adequate housing and shelter for children. There are government apartment buildings to help meet the demand for affordable housing; however both of these programs tend to have a long waiting list. Non-profit organizations (such as churches and homeless shelters) try to fill in the void until units are available.

The Food, Medical, and Heating government assistance programs are accessible through your local DHHS and one application is all that is needed to apply for these programs. Contact the office in your county for further information and referral to the HUD program.

Government Assistance Programs For Single Mothers
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Pieter West travels the world on a regular basis and have written about numerous subjects. He has an extensive knowledge about, finances, DIY, parenting advice and many more subjects. You can find more of his articles regarding Single Mother Grants at http://www.singlemothergrants.net/.

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