Orlando, FL – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from John. Here is John’s Question.

“I just received a full price offer on my house. My main concern is that I don’t get stuck having to pay off the deficiency. I have a first and 2nd with Chase and owe 270K on the home. The buyer’s loan is also with Chase.

How can I work this out so that I can walk away from this without owing any money? Is it even possible with such a large difference between what the house is worth and what is owed? John.”

Here is the answer to John’s Question: John, you need to read through the short sale approval letter. See if is contains any language like “Payoff”, “Forgiven”, or “agrees to release the debt.”

Have an attorney read it over to make sure that it says the debt will be released. If it doesn’t say the debt will be released, then here is how you can re-negotiate for them to issue a complete release.

1. Request that the deficiency be waived. Tell the lender you will not short sale the property unless they give you a complete release.

2. Show proof that you cannot afford the deficiency payment. A debt from an absolutely broke person is worthless.

3. Show proof that the lender will net more money from the short sale compared to a foreclosure. This is your agent’s job to do. They will put together a calculation showing how much the lender is netting from the short sale, and project what they would net from a foreclosure.

If you cannot prove that you income doesn’t cover your bills, then you may need to look into other avenues. You can look into getting a forensic loan audit to see if the lender broke any lending laws on the loan.

What is an Orlando Short Sale? A short sale is a sale of real estate in which the sale proceeds fall short of the balance owed on the property’s loan. It often occurs when a borrower cannot pay the mortgage loan on their property, but the lender decides that selling the property at a moderate loss is better than pressing the borrower. Both parties consent to the short sale process, because it allows them to avoid foreclosure, which involves hefty fees for the bank and poorer credit report outcomes for the borrowers. This agreement, however, does not necessarily release the borrower from the obligation to pay the remaining balance of the loan, known as the deficiency.

Thinking about short sale? Contact me for a free consultation. When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Email me at gitta@gitta.com. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (407) 330-2181.

Thanks for reading this, Gitta Urbainczyk P.A..

Gitta is a Real Estate Broker at Keller Williams Heritage Realty.

Phone: (407) 330-2181. Email: gitta@gitta.com.

What do you recommend?

View My homes for sale at www.greaterorlandohomes.com.

Orlando Realtor. Orlando, FL Short Sales. Orlando Realtor.

Copyright © 2011 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. The views expressed here are Gitta Urbainczyk P.A.’s personal views and do not reflect the views of Keller Williams Heritage Realty. This information is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Orlando, FL – Have you ever attempted to get a loan modification? If you have, then you probably get bugged when you hear banks talk about how they supposedly care about their customers.

Somehow these banks think we will believe it. They must think that, or they wouldn’t be running ads that say: “Come to ABC Bank. We answer you by your first name. You’re not a number. We care about you.”

What a bunch of garbage. Anyone who has attempted to negotiate a loan modification feels like they just went thru the meat grinder.

Here is a list of our Orlando, FL Homes for Sale.

“Sir, we can’t approve your loan modification until you send us the APG form”, the person at the bank tells you. “But, I already faxed that to you five different times over the last month”, you reply.

“Sir, that doesn’t matter. I don’t see if in the system and until I see it in the system, I can’t look at your loan modification application”, they reply to you.

Aarrgghh!!! Is that frustrating or what. So, here’s a little message to the advertising departments at America’s Banks.

Don’t run ads saying you care about us, until you actually do. People that apply for loan modification just want to keep their home.

In many cases, a loan modification will reduce a lender’s losses. Why can’t you just make the loan modification process a little easier.

Maybe then you can run ads where you claim to care about your customers and we might actually believe them then.
Contact me for a free consultation. When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (407) 330-2181.

Thanks for reading this, Gitta Urbainczyk P.A..

Gitta is a Real Estate Broker at Keller Williams Heritage Realty.

Phone: (407) 330-2181. Email: gitta@gitta.com.

What do you recommend?

View My homes for sale at www.greaterorlandohomes.com.

Orlando Realtor. Orlando, FL Short Sales. Orlando Realtor.

Copyright © 2011 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. The views expressed here are Gitta Urbainczyk P.A.’s personal views and do not reflect the views of Keller Williams Heritage Realty. This information is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.


Orlando, FL – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Max. Here is Max’s Question.

“If I pay mortgage insurance and default on my loan, why wouldn’t that cover the deficiency amount? Max.”

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.

Here is the answer to Max’s Question: Yes, the Mortgage Insurance should pay your lender for any loss. So that reduces the amount that your lender will lose on the short sale.

There are a couple of problems. Many Mortgage Insurance Companies have gone bankrupt. They can’t pay on their claims. In this situation your lender may or may not pursue you for the loss. The other problem is that many Mortgage Insurance Companies have terms written into the mortgage that they can pursue you for the loss. They are more aggressive with trying to be repaid.

In the few short sales we have negotiated and the lender asked for a promissory note, the person requesting it usually was the Mortgage Insurance Company. But, they only ask for a promissory note about half the time. In addition, the promissory notes are usually for an amount lower than the loss.

For example on one short sale, the loss was around $59,000. The seller agreed to a promissory note of $10,000 to be repaid over the next 10 years with Zero Interest. Their Monthly Payment was $83.33.

We won’t know if they will ask for a promissory note until the short sale is in progress. If you know you have Mortgage Insurance, then you need to find and aggressive short sale agent. They will work to get an promissory note or deficiency waived.

If you need to know any more information about your mortgage and short selling your house, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

I’ve written extensively on deficiencies on other blog posts. In 60-75% of all short sales, you won’t owe a deficiency. E-mail me at gitta@gitta.com and I can research your specific situation.

Contact me for a free consultation. When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (407) 330-2181.

Thanks for reading this, Gitta Urbainczyk P.A..

Gitta is a Real Estate Broker at Keller Williams Heritage Realty.

Phone: (407) 330-2181. Email: gitta@gitta.com.

What do you recommend?

View My homes for sale at www.greaterorlandohomes.com.

Orlando Realtor. Orlando, FL Short Sales. Orlando Realtor.

Copyright © 2011 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. The views expressed here are Gitta Urbainczyk P.A.’s personal views and do not reflect the views of Keller Williams Heritage Realty. This information is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Orlando, FL – Here are a few things you should not be surprised to see crop up during the short sale process.

Unscruplous Debt Collection Tactics. If you are facing financial hardship, then paying credit cards and other unsecured debts is your lowest priority. An unsecured debt is a debt where they can’t take away your car or house. A secured debt has something as collateral, such as your car, house, or anything else of value.

The most commons unsecured debt is a credit card. When you stop paying them, they will call you nonstop. The reason is because they don’t have any other way to collect from you.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.

They can’t come get your car or take your house. So, they make up for that by blowing up your phone with harassing calls. In addition, they use deceptive tricks to get you to pay them.

For example, there are Federal Laws that regulate what they can do or say. They aren’t allowed to threaten to sue you, but then not follow thru and actually file suit.

To get around this rule, they will use language that sounds legal, but isn’t. In one situation, a debt collector in Buffalo, New York named their firm Hoffman, Weinberg & O’Brien to make it sound like they were a law firm.

They would then leave messages on people’s answering machines. They would say they were with the office of Hoffman, Weinberg & O’Brien and then say they may resort to future legal action. In addition, they would reference case number 8306042.

If you didn’t know any better, you would think the case number was for an actual lawsuit against you. That is scary. Don’t you agree?

Most credit card accounts never sue (despite the constant threats.) Even when they do sue and get a judgment, they rarely ever attempt to garnish wages.

A lot of judgments expire without getting paid. But, a lot of them get paid off when a person’s income increases, or that person sells a valuable asset such as a house.

It might seem like the process takes a long time. Some short sales only take a few months. Before you know it you are moving out of your house and onto the next place.

However, some short sales will take a lot longer. We have some files that we have been working on for a year or even longer.

It’s not the end of the world. Just stay put and keep on saving the money you would be using for rent. In most cases the short sale will eventually be approved and you can move on with your life.

Your lender may attempt to collect money from you when they aren’t legally entitled to do so. We have heard several stories of some lenders asking for a promissory note when the state the property was in did not allow the lender to pursue the homeowner after a short sale.

The stories in question were for short sales of properties in California and Washington. Don’t sign a promissory note a lender sends you after a short sale when you are in a non-recourse state.

Talk to a lawyer to see if you are obligated to repay the debt. You could probably get out of repaying it if you tried.

A realtor will help you get through the maze of short-sale terms. In many cases, it’s a “buyer beware” market, but you can avoid most of the pitfalls. You and your realtor are the key to a successful short sale.

A short sale can be a great opportunity for a buyer who is not in a hurry to purchase a home. Often, it takes considerably longer to purchase a property via short sale, and there is no guarantee that the lender will follow through with a buyer. The lender can accept other (usually higher) offers months into a contract placing a current offer in jeopardy. However, in today’s economy, a short sale is still an excellent choice for purchasing a second home, an investment property, or a fixer-upper to be re-sold. Opportunities abound for a buyer looking into a short sale.

I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at gitta@gitta.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail. If you prefer, then you can call me at (407) 330-2181.

Thanks for reading this, Gitta Urbainczyk P.A..

Gitta is a Real Estate Broker at Keller Williams Heritage Realty.

Phone: (407) 330-2181. Email: gitta@gitta.com.

What do you recommend?

View My homes for sale at www.greaterorlandohomes.com.

Orlando Realtor. Orlando, FL Short Sales. Orlando Realtor.

Copyright © 2011 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. The views expressed here are Gitta Urbainczyk P.A.’s personal views and do not reflect the views of Keller Williams Heritage Realty. This information is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Orlando, FL – Some lenders are very stubborn about collecting what they feel they are “rightfully owed.”

These lenders are usually a lender that you originally got the loan from. A good example is a credit union loan, or a small community bank.

Another common type is loans that were granted with Private Mortgage Insurance. In our experience, these companies are very demanding.

They negotiate hard and say they will not approve a short sale without a promissory. However, that is not always the case.

You can often convince them to waive the deficiency if you do the following.

1. Prove to them that you don’t have any assets or any extra monthly income.

2. Prove that your home is worth what the buyer is offering on the short sale. This is your agent’s job to do. Your agent will put together an agent’s version of an appraisal.

This will include comparable sales and what your property is worth, based on those comparable sales. Your agent will show them that they are better off accepting the short sale.

If you have presented your case well and the lender buys it, then they will usually waive the deficiency or promissory note and accept what they can get. After all, something is better than nothing. Make sense?

Another option is to hire a good lawyer to negotiate for you. Look for a lawyer with experience in bankruptcy.

They can use the threat of bankruptcy to convince the lender to approve the short sale with the deficiency waived. Bankruptcy is very bad for creditors.

If you declare bankruptcy, then it could take 12-18 months before the lender can sell the house. Their right to collect from you would be wiped out in bankruptcy.

A short sale where they get their money today is a much better option. That’s why they’ll usually take that option when threatened with bankruptcy.

Take a few minutes to go through a checklist with a Orlando Real Estate agent to make sure that you are choosing for the exact option that you need.

Thinking about a short sale? I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at gitta@gitta.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail. If you prefer, then you can call me at (407) 330-2181.

Thanks for reading this, Gitta Urbainczyk P.A..

Gitta is a Real Estate Broker at Keller Williams Heritage Realty.

Phone: (407) 330-2181. Email: gitta@gitta.com.

What do you recommend?

View My homes for sale at www.greaterorlandohomes.com.

Orlando Sale Realtor. Orlando, FL Short Sales. Orlando Realtor.

Copyright © 2011 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. The views expressed here are Gitta Urbainczyk P.A.’s personal views and do not reflect the views of Keller Williams Heritage Realty. This information is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Orlando, FL – The nuclear option is what you do when your lender demands a promissory note or they will not approve the short sale.

A promissory note is not the end of the world. It will take a lot of work on their end to collect from you.

If the lender forces you to sign a promissory note, then sign it and never make a payment. Here is what we recommend that you do to avoid paying the promissory note.

It takes time for the lender to move your file out of the collections system. This will last for anywhere from 1 month to 6 months.

The rest of this post is simply my opinion. It is not legal advice. I am just telling you what I would do if I was in this situation.

Simply tell the debt collectors that you are trying to avoid bankruptcy. Do not give them any more information! Don’t dispute that you owe them money.

And definitely don’t agree to pay them anything, or tell them that you might be able to pay them. In my opinion, you are better off just hanging up on any collector that calls you.

Anything you say can and will be used against you. This is why you are better off not saying anything. After a while the phone calls and mail will stop. Hopefully you will never hear from your lender again.

In order for the lender to get you to pay, they will have to garnish your wages or your bank account.

That isn’t easy to do. There are many legal defenses you can use to stop them from garnishing your wages. One of our Orlando luxury home customers had an unpaid credit card that was trying to garnish her wages.

Here is what she told me that she did to stop the garnishment. She was in Florida and Florida law stipulates that if someone has children living in their home, then a creditor cannot garnish their wages.

She had a daughter that lived with her, found the rule, and stopped the garnishment. There are many other strategies you can use to stop garnishments. Talk to a lawyer as they will know the different ways you can stop a garnishment under your state’s laws.

Now for one last strategy to stop a garnishment: Protesting. Yes, that’s right. Stand out in front of the local bank branch. Hold up a sign telling your story. Just make sure your sign appeals to most people driving past.

In most cases, the lender will stop the garnishment. They don’t want the bad publicity. I know someone who threatened a large national bank with protests.

A Vice President of the bank called them a few days later and resolved the situation. This is all based on one simple thing. A bully always picks on the weaker victims.

Sure they will beat up on little kids. But, there is always one little kid who fights like crazy. They use whatever they can to defend themselves against the bully.

In the fight the bully gets hurt. Maybe not bad, but they get hurt nonetheless. Next time they are looking for a victim are they going to beat up on that little kid?

No. They’ll find another victim who won’t put up a fight. Very few people fight. They just pay the lender. That’s why the few people that do fight get preferential treatment.

Thinking about a short sale? I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at gitta@gitta.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (407) 330-2181

Thanks for reading this, Gitta Urbainczyk P.A..

Gitta is a Real Estate Broker/Associate at Keller Williams Heritage Realty .

Phone: (407) 330-2181. Email: gitta@gitta.com.

What do you recommend?

View My homes for sale at www.greaterOrlandohomes.com

Orlando Short Sale Realtor. Orlando Realtor. Orlando Real Estate.

Copyright © 2011 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. The views expressed here are Gitta Urbainczyk P.A.’s personal views and do not reflect the views of Keller Williams Heritage Realty .

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