This guy really got me mad. He is trying to get clients but putting other agents down is unacceptable. We have enough bad press already to have one of our own doing the same just to get people to hire him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbxXVqU7LoQ&feature=related

My website usually gets 2 or 3 registrations a day but during the last 2 weeks I only had about 3 total. Have you experienced any drastic changes on your website lately?

Realtor Caught in Cash-Back-at-Closing’s Crosshair

By Ralph R. Roberts

RISMEDIA, Dec. 4, 2007-According to Realtor Lori Polin, she was totally unaware that what she was involved with consisted of real estate and mortgage fraud. If ignorance of the law was an appropriate defense, she could be off the hook. Unfortunately it’s not. According to a recent story in the St. Petersburg Times titled, “Unsigned letter accuses agent of mortgage fraud,” Polin was allegedly involved in classic cash back at closing schemes.

Here’s how a cash-back at closing scheme works: The buyer pays more for a property than it’s worth, and the seller agrees to kick back the surplus cash to the buyer at the closing. On its surface, cash back at closing seems to benefit everyone involved. The buyer pockets some extra cash. The seller unloads his house at or near the asking price. The real estate agent gets a bigger commission. The loan officer chalks up another successful loan. And the lender stands to earn more interest over the life of the loan. Everybody wins.

Or so it seems.

Unfortunately, as with most deals that seem too good to be true, cash back at closing schemes are just another way of scamming someone-in this case, the lender, who’s fooled into loaning more money than the collateral used to secure that loan is worth. If the borrower defaults on the loan (which is almost a sure thing in cash back at closing schemes), then the lender can’t recover the money by selling the property.

Cash back at closing also:

- Inflates housing values, making housing less affordable
- Artificially raises property taxes
- Hurts honest real estate agents because they lose business to dishonest agents who offer cash back deals
- Stimulates foreclosure and destroys neighborhoods that begin to buckle when homeowners default on the inflated loans

With cash back at closing, what may have seemed like a win-win situation leaves plenty of losers in its wake.

According to an anonymous letter distributed to the press and many of Polin’s colleagues, Polin artificially inflated the prices of nine homes in Tampa and North Pinellas, so buyers could get larger loans. In most cases, the homes were mortgaged for approximately $100,000 more than their true market value, and if the allegations prove true, then these transactions definitely fall into the category of cash back at closing. The perpetrators need to be brought to justice. The question is, did Polin do anything wrong?

Polin firmly believes she is innocent, because “All these deals were put together by attorneys and title companies and lenders.” All she did was list and sell the homes. Some of the evidence, however, makes it look as though Polin could not possibly be unaware of what was going on.

In the case of Iris Alfonso, for example, Alfonso’s house had been on the market for several months when Polin allegedly asked if she would accept a reduced price of $449,900. Shortly thereafter, Alfonso received a purchase contract offering her $540,000 for her home. Why would any buyer offer a seller $90,100 more than the seller was willing to accept? The only possible answer is cash back at closing.

According to Polin, she simply listed the homes for sale. What the buyer and seller agree to has nothing to do with her, according to Polin. If the reported incidents did occur, a law was clearly broken.

As the FBI states: “It is illegal for a person to make any false statement regarding income, assets, debt, or matters of identification, or to willfully overvalue any land or property, in a loan and credit application for the purpose of influencing in any way the action of a financial institution.”

Whether or not Polin broke the law and is guilty of conspiring to commit fraud is up to law enforcement and the courts to decide. Whatever the outcome, this case highlights the need for real estate and mortgage fraud training in the real estate and mortgage lending industries.

Attorneys and law enforcement agencies could also benefit from such training programs. Time and time again, I hear about professionals who should know better becoming involved in fraudulent transactions. Some are willing accomplices or even ringleaders. Others are unwilling accomplices or victims who are simply abused by savvy con artists. By receiving the proper training, these professionals can help defend themselves, their clients, and the housing industry from those who are committed to destroying the American Dream of homeownership.

Ralph R. Roberts is a real estate fraud expert and activist and co-author of Protect Yourself from Real Estate and Mortgage Fraud: Preserving the American Dream of Homeownership (Kaplan, August 2007).

For more information, visit http://flippingfrenzy.com, contact Ralph at RalphRoberts@ralphroberts.com or call 586.751.0000.

 What you think?

Investors just care about one thing... make money at all means possible. They will do whatever it takes to save a few pennies even if they have to cut you out of the deal after you have done most of the work for them. Did you ever researched properties listed in an area for an investor just to find out he went around and bought one down the street that was not listed? Have you ever spent a day showing investment homes to find out your "motivated" investor just to find out that he went to the sheriff auction and bought a foreclosure not listed? Have you ever listed a distressed home just to get a call a day later from the owner who demands it off the market because he found a buyer who does not want to deal with an agent?  Don't you fell used, violated, ripped off? You often hear the investment gurus preaching about finding a "hungry" Realtor who will do whatever it takes. They want you to bust your behind, but won't hesitate to leave you out when they get what they want. The market is slow agents and sellers are stuggling and to make it worst there are these unethical people out there.

So it really satisfy me when I get the chance to give some payback to these people. Two months ago, I contacted a FSBO out of the local paper to list her home. She lives out of state and the tenant has not paid any rent since March. The tenant wouldn't move out and she has no way to come down here and evict her. I went and talk to the tenant who seemed willing to cooperate during the showings. So we listed it at market value, but when I went inside the house I realized that the house was a mess, nasty carpets, holes all over the walls, tiles ripped off on the bathtub, cracked floor tiles, broken windows, etc. Not much or difficult to fix, but not in condition for the average buyer. To make it worse, after my sign went up, the tenant piled up all types of junk around the property, and when I brought a buyer looking for a fixer upper , she would not let me show it. So I contacted the owner, told her about the situation, and send her pictures of the current condition of the house. We agree to lower the price for the pay off (25k below market value) so she could get rid of it quickly becuase she did not have the money to fix it and was having difficulties carrying the loan since the tenant was not paying. She was desperate!

I got a call from one of these  "motivated investors"  He wanted to see it, wanted all the details, and area market analysis. He seemed very motivated. We met, he took notes about the damages, and said he was going to go home, run some numbers, and then call me back.  He did not call, so call him a few days later and he said he wanted to wait. The same day, I got a call from the seller who said that an investor from here had contacted her and wanted her to keep the loan on her name but to sign the house over to him so he could fix it, rent it, and continue making the payments. She said that she wanted to do it because she was desperate, but she was affraid that this guy just wanted to sell the home for quick cash and leave her stuck with the mortgage. I told her that the decision was hers and that I undestood her situation and if she needed to do that I would take it off the market. I also told her that if she was considering that route, why not do it with me? I had the money to bring it back to standard and that I would immediately put it back on the market to sell it. I would cover the payments until it was sold. So we did, I evicted the tenant 2 weeks later, and now we are fixing up the house. Since I am going to price it below market value and it will be in good shape, I should be able to sell it and walk away with some of the equity.

I was at the store the other day and saw the "motivated investor" he asked me what happened with the house. I told him that since nobody bought it, I took over the payments and repairs to help the seller. He inmediately said that right after speaking with me that day, he had gone to the courthouse to locate the owner, and that he was had contacted her to take over the payments, but that she never called him back. Then he said that he had "spoken to God" about this house and that if he "had gotten it he was going to rent it to a needed family."  I told him "may be next time" and walked away.

 This guy lied, wasted my time, use me and now wants to make me feel bad because I took the opportunity for a  "divine good deed" from him away... YEAH RIGHT!

 

 

I read somewhere that when the word "FREE" is used on an ad it creates more response. I was looking through my previous posts and on my last one I noticed that I had used free on the title. Just as I read before, the post had more comments than the rest and in just 4 days, it has been viewed as many times or more than most of my previous posts. Let's see how this one goes.

First of all, I do not want to put down any agent who does this. I am writing this just to get your opinion. In the last two months I lost two listings to two competing agents who have been in business for many, many years. What is wrong about this? Nothing because this is part of the business. Usually, the longer a person is doing a job the more he or she knows about it, thus doing it "better"  People call this "experience" I heard. I know that I will have to deal with this situation for a while. However, what bothers me is that these two "experienced" agents overpriced these listings in order to get them. I mean a dollar is worth a dollar regardless of how you look at it. Is worth even less sometimes! So I do not understand how these agents come up with these numbers. Are they so experience that they will sell a home for $20,000 or $25,000 more than what a market analysis will support?Are they so experience that they will sell a 3 bedrooms,2 baths, 5 year old home for the same price of a 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, brand new home in the same street? Are they so experience that the can bypass all the technology available for buyers to compare prices in an area? If they can do this, I should list my house with them! I know that some agents will get 1 or 2% more than others but we are talking about 11% more than everybody else. Are they truly super agents or is this just a scheme to put their sign on the yard to get calls? Or is the competition so fierce that they need to make fantasy land promises in order to get listings? Will the house sell at this price or will they start reducing the price little by little after a while? I guess getting listings this way have nothing to do with experince. All we have to do is promise something that no other agent will.... Like an extra $25,000 for example regardless if is attainable or not. I will continue my business on reality land even if it cost me a few listings because I know that these "experience" agents will eventually fade out. I feel sorry for the sellers but what do I know I am just a "new" agent.

I found this website by accident. It is a great site to network and promote yourself. The best part is that once you build a profile, it creates a free google adword using your name.

I am thinking about adding a 1-800 call capture service to my marketing budget. There are so many companies out there that I do not know where to start. Do you have experience with this kind of service? What was your experience? Who gave you the best service and who did not? I will appreciate your input.

I am talking about pictures of our listings. I follow my stats of my listings on my Point 2 website and Realtor.com; those listings with more pictures get more visits. I sold one last month where a buyer moving from California previewed it on my website. He just walked into my office ready to write the offer without even seen it in person. I took him around to preview that one and other similar listings to make sure he was satisfied with his decision but after 3 listings he wanted to go back to the office and write it up. We closed last week without any problems. Why can't it be this easy everytime?

How do you handle the family of your prospective buyer? I see it all the time! Mom or dad knows best! (at least they they think they do) This is an example I have for you. One of the agents in my office was working with a young couple. She is very knowledgeable and do really care about her buyers. Well, their family decide to travel here to make sure "they get the best deal possible." They are unfamiliar with the market in this area, which since is next to a military base, there has been a lot of activity in the last 3 years. (BRAC, and soldiers leaving or returning from Iraq) So, the perfect home came on the market. It was a 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage, really nice condition, great location, and only $87,000. In this area, these are the most sought homes, so when one hits the MLS, it does not last long especially if is under $100K. She took them right away, and they loved it! Because of the market demand for these homes, she adviced that a low offer was likely to be countered. There comes the mom "do not listen to her, ask for all closing costs and offer $10,000 less... we know better the market is slow, they will take the offer" As it was expected, the offer was rejected. The buyers then offered the full price; however, there was a higher offer on the table already. Now, it became a bidding war! The buyers had to bid $92,000 without any concessions in order to get the offer accepted. When will people look at the facts on hand. Not every market is the same! How would you handle the situation? Would you walk away or try to sell it twice...once to the buyers and once to the overprotective parents who will challenge every statement you make?

A good way to find out how much internet presence you have is to do a search on yourself and real estate. Try your website without www or .com The more results you have, the better. Also try your "name" + real+estate or "name" + city. Sometimes the public look at these numbers when choosing an agent in an area they do not know anything about. It is an inexpensive way to advertise and create an image on future customers. Blogging, link partners, blasting, and ppc campaigns are good ways to increase these numbers. So google it! What you get?

Leo Garcia

Lawton / Fort Sill Real Estate

www.yourlawtonrealestate.com

(every little helps)

When you call your leads for the first time and they do not pick up, do you leave a message asking them to call you back? I always hang before it goes to voicemail and wait for them call back asking who called. Is it rude not to leave a message or a good way to get them to contact you? I used to leave messages, but rarely got them back. I am having better results now, What works for you?

My marketing is working pretty good. I receive many calls a day from my paper ads, sign flyers, and website; however, most people just want an address and a price then say thank you and hang up. What script or technique do you use to get them to bring them into your office to meet you?