Hi everyone. This is Oliver Kingsbury of Cornerstone Homes, LLC. Here is an article everyone in the real estate field will appreciate hearing. We thank Messa Zavala, owner of a very successful bank “negotiator” company in Southern California for this article
Bank of America’s New Short Sale Program – Truth or a Rumor?
by MELISSA ZAVALA on OCTOBER 3, 2010
Just the other day I participated in a meeting hosted by a Vice President at Bank of America who was had the assignment of sharing information and conducting meetings about the Bank of America Equator System, Short Sales, REOs and Loss Mitigation.
Funny but not much time was spent talking about the Equator system. With so many Bank of America Equator Tutorials available, the participants in the meeting did not want to talk about Equator. They wanted to talk about the latest trends in loss mitigation. So, the meeting subject matter veered off topic at the time.
One question that arose was about the purported HPO (fast track) program for Bank of America short sales. I perked up at that point. I have heard through the rumor mill that Bank of America was going to begin processing short sales using a fast track program—much like the one currently in use in many cities throughout the United States by Wachovia Bank.
In fact, after I first read about this program in many Realtor® blog posts, I myself wanted to hear if this famed program was real—and I wanted to hear straight from the source. I called many of my contacts at Bank of America and nobody could corroborate the information shared in those blog posts. I also used Google to see if I could find any news articles with quotes from sources at Bank of America that could verify what I read in the Realtor® posts. However, I could find nothing to corroborate those stories (originally reported in August of this year).
So, I was eager to hear our presenter’s response to the question about this alleged fast track (HPO) program. Our presenter said that while the idea of a fast track short sale program has been on the table for some time, it is currently not a reality. The reality of the matter is this: Wachovia is able to offer this program only because they own and service their own notes. In situations where they do not service the note, Wachovia cannot offer the fast track program.
Bank of America services notes for over 200 investors. As such, they do not have the authority to make snap decisions and approve short sales at the drop of a hat. For this very reason, they are not able to offer a fast track program at this time.
So, for those of you who are waiting on the fence for the new Bank of America short sale program and for those of you who are not working short sales until all banks have a fast track program, it simply may not happen. So, please do yourself a favor and get off the fence and get to work!
Oh… and don’t believe everything you read!
Do you remember the funny animated Walt Disney movie “The Emperor’s New Groove”? It was my son’s favorite movie for awhile (along with Walt Disney’s “Goofy”.) Anyway, remember the scene early in the movie that show’s someone distracting the emperor? The emperor was no longer focused. As the movie portrayed it, the distraction made the emperor fall out of his “groove.” The poor little man had “thrown off” the emperor’s “groove” and, in turn, they guards threw the little man out the window.
So it is life. We have so much going on for us. There are so many places we can put our time and attention. So many sirens call us to turn here, turn there. And the temptation of distraction is HUGE. In fact, I believe that addictions to anything are about distraction. Somehow I think it is human nature that we seem to think it is fun to be distracted. In a way, I think it is a mechanism to keep us from achieving our dreams… the FEAR FACTOR of SUCCESS.
Web-surfing is great, right? Aren’t we fortunate to have access to the world at our fingertips? (Well, obviously it can be a humongous distraction. But used right, it is like a surgeon’s knife that can help us carve out what we really need to support our efforts.) This morning I was reminded why we need to stay focused and find our niche and then work it. The following article was written by Speare Valasakos, a seasoned real estate broker from California. He stresses this very thing, in his blog/article “1 Simple Shift = More Real Estate Leads”
I quote a portion of what he says to illustrate my point.
“Do you know the single most important factor that will determine the effectiveness of your marketing, and the profitability of your entire real estate business?
It’s simple, actually…
Choosing the right niche.
First let’s talk about why choosing a niche is one of the best ways to boost your income, and then we will list some of the hottest real estate niches that desperately need agents to handle all of the surplus clients right now.
When you choose the right niche you instantly set yourself apart from the other agents in your area.
Here is a short list of just a few of the benefits:
o You become the “go-to” expert on that subject in your community
o Referrals flow in because agents and other professionals rely on you for your expert advice
o Your marketing is targeted and focused
o Internet advertising is easier because potential client will search for your “keywords”
o Your marketing will bring in more revenue for every dollar spent
o You will instantly multiply the effectiveness of your marketing
o It is easy to build a busy team because any potential clients who need to solve that specific problem will want to work with an expert
o It easy for you to create systems to expand your business because you understand your niche and can distill it and teach it to your team
It may seem counterintuitive but marketing that focuses on a very specific target market will always be much more effective than general, “one size fits all” marketing.”
Alright, it is me, Oliver, again. What will be your focus? If you want to succeed focus is everything. Target your “groove” or “niche”. Step out and be a leader.
This principle applies to all aspects of life. Get a passion for something and pursue it like there is no tomorrow.
In real estate, the field is too big to be all things to all people. If you are a Realtor, decide what types of properties or what types of clients you are going after. Narrow it down, then go after that market. Same with real estate investors. If you want to do Short Sales, focus on that. If you want to acquire rentals, decide what your focus will be… single homes or multi-family dwellings. If the latter, once again, narrow it. Will you cater to small units (2-4 dwellings in a unit) or a whole apartment complex? While you can have success in both you will find by specializing your potential for success is much greater. Now, go do it!
