Sarasota foreclosures turn tragic for many homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure when uninformed realtors refuse to ask for help.
Unfortunately, many realtors claim to be “short sale experts.”
They take a Certified Distressed Property Experts (CDPE) class and they get a piece of paper calling them experts.
These same realtors with little or no real-world experience print a bazillion business cards and plaster “expert” all over their website.
In some cases, the CDPE class hurts these real estate agents, who for some reason refuse to ask for help when the distressed real estate market changes (by the day it seems) or they simply lack real-world experience not covered in the book.
By far, the #1 reason houses end up in foreclosure is the INFLATED appraisal.
- 99% of the time, an inflated appraisal will NOT occur if the seller’s realtor knows what to do.
Click Read More below now for my 7 steps to fighting an inflated BPO, in response to a fellow realtor who asked me how I dispute an inflated BPO. More importantly, discover HOW to avoid an inflated BPO in the first place. Click Read MORE now….
HOW TO AVOID FORECLOSURE & INFLATED APPRAISAL
Typically, the list agent lets the bank’s appraiser go to the house on his/her own, expecting the bank’s appraiser somehow to figure out why the house isn’t selling.
How is the bank’s appraiser supposed to know:
- The roof leaks (no inside visible signs especially during dry time)
- MOLD (no inside visible signs especially during dry time)
- Roof is bad
- AC doesn’t work & needs replaced
- Functional obsolescence – insane nearby freeway noise after 5 PM 7 nights a week.
- Poor floorplan
I could go on but you clearly get the point.
A bank’s appraiser (typically a realtor who earns $40-$80 bucks) tries to get in and out very quickly, often relying on the MLS to complete and file his/her valuation report within the bank’s tight time table.
To help homeowners avoid foreclosure, all realtors SHOULD help each other. All of us started out the same: we didn’t know what we didn’t know.
For every realtor who contacts me, I try to help.
The realtors who disturb me are those whose arrogance and ignorance cause homeowners to lose their home to foreclosure…unnecessarily.
That’s disturbing!
Below, you see Gloria’s request for help and my response, which I hope helps her:
At 6:21am, Gloria Torres wrote:
Hi Mike,
Any chance I can get a copy of your template for the BPO dispute. I am having a hard time convincing the Chase negotiator that the BPO that was completed for this property is way over priced.Thank you,
Gloria Torres
Hi Gloria,
Did you intercept (err, “meet”) the bank’s valuation person at the property, loaded with proof of value?
Chances are, you didn’t…and that’s why you’re facing an inflated BPO.
In the future, please make a point on all listings to be there when the valuation person shows up. Use combo boxes to FORCE them to contact you for access.
Question: What do you think caused the bank’s valuation person to inflate the BPO?
- Bad comps?
- Poorly adjusted comps?
- Unaware of functional obsolescence?
- Unaware of damage (that is, AC, mold, roof, etc)?
Do you have the list price over-priced? Believe it or not, I often see list prices not aggressive and accounting for distressed property. The very first task a BPO agent does is go to the MLS and look at listing history. Have you stair-stepped the list price DOWN consistently to reflect time table? Usually, every 2 weeks seller gives me permission to drop the price ~$5,000 to generate interest. We keep dropping until we generate CREDIBLE offer.
To file a BPO Dispute through Chase’s escalation department, my template includes VERY clear FACTS supported with evidence. For instance, here’s what I hand (and point out to) the bank’s valuation expert when I meet him/her at the property:
- 3 lowest closed sales comps within a 2 mile radius & 2 month sales date
- 3 lowest pendings
- 3 lowest actives
- Repair quotes on licensed contractor letterhead. Unless you are present to prove issues, BPO agent will not know there’s roof damage or AC damage or mold or foundation cracks or heavy freeway noise at 6 pm, etc.
- BPO adjusting each comp
- Buyer’s offer – point out strength of buyer’s offer (that is, it’s cash; no contingencies, quick close, no seller concessions, higher net, etc).
- PHOTOS pointing out what BPO agent (must have missed).
If for some reason the bank’s valuation person STILL inflates the appraisal, all this goes into a report with CLEAR bullet points pointing out:
- Loan # & borrower’s name on EVERY page
- BPO Dispute & how YOU are trying to help debt owner NET more money and avoid higher foreclosure costs following inflated BPO.
Send all this to a specific PERSON at Chase. Find out from the assigned negotiator (hopefully with whom you have good rapport) to whom you can/should send your BPO Dispute.
Hopefully, you won’t discover the debt owner doesn’t want to sell short and that it wasn’t an inflated BPO after all.
Does this help you?
Mike Payne
REALTOR
ASK Realty
941-928-8145 (cell)
Sarasota Homes For Sale | Sarasota Realtor
The debt owner only knows what’s in the report provided. PLEASE (if you are a Sarasota real estate agent) don’t let ignorance or arrogance prevent you from doing all you can to help struggling, desperate homeowners save their homes. By no means do I know it all. However, I know the “right” attorneys to whom to guide the homeowners I’m helping. We don’t have to know it all. Instead, we need to know who has the right answers if we don’t know.
Have you experienced an inflated appraisal when trying to short sell a property? What did you do? Was it successful? What questions, comments or experience do you have with bpo’s and appraisals? Please scroll down a bit below to share your question, comment or experience. I want to hear from you. Further, if you or someone you know wants or needs to buy or sell a house in or around Sarasota, please contact me now. I want to be your realtor.
Sarasota foreclosures (some of them) occur unnecessarily when the bank’s valuation person unintentionally (without malice) inflates the appraisal. To the debt owner, the FAIR market offer on the property appears low, thought it’s really 100% fair.
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