Fort Collins Short Sales: Saint or Sinner?

Typical Abandoned Real Estate

Fort Collins CO– The New York Time had an interesting article about one man’s mission in the fight to stop foreclosure. According to the article, Mark Guerette, attempted to make use of all the empty, abandoned houses he saw.

I get frustrated when I see homes sitting empty for months and months. “Those homes should be put to good use!” I thought to myself.

It bugged me that homes would sit empty for months and even years at a time. The lawn would become overgrown.

A window might leak. Or, vandals would break the windows. Rain would start getting inside the house, thereby causing mold on the walls and ceiling.

The house would get uglier and uglier. As a working short sale realtor, I knew how much this would cause the home’s value to drop.

Most of the homes were in foreclosure. The owners had moved out to avoid being kicked out. But, the banks didn’t take care of the homes.

It bugged me to see these trashed homes come on the market and sell at a substantial discount.

“Those banks are hurting the housing market. Someone needs to do something!” I thought to myself. But, I never did anything about it.

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

Apparently this guy did. Mark would find abandoned homes, fix them up, and rent them to needy families.

An old English Common Law principle called “Adverse Possession” would make him the owner of the home after several to a dozen or more years.

Of course, he was responsible for keeping the home up, paying all the property taxes (including past dues taxes), and risking having a former homeowner confront him.

Colorado’s Adverse Possession law would give ownership after 7 years. He thought that law was enough to make what he was doing legal. Apparently not!

According to the article, he now faces up to 15 years in prison. This is after he disclosed what he was doing to everyone.

He mailed the owners of the homes and the banks with the mortgage and told them of his plans. The lease with his tenants disclosed that he wasn’t the legal owner.

And yet, he still faces a prison sentence? Do you think that is fair? I don’t. Please tell me what you think in the comments section below.

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 RobKittle@kw.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 970-690-4920

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our Colorado loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy

Thanks for reading this, Rob Kittle

Rob is a Real Estate The Kittle Team at Keller Williams Realty. Fort Collins Short Sales Realtor:

Phone: 970-690-4920. <a href="mailto:RobKittle

We Specialize, You Benefit

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

Rob Kittle specializes in loan modification assistance and short sales in Fort Collins Colorado. Fort Collins Loan Modification Help, Fort Collins Short Sales. Fort Collins Short Sale Realtor

Short Sale Realtor. Fort Collins CO

Short Sales. Fort Collins Realtor.

Copyright 2010 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 Rob Kittle's personal views and do not reflect the views of

Keller Williams Realty. This information on Fort Collins Short Sales: Saint or Sinner?

You Decide is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make

informed decisions.

Fort Collins Short Sales: How to Stop Harassing Debt Collector Phone Calls

Fort Collins CO – 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. Scary, right?

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.

Here is how to stop the harassing calls. Simply ask the person who calls for their fax number or mailing address. Then, fax or mail them a letter that requests them to stop calling you.

Here is some sample language you can put into the letter.

"Under my rights in the Fair Lending Law and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, I hereby request you stop any and all phone calls to me or any other person. At this time, I do not wish to speak with you, anyone at your company, or anyone representing you concerning this matter.

Do not contact me by phone regarding this matter. I demand that you stop calling my at home, on my cell phone, at work, at my relatives house, or any other location. Please make any future communication with me in writing.

I am aware of my rights under section 805(b)2 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and am willing and able to exercise them. I am keeping track of all calls from your company and may consider recording calls."

Make sure that when you mail the letter, you send it return receipt requested. If you have access to a fax machine, then fax it out. It's much easier and stops the calls quickly.

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a creditor or collection agency that calls you after you request them to stop may be liable for statutory damages up to $1,000 plus any actual damages suffered, plus attorney fees.

Another tactic you can use to shut down any debt collector is to tell them you are recording the call. They back off when they realize they are on tape. You can buy an inexpensive call recorder at Radio Shack or Amazon.com.

Just hook it up to your phone and you're ready to go. In addition, you may want to keep a log of all phone calls from debt collectors. This can be useful if you ever have to go to court.

After reading the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, in my opinion, the following acts are prohibited:

Violation #1: Call you before 8 AM or after 9PM.

Violation #2: Tell your relatives, family, or friends that you owe them money, or state that they are in the debt collection business when they contact any relatives, family, or friends.

Violation #3: Contact you after you send a written request that they cease further communication.

Violation #4: Contact you after you request they cease.

Violation #5: Threaten you with violence. In addition, they are prohibited from using obscene or profane language.

Violation #6: Publicize a list of people who owe them money.

Violation #7: Cause your phone to ring repeatedly or continuously to annoy you.

Violation #8: Call you without telling you who they are and why they are calling.

Violation #9: Mislead or falsely represent the amount owed, that they are an attorney or law firm, that if you don't pay then you'll go to jail, state or claim that you committed a crime, or threaten to take an action that is not allowed legally.

Violation #10: Not informing you that any information obtained can be used for the purpose of collecting their debt.

Violation #11: Threaten to repossess any property that they legally don't have the right to repossess. I remember hearing a lady calling a national talk show and saying that a debt collector had threatened to repossess her cat.

What is this world coming to?!! That is definitely a violation! Cats, dogs, and children are not normally given as collateral against loans. This isn't the middle ages here!

Violation #12: Threaten to sue you and then not follow thru with it. In addition, they are not allowed to threaten to do anything unless they actually intend to follow thru with it.

There are many good lawyers who specialize in helping consumers when a debt collector violates the act. Just google "Fair Debt Collections Lawyer."

Many of them can help you at no cost out of your pocket. They will take on your case on a contingency basis and get paid from the money they collect from the debt collector.

If you have any specific questions or need help, please give me a call. Remember I'm here to help you in any way that I can.

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 . 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

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our Fort Collins loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy.

Thanks for reading this, Rob Kittle

Rob is a Real Estate Agent at Keller Williams Realty. Fort Collins Short Sales Realtor:

Phone: . robkittle@kw.com.



Rob Kittle specializes in loan modification assistance and short sales in Fort Collins Colorado. Fort Collins Loan Modification Help, Fort Collins Short Sales. Fort Collins Short Sale Realtor

Short Sale Realtor.
Fort Collins CO Short Sales.
Fort Collins Realtor.

Copyright 2010 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 Brad Baldwin's personal views and do not reflect the views of Keller Williams Realty.

This information on Fort Collins Short Sales: How to Stop Harassing Debt Collector Phone Calls is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Fort Collins Short Sales: Renters trashed my house. What should I do?

Fort Collins CO – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Richard. “I accepted a job transfer and had to move. Unfortunately we were upside down on the house.

I decided to rent it out rather than short sale it. The renters just moved out. I just checked the house. They trashed it!

I could rent the house out again, but I would have to spend several thousand dollars fixing it up first. What would you recommend that I do?” Richard asked.

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

Here was our recommendation. That is a tough situation. You could fix up the house and rent it out again. But, you risk having the same thing happen all over again.

Here is the other problem. The amount you can charge for rent has gone down in most areas. This means you will probably have to write a check every month.

If you are able to rent it and cover all the costs, then I would recommend you keep the home. If not, then I would recommend you short sell it.

Here is why I recommend that. If you can break even, then the house will be a good investment as the real estate market recovers. However, you will always risk large unexpected costs like the one you are experiencing right now.

If it the rent does not cover all the costs, then more than likely you are in an area where the housing prices are still dropping. This means the burden will only get bigger as time progresses.

Costs will keep on going up. Rent might drop even more. The housing market could decline even further. It would be better to just get rid of the liability now, once and for all.

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 RobKittle@kw.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 970-690-4920

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our Fort Collins loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy.

Thanks for reading this, Rob Kittle.

Rob is a Real Estate The Kittle Team at Keller Williams Realty. Fort Collins Short Sales Realtor:

Phone: 970-690-4920. RobKittle@kw.com.

We Specialize, You Benefit

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

Rob Kittle specializes in loan modification assistance and short sales in Fort Collins Colorado. Fort Collins Loan Modification Help, Fort Collins Short Sales. Fort Collins Short Sale Realtor

Short Sale Realtor.
Fort Collins CO Short Sales.
Fort Collins Realtor.

Copyright 2010 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 Rob Kittle's personal views and do not reflect the views of Keller Williams Realty.



This information on Fort Collins Short Sales: Renters trashed my house. What should I do? is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Fort Collins Short Sales: Can I buy again right after a Short Sale?

[caption id="attachment_1149" align="alignright" width="283" caption="Yes, you can Short Sale and buy another home."][/caption]

Fort Collins state(acronym) – We get this question a lot from people. “I am upside down and need to move. I would like to buy another home. Can I do that?” they ask us.

Today they can. FHA (the Federal Housing Administration) has a new program that enables you to short sale your existing home and buy a new home at today’s reduced prices.

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

The home you purchase would have to meet FHA’s standard lending guidelines. FHA is a great mortgage program.

In fact, more people buying a home in today’s market are getting an FHA loan.

Here is what you would need to do to participate in the program:

1. Determine if you qualify to participate in the program. We have been told that you will need the following.

(Guidelines can change at any time, so make sure you check them with a Mortgage Professional familiar with the program.)

A. A 640 FICO credit score or better.

B. You must be current on all installment payments and your mortgage.

C. No bankruptcy or foreclosure on your credit in the last 7 years.

D. The home you are purchasing must be inferior to the one you are selling. I don’t know the exact guidelines, but I think it means it is a smaller home, or it has less bedrooms or a lower price.

E. You will need the 3.5% down payment for the new purchase.

2. Continue making your mortgage payments each month.

3. Talk to a Mortgage Professional and fill out FHA’s Short Sale and Buy Application.

4. Get pre-approved for your next home loan.

5. Put your home on the market with a licensed short sale realtor.

6. Once the short sale is approved, then you can start looking at other homes.

7. Close on selling your home and on purchasing the new property.

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 RobKittle@kw.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 970-690-4920

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our Fort Collins loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy.

Thanks for reading this, Rob Kittle.

Rob is a Real Estate The Kittle Team at Keller Williams Realty. Fort Collins Short Sales Realtor:

Phone: 970-690-4920. <a href="mailto:RobKittle@kw.com.

We Specialize, You Benefit

View My homes for sale at <a href="http://
www.RobKittle.com.

Rob Kittle specializes in loan modification assistance and short sales in Fort Collins Colorado. Fort Collins Loan Modification Help, Fort Collins Short Sales. Fort Collins Short Sale Realtor
Short Sale Realtor. Fort Collins CO
Short Sales. Fort Collins Realtor.

Copyright 2010 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 Rob Kittle's personal views and do not reflect the views of
Keller Williams Realty. This information on Fort Collins Short Sales: Can I buy again
right after a Short Sale? You Decide is provided as a courtesy to our
viewers to help them make informed decisions.

My Realtor hasn't talked to me about a Short Sale & I'm not even getting a showing. I think I might be upside down. What do I do?

Fort Collins CO - The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Jennifer. She is having a hard time selling her home.

“I have had my house for sale for a little while, but it hasn’t sold. No buyers have come to look at it. At first I thought the price was fair. But, now that no one has come to see the home, I am beginning to realize that I am upside down.

My realtor hasn’t talked to me about a short sale. What should I do?” Jennifer asked.

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

Here is what I would recommend to her. First, talk to your current agent about a short sale. The might be uncomfortable with bringing it up.

Short sales are a sensitive issue. Some people get offended when you ask them about a short sale. It doesn’t look like that is the case with you.

Tell your agent that you think you might be upside down. Ask them what they think they can realistically sell the house for in today’s market.

Then, ask them for a “Net Sheet.” This is a sheet that details all of the costs and fees associated with selling a home.

The fees and costs are subtracted from the sales price to give you the net amount you will receive from the sale. Compare that number with your mortgage payoff.

If it is less than what you owe your lender, then you will need to consider a short sale. Ask your agent if they can handle your short sale.

If not, then you may need to hire someone else. Short sales are a lot more complex than a normal real estate transaction.

Make sure the person you interview has closed short sales in the past and knows what they are doing.

Ask them how the short sale process works. Have them explain it to you. This will help you determine if that person can do the job for you.

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 RobKittle@kw.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 970-690-4920

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our Fort Collins Loan Modification Kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your lender. Click here to request a copy.

Thanks for reading this, Rob Kittle

Rob is a Real Estate The Kittle Team at Keller Williams Realty.

Phone: 970-690-4920. RobKittle@kw.com.

We Specialize, You Benefit

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

Rob Kittle specializes in loan modification assistance and short sales in Fort Collins Colorado. Fort Collins Loan Modification Help, Fort Collins Short Sales. Fort Collins Short Sale Realtor Short Sale Realtor. Fort Collins CO Short Sales. Fort Collins Realtor.

Copyright 2010 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 Rob Kittle's personal views and do not reflect the views of Keller Williams Realty. This information on My Realtor hasn't talked to me about a Short Sale & I'm not even getting a showing. I think I might be upside down. What do I do is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.