Home Closing Process

Marian Rosencrans, salesperson for the Bonita Springs/Estero Area Title Company, Winged Foot Title, LLC, was honored as a “Star of WCR” at the 2011 Installation Celebration of the Bonita-Estero Chapter of the Women’s Council of REALTORS®.

Before a packed house at Wildcat Run Golf & Country Club, Marian was recognized for her “Extraordinary Contributions, Outstanding Performance & Star Leadership”. As Co-Chair of the Awards Committee, Marian also oversaw the presentation of the evening’s other awards.

This is also a great opportunity to recognize some of the other real estate professionals who were honored that evening:

• Heather Wightman of John R. Wood – Realtor of the Year
• Karen Boring with PNC Mortgage was Affiliate of the Year
• Judi Gietzen with Amerivest Realty – Pat Lord Humanitarian of the Year
• Jason Lane with Lane Insurance – Rising Star Award
• Ginny Nobbe with John R. Wood – Entrepreneur of the Year

The Women’s Council of REALTORS® is a national “network of successful REALTORS® empowering women to exercise their potential as entrepreneurs and industry leaders.” Winged Foot Title and Marian Rosencrans are proud of their affiliation with the Bonita-Estero Chapter of WCR.

If you are reading this you are likely considering or have considered a short sale of real property in Florida. Over the last few years, our title company has orchestrated the closing of over 650 short sales. In the course of our work with sellers, realtors and lenders, we have heard many questions related to Florida short sales. In order to help you prepare for your short sale, I have memorialized the most frequently asked and pressing questions we have received from people just like you who must sell their property but who owe much more than the property is worth.

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Not sure if you are on Bank of America’s email list, but if you are not – I wanted to share with you this great news!

Here are some of the Frequently Asked Questions:

1. How can I find out if my client/homeowner qualifies for this relocation assistance? Call a Bank of America short sale specialist at 1.877.459.2852, Monday-Friday 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Eastern
2. Do I have to do anything different to initiate or complete the short sale? No. If the homeowner’s short sale is initiated between Sept. 26 and Dec. 12, 2011, and the property closes by Aug. 31, 2012, the homeowner will be eligible.
3. Will the relocation assistance funds be reported on the HUD-1? Yes, they will be documented on the HUD-1, and a 1099-MISC will be issued.
4. Can the relocation assistance funds be used to pay off existing liens? Yes, if the investor approves it.
5. Will this enhanced relocation assistance waive the homeowner’s deficiency? An additional benefit for these pre-offer programs, such as HAFA and Bank of America’s proprietary program, is that deficiency may be waived for homeowners who qualify.
6. Is the relocation assistance added to any other incentives, such as HAFA or Bank of America proprietary program incentives? No. A homeowner will receive the $5,000 to $20,000 in place of the typical incentive paid out by these programs. The relocation assistance is essentially an enhancement to the standard payout offered on these programs.
7. Is the enhanced relocation assistance available for other programs? The enhanced relocation assistance is currently available only to short sale programs initiated without an offer. However, as we gauge the success, we may extend this incentive to other programs.

If you have more questions on qualifying for this program. Please give us a call, we’d be happy to help!

-Chris Black

Attorney /Title Insurance
Winged Foot Title, LLC.

Be sure to follow me, Chris Black at Winged Foot Title online at:

• The Home Closing Process Blog at www.HomeClosingProcess.com
• Winged Foot Title Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/WingedFootTitle
• Winged Foot Title Twitter Page at www.twitter.com/#!/WingedFootTitle

Looking for a fun TRICK OR TREATING venue  in Bonita/Estero area this Halloween?

Look no further then “Halloween in the Park”, sponsored by the City of Bonita Springs and B.E.A.R. (Bonita Springs Estero Association of REALTORS).

Bonita Springs Area Title Company, Winged Foot Title’s, is proud to announce that Marian Rosencrans will be volunteering her time at “Halloween in the Park” on Monday, October 31, at Riverside Park in Bonita Springs.  From 6:00PM to 8:00PM, kids of all ages can enjoy games, face painting and of course candy . . . lots and lots of candy!

Marian will be passing out goodies at the Winged Foot Title table – Make sure to stop by and say “hello” (and of course “trick or treat”) to get some goodies for your halloween bag!

Halloween in the Park is sponsored by the City of Bonita Springs and B.E.A.R. (Bonita Springs Estero Association of REALTORS).  This is Marian’s 3rd year of participating in the event designed to give Bonita Springs & Estero area children a safe and fun environment in which to Trick or Treat.

Marian is delighted to have watched the number of children served swell from 400 her first year to over 1,000 in 2010. Need more information or have questions, please don’t hesitate to give me a call (239) 985-4142 or contact me online.

-Chris Black

Attorney /Title Insurance
Winged Foot Title, LLC.

Be sure to follow me, Chris Black at Winged Foot Title online at:

• The Home Closing Process Blog at www.HomeClosingProcess.com
• Winged Foot Title Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/WingedFootTitle
• Winged Foot Title Twitter Page at www.twitter.com/#!/WingedFootTitle

Bonita Springs Realtors, this event is just for you!

The Bonita-Estero Women’s Council of REALTORS is holding their business luncheon for November at the Grandezza Community Club House. The luncheon includes 4 speaks considered to be the “Veterans of our Industry”.  I was honored to be included as one of them. Here’s a roster of all the speakers:

• Listing REALTOR: D Michael Burker, Keller Willaims Elite Realty
• Selling REALTOR: Heather Wightman, John R Wood Realtors
• Marketing: Nella De Cesare, WBN Marketing
• Short Sales: Attorney Chris Black Winged Foot Title, LLC

“Veterans of our Industry” luncheon will run from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM.

Register for this online at www.wcrbonitaestero.com.  The Grandezza Clubhouse is located at:

11481 Grande Oak Blvd
Estero, FL 33928-7601

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to give me a call (239) 985-4142 or contact me online.

-Chris Black

Attorney /Title Insurance
Winged Foot Title, LLC.

Be sure to follow me, Chris Black at Winged Foot Title online at:

• The Home Closing Process Blog at www.HomeClosingProcess.com
• Winged Foot Title Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/WingedFootTitle
• Winged Foot Title Twitter Page at www.twitter.com/#!/WingedFootTitle

Well we’ve made it. The girls – my wife Lydia and daughter Emerson – and I left Fort Myers late Tuesday and made it to Jacksonville before packing it in. We started slowly this morning but banked enough time for a quick pit stop in charming Savannah, GA.

We hit Savannah about lunch time. Online and friend reviews took us to Soho South Cafe, which lived up to its billing. Lydia had a Mediterranean grill; Emerson a PB & J; and I the salmon BLT on the recommendation of Liza, our server. The restaurant is an eclectic mix of furniture and art. Its only consistent design element within the warehouse shell is its inconsistency. We were reminded of one of our favorites from Philadelphia – The White Dog Cafe. The lunch crowd was part local – from lawyers talking their first cases before certain testy judges to businessmen – and part tourist. Overall a great spot for our first stop in Savannah.

Savannah is a wonderfully walkable place – quite a welcome reprieve from what we are used to. We strolled from Soho South Cafe to Chippewa Square then snaked through side streets back to the wagon to get back on the road. We were not disappointed when we rolled into Charleston a couple of hours later..

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First of all, I love the HousingWire news feeds.  If you aren’t subscribed to a RSS feed or aren’t keeping tabs via Twitter, you should.  Check out www.housingwire.com.

This article was posted at HousingWire on Monday by Kerri Panchuk:  ”Survey Shows First-Time Homebuyers Growing Weary of Short Sales”.  In it, the author cites a recent survey that indicates a slide in the percentage of first-time homebuyers who have acquired short sales – from 54.1% in November 2009 to 39.7% in August.  We are all aware of the technical challenges of short sales; but the payoff in dealing with and overcoming those challenges is, according to the report cited, that “short sales . . . generally sell at prices 27% lower than non-distressed properties . . . .”  I got to thinking that if this is true  – that a buyer could expect a 27% discount by buying a short sale – then it would be nuts to “grow weary” of them.  Nuts, unless of course these first-time homebuyers are entering into short sale transactions with poorly set expectations.

Having orchestrated over 700 short sales over the last three years, we understand just how wrong things can go when expectations are not set properly.  So here are a few pointers mostly from a buyer’s agent’s perspective which should go a long way toward helping to manage your buyer’s expectations and toward helping them hang in there to take advantage of the short sale savings.

There is no substitute for good old-fashioned homework and reconnaissance when it comes to making an offer on a short sale.  To wit, you should know or try to find out:

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Congratulations! Your short sale offer was approved!

We want you to know that as a short sale realtor, you’re in good hands with Winged Foot Title. We believe in exceptional service without exception.

As you know, there are three main ingredients to a successful short sale.  They are

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