Home Closing Process

You’ve been there, I’ve been there – WE’VE ALL BEEN THERE!

That point in time when you look at all the facts in a transaction and come to question if it will ever close!!!

Do throw in the towel? Call for help?

If you are like most of us, you probable have invested a lot of time and energy into the transaction, so giving up and throwing in the towel is not an option!

That is when we enter the picture and I come to experience the ”The Hardest Short Sale Ever”

In the spring of 2010, a Cape Coral REALTOR® who had heard me speak on short sales at the Cape Coral REALTOR ® Association called me to ask if we could help on a potential short sale. This was a seasoned professional; but I could tell from his tone that he seriously doubted that the deal in question would ever be able to close. Because of the size of the deal ($1M+) though, it made sense to at least give it a shot.

Here is a list of items that, at first blush, supported the realtor’s doubts about the possible success of this Cape Coral short sale:

1. The seller had filed Bankruptcy.
2. A first mortgage with Bank of America and an original principal balance of $2,850,000. This mortgage had also given rise to a Final Judgment of Foreclosure by the time we got involved.
3. A second mortgage with Bank of America and an original principal balance of $430,000.
4. A third mortgage with a private lender and an original principal balance of $600,000.
5. A fourth mortgage with a private lender and an original principal balance of $215,000. Default on this mortgage had also resulted in the filing of a Final Judgment.
6. Outstanding Community Association dues to the tune of over $35,000. The outstanding dues had also resulted in the association’s filing of a Foreclosure action.
7.  A Federal Tax Lien with a face amount owed of over $140,000.
8. A Lien from Lee County for Delinquent Tourist Development Taxes of over $38,000.
9. A Personal Judgment of $2,000.
10. A Personal Judgment of $5,000.
11. A Personal Judgment of $12,000.
12. A Personal Judgment of $2,000.

In total, we were looking at outstanding debts of $4,334,000 on a property that was worth about $1,100,000. Oh, and by the way, the seller had no current proof of income, no bank statements, and no tax returns for the last couple of years. When we got a look at the whole picture, we understood the realtor’s sentiments and were honestly not sure whether this deal was possible.

Stay tuned on what happened to “THE HARDEST SHORT SALE EVER”! I’ll be writing more about it in our next blog post, until then if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call us at (239) 985-4142 or contact us online.

-Chris Black

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.