Bank of America Short Sale Agent Communication

Bank of America Home Loans will now be using Equator as the primary tool for short sales.  It is a self service portal that automates the short sale process.  This will streamline the process and improve the experience for both customer and real estate agents.

As a result, Bank of America will no longer be accepting faxed short sale documents, effective immediately you will need to upload those documents through Equator. Information to assist you with the Equator system can be found at www.bankofamerica.reo.com/shortsaletraining.

Once a short sale is initiated on a Bank of America loan, you can also access the educational guide within Equator.  It can be found within the “Upload 3rd Party Authorization” task.  This guide provides tips for avoiding delays and navigating system functionality.

To start a short sale today, go to www.Equator.com/

REMINDER: The federal government recently announced the short sale program guidelines for the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program which will go into effect on Monday, April 5, 2010.  Bank of America Home Loans is implementing HAFA, the program designed to help those customers who were not eligible for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) or any other modification.  For more detailed information on the HAFA program, go to the National Association of Realtors site at www.realtor.org/government_affairs/short_sales_hafa.

2010 NAMAR EXPO

Last year NAMAR hosted their Partners in Business EXPO at Gwinnett Center. The event was such a success that it is back again this year.  Mark your calendar and schedule yourself for April 13, 2010 from 11:00AM to 4:00PM. This year’s event will also be at the Gwinnett Center and is open and free for all to attend including the general public.

Educational Classes

This year’s EXPO is offering a wide variety of educational classes to help REALTORS at all levels of their careers advance and learn in today’s ever changing environment. Take a look the educational classes offered:

•    Grow your business with Social Networking
•    There’s an app for that!
•    Next-gen Website
•    I didn’t know you could do that with Outlook!
•    Smart Home Technology
•    Preventing Foreclosure – Alternatives for Homeowners Under the “Making Home Affordable Program
•    Grant Money
•    Home Warranties
•    Re/Insight – The Next Generation Georgia MLS On-Line System
•    Utilizing the Power of GeorgiaMLSpro.com
•    CRS Power Tool – Public Records Unleashed
•    The Ethics of Short Sales
•    Pricing the Hard-to-Price Property Using Tax Records
•    Overview of HUD Sales Training
•    Are you Smarter than your market?

For in depth explanations, along with details about the instructor for each of the classes, follow the 2010 NAMAR EXPO Education Sessions link.

Fantastic Prizes

In addition to being able to obtain a wealth of information for free, there are numerous gifts for all who attend. Prizes will also be given away throughout the day.  Just by attending you could find yourself with a weekend getaway, a gift certificate ranging in value from $25 to $100, 30 seconds in the cash cube or the Grand Prize Caribbean Cruise on Princess Cruises. The first 500 attendees will receive a cash card from GolfSmith.

As many of you know, I’ve been using Top Producer.  However, I just downloaded the trial version of EurekaWare for Realtors.  This Contact Management System integrates with Microsoft Outlook.  It is very user friendly… and from what I can tell so far, it is absolutely awesome!  It keeps dated notes, all the details of properties shown or of interest by adding the FMLS# and even shows the pictures, Seller and Buyer info, files emails and activities in each Contact in their contact folder.  It has a To Do bar which allows you to view all your day’s activities on your calendar… everyone you have to call, email, meet, or other activity scheduled, etc… without ever leaving Outlook.

So far, I like it better than Top Producer.   You can even create drip campaigns but I’m simply going to continue to use Lead Street since I like it so much.  Best of all… it’s only $99!  And no monthly fees!  It’s tied to Realtor.com but if you want to tie into MLS / FMLS, you can upgrade for $49 onetime fee.  You can sign up for 30 days for free.  You don’t even have to give them a credit card for the trial membership. You can visit their website and View EurekaWare Features.

Here’s to a more organized and fruitful 2010!  I know we’ll make it… together.

What you really need to know…

SUPERCHARGE YOUR SALES IN 2010. Mark Your Calendar for the RE/MAX Regional Sales Seminar and Recognition Event

Register for the Verl Workman seminar and recognition event in your area.

NAR Short Selling Webinar still available to view

“Today’s Changing Short Sales Environment” webinar hosted by the NAR and co-sponsored by Bank of America Home Loans is still available to view online.

RE/MAX Network Continues Expansion

Several former competitors have joined the RE/MAX Network, bringing with them more than 650 individual Sales Associates.

Foreclosure Search Now on RE/MAX.COM

RE/MAX has teamed with RealtyTrac, the No.1 foreclosure listing web site, to provide over 1.3 million pre-foreclosure, auction, and foreclosure listings.

Get Optional RealtyTrac Subscription at Discounted Rate

RE/MAX Affiliates who wish to receive additional data on properties can sign up for an optional RealtyTrac subscription at a reduced rate.

Super Exposure! RE/MAX Ads Air during the Super Bowl

RE/MAX sponsorship includes “The RE/MAX Broadcast Center,” and the “RE/MAX Outstanding Play of the Game”.

Tech Tip – New iPhone App Lets You View Webinars from Anywhere

Cisco WebEx have released a new iPhone App that allows you to view our bi-weekly webinars from anywhere

2010 Peachtree Road Race Registrations Opening Soon

As a Peachtree Road Race sponsor RE/MAX affiliates get coveted early registration privileges for the 2010 Peachtree Road Race to be held in Atlanta on July 4th 2010.

Senate Bill Would Overhaul Georgia Property Tax

47-page bill features more than 40 changes in the current property tax system.

As professional full time REALTORS we constantly strive to stay on top of the cutting edge technology that is available to us. WE research this opportunity and that opportunity. we constantly get bombarded with email (SPAM) about the latest and greatest “Silver Bullet” to add to our ammunition belt. Would you like a Here It Is, All In One Place, Two Day “Local” Conference where you can see and hear from the experts in real estate technology.

The Atlanta Agents Forum has teamed up with REtechSouth to offer discount admission for our readers to this exciting 2 day conference. Make the dates on your calendar…March 25 and 26 at the Gwinnett Center. The Panel of Speakers reads like a Whos Who of real estate experts. These people are not just speakers, they practice what they preach. Follow the REtechSouth Discount link for a 10% discount on admission to the conference.

If you are looking to maximize your exposure and results while providing the greatest return on your investment REtechSouth is the one conference you will not want to miss. There is something for every technology user from beginner to advanced. Attendees will be afforded multiple sessions on a wide variety of technology topics. Just select the ones that interest you.

REtechSouth is the largest real estate conference in the southeast. It is held annually in metro Atlanta and aims to teach real estate industry professionals how to better utilize current technologies along with how to incorporate new technologies into their business. The current state of affairs in the real estate market make this the “Must Attend” conference of 2010.

Follow the FHA Policy Changes link to see the complete press release. A summary of the proposed policy changes are:

•    Increase the Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) to 2.25%. ETA Spring 2010
•    Update the combination of FICO Score (Credit Score) and Down payment Percentage for new borrowers. ETA Early Summer 2010
•    Reduce Seller Concessions (Closing Cost Contribution) from 6% to 3%. ETA Early Summer 2010
•    Publicly Report Lender Performance Rankings and hold lenders more accountable.
•    Increase monitoring of lender performance and compliance with FHA guidelines.
•    Loan Originators and Underwriters would assume liability for loans they originate and underwrite.

So what do you think of these proposed changes? How do you think they will effect buyers and sellers?

Throw away the Business Plan…Replace the Business Plan with an Action Plan

When I hear industry expert state you need a business plan to succeed I don’t disagree.  However for most Realtors I work with, a Business plan is not the most effective way to look at their business.  Busy Realtors get pulled in every possible direction based on their clients’ needs and schedules.  Realtors have been programmed to drop what they are doing and service the client’s needs immediately. Yes, as an industry we are not the best at staying on task and we operate to often on adrenalin. Example, if an appraisal problem occurs with a transaction your day is shot sometimes the rest of the month.  Problems are emotional because they affect real people, our customers and clients.  Some of us enjoy solving the problems.  Some of us are paralyzed by the problem.

It is football season so I hope this analogy is easy to follow.  Every team starts the game with a plan.  The San Francisco 49rs coach Bill Walsh would start every game with a series of plays. He made it clear to everyone even the other team knew.  I don’t believe he was different than any other coach he was just the most vocal.  His teams had an amazing record of scoring a touchdown the first time they got the ball. Now in the sport of football you have turnovers, fumbles and interceptions.  So the game can change in a matter of seconds. The best teams go right back to the playbook and pull out the plays that work. Many of you may not be a football fan or understand the sport but everyone understands that the goal is to win the game. Every team has a series of plays that get a consistent result, the bread and butter plays or their “Go To” plays. In the previous market boom you really didn’t need “Go To” plays. Homes were selling like hotcakes. You had multiple offers on listings at or above list price and buyers were ready to make offers because they were afraid if they didn’t they would lose their dream home.

It is no surprise to anyone that the real estate industry has changed substantially. Why don’t we share with each other what activities are our “Go To” plays?

I would real like your opinion…
Do you have a written action plan?
Is it a daily, weekly or monthly plan?
Do you know the activities that get you a result?
What should be included in a basic Realtor activity plan?
When there is a fumble how quickly do you recover?