Victor Kaminski

Rick take advise from a few of the seasoned agents, I'm sure you'll agree in the advent of the real estate boom everyone and their mother has become a real estate agent thinking they're going to get rich quick and we still have not quite thinned the heard out of all of them yet. Those are the folks that jumped into real estate without taking any classes about real estate, only attended seminars and office meetings and now think they are experts.

Some appearing to give good advice here:
Patricia Harris suggesting you may have been a victim of a predatory lender
Tom Stevens, Mortgage Consultant who basically said the same thing as me with the addition of asking for a forbearance arrangement.

I would always first suggest speaking with your lender but once again be careful who you speak with, they have many departments and you'll usually speak with someone fist in customer service aka collections in many cases, not the key point people to talk to. When calling don't give any personal info at first if you can avoid it just ask to speak with someone about getting a loan modification or ask for someone in their work out or loss mitigation departments. It's always who you know, in this case who you speak to.

To: J just "J" how mysterious! lol...
Interesting comment you made once again all the way from Asia? Where about in Asia?
Congratulations on your purchase in Asia, hope it was the real owner that sold the home to you or did anyone check? In the "States" we have a lot of safe guards in place and that is why there is such a process when transferring a deed. You need to make sure the person selling it has the right to sell it and that the person who sold it to them had that right as well otherwise someone can come out of nowhere and make a claim and your out, your entire investment.

A realtor is not just "anyone standing between someone buying and selling something" and as you put it making us "non-essential", we never claimed to be "essential" Realtors are Negotiators, Facilitators, should also be Marketing Specialists for the niche product sellers look to sell.

Do you believe Marketing / Advertising firms are "non-essential" as well? they stand between someone buying and selling something in that the product will not be marketed to the audience looking to purchase it without them, that can also be said for the media, the television networks, newspapers, radio, etc. By the way as a home seller with an inventory of only one (1) item in stock do you have the budget to advertise and market the way a real estate firm does? and would you?

As a career realtor I never discourage FSBO's quite the opposite, I even give some advice to them and go so far to offer how to classes to them in the hopes if they should choose to turn to a Realtor in the future they would pick me. We are not all slimy stereotypical used snake oil salespeople like you seem to believe. We have a place in the market and for more than 100 years been organized in the form of an association. The National Association of Realtors or NAR.

To: Steve Dancer
Oh boy...! First don't put words in my mouth! Where did I say anyone was "Dead Wrong"?

As a Realtor, I'll assume fairly new because as your profile says "Realtor / Investor" and short sale expert, yet you seem to get angry at the list of questions I advised Rick to ask anyone claiming to be a short sale "Expert" hmmm...

Of course YOUR first answer is always going to be "Sell...Sell...Sell..." I like to analyze each situation on a case by case basis, that's just good business practice. You choose to go the other way on that making broad sweeping decisions that a Short Sale is Always the best way to go, I think that is just bad advice but what do I know.

As a Realtor you should probably know better, ask your broker about giving advice like this and he or she will probably slap your hand. You need to be more careful when giving out advice, especially without disclosures of any kind. You have a liability on your hands when you "always" advise you've gotta sell without doing any work and examining each individual situation on a case by case basis, it's careless and will always certainly guaranty that if anyway falls behind on their payments their best option is to forget it because they will lose the house anyway. Is that what you are saying? That is just "Fear Mongering" and much like predatory lending is the equivalent from the real estate agents standpoint.

In the persons case who asked this question, Rick didn't say how much his house is worth nor how much he purchased it for yet you are advising him what to do without any detailed knowledge or insight to his particular situation. "Sounds careless to me!"

I suppose there may be "some" merit to why "J" thinks real estate is not local and Realtors are a useless component of the real estate transaction. He said that just a few responses before your comment and your really not helping me out here buddy! ;-P - Fri Nov 21 2008, 11:24

That's an Excellent point Don, If you have no choice but to sell or just choose to go that route make sure your agent has experience doing short sales. Asking a few of these questions may weed out the fluff.

Have you ever taken any short sale classes? When?
Explain the process to me now in detail?
How many have they completed successfully while representing the seller?
How many short sale listings do they have now?
What is their list to sell ratio?
What is the market absorbtion rate in your area? (May give an idea how much competition is currently out there and how long it may take to sell your home. Statistically speaking that is. This needs research they will not be able to answer immediately, maybe can give a guestimate though)
Is the agent a FULL TIME Realtor, you definately don't want a part timer handling this type of sale.
Do they have any licensed assistants working with them to handle the volume of of short sales if they say they are doing a lot?


Just a few questions off the top of my head to ask any perspective short sale agent before chosing them as your representative.

Steve, lenders don't charge to do loan modifications, at least up front. Steves other points are valid and another thing to keep in mind is loan modifications are usually only temporary. Meaning they will only buy you a little more time. Loan restructuring however is another animal.

Contact http://www.hopenow.com the purpose of this organization is to help, they are a non profit, so don't be shy or embarassed to call them. - Thu Nov 20 2008, 21:12

Geeze "J" you sound a bit uppity with that answer.

What's your problem? Made a few bad decisions yourself that you'd like not to take ANY responsibility for?

In my neck of the woods, someone with that tone would be called a nasty name but we're all above that here.
I can give you full access to the MLS and you'd still not be able to do half of what I can, it's not just about data but also how you use it and the knowledge possessed by a professional to implement it. Not to mention the liability coverage we carry for errors and omissions which you undoubtedly won’t spring for selling by owner I'm sure of. On another note, when Rick purchased the home how exactly would going FSBO have helped him? That’s just a ridiculous comment.

"Think" before you speak in such a nasty tone, it's unbecoming and doesn't reflect well on you.

Real Estate "is" local, economic factors can have an effect on local real estate but if you think about it, different areas have been affected at different degrees wouldn't you agree?

If that ain't local, what would "YOU" call it?

The Internet will never carry the "Full" MLS in such a way that all the data is available to you, you'll still need to call a realtor to obtain the juicy details. Data is a valuable commodity and what you see on the Internet isn't all the listings out there, the Broker of Record for each company must decide "if" they choose to disseminate the data in such a way to allow others to publish it as they will and in turn use that data to attract people like you who will create what is called traffic and thus create a wanting from paid advertisers to sell advertising on the sites much like this one. Only some of the money generated to support this site also comes from "REALTORS" that which to advertise here as well.

Besides you are SO WAY OFF TRACK here, the question asked was about a Loan and modification of it, NOT finding mls property data on the Internet!!!! Wise up ya silly goose and stop bein' so darn angry.

************************
RICK CULBERTSON:
************************
Only work with the bank to do the modification no 3rd parties.
Find out it it's even worth it to do a loan mod, what is you home really worth in this market and how much do you owe on it? Are those two figures way off base? Find out if the bank will not only do a loan mod but restructure you loan. Many banks will restructure the loan in such a way that they actually lower the amount that is owed on the property. Kind of like a short sale where they will forgive some of the debt like they would with a short sale anyway. That is perhaps another option that may make getting caught up worth it for you. Get everything in writing if they agree to do that, if you're not talking to the right people they may just be debt collectors looking to get what they can out of you, I get those folks calling me from the banks sometimes when I'm managing a short sale.

WHO have you been speaking to at the bank?
Ask to speak with someone in the loss mitigation department or the short sale department so that they can assign a negotiator to your case. There are many options, in the end if the bank is not helpful, contact a realtor to try and do a short sale and if you still can't sell it for many possible reasons. Offer up a deed in lieu of foreclosure then use that $4K to rent.

By the way if your mortgage is $1800 a month and you are 2 months behind and you have the $4K, why aren't you repaying your mortgage obligations? Has something happened in your life causing a hardship which is preventing you from being able to continue making the payments?

Take my advice and I think someone else here mentioned it, contact http://www.hopenow.com they have assistance available from professionals, even attorneys on staff to help answer any questions you may have and might be able to do a better job speaking with your mortgage company requesting that loan mod.

Good Luck and God Bless... - Thu Nov 20 2008, 20:33

Been a while since I wrote this.

Bumpy... one week its HOT!!! the next its slow as hell, (perfect time to build the pipeline.)
I don't get it but at least during the slow weeks I've been getting a lot of commercial real estate business.

My office covers North Central Jersey with agents working in Bergen County down to norther Ocean County and we can see it varies, the shore homes seem to be moving a lot slower than Union / Middlesex counties, futher north its hit and miss depending if its an investor buying a rehab or a regular sale.

There is still plenty of work to be had for agents, I wish there were more of me to go around! My office needs more FULL TIME AGENTS, HINT...Hint...

Anyone hurting for work should give me a call, I'll put ya to work and in the process teach you to build your own book of business.

LATER.... - Wed Nov 19 2008, 11:11

This covers NJ as a whole, sure there will be pocketed areas like south & north west NJ which more resembles the states markets which they neighbor.

Actually this article shouls also be on the NJAR.com site, that appears to be where the newspaper contact got it from.

I have many friends in other real estate offices and always talk shop with them, it's confirmed weeks ago that the offices have been picking up a lot more business (buyers) lately.

Note: New trend short sale wanna be investors and investor groups, be careful some of these guys are bottom feeders, remember to always look out for the best interest of your clients. These guys contacted me as a realtor asking to buy all of our short sale listing dogs which have been sitting under the condition they are given limited power of attorney to negotiate with the bank and that we take the listing OFF the market!!!! BE CAREFUL PEOPLE.... Following their conditions blindly can bring major consequences. He told me he has many other agents in the area he is working with him so I say use your common sense and review with your broker. This don't smell too Kosher!

http://www.RealRep.com - Wed May 14 2008, 16:05

They are transaction brokers and don't represent anyone in most states. There is no agent to speak to, you can only call the main number in another state Pennsylvania for housepad and then select what your calling for then type in the mls number and then the automated system will either tell you the owners number or will transfer your call to them depending on which feature they paid for, yeah! that's considered a feature.

They sell the seller signs, directional’s, forms and contracts all at additional fees to. This is nickel and diming the home owners, they must do all their own marketing, advertising, pricing, negotiating and so on. For real estate buyer agents this usually results in having to do the work of the absent agent because home owners usually don't know what they are doing or need to do so the buyer’s agent must also become a real estate tutor!

I think it is inconvenient so far, we're trying to place an offer on the house and setting up a showing was a pain in the neck, getting the sellers disclosure was to, tomorrow we'll be making the offer and I can already see how much more work I'll have to do because the listing agent is M.I.A.

Most other houses here are offering 3% + this one is at 2.5% grrr...

Anyway, I'll try and get the house for my clients but I'm going to make this perfectly clear to them and the seller, I will NOT be doing work on their behalf, they must contact their agent for that or their attorney, pester them.

Just reading through these posts it seems like discount broker heaven.

I see Jennifer didn't like marks comment no matter how true it is.
Don't worry Jen, if your plan is that good and stable his remark shouldn't be so offensive to you now should it? Hmmm...

Work 10 times as hard for 1/10th the pay, good business model if targeting the FSBO market which would probably not list with a realtor otherwise until they at least tried on their own for a while. I guess the incentive for the discounter is all the nickel and dimes; certainly dealing in a tremendous volume has to eat your time resources and advertising dollars, "IF" you are advertising these properties in any print media at all or any of the premium websites which must be paid for. Note: Realtor.com is not a premium site and they do have premium listing features if you "pay" for them. Discounters just can't compete because they don't have the budget to market the properties the same way.

Guess the agent makes most of their money as a reseller of yard signs, directionals, lockboxes, brochure boxes, etc. at more than twice their normal prices. Maybe I'll put up a site offering these items at wholesale prices and market them on all the fsbo sites and places fsbo's shop. The best part is if at some point I want to make any money I can raise the shipping & handling fees! lol...

What a brutal cycle, you DO get what you pay for unless you want to keep looking over your back to make sure someone's not sticking it to ya! lol... Oh, the webbs we weave! - Thu Oct 30 2008, 21:16

Offers and sales made at open houses are extremely rare, it does happen from time to time but it is rare.

Open Houses are a great exposure tool that should be used but I would not raise client’s hopes too high that the open house is going to be their best chance to sell the house. If you really think that is the case as an agent, you should be performing open houses every day and not just Sundays!

Just being honest, they usually just tend to be more of a tool for agents to get more buyers.

Also Open Houses in the evenings during the week is not a bad idea for agents to get more exposure when people are coming home from work as opposed to on Sundays when they are resting in bed and just targeting the church goers and flea market junkies that can be usually found out at those times. - Thu Oct 23 2008, 09:33

Absolutely, at my brokerage we put our promises in writing without even asking. We ask you, would you like open houses? Keep in mind they wont be done every weekend. You know open houses usually will not sell your home they are typically a tool for agents to get more buyer clients however I would not rule out using them. Your agent should be doing everything within her abilities to try and get your home sold even if she is not the one holding the open house she should arrange for another agent at her office to hold it.

Complain to the agency office manager or broker of record.

Good Luck

--
Victor Kaminski
Broker of Record
Marivic GMAC Real Estate
2056A Lincoln Hwy. (Rt.27)
Edison, NJ 08817-3330
Office: 732-650-9911 Ext.302
Cellular: 908-884-5757
Toll Free: 1-866-745-GMAC(4622) Ext.302 - Sat Aug 2 2008, 17:13

This is going out to Morris County NJ aka Susan Zanzonico why the alias, don't want anyone to know where the comments are coming from? Regarding June 1st comment, Guess I've been too busy to blog, wow has time passes by fast...

No Suan I'm not angry as you put it because I'm afraid of losing a listing. Why would I be? there are many listings out there not selling are you afraid of losing one? Fear has no place in this line of work, if your fearful the next step is despiration and that ain't good!

This is a business and I try and treat it as such. I do my job well by not pulling numbers out of thin air like you my dear so please keep your spiteful comments to yourself.

The listing which you referred to was a corporate relocation, first it was with your company weichert which grossly over priced it which made my job extremely difficult of having to deal with the relo company afterword trying to get the price adjusted to what it should be and needing to justify this ever step of the way with time consuming reports and statistics but that is neither here nor there now.

You try to sound well informed but as with your previous comment which I replied to and which you are lashing out over, your research was flawed and still is. You see the property "Did sell" 4 years ago so get your facts straight, also you commented that it's not a typical Summit home but then if you read my entire posting you would see that I never implied that either. Diarrhea of the mouth can be ugly and make you look silly so get your facts straight before trying to make someone else look foolish. By the way are you still sticking to your guns that the price of Summit homes are still rising at 2% or are you even still in the biz?

I love my career, yes career because I've chosen to do this full time and constantly continue my education in the field and not just taking how to become a top producer or how to prospect for clients classes like many agents do! I like this career and I have fun with it, I'm serious about my clients and products but don't take myself or the industry seriously, especially when there are WAY too many bafoons out there making a mockery out of the real estate profession. The problem with that is the general public is quick to pick up and join in on that mockery without fully understanding it.

Back to the topic, The property is not in the best location because of the busy street and two doors down from the light but that is not why it didn't sell when listed with me, that is just an obstacle which can be overcome if the house was in a little better shape or priced at the amount I suggested.

By the way, since then it has been listed with another agency because that is what relo companies do, if it doesn't sell they'll bounce from agency to agency at the request of the client aka corporate.

I always told them it would sell at $340K to $345K and guess what? After being listed with the new agency for two months with the same results they finally lowered the price to $339,000 and is now under contract.

I know what I'm doing and know what I'm talking about. I pride myself on being excellent at pricing homes properly; it's just a matter of if the seller wants to go along with the suggested price model. I've done thousands of BPO's for banks and lenders in the past and not inflated ones like most agents do. Pricing is a specialty of mine, all part of my supreme marketing package!

Luis & Marc: Reading your comments back and forth, just so you know this is a single family house and not a foreclosure and a sub $400K property in summit. Because it is priced low doesn't always mean it is a foreclosure or pre-foreclosure property, the same goes for properties bearing the comment; Subject to 3rd party approval or bank approval.

My opinion, in a market like this with so many distressed properties on the market you must factor in the selling prices of the distressed properties when doing your pricing model. Just be careful not to follow it too closely, many of these homes are selling for less than what they should because banks are just looking to cut their losses instead of dragging them out over time and costly foreclosure & eviction proceedings plus the cost of damages any current tenant may be doing. It is a tough market to price in and cannot always be done strictly by the numbers, some common sense needs to factor into the pricing as well. - Mon Oct 20 2008, 08:49

To address "Morris County" comments in a non confrontational way...

I do plenty of work in Summit, Chatham, Basking Ridge, Bridgewater, Bernards, Bernardsville, Scotch Plains, New Providence, Millburn, Maplewood, Springfield, Berkeley Heights and in other areas of Essex, Morris, Somerset, Union and Middlesex counties. Extremely familiar with the market...

How can you make a broad sweeping statement that all homes are up 2% in Summit?
Show me that data I'm missing it somehow! My Glenside Ave listing disproves that on its own and I know off the top of my head about 10 others in the Hospital area of Summit which have sold for less than the asking and less for what they could have got just a few years ago, so tell me how that is UP 2%???

I'm not negative on the market at all but you've got to be realistic and not just throw out numbers from thin air.

28 Glenside Ave., it's not a distressed property either! It is corporate owned due corporate relocation not a foreclosure or short sale. Tell me how many homes in summit are priced at or below $359,000 and offer 3% sellers concession toward closing cost, have all appliances included, new central a/c, new hot water heater, all new electric, well maintained gas furnace, new'er roof, most of the windows are new. The only problem with the house is busy road and could spackle and paint inside. NOT DISTRESSED!!!

This house was just lowered to this price, previously it started at $382,500 and has been relisted several times, has not sold and been on the market for about 1 1/2 years before me it was listed with Weichert in summit. Still not seeing the 2% increase? ;-) "Not Being Confrontational"

I've got the cheapest single family home on the market in Summit PERIOD that includes Townhouses in the comps as well !!! Plus offering to pay closing costs, Go Figure!

Worst case scenario it's a partial handy man special without needing loads of work, just cosmetics.
Yet you say all of Summit is UP so I guess therefore it must be up! Sorry, my mistake...

--
Victor Kaminski
Owner / Broker Manager
Marivic GMAC Real Estate
2056A Lincoln Hwy. (Rt.27)
Edison, NJ 08817-3330
Office: 732-650-9911 Ext.302
Cellular: 908-884-5757
Toll Free: 1-866-745-GMAC(4622) Ext.302
http://www.MarivicRealty.com
http://www.realrep.com - Sun Jun 1 2008, 14:02

Summit is one of those funny places that depends entirely on the property and the section and perhaps at times the STREET which it is on. Ask any agent with experience in the Summit market and they'll tell you the same.

I have a listing in summit right now which the asking price has dropped almost $50,000 and still has not sold but is now starting to get a lot more activity since the latest price reduction and incentive of offering buyers 3% toward closing costs.

This is exactly why I don't like to give wide sweeping statistics like the media and stock brokers analizing the real estate market do, it can be bad and misleading for your particular situation. I hate to sound flipped sayin it depends, but "It Depends!"

All depends on the home Xavier, why are you looking to buy or sell?

--
Victor Kaminski
Owner / Broker Manager
Marivic GMAC Real Estate
2056A Lincoln Hwy. (Rt.27)
Edison, NJ 08817-3330
Office: 732-650-9911 Ext.302
Cellular: 908-884-5757
Toll Free: 1-866-745-GMAC(4622) Ext.302
http://www.realrep.com
http://www.MarivicRealty.com - Sat May 31 2008, 19:48