Mary Ellen Holleran's (maryellenholleran) Blog

I am running several short sales right now, three offers on as many properties many this weekend. One of the agents has sent me a pretty nasty email to let me know that I should tell the bank that his client is not going to wait too long for an answer. What???? He said he doesn't see anywhere tha...

I am still amazed that, in this real estate market, a real estate agent does not know the basic difference between a short sale and a foreclosure. When I list a short sale I try to educate the buyers agent when they bring an offer-the best I can. I stand by my belief that "you have no business re...

I get calls from homeowners regularly asking questions about whether they may qualify for a short sale. Generally, they are nervous and embarrassed that they have gotten to the point of being forced to decide if they should foreclose or short sell. I explain that there are people at every income ...

At the end of the short sale process and before the approval letter is signed there is the discussion of how much the deficiency, if any, will be. The lender has all of the sellers financials, bank statements, credit card statements etc. and can see exactly where and how money is being spent. Sel...

Definition: "A transaction in which the buyers and sellers of a product act independently and have no relationship to each other. The concept of an arm's length transaction is to ensure that both parties in the deal are acting in their own self interest and are not subject to any pressure or dure...

I have never had to walk from a transaction because I feel that the client is not honest and trust worthy. I was running a short sale in North Raleigh and the seller contacted me with an investor client who wants to buy the home and rent back. Ok, that's fine so tell me about him. I get the buyer...

This is an important story that addresses short sale fraud. There are locally represented national investment companies trying daily to purchase short sale properties. It's a different scam than the one in this article but I expect they will come dressed in many different ways. Watch out! http://...

It the proverbial rock and hard place. You are doing the best you can for your clients but the agent on the other side of the transaction is vertually absent. You are having to contact the landlord yourself to get required documents, negotiate deposits or whatever it takes to get things done. Cal...

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I have the lenders explain, in writing, various sections of the approval letter to the sellers in a short sale. These letter spell out the terms of the agreement, payoffs, and possible future payments. Though I have a good knowledge of the language I think it best left to the lender. I think it a...