Land Trusts Revisited For Short Sales March-13-2009

It has been a few weeks since my last post regarding Land Trusts VS the Option Contract.  I have discussed the Land Trusts with a few attorney friends of mine, some investors and some colleagues over the past few weeks and am still very unclear.  From what I can surmise Land Trusts are not being used for short sales as widely as previously thought.  We all know the land trust works for several types of investing including the newest introduction by Jeff Adams and buying REO's at auction.  The question was never about whether land trusts actually work. I have not questioned the validity of the land trust nor the use of them.  What I have questioned is the willingness of the banks and the legalities of using them during a short sale specifically.  I have yet to speak with anyone using them for short sales successfully, currently and frequently enough to show me that they will hold up against scrutiny with the amount of files we currently service.  I would love and am very open to someone proving me wrong.  What I know is that we have entirely too many files on a monthly basis to "test" how they work.  We are successfully and frequently using the Option Contract for ours and they work wonderfully!  That still raises the issue of seasoning with FHA and some conventional lenders.  The only way around this issue is to buy and actually hold the property for a period of time to satisfy the specific seasoning requirements of the buyer's lender.  With the prices of funding for short term being so high I prefer to just avoid FHA financing altogether.  What I have also noticed is the willingness and acceptance of the Option Contract with several title companies.  Flagship Title, Old School Title and now Fidelity National are all comfortable closing with the Option Contract provided the process is carried through properly.  I was a little shocked when I heard that Fidelity trained nationwide on the Option but pleased none the less to know that it is catching on.  There certainly are other title companies around that have closed with the option but our company works on a national level and prefer to keep things uniform.  The afore mentioned title companies offer title services nationwide.  At any rate, I am still open to hear your success stories with land trusts and short sales specifically.  Please feel free to email me at donna@americanlms.com or visit our main site and use the contact us form.  I would prefer if you comment here on the blog so everyone can benefit from the clarity but if you feel the need to privately speak with us please use the methods mentioned above.

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Welcome To American Loss Mitigation Services We are dedicated to helping you help your clients.  The market has done many things that few of us expected and a few things many expected.  It is important to stay on top of current changes and shifts that come to us.  When we first began working on the short sale side of business years ago this would not have been our forecast for things to come.  However, here we are.  Because of the recent developments we have opened up our doors to teams nationwide in hopes to teach, nurture and assist them in continuing to do more than "just survive" during times like these.  We look at things differently then most.  We are client oriented and believe that if you build your business around your clients you can never go wrong.  Short Sales and Short Sale trainings have become so popular these days it is difficult to discern which path or "guru" to go with.  We, at American Loss Mitigation Services, take the guess work out of it.  Our staff and owners have received top of the line training from years ago to current.  They pride themselves on changing with the tides and keeping up with current trends and procedures.  But one thing we don't do that you may find common place with other companies or servicers - We don't latch on to what others have taught for years and try to reteach that information and format in a market that just doesn't support that "way" anymore. Things have changed drastically.  We are in a new market and this market requires innovation, change and the ability to adapt.  We are built on change and creativity unlike the rest. For professionals in real estate, mortgages or even a seasoned real estate investor, we work for you.  We do have very strict approval criteria for our teams and hold our teams to the HIGHEST of ethics and practices.  We encourage community development programs and client rehabilitation services to not only strengthen our presence in our communities but to strengthen our clients as well. If you would like to learn more about the services, training and products we provide our teams please feel free to contact us by using the contact form.  Someone will return your information request within 24 hours.