Real estate > Real Estate Investing - - The Key To Successful Closings

Real Estate Investing - - The Key To Successful Closings

by: Lou Castillo

If everyone always did everything they said they?d do, we?d all be a lot richer. Unfortunately, tasks are overlooked, and the ball is often dropped. If you want to have successful closings, you must have strong ?follow-up? skills to catch problems early in the process. Follow-up on everyone and everything.

We can?t begin to tell you the number of closings that almost fell apart, or would have fallen apart had we not kept a watchful eye on the entire process to make sure that everything was completed when it needed to be. Here?s a typical scenario: you?re wholesaling a house and you have just 30 days to get it closed before the contract with the Seller expires. You find a buyer who can get a loan and close before the expiration. Then a few days before closing you find out that the loan isn?t ready and closing must be delayed two weeks, but the Seller already has another Buyer ready to pay more than your price, so they refuse to extend your contract. You just lost the deal.

So what is follow-up? We used to think it meant staying in touch with the buyer to make sure that everything was completed for the loan. Then we learned that the buyer is often a newbie and clueless of what needs to be done. Mortgage brokers just usually respond ?Everything looks great? until they can?t close the loan. So the real trick to following-up is to speak to the final decision maker for each step. This works whether you?re selling a retail house or a wholesale house, or even if you are the buyer/borrower. The goal is to close without delays.

Assuming that you have already received a pre-qualification letter from the lender, and ensured that the lender will loan on the deal (i.e. no issues with title seasoning, assignment fees, inhabitability of the property), the first step is to follow-up with the broker/lender that all of the application paperwork was submitted, and have they forwarded it to the lender? If not, what is still required? Determine if the lender requires a termite letter, appraisal, and a survey (most lenders do). If so, have they all been ordered? When is each to be completed? Keep following-up until you verify that each has been delivered. You also want to verify that the appraisal was sufficient for the loan.

If we don?t already own the house, we order a title report as soon as we go under contract with the Seller to discover any defects early in the process, and begin resolving them. Closing attorneys usually do not order the title report until just before closing to receive as current information as possible. But if they find problems, it could delay your closing. It is well worth the $125 to run title ahead of time, and eliminate delays.

Once the broker has forwarded the paperwork to the lender, the next step is to verify the loan has gone to underwriting. If not, what is the delay? If so, was the loan approved? Do any conditions need to be met? What are they and who is handling them? Make sure that once the conditions are met, the loan is returned to underwriting and approved.

Verify that the closing has been scheduled with the attorney, and that they have cleared title. Find out if and when the loan package will be forwarded to the attorney. Then remind all of the players of the date and time of closing, to bring a picture ID to closing, and to bring any funds required in a certified check.

This seems like a lot of work that should be handled by other people, but the reality is that often times something is overlooked. Through your diligent follow-up efforts, problems will be detected early and corrected, allowing your closing to occur flawlessly and on schedule.

Best of success & abundance,

Lou Castillo

About The Author

Lou Castillo

FREE! Real Estate Investing Secrets To Earning $100,000 Your 1st Year! -- 11 Overlooked Real Estate Statregies That Will Turn Your Investing Business upside Down And On The Fast Track TO Success...Guranteed! Plus A Bonus Track With A Secret So Successful It Can Double Your Investing Income Overnight!

http://www.InvestorSuccessTactics.com

josh@joeandlou.com

Real Estate Website Scams

Real Estate Website Scams

by: Bob Schwartz

Many still say the Internet is like the Wild West. When it comes to the proliferation of scams, this is certainly true! As webmaster for over two dozen legal, real estate, and other business oriented websites, we receive a lot of email and phone solicitations. Often our clients ask our opinion on an Internet service or software product. We have researched and found the majority of offers directed toward real estate firms are what I call the half-truth variety.

It is interesting that these offers directed at small to mid-size firms are like live Internet viruses, they seem to mutate over time. The core remains, but, the exterior packaging (a.k.a. sales pitch) appears totally different.

One of the most enduring of such Internet scams is the offer to list your real estate site in an Internet real estate directory at what appears to be a huge savings over a legitimate real estate directory. The...

Real Estate Website Scams

Real estate > Real Estate Website Scams

Real Estate Website Scams

Real Estate Website Scams

by: Bob Schwartz

Real Estate Website Scams

Real estate > Real Estate Website Scams

For Sale By Owner: Priming the Real Estate Pump

For Sale By Owner: Priming the Real Estate Pump

by: Chris Robertson

Perhaps you've decided to relocate. Or maybe you've outgrown your home and need to find homes for sale that will accommodate your growing family. Or perhaps your children are grown, you've made the decision to downsize, and are in the market for real estate that will better suit your needs. Or maybe you've decided to take the leap, buy some land, and build the home of your dreams. Whatever the reason, you need to sell the home you currently own, and you've decided to bypass real estate agents and go the "for sale by owner" route.

Before taking the plunge and listing your home, there are a number of steps you should take in order to increase your home's market price and save yourself future hassles.

Just as you would dress appropriately to make a good first impression to those you meet, you want your home to make a good first impression on potential buyers. This means...

For Sale By Owner: Priming the Real Estate Pump

Real estate > For Sale By Owner: Priming the Real Estate Pump

Are You WASTING Valuable Web Real Estate?

by: Jason Tarasi

I sat at the lunch table, turning every shade of red the mind could conjure up. I had to do something, and do it fast.

My aunt was chaperoning my eighth grade class on a field trip to the local amusement park. Then she did it...

As we finished eating our lunch, my aunt wrapped up a half eaten hamburger in a napkin, and promptly stashed it in her purse.

As everyone at the table looked at me and started to laugh, I instinctively kicked out my friend's chair. As he fell to the ground, milk shot out of his nose, inciting a roar of laughter. I had saved my aunt from any further ridicule amongst my peers, for this day at least.

I loved my aunt, but she refused to waste anything, and this sometimes caused me a great deal of embarrassment.

Once I started marketing online, I realized my aunt was on to something. In order to succeed as an online marketer, you can't afford...

Are You WASTING Valuable Web Real Estate?

Real estate > Are You WASTING Valuable Web Real Estate?

Home Style Words in Real Estate Ads ? More Explanations

by: Raynor James

Whether you?re buying or selling, reading real estate ads can be confusing. Here are explanations of more style terms used in real estate ads.

?Split Foyer? style

A home entered by a foyer with a half flight of stairs up to the upper level (where the living spaces and one or more bedrooms are usually located) and a half flight of stairs to the lower level (typically housing the family room and additional bedrooms).

?Tri-Level? style

A home with three levels. It is typically entered on the middle level and has half flights of stairs to the highest and lowest levels. The living room, dining room, and kitchen are usually on the middle level. The bedrooms are usually on the highest level. The lowest level may be unfinished or have family room, laundry, and perhaps a garage located there.

?Contemporary? style

These vary greatly, but none looks as...

Home Style Words in Real Estate Ads ? More Explanations

Real estate > Home Style Words in Real Estate Ads ? More Explanations

Sell Your Real Estate Notes

Sell Your Real Estate Notes

by: Steve Gillman

People sell real estate notes to raise cash quickly. A real estate note is just the loan document created when you financed the sale of your house or investment property. It could be a mortgage note, or a land-contract or contract-for-sale. The point is that the buyer is making payments to you, and you want to cash in.

You can sell the entire contract, or just a certain number of payments if you want. The buyer of your property will have the same terms and payments. He'll just be making those payments to somebody else.

Selling real estate notes can be an intimidating process. You know you won't get the full face value for your note, but will there be other fees you have to pay too? How do you know if the buyer is reputable? What is a normal discount on a note? Here are some guidelines to follow:

1. No upfront fees. If they ask, go someplace else. You should be able to find many note buyers...

Sell Your Real Estate Notes

Real estate > Sell Your Real Estate Notes

Dolls without Borders

by: Darwin C Vickers

Although fashion dolls have possibly been around since ancient times there?s no doubt that the introduction of the Barbie Doll at the American Toy Fair in New York back in 1959 set doll collecting on a new course. At first, the slender blond plastic fashion conscious young lady was meant for children to dress and undress and occasionally change hairstyles. However, when the collectors started to take an interest in Barbie...

Real estate Real Estate Investing - - The Key To Successful Closings photo printer Dolls without Borders

Real estate > Dolls without Borders

Teens And Cell Phones

by: Declan Tobin

Let the battle begin, should teens have cell phones? Well you will be pleased to know that over 94% of parents agree that cellular phones are good for teens and that?s according to a survey conducted by AT&T with parents and teens in LA and New York. Most teens have their very first cell phones by the age of 15 and in many cases 13. Like with all mod cons teenagers want them but they should be used in a practical manner...

Real estate Real Estate Investing - - The Key To Successful Closings photo printer Teens And Cell Phones

Real estate > Teens And Cell Phones

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