Short-Sale Pre-Foreclosure Investing: How to Buy No-Equity Properties Directly from the Bank -- at Huge Discounts »

Dwan Bent-Twyford, "The Queen of Short Sales," is the country's leading authority on buying pre-foreclosure properties directly from lenders. She also leads popular boot camps for real estate investors.

Sharon Restrepo is known as "Short Sale Sharon" and specializes in buying foreclosure and distressed properties. She is the coauthor of numerous real estate home study courses, offers training workshops, and is cofounder of several real estate companies.

Learn all about short-sales, the hottest topic in today’s real estate investing market, with Short-Sale Pre-Foreclosure Investing: How to Buy "No-Equity" Properties Directly from the Bank — at Huge Discounts. Understand how to buy properties at big discounts, creating windfall profits. Using this guide, you can access information about a topic that 90% of real estate agents and investors know nothing about. Discover how to make huge profits from the banks’ misfortune, how to help homeowners in foreclosure while helping yourself, and how to stay on the cutting edge of the down market.

Downloadable Forms     ix
Acknowledgments     xi
Introduction     xiii
Get Motivated, Set Goals, Get Started     1
A Short-Sale Case Study-with a {dollar}200,000 Profit     2
Getting Motivated     6
Setting Goals     7
Accomplishing Your Goals     9
This Is a Business, Not a Hobby     10
Dealing with Naysayers     10
Personal Appearance     12
Setting Up Your Office     13
Structuring Your Business     14
Ready to Do Business     16
What Is a Short-Sale? An Executive Summary of How to Negotiate with the Bank and the Homeowner     19
Why Do I Need to Do a Short-Sale?     20
Why Do Banks Accept Short-Sales?     21
How Much Do You Offer the Bank?     23
Successful Short-Sales Start with the Homeowner     33
Financial Agreement with the Homeowners     33
How Much Should You Pay the Homeowner to Move?     35
Setting the Move-Out Date     36
Expert Strategies for Finding Distressed Properties and Foreclosures     39
Buying Bank-Owned Properties for Pennies on the Dollar     39
Newspaper Ads     43
"I BuyHouses for Cash" Street Signs     44
Networking     44
Postcards     45
Magnetic Vehicle Signs     45
Bail Bondsmen     46
Pawnshops     46
More Deal-Finding Favorites     49
How to Approach the Homeowners and Create a Win-Win Solution     51
Understanding Why Homeowners Want to Work with You     52
Building Courage to Knock on Doors     53
Friendly Negotiations with the Homeowners-What to Say and What You Need from Them     54
Establishing Rapport over the Phone     57
Knock on Doors Like a Pro     57
Helping Homeowners Understand Their Options     59
Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure     64
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy     65
Final Thoughts     65
Preparing Your First Offer     69
Authorization to Release Information     75
Going to Contract     79
Hardship Letter     88
Pictures     98
Investor Cover Letter     99
Comps That Justify Your Offer     101
Net Sheet     105
Estimated List and Cost of Repairs     107
How to Approach the Bank     113
How to Get the Bank Interested in Talking to You     114
What the Bank Wants from an Investor     114
How to Get Through to a Stonewalling Lender     115
Presenting Your Short-Sale Offer to the Bank     115
The Asset Manager's Role     119
Working with the Portfolio Representative Directly     121
Getting Your Short-Sale Assigned to a Loss Mitigation Rep     121
Additional Information the Bank May Require     122
My Offer Is Submitted-Now What?     127
Negotiating with a Second or Third Mortgage Holder     131
Your Conversation with the Second Lender     136
Variations on a Theme     139
Key Elements of the Legal Process You Must Understand     145
Understanding Ownership versus Debt     146
Foreclosure Process     149
Types of Liens     152
Types of Mortgages and Loans     155
When the Bank Says Yes     159
How Do I Buy More Time?     162
How Does the Homeowner Buy More Time?     163
Three Profit-Making Exit Strategies: Wholesaling, Rehabbing, and Renting     169
The Wholesale Path     170
The Rehab Path     173
Selling the Home     180
The Rental Path      180
Setting the Closing Date and Making Sure the Closing Goes Smoothly     183
A Successful Closing     185
What If My Homeowners Change Their Minds?     186
What If My Buyers Change Their Minds?     189
Closing with the Assignment of Contract     191
Double or Simultaneous Closings     196
Are Double Closings Illegal?     198
First-Year Expectations     201
How You Can Become Rich without Going to College     204
What We Did to Get Here     205
What You Can Expect in Your First Year     207
Thinking Like a Millionaire     208
Index     209