With the current economy, real estate owners are finding themselves in sticky situations when it comes to keeping up with their mortgages. If the possibility of foreclosure is in your future, you might want to determine whether you’re a candidate for a short sale.
 
A short sale is when the owner and the bank agree to sell the home for a loss. Short sales are more beneficial to the homeowner’s financial future because it tends to damage their credit score by reducing it around 100 points instead of the 300 points a foreclosure might inflict. If you are starting negotiations with your bank to try and list your home as a short sale, consider the following three qualifications.

 1.Foreclosure has NOT already taken place. A short sale can still happen during the foreclosure process if you’re still in pre-foreclosure and you have only received notices from your bank. However, if your home is already in foreclosure and is up for auction, it is too late.
 

2.You have NOT filed for bankruptcy. If you have, then you are ineligible for a short sale. Banks cannot pursue collection of debt if you’ve filed for bankruptcy — so you can’t work with them on selling your home.
 

3.You owe more than your home is worth. The best way to determine whether your home would qualify for a short sale is to ask a [city] real estate agent to estimate your home’s current value and compare it to how much you still owe. If you owe more than it’s worth, then you may qualify for a short sale.
 
Don’t wait until it’s too late! If you’re having trouble paying the mortgage on your house and meet the three qualifications above, it might be time to talk to your bank.

The Anxiety app. What is it about the moment that you begin to feel this way? Just yesterday I was in a court room not as a player but a pawn. I have been called by a bank I work with to state that an ex-homeowner is currently occupying a property that has been foreclosed on. That is all. And yet I get a sudden feeling of fear and panic as if I am on trial for my life. The process of checking in to the court clerk and walking thought the metal detector is unnerving. Having to strip down to all of my non metals and walk through the X-ray machine. I actually asked my self if I am carrying a weapon? I never carry a weapon. My palms begin to get clammy in the silence of the room filled with attorneys. I enjoy watching them on tv and really enjoy their strength and courage during such intense pressure. Then what the hell is the matter with me that I cannot handle being a witness...if I am even that? Why does the pressure of the unknown bother me? Perhaps the answer to my questions lies in question. Let me re-word that. The unknown pressure does bother me. Really? I ask another question, and another. Is my life or the lives of my loved ones at risk of harm? No. Is my livelihood threatened with no option to ever "work in this town again?" No. So I guess there is nothing to fear right? What if I was to drop dead of a heart attack or blow a fuse and stroke out? Totally possible. Then what can I do about that? Nothing. So then what.....nothing. The people I know will live on and I will adapt or die. The fear of death or bodily damage. That is all I fear. Emotional damage is simply a state of mind. Like being drunk. It will pass. Over course of my life I have suffered three episodes of a panic attacks. And countless anxiety attacks. The difference is that in a panic attack you are paralyzed in fear of nothing other than fear itself, a total meltdown of mind. With anxiety it is a mild form of a panic attack and a fear of a full blown "meltdown." Both are worrisome and both are real symptoms of a false sense of security or a breach of your security.  Those around you will not see any signs. It is not like a cold or a bruise. It all happens in the mind. It is all a mindset. My mother and father were with me in my teen years when these emotions where controlling my life. They took me from therapist to therapist looking for a solution. There was never a solution only a fading of the feeling and it was soon forgotten. I remember that he would ask me the questions I just asked about what the real threat was. I was unable to see through the fog of fear and only time lifted the cloud. The only way I can describe this feeling is like taking the wrong medicine. Perhaps the fear of an allergic reaction, or maybe the fear of cancer. The fear of the moment the doctor calls you and says please come in for your test results. Although you insist on getting it over the phone they refuse to speak it. The doctor insists that you come in. You panic. You rush to the doctor in complete fear and almost get into three car accidents. When you arrive to the office it feels like a lifetime. The doctor finally walks in tells you your test results are fine. Suddenly you feel relief followed by anger. I would question why I had to drive all this way and conclude that he simply wanted the insurance to pay for his billable hours and my deductible for his gas money. Disgusted and relieved you walk out completely wiped out both physically and mentally. That is about as close of a description I can give for those who have never felt anxiety or panic. The after effect of these onsets of internal fear can wear you out physically. I feel as if I had a UFC fight in my mind and I lost. I come out of the ring feeling stronger and wiser but now I have revisited the possibility of fear itself. The fear of the fear passes in time. How much time you give to the thought of the memory of the fear will depend on the time it will take for you to forget.   If the fall don't break me the rise will make me. There are two options when it comes to the recovery of the anxiety. You can live in crippling fear and take the drugs to control your mind or turn the fear into a strength naturally. Because the mind is an intangible there is no real way to diagnose the problem and find the cure with the tangible. Drugs and alcohol only work to mask the problem and could potentially lead to bigger problems like addiction or the fear of running out of refills. I have been on these medications and feel that they do help to dull the mind to the point of ignorance. Ignorance is bliss right?  Today I awoke early to finish this post and I am less then 3 hours before I have to go to the hospital for my wife's scheduled c-section and birth of my 4th child. I question the rationality of the same hormones and adrenaline that will inevitably pump through my body as the moment gets closer. I am certain there will not be fear but joyous expectation and exhilaration. I think of the fear my wife has of the large needle for the epidural to numb her for the incision. She is having an operation to "tie her tubes" at the same time. I know nothing of invasive procedures on my body. I suppose I would focus on the good drugs that come after. Oh, and the joy of a new baby.

I saw a grown man fall down in Target the other day. I did not laugh and no one else saw. I tried not to stare but he looked really drunk and stunned. Out of the corner of my eye I watched as he struggled to get back up. He stood there staring at the ground for some time. Then walked away. It wasn't until he left that I saw he actually slipped on a large spill of liquid detergent. I thought of him this morning and then realized that I should have helped him up but I know not to interact with really wasted people. I wonder if he was drunk. If he was not, then I feel like a jerk. If he was, I still feel like I should have helped. Next time I see someone in need like that I will not just stare, I will rush over to help. And they will probly tell me to let them alone anyhow.

 

 

Original Article

Original Article

Here is something we need to really consider……

We all heard of the great loss to mankind with the passing of Steve Jobs.

I honestly feel like I have lost a friend with his passing.

Here he was, 56 years old, loved by millions…..

Handsome, clever, witty, enriched countless lives….

….and had Billions of $$ in the bank, one of the wealthiest people on earth….

Yet, you and I are infinitely wealthier than he is…. As WE HAVE TODAY, and sadly, he does not.

Spend your infinite wealth today on something that matters, enrich people's lives like Steve did.

Spend your day today, like Steve Jobs would spend it if he could.

Make today count!

Celebrating the gift of "Today" with you today,

Original Article

Recently...actually on my birthday the real estate company Redfin released a massively controversial feature to its website, called Agent Scouting report. It allows users to view complete sales and performance histories for every agent in the markets in which they operate. There’s a lot to debate here. Whether or not MLS data was accurate enough to use.  The fine line between transparency and reality is hard to see.

For example:

The top agents in most areas are comprised in the MLS of teams often closing multiple transactions and recording it under one entity. I remember when I first got into the business I was always getting updates on the top agents based on gross closed commissions and also units. there was the top 3 and then there was the rest. I would shout to the skies "HOW?" How can this one person close so many deals. I eventually found out that they were the broker and that all the deals in the office went under one name. In The M.L.S it looked as if that one individual was untouchable and so the marketing campaign appeared to be the same. It worked well for them.

I had to ask myself though. As an ambitious "go getter" would I ever do all of this hard work to break into a market knowing that I was helping that one individual become so big that when i was ready to break away I would have no client base? Hell no. I don't care how the splits worked I would never give up my efforts.

Back to the story about RedFin. There were so many agents who felt that this was going to damage thier credibility as the leader in that market. I did not fear for one second that any of my clients should show concern. I remind them them that this is one obscure site that almost very few know about and although they may get rankings in Google, the chances that my seller will land up on that page before something like REALTOR.Com are slim. Try doing a search like a homeowner. What words would you use? I would say "sell my home" or "find a real estate agent in my city." Who knows. What I do know is when I typed those and other variables I was surprised to find out who was not showing up.

Well, no need to worry. You can still continue to use the techniques to become the first choice in your area by using my tools. Besides, today RedFin pulled the site for the scouting because the data was too varied.

Original Article

The ability to change how we perceive the world has already been implemented in smart phones through an application referred to as augmented reality. In today’s video I explore how we can take advise from this application to better improve our lives.

Today's episode is me and my pal Matt Ferry discussing the happiness in our business and how to achieve it.

Please go to JamesFestini.com to get these in you inbox weekly by filling out the registration.

Do me a favor and comment...sometimes I look at the huge numbers and feel that they are off because noone comments. What's up with that? 

When I was 5 my dad knew everything

When I was 10 I knew more than dad

When I was 15 my dad did not know what he was talking about

When I was 20 I knew enough to not ask anything from dad

When I was 25 my dad knows more than I do about this I should ask

When I was 30  I asked my dad for his feedback on my business

When I was 35 I would not do anything without asking dad

Today,  I wish dad was here to tell me what to do

I am so making things happen! Today I interview best selling author of "Letting Go" author Guy Finley. His encouraging and accessible message is one of the true bright lights in our world today. His ideas go straight to the heart of our most important personal and social issues.

This week one of my best friends launched a home based business. I was totally excited for him until I saw his website. I called him on it and after some back and forth I had to tell him the truth. That's what friends are for. This truth was so valuable that I thought I would share it with ALL of my readers so that you too can take advantage of a little known tip that will help you look great on the web. Here is the email I sent him.

"Ok my dearest friend. I am proud of your new business and the skills. I assume you are taking this serious and have such a small niche that you could possibly dominate that corner of your industry…if done right, from the start. I assume you use yahoo or go daddy to register your domain, I assume you used their templates to design the website and post it. That is where you need help. The vibe I got was that it was their crappy templates trying to show off your skills. Here is what I would do if I was you. I would go to www.webs.com, it is TOTALLY FREE! I would use their freebies to design a much better site with tons of free options and gorgeous templates. FREE. Then I would go back to yahoo and cancel their $9.99 monthly plan and bring it to domain only. Then I would foreword that domain, masked of course, so it still shows your site on top and point it to the new site you created. Their tools like the contact me, calendar, products pages, blogging, and widgets for social network linking are awesome…and free. If you want to step it up then you can pay what you already pay the other guys.  If you need any walk through you know I will help…for free. It would take 30 minutes. And it would make you look legit….that’s the branding I speak of."

In today's podcast episode I will discuss everything you might want to know about going paperless. You might want to subscribe to the audio feed at to get the full content. Below are my show notes, topics and highlights

Topics covered. What is paperless, how legit is it, how the world percieves it, and how I suggest you approach it.

What is it to go paperless?
I remember when I bought my first tablet and the potential. hHow I though it would revolutionize me and my business.
And how soon it became a reality that getting my clients to sign a document was not as asty as it was to sign for a delivery or a checkout counter.

what is paperless?
Things you should know before your decide to go paperless
What does the public acceptance of paperless mean to those who do not understand it's validity or it's function?
Where is my file stored? Cloud computing..where is it stored. Like online Vault.
How do I access it? Usually with a username or password.

Short sale banking systems are now trying to implement a system wil very little impact. I wonder what genius got paid the big bucks to throw another wrench in that works.
Foreclosure system is trying to speed up process with systems like res.net and equator. I am not sure how fast that is cause I am still waiting for a check I wrote for an REO repairs 3 months ago.

What are the advantages of going paperless
You save a few trees
You Save gas money
Improved paper trails
Improved response times. like with a short sale and multiple documents, and those oops I forgot to ask them to sign this.
What if you hate the thought of paperless
IF you can't beat them you had better join them. Coldwell Banker, Kellar Williams and Century 21 have Systems in place to move into the paperless world.
Some companies I have heard have budgets of up to $20,000 for printing and paperand Equiptment costs.
Improve client communication via smartphone
Don't really have to worry about losing papers..unless the web crashes. However, your dog can eat your homework
If you spill coffee on your file all it does is fry your hard drive. You can be sure that there is a backup in the cloud..

The Disadvantages of paperless

There will always people who don't want or wont have paperless
Client service dwindle to the buttons, You run the risks of client confusion
Who is signing these documents? When You send the email is it your client signing it or thier 14 year old daughter in between Facebook posts.
Some banks don't accept it
Banks a scared to docusign
You ability to learn it and not have to teach it to your client.
Still, there are agents out there with no email.
Believe it or not there are even more clients with no email or computer. so Its not for everyone.

Here is where electronic signatures and paperless have gone wrong
Big banks wanted this for profits but oops we forged it
1,000 are losing houses because of esignatures and robosiging
There were outsourcing companies who hired people off the street with no banking experience to sign on behalf of the bank with some signing docs buy the 1000's a day
There are 1 million foreclosures last and this year
Could a judge find you negligent based on industry standards

If the want fits the needs and then we must find out how we get integration between realtor client, title, attorneys, and crm

How I recommend you Deal with this

What do you need to go paperless?
How does it flow with your curent flow of the day
Bruce Lee was once asked by a student if he would teach him martial arts. He said empty your glass of what you know
What is the software, pdf creator efax docusing scan bull zip  pdf card munch
Docusing vs others if you use docusing take time to set up templates
Docusign issues
Setup fees
EFax and mongo fax
Replane+t is a social integration and Document
Hardware: fax with a scanner or seperate, tablet, computer printer cardscanner
Questions you should ask yourself
Contact manager links and integration
Things to consider are that they are web based, mobile, crm integration, ease of transition for your work flow
Device integration ie palm iphone blackberry
What formats do you talk about when we say paperless?

Gauge your customer and their interpretation of customer service and how the client likes it.
At the end of the deal I give a cd
Paperless is people less
You may have to print it in the end
You must make friends with your scanner
In the end or during you must try to "get the wets"

 

 

 

I describe the scene in the Karate Kid where Mr. Mayagee proves to Daniel that his mundane chores are actually the foundation for martial arts. This foundation never gave the student rewards like achievement belts and having a rank in the world of martial arts, but the knowledge existed. The proving grounds were only evident when he was challenged to fight. I wonder if this venture into speaking and training is my proof in practice. This may be where my proving grounds lie dormant waiting for the fight. Maybe the moment of truth is when I am called upon to prove that I have been there done that. I do not have a black belt, and I do not have a diploma. All I have is my memory reflexes programmed to respond at the moment I need to step up to my challenges.

Last year I was wondering when I would recieve my diploma for all of the courses I was taking. There was nobody to check in to and the tests were only taken in the field with no witness to sign off the task. I have been in class from one to 4 hours a day, every day for the last 20 years and I have no diploma to show for it. This is a companion blog to my YouTube Video.

What is this course?

Life 101. An introspective journey assisted by mentors and professors who have achieved a better one.

Where the courses held? The lifetime commitment course is heald at seminars, webinars, in books, online, in blogs, in journals and anywhere you can consume self improvement content.

My Alma Mater? B.S.Happens U. BelivingSelf Help Institute of Trials Hurt and Adversity Processes Proving Expectations may Never Satisfy University.

How much does this course cost. YOUR LIFE

I know that may seem a bit dramatic but this form of unstructured education has been a part of my past 20 years. Ever since I met Tony Robbins in 1990, I began a relentless persuit of educating myself in all of the self help content I could absorb. It became an excellerated course when Itunes launched a then little known audio stream known as a podcast. A podcast is a free audio stream/internet radio show accessable from any computer or smart phone relating to any topic you could ever want to learn. For example. Last year I decided to start a podcast. I wanted my own message to be heard. I searched the library in Itunes on the key words on how to podcast. Would you believe there was over 15 different shows with over 100 hours of FREE education. Topics varied from microphones to computer software on processing the files. To this day there are more and more shows on this subject alone. Amazing. The next topic I searched was sales, then self help, law of attraction, health and fitness, learn facebook, learn twitter...the search options were limitless. The actual results landed in my computer with over 400 programs and over 500 instructors all putting together weekly shows on every topic I could ever want to learn.

For the last 5 years I have listened to these audio programs day in day out. In the shower, in the car, in the office. I even sleep with headphones in my ears and when I wake up there are 15 more new shows waiting for me to hear. There was no way to avoid this collision between my passion for learning and the thousands of hours of lectures that lay inside the web. I may never be caught up.  This may sound obsessive and possibly phsycolligally dangerous andI will admit that silence has become very uncomfortable. If it is I am guilty of being this way. I will blame my mother. My family accepts that this is how dad is. I just hope that the internet and electricity are always availabel to me because I really never liked reading...it makes me sleepy.

Recently, I began to worry at the lack of a diploma for my thousands of hours of education. In my latest video on youtube.

Have you ever noticed that when a professional boxer goes into the ring what goes on around him? He is surrounded by his entourage of body guards, the crowd is pressing up against him and he has to clear his mind of all of the noise and distractions. He is about to fight for his life and if that is not enough pressure there are thousands watching, in some cases millions. The only thing keeping him focused is his theme song.

A theme song that generates the essence of all that makes you stonger and better exists for all of us. Just like the boxer enters the ring, we too must find our power song for those moments when the silence of the chaos becomes unbearable. I find that some strong rap helps me to overcome obstacles in my immidiate path. On the other hand, slow smooth jazz has more future focus on the bigger pictures of success and arriving to my happy place. Old Jazz makes my want to play an instrument, rock n' roll makes me want to party.

So what's your them song? I encourage to take a few minutes and discover the song that you should have on your alarm clock. The song for when your business is falling apart, and a song for when you are on top of the world. Play that song loud or soft just as long as it grabs the inner spirit that you can command to be the best you can be. Visit JamesFestini.com to dicover more about yourself.

 

Brand new full length podcast is available at Your First Day In Real Estate Episode 0024 Blogging with the Best Blogging with AgentGenius Editor-in-Chief: Lani, named one of Real Estate’s 100 Most Influential, as well as 12 Most Influential Women in Real Estate, is a business writer hailing from the state of Texas in the city of Austin.

The devil is having a going out of business sale. With jealousy, hate, greed, at a reasonable price doubt becomes the most valuable tool in his arsenal. In our minds doubt is the only thing that breaks our manifestation of a better life. Doubt is what keeps us from deliberate commitment. Well today we walk away from the table with childlike ambition that there is not a thing to fear as we climb on the bike and go for a ride....without a helmet.

 In today's episode I go through the  In's and outs of the process. Let's start from the beginning. When a home is foreclosed on and there is an occupant still in the home the bank wants them out. They want them out fast and they want them out with no harm done to the property. It used to be that after the foreclosure or trustee sale date there would be a period of anywhere from a week to a month before the bank would have a representative knock on your door and offer a cash for keys. I recently had on in which the home went to trustee sale at 9 am and a knock on the door was a 3 p.m. that day. Now this is not a tutorial for homeowners as much as it is for agents helping occupants.

If you are one of the unfortunate ones who had a short sale fall apart and now much help a homeowner relocate you will be able to answer a few questions. Especially the first one. So, when they ask how long before I get kicked out you can assure them no one is going to kick you out for a few weeks. More importantly that they don't think of it as being kicked out. They have gone through enough. Unless there is a good reason to argue with the foreclosure I explain to them the process of the cash for keys.

I tell them that once the home is foreclosed on the bank will hire a real estate professional to determine occupancy. The worst thing they could do is not answer the door. If they are not home and the agent leaves a note that they should call them. That the agent is not the bad guy. He is here to assist you and negotiate the terms of a relocation.

Now you will also hear the great tales of the cash for keys someone once got for $10,000 to move out. Please tell me in the comment section that you have seen this. The highest I ever was involved in was $4,000. The strange part about that one was the guy was already out, it was a $60,000 condo in the rough part of town and he still go the money. So it goes to show you nothing is predictable.

Here is where honesty as an REO agent come in. The banks always send me out to check occupancy and if occupied negotaite a cash for keys. They will say something like offer $500 and you can go up to $1,500. It is so hard for me to not just walk up and say,"Hey the bank will offer you no more than $1,500 to got out in a week," and be done with it. Usually, and more often lateley the occupants have become more saavy about cash for keys and have read amounts online to suggest thousands are posssible. So are almost always prepared to negotiate...up.

Foreclosure Timelines. A rough idea of what a homeowner should expect in California when the home is foreclosed. Please consult and attorney cause I am not one.

One of the most common questions I get from a homeowner in distress is how long does it thke before I get "Kicked out?" As hard as that is to answer that without putting yourself in a legalposition there are many places on the internet that can advise them along thier way. This episode is the scenario that in California is for now the standard. I would not qoute any solid dates because there are so many variables that go into the foreclosure that banks hlaf the time don't even follow the rules. Not that they get around the timelines and speed them up but more the opposite. Make sure you visit Itunes and subscribe to the podcast. I am now on Stitcher too.

Your First Day In Real Estate Episode 0019 Expireds 2

I am convinced that there are two kinds of people. Those who feel guilty that they don’t work hard enough and work all the time simply out of guilt. Then there are those of us who work hard enough and keep working harder out of obsession. The latter is a workaholic. I am one of those. I never feel satisfied unless I reach my daily goal of 100 contacts and what is commonly know as “inbox 0.”

This weekend I took time to get out of town after a 7 month work binge where all I did was bust my butt working. That and the death of both parents took me deeper into a zone of pure work frenzy. The fourth of July is here and now it is me time. Although I am still compelled to begin this blog and make it more consistent, I find this to be me time. I sit relaxed with a cup of coffee, watching the kids play by the pool, as I meditate on the new refreshed me that will come back home sooner than I want. I imagine the big plans I have to develop into reality. Although my future ambitions are certain to have ups and downs I still condition myself to be aware of the now. This is me time. I am totally in the present and daydreaming. This is me time. I encourage my followers to believe in the possibility that no matter how bad the market sucks, no matter how big of an a-hole that client is, no matter how bad you screwed up, that you undoubtledy look back in a few years from now and wish you were still this young. You will forget that deal gone bad but you will never forget that time you took out for yourself to become a better you.

Your First Day In Real Estate Episode 0018 The Do Not Call List

Your First Day In Real Estate Episode 0017 Listener Interview

Your First day in Real Estate Episode 0016 Short Sales

Your First Day In Real Estate Episode 0015 Lead Qualifications

Please comment...especially in ITunes, it helps my ego want to do more.

Part 3 in a tornado of IPhone goodies

Your First Day In Real Estate Episode 0013 The IPhone Part 2

Your First Day In Real Estate Episode 0012 The IPhone Part 1

Your First Day In Real Estate Episode 0011 FSBO The For Sale By Owner

Your First Day In Real Estate Episode 0010 Expireds Where to get them and how to get them.

Your First Day In Real Estate Episode 0009 Expired Softwares I have used these softwares to retrieve missing information in the expired listings. Here I compare the two big ones. Landvoice.com and RedX.com

Your First Day In Real Estate Episode 0008 Social Networks. Social networks are all the buzz. I am Certain this will be a topic we will be visiting often. This lays a basic foundation to get you started

Your First Day In Real Estate Episode 0007. Contact Manager Software reviewed.

Your First Day In Real Estate Episode 0006 Mojo Selling Solutions Interview 2. In this episode, David England interviews James Festini, California Realtor, fresh after an 8 HOUR prospecting session

Your First Day In Real Estate Episode 0005 Time Management Time management skills reviewed.

Your First Day In Real Estate Episode 0004 Contact Management We discuss the various software options to get your started.

In this episode, David England interviews James Festini, veteran California Realtor and Blogger about his Podcast, "Your First Day in Real Estate".

Your First Day In Real Estate Episode 0002 Mojo Interview Today we speak with Mojo Selling Solution

Your First Day In Real Estate Episode 0001 In the Beginning