Lynn Byrne, Realtor

Caution! Home Buyers Losing Thousands of Dollars to Wire Fraud

David Byrne — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 19:46:11 +0000

Don't Be a Victim of Home Buying Wire Fraud

Home buying wire fraud is a newer trend occurring in the real estate world over the last few years. We are writing this post to help educate our clients about it as best we can. It’s something that really needs to be taken into consideration for anyone conducting any kind of transaction that requires them to wire money for any reason.

Sometimes when a transaction is happening, especially in real estate, funds may need to be wired from one party to the other. Lately, ne’er-do-wells have devised a scheme to defraud and steal these wired funds.

One couple had over $272,000 fraudulently intercepted.

What’s Happening?

The short simple version of what’s happening is that when the wiring instructions are being emailed from one party to the other on a non-secure email server it is being intercepted by a third party. This third party is taking the wiring information and changing it to their own bank account, then forwarding it on to the intended recipient, who then follows the instructions unaware anything is amiss.

When this happens, the money is gone. It has happened numerous times in real estate transactions and there’s not much that can be done when it does happen.

How to Avoid Home Buying Wire Fraud

There are several ways to make sure something like this doesn’t happen.

1. Get the wiring instructions in person from the intended recipient. This is the strongest way to make sure don’t get the information wrong.

2. Get the information over the phone or via fax.

3. If you get the information via email, make sure it came through an encrypted email server.

4. Some title companies have opted to mail wiring instructions to avoid issues for those less inclined to use technology.

5. Verify that the money has been received by the intended party. Call to make sure the money is in their account.

It’s a shame it’s come to this, but we need to make sure your money is protected.

Here is a really good video from American Land Title Association that gives a bit more information and great advice on what to do before and after the transaction:

Call for More Information

Please call David at 386-566-4169 or Lynn at 386-566-7503 for more information on wire instruction precautions, buying a home in Daytona Beach or any other real estate questions.

River Oaks Home Sold in Two Days

David Byrne — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 21:20:09 +0000

River Oaks Home in Ormond Beach
Sold in Two Days

The Phone Call

I recently received a phone call from a neighbor in River Oaks with a heartbreaking story about needing to sell his home due to an unforeseen personal issue. He was really unsure about what to do and even reached out to the agent who sold him the house, only to get no response. We had never met, but I lived just around the corner and another neighbor told him I was a Realtor.

When he called, he told me he needed out of the house as quickly as possible and really couldn’t afford to bring any money to the closing table. The catch is that this gentleman had just purchased the home last August with very little money down and had a pretty big mortgage. We made an appointment to get together and discuss his options and it really looked like we might have a hard time accomplishing his goals because of all the fees associated with selling a home. Normally you would set a price on a home based on a comparative market analysis (CMA) for a River Oaks home and homes in the nearby area, but in this instance we had to take a different approach.

Creating The Plan to Sell The Home

The seller and I worked backward with his mortgage payoff, closing costs (including doc stamps, title insurance, commissions, etc.) and figured out a number that would allow him to walk away from the property free and clear…and then we went a little higher, because everyone, I mean EVERYONE, wants to haggle.

The seller asked me how quickly we’d get the house sold, he was going to move out and be ready to go live in a week, and really needed the house sold. I told him there was no exact science to this and that I thought we’d get some really good traffic based on what was available in the neighborhood and the fact that the River Oaks home builder (our community is only a few years old and still has a few homes being built) only had a couple of lots left for sale.

The Result

I think we did ok…

We had three showings and two offers within 48 hours of going live and got the home to contract within two days of actively marketing it. There was a slight snag at the end and we had to work a little magic to make everything work out for the seller the way he needed, but in the end, we got it done. From listed to closed in under 40 days.

We live in River Oaks and I can help you buy or sell a home. Call me at 386-566-4169 to discuss River Oaks and other communities in Ormond Beach.

Resources

River Oaks Homes for Sale
Ormond Beach Homes for Sale

Customer Question: What is the Difference Between a Potential Short Sale and Bank Owned

David Byrne — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 17:39:51 +0000

What is the Difference Between a Potential Short Sale and Bank Owned?

We deal with a lot of customers and we get a lot of the same questions. This is one that’s asked often.

A bank-owned/REO (Real Estate Owned) property is one that has already been foreclosed on by the bank. The price is what they determined the market value to be and then it’s decreased by whatever formula that particular banks uses to procure a quick sale because they’re not in the business of owning real estate. The price is negotiable, but if it’s Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (both government owned banks) they typically will not give more than a few percent off the asking price.

A short-sale is a whole different animal. The price you see on those can be rather arbitrary unless it has been approved by the 3rd party the holds the lien on the property for the mortgage. Basically what happens is a property has a mortgage on it that is more than what the property is worth and the owner, or seller, puts it on the market for less than the amount they owe and attempts to generate an offer.

Once an offer is received it’s passed on to the bank for approval to determine if they’re willing to take less than the loan amount to get the property off their books and avoid a potential foreclosure. This can be a time consuming process, sometimes taking more than 6 months. Our experience is that the best deal come from short sales, but it takes a lot of patience. Most often the outcome is a counter proposal from the bank. Example, seller owes $200k, property is worth $150k, buyer offers $125k. After going through their review process the bank will either completely reject (unlikely), accept and add stipulations, or counter, probably closer to the $150k value.

On foreclosures, banks can be pretty aggressive in setting their prices. I’ve seen bidding wars on several properties with my buyers. Sometimes the bank will say present your best offer by a certain deadline and then select the best. On short sales, it’s a bit like of Wild West. Since there is no set price, only what the seller and real estate are guessing the bank will accept, many of my buyers make lower offers. Again, this is not a quick turn-around game. Short sales can take from a few days for a bank response to months. Many buyers will make multiple short sale offers on different properties.

I’ve tried to make short sales and bank owned homes a little clearer here, but it can be pretty complicated. I work with these everyday. I would be happy to talk with you about it more. Give me, David, a call at 386-566-4169 and I’ll be happy to answer any other questions you might have.

David Byrne is a Daytona Beach real estate real estate agent who specializes in condos, homes, short sales and foreclosures.