Working on a Dream

Yesterday I surprised Deena with tickets to see her first love . . . Bruce Springsteen (I’ve always known I was second). Deena grew up in Philadelphia and has been a die-hard Bruce fan her whole life. She starts screaming in the restaurant like a 13 year old uh . . . just being told she’s going to the concert of her favorite band.

An hour later, we were downtown when Bruce and the E-street band took the stage. They played non-stop for 3 hours. It was an amazing show. The guy is almost 60 and pours out passion, energy, and power that kept a packed arena on their feet singing along with every song. And while I didn’t grow up a fan, after 13 year of marriage to someone who did – I can say that this time – it was our third Bruce concert – I knew the words to most of the songs and rocked along with the rest of the crowd who all seemed to be from Freehold, NJ.

Perhaps more than ever before, Bruce’s music is relevant to the times we live in. He sings about and for the heart and soul of this country – about real people and real lives and real struggles. The entire E-Street Band came to the front of the stage for the soulful “Hard Times Come Again No More”, their rock/gospel interpretation of Stephen C. Foster's 1854 work. The room was totally dark except the drum kit under lit in red for “The Rising” – Bruce’s invitation to recover and rebuild after 9/11. In response to a fan’s sign that he pulled up on stage, he dedicated “Jungleland” to Atlanta teens.

They played some new tunes from the new Working on a Dream album – we listened mesmerized to “Outlaw Pete” – a dark story in a minor key of a kid who struggled to overcome the rough lot he was born into. The title track “Working on a Dream” speaks to anyone still in progress, who sees can see hope, and is willing to see a brighter day before us. Bruce’s mid song narrative challenged us to “build a house here tonight . . . a house built on hope, on love, on dreams, and noise!”

And that’s where his music hit me the way I imagine it has affected my wife and millions of other life long fans. Whether it’s Lou Brown’s Millionaire Maker event or my own seminars, or any other room I am honored to teach – nobody enters an investment real estate training venue unless they too are working on a dream. You are not likely to be reading a blog about Short Sales unless you too are a work in progress. We don’t buy that first book, say ‘yes’ to an infomercial, or walk into a training seminar unless we too see Hope for something better, unless we are willing to pursue a brighter day, and unless we are have a dream of building a house built on hope, love a little noise.

Sure, when I teach the focus is largely on the mechanics and techniques of real estate investment strategies, but nobody comes to see me because they have a deep burning fascination with the nuanced distinctions between lien releases versus satisfactions. That may be the practical question they need answered, but behind every questioning mind of a real estate investor is a work in progress, the hope for a better life, and the willingness for something for the better.

The same is true of homeowners and sellers on the other side of Short Sale transactions. Look, facing foreclosure is not a good thing, but given that owners finds themselves in this situation because of past decisions, market conditions and/or hardship events that just happened to fall on them, pursuing a Short Sale requires a homeowner who also hopes for something better. A Short Sale is not an easy thing to pull off – it is a long hard journey to successfully find a negotiated settlement with a lender to avoid foreclosure.

Many sellers just give up – why bother, just let the house go to foreclosure – they reason. But some sellers are willing to fight for a better day, that day when they can say they sold their house as a regular seller at a settlement agent’s office like anyone else, that they do not have a foreclosure or bankruptcy stamped on their credit to haunt them for 7 or 10 years, that they moved on their terms and did not face an eviction. Without a foreclosure, and without a Bankruptcy, the Short Sale affords a seller an opportunity for a new day, a fresh start and their own Rising.

Short Sales are the transaction for those Working on a Dream – for a homeowner down on their luck, facing a rough spot in life but who is willing to build a house of Hope for a better day, and for an investor who is willing to work hard, add value, and be part of the healing of this nation’s economic mess one house, one family, one mortgage at a time.

Many artists believe that their role is to elevate the audience away from the drudgery of their lives for the time they are on stage. To the contrary, Bruce shines the spotlight right into the heart and soul of life’s struggles to sing for a brighter day. And in that music there is the inspiration to keep Working on a Dream.



If you were Born to Run and think Short Sale investing may be your ticket the Glory Days yet to come, just click here and ask for my FREE Short Sale mini-course.

He just wants to be told what to do, Step-By-Step

The Short Sale world has gone absolutely bonkers in the last 6 months! There are more deals out there than anyone can handle. There are also more home-study courses, product launches, and self-appointed “gurus” than ever before. So much so that last week after speaking as a guest teacher at a Jeff Adams seminar, a Key Holder actually came up to me and was upset that I had not held a live training event in 6 months!

I started out the year thinking that now was not the time for more live seminars. This was the year to just put your head down and do deals! And while it certainly is the time to do deals, Perry made an important point:

He’s been inundated with products, launches, emails, and videos from all directions and he’s overwhelmed with information. He’s got stacks of “Free Reports”, “Home Study Courses” and “Information Products” but, like me, learns the most when in a live classroom environment. He likes to be able to see real deals in real time, ask the people doing them questions, touch and feel the paperwork in the presence of people who know how to use it and surround himself with like minded people on the same journey he is on.

Bottom line – he just wants to sit down and have someone show him step by step exactly what to do and have the opportunity to ask questions and fill in the blank spots when something does not make sense.

Okay, Perry – let me think about it - >>>>VIDEO HERE<<<<

Student Yells at Ben In Front of Jeff Adams’ Entire Seminar!

I taught last week at Jeff Adams Seminar in LA and a Key Holder comes up to me and heckles me in front of the entire room. He says:

“I’m so sick of seeing all these “Home Study Courses” “Video Trainings” and “Coaching” programs from other supposed Short Sale experts where you cannot get to talk to a human!

Ben, I signed up with you because I heard from a number of people that you are the best teacher and that your live training would put all the noise in perspective, but it’s already April and you have not had an event in almost 6 months and I’m pretty upset about that!”

Well Perry, I apologize. I’m in the Short Sale business and not the event business and my plan for 2009 was to focus on taking advantage of this historic moment in time for me, my family and my Key Holders . . . and that is exactly what I’ve been doing this year with record results!

So he says "well that's fine for you - but what about us?!"

Oooo . . . that hurt.

>>>>>Okay - we'll think about doing an event sometime soon Perry - just for you! Here's the video<<<<

Pirates Attack

This weekend was the "yes we had a blizzard last weekend, but this weekend it's a beautiful spring day". So Deena and I met friends at Mexican restaurant where we sat outside to enjoy the weather. It's our three boys and their buddies - another two boys for a total of 5 boys between the ages of 2 and 8. We sit down off to the side away from everyone where we won't disturb anyone. This of course worked until all the tables fill up around us.

Then a clown comes over and gives out balloon swords - great idea clown, thanks. What does this band of brothers do with their swords? They attack the next table - balloons and nachos are flying everywhere. Other than a few balloon swords lost over the wall, the table of twenty-somethings are crushed to defeat in a blazing salsa battle. They had good spirits about the whole thing, but they were caught totally off guard, without the proper defenses and without proper preparation - which made me think . . . It's not like people prepare to be in a situation where they need a Short Sale.

A foreclosure can crop up fairly quickly on almost anyone. Even without some aggressive creative mortgage - if laid off or faced with a personal set back, how long could the average person survive before they would be in a situation where a Short Sale becomes relevant in this market?Do you or someone you know find yourself owing more on a property than what it is worth with no ability to make the payment moving forward? You're not alone . . . but it is very important that you do not bury your head in the sand and ignore the situation. While most of my writing is directed at investors and real estate agents, here are a few thoughts offered directly for homeowners:

1. Be Honest with Yourself and any professional you talk with. Look, even though there a several million people facing foreclosure right now - it's still not something most people are proud of, just don't lie or misrepresent reality to yourself or others.

2. Call your lender. Your lender is NOT your friend and they may or may not give you advice that is in your best interest, BUT they cannot help you if you do not return their phone calls or reach out to them. Lenders are aggressively pursuing loan modifications now that may enable you to stay in your house, but you've got to talk with them. (Just take everything they tell you with a healthy does of skepticism and remember, they are not your friend.)

3. Make up your mind and decide. Can you stay in the house or is it time to leave? If you have some income (maybe less than before) and can afford some payments, then a modification may enable you to stay in the house. However, if you have no income or drastically reduced income then it may be time to come to grips with moving. (Note - there may be plenty of time before you actually have to move, but you must make up your mind one way or the other because that will determine what direction you take in terms of strategies.)

4. If you cannot work a modification that enables you to stay in the house, then go for the short sale before giving up, accepting foreclosure or doing a deed in lieu of foreclosure. The successful short sale can result in your lender agreeing to accept as full satisfaction of your debt whatever proceeds come out of the approved sale. It is a true win-win where you get to sell your house through a regular transaction at a closing table, the bank accepts whatever money comes out of that transaction and you do not go through foreclosure.

5. Once you have determined that it is time to sell your house and go, then find a team that can make the Short Sale happen successfully for you. Don’t try to do the Short Sale yourself or with an agent that is nice but does not know the ins-and-outs of Short Sales. Just because “your agent” did a great job a few years ago for you and you like them, does not mean they understand short sales and are the right person to help you with this situation. Short Sales are long frustrating and painful negotiations with lenders. The process will take a long time and be extremely frustrating – don’t go it alone or with someone who doesn’t know what they are doing.

6. The most successful team is one made up of a well funded real estate investor and an experienced real estate agent. One without the other may leave you short on your short sale. There are many well intentioned real estate agents out there who certainly will list your property, but do they have intimate understanding of the short sale process? Similarly, there are many real estate investors out there but if they are not tapped into the retail market, they may successfully obtain a Short Sale and yet not be in a position to close the transaction. Ask any agent or investor you meet with to see a list of successful transactions that they have recently completed in your area. They should be able to show you some that have closed successfully - remember, the key is "house sold successfully with a Short Sale" not just a obtained a Short Sale approval letter.

If you do not know where to start, visit http://www.shortsaleluxuryhome.com/ and there is further discussion and a list of frequently asked questions. They've got a long list of agents and investor teams across the country that they can put you in touch with (at not cost to you).

Next post - I’ll go into a little more detail why the investor/real estate agent team is so important to your success if you have recently been attacked by the potential of a Short Sale or foreclosure.

And if you were sitting next to my crazy band of pirates on Sunday, please accept my apologies - sometimes attacks come without warning even if we try to prevent them.

Zombies Attack

My office was attacked by zombies yesterday. Some of my staff couldn’t get into our parking lot, my windows were blocked over, police surrounded both entrances to the building, and about a hundred zombies staggered around outside on a very cold day.

Apparently the downtown block where my office building sits was the perfect location for filming a new Woody Harrelson horror/comedy film (not sure exactly what genre that is) called Zombieland . . . and the Zombies attacked our office building. Production trucks took up our parking lot, white tents covered my office window, and cables, trucks, crates, people, and even a stunt dog camped out for the day.

It was fun to spend a few minutes over lunch watching what goes into filming a major motion picture. There were cranes and booms and dozens of people standing around crates and boxes full of equipment. Lots of white tents, white trucks, a huge porta-poty and yes, even those “director chairs” with the names of key people stitched into the backs.

What impressed me the most was how much time, energy, and talent went into every moment of “filming”. The scene I watched involved an actress getting out of her car at a gas station, looking fearfully under her car and then greeting a gas station attendant as he walked out of the garage – maybe the entire thing would end up being 10 seconds in the theatre, but it took about 45 minutes to film.

The actor was on all fours looking under the car – then someone yelled “rolling”, the actor looked around and then someone yelled “take” and then an attendant would run over and give the actress a coat while cameras were moved, lights adjusted, and who knows what else. At least 50 people each ran around doing a particular task. I’m not sure what they were doing – but it was clear that each little element came with its own expert – someone who clearly was “the crane guy”, the lady in charge of audio, the guy in charge of lights – all experts running their individual area of expertise.

Then 10 minutes later …. “rolling” and 10 seconds of filming and then repeat over and over again. After a couple of minutes, it was actually boring to watch and after I finished my sandwich, I returned to my office to the work of Short Sales – which I realized is much like making movies.

What you see on the internet about short sales - what makes a good YouTube video about Short Sales – is the finished, edited product: the bank has approved the short sale, the seller is happy, the buyer is ecstatic, the house is in great shape . . . now fade to the picture of the profit check – pan to tears of joy . . . and roll credits – the win-win-win deal that everyone can feel good about. Yes, the finished Short Sale movie is a compelling, exciting, and moving story.

However, the day-to-day work of actually getting that finished product is often tedious, frustrating, and yes, boring. Weeks and often months can go by waiting for a bank to respond, and there is a lot of work in moving offers, making adjustments and “re-shooting”. Many times the light is not where you want it to be and things can go wrong on the set. Many real estate agents and real estate investors come to my company after buying someone else’s hyped film. Sure it’s easy to get excited about short sales, but actually getting to that finished product (and check) can be somewhat daunting sometimes.

Back at my desk, I reviewed customer feedback sheets – several glowing “thank you’s” from four customers who each closed deals successfully last week and one phone call thank you from a student who was just leaving the bank after depositing a check for over $8,000 from a closing that happened earlier in the day. His “movie was in the can” – the deal closed and done with the check in the bank.

However, also in the stack was a “complaint”. One of our customers was concerned that the Short Sale had taken too long – that months had gone by without any answers and she was getting frustrated. I’ll reach out to her today and explain that even though the finished product of a Short Sale when all done is an amazing and dramatic thing – the actual process is often long and frustrating. Making a good deal takes patience – especially when it comes to Short Sales. Depending on what bank you are dealing with, a short sale approval can easily take three months – sure, sometimes less, but honestly, sometimes more.

Despite the commotion outside, the actual work inside my office was not affected by zombies yesterday. Whether or not Zombieland turns out to be a great work of art or not (can’t say I’ve been to a good horror/comedy lately – or ever), watching the professionals at work provided a good lesson for all of us working to create something new, compelling, and exciting: very often great things come from an apparently slow, methodical, and often boring process which requires great skill and patience.

In movies and in Short Sales, often a good production just takes some time and patience.

For a great movie about Short Sales and a FREE audio course on how you too can get your first Short Sale check in the can – CLICK HERE to check out this zombie >>>