ORLANDO BASED BROKER TOREY EISENMAN

BRINGS YEARS OF BUILDING AND SELLING EXPERTISE

TO HER BENCHMARK REAL ESTATE GROUP—A

COMPANY WITH A 100% SUCCESS RATE

IN SHORT SALES

By Jonathan Widran

            In 2001, after ten successful years of dedicated work in the home building industry, Torey Eisenman finally got her general contractor’s license and officially incorporated her own company, Benchmark Real Estate Group, Inc. The market was strong and it would have been an optimal time to launch and run her own business. But the Florida based customer service and marketing expert’s seven and a half year run at Lennar Homes in Miami had been so successful that she was still getting offers from other companies.

            Rather than go off on her own, Eisenman took the “lucrative distraction” and became the Director of Customer Service of Pulte Home in Tennessee. Overall, she has worked for four of the top ten national home building companies. Later in the decade, after a few years in a similar position at a company in Ft. Myers, Florida, the market tanked and in a single year, she lost her job and both of her parents. During what was perhaps the worst possible time to start a real estate company (by the standards of conventional wisdom, anyway), she turned these losses into strengths as she dove full throttle into starting her company.

            While she had her doubts early on, she drew strength and inspiration from the spirit of her mother, who got her into real estate in the late 80s, and her dad, a successful general contractor who gave Eisenman her first job in construction in the early 90s. “Committing to Benchmark for me is definitely part of carrying on a family legacy,” she says. “But my mom had her best years in real estate in the 80s when there were double digit interest rates—and they are very low now. It’s a tough market now because regulation is changing and lending can be tight. But the rewarding part is being able to navigate challenges that might stop typical companies in their tracks. We won’t stop until we’ve pulled every resource available to get a deal done.”

             Eisenman’s expertise is working in the high luxury market focusing on properties that sell for over $500,000 and she is a member of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing. In fact, Eisenman was one of 100 agents across the USA and Canada recently invited to an invitation only event in Austin, Texas to pool resources and to stay on the forefront of what is happening in the Luxury Market. In addition, while Eisenman has incredible success making short sales (the norm these days, rather than the exception) and doing sales and marketing online, Benchmark didn’t start out that way. Initially, she was working more with investors, focusing on “flipping” properties—until changing laws and regulations made an entire business devoted to that process untenable. As the market worsened, foreclosures became more prevalent, and she personally encountered more distress among consumers, she shifted from investment into helping those consumers.

            Eisenman takes care to protect her clients faced with the prospect of short sales by recommending that they seek accounting advice and legal counsel. She uses an experienced third party negotiator, watches the paperwork like a hawk and makes sure there are many pairs of eyes on a transaction so that no detail slips through the cracks. As a result, Benchmark has achieved an almost unheard of 100 percent success rate in short sales—which make up 60% of her business.

            Benchmark works closely with American Home Tenders to ensure upkeep on second homes and investment properties valued at upwards of $500,000, so that they can be attractive to prospective buyers interested in purchasing short sales. “The seller signs a contract that places a tender with the property to ‘stage’ it while also covering all of its utilities, and if applicable, homeowner and condo association fees. The tender rate can also support repairs, so the seller is not incurring that extra expense. All of this will keep the property saleable until it goes into foreclosure or short sale. Without this protection, it’s always possible that communities of abandoned homes can deteriorate or be vandalized. A livable home will sell for more money. Ironically, there aren’t a lot of real estate companies doing this.”

            Certainly, Eisenman’s success in doing short sales is due to her strong intuition that these would become a commonplace occurrence during the economic recession. On a deeper level, however, her desire to help buyers and sellers comes from the fact that she genuinely cares about people. Being honest means she will be candid with a client and won’t list an overpriced home if it doesn’t make sense to the seller. On the other hand, she will do everything possible to sell a property. Her tough “can do” attitude serves her well in negotiations as she looks for solutions to get the deal closed, while always keeping her clients’ best interest in mind. She has been an advocate for short sale education, participating in classes and serving on committees with the Orlando Realtor Association.

            “There is just so much misinformation about short sales out there that frustrates me,” she says. “I know from personal experience that people are lied to and stolen from all the time because they don’t know the things they should. They don’t understand the tax ramifications. When you short sale a property, if the lender gets a deficiency judgment, they have 20 years to pursue it. When people come to Benchmark, we connect them with reputable, experienced lawyers who can help them with the legal issues involved in foreclosures and short sales. Two years ago, I hired an attorney and gave him money to help me sell one of my investment properties. He told me he filed but later I found out that he never did.

            “I realized there are just some lawyers out there who don’t know what they are doing, or are just trying to take advantage of people’s naivete,” she adds. “At that point, I vowed that this would never happen to any client of ours. Protecting them is the most important thing. I tell prospective clients to talk to attorneys and accountants first, then to come back and we can list their property. My many years in the home building field gave me experience that I can apply to the ins and outs, ups and downs of the short sale world. Being a general contractor, I can capitalize on the features and benefits of a particular home that will help increase its value. 

It’s so gratifying when people finally close on a short sale property. They are very grateful that we cared enough to take the time to educate them and help them through what could be a much more complicated process.”

            Perfectly reflective of the world’s reliance on ecommerce is the reality that over 90 percent of home buyers now search online for properties. Besides short sales, Eisenman’s company specializes in leveraging the power of the internet for her clients, making sure their properties can be found easily on sites like Craiglist, Zillow, Facebook, Trulia, Realtor.com, Hotpads and other appropriate online sites. Benchmark also has a presence on the consumer education site Activerain and advertises on the international site Proxiopro.com.

            “My goal as an agent has always been to help people and close homes,” she says, “and so we had to learn how to use the internet effectively to market the homes we list, to increase the potential pool of buyers. We create a page for every property that we list and those are sent out to different real estate sites. When consumers Google homes, the sites we are on pop up and give our properties maximum exposure. The internet makes the world smaller and that means my company is able to connect with other high end realtors across the country whose clients may be looking for a home or investment property in the Orlando area.

            Does the prevalent “ecommerce” element of real estate supersede the old school relationships that have been traditionally forged between buyers, sellers and agents? “There are just different options in today’s world,” Eisenman says. “Some people buy investment properties on eBay that have never seen their holdings in person. There’s no emotional attachment to the place, and we’ll take photos of it for them and maybe once a year they’ll come to look at it. But if they’re seeking a primary residence, that’s where a personal relationship with a realtor comes into play. You’ve got to develop a relationship based on trust either way.”  

            Looking back, it seems as though real estate was somehow always part of Torey Eisenman’s DNA. Born in Columbus, Ohio, she moved with her family at age five to Plantation Acres, a suburb of Ft. Lauderdale and attended the private American Heritage School. While she grew up with the ambition to someday be a neo natal surgeon, she ultimately decided it was easier to get a marketing degree and leave the baby saving to others. Her mother and grandfather were successful real estate brokers who encouraged Eisenman to get her license in 1989. She tried general real estate for a year but ultimately found she wasn’t comfortable in that environment. Her father, a general contractor, had lost his partner and suggested she try the home building side of the business.

            She entered the field at a time when her dad’s company was rebuilding houses destroyed or damaged by Hurricane Andrew, and she soon became the post-Andrew customer service liaison between home owners, contractors and Dade County Building officials. For the next few years, she participated in what she calls “Miami Rehabs,” doing teardowns and rebuilds. She later worked for the building company Lennar Homes in Miami for over seven years, during which time she became president of various homeowners and condo associations, running customer service for them. Her career in customer service for home building companies continued with Pulte Homes in Nashville and Beazer Homes in Ft. Myers. 

             Eisenman currently mentors other real estate professionals, participating in  short sale classes for the Orlando Real Estate Association. She also serves on the Orlando Regional Realtor Association’s Professional Development Committee, the Broker Council, Short Sale Task Force and Speakers Bureau (she is currently the chairperson), and is a member of the Lake Mary Rotary Club and Rotary International.

            “Our main goal at Benchmark is to let people know that if they want solutions to get their home sold or closed, we can make it happen regardless of their circumstances,” she says. “We have the resources and will go the extra mile. At this stage of my life, I’m definitely where I belong. I am able to apply my knowledge from my years working with mortgages, construction and on the real estate customer service side. In the coming years, I envision my company growing to a point where others can manage it and I can be out in the world helping those in need.”

Speak with an accountant and or an attorney. You typically do not need to retain an attorney until a Lis Pendens is filed (Lawsuit). Understand your rights as a consumer.

Understand the difference between a short sale and a foreclosure.

  Short Sale:Once closed your loss is defined. A primary residence that qualifies under the HAFA   http://bit.ly/beZQZaprogram could prevent future liability toward a deficiency. Be careful of HELOC loans that were used to purchase anything other than home improvements. As of today you can qualify for a Fannie Mae Loan 3 years after your short sale closes.

  Foreclosure:This has many unknowns. Did you realize all expenses incurred once the bank forecloses on your home are your liability. Yes, they are pursuing these deficiency judgments. In addition, you will need to wait 7 years prior to getting another loan.

http://bit.ly/shortsalevsforeclosure

Get educated and understand the pros and cons of the decision you make. We feel that a short sale is far more beneficial to all parties over a foreclosure.

CONTACT US

Benchmark Real Estate Group

321-422-4729

 We will be happy to educate you on the short sale process. We work with Luxury Properties as well. Click this link for additional Information regarding the process procedures.

http://bit.ly/informationaboutselling

EDUCATION IS KEY

 We have a 100% Success Rate in Closing Short Sales

Who should I hire:

All agents are not the same. Interview your agent in detail. Ask about the HAMP and HAFA program. If the agent can’t explain the programs than I would continue to interview.

Ask the agent how the process works. They should understand that a comprehensive package must be submitted to the lender for a file to be considered.

What Is A Comprehensive File?

Non-HAFA Required Short Sale Documents

1. Hardship statement outlining how/why you are in a financial bind

2. Borrower Authorization(s)

3. Listing information Form

4. Last two years of tax returns including W-2′s and all schedules

5. Most current bank statements (3 months)

6. Most current pay stubs (if self employed, provide YTD P&L)

7. Personal financial statement form

8. Most recent mortgage statement(s)

9. Previous Title Insurance policy (if available)

10. Current monthly Homeowner Association statement (if applicable)

11. If on Social Security or Disability, please provide proof of entitlement

HAFA Required Short Sale Documents

1. Borrower Authorization(s)

2. Listing Information Form

3. Most Recent Mortgage Statement(s)

4. Previous Title Insurance Policy (if available)

5. Current monthly Homeowner Association statement (if applicable)

6. Short Sale Agreement w/ Servicer (SSA)

7. Date you returned HAFA Short Sale Agreement to lender: ________________ 

Remember: Price your home so the lender knows you have made every effort to get the best terms possible.

A short sale defines the loss to the lender. Foreclosure could amount to any amount of deficiency depending on how long  it takes the lender to resell the property. Understand your exposure and liability. Consult with an accountant and an attorney.

For Assistance with your short sale call today 321-422-4729.

 1. You’ll have an expert to guide you through the process. Buying or selling a home usually requires disclosure forms, inspection reports, mortgage documents, insurance policies, deeds, and multi-page settlement statements. A knowledgeable expert will help you prepare the best deal, and avoid delays or costly mistakes.

 2. Get objective information and opinions. REALTORS® can provide local community information on utilities, zoning, schools, and more. They’ll also be able to provide objective information about each property. A professional will be able to help you answer these two important questions: Will the property provide the environment I want for a home or investment? Second, will the property have resale value when I am ready to sell?

 3. Find the best property out there. Sometimes the property you are seeking is available but not actively advertised in the market, and it will take some investigation by your REALTOR® to find all available properties. 

4. Benefit from their negotiating experience. There are many negotiating factors, including but not limited to price, financing, terms, date of possession, and inclusion or exclusion of repairs, furnishings, or equipment. In addition, the purchase agreement should provide a period of time for you to complete appropriate inspections and investigations of the property before you are bound to complete the purchase. Your agent can advise you as to which investigations and inspections are recommended or required.

 5.  Property marketing power. Real estate doesn’t sell due to advertising alone. In fact, a large share of real estate sales comes as the result of a practitioner’s contacts through previous clients, referrals, friends, and family. When a property is marketed with the help of a REALTOR®, you do not have to allow strangers into your home. Your REALTOR® will generally prescreen and accompany qualified prospects through your property.

 6. Real estate has its own language. If you don’t know a CMA from a PUD, you can understand why it’s important to work with a professional who is immersed in the industry and knows the real estate language.

 7. REALTORS® have done it before. Most people buy and sell only a few homes in a lifetime, usually with quite a few years in between each purchase. And even if you’ve done it before, laws and regulations change. REALTORS®, on the other hand, handle hundreds of real estate transactions over the course of their career. Having an expert on your side is critical.

 8. Buying and selling is emotional. A home often symbolizes family, rest, and security — it’s not just four walls and a roof. Because of this, home buying and selling can be an emotional undertaking. And for most people, a home is the biggest purchase they’ll ever make. Having a concerned, but objective, third party helps you stay focused on both the emotional and financial issues most important to you.

 9. Ethical treatment. Every member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of REALTORS® makes a commitment to adhere to a strict Code of Ethics, which is based on professionalism and protection of the public. As a customer of a REALTOR®, you can expect honest and ethical treatment in all transaction-related matters. It is mandatory for REALTORS® to take the Code of Ethics orientation and they are also required to complete a refresher course every four years.