How To Save Your Home From Foreclosure and Probate: Cody Oakes - Real Estate Rescue

Sebastian Rusk00:05 - 00:26

This is the beyond the story podcast, a show that goes way beyond the story. Cody Oakes. Welcome to the show, brother.

Cody Oakes00:26 - 00:28

Thanks for having me, man.

Sebastian Rusk00:28 - 00:31

Hey, thanks for, uh, thanks for being here. You look like quite the podcaster there.

Cody Oakes00:32 - 00:36

Yeah, I got a got my wall set up. I got my microphone and my webcam.

Sebastian Rusk00:36 - 01:51

So we turned you into a podcasting machine. Love it. I love it. So you just got your show launched, really proud of what you've done and what you're doing with it. And you're rocking and rolling over there. So keep up the great work. And in that conversation, I said, you know what, man, our very first conversation you and I had, we connected on Facebook and we had a real like 45 minute conversation. You unpacked your entire like story of how you started doing what you're doing right now, which is actively working in the world of foreclosures to, to help people literally save their home or create a better solution for them in the event they were losing their home. And it all started with like the hobby of like, let's, let's do a rehab and let's, and one thing led to another. And then you saw this gigantic need. which it is, the banks don't want you to save your house. They don't want you to know all this stuff on your, and you said, you know what, I need to go and do something. So I said, let's, let's get you on the podcast, man. I want to, I want to talk about what you and I initially had a conversation about, which was how you got started with all this. So for context purposes, let's back up, let's help our listeners better understand exactly what you do. And let's go into really how the whole story started with a, with, with a simple flip.

Cody Oakes01:52 - 03:23

Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, this, uh, like you and I were talking about when I originally got into this, we were just doing small little rehabs with me and my father. Um, and at that time he was working on a restaurant and I was, uh, had some, some funds in the bank and I just said, Hey, you know what? I'm going to go purchase a house at the auction. Right. And, uh, so I went to the auction and, um, Spoke, bought a home and they tell you, hey, don't go knock on the door. Don't go over there until you receive deed. I said, well, I'm not going to do that. I'm just going to go over there and speak with a homeowner and come to find out that she, she's been living in that house for 27 years. It was actually her, uh, it was her parents' house before that. And we ended up purchasing her home from, from the auction site and she lost it over $30,000. Um, so she only owed $30,000 total on the house and she was behind on her loan 18 grand. So I said, well, never again, am I going to buy a house from the auction? I'm going to start, you know, it called, uh, called a few of my buddies and told them kind of what we were doing. And I said, uh, you know, I'm going to start helping these individuals. Cause I asked her, Hey, you know, why didn't you sell? And you know, what kind of got you to put in this situation? And she explained to me that she opted into a forbearance, which is just a way for the banks to. you know, put your loan on the back end. Right. And when that had happened, uh, she didn't, she thought she was going to be able to remodify her loan. And unfortunately she wasn't and she owed 18 grand and she lost her house over $18,000. Okay.

Sebastian Rusk03:23 - 03:34

And then at that point, what, what was your thought process as far as, you know, what you were going to do to get in there and start inflicting some change in this whole process?

Cody Oakes03:35 - 05:05

Well, the biggest, the biggest thing for me was, uh, spreading awareness, um, letting individuals know that, Hey, you do have options and that there are. You know, solutions for you. So, uh, I came from a finance, uh, world, uh, a cell solutions world. Um, so that's basically it. Sebastian is, Hey. What caused you to be put in this situation? Right. And what is your, what is your top choices here? And how can we help you? Because unfortunately, you know, there's probably every given month, just in the state of Georgia alone, there's 500 plus foreclosures. And that can be because someone is behind on their payments. That could be because. The house was owned by someone else and then they passed away. And the way that the banks have it is they're not going to talk to you. So if you're not on that deed or you're not on that mortgage, and let's just say it's in your wife's name, she passes, you try to contact the banks. They don't have the rights. Nor will they give you any information about that loan, even if you have the money to pay it, right? Even if you're ready to pay the money, they make it very difficult for you because you're not the, you're not the owner. Um, or you're not on, you're not on the deed or you're not on, uh, the mortgage. So now you have to go through this process of filing paperwork, going through probates, and that could take six to eight months and your house could be already sold by, by them before you even have the chance to be able to just have a simple conversation with the bank.

Sebastian Rusk05:06 - 05:38

So these these forbearance programs are bullshit. They're not even set up to help people be able to keep their home because the bank really holds the keys, pun intended, with this entire process. So people think that technically this happened a lot during the pandemic where people would get in there and, you know, they give people opportunities to, you know, Tack, you know, it looks like you're getting a break on your payments, but they're just tacking them on the end of the loan anyhow. And in the event they change their mind, he can completely go haywire for the homeowner.

Cody Oakes05:38 - 06:57

The problem is, is that, you know, people opted into this as a safety, as an insurance, right? I opted into the very program. So, um, the issue, there's a few issues. It's kind of like the perfect storm, um, where everything aligns at once. Well, Nobody, nobody thought that in 2020 or 2021 or 2022, um, that the interest rates were going to, you know, go all the way up to 8% and they're still climbing. So you got to think when people. People are most of the people that purchase homes, they're locked in at a two, three, 4% interest rate. And when they opted into these forbearances, uh, they're thinking, oh, we just remodify my loan. Not a big deal. Well, whenever you go and purchase a home, the banks take in DTI, which is debt to income. And you got to be within 40% or below of your DTI. So if you have a payment in 2021 at $1,500 a month, and an interest rate at four, but now the interest rates are all the way up to eight. The bank calls you Sebastian and says, Hey, you know what, are you going to remodify your loan? Yeah, absolutely. Well, now we got you figured in from a 4% to an 8%. What does 

that do to your payment?

Sebastian Rusk06:57 - 06:59

It makes it go up.

Cody Oakes06:59 - 07:42

It makes it go up. And then when it goes up, it looks like you don't qualify anymore because you, uh, you, you have exceeded that threshold of the, your DTI. Uh, so now your DTI is, you know, showing you a 50%. Yeah. There's nothing that we can do about this. Um, do you have the 20,000 or the $30,000 that you're behind? No. Okay. Well, we're going to have to foreclose on your home. And this is happening to, to, to, to people all over the United States. And, uh, you know, there's a lot of victims that are out there that, you know, just thought that they were doing the right thing by their family. They didn't know what was going to happen with COVID. And they were using this as a insurance protection. And this insurance protection is now costing them everything.

Sebastian Rusk07:44 - 08:08

Crazy to even know that exists out there. But I mean, that's the that's the banking system for you in a nutshell. So what are some things that you have done proactively to help people that are in these scenarios where they're about to? I mean, you've told me a few stories where people are like days away from losing their house and you guys have been able to step in and provide a solution. What are some of those things you've been able to do?

Cody Oakes08:09 - 09:33

So every solution is different. And, uh, I tell everybody, you know, I don't have a rule book or guidelines that I have to follow. I kind of make the rules as I go. Right. Because at the end of the day, this is all about helping people in certain situations. We've had mortgage lenders who have been doing this for 20 plus years, thinking that. This could never happen to them. And I'm knocking on the door. They say, hey, you know, my bank, we're getting it figured out and we're going to reinstate it. And the bank, they're not figuring it out. And they call me a day before. She's a success story as of last month, because that particular individual paid off their loan. So we gave them a loan. Which is crazy right when you think about it these people are about to go through foreclosure and we're over here given individuals loans it sounds insane but it's not insane when you break it down and no one will their history they had three daughters or two daughters and she was married the husband didn't even know that they're about to lose their house she calls me the day before. And this was the first real deal that I had ever done. Um, and it was alone. And, uh, you know what, they, they made their, their, their payments back perfectly on time. And she was able to, to keep her house and also keep $300,000 in equity inside her home. If she wouldn't have called me, then I don't know if they would, they would still be in that house today.

Sebastian Rusk09:35 - 09:58

That's one of the advantage. I mean, other than being able to see people stay in their home, the advantage of being able to do that loan is that obviously you, you know, you, you charge a premium on that loan. I mean, you're not gouging people like the bank does all the time, but you're that, cause we will always wonder, well, why in the world would you give a personal loan? Well, I'm going to lend them money knowing that I'm making this much based on the return on my money on that. Is that how that's usually structured?

Cody Oakes09:59 - 12:40

Yeah, so it's collateralized. It's, you know, we, we hold, we hold the house. So basically what we did for her was I now in possession of the home, just because it's my collateral. And then at the end of the day, when she pays the house back, then, or pays the loan back, then I sign over the deed back over to her. Um, so because obviously, you know, this is a risk, it's a risk on very much risk on, you know, these people are going through, going through challenges. And you know, not every person is a person of character, um, and integrity. Right. So nice way of saying it. Yeah. And, and you know what, I mean, obviously we want to be able to do as much as possible to help people out and help families out. Um, so it's all case by case, you know, we are very good and very creative at, uh, coming up with solutions. Um, and every solution is different. You know, we've, we've given loans, we've purchased a home, given them equity and then kept them inside the home. And now we just own the house and they pay us rent. Um, we have, uh, purchased the house outright and relocated these individuals. There's a lot that's going on and in, in this time and with I'm not going to say the name, but with these large institutions that are purchasing homes, they also have a monopoly on the market. And what I mean by that is as far as renters go, there's a huge need for rental homes that are affordable and Some of these applications, because we've literally signed for some of these customers who are saying, Hey, you know what, Cody, we just want to get out of the house. We want to take some equity out and we just want to go somewhere else. We want to start over. So we say, Hey, you know what? Well, the biggest thing that you're going to run into is. Can you, because your credit might not allow you to, because now they're showing not only on these, uh, these, these forbearances, but when you opt into that forbearance and they don't remodify you, that hits your credit. And they don't tell you that. So now you have two years or a year of late payments. So what does that do to your credit score? Drops your credit score down. So now if you're going to Joe to just try to be able to get into a home, a rental house or an apartment, you can't even do that. So what we do is we sign for these individuals and, uh, man, let me tell you, it's, it's pretty difficult. Um, you know, not difficult for us, but there's a lot to it, you know, versus three, four, five, six, seven years ago. Now it's like, it's like almost like you're buying a house just to be able to get approved, to be able to get into a rental and into a rental home.

Sebastian Rusk12:40 - 13:12

It's crazy that way. I was just, I'm glad you brought that up. Cause I was going to say not every. situation that you work with is a cookie cutter situation. Sometimes the person needs a loan. We will clouderize the pot, the, the, uh, the, the property until the loans repaid. Sometimes people just want to get out of the house and want to find a place to live. You'd even said that you've taken people out of their home to put them in a, in another home to rent, to put them in a better solution. That other home is part of the inventory that you guys have on what you guys do.

Cody Oakes13:12 - 14:39

Yeah. So we have, uh, We have a nonprofit side that we are really trying to get going. It's called by the door. Um, but that side of it will take an individual's house. Let's say that they want to sell it. Um, or it's a probate. And most of these are the ones that we own are through probates, right? So someone passes away and the house is about to foreclose on the family members. Don't have the funds or know the. the specifics to be able to get the house out of foreclosure. So we have a team of attorneys that can do that. So we'll take homes over and then we'll relocate individuals and lower their monthly payments. So we actually did that for a customer. He was needing a loan, but unfortunately, just for his circumstances, he was going to be paying more a month than what he actually makes a month. And I told him, hey, look, I don't want to do this because I don't want to be the person who's coming to you. I'm your savior today. But what happens when you can't make these payments in three, four months, then what? And that's what I don't want to do. I want to be able to help guide these people almost like a consultant, you know, as much as we can and say, Hey, this is, this could probably be a better financial decision. Right? So we ended up lowering his monthly payment by six, $700 a month, putting him in the same school district and, Making it easier on him to be able to pay those payments and giving him equity as well from his house that he sold to us.

Sebastian Rusk14:40 - 16:30

Yeah. I mean, these things just don't, I mean, a lot of people will or a lot of solutions rather than I've heard of when, when people are down and out, I've had friends in this scenario back in the 2008 days. Uh, unfortunately we may be headed towards back, you know, similar market with foreclosures. Um, so what you're doing has even more of significance now than, than ever, but you know, The solutions that I've heard on are very loan sharkish, if that's even a word, uh, it is now, uh, and very predatory, just like the banks are doing on these people. You'll have a person that'll come in and offer a solution, but that solution is a. One person is benefiting from that solution in most cases on here. So what I love that you guys are doing is that it is a win-win situation. People get to keep their house, stay in their house, sometimes both, and get the assistance they need. You guys have a business and a service that you offer, so you're obviously able to be compensated based on the structure of the help that you're giving. So that's a true win-win. I absolutely love that, man. And it's no mystery why you're doing as good as you're doing with this type of solution. Because A, people need it. And B, you're a straight shooter offering a fair solution. I remember you told me a story a couple weeks back. about a guy that only won a couple grand to get himself out of a solution. And you're like, dude, I couldn't even sleep at night if I gave you a couple grand and ended up like 10Xing what the deal ended up being and blew the guy's mind, changed his life forever on there. That's got to be like a never-ending satisfaction and feeling when presented with an opportunity to bless someone like that and do them right and put them in a better scenario.

Cody Oakes16:30 - 18:32

Yeah, it absolutely is. You know, at the end of the day, you know, we do have to make money and we're not trying to come out as predatory. And there's a standard and, um, character that needs to be met on doing these. So, you know, as, as we live in a world where you have social media, anybody can go and bash you. Right. And what you, what you find out is. It's almost having a seller's remorse, right? Um, we're just psychologically prone to, to rethinking or having buyer's remorse. And that's what I don't want to have happen. I don't want to come in as a solution to be able to help somebody and then say, man, you know what, you know, I wish I would have, you know, gotten X or I wish he would have done, you know, more for me. And if I know that, you know, wow, this is. you know, it was crazy what the other people were offering. It was crazy that he was going to take it. And, uh, when he told me those numbers, I just, I told him I couldn't do it. You know, I can't, I can't give you this because, and he thought I was saying I couldn't give him that much. I said, no, I just, I can't give you, I can't give you that. Cause it's too little, you know, obviously I know I'm a professional and we, the great thing about real estate rescue is we're also contractors. So when I come in, and i look at deals and they're looking to sell the home i can figure out what my investment is gonna be on the rehab side a lot of investors don't have that they have to call on people like me so when i can come in there and i can save money on the construction well i want these people to be able to read those rewards so We still have to make money as real estate rescue, right? Or else we wouldn't be able to help individuals out. But we also want to make sure that the person that we're coming in to help is also getting what they need. And with that too, we also relocated that guy. We paid for all his moving expenses. We were going to sign for him. Somehow he ended up getting it done on his own. Um, which was good for him. So yeah, we, we become friends and he actually messages me still to this day.

Sebastian Rusk18:32 - 19:47

Love that. I'm doing work that matters, man. You can, you can not only sleep at night, sleep very well at night. People ask me, how do you sleep at night? I said, very good. You know, you keep, you know, you're, you always do the right thing. You have to worry about doing the wrong thing. And you always take care of people. Um, and again, it's just, it's just what you do is my good friend, Rich would say, uh, it's just what you do is the right thing. It's always a good time to do the right thing. Well, I love what you're up to, uh, Cody. It's great to, uh, to call your friend now and, and client and turned you into a podcaster, man, speaking of real estate rescue, if you're listening to this right now and you want to know more about the world of foreclosure, probate, how to prevent it, how the banks work. I'm going to put a link to Cody's podcast, which I'm very, very proud of, and I know he is too. Real Estate Rescue, that's going to be in the description of this podcast episode on here. Well, man, listen, I want to encourage you to keep up doing great work. I told you that I admire the work that you're doing, and I want to get in the mix, and I firmly believe That's going to happen sooner rather than later, because could you imagine a bunch of people standing up and being able to say, let's just make sure people are better off in general, because we have the tools, resources, gifts, whatever it may be to make that happen. Any final thoughts for our listeners when it comes to the world of foreclosure?

Cody Oakes19:49 - 20:31

Um, yeah, just be careful who you're doing business with. Uh, there's a huge group that's out there that, uh, is pushing certain things, wholesalers and flipping contracts. And, uh, you know, we've seen a lot of people that, you know, we've lost deals too. And then all of a sudden those individuals that we lost the deals to are calling us back saying, Hey, we really wish we would have went to, went, went with you and your services, uh, versus these other, other individuals who lock us up in a contract and then they don't have, um, the resources or the expertise to actually solidify and bring this, uh, bring this home and, you know, keep them in their house or be able to sell the house. So that's the biggest thing is make sure you bet everybody. And, uh, you know, if you guys ever need a second opinion, then please reach out to real estate rescue and we can always make you another offer.

Sebastian Rusk20:32 - 20:44

Absolutely. Definitely want to know who you're doing business with. Cody, thanks for your time, my brother. Great to see you again. And thanks for pouring into our audience here and helping us better understand what we don't know. We don't know about the world of foreclosure. We'll have to see you next time.

Cody Oakes20:44 - 20:46

Absolutely. Good to see you too, man.

Sebastian Rusk20:46 - 21:08

Until next time, friends. Thanks so much for tuning into this episode of the Beyond the Story podcast. We sure do appreciate it. If you haven't done so already, make sure you're subscribed to the show. This way you'll get updates as new episodes become available. If you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. We sure do appreciate it. Signing off from the podcast, Launchlab.com Studios. We'll talk to you next time.