Cash For Keys (CFK) – How much should you get?

Cash for keys – How Much should you get?

Hello welcome to Todd Miller TV. Today’s topic is Cash for Keys. I get a lot of questions about this form people. What’s the reasonable amount? So, wanna go over some cash for keys scenarios with what’s reasonable. You’re probably wondering, isn’t there a set amount that I should get? And the answer is “No!” For example, if you live in a luxury home. So if you live in a home that’s whether your a previous owner tenant, if you live in a luxury home that’s a million dollar home, you are likely to get money than if you live in a really small house. It’s/and the reason for that is is because the reason that a lot of people will do cash for keys is ’cause they wanna ensure you move out, don’t vandalize, or take thing. We had a house that was a high-end home and they took probably $30,000 worth of stuff out of the house. I mean they took all the appliances, they took landscaping, they took like everything and; So cash for keys financial incentive not to do that. Biggest check I ever sa was 10 grand ($10,000). And that was for a million dollar plus home. Seen little cash for keys checks, $500 I think is the smallest one I’ve ever seen. Okay now, that being said, it also depends on the bank. For example, this morning I got a Cash for keys on a house that was about $4,700. Well, that bank has a policy kinda Nationally the way they do Cash for Keys. They go based on like a percentage of what they think the house is worth, something like that. That’s a lot of money for Cash for keys. That are other banks, $2,000 is the max. You get $2,000, doesn’t matter the value of the house. $2,000 if you move out within a certain amount of time, if not it’s starts going down on a schedule. So if you say, “I can’t move out in 40 days, I need 52 days” they do some Math and say “Okay, instead of $2,000 you’re gonna get $1,287.” And you take it or leave it, right? The other thing to keep in mind and just be careful about this, So let’s say someone comes in and knocks, and we have/this was a situation, imagine this, you’re in your house and the house is actually bought in the Trustee Sale. It’s not actually bought by the bank. It’s bought by Trustee Sale. And/but the bank thinks that they got it. Sometimes it happens. Sometimes it goes what,it goes to an investor, but the bank sends a Real Estate agent out to the house. Agent knocks on the door, offers cash for keys to the person, and let’s say they say they’ll give them $5,000. And the people say “We”, we’ll think about it or whatever” they sign the agreement. Well then the investor who actually owns the house, comes and knocks on the door and says ” I’ll give you $1,000 to move out” and they go “I’ve already signed the agreement for $5,000 to move out from the bank.” Well there’s a problem there because it’s not a valid agreement because the bank doesn’t own the house. They can offer you money to move out but at some point they’re gonna figure out they don’t own it. They’re gonna cancel that deal. The problem is you now have this hopes of getting $5,000. You’ve probably have gone to an attorney and the attorneys told you “That’s the going rate for, you know 3 to 5 grand, that’s the going rate for a cash for keys.” Well for an investor it’s not. Investors aren’t gonna pay that much, the reason why is they do an eviction pretty cheap. They can run an eviction for about 5 or 6 hundred bucks. For them, They’d rather save a couple hundred bucks than give you a few thousand. So what they’re gonna do is they’re just gonna do an eviction and have you removed form the house. They’re all about the bottomline so then you’re saying “Yeah, but what about if they’ve/I’ve trashed the house?” Well they have insurance on the house. You know, investor buys the house, they put insurance on. If you trash and move out, they’re just gonna go to the insurance company and say “Hey they trashed the house when they moved out.” The other problem you’ll have is the bank may not do this, but the investor ’cause they know who you are is likely to file criminal charges against you ’cause it is a felony in Nevada to knowingly damage a house that has been foreclosed or is being foreclosed and if you’re the occupant or you’re doing it with the intent of depriving the new owner of the value of the home, it is a felony in Nevada to do that. So the investor who is/who cares about the property a lot, and is going to/they’re probably gonna go down and say “this was the person, they’ve lived there, this is what happened, and it’s a felony, they’ve vandalized my house.” So if you wanna risk that, go for it. But, so, just keep that in mind that with cash for keys you know, you can talk to an attorney all you want, Attorneys don’t do cash for keys for the most part, they don’t/a lot of them don’t have practical knowledge, the people who know and have done this are the Real Estate agents. We’ve done hundreds of them, we’ve sold over 2,000 REO in the last 4 years so we’ve clearly done a lot of cash for keys and we know what the reasonable ranges are for bank or for an investor. So, just keep that in mind if you’re watching this ’cause you’re an agent, you’re trying to advice a client, or you’re just somebody out there who’s saying “hey, how much should I get for cash for keys?” It is negotiable to appoint but like I said, there’s some bank that’s 2 grand, that’s all they offer. They won’t, that’s their policy they won’t/they’ll never exceed that and some will go more but for the most part is, you have to make a decision at some point. Either take what’s offered, reasonable amount or that you wait for an eviction. And some people choose to do that. That’s fine too. Anyway, I want to share that with you since there’s a lot of misconception out there about what the reasonable amount for cash for keys that you should be accepting or be looking at. One last thing, the cash for keys is paid to each adult occupant. So let’s say that you live in a house and you rent out 2 of the rooms to tenants. Now technically, those tenants that the bank is gonna split that into 3rd. So let’s say they offer $2,000. What they’re gonna do is they’re roughly gonna take 660 each, 660/670 each and give it/they’re gonna say “who are the all the occupants?” So they’re not gonna give 2,000 each person, they’re gonna split the amount evenly. So that’s how it works if you have multiple people. If you have a 4plex, it’s different. So say you have a 4plex so it’s 4 units. And it’s one building. They’re not gonna offer $2,000 for the whole unit. They consider each like unit A. That’s a unit so that unit will get 2 grand. Unit B. That’s a unit so that unit will get 2 grand. So it depend on the type of property that it is. A single family residences and condos, that gonna be the limit. Anything that’s individual unit gets typically is eligible for that amount. That is my update and hope to see you on another video. Thanks.

  1. <cite class="fn">Paul Miner</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    Hello,
    I have an issue and a question. I have been a renter of a basement apt. in a very nice multi story house for over 10 years now. Formal lease, etc. The owner foreclosed on the house and now I have to move. I was offered Cash for Keys.

    However, I have a housemate that moved in during the foreclosure proceedings. (1 year ago) This was allowed by the original property owner as a favor during the foreclosure proceedings. (a tempory situation to help him out)
    There was no lease signed…no rent paid….etc. Only a split of the utilities. Now, I’ve told him I do not want to share the CFK’s money. He’s pretty upset to say the least.

    Does the CFK’s offer that I received legally apply to this person as an “Occupant” of the house? I.E….do I have to legally split it with him? I really need some professional clarity on all this….bad.

    Thanks for your help,
    Paul

  2. <cite class="fn">Jenn</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    Cashee here… Wondering how to confirm payment will clear, bank refuses to deliver cash, certified check, or other form of guarantee. From a note on the door, we are to trust them?
    Thank you!

  3. <cite class="fn">Todd Miller</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    You’ll have to ask the agent who comes to your house. Disclose to them that there are numerous occupants and they will let you know the process. Some banks offer a set amount ($2,000) and they divide it among the occupants. We had a 4plex that had all 4 units occupied and the bank said we could only offer $2,000 total so each one got $500.

  4. <cite class="fn">Todd Miller</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    That’s a good question. You won’t get anything until after you are moved out and then only after the agent checks the house to make sure its in the appropriate condition. The check is normally just a normal check, but we have probably done about 500 of them without a problem. You should get a contract that you sign with them, and if it looks legit, it probably is. You can also take it to an attorney as well….

  5. <cite class="fn">Leah</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    I have a home in foreclosure but had to sell the appliances as I needed the cash. Can I still negotiate ‘cash for keys’?

  6. <cite class="fn">Leah</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    I have a home in foreclosure but I had to sell the appliances as I needed the cash. Can I still negotiate cash for keys without them. The house is otherwise in excellent condition.

  7. <cite class="fn">Todd Miller</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    Depends. Let them know right up front. We have had a couple instances where they have said yes. The other thing you can do is find some appliances and put them in. Depends on how much cash they are offering. If you are going to get $2,000 and you can get some used appliances for $500 that would make sense to do it.

  8. <cite class="fn">Ash</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    Hello,

    So I signed a lease with a townhome association that does not own the house, but are trying to get back some of the association fees that the owner did not pay by renting it to me. I knew the house was going into foreclosure 6 months ago. Crazy right? Well, the agent convinced me that the foreclosure will take at least a year. I signed a 6 month lease and agreed to do a month to month after that. Problem is the month to month part is not written in my lease. I am still here and the association doesn’t care to evict me. Will the bank still offer me CFK if I am not an owner or have a lease? I am only an occupant at this point. Please help!

    Thanks in advance.

  9. <cite class="fn">Todd Miller</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    You should probably chat with an attorney in your area for specific legal advice. But, as a general rule all of the banks that we work with pay cash for keys to any occupant. So once an agent contacts you, they are interested in getting you out of the house and thats who they are going to negotiate with.

  10. <cite class="fn">RC</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    I have an interested scenario. CFK’s settlement in the works now. We have 4 tenants. 3 tenants pay a higher rent than the 4th. Reason being the 4th has a smaller room. Should the 3 tenants who pay higher rent get a higher percentage of the CFK settlement?

    Tenant A 26.5% of monthly rent
    Tenant B 26.5% of Monthly Rent
    Tenant C 26.5% of Monthly Rent
    Tenant D 20.5% of Monthly Rent.

    Should Tenant D only get 20.5% of the CFK settement????

  11. <cite class="fn">Todd Miller</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    Normally everybody gets the same amount, regardless of what rent is paid. Anything you all agree to usually works.

  12. <cite class="fn">james</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    The real estate agent was given the ok for up to 7,200. I asked for 10,000 and am getting it. AWESOME.

  13. <cite class="fn">Todd Miller</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    That’s great. It depends on the value of the home and where you live. In some cities like San Francisco I’ve heard of $20,000 CFK checks. In Vegas the going rate is $2,000 – $3,000 for most banks.

  14. <cite class="fn">Winning</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    I got 10,000 dollars plus my 1,500 dollar deposit back plus a couple months free rent. It’s all in the negotiation my friends.

  15. <cite class="fn">Scott</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    I’ve been renting/leasing the home we are in for 6 years. The owner entered into default and foreclosure proceedings have been underway for the past 9 months. The home has been scheduled for public auction twice and cancelled both times. I was just contacted by a realtor who claims the property is now owned by Freddie Mac, however the foreclosure proceedings were for another bank. The ‘landlord’ claims he hasn’t been notified of anything at this point. First, under Obama’s 2009 law, I understand I can stay at least 90 days as a month to month renter, or until my lease ends (whichever comes first). The realtor claims I have 10 days to get out and offered 1k to give up the keys. I was polite and asked them to provide me documentation in writing, which hasn’t happened yet. Any thoughts on this process?

  16. <cite class="fn">Todd Miller</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    Scott, lots of banks foreclose and then those properties go back to the Freddie or Fannie disposition center. Servicer, originator, etc can all be different banks. Are you in NV? Lots of loandlords will claim they know nothing and then ask you keep paying them rent. You can check public records, or call a title company and ask them to find out for you. I can’t give legal advice, just practical advice for how to proceed, but there are some PTFA (protecting Tenants in Foreclosure Act) protections you have. Its not going to be easy for them to get you out typically, but eventually you will have to get out.

  17. <cite class="fn">stephanie vogt</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    Hi Todd have you every seen cash for keys on a short sale that after the short sale banks say they have no relocation assistance programs ?

  18. <cite class="fn">Todd Miller</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    Yes. They don’t all have cash for keys programs. It depends on the bank and what government program they are following. The HAFA short sales normally pay $3,000.

  19. <cite class="fn">Deborah</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    This would be much easier to read if it had been edited! Ever consider hiring a proofreader?

  20. <cite class="fn">Deborah</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    In addition, it’s hard to consider someone a professional and take them seriously when they write like a teenager. No offense intended. You obviously know much more about real estate and finances than I do, and you might have great credentials and be a highly intelligent person. But as I read this, I hear a careless, uneducated voice. I’m wondering if that’s intentional? Email me if you are interested in a proofreader. 🙂

  21. <cite class="fn">Todd Miller</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    Deb,

    This isn’t a written blog. It’s a video blog. So the text you are reading is a transcription of the spoken words in the video. If you watch the video it makes sense and sounds normal. Thanks for watching.

    Todd

  22. <cite class="fn">sallie</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    Paul,
    I am in short sale process for last 9 months with Chase with BofA as servicer (in CA). I thought the $3000 HAFA was a given, but now as we are entering escrow Chase says that because the property had 2 addresses (one address on property records, 2 postal addresses -6777 and 6779) I can’t get HAFA cash. The second “address” was a mobile home on the property. Tenant was in the mobile home but I evicted him for nonpayment in May 2013 after not paying rent for 11 months. So, technically, the mobile home was in the “legal” address recognized by Chase, and I was in the other address. Of course it is one and the same very large property. Mobile home was there when we bought it and got the loan from Chase. Chase says it is BofAs rules about not having 2 addresses on one property but I don’t see the issue. Is there a way around it? Thanks.

  23. <cite class="fn">Deazail hayden</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    Todd I was thinking about doing cash for keys I have three people that live in the house with me in the house is under tax foreclosure two of the people on disability what can I do to make this go smoothly

  24. <cite class="fn">shawn</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    Hello! I’m not sure if you are answering questions anymore, but I filed for bankruptcy, and moved out of my house last March due to a divorce. I own the house, but my husband and his mother didn’t move out until April. I had already signed a lease so I let my brother-in-law move in with a verbal agreement that he would pay me 400.00 a month. Well, he paid a few times and has now stopped. I still have things in the garage and the house has been foreclosed. Is there any chance I can get cash for keys, or should I just get my stuff out and call the bank and tell them I’m out, but someone’s living there without consent? Any advice would be Greatly appreciated.

    Regards

  25. <cite class="fn">Vanassa</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    My house was scheduled for foreclosure auction on September 15. I signed a contract (not a short sale) on September 6. Found out on September 23 (the day of the closing) that the house was sold on September 15 in an auction on the courthouse steps because the mortgage company did not have a copy of the contract. I (the seller) never received a copy of the contract. Now I have lost my house, my credit it ruined and I don’t know who’s going to come after me for the potential balance on the house. The Real Estate agent and agency have walked away stating it is my fault that the contract didn’t get over to the mortgage company. I don’t see it that way. What do you think?

  26. <cite class="fn">Sherry Hammond</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    House is n forcloser i have let then 2wks im a tenant how can i get cash 4 keys

  27. <cite class="fn">Nancy Henker</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    Dude. Get a proofreader. Do you even speak English?

  28. <cite class="fn">Todd Miller</cite> <span class="says">says:</span>

    Sorry. Those are the transcriptions of the text from the videos. I’m going to re-work them. People don’t write and speak the same way.

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