I must admit that I did not always love short sales. Last year when short sales began it was a new game for everyone; sellers, buyers, agents and banks. Some were easy to get approved, and then they became harder and took longer and then became impossible to know what the outcome would be. ... [Read More]
I must admit that I did not always love short sales. Last year when short sales began it was a new game for everyone; sellers, buyers, agents and banks. Some were easy to get approved, and then they became harder and took longer and then became impossible to know what the outcome would be. We are now in July of 2009 and I would say most banks now have some sort of system. Even though the banks do not always tell you their rules if you do enough short sales you learn the rules written and unwritten as I have. I have learned that it is very important to screen the seller to make sure they will meet the banks requirements for a short sale. A seller has to show a hardship to the bank in order for the bank to agree to take a loss on the short sale. Constant communication with the banks is key, faxes do get lost and often. I spoke to one negotiator who told me that she had a work load of over two thousand files, no wonder she will not look at my file for two months because I am file two thousand and one. I like the challenge of negotiating on the price of the sale and the terms. I like transactions that come out as win; win for my sellers and the buyers too. There is a lot of misinformation out there; it is never too late to sell. I have stopped foreclosure sales a day before the sale date, after talking to the bank to allow me time to sell the property and save them money. Most people do not realize that the bank looses more money in a foreclosure than in a short sale. It feels good to close some real estate transactions again. We are on the road to recovery, at last.
In the past short sales were avoided because they took too long to get bank approval anywhere from 3 to 5 months sometimes. Since about May of 2009, banks have begun to have a get better at the turn around time for an answer, now it takes about 30 to 60 days. Some banks ... [Read More]
In the past short sales were avoided because they took too long to get bank approval anywhere from 3 to 5 months sometimes. Since about May of 2009, banks have begun to have a get better at the turn around time for an answer, now it takes about 30 to 60 days. Some banks are farming out the work to servicing companies that have the staff to help pick up the slack and shorten the approval times. REO or bank owned properties are faster to give a response but now we are seeing multiple offers, as many as a dozen offers in the first day or two the property has been on the market. It seems that at least in the bay area we have hit the bottom of the market and most homes listed under $600,000.00 are selling very fast. So now short sales are starting to look better as long as the buyer can wait the 60 days or so to get an approval. The trend seems to be that banks are looking to avoid foreclosing on properties and are more open to approving short sales.
Dirt, Dirt, Dirt. Location, Location, Location. How many times have we heard this saying? For those of us living in the Bay Area from San Francisco all the way to Gilroy and all the cities in between, we have had some high years of appreciation. In the past year the market here in the Bay ... [Read More]
Dirt, Dirt, Dirt. Location, Location, Location. How many times have we heard this saying? For those of us living in the Bay Area from San Francisco all the way to Gilroy and all the cities in between, we have had some high years of appreciation. In the past year the market here in the Bay Area and across the US has seen a national correction. When I started in this business some 25 years ago the interest rates were about 18% for mortgages, today we are under 5%, a great deal. The public wanted lower and lower payments and the lenders kept coming up with more and more competitive loan programs. We went from 30 year loans to adjustable loans, to interest only loans with shorter and shorter terms. These short term loans have become a disaster for many consumers. After being silent for several months my phone is starting to ring again with clients who want to refinance out of their short term loans, out of their adjustable loans and out of their interest only loans. People are going back to the basics, the 30 year mortgage. People are worried about the economy and their biggest asset of real estate. Homeowners want to gamble less and now invest for the long term, more stable types of mortgage loans. It is forcing many of us to have a reality check and take a closer look at what we spend. If we cannot afford a mortgage payment that will adjust over the next few years then we should only get a mortgage based on what we actually afford. Many people have lost their homes and ruined their credit because of these loans. I have helped dozens of clients obtain loan modifications since they cannot refinance their homes having no equity. It is April 2009 the market is moving again, it still has a long way to go to be healthy again.
