Getting Short Sales Approved

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Elk Grove Short Sale Successes!

Mar 14

Posted by HS in Uncategorized | No Comments

Elk Grove Short Sales

So much is written about how difficult Short Sales are, that I thought it was time I told you a bit about our successes with Elk Grove Short Sales…

Just this past week –
We closed 2 Elk Grove short sale listings…the bank on both was Aurora Bank. These properties were investment properties for the seller and were listed the first part of November 2009. We received approvals on them by mid January 2010, which means about 70 days on each. Then we had 30 days to get them closed…which we did this week! One was sold to an investor and the other to a first time homebuyer! Both buyers are very happy that they hung in there for the 100 days it took to get these properties closed….not bad. In a normal market, the marketing period is often times 90 days on a home before it goes pending…these 2 took about 1 week to actually have buyers in contract on them!

In addition, this week, we closed an escrow for an investor client on an Elk Grove Short Sale and got 2 more buyers into escrow on Elk Grove short sale listings! Not a bad week for short sales in the Elk Grove area! With this being the year of the Short Sale , it is important that we all learn how to navigate through them. The process is getting easier…the banks are starting to get with it more…agents and buyers are getting more educated on the process.

If you are a buyer, watch for more information on the Top 10 things you need to know about Short Sales, coming in the next couple of days. And in the meantime make sure to read, First Time Home Buyers Buying Elk Grove Short Sales!.

If you are a homeowner in distress and want more information on Elk Grove Short Sales, make sure to check out www.ElkGroveShortSale.com or contact us at (916) 230-0371 for a FREE private consulation.

Search All Elk Grove homes here

Lori Mode, Keller Williams Realty – Elk Grove
www.AllElkGroveHomes.com
Lori@ModeandDurhaM.com
(916) 230-0371

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Selling Short might get another advantage

Mar 9

Posted by HS in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

When a homeowner sells their property “short,”  that amount of money that was forgiven by the lender is considered income and typically taxed.   Well, currently the Federal Government is not taxing that money to the short seller but the state of California is.  On Monday, Legislation to prevent the state from taxing forgiven mortgage debt cleared the state Assembly.  The legislation could potentially offer tax relief to thousands of Californians who sold their home through short sale in 2009.  The measure passed 47-27 and is now being sent to Governor Schwarzenegger.

Schwarzenegger’s office signaled later that he may veto the measure. 

Currently, the fed’s tax relief is in place through 2012.  California was forgiving the “income” in 2007 and 2008 but since falling on major budget deficits, the state has since been taxing the amount of money the seller/homeowner was forgiven.

Doug’s take: I can definitely see both sides of this one.  It is a huge help for struggling homeowners that have to sell short to get the tax break.  I know, i have many short sale clients currently and in the past.  They all tell me how tough it is going to be to pay that tax on the forgiven amount.  It would be a much needed break for those in the difficult position of losing their home and have to do a short sale.

On the other hand, the state is in financial ruin as well.  The state needs all the tax money it can get.  We’ve all been effected by the deficit.

My suggestion is meeting in the middle and only taxing half as much as would normally be taxed.  It would be a win-win in my opinion but then again politics are not that easy.  We’ll just have to wait and see how it plays out.  I know my past short sale clients will be anxiously waiting.

If you have any questions about selling your home as a short sale, i’m here to help.  Give me a call or email and i’ll put my short sale experience to work for you.

clear skies,

doug reynolds

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My week in Indian Wells at the C.A.R. Business Meetings…

Feb 10

Posted by Greg Fielding in Uncategorized | No Comments

Have I mentioned lately that I really love being a Realtor? I love working with my buyer and seller clients, and I also really enjoy my involvement on the other side of things…I mention pretty frequently my involvement in various committees locally at the Sacramento Association of Realtors. I am also an active participant in various committees at the state level. So, if you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you will already know that I left town early this week and flew to Palm Springs in order to attend the winter business meetings for the California Association of Realtors.

It was definitely a working trip! In addition to attending my committee meetings and other related events, I still obviously had to work…I still did short sale negotiation, actually closed a short sale on Thursday.

The C.A.R. Board of Directors and its Committees research and formulate policy on all areas affecting the business, professional practices and public policy involvement of California Realtors. I am on 4 C.A.R. committees. The am a member of the Membership Committee, the Local Government Relations Forum, and the Communications Advisory Committee, and I have a leadership position on the Young Professionals Network Committee. Most of the sessions are closed, so I can not go into too much detail regarding the content of what was discussed…

The journey home was quite an experience…the Palm Springs airport was basically shut down due to bad weather. My flight was cancelled and I was basically stranded. Thankfully, one of my Realtor colleagues took pity on me, and turned around 3o minutes into the drive home and rescued me. I finally got home around midnight last night, after I should have been home around noon. UGH.

Anyway, back to work this week! I have a great (non-short sale) listing coming on the market on Wednesday, and all kinds of other great things going on…

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New Guidelines for Short Sales-Will Reality and the Ideal Meet?

Feb 10

Posted by Greg Fielding in Uncategorized | No Comments

short saleThere is a concerted push to make the short sale process more streamlined. If you don’t knon what a short sale is, it when you sell your property for less than the mortgage owed. For example if you owe $650,000 and sell the property for $550,000, then this is a short sale.

The problem with short sales is there is not a streamlined  process. For a short sale the bank holding the mortgage needs to be notified and they are involved in either accepting or not accepting the terms of a short sale.

The frustrating part? Every bank does it differently. And it can be a LONG process. Some banks are better  (Wachovia) and some are notoriously difficult (BofA, Chase). 

Why are short sales a good idea? Well they help to stop the hemorrhaging when it comes to declining prices. Think about it, if you’re a homeowner and the property is going to foreclosure, you may considering the selling the new kitchen cabinets and granite countertops and hell why not sell the appliances as well? In addition if there is small leak in the roof, why fix it? Once this property goes to foreclosure, it is a distressed property because there deferred maintenance on top of a missing kitchen. Of course because of the condition the property, despite the location, will not be able to sell for the same price of a home in good condition. This property sells for less money and helps to bring down the prices in the neighborhood.

What else is good about short sales? The homeowners credit could probably recover and when your credit score is not completely trashed things like qualifying for a car loan, or a credit card becomes much easier. This is not only good for the homeowners who needed to sell but is good for the economic recovery. If you can get credit and make purchases, this will help the broader economic engine and move us more toward recovery.

The third and what seems like the most obvious to me, is the banks will more than likely recoup more of their money. Think about it. If you are selling a home with cooperative homeowners who are going to help out in the sale of the property (the kitchen will remain for example), then the final sale of the property will more than likely be more than if the property has been stripped via the typical foreclosure route. What else does this do? It helps to stabilize prices in the neighborhood. With less highly distressed home sales, the prices do not plummet. This in turn will probably keep more homeowners in their home, because if prices stabilize and homeowners are able to refinance and stay, then there are less short sales and less foreclosures.  Seems so completely obvious, you have to wonder what the banking community is thinking.

There are some changes coming down the pike. Short sales are becoming more common and in some instances easier than in times past.  Click here to read more regarding HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program), which is the program that is to set the guidelines to assist with short sales.

Will these laws make real inroads? I am cautiously optimistic. I don’t think these laws really go far enough in fact. What the banks should really look at is principal reductions for those who want to stay in their home but find home values much less than when they bought the property. The one challenge I see these new laws is there is not a lot of teeth to it. Only those banks who utilized TARP funding are required to comply. The reality is for this to be effective is staving off foreclosures and helping the communities in which homeowners are underwater, there will be some success with the changes, but some significant challenges ahead for homeowners who find themselves underwater.

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