Short Sale Incentives

 

 

 

 

Get cash to sell the home you can’t afford

Since the beginning of the housing crisis, millions of homeowners have found themselves pinned in by their financial circumstances and chained to a mortgage on which they owe more than their home is worth. In the past, homeowners enduring these challenges had very few options, and most would be forced to lose their home to foreclosure.

 

Today, however, there are more options. The government and the banks have created a multitude of programs and foreclosure alternatives that can help people in these circumstances find a dignified solution for their problems without crippling their financial future. These options include loan modifications, refinancing, or short sales.

The most amazing development in today’s market, however, is one simple fact: Banks are now willing to give cash to homeowners to sell the home they can’t afford.

 

Please contact me today if you or someone you know could use my help and wants the latest information about current incentives available to distressed homeowners.

Rob Sales

Prudential Southeast Coastal Properties

Associate Broker, CDPE Advance,
DPP, REO Specialist, CIAS
912-655-7674
www.smartshortsales.net

 

Short Sales to Overtake Foreclosures in 2013

Short sales are expected to overtake foreclosure in 2013 as the dominant workout solution for distressed homeowners.

Credit-rating agency DBRS attributed the change to “the record number of servicers that are using short sales as their primary loss-mitigation tool to prevent delinquent loans from entering foreclosure.”

HOPE NOW, an alliance of mortgage servicers, investors and non-profit counselors, reported this week that nearly 40,000 short sales were completed in August, bringing the total to more than 1 million since December 2009, when it began tracking statistics. Another 36,260 were completed in July.

“The increase of short sales has been significant and, for the first month since reporting on short sales, we estimate a high of 39,559,”

Short sales in recent years have lost their stigma as hundreds of thousands of homeowners have used it as the best solution to avoid foreclosure. Banks responded by creating massive departments and streamlinin g the process.

Why?

Because they net 12% to 25% more money in a short sale than a foreclosure. Is it any wonder why banks prefer a short sale over foreclosure? HOPE NOW Executive Director Faith Schwartz said in a release. “Short sales provide another tool to avoid the high cost of foreclosure for families, communities and investors.”

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency reported earlier this year that 138,000 short sales were completed in the first half of 2012, and anecdotal evidence from the industry suggested that number would continue to increase in the second half of the year. HOPE NOW also reported foreclosure sales nationwide in August increased 12% to 71,149, up from 63,527 in July.

 And foreclosure starts increased 14% to 187,941, compared with 164,593 in July. In the West, foreclosure starts have been on the decline. California saw a 20.7% decrease in September from August, according to ForeclosureRadar, an online industry tracker. The number of starts dropped by as much as 40% in Nevada and Oregon. Regional foreclosure filings were down even more from the previous year. California dropped 48.1% from September 2011, while Nevada and Washington saw decreases of more than 70%.

Still, more than 14,000 foreclosure actions were filed last month in California. The recent foreclosure activity, along with the approximately 5 million homes in shadow inventory (homes 60-plus days behind or already owned by banks but not on the market), indicates the housing market has a long recovery ahead.

Short sales and loan modifications will play an integral role in putting the economy back on its feet.

Smart Real Estate Investing.com (800) 452-7627

WSJ- Courts Stall Housing Recovery

Even as the nation's foreclosure rate continues to fall, states with court oversight of the foreclosure process are lagging behind, potentially delaying their housing recoveries.

 The Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday that 4.1% of mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit homes—about 1.9 million households—were in the foreclosure process at the end of the third quarter, down from 4.4% a year earlier and the lowest level in 3½ years. The national average, however, masks big differences between the states. Among the 12 states with foreclosure rates that exceed the national average, 11 of them require banks to take back properties by going to court.

Foreclosure rates stood at 6.6% in those "judicial" states in September, while they have dropped sharply to 2.4% in the "nonjudicial" states where banks face fewer hurdles to foreclosure. Foreclosures have always taken longer in states with judicial review, but in recent years, the sheer volume of cases has overwh elmed courts, and the "robosigning scandal" that hit lenders added to the delays. Judicial review may give troubled homeowners more time to work out problems, but critics of the system say the delays are postponing states' housing recoveries.

"The distinction between the judicial and the nonjudicial states is, if anything, getting sharper," said Michael Fratantoni, the MBA's vice president of research. The upshot is the housing recovery is likely to be "muted" in judicial states, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. "Some markets are still going to suffer more price declines," he said.

Smart Real Estate Investing.com (800) 452-7627

Fiscal Cliff for Short Sales Too!

If Congress drives the economy off the "fiscal cliff," wave goodbye to short sales that have helped the housing market get back on its feet.

At risk is a provision that erases taxes on selling a home for less than what's owed to the bank. Expiration of the tax treatment would create a major new headache for the one in four homeowners who owe more than their house is worth. Those "underwater" sellers would have to come up with a big check for Uncle Sam to pay the tax on the difference.

That “would be a blow to the housing recovery,” said Paul Diggle, a housing economist at Capital Economics. “The increased use of short sales, rather than foreclosures, has become an important support to the recovery.”

Currently, roughly a quarter of all home sales are short sales. Bank of America Wednesday reported that some 62,000 borrowers have completed short sales that saved them $7.4 billion in debt, or an average of about $120,000 each. In 2007, as the housing boom turned to bust, Congress passed the Mortgage Debt Relief Act, which shielded such forgiven debt from taxes.

The law was extended in 2010 but is due to expire at the end of the year unless Congress acts to steer away from the so-called “fiscal cliff.” Separate bills have been introduced in the House and Senate to extend the mortgage relief tax break for another year. The measure would cost about $1.3 billion in uncollected taxes. The law is credited with helping pull the housing industry out of the worst recession in nearly a century. Though still deeply depressed, sales of both new and existing homes have been steadily rising.

 Home prices appear to have bottomed out and are rising again in many parts of the country. Restoring the tax on debt forgiveness could throw cold water on one in four home sales by sticking the seller with a large tax bill. “If (homeowners) decide that a short sale is not the best option, and they just allow (the mortgage) to be fore closed, that has a more negative impact on the neighborhood and on home values,” said Blomquist.

That would be bad news for lenders, too. The average price of a bank-owned property seized in foreclosure is about $30,000 lower than comparable house transferred in a short sale. Banks also avoid the legal costs of seizing a home and the extended cost of maintaining it. “(A short sale) really does work out to both the borrower’s and lender’s benefit in most cases,” said Michael Fratantoni, a research analyst at the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Smart Real Estate Investing.com (800) 452-7627

Housing Crisis Information

If you are like most people, the news you hear about real estate can be very confusing. On the one hand, real estate has been one of the hardest hit sectors of the economy, and much of the news still reflects this. On the other hand, there are some reports about real estate being one of the most positive indicators of an economic recovery.

Here are some of the most important recent developments you need to know:
Homebuilder Confidence is rising – According to the National Association of Homebuilders, it’s the highest it has been since before the foreclosure crisis began in 2007. This is important because it means that professionals are optimistic about the housing market again. Now, because of how long it takes for homebuilders to ramp up their businesses, it will still be a while before we see a ton of new homes built, but this is definitely a positive sign.

Housing Starts have increased – 535k Single Family Homes were started in August. This is still lower than we need, however, and there is not enough inventory to cover the demand (especially with historically low interest rates). Existing home sales have also skyrocketed according to the National Association of Realtors. In fact, they have gone up almost 10% since this time last year.

Underwater properties are still a large part of the market – In fact, according to NAR, more than 1 in 5 of all home sales is a property that is either behind on their payments or in the foreclosure process.

　 The good news is that this market offers an opportunity for just about everyone. If you are underwater or in danger of losing your home to foreclosure then there have never been more opportunities than there are in today’s market to sell your home and find a dignified solution. If you are looking to buy a new home, this is quite possibly the most affordable time in history to buy a home.

I would love to discuss how today’s market fits your needs. Feel free to contact me
for a free confidential consultation!

Foreclosures Decline but Remain High and Prepayments Surge

A very insightful article by Krista Franks Brock of  DSNEWS.COM on October 3, 2012


Foreclosure inventory continues to decline but remains more than eight times what it was in the decade prior to the housing crisis, according to the latest report from Lender Processing Services (LPS).

Noncurrent loans make up 10.9 percent of all loans as of August, demonstrating a year-over-year change of -7.6 percent, according to LPS.

As of August, the delinquency rate stands at 6.9 percent, and the foreclosure rate is 4.0 percent.
There remains a large gap in the foreclosure rate between judicial states and non-judicial states. In fact, in judicial states the rate remains near an all-time high of 6.49 percent, while the foreclosure rate in non-judicial states is 2.28 percent.

The amount of loans 90 or more days delinquent is near half of its January 2010 peak. The majority of these loans are more than nine months delinquent. About 43 percent are at least 12 months delinquent.

The overall delinquency rate declined 2.3 percent in August. States ranking highest for non-current loans include Florida, Mississippi, New Jersey, Nevada, and New York. States with the lowest percentages of non-current loans include Montana, Alaska, South Dakota, Wyoming, and North Dakota.

LPS noted prepayment activity was up “significantly” in August, nearing levels last reported in 2005.
The annualized prepayment rate at the end of August was almost 25 percent, according to LPS’ findings.

Prepayment was highest among loans with higher combined loan-to-value ratios (CLTVs). For example, among loans with more than 120 percent CLTV, prepayment increased more than 65 percent year to date.

According to LPS, this trend is significant because prepayments are an indicator of refinance activity.
In August, 2011 vintage loans experienced a 23 percent increase in prepayments over the month. Loans with vintages from 2007 and earlier experienced a prepayment increase of just 9 percent, which LPS interprets as signs of a “refi burn out.”

“[I]t is also becoming evident that loans originated in 2007 and earlier have diminished prospects for conventional refinancing opportunities,” stated Herb Blecher, SVP of applied analytics at LPS.

“Fewer than 30 percent of these vintages remain both active and current, and on average, they are marked by larger negative equity positions and lower credit scores,” Blecher explained.

Not All Sunsets are Beautiful

In 2007, the Mortgage Debt Relief Act was passed in an attempt to help the millions of homeowners who, due to the housing crisis and economic crash, suddenly found themselves in danger of losing their home to foreclosure.

The act has helped many distressed homeowners find solutions to avoid foreclosure and opened up options to them that were previously unavailable.

The Mortgage Debt Relief Act, however, was only intended to be a temporary solution and is now set to expire at the end of 2012. There is a bill in Congress that would extend it, but it is unclear if it will pass. For distressed homeowners, this means that time is limited to take advantage of this program.

Time is running out. But there is still a chance to change your financial direction and avoid foreclosure.  Contact me and I can help.  You didn't create this and you are not ALONE!

 

Rob Sales

Prudential Southeast Coastal Properties

Associate Broker, CDPE Advance,
DPP, REO Specialist, CIAS
912-655-7674
www.smartshortsales.net

Smart Short Sale Team Has the Paddles!

Over the last year, I have been building a team of associates to help me provide the best solutions for my clients who have found themselves up a creek without a paddle during this housing crisis.  Just like each oarsman of a crew team steers the boat to victory through the elements, so does my team.

 

So, let me introduce you to my crew "Smart Short Sale Team" and a little history on the sport of Rowing!!! 

 

 

 

Rob Sales
Chief Operating Officer and Real Estate Agent
Rowing Positions: The Stern Pair, The Bow Pair, Coxwain, & Steersman

Well, I actually operate as many positions currently but together with my team working with our clients daily to help them find their way to their finish line out of of this mess of the Housing Crisis remains my PRIORITY!
 
Jane Sales
Chief Executive Officer
Rowing Position:  The Coxwain
The purpose of a coxswain is steering the boat, providing encouragement to the rest of the crew, communication to the crew of how close they are to the finish line, and any other race tactic calls. 

Not only is Jane my devoted wife, she is CEO and my backbone offering moral support!
 

 

Julie Brawn
Financial Institution Communication Director 

Rowing Position: The Middle Crew (The Fuel Tank, The Engine Room, The Power House, The Meat Wagon)

The middle crew has numerous nicknames for themselves as shown in the title. In an eight-person boat, the middle crew is made of numbered individuals three, four, five, and six. In a four-person boat, the middle rowers are numbers two and three. Because the boat moves less in the middle, the middle crew is often the most powerful and heaviest of rowers. They are referred to as the ‘fuel tank,’ the ‘engine room,’ or other nicknames because their focus is simply pulling on oars as hard as they can. It is not necessary for these middle crewmates to be exceptionally reactive or technically sound (like the strokesman). The middle crew is known for their brawn, and it is common for the most technical rowers to be placed at the bow and stern with the strongest rowers in the middle.

 

Her name says it all!  Julie is our latest addition to the Short Sale Team. Julie comes to us with tons of legal experience and will be responsible for the distribution and the communication, with our banking partners. She will feed all the data and information to the various banks, mortgage companies, etc., that we collect from the distressed property owners. Additionally, Julie will have her own short sale listing portfolio that she will process through the Smart Short Sale Team.

 

Charles Kelly
Data Collection & Information Management Director

Rowing Position: The Middle Crew (The Fuel Tank, The Engine Room, The Power House, The Meat Wagon)

 

Recently Charlie agreed to come on board help with the scanning and organizing the files, creating binders for individual files, indexing and sorting out the data and creating binders for each of the properties. Additionally,he maintains our entire filing system for the endless paperwork we submit to the Governement, banks, and legal counselors involved with the maticulous processes of short sales.

 
Chantal Sales
Marketing, Advertising & Public Relations Director
Rowing Position: The Bow Pair

The rower closest to the bow of the boat is called the ‘bow’ or the ‘bowman.’ It is the bowman’s responsibility for the stability of the entire boat. They are expected to be quick and agile, responsible for not only the stability of the boat, but the direction of the boat as well. As expected, the bowman is expected to be quite technically skilled. Furthermore, boats that are bow coxed are dependent on effective communication between the bowman and the cox. The cox cannot see boats coming from behind them, and good communication is essential. 

Approximately a year ago, Chantal started assisting me with my marketing plan.    With the ever changing social networking world, she set up my blogs and network profiles.  She continues to manage the websites, blogs, and designs my print & digital marketing media for each listing and keeps me alive in the Cyber World.  Although she not truly the closest physcially to our team like the Bow Pair is in the boat, she is our social connection to the rest of the world.

 

 

 

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Time is Running Out: How the Mortgage Debt Relief Act can save you!

In 2007, the Mortgage Debt Relief Act was passed in an attempt to help the millions of homeowners who, due to the housing crisis and economic crash, suddenly found themselves in danger of losing their home to foreclosure.

The act has helped many distressed homeowners find solutions to avoid foreclosure and opened up options to them that were previously unavailable.

However, the Mortgage Debt Relief Act was always intended to be a temporary solution and it is now set to expire at the end of 2012. For distressed homeowners, this means that time is limited for you to take advantage of this program.

 
Time is running out. But there is still a chance to change your financial direction and avoid foreclosure.

Contact me for more information so I can help you make a dignified solution before time runs out.

Rob Sales
Prudential Southeast Coastal Properties
Associate Broker, CDPE Advance,
DPP, REO Specialist, CIAS
912-655-7674

Smart Short Sales Partner Testimonials

Over the course of this year, I have compiled a handful of testimonials from clients, attorneys AND agents that I have worked successfully with their distressed property in the Savannah area. 

Client Testimonials




Attorney Testimonials




Agent Testimonials

Recovery or Blimp in Housing Crisis?

As you can see it appears from the following graphs that things are starting to get better.  The big  question remains!!  Is this the start of the recovery or is just a blimp?  The issue is that the inventory of all price points appears to be diminishing in Coastal Georgia.  Additionally, there remains the “Phantom Inventory” that everyone continues to talk about.  Hopefully, we are at the bottom.  However, I believe we will remain at the current level until late fall of 2012.  Review all of the following graphs and make your own conclusion.  Let the numbers speak for themselves.

Fannie Mae Rolls Out Online-only REO Offers

The secondary mortgage market company, Fannie Mae, launched an all-online system for submitting offers on its inventory of foreclosed homes in February 2012.  I personally use this system for my REO investors and 1^st time home buyers.

Here’s how Fannie describes it on its HomePath website:

“Making an offer to purchase a HomePath property is now quick, easy and entirely online! Beginning February 2, all offers on HomePath properties must be made using the HomePath Online Offer system. If you’re ready to make an offer, just have your real estate professional click the “Make an Offer” button on the property information and follow the instructions.”

Only licensed agents can make offers, so any consumers shopping for a home on Fannie’s HomePath site have to contact an agent first.  Fannie Mae requires agents submit applications and go through its proprietary selection process in order to become an approved Fannie Mae listing agent.

Every market is different, but generally the company works with a handful of brokers or agents that it has selected to list its REO properties.

Fannie gives owner-occupant buyers a 15-day window after a property comes on the market to make an offer without competition from investors. Offers made by investors during that “first-look” period are rejected from the system with instructions to resubmit after the 15-day period ends, if the property isn’t under contract by that time. The offers are not kept in the system and queued up.

Buyers can use any financing they want, including Fannie Mae financing through its two HomePath mortgage programs, one for purchases and one for purchases with renovation. If the buyer is using HomePath financing, Fannie only requires a down payment of 3 percent, waives the appraisal and also doesn’t require mortgage insurance. Investors can get up to 90 percent financing.

On February 7, 2012, in Breaking News, Mortgage Financing, Selling, by Robert Freedman

New Prudential Real Estate Poll: Americans Increasingly Optimistic about Homeownership

Prudential Real Estate released a new national survey at Sales Convention showing that Americans are significantly more optimistic about homeownership than they were a year ago.

According to the second-annual Prudential Real Estate Outlook Survey, a full 60% of Americans have favorable views toward the real estate market.  That’s up 8 points since last year!

The survey shows that signs of increasing optimism are widespread:

·         With interest rates at historically low levels, 96% agree or somewhat agree that now is a good time to buy.

·         A full 70% of respondents have some degree of confidence that property values will improve over the next two years; with an 8 point increase in those very confident or confident compared to last year.

·         63% believe that real estate is a good investment despite the recent market volatility; that’s up 11 points from last year.

The survey confirms that despite the recession, homeownership remains a central part of the American Dream.  8 in 10 respondents said homeownership is very important to them; only 15% said the economic downturn made homeownership less important.

Explanations for Housing Crisis Situations

Here you can find easy to understand explanations for real estate terminology that deals with our nation's housing crisis. Each video is only several minutes long. As a CDPE Advanced, I am here to help you find a dignified solution.

What is HAFA?

What is a short sale?

What is happens in a foreclosure?

What is a Mortgage Modification?

What is Deficiency Judgement?

Redemption Period Explained

Negative Equity Explained

Arm's Length Explained

What it Means to Be "Upside Down" on Your Mortgage

Taking a break at the Savannah Book Festival

We took the week end off from work and enjoyed the weekend with John Warley and Pat Conroy at the 5th Annual Savannah Book Festival.  John and Pat are delightful individuals and both are a pleasure to be around.  The two have been friends for 40+ since their college days on the Citadel baseball team.  Both were guests of the President's Quarters Inn and entertained us and the other guest for the entire weekend.

The Savannah Book Festival is held annually the 1st weekend after Valentine's Day weekend.  This  date has become one the highlights of the year in Savannah.

Georgia Foreclosures Filings Continue to Rise

Statewide filings are up 23% from October 2011 and Georgia is ranked 5^th Highest Foreclosure Rate.

Foreclosure filings-default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions-were reported on 12,327 Georgia properties in November, a 23% increase from October, but still 15% below the level reported for November 2010.  Georgia had the 5^th highest foreclosure rate in the nation, reporting one in every 330 housing units with a foreclosure filing in November—1.8 times the national average.

In Bartow County, one in every 143 housing units had a foreclosure filing in November—which is 4 times the national average and 2.3 times the state average.  Bartow County had the highest foreclosure rate of all Georgia counties for the month on November 2011.

Georgia accounted for 5 % of the 224,394 properties with filings reported nationwide in November.  Total U.S. activity decreased by 3% from October and was down over 14% from the level reported in November 2010.  One in every 579 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month.  “Despite a seasonal slowdown similar to what we’ve seen in each the past four years, November’s numbers suggest a new set of incoming foreclosure waves, many of which may roll into the market as REOs or short sales sometime early next year,” said James Saccacio, co-founded or RealtyTrac.  “Overall foreclosure activity is down 14% from a year ago, the smallest annual decrease over the past 12 months, and some bellwether states such as California, Arizona and Massachusetts actually posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity in November.

“Scheduled foreclosure auctions reached a nine-month high in November, corresponding to a recent surge in default notices, that began back in August,” Saccacio continued.  “Many of the new defaults that’s started the foreclosure process over the past few months are now being scheduled for public foreclosure auction.”

As a Certified Distressed Property Expert- Advanced, I can help you find a dignified solution.  As you can see from the aforementioned statistics, many Georgians face similar situations. You are not alone in this and there are solutions.  I can help you.  Please feel free to contact me for more information.

Rob Sales
Prudential Southeast Coastal Properties
Associate Broker, CDPE Advance,
DPP, REO Specialist, CIAS
912-655-7674

www.smartshortsales.net

*Statistics and Information from RealtyTrac, December 30, 2011