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Short Sale Superstars

June 26, 2010 By Debbie

Lately, I have been spending much of my time on this blog entitled “short sale superstars”.

More specifically, I have been reading and participating in the blog entitled “Bank of America Short Sales”. I found this web site quite by accident. One day I decided to google “Bank of America” help……

Google found many articles for me and this is the best one yet. Basically, anyone with a question can post their issue and any other broker can log in and post a reply. It has given me valuable phone numbers to the office of

the President of Bank of America and more. It has helped me in working on my own short sale assignments  / listings. If you are a home owner and are aware of the difficulties your agent / broker may be facing, just

have her/him go to this site. There is lots of help there. Agents from across the country are more than willing to help each other. Good luck!

Filed Under: Foreclosure Information, Seller Info Tagged With: bank of america short sale, short sale, short sale superstars

Renovation Lending: FHA 203K

June 18, 2010 By Debbie

I learned more about this program when I was in Dallas. This program was offered to all of the brokers. Some chose to study other subjects. However, it is my opinion that we really need to KNOW how to use this loan because of the type of property we need to finance.

You see, when the typical buyer wants to buy a property – house or condo – it is usually in decent condition. It is not trashed. Unfortunately however, many of the bank owned properties are in bad condition for one reason or another. No one wants to buy a property that needs alot of money to repair it unless you can pay very little for it.  An entry level buyer is forced out of the market to a cash investor buyer.

The question arises: Who will finance this property?  The FHA 203 K program offers a solution. This loan will finance new paint, new carpet, appliances, windows, kitchen, roof and more. The repairs are financed into the new loan. The property is appraised as if it were repaired. Therefore if you find a property that has no kitchen or no bath and you want to buy it, YOU CAN get a loan.  Therefore, when you visit a house for sale and want to make an offer, the term “All repairs to be in buyers’ loan” should be in your contract offer. This is a great program, and I continue to work towards obtaining my certification. I do not do loans but I really think every broker should know how they work so that we could all be of best service to our clients who need us.

Filed Under: Buyer Info, reo Tagged With: fha203k

Foreclosure News in California

June 16, 2010 By Debbie

According to Foreclosure Radar.com, foreclosures are down in California. However, the numbers are not accurate. Reasons being that many owners have vacated the property and are  not working to modify their loan or complete a short sale. It takes lenders two months longer to foreclose then it did a year ago.

The only significant increases from the prior year in ForeclosureRadar’s report were cancellations, up 141.3 percent, and time-to-foreclose, up 30.5 percent from May 2009. The company says it now takes lenders 235 days to complete a foreclosure in California, from the filing of the default notice to the auctioning of the property.

While extended foreclosure timelines may be skewing resolution numbers, it should be noted that newly initiated foreclosures declined significantly last month in California.

Notices of default filed against delinquent homeowners – the first step in the foreclosure process – fell 17.25 percent from April to May, according to ForeclosureRadar’s market data. They were down 43.34 percent compared to May 2009.

Notice of trustee sale filings, which serve as the homeowner’s final notice before the home is auctioned, dropped 11.88 percent on a month-to-month basis in May, and were 35.78 percent below year-ago levels.

ForeclosureRadar reports that banks took back 13,775 properties in May, 5.75 percent fewer than they did in April.

The company puts California’s total REO inventory at 87,964 homes, down from 90,000 in April and 18 percent lower than it was a year ago.

Filed Under: Foreclosure Information, News Tagged With: foreclosure radar, foreclosures

Father’s Day

June 16, 2010 By Debbie

Happy Father’s Day to all of the DADs. I found this article and just had to post it here!

My Father

When I was:

  • Four years old: My daddy can do anything.
  • Five years old: My daddy knows a whole lot.
  • Six years old: My dad is smarter than your dad.
  • Eight years old: My dad doesn’t know exactly everything.
  • Ten years old: In the olden days, when my dad grew up, things were sure different.
  • Twelve years old: Oh, well, naturally, Dad doesn’t know anything about that.

He is too old to remember his childhood.

  • Fourteen years old: Don’t pay any attention to my dad. He is so old-fashioned.
  • Twenty-one years old: Him? My Lord, he’s hopelessly out of date.
  • Twenty-five years old: Dad knows about it, but then he should, because he has been around so long.
  • Thirty years old: Maybe we should ask Dad what he thinks. After all, he’s had a lot of experience.
  • Thirty-five years old: I’m not doing a single thing until I talk to Dad.
  • Forty years old: I wonder how Dad would have handled it. He was so wise.
  • Fifty hears old: I’d give anything if Dad were here now so I could talk this over with him. Too bad I didn’t appreciate how smart he was. I could have learned a lot from him.

Writer Unknown. I found this article on the Internet. Isn’t it so true?

Filed Under: holidays Tagged With: fathers day

Reo2010 EXPO, Dallas Texas

June 11, 2010 By Debbie

I just returned from Dallas. I went for two different events. One is the Five Star REO and Short Sale Summit where many real estate agents, brokers, asset managers, services and more came to meet and network.

There were many panel meetings on different subjects affecting our business today. Excellent speakers including Emmett Smith, football player and dancer on DANCING WITH THE STARS.

At the Summit I attended two days of sitting in a “classroom” learning about REO, or real estate owned properties and how to work with the banks and asset managers more effectively.  There was an additional day of study and certification of SHORT SALES.

Even though I have been working in the field, some asset managers insist that the agents and brokers they hire need to have these specific designations, and so I sat through the 3 days and took the examinations for the two different certifications. When I came home I found the same classes are being offered all across the country, and coming to a town near me. Since I did not fly to Dallas, (grave error), you can imagine how I felt when I read my mail. However I did make a family trip out of this and driving through New Mexico and Arizona was really beautiful.

I met quite a few brokers who also work in the REO and Short Sale business of listing and selling property, and they are from all over the United States. Of course, we exchanged ideas, and business cards so we can contact each other after the EXPO/ Conference.  I always love to learn new things and believe strongly in education. My goal is to be the best BROKER / REALTOR for my clients and therefore I shall continue to study to benefit them.

Filed Under: Foreclosure Information, reo, social neworking Tagged With: Five Star Summit, REO2010expo
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