San Diego Real Estate: Short Sale, Foreclosure or Deed in Lieu?
July 1st, 2008 Categories: Mortgage News, Real Estate News, San Diego, San Diego Market Trends, San Diego Real Estate
San Diego’s mortgage meltdown has left many stressed and relocating homeowners wondering what to do. Should they just let their home go to foreclosure? Should they see if their lender will accept a deed in lieu of foreclosure? Or should they go through the uncertainties of a short sale on their San Diego home?
Fannie Mae’s recent announcement seems to provide some real clarity for owners of San Diego homes in default.
In a nutshell, avoid foreclosures, bankruptcy and deed in lieu of foreclosure if at all possible. It is far, far better to have a short sale–or a pre-foreclosure sale–as a resolution.
Why?
Under the Fannie Mae Announcement 08-16 (released 06/26/2008), short sales or those engaging in pre-foreclosure sales will be cleared to borrow on another home via Fannie Mae in two years from completion date of the short sale. This may be painful, but two years is far preferable to the alternative….
of 5 to 7 years if the home goes to foreclosure and 4 to 7 years if one opts for deed in lieu of foreclosure.
I am horrified that there are real estate agents advising people that there is no difference between a short sale and foreclosure–or that a deed in lieu of foreclosure may be preferable to either.
If homeowners were to follow this fallacious advice, our country’s real estate market would remain in the tank for at least another five years–and by that time we might have gone through an economic depression of epic proportions.
If your San Diego home is in default, please contact a qualified short sale specialist as soon as possible to help avoid the long-lasting consequences of foreclosure. The best buyer for your home is a cash buyer who is in a position to perform on short notice–at no cost to you.
We work with such a buyer–and are willing to forfeit any real estate commission on the sale to this investor group, because they will eventually turn around and list with us.
For additional information, call Mike or Roberta Murphy at 760-402-9101/9102.
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San Diego Pre-Foreclosure Solution
June 23rd, 2008 Categories: Mortgage News, Real Estate News, San Diego Real Estate
There are thousands of San Diego real estate owners who are in various stages of mortgage distress and pre foreclosure. Some have had interest rate resets, making their mortgage payments unaffordable, while others have had life setbacks which might include job loss, divorce, medical problems–or perhaps even gas prices that are breaking bank accounts.
These are just some of the reasons we are seeing (and have seen) so many San Diego short sales and foreclosures this past year–and spend so much of our time trying to help homeowners in distress. Many are seeking short sale relief, where their homes are sold for less than what is owed on them–and for good reason.
Short sales in San Diego are preferable to foreclosure sales because:
1. Credit scores will not be so severely damaged because mortgage debt will be “settled.” The consequences of a short sale will be far less devastating on credit scores than a foreclosure.
2. The homeowner will be able to move out of their San Diego home on terms closer to their own, rather than having a sheriff doing it for them.
3. The homeowner is in a stronger position to negotiate with a lender in a short sale situation versus a foreclosure. Mortgage lenders do not want foreclosures and have no desire to be the owners of San Diego foreclosed properties. The homeowner may be able to exit their home with no judgment or 1099 trailing them.
Short sales, though, come with their own set of problems for Realtors and their clients. Offers from buyers end up on lender’s desks, piled high with dozens of files. It can literally take weeks to get a response to the buyer’s offer, unless, of course, one has an inside track to the lender’s decision makers.
We are now working with a substantial cash buyer of San Diego real estate who has successfully negotiated several hundred short sales with almost all major lenders. They have also been very successful at stopping foreclosures if adequate notice is given. We now intend to place all of our qualifying short sales with this buyer–who charges nothing to the seller or us.
It is truly a win-win solution for all San Diego homeowners in distress.
If you need a fast sale for your San Diego home or are in short sale or foreclosure territory, please give us a call at 760-402-9101/9102 and we’ll explore your alternatives.
And under no circumstances should you deal with anyone who tries to charge you for saving your home from foreclosure–or for handling your short sale.
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Mortgage Trouble in San Diego? Beware the Scammers
May 24th, 2008 Categories: Mortgage News, San Diego, San Diego Real Estate, San Marcos
I am just now cooling down after spending a good part of this afternoon trying to help a San Diego area homeowner saddled with the unpleasant results of churned mortgages.
This particular property in rural San Marcos has been refinanced by the same lender with a total of nine loans over a couple of years. In one instance, only 28 days elapsed between refinancings. With total debt now approaching $2 million, this distraught owner is seeking a way to keep her home and not be forced to sell it.
Sometimes, keeping people in their San Diego homes is just part of our job–and one of the most rewarding ones.
But the ordeal got me thinking of all the scams surrounding (and invading) San Diego real estate. Mortgage scams certainly contributed to the rise in San Diego foreclosures and short sales, but it is the buzzards circling over and divebombing distressed homeowners that infuriates this Realtor.
Some of the current San Diego scams:
1. The mortgage buzzard persuades the distressed homeowner to sign over the deed to their San Diego home–and then offers to rent it back at a rate that may exceed the original mortgage payment. If the homeowner-turned-tenant falls behind, they are not only evicted but have also lost any equity they may have had in their property.
2. Beware of what you sign: Many homeowners have inadvertently signed over the deed to their San Diego real estate, believing they are simply signing mortgage documents. I have spoken with several homeowners who have been near-victims of this real estate scam.
3. Watch out for hefty upfront fees charged by those who offer to stop your San Diego foreclosure. All too often, these scammers generate lots of paperwork, get some signatures, collect a check (for up to three month’s payments)– and disappear. Far better to call a San Diego Realtor who can help negotiate with lenders on your behalf–and is paid only when and if your property actually sells or is leased.
If you have any questions about these scams, please feel free to give me a call at 760-402-9101 or contact me via this site. I’ll try to answer your questions.
PS: No offense intended to California vultures.
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San Diego REO Listings Offered by Ghosts
May 12th, 2008 Categories: Mortgage News, Real Estate News, San Diego, San Diego Market Trends
I’ll never understand the process by which lenders choose to list their
San Diego REO’s and foreclosures. Some are listed by normal real estate agents, but more and more these REO’s (bank-owned properties) are listed by unknown companies with agents who rarely respond to phone calls or emails.
Should we be looking for some logic in the lender’s decisions to list with these phantoms?
There again, these may be the same folk who lent mortgage funds to ghosts in the first place. I mean, they loaned hundreds of millions to phantom borrowers who said they earned $20,000 a week working as a gardner or car salesman– or whatever suited their imaginations. Their homes, haunted by unsustainable debt and a declining San Diego real estate market, floated back to the lender…who then turned to eidolon agents to market their foreclosed properties.
I guess if lenders didn’t bother to check the reality of their borrowers in the first place, why should they now take to time to check the substance of their real estate representation for their REO’s?
We have worked with several buyers of San Diego foreclosures, and are appalled at the low level of representation a number of these foreclosed properties receive. In several cases, we have ended up faxing offers to the agent’s number listed in the MLS, and waited for a response from…someone or anyone. No reply was forthcoming, even though our offers were at and above the listed price.
We have an offer in on one foreclosure near San DIego State University now, and it cannot be presented to the lender because the agent is on a two week vacation. (Uh…isn’t there an assistant, or another agent who is taking care of this absentee’s business?)
Are the banks/lenders aware of this non-representation?
And why am I feeling that we are in deja-vu all over again? I hoped thought most of the dingbat agents had left the business after the crash of the 2003-2006 real estate market.
Regrettably, those San Diego agents seem to have taken another get-rich course and are now in the foreclosure business.
And it seems many lenders have ended up with the same folk who helped get them into trouble in the first place.
I am wondering if this is a phenomenon that is isolated to the San Diego real estate market–or is it more widespread?
For the sake of our national economy, I hope not.
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The Encinitas Short Sale from Hell: Closed
April 27th, 2008 Categories: Encinitas, Mortgage News, Real Estate News
It was group hug time Friday afternoon when we received confirmation that our 10-month short sale ordeal in Encinitas Ranch had successfully recorded and closed.
Kudos to the patient buyers of this Encinitas home, because they truly got a terrific deal ($890,000).
Welcome relief is also due the out of area young seller, who had been unwittingly pulled into a raunchy real estate transaction by a couple of sleazy mortgage brokers (one of whom was the seller) , a credit “packager” –and escrow, title and appraisal personnel who surely knew better than to facilitate such a sham.
Our first time home buyer-turned-seller from Los Angeles, with excellent FICO score (and no savings), was lured by the promise of buying an “undervalued” $1.2 million home (100 percent financing) in San Diego that he could profitably sell 6 months later–while someone else made the payments. It was to be his stepping stone to riches. Or so he thought.
Instead, it turned into 16-month nightmare:
. The “credit “packager” forged our client’s name and leased the property at under-market rent. He collected rents and deposits for about four months, until we listed the Encinitas home for sale. At that time, the tenants began paying rent to their attorney and barred us from showing the home. Now, we were dealing not only with a short sale, but a listing that could not be shown.
. Because we had priced the property aggressively, because Encinitas Ranch is a very desirable community, and because we marketed the home everywhere possible, we were able to secure 8 offers–ranging from ridiculous to credible. This in spite of the fact that the
tenants and their attorney would not allow anyone in to see the home.
. Foreclosure sale for this Encinitas home had to be stopped three times because the loss mitigation department of this major lender has a major interdepartmental communication problem.
Real estate commissions were slashed by the short sale lender, but that is nothing new. They also refused to pay HOA fees that were in serious arrears, the home warranty for the buyer, utilities in our name, and a list of other necessities required for closing. But sometimes achieving the impossible is almost worth more than monetary compensation.
Monday morning, I will order the sign removed from this Encinitas property, where it has probably set a record for the longest-standing Realtor’s sign in Encinitas Ranch.
The neighbors will breathe a sigh of relief–and so will we.
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