Orange County Short Sales
Fight Foreclosure & Win – Orange County Real Estate Stories
This week we had the unfortunate task of stopping a foreclosure sale. Long story short, the buyer’s wire didn’t get to escrow in time for escrow to move the funds to title, & title to pay off the existing loan. This put our divorcing sellers in a terrible hands-tied position and at risk of losing the 150k+ in equity they still had in their home. We had to basically drop everything & work all day & night long to save this property from being sold at auction.
I want to share how things unraveled and how we stopped the foreclosure sale, in case other Realtors or homeowners need tips on how to stop their own foreclosure or auction sale.
It Takes a Team to Fight Foreclosure
First off, I want to point out this is never a one person job. At least TWENTY people were involved & acting fast (or slow) to help pull this off. I will be giving credit where credit is due as you read on. There were at least 10 people CC’d on every email. Outside consultants who had nothing to do with this deal were called. LinkedIn connections & messages were sent. Social media posts were fired off.
It all started with an incorrect payoff demand that had Friday’s date instead of Monday or Tuesday. The property auction was scheduled for Tuesday 8/7 at 1pm. The bank HAD to be paid off before that time. Escrow brought this to my attention the previous week, stating the attorneys who were acting as the trustees for Flagstar Mortgage were not getting them the updated payoff demand. For the record, the buyer was SUPPOSED to bring his funds to escrow on Friday, but he was ‘too busy’. Gee, thanks. Attorneys moving slow, cash investors moving slow…us prodding cattle.
Come Monday, I was told at 9am by the buyers agent Clay Matthews of New Western Acquisitions that the wire had been sent. Great, we made it in the nick of time! We thought. Until escrow calls me at 11am stating they still don’t have the funds. I call Clay again, and he stated the funds have been wired, he will call B of A. Well, in his call he discovers the girl who sends out all the wires for B of A was supposedly on vacation, so the wire did not get to escrow until 1pm.
Foreclosure Sales are ALWAYS messy
This still should have been ok, but enter in technicalities, wire cutoff times, & paranoid high ups at Corinthian Title. Although escrow got the wire to title, title refused to ‘pay off’ the loan because Flagstar Mortgage would not receive the funds until Tuesday morning, and their ‘payoff demand’ expired Friday. They had an ok from Flagstar to press the payoff until 5pm on Monday, but not a moment afterward.
So, we need an updated payoff demand then. But escrow had been asking the attorneys representing Flagstar at Zieve, Broadnax & Steele since last week, & they had not given it to us. Now when we call & email 3x on Monday we get a response….it was ‘too close’ to the sale date; they refused to give us the updated document, and said they needed permission from Flagstar. How. Convenient.
I called Flagstar, and in traditional foreclosure loophole fashion, they proceed to tell me that the attorneys at Zieve must stop the sale, they have no control anymore. I get the name & extension of the rep & proceed to call back Zieve, Broadnax & Steele, who never answer the phone and have a lovely one star review on Google. I go on their website & find out who the partners are, and I email their Foreclosure Attorney along with our rep. Katherine Walker emails me back a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo but states if I can get Flagstar to request a postponement, then she will postpone the sale. An inch of progress.
I know I’m out of time and this finger pointing / permission needing / document requirements will go all the way up to the foreclosure if I can’t cut through the BS and get to a decision maker. I start with my partners first.
Begging, Borrowing & Pleading to Stop a Foreclosure
I call Teresa at Corinthian Title and she advises me that there is no way to record title if a wire is still out, absolutely none. I say fine, just pay it off tomorrow very first thing, and she advises me no, that can’t be done either, because the demand expires today. I request that she simply pad the payoff with additional funds so even if more money is owed for this one day, we still get the proper payoff over, even if it’s too much. I plead my clients case to her and still get nowhere. I realize she is just doing her job…but SOMEONE over there should be able to help me, so I ask her to connect me with an individual who CAN authorize this.
She puts me in touch with Mike Godwin, CEO of Corinthian Title, who I plead with further. Mike explains he ‘cant insure’ the title when it is in this risky of a position, and he can only record it IF we get the payoff demand AND if we now get a sale date extension. (Basically perform a freaking miracle so he can CYA) I asked him what the real risk is here and I still don’t understand what it was. I reminded him my clients have 150k in equity in this house and the bank is drooling to take back this property…and he has the power to help them, or to devastate them right now. He still refuses to record the title. Eff. I have exclusively used Corinthian for ALL my title deals since our reps moved there & this is what we get for it??? Seriously!?!!! Shame on you, Mike Godwin.
I literally hang up with policy-pushing Mike & cry. But I have to keep moving on. This is SO unfair. I can’t leave it like this. Please know…..this is where MOST Realtors would have thrown up their hands. It’s 4:45pm & no chance of a title recording today anymore. The sale is mid day TOMORROW.
Fine. If my partners wont’ help then maybe I can network. I then reach out to a real estate attorney I know to see if he knows the attorneys at Zieve, because attorneys all seem to be in the same ‘bro’ club. No luck. I ask him what for SURE way we can stop the sale at 1pm tomorrow, & he advises my clients would have to declare bankruptcy. I can’t recommend THAT to them. They are already so beat down from their divorce. I call my client with an update and he reaches out to a well connected attorney HE knows. They also email and leave a message for Katherine Walker with no reply.
Delay Foreclosure with Social Media
Sigh……..the clock ticks on… so I guess it’s time to swallow my pride & go social. I had already tweeted Flagstar on my own a couple times with nothing yet.
I proceed to search Flagstar Mortgage on LinkedIn to find someone in loss mitigation. Sweet, they are in Michigan. I’m from there, so maybe these people will show some love. I send out connection requests and nice customized emails to all of them pleading my case. While doing that…LinkedIn pops up an alert that states ‘Your connection with the most connections to Flagstar is Desiree Patno’. I know her from Homeownership Day & NAWRB. She’s BEYOND busy. I decide not to bother her.
I humbly create an Insta message recruiting my friends to help. I ask them to send a specific tweet Flagstar. I know that banks HATE being pounded on Twitter. They care more about their reputation than they do your case, so I’ve gotta pelt that to get your case handled.
I smile through my tears as friends & other do-gooders tweet out my message. I ask the buyers agent Clay to help….crickets. Oh, but he did manage to give the keys to the property away & his clients started moving in. Before close. My clients asked me about it and I literally had to tell them that I cannot focus on who is moving into your house right now…I have to stop your foreclosure. How embarrassing….status = sh*tshow.
Engage National & Local Organizations to Postpone Foreclosure
It’s about midnight, and I still can’t sleep. I decide it’s my ego that is causing me not to contact Desiree, so I email her & her trusty assistant Lucille begging for Flagstar contacts & email addresses.
I set my alarm for 5am, because thats 8am in MI, when Flagstar opens. I fall asleep praying.
I wake up at 5am & see that 12 friend tweets later, I have a DM from Flagstar that someone ‘will call me’. Excellent. Waiting. Desiree also emailed me back at 3am wanting more details. I sent them to her at 5am.
At 7am I call one of my clients and ask him to call Flagstar again & plead. We still don’t have resolution, & this sale is happening in 6 hours.
Desiree Patno calls me at 8am & gives me her contacts. YES….now I have two email addresses, and one appears to be a C level! Score for Women in the Housing & Real Estate Ecosystem being a truly VALUABLE resource to be a part of. If you’re a female reading this, join NAWRB. Now we’ve got real progress. I send both of them LinkedIn connection requests with a private message.
Another outside consultant who is an attorney advised me I must get a Flagstar email, and CC all, not just all the attorneys. He said copy EVERYONE on EVERYTHING. I usually hate doing that, but I do know it’s effective in knowing exactly where the buck stopped for accountability. I’ll do whatever I have to in order to get this closed, I can’t have a foreclosure looming on my record, or my heart, for that matter.
I send an email to Zieve & CC the new Flagstar emails, even though I have no idea if they can help or not. Zieve, Broadnax & Steele reply VERY quickly. Ooh, we must be on to something here. We have a few more back & forth & they try to take the Flagstar email addresses off the string. I add them right back on. It’s 10am and we are still going back & forth without resolution, but making small steps of progress. Will it be enough, though?
Meanwhile…Still pelting Twitter. I try CCing OC Register, Orange County Association of Realtors, and use #homeownershipmatters. This is what you call ‘making a stink’. Why haven’t they called me back yet??? Will @flagstar be a zero or a hero????? Is it seriously going to end like THIS?
11:08am Flagstar’s C level Alessandro Dinello accepts my LinkedIn request. No response, but I know he read it, and that’s all I needed. Someone who can make a decision to press a button.
At 11:57am I receive a call from David Woods with The Office of the President at Flagstar Bank. They advise me they cannot speak to me unless I get a client on the phone. I call him, no answer. I call her, no answer. SERIOUSLY??! I text him & ask the nice man on the phone if I can try to call him again. He finally picks up, and confirms it’s ok to speak with me. The Flagstar person explains that because of Twitter, our case was escalated to the Office of the President and it is now being constantly monitored. We explain to him that we need Flagstar to advise the attorneys at Zieve to postpone the sale. He says he won’t keep us in suspense any longer, that they have just done this, and will give us a 7 day extension. I would have cried of happiness but my client was still on the phone. I receive an email from Zieve while David was still on the line that they have received the request to postpone the foreclosure, and will oblige. I tell David he is my hero, and I get his direct contact info as he promises to quarterback any lagging parties for me. I wish I could find him personally on social but I can’t find him anywhere?! Regardless, I tweet out a success & thank you to my social outlets, so everyone knows Flagstar did the right thing.
The attorneys at Zieve, Broadnax & Steele sent the extension and updated payoff demand to Corinthian as Flagstar advised them to do. Corinithian closed the deal by the end of the day now that they had the miracle documents they requested of us. All that work just to buy a few needed hours of time.
Reflecting back, I honestly don’t know if this was saved by Twitter, or by NAWRB email contacts, by random attorneys calling Zieve for me, or a combo of all of the above. I DO know the grace of God was definitely involved!!!!
I want to take a moment to thank the following people who helped me on Twitter, please consider following them:
- Natalie Newman – @NikNatNew
- Brian Kimball – @brianjkimball
- Jerra Morris – @JollieJ
- Keely Crum – @crumbelievableO
- Mike Langgle – @Langgle
- Lisa Combs – @LisaBethBrush
- Liz Lewis – @lizlewisnhb
- Steve Gould – @stevenrgould
- Nicki Walsh – @SignEase
- Angela Collins – @absolutelyang
- Nancy Bau – @NancyBau
- Natalie Duarte – @NatalieduarteMM
If you are an agent, know that Twitter is your secret weapon when you’re fighting foreclosure. It’s like Yelp though, you have to be in the space already to get somewhere. Signing up for a twitter account on foreclosure day won’t cut it. You’ll need your army of followers to help you out.
If you’ve found this post helpful or resourceful, please comment! If you’ve got more foreclosure delay tactics, please comment those as well. If you need help fighting foreclosure, do NOT wait, text Angie at 949-338-7408 immediately. This one was saved with one hour and 2 minutes to spare, maybe we can save yours too!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 5 so far )
Become an Automatic Millionaire Homeowner
Ever wonder how people really come up in real estate? It doesn’t require a huge amount of capital, brains, or hard work. The process is surprisingly simple, and we’ll teach you the jist in just half an hour.
The best thing about becoming a millionaire homeowner is that anyone can do it.
Learn How at Homeownership Day Jan 14th, 2017
We’ll teach you the simple process based off David Bach’s “Automatic Millionaire Homeowner” book in an easy, 1/2 hour session at Chapman University from 12:15 – 12:45pm.
This is a class for normal people who would like to do extraordinary things in real estate while maintaining their existing lifestyle, career, and family.
The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner is not a get-rich-quick scheme; everything is done on your individual timeline, and without a membership in some expensive group or school. The only money you spend will be on real estate itself. Simple concepts that once applied, will bring you huge returns regardless of where you own property. And the younger you have this knowledge and you start…the better.
Register below for this free event – space is limited!
More about Homeownership Day / OC Home Fair
This yearly event is a collaborative between Chapman University, Orange County Young Professionals Network, OC Register, and non-profits VAREP and NeighborWorks OC designed to bring you honest real estate information with no pressure or gimmicks.
There will be 4 different sessions, each with 5 classes to choose from. Attendees enjoy a ‘choose your own adventure’ style and pick the classes that interest them most. Instructors are all active experts in the industry volunteering their time to benefit our community. Visit www.OCHomeFair.com for the full class list and session times.
Where: Chapman University’s Beckman Hall 1 University Dr, Orange, CA 92866
When: January 14th, 2017 from 10am – 1pm
Cost: free
Orange County All Inclusive Trust Deeds (AITDs)
What is an AITD? An All Inclusive Trust Deed is basically when the buyer takes over the seller’s existing loan. And NO, it doesn’t have to be an ‘assumable loan’ … The current lender is actually not even notified!
Who Are Good Candidates for AITDs?
As a buyer, you could use AITD as an avenue if you cannot qualify for a traditional loan. If you’re a seller, it’s an option if you don’t want to short sale, or if you have a fabulous loan that you would like to transfer to a family member. Another time an AITD could save the day is if you are a seller and your HOA is in litigation, or there is some type of situation causing purchase loans in your community to get denied.
How do AITD Transactions Work?
With an AITD, most aspects are the same as a normal Orange County real estate transaction. Instead of a traditional lender involved, the escrow company draws up the paperwork and usually collects the payments as ‘the manager’, which they then send over to the existing lender on buyer & seller’s behalf.
AITD allows you to make your own qualification rules, which is pretty neat! You don’t necessarily have to worry about credit history, scores, or capital gains taxes (if it’s not your primary residence) should you go this route.
If you’re thinking of doing an AITD, make sure to record the grant deed as well. It’s better for everyone. Especially if you are the buyer, because then you can technically write off the mortgage interest.
A great company to use for this process locally in OC is Mission Country Escrow. Katie the owner spoke to us about it today, and they have been doing AITD’s in Orange County for 30 years. If you’re thinking of doing one, definitely reach out to them.
Questions To Ask When Doing an AITD
- Loan amount: is it a ‘mirror image’ of the seller’s current loan, or if not, what interest rate will be charged?
- Down payment: is the buyer putting funds down, and if so, how much?
- Length: what is the length of the AITD and are there any extension options?
- HOA: does the property have a Homeowner’s Association?
- Commissions & closing costs: is the typical ‘each to pay own’ presiding, or who is paying?
- Loans: how many does the seller currently have, and are they all current?
All Inclusive Trust Deed Risks
Of course, there are plenty of risks too. Technically, the lender could call the loan due & payable because the owner transferred. However, the chances of that happening (unless there’s a late payment) are very slim.
Furthermore, we had Steve Fink, real estate attorney discuss advantages & disadvantages of AITD. Honestly, there are a ton of risks involved, and these AITD transactions should be done only in very special cases and with extreme caution. Always use a professional, and get your facts!
If you’d like a personal introduction or have questions about AITD’s, just call Angie at 949-338-7408, tweet @AngieWeeks, or fill out the form below – we’ll be sure to connect you with trusted professionals to protect your interest!
2016 OC Home Fair & Homeownership Day – You’re Invited!
Will you be able to move in 2016?
Thinking about making some real estate moves this year or next? Check out The OC Home Fair at Chapman University coming up on Jan 30th. The event is free and offers 5 sessions guided by experts (1/2 hour each) with various classes for all levels of real estate education.
Taking a Saturday every year to protect your biggest investment is a great success strategy. Just think of how much better your life would be if you maximized your real estate opportunities! This event is pitch-free and will teach you to do just that. Fill out the form below for a personalized session plan based off your individual real estate goals:
We look forward to seeing you at #HomeownershipDay & helping you achieve your OC real estate goals!
Questions??? Comment below or like our for more details Facebook page.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )OC Home Fair & SoCal Home Ownership Day 2015 is this weekend!
Have any plans for this Saturday March 28th? If not, come visit the OC Home Fair at Chapman University. Learn everything about everything on home-owning, buying/selling, investing and plenty more! The speakers are industry leaders and hand selected – the best of the best! The event is designed to help normal people make the most of real estate, and Chapman graciously hosts it with our YPN group, The OC Register, and NeighborWorksOC every year for FREE!
Existing Homeowner Classes
For all you home owners out there, there are plenty of seminars that could help and educate you. Everyone wants to save money, right? “Go Green and Save Money” and “ Ways to Reduce Your Electric Bill” are a couple of seminar suggestions that will help save precious pennies! Would you like to be an “Automatic Millionaire Homeowner“? It’s actually a really easy concept – you’re invited to come learn how. Thinking about a loan mod? Loan Modifications Tips and Tricks is taught by a non-profit. You’re welcome 😉 Then, it may be time to consider Moving On Up: Making a Smooth Transition.
Classes To Buy A Home
Loans can be confusing, so there are TONS of classes, FHA Loans and Changes: What You Should Know or How Interest Rates Affect Buying Power is also super important.
First time buyers, check out “Steps to Buy Your First Home” to know what to do. Need better credit first? Well.. there is a class for that too, Ways To Improve Your Credit Score. Foreclosures are always a bummer! But did you know there is Life After Foreclosure and you can get back in the game? Closing costs can be scary but we have a class for that; Closing Costs: What Should I expect?. Want to know The Escrow Process, What to Expect With Your Home Inspection, or How To Make The Most Of A Small Space? Come find out!
Learn How to Invest in Real Estate
Investing is always a good long term plan if done correctly. Find out Property Management: Do’s and Don’ts and Commercial Property Purchases: Do’s and Don’ts. Staging Your Home for Top Dollar is totally important along with, Deferring Capital Gains Taxes: 1031 Exchanges and Orange County Housing Market Report. All of these sessions are custom tailored to teach you crucial things to know!
A huge thank you to the OC Register, YPN, Neighborworks OC and Chapman University. They have all put hard work into promoting and supporting this annual event. Also a big thank you to all the speakers who take time out of their day to help educate the community on the important factors of everything Real Estate!
Now, Hurry and register for any class that interests you before all the seats fill up at www.OCHomeFair.com!!
Questions or comments? Hashtags are #HomeownershipDay or #OCHomeFair. See you Saturday 12-5pm!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )What’s in store for Orange County Real Estate in 2014?
What’s in store for 2-0-1-4?
Today we had the pleasure of attending a lunch & learn by The Real Estate Focus Group and Steven Thomas, one of Orange County’s best real estate forecasters. Steven’s reports have been published in Forbes, USA today, NY Times, and especially the OC Register because he’s constantly pulling tons of valuable data about what’s going on with the OC housing market.
2013 Real Estate Review
In 2013, short sale volume dropped by 61%, (holla:) we experienced a hot hot hot market with 18% appreciation and then the unrealistic sellers entered the market after June. We saw many more move up sellers, which is a great sign. There was a significant lack of inventory at the beginning of the year, followed by a spike and overpriced inventory in the fall. We also had a refinance bonanza, so hopefully you took advantage of that! Interest rates are still historically low, but tapering is looming, so 2014 is a year to get your financing while financing is still good.
2014 Real Estate Ramp Up
We currently have 5000 homes on the Orange County market, and we have a 49% increase in inventory since this time last year. Our market is healthy because interest rates are still low (but expected to go up), and we are currently at 90% equity (standard) sales.
Only 5% of the mortgaged homes in Orange County are currently underwater. That means 95% of you are back to even or have (gasp!) equity – FABULOUS NEWS – and this makes the perfect formula for a continued move up market. If you’d like to get the house with the yard or the pool, this year is opportunity time for you.
First time buyers who have been squeezed out of the market the last 12 months will come back, even though their rates are a little higher and FHA guidelines have changed. In addition, more luxury buyers are expected to enter the market this year.
Sellers, our expected time for a properly priced home on the market in Orange County is 93 days. Our median sales price is 610K, and buyers, your monthly payment for a 4.5% loan at this price is approximately $2500. Still affordable. Unless you like paying off your landlord’s mortgage instead.
New home construction is going up: Rancho Mission Viejo, Great Park Irvine, and Baker’s Ranch in Foothill Ranch are all big developments underway. Remember it’s still a good idea to have a Realtor represent you even in a new build situation, so be sure to call us if you would like to check out any of the inventory out there.
Some concerns for 2014….. uncertainty, lack of fair market value homes, interest rates, and the circus in Washington DC.
Some expectations for 2014…… buyers will insist on fair market value vs. paying over appraisal, active inventory will continue to rise, interest rates will continue to rise, and we should have a mild appreciation of 0-5%.
If you are interested in MORE geeky data, we have it at our fingertips! Just email angie@askangie.com, tweet @angieweeks or @weeksteam, or call 877-230-3211 to request a copy of this month’s Orange County housing report.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )California Real Estate Market Update from Leslie Appleton Young
What’s in store for Orange County Real Estate and the California market in general in 2014? We had The California Association of Realtors Chief Economist Leslie Appleton Young present a ton of great market data and facts today, so we wanted to share with you!
Here are 8 quick facts about CA Real Estate:
1. REO level is at 5%. There are only 205 bank owned properties for sale in OC right now.
2. There are now only 15.4% underwater homeowners in California.
3. Foreclosure and delinquency rates are now at their historic normal level. (Big WHOOP WHOOP!!)
4. Sept median price in CA for detached homes: $428,810
5. 72% of properties from the beginning of this year had multiple offers. (This is why you need a good Realtor!)
6. 82% of investors bought & HELD. Only 18% flips in 2013.
7. There are 3.6 months of inventory supply in CA as of Sept.
8. Only 28% of buyers were first time buyers because they were outbid by all cash investors 😦 The long running average is 38%.
The big question: Will there be home appreciation or depreciation in 2014????????
Leslie predicts we will have more inventory, and sales volume will be up 3.2%. She is projecting a 6% appreciation, and mortgage rates will RAISE to 5.3%.
What does this mean for you? It’s a great time to seize the opportunity of lower prices while rates are still in the 4’s! Call us at 877-230-3211 for help and to maximize your investments!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )California Home Buyer Recovery Timeline – do you agree???
Happy Memorial Day!! We hope you have a nice and relaxing long weekend planned 🙂 Here’s an interesting email we received about homebuyer recovery from the folks at FirstTuesday.us and Barry Zanck, one of our preferred lenders. What do you think?
California Home Buyer Recovery
2005-2009 California economic development stagnates.
2007-2009 The Great Recession
2009-2010 The Federal Reserve takes direct control of long-term interest rates – all new mortgages are Fed funded by bonds.
2009-2016 The Lesser Depression, characterized by persistent slow job growth and low demand from home buyers, while dominated by speculators.
2010-2015 Home sales remains on a “bumpy plateau” recovery approximating their 2010 numbers. The state’s homeownership rate drops below 55% (state’s historic point of stability) to near 50%. Collectively, short sales, foreclosures sales and REO resales remain high.
2012-2013 The most likely bottom for home sales volume to users, followed by an extremely gradual sales volume recovery for lack of user demand. Apartment construction begins to rise noticeably in response to tenant demand.
2014-2015 Prior low pricing and low interest rates spark a bounce in home sales volume. This bounce is short-lived, as the Federal Reserve raises rates to control the pace of recovery and prevent momentum buying. Property prices keep pace with the rate of consumer inflation. Speculators holding SFRs acquired two or three years earlier begin to dump them
2014-2016 Home sales stabilize. Shortsales, foreclosures, bankruptcies and REOs remain high. 300,000-400,000 new jobs are created annually for a return to the December 2009 peak level. Generation Y begins to come of age and buy homes.
2016-2017 Full recovery mode for employment, home sales, then pricing. SFR construction rises, though no where near Boom-time heights.
2017-2018 Interest rates rise again.
2018-2020 Excess inventory of vacant homes finally returns to pre-recession levels. Generation Y begins to pick up homebuying activity en masse. Homeownership in California is at 50%.
2020-2025 Negative equity homeowners who refused to strategically default finally work their way out of debt and return to a stable financial status, the poorer for it.
2025+ Home prices return to peak levels of 2006. The lessons of the Great Recession forgotten, and home sales hedonism returns. The mistakes of the past are repeated and the cycle continues.
We agree that we are probably at the bottom right now, as we’re already seeing an uptick in California homebuyer interest, and a decrease in inventory. We disagree that interest rates will stay low until 2017…..although wouldn’t that be nice???! We also agree (unfortunately) that the lessons of the past will be forgotton by 2025, and the market will again cycle. It always does!
What do you think? Please comment below or tweet us @angieweeks or @weeksteam. Should you be interested in buying ‘at the supposed bottom’, please call us at 877-230-3211, and we’re happy to show you homes over this Memorial weekend!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )10 Ways to Avoid Short Sale Delays
If you’re involved with a short sale for an Orange County home, the last thing you need is a mountain of delays. Fortunately, there are 10 steps you can take to help minimize logjams and power through the sale at a reasonable pace. 
- Make sure buyers, sellers, and agents are all on the same page as far as expectations go. Everyone needs to understand that the process is complex, and things don’t exactly happen overnight.
- Homeowners should complete all necessary financial hardship documentation. It is important to update these docs on a consistent basis.
- Get the sale property up on MLS and market the heck out of it.
- Come to an agreement regarding any external third party fees before submitting HUD (agreement should be valid for 60 days). Possible external fees include short sale negotiation, reconveyence, document preparation, and notary.
- Before submitting short sale documents and/or images, go over them with a fine tooth comb for accuracy.
- Lagers can cause some serious delays. So make sure customers and agents complete all necessary tasks in a timely manner.
- Do your best to get a purchase offer that reflects the best possible fair market value and highest return for investors.
- Submit fully executed purchase offers, making sure all addenda have been signed by buyer and homeowner. Provide any supporting documentation with offers.
- Get busy and obtain a release on outside liens as early in the process as possible.
- Be on the lookout for any of the following situations, as they invite delays:
a) A change in buyer, agent, or terms
b) Customer files for bankruptcy or divorce
c) Changes after approval letter is issued (please note expiration date)
If you’d like to learn more about short sale opportunities in the Orange County Real Estate market, I’ll be delighted to help. You can connect with me at 949.338.7408 or angie@askangie.com, @AngieWeeks or @WeeksTeam.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )Fighting Foreclosure in Orange County
The present foreclosure stats tell a grim story. Hard-working folks are losing their homes in alarming numbers. Fortunately, people facing foreclosure in Orange County are not as defenseless as they think. That’s why I’ve started this informative new blog series — Fighting Foreclosure. It’s all about helping people discover the options and resources they have when facing the prospect of losing their home.
The series kicks off with some valuable information from Shaun Smith, a specialist in foreclosure delay in Orange County. According to Shaun, the first thing you should understand is that banks don’t actually carry out the foreclosure action. They appoint a trustee to do the dirty work, including getting your home sold at auction. Now here’s the really crazy part. Unlike other states, California has no judicial-monitoring system in place to oversee trustee actions. So guess what? In order to expedite the process and maximize both bank and personal benefits, trustees invariably commit violations. Sometimes a lot of them. And who loses? Of course — the beleaguered homeowner.
Shaun’s service, Mortgage Crisis Remedies, combats these abuses and basically buys the homeowner time so they can remedy their non-performing loan. That could mean everything from continuing with a loan modification, short sale, or walking away with the cleanest possible credit record.
How does Shaun’s service accomplish all of this? By conducting in-depth investigations to discover trustee violations, then offering the trustee the choice of either delaying the home sale or facing sanctions that would result in loss of license. And guess what? That’s right. In a supreme act of self-preservation, the trustee invariably postpones the sale — usually by 1-4 months. This gives the homeowner leverage to bring the bank back to the negotiating table. In a nutshell, Shaun ensures that all legal requirements are met before the house is sold. A judge sure isn’t going to do it.
If you’d like to learn more about foreclosure delay in Orange County, Shaun or any team member on our TEN Dimensions team will be happy to help. Reach out to him at 949.241.0218 or shaun@mortgagecrisisremedies.com. And breath a lot easier.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )How Short Sales and Foreclosures Can Affect You
It’s the law of the universe. Every action triggers a reaction. And this law certainly comes into play in the world of foreclosures and short sales. If you’re an Orange County homeowner who’s gonna go through with one or the other, it’s best to know what’s in store for you when the dust settles.
Derek Beisner, a certified mortgage specialist with New American Funding, cites the following as among the most important potential affects of a short sale or foreclosure action. Derek points out that guidelines in this area are always subject to change. But as of this posting, these are some possibilities consumers definitely should be aware of.
- With a short sale, the lending institution has the legal right to 1099 the seller for the difference between what the house sold for and what was owed on the property. Bear in mind that this has been changed to a non-taxable 1099 for the years 2010 to 2012.
- In a foreclosure situation, a buyer must wait 3 years from the foreclosure date to get an FHA loan. Securing ownership of a property also will require a minimum credit score of 620 and a letter of explanation documenting the reason for foreclosure.
As with any other important undertaking, it’s best to get the input of an expert before plunging into a short-sale. Derek advises speaking to a CPA or Real Estate attorney well in advance of taking action. 
After all the foreclosure or short sale dust settles, your credit definitely will need some major repair work. The good news is that credit repair is very do-able. Derek recommends three fundamental steps:
- Establish new credit.
- Know your credit score.
- Consult a credit repair specialist to get things back on track.
If you would like to learn more about Orange County short sales and foreclosures, Derek will be delighted to help. You can reach him 949-637-9939 or derek@derekbeisner.com.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Orange County Foreclosure Help – TEN Dimensions Team
Pull Yourself Out of Foreclosure Chaos
The prospect of foreclosure typically whips up a whirlpool of financial and emotional woes for homeowners facing this very stressful scenario. More often than not, folks caught in the swirl of foreclosure chaos feel overwhelmed, out of control, and hopelessly trapped. 
Fortunately, we at Weeks Team understand the excruciating trials and tribulations that those confronting the foreclosure beast experience. That’s why we’ve put together a powerful team of Orange County short sale specialists who can help you pull yourself out of foreclosure chaos. As you’ll see, each member of this carefully-selected team is an expert in his or her particular field. As such, they have the knowledge and skill to guide you to your best course of action, whether that means bankruptcy, loan consolidation, or short selling your home.
Orange County’s Premier Foreclosure Help Team:
Cindy Logan – Short Sale Investor
949-433-7187
www.reinvestorsolutions.com/clogan/
Cindy@Investthebestway.com
Shaun Smith – Foreclosure Delay Specialist
Phone: 949-241-0218
Fax: 866-798-4192
www.mortgagecrisisremedies.com
shaun@mortgagecrisisremedies.com
John Harris – Debt Settlement
Phone: 949-202-7305
Fax: 949-270-7557
www.usdebteliminators.com
john@usdebteliminators.com
Mike Langle – Title, Liens, and Related Issues
Phone: 949-300-5373
www.Title365.com
Mike@Langgle.com
Steve Fink – Real Estate Attorney
Phone: 949- 637-0871
www.falawyers.com
sfink@falawyers.com
The Weeks Team is Ready to Help
If you or somebody you know is struggling with a mortgage or with house payments, call the Weeks Team at 888-281-7665 x2. We’ll be happy to direct you to the right TEN Dimensions team member who can provide a speedy solution to and welcome relief from your foreclosure woes. Or if you would like to receive our package of resources, feel free to email us your address or that of a friend or family member who can benefit from our services. We look forward to helping in any way we can.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Understanding B of A’s Short Sale Process
B of A Short Sales – What every party needs to know!
Today I’m taking a few hours out of the busy day to listen to Allen Seelenbinder, a VP with Bank of America, tell Realtors how to work better with B of A to get our short sales closed quicker. Definitely good use of time, because short sales take waaaaay too long!!! For Realtors looking for Equator tips, check this post.
Allen said the goal of the bank is to help preserve homeownership, they WILL attempt to modify your loan & help you stay in your house if you want to. It’s part of being on the HAFA program, and you can even try multiple times if you get denied on your first loan mod request! Good news if you’re late on the mortgage & want to keep your home, but you have to keep communicating & trying.
BUT…Did you know 60 percent of all loan modifications fail in the first 9 months? Yikes, make sure you are working with a professional modification specialist so you are not a statistic! Most times if you default on your modification, you’re not going to get another one, and its time to short sale.
For those who can’t afford the mortgage, & don’t see light at the end of the tunnel soon, you have options…
1. Deed in lieu – leaving your home and giving the deed back to the bank willingly
2. Foreclosure – defaulting on payments until the bank is forced to take your property back
3. Short sale – selling your property for less than it is worth
Short selling your property will allow you to buy again sooner than if you get a foreclosure, so its a good option. BUT, its complicated, so you need a good Realtor who knows what they are doing to help.
If you’re drained on the process, please keep trying. If you allow foreclosure, your credit will have a huge hit, and you know how important your credit is! Allen warned many times employers are looking at your credit as a gage on your responsibility, fight to keep it in tact as best you can!!
Short sales are the new normal! Buyers, sellers, investors, Realtors, & banks need to work together 🙂 There are over 6 million homeowners late on their mortgage right now, and many more projected in the upcoming months. Short sale will continue to be a household term for the next few years, unfortunately.
Why is the short sale process so long? Well…theres a lot of hoops to jump through:
- the process doesn’t begin until an offer is received, you could have a sign in the yard for months.
- an appraisal & bpo must be done
- the offer must reasonably meet current market value
- the buyer must qualify
- the seller must demonstrate hardship & provide documentation
- arms-length has to be proved (that means sellers aren’t in cahoots w buyers)
- the mortgage investor must approve the offer
- 3rd party approvals (mortgage insurance, helocs, second liens.)
Unfortunately, there is a lot of red tape to untangle. Buyers need to be prepared for at least 60-120 days for close, and agents from both sides need to constantly keep communication lines clear and all parties in the transaction updated.
What is financial hardship? Its better to say what it is not. Financial hardship is NOT that you are under water on the property, that is simply a bad investement. Its also not hardship if you can’t get a renter. If you are widowed, but have assets, death is not financial hardship, its emotional hardship 😦 there are a lot of people now trying to claim hardship when they do not have truely have one. You need to be able to show your hardship on paper.
One of the biggest challenges right now is getting 2nd loans, liens, and MI to reasonably come in line with the short sale loss. Sellers, be prepared for agents to ask questions about ALL loans & liens on the property, and please offer up front and honest answers. There’s going to be some back & forth necessary between the parties you owe $$ to.
Want to know if you are eligible for HAFA? Check bankofamerica.reo.com/hafa to make sure you qualify! B of A is also working on a program similiar to HAFA, but with better guidelines, called the Cooperative Short Sale.
B of A Cooperative short sale
Yes, its still in the works, but its pretty good!! It will:
- proactively outreach to customers
- offer preapproved short sale pricing
- promise offers reviewed/approved within 2 weeks
- be similiar to hafa, but wider scope
- rollout hopefully August 1st
Banks including B of A are all trying to make the best of our current market, and short sales are a huge percentage of it. Look for more posts (and videos!) soon to help you through the short sale process. If you or someone you know is late on their mortgage, The Weeks Team keeps everything confidential and we will be happy to discuss options! 877-230-3211 or info@successinweeks.com
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Tips for Realtors to use Bank of America’s Equator
I went to a seminar today on using Equator, here are some tips for all!
Equator has 5 stages:
1. Initiation – seller calls & signs up to initiate
2. Document collection – seller uploads hardship docs & Realtors upload offers
3. Valuations – BPO & appraisal is done
4. Negotiations – counter offers & 3rd party investor approvals
5. Closing – handling escrow & title transfer
To better step (um, jump) through through them, check out bankofamerica.reo.com/shortsaletraining
Realtors, make your short sale process shorter:
– have the seller contact the loan servicer asap to advise s/he is trying to sell
– ensure your customer financials are in pdf format
– confirm all requested documents & tasks are accurate & completed asap
– double check purchase offer is legitimate & @ fully executed
– make sure the purchase offer is the best possible at fair market value
– include listing information & comparables to support price w/your purchase offer
Success Secrets
In Equator you can add attachments when you email negotiators.. Listing agents, email your COMPS; they WILL be reviewed. Help the bank help you. Show them you’ve done everything possible to get the best value. Tell the bank how many offers you had, your open houses, your marketing, so they know you’ve minimized their loss. Remember, the bank is losing $$ here so offers need to be reasonable.
NEVER, ever, for the love of God, use the reject button in Equator. It closes your file!!!! There is a button to submit with changes, use THAT instead 🙂
Itemize your escrow items, too. Don’t forget to include buyer credits, this happens too much & causes deals to blow up!!
When you submit your counter offer in equator, push the close date out 60 days. If you pass approval date, then a new BPO & approval usually need to be done, and that can set you back 3 whole weeks! This can make any deal crumble, so just get the extra padding upfront. *note* if property is going to auction, that won’t work, so set the closing to be the day before scheduled sale.
Stop clogging up the phones, B of A has a rule ‘if its not in Equator, it didn’t happen’…so use Equator to give you the paper trail you need. You can escalate right there through the system, copy a manager if necessary. ***ANGIE TIP*** if a conversation is necessary, and you’ve tried 3 emails through the system, tweet @bofa_help . I always get a call back within 48 hrs 🙂
Say ‘actionable item’ in the subject, not urgent. Everyone says urgent. What many consider urgent is truly not urgent, but actionable items=urgent to B of A, ok?
Today a VP at Bank of America, Allen Seelenbinder, advised us cash offers mean nothing. B of A doesn’t care about your quick close, they care about minimizing their loss. Present your highest & best offers as opposed to lowball quick close cash.
Also, write your repairs into the contract, the bank doesn’t play well with new terms after appraisals! How will you know? Bring your trusty B of A local lender to the property, they can help advise you on standard repairs B of A is willing to do.
Realtors Pelt Bank of America with questions
What if the buyer walks? Why do you automatically close my file? Unfortunately, we have to completely start over including submitting the sellers info again into equator. Its for privacy purposes, so its not gonna change. There is a 5 percent chance you can pull a switcheroo: upload a NEW, better offer FIRST. Then the next day, email the negotiator the cancellation of the first offer and request the switch out for the better offer. In some cases this is allowed.
Will B of A pay a negotiation fee? NO, agents or buyers need to absorb.
Will B of A allow closing cost credits? YES, but submit everything correctly in equator.
How can we escalate a file in equator? CC the manager or team leader on an actionable item!! (for our technically clueless that means CTRL+click all titles you want to copy) OR, worst case, you can call your local B of A loan offer and they can talk to the OC approval head. There is such a person, however, Allen would not release his/her name to the ‘dogs’ 🙂
Will B of A reduce Realtor commissions? Tax us for dual agency? Contrary to popular belief they try not to…commission can be 6 percent for properties up to 250k, 5 percent for 500k, higher than that your commissions can be reduced more. Allen jokes…You can always ask the seller to pay the rest…the bank is taking a loss too. Now Angie must joke…sure, how about we charge per phone call, email, and walked buyer then, cool? Seriously, this process is a B for all of us.
Allen, way to let yourself get on the hot seat. I’ve done customer service for Realtors before… they can be a mean, loud, unhappy bunch. You handled yourself with class, and taught us how to work with B of A better.
Hopefully this post will help some struggling agents – tweet @angieweeks or @weeksteam your Equator tips, or comment them below!!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )
Orange County Real Estate Success 