Rebecca Austin discusses ” Common Loan Modification Questions “ the Law Office of Michael Groves
Radio Show: Home Help Radio with Rebecca on KPRZ
Date: 12-03-11
Rebecca Discusses ” Myths & Misconceptions about Underwater Home Values~A Guide for Homeowners in 2012 ” – If you are a homeowner whose house value is less than what you owe, or if you are falling behind on your mortgage payments, listen to this segment as Rebecca brings clarity to the common myths and misconceptions about Short Sale, Loan Modifications, and the Lending Institutions that hold your mortgage.
Radio Show: Home Help Radio with Rebecca Austin on KPRZ
Date: 12-03-2011
Rebecca Discusses the “ Current San Diego Real Estate Market ” January 2012
Radio Show: Home Help Radio with Rebecca Austin
Date: 12-3-2011
Rebecca Discusses some of the ” Strategies for Homeowners in 2012“
Radio Show: Home Help Radio with Rebecca Austin
Date: 12-24-2011
Rebecca Discusses some of the ” Smartest Real Estate Decisions for 2012 “
Radio Show: Home Help Radio with Rebecca Austin
Date: 12-24-2011
Rebecca discusses current ” Real Estate & Loan Modification Scams “–Seller’s BEWARE!
Radio Show: Home Help Radio with Rebecca Austin on KPRZ
Date: 12-24-2011
Could This Double Dip Turn Into A Triple?
Barclays Expects a 7% Drop In Home Prices
Research firms Barclays Capital and Clear Capital say a “triple dip” in home prices is eminent. They are estimating a 6-7% drop in prices over the coming months followed by a gradual rise.
How much fact is behind this prediction and is an accurate one for San Diego? To figure this out we need to look at REO and Distressed Inventory. The banks will need to be removed from the Real Estate Market before we see normalization. In San Diego, there are approximately 73,000 homes and condos that are either in shadow inventory or in a state of eminent foreclosure. These homes will need to cycle through the market as Bank Owned sales or as Short Sales. At our current sales pace (about 12,000 distressed sales closed in 2011) we are looking at a 5-6 year cycle before we are through this bank mess.
The biggest factors involving our prices within the market itself will be the pace at which this inventory is introduced into our market. The government/banks have been somewhat strategic in their release of their inventory and it’s nice to think that they are doing this to control the inventory. (We won’t go into how it affects their books and their ability to appear more or less profitable to suit their needs). Peripheral factors are of course lending rates and the ability for buyers to qualify, employment and the overall health and confidence of our economy.
Home Owners considering selling to “test the waters”now is the time to prepare to list. However, listing in June may net you a higher windfall. Current inventory is up and you’d be jumping in the cage with some serious competition.
Home Owners who are stretched financially and underwater,there is no better time than right now to consult and plan for the next 10 years. This is not going to fix itself and, to add to the urgency, The Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act that allows you to cancel the debt, is up at the end of the year.
Buyers/InvestorsIf you can buy, these are the times when the new money emerges. If you can buy, you are amongst the minority who can take advantage of what will most likely be the greatest Real Estate opportunity of our lifetime. We will all look back at this Depression and say, “I wish I bought 10 houses in 2012”.
As Promised:
List of This Weekend’s Open Houses – Click Here
We are hosting several Open Houses this weekend throughout the County.
Remember, we price our homes to sell so this is a great way to gain perspective of the current market.
List includes not only our Open Houses but Open Houses from all Real Estate Companies plus Bank Owned Homes and other Deals.
You’ll get Addresses, Pictures, Asking Prices, and Driving Directions so you can tour at your leisure without sales pressure.
Bank Owned Bonanza. Fannie Mae’s Brand Spanking New Buyer Assistance Program.
This just in….Monday, Fannie released a new Buyer Down Payment Assistance Program to help Home Buyers buy Bank Owned Homes. Add that to their First Look Program and you get the opportunity to crush those Cash Investors who have been beating you out on all those other properties.
Get the List of Homes that Qualify for This Program – County wide.
Home Owners with a Nasty Loan or just Plain Old Bad Timing – Analyze Your Real Estate Situation.
Online Home Evaluation
Derrick and I talked about the awesome benefits of this tool for our Upside Down Friends. It’s the result of years of helping people in your situation and produces a solid, visual, and predictable plan.
Here’s our talking point from the show and the highlights of what the Evaluation provides:
- Analyze the Value of Your Home
- Analyze Your Loan
- Analyze the stability of your Community
- Analyze your Options – Living Wise
- Eg – Loan Balance – $500K, Home Worth $350K, Option Arm Loan – No Mod option, Live in a Community with a lot of PreForeclosure Activity, homes aren’t as well maintained. Payment $3500. Average rent in area $2500. Perhaps average rent closer to work in a better neighborhood is $2900.
- Graphs visually predict the next 10 years – if you stayed or sold and repurchased.
- BOA loans especially have it good. You can actually get full approval for the short sale including the price PRIOR to listing it for sale. That means, much more predictable outcome.
- The best time to list is now or sooner – buyer activity is way up, banks are ready to work with you, move in the summer when the kids are off school.
It was quite a run. How many times have we heard that one when we remember the “good old days” of Real Estate. Throughout America there exists a sector of Real Estate “players”. A group of individuals who highly profited from the Real Estate run up of the last decade. Sometimes, investing in any type of financial investment including Real Estate feels like a bit of a Poker Game. It’s a calculated risk. But you can’t win big unless you get in the game, right?
And so you did. Perhaps you began by looking to buy your first home in the early 2000’s. Maybe a condo the size of the apartment they had previously been renting. A little more expensive, but the tax benefits and the pride of ownership far outweighed the difference. As a bonus, you began to realize that there was something else happening…..equity gain. And, after a couple of years your little condo was now worth a lot more than you bought it for. As a matter of fact, you could sell it and move to a larger place using the equity gain as the down-payment and your payment was the same. You won that hand!
And the dealer keeps dealing. Next hand, another winner. And each hand, you sit a little taller, get a little more confident as you just can’t lose! Many people just kept buying every two years and were becoming “seemingly” millionaires in the process.
This is called a winning streak in Poker or Investing. But, as we know, what comes up must come down. When that stinker of a hand gets dealt, the eerie stillness sets in as you try to figure out how to keep acting like everything’s peachy when you know you are starring at a losing hand.
In investing and in poker this is the moment when you have a choice. You can fold, like our clients Josh and Hailey, who sold their home in 2008 by requesting a Short Sale from their lender. They had paid $610,000 in 2007, had a financial set back and saw nothing but trouble ahead. Instead of bluffing, they folding quickly and move on. They sold their home, rented an affordable home in the area, and today are shopping in the same community they previously bought in. With one massive difference. The homes that were $610,000 are now priced in the mid $300’s to low $400’s. Yes, the same homes on the same streets. And, the good news is that there is still time for you to have a similar success story.
Most people who purchased homes especially in 2005-2008 with Stated Income Loans are bluffing. Sitting on hundreds of thousands of useless debt, paying every penny they earn on interest on a loan that has most likely been sold for pennies on the dollars to a different bank who is making insane returns. If you are starring at this horrible reality, you are bluffing no one but yourself. If your lender qualified you for a loan that you couldn’t afford it is time to realize that the bank has already folded and moved on.
The Banks do not feel embarrassed or victimize by giving you that loan. They do not feel too proud to look at their situation objectively, decide what is best for them, and do what ever needs to be done to benefit the most from this situation.
If you are in too deep you’ve been bluffing long enough. For once, I am recommending you do what the banks are doing. Fold now, by walking away with dignity. This is called Short Sale. It’s like folding before you have to reveal your hand. No one will know the difference between you requesting a Short Sale and simply deciding to move. Please make sure that “letting the home go” is NEVER a good idea for you as a Home Owner. The banks will never forget this and will pursue you for the rest of lives.
Our mission is to help you with this very specialized transaction. Our processes are in place, we are well connected with the Banks, and we know how you feel right now. Please visit us sdhomeplan.com for more information about selling and planning your success story.
Homeowners – Planning on a Summer Move on Your Upside Down Home.
So far this week we have seen
- 660 homes in San Diego placed on the market, Median Price $406,000
- 420 have gone to into Escrow
- 296 have Sold. Median Sold Price $320,000, Median DOM 47
This is a fairly steady market we are in but still tipping toward the buyer side. Our Buyers know this and are offering with a little more urgency that we’ve seen. (More later on why)
For those of you who are so underwater and are really strapped to make payments, now is the time to look at your options. Our Online Home Evaluation is the first step in deciding whether to stay or move on.
What is the right thing to do when you find yourself with a Real Estate “issue”? Let’s make a plan that gives us an upside and allows us to sleep at night. The online evaluation predicts the next 10 years (with some assumptions of course) and, if getting rid of your house is the best plan (and if you are one of the thousands who purchased at the top and are hundreds of thousands upside down you can connect with this) the right thing to do is take care of business. You do this by asking the bank to settle the short fall. Your part? To help the bank find a new home owner so they don’t have to. Its called a Short Sale and although there are lots of “experts” both in the industry and standing by the water cooler, this is a craft that requires more intelligence, tenaciousness, and negotiation skills than a typical transaction. (which is challenging enough today!)
Steps to Selling Your Upside Down Home with Us (in a total nutshell)
- Online Home Eval
- Look at the next 10 years (stay, modify, sell and repurchase after 2 years with a plan and credit improvement) It’s all in color and right in front of you so you can make the best decision for you and your family with no pressure.
- If you sell, sit with Rebecca and a calendar and map your ideal timeframe. (sometimes you are in a hurry, sometimes you need some time to prepare, we get that)
- When the time is right (which is 3-4 months before you want to move) we list the home for sale. It usually takes us between 2-3 weeks to get a really solid prospective buyer.
- You provide us with some documents, we send these, the offer, and the request for payoff to the bank.
- We jump in the ring for you and (professionally) negotiate the settlement of your mortgages. (30-60 days depending on how the lender)
- While this is happening, all is quiet at your house. (no phone calls from the bank, no agents calling to show, etc)
- Cost to you? Nothing. You and I are doing the bank a favor so the bank pays me for the service.
- Your credit is improved while you rent a place that is more comfortable.
- You enjoy life again knowing your not pinched.
- After about 18 months we start looking for your next home. Not a bad plan at all if you find a great team that cares to work with. (That would be us…) J
Buyers – Is This (finally) The Time???
Wow, that fence has got to be uncomfortable. I mean really….renting for 4 years??? With several hundred thousand sitting there?? Waiting for the bottom?
Well, Yahoo News released a report that San Diego is one of the best places to buy in the Nation in 2011 which is part of the increased urgency our buyers have noted.
Logic tells us this, and our renting buyer clients have frankly just had enough. Most now are asking why they are waiting and are offering on homes.
We’re finding that our buyers are less focused on the timing and more focused on the get on with it. If they see the home that meets their needs they are going for it. Yeh! Our buyers are ecstatic when they close escrow, painting, and planning, and we love that!
Our Program is a little different than the traditional (shocking) and is tilted in the Home Shoppers favor.
- We sit down for 15 minutes and take down what you are looking for. (Its fine, most people have no idea, hence the meeting.
- If you don’t have a PreApproval from a Lender, we take care of that (no charge)
- We get you into some homes for feedback purposed so we can watch for the deals that work for you.
- We send you new listing immediately upon listing. (not like the online sites that are so last month)
- We negotiate like pitbulls to get you the best price and terms (a little secret-THAT’s where the DEAL is…) J
- We don’t sleep until your keys are in your hand. (and your paint brush is in the other.)
- Cost-Nothing. Again….
- Obligation-Nothing…
Until next week, enjoy our incredible San Diego lifestyle.
