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These workshops are specifically for those interesting in keeping their homes and looking for information, options and assistance.  Sometimes a short sale is the end result, but if you want to save your home, attending a workshop may be your first step.

Wells Fargo will be hosting a free Home Preservation Workshop in Stockton for Wells Fargo and Wachovia borrowers on January 18^th and 19^th. This event is geared towards Wells Fargo and Wachovia customers that are facing mortgage payment challenges, and looking for home retention options. It gives borrowers an opportunity to personally meet with a Wells Fargo representative to discuss modification options and get answers to their questions. We encourage borrowers to register for the event in advance at the phone # provided on the flyer; however we do accept walk-ins as well. 

Check out their link to register for their events directly:  Wells Fargo Home Preservation Workshops

Registration open now for Stockton:

Stockton Arena – Main Entrance
248 West Fremont Street
Stockton, CA 95203
January 18-19, 2012
1/18: 2PM- 8PM  1/19: 9AM – 7PM

Also, coming soon in Sacramento: February 2012, and for the San Francisco Bay Area, the next workshop will be in Oakland on March 8 and 9th – stay tuned for more information and registration.

At Contra Costa short sales we’ve worked on hundreds of successful short sales.  Wells Fargo and Wachovia short sales are pretty well streamlined and pretty straightforward.  Let me know if you are contemplating a short sale and have a Wells Fargo or Wachovia loan.  Ask about the HAFA program which could also provide you a $3,000 relocation incentive.

Contact:

Catherine Myers
Real Estate Broker
Windermere Bay Area Properties
Walnut Creek, CA

DRE 01337828

925-979-5001

Contra Costa short sales works on short sales in Walnut Creek, Concord, Clayton, Pleasant Hill, Danville, Alamo, San Ramon, Dublin, Pleasanton, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Martinez, Lafayette, Orinda and surrounding cities.  Ask about foreclosure resources, attorney and CPA referrals.

Each bank has a their own list of short sale documents, ask me for your bank’s short sale checklist and bank specific short sale forms.  In addition, HAFA short sale information is available.

Wells Fargo will be hosting a free Home Preservation Workshop in Stockton for Wells Fargo and Wachovia borrowers on January 18th and 19th. This event is geared towards Wells Fargo and Wachovia customers that are facing mortgage payment challenges, and looking for home retention options. It gives borrowers an opportunity to personally meet with a Wells Fargo representative to discuss modification options and get answers to their questions. We encourage borrowers to register for the event in advance at the phone # provided on the flyer; however we do accept walk-ins as well. Please feel free to share this with anyone you think might benefit from this event.

Wells Fargo will also be hosting an event in Oakland; March 8-9.

America’s Servicing Co.
Aurora Loan Services
Bank of America
Beneficial
Chase
Citibank
CitiFinancial
CitiMortgage
Countrywide
EMC
EverBank/EverHome Mortgage Company
GMAC Mortgage
HFC
HSBC
IndyMac Mortgage Services
MetLife Bank
National City Mortgage
PNC Mortgage
Sovereign Bank
SunTrust Mortgage
U.S. Bank
Wachovia Mortgage
Washington Mutual (WaMu)
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

We’ve had a few foreclosures happen in the middle of a bonafide short sale. We’ve had some denied for no good reason. We’ve had (and still continue to have) serious problems with valuation whereas the bank thinks the house is worth 10-30% more than it really is. It stings when you know better, the house forecloses, and then it eventually sells for 10-30% LESS than the offer you had on the table. It is absolutely shameful how these banks have handled many of these deals.

So anyway, if your house foreclosed in Contra Costa or Alameda, and you think it was done wrongfully so, go to http://independentforeclosurereview.com. Read the FAQ’s to see if you’re eligible for a review and then go for it. What do you have to lose? The bank may owe you money or damages for wrongfully foreclosing on your home.

I found out about this foreclosure review board by calling Aurora Bank about a current short sale I have going, and they had this as part of their welcome recording.

Call Catherine Myers for experienced short sale help in Contra Costa and Alameda Counties. Get Contra Costa real estate and home for sale information too. Free consultation for all short sales.

Located in Walnut Creek and Clayton, CA and serving the entire Central Contra Costa area including Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Concord, Clayton, Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Orinda, Alamo, Danville, San Ramon and surrounding areas.

This letter apparently is now being sent to those who have a Notice of Default filed upon their properties, and is meant to provide a resource and a reminder that there may be schemers out there to take advantage.  It never ceases to amaze me, though I’m still saddened by, the sheer number of “schemes” that come to those who are in default on their mortgages. I was delighted that the DA’s office is looking to be proactive.

The letter says “You should expect many people are going to contact you to try to convince you to sell your home to them or that they can “rescue” you from foreclosure.  Often these people do not have your best interests in mind.”  Amen to that.  Amidst the stack of mail were postcards, letters, handwritten notes and more all offering “I can help,” “I want to buy your home,”  “call us to stop your foreclosure,” and “we can delay your sale and help you stay in your home longer.”

Also nice about this letter is it does provide information about and contact information for three local non-profit housing counseling agencies. I’ll list them below, but I’ve also had them listed on this site for years.

Pacific Community Services, Pittsburg 925-439-1056
Community Housing Development Corp, Richmond 925-412-9290
Housing Rights, Inc, Concord 866-469-0133

They also offer information about  civil attorney group specializing in real estate:

The Law Center 866-543-8017 or email thelawcenter@onebox.com.  You can also call the Bar Association referral line: 925-825-5700.

They also advise you that if you have sold your property to someone, or paid someone to rescue you (which I’ve talked about here on this blog several times), that you may be a victim of a crime. If you feel you have been a victim of a foreclosure rescue crime/scam call the DA office to request a complaint form 925-957-8604.

Contra Costa Foreclosure Advisory

The letter is signed by Mark Peterson, District Attorney and Ken McCormick, Deputy District Attorney, Real Estate Fraud Unit.

If you want to read the full letter, you can access it here:  Contra Costa Foreclosure Advisory Letter

Here is the news release for the California Association of Realtors:  http://www.car.org/newsstand/newsreleases/sb458/

This law picks up where SB931 leaves off.  Right now SB931 prevents lenders from pursuing a deficiency on a first mortgage following the successful completion of a short sale.  Now SB 458 closes the gap with second / junior lenders:

“SB 458 brings closure and certainty to the short sale process and ensures that once a lender has agreed to accept a short sale payment on a property, all lienholders – those in first position and in junior positions – will consider the outstanding balance as paid in full and the homeowner will not be held responsible for any additional payments on the property.”

Now, keep in mind, it may not prevent second lenders from requiring money (from the seller) to settle or approve a short sale.  Second lenders still have an option on recourse debt loans as far as I know (I’m not an attorney however, and you MUST seek advice from an experienced attorney in these matters).  A second lien, saying being owed 120,000 on  recourse debt (i.e. investor loan, home equity loan, home equity lines of credit, etc), could say no to any short sale, allow the first to foreclose and continue their pursuit of the seller after the foreclosure.  Certainly, I hope that is not the trend we start to see.  California has done a pretty good job of keeping in the forefront of consumer protection in these stressful times.  With SB931 and now SB458, short sale sellers have a little more peace of mind when they complete a short sale.

I have a short sale right now, that the seller was just about to settle with a second lender for 30,000 in order for them to release the lien, this law may have come at just the right time for them.  However, so far they are still demanding 10,000 to release the lien and approve the short sale… time will tell this week, if they change their mind altogether, or take a “we’ll take what we can get” approach and approve the deal thereby waiving their right to pursue deficiency per SB458.

Will this help in your short sale decisions in the future?

If you are interested in a short sale in Contra Costa, Alameda and some parts of Solano and San Francisco – give us a call right away!

Contra Costa Short Sales
925-683-2125
Catherine Myers, Broker Assoc
Windermere Bay Area Properties / Short Sales

San Francisco Bay Area, Contra Costa and Alameda Short Sales

Homes for Sale Contra Costa, Alameda County – Search

Back then, the house foreclosed for a couple of reasons.  One is attorneys were scared to death of short sales in that market.  I was warned that anything a client told me was not protected by attorney client privilege.  I was told that many “liar loans” were taken out by well meaning people, who just did as their loan broker said and signed off on fraudulent loan applications and documents based on income that didn’t exist.  That wasn’t the case in my friend’s situation, but it was still a concern at that time in the market.

Fast forward to the flood of short sales that started coming across my desk.  Imagine if you did “fib” on your loan application, on your income, and you signed off on documents you knew showed you made more income than you really did?  Back then, the 2 years of tax returns, and all the bank statements and pay stubs requested by the banks quite frankly may have been handing a lender evidence of fraud on a silver platter.  Attorneys still, were unsure of how to handle these deals, except to say FORECLOSE so one didn’t have to give the lender evidence of any fraud.

Now, of course, fraud was not all that was going on.  Some moved to California after being relocated for their jobs, and now were being relocated again, but this time, being completely underwater on their mortgage.  Luckily, for some , some corporations (the big ones) would provide loss of value incentives and pay the difference on the mortgages to avoid them being short.

Some did everything right, but fell into the trap of the attractiveness of the short term adjustable ARMs, minimum payment loans, neg am loans, pick a payment loans… they were the “designer loans” after all and often the people selling them knew little.  The perfect storm….
So where are we today?  Today, in short sales, we see hard working people, who have done everything right.  People who had money down, people who did fully stated, fully documented loans, people who were so happy to finally experience home ownership.  Things change, life changes, jobs are lost, marriages dissolve, families have emergencies, loans adjust, jobs move, families grow, income goes down – any number of things are impacting families today.

Short sales are easier.  Not saying shorter or any more fun.  But most banks have a process, many are online with Equator (Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Nationstar, ASC, BSI Financial Services) which enable us to manage the short sale transaction online.  The government has gotten involved with the introduction of HAMP and HAFA designed to streamline loan modifications and short sales – admittedly though, neither works as well as it should . . . There have been laws passed to protect home sellers.  In California, most notably, SB931, protects borrowers from further recourse after a short sale.  Nationally, the Federal Mortgage Debt Forgiveness program went into effect in 2007 and may protect some borrowers/sellers from tax hits.  The State of California has followed suit for some borrowers.

Some banks are even resorting to MONEY incentives to borrowers to short sale vs a walk away foreclosure.  Chase for instance has been offering “some” borrowers upwards of $30,000 for a successfully closed short sale.  HAFA short sales offers a $3,000 relocation incentive and even FHA / HUD loans offer monetary incentives one can use for relocation or toward the pay off of secondary liens.

Should you do a short sale?  Maybe.  You must always talk with an attorney or CPA about your individual circumstances. Especially if you are looking to short sale an investment property (yes, I’ve done dozens for investors), or have a recourse second loan (home equity line, refinanced second, etc).   Some considerations, some clients are looking at in the question of short sale, or not are:

1. Can they afford to hang on and pay on time?
2. If they can afford to stay, what about the future, how long will they stay before they can sell with equity? or break even?
3. Knowing some of the federal and state protections are temporary, does it make sense to do a short sale now?
4. Is it ok to short sale when there isn’t a financial hardship?  (Answer: it depends…)
5. Will they owe taxes on the loss?
6. Will they be exposed to recourse with a second lender?
7. Is it better to walk away and foreclose, or short sale?  (Answer: there are pros and cons to both)
8. What will the emotional toll be of either option?  (many feel embarrassed)
9. In a short sale, who pays commission?  What about repair work? What are there obligations (I explain all that)
10. What is their liability in a foreclosure?

There are short sales in every single area of Contra Costa now.  No town, no city is immune.  Of course some cities like Concord, San Ramon, Martinez, Antioch, Pittsburg, Brentwood, etc. have MANY short sales.  Whereas Walnut Creek, Clayton, Pleasant Hill have maybe slightly fewer.   Still fewer are towns like Danville, Alamo, Lafayette, Orinda, etc.  Hit hard were new construction areas, first time buyer areas.

So, if you are contemplating these questions.  If you need an experienced short sale agent to work with you to decide the best route, please call me for a free, confidential consultation.  If you want to save your home, investigate a loan modification or a deed in lieu, I can get you information and resources for those options too.  Need an attorney or CPA referral, I’m happy to provide those.

You can reach me:

Catherine Myers
DRE 01337828
Windermere Bay Area Properties
Walnut Creek, CA

925-683-2125

Contra Costa homes for sale, search homes for sale, short sales

Keep checking back to this short sale blog as I focus exclusively on day to day issues of short sales in our Contra Costa areas.  I have hundreds of satisfied clients, and dozens and dozens of successful short sales.

Remember the following important disclaimer:

I do NOT charge any fee if you decide at any point not to proceed with the short sale, but as noted, you may have a liability to a buyer if you cancel too late in the transaction.  You can always cancel an agreement with me with no penalty or fee.  Neither Windermere Bay Area Properties, nor Catherine Myers, broker associate, are associated with the government or any lender.  See the full MARS disclosure here.

But alas, here comes some HELP! A nifty, official looking letter comes in the mail telling you your trustee/foreclosure sale is coming up next week and eviction will start right away if you don’t call them.  That they are the trustee verification service company and they can validate your sale with the trustee company and in fact, challenge the trustee with lots of mumbo jumbo so they will have to stall the sale.  All this and you can pay them around 900-1,000 a month for the service to stop your foreclosure sale.

What they don’t tell you is that in California, and in standard practice that we’re seeing, the bank doesn’t just show up on your door on the day of sale and evict you onto the streets.  It doesn’t happen that way.  Typically, once the dust settles after the sale, an agent or property preservation company will approach you and try to work with you for a planned and organized move.  The bank doesn’t want you to trash the property, strip the fixtures or force court assisted eviction proceedings.  They want to help you move… they will often offer you “cash for keys” which means you leave the home on the date you say you will, and in good condition, and they will pay you cash…. typically up to $5,000.  (Keep in mind, they can start eviction proceedings right away for an owner of a defaulted/foreclosed property, but it is a complicated and expensive court proceeding for a bank to take on, this is why they’d rather find an amicable solution.)  Remember, if you are the owner of a rental property, your tenants may be eligible for this cash for keys too, and in fact, tenants have MORE rights in a foreclosure than owners often do… think about it… the law assumes that you as an owner, KNEW about the foreclosure, whereas sometimes tenants are kept in the dark until mere days before a foreclosure.  Here is some information about tenant rights in foreclosure: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/renters-foreclosure-what-are-their-30064.html

If you are in the middle of a short sale, or loan modification and you still get a trustee sale notice telling you your foreclosure sale date is set at the court house steps, call your LENDER immediately.  Often, during either a short sale or loan mod, the foreclosure process continues…. very often their foreclosure department is NOT communicating with their loss mitigation or loan modification units – so often it only takes a phone call to stop the sale.   If you are in the middle of a short sale, your agent should be keeping tabs on the sale dates, notice dates and YOU should be telling the agent the minute you get a certified letter or a notice taped to your door.

But be very careful.  While these companies may be adhering to the “letter of the law” by not charging advanced fees, and having all the proper disclosures – they are still a company preying on public notices, and preying on those in peril.  They go after those who are about to lose their homes, and they DO try to scare you by insinuating an eviction is coming.

When in doubt, you can always call the State of California Attorney General office – I did recently when one of my clients received one of these misleading letters.  They have a website set up for loan and foreclosure fraud:  http://ag.ca.gov/loanmod/ .

You do not have to pay anyone to help you stop your foreclosure, you can do this yourself by cooperating with your lender, communicating with your lender and when necessary enlisting the services of a professional realtor to sell your home if a short sale is your goal.  ALWAYS seek the counsel of an attorney and CPA before proceeding with any loan modification, short sale or other “foreclosure rescue” solution.  Remember, a real estate broker (like me) is not affiliated with the government, and not affiliated with your lender.  If you choose to do business with me, or any realtor/brokerage, you can cancel the agreement at any time and not owe any money.  You should NEVER, EVER be charged money up front for any service.
Here are some tips to stay safe from the California State Attorney General:

The California Association of Realtors has launched a new site “California Short Sales” and they want real estate agents to submit  short sale horror stories (and the good stories too).  Boy have I got a few – of both!  Honestly, most of my short sales do close.  The processing headaches when dealing with the major lenders though, seem to be ongoing.  Just when you think “you’ve got it,” the bank goes and “improves” their system, “enhances” the process or changes platforms, employees, etc.  The one thing I’ve learned about short sales is that things never stay “status quo.”  Even when things are going well, the banks seem to find a way to mess with the system that was working in order to “fix” something we all didn’t know was broken!

So, send this to your agents, submit your stories – good and bad – and perhaps CAR can help impact change in the industry.

Check it out and submit your stories:

Check it out: http://www.shortsalescalifornia.org/