Are you in Contra Costa and thinking of a short sale?  Have you heard there are some new guidelines regarding short sales, foreclosure avoidance and a deed in lieu? We’re cautiously optimistic that the new Obama guidelines will help to streamline the short sale process.  Have you seen the latest?  Some of this will be a wait and see how the lenders and servicers deal with this, as we already know, nothing happens quickly in this arena, but we have been begging for help for homeowners who wish to avoid foreclosure – let’s see how this works in practical terms.

Uniform Process for Short Sales Will Help Struggling Homeowners > Press Release

WASHINGTON, May 14, 2009

Help is on the way for many homeowners who are facing foreclosure, thanks to new details under the Making Home Affordable Program announced today by the U.S. Treasury and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Making Home Affordable Program is designed to help homeowners obtain modifications to their loan so they can afford to stay in their home. Where a modification is not possible, new incentives encourage the “quick private sale or voluntary transfer of property, which will save homeowners money and protect their financial future,” according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. The National Association of Realtors® expects that a uniform process for handling short sales and financial incentives will facilitate this process. View a summary of the incentives and process (PDF)

“NAR is pleased that the government is stepping in to help prevent foreclosures by streamlining the short-sale and deeds-in-lieu process,” said NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth. “NAR has been calling for uniform short sales procedures and other initiatives that will help today’s homeowners in challenging economy.”

Short sales occur when a bank agrees to let homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage to sell their home for less than they owe on their mortgage. Visit www.treasury.gov for detailed information on the program changes.

“Many families are finding themselves with a mortgage that is higher than their current home value, and they are struggling,” said McMillan. “As Secretary Geithner noted, and as NAR has been advocating for many months, stemming the foreclosure crisis and stabilizing the housing market are critical to our economic recovery.”

“We have heard from Realtors® that the extensive delay in the short sale process had caused many buyers to go elsewhere and have left many would-be sellers with no option but foreclosure. We are all pleased that the government has stepped in to help homeowners and those wishing to buy a home,” McMillan said.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

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Obama Administration Announces

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Also, have you checked to see if you are eligible for mortgage help?
http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov

Need urgent help?
Contact the Homeowner’s HOPE™ Hotline:
(888) 995-HOPE

To read more about Obama’s plan for our economy and housing:
http://www.financialstability.gov/

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Do you want to try to avoid foreclosure? Try to save your home? Do a short sale in Contra Costa?
If you need a free consultation regarding your mortgage and foreclosure avoidance options, call the local loss mitigation team of Contra Costa Short Sales and  Contra Costa Real Estate .  Catherine Myers at Alain Pinel Realtors can be reached by phone at  925-683-2125 or by email.    We will help you explore all options available to help you save your home FIRST! Then, if you’ve exhausted home save efforts, we’ll helpl you look into home sale and foreclosure avoidance options.  A short sale should be your last resort if you want to save your home.   Experienced counsel in selling and buying short sales and foreclosures.  Referrals to experienced attorney and CPA’s available. Call for your consultation today.

Located in Walnut Creek, CA – Contra Costa
Also serving:
Walnut Creek
Pleasant Hill
Pleasanton (Alameda County)
Dublin (Alameda County)
San Ramon
Danville
Alamo
Livermore (Alameda County)
Martinez
Pacheco
Lafayette
Orinda
Moraga
Concord
Clayton
Bay Point
Pittsburg
Antioch
Oakley
Brentwood
Discovery Bay
Clyde

That is the one question we are asked every single day.  Homeowners are confused with their options (or in some cases, their lack of options), and are unsure of what to do, and where to turn.  Most homeowners don’t realize it is simply too complex a question to be able to answer with a yes or no.  On many online forums however, it is exactly what I see many real estate agents do.  When the question is asked “Should I do a short sale? Or should I foreclose?” … many agents chime in with the advice “Do a short sale, its the best thing for your credit.”  “Do a short sale, it is better than a foreclosure.”  “Do a short sale, its the right answer.” 

First, let me tell you.. if you ask that question (short sale vs foreclosure) and one of the above answers is the first thing they say – run!  Run away.  The fact is there is no one answer, no one size fits all answer that is.  It is too complex. 

If you asked me that question… I’d likely answer “it depends.”   My second part of the response would be to advise an attorney and/or CPA.  There are too many variables to be able to answer that question with yes or no.  Fact is, sometimes a foreclosure is best for some people with certain situations.  In some cases, a short sale opens you to liability you may not have had otherwise.  There are cases that there was an entire strategy that could’ve protected you, but you didn’t know about because you did not consult with an attorney.

I can guarantee you that there will be many confused and shocked people this year.  These will be the people who did a short sale during 2008 and thought they were “done.”  But when you get your 1099 , what will you do – you know you can’t ignore that right?  Or worse, what happens if you DON’T get a 1099 (especially on a second loan or equity line of credit)…. ?  Have you received your collections or lawsuit notice yet?  It may be coming.  To add insult to injury, many don’t know that the state is not doing the same tax relief as the federal government.  You may have a state tax liability.  As mentioned above, on some loans, you may owe the deficiency balance.  On some, you may have turned the entire debt (on your first and second loans) to a collectable balance.  How’s that for shocking?

So, as you can see… if anyone says a short sale is automatically the right answer for you without a) telling you it depends and gets more information about your situation and b) insisting you talk with an attorney and/or CPA immediately… you may find yourself in trouble you never expected.

Seek counsel with professionals experienced in short sales.  That is another post.  How do you know if the REALTOR you are interviewing is REALLY knowledgeable in short sales?  There are many agents doing short sales, that in my opinion, have no business doing them.  I’ll tell you in another post some warning signs, and what to ask when interviewing agents to sell your home if a short sale is determined to be your best option.  First of all, do they have references of satisfied short sale clients?  How about testimonials from fellow realtors who worked with them in a short sale transaction?

Call the Contra Costa Short Sale Specialists

Catherine Myers & Terry Osburn
Alain Pinel Realtors
http://contracostashortsales.wordpress.com

http://www.DiabloValley.net

925-683-2125

We serve clients wishing to sell their homes in Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Alamo, Danville, San Ramon, Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore, Concord, Clayton, Bay Point, Pittsburg, Antioch, Oakley, Brentwood and Discovery Bay.   If you are out of our immediate area, it’s likely we can provide you to a reputable short sale agent in your area.  A reputable agent will be one to have resources for you – homeowner help information, attorney and CPA contact information.  Have you exhausted all efforts to save your home?  That should be priority number 1 – and we can provide you some local resources of homeowner preservation (non profit) groups who can help you explore your options with your lender: loan modifications, etc.

That is a question we’re asked alot.  The answer is NOTHING.  At least not monetarily.  We treat these sales as a typical real estate sale whereas we’re basically paid nothing unless and until the deal closes.  So we sign you up as a typical seller.  You do the listing agreement and its ancillary documents, the statewide disclosures as is typical, and then we’ll give you a few other pieces to complete specific to the short sale.  But we don’t get paid unless we close the deal.  In fact, we don’t take all deals, it has to make sense for the bank and if there are issues we can’t help you overcome, we may decline the opportunity. 

A short sale does require some work on your part.  There is more paperwork. We’ll need some specific items from you before we’ll even list the property.  This saves us all time.  My belief is that one of the top reasons for a short sale failure is the listing agent.  We want to save everyone the trouble by having your entire package DONE , up front and in advance.  Then, when we get an offer for your property we are ready to submit right to the lender without delay.

Sometimes offers don’t come in right away… and sometimes the banks take their time looking at the short sale request files.  What that means is that we’ll ask you to continue to send us your pay stubs as you get them, as well as your bank statements.  Its not unusual for a loss mitigator/short sale specialist at your lender to come back after 2 months and say they’re ‘missing’ updated items.  By being proactive, we’ll always have what they need to complete the file.  Our goal is to NEVER be the reason for any delays.

So, if you want to explore the option of a short sale in Contra Costa (and parts of Alameda) County, call us for detailed information on what you’ll need to gather and complete for us.  Then, when we come with the bulk of the paperwork for you to complete, you’ll be ready with YOUR documents.