You can't squeeze water from a stone!

Although I know banks that have tried.  For Short Sales, typically I believe if a borrower is facing a true hardship and has no assets nor means of making a mortgage payment, the lender is unlikely to try to force the borrower to pay back any of it. It does not mean a lender is not entitled to a deficiency judgment, if circumstances warrant.

"Can I short sell my house if I have not stopped making payments?"

The answer to this depends on your lender, the investor on the mortgage and timing.  In most cases lenders will consider an “Eminent Default Short Sale” provided the property is listed for sale. So if you are currently making your payments, but you have circumstances which will make it impossible for you to make the payments in the future then you are likely to have an eminent default and can potentially qualify for a short sale.  With short sales there are no guarantees. If you have any questions about short sales and have property on Mercer Island or the Eastside please contact Ken Urman, Distressed Property Specialist with Ewing and Clark, (206) 232-5700.

Just announced incentive for buyers of Fannie Mae REO properties

Buyers of Fannie Mae backed REO properties will receive 3.5% of the purchase price towards their closing costs. For many homebuyers, the added expense of closing costs is an unpleasant shock. This promotion may take some pain out of that first step in homeownership.

Promotion Guidelines:

• Buyer’s or seller’s agents must request the incentive with the initial offer
• Offer must be submitted on or after April 11, 201,1 and close by June 30, 2011
• The buyer must use property as a primary residence, and will have to sign an Owner Occupant Certification Rider included with the purchase contract
• If buyer’s closing costs are less than 3.5%, there is no credit for the difference

This is a terrific step towards clearing their portfolio of their

Proud to be Certified by RES.NET as an REO Agent

Just want to brag that I passed a rigorous certification course.  I am now a professional member of RES.NET with REO certification. 

SHORT SALES DO WORK.

Just closed one with great overall success.  All parties extremely happy. 1st time home owners, sellers starting over and an asset off the books for the bank.  Des Moines, Washington; 4br over 2,000 sq. ft.

A Fairer Foreclosure Process!

Mortgage Loan servicers made several concessions in their version of a settlement proposal that they recently submitted to federal and state regulators.
In an excerpt of the draft, obtained by DS News, servicers agree to stop “dual tracking,” or proceeding with a foreclosure while a borrower is under review for or in the process of completing a loan modification.  I'm sure we'll hear more about this in the next few weeks.

Double-digit rent rise is coming!!!!

According to Lesley Deutch of John Burns Real Estate Consulting. In San Diego, she anticipates rents will rise more than 31% by 2015. In Seattle rents will climb 29% over that period; and in Boston, they may jump between 25% and 30%. Read more....

Negotiating with Bank and Lenders

Keep communicating and keep pushing.  Always ask to speak to a superior / upper manager, the squeakiest wheels get the grease!  

Your battle with the banks can’t be personal, the person on the other end of the phone is not making judgments specific to you, they are following a criteria.  Think about it this way, if it fits they say yes, if it’s a little out of "shape" and it doesn't fit they say no.  Their system has little accommodation for any considerations or grey area.  You must be persistent and escalate whenever possible to get the outcome you desire.

Bullish on Housing!

Almost five full years into the housing downturn, it's still cool to be bearish on real estate. But cool isn't always right: Despite headwinds such as looming shadow inventory, a lackluster job market, and geopolitical instability, there are plenty of reasons why rose-colored glasses may be the real estate eye wear of choice.
Here are 10 solid reasons why it may finally be time to be bullish on housing ... of course there's always caveats like local and regional trends, but overall there's reason to be optimistic. Read further.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-Reasons-to-Be-Bullish-on-minyanville-2628619.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=7&asset=&ccode

Word for today. "Recovery Score" or how long will it take to close a short sale?

It's a strategic way to prioritize collections and short sale process. I don't completely understand, but it just shows how complicated and hidden the banks can get with the process.

For prime mortgage servicers, GMAC conducted short sales the fastest, averaging roughly six months per transaction. Also, 53% of their dispositions were short sales. It had a recovery score of 59.3.
The next fastest servicer was Citigroup's servicing arm CitiMortgage, which did a short sale in about seven and a half months, and 56% of dispositions were short sales for a recovery score of 54.4.
Third, was Wells Fargo, conducting short sales in roughly eight months for 34% of its total dispositions. It had a higher recovery score than Citi, however, at 55.6.Countrywide, acquired by Bank of America, had the slowest short sale timeline. It took more than 13 months on average to conduct a short sale there. BofA took more than 11 months, but 59% of its dispositions were short sales. BofA had the lowest recovery score at 45.5.
More Info here:With short sales growing in demand from both distressed borrowers and banks, Deutsche Bank published a "recovery score", examining the speed at which the servicers conducted a short sale and the percentage these transactions take of overall property dispositions over the last year.http://www.housingwire.com/2010/06/23/deutsche-bank-ranks-servicers-on-speed-of-short-sales