Click on the picture to view a video PowerPoint about the U.S. Treasury Department’s just announced streamlined short sale process for homeowners struggling under their mortgage payments.

The government has tried stemming the flood of foreclosures – primarily through the HAMP program – but it’s only been marginally successful. To avoid foreclosure, thousands of homeowners have attempted to do short sales, but that process has been cumbersome, time consuming for both buyers, sellers and agents, and highly frustrating for all parties.

To solve those problems, the HAFA program provides a clear path for homeowners to do a pre-approved short sale. Listen to this video PowerPoint for an overview of the program.

Click on the picture for a more detailed PowerPoint video about the U.S. Treasury Department’s just announced streamlined short sale process for homeowners struggling under their mortgage payments.

Would HAFA work for you? Listen to this video – get the information and understand your options – then call Leslie. She wants to hear your story!

The Treasury Department released data this week on the Home Affordable Modification Program that shows 3.2 million homeowners are eligible for the HAMP program but that only 295,000 have actually gotten a permanent modification.

The Wall Street Journal yesterday also reported that some homeowners, trying to get a loan mod but often having to wait 6-12 months for their bank to determine eligibility, continue making payments but deplete their savings, putting them into worse financial straits.

For many homeowners who can’t get a loan mod through the HAMP program and want to avoid foreclosure, the Administration has begun the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program – basically, a “pre-packaged” short sale that provides a $3,000 relocation allowance for the homeowner plus financial incentives for the lenders to do a short sale.

OPM means Other People’s Money and it’s a great scam if you can figure out how to do it. You get the glory and someone else pays for it – sweet! Well, a number of developers figured it out. When a developer builds out their homes or condos, they can insert into the covenants and/or deeds a requirement that when the property is sold, a fee must be paid to the  developer’s charitable foundation.

The Lennar complex of condos (between Telephone Rd and Thille, a couple of blocks west of Victoria) has such a deal. Looking at a previous deal we did there, $202.50 went to the Lennar Charitable Housing Foundation. This scam is getting so prevalent that the Residential Purchase Agreement we Realtors use in submitting an offer just added a line item under “Other Costs” called a “private transer fee” for just this sort of thing.

Wanna start your own foundation? Just build some homes!

Morgan Stanley made a business decision to walk away from  5 office buildings in San Francisco they bought at the height of the market in 2007. It’s estimated their value dropped by almost 50%. They were not in foreclosure and were making the payments. It’s called a ‘strategic default‘ – a purely business decision. If Morgan Stanley can walk away, why not you?

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For distressed homeowners, the temptation to just “walk away” (and allow the bank to foreclosure) may initially be appealing. Just be done with it. However, that may be the worst option to choose, and here’s further proof it’s better to do a short sale instead of allowing the bank to foreclose. Fannie Mae just gave new guidelines stating when a homeowner can re-purchase a home after either a short sale or foreclosure – it’s a 2 year wait after a short sale vs. 4 – 7 years after a foreclosure. With the new federal HAFA initiative, there’s little reason now to simply “walk away” – don’t do it! If you’re in this situation, call Leslie today and find out more about short sales and the HAFA program.

Senate bill 401 passed yesterday, bringing California in line with Federal policy which waives taxation on forgiveness of debt for a personal residence. Governor Schwarzenegger said he would sign the bill. For example, for homeowners considering a short sale, this means that the amount of the “haircut” (loss) their lender(s) would take on that short sale will not be counted as income for them – which it would have been had this law not been enacted. It is a technical bill, and so as always, consult your financial adviser.

FEMA is proposing changes to boundary areas for 100 year flood zones that primarily affect the Oxnard area. Homes that are in these areas will be required to obtain flood insurance. There will be a community meeting at 7 p.m. on July 8th at the Oxnard High School Performing Arts Center at 3400 W. Gonzales Road. Here is FEMA’s fact sheet, and here is their map (9.5 MG).

In January, Leslie and I sensed there weren’t as many homes for sale in Ventura – more of an anecdotal feeling than scientific analysis. I remember checking in late January that there were 200 single family homes for sale in Ventura (Realtors call it Area 20 in the MLS – not to be confused with Area 51 in Nevada…!). Then in mid-February I decided to formally check and track inventory levels for Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo. Here’s what I found. Read the rest of this article »

Realtors can use all sorts of acronyms, buzz words – stuff that only those of us in the business understand. COE stands for Close of Escrow. The +1 (or 2 or 3) means the seller gets to stay in their (former) home after escrow has closed – meaning it’s now on the buyer’s dime! But why would a seller want to stay in their (former) home after escrow has closed? And why has the “17 day thing” changed all the old ways of doing things? Read the rest of this article »