AZ Short sales are here to stay.  As homeowners understand their options in today’s difficult climate, more and more families are opting for short sales over going into foreclosure.  With 3/1 ARMS and 5/1 ARMS coming due, many homeowners will be faced with increased mortgage payments as their interest rates adjust.  This will cause many homeowners, who may be currently struggling to make their payments, faced with having to sell their homes.  Current values being down in most Arizona communities as much as 50% in some areas,  will limit a sellers ability to modify their loans into something they can afford, hence the short sale option.

 How is the Arizona Real Estate Marketing reacting to the influx of Short Sale Properties?  Here are the Stats for the North Glendale AZ market.

Year over year stats show New Listings up about 23% from last year. Homes under contract for this same period are up 13%                                        The number of homes actually sold are up 29%!!!                                                     Prices have decreased about 25% from the same period last year.   Yes we are still in a declining market with some areas seeing a stabilization of prices.

 A good portion of these homes are listed as Short Sales.  Why?  The bank does not want to take these properties back and as long as they can net even a few pennies more by doing a Short Sale over a Foreclosure, they will work with you. It is all about the numbers, nothing emotional.  If the numbers work that is great, if not then they will Foreclose.  In fact, new Making Home Affordable Guidelines that have recently been rolled out state  that if you have a lien holder that  services Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans they cannot foreclose while your home is listed as a short sale. To find out if your loan servicer is participating in this program, please contact me. 

 If you are thinking of doing an Arizona Short Sale consider this:  This market may be around for at least 5-7 years, with prices stabilizing in some areas. Short Sale your home, save your credit, work to rebuild your credit and start the healing process and in a couple of years you could become a homeowner again….while the market is still stabilizing.

 To learn more about short sales, please visit   http://www.homesbyelise.com/shortsale.html

Elise Fay

AZ Short Sales

www.HomesByElise.com

623-878-8500

Interesting article.  Always important to read these bills all the way through.  I have read most of the bill and I do think this bill has many merits.  The first being it prevents all of those “loan modification sharks” from preying on homeowners.  Secondly, if you read all the way down past the 1st paragraph of the bill, it exempts attorneys and other related practitioners from this “Consultant Bill”.

 In today’s market there are way too many people taking advantage of others in desperate situations.  The key word here is “solicit”. Lawyers and others soliciting families & making promises to help homeowners thru a loan restructuring, loan mod or even principle reduction programs all at a cost.  Many times these fees can go as high as $3000!  Ludicrous!  What happens at the end….the loan does not get modified, whether it be because of the type of loan or the incompetance of the specialist handling this process.  Could that be why over 85% of all loan modifications do not get done and of those loans that do get modified, about 90% of those end up in foreclosure 1 year later.

 Just like Realtors, we work with our buyers/sellers to either sell them a home or in most cases in Arizona, short sale their home.  I may spend weeks and even months getting the transaction closed but do I get paid ahead of time for work that I promise to get done?  NO.  I get paid when the transaction has closed.  That is when Loan Mod Consultants should also get paid.  Why milk these poor families for even more money that they don’t have because they are hanging their last bit of hope on a promise and a prayer.

 I think the bill is great.  Anything that will stop the predators from preying on homeowners.  Short Sale Realtors may still be the last decent vestige in these difficult times.  It takes a love of the business and the real desire to help people to be a successful short sale agent.  I am proud to be one.

 Elise Fay

Glendale AZ Short Sales

www.homesbyelise.com

I have been doing Glendale AZ Short Sales for quite some time and I am now just encountering sellers who have HELOC’s.  Question:  If their HELOC was used exclusively to make improvements on their primary residence and the seller can show receipts, will they still be liable for the full amount?

Has anyone had a seller with a HELOC that they were able to negotiate away?

I would appreciate any insight that you can offer.

Elise Fay

John Hall & Assoc.

HomesbyElise.com

As a Short Sale specialist in Arizona I hear from so many people who are behind on their payments.  They truly do not want to lose their homes and are spending alot of time trying to work with the lender to modify their existing loans. Because values in Glendale Arizona over the past 2 years have dropped approximately 40%, they do not fall within the governments 105% of value guidelines for loan modifications, therefore most people do not qualify.

When homeowners contact me I explain the benefits of a short sale in lieu of foreclosing on their homes, when all other options have failed.  The short sale process takes a lot of patience from all involved parties.  The process is Ebb and Flow.  Sometimes it happens incredibly fast and other times it just seems to drag on.  Some lenders have a terrible reputation for not wanting to get things done.  I have personally closed over 95% of all short sales that I negotiate.  The 2 that I have not been successful with have been thru Ocwen Loan Servicing Co.  I have written about this institution before but now there has been some light shed on this situation.

Today an article was just written explaining why some of these servicing companies and/or lending institutions seem to drag their feet and even at times allow homeowners to live in their home without making a mortgage payment, for months on end, ruining their credit.  Why not just move forward with the short sale, put a new buyer in the home and let the homeowner move-in and try to rebuild their life?  Word has it that these loan servicing companies are getting paid…  “mortgage companies that service the loans collect fees out of the proceeds when homes are ultimately sold in foreclosure. So the longer borrowers remain delinquent, the greater the opportunities for these mortgage companies to extract revenue”.  This is a very interesting article that sheds some light on what is really going on behind the scenes at some of these institutions.  

Click here to view article.

Please feel free to contact me, your AZ Short Sale Specialist.

Elise Fay

HomesByElise.com

Has anyone had any experience with HSBC and short sale negotiations?  I just took a listing and HSBC is the only lien holder.  What is their time frame for negotiations?  Will they push back the foreclosure date if they are working with an offer?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thank you

Elise Fay

Elise@EliseFay.com

www.HomesByElise.com

602-329-7782

For those of you who own properties in Arizona or have clients who own properties, there was just a new article posted today.  Approximately 42% of homeowners in Arizona are upside down on their mortgage. That is an amzaing statistic given that President Obama implemented the Homeowner Affordability Program.  But wait…it gets better.  Do you know how many homeowners his program has helped….Hold on …. 50.  Not 5000 or 50,000 but only 50 peopel nationwide.  With markets like Phoneix where values have dropped MORE than 5% (the program guidelines say 105% of home values for a loan mod.), what options are available to these homeowners?  SHORT SALES are the answer!!  Let’s help these homeowners and give them some dignity and a chance at gaining control of their finances down the road.  I have been extremely successful at negotiating Short Sales for my clients.  There are plenty of buyers ready, willing and able to perform and purchase a home.  Why wiat until it goes into foreclosure only to see the home deteriorate and become a huge eyesore. In most cases, the homeowner still shows a pride of ownership in their home. No empty promises here.  If I can help you, I will tell you upfront.  This is a viable alternative.  Let’s help eachother and our communities-don’t wait for the government to bail you out.

Elise Fay, Realtor John Hall & Associates

Glendale AZ Short Sale Expert                                           

www.HomesByElise.com

Elise@EliseFay.com

Hi, I am looking for some guidance.  At each stage of negotiations with Wells Fargo, we keep meeting their demands and then I am told that we will get an approval.  Well, we are at what I think is the final stage and now the investor wants to see the sellers 401k statements.

That does not see m right.  I have never been asked for that before–ever!  Why should my clients purge their life savings when the bank has already technically approved the price, short sale payoff, terms etc.  Everything is in line.  Does anyone have an answer or some advice for me on this.

Thank you

Elise Fay

John Hall & Assoc. Glendale AZ

www.homesByElise.com

Hello Friends

I am frustrated and I need your help. I have been working with Ocwen on a short sale.  They messed up on a few items with another offer that I had in with them and now I have another offer that I have submitted and was promised an approval in 48 hours.  

The foreclosure date is set for May 25th 2009. They will only issue an approval for 30 days.  If we can’t get the transaction closed by then, they will automatically go into foreclosure.  No ifs, ands or buts about it.  The buyers loan is an FHA and they are now typically taking 6 weeks to close because of the high volume of loans they are handling.  Ocwen specifically states that they DO NOT push back a foreclosure date just because they are negotiating a short sale.  That is not the case with other lenders at all. No matter how hard I pleaded, that is their hardline answer.  Obviously they would rather foreclosure–it actually seems to be their goal.

The buyers do not want to push the envelope and spend money on an inspection and appraisal only to have the bank foreclose because we can’t get the deal done in time.  Now the buyers will walk and all of our hard work has been for naught!!

Can anyone share with me any of your experiences with Ocwen?  Has anyone had any luck in getting a foreclosure date pushed back with Ocwen?  I have asked to speak with the VP/Supervisor etc but they way they work is that anyone who picks up the phone at Ocwen becomes the negotiator. 

If this is the way they do business, I can honestly say that I will not take another short sale with Ocwen.  Not only is it stressful for the agents involved but also for the sellers and buyers.  We get so close and everyone works so hard and does their due dilligence and in the end it all collapses like a house of cards.

Please…any advice or information that you can share with me will be helpful.

Elise Fay

John Hall & Assoc.

Short Sales in Glendale AZ and the surrounding communities of Phoenix, Surprise, Peoria and the West Valley:  This is a plea to all buyer’s agents and buyers thinking of submitting an offer on a Short Sale Property.  Please educate yourselves about the process.  I encourage you to interview the listing agent on the short sale property.  It is True that not all agents are short sale experts.  Some are just dabbling in this new market while others, like myself, are truly experienced. 

Ask the agent about the process as well as what procedures they follow.  If you are comfortable with the answers and have a high confidence level in the agent, your client loves the house then WRITE the offer!  Educate your buyer on the process then please wait it out.  Make sure that the seller’s agent is going to give you regular weekly updates so you can keep your buyer interested and in the game.

Personally I only submit one contract to the lender.  I tell the buyer that by submitting only one contract, I am committing to you, so I ask the same of the buyer and the buyers agent.  Please commit to this transaction.  Short Sales are closing.  The usual time frame for getting an answer from the bank is about 6 weeks-sometimes less. I am successfully negotiating these transactions BUT the buyers are not staying true to the process.  They are walking and usually at a point in time where it may be too late to get another offer and the house unfortunately goes into foreclosure.

In the Phoenix area, foreclosures can be a blight on the neighborhood and they affect everyone concerned.  Let’s keep foreclosure rates down and work with us on the short sales.  They are worth it for EVERYONE with a little patience and both of the agents exercising some professionalism.    

Elise Fay 

www.HomesByElise.com

Short sales in Glendale AZ and the Phoenix area.                                                                

COUNTRYWIDE AND PROM. NOTES

ARGH!!  I just finished about a 2 week long battle with Countrywide.  They wanted the Seller to sign a promissory note to approve the short sale.  This is of course after 3 months of getting to this point.  After going back and forth with them and begging and pleading my client’s case they absolutely refused to approve the sale w/out the promissory note.  I argued w/the negotiator and asked to speak to her supervisor.  I confronted her and asked if this was a Fannie Mae policy, a Countrywide policy or her personal policy.  I asked to speak w/her supervisor. She did call me and confirmed the above.  Keep in mind their loss on this was 52K which in our market is small comparatively speaking….Anyway my Seller did not want to sign a note.  The note was not large and they said that they took everything into consideration with the amount as well as the term.  The buyer really wanted the property and buyer’s agent asked me to propose to negotiator that the buyer come up w/the amount. 

So guess what folks?  Are you ready for this one?………..Negotiator says that if buyer wanted to pay another “X” amount that was fine but that they WOULD STILL NEED A PROM NOTE FROM THE SELLER!!  This is obviously not about the money!!!  So we don’t have a deal and it seems they are perfectly willing to foreclose on this house and you KNOW it will cost them more than the original loss!  They want blood from the Seller!!!

Since the Supervisor tells me that this is indeed their policy and they take each case into consideration before assessing a prom note.  Basically if you aren’t out of a job, or don’t have a medical hardship they are going to ask the Seller to sign a prom note.

So what now fellow Realtors?  Do we advise all our Countrywide client Sellers to get prepared for the possibility of a prom note?  If they are not willing be prepared to take the foreclosure instead?  Or will it all change next week?…..

Comments please!

Sincerely,

Elise Fay & Deidre St. Romain

John Hall & Associates

Glendale AZ Short Sales

www.HomesByElise.com