About Hall County, GA

Whenever I've talked with homeowners that are facing foreclosure, the first question I ask them, "have you spoken with your lender about your situation"? A large percentage say yes. Being a short sale buyer and trying to help people avoid foreclosure, I have talked with alot of folks lately. Invariably, they all tell me the same thing. First, they would like to keep their house, and second, they have ask their lender about modifying their loan. Unless you've been under a rock, you know that the government loan modification program (HAMP) has been a miserable failure! Most people that have gotten a loan mod through their lender have only gotten their payments reduced for a short time all the while getting further and further behind on their principal balance.

With all the families that owe more on their mortgage than the house is worth in today's economy, the only real way for these lenders to help homeowners is by reducing the principal balance on these upside down mortgages. For the life of me, I can't figure out why lenders didn't embrace this one simple solution a long time ago: PRINCIPAL REDUCTION. This way a lot of people could have stayed in their homes, and the banks wouldn't be sitting there with a huge number of vacant houses in their inventory.

The only other alternative for families that want to avoid foreclosure in Gainesville, and elsewhere, is to attempt a short sale. A short sale is where the lender agrees to take less for the property( they are holding the mortgage on) than what is actually owed. Short sales have become popular for people wanting to avoid foreclosure. The process can be long and drawn out, but if the short sale is successful, it can be better for the homeowner in the long run. The way that a short sale is better for the homeowner is how their "future credit" is looked at. Someone that has been successful short selling their house as opposed to having their house go all the way through the foreclosure process and sold on the courthouse step can apply for credit and be approved a lot sooner, provided they keep other payments current after a short sale has been completed.

If you are behind on your mortgage payments and your lender isn't willing to work with you, a short sale just might be your best bet. Champion Realty Solutions, LLC can answer your questions and offer solutions for families that are facing foreclosure. We work for the homeowner to try and keep you out of foreclosure at no charge. We also keep everything strictly confidential. Go to our "Contact Us" page at www.AvoidForeclosureInGainesville.com. Give us a call or enter your information and we can get started helping you avoid foreclosure in Gainesville - Hall Co. NOW!

Eddie Rushton

Champion Realty Solutions, LLC

www.AvoidForeclosureInGainesville.com

With all the Short Sales in Atlanta, Foreclosures and lack of construction, one neighborhood still is crankin' out homes and selling them at a premium. Village at Deaton Creek is a active adult gated community with everything but their grocery store in terms of amenities.

Recently, the Hall Chamber has a meeting discussing the active adult communities in the area and how many people are bypassing Florida altogether to come straight to Atlanta.

Village at Deaton Creek offers all the expected amenities found in the usual Broward County locales but features 4 full seasons without having insurance payments exceed the mortgage.

Twiss (from the chamber) said some of the trends people look for when looking for a retirement community include "a place that’s in a great location, a place with beautiful surroundings that is close to their families and a place that is in the south, but not all the way in Florida."

Twiss told the crowd that the focus of Del Webb is to provide this type of community for those 55 and older who want to live a vibrant lifestyle... through being involved in social clubs, activities, and different classes.

See Village At Deaton Creek Homes For Sale

This link takes you to my post about appealing low appraisals. Many appraisals are just fine, but there are many appraisers working for cut rate fees for AMC's who are cutting BIG corners, I know because I have reviewed many of them....so in case you need help here is the link to the blog I wrote on the subject

Good luck!

http://activerain.com/blogsview/1342052/how-do-you-appeal-a-flawed-appraisal-so-your-deal-doesn-t-die-

No I am not talking about walking around with blinders on while appraising. I am talking about appraising with NO numbers given to the appraiser ahead of time, no estimates of value, no loan amount, NOTHING!

Forever, Appraisers have been given numbers to HIT so to speak, when they were given the appraisal assignment by the Banks, Brokers, Realtors, Sellers, Buyers. Now due to HVCC this is not allowed!

So what does that mean for the Appraiser? Well it means that they are left to their own devices and abilities to chose the right comparable properties and how to accurately analyze the market and make the appropriate adjustments to the "comps" to reflect their variances when compared against the Subject property ( The one they are appraising).

Unfortunately, so many appraisers were used to just appraising TO the given number or BACKING into that number rather than truly evaluating the market and moving forward to the real estimate of value for the subject property. So if the appraiser is not experienced in what I define as BLIND appraising, they may fumble around trying to come up with the true and accurate market value for that property.

The appraiser must know the area in which they appraise. They must know LAND values intimately and they must know what the market is paying currently for all sorts of items that we review, ie: upgrades to the home, bed and bath count, finished vs. unfinished basements, other amenities such as pools, fences, etc. For too long there were numbers appraisers always used to make adjustments for these items, but chances are unless they have analyzed the current market and their reaction to these amenities, these old adjustments are just that....OLD and outdated.

So if you find an appraiser who can truly BLIND appraise, you have found a GOOD one! They do not NEED that number ahead of time!

I love BLIND appraising! I don't want to know what someone thinks their home is worth, that is MY job to provide them with this information and to provide the BANKS with this vital information to protect their RISKS. It is my job not to MISS anything during my inspection process and to talk to Realtors, Buyers, Sellers, Builders, etc. about what is going on in the market today.

Stay tuned....I plan to advise everyone on what to look for in an appraisal that will tell you right off the bat if it is FLAWED and therefore will allow you to request another appraisal or a review of the current one! It could save a deal of yours!

Mary Thompson

Certified/FHA Approved

www.marytappraisals.com

Let's first define good shall we? Good does NOT mean make the number work so the loan will close!

BEFORE you take out your next loan......do some checking into the BANK first, do they use appraisers whose fees have been cut in half? Do they use Appraisal Management Companies (they normally pay appraisers well less than their normal fee and charge the banks more than we would).

Appraisers sole mission in life is to protect the BANK's RISK where a loan is involved. We also protect buyers and sellers by analyzing and reporting the REAL market value so that you do not pay more than the home is worth or you do not under or overprice your home.

A big part of the housing crisis is due to faulty appraising. Many know that the BANKS, Realtors and Mortgage Brokers dictated TO the appraiser what the value should be on the appraisal report. This is 100% backwards and RISKY to say the least. Our housing crash is proof of this!

Thus the inception of the HVCC. Appraisers must be independent from all who have a vested interest in the property and get back to the real job of reporting the true market value for the subject property. Or to put it another way if YOU default on your loan, what can that home be sold for by the bank to get it off their books. Banks have a bloodshed on their hands as the appraised value in many cases was inflated. Why? Because appraisers were backing into the number since the lenders would give them the ESTIMATED VALUE right on the appraisal request form and expect them to come up to that number! I am NOT saying all appraisers played that game, but trust me many did!

Now appraisers have to do what I call BLIND Appraising. They have no numbers to work toward, which is a GOOD thing, they must actually use their appraisal skills and report the market in an accurate way to come up with their opinion of value. Remember we do not determine value, we report it to the client after we conduct a thorough analysis of the market. The MARKET determines value not the appraiser.

So my question to all END USERSof appraisals, don't you think it is worth the FEE appraisers charge to produce a credible, meaningful report? I think so because a faulty appraisal report on either side of the value equation can have significant financial negative impact.

Just as an example: If you live on Lake Lanier and you have an appraiser from Atlanta who does not cover this lake with any regularity appraise your lakefront home, chances are very HIGH that the appraised value will be off and I mean WAY off. SAME thing holds true for any appraisal in any given neighborhood. If an appraiser for example does not know that people pay more or less for a home in a given SCHOOL district for example, the appraised value will be off.

Therefore it is imperative that the appraiser know the market in which they appraiser and better yet LIVE in that same market area.

So you do have control buyers and sellers and homeowners. Do not use banks that feel cheapest is the best, because in this world you get what you pay for and in this case it could financially hurt you BIG time!

A few extra dollars to get an accurate appraisal report is WELL worth it in the end.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Mary Thompson

www.marytappraisals.com