My team and I have helped over 25 families a year successfully complete Short Sales since 2007. To us you are more than just another number. We take pride in providing the service and information you deserve. We have worked with every major lender in the market so you couldn't speak to a more experienced company about your short sale situation. Visit www.thewatsongrouprealty.com to find out if you can qualify for a Short Sale. Also, ask about the NEW Senate Bill 458 that requires lenders to forgive ALL debt after a short sale.

CA Senate Bill 458 No-Recourse Short Sale Bill was passed on July 15th, 2011. It specifically requires all lenders, including Junior Liens and HELOC’s, to forgive the remaining balance after a short sale is completed. This is a major victory for upside down homeowners in CA and can allow short sellers to breathe a sigh of relief by not having to worry about their lender pursuing them for money after a short sale.

There are a few exceptions and some other minor details. Contact me TODAY find out more about the new Senate Bill 458 and how it will affect you after a short sale.

Our Refined Short Sale System:

• FREE PROGRAM: NO COSTS TO YOU
• SENATE BILL 458 - WALK AWAY OWING NOTHING TO THE LENDER!!
• YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE BEHIND ON PAYMENTS
• FASTER, MORE EFFICIENT PROCESS THAN TRADITIONAL SERVICES
• WE NEGOTIATE WITH YOUR LENDER FOR YOU OVER 90% SUCCESS RATE
• HAFA & Bank of America Coop Short Sale Program – GET $3,000 AFTER THE SHORT SALE
• LIMIT YOUR CREDIT DAMAGE

What is a Short Sale?

A short sale is necessary when the proceeds from the sale of your home are not enough to pay off the loan balance against the home, thus prohibiting the sale. A short sale will allow a homeowner to sell their home for less than the amount owed on the mortgage and the difference does not have to be paid back to the lender.

4 Myths About Short Sales

I don't have a serious enough hardship to qualify for a short sale.

Today, it's harder to Not qualify, than it is to Qualify. There are numerous ways to qualify for a short sale and a borrower does not have to be behind on payments. If a borrower can show that they are struggling to make payments or are facing some other type of hardship such as a divorce, tenant moving, job transfer, medical emergency, decrease in pay, etc., then a bank will seriously consider approving a short sale.

I'll be responsible for the difference between what I owe and what my home sells for.

CA Senate Bill 458 No-Recourse Short Sale Bill was passed on July 15th, 2011. It specifically requires all lenders, including Junior Liens and HELOC’s, to forgive the remaining balance after a short sale is completed. This is a major victory for upside down homeowners in CA and can allow short sellers to breathe a sigh of relief by not having to worry about their lender pursuing them for money after a short sale. There are a few exceptions and some other minor details. Contact Rod Watson TODAY find out more about the new Senate Bill 458 and how it will affect you after a short sale.

My credit will be ruined if I do a short sale.

A short sale can actually save your credit. It is treated by your lender as a "settlement of debt", and as opposed to a foreclosure, it is infinitely easier on credit and for a much shorter period of time.

I will owe taxes on the amount of loss that the bank takes on my short sale.

This can be avoided most of the time. As an example, if your lender accepts $100,000 less than what you owe them they may report this amount to the IRS, and you will be taxed on that $100,000 as 'ordinary income' at the end of the year. Good news is there are many ways to avoid this tax, including recent legislation. You can research the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 or see if you qualify for "Insolvency". Contact your tax advisor.

Why our System works and can work for you:

We have been doing Short Sales since 2007 and have developed a system over the past few years that take the guess work out of successfully completing a short sale. We provide all of our sellers with an upfront offer from our investor group. Because banks do not start processing short sales until an offer is submitted, this allows us to start negotiating with the lender right away thus starting the approval process right away. This approval process can take anywhere from 30 to 60 days depending on the lender that owns the loan. Seeing that homes are sitting on the market for 60 to 90 days or more without an offer, this upfront offer can save homeowners months of crucial time especially if they are struggling to make payments. Contact Rod Watson today at 619-512-9120 for a free consultation to find out more and to see if you can qualify for a short sale. Again, our short sale program is FREE you have nothing to lose!

Short Sales - Pros

1. CA Senate Bill 458 No-Recourse Short Sale Bill was passed on July 15th, 2011. It requires and guarantees you will be forgiven on all debt after a short sale in CA

2. If your property is 100,000 dollars upside down, you get rid of the liability now. If you do a loan mod and then have to sell your house in two years, you may still be 100,000 dollars upside down or worse.

3. Within a few years your credit rating may recover and you may be in a position to purchase property in a down market.

6. You may get to live rent free for a while.

Short Sales - Cons

1. You may not be able to buy a house for a little while. (Average 1 to 2 years)

2. You will have to move eventually.

3. You may damage your credit (Though much less than a foreclosure)

4. You have to deal with the hassle of the selling process.

Short Sale With Rod Watson Del Mar's Experienced Short Sale Specialist!

What to Expect Should You Decide To Short Sale Your Home:

If you are considering a short sale of your home the first step is locating a reputable real estate professional who has the team and process in place to get the job done. Short sales have become more common since 2009. There are pros and cons to doing a short sale and you need someone who understands how best to protect your interest in the negotiations. Trust and accountability are huge factors in your decision to hire someone to help in the negotiations of your short sale. Rod understands the fear and uncertainty you are likely feeling as you go through this process. We can help rest assure that you are not alone and you can trust Rod Watson!

If you owe more than your house is worth and can't afford your payments, you might be able to sell it for less than you owe -- without having to pay the lender the difference.

If you can no longer make your mortgage payments and your home is now worth less than you owe on it, foreclosure may not be your only option.

A short sale, in real-estate terms, is a sale of a house in which the sale price is less than what the owner still owes on the mortgage. It is a procedure sometimes agreed to by lenders, who often would rather take a small loss than go through the lengthy and costly foreclosure process, in which the lender allows the sale of a home for less than it is worth and forgives the rest of the note.

While there are some significant negative consequences to a short sale, an ever-increasing number of properties are being advertised as short sales.

Short sale: Win-win-win situation

The beauty of short sales is that they can be a win-win-win situation for seller, buyer and lender. Here's how:

• The seller gets out of the mortgage liability without facing bankruptcy.

• The buyer gets the home at a reduced price.

• The lender agrees to a loss it considers minimal without going through a foreclosure and being saddled with an unsalable property.

While it may seem surprising that lenders would agree to accept less than what they are owed, they benefit from the process, too. The lender benefits by not having to go through the protracted process of foreclosing on the borrower and then having to put the property on the market and go through the whole marketing process.

A market saturated with foreclosures can cost lenders billions -- and as much as $50,000 per foreclosure -- according to a study released earlier this year by the congressional Joint Economic Committee.

When you go into a short sale, you have an institutional lender that are most concerned with the financial situations of the seller when they ultimately make their decisions. If a seller can handle the mortgage payment, there's no motivation for the lender to let the seller out of the mortgage at a lower price.

A lot of lenders aren't even going to consider a short sale unless it seems like (the homeowner) is in financial distress.

Last gasp only

While getting a lender to agree to a short sale may seem like an answer to the prayers of homeowners who want to unload a house, it's not a good move if you're merely looking to find a new place. It's generally a last-ditch effort when the only other option is foreclosure.

Should you go for a short sale? It depends on how deep a financial hole you're in and how likely it is you'll be able to overcome those financial difficulties. If you're just having a short-term problem -- short-term disability or maternity leave or layoffs, but they have good prospects to find something soon and they can weather the storm and hold on to the profit through that -- obviously they wouldn't want to think about a short sale. But if the choice is foreclosure or short sale, generally a short sale is going to be a better idea.

Before you think about asking your lender to consider a short sale, it would be a good idea to get your paperwork lined up.

Be ready to document your need and to show the lender you are serious about your situation, including a hardship letter (an honest explanation of your financial situation and how it occurred), pay stubs, bank statements, tax returns, an appraisal and documentation of your debts.

3 critical safeguards

If you're considering a short sale, experts advise you to take the following steps to meet potential negative consequences head-on.

1. Get it in writing. Make sure the lender agrees in writing that the short sale will absolve all debts.

"If they owe $300,000 on the house and the short sale is for $280,000, is there any possible way that the lender's going to come after them for the $20,000? Most lenders will put that in the agreement that they're not going to come after the deficiency.

2. Protect your credit rating. Ask the lender how it will report the short sale on your credit report.

Most of the time, a short sale shows simply that a debt is satisfied, but theoretically, a short sale could reflect on the credit report as 'settled for less than the full balance. Such a designation is a negative mark on your credit report, though it wouldn't hurt your credit as much as a foreclosure would.

3. Get legal and professional tax advice. Short sales often have tax repercussions since lenders can claim the forgiven debt as income that they provided you.

That means if you agreed to a short sale for $50,000 less than what you owed the lender, the lender could issue you a 1099 for $50,000, which you would have to pay taxes on. If you meet the IRS' definition of insolvency at the time the debt was forgiven, then you generally don't have to pay taxes on it.

We hope that the information we have provided for you helps give some insight on how the short sale process works. However if you are behind on your mortgage payments and are facing foreclosure we recommend you talk to an experienced foreclosure prevention specialists.

Here at The Watson Group Realty Rod Watson is a trained and certified (SFR) Short Sale & Foreclosure Resource Consultants that is experienced with negotiating short sale transactions. Rod Waton is the PREFORECLOSURE SPECIALIST you need on your side! We understand that sometimes bad things can happen to good people.

We are a family of caring professionals working together to help you stop foreclosure and save your home. Our home foreclosure intervention offers highly experienced and effective assistance to homeowners faced with the possibility of losing their homes. By providing alternative solutions, using government and non-government programs, we can tailor a mortgage work out plan to meet your specific family needs and circumstance. Our services are free so pick up the phone and contact us today!

Step 1:

• Initial interview to go over the process of the short sale, what to expect and make sure Rod Watson is a good fit for your family. (Timeframe: 1 business day)

Step 2:

• After the initial interview, Rod will arrange a meeting with his Short Sale Team to take a close look at your exact situation and make sure that a short sale is the right option for you. Once qualified, Rod will arrange the final step. (Timeframe: 3-5 business days)

Step 3:

• Marketing your home, generating offers and submitting an offer to the bank for the short sale approval. Once the bank has approved the short sale offer, escrow will complete with the buyer closing escrow by the contract specified date. Learn about Short Sale vs Foreclosure or Short Sale FAQ
• Rod will walk you through the entire process and manage all the moving parts of the transaction to "relieve you of the debt" with a "lien release." (Timeframe: 2-6 months. Recent laws are helping short sales process faster. This timeframe is changing frequently.) If you short sale through HAFA (home affordable foreclosure process) you may be able to complete your short sale in 60-90 days and receive $3, 000.00 relocation assistance. (FYI most short sales are taking 3-6 months)

To Find out more on how Rod Watson can help you, gives him a call at 619-512-9120 or visit www.thewatsongrouprealty.com for information on the short sale process.

What to Look for During a Home Inspection

There are a lot of homebuyers out there who know home-buying backwards and forwards. They will march along with a home inspector from attic to basement, chuckling over chimney design and debating the pros and cons of in-floor heating. If that isn't your home inspection style it's perfectly fine.

If you hire a home inspection professional, you really don't need to know exactly what to look for during a home inspection. Your home inspector will be able to point out anything the seller may have tried to sweep under the rug (or hold up with duct tape) as well as give you a time frame for when certain problems will need attention. If you are thinking, ôHow do I do my own home inspection?ö below is a basic list of things to look for when doing it yourself. However, we suggest professional home inspectors because their extensive knowledge is usually worth the cost in the long run.

Things to Look For in Home Inspection

Buyer Home Inspections - Tip 1: Check structural aspects

Structural aspects include the foundation, support structures (like beams), and framing, among others. Cracks in the foundation, improper structural engineering and things that could potentially make the home unsafe will all be evaluated. Some people ask, ôShould I get a structural inspection in addition to a general home inspection?ö If your general home inspector finds any structural issues, you might want to get a specialized structural engineer to do a home inspection.

Buyer Home Inspections - Tip 2: Inspect plumbing

Does this property have water and gas supply lines with the proper shut-offs? How is the water pressure? Could there be anything potentially hazardous, or even just plain inconvenient, with the drainage and functional flow of liquids? Your home inspector will be able to tell you.

Buyer Home Inspections - Tip 3: Examine heating, cooling and ventilation systems

Ah, HVAC. There is a lot of hype surrounding super-efficient heating and cooling systems these days, so HVAC is often in the news. During your home inspection, all of the home's controls and thermostats, filters, ductwork and pumps will be examined so you can decide if you want or need to keep what comes with the home purchase, or if you're going to upgrade.

Buyer Home Inspections û Tip 4: Inventory major appliances

Not all new homes come with their appliances, but most will û even if they aren't stainless steel. From washers and dryers to ceiling fans and microwaves, you will have a complete evaluation of what works, what kind of works and what didn't pass inspection. If you are buying a house that is a short sale and foreclosure, and the appliances have been removed, the home inspector can help ensure there was no damage when the appliances were removed.

Buyer Home Inspections û Tip 5: Scrutinize the roof

Roof inspections cover the materials used, chimneys, all the gutters and downspouts, and the things they refer to as ôflashed penetrations,ö which include vents and skylights. With an inspection, you'll have a better idea if you'll be spending autumn months digging goop out of your gutters, and if those pretty cedar wood shingles are as flammable as they say they are. But most importantly, you will know approximately how long before the roof will need to be replaced. If you are negotiating after a home inspection, roof issues are one of the most expensive items to fix or replace.

Buyer Home Inspections û Tip 6: Don't forget attics and exterior components

Insulation? Check. Ventilation? Check. Crawl spaces? Check. All these hard to reach places are key components in a home inspection. And with a professional home inspector, he is the one crawling and climbing into these less than desirable places.

Buyer Home Inspections û Tip 7: Wiring and breakers

If you are wondering, ôHow do I do my own home inspection?ö ask yourself whether you really know enough about electrical wiring to ensure your new home is safe. At the very minimum, you want to know: Is anything going to explode or catch on fire? And if it does, are there working smoke detectors? A professional home inspector will also let you know if the electrical wiring is up to code.

What to Expect During a Home Inspection

Your home inspection should take a few hours, depending on the house size and number of accessories. Many times, you'll be invited to tag along, so the home inspector can verbally explain what he or she is looking at and for. In addition, you'll be given a detailed, written account of everything within a couple of days of the inspection. Some of the more tech-savvy inspectors take photos or videos of issues and supply electronic files along with a written report.

These services do not come cheap and there is really no set rate for buyer home inspections. Most will cost at least several hundred dollars depending on the region, size of home, age of home and extras such as septic systems and wells, but it is worth it not to cut corners and pinch pennies.

Hopefully everything will check out, and you can shake hands with the seller and start moving in! If not, though, you will at least have a professional opinion of anything that might need fixing or replacing before you sign away your bank account.

Where to Find a Home Inspector

A quick Google search for ôhome inspectorö will give you the certified home inspectors in your area. Asking your friends or real estate agent for recommendations is also a good way to find trustworthy and qualified professionals. With all the online review sites these days, you can also find recommendations online. For a certified home inspector, visit the American Society of Home Inspectors to connect with those who have met and exceeded rigorous testing in the industry