About Oxnard's Riverpark

Advertise the Office If you Have One

According to several different surveys, future homeowners will be looking to buy homes that are either closer to work or they want to work from home.

The high cost of gasoline and long commute times are two reasons fueling this change.

The 'closer to work' group are not averse to urban living where the 'live/work' communities are gaining a strong foothold. These are comprised of living areas located above a 'store' type unit that exists below. It may also include communities where a retail center is located within walking distance of the home/living community.

Having restaurants, movie theaters and shopping within walking distatnce is also very appealing to these future buyers.

The other preference articulated by the future homeowners is the ability to work from home. Ideally, a home/office was listed as the main choice. A home office, to be practical, should have enough space for a filing cabinet, desk and a sufficient number of electrical outlets to handle the office must haves. Will we still need the ubiquitous Copier/Fax combo or will the scanner be king?

Although just turning an extra bedroom into office space may be okay, a functional work space off the main area of the house is desirable.

We are fortunate in Oxnard to have a live/work community that is fairly new.

It is called RiverPark. Although there are units still available, you might want to check them out before they are all gone.


There are different builders and developers here and some communities are already sold out. For more information or for a private tour, please give me a call.

I don't know about you, but I've noticed a serious downturn in activity here in Ventura County. Available homes are getting harder to find; even those that should be in a short sale status. We are coming close to the end of our "selling season" and if there are any serious buyers out there, now is the time to take advantage of the prices AND most importantly the low low low interest rates.

Once again housing has become affordable and there's the hope and promise of the American dream that finally makes some sense.

Gone are the days of 100% financing if you could fog a mirror and greed has been replaced by (some) empathy toward the homeowner's who were caught up in the bubble.

The one thing I still can't figure out is your average Joe who still can't see past his or her nose when it comes to getting themselves out of this mess.

I got a phone call this afternoon...make that THREE phone calls this afternoon and each one I answered with the traditional "This is Sheila". Silence on the other end. Logic told me I either had myself a stalker or their cell phone reception wasn't cutting it. So upon investigation, I found the caller's name and looked them up and traced them to an subdivision of Oxnard that I just completed a short sale in called Riverpark.

Mrs. Would B. Seller answered the phone and I introduced myself and asked if she had placed the call. While I was asking, I looked up her property information based on her name and found that she had an NOD filed in early June. She confirmed that she had called and that she was indeed behind in her payments but wanted to know why I left my notepad on her doorstep. I explained that I had an area sale and that I could help her prevent foreclosure as well.

She explained that she was going to go through with the foreclosure. I explained the benefits of a short sale vs. foreclosure and still she was adamant about moving "forward" in a foreclosure. I wished her well. Umm, again, why did she call me...three times?Isn't it time in areas hit hard with foreclosures that we enlighten the public on foreclosure prevention. Now if I could just figure out how...

I close escrow today on a short sale in Oxnard, California. This was the "typical" short sale with Chase where much of the chase happened to be chasing Chase in an effort to stabilize my Seller's position in this crazy recovery. We played a lot of cat and mouse games because while I was chasing Chase, Chase was chasing my Seller for more payments adding subtle hints that their short sale would seen in a more "favorable" light if they continued to make payments toward the 2nd lien holder (surprise, also Chase). First off, let me be the one to shed a little light on the subject by informing you, the reader, that the collection department at Chase has nothing to do with the short sale department.

I tend to form a close bond with my short sale clients (I almost used the word "people" here, but I try to blog professionally, yet from the heart if that makes sense). I feel the confusion permeate the room when a potential client walks in my door. I don't stop counsel until I know their questions are answered and that they feel a comfort level in this process. Sometimes it takes weeks before a client knows in their heart they've exhausted every avenue including waiting months and often over a year for a loan modification. Again, we as Realtors know that the inevitable could mean that the lender denies the application for modification and swiftly sells the home right from underneath the homeowner as soon as the denial comes in, thus avoiding the rightful owner any time to seek additional help.

Let's face it, it can be scary not knowing if the bank will be willing to see the Seller's hardship, let alone the market position of the subject property. This short sale was no different. Behind the scenes I had to take photos of the outlining area to prove to the lender that the subject property had newer home competition, yet the entrance to the community had undesirable factors. You know the drill...get the lender to see that larger picture of why you priced the property slightly below market value as the area continues to slide into a rapid decline.

As is with every short sale I've encountered, there's always the confusion of finding the name of your negotiator and then having to play the "find your negotiator" game. In this case, I had two, both from Chase but in different time zones in our nation. I explained only some of this work I did to my Seller as it's my job (in my opinion) to provide comfort during this stressful time, not add to it but merely to inform my client of pertinent information.

In any event, I'm pleased that my Sellers are closing escrow today and we enjoyed a bond of trust. I was pleased to be a part of their recovery. The only "unexpected" event in this short sale is pictured below:

My last blog regarding Chase seems like an eon ago. I've been jumping from asset manager to asset manager as I've got one located in California and one in Texas on the same property. Both purchase money on the same home.

The 2nd (Texas) is sending out their collections department big time since they've learned we are negotiating a short sale and are days away from approval. I've had my Seller email me on several occasions idicating that they used her short sale package (pay stubs) to hunt down her work phone number and are now calling her at work.

The problem with Chase (and I can name some personal ones as well) is typical in that one department doesn't talk to the other, etc. I'm certain you've heard it all before. But what is so distressing is when you're told you have 1st approval via telephone and then it's followed up in an email that the actual approval letter will come by the following week...and then zippo happens. You start to lose faith. Several phone calls were initiated by not only myself chasing Chase, but Chase chasing my client down.

Again, non-recourse loans here but the debt collectors think intimidation is key to getting what they want. More than one collector on the phone calls to my client indicated that the "short sale will go more smoothly" if she were to make another payment. Seems they'll try anything to squeeze blood out of a turnip to gather just a few bucks before they the 2nd is willing to call "uncle" and take what the first offers.

The saddest part of all is they're losing money while they're playing these games AND they run the risk of my at market value all cash offer walking away.

Who's running that show anyway?