Buying a short sale-Short sales for buyers-

Are you being encouraged to avoid short sale listings? Do you feel like you are missing out on good deals or beautiful homes that really appeal to you? Or, are you FHA approved and nobody is accepting your offers because you simply can’t compete with cash or higher down payments?

It may be time for you to re-think short sales! A year or two ago I might have said the same thing, avoid short sales… at least until they are approved. My thoughts on short sales have changed and yours should too, especially if you are competing with an FHA loan against other buyers who have larger down payments or all cash.

Why not go where others fear to tread! While others are flocking to the “perfect deal” you can be getting your foot in the door of a home that meets your needs at a great price…if your patient.

The reason your agent is not showing you these homes is because they don’t know how to handle them. What a mistake! I’m here to tell you through experience that you can buy a short sale if you have the patients and don’t give up! That doesn’t mean you should stop looking at traditional sales and foreclosures, it just means to broaden your search horizons!

Quickly let’s review what a short sale is: When a seller must sell their home for less than they owe on the property, and the lenders that they owe the money to agrees to take less than they originally loaned, that is a short sale.

For example: Let’s say Joe Seller Owes $400K on his home and he must sell. But, now the market dictates that his home is only worth $300K. The only way for Joe to get rid of his home is to find a buyer at the new market value of $300K, and get the bank he owes the original $400K, to “forgive” the $100K. That $100K negative difference is the “short” of the sale.

So how does this affect you the buyer if you are interested in such a home? Often these homes are listed below current market value to attract offers quickly. So you could potentially purchase a home below market value. But moreover, because these transactions take longer than the typical sale it turns many buyers off. But not you! You are patient and not in a hurry!

Things to keep in mind when purchasing a short sale:

• The process can take on average 45-60 days, sometimes longer.
• The bank may counter your initial offer, but usually well within market value, often less.
• Your agent MUST be an expert at the short sale process. This is important because they must understand if the seller and their agent know what they’re doing in order avoid wasting your time and energy.

The bottom line here is don’t miss another bargain “Short Sale” property because you found out too late or you were discouraged from seeing it! Sometimes as first time buyers you will have to think "out of the box" to be competitive with other buyers, especially with inventory is low or you have a lower down payment.

The Short Sale Process-

How we List & Sell your Home as a Short sale

We help you complete the necessary documentation your bank needs to start the short sale process. Then we'll take over communications with your bank, giving you immediate relief from their phone calls.

Each bank is different with what they require and their time lines vary.

Munson Realty has excellent communication with most major financial institutions and a deep understanding of how they process their short sales.

We will begin the marketing process, just as though it were any other home for sale. We do NOT indicate to the general public that this is a short sale. See our marketing program.

We obtain an offer from a willing buyer, usually within the first few days, thanks to our aggressive marketing plan.

Your lender will begin the short sale approval process. See short sale time lines.

Once your short sale is “approved” the normal escrow period begins.

Closing: Once the buyer's loan funds, the property is recorded into their name and is no longer your responsibility. Congratulations, your short sale is complete and you are free to rebuild your life and your credit! See rebuilding your credit.

What you can and should do now if you think you are going to short sale:

• Gather Financial Documentation including: Tax statements, paycheck stubs, medical bills, mortgage statements and anything you think you will need to support your Hardship case.

• Contact Legal, Tax and Financial Professionals for their advise on how the short sale will effect you in each of these areas.

If you think or believe you qualify for a short sale, Munson Realty, your Los Angeles short sale agents are here ready to start the process of a short sale for you so please contact us immediately at 626-376-9732. There is no fee for a consultation.

Munson Realty's Los Angeles short sale agents are group of real estate/property advisers, escrow agents and title representatives with the intention to streamline the process of a short sale. Our goal is to create a win-win scenario for “you”, the homeowner and your lender. Our team of experts has helped countless distressed sellers through the stressful threat of foreclosure.

Our Los Angeles short sale agents close short sales and save homeowners from foreclosure where others fail. We will be very direct in telling you that we cannot guarantee we will save you from your “auction sale date” but we do have a 92% successes ratio. To date, the only reason we have not been able to successfully close on a short sale is because the seller has reached out to us too late.

In California, you have approximately 90 days (may vary from lender to lender) from the Notice of Default filed by your lender for property to be sold at property auction.

Starting the process of a short sale now can stop foreclosure. If your intention is to stop foreclosure through a short sale then it is important that you start the short sale process sooner rather than later.

On a personal note: We have friends and family who have experienced the hardship of having to Short Sale their homes. It is not an easy decision but once the process is over, there is such a feeling of freedom that will allow you to have a more productive life and eventually be able to enjoy home ownership again if you choose to do so. Before you do anything else, let go of any negative judgment you have about your situation. We all experience challenges in life. Many of the worlds most successful people have had much larger challenges than you are probably going through right now. Like them, you must detach emotionally and realize this is a business decision and indeed, this too shall pass!

Copyright © 2012 By Stephen Munson-Munson Realty, Los Angeles short sale agents|Short Sale Process.

How long does a short sale take?Banks like Wells Fargo and Bank of America tend to take the longest to process and approve a short sale. Others like Wachovia are speeder and can have an approval within a couple weeks.

The chart above is representative of the long side of the short sale process. With banks like Wells Fargo and Bank of America they will not even begin to look at your short sale until you have an accepted offer from a qualified buyer. Other banks will allow you to start the short sale process but you will ultimately need an accepted offer to get an approval and close the transaction.

Once you decide to go the short sale route your agent will have to provide you with the paperwork necessary to submit to the bank. They will gain permission to communicate on your behalf so you will no longer have to deal with the phone calls yourself.

Then your agent will begin marketing your home to attract offers from potential buyers. Once an offer is accepted by you, it is then submitted to the bank for approval. This is when the timeline above kicks in.

Since the above timeline begins its course only after an accepted offer, it’s very important to get you home up for sale and aggressively marketed as soon as possible. This means that not only does the agent you work with need to be an expert in short sales but also a real estate marketing expert!

Our team typically generates multiple offers within the first few days. We often do not have time to put a “for sale” sign in the front yard. Generating multiple offers quickly starts the above timeline getting you out of your situation much faster. For more information on short sales or our Los Angeles short sale services please contact us at: 323-216-9671. There is no fee for our short sale services as our fees are paid by your lender. Consultations are also free.

Copyright © 2012 By Stephen Munson-Munson Realty, Los Angeles short sale agents|How long does a short sale take? *How long is a short sale, How long is the short sale process,Los Angeles short sale agents, Short Sale FAQ’s

Offer Accepted -- It's Now Time To Do Some Investigating

Congratulations your offer has been accepted and the clock has begun for the purchase of your new home. Exciting and yes, I understand a bit overwhelming. According to the purchase agreement and the disclosures you and the seller initialed and signed, the path to your new home has taken another big step.

When you signed your purchase agreement, we reviewed two documents:

The Buyer Inspection Advisory -

this two page advisory explains the importance of a property investigation by an inspector as well as by you. The advisory informs that the buyer, seller and the broker have certain rights and duties. What should you review? There are many: the general condition of the property, sources of square footage, age, boundaries, wood destroying pests, soil stability, roof, pool/spa, waste disposal, water/utilities, earthquake, flooding, insurance, permits, zoning, governmental requirements, rental property restrictions, security and safety. You will also want to look(take another look) at the neighborhood and the surrounding area plus any personal factors.

The Statewide Buyer and Seller Advisory -

this ten page advisory seems a bit repetitive to some. It goes into more detail than the Buyer Inspection Advisory and includes covenants, conditions and restrictions, product recall notices, supplemental tax notices, liquidated damages, arbitration, mediation --- a total of 49 points.

Feeling overwhelmed? Please don't. This is an exciting time and I'm here to help you along the way. As I did when the offer was written, I am here to answer questions and to attend inspections(as many as you want in the time that was established). This is known as the inspection/investigation contingency time. So, it's time to get started.....

Offer Accepted -- It's Now Time To Do Some Investigating

Michael Jacobs is a Realtor serving the San Gabriel Valley as well as the adjacent northeast foothill communties within the city of Los Angeles and can be reached at 818.516.4393 cell or michaeljacobs@coldwellbanker.com.

For anyone thinking of seeing the annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade next year, here are some tips.

People will camp out along the sidewalks of Colorado Blvd the night before to save themselves a good spot to watch the parade. Camping out on this particular night is safe. I saw many families with young kids hugging big puffy teddy bears out there.

If you want your car to stay clean, don't drive on the lane next to the people who are camping out the night before the parade. If you head east on Colorado Blvd, you'll notice the left lane is packed with traffic but mysteriously nobody is driving in the right lane. I did not want to wait in the left lane traffic, so I pulled into the right lane and went merrily along my way. Soon after I did that a little girl from the sidewalk threw an egg at our minivan. At first, we though it was an isolated incident, but then again and again more and more people from the sidewalk were hitting us with those aerosol cans that shoot out strings of goo. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vJQddxt6XF0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>"Decorating" cars must be a "tradition" the night before the Rose Parade.

The morning of the parade, be prepared for the likelihood some of the exits from highway 210 might be closed. Heading west on highway 210, I was planning on exiting on Sierra Madre Blvd to find parking near the end of the parade route. However, the Sierra Madre Blvd exit from westbound 210 was coned off. The police forced everyone to bypass that exit and instead exit at the next exit (I think it was either at Allen Ave or Hill Ave).

It will be very hard to find street parking if you don't get there until 8am the morning of the parade. Some local businesses will offer their parking lot for a fee ($20 is what we were told).

Use the bathroom in your hotel before leaving because restaurants will not let you use their rest rooms unless you are a customer. If you need to go badly, then order something quick. We made the mistake of ordering something that sounded good, but took them a very long time to cook. If you have small kids, they will be wondering why you are waiting around at the restaurant for so lone while everyone else is walking down to take the best seats along the parade route.

If you reach the parade route from the northern side (which most likely you will since highway 210 is on the northern side), then consider crossing over the parade route to the southern side. If you stay on the northern side, the sun will be shining in your eyes the entire time. If you do decide to cross, don't just cross randomly. You need to wait for the police officer to let you know where and when it is ok to cross.