Sacramento, CA

A Business Week reporter called this Sacramento short sale agent yesterday to ask where most of my sellers move to after closing on their short sale. I really wanted to say Pocatello, Idaho, primarily because I like the way the syllables feel rolling off my tongue when I say Pocatello, Idaho, out loud. You've got to admit it's got a nice tempo going for it. Would make a great chorus in a song about Idaho.

In truth, I told him Texas. Lots of my short sale sellers are leaving Sacramento and moving to Texas. What's in Texas, he asked? Um, how about jobs, inexpensive housing and affordable living? Plus, it's sort of flat in parts, similar in geography to Sacramento. The weather is hot in the summer, although much more humid, almost no snow.

Then, he wanted to know which freeways these Sacramentans take to reach Texas. I wondered if he thought he was talking to a travel guide at AAA. It would depend, I suppose, on the destination city. Texas is a big state. If they were moving to Houston, I guess they'd take the I-5 to I-10, but I don't travel much by car.

Other Sacramento short sale sellers either move to the Bay area to live with friends or relatives or they stay right here in Sacramento. Some buy another home. Some go back to school and take out a student loan before their credit rating falls. Others rent.

I am seeing an uptick of parents buying an investment home in Sacramento for their offspring. After all, they are probably sick and tired of watching the value of their retirement nest eggs fall month over month in stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Home prices in Sacramento are very attractive right now and interest rates are low. Sacramento real estate offers a better investment vehicle for some.

While very few Sacramento short sale sellers are able to immediately buy another home, because short sales affect credit when a homeowner falls into foreclosure, that doesn't mean their parents can't buy them a home.

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Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout Sacramento. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you.

The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available through bookstores everywhere and at Amazon.com.

Sacramento Short Sale Agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, has the answers to your Sacramento short sale questions.

Photo: Big Stock Photo

Is it a full moon? I had to look it up and, sure enough, according to the U.S. Navy, last night at 9:21 PM, the moon was full. I shot this photo about 6 AM this morning. It's what the moon looks like setting over Land Park, Sacramento.

Although I'm not a big believer in astrology, despite my wacky attempt at a bit of humor with my Real Estate Horoscopes for 2009 -- which caused some readers to say they were never, ever, going to read another thing I wrote, not if they lived to be a million years old -- sometimes I do wonder if the gravitational pull of the moon affects human behavior.

Many of my Sacramento short sales had an extreme amount of activity yesterday. Coincydink? You tell me. How does a short sale in Sacramento get approved within 30 days? I have a few I've been working on for several months that seemed to be headed nowhere. Then, all of a sudden, a negotiator called yesterday to say he'll have short sale approval before the end of the month, and we just submitted the file 10 days ago.

By some stroke of miracle, my pile of Countrywide deactivated files suddenly were reactivated. Are the pagans dancing naked under the moon?

And to think I was complaining to my husband a few days ago, asking him to tell me again why I am a Sacramento short sale agent, to which he responded, "Because you enjoy hitting yourself on the head with a hammer?"

But this morning, all those short sale files appear headed toward closing. I presently am working on 18 contingent short sales, meaning they all have accepted offers from committed buyers. I also put another Land Park short sale buyer into escrow yesterday who had been toughing it out, waiting days for a presentation of multiple offers. Come on, Wednesday, I'm ready for ya.

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Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout Sacramento. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you.

The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available in bookstores everywhere and at Amazon.com.

Sacramento Short Sale Agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, has the answers to your Sacramento short sale questions.

Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub, Land Park, Sacramento

As a Sacramento short sale agent, I realize that just when I'm about to think I've heard it all, another challenge will present itself, practically daily. Selling short sales is a complicated business -- anybody who claims otherwise doesn't sell short sales.

After working with Flagstar Bank on a Sacramento short sale for 45 days, we were suddenly informed that the file was being outsourced to Sterling. Upon calling Sterling, we were told that National Quick Sale would be handling the file.

This particular short sale involves a Fannie Mae loan, which means the lender cannot discount our commission any less than 6%.

The next thing I know, a negotiator from National Quick Sale, based in Jacksonville, Florida, called me. She acknowledged the Flagstar loan was held by Fannie Mae, verified that we would receive full commission and then informed me that National Quick Sale would collect 1% of the purchase price, in addition to an admin fee.

National Quick Sale's fee structure is as follows:

"1) Technology fee - This fee is 1% of the purchase price and is to be reflected on the HUD1 in the commission breakdown. This fee is only payable at closing, if the property does not close then no fee is due.

2) Administrative fee - This fee is $250.00 and is also to be reflected in the HUD1 in the commission breakdown. Again, this fee is not required if it does not close."

What is a technology fee? It's not a commission. Seems as though this may violate RESPA. Moreover, a recent court ruling determined that charging an administration fee is prohibited because it's paying the same fee twice.

Does anybody have any information on National Quick Sale or comments about its policies?

Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout Sacramento. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you.

The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available in bookstores everywhere and at Amazon.com.

Sacramento Short Sale Agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, has the answers to your Sacramento short sale questions.

Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub, Sacramento short sale home

As of August 1, 2009 all rental property owners, managers and leasing agents using credit and eviction reports during the resident application process are now required to implement a reasonable policy to verify an applicant's identity when a Notice of Address Discrepancy is received from a consumer reporting agency.

The new regulation is called the Federal Trade Commission "Red Flags Rule - Identity Theft Prevention" and it applies to you.

California Apartment Association members are invited to participate in a Live Webinar on July 21, 2009 to learn how to develop and implement reasonable policies and procedures to ensure that the consumer report relates to the actual applicant in question.

Date: Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Time: 10:00 am - 11:00 am PST
$20 for CAA Members. $35 for Non-Members

Please register for this Webinar by clicking here.   You will receive an email with the link to the webinar upon completion of your registration.

Register NOW for our upcoming Sacramento Investor Boot Camp coming in July! (date to be determined)!
We have 3 more seats left! Register online for your seat! This FREE Intense training designed to get a deal on your next Sacramento cash flow investment property!!

REGISTER NOW >>

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It's a little bit difficult to figure out if a home is offered for sale as a foreclosure flipper in Sacramento. Because when I examine the tax records to determine transfers and who is in title, it might be a mortgage company that acquired title through a trustee's deed. Such a transfer may lead an agent to believe it was foreclosed upon by the bank, but the opposite may be true. It may have been acquired by an investor.

Do you wonder where some of the shadow foreclosure inventory is hiding? Some of those homes are sold to investors who flip them.

When I find a title transfer on a foreclosure like this, I search the name of the entity that purchased the foreclosure home through the tax records and often discover the purchaser is an investor who is buying a lot of foreclosures, either at auction or through a private deal made by the bank. Agents can also get a clue if the listing notes: no FHA buyers, due to the 90-day seasoning requirement.

The nice thing about buying a Sacramento foreclosure from a flipper is the investor will often pay for a pest report, a home warranty and credit the buyer for closing costs or major repairs. Buying a foreclosure from the bank generally means the buyer is purchasing the home in "as is" condition and doesn't offer those types of benefits.

I ran the comparable sales for a Sacramento buyer who was contemplating making an offer on a foreclosure flipper. The comps clearly showed the listed price was under market value by at least 25%. The buyer made an offer, it was countered and he accepted the countered price, which was less than the list price.

Sure enough, when the appraisal came in, it showed the home was worth 20% more than the buyer paid for it. Appraisers are extremely conservative these days and, if they feel pressed, with no other option for value, most of the time the higher appraisals will come in 2% to 3% over the sales price, even if it's worth a lot more. Why rock the boat?

I was stunned to see the appraisal at 20% over the purchase price. Kinda weird to see my professional opinion of value substantiated for a change. This doesn't happen very often.

Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout Sacramento. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you.

The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available in bookstores everywhere and at Amazon.com.

Sacramento Short Sale Agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, has the answers to your Sacramento short sale questions.

Photo: Big Stock Photo