About Seal Beach's Old Town - Main Street

Short Sale vs. Foreclosure In Seal Beach CA ~ Old Town to Main Street

One of the toughest decisions facing homeowners in Seal Beach these days is whether or not to do a short sale.

Most homeowners don’t understand the process, but what’s even scarier is that most real estates don’t either. Many agents tend to shy away from short sales because they don’t understand how they work.

#1 – SELECT THE RIGHT AGENT

Like all other professions, real estate agents are not created equally! A Seal Beach short sale is a very complicated and arduous type of transaction, and most agents just don’t not where to begin. As a seller, YOU MUST SELECT YOUR AGENT CAREFULLY! Choose an agent that is familiar with the process and who has successfully completed at least a couple of short sales preferably with multiple lenders. Make sure they know every step of the process and have all the tools necessary to meet the demands of the short sale lenders. This is CRITICAL and not to be taken lightly. Yes, you may have a friend or family member who is a Realtor, but that doesn’t mean they should be the one handling your Seal Beach short sale. Just think about what will happen if something goes wrong, and your home is foreclosed on… now what??

#2 – ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

Most homeowners don’t know what the right questions even are, so here is a short list of things to ask. Again, if your agent can’t answer these quickly and without needing to check, move on .
“How long will this take?”
“What do I need to do while the short sale is progressing?”
“Does it matter if I have 2 different lenders?”
“How will this affect my credit?”
“Will I be subject to a deficiency judgment?”
“What are my tax consequences?”
“Does it matter if I have refinanced?”

The agent you select should immediately know the answers to these questions. If they don’t, it’s a likely a sign that they haven’t been involved in the short sale process in Seal Beach. So what do you do? Keep interviewing!! It cannot be overstated just how important this is.

#3 – MOVE OUT OR STAY

If you have a true financial hardship, most lenders will not be surprised to find out you’re still living in the property. While there are many reasons to initiate a short sale, financial hardship is generally the most common. When working with buyers, I often show short sale listings, and most of the time, the homeowner still does reside in the property. This is more common than most people think and not something to be embarrassed about. Times are tough right now, and many people are going through the same or very similar situations right here in your neighborhood.

#4 – PROVIDING DOCUMENTATION

All short sale lenders will require similar pieces of information, such as bank statements, tax returns, and pay stubs. Some lenders will require other pieces of information as well. But whatever they are asking for, it IS required. They will not review the short sale without it, so don’t think you can hide this information from them. Just provide them what they ask for in as timely a manner as possible, and let the lender decide whether or not there’s a reason to not approve the short sale.

#5 – CONTRIBUTIONS

The questions I get most often always seem to revolve around seller contributions. This is a complicated answer and not one easily addressed in a blog. As a generally rule of thumb, CASenate Bill SB 458 has made contributions from a seller illegal in an accepted short sale, but this only addresses short sales in California, not in any other state. For your Seal Beach short sale, I suggest following the link above and reading the SB 458 entirely. I would also be happy to meet with you and explain how this works logistically as part of the short sale process.

Loan modifications are usually rejected, and most lenders won’t tell you that up front. Even in the few cases that are approved, there is generally an amount pushed to the back of the loan, NOT FORGIVEN, just postponed. Most of the time, you will still have to repay your entire loan amount, just in a re-structured manner.

Foreclosures and Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure both carry serious consequences and should be avoided at all costs. Short sales are your best option when dealing with a financial hardship, and even with certain other hardships relating to your home. But make sure your agent knows how to properly navigate you through the process and has experience and success with short sales in Seal Beach.

Can I List and Sell A Property if it's in Probate?

In order to answer this question, we have to start with the basic definition of Probate. Probate is generally defined as "distribution of a decedent's estate". When the estate includes real property, the question often arises about the ability of the estate's administrator to sell the property before the Probate is finalized.

This can either be accomplished with full court oversight or independent of the court's approval. Probate sales need not be difficult or complicated. Once an agent understands the process and the options available to the administrator (often one of the decedents children), they can help them make an informed decision about their ability to sell the property. The title requirements for a sale out of probate are listed below. If you have questions about this or if your family is dealing with a probate situation, email or call me directly with specific questions.

So the short answer is, "YES". Real property that is in probate can be sold at a public sale in which the property is sold at public auction through the probate court, which oversees the entire process.

The property can also be sold through the "Independent Administration of Estates Act". This allows the executor of the decedent's estate to sell the property without court approval. The executor or their attorney petition the court to sell the property independently of the probate proceeding. This is essentially a private sale much like any other traditional real estate sale in which the administrator of the estate negotiates a transaction with a buyer, ideally with the guidance and assistance of a licensed Realtor.

For title insurance purposes, the following will be needed to verify that the attorney for the executor followed the guidelines set forth in the Act.

1. Certified copy of "Letters Testament" or "Letters of Administration" granting the personal representative full authority to proceed under the Independent Administration of Estates Act.

2. A copy of the "Notice of Proposed Action" which is given to all potential heirs advising them of the intent to sell the property, and either consent to the proposed action (sale), waiver of the Notice, or an affidavit from the attorney for the executor stating that the Notices were properly given and no objections were received within 30 days.

3. If any objections were received, the order from the court authorizing the executor to proceed.

The Independent Administration of Estates Act is a very common practice and is generally much simpler and expeditious than obtaining full court approval of the sale and having the property go through public auction. In most cases this process can be accomplished within the normal escrow period.

For questions specific to your Probate sale, feel free to contact me at 714.330.9558 or via email. You can also visit me on the webto search for Probate sales in Orange County, Los Angeles County, and throughout Southern California.

Some might argue that this is a foolish question given the state of the economy the last 4 years. But a conversation I had this morning with a local resident made me rethink why you would want to know if Seal Beach home values had declined. This particular conversation arose because the owner was inquiring about how to appeal his property tax. If values have declined, most would be expect property to follow suit.

To determine if your Seal Beach home value has declined (or not) you will want to contact a local appraiser to conduct an appraisal. Seal Beach resident and appraiser Tom Clasby should be the first call that you make. Tom's knowledge of the local market is superb and he holds the highest certification available, certified general (helpful when presenting your case to the appeals board).

Next you must file an appeal with the Orange County Assessors Office. This must be done during the year which you wish to appeal the taxable value, and should be filed with the clerk of the assessment appeals board between July 2nd and no later the September 15th. From there you would be assigned a date and time to present your evidence to the assessor, hopefully resulting in a reduction.

So while at first you might balk at the idea of your Seal Beach home value declining, it may actually be a blessing in disguise.

Real estate often gets treated like a commodity with all the new fangled web sites that buyers have access to. So it's rare when I get to showcase a Seal Beach home for sale that's not yet listed in the MLS or any other website for that matter. Just yesterday I met with the owners of 107 Ocean avenue to discuss the preparation needed to get the home ready for sale. It's rare that a Seal Beach home for sale is offered in the 100 block of Ocean avenue with some of the best views of the ocean, Rancho Palos Verde and the Long Beach marina.

Earlier this summer I had the opportunity to preview the home and used that time to shoot pictures of the fantastic views from the front balcony and sun deck. The home has 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and is approximately 3000 sq/ft and literally steps to the sand. Just nearby, and visible in the next picture is the yet to be developed DWP lot that promises to offer a beautiful park area in teh front and custom homes in the back.

As you can see this Seal Beach home for sale has a prime location, which is the first rule in buying Real Estate. If you are the type that loves to be active, the bike trail, kite surfing area and river jetty for surfing are all within an eigth mile from this Seal Beach home. Expected to come on the market in mid-September, this beach front home is sure to draw allot of attention.

When I'm not busy running my Seal Beach Real Estate business, I like to take my long board out and paddle between the pier and jetty for exercise. Normally this is early in the morning before my day gets started and the ocean is still relatively calm. Recently I've noticed an abundance of marine life such as Seal's and Bat ray's, but today I had my first experience of swimming with Dolphins in Seal Beach.

Preparing to launch my board, I stopped one last time struggling to see through the fog (not uncommon in Seal Beach). Trying to find my usual landmark to paddle towards I noticed a group of 5 dolphins fishing about 100 yards off shore, surrounded by sea birds. Launching, I paddled towards the pier when I noticed they were swimming parallel to me which was just an awesome experience. On my return paddle, not only did a Seal show up, but one of the Dolphins popped up about 10 feet away from me and rolled slightly so he could check me out.

I can think of so many reasons why Seal Beach is such as special place to call home, but today made me realize I live in a little slice of paradise...