ADDIE SCHARFF - Broker/Realtor

A Short Sale means that, IF APPROVED, the lender will accept current fair market value as payment for the debt owed on the home. Each lender has different guidelines and they will give you a written approval of what they are willing to net and how the process will be handled.

The PROCESS usually starts with the seller listing the home for sale with a Realtor, for fair market value. Once an offer(s) is received it will be presented to the seller and the seller decides to accept or decline. The offer must include a Short Sale Addendum that stipulates that the contract between the seller and buyer is subject to lender approval.

The listing agent then needs to submit to the lender the offer along with any other documents the lender has requested in order to approve the sale. This may include a hardship letter from the homeowner explaining their financial situation, bank statements, tax returns, and an authorization letter allowing the listing agent to discuss details of the loan and sale with the lender, as well as any other documents needed. The agent will also have to include an Estimated HUD1 showing how much the lender will net on the sale.

All this may take weeks or even months depending on how the lender handles these types of transactions and how often the listing agent follows up with them.

The most important thing for the seller to keep in mind is that this is in most cases the last attempt and chance to avoid foreclosure, which is something you DO NOT want on your credit, as it will affect your score for years, and will cost dearly when acquiring credit for other future purchases, such as major credit cards, dept store credit cards, when buying a car, or maybe even when getting a job. It has been reported that some companies are now checking credit history of potential employees.

Sellers must keep in mind that in order to sell a home in the least amount of time, to close before the foreclosure takes place, it is extremely important that the home be ready and able to be shown at all times. This includes the home being properly prepared for sale by cleaning it, de-cluttering it, and organizing or pre-packing some of the homeowner's, allowing the home's best features to be seen by buyers. And it means having a lockbox installed to allow agents to have access when the homeowner is away. And most importantly, as painful as it may be, sellers must be realistic in pricing the home according to their Realtor's suggested price range.

All this is NOT an easy thing to do by any means! Homeowners doing a short sale are not exactly motivated to sell their home for less than what they paid for! Who would be? But, if this a step that must be taken, it is best to accept the situation at hand for the time being, with the certain knowledge that there will be BETTER things to come once the process is over!

If you think I may be of assistance to you, or someone you know, I would be honored for the privilege to be of help.

Proudly serving: Turlock, Modesto, Manteca, Patterson, Hilmar, Atwater, Ceres, Keyes, Hugson, Denair and Waterford.

Investment Homes in Patterson, California

Stanislaus County

Not long ago home prices reached seemingly unreachable prices! Many of investors and first time home buyers thought it would be impossible to buy a nice newer home in Patterson. And a couple of years ago, or even less than that, that may have been true! Well, that has changed!!

Yes, now home prices have adjusted to the most reachable prices in years, making buying possible for many people that for some reason had not been able to before.

With easy access to I-5, Patterson is a perfect location for commuters working in the Bay Area. For more information on Patterson and its history visit their official website at: http://www.ci.patterson.ca.us/

If you did a search right now for JUST REO homes (foreclosed) in Patterson, min 3beds/2baths for under $150,000 you'd be sure to get at least 50 homes come up! As of the publishing of this article this 4bed, 2,300sf home (1425mc) was listed under $155,000!

If you go up to $200,000 the list jumps to over 175 homes! Remember, these are ONLY REOs! These homes range from 3-4 bedrooms 2-3 baths, 1,300 - 2,700+ sq ft, built as late as 2006! This is actually more homes than you could ever look at. IF your search includes NON-REOs your list would be even bigger. This 5bed/3.5ba home's recent net sales price was under $175,000.00!

If you, or anyone you know, is thinking of buying a home in Patterson, send me a quick email and let me know the type of homes you'd be interested in and I will prepare a search using your criteria and email it to you.

Put my experience in REO and Short Sale transactions to work for you when buying or selling your home, in Patterson or surrounding areas such as Manteca, Modesto, Ceres, Turlock, Denair or Waterford. For more information and to search for YOUR dream home visit my website at: www.homesbyaddie.com and click on the Find Your Dream Home tab....your BEAUTIFUL home is waiting for you!

Thank you for visiting...happy home shopping!

In my opinion, if you're having to find a house fast, go with an REO OR with a sale that is NOT a short sale. Unless all the short sale prep work has been done, they normally just take too long. If you find the perfect house and it is a short sale and you have time to wait then that's great.

Short Sales

A short sale by definition means that the lender that holds the loan(s) on the property must approve accepting less than what is owned on the property as payment for the debt secured by the property.

This process is in most cases very lengthy. It usually starts by the homeowner listing the property with an agent. At this time the home is usually occupied by the owner or a tenant. This makes the property less accessible for prospective buyers to look at, then a vacant home.

Once an offer comes in and is accepted by the homeowner it is then sent to the lender for approval, along with an estimate of what the lender would net on the sale. The lender has to do their investigation on the property, needs internal approvals, appraisals (or BPOs) to determine fair market value of the property. Depending on the lender this process could take as little as a few days or as much as weeks or even months!

Many short sales never take place and the property is foreclosed on. Many buyers get tired of waiting or find another home before they hear back on offers put on this type of sales. As homes sit on the market their listing price may not reflect the current market value, as that is changing very fast these days.

Other than the wait, the other thing you'll need to do is sign a Short Sale Addendum, which basically just means that the transaction, even though approved by the seller, has to be approved by the lender as well.

Things to consider:

• Occupied homes not be as easy to look at
• Seller may not be motivated to sell
• Less paper work than an REO
• Uses standard RE forms issued by the Ca Assoc. of Realtors (CAR)
• Usual process, but close may take longer due to lender having to also approve all terms.

REO/Foreclosed Homes

These are homes already owned by the bank. They are vacant and ready for showing, allowing buyers to see the space without someone else's clutter getting in the way. When a lender already owns the property they are READY to negotiate with a qualified buyers and the list price on these homes is more inline with similar homes recently sold in the area.

Some of the things to be aware of with this type of purchase is that some lenders may require buyers to sign the lender's own Purchase Contract, Addendums, Waivers and other forms needed by the lender, as supposed to the standard CAR contract. Also, because these lenders have no first-hand knowledge of these properties, other than inspections done by agents and other agencies, they most likely will be exempt from certain disclosures normally required by the seller of a property, such as the TDS (Transaction Disclosure Statement). What this means is really that, as usual, the buyer must exercise extreme care in doing any and all investigations and inspections regarding a property they are buying. As there may be things about the property that can not be disclosed by the seller because they are simply not know to them.

Things to consider:

• Easy access to seeing the property
• No clutter to prevent you from seeing the whole house
• Seller motivated to sell
• You may have to use contracts issued by the lender
• Disclosures about home condition are limited
• May need to be pre-approved by lender that owns the house
• Property sold "as-is" in most cases - you still have the right to do inspections

Each month and season brings new wonderful changes that keep our lives ever changing. My newsletter offers tips for maintaining our homes in tip top shape, as well recipes and many other useful tips we can use to make our busy lives just a bit easier and sweeter.

I hope you find some useful information in this month's newsletter!!!

THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY :)

http://www.homewarranty.com/pdfs/signup/6852-English.pdf

If you have an alley next to your house it may your responsibility to keep it clean and free of weeds and trash that can somehow mysteriously just happen to appear out of nowhere! Last I checked someone had left a pair of black sweatpants right by the gate leading to my alley!

A clean and weed-free fence line is good for safety, weather it'd be fire hazards, trash to be hidden such as old junk people throw away. An un-kept alley may also give the appearance that no one ever looks back there and may invite idle minds to cause trouble.

With July 4rth around the corner and temperatures rising, it is a good idea to inspect and correct any thing needing attention. This will lessen the chance of a fire getting started.

If you are not sure if you are responsible for keeping your alley clean, contact your local police dept and they will be able to guide you to the right dept. I know that because it was my city's police dept who send me a notice asking me to clean my alley.

I knew of one side I was responsible for, but then I discovered that I was also responsible for another side between my house and an empty lot next door. The weeds were thriving there! I also found other trash that had been discarded there who knows how long ago. The accumulation of trash/weeds contributes to faster decaying of fences and can also block view of anything going on back there.

Best time to clean is in the morning or in the evening when it is not too hot. Wear long sleeves, pants instead of shorts, and gloves. Some weeds have long thorns that can really hurt!!

Here are some samples of what to expect.....AND try to get your dog to help!!