Adrienne M Smith (CA DRE# 01121873)

Oakley CA - The tax credit expired and everyone turned negative on the housing marketing.

One so called expert said we could see headlines about the real estate market crashing again. Another said that the housing market is going to continue it's decline for another years or two.

He referenced an article that showed that mortgage applications dropped by 9.5 percent the first week after the tax credit expired.

Get my Free, Step By Step Loan Modification Guide by clicking here.

I don't want to apply for the job of "Amateur Economist." Here are a few examples I found of actual economists getting their predictions wrong.

1. An economist published a book in 1987 that predicted a depression in the 1990s. That proved just a little inaccurate, no?

2. Supposedly in 1996, Alan Greenspan, stated he thought there was too much irrational exuberance in the US stock market. The stock market continued to climb for another 4 years.

However, Greenspan was bullish on the last economic expansion that went best. How wrong was he on the last housing / economic bust?

Who really knows what is going to happen in the housing market. I do know that despite all the crazy predictions, the housing market will eventually recover. It might take another 1-3 years to flush out all the foreclosures and "shadow inventory."

But, after that happens the housing market will stabilize and start a slow appreciation. It might take 8-12 years for prices to return to the previous high. Maybe even longer. But, they will turn around eventually.

What does that mean to the person in an upside down house? They have a great opportunity to short sale their home and buy at the bottom.

They can erase 8-12 years of negative equity and start building equity when they qualify to buy another home 3 years after their short sale. If you are upside down by 20% or more, a short sale makes great financial sense.

What do you think? E-mail me back if you are bearish or bullish on housing. Just put "Bull" or "Bear" in the subject line of your e-mail. I'll release the results of this informal poll tomorrow.

Thinking about a loan modification?Our Oakley loan modification kit will show you how to reduce your mortgage payment, keep your home, and get back on your feet.  Send me an e-mail at ams1rebroker@aol.com to request a Free Copy.

Or, click here to request a copy.

Thinking about a short sale? I can help you short sale your property so you can move on with your life. Send me an e-mail at ams1rebroker@aol.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at 877-843-8300 Ext. 1

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Oakley CA - The Stop Foreclosure Institute gets asked this question quite a bit. The answer depends on the type of loan you are looking to use to purchase your next home.

Here are the details on your options to buy another home after a short sale.

Get my Free, Step By Step Loan Modification Guide by clicking here.

Owner Financing. You can buy a home with owner financing anytime after a short sale.

FHA Financing. (FHA is very popular because it only requires you to put down 3.5% and pay your closing costs. You  can usually convince the seller to pay your closing costs, thereby reducing your down payment to 3.5% of the purchase price.)

FHA's current guidelines state that you can get an FHA loan immediately after a short sale, provided that you never missed a payment. If you were in default at the time of the short sale, then you have to wait 3 years before they will approve your loan.

Fannie Mae Loan. Fannie Mae is the most common loan program. You can get a Fannie Mae Loan in as little as 2 years after a short sale. But, you have to put 20% down.

If you wait 4 years, then you have to put a minimum of 10% down. After 7 years, you can get a Fannie Mae Loan and put less than 10% down.

The most attractive (and currently most popular) loan program in America is FHA. The reason is because it's down payment requirements are much lower than anyone else. It looks like the best option to buy your next home after a short sale.

Thinking about a loan modification?Our Oakley loan modification kit will show you how to reduce your mortgage payment, keep your home, and get back on your feet.  Send me an e-mail at ams1rebroker@aol.com to request a Free Copy.

Or, click here to request a copy.

Thinking about a short sale? I can help you short sale your property so you can move on with your life. Send me an e-mail at ams1rebroker@aol.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at 877-843-8300 Ext. 1

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Oakley CA - Are you looking to buy a short sale? Before you make an offer, you need to check and see how competent the listing agent is at short sales.

The listing agent is the agent with the property for sale. They will usually be in charge of processing the short sale with the lender.

Get my Free, Step By Step Loan Modification Guide by clicking here.

If the listing agent is a genuine short sale expert and knows what they are doing, then you have a very good chance of the short sale being approved and buying the home. I'll show you how to separate the experts from the pretenders in this post.

If the agent is not a genuine short sale expert, then you are probably wasting your time. You should go find another home to buy.

First, ask them how many short sales they have successfully sold. If they have only sold 2-3 short sales, then the odds are not in your favor. You risk wasting months of time waiting for an answer on the short sale.

Next, ask them how many loans are on the property. If there is only 1 loan, then you know two things. First, they know what they are doing. Second, this is relatively simple short sale.

If there are two loans, then the property is still worth considering. However, if there are 3 or more loans, then you might want to look at another home. Short sales with 3 or more loans are very difficult.

The first mortgage won't give enough money to the second and third position mortgages. The second and third position mortgages won't release their lien without more money. At the end, everyone loses (that is another story for another day.)

Lastly, ask who the lenders are. If the lenders are Bank of America, or another notoriously bad lender at short sales, then you might want to avoid the property. However, a competent short sale agent can handle a Bank of America short sale with ease.

Thinking about a loan modification?Our Oakley loan modification kit will show you how to reduce your mortgage payment, keep your home, and get back on your feet.  Send me an e-mail at ams1rebroker@aol.com to request a Free Copy.

Or, click here to request a copy.

Thinking about a short sale? I can help you short sale your property so you can move on with your life. Send me an e-mail at ams1rebroker@aol.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at 877-843-8300 Ext. 1

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Oakley CA – Are you looking to buy a short sale?

Before you make an offer, you need to check and see how many mortgages are on the home. A short sale with only one mortgage is not that difficult. Even an inexperienced agent can often get these approved and sold.

Get my Free, Step By Step Loan Modification Guide by clicking here.

A short sale with 2 loans becomes much more difficult.

You now have to lenders that have to agree with each other. However, an experienced short sale agent can get the two lenders to agree with each other on the short sale. However, when you have 3 or more loans and/or liens, everything just becomes way more complicated.

Most first mortgages will only give $2,500 to $3,000 a second mortgage on a short sale. They don’t have any policies in place on what to give a third position mortgage or lien. And that third position lien holder isn’t going to go away for free. Someone is going to have to give them something in return for them releasing their lien.

That third position lender basically has the right to throw a wrench in the works unless they get paid. They can veto the short sale for any reason. They will only go away when they are either paid in full or accept a lower amount. This is what makes short sales with 3 or more loans so difficult.

The first mortgage, second mortgage, and third position lien fight over the available money. At the end, the first mortgage usually forecloses on the property and the second and third position people get nothing. But, a foreclosure takes a long time and costs money. At the end of the day, everyone ends up losing more than they would have made if they had simply worked together.

This is why we usually avoid short sales with 3 or more mortgages/liens in place.

Thinking about a loan modification?Our Oakley loan modification kit will show you how to reduce your mortgage payment, keep your home, and get back on your feet. Send me an e-mail at ams1rebroker@aol.com to request a Free Copy. Or, click here to request a copy.

Thinking about a short sale? I can help you short sale your property so you can move on with your life. Send me an e-mail at ams1rebroker@aol.com.

I will contact you for a free consultation. When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at 877-843-8300 Ext. 1

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Oakley CA - The Stop foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Steve about short sales. Here was Steve's Question.

"I am interested in a short sale. I just have a few questions about how the process works. Does my lender set the price for the property. And, will that price include the realtor fee? Sincerely, Steve."

Get my Free, Step By Step Loan Modification Guide by clicking here.

Here was our answer. Steve, in most cases the lender will not set the asking price for your home. In most cases, the lender does not get involved until after we have an offer from a buyer.

The only exception is if you have an FHA loan. FHA's short sale guidelines stipulate that an appraisal be done after the home is put on the market. They required the asking price be changed to the appraised value.

As far as your second question, does that price include the realtor fee? FHA Short Sale Guidelines require the lender to pay your realtor a commission. You don't have to pay it.

On other short sales, the lender usually pays the realtor's fee. They know that they will have to pay a realtor when they sell a home after foreclosure. Why not avoid the foreclosure and sell the home now?

That is the logic behind why they pay the realtor's commission on a short sale.

Thinking about a loan modification?Our Oakley loan modification kit will show you how to reduce your mortgage payment, keep your home, and get back on your feet.  Send me an e-mail at ams1rebroker@aol.com to request a Free Copy.

Or, click here to request a copy.

Thinking about a short sale? I can help you short sale your property so you can move on with your life. Send me an e-mail at ams1rebroker@aol.com. I will contact you for a free consultation.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at 877-843-8300 Ext. 1

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.