Brian Solinsky CDPE, CNE, ABR

Short Sales and Foreclosures seem to be everywhere right now and finding success with them can be quite a challenge. When considering your financial situation and the possibility of missing payments, it is best to get help early. The longer you wait the more difficult it is to find a solution.

At West Valley Home Team, we do all we can to help people stay in their home. In reality, homeowners have the following options when faced with financial difficulties involving house payments:

Option 1 - Refinance - always consider a refinance first

Benefits: Current interest rates on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage are averaging around 5%-5.25%

Drawbacks: Your home must appraise at a certain value and we are finding sometimes the current loan amount is greater than the home value, which will make it impossible to refinance unless you bring money to the table.

Option 2 - Loan Modification - take your current loan and adjust (modify) the terms

Benefits: Stay in the home with little or no harm to your credit score. There are a number of ways to modify a loan, depending on your lender.

Drawbacks: Loan Modification can be time-consuming and stressful as banks can be challenging to negotiate with. Sometimes lenders will modify the loan for a short time period, then it resets. Be wary of companies that charge a fee up-front for loan modification.

** We work with a third party to do loan modifications with NO up-front fees and do everything possible to wrap the loan modification fee into the modified loan amount so there are no out-of-pocket expenses.

Option 3 - Short Sale - sell the house with underlying lien holders approval to forgive a portion of what is owed.

Benefits: Reduce the harm to your credit score. Avoid foreclosure.

Drawbacks: You must move to a new location. Negative affect on credit.

I came across this article called Success with Short Sales at Realty Times.

** When the first two options are not available to clients, we then provide the option of a short sale.

Option 4 - Bankruptcy - file bankruptcy (talk with a bankruptcy attorney about benefits/drawbacks for you)

Option 5 - Foreclosure - bank "takes back" the home and attempts to sell at auction. If no sale at auction, it typically goes on the market as an REO (real estate owned) property. Bank owned.

At West Valley Home Team, we do all we can to help home owners avoid the last two options. We are finding more and more people are heading into difficulty with their mortgage payments due to ARMs resetting, job loss, medical situations, divorce, etc.

Once again the key is to get help early! Contact us for more information about how you can get help.

If you have other ideas that could help home owners, please submit your comments. The more homes we can save the better for everyone.

Thank the media for all the buyers that have been "holding out" for interest rates to drop to 4.5% on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage. A couple weeks ago, the media delivered the news that rates would hit 4.5%, which caused people that were starting to move towards locking on respectable rates of 5.25%, to "hold out".

Well, it finally happened. On Wednesday morning, December 17th interest rates dropped to 4.5% for about 2 hours, until servers could no longer handle the load of locks. By the end of the day, rates were back in the 5% range.

Were you one of the lucky ones to get that 4.5% rate?

Will it happen again?

I have heard talk of rates coming down and rates escalating. Who can tell?

Weigh-in with your opinion.

Starbucks Grand Opening

Opening day is Thursday, October 16th for the new Starbucks Drive Through in Fredrickson! Owner and operator, Gwen Joseph, is offering free drinks on opening day:

"Stop by our new Starbucks Location on 176th and Canyon road this Thursday October 16 from 4pm to 7pm. Just for stopping by you'll have your choice of any tall beverage on us! Friends, family and free coffee what more could you ask for? Everyone is welcome to join the fun so bring a friend or two along with you."

Canyon Crossing is located on 176th and Canyon Road. If you have not visited Fredrickson lately, take advantage of this offer and make a visit. Things have sure changed at that intersection.

Canyon Crossing has a Safeway, Taco Bell and of course the new Starbucks. More is planned and lease space is still available.

Be sure to bring your friends and family to enjoy your treat on Thursday, October 16th from 4pm-7pm!

Yes, there is a drive thru for your convenience!

Stop by and order your specialized drink and treat while talking with your favorite baristas!

Provided as a courtesy by:

The Puyallup market has mixed reviews for the month of September 2008. For the first time this year, sales cracked the 100 homes sold and 10% of listed homes sold in September. Pending sales were also up in September as compared to previous months.

On the flip side, the median sales price dropped $19,000 from August to $249,950 and the average sales price dropped $20,000 from the August average.

If buyers continue to gain confidence and more homes are sold, we should see the median sales price increase in the coming months. However, if buyers fall back into the "fear of the market crashing" mentality, then we will see drops in sales and in prices.

Being that the holiday season is just around the corner, it will be interested to see what happens in the Puyallup market in the coming months.

My recommendation is to buy before the holidays, if you have the ability to get approved. Interest rates are near the lowest levels of the year, home prices are at the lowest level of the year, and you can anticipate the inventory to drop as we enter the holiday season. If you want the best rates, the lowest prices, and the best selection now is a great time to be a buyer.

Sellers that need to sell should list if they are ready, willing, and able to price correctly for the market. Consider that home values dropped 7% in a month in the Puyallup market. Sellers must understand the need to price below the market to even have a chance to sell at this time.

*statistics are from a reliable source, but are not guaranteed. For more information regarding your area, contact a full-time real estate specialist.

Hey all you coffee drinkers in the Puyallup area. The Solinsky Home Team has requested to continue the 2 for 1 drink special at Forza's on South Hill for the month of October.

Guess what? They will do it!

In the month of October, visit this location and receive 2 drinks for the price of 1.

All you have to do is mention the Solinsky Home Team sent you and you get the 2 for 1 special!

Forza Drive Through is located on Meridian near 128th in the Rite-Aid/Goodwill parking lot.

Drive Through today and pick up your Forza's!

The Solinsky Home Team at Keller Williams is committed to building community through the real estate business.

We enjoy parternering with other locally-owned businesses to provide discounts for our clients and friends.

Be part of our community and tell others about the Solinsky Home Team at Keller Williams!