Diane & Doug Briggs Sacramento & Elk Grove Short Sale Agents

Hot Summer Nights Concert Series

Dates: Each Friday Night in August, 8/6/2010 , 8/13/2010, 8/20/2010, 8/27/10
Time: 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Location: Laguna Town Hall, 3020 Renwick Avenue
Description: All Ages

Bring your family out to these FREE musical events. Bring a blanket or a low lawn chair and enjoy live music in the beautiful outdoor amphitheater. Each Friday night, 6:30-9:00pm in August there will be a special live band. Food is available for purchase.

Upcoming Hot Summer Nights Concerts:

August 6: The Dave Russell Band -Fresh Country

August 13: The Time Bandits -Dynamic R&B Band with Horns

August 20: Rawk Kandy -'Big Hair Band' Classic Rock

August 27: Solsa -Sizzling Latin and R&B

In 2009, the Treasury Department introduced the Making Affordable Program, a plan to stabalize the housing market and help struggling homeowners stay in their homes. While many families have received help through this program far too many people have not been able to keep their home even with a loan modification.

For these families, the Treasury Department established a new short sales program, call the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program or HAFA. This new program provides a viable option for homeowners who are unable to keep their homes through the existing Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The HAFA program took effect on April 5, 2010 and sunsets on December 31, 2012.

HAFA gives homeowners the following benefits:

• You receive a check for $3,000 at closing to help with moving costs,
• You HAFA streamlines the Short Sales and Deed-In-Lieu (DIL) processes,
• You will be fully released from future liability for your 1st mortgage debt (no cash contribution or deficiency judgment is allowed). Also, any junior lien holder who accepts a HAFA incenetive must also release you from future liability.

Eligibility for HAFA:

• The property must be your primary residence.
• The fi rst lien (your fi rst loan on your home) must have been originated before January 1, 2009.
• The mortgage must be delinquent or default must be reasonably foreseeable.
• The current unpaid principal balance may not be more than $729,750 (there are higher limits for 2- to 4-unit dwellings).
• Your total monthly payment must exceed 31% of your gross income.

Even if you meet these threshold requirements, the servicer must consider your particular circumstances. Not everyone will qualify. Sometimes the owner of the mortgage has rules that mean you or your home may not be eligible. That's why it is so important to work closely with the servicer.

For more information, contact Diane or Doug Briggs today, your "Certified HAFA Specialists".

Today, another one of our Short Sale listings sold. It's always with mixed emotions for a Short Sale Agent. We're hired to do a job to help a homeowner who decides they want to avoid foreclosure and do a short sale of their home. It's not easy speaking with homeowners who had dreams of keeping their house for a long time and learning they're facing financial difficulties.

There are options for homeowners in this situation. A short sale often times is the best alternative. A short sale has less of an impact on a person's credit and they will be able to buy another home again sooner than if they let the house go to foreclosure.

This short sale was another Bank of America short sale that had many ups and downs. The house had to be sold twice because the first Buyers backed out. Each time that happens we have to start all over. It's frustrating for the Seller and the Agent. However, the Bank of America process is getting better, thankfully. We're getting approvals in less than 75 days, much faster than last year.

Fortunately, the Seller is now in a position to get a new start. They can rebuild their credit and buy again in a couple of years if they want to.

We're here to help them when the time comes.

Each property listing has its own life story. Similar to a good book where there's a variety of emotions this particular property had it's fair share of ups and downs. I like happy endings and this story has one too.

I listed a property for sale in September 2009 that had 2 liens. 1^st lien was with Bank of America and 2^nd with Principal Bank.

Our high impact marketing plan immediately went into action. Within 6 days I received multiple offers and negotiated the highest price possible for our Sellers. The accepted offer along with our short sale package was faxed to Bank of America a day later (this was before the Equator system).

From middle of September to middle of December the file sat. I kept calling for updates at least once or twice weekly which is my normal process. Each time I called the first lender I received a different update. They either said everything was received or they said nothing was received; or they're waiting for BPO information to be received.

Middle of December I said this is enough! I asked for file to be escalated. During this time I learned this was a FNMA backed loan so I needed to get FNMA appraisal done too.

Lender could not tell me who within FNMA needed to be contacted in order to get appraisal done. Nobody was willing to give me the assistance I needed to get the file moving forward. Did some searching on the Web to get FNMA info. Got their main number and left voicemails for someone to contact me. After 2 or 3 weeks I received a call from someone inside FNMA. I explained to her why I was calling and she within 3 days had an appraisal ordered. By now we were middle of January.

February 2010 I received a call from a FNMA appraiser to schedule an appt. Happy days!! FNMA appraisal was done Feb. 21^st.

After several escalations, a page full of negotiator names, and several BPO's later I received approval letter from 1^st lender. Things were finally moving forward.

In March sent the approval letter to 2^nd lender which they approved promptly.

After working 8 ½ months on this transaction it finally closed April 22. 2010.

My tenacity paid off. Being persistent is what got this transaction closed. I can do the same for you if given the opportunity.

Many homeowners have never heard of a short sale until the last couple of years. Now short sales represent a majority of our business. Our short sale sellers never thought they would sell unless they were moving up, out of the area, or down to a smaller home or retirement property. Most are still working, though about half of our sellers are two-income households that lost one income. Vast majority are upset their home value has tanked or embarrased that they have failed financially as a result of the perfect storm, loss of income, loss of job, increasing adjustable mortgage payments, and falling home values. Almost all short sale sellers want to keep their situation as private as possible.

There seems to be no standard age or income, but short sale/foreclosure properties do appear in clusters when putting pins on a map. A growing and disturbing trend is more homeowners are seeking short sales just because their home values are underwater, not because they can't make payments.

In picking an agent to sell their home, they are most likely to use an agent they don't know rather than an agent they have used before or an agent that knows their friends and family. They would prefer an agent with special training and experience in short sales.

Our short sale sellers have hired us to help sell their home and guide them through the long short sale process because of our expertise, experience, confidentiality, solutions and hope we offer. If your situation is similar to the profile described above then contact us for a "FREE, NO OBLIGATION" consultation.