Chris Galyon

Welcome. I've put together some tips on how to avoid foreclosure through selling your home or property as a short sale. I hope you find this information valuable. My experience is extensive. I've represented sellers for shorts sales in Vancouver, WA and Clark County since 2003 and have closed hundreds of these transactions.

Short Sales: What are they? A short sale occurs when a seller wants to sell a home that is worth less than what is owed on the property. Therefore net proceeds from the closing are not sufficient to payoff the mortgage/mortgages in full. Hence, the payoff is short of what is owed....a short sale.

Why would a seller consider a short sale? Typically it's because they cannot afford to keep the home or investment property any longer and would like to avoid having the bank foreclose on the property. A foreclosure will have a greater negative effect on your credit score than a short sale or short payoff. That being said, the effect on your credit is a situation by situation basis. Nothing is black and white and it very much depends on the banking institutions you're working with and how they report to credit agencies.

Why would a bank approve a short sale? Well the short answer is- statistically it costs a bank or investor much more to foreclosure on a home/property then it does to accept a short sale. The initiation of foreclosure from a bank involves attorneys, asset management companies, appraisers, Realtors, locksmiths, lost payments, lost interest, fees, lost market time, etc. etc. etc. Banks are not in the business of owning Real Estate nor do most of them want to be. It benefits them financially to work with sellers and Realtors to get the home/property sold quickly prior to actually foreclosing on the home or property. This is definitely the case with short sales in Vancouver, WA.

When can a seller consider a short sale or selling their property for less than what is owed? Anytime. In fact, the sooner the better. As we all well know the Real Estate market isn't what it was 2-3yrs. ago. Homes take longer to sell and much more effort on the behalf of the seller or the Realtor that they enlist to sell their home. Plus, if the seller has stopped making payments there is a time line for how much longer they will own the home before the bank forecloses. Time is of the essence and I can't stress that statement enough. Many times people will wait because of pride, humiliation, the hope that somehow they will come up with the money to afford to catch up on their mortgage. The best thing I can say is that many, many people right now are going through this same circumstance. A very high percentage of homes for sale in Clark County Washington or Vancouver, WA (and many other regions in our current market) are short sales or homes facing foreclosure. Making a definitive decision to sell your home as a short sale sooner than later will aid in the successful sale of your home and negotiation of your short sale.

How does a person go about pursuing a short sale? Well, to start with you should enlist a Realtor with experience in short sales. I can't tell you how many times I've heard a Realtor tell me that they are supposed short sale experts. Then I ask how many they have closed and they say 3 or 4!!! Short sales are a different breed of Real Estate Sales all together and they should be treated as such. There are strict time lines , foreclosure dates and postponements, percentages banks will accept, procedures banks require, pitfalls to avoid, different policies that change daily, PMI guidelines, FHA guidelines, weary buyers, the list goes on and on and on. The only way you could possibly be represented properly by an agent is if they have successfully sold many, many short sales over a respectable period of time. Just like any other business, relationships are built with experience. A reputable relationship with a bank that I've worked with previously can mean a 2-week approval turnaround compared to a 4-month turn around

How Much? Free, or at least no out of pocket expense to the seller. If someone approaches you with a short sale service with an up front fee run quickly and pursue another avenue. The facilitation of a short sale is part of the listing agents job if the seller isn't taking care of it themselves (which I don't recommend for the same reasons I've stated above) and will be part of the reimbursement of commission paid at closing. There are companies out there charging sellers for services. You shouldn't have to pay anyone out of pocket to help you with a short sale. The commission paid to the Realtor is part the closing costs approved by the bank. How Long is the process? Well, first you need an offer on the home that has been mutually agreed upon by both parties. Once you've got that it depends on a) the level of experience your Realtor has with facilitating short sale offers/approvals b) which bank you have your mortgage(s) with. Some banks don't have the inventory of short sales/pre-foreclosures that others do so the time that it takes them to respond to an offer could be 21 days. Conversely some banks have gigantic inventories of short sales and are doing their best to respond within 90-120 days.

*Let me share a little discussion I had with a contact of mine at a very large, well known financial institution the other day. 7 weeks ago this bank opened up a "new" department to help expedite the time it was taking them to process short sales. At that time they opened their new department with 3500 files in process and approx. 60 employees. Over the course of 7 weeks they were up to 85,000 short sales!!! That's almost 10,000 files a week! Needless to say they are hiring. Unfortunately this is more common than not.

Who am I? My name is Chris Galyon and I work for Northwest Properties located in Vancouver, WA. I've been a Top Producing Realtor for the past 7 years. I have specialized in short sales, pre-foreclosure sales & helping sellers threatened by foreclosure in Vancouver, WA for the length of my career. I would consider myself one of the most experienced Short Sale Realtors in the area for selling homes on strict time lines, dealing with bank negotiations & aiding sellers avoid foreclosure at all costs.

Why do I do this? Well ultimately because I like helping sellers sell their homes that might otherwise think there is no hope left but to let their home go to foreclosure. There is a way to successfully sell your home, avoid foreclosure and have your bank pay for it. I've personally sold and/or processed hundreds of short sales in Vancouver, WA and Clark County Washington over the past 7yrs. I've developed both systems and bank relationships that allow me to close these transactions in less than avg. time lines and with a very high success rate.

As I said earlier, do your research. If you decide that selling your home as a short sale is the option you'd like to pursue make sure you enlist someone who has vast knowledge & experience. Ask for referrals, their experience over time, transactions closed, what is their success rate? Also, just because someone says they have a "team" of people working on your file doesn't necessarily mean you’re in good hands. This is an important decision that you may be only able to make once. Handing the fate of your home to someone who is in-experienced in short sales could mean the difference between selling your home or getting foreclosed upon.

Chris Galyon Northwest Properties www.excellentnwhomes.com 360.521.7565 element57@comcast.net

I hope to have shed a little light on Short Sales in Vancouver, WA or Clark County WA.

Welcome. I've put together some tips on how to avoid foreclosure through selling your home or property as a short sale. I hope you find this information valuable. My experience is extensive. I've represented sellers for shorts sales in Vancouver, WA and Clark County since 2002 and have closed hundreds of these transactions.

Short Sales: What are they? A short sale occurs when a seller wants to sell a home that is worth less than what is owed on the property. Therefore net proceeds from the closing are not sufficient to payoff the mortgage/mortgages in full. Hence, the payoff is short of what is owed....a short sale.

Why would a seller consider a short sale? Typically it's because they cannot afford to keep the home or investment property any longer and would like to avoid having the bank foreclose on the property. A foreclosure will have a greater negative effect on your credit score than a short sale or short payoff. That being said, the effect on your credit is a situation by situation basis. Nothing is black and white and it very much depends on the banking institutions you're working with and how they report to credit agencies.

Why would a bank approve a short sale? Well the short answer is- statistically it costs a bank or investor much more to foreclosure on a home/property then it does to accept a short sale. The initiation of foreclosure from a bank involves attorneys, asset management companies, appraisers, Realtors, locksmiths, lost payments, lost interest, fees, lost market time, etc. etc. etc. Banks are not in the business of owning Real Estate nor do most of them want to be. It benefits them financially to work with sellers and Realtors to get the home/property sold quickly prior to actually foreclosing on the home or property. This is definitely the case with short sales in Vancouver, WA.

When can a seller consider a short sale or selling their property for less than what is owed? Anytime. In fact, the sooner the better. As we all well know the Real Estate market isn't what it was 2-3yrs. ago. Homes take longer to sell and much more effort on the behalf of the seller or the Realtor that they enlist to sell their home. Plus, if the seller has stopped making payments there is a time line for how much longer they will own the home before the bank forecloses. Time is of the essence and I can't stress that statement enough. Many times people will wait because of pride, humiliation, the hope that somehow they will come up with the money to afford to catch up on their mortgage. The best thing I can say is that many, many people right now are going through this same circumstance. A very high percentage of homes for sale in Clark County Washington or Vancouver, WA (and many other regions in our current market) are short sales or homes facing foreclosure. Making a definitive decision to sell your home as a short sale sooner than later will aid in the successful sale of your home and negotiation of your short sale.

How does a person go about pursuing a short sale? Well, to start with you should enlist a Realtor with experience in short sales. I can't tell you how many times I've heard a Realtor tell me that they are supposed short sale experts. Then I ask how many they have closed and they say 3 or 4!!! Short sales are a different breed of Real Estate Sales all together and they should be treated as such. There are strict time lines , foreclosure dates and postponements, percentages banks will accept, procedures banks require, pitfalls to avoid, different policies that change daily, PMI guidelines, FHA guidelines, weary buyers, the list goes on and on and on. The only way you could possibly be represented properly by an agent is if they have successfully sold many, many short sales over a respectable period of time. Just like any other business, relationships are built with experience. A reputable relationship with a bank that I've worked with previously can mean a 2-week approval turnaround compared to a 4-month turn around

How Much? Free, or at least no out of pocket expense to the seller. If someone approaches you with a short sale service with an up front fee run quickly and pursue another avenue. The facilitation of a short sale is part of the listing agents job if the seller isn't taking care of it themselves (which I don't recommend for the same reasons I've stated above) and will be part of the reimbursement of commission paid at closing. There are companies out there charging sellers for services. You shouldn't have to pay anyone out of pocket to help you with a short sale. The commission paid to the Realtor is part the closing costs approved by the bank. How Long is the process? Well, first you need an offer on the home that has been mutually agreed upon by both parties. Once you've got that it depends on a) the level of experience your Realtor has with facilitating short sale offers/approvals b) which bank you have your mortgage(s) with. Some banks don't have the inventory of short sales/pre-foreclosures that others do so the time that it takes them to respond to an offer could be 21 days. Conversely some banks have gigantic inventories of short sales and are doing their best to respond within 90-120 days.

Let me share a little discussion I had with a contact of mine at a very large, well known financial institution the other day. 7 weeks ago this bank opened up a "new" department to help expedite the time it was taking them to process short sales. At that time they opened their new department with 3500 files in process and approx. 60 employees. Over the course of 7 weeks they were up to 85,000 short sales!!! That's almost 10,000 files a week! Needless to say they are hiring. Unfortunately this is more common than not.

Who am I? My name is Chris Galyon and I work for Northwest Properties located in Vancouver, WA. I've been a Top Producing Realtor for the past 7 years. I have specialized in short sales, pre-foreclosure sales & helping sellers threatened by foreclosure in Vancouver, WA for the length of my career. I would consider myself one of the most experienced Short Sale Realtors in the area for selling homes on strict time lines, dealing with bank negotiations & aiding sellers avoid foreclosure at all costs.

Why do I do this? Well ultimately because I like helping sellers sell their homes that might otherwise think there is no hope left but to let their home go to foreclosure. There is a way to successfully sell your home, avoid foreclosure and have your bank pay for it. I've personally sold and/or processed hundreds of short sales in Vancouver, WA and Clark County Washington over the past 7yrs. I've developed both systems and bank relationships that allow me to close these transactions in less than avg. time lines and with a very high success rate.

As I said earlier, do your research. If you decide that selling your home as a short sale is the option you'd like to pursue make sure you enlist someone who has vast knowledge & experience. Ask for referrals, their experience over time, transactions closed, what is their success rate? Also, just because someone says they have a "team" of people working on your file doesn't necessarily mean you’re in good hands. This is an important decision that you may be only able to make once. Handing the fate of your home to someone who is in-experienced in short sales could mean the difference between selling your home or getting foreclosed upon.

Chris Galyon Northwest Properties www.excellentnwhomes.com 360.521.7565/element57@comcast.net

I hope to have shed a little light on Short Sales in Vancouver, WA or Clark County WA.

LOAN MODIFICATIONS: BUZZ WORDS TO MAKE OR BREAK YOU...PITFALLS, CONSIDERATIONS, KNOWLEDGE

I THOUGHT I'D PIPE IN ON THE TOPIC BECAUSE OF A FEW THINGS I'VE WITNESSED AS OF LATE THAT YOU MAY NOT ALREADY KNOW. I'D LIKE TO START BY SAYING THAT I AM A REALTOR IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON WITH MY PRIMARY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER, WA. I SPECIALIZE IN SHORT SALES AND HAVE DONE SO SINCE 2002. BECAUSE I WORK SO MANY SHORT SALES, MANY TIMES THE SELLERS I REPRESENT ARE EITHER IN THE MIDDLE OF LOAN MODIFICATIONS, HAVE ALREADY TRIED AND FAILED OR ARE CONSIDERING THE POSSIBILITIES WHEN I MEET THEM. I'D LIKE TO SHARE A FEW TIPS FROM MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.

THINGS TO CONSIDER IF THINKING OF TRYING A LOAN MODIFICATION:

#1 DO IT YOURSELF. IT ISN'T THAT DIFFICULT!!!

I CAN'T STRESS THIS ENOUGH. IT CAN BE DONE. YOU DO NOT NECESSARILY NEED A PROFESSIONAL TO HELP YOU. THE BULK OF THE WORK INVOLVED IS PROVIDING REQUESTED DOCUMENTATION SUCH AS PAY STUBS, TAXES, PROFIT AND LOSS STATEMENTS, BANK STATEMENTS AND OTHER FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS PER THE BANK YOU'RE WORKING WITH. OTHER THAN STAYING ON TOP OF THAT IT'S JUST A LOT OF FOLLOW UP. CALL THEM AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK TO SEE HOW THE PROGRESS IS GOING. MAKE SURE THEY'VE RECEIVED ("IMAGED") THE REQUESTED PAPERWORK. MAKE SURE IT'S BEEN ASSIGNED TO SOMEONE. DON'T LET THEM LEAD YOU TO BELIEVE THAT IT'S BEING "WORKED ON" AND YOU DON'T NEED TO CALL AND FOLLOW UP. TREAT IT AS IF IT MEANS LOSING YOUR HOME OR NOT...BECAUSE THAT'S THE REALITY OF IT. DON'T BE PACIFIED.

THE ADMINISTRATION IS CONTINUALLY PUTTING MORE PRESSURE ON BANKS TO MODIFY MORE LOANS SO THAT THEY ARE AFFORDABLE TO BORROWERS. THE BANKS WANT TO HELP BECAUSE IT'S IN THEIR BEST INTEREST TO DO SO. IF THEY CAN GET YOU TO BEGIN MAKING PAYMENTS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE THAT MEANS THEY MAKE MORE MONEY...AND THEY ARE ALL ABOUT MAKING MORE MONEY.

#2 BE AWARE OF YOUR TIME LINE

WHAT DO I MEAN BY THIS? WHENEVER YOU STOP MAKING A PAYMENT TO A MORTGAGE COMPANY, A STOP WATCH BEGINS IN TERMS OF THE BANK TAKING NECESSARY PROTOCOL TO SECURE THEIR ASSET. THIS MEANS THAT THEY BEGIN THE PROCESS OF FORECLOSURE. THIS TIME LINE VARIES DEPENDENT UPON WHAT IS TYPICAL FOR THE STATE IN WHICH YOU LIVE. TYPICALLY IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON LENDERS FORECLOSE NON-JUDICIALLY. THIS PROCESS TAKES ABOUT 7 OR 8 MONTHS FROM THE POINT AT WHICH A PAYMENT IS LATE TO THE POINT AT WHICH THE BANK WILL ATTEMPT TO SELL THE HOME AT A FORECLOSURE SALE. BUT AS I SAID, ALL STATES ARE DIFFERENT AND THIS IS SOMETHING YOU WILL WANT TO DETERMINE WITH YOUR BANK AS YOU ARE WORKING THROUGH THE LOAN MODIFICATION PROCESS. THIS WILL AFFECT THE SUCCESS OF YOUR LOAN MODIFICATION. IF YOU DON'T BEGIN THE MODIFICATION WITH ENOUGH TIME ON THE CLOCK SO TO SPEAK, YOU MAY NOT GET AN ANSWER ON THE MODIFICATION BEFORE YOUR FORECLOSURE SALE DATE COMES! THE BANK MAY POSTPONE YOUR FORECLOSURE SALE DATE TO ALLOW THE NECESSARY RESPONSE TIME ON THE LOAN MODIFICATION...BUT THIS IS NOT GUARANTEED BY ANY MEANS. BE CAREFUL AND ACT QUICKLY. TIME IS ONE OF THE FEW THINGS YOU'VE GOT GOING FOR YOU IN REGARDS TO THE PROCESS. DON'T LET IT SLIP AWAY WHILE YOU WAFFLE ON THE DECISION AS TO WHAT TO DO...

#3 DON'T GET RIPPED OFF

WITH THE UNFORTUNATE DOWNTURN IN THE ECONOMY, JOB LOSSES ETC. THERE IS A HUGE SWING IN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE DEFAULTING ON THEIR MORTGAGES (OBVIOUSLY)...AND WITH THAT COME A TON OF LOAN MODIFICATION COMPANIES SOLICITING YOUR BUSINESS AND PROMISING THE WORLD. BE VERY VERY CAREFUL IF YOU DO HIRE A COMPANY TO DO YOUR LOAN MODIFICATION. DO YOUR RESEARCH. USE GOOGLE. FIND OUT WHO THESE COMPANIES HAVE HELPED. CALL THOSE CLIENTS DIRECTLY. A WORD TO THE WISE, IF YOU CAN'T SPEAK TO A PERSON THAT SUCCESSFULLY HAD A LOAN MODIFICATION COMPLETED BY THAT COMPANY TRY SOMEONE ELSE. REFERRALS ARE A GREAT WAY TO FIND A COMPANY...BUT DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE JUST THE SAME.

BE VERY CAREFUL WITH COMPANIES THAT CHARGE YOU AN UP FRONT FEE. IN FACT, I'D RECOMMEND NOT HIRING SOMEONE THAT DOES. THERE ARE SO MANY FREE OPPORTUNITIES OUT THERE THAT YOU SHOULDN'T NEED TO. CASE IN POINT- I'D LIKE TO SHARE AN EXPERIENCE THAT HAPPENED JUST RECENTLY TO A FRIEND OF MINE IN WASHOUGAL, WA:

LIKE MANY PEOPLE HE GOT A LETTER IN THE MAIL FROM A LOAN MOD COMPANY PROMISING THEY COULD HELP ETC. HE HAD TWO HOMES THAT HE WAS HAVING TROUBLE AFFORDING BUT WAS STILL CURRENT ON BOTH HIS MORTGAGES. THE COMPANY RECOMMENDED HE STOP MAKING HIS PAYMENTS. THEY ALSO CHARGED HIM $2500 PER HOUSEHOLD TO DO THE LOAN MODS (HE NEVER CALLED ME TO ASK MY OPINION UNFORTUNATELY). MONTHS WENT BY AND NOTHING WAS BEING ACCOMPLISHED. TOWARD THE END, THE LOAN MODIFICATION COMPANY WASN'T ANSWERING THE PHONE. I GOT A CALL 4 WEEKS BEFORE HIS HOMES WERE TO BE SOLD AT THE FORECLOSURE AUCTION TO HELP HIM. THAT WAS 8 MONTHS AFTER HE HIRED THE COMPANY, AND 8 MONTHS AFTER THEY TOLD HIM TO STOP MAKING PAYMENTS. NOW MOST PEOPLE WOULD ASK..."WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG FOR THE SELLER TO CONTACT SOMEONE FOR ASSISTANCE?". WELL THE ANSWER IS PRETTY EASY I THINK. HE WAS EMBARRASSED, ASHAMED, HIS TIME WAS SCARCE, HE KNEW HE'D MADE A MISTAKE AND HE KNEW HE'D BEEN RIPPED OFF. THE STORY HAD A HAPPY ENDING. HE CALLED THE BANK FOR HIS PRIMARY RESIDENCE IN VANCOUVER, WA, THEY WERE SYMPATHETIC TO HIS CIRCUMSTANCE OF GETTING SCAMMED. THEY POSTPONED HIS FORECLOSURE SALE DATE AND SUCCESSFULLY GAVE HE AND HIS WIFE A LOAN MODIFICATION THAT WORKED FOR THEIR BUDGET. HIS 2ND HOME (A RENTAL IN WASHOUGAL, WA)- WE DID A SUCCESSFUL SHORT SALE ON IT WITH THE RENTERS AS THE BUYERS. I GOT THE FORECLOSURE SALE DATE POSTPONED TO ALLOW THE SALE TO THE BUYER AND EVERYONE ENDED UP ECSTATIC! NONETHELESS, BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHO YOU WORK WITH.

#4 ARE YOU WORKING?

REMEMBER THAT TO QUALIFY FOR MOST LOAN MODIFICATIONS YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN INCOME. THE BANK WANTS TO SEE THAT YOU'RE SOMEWHAT OF A SAFE BET TO CONTINUE MAKING PAYMENTS IF THEY EXTEND A HELPING HAND.

WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE A JOB YOU MIGHT ASK? CONSIDER SELLING YOUR HOME. EVEN IF YOU OWE MUCH MORE THAN YOUR HOME IS WORTH YOU CAN STILL DO A SHORT SALE. BANKS ARE FAIRLY UNDERSTANDING IN MY OPINION WITH SELLERS THAT CAN NO LONGER AFFORD THEIR MORTGAGES AND DON'T QUALIFY FOR A LOAN MODIFICATION. MOST OF MY SELLERS (IN CLARK COUNTY WASHINGTON) ARE RELEASED FROM THEIR OBLIGATION TO THE BANK WITHOUT ISSUE. THAT BEING SAID, YOU CAN'T JUST WALK AWAY FROM YOUR HOME BECAUSE IT'S DROPPED IN VALUE. YOU'RE EXPECTED TO ABIDE BY YOUR FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS AS BEST AS YOU CAN. BUT IF A HARDSHIP CATCHES YOU BY SURPRISE, MOST BANKS ARE UNDERSTANDING AND WANT YOU TO SELL THE HOUSE AS BADLY AS YOU DO. IN FACT, IN SOME CASES WITH SHORT SALES IN VANCOUVER WASHINGTON, THE BANK WILL PAY YOU THE SELLER TO DO THE SHORT SALE...SUCH IS THE CASE WITH SELLER'S THAT HAVE FHA LOANS AND NEED TO DO A SHORT SALE! THE FHA WILL PAY YOU UP TO $1000 AID IN THE PROCESS.

I HOPE THIS LITTLE CHECK LIST HELPS IF YOU'RE CONSIDERING WHETHER TO DO A LOAN MODIFICATION OR TO SELL YOUR PROPERTY AS A SHORT SALE.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ME, MY BUSINESS, SHORT SALE ASSISTANCE IN VANCOUVER, WA OR SHORT SALE ASSISTANCE IN CLARK COUNTY WASHINGTON PLEASE VISIT MY WEBSITE: WWW.EXCELLENTNWHOMES.COM OR CONTACT ME DIRECTLY AT 360.521.7565. I'VE SPECIALIZED IN HELPING SELLER'S WITH SHORT SALES SINCE 2002 AND WOULD BE HAPPY TO OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE THAT I CAN IN DISCUSSING YOUR OPTIONS.

KEEP YOUR HEAD UP AND REMEMBER...TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!