Debbie Atwood

We don't hear much in the news about what happens in life after foreclosure. But for many it is continued nights of unrest and concern. While going through the process homeowners are treated rudely and disrespected in many ways, yet many foreclosures are the result of some catostrophe that has taken place in the homeowners life. A death of a loved one, a major illness, unemployment or divorce. Add to this a difficult real estate market and you find these are common events that can lead to loss of a home.

For many the problems have just begun. In real life a foreclosure can cut the family out of the rental market because landlords are skeptical to rent to a family that has just gone through foreclosure. Many families have lost their homes because of unemployment and find that while applying for new employment employers will check credit. Foreclosure on a credit record can keep them out of the rankings for that particular job. The consequences are many and can be deep.

What should be done when faced with foreclosure
Beginning the process of rebuilding your credit should be started immediately. When you know that foreclosure is in your near future it is imperative that you begin to save as much money as possible. In many cases you are probably going to be faced with larger rent deposits and for the recently foreclosed cash on hand can be aproblem.

Rent -Consider that you should not pay more than 25% -28% of your income on rent. Your rent should be the first thing you pay each month. Your payment history will be a huge factor when you do apply for a new home mortgage in the future.

Credit Cards- If you have credit card debt- work on reducing it. If you can afford to have a credit card then be sure to make these payments a priority and keep your balances paid off monthly. Financial advisers suggest to keep your charges below 30% of your credit limit. Make every effort to avoid balances. A common mistake consumers will make is to close their credit accounts in the attempt to raise their credit score. This attempt can actually make your score lower!

Other Credit- Pay on time. Finances may be tight but by paying your bills within 30 days your credit report will show a positive rating. Don't let 30 days go by without paying your bill.

Payroll Taxes Be sure to review your deductions. If you are receiving a refund each year, change this. It doesn't make sense to save money through the Government when you could be using it today to get back on your feet!

Savings- Begin a savings account and put something in it every month. Even small amounts will build up! Have a goal to save 3 months of expenses saved. Before you know it you will have a down payment saved for your future home. Your savings account is the beginning of accumulating your new assets and will be reviewed when you apply for that new home in the future.

New Credit- Begin new credit carefully and slowly. Eventually you will be offered new credit but determine if you really need those. Keeping up on the above items can build a very strong credit history without taking on additional responsibility that you probably don't need.

There is a life after foreclosure and the future will look bright again!

In Real Estate, possession is when you actually take control of the property. The question often comes up as to when that actually occurs. I have seen this issue to be more important than the price received or paid on a property! At closing of escrow the buyer is given the keys to the home and any other pertinent items belonging to the property; mailbox keys, garage door openers etc. At the close of escrow the buyer legally owns that property and is free to move in and begin to enjoy their new home. Maybe they will paint before moving in or renovate the property first.

This is true unless the buyer and seller have made special arrangements for the seller to stay in the property for a longer period of time or for the buyer to move in prior to closing. Neither of these are normally recommended nor are either customarily practiced but the question does come up in almost every transaction and occasionally it does occur.

There can be special circumstances that may appear to be legitimate reasons for one of these to occur. Perhaps the seller is building a new home and it won't be finished for another 4 weeks. Or perhaps the buyers lease is up a week before the closing. Maybe the circumstances are understandable to both the buyer and seller and they work out a deal for this to happen as a matter of convenience for one another.

There are some things to consider in these situations that can have some painful consequences. I'm sure most of us have heard the saying; "Possession is 9/10th's of the law." To some extent that phrase is not all that far from the truth. Let's say the buyers in all good faith really do need to move in early for some very legitimate reason and you the seller have a place already to move into. You pack up, move out and move into your own new home and pretty soon the closing date has come and there has at the last moment been a problem with the buyers financing or loan process. (Don't roll your eyes, this happens) The buyers really can't close on the property after all. Now what? They have moved in with nowhere to go. You the seller now have to put the home back on the market in the hopes of getting a new buyer as soon as possible. In the meantime the buyers are at a loss of where they are going to go and in no hurry to move their belongings out. It is possible that the buyers could have created damage to the property and you are going to have to repair this before putting the property back on the market. On top of having to put the home back on the market what is the likely hood that now you have two mortgages to pay? Ouch!

From a buyers point of view; the sellers need additional time to move for one reason or another. Again, something has come up and usually it does. The sellers are having difficulty getting moved out and the time is being extended and extended. Possibly the home they are building still isn't ready for occupancy. How many times has this happened in the building of a new home? As a buyer and possibly of greater consequence, God forbid, your new home has caught fire while the previous homeowners are still occupying the home. Guess what? Your insurance company will most likely not cover your claim because your new home was not Owner Occupied! If you purchased your home as your primary residence, your mortgage company isn't going to be too pleased to find out that you are not living there and legally they could call your note due! You haven't even moved in yet!!
Given these possible consequences what is the best policy to follow? 1. Possession at closing with the Sellers moved out and the buyers ready to move in at closing. 2. If this just cannot happen, then postpone the closing until it can happen.

It's not a perfect world and as I mentioned above occasionally there is going to be a seller that needs additional days to move, so how do you deal with this? Your attorney can put a contract into place for an extended seller possession and a common practice in this situation is to have a portion of the closing funds put into escrow and to be released to the sellers once they have vacated the property. Another common practice is to charge "rent" to the sellers which should include your expenses including your prorated monthly mortgage payment, taxes, insurance, homeowner dues and utilities that would be in your name as the new owner of the property. This can be prorated to a daily rate. Often it is recommended to build in a substantial increase in the rate if for some reason the sellers attempt to stay longer.

Debbie Atwood Is Making A Splash In Snohomish County! 425-750-4970

I recently received an email from a woman who lost her husband to Cancer. She asks; What is the best way to keep from foreclosure on my home?
My spouse died from cancer and unfortunately I will receive no life insurance or pension. It looks impossible to keep up with my payments. My sweet sister has brought my payments up to date, but I don’t see how I can keep them up and she definitely can’t do any more, nor would I want her to. I feel overwhelmed with grief and then have this issue on top of everything. I need advice and obviously, can not afford it. Please help.

As a Real Estate Agent I unfortunately hear stories like this way to often. Stories like this make it hard to keep your emotions out of it and after talking to so many people about short sales and foreclosures I have to admit it has gotten pretty much impossible to not get emotionally involved with my clients after awhile. Because of this I decided to post my response to her in the hopes that if there are others (which I know there are) that could use some hopeful advice, they just might find it and know that they too have options.

I’m truly sorry for your loss and the grief you are going through. I’m also sorry that you are going through the pain of financial problems. There isn’t anything I can say to make your loss feel any better. However, you do have some possible options regarding your home. If you have a job there is hope of keeping your home. If you are working you could apply for a loan modification. The key elements are that you are working and you have a hardship. The loss of your spouse is a qualifying hardship with many lenders. Contact Making Home Affordable They are a government run entity that will work with you and your lender in modifying your current loan. They were put in place by the Obama Administration for people just like you. You DO NOT PAY ANYONE to modify your loan. They will do it for free. I do not recommend accepting help from anyone who is going to charge you up front. This is a free service.

The modification in most circumstances reduces your interest rate.

If you do not want to stay in the home for lack of a job or any other reason; such as, you can’t afford it then you may be able to short sale the home. (For more information on Short Sales) Place it for sale with a reputable agent. In this case you will sell your home and if you cannot sell it for what is owed on the property then the bank takes a loss. This is a good way to avoid foreclosure. I don’t know how far behind you are so I would need more info on this. If it is too late to short sale your property and you are facing foreclosure then contact your bank and tell them you are interested in the “CASH FOR KEYS” program. Many banks have an option where they will pay you anywhere from $500 to $5000 for you to hand the keys over on a specified date. The money is meant to help you move. Feel free to contact me if you need further information at Debbie Atwood Is Making A Splash In Snohomish County!

I hope this helps a little bit. You do have options. Take Care and good luck.

Serving Snohomish County, Everett, Marysville, Mukilteo, Lake Stevens, Arlington, Lynnwood, Bothell, Mill Creek, Monroe and Snohomish

The word in the wind is that there will be a Tsunami of bank owned homes coming on the market. It's not hard to believe when you look at the number of foreclosures happening each month. While out previewing homes in the Everett area a week ago for a client I am working for; we came across lots of short sales. Being very familiar with the short sale market it's pretty reasonable to assume many of those short sales will be foreclosed on if they haven't already. The Client put an offer on one, now we wait...

This week I accompanied another couple to tour bank owned homes in the Lake Stevens neighborhoods. The difference in the homes we saw from short sales to foreclosure homes was obvious! Bank owned homes had literally been stripped of everything! Appliances, cabinets, doors, sinks, gutters and flooring! One listing agent had in the description of the home; "upstairs walls look like swiss cheese." I was curious what that meant until I saw it! There were holes in the walls that looked like someone had taken a bat to every wall.

It was sad to see but my clients looked at the homes as a perfect opportunity to build quick equity. Since he is in construction he was able to visualize the final product once it has been rehabbed.

Bank owned homes can be good opportunities for the cash buyer, investment buyer, consortium investor and construction company with the opportunity to buy now, rehabilitate and then resell for a profit. It is common to see the poor condition of bank owned homes my clients and I looked at this past week. Former homeowners in financial distress tend to neglect maintenance on the home when they know they are looking at foreclosure in the near future. Unfortunately, our economy has wreaked havoc on many homeowners causing financial distress and foreclosure.

A few home buyers will buy the homes and finance them through Rehab loans but most tend to look more towards the homes in need of minor cosmetic touch ups and upgrades because of the time needed to make the repairs and upgrades themselves. This contributes to a great opportunity for the investment buyer to make kitchen upgrades and exterior upgrades and repairs.

Investors commonly can see a 20 to 25% return in their investment with the new home buyer ready to move in to the "new condition home
I recently heard this termed as "Recycled Real Estate".

So with the upcoming wave of bank owned homes about to hit the market it may be a good time to take a look at the present housing market as the glass 1/2 full for investment buyers, home buyers and investment sellers.

To see recent new listings of bank owned homes contact me at Debbie Atwood Is Making A Splash In Snohomish County! 425-750-4970

There are great opportunities in Everett, Marysville, Arlington, Lake Stevens, Bothell, Mill Creek and Lynnwood

PUMPKIN PATCHES

Visit one of the many popular pumpkin patches in Snohomish County and King County. Be sure to check out my favorites listed below in Snohomish, Everett, Arlington, Auburn, Carnation, Redmond and Kent!

The Farm

7301 Rivershore RD. Snohomish, WA 425-334-4124

Bob's Corn

10917 Elliot RD Snohomish, WA 360-668-2506

Craven Farms

13817 Short School RD Snohomish, WA 360-568-2601

Stocker Farms

10622 Airport Way Snohomish, WA 360-568-7391

Foster's Produce Farm

5818 State Route 530 NE Arlington, WA 360-435-505

Mosby Brothers Farms Inc

12754 SE Green Vaey RD Auburn, WA 253-93-7666

Biringer Farm

4625 40th PL NE Everett, WA 425-259-0255

Serres Farm

20306 NE 50th ST Redmond, WA 425-868-3017

South 47 Farm

20306 NE 50th ST Redmond, WA 425-86-9777

Two Brothers Pumpkin Patch At Game Haven Greenery

7110 310th Ave NE Carnation, WA 425-333-4313

Carpinito Brothers Farm

1148 North Central Kent, WA 253-854-5692