Greg Miller/ Warsaw & Syracuse, In. Home Mortgage Lending -Conventional, FHA,USDA

North Webster Report
2008  was a real mixed bag of results for the housing markets and our North Webster area was no exception. This area is blessed with many lakes and because of this factor, we really have two housing markets within one.

The homes that do not have any access to one of our lakes, we refer to as non - water. The homes that do are of course refered to as water properties. This includes lake front, channel front, Assigned pier spaces, deeded boat lots, community piers.

For purposes of area for this report. I have included all the geographical area that is in the North Webster Elementary School District. So this not only would include all of North Webster but portions of Leesburg,    Pierceton & Syracuse.

	2007	2008	+ - %
# Sold Homes Non-water	46	34	-26%
# Sold Homes Water	114	52	-54%
Total Sold Homes	160	86	-46%
Total Sales Volume	$26,493,937	$12,094,450	-54%
Avg.Sales Price Non-water	$100,050	$111,040	+11%
Avg. Sales Prices Water	$143,094	$150,808	+5%
Avg. Days on Market Non-Water	184	120
Avg. Days on Market Water	144	168

  As of 02/15/09 The Active Listings for sale in the area  were 107 homes.
 27 Non-Water & 80 Water properties.  A normal supply of homes for sale in a given market is consider to be a number that can be absorbed in a 6-9 month period. If we use the 2007 sales figures, our supply of homes on the market is normal. This is good for stable prices.
 In our next article we will detail the local lakes and subdivisions  activity and home values. Should you wish information on your home or neighborhood , feel free to contact us.

 Your  local  housing experts,
 Sharon & Greg Miller
North Webster Realtors

It will be a big week for a group of gals at Wawasee high school.

First up will be the Lady Warriors basketball team. With a senior heavy 19-3 team that is a very experienced squad. They begin their quest for a state title on Wednesday night @ 6:00 p.m. on their home court i right herein Syracuse against Whitko. Be sure and come to support the ladies.

Kudo's to Taylor Goshert for being named the Times-Union area Player of the Year.

Would also like to mention that the girls swimming state final is to take place at IUPUI starting Friday and concluding on Saturday. Wawasee's own freshman sensation Brittany Robinsonwill be there competing in both the 50 free & 100 fly. After setting new sectional records in both this past weekend, Brittany stands a very real chance of medaling. Good luck Brittany !!!

 This is  part III in our series of  the process for a  short sale in Kosciusko County Indiana. If You need to get up to speed you can read  Kosciusko County Short Sale   &  Kosciusko County Short Sale II.

  Up to this point we have  talked about what a short sale is. What  must happen in order to qualify with your lender and the paperwork you and your agent will need to provide in order to move forward and make this process as smooth as possible for what is an uncomfortable situation to say the least.. At this point a buyer enters the picture and assuming they are using a real estate agent that understands short sales, they will already be briefed on the process of  having a suitable offer filled out on a IAR Purchase Agreement , IAR Short Sale addendum, Pre-approval letter from their lender and be prepared with Patience and a good faith deposit.

  Another important item to mention here that all parties need to keep in mind. While a lender has a say in their acceptance of releasing their lien on the property for whatever amount of compensation they deem as acceptable. The owner of the home has the first and last say as to whether the terms and  Price are acceptable. Even if a lender has filed  legal proceeding ( Lis Pendens) against the owner. They are still the owner until the sale on the courthouse steps!

   So we have all our paperwork and have duplicated everything and put loan numbers on every page. The packet is now off to the lender. If you have a national lender, you may or may not being dealing with them. Many have  been so swamped with this process that they have hired outside companies to handle their short sales. In either event the seller and buyer need to be prepared to wait possibly up to 30 - 45 days to get a response from the lender. That is assuming that you had all your paperwork to them and they did not misplace any of it.

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• Order a BPO ( Broker Price Opinion) from outside agent to render report of local values vs this home.
• Possibly investigate the seller's information for fraud.
•  Analyze the the local market house values data.
• Consider the reason and validity of the hardship letter.
• Run their loss formula's for the offered price vs. amount of outstanding note.
• Analyze the HUD1 statement to figure the net proceeds of sale.( once approved these numbers are unchangeable).

   In most cases, the lender will only be willing to accept a sale price for short sale that will net to them after every cost is factored in, a loss in the 10-15% range vs. the outstanding note. But if your current offer is rejected , at this point the lender will usually inform you of what number(price) would be acceptable.Usually at this point it is easier to sell once you know the lenders price.

1. Is this process quick? Sometimes it can be, but generally no. It can take 45 -120 days to close after you have a willing buyer and submit a package(offer) to the lender. However once you get an approved short sale , the lender will impose quick deadlines to get the transaction closed. 
2. What does it cost me as the seller?  All of the cost associated with the transaction - title insurance, agent commission, etc. will be paid out of the sale proceeds. The lender will expect you to keep things such as utilities, HOA dues & property taxes  current. The more cost they incur the less they will move on price.
3. Why not just let them foreclose? There are many different answers to this from a personal perspective and each individual has to decide on their own. But from a future home ownership perspective you will looked upon in a much more favorable light from any lender if you were around to help put an end to a unfortunate situation for everyone involved.
4.  What if I have a second mortgage or PMI(Private Mortgage Insurance)?  In either case you MAY need to sign a note agreeing to pay back all or a portion of the debt that one of these lenders had to write off. Each case is different and there is no fast rule.

If you have a question we did not answer here, feel free to contact us. We are here to help in anyway we can.
Please do not consider this article as any sort of legal advice. Consult a attorney for legal advice.
 We can be contacted at : Century21 Integrity Real Estate
  1406 S. Huntington St. Syracuse, Indiana 46567    (574) 457-5018

Kosciusko County Homes - Short Sale Information II

This is the second article of my series on the short sale process for buyers and sellers of short sales and the process they will encounter. If you missed the first article you can read it here: Kosciusko County Short Sale

In my first article we discussed what is and is not considered generally accepted hardships. Assuming you meet the hardship criteria and want to proceed, what next?

Verify Owner of Mortgage Note

Verify who the lender is that holds your mortgage note. The lender that you started with may not still own your note. It can be common place for a lender to sell their notes to other investors. Even if you still make payments to them, they may only service your loan and not own it.

Short Sale Package & Hardship Letter

You now need to put together your short sale package and your hardship letter.
Your hardship letter needs to be handwritten by you the mortgagee. This letter needs to detail in your own words exactly what your personal situation is and why you are requesting this short sale.
You will also need to compile a number of documents and verifications into your short sale package.( we can help you with the list of what you will need). A brief summary is:

• Copy of your listing agreement with your agent.
• Authorization letter giving your agent permission to speak to the lender about your account.
• Completed financial statement : Most lender will have their own with the information they will require.
• 2 full years tax returns
• At least 2 recent pay stubs
• A Fully completed offer to sale & purchase agreement
• A prequalification letter from the buyer
• A HUD 1 settlement statement

Sales Package
Also as your agent we will put together a sales package which will include :

• Comparable Market analysis
• Evidence of current market conditions in your area
• Evidence showing the offer to purchase is reasonable
• Any other documentation to substantiate the offered price

At this point we will be ready to submit to the lender. In my next post I will discuss the process that will take place now that we have the paperwork and a buyer. If we can be of any help, please contact us.
Sharon & Greg Miller Realtors - Century21 Integrity Real Estate Group
1406 S. Huntington St. Syracuse, IN 46567 (574) 457-5018
SharonandGregMiller@Century21.com

                   Short Sale  Information for Kosciusko County

                                                   What is a short sale?

   A short sale is when you need  to sale you home and  the current market value is less than the payoff to your lender. Therefore you need the lender to be willing to settle for less than the full amount in order to release the lien so you can close the sale with clear title.

 Example: In 2006 you bought a home for $150,000 and your payoff is $148,000.  Because of a job loss you need to sell. But the current market has several like properties for sale at $140,000 which is true value today. In order to sell quickly to avoid a foreclosure you need to price at $135,000. After all your fee's to sell you would expect about $128,000 net sale proceeds, leaving you $20,000 short. If your lender agreed to release the lien against your home for 128,000 then this would constitute a short sale.

    Why would a lender do this?  Because many times the loss from a short sale would be much less than a foreclosure.
 But keep in mind that a lender might be willing to do this because you can't pay due to a hardship, not because you don't want to pay.
                                                     What constitutes a hardship?

• Loss of income
• Divorce
• Death  of  co-mortgagee
• Medical  
• Escalation of variable mortgage

  While this list is not all the reasons, it is most common.

                                                                What is NOT a hardship:

• Excessive debt- sorry but if you have  accumulated a lot of debt from living beyond your means, it is difficult to get a lender to be sympathetic.
• House is simply worth less than purchase price.
• You have other assets that could be liquidated

You will have to prove to your lender that because of unforeseen circumstances that you cannot or soon will not be able to make your payments.
  They will also verify that you did not commit fraud on your mortgage application. That you did not lie to them about your income , employment or assets.

 We will discuss what to do if you think you may qualify on our next post. In the meantime if you have any questions or uncertainties about a short sale or want our help, please contact us.
                         
                                 Your Short Sale Connection for Kosciusko County