Terry Osburn, Broker Associate

For those home owners whose best option has been determined is a short sale , just what should you expect?

• Home is sold as-is
• Seller does not make a profit
• Seller may be required to bring some out of the pocket money to the table(Not always, depends on offer, your deficit and the lender)
• Most banks and lenders will not allow family members to purchase
• Buyers to pay for any and all inspections
• Most banks and lenders will NOT pay for any repairs and/or replacement items
• Most banks and lenders will allow the buyer to get 3% back towards the buyers closing costs
• The lender and /or bank will pay the agents commission
• Our fiduciary responsibility is to you the seller, not the bank or lender. Our goal is to minimize your deficit as much as possible and/or as much as the current market will allow
• Most banks and lenders will pay for what is customary to the area in re: to sellers fees
• Short sale is not short even though some lenders have streamlined the process considerably whereby closing could conceivably happen within 30 days after accepted offer if the home has been a pre approved short sale at the list price given)Most will take 2-6 months. We have seen some close rather quickly , most about 2.5 months and unfortunately Countrywide(Now B of A) has taken 6 months or longer. I have heard rumblings that Countrywide is also trying to streamline the process.

We HIGHLY encourage all sellers to seek the advice of a real estate tax attorney or CPA and INVESTIGATE ALL options before proceeding with short sale.

If you are considering a bankruptcy, short sale may NOT be your best option. We are not attorneys and we cannot give legal advice.

Depending on whether your loan(s) are the original purchase loan will depend on how you proceed after getting a short sale approval letter. You may find foreclosure will better protect you.

Some of the lenders have included language that states they reserve the right to come back after judgment. In some states, like California, they are non recourse. The lenders cannot do double jeopardy. However there appears to be some hope by the lender that the laws may change and by signing such approval letters, sellers could conceivably give up their present umbrella of protection. So we do encourage our clients to have an attorney review all short sale approval letters.

In California, even though we think the verbiage is illegal the original purchase loans and that most of the consumer watchdog groups will not allow such, it has not been tested in the courts and the sellers attorneys have been advising, bankruptcy and foreclosure instead.

So basically what I am saying what may be good for one homeowner in distress is not so good for another.

If you live in Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano County of California, give us a call to discuss your particular situation.

We have successfully negotiated many short sales in the last year and a half.

That is a loaded question. There are several reasons.

• Short sales are here for awhile and whether representing buyer or seller experience in short sales is a must.
• I was ridiculed when I first started doing short sales....mostly the ridicule came out of ignorance and lack of knowledge. Within a year it was seen that there was indeed value in short sales.
• I offer a valuable service to my clients who qualify for a short sale and please remember the word qualify.....Short sales are not necessarily the best option for my clients. I would rather see them stay in their homes if at all possible. So, Loan modification would be first choice. If not possible I then have my clients seek professional legal advice either from a real estate tax attorney and/or CPA before proceeding with short sale for two reasons 1- To make sure a short sale would offer them the best protection and/or 2- Whether a bankruptcy is in the cards and a foreclosure would serve them better.(Remember bankruptcy laws have changed and many times the property is needed to have enough debt to qualify. Many agents have erred telling their clients to go ahead and do a short sale especially when the verbiage in the short sale approval letter states the bank retains it right to come back and collect for deficiency if the law allows) I have had clients whose financials were rather complicated and it really takes a professional tax person or attorney to have a firm grasp on my clients best interests financially.

Since I am not an attorney I do not advise but guide my clients to the correct sources for their information.

I am not here to judge. I offer expertise and knowledge to assist those who are going through this grueling process. I have seen the worse side of my clients. Stress does brings out the ugly. I firmly believe that these same clients will remember me to family and friends for real estate services in the future as well as my clients when they get their feet back on the ground again.

I have learned a lot this past year and a half. I have come to understand further how this whole meltdown started as I see the same ineptness with the banks in short sales as was evident before the meltdown.

Despite the misgivings and ill fortunes of others I still believe owning a home makes good business sense as long as the buyer understands real estate is for the long term.

What happened these past years went from business sense to emotions with all of the hype in the news media about not being able to purchase unless you act immediately. Those who bought without contingencies still make me cringe.

Short sales are not short for the most part, except Wachovia is making a concerted effort to cut down the approval process immensely. Hopefully others will follow.

My hair has gotten grayer especially on those short sales that went from 6 -9 months before closing.

Most is 3-4 months.

Short sales do close. It does take patience. If a buyer finds a home that is exactly what they are seeking and it is a short sale I have no issue working with them on it.

For those agents in this area who want nothing to do with short sale listings , send them my way. I will gladly pay you a referral fee upon closing.

Buyers have a tremendous opportunity to purchase and to maximize their purchase power with FHA 203K loans.

Divided into two categories...Streamline, $35000 or less needed for upgrades and/or repairs or Full Blown for over $35000 and any structural repairs that might be needed.

The beauty of these loans repairs can be done after the close of escrow. There are safeguards and you must use a FHA Certified Inspector as well as a FHA certified Appraiser. The guidelines are fairly clear.

The purpose is to allow buyers into homes that are affordable but need work that otherwise they would not have the cash to do. The home is reassessed based on the required FHA updates, upgrades or repairs and the appraised value that would result due to those upgrades etc would be the basis for the loan amount for the buyer so the costs can be built into their loan.

As with any loan, buyer(s) must be approved and qualified ahead of time.

It does take a minimum of 45 days for escrow to close due to the process. ALL contractors must be licensed, bonded and insured(workers comp) and contractor(s) must fill out specific paper work specific to such and there must be written bids for each project to be completed. Buyers are allowed to add carpeting, painting etc.

If you live in the Bay Area, specifically the greater Walnut Creek area and surrounding you can contact me for information as to whom to contact for this specific loan. I am more than happy to represent you as a Buyers Agent in this process.

Well the title is a loaded sentence......Certainly depends on where you are .......But we are seeing multiple offers again...Not necessarily way above the list price but solid multiple offers......Granted it depends on the price range and area . Concord for instance has a slew of buyers who are qualified for between $200000 and $400000. Those homes bank owned, short sales or no distress that are in move in condition are priced to bring in multiple offers.

I walked into one home last week that had over 50 real estate cards on the counter. Have not seen that for a long time.

Is this the eye of the storm burp or a sign that things are finally settling down?

We hear rumors of hundreds of thousands more foreclosures waiting to happen as well as many more short sales to hit the market.

Of course with the possible many layoffs still to come plus those recent will really max out homeowners pockets and savings........

Only time will tell. At least the interest rates are good for buyers with the first time home buyer $8000 tax credit.

The higher end homes are starting to see movement and sales but appears to still be dropping somewhat in their pricing.

I am writing on average approx 3-4 offers before my buyers offer is accepted. Usually the first two rejections was due to the buyer lowballing and not believing the home would command at least full price.

My gut feeling is the market will not really stabilize until the mid to end of next year and then in certain areas with other areas taking years to recoup the losses felt.

But even in this darkness, opportunity does exist for those seeking to purchase a home. Just make sure you look at it as a long term investment and not short term.

Yes, they can. The new little guy that I adopted a few weeks ago presents with such.
He was grumbling, muttering and pacing while sleeping and eating...Fortunately he was acting out when I took him to the Vet...The Vet immediately recognized it as anxiety due to the fact he and his wife adopted a dog who had the same issues and he could distract him with cookies and belly rubs and checked out OK physically otherwise.
I will say Toby has improved greatly with fewer and fewer episodes. Even though there was growling involved there was absolutely no aggression ever shown.
Rescue Remedy is helpful to pets in transition. Lots of love and consistency helps also.