Tom Lyons

A couple of more SSSS (short sale success stories) to report. Both with Wells Fargo, who, after floundering like a fish out of water in the short sale ocean in 2008, has finally gotten its act together and now completes short sales in a reasonable amount of time.

The first one, a Livermore Ca. home (address not given to protect the owners) took almost 4 months to get approved. Had a first, and a second, with Wells. But lo and behold, this time the first and second actually spoke with each other, and for the most part, the process went smoothly.

The second SSSS, also a Livermore Ca. home took only 6 weeks to complete! Yes, 6 weeks, from start to finish. It was a Wells / Wachovia loan .... Wachovia has really gotten its act together with regards to short sales. The owners, completely broke, received $2,000.00 from Wachovia (that is right ...) in order to move out more quickly.

If you live in Alameda County California, in the cities of Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore, San Ramon, or Danville, and if you think that a short sale might be in your best interests, please drop me a line at realestate@tomlyons.com

SHORT SALE LANGUAGE SPOKEN HERE!

www.tomlyons.com

http://tomlyons.yourkwagent.com/atj/user/HomePageGetAction.do

Many banks have now jumped on the short sale bandwagon. Approvals on many short sales can be obtained in as little as 30 days. Major banks, not wanting to foreclosure on homeowners, have now given timely short sale approvals top priority.

Take Wachovia Bank for instance.

Now a part of Wells Fargo, Wachovia did a lot of bad loans circa 2000-2006 that many homeowners can no longer afford to keep current. Wachovia's current solution?? To allow homeowners to short sale the property in lieu of foreclosure. In fact, they've added trained personnel and streamlined the process so well that in many cases we can approvals in as little as 30 days!

And, what is even more amazing, is that in some cases, the homeowner may qualify to get as much as $2,500.00 in cash, from Wachovia, to help them with their move!

The Tom Lyons Real Estate Team presently handles a number of short sales in the Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, and San Ramon cities of Alameda County California. Year to date in 2009 we've been able to help more than 20 homeowners get through the complicated short sale process.

We've the experience and know how to get your short sale done quickly and efficiently at absolutely no cost to you, the homeowner.

We've got the

*Experience

*Systems in place

*Ability to get your home sold quickly with the least amount of inconvenience to you

So if doing a short sale on your home to possibly avoid foreclosure is of interest to you, please give me a call at 925-216-1105, or email me at realestate@tomlyons.com

For your convenience, if you have additional questions about the short sale process, please visit any of our websites listed below.

http://www.tomlyons.com/

http://tomlyons.yourkwagent.com/atj/user/HomePageGetAction.do

Posted on 10/28/2009

Thanks for reading!!

Tom

Do you owe more on your home than it is currently worth?

Are you facing a financial hardship?

A Short Sale is not a refinance bailout program or a foreclosure lending scam but rather a viable option to avoid foreclosure.

Most lenders are very willing to work with us to try and avoid a foreclosure through a short sale.

Your credit scores are not impacted as much with a short sale. In most successful short sales, you can repurchase another home in two years time.

If negotiated correctly many lenders will agree to accept the proceeds of a short sale and will forgive the rest of what is owed and not levy a deficiency judgement.

Our short sale consultation services are free and the commissions on the short sale are paid by the lenders so there is no cost to you.

For a free consultation with no obligation to use our services please email me at realestate@tomlyons.com

Let our 20 years of real estate experience help you.

We've a proven success record of getting short sales approved in 2008 and 2009.

Please go to these websites if you have questions or would like more information.

http://tomlyons.yourkwagent.com/atj/user/HomePageGetAction.do

Or ...

http://www.tomlyons.com/index.cfm

Thank You.
Tom Lyons - Keller Williams
DRE# 1111027
realestate@tomlyons.com
925-216-1105

Tom Lyons-Real Estate Expertise

925-216-1105

realestate@tomlyons.com

19 Years of experience in Tri Valley Real Estate

The Lyons Tri Valley Real Estate Report

August 2009

Year / Volume #3-Issue #24

We'll start the August report with important supply and demand numbers.

City Available Houses Pending Sales Months Supply

Livermore 182 154 1.18

Pleasanton 227 112 2.02

Dublin 94 81 1.16

San Ramon 194 174 1.11

Danville 217 86 2.52

Totals 914 607 1.50

The above numbers are important in helping determine what is currently happening with Tri Valley Real Estate. As of 8/1/09 there is little, or no, house inventory available. There is nothing available (For the most part..) in the lower price ranges .... All available houses have sold. 90% of the REO's and short sales in the lower price ranges have been sold. What available inventory out there is mostly in the higher price ranges .... + $1M and higher. (Pleasanton and Danville) In the upper price ranges sales are still slow and there is inventory available.

Currently, there are many buyers out there, wanting to buy in the lower price ranges, first time buyers and investors mostly .... And there is nothing out there for them to buy.

So what does all this new information mean??

In the lower price ranges ..... In the $200K's-$400K's ... it means that prices are actually appreciating ... and we have seen price appreciation over the past 30 days. Buyers are currently lining up to purchase lower priced homes .... Most listings receive anywhere from 5-15 offers!! Prices in the middle price ranges ($500K's- $700K's) have held steady over the past 60 days. Upper price ranges in the Tri Valley Area are still soft .... Meaning that supply still outstrips demand.

These improved numbers described on page means that home sellers in the lower to middle price ranges may be able to get more money for their homes if they plan to sell. Why? Presently there are more buyers out there than sellers, demand is outstripping supply .... that translates into higher sales prices on homes.

What's going on with all the foreclosures?? A record number of homes continue to be in foreclosure. Many of the recent sales have been short sales as banks, not wanting to foreclose, are now more open to short sales and loan modifications. Many of the homes currently in foreclosure do not hit the market as bank owned REO's. Instead, the banks approve short sales and loan modifications. So the number of foreclosures that hit the market is being reduced. Plus, in California, there continues to be moratoriums on foreclosures so that banks have more time to find ways to keep homeowners in their homes.

As usual, our real estate definitions are of great value here ....

Houses sell for current market value which is described as what buyers have paid recently for similar homes. The prices of houses go up and down strictly based on current supply and demand statistics; supply being how many houses are available for sale, demand being how many houses have sold in a given period of time. All other economic factors ... such as interest rate changes, economic conditions in the area, job creation, unemployment, etc., directly affect supply and demand. By looking at supply and demand statistics you can determine where houses prices currently are at.... and where they will be going in the future.

4 months supply of houses is considered a balanced market. Less than 4 months supply is considered a sellers market; prices go up in a sellers market. More than 4 months supply of houses is considered a buyers market; house prices go down in a buyers market. The less supply of houses available, say 1-2 months supply ... house prices may go up 10-15% per year. Eager buyers bid the prices up and market value rises.

Here are a number of recent articles that show where real estate is heading. Please bear in mind that the real estate industry, as a whole, is very dynamic!! Meaning, that prices, inventory, and what generally happens in the real estate market changes all of the time .... And that it changes very quickly.

Reports on the strong increase in house sales over the past 30-60 days.

http://www.dqnews.com/Articles/2009/News/California/Bay-Area/RRBay090716.aspx

US economy is improving 6/2009 .... Current information ...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090720/ap_on_bi_ge/us_economy

Our blog info on the recent success stories on short sales.

http://www.dqnews.com/Articles/2009/News/California/Bay-Area/RRBay090716.aspx

Buyer information on how to purchase a home.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ibd/20090709/bs_ibd_ibd/20090709realestate

Seller price reductions are getting houses sold.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090710/bs_nm/us_usa_economy_housing

The Lyons Real Estate Report is distributed monthly to approx. 950 households in the Tri Valley area. If you'd like to receive this report monthly, or if you'd like to unsubscribe, please send me an email at realestate@tomlyons.com

Thanks!

Tom

Short Sale update for Summer 2009 ...

We've had a number of short sales close over the past 60 days. Many of these we worked on from anywhere from 4-8 months before finally getting all approvals.

Banks, right now, want to complete the short sales .... in fact, a couple of the major banks, notably Wells / Wachovia, B of A, and others have hired additional people and set up special loss mitigation departments in order to expedite these short sales.

Banks are finally getting the message .... that is, it is in their best interests to approve the short sale rather than foreclose on the property. Their bottom line is better ..... foreclosing on the property, putting it into their REO inventory and then reselling the property, down the line, eventually costs the bank much more money ..... most banks finally understand that.

What we are finding out is this:

1. The timeframe to complete a short sale, from A-Z, is still very lengthy .... anywhere from 4-6 months.

2. Most banks handle these situations more efficiently than they did in 2008. However, delays still arise mostly because these banks are dealing with thousands of new short sale requests on a daily basis.

3. Banks still try and milk every single penny that they can out of the deal .... by cutting $$$ anywhere they can. (Our commissions being the first thing on the chopping block.)

4. Many banks now try and execute deficiency judgements against the former owner .... if not that, they will try and get the owner to sign a promissory note for the short fall. Lawyers are now very busy dealing with these two issues .... with many lawyers not able to take on new short sale clients because they are too busy with existing ones. Depending on the loan type, bank, location of house, state, etc., banks may have some legal recourse against the previous owner for the short fall. (Another area where realtors need to develop some knowledge / expertise.)

For Buyers, purchasing a short sale continues to be an excellent avenue to purchase a home at a great price, and in some cases, avoid all of the competitive buyers out there presently bidding on REO's. The downfall, for buyers, continues to be the long waiting period .... many times without getting any kind of update with what is actually going on.

Looks like the good deals, for buyers who want to purchase short sale properties here in Alameda County California, are going to continue into the foreseeable future.

Thanks for reading!!

Tom

realestate@tomlyons.com

925-215-1105