Coweta Real Estate / Vanessa Calhoun

This lovely 3 bedroom/ 2.5 bathroom townhome features a single car garage, open family room, spacious floorplan, and easy interstate access! MOVE-IN READY!!!! The owner originally financed the purchase of this home for $111,600 in 2005 and re-financed in 2007 for $116,500. The seller owed $114,000 on the existing mortgage. We sold the property on 2/7/2011 for $39,000 and the seller walked away from this dreadful mortgage owing the mortgage company NOTHING! Yep, the seller received a full waiver of liability!!!

This lovely two story traditional home sits on a full, unfinished basement and features a formal living room, formal separate dining room, cozy family room w/ corner fireplace & full view to spacious kitchen w/ center island & breakfast area. The upstairs features an open loft area and spacious bedrooms. The oversized master bedroom features a spacious sitting area and tons of natural light! Master bath features jacuzzi tub, separate shower, massive walk-in closet for only $139,900!!!

Homeowner had one mortgage for $250,000. We sold it on February 3,2011 for $143,692 and the homeowner received a FULL WAIVER OF LIABILITY from the lien holder!!! He owes his former mortgage company absolutely NOTHING!!!!

Well....after all of the hoopla from last month's report that Wells Fargo will no longer postpone foreclosures on short sales, NAR reports that they've been in meetings with Wells (and several other large lenders) to address concerns regarding their short sale processes and REO disposition processes. Now, Wells is reporting that they WILL allow one (1) foreclosure postponement on a short sale if the following conditions are met...

1) Wells Fargo has an APPROVED short sale contract in hand (including all junior liens approvals as well).

2) Buyer's financing has been APPROVED or Buyer has POF

3) Closing can occur within 30 days of the scheduled foreclosure date

Of course, this raises questions regarding whether or not they will postpone foreclosures while THEY'RE in the process of approving the offer or if they'll just turn a blind eye and proceed with the foreclosure. PLUS..this "new" policy is only in affect for mortgages actually owned by Wells Fargo or acquired through their acquisition of Wachovia...AND, not to mention, Wells Fargo has advised that they are willing to address each transaction on a "case by case" basis. So what does this mean??? Absolutely nothing to us who are in the trenches on a daily basis negotiating and facilitating short sale transactions. It means that we will have to diligently continue to escalate, beg, plead, offer our first born, or whatever it takes to save a homeowner from foreclosure. It is my earnest prayer that the banks realize that our national economy rests largely upon the housing industry AND preventing foreclosures is a viable solution in getting the housing sector back on track by 1) preventing neighborhood blight, 2) mitigating further losses to property values, and 3) encouraging a more positive outlook in homeownership.

Realistically speaking, we exist in a microcosm in which Middle America and Corporate America MUST work together...when will we finally realize that our national economic stability relies upon our ability to play in the sandbox together?

Recently, I attended another short sale class (because we can NEVER learn enough about these lovely suckers) and was totally floored when the instructor handed out blank HUD-1 Settlement Statements, and began to "instruct" the class on how to complete them. I watched as a class full of Realtors who were fairly new to the world of short sales intently listened and filled out the form as instructed. I quietly listened to her (while making an attempt to not show the disguest and horror on my face) and allowed her to finish her "instruction". Afterwards, I asked, "why wouldn't you allow the closing attorney to complete it since they can also run checks to ascertain if there are any liens on the property?" Her reply was "you can as long as you can get an attorney to do one for you"....My mouth dropped open! Maybe Donaghue & Chandler in Newnan, GA have me spoiled, but I HONESTLY thought that preparing a preliminary HUD-1 Settlement Statement was the duty of the closing attorney.....AND I've NEVER been turned down for a request for one on any of my short sales. In fact, if I ever came across an attorney who refused to provide a preliminary HUD-1 Settlement Statement on a closing that's happening in their office, I would simply take my business elsewhere. PERIOD...Am I crazy or is this the norm???

The National Association of Realtors has reported that pending home sales have increased 5.2%, which was mostly unexpected by some due to the dramatic drop of home sales in July....

Was it that unexpected???? Not really, in my honest opinion. In our local market, we saw a gigantic increase in pending home sales during the month of March. No big surprise since buyers in most markets took advantage of the tax credit - especially at the last minute. Simply stated, those who were able to purchase sapped up our existing inventory and those who weren't...didn't. However, they did go home and work on those issues needed to increase their score, saved a little more money....and 5 to 6 months later.... VOILA!!!

I know that there's chatter about another homebuyer tax credit, but the peaks and valleys brought on by the first one is just too much for my skittish nature. I think that it's time for us to allow the market to correct itself.