Have you seen the new Bank of America/Countrywide short sale approval letter? It is sending shockwaves to unsuspecting short sale sellers. Here is a portion of the new approval letter:
The key statement of concern is Bank of America "may pursue a deficiency judgment for the difference in the payment received and the total balance due..." There are two contradictory elements in the demand letter:
1. The letter states that Bank of America has "agreed to accept a short payoff". Now, how can they "accept" a short payoff, then state they "might" collect the rest? They either are or are not.
2. It states "there may be tax consequences for entering into a short sale". Again, the statement concedes it is a "short sale", and alludes to the 1099-C, where cancelled debt is reported to the IRS. Either the debt is cancelled or it is not. Why would Bank of America reference short sale tax consequences if they were, in fact, collecting all the debt?
Neither contradiction supports their reference to collect the deficiency in the future. Since I have had several concerned sellers who have received this approval letter, I emailed a Bank of America escalation negotiator to get their explanation. Here is what they said:
Countrywide/Bank of America cannot remove the deficiency verbiage from the approval letter. We must reserve the right to collect the unpaid balance of the loan for the benefit of our investors and mortgage insurance companies that insures payment on the loan. The purpose of the short sale letter is to properly disclose this to the borrower so they may consider all of their options with respect to their mortgage loan.
In my experience with short sales, I have never know anyone to pursue the deficiency once the short sale has closed.
So, how can you alleviate concerns when receiving this letter? Of course, talk to your attorney if you do not feel comfortable, but consider the alternatives if you do not accept the short sale. Deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, which will produce the same deficiency, and be worse on future borrowing ability? Or foreclosure, with severe future borrowing constraints, liabilities and consequences? None of the choices are that palatable, but short sale is still clearly your best option.
It's Wendy!
Wendy Rulnick, Broker, CRP, CRS, GRI, ABR Rulnick Realty, Inc.
This site, Wendy Rulnick or Rulnick Realty, Inc. is not providing legal or tax advice. The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only. It is recommended that sellers considering a short sale should consult an independent legal and tax advisor for more information.
You may have requested a loan modification and been told by your bank that it has recomended that you qualify for a short sale, just give me a call. You deserve dignity and care in the handling of your listing. No embarrassing sign will be installed in your yard, discretion and utmost concern for your privacy is ensured.
The process is lengthy and should be discussed at length. Call me today for a confidential meeting to discuss the process. Homes are selling and short sales can succeed, they do not need to be stressful. Your situation is unique.
Short sale simply means I market your home, find a buyer who is willing to pay current market value for your home, we present the buyer's offer to your mortgage holder and request that they accept that offer as payment for your current loan, they pay the costs of sale and your life can move on.
Foreclosure is the result of waiting far into the process, your home can still go onto the market as a short sale to prevent a foreclosure from your credit record.
Banks are more willing to agree to this sort of settlement due to government assistance with this process.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to find active listings that match the needs of my buyer clients in the Vacaville single family home market. This shows a local housing recovery and a healthy increase in the number of homes sold. December 2008 more than double the number of homes sold in Vacaville than the year before in December.
Foreclosure actions have been on hold for a few weeks and banks are supposed to be working with homeowners in distress situations but expect more NODs soon. Banks have been actively working with short sale offers and REO bank owned homes have been going into escrow with multiple offers.
Currently there are 296 single family homes (@ $177/sf average list price) on the market in Vacaville today Feb 3, 2009. (Prices range from $79,000 up to $1,375,000 with the average 1911sf home priced at $350,719).
FHA minimum down payments were increased to 3.5% on Jan 1st, 2009, the max limits for these loans was capped out at $400,200 after almost 9 months of being at $417,000 in Solano county.
Energy efficient mortgages and more agreeable REO banks have put the bank owned homes into better condition for today's buyers.
Don't forget to procure a one year home warranty on these homes since they are buying properties with few disclosures on them by the banks' own admission, they are not the occupants, banks don't know the condition of the homes.
Write to your congressman/woman and let them know that it would surely be a good thing that if at some time the current family living in that home could be given the same offer/opportunity as the buyers are offered in a short sale or REO purchase, many people have time and many times much money invested in that home and are just as likely deserving of consideration. Keeping the homeowner in their home is not a bad thing.
Kaiser hospital has built a green building in North Vacaville, they have nearly finished it, and yet again this year they have delayed the opening until next year. Bad economy is not helping it, but we still like seeing our new hospital because we know they must someday open it, because there it is.
Last month, November 2008, they did open up some of the medical specialty offices in the new hospital. This place is built green and it is green. SCIF, State Compensation Insurance just opened up a new, large office complex of buildings, put the solar panels up over the parking lot, shading the employees' cars, this will serve as a nice surprise in the summer when the employees get into their cars after working all day and the car is not so hot in the summer sun.
Located in Vacaville California, one of the greenest spots in America in the right winter months, the beautiful hills that surround Vacaville are gently rolling green hills, the rest of the year they are the golden hills.
Vacaville is fast becoming the green and solar capital of the United States as it boasts many solar power stations installed at several local companies most recently including Mariani Fruit which is one of the original Vacaville mainstays in the days when Vacaville first became a settlement for the modern inhabitants of the 1800s when Juan Vaca and Juan Pena first brought their families here to live, relocating from New Mexico, they found the beauty and soil to be perfect for growing fruit and planted their families and their orchards here.
The city of Winters maintains a perfect balance of soil, weather and farmers who support and grow the finest walnuts in the world, Mariani Fruit handles the bulk of the walnut harvest and processing with a facility in Winters to be near the growers and their main packaging and transportation center in Vacaville where they just energized their new solar plant on site.
Also, Alza Corp or as they are now known as Johnson and Co, also operate their own solar array in Vacaville, not more than a mile from Mariani Fruit.
P G & E sub-station in Vacaville also offers natural gas pumps for those cars that use that fuel, and other electric car charging stations are conveniently located all over the bay area as well. Vacaville, Dixon, Davis and West Sacramento fully support the alternate fuels of the cars being developed in our backyards at the West Sacramento Fuel Cell Conglomerate building.
Experimentation of alternate ways to power vehicles will put California in front.
Solar power is such an interesting way to harvest electrical energy from the sun. It consists of a plate that is chemically layered with certain types of minerals and chemicals, they interact by differing from each other, and when exposed to the sun, they displace this difference and send it thru the wiring that is attached to the plates, if not used immediately by the load of a building or vehicle, this energy is instantly lost, so it must either be sent back to the electric grid if not used, or stored in batteries, since the power created is dc power, converters are used to change the power into AC current. If the power is sent to the grid, the power company is allowed to buy it directly from you, however interesting is that this will fast become another issue in the future as the power companies are already not willing to pay us the same amount of money per kilowatt hour as they charge us to get it. Legislation will have to address the issue. I believe the power companies are arguing that it costs money to take in power when their business is to sell power, not to buy it in small quantities from the general public.
Lastly, Vacaville is becoming the center of northern California for the number of solar homes they are building and have built in recent years. Most of these builders are installing a special roof tile that has the solar layers built right into them. Not all the roof tiles have the solar panels in them, and the power generated does not usually send the power back to the power company, but it sure helps with the bill! They call this spinning the meter backwards, and if you ever want to find out something interesting, try going out to your meter someday, have someone in the house turn lights and appliances on and off while the other person watches the meter spin. You will notice that the speed at which that wheel spins is in direct relation to how many things are on in your home, and they are not all equally as powerful at spinning the meter, your energy sucking appliances or the hanging light fixture with 9- 100 Watt bulbs may impress you when you watch it spin your meter! Power consumption is costly, with a little experimentation perhaps you can reduce your energy costs at home!
And this, my friend is the reason why you shouldn't make frivolous offers to the banks...they know the comps, their bottom line is time and price, time to close, price and no conditions, requests or contingencies.........KISS: Keep it simple stupid!
I was doing a brokers price opinion on a property today. I was reading the comments on a comp to help compare the comp to the subject property. The comp was bank owned. At the bottom mixed in with the boilerplate REO remarks was the following: "The bank is motivated but not stupid".
Awesome horse property includes brand new MD barn with 5 extra large paddocks and air conditioned wood panelled tack room, large porch and hay storage too, new 4 rail vinyl fencing. Second barn paddocks turn out to adjacent to fenced arena with sanded footing. Several pastures, seasonal creek, plenty of water domestic well, 3000 gal holding tank plus North Vacaville rural residential water connection too. Large 4 or 5 bedroom Spanish style 5 bedroom 3000sf+ residence features open floor plan, most ground floor rooms open to outdoors, tile and wood flooring, laundry room, updated kitchen, large living space, awesome upstairs master suite with spa-like bath area and sweeping territorial views of the beautiful English hills and trees, pastures. Stately courtyard has water feature and is large enough for large outdoor parties. Flower and fruit tree garden. Separate 4 car garage, large zoo-grade aviary with air conditioning. New 4 rail vinyul fencing and locked gate for privacy. Property currently being used for large animal ultrasound clinic, would be great for training facility, near trails and open space. Visit online tour at 7650Olivas.com or at VacaHomes.com -Realtor Barbara Adams with Kappel and Kappel Inc. 707-673-7500 Broker open tour this Tuesday Aug 19 from 9 am to 12 noon, brunch will be served.
I advertised and held an open house at 548 Feather River Way in Vacaville yesterday, I have 2 listings on this block, people looking at this open house also asked to see the other home for sale on the same street. I was happy to comply and went from one house to the other for 3 hours, bringing the groups of people back and forth and finding groups of people waiting at the front door of the other home.
This is a healthy sign of buyers being out and about, looking at homes again. Both of these homes are absolutely gorgeous homes in a fabulous location near Genentech and Alza in Vacaville in the Vacaville school district and are worth the attention they are getting.
The sun was shining, the birds were singing. These homes qualify for the FHA, VA or Cal Vet loan.
Located in Laurelwood at Browns Valley in Vacaville, and built in 2003 548 Feather River Way features a downstairs bedroom and full bath, large island kitchen, separate 3rd car garage/workshop/workout room. Fenced backyard, front courtyard with stamped concrete walkway nearly all the way around,stainless steel appliances, brand new granite counters, cherry cabinetry and the fabulous location close to Alza, Genentech, Mariani, State Compensation Insurance, new Kaiser hospital, Nut Tree Village, Millenium Sports club and so much more! Pet free home! 1943sf of living space, four bedrooms, three full baths on a large lot! Currently priced at $460,000 2003 built 1943sf Browns Valley home in Laurelwood on a larg corner lot AT THIS PRICE! WOW!
548 Feather River Way, take Vaca Valley Parkway to Shelter Cove, left on Feather River Way! See you there!
Barbara Adams, REALTOR 707-6-73-7500 Kappel and Kappel Inc VacaHomes.com
Today Feb 29,2008 Vacaville residential mls data were as follows:
452 Vacaville ACTIVE Single Family residential listings 99 Days on market average $438,382 Average List Price $238/sf average asking price on current active market 1856sf average size of the average home on the market
Dec 10, 2007 Market Stats Vacaville Active Listings 9:53 PM
Stats - Averages- Bareis MLS DEC 10, 2007 9:46PM
Listing $
SqFt
Listing Pr/SqFt
DOM
Residential (457)
$481,621
1876
$258
107
These stats are AVERAGE statistics for single family homes in Vacaville, Ca 12/10/2007 Active LISTINGS ONLY
The same criteria for August 27, 2006: 572 Vacaville ACTIVE SFR listings 72 Days on market average $526,782 Average list price $297/sf average asking price 1812sf Average size
Starting March 28, 2008 citizens of Dixon will be using new blue toter bins when dumping their trash each week. They will also have to learn a new way to park their toters, sideways, so they can dump the things into the trucks. Soon the new toter will be delivered to your home.
Vacaville California realtor outlines weekly activity in the local Solano and Yolo county real estate market with mls sales statistics open house results, photos, stories and information on new home projects.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
"accept" a short payoff, then state they "might" collect the rest? They either are or are not.
;)
;)
