Cimpler Blog

Short Sales for 2nd homes

2008-07-28T04:07:56Z

I would appreciate if you could share your experience with short sales for 2nd homes, especially experience with short sale for 2nd homes in Las Vegas:

Do you know how are lenders treating

- Las Vegas
- second homes?
- Second homes in Las Vegas

I had an inquiry from a client who was renting her 2nd home in Las Vegas, however for quite sometime she cannot rent it out and looking for options. I do a lot of short sales in California, but none for 2nd homes and none in Las Vegas.

Need to complain about Indymac no more

2008-07-12T11:12:49Z

A lot of us are actively involved processing shor sales with Indymac. There was a lot of frustration out there with the way Indymac was procesing files (Indymac is a pain). The need to complain is no more. Indymac was taken over by the Government.

Now we have to anxiously wait to see what happens to Indymac's assets and who and when will take over loss mitigation function of Indymac. I have two current sales being processed (close to 6 months each). I received short sale payoff approvals on both, however there was a mixup with the one and it was transferred to the trustee after the short sale payoff was agreed to. For last 3 weeks they were reversing the process, but I am afraid that it will not happen.

Read here about the collapse background: The Fall of IndyMac

Boston Masacre

2008-06-19T02:14:15Z

A few days ago I asked "Can Lakers recover?" . They couldn't . San Francisco Chronicle and a few other newspapers called their 6th and decisive loss by 39 points to Boston Celtics a "Boston Masacre"!

Congratulations all Celtics fans!

Here in the Bay Area we are thinking already about the new season. Hopefully Warriors will make it playoff next time!

Euro Cup 2008 Quarterfinals

2008-06-19T01:55:41Z

Are you a soccer fan? The stage foe quarterfinals is set! Here is paring of 8 quarterfinalists for the Europe Cup 2008:

06/19/2008 Portugal - Germany @ 2:45 p.m. ET
06/20/2008 Croatia - Turkey @ 2:45 p.m. ET
06/21/2008 Netherlands - Russia @ 2:45 p.m. ET
06/22/2008 Spain - Italy @ 2:45 p.m. ET

Here are my picks: Portugal, Croatia, Netherlands and Spain.

Biggest surprises untl now? Elimination of France, Check Republic and Sweden.

Why loss mitigation and short sales are not happening?

2008-06-16T22:26:05Z

Many of us realized that lenders and mortgage servicers are giving short sales a “cold shoulder”. It simply doesn’t make sense that lenders and mortgage servicers don’t seem to care for success of short sales, as they don’t seem to have incentives (!) to do so. A good friend of mine and even better broker sent me a link to the excellent article from Money magazine – “WHY MORE HOMEOWNERS AREN’T GETTING HELP? It is an eye opener.

Did you know “that servicers have financial reasons for not helping homeowners who fall behind? As middlemen, they are paid a small percentage - usually 0.25% - of the principal of each loan they administer (0.5% for subprime loans). That's about $250 for every $100,000 borrowed, about $21 a month. But when borrowers fall behind, late fees alone can be $25 or more and exceed what servicers may be paid to maintain an up-to-date loan.”

Mortgage servicers do have a little incentive to do so. One my wonder, why the same happens with lenders who do both, keep loans and service them. The answer to it might be quite easy. Loss mitigation, foreclosures and loan servicing are done by different departments. Those of us who have a corporate background know very well that corporate departments are measured on departmental goals and not on corporate goals (most of the time). Thus, being from different department might separate loan mitigation, foreclosures and loan servicing departments well enough for all of them not to share the common goal – helping their clients to keep properties.

Additionally, loss mitigation and loan workout cost money. Obviously, neither lender not mortgage servicers like the idea of spending money to loose money through short sales and other option. However, what they have to realize, that they will loose much les money, than through foreclosures. So, someone in the loan industry has to wake up. Helping homeowners helps you (I hope it does not sound to novel!). To find out more about pain, despair and confusion among homeowners facing loss of their properties check also Credit Consequences of Short Sales

Did you know?

2008-06-14T22:34:53Z

Did you know that Point Montara Lighthouse on the San Mateo Count coast, California was moved there from Mayo's Beach near Wellfleet, MA on Cape Code? It was built in 1881 and "lost" approximately 80 years ago. However it actually was disassembled and moved across the country in the late 1920s. To read more please click on History comes to light, an article by Carl Nolte published in today's San Francisco Chronicle. Carl is Chronicle's staff writer. "The discovery first came to light in the Lighthouse Digest, a Maine-based magazine that is to lighthouse fans what Fortune magazine is to financiers. The digest published a story in its June issue by Colleen MacNeney, whose parents, Robert and Sandra Shanklin, have photographed every lighthouse in the United States and Puerto Rico."

Doesn't he sound like Clinton?

2008-06-14T00:06:55Z

"Worst (is) over for U.S. if financial crisis ends" according to Greenspan, Doesn't sound it like "It is going to stay dry if it doesn't rain" or very "Clintonesque" (read: says nothing)? Here is the link to the Reuters news CLIP. I guess now we understand better Greenspan's attitude towards negative ammortization loans when he said "They will help you if they don't hurt you first!" (just joking - he didn't say that. It just feels like he did!)

HotPads

2008-06-13T22:16:38Z

Have you looked to HotPads service? If not, make sure you do. It is another easy to use tool (like Trulia or Zillow) empowering clients and helping them to make a decison rent vs. buy. They have just introduced rent ratio heat maps. They allow users to visualize sale and rental properties and thus help them to make a decision. Check it up as it is quite neat. It is always good what your clients might know!

Can Lakers recover?

2008-06-13T05:25:41Z

Lakers fans out there! Can Lakers recover? I guess we have to go with Kobe said - "We're thinking about beating them on Sunday,'' Bryant said. "Then, you move on from there. Take one swing at a time to chop down a tree. We'll take care of business on Sunday.''

So on Sunday I will have to share my time between 2 soccer games (Are you a soccer fan?) and Lakers - Celtic game. No Open Houses! after all it is Father's Day! OK, iI let my family to take me for lunch or dinner as well!

Happy Father's day to all soccer and basketball fans out there!

Why NAR shouldn’t Ban Short sales

2008-06-13T04:58:59Z

You possibly have read the post “NAR should ban Short Sales”. Let me strongly disagree. Even if they could, they shouldn’t. We all need succesfull short sales and no-one more than lenders. I understand the frustration with the process. Lenders present to us total inability to handle the volume. But it is not just the volume. Most lenders “defend” themselves from doing short sales in a false hope that right after foreclosure, the price will move up again. They simply didn’t adjust to the new reality that it might take a while for prices to start moving up again. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that lenders have to maximize the success of their loss mitigation departments to reduce the number of foreclosures. There are many ways to do that and short sale are one of the most effective ways of doing it. So, to save themselves and to reduce the number of foreclosures, lenders have to fix the short sale process. They have to regain consumers and agents confidence in the process. Is it easy? No, it is not. Is it possible? Yes, it is. There are many things that can be done and lenders should do them, but I will talk about it another time. In the meantime, if it was up to you to fix short sale process what would you do? There many of us and maybe lenders will start listening.

Are you a soccer fan?

2008-06-13T04:11:59Z

Are you a soccer fan? I am . So, if I didn't have a full time job, I am trying to see as much of the Euro Cup as possible. For us in the West games are at 9 AM and 11:45 AM, so while watching both of them would be highly desirable it is rather impossible to accomplish. Nevertheless, I managed to see a few interesting moments of the Croatia win over Germany (Viva Croatia!) and most of the Austria - Poland game. Tomorrow is a game no soccer fan can miss - Netherlands against France. So, my days are becoming longer and longer!

Who is your pick to win this year? Netherlands, Croatia, Spain or....? Are France, Germany and Italy going to shake up their initial losses? What do you think?

“People Pleasers” and Happiness

2008-06-13T03:36:17Z

While taking my kids to soccer practice or to a doctor, I make sure to have my PC with me. Phones are banned in most of lobbies, so returning your calls is not an option. Yesterday, I forgot to take my PC and as a result I was sentenced to scanning through the magazines available in the lobby of my son’s doctor. I got my hands on the June issue of the Parenting Magazine and I started to read an article "about raising happy, confident kids”.

Before I could read the entire article, I got stuck on the fragment stating that "raising confident and happy and confident kids” is opposite to raising “people pleasers”. The difference in our approach to raising girls and boys was given as a “proof”. Authors gave the advice to discourage “maternal” instincts of girls to help them to become more confident and thus happier in their lives. I have to say that I was stun by the assertion that being too much of a “people pleaser” might prevent you from becoming happy. Do we have to shape our kids to become self confident jerks to enable them to become happy? I have a huge problem with this, I have to say.

So, I have a question to all of you. Do you think that being “kind” and “personable” makes it more difficult to be happy in life? Would you want your parents to discourage your “maternal” and “kind” instincts to help you become more confident? Do you think that it would make you happier today? Are these two features so completely opposite? I am really curious your thoughts on the subject. Is there a “golden” mix of “self-confidence” and “people pleasing” behavior that could make us happier?

Please support Vlad Zablotsky

2008-06-09T00:25:36Z

ePerks filed a frivolous lawsuit against a blogger - Vlad Zablotskyy. You can read about details at Bloodhound Blog: Support the Vlad Zablotskyy Legal Defense Fund: A real estate weblogger is being throttled by corporate bully ePerks.com. Greg Swann, the author of the post set up a Legal Defense Fund for Vlad. Additionally you can read about at Broker Science Beginning of the End: ePerks CEO Ben Behrouzi Sues Blogger, Confirms No Strategy in Place
a post by Trace Richardson. He also posted it here at Active Rain: Real Estate Blog - Real Estate Blogger Vlad Zablotkyy Sued by ...

Support Vlad Zablotskyy's Defense Fund
Defend your own right to free speech!

California Association of Realtors sees "the light"

2008-05-31T04:03:36Z

Better late than never:

"The (California) state Realtor group announced this month that 61 MLSs and local Realtor groups in the state have sent non-binding letters of intent to participate in the statewide MLS effort. There are 70 MLSs in the state."

"The goal is to launch the statewide database either in the last quarter of this year or the first quarter of 2009."

Trulia is setting not a bad example on how the search could (or should) look like that MLS' cannot disregard anymore. Have you seen new Trulia's listing capabilities? Quite remarkable. At the sam time Trulia is getting hit by capturing unethically hijacking street addresses, but overall, the Trulia team is putting the hit on "pre-historic" MLS'.

Check also:

California: MLS in Turmoil

Who Started the Real Estate Revolution?

Directory of my NAR and MLS related posts

Senate panel passes housing rescue plan

2008-05-21T01:47:57Z

One of the key problem faced by home owners facing foreclosures is inability to refinance. The House has just approved the rescue plan to provide cheaper, government-backed mortgages to half a million debt-ridden borrowers. The plan would let the Federal Housing Administration take on up to $300 billion in new mortgages.

You can read more about it in "Senate panel passes housing rescue plan". "Under the plan, lenders who agree to erase a large share of the original loan amount could win a government guarantee on future mortgage payments. Both the Senate bill and a similar plan passed by the House of Representatives earlier this month would create a fund under the Federal Housing Administration to allow distressed homeowners to refinance into government-guaranteed loans."

Check also: Credit Consequences of the Short Sale

Power of Human Spirit, Honesty and Ingenuity

2008-05-21T01:19:18Z

You possibly read my post on Credit Consequences of the Short Sale. I wanted to share with you another story. I decided to do it in a separate post as while it is sad story it is also a wonderful example of human spirit, honesty and ingenuity.

Yesterday, I received another call from a homeowner with a question regarding options to get his life back on track. He and his family came to this country 7 years ago. 3 years ago they were able to fulfill their American dream and they bought a house. The house was very expensive and monthly payments were high. He had to refinance it and take additional equity to stay afloat. The mortgage payments continued to be hard to make, but he persisted in his struggle to make payments on time. His house lost over 20% in its value, but he continued making payments. Late payments or default on payments was not acceptable options for him. He depleted his savings to protect his FICO score (it is still above 750). Unfortunately a few weeks ago he lost his job (his wife is not working as she is taking care of their two young children). The struggle to keep making payments depleted all their cash reserves and they started to borrow against their credit cards. Like many others in the Credit Consequences of the Short Sale post, he will have to resort to drastic steps to get his and his family lives back on track. But what is really remarkable about him is that he came with many very creative ideas of how, with a little bit of help from his lenders he could get back on track. As lenders will not listen (they simply have no system in place to do so and are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of mortgage defaults), he will attempt to sell his house "short" and in the process of the short sale to present his ideas to loss mitigation departments for consideration.

How did we miss another bubble?

2008-04-23T04:36:41Z

A friend pointed me to the following article recently:

Home Ownership in a Bubble: A Fast Path to Poverty?

The most fascinating for me is that this article by Dean Baker and Simon Baribeau was written in 2003! Were we all blind? How is it possible, especially here in California that we walked from one bubble (dot com) to another? The warning signs were all around us. Were we too greedy to resist temptation? Or we trusted “our economic” leaders too much?

Obviously, the feds took advantage of our love and desire for our own place and gave us tax breaks to lure us in. Tax breaks helped to stimulate the economy and the overall growth. But when stimulation became the over stimulation?

FINALLY!!! - Bay Area MLSs "see the light"

2008-04-23T03:35:17Z

In December 2006 I posted information on progress of MLS consolidation in the Bay Area:

California: MLS in Turmoil

A few month later, in my post

Who Started the Real Estate Revolution?

I lamented at that time that MLS owners don't seem to understand what clients want and pointed to these companies that know: Trulia and Zillow. Many things happened since and most of the Bay Area MLSs joined either Quattro or NCREX (NCREX changed its name since to MLSListings). Despite all these changes – Quattro was in denial of the reality (clients’ demand for better public search capabilities) and discontinued it public search! Quattro management (or was it San Francisco Association of Realtors?) hoped that clients will go to individual brokers to do their search. Clients had a different idea, however, and switched to Trulia instead.

Today - MLSListings announced that it will partner with Quattro (the MLS's of the San Francisco Association of REALTORS®, BAREIS, and MetroList) to create the largest and most complete MLS data-share in Northern California. MLSListings announced today that it will partner with Quattro (the MLS's of the San Francisco Association of REALTORS®, BAREIS, and MetroList) to create the largest and most complete MLS data-share in Northern California.

This is great news for agents and brokers and it is great news for the clients as well. Competition starts bringing results benefiting us all.

Edgeio closed the door

2008-04-14T03:06:27Z

I am really slow these days- before I could really figure out who and why should be using it - Edgeio closed the door. Yes, I syndicated my listings to edgeio, but couldn't understand why anyone would go there to look for real estate listings. Here is an announcement from their website (http://www.edgeio.com):

February 2, 2008

edgeio assets sold to Looksmart and Vast.com

edgeio’s assets were sold in December 2007, partly to Looksmart (the live service; the patents; the code; the trademarks) and partly to Vast.com (the real-estate related services).

Please direct all inquiries to one of those companies.

This blog will remain in existence as a historical record of edgeio.

edgeio was an audacious effort to build a fully distributed classified advertising platform for the Internet. It allowed any web site to post classifieds whilst having them syndicated, through edgeio, to any other web site. Aggregation and Distribution are going to be key to may new applications which seek to provide the glue between publishers and readers. edgeio can serve as a model for developers and product designers who seek to build on its legacy.

So, I looked for more informattion to understand what really happened. Here are some links:

What do you think about the future of Primerica?

2008-04-14T01:58:21Z

For those who don't know who Primerica is, the following text is taken from their website:

"Primerica’s roots date back to 1977 when the company embarked on a crusade to transform the life insurance industry. Primerica’s “Buy Term and Invest the Difference” philosophy encourages middle-income families to purchase affordable term life insurance so they can have more money to invest in their family’s future. Later, Primerica expanded its crusade to address the number one financial disease facing families today: debt. Primerica offers solutions to help families eliminate crippling debt from their household finances and save more of their hard-earned money for the future."

They use the multilevel "Amway" like marketing approach to selling financial services. Just by curiosity I "googled" - Good and bad about Primerica. Here are links to several posts trying to answer this question:

There are many, many more.

Here is my question (please forgive my an exaggeration): "Can company like Primerica, which markets to primarily "underinformed" clients using "underinformed" agents survive and prosper in the Internet age? What do you think? Will they have to change the way they do business or people always will believe things they might here from other people than they read on Internet?

Spring menu at Lure

2008-04-14T01:00:54Z

Lure Restaurant invites for a spring dinner and opportunity to taste wine from the Halter Ranch Vineyard. Check ythe menu and make reservation!

Lure Restaurant Presents:

Halter Ranch Wine Pairing Dinner

Sunday, April 27, 2008

6:00 p.m.

Enjoy a sumptuous five-course meal crafted by Chef May Yong

to showcase a range of wines from Halter Ranch Vineyard & Winery of

Paso Robles. On hand will be Winery Representative, Jim Whit,

to guide us through the evening’s selection.

Experience how well these wines pair with food, and then stop by

750ml Wine Lounge & Retail Store to purchase your favorites.

Featured Menu

First Course

Kona Kampachi Carpaccio with Strawberries, Radish,

with Pimente de Esplette

Paired with: 2007 Halter Ranch GSM Rosé

Second Course

Spring Risotto with Florida Rock Shrimp, Pea Tendrils, and

Bellweather Farms Ricotta Cheese

Paired with: 2006 Halter Ranch Viognier

Third Course

Pork Shoulder Rillette and Lacquered Pork Belly with Golden Beet

Slaw, and Plum Balsamic Reduction

Paired with: 2005 Halter Ranch GSM Red

Fourth Course

Roast Venison Loin with Spiced Blackberry Sauce with Braised

Baby Greens, and Farina

Paired with: 2004 Halter Ranch Syrah

Dessert Course

Black Currant Mousse and Vanilla Custard Vacherin

Paired with: 2005 Halter Ranch “El Pecado” Port

$120/++ per person

Includes a sparkling wine reception and bottled water service.

Reservations are going quickly, so call (650) 340-9040 today to book your space!

Check also:

Need help for my son

2008-03-14T18:38:13Z

Hi,

My son is a sophomore at NYU. For the 2nd year he is staying in the dorm. In the fall he and his friends would like to rent in Greenwich Village or its proximity. They (4 of them together) are thinking about sharing a 4 bedroom apartment. They think that they will be able to do it for $3500 to $4000 a month. I would appreciate your advice regarding going rates, availability and time frame (when they have to "lock it in". How much should they "reserve" for utilities? What are the best websites for students? Any advice would be appreciated.

Has FICO score penalty for short sale increased?

2008-03-13T03:18:13Z

In my post Credit consequences of the Short Sale we came to a joint conclusion that the FICO score penalty for short sale is 150 points and for foreclosure 300 points. I have just received an email from myFICO stating that there is no difference in the penalty for short sale and foreclosure:

"However, as far as your FICO score in concerned, there is no difference between foreclosures and short sales or deeds-in-lieu of foreclosures."

Is that true? Has it changed in the new FICO algorithm or was it the case all along? Or, possibly, it varies dependent on some other factors? I would appreciate your comments very much.

Short Sales: Are lenders becoming more responsive?

2008-03-13T02:55:04Z

At the end of August I posted a question regarding Credit consequences of the Short Sale and received many wonderful replies. Since then I closed several short sales myself. Every time it was a frustrating experience. Based on this experience I came up with a mini-process for short sale and I give it to my potential short sale sellers and buyers, before they decide to go ahead with it. Here it is:

1. Fax or mail the short sale package (missing a single documents or lender misplacing it can cost anywhere from a week to 6 weeks delay) - I have not found a lender that allows you to submit a short sale package electronically!).

2. Lenders enter your information to their computer system (3 days to 2 weeks)3. Short sale package is sent for review. If you have all documents - it can take up to 30 days. If not - see above.
4. If review is positive - lender assigns a negotiator; you might be lucky and receive his/her name and direct email and phone number; it is much easier from this point (of course this is relative)
5. Negotiator sends an offer letter - we usually are getting 2 to 4 weeks for closing, but as you have seen below - it might be shorter.
6. 48 hrs to COE - a real headache. You go back and force to the lender and hope for the best.

At the same time I have recently heard from a few colleagues that their short sales were much less frustrating and lenders were more responsive. Have you noticed it on your short sales? As volume of short sales is increasing, do you see improvement in lenders response or just opposite - lenders are getting slower and slower. I would appreciate if you could share your experience.

San Mateo County prices in December 2007

2008-01-27T02:14:05Z

I would like to share you December 2007 sales data for San Mateo County (courtesy of Ann Palermo from Old Republic Title). While the volume of sold houses is only 50% of the volume year ago, you might be surprised to find out that in most of the San Mateo County sale prices in December 2007 were higher or even much higher than in December 2006 (Belmont, San Carlos, Burlingame, Millbrae, Menlo Park and Redwood City).

County/City/Area

# Sold

Dec. 2007

Dec. 2006

% Change
Yr-to-Yr

San Mateo County	320	$735,000	$745,500	-1.41%
BELMONT	17	$1,005,000	$800,000	25.63%
BURLINGAME	31	$1,590,000	$1,325,000	20.00%
DALY CITY	39	$583,000	$722,500	-19.31%
HALF MOON BAY	9	$840,000	$899,000	-6.56%
MENLO PARK	16	$772,500	$644,000	19.95%
MILLBRAE	8	$956,500	$934,750	2.33%
MOSS BEACH	3	$833,000	n/a	n/a
PACIFICA	12	$625,000	$655,000	-4.58%
REDWOOD CITY	43	$837,500	$755,000	10.93%
SAN BRUNO	18	$627,500	$698,000	-10.10%
SAN CARLOS	17	$1,035,000	$845,000	22.49%
SAN MATEO	69	$735,000	$739,500	-0.61%
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO	27	$567,000	$730,000	-22.33%

Additionally, please take a notice that the 30 y fixed loans for the amounts up to $417k is as low as 4.875% at the present time. The limit might bes soon increased to $729,500 (however, just for one year). So, watch the news as it might be a good time, either to buy, or refinance.

Cimpler Blog

Short Sales for 2nd homes

Need to complain about Indymac no more

Boston Masacre

Euro Cup 2008 Quarterfinals

06/19/2008 Portugal - Germany @ 2:45 p.m. ET

06/20/2008 Croatia - Turkey @ 2:45 p.m. ET

06/21/2008 Netherlands - Russia @ 2:45 p.m. ET

06/22/2008 Spain - Italy @ 2:45 p.m. ET

Why loss mitigation and short sales are not happening?

Did you know?

Doesn't he sound like Clinton?

HotPads

Can Lakers recover?

Why NAR shouldn’t Ban Short sales

Are you a soccer fan?

“People Pleasers” and Happiness

Please support Vlad Zablotsky

California Association of Realtors sees "the light"

Senate panel passes housing rescue plan

Power of Human Spirit, Honesty and Ingenuity

How did we miss another bubble?

FINALLY!!! - Bay Area MLSs "see the light"

Who Started the Real Estate Revolution?

Edgeio closed the door

February 2, 2008

edgeio assets sold to Looksmart and Vast.com

Real Estate Blog - Take Edgeio Off Your Listing Presentations

Real Estate Blog - News: EDGEIO will shut it's doors.

Real Estate Blog - Edgeio is up for Auction

What do you think about the future of Primerica?

Spring menu at Lure

Need help for my son

Has FICO score penalty for short sale increased?

Short Sales: Are lenders becoming more responsive?

San Mateo County prices in December 2007