Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team Blog

Foreclosure Walk Away Not Smart

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:05:24 -0600

Foreclosure Walk Away Not Smart

Times are tough all around. Many homeowners have slipped into delinquency or into foreclosure. Some consider just walking away from their home. You can just move out overnight while the neighbors aren't looking and walk away, say some! Others advise being so courteous as to send the keys to the first mortgage holder via U.S. mail, so-called "Jingle Mail!" Technically all these ways of handling foreclosure are known as abandonment.

What many homeowners do not realize is that in walking away they are also walking away from cash in their pockets! In the worst case, once a foreclosure sale (known as a trustee sale in Virginia) occurs the new owner (former first mortgage holder) is obliged to follow Virginia landlord tenant law to obtain possession of the house from its current occupants. The occupants are known as tenants at sufferance (that is the sufferance of the current owner, just like renters who overstay the end of their lease). In order to get them to move out swiftly, without requiring the cost and complexity of a full court-ordered eviction and the involvement of the local sheriff the bank will nearly always have the local real estate agent charged with handling the property offer what is known as a "Cash For Keys" (CFK) incentive to the occupants.

CFK is negotiable as to both amount and move-out period. It is not uncommon for occupants to be offered $2500-$4000 to vacate within 30 days. Typically the longer the occupancy period negotiated the lower the payment and vice versa. So the bank might initially offer $3000 to leave in 10 days, $2000 to leave in 20 days and $1000 to leave in 30 days.

The bank's alternative is formal forcible legal eviction. They will pursue this in parallel with the friendly eviction process involving CFK just in case CFK fails. If the occupants as for too much money or too long a period of time the bank may just choose to go to court, get their Writ In Unlawful Detained, engage the sheriff and evict the old-fashioned way.

Recent and continuing changes in federal law may increase the leverage of the occupants.

The bank deals with the occupants only. If the property was rented the CFK payment is going to the tenants, not the former owner!

There are usually better alternatives than to let foreclosure occur in the first place. The best way to learn about these is to contact a real estate team experienced in dealing with distressed properties and foreclosure avoidance situations.

(Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team are trained distressed property experts. We have handled over 150 bank-owned sales in the last two years (many of which required CFK arrangements to get the occupants out). We have handled over 350 transactions in the last 9 years in Northern Virginia. At any point in time we have multiple bank-owned and short sale property transactions in process ranging from pre-listing to listed to contract states. We deal with multiple distressed property situations every day.)

GOLD TEAM: New Treasury Foreclosure Avoidance Eligibility Criteria

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:11:48 -0600

GOLD TEAM: New Treasury Foreclosure Avoidance Eligibility Criteria

Dateline 11/30/2009. Washington, DC. The US Treasury Department has detailed the basic eligibility criteria for homeowner participation in the new Home Affordable Foreclosure Avoidance streamlined, standardized, short sale program:

Effective April 5, 2010 first mortgage servicers who participate in the Treasury's existing HAMP loan modification program must consider a HAFA short sale before referring a borrower's loan to foreclosure or allowing a pending foreclosure sale to complete. (An internet search with your first loan holder's name and the word HAMP will swiftly reveal whether or not your lender is a HAMP participant. Most major lenders are HAMP participants.)

To be eligible to participate in HAFA and avoid foreclosure the first loan must meet the following conditions:

* The property is the borrowers principal residence

* The mortgage loan is a first lien mortgage originated on or before January 1, 2009

* The mortgage is delinquent or degault is reasonably foreseeable

* The current unpaid principal balance is less than or equal to $729,750

* The borrower's total monthly mortgage payment exceeds 31 % per cent of the borrower's gross income

HAFA includes provisions for:

* Standardized terms to resolve junior liens including 2nd/3rd mortgages or home equity lines of credit

* $1500 cash for keys payment to homeowner at closing

The key to success in any short sale program is working with a properly trained, highly experienced short sale team such as Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team at RE/MAX Olympic. We have closed 350+ Northern Virginia transactions in the last 9 years; we work with 15 major banks; we typically have 5 to 10 short sales in process at any point in time. We can be reached at 703-969-0410.

GOLD Team Highlights New US Treasury Foreclosure Avoidance Guidelines

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:59:20 -0600

GOLD Team Highlights New US Treasury Foreclosure Avoidance Guidelines

Introduction

Dateline 11/30/09, Washington, DC. The US Treasury's has published new guidelines to assist more homeowners in avoiding foreclosure. Previously many mortgage-payment-challenged homeowners could apply for loan modifications under the existing Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) loan modification program.

Unfortunately many homeowners either could not qualify for HAMP trial modifications, did not perform as agreed during their HAMP trial period, or simply did not want to attempt a HAMP loan modification.

Treasury has now put forth the forms, procedures and processes for a new extension to HAMP called Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA). HAFA provides a streamlined, standardized approach for homeowners to succeed with a short sale. HAFA will empower thousands of participating homeowners to avoid foreclosure! HAFA will only be available to homeowners who choose to work with properly trained real estate agents ( such as the GOLD Team).

Homeowner Advantages

* Homeowners will need to move to another home; their former first mortgage lender will pay them a $1500 relocation incentive. Prior short sales did NOT allow the homeowner to receive any funds at closing.

* Homeowners will be released from all liability for repayment of the mortgage debt from their first mortgage.

* Junior mortgage holders will be paid up to 3%, not to exceed $3,000, of their debt in order to release their claim on the homeowner. If they accept this payment the homeowner will also be released from all liability for their 2nd/3rd mortage debt and/or their home equity line of credit. The existing first mortgage holder will be compensated up to $1000 (by Treasury) in exchange for them allowing the junior lienholders to do this.

* The property will be listed with a licensed real estate professional skilled in short sales (e.g. Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team).

* The price the property is listed for will be approved in advance by the first mortgage lender.

* The first mortgage lender will respond to any buyer offers within 10 days! This is EXTRAORDINARILY faster than prior short sales where buyers might have to wait 4-8 months for a response. This fact alone will significantly increase the available market of buyers willing to participate in HAFA short sales.

* The first lender will receive a Treasury payment of $1000 for accepting the HAFA short sale.

To Learn More

* Call Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team at 703-969-0410

* Read the full Teasury HAMP Supplemental Directive 09-09 at https://www.hmpadmin.com/portal/docs/hamp_servicer/sd0909.pdf

(Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team has handled many successful short sales for both buyers and sellers. We have at least half a dozen short sale transactions underway at any point in time. We have handled over 350 Northern Virginia residential real estate transactions in the last 9 years and over 150 bank-owned sales in the last 2 years. We are currently working with 15-20 major banks. We have 3 master's degrees including an MBA.)

Montclair, Dumfries Foresclosures vs Short Sales vs Normal Sales Q1 Through Q3 2009

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:46:51 -0600

Montclair, Dumfries Foreclosures vs Short Sales vs Normal Sales Q1 Through Q3 2009

First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter

Listed Sold Listed Sold Listed Sold

Foreclosures* 63 48 89 86 44 48

Short Sales** 64 3 110 32 76 48

Resales*** 96 118 129 73 79 64

ANALYSIS

Lag of Sales: Sold counts reflect properties listed in this or prior periods.

Short Sale Lag: Short sales require significantly longer to close once under contract.

Short Sale Buyer Reluctance: The delay and uncertainty associated with short sales has traditionally caused many buyers and buyers agents to shy away from such listings.

Increasing Percentage of Distressed Closings: In the first quarter short sale closings were about 1/16 the number of bank-owned closings and 3% the number of resales. In the second quarter short sale closings were about 1/3 the bank-owned closings and over 40% the resales. In the third quarter bank-owned and short sale closings were equal at 3/4 the number of resales closings.

New Listing Volume for for all types of property was significantly higher in second quarter than first or third quarter.

BUYER SELLER SUCCESS

The Prince William County home marketplace is powerfully affected by the mortgage crisis. Selling or buying successfully in this market depends critically on your choice of an experience real estate team. Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team has handled over 350 transactions in the last 9 years, including 150+ bank-owned and many, many short sales.

* Foreclosures also known as bank-owned also known as REO

** Short Sales also known as Pre-foreclosure

*** Resakes also known as normal sales also known as straight sales

(Date from MRIS MLS believed accurate.)

Bristow, Gainesville, Haymarket Foreclosures vs Short Sales vs Resales Q1 Through Q3 2009

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:40:21 -0600

Bristow, Gainesville, Haymarket Foreclosures vs Short Sales vs Normal Sales Q1 Through Q3 2009

First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter

Listed Sold Listed Sold Listed Sold

Foreclosures* 107 65 111 125 94 113

Short Sales** 175 36 231 68 190 110

Resales*** 388 230 303 219 286 225

ANALYSIS

Lag of Sales: Sold counts reflect properties listed in this or prior periods.

Short Sale Lag: Short sales require significantly longer to close once under contract.

Short Sale Buyer Reluctance: The delay and uncertainty associated with short sales has traditionally caused many buyers and buyers agents to shy away from such listings.

Increasing Percentage of Distressed Closings: In the first quarter short sale closings were about 1/2 the number of bank-owned closings and 1/7 the number of resales. In the second quarter short sale closings were about 1/2 the bank-owned closings and over 1/3 the resales. In the second and third quarters bank-owned closings exceeded resales.

New Listing Volume for foreclosures was roughly flat from first to second quarter and down 25% from second to third quarter. Short sale new listing volume increased 25% from first to second quarter but fell back almost the same amount to third quarter. Resale new listing volume declined steadily from quarter to quarter for resales.

BUYER SELLER SUCCESS

* Foreclosures also known as bank-owned also known as REO

** Short Sales also known as Pre-foreclosure

*** Resakes also known as normal sales also known as straight sales

(Date from MRIS MLS believed accurate.)

Manassas Foreclosures vs Short Sales vs Resales Q1 To Q3 2009

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:32:39 -0600

Manassas Foreclosures vs Short Sales vs Normal Sales Q1 Through Q3 2009

First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter

Listed Sold Listed Sold Listed Sold

Foreclosures* 285 211 252 350 243 274

Short Sales** 368 50 422 180 320 234

Resales*** 408 552 309 277 293 218

ANALYSIS

Lag of Sales: Sold counts reflect properties listed in this or prior periods.

Short Sale Lag: Short sales require significantly longer to close once under contract.

Short Sale Buyer Reluctance: The delay and uncertainty associated with short sales has traditionally caused many buyers and buyers agents to shy away from such listings.

Increasing Percentage of Distressed Closings: In the first quarter short sale closings were about 1/4 the number of bank-owned closings and 1/11 the number of resales. In the second quarter short sale closings were about 1/2 the bank-owned closings and over 2/3 the resales. In the second and third quarters bank-owned closings exceeded resales. In the third quarter short sale closings exceeded the resales.

New Listing Volume decreased for bank-owned from first to second to third quarters. New short sale listing volume was higher in second quarter than first quarter. New listing volume decreased from second to third quarter for all types of listings.

BUYER SELLER SUCCESS

* Foreclosures also known as bank-owned also known as REO

** Short Sales also known as Pre-foreclosure

*** Resakes also known as normal sales also known as straight sales

(Date from MRIS MLS believed accurate.)

Woodbridge Foreclosures vs Short Sales vs Normal Sales Q1 Through Q3 2009

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:25:32 -0600

Woodbridge Foreclosures vs Short Sales vs Normal Sales Q1 Through Q3 2009

First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter

Listed Sold Listed Sold Listed Sold

Foreclosures* 410 317 352 531 323 353

Short Sales** 490 77 561 253 456 280

Resales*** 655 786 547 460 562 494

ANALYSIS

Lag of Sales: Sold counts reflect properties listed in this or prior periods.

Short Sale Lag: Short sales require significantly longer to close once under contract.

Short Sale Buyer Reluctance: The delay and uncertainty associated with short sales has traditionally caused many buyers and buyers agents to shy away from such listings.

Increasing Percentage of Distressed Closings: In the first quarter short sale closings were about 1/4 the number of bank-owned closings and 1/10 the number of resales. In the second quarter short sale closings were about 1/2 the bank-owned closings and over 1/2 the resales. In the second quarter bank-owned closings exceeded resales. In the third quarter short sales were 4/5 the bank-owned closings and 4/7 the resales.

BUYER SELLER SUCCESS

* Foreclosures also known as bank-owned also known as REO

** Short Sales also known as Pre-foreclosure

*** Resakes also known as normal sales also known as straight sales

(Date from MRIS MLS believed accurate.)

Prince William County Foreclosures vs Short Sale vs Normal Sales Q1 Thru Q3 2009

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:17:21 -0600

Prince William County Foreclosures vs Short Sales vs Normal Sales Q1 Through Q3 2009

First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter

Listed Sold Listed Sold Listed Sold

Foreclosures* 865 641 804 1092 704 788

Short Sales** 1097 166 1324 533 1042 672

Resales*** 1597 1686 1288 1029 1220 1001

ANALYSIS

Lag of Sales: Sold counts reflect properties listed in this or prior periods.

Short Sale Lag: Short sales require significantly longer to close once under contract.

Short Sale Buyer Reluctance: The delay and uncertainty associated with short sales has traditionally caused many buyers and buyers agents to shy away from such listings.

Increasing Percentage of Distressed Closings: In the first quarter short sale closings were about 1/4 the number of bank-owned closings and 1/10 the number of resales. In the second quarter short sale closings were about 1/2 the bank-owned closings and 1/2 the resales. In the second quarter bank-owned closings exceeded resales. In the third quarter short sales were 7/8 the bank-owned closings and two thirds the resales.

New Listing Volume decreased for bank-owned and resales from first to second to third quarters. New short sale listing volume was 1/3 higher in second quarter than first or third quarters which were about equal.

BUYER SELLER SUCCESS

* Foreclosures also known as bank-owned also known as REO

** Short Sales also known as Pre-foreclosure

*** Resakes also known as normal sales also known as straight sales

(Date from MRIS MLS believed accurate.)

Short Sale with Tenants

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:33:16 -0600

Short Sale with Tenants

Sometimes an investor faces changes in circumstances the make it difficult to continue paying mortgage payments on tenant-occupied rental property. Diverting the income stream from the tenants to other purposes for even a short time often has the effect of triggering potential foreclosure.

If the difficulty in making the payments stems from the tenants not paying timely then eviction and replacement with more dependable tenants is, of course, in order. Assuming this is not the case the question arises as to whether or not it might be possible to avert credit damage due to foreclosure by attempting a short sale with the tenants in the property.

Selling a tenant-occupied property is challenging unless the tenants are already planning on moving, happy to be moving, and cooperative. If the tenants don't want to move they are unlikely to cooperate with access for showings and having the house show well (who can blame them?). The sooner it sells the sooner they have to move!

Negotiating a successful short sale transaction will require showings to multiple buyers to generate an offer, then further access for one or more broker price opinions or appraisals for the seller's lienholders, then further access for the buyer's home inspections, termite inspection, HOA/Condo association inspection, and appraisor.

Due to changes in US law effective in mid-2009 tenants not related to the seller, in possession of a valid lease at market rental rates, are entitled to continue to occupy through the end of the lease if the property is foreclosed. The only exception is if the foreclosing bank sells the property to an owner who wishes to occupy themselves and even then the new owner has to give the tenants 90 days notice! So, the law actually is on the side of the tenants in the event of foreclosure. In addition a foreclosing bank may offer the current tenants a significant "Cash For Keys" incentive to move before the end of their lease. Tenants have often heard of these payments and will often actually prefer foreclosure so they can get their hands on this extra cash.

Due to these considerations, attempting short sale of an investment property occupied by tenants is unlikely to succeed.

(As always the key to success in any potential real estate transaction is working with an experienced local team of agents who have handled situations like yours before. Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team has handled both buyer and seller sides of many, many short sales, over 150 bank-owned sales, and over 350 total transactions in Northern Virginia area centered on Manassas and Prince William County in the last 8 years.)

Pre-Negotiated Short Sales Reduce Risk, Streamline Process

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:35:35 -0600

Pre-Negotiated Short Sales Reduce Risk, Streamline Process

Homeowners sometimes fall behind in their mortgage payments due to events beyond their control. When circumstances permit the best thing to do may be to work out a plan with the loan servicers to restore the account to current status over a period of time. When this workout approach fails the next best solution may be to ask the first loan servicer to consider a loan modification under the US Treasury's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

Some homeowners may succeed with a HAMP modification, some may fail to qualify and some may qualify but become delinquent again. More positive alternatives than foreclosure do remain for these homeowners using either the HAMP Home Affordable Forecloseure Avoidance (HAFA) program or a similar pre-negotiatied short sale program offered by the first loan servicer.

A short sale involves listing and selling the home for market value with the homeowner moving to new (usually rented) quarters and clearing nothing on the sale. One or more of the loan servicers ends up accepting a short payoff, hence the term "short sale."

With a traditional short sale the homeowner lists the home for sale, gets an offer and then petitions the loan servicers for approval of the short sale. After going through the servicers queued backlog of requests the proposal is evaluated by the lenders ordering an appraisal and then evaluating the proposed sales contract in light of the newly obtained appraised value. Delays in processing may last from two to eight months. During this time the buyer who made the offer on the home is very likely to give up waiting and go buy something else. Furthermore the real estate agent listing the house is forced to guess the probable appraised value of the home months in advance.

HAFA and other pre-negotiated short sale programs change around the order of the process to provide more visible progress and more predictable outcomes for all parties. Once the homeowner or lender concludes that a short sale is necessary the servicer obtains an appraisal and then determines an acceptable short payoff price based on the appraised market value and conversations with junior lenders and the mortgage insurer, if any. Then the listing agent is given a pre-approved list price, the house is put on the market as an APPROVED SHORT SALE, a buyer makes and offer to purchase and the transaction proceeds to closing much like a bank-owned or normal sale.

From the point of view of a buyer or a buyer's agent a pre-approved short sale transaction has similar predictability and certainty to a normal sale or a bank-owned sale. The long, unpredictable, frustrating delay associated with normal short sales does not exist because the loss mitigation steps have already been done. The long, unpredictable delays involved in normal short sales may lead to the property having to be under contract two or three times before the process is completed or fails. The shorter, predictable delays for the pre-negotiated short sales usually lead to success on the first time.

The key to success in any short sale purchase or sale is working with an experienced team of real estate agents. Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team has handled successful short sales for sellers and buyers (and both) for many years, as well as over 150 bank-owned sales and many normal sales in Northern Virginia.

Loan Modification Short Sale

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:17:31 -0600

Loan Modification Short Sale

Homeowners sometimes find it difficult to keep up with their mortgage payments due to circumstances beyond their control. The smartest thing for an employed payment challenged homeowner to do is to either cure their delinquency by becoming current or apply to their first mortgage loan servicer for a loan modification under the terms of the US Treasury's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

Unemployed homeowners, those who do not qualify for HAMP, or those who receive a HAMP modification and again fall behind may need to consider a short sale under the related Home Affordable Foreclosure Avoidance program. Short sales avoid the stigma and credit score negative impact of a full foreclosure. Short sales do require the homeowner to move to new quarters and also do return the homeowner nothing for their investment in the home to date.

Short sales have a reputation as being problematic, frustrating and difficult with little guarantee of success. The US Treasury's new HAFA short sale program systematically streamlines and standardizes the short sale process with the goal of making the process as pleasant and predictable as possible.

The key to success for any homeowner considering a short sale is to work with a team of Realtors experienced in the ins and outs of successful short sales, with significant experience selling distressed properties, and with a combination of extensive formal training and deep transaction experience.

(Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team has handled many successful short sales - on buyer, seller and both sides of the transactions, has sold over 150 bank-owned properties, has 3 master's degrees including an MBA, is led by an associate broker, and has handled over 350 Northern Virginia transactions in the last 8 years.)

US Treasury Details HAFA Foreclosure Avoidance Short Sale Program

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:23:48 -0500

US Treasury Details HAFA Foreclosure Avoidance Short Sale Program

10/23/09: Washington - The US Treasury has released further details of their Home Affordable Foreclosure Avoidance (HAFA) program options to the existing Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). HAMP and HAFA work together to provide alternatives for homeowners challenged to keep up with the mortgage payments on their primary residence home.

As the details below from Treasury's web site at www.treasury.gov attest, payment challenged homeowners will first be offered HAMP loan modifications by their mortgage servicers. If they are either not qualified for the loan modifications or cannot stay current on their modified loan payments the HAFA alternative will require their servicers to offer them a pre-approved short sale alternative. If the short sale fails a Deed In Lieu of foreclosure (DIL) alternative may be offered. If all HAMP, HAFA short sale, and HAFA DIL all fail then and only then will foreclosure complete.

From the treasury web site (http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/docs/05142009FactSheet-MakingHomesAffordable.pdf) :

How The Home Affordable Short Sale/DIL Program Works:•

Borrower Eligibility. Borrowers will be eligible for the Foreclosure Alternative Program if they meet the minimum eligibility criteria for a Home Affordable Modification but did not qualify for a modification or were unable to sustain payments under a trial period plan or a modification. Prior to proceeding to foreclosure, participating servicers must evaluate each eligible borrower to determine if a short sale is appropriate. Considerations in the determination include property condition and value, average marketing time in the community where the property is located, the condition of the title including the presence of junior liens and a determination that the net sales proceeds are expected to exceed the investor's recovery through foreclosure Incentive Payments.

􀂃

Servicers may receive incentive compensation of up to $1,000 for successful completion of a short sale or DIL.

􀂃

Borrowers may receive incentive compensation of up to $1,500 to assist with relocation expenses.

􀂃

Treasury will also share the cost of paying junior lien holders to release their claims, matching $1 for every $2 paid by the investors, up to a total contribution of $1,000 by Treasury.

•

Standardized Documentation: The program will publish streamlined and standardized documentation, including a Short Sale Agreement and an Offer Acceptance Letter. These documents will outline specific marketing terms, describe the rights and responsibilities of all parties and establish clear timeframes for performance. Creating one standard set of documents that the industry can use is expected to minimize the complexity of these transactions and significantly increase use of the short sale option.

•

Property Valuation: The servicer will independently establish both property value and the minimum acceptable net return in accordance with investor guidance and will provide instruction to the borrower regarding the list price and any permissible price reductions. The price may be determined based on either: (1) an appraisal performed in accordance with USPAP and/or (2) one or more Broker Price Opinions either of which must be dated within 120 days of the Short Sale Agreement.

•

Minimum and Maximum Duration: Under the program, servicers will allow borrowers at least 90 days to market and sell the property, with possibly more time based on local market conditions. The property must be listed with a licensed realtor experienced in selling properties in the neighborhood. Marketing of the property may run concurrently with the foreclosure process, however no foreclosure sale can take place during the marketing period specified in the Short Sale Agreement as long as the borrower is acting in good faith to sell the property. There will be a maximum marketing period of 1 year for the property, provided any longer period not otherwise delay foreclosure sale, to ensure diligence by servicers and borrowers in moving as quickly as possible to complete the short sale and deed-in-lieu process.

•

Selling Commissions and Fees: Reasonable and customary real estate commissions and selling costs that may be deducted from the sales price will be specified in the Short Sale Agreement. The Servicer will agree not to negotiate a lower sales commission after an offer has been received.

•

Fees and Charges: Servicers may not charge borrowers fees for participation in the Foreclosure Alternative Program.

•

Property Eligibility: Any junior liens, mortgages or other debts against the property must be cleared for the property to be sold as a short sale or deeded to the servicer. The servicer can proceed with a short sale or deed-in-lieu if there is a reasonable belief that all liens on the property can be cleared.

•

Program Expiration: Eligible borrowers will be accepted until December 31, 2012. Program payments will be made upon successful completion of a short sale or DIL.

•

Deed-in-Lieu: At the servicer’s option, the Short Sale Agreement may include a condition that the borrower agrees to deed the property to the servicer in exchange for a release from the debt if the property does not sell within the time specified in the Agreement or any extension thereof. In this case the borrower would have 30 days to vacate the property and would be entitled to $1,500 to assist with relocation expenses, in addition to any other funds the servicer may provide to the borrower.

HAMP Loan Mod To HAFA Short Sale?

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:44:57 -0500

HAMP Loan Mod TO HAFA Short Sale?

Many US homeowners have discovered that - sometimes due to circumstances beyond their control - their home mortgage payments have escalated beyond their current ability to keep paying them. In response to these very widespread situations the US Treasure is encouraging all major loan servicers to offer loan modifcations to homeowners to help them avoid foreclosure. The most recent incarnation of the Treasure load mod program is the Homd Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

Well intended as HAMP was it was initially of little use to those homeowners with home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) or other second mortgages on their home. Treasure has now announced a Second Modification Program (2MP) that will assist in these circumstances.

Sometimes loan modifications are just not enough and the homeowner will need to move anyway. In these circumstances using a Short Sale or a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure is superior for all concerned to outright foreclosure. Treasury has now announced a new program to use in conjuction with HAMP and/or 2MP called Home Affordable Foreclosure Avoidance (HAFA). This program will provide for a standard process to accomplish a short sale after attempting a loan modification.

What Treasury is attempting to accomplish is a standard process flow that avoids foreclosure for the majority of homeowners by providing them exits from the process before it gets to foreclosure. Details of HAFA are to be announce in late October, 2009. Details of 2MP and HAMP are already known. Payment challenged homeowners should contact the GOLD Team or their first loan servicer to get more details.

Late Payments -> Become Current

+-> Try HAMP/2MP -> Success

+-> Try HAFA Short Sale -> Succeed

+-> Foreclosure

Foreclosure is still possible but the Treasury is creating a standard, multi-level process to avoid

as many foreclosures as possible.

The GOLD Team has handled over 150 foreclosures, dozens of short sales, and hundreds of normal sales in Northern Virgina.

Pre-Negotiated Short Sales Coming!

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 12:46:34 -0500

Pre-Negotiated Short Sales Coming!

Homeowners challenged to continue making their payments on time have historically had to choose between outright foreclosure, abandoning the house (a form of foreclosure), deed in lieu of foreclosure (so-called "Friendly Foreclosure") and traditional short sales.

Although short sale offered distinct advantages they were extremely frustrating to both buyers and sellers because of the lengthy and extremely unpredictably time delays between when the short sale proposal was submitted to the seller's loan servicer(s) and when their lenders negotiator actually responded to the proposal. This delay was due to the loan servicers being organized to handle collection, foreclosure, and sale of foreclosed property well, with preforeclosure loss mitigation relegated to a less important role.

Innovative loan servicers are now beginning to invest in improving the systems, procedures, training and approaches they use to handle short sales with a goal of reducing the delays involved so that more property successfully short sells without appearing on the bank's books as a foreclosure.

With some of these new approaches the banks first attempt a loan modification, then transition directly to a pre-negotiated short sale approach. For a pre-negotiated short sale the bank appraises the property and determines what its market value is, then gets prior approval to sell it for market value from parties involved other than the homeowner (existing note holders and mortgage insurers), then lists the property for sale as a pre-approved short sale.

This approach offers the prospective buyers and their agents the knowledge that there will not be a length, unpredictable delay between ratification by the homeowner and approval by the other parties necessary. It effectively moves the negotation of the short sale in front of the listing rather than after contract acceptance.

This revised approach makes the entire process more rational, predicatable and straightforward.

(The GOLD Team has handled 150+ REOs, 350+ transactions and many, many short sales in Northern Virginia. We handle both pre-negotiated and old-fashioned short sales on both buyer and seller sides.)

Politician's and Homeowner's View of a Short Sale

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:07:06 -0500

Politician's and Homeowner's Views of a Short Sale

In the most significant ways short sales might as well be foreclosures! At least that is how they look to homeowners challenged to make their payments and politicians concerned about the votes of those homeowners!

Three major similarities dominate this perspective:

(1) The homeowner has to move. Staying in the house is not a choice.

(2) The homeowner moves away with nothing in his/her pocket resulting from their time, down payment, mortgage payments and energy maintaining the home. (The fine point that the homeowner got to write off their mortgage interest while owning the house is history lost on both observers.)

(3) The bank(s) call the shots. The homeowner feels significantly disenfranchised, unempowered, and helpless.

Short sales do, of course, offer a number of advantages to the homeowners, the loan servicers and the surrounding community. For the homeowner, the politician seeking their votes, however these advantage may seem relatively underwhelming:

(1) The home will stand vacant and unoccupied for much less time

(2) The credit rating of the homeowner may be impacted much less than if foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure occurs

(3) The transaction may seem friendlier and less stressful

The GOLD Team handles foreclosure listings for over a dozen loan servicers and routinely handles both buyer and seller sides of short sale transactions in Northern Virginia.

3-5 BRs on .28 acre, bank-owned, FHA/VA/VHDA OK: 9820 Cockrell

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:32:09 -0500

Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team | RE/MAX Olympic Realty | 703-969-0410

9820 Cockrell St, Manassas, VA

Updated: FHA/VA/VHDA financing OK. Newer paint, 'Pergo' floors, windows, light fixtures, vinyl siding. .28 acres possible commercial rezoning in

4BR/1BA Single Family House

offered at $149,900

Year Built	1930
Sq Footage	1,168
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	1 full, 0 partial
Floors	2
Parking	4 Uncovered spaces
Lot Size	11,587 sqft
HOA/Maint	$0 per month

DESCRIPTION

0.28 acre lot with future commercial potential (commercial across street, within 4 lots on left and right, and behind).

Plenty of off street parking. Two sheds. Garden.

see additional photos below

PROPERTY FEATURES

- Central A/C	- Central heat	- Hardwood floor
- Living room	- Dining room	- Refrigerator
- Stove/Oven	- Washer	- Dryer
- Laundry area - inside	- Yard

OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES

- Use as 3 to 5 bedrooms. Newer paint,Pergo,lights,windows.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

Front	Foyer-laundry-bath
Living-br4	Kitchen
Bedroom 3	Backyard

Contact info:

Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team

RE/MAX Olympic Realty

703-969-0410

For sale by agent/broker

Equal Opportunity Housing

Posted: Sep 30, 2009, 4:53am PDT

Short Sales: Un-Cooperative 2nd Lenders ?

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:06:42 -0500

Dealing with Un-Cooperative 2nd Lenders in Short Sales

Homeowners challenged to keep up their payments sometimes conclude that the best thing to do is to move and get out from under the crushing burden of their mortgage payments. Some owners come to this conclusion after failing to successfully obtain a Loan Modification from their mortgage servicers.

Homeowners relocating under these circumstances can choose to attempt a short sale, request a Deed-In-Lieu of Foreclosure, or allow the house to foreclose. The option least injurious to their credit and ability to borrow in the future is usually the short sale.

Short sales proceed having an agent list the home for low current market value, and getting an offer to purchase it swiftly. With the homeowner's assistance the agent presents a short sale proposal to the existing first and second loan servicers. Short sales with only a first loan, or two loans with the same servicer are more straightforward. Those involved two loans with two separate servicers are the most challenging.

In a short sale situation the first lender is offered the entire proceeds of the sale after normal closing costs and a modest allowance to persuade the second lender to release their lien. It is not uncommon for the first lender to offer the second lender $1,000 to $3,000 or 1% of the sales price regardless of how much the second lender is owed.

The second lender's choice is typically to take what is offered by the first lender or let the first lender foreclose.

The second lender may claim, "But the homeowner will still owe us the money." That is true, but if and when the first lender forecloses on the house the second lien becomes an unsecured debt (unless the foreclosed home is worth more than the amount of the existing first loan). If the former homeowner then file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy they may be able to wipe out their obligation to all unsecured creditors including the second lender. (Author is NOT an attorney, reads considering bankruptcy should ALWAYS consult a competent bankruptcy attorney.) If this course is pursued the second lender will end up with nothing. A thousand dollars or two is worth more than nothing. Most second lenders cooperate.

Some second lenders may not cooperate. In these circumstances what may be needed is to credibly communicate the willingness of the homeowner to actually pursue a Chapter 7 filing. Involving a competent bankruptcy attorney is very desirable at this point. Acting as your own bankruptcy attorney, like acting as your own real estate agent, is a fool's errand.

Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team has successfully handled many short sales in the current market. We have multiple short sale listings under contract - some where we represent buyers, some where we represent sellers. We can refer excellent bankruptcy attorneys. We have also sold over 150 bank-owned foreclosed properties in the last 2 years and over 350 homes total.

Why You Should Leave While Your Home is Shown

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 09:51:03 -0500

Why You Should Leave While Your Home is Shown

Your home is for sale. The phone rings. Someone is coming to see it!

No, you should not stay to greet the prospective buyers and their agents. Go for a drive, go for a walk, make yourself scarce!

Why? The answer lies in the way virtually all people raise their children.

Well-mannered children are taught that if you go in a stranger's (or even an acquaintance's) house you do NOT go poking around in their private spaces without their invitation.

Buyers need to know how large the pantry is, the laundry room is, the linen closet is, all the bedroom closets are, and the storage areas too. They want to see inside the places!

They really do not care if they are tidy or not, because they know that if they buy the house all your things will be gone. So, while you may not be proud of the messy closet, disorganized storage area, teenager's room, laundry room with unwashed clothes, or messy pantry, they want to size up the spaces.

Of course if you are there they are not going to just open up the door and look! That would be unspeakably rude. So, if you are there, they will just censor their curiousity and leave not knowing much about the house.

If, on the other hand, you are gone, they and their agent will check out the spaces to determine how big they are, an important question for prospective buyers.

So, when someone comes to see your house, the buyer's agent and the listing agent both hope you make yourself scarce!

The most important choice in buying or selling a house successfully is your choice of an agent. Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team has successfully handled over 350 transactions in the last 8 years.

How to Get Your Short Sale Home Shown

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 09:39:25 -0500

How to Get Your Short Sale Home Shown

Homeowners unable to keep up their mortgage payments and ineligible for a loan modification frequently make the intelligent choice to sell their home as a short sale. This article explains how to maximize the showings and the offers for your short sale listed home.

You need to think like a buyer's agent. There are many homes on the market and maybe not enough time to show them all. The easiest to show are - of course - the vacant bank-owned ones. Banks respond to offers swiftly too, not like those doggone short sales where you may wait 45-60 days for an answer while your buyers are getting nervous. Vacant houses show larger, too.

There are also resales, which are usually occupied, and will require coordinating with the owner to gain access. At least resale sellers respond to offers quickly, unlike short sales.

Short sales are almost always occupied and offers are answered notoriously slowly. Hence you can see why the buyer's agent may not put them on the top of their list.

The properties that do get shown are the easiest to get into. In decreasing order of preference to a buyers agent they are:

1. Vacant/just go with lockbox, all days, all hours.

2. Call 1st Owner with lockbox, all days, 8-8.

3. Call 1st Owner with lockbox, limited times

4. Call 1st Tenant (tenant has negative interest in the house selling!), lockbox

5. Call 1st Pet (will absolutely have to talk to someone to do this one), lockbox

6. Appointment only, no lockbox

7, 24 Hour Notice, appointment only, no lockbox

Buyers agents frequently have limited face time with their clients. And the buyers want to see everything they can during that episode of driving around. Required notice periods, appointment only, pet issues, and/or lack of a lockbox will simply prevent many agents from showing your home during their limited opportunities.

Of particular interest are the instantaneous opportunities created when while in the neighborhood to see another home the buyers see your home's sign. "Oh, can we see that one?" they ask the agent. The agent is obliged to check the showing instructions in the listing before ringing the bell. Obviously, if the showing instructions say appointment only, call-1st tenant, pet, 24-hour notice, or there is no lockbox present the odds are the house will not get shown then.

Living in a fishbowl with strangers showing up at any moment to see your house is no fun. On the other hand when your listing is a short sale, and you are living in the house (hence causing it to inevitably show smaller and more cluttered than a vacant home) wondering if it will sell before foreclosure completes you would be smarter to have a lockbox on the door and "call 1st owner, if no answer just go" in the showing instructions.

Having an experienced short sale listing agent is the best way to maximize your chances of getting your short sale house sold before foreclosure completes. Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team has multiple short sale listings under contract, sold, pending, and listed. We work with both buyers and sellers and have successfully completed over 350 transactions in the last 8 years.

7995 Fern Oak Ct - Short Sale

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:37:21 -0500

Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team | RE/MAX Olympic Realty | 703-969-0410

7995 Fern Oak, Manassas, VA

XLNT, large brick colonial with full finished walkout basement, front and rear patios, inground heated pool, and long drive with huge front yard.

5BR/3.5BA Single Family House

offered at $364,900

Year Built	1981
Sq Footage	2,116
Bedrooms	5
Bathrooms	3 full, 1 partial
Floors	3
Parking	2 Car garage
Lot Size	87,120 sqft
HOA/Maint	$0 per month

DESCRIPTION

XLNT, large brick colonial with full finished walkout basement, front and rear patios, inground heated pool, and long drive with huge front yard. Five legal bedrooms originally but two have been combined into one large one so 3 on top, 1 legal one in LL. EXCELLENT paint, hardwood. Breakfast semi-octagonal bay onto deck overlooking pool. Short sale,third pty approval.

see additional photos below

PROPERTY FEATURES

• Central A/C	• Central heat	• Fireplace
• Walk-in closet	• Hardwood floor	• Family room
• Living room	• Bonus/Rec room	• Office/Den
• Dining room	• Breakfast nook	• Dishwasher
• Refrigerator	• Stove/Oven	• Basement
• Washer	• Dryer	• Balcony, Deck, or Patio
• Yard	• Swimming pool

OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES

• HEATED In-ground Pool!

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

Long, stately drive	Pool
Breakfast-Kitchen	Family Room
Living Rm	Lower Deck

Contact info:

Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team

RE/MAX Olympic Realty

703-969-0410

For sale by agent/broker

Equal Opportunity Housing

Posted: Jul 17, 2009, 5:25am PDT

6081 Omega Lane

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:27:25 -0500

Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team | RE/MAX Olympic Realty | 703-969-0410

6081 Omega Ln, Manassas, VA

Brickfront colonial on cds lot backing trees; 4/3.5;deck, patio, hot tub, 3-fin lvls, walkout LL. AS IS bank owned. Nds pnt+cpt.

4BR/3.5BA Single Family House

offered at $259,900

Year Built	2005
Sq Footage	1,728
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	3 full, 1 partial
Floors	3
Parking	Unspecified
Lot Size	6,255 sqft
HOA/Maint	$35 per month

DESCRIPTION

2005 3-level brickfront colonial with 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, walkout lower level. Walkdown from deck to patio and hop in the hot tub!

see additional photos below

PROPERTY FEATURES

• Central A/C	• Central heat	• High/Vaulted ceiling
• Walk-in closet	• Family room	• Living room
• Dining room	• Dishwasher	• Refrigerator
• Stove/Oven	• Microwave	• Basement
• Laundry area - inside	• Balcony, Deck, or Patio	• Yard

OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES

• Hot Tub, Walkdown Deck, Wraparound Front Porch

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

Front	Kitchen
Living	Master Bath
Deck	Hot Tub

Contact info:

Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team

RE/MAX Olympic Realty

703-969-0410

For sale by agent/broker

Equal Opportunity Housing

Posted: Jul 17, 2009, 5:13am PDT

"Pre-Approved" Short Sales

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:07:11 -0500

"Pre-Approved" Short Sales

Homeowners challenged to continue paying their mortgages and ineligible for an adequate loan modification often choose to list their home for short sale rather than experience the consequences of foreclosure. Short sales notoriously take 60-90 days longer than normal transactions due to delays waiting for overloaded loan servicing staff to review what may be an excellent offer.

From time to time buyers or their agents may discover "pre-approved" or "approved" short sale listings. This article explains the two major kinds of such listings and their potential advantages. These listings are the result of (1) servicers using approve-before-list processing or (2) incomplete transactions.

Approve-before-list processing for a short sale is an innovation being adopted by a number of specialized default servicing companies. These firms identify homeowners in default who are ineligible for loan modifications and pro-actively reach out to them asking if the homeowner would list their home for short sale to avoid the negative consequences for all parties concerned of a full foreclosure. If the homeowners are agreeable a listing agent is assigned, the house is valued using appraisals and/or broker price opinions, and the servicer obtains agreement from the loan holders in advance of listing the property as to what price would be accepted. Then the property is listed. Such a listings, just as a bank-owned listing (real foreclosure property, also known as REO property) or a resale listing carries a price to which the required approving parties have agreed in advance. Buyers making offers on these listings can expect relatively timely response to offers and only slightly longer time to close the deal compared to non-short-sale listings.

Incomplete transaction short sale listings result when a prior buyer has made an offer, a complete hardship package has been submitted to the servicer's loss mitigation department, the time has passed to get to the front of the processing queue, an appraisal has been ordered, the assigned negotiator for the bank has responded and the buyer has given up and gone elsewhere. At this stage the listing agent knows what the bank has said it would accept! All they need is another offer similar to the first one to take to closing. In actuality it may take the bank another 30 days longer to bring to the front of their work queue again the new offer, matching the earlier one, another appraisal may be ordered, and they may even counter higher than their prior offer. Or they may take the money and send the deal to closing without further delay. The latter situation is, of course, what the listing agent hopes for and assumes.

Successfully buying short sales requires three things: (1) great patience, (2) a good-humored willingness to respond to unexpected delays or proposed changes in the deal, and (3) an experienced agent.

(Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team has short sales under contract, listed, and offers pending. We have successfully closed numerous short sale transactions among the 350+ deals we handled in the last 8 years. We also handled over 130 REO sales in the last year.)

Detecting Short Sale Flips

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:34:25 -0500

Detecting Short Sale Flips

Homeowners challenged to make their mortgage payments often consider selling their homes via short sales.

It is our position that agents attempting to perform what is known as "short flips" are not performing their agency responsibilities. In particular we believe that short flips pose considerable risk for homeowners, buyers, agents involved and title companies involved.

Short flips are easily detected as an agent proposing to have him/herself (or an entity he has an interest in) agree to purchase the home for cash within a certain period of time with exclusive rights to list and sell the home to another buyer before the cash purchase transaction has closed.

The agent may propose use of an option contract, a land trust, a land contract or a contract for deed to accomplish his/her acquisition of the right to list and resell the property prior to taking title.

The GOLD Team does not purchase short sale properties for our own account. A, in the absence of explicit written direction from our managing broker, we will resist presenting offers believed to be short flips to our short sale sellers.

Flips where the purchaser closes the deal, spends money improving the property and resells it for a profit are fine. We endorse them.

We prefer not to be involved in transactions involving back-to-back sales within hours or days of having bought without the investor having added any value to the real property.

As P.T.Barnum famously said, "There's a sucker born every day." Unfortunately there are an increasing number of real estate agents determined to opportunistically profit from distressed homeowners via short flips.

Short Sale Option Purchase Contract Considered Harmful

GOLD Team Manassas (Remax Olympic Realty) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:37:36 -0500

Short Sale Option Purchase Contract Considered Harmful

The owners of higher end potential short sale properties are targetted by certain real estate agents.

The agents propose that the homeowner sign a purchase option contract giving the agent the exclusive right to purchase the property at a very substantial discount for, say, a year at a cash price while also giving the agent the right to list and sell the home to another buyer for a profit during that time. The agent persuades the seller to sign by explaining how they are going to prevent foreclosure and that they will get the house of the seller's back without a foreclosure, which is after all the objective of a short sale seller.

If executed the purchase option contract may create a substantial cloud on the title, thereby "preventing foreclosure" and providing crowbar leverage in the agent's negotiaton with the homeowner's existing lenders, particulary if the option contract is recorded.

The successful agent then lists and sells the home for a handsome profit. On the day of closing the agent buys the house for cash and sells it to the new owners an hour later. The cash funds for the purchase are often so-called "flash money" which may not even ever touch the account of the title company. These back to back transactions with no value added to the real property literally invite screams of protest from the participants other than the agent.

The title company, listing agent, and buyer's agent are all at some risk of claims of fraud once the buyers and seller figure out what actually is happening.

The GOLD Team has decided not to entertain exclusive purchase option contracts on any of our short sale listings without the specific written direction of our managing broker.

The extent of the popularity of these transactions can be quickly ascertained by typing "Short flip" into your favorite Internet search engine. You may be surprised by the links to the hucksters selling tapes, books, formulas for success, and so forth. Also delivered will be links to the flash money lenders. And if you look you will find a link to an interview with "Don in Virginia" explaining how wonderful a program this is.

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3-5 BRs on .28 acre, bank-owned, FHA/VA/VHDA OK: 9820 Cockrell

Short Sales: Un-Cooperative 2nd Lenders ?

Why You Should Leave While Your Home is Shown

How to Get Your Short Sale Home Shown

7995 Fern Oak Ct - Short Sale

6081 Omega Lane

"Pre-Approved" Short Sales

Detecting Short Sale Flips

Short Sale Option Purchase Contract Considered Harmful