Renton Real Estate & Foreclosure Prevention Blog

Keep Your Home, Avoid Foreclosure!

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 19:32:56 -0500

Behind on your mortgage?

Want to save your home?

If you are confused,worried or upset over the threat of foreclosure, don't believe those who want to take advantage of you during these most difficult times. Attorneys will tell you to file bankruptcy to stop a foreclosure. See us first.

This is not a loan company! We are not attorneys! We do not buy houses! We are Stop Foreclosure specialists who specialize in stopping the foreclosure process and saving homes for our customers.

Contact Us TODAY for a FREE, no obligation consultation on how we can stop your foreclosure, save your credit and your home, before it's too late.

http://www.kshabazz.com or 800-679-4356 x-6451

"KS" Kotambu Shabazz, Renton Real Estate Agent & Loss Mitigation Consultant
Freedom Foreclosure Prevention Services, LLC
425-264-0568 x-20 Office
Renton WA Real Estate Info Here
Stop Foreclosure On Your Home Here

We Stop Foreclosure Across America!

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 21:55:55 -0500

Don't Lose Your Home To Foreclosure!

PUT THE POWER OF THE TOP FORECLOSURE PREVENTION FIRM TO WORK FOR YOU. We understand the stress you and your family are going through, facing the possibility of losing your home, the threat of eviction and having nowhere to go. You can rest assured we'll explore every option available to you. WE WILL NEGOTIATE WITH YOUR LENDER, ON YOUR BEHALF, FOR THE BEST WORKOUT PROGRAM AVAILABLE.

This is not a loan company! We are not attorneys! We do not buy houses!
We are Stop Foreclosure specialists who specialize in stopping the foreclosure process and saving homes for our customers.

Contact Us TODAY for a FREE, no obligation consultation on how we can stop your foreclosure, save your credit and your home, before it's too late.

Visit our website or call us at 800-679-4356 x-6451

"KS" Kotambu Shabazz
Real Estate Consultant
Loss Mitigation Consultant

Renton Wa Real Estate Market Update for Oct. 19 - Oct 26, 2007

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 13:50:25 -0500

Renton Real Estate Market Conditions

At Quality Real Estate Services, Inc. we continuously monitor local real estate statistics to keep our clients informed and ahead of Renton real estate trends. Below you will find the Renton WA real estate statistics for the second week of July.

Total number of Single Family Homes & Condo's for sale in Renton WA (Active): 968

Residential & Condo
Number of new listings this week (Active): 47
Number of homes under contract this week (Pending): 29
Number of homes closing escrow this week (Sold): 23

Residential
Average listing price (Active): $496,535
Average listing price (Pending): $444,239
Average selling price (Sold): $434,777
Average days on market (Sold): 94
Average price per square foot (Sold): $218.82

Condo
Average listing price (Active): $232,633
Average listing price (Pending): $264,938
Average selling price (Sold): $215,119
Average days on market (Sold): 54
Average price per square foot (Sold): $204.99

Information compiled from NWMLS data. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Parties advised to verify.

To find the value of your Renton WA home with a free, no-obligation evaluation, please visit my website.

If you would like a free list of homes for sale in Renton WA or surrounding areas, or want to be the first to know about hot new listings before other buyers do, send me your search criteria through our online home search tool.

"KS" Kotambu Shabazz, Renton Real Estate Agent & Loss Mitigation Consultant
Quality Real Estate Services, Inc
425-264-0568 x-20 Office
Renton WA Real Estate Info Here
Stop Foreclosure On Your Home Here

Consumer Options To Stop Foreclosure and Save Your Home

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:04:55 -0500

this a a reprint from my website at http://www.kshabazz.com/

Loss Mitigation Programs That Stop Foreclosure Fast!

Stop Foreclosure with Loss Mitigation Programs

Loss mitigation programs were established by the federal government and the mortgage industry in order to stop home foreclosures. They help foreclosure victims in default on their mortgages to find alternatives to home foreclosure. Every homeowner's situation is unique and each lender has their own policies regarding the use of these programs to stop foreclosure. Our extensive experience and solid working relationships with mortgage lenders allows us help you avoid the common pitfalls that many homeowners encounter while trying to work things out directly with their lender. After performing a thorough assessment of your personal finances and analyzing your lender's loss mitigation policies our professional loss mitigators will negotiate with your lender to get you the best possible solution to your home foreclosure problem. We can help you save your home and credit history through a variety of loss mitigation options:

REPAYMENT PLAN

If you have incurred a short term financial hardship and your loan is two or more months past due, your loss mitigation specialist will also consider submitting a request for a payment plan to your lender for approval. Only after reviewing your financial situation will this option be considered. All clients must be able to show that they can afford this plan in order to be eligible. Click here if you want to talk to a loss mitigation specialist about participating in this program.

SPECIAL FORBEARANCE
(FHA loans only)(Type I and II)

If you have incurred a short term financial hardship and your loan is 90 days to 365 days past due, the loss mitigation specialist will also consider submitting a request for a special forbearance. A special forbearance is designed to provide you with more relief than is possible with a regular repayment plan. Typical approval can result in spreading the repayment over 12 to 18 months. Type II - can be utilized in an unemployment situation whereby the promise of future employment is present. We have done VA loans that resulted 27-month repayment plans. Click here if you want to talk to a loss mitigation specialist about participating in this program.

LOAN MODIFICATION

If you have incurred a long term financial hardship, our office can assist you in supplying the appropriate information to lender to take the appropriate measures to modify the term(s) of your mortgage. This could lower the interest rate and/or extend the term of the loan resulting in lower payments. There are costs and fees associated with a modification that you will be responsible for. All property taxes must be current or you must be participating in an approved payment plan with your taxing authority to be eligible for a modification. Any additional liens or mortgagees must agree to be subordinate to the first mortgage. All requests are subject to your lender's approval. Click here if you want to talk to a loss mitigation specialist about participating in this program.

VA LOAN MODIFICATION/REFUNDING

A refunding is when the VA buys your loan from the lender. Refunding may give VA the flexibility to consider options to help you save your home that your current lender either could not or would not consider. When the VA refunds a loan under 38 U.S.C. 36.4318, the delinquency is added to the principal balance and the loan is re-amortized. Your new loan will be non-transferable without prior approval from the Secretary. If your interest rate was lowered and an assumption is approved, the interest rate will be adjusted back to the previous rate Click here if you want to talk to a loss mitigation specialist about participating in this program.

DEED-IN-LIEU OF FORECLOSURE

If you have incurred a long term financial hardship and your house has been on the market (at fair market value) for at least 90 days, you may be eligible for a deed-in lieu of foreclosure. To be considered for this option, you must complete a financial package and provide a copy of your recent active listing agreement. Also, there cannot be any additional claims or liens (other the mortgage) against the property. If you are approved for a deed-in-lieu, you will be giving up all rights to the property and the property will be conveyed to your investor. In exchange for the deed-in-lieu, the lender may waiver all deficiency judgment rights. You may be asked to participate in a Short Payoff program before a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure is accepted Click here if you want to talk to a loss mitigation specialist about participating in this program.

PARTIAL CLAIM
(FHA mortgages only) (Some Freddie Mac Investor loans)

The loss mitigation specialist may assist in requesting a partial claim if you qualify. You may be eligible if your loan is 120 to 365 days past due. A partial claim results in placing your past due payments into a subordinate mortgage (2nd mortgage) between you and the Secretary of Housing Urban Development. The partial claim note will require you to start making payments when you pay off the first mortgage. There is no interest. The partial claim can be for no more than 12 months of past due payments. Click here if you want to talk to a loss mitigation specialist about participating in this program.

Click here if you want to talk to a loss mitigation specialist about participating in this program.

"KS" Kotambu Shabazz, Renton Real Estate Agent & Loss Mitigation Consultant

Countrywide Steps Up To Help Stop Foreclosure

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:06:07 -0500

Today Countrywide Financial Corp announced that it has released a $16 Billion Comprehensive Home Preservation Program. This program will potentially benefit 80,000 borrowers who have a Countrywide loan and are at-risk of default.

Countrywide has committed to refinance or modify up to $16 billion in loans for borrowers who are facing an adjustable rate mortgage reset through to end of 2008. This is a direct result of Country Wide's participation in the Bush Administration's HOPE NOW Initiative released earlier this year.

In their refinance program, Countrywide has created a special refinance unit to contact approximately 52,000 borrowers to offer refinance options. They have identified and will work to refinance approximately $10 billion in mortgages.

In the modification program, countrywide is working to identify and contact prime and subprime borrowers who are current but unable to qualify for a refinance and are likely to have difficulty affording an upcoming reset. As a result of this initiative, Countrywide will successfully modify $4 billion on loans for approximately 20,000 borrowers through the end of 2008.

If you are facing foreclosure and need assistance, contact your lender first because they may be willing to renegotiate your loan. If you still need help contact go to http://www.fha.gov/foreclosure/ to search to a non-profit counseling agency for free assistance. There are also for-profit foreclosure prevention agencies available. Make sure you research them for integrity and competence before you decide to hire them to negotiate with your lender on your behalf.

What Is Happening In The Renton Wa Real Estate Market?

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 15:05:43 -0500

If you are thinking about selling a home in Renton WA, there are a few things you should know and take into consideration before putting up that for sale sign.

As of today there are currently 991 homes & condominiums for sale in the city of Renton WA according to NWMLS data. In the last 12 months there have been 2277 sales closed making the average number of homes sold on a monthly basis 190. That means that on a 12 month timeline, there is a 5.22 month supply of homes on the market right now if no other home is listed for sale. On a 3 month timeline there have been 484 closed transactions, making the average monthly closed transactions 161 which translates into there being a 6.14 month supply of homes on the market. Right now there are 187 homes on the market that have been listed just this month.

So the question is, in such a competitive environment, what can you do to get your home sold?

In any real estate market there are three key areas that you should be mindful of. They are Presentation, Promotion and Price.

Presentation is how your home shows. The first place to begin is with the landscaping. Curb appeal has and will always the first thing a potential buyer will look at when considering your home. The second thing is the exterior paint. Cracking, chipping paint on the siding and trim is the second thing a buyer takes notice of before they even enter your home. If you take care of those two things it sets their mind up to expect the inside of your home to be a place they would like to live. Of course it is imperative that the inside of your home show like a model home. Consider having your home staged to ensure your home shows at it's best for every buyer that comes to look at your home.

Promotion is the job of your real estate professional. The basic things all real estate agents should provide to you is a quality sign in your yard, a lock box for easy access and flyers for buyers to get instant information on your home when they pull up. Entry into the Multiple Listing Service is also a fundamental marketing tool you should expect from your agent. Northwest Multiple Listing Service has over 20,000 members any of which could be working with the right buyer for your home. The MLS gives those agents instant access to your property information so they can get it to their waiting buyers. In addition to the basics there are a wide variety of tools available to expose your home to the buyers and agents in Renton WA. Every Renton Real Estate Agent is unique and has an individual approach to marketing real estate in Renton. Interview several Renton Real Estate Agents to get a feel for the different marketing plans available before you decide to sign a listing agreement.

Pricing is a function of being in touch with your real estate market. Agents don't decide the price of real estate. What your neighbor says doesn't effect what your home will sell for. What you paid for your home doesn't effect what a buyer thinks it's worth today. How much you owe, how much you need or what you want does not change the value of your home to the buyers available to purchase your home today. The price your home will sell for is totally dependent on what a ready, willing and able buyer is willing to pay for your home today. Your agent's job is to help you analyze the trend for your area and help you place your home on the market at a price competitive with the other homes in Renton that are currently for sale and have recently sold. It's your job to be flexible and adjust your price if the agent is doing what they are supposed to do to expose your home and no offers come in.

This is a basic overview of what it takes to sell a home in Renton Wa or any place else for that matter. Your Renton Real Estate Agent can help you put together a personalized plan to get your home ready for sale, priced to be competitive with the market and exposed to every buyer and agent in the marketplace so you can enjoy a successful real estate transaction.

Thank You Active Rain Members!

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 17:30:42 -0500

I learned how to build a website for the first time in 1999. I had just got my insurance license and I started to work at an agency that didn't have a website and had no plans to have one. I knew it was important to have a website so I decided to build my own and that's what I did.

I found a free web-host and followed some of the tutorials. It took about a week but by trial and error I learned enough HTML to build my very first website. Of course as many of you know, If you build it they "might" come if...! I wasn't fortunate enough to have the SEO knowledge to get myself good search engine placement and I didn't get lucky.

That website ended up being just an online form I would send people to that wanted to get an insurance quote when I couldn't take their information right away.

Well I took that experience into real estate in 2002 and I had taken the position that websites are just for capturing information when I couldn't take it on the spot. I have always heard of people getting lots of leads off their website and I always wanted to know how they did it. I knew that PPC advertising was only temporary and since I rarely click on a banner ad myself, I figured it was a waste of money to go that route.

Over the last week or so I've been reading blogs about SEO and so I decided to take a couple of ideas and try them out. I still don't know exactly what I did but I goggled a couple of the keywords I decided to target and voila, today I showed up on the first page. Whoo Hooo! The keywords are buy a house in renton, renton home search, sell a house in renton, buy a renton home, sell a renton home, and a few others.

I am eternally grateful to the Active Rain community. I owe it all to the information shared here on Active Rain by agents who are willing to share what's working in their businesses with everyone in the real estate community to use as we wish.

This community is a testament to what's possible when people are dedicated to making a difference in the lives of others. As I continue to grow in my experience here, it is my intention to pay it forward and make a difference to someone else.

Thank you Active Rain Community!

"KS" Kotambu Shabazz, Renton Real Estate Agent & Loss Mitigation Consultant

http://www.kshabazz.com/

http://www.seatacinvestments.com/

I'm Facing Foreclosure, What Can I Do?

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 17:58:11 -0500

It's no secret that 2 million adjustable-rate mortgages will be reset over the next two years, according to an estimate from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and of them, about 500,000 are expected to go into default. So the question is what can be done?

In September President Bush announced FHASecure, a plan that is aimed at helping approximately 240,000 homeowners refinance their adjustable rate loan into a fixed rate FHA loan. To be eligible, they must have a sustained history of employment, sufficient income to make the refinanced mortgage payments and a history of on-time mortgage payments before the rates reset. The reset must occur between June 2005 and December 2008, the borrowers must have at least 3 percent equity in their houses, and they must pay for mortgage insurance.

In addition to this came the announcement of HOPE NOW, an initiative designed to bring together the resources of the public, non-profit and private sectors in addressing the challenges facing homeowners who are experiencing financial distress and allows for the sharing of resources to reach out to customers who are at risk and pursue options to avoid foreclosure.

With all this in place there is still one fundamental piece missing...the homeowner! "A HUD study found that half of all homeowners facing foreclosure are afraid to contact their lender for help," said Adam Glantz, a HUD spokesman in Manhattan. The banks want to help but they can't because the homeowner is avoiding them by not responding to mail or phone communication.

In an attempt to eliminate your fears surrounding talking with your lender, I want to share with you what your options are if you're facing foreclosure and don't know what to expect.

There are many workout options available but here are the most popular:

The most important of all workout strategies begins when you talk to your lender. If you don't respond to them they have to assume you don't want to work with them and their only option in that situation is to foreclose.

Forbearance- You may be allowed to delay payments for a short period, with the understanding that another option will be used afterwards to bring the account current.

Reinstatement- When you are behind in your payments but can promise a lump sum to bring payments current by a specific date.

Repayment Plan- If your account is past due, but you can now make payments, the lender may agree to let you catch up by adding a portion of the past due amount to each current monthly payment until your account is current.

Loan Modification- The lender can modify your mortgage to extend the length of your loan (or take other steps to reduce your payments). One solution is to add the past due amount into your existing loan, financing it over a long term. This may help you catch up by reducing the monthly payments to a more affordable level.

Partial Claim- Your lender may be able to work with you to obtain a one-time payment from the FHA-Insurance fund to bring your mortgage current. When your lender files a Partial Claim, HUD will pay your lender the amount necessary to bring your mortgage current.

Preforeclosure Sale- If catching up on payments is not possible, the lender might agree to put foreclosure on hold to give you some time to attempt to sell your home. This will allow you to avoid foreclosure by selling your property for an amount less than the amount necessary to pay off your mortgage loan if necessary.

Deed-in-lieu of Foreclosure- As a last resort, you may be able to voluntarily "give back" your property to the lender in exchange for them forgiving the debt. However, givebacks have a negative impact on your credit record, although not as much as a foreclosure. The lender might require that you attempt to sell the house for a specific time period before agreeing to this option, and it might not be possible if there are other liens against the home.

There are many non-profit agencies who offer assistance for free! They are available to help you navigate through these workout options to help you avoid foreclosure. For a comprehensive list of these agencies please visit www.fha.gov/foreclosure or go to www.hud.gov/foreclosure/index.cfm

There are also reputable for-profit agencies out there that will help you for a fee. Before hiring any of them, it is recommended you thoroughly investigate them for their integrity and competence.

"KS" Kotambu Shabazz

www.kshabazz.com

www.seatacinvestments.com

Free Foreclosure Help From FHA

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 13:17:32 -0500

Today I got an email from someone in California asking for help with her foreclosure. She found me browsing Active Rain and ran across a post I had submitted regarding foreclosures. I must say I was kind of shocked because I thought it would have taken months to build up an "online reputation" through consistent blogging before I would've ever gotten a client from my blogging efforts. It took almost a week to the day!

I'm a Real Estate Agent & Loss Mitigation Consultant in Renton, WA. I never would have thought that just by sharing my ideas here in this community it would lead to me being a benefit to someone that far away.

I refer homeowners to my affiliate company Freedom Foreclosure Prevention Services, LLC for foreclosure/loss mitigation assistance and of course they charge a fee for their services. FFPS is very ethical and operates with a high degree of integrity which is why I chose to affiliate with them for their services.

I also make it known that there are free services out there that offer foreclosure assistance to homeowners. For a comprehensive list of these agencies and other foreclosure resources visit www.fha.gov/foreclosure

Kotambu "KS" Shabazz

www.kshabazz.com

My Fun Friday In Renton, WA

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 21:42:37 -0500

I took a look at Localism today and to my amazement there was only one picture posted for the city of Renton, WA. After the shock wore off I decided to do something about it.

I went on an excursion!

Because I had to run a few errands today anyway, I decided to multi-task. I took my camera with me and away I went. I had to go to Skyway first. Skyway is a suburb of Renton. Because Skyway is one of the highest points on the West Hill I took a few photos. From this vantage point there are exquisite views of Lake Washington, the Cascade Mountain Range, Mt Rainier, Downtown Seattle, Mercer Island and of course Downtown Renton!

Next I went to Rainier Ave to the parking lot of the Renton Chamber of Commerce. This parking lot also serves an an observation point for plane watchers. Just east of the chamber building is Renton Airport. Renton airport is attached to Being and serves as the airport for completed planes leaving Boeing on their maiden flight. It truly is amazing seing these big jets take off for the first time never to return to this airport again. Their first stop is the paint shop at some location north of Seattle.

Next I went to Renton High School. Renton High just underwent a major facelift and shines like a light. Because my freshman through sophomore years were spent at this school I felt compelled to take a picture for all to see. On the East portion of the high school is the Renton Ikea Performing Arts Center. Ikea donated this to the community a few years back and it serves a a major attraction for local performing arts.

After leaving Renton High I paid a visit to the downtown Renton transit station and civic center. If you know anything about "Old Renton" you know that the construction of the transit station and civic center was the beginning of the rebuilding of Downtown Renton. This place really gives Renton a downtown feel and look. Of course I took a few pics there too and off to the next location.

Next I went over to The Landing. This is where I will pick up on my next post after I have a chance to upload the pictures from this leg of my excursion.

Until then go to Localism, Click on the state of Washington, and click on Renton to see the pics from the first leg.

Today I Had a blast!!

Kotambu "KS" Shabazz

www.kshabazz.com

Are There Any Landmark Education Graduates Out There?

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 23:46:50 -0500

I just created a new group called Transformation & Real Estate, http://activerain.com/groups/transformation today.

If you are a graduate of Landmark Education and and would like a place to network with other graduates, share possibilities and support each other please join this group.

Who I am is the possibility of Love, Relatedness, Inspiration & Making A Difference.

Who are you?

Finally, Talks of A Standardized Loss Mitigation Process

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 22:58:18 -0500

This is my first blog ever! Thanks AR for providig a platform for me to express myself.

For those of us who have been trying to make a difference by helping homeowners facing foreclosure with short sales or other loss mitigation techniques, there may be a ray of hope coming.

The Bush Administration announced the New Hope partnership today as a plan to coordinate the efforts of mortgage counselors, servicers, lenders, investors, and state and local government to reach as many homeowners as possible to prevent foreclosures.

If you have ever had to advocate on behalf of a homeowner and try to get to a person who can make a decision on a short sale, you know how beneficial a standard process can be. I have been involved in transactions where I submitted a valid offer to the bank and the customer service rep took weeks to get back to me and the only answer they could give me was my offer is being reviewed. How frustrating! Add to that the difficulty getting a valid phone number, email address or anything else that can help you get to a human being to talk to about your case and this can be a challenging task to take on.

Hope Now is an initiative that aims to reach at-risk homeowners, encouraging them to communicate with their lenders or a credit counselor. The banks and servicers who have agreed to participate in this partnership have agreed to adopt a standard process to speed the work flow, productivity and communications between servicers and counselors.

What great news that is for us practitioners! Even though this initiative is designed to improve communication between the homeowner and their lender, I think we will benefit from the improved process at the bank.

According to the Financial Services Roundtable, lenders participating in Hope Now include Bank of America, Citigroup Inc., Countrywide Financial Corp., Freddie Mac, First Horizon National Corp., GMAC, ResCap, HSBC North America Holdings Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co, National City, Option One Mortgage, SunTrust Mortgage Inc., Washington Mutual Inc., and Wells Fargo & Co.

Way to go for those who agreed to participate. Let's get with it for those who didn't! I'm going to keep my ears open for the results of this initiative.