FOR RELEASE: IMMEDIATE

DATE: 06/28/09                 For more information, please contact: Mike Kelly  707-322-8503

 MICHAEL J. KELLY EARNS PRESTIGIOUS DESIGNATION TO HELP HOMEOWNERS IN DANGER OF FORECLOSURE

Mike Kelly  of Keller Williams Realty of Santa Rosa has earned the prestigious Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation, having completed extensive training in foreclosure avoidance and short sales. This is invaluable expertise to offer at a time when the area is ravaged by "distressed" homes in the foreclosure process.

 Short sales allow the cash-strapped seller to repay the mortgage at the price that the home sells for, even though it is lower than what is owed on the property. With plummeting property values, this can save many people from foreclosure and even bankruptcy. More and more lenders are willing to consider short sales because they are much less costly than foreclosures.

4,000,000+ homes are in danger of foreclosing. It is happening in all price ranges. Local experts say that even high-priced homes are not immune.

"This CDPE designation has been invaluable as I work with sellers and lenders on complicated short sales," said REALTOR Kelly. "It is so rewarding to be able to help sellers save their homes from foreclosure."

 Alex Charfen, founder of the Distressed Property Institute in Boca Raton, Fla., said that Realtors® such as Mike Kelly with the CDPE designation have valuable training in short sales that can offer the homeowner much better alternatives to foreclosure, which virtually destroys the credit rating. These experts also may better understand market conditions and can help sellers through the emotional experience, he said.

 The Distressed Property Institute opened in January 2008 and provides training on-site and online. The CDPE is the premier designation for Realtors helping homeowners in distress and handling short sales.

 "Our goal is to educate as many people as possible so we can help as many homeowners as possible," Charfen said.

 Mr. Kelly, a 30+ year Realtor exclusively working in the Sonoma County market also holds the prestigious Certified Residential Specialist as well as the Certified International Property Specialist and the Senior Property Real Estate designations.

He can be reached at 707-322-8503 or at mkelly@realtour.com or www.MikeKelly.com

   What this industry needs NOW is a constant, thorough, standardized set of practices on Short-Sales. The numbers are absolutely NUMBING when you look at the default rates and realize the BANKS cannot keep on foreclosing! They are already carrying huge reserves at historic highs as they take back properties and lay away reserves in light of ANOTHER foreclosure-you can't make loans when your money is tied up in reserves because of MORE foreclosures--the way out will be to limit the REO's to a trickle--keeping values up, and to encourage and get DONE more short-sales.

  However, NOT in the way some of you have been discussing. You need to LIST Short-Sales like you would ANY Transaction. If your Seller is NOT motivated then either let them go (and I mean this in a spiritual sense as well!!) as foreclosure may be their only way out or a restructuring under Bankruptcy rules (they should seek out this on their own accord!). If they do not wish to keep the house staged, provide all documentation to you AND the lender, and won't price it to sell then get rid of them! I read a post which was heart wrenching because the Realtor/Agent was just holding onto failed homes way too tight!

  I had a property just prime for a short-sale but my attorney client stated he would NOT give any personal financial information to the lender. No persuading on my part could convince him to do so. He felt, at his old age, he was NOT going to be making anymore substantial purchases and a foreclosure on his record was the least of his worries--SO WHY would I even attempt to try a short-sale with this mindset? Of course I wouldn't! Just because a short-sale is the right thing to do in your eye doesn't mean your CLIENT wants this. As Zig Ziglar once quipped, "Before you become the answer to their Prayers--learn what they are praying for!" 

  And those of you who are wringing their hands over the plight of folks loosing their homes remember we have NEW families equally excited about purchasing that property! We have little girls and boys saying, "This is my room Mommy"! This is the way it is and has been for years. When you beat out another agent in a bidding war during the heyday I didn't read posts about Realtors/Agents sobbing over the lost opportunity of the OTHER family who lost out on what might have been THEIR dream home. Get over it! Stay compassionate, have empathy but don't allow gross sentimentality to distort your Fiduciary to your clients!

First Time Home Buyers--Great News!

The California Association of Realtors has found their First-time Buyer Housing Affordability Index stood at 69% in the frist quarter of 2009!! With a  median price of an entry level home at $213,040 the average payment would be $1,270/month! You would need an annual income of $38,090 to afford this home.

  Consider the 2nd quarter of 2007 when the affordability factor was at 26%! Median House price for entry level was $503,000, Monthly payment of $3,193.00/month with an annual income of $95,803!!

We've come a long way in pricing and are allowing SO MANY more buyers into the marketplace!! Here in Lovely Sonoma County we have 63% affordability for first timer homebuyers with median rice of $275,000 (you can get homes for a LOT LESS! We just sold a condo for $72,000!) with payments of $1,640 and an income of $49,260!! Big news. Now's the time to take advantage of decreased pricing, low interest rates and motivated Sellers!