City of Alexandria (Virginia) residents have another foreclosure prevention resource. McEnearney Associates Inc. real estate agent and Associate Broker Tamara Inzunza is serving the needs of homeowners and clients better by becoming a Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE).
In any given market there is always a certain percentage of homes or homeowners who are distressed. Under normal real estate market conditions there are 1% to 3% of homes in distress, in today's market, distressed properties can represent as many as 1 out of 10 homes on the market. Because the distressed market has violently collided with the traditional Alexandria VA real estate market, it has become necessary that real estate agents become more prepared and more involved with helping homeowners prevent foreclosure.
With twelve years of real estate sales experience in Alexandria and the Northern Virginia area, Tamara Inzunza is one of less than 1,000 agents nationwide (out of over 1.2 million Realtors in the U.S.) who holds the CDPE designation. "Most people have options when it comes to foreclosure, and sadly as many as 7 out of 10 homes go to foreclosure without any intervention," explains Inzunza. That means that there was no effort made for a loan modification, refinance, forebearance, or any other alternative that may have proved successful.
Foreclosure can happen to any home owner, no matter what the income bracket, years of ownership, loan type, or property type. When workers are laid off by the hundreds, or thousands, we see an increase in foreclosures in the under $400,000 price range. When companies, businesses, and corporations go under, upper bracket homes can also become distressed.
Real estate in Old Town Alexandria and Del Ray has been more protected because of its location. However, in Alexandria City, there were 118 homes that went into foreclosure during the first 11 months of 2007, and that number increased to 324 during the first 11 months of 2008. Properties affected include condos, duplexes, townhomes, and detached homes for sale in all price ranges.
Alexandria homeowners can rely on a real estate agent with the CDPE designation to accurately explain the consequences of a foreclosure. "We live in an area where a lot of the population is employed either by the military or government. Most people don't know that if you have a top secret security clearance, a foreclosure can challenge your security clearance and you could lose your job. In addition to that, you will likely have to disclose that you've previously lost a home to foreclosure when applying for any new job," says Inzunza.
Before just 'walking away' from a home, owners in distress should see if they qualify for an Alexandria short sale. A short sale means NO FORECLOSURE on your credit report. Even if a mortgage payment has been missed, and the bank has delived a notice of default, a successful short sale can stop the foreclosure process on your Alexandria VA home and save your credit.
The CDPE network is a close-knit network of agents across the country who share resources and information on foreclosure prevention strategies to help KEEP home owners in their home, and exhaust all resources to avoid foreclosure. Tamara Inzunza can be reached by email at tinzunza@McEnearney.com.
Most people have options when it comes to foreclosure. Very few people know exactly where to go or who to call...until now.
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