short sales: “The Short Sale Decision” - 02/26/15 10:01 PM


“The Short Sale Decision”
 
It seems like the majority of people that own a home that may be worth less than the debt often feel there is no hope. Many want to get out from under and purchase another home, sometimes larger, other times smaller. Yet others had a short sale over the last few years and aren’t aware they can purchase another home.
 
The problem is there is so much BAD information out there that most folks just don’t know what might be possible in the future, as far as a mortgage goes. Many … (17 comments)

short sales: “Down to Crunch Time with Debt Forgiveness Act” - 12/15/13 08:15 PM
“Down to Crunch Time with Debt Forgiveness Act”   Is it just me or are we just not seeing a lot of attention in Washington on this issue. I know that I continue to do mortgages on a regular basis that are part of a short sale.   The Debt Forgiveness Act expires 12/31 and if it is not extended, it will certainly affect those that are considering doing a short sale in the future. On top of the painful decision, added to that, this now becomes a taxable event.   Hopefully Washington will do the right thing, extend the Debt … (18 comments)

short sales: “Surveys, Do They Really Tell Us Anything?” - 03/23/13 10:50 PM
“Surveys, Do They Really Tell Us Anything?”   I was reading the result of a survey of a group of housing experts. There was common agreement that home values with be back to “pre housing bubble” values by 2017.   Anyone in the real estate business, throughout the country, knows it all depends on where you are and employment numbers in that area. Let’s look beyond the numbers. In many parts of the country, one third of real estate sales are made up of short sales or bank owned properties, in other areas very few.     I speak to many folks … (16 comments)

short sales: Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, Will it be Extended? - 12/29/12 02:25 AM
 
“Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, Will it be Extended?”
 
I presently have 2 properties on deposit, that are short sales. I have already been put on notice, that if not extended, then one of these transactions is not going forward.
 
I am not surprised and others will make similar decisions and that is not good for folks that need to get out of their current home. It will certainly hurt many buyers as well, going forward.
 
Those we elected to lead in this country should certainly get failing grades for their work that they are doing … (10 comments)

short sales: The Time is Now for Extending Mortgage Forgiveness Bill - 12/10/12 06:12 AM
“The Time is Now for Extending Mortgage Forgiveness Bill”
 
They are talking about addressing this bill after an agreement is going to be addressed after the “fiscal Cliff”. Unless they incorporate this bill with the tax and spending “fiscal cliff”, this won’t be taken up until next year, which will put many short sales in jeopardy.
 
If this mortgage forgiveness bills becomes political, this could take a while. I have deposits on 2 short sales, in one case, I have already been told, if the sunset provision expires on 12/31 and a new agreement is not worked out, … (11 comments)

short sales: Debt Forgiveness Time Clock is Ticking - 10/13/12 04:10 AM
“Debt Forgiveness Time Clock is Ticking”
The debt forgiveness tax exemption is due to expire 12/31/12. Can you imagine the amount of folks in this country, that would most likely put a stop to the short sales that are in process or will happen in the future?
Right now the loss associated with the sale of the property is considered income, but has been tax exempt to the last 5 years.
The Congress and Senate will need to extend this law, in order for the real estate sales to continue, so that homeowners can get out of the underwater properties.
(14 comments)

short sales: Jobs, the Key to Real Values, Going Forward - 10/04/12 04:01 AM
 
“Jobs, the Key to Real Values, Going Forward”
 
Banks are very sensitive to the unemployment numbers. If there was declining unemployment numbers, they would put a lot more properties onto the market and unload unwanted inventory.
 
No one really knows, how many houses are just sitting and not on the market, even though these house could be put on the market tomorrow. These institutions are afraid of just dumping inventory and hurting real estate values.
 
Here is a case in point. I owe two houses and a larger storage building in Plainfield, Ct. There is an empty … (10 comments)

short sales: Many More Short Sales to Come - 10/01/12 10:35 PM
“Many More Short Sales to Come”
I was having lunch with one of my Realtor referral partners the other day. He was telling me that over 50% of his sales today involve a short sales.
We started talking about the folks that are selling these homes. Can you imagine the huge number of people that now have to rent? Can you imagine the number of potential future home buyers?
In most cases, they will need to wait 3 years before they will be able to obtain a new mortgage. There are exceptions to this rule. We could turn the value of real estate … (84 comments)

short sales: MORTGAGE DEBT RELIEF ACT MIGHT GET EXTENDED - 08/20/12 10:53 PM
 
“Mortgage Debt Relief Act Might Get Extended”
 
I have been writing on this topic for a while now. With all the folks that are involved with a short sale and foreclosure, to now have a huge tax consequence as well. They already have enough problems without adding one more.  Most likely, they would not be able to pay the taxes that would be due.
 
I am not a big advocate of tax breaks, but this is an exception. Personally I think the Mortgage Tax Relief Act should be extended for two years, but it looks like 1 year is … (1 comments)

short sales: I HAVEN'T MADE A MORTGAGE PAYMENT FOR THREE YEARS, CAN YOU HELP ME? - 07/29/12 09:29 PM
“I Haven’t Made a Mortgage Payment for Three Years, Can You Help Me Get a New Mortgage?”
I’m sorry, even if I could, I wouldn’t. I actually got this call today. My first reaction was to just hang up, but decided to find out some additional information.
This guy lost his overtime and started falling behind on this credit card debts, $45,000 worth. Eventually, stopped making the payments on the cards all together, $1,900 per month.
OK, if you are not making payments on credit cards, then you must be able to make your mortgage payment without any difficulty. I … (6 comments)

short sales: NEW SHORT SALE TIMELINE BEGINS JUNE 25TH - 06/20/12 02:38 AM
“New Short Sale Timeline Begins June 25th”
Call me foolish for being skeptical. I presently have contracts on 3 short sales, that range 1 1/2  to 5 months. The two longest contracts 4-5 months respectively. We are constantly being told, we should have the approvals shortly.
How are they going to get from the old history to this new and improved version in a matter of a few day? If it was possible to turn these decisions around in these newly regulated time frames, what was going on before?
The sooner we can get these shorts sales and foreclosures cleaned … (6 comments)

short sales: SHORT SALES GET A BOOST - 06/04/12 03:07 AM
“Short Sales Get a Boost”
Second mortgage holders have always been a problem, when it comes to getting a short sale approved and understandably so. They can now get up to $8,500. The treasury increased the amount that the second mortgage holder can receive by $2,500.
This is welcome news to the real estate community. Maybe now some of the short sales that have been held up can now get completed. Hopefully, this will speed up the process as well!
Treasury Change on Second Lien Release Could Boost Short Sales
By: Brian Collins
The Treasury Department’s decision to raise the amount … (6 comments)

short sales: ARTICLE SAYS HOMEOWNERSHIP PLUMMETS TO 15 YEAR LOW - 05/07/12 10:25 PM
“Articles Says Homeownership Plummets to 15 Year Low”
Now let’s use a little common sense. Let’s think about all the foreclosures and short sales that have taken place over the last three years. Does anybody think that any of those former homeowners could go right out to buy another house? I don’t think so!
 
Do we think that some of these former homeowners  will become future homeowners, they sure would. Many would tomorrow, if there was mortgage available for them. Right now, the earliest that someone who lost a home, has to wait a minimum of 36 months, they must … (5 comments)

short sales: FANNIE MAE & FREDDIE MAC SAY, SHORT SALES TO BE STREAMLINED IN JUNE - 04/24/12 02:25 AM
“Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Say, Short Sales to be Streamlined in June”
For the most part, I'm not in favor of all the crazy regulations that we have to deal with in the mortgage industry, that are labeled for the good of the people. All of which means you can’t think for yourself, so we’ll do the thinking for you. However, if this really works the way that it is being sold to us, count me in favor of it.
The sooner that we work through the foreclosure and short sale process in this country, the sooner we can stabilize values, … (4 comments)

short sales: WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE DEBT FORGIVENESS LAW EXPIRES 12/31/12? - 01/18/12 01:34 AM
“What Happens After the Debt Forgiveness Law Expires 12/31/12?”
Many folks involved in a short sale don’t have any idea of the tax consequences (Debt forgiveness), they avoided. What happens after the this law expires at year end? Will this law be extended? That is the sixty-four thousand dollar question.
 
 
 
Will an educated homeowner be willing to do a short sales, if there is no debt forgiveness law in place? Without a continuation of the debt forgiveness law, that is set to expire 12/31/12, the information below is what happens.
Tax implications of the short sale.
If a homeowner … (3 comments)

short sales: GREAT FORECLOSURE NEWS GOING FORWARD - 01/13/12 02:07 AM
“Great Foreclosure News Going Forward”

Going forward, this is a great sign. Here is the problem, the backlog of existing foreclosures already started is a huge number. I’m not sure anyone really knows how many houses that is or if these numbers exist, they are not being shared.
Many states are bogged down, as a result of the robo signing fiasco. There are foreclosures that we started up to 3 years ago, that are just plain not going through the court systems.
The numbers game also goes on with the unemployment numbers. They are reported around 8.5%, but no one’s … (4 comments)

short sales: HOUSE FLIPPING OFTEN GETS A BAD RAP - 01/05/12 02:25 AM
“House Flipping Often Gets a Bad Rap”   My wife and I have flipped over 500 homes over the years. I wish I could say every house made a profit, fortunately most did. There must be something wrong with making a profit? As many articles seem to be saying so.   I am constantly reading and hearing about fraud being committed, which I’m sure happens, but that is not the way we operate and either do most people that are also flipping houses. Most folks that do this business have done a lot to improve communities and neighborhoods. We have taken … (0 comments)

short sales: SURVEY SHOWS FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS GROWING WEARY OF SHORT SALES - 09/30/11 04:22 AM
“Survey Shows First Time Home Buyers Growing Weary of Short Sales”
Right now, I don’t see a solution to this problem. I interview many first time home buyer during the preapproval process. Many have raised the same concern and most say they will still go after the best buy that they can find and more times than not, that means a short sale.

When I refer these clients to a Realtor, I make sure they understand the short sales process. Most are great, but I have made a few mistakes. The Realtor that understands the short sale process makes the … (2 comments)

short sales: NOT WILLING TO BE A PARTICIPANT - 09/01/11 02:08 AM
“Not Willing to be a Participant”   A few months ago a Realtor referred a client to me for a mortgage. The referring Realtor said he came across my name through Linkedin. Always happy to hear that my Linkedin efforts were working. The basic story was, this transaction had to be done right away and the buyer of the property was another Realtor. He said this was a short sale and the bank requires a closing in 3 weeks. The three weeks was fine, but this scenario always makes me concerned and unfortunately, suspicious.   In the application process I asked … (2 comments)

 
Joe Petrowsky, Your Mortgage Consultant for Life (Mortgage Consultant, Right Trac Financial Group, Inc. NMLS # 2709)

Joe Petrowsky

Your Mortgage Consultant for Life

Manchester, CT

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Mortgage Consultant, Right Trac Financial Group, Inc. NMLS # 2709

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