Enatai: A trail runs through it Forget the walking score of 38 Enatai is a very walkable neighborhood, particularly if you enjoy an active outdoor Pacific Northwest lifestyle.  Enatai is perhaps one of best kept secrets in King County.  Enatai residences know and embrace the character, majestic trees and the inter-connectivity of the area. Running through Enatai is 108th Avenue SE , which runs from Bellevue Way to I-90, the road has been improved to accommodate cyclists and walkers.  Within the Enatai neighborhood 108th connects neighbors to the local elementary schools, numerous parks including the Enatai Beach Park and access to the I-90 trailhead. The street is a two lane road with large trees on both sides provides shade during the hot summer days, habitat enhancements and a calming... 04/10/2013

Bellevue WA – If you’re trying to get a loan modification, then you have think like a banker. How you present your finances is the key to success. You’ve got to show them an income that’s not too high and not too low. If you show them too low an income, they’re going to say “Oh, this guy can’t afford his house payment. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. If we reduce his payment to $800, he won’t even be able to afford it anyway so what’s the point in reducing it? Before, he thought he could pay $1,200 a month. He can’t even pay the $800 a month that’s he’s asking for today. He’s not making enough money, based on our ratios, to be able to afford it.” Here’s what happens if your income is too high. Click here to continue reading. 04/09/2013

  West Bellevue's real estate inventory continues to tighten The median list price in West Bellevue, WA 98004 this week is $1,275,000 up slightly from last weeks $1,124,475.  Inventory is tightening and days-on-market is falling.  The  Market Action Index (MAI see below chart) shows demand is heating up.  These are relatively bullish signs for real estate prices.   Supply and Demand Home sales in West Bellevue have been exceeding new inventory for several weeks.  However because of excess inventory, prices have not yet stopped falling.  Since the market is already in the Seller’s zone, expect prices to level off very soon. Should the sales trend continue expect that prices could climb from there. Price Again this week in West Bellevue prices bumped up a bit but the trend of recent weeks... 04/08/2013

1980's Mithun designed home in Enatai for sale - Open Sunday   The price of homes listed for sale in Enatai range in price from $874,000 for a nicely remodeled 2700+ home to a $6 million 6,000 sq.ft waterfront home.   Open this Sunday April 21, 2013 from 1-4 3242 110th SE Bellevue, WA. 98004- is the Mithun designed neo-contemporary home. The home has been tastefully updated throughout without compromising the original design. Big views, location and an abundance of natural daylighting make this home a rare find. Located within walking distance to Enatai  Beach Park and the scenic  I-90 trail head, the Enatai community offers many recreational and leisure activities in a relax environment with easy access to downtown Bellevue and Seattle.  For more information contact Adrian Willanger 20... 04/05/2013

Mithun’s neo-contemporary designed home in Enatai remains timeless The Omer Mithun & Associates designed home in Bellevue’s Enatai neighborhood stands as a strong reminder of how designs sometimes evolve from life situations.  As a result of the mid 1970 energy crisis Americans became increasing more concerned about energy-efficient then they had been in the early 1970s and by the early 1980s many designers and builders were employing energy efficient measures in their homes. Mithun’s Enatai designed home built in 1981 offers many of the characteristics of the earlier contemporary designed homes in the 1970s.  Included in the Enatai home were many passive solar design elements.  The east-west sighting of the home maximizes the amount of natural sun, daylighting and views of Mt. Rainier... 04/03/2013

Bellevue WA – Getting a loan modification accepted is tough. Many that should have be accepted end up rejected. I recently saw a bank foreclose on a 400k mortgage. The house sold for 130k! They would have made more money just cutting the homeowner’s payments in half! This kind of stupidity gets on my nerves. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Some people have mentioned a strategy that can help you reduce your payments without a mod. A person with two mortgages just stops paying the 2nd mortgage. I won’t recommend that you try it. Here is why some people have said this strategy works. Let’s say John owns a house worth 200k. He owes his 1st mortgage 200k, and his 2nd mortgage 50k. John stops paying the 2nd mortgage. The 2nd mort... 04/02/2013

West Bellevue’s real estate inventory tightening  The median list price in West Bellevue, WA 98004 this week is $1,224,475.  Inventory is tightening and days-on-market is falling.  The  Market Action Index (MAI see below chart) shows demand is up.  These are relatively bullish signs for real estate prices.     Supply and Demand Home sales in West Bellevue have been exceeding new inventory for several weeks.  However because of excess inventory, prices have not yet stopped falling.  Should the sales trend continue, expect prices to level off soon and potentially to resume their climb from there.  Watch prices as the market transitions from a Buyer’s to a Seller’s market.   Price Again this week in West Bellevue we have seen a downward notch for prices.  Pricing has been weak in recent w... 04/01/2013

Bellevue WA – Here are the recommended steps to take before you strategically default. We have consulted a financial expert who recommends these steps before strategically defaulting. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. He believes that taking these steps will reduce the likelihood of your lender pursuing you after a short sale or foreclosure. We have to warn you of what could happen if you take these steps. If you stop paying your credit cards, car loan, or house payment, then you could lose your house, car, and face lawsuits from your creditors. Your credit rating will also suffer. In addition, you risk being chased down by your credit cards. All of this is risky and no one knows for sure exactly what will happen. So consult ... 04/01/2013

Bellevue WA – Yesterday, we told you about a new program that Fair Isaac, the founder of the FICO score, came out with to tracks strategic defaults. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. If you are thinking about a strategic default, then you must be aware of this. FICO claims to be able to notify a lender when someone has strategically defaulted, or looks ready to strategically default. This helps lenders implement additional collection procedures to get you to repay their loss. I spoke with an expert in the industry. I wanted to know how he thinks they find the strategic defaulters. Click HERE to continue reading. 03/29/2013

Bellevue WA – Banks must hate Strategic Defaults. A person who walks away from hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt gets on their nerves. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. It must bug them so bad that Fair Isaac, the founder of the FICO score, came out with a program that tracks strategic defaults. Here is the story according to Inman News: “Article Title: FICO to walkaways: You’re on our screen Fair Isaac, developer of the ubiquitous FICO score, has a new warning for homeowners plotting a strategic default or walk away: We can now spot you in advance. We’ve developed a black-box risk-identification tool that enables lenders and mortgage servicers to tag you months in advance – and then pursue their own strategic measures... 03/28/2013

Bellevue WA – Debt collectors are infamous for multiple phone calls at all hours of the day. One person told the Stop Foreclosure Institute that he would receive several phone calls the first thing Sunday Morning. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. “They would call my home phone at 8:15AM on Sunday. This was the only day that I had to sleep in and they woke me up. I had 2 other people call me before noon”, he told us. This is the biggest complaint the Stop Foreclosure Institute has heard about debt collectors. People have told us, “No matter how many times I tell them to stop calling, they still call me.” Let me give you the inside story. The reason this happens is because most people don’t do anything about it. They just lear... 03/27/2013

Bellevue WA – I’ve heard of debt collectors contacting people’s family and relatives trying to reach them for “an important business matter.” Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. When they tell the relative their business name, then it becomes obvious what is happening. They do this as an attempt to embarrass a debtor into paying them. Here is what most debtors do not know. This is actually a violation of a Federal Law called The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, provided the debt collector has your information already. I have seen this happen in many situations. Someone gets a call from a debt collector. A few days later that same person calls their relative and says they can’t reach the debtor. They are not allowed to do tha... 03/27/2013

Bellevue WA – Debt collectors are very creative in their attempts to convince debtors to pay. Fortunately we have the law protecting us called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. I don’t know what happened before the law was passed. But, after reading thru the law, you can see it was pretty bad. It sounds like debt collectors would call late at night, threaten debtors with violence, use profane language, and do anything else they could think of to harass debtors into paying. Fortunately the law says that they are not allowed to call before 8AM or after 9PM. In addition, they are not allowed to threaten you with violence or tell other people about your alleged debt. But, the biggest violat... 03/27/2013

Bellevue WA – You would be shocked ad how many times I have seen debt collectors use illegal debt collection techniques to collect on unpaid bills or credit cards. For example, there are Federal Laws that regulate what a debt collector can do or say. They aren’t allowed to threaten to sue you, but then not follow through and actually file suit. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. To get around this rule, they will use language that sounds legal, but isn’t. In one situation, a debt collector in Buffalo, New York named their firm Hoffman, Weinberg & O’Brien to make it sound like they were a law firm. They would then leave a message every couple of days on a person’s phone. Click HERE to continue reading. 03/21/2013

Bellevue WA – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from another Realtor named Sandy. Here is her question. “An agent in my office currently has a listing under contract. It is a short sale, the sad thing is that the Large National Bank (to remain unnamed) notified the sellers that they had foreclosed a month ago. Fact is, they had not foreclosed. The employee didn’t know what they were talking about. Valuable time and a buyer were lost during this fiasco. This deal is currently awaiting approval. There is no telling what will happen in the end. My question is this. What can we do to track the foreclosures and see when the bank is foreclosing and when my client will have to move out? Sandy.” Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and... 03/21/2013

Bellevue WA – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from James. Here is his question. “Do you have any suggestions on a surprise lien from a Water Softener company? We were able to get Bank of America to approve the short sale without paying the lien. It could take another 60 days for Bank of America to agree to pay the lien. The buyers don’t want to wait that long. Is there anything we can do? James.” Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Here is the answer to James’s Question. Yes, you can get rid of it. But, it will take time. Option #1: Many states have laws that allow a homeowner to remove liens if the property is their homestead. For example, Florida has a law that enables the seller to file to release... 03/21/2013

Bellevue Real Estate - Lakemont Home for Sale 4 BedroomA lifestyle above it all in Bellevue's treasured Lakemont neighborhood. Top-of-the-world Lake Sammamish views meet IMAX vision with panoramic Olympic/Cascade mountain vistas showcased from main level rooms in this 4450 sq ft Bellevue Lakemont home for sale with 4 beds and 3.5 baths. Surrounded by 13,838 sq ft of manicured view grounds, the rolling green lawn and 4-season gardens create arboretum delight with the front and backyards.Walls of glass soar to elevated ceilings, architectural columns create a European flair, and the see-through fireplace between the living and dining rooms is equal parts elegant, sophisticated and flat-out flirtatious.  A natural born entertainer, this Lakemont property for sale features an open floor pla... 03/19/2013

Bellevue WA – One of the Stop Foreclosure Institute members talked to a homeowner recently about a short sale. Her house was close to being foreclosed upon. She had thought about short selling the house. But, she had heard from her friends that banks don’t really like short sales and never pursued the option. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. The fact is that banks are better setup for foreclosures. It is only with the recent historic drop in home values that short sales have more common. Banks always knew that a short sale would reduce their losses compared to a foreclosure. Even the federal government agrees. That is why congress added short sale incentives to the recent loan modification laws. FHA is another quasi federal ... 03/15/2013

Bellevue WA – Lenders hate losing money. They hate loan modifications, principal reductions, and any other thing that causes them to lose money. But, in today’s tough economy they have no choice but to accept them. The primary reason a lender will grant a loan modification is because that usually reduces their losses. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. If they foreclosed on the house instead, then the losses would be larger. Besides most foreclosures take 18-24 months and often longer. (That alone should convince you that their losses will be larger after a foreclosure.) Use this to your benefit when negotiating a loan modification. Hire a real estate agent to tell you what your house is worth. Then, show your lender that valu... 03/15/2013

Bellevue WA – If your loan has Private Mortgage Insurance, also known as PMI, then there is a high likelihood that they will request that you sign a promissory note. Today’s blog post talks about how to convince the lender to waive it. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. PMI companies are notorious for asking for promissory notes. The reason they ask for them so much is because there is no risk in doing so. If the home is foreclosed upon, then they will have to pay a claim for the loss. If the home is sold as a short sale, then they will have to pay a claim for the loss. Either way, they have the same result. But, if they get a promissory note, then they get some money to help cover the claim. Either way, there is no risk to th... 03/15/2013