Short Sale My Queen Creek Home: October 2009

Our passion is to help those facing foreclosure to deal with their situations, either themselves or with the help of professionals.  It  is our opinion that homeowners in trouble should  consider trying to negotiate with their lender themselves before paying any company to obtain a modification/deed in lieu or short sale.

The key is (I) not to wait until too late if your own efforts are not successful and (ii) not to accept a servicer's offer just to reinstate the mortgage and spread arrearages, when you could not pay the basic mortgage payment in the first place.

Usually what they offer is not what can be negotiated.  Remember that they are not going to just reduce your payments to be helpful.  They will go only as far as they feel they need to.  Good negotiating is an art and you can either learn it or have us do it for you.

Remember, once you accept a modification or forbearance plan, the holder will never renegotiate it.  So do not make the mistake of taking what they first offer or settling for something that is not realistic for your budget or will not last you long term.  For example, if you owe $500,000 on your home and it is now worth $250,000, and you know you may need to sell in 5 years.....a loan modification that does not reduce the principle is probably not the best option for you as you may just be avoiding the inevitable.  The likelihood that you will recoup $250,000 of your home's value in 5 years is slim to none.  In this case, a short sale may be your best option.  Better to do it now rather than later so that you can begin the recovery process immediately and move on.

How to handle a foreclosure:

There are, basically, five parts to obtaining a desired result.

Part one is to put together all of your documents and prepare certain forms necessary to deal with loan servicers.

Part two is to put together the facts of the origination of your loan to show the servicer and holder that you can legally contest the foreclosure and that foreclosure will be very expensive in comparison to a modification, or deed in lieu or short sale.

Part 3 is to slow down the actual foreclosure process, to allow time to negotiate.

Part 4 is to put together a plan that will fit the holders' underwriting guidelines.

Part 5 is to break through the servicer's lower level personel to a decision maker and then negotiate.

If, at any point in this process,  you find that you might not be successful, we are available to assist you with further educational materials and/or negotiation services that have achieved over a 90 percent success rate to date.

If you desire more information or wish to engage us please contact us. 

Best of luck to you!!!!

Jessica Sulliman & Randy Curnutt

Realtor, Real Estate Consultant, REO & Short Sale Specialist

      jessica.sulliman@ashbyrealty.com                      

      (602) 677-7977 Jessica Direct 

      (602) 677-1002 Randy Direct 

      (602) 445-9931 Fax                                   

      www.sunshinespecialists.com      

EVERYTHING LENDERS DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT FORECLOSURES ......and how to use it to your advantage.

Every day we read about the "foreclosure crises" and how the real estate market crash was responsible for it.  NOT TRUE.  The truth is that most  mortgages that are in foreclosure today, were made by lenders who knew  that the borrowers would be unable to pay unless they refinanced.  And they should have known that great markets don't last forever and people would not be able to refinance.

How does an adjustable rate starting at 2 percent and going to 10 in two years sound??  Think anyone  could afford that jump??

The terms were unconscionable; not just ethically, but legally.  As was predictable by every lender, when prices started dropping  and the credit scores of these consumers did not improve, refinancing was not possible and foreclosures resulted.

And now, we are all left holding the bag.

That is only the beginning. Almost every loan for the last 14 years was made with an improperly done appraisal.  Appraisals, under a law called FIRREA are supposed to be totally independant, but realtors, mortgage brokers and lenders made sure that appraisers were pressured into inflating appraisals.  That pressure violates any number of laws and regulations and can be used to the borrowers advantage.

 Many loan documents  did not properly compute the APR on the loan, which is another improper practice.

Loan terms were unexplained and were never properly explained or disclosed.  Actual fraud was not unheard of and consumers were the victims, although lenders claimed it was them.

But, there are ways that the lenders' conduct and its impact on the cost of foreclosures, can be used to negotiate afforable modifications, deeds in lieu of foreclosure and short sales.  That is our specialty and we do it very, very well.  In fact, to date, we have been succesful almost 90 percent of the time.

For more information on how you can find and use this information please contact us.  We specialize in short sales, but if another foreclosure alternative is in your best interest, we can assist with that as well or refer you to someone who can do it better.  I do hope that this information is helpful!

Jessica Sulliman & Randy Curnutt

Realtor, Real Estate Consultant, REO & Short Sale Specialist

      jessica.sulliman@ashbyrealty.com                      

      (602) 677-7977 Jessica Direct 

      (602) 677-1002 Randy Direct 

      (602) 445-9931 Fax                                   

      www.sunshinespecialists.com                                                                                                     

    Article Written by:  Mick Bernard a Certified Credit Restoration Expert and President of Credit Strategies, a credit consulting firm based in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Credit Strategies works with Mortgage Companies, Realtors and Bankers to help their borrowers with less than perfect credit increase their credit scores so they can qualify for the best possible financing.                         

                                                                             Short Sale vs. Foreclosure

This debate is racing across our nation.  It is one of the questions I am asked the most, "Should I let my house go into foreclosure or should I do a short sale?"  Everyone seems to understand a foreclosure will not only demolish their credit score , but it will also ruin their chance of getting a decent interest rate on any new financing they want to get in the next few years.  A foreclosure is considered a major incident by the credit bureaus.  Any major incident can have a devastating impact on your credit score.  Other examples of major derogatory credit incidents are bankruptcies, charge offs, judgments and short sales, which are normally accompanied by the term "account settled."  Anytime your credit report has the term, "Settled or Settled for Less than Full Amount," it is considered a major derogatory incident and can have a major negative impact to your scores.  How much it will reduce your score is determined by many reasons some of which we can discuss and some that are kept a secret by Fair Isaac, the inventors of the FICO credit scoring system.  We do know the higher your credit score, the more damaging a major derogatory incident will be.  In other words, a major incident affects the people that have the furthest to fall.

Foreclosure

Most people know what this is.  A foreclosure is when the bank takes back a home because the homeowner doesn't make the payments on their home loan or mortgage.  In most cases a home doesn't go into foreclosure until a homeowner is several months behind on the mortgage.  A foreclosure can have a double negative impact on a consumer's credit score.  In addition to a foreclosure listing being a major derogatory incident, there are also normally a significant number of late payments reported by the lender to the credit bureaus.  These late payments vary in severity from "30-days" late to the much more damaging "90-days" late incident.   In many cases there are additional late payments more severe than 90 days being reported, such as the 120 and 150-day late payments.   The number of the late payments and the severity of those payments will all contribute to the damage done to your credit scores.

                                                                                        Short Sale

Short sales are more of a mystery to consumers because there is some confusion regarding the impact they have on their credit scores.  Fair Isaac has confirmed that they consider a short sale to be a major derogatory item because of it being listed as a "settled account."  Major derogatory incidents can have a severe negative impact on your credit scores.  Most of the cases I've been involved with, the main difference between a foreclosure and a short sale is communication.  During the foreclosure process the homeowner tends to be more invisible during the process.  During a short -sale transaction there is constant communication between the bank and the homeowner.  During that time the homeowner or the homeowner's representative has the opportunity to negotiate with the lender.  In addition to negotiating a reduced loan pay-off they could also be negotiating what the lender will report to the three credit bureaus when the transaction is closed.   If the lender reports, "Settled or Settled for Less than Full Loan Amount," the short sale will be considered a major derogatory incident.  If the lender doesn't report the short sale as "Settled or Settled for Less than Full Loan Amount," then this will not be considered a major derogatory incident and will not have the negative impact.  The homeowner may also choose to remain current on their home loan during the short sale process.  If they remain current then they will not have the added negative impact of the late payments affecting their score.

                                                            Effects on Credit Score

The effect a foreclosure or a short sale has on your credit score is impossible to predict because of the variety of other variables impacting the scores.  If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of not being able to make your mortgage payment, do your research.  Call your lender to see what options they have available before making any decisions.  Call a professional; there are many different professionals that specialize in these types of transactions. The decision you make could have the largest impact on your credit score than any decision you have ever made.

Need more information?  Mick can be reached by e-mail:  mick@onlinecreditstrategies.com

 Credit Strategies - 480-502-5554 - www.onlinecreditstrategies.com

The information below was featured on today's AP wire regarding the pending extension of the 1st Time Homebuyer Credit Extension. 

Provided by Jessica Sulliman and Randy Curnutt to assist in keeping you current on important developments.

The senate was presented with a plan to extend the tax credit and increase the income limit. Click Here to see the video update.

US Senators Near Deal On Extending Home Buyer Tax Credit

By Jessica Holzer, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- U.S. senators are nearing a deal on a measure to extend the first-time home buyer tax credit through next April and expand it to some buyers who already own a home.

Under the deal, certain "step up" buyers who have lived in their current home for at least five years would also qualify for the tax credit, according to lobbyists close to the negotiations.
The deal comes amid heavy housing industry pressure to extend the tax credit, which is set to expire Dec. 1 unless Congress acts. The measure, which proponents hope to offer as an amendment to legislation extending jobless benefits, could receive a Senate vote this week.

Under the measure, the credit would run through April 30 of next year, though sales contracts in force by that date would be eligible as long as the deal closes within 60 days. The credit would amount to 10% of the sales price, with a maximum of $7,290. The current credit has a cap of $8,000.

To qualify, first-time home buyers must make no more than $75,000 a year or $ 150,000 for couples. For step up borrowers, the income caps are $125,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples.

Please contact us at the number notated below if we can assist you with the purchase of your first or move up home!

 
REal Estate Needs. REal Life Solutions
Jessica Sulliman & Randy Curnutt
Realtors, Real Estate Consultants, REO & Short Sale Specialists

jessica.sulliman@ashbyrealty.com       

(602) 677-7977 Jessica Direct  
(602) 677-1002 Randy Direct
(602) 445-9931 Fax                                    
www.sunshinespecialists.com