Micheal Briel says these are thing a realtor should never do while working on a short sale:

1. Never discuss tax questions.  Refer the home owner to a CPA or any tax professional
2. Never assume it will close in less than 4 to 6 months

Michael Briel says a realtor should always do these things when working on a short sale:

1.  If you negotiate your own short sale - make sure your E&O covers you.
2. Attend the short sale appointment (at Michael Briel's office) with your customer
3. Remind your buyers and seller that a short sale is a process, not an event

I cannot thank his office enough for their valuable information at our training this morning.

Jamie Lopez

Thanks to Micheal Briel for his very useful information about the Short Sale Process.  To recap, here is one of the things we learned today;

1. HAFA - Home Affordable Forclosure Alternative.  This plan alows for up to a $3000 relocation payment and a forgivness of any mortgage losses.  Only certain people and situations qualify so try this link if you hvae more questions -  http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/short_sales_hafa

Military Members have someone to fight for them!

In a follow up to the blog I posted 2 weeks ago, here is some very good news for servicemembers and FHA mortgage holders.  If you follow these stories, you know that military members that are serving in a combat zone out of the country cannot pay more than a 6% mortgage rate.  In addition, they cannot be foreclosed upon while in theatre.  However, Bank of America and other mortgage servicers did not change the rate and in fact foreclosed on many soldiers while they were in Afganastan, Iraq, and other combat zones around the world.  The Presidents effort on thier behalf has been a welcome chnage of position away from giving big banks anything they want.  Let me know what you think...

Obama's Housing Relief Plans for Servicemembers and FHA Borrowers

03/06/2012 By: Esther Cho

     

President Obama is announcing two steps that will be taken to assist servicemembers and FHA borrowers, the administration stated in a release today.

For the first full news conference of the year, Obama’s agenda includes details on how support will be provided for those currently in and who previously served in the military.
One provision will have servicemen who were foreclosed upon since 2006 reviewed, and if any are found to have been wrongfully foreclosed upon, they can receive compensation equal to a minimum of lost equity, plus interest and $116,785. In addition to foreclosure reviews, servicemembers will be reviewed for interest rates to see if any were charged more than 6 percent after a request to lower the rate.
For veterans, $10 million will go into the Veterans Affairs fund to guarantee loans on favorable terms.
Plans for FHA borrowers include refinancing at a lower cost. The FHA currently charges an up-front mortgage insurance premium of 1 percent of the loan balance and an additional 1.15 percent of the balance per year; the up-front premium will be reduced to .01 percent for loans originated prior to June 1, 2009. Annual fees for refinancing will be halved to .55 percent.
The administration estimates 2-3 million FHA borrowers will be eligible.

Hiring a Real Estate Agent

You should think of a Realtor® the moment you think of selling your home – even if you’re

not 100% sure yet. The real estate agent will fill you in with as much information as you
want about the market condition, your home’s estimated value, staging ideas and the list goes
on.

You will not know every requirement for selling a home, most especially if this is your first
time selling. You may, however, start listing some things that you may want to think about
when choosing your Realtor®. Some of them are listed below.

         1. Is the agent active in your area at this time and knowledgeable about the area?
         2. Have you checked your agent’s references? Most agents will be happy to provide
              you with a list of satisfied customers you can contact.

Does your agent…
         1. Make you feel comfortable and confident about working with him/her?
         2. Answer your questions promptly and respond to your calls without delay?
         3. Inform you of the market condition and suggest new strategies in selling your
              home?
         4. Prepare a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to ensure you are pricing your
             property at current market value?
         6. Give your property the broadest marketing exposure possible?
         7. Prepare descriptive brochures about your property with high resolution
             photographs and a compelling description of benefits and features?
             If yes, be sure to review it with your agent when it’s ready.
         8. List your property on the Multiple Listing Service and on the Internet?
         9. Create Virtual Tours to market your listing over the Internet?
        10. Hold an open house for the local real estate agents as soon as possible after
        11. Follow up with showing agents and give you feedback from potential buyers?

You have to make sure that your agent does not agree with everything you say. A good
agent will make suggestions or sometimes even disagree with you. Realtors® can back up
their comments with facts, so ask away.  Call Lesley today @ 304-671-2002!

www.redbugagent.com

Springing Home Sales...

Existing, Pending Home Sales on an Upward Trend According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), pending home sales rose 2 percent in January and are 8 percent higher than January 2011. The January index is the highest since April 2010 when buyers were rushing to take advantage of the home buyer tax credit. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said this is a hopeful indicator going into the spring home-buying season. “Given more favorable housing market conditions, the trend in contract activity implies we are on track for a more meaningful sales gain this year.” In addition, existing-home sales rose 4.3 percent in January, marking three gains in the past four months. NAR President Moe Veissi said buying power is enticing more potential home buyers. “Word has been spreading about the record high housing affordability conditions and our members are reporting an increase in foot traffic compared with a year ago,” he said.

New Fannie Mae Program allows homeowners to refinance thier home while it is for sale.  New loan can be up to 25% over the value of the home.  Let me know if you have questions!

A program for Veterans only that allows them to avoid a short sale or foreclosure on thier home.

How can Veterans sell thier house if forced to relocate?

Lesley and I have worked and are still working with veterans that qualify for a unique program.  This is a great help to many veterans that don't want to short sell or lose thier house in foreclosure.  It does not matter what you owe relative to market value.  Check out the link to see if you qualify.