Silicon Valley Buyers Do Not Pay Their Own Agent's Commission

Today I met with a lovely family who wanted to sell a home in Santa Clara they no longer live in. I met them at the home and went over a number of things about the value of the home, what I would do to help them sell, including my staging, painting, and landscaping, and current market conditions. When we got to talking about commissions they were flabbergasted. I told them what commission I wanted and how it would be split between the buyer's agent and myself. That's when things got interesting. They were flabbergasted that the seller paid the buyer's agent commission and asked why. I was flabbergasted they asked. In 17 years in real estate I had never been asked that question. I just took it for granted that everyone knew that the seller pays. Period. When they asked me why all I could think of was because that is the way we do it. I did talk a little about how in the old days the seller's agent was the agent for the house, and represented the buyer and seller unless he or she agreed to something called sup agency, but that this was not done anymore in California. If the seller's agent represents both sides everyone has to agree to it and it is not automatic. After I left I realized that I had never really thought about why the seller pays commission to the buyer's agent, except by habit. But I think the main reason is that the seller will have cash at the end of the transaction (unless of course it is a Silicon Valley short sale where the bank pays the commission and closing costs) and the buyer often uses all of their available cash just to buy the house. If the buyer had to pay the commission it would mean many buyers just would not have enough money to buy a house. So the answer was really simple and i feel silly for taking it for granted. After all everything in real estate is negotiable, but some things that are so common we don't even stop to think about why they are so commonly done. I am glad I had the chance to do that today. If you have any questions about buying or selling a home in Santa Clara County please feel free to contact me. Marcy Moyer Keller Williams Realty www.marcymoyer.com marcy@marcymoyer.com 650-619-9285

Chase Says Keep Trying For a Redwood City Short Sale

I am helping out on a short sale in Redwood City where Chase is servicing the first and second loan. What this means is that the owner has first and second mortgages that were originally gotten from Chase. These loans were then sold to investors and Chase maintained the servicing. This means that ultimately Chase no longer makes the decision about whether or not to approve a short sale. The problem is there is also a third lender, and the third lender wants a lot of money to approve the short sale. The buyer agreed to pay the third what he wants, but the investor for Chase's first loan said no way. I guess from that investor's perspective if they foreclose they do not have to pay off the second or third and they get to keep all the money. Maybe they will make more if they foreclose.

But maybe they won't. And in any case foreclosures are complicated and costly, and we have a ready willing and able buyer. Chase seems to have tried to convince the investor to take the offer. The Short Sale Department at Chase has even told us to submit another offer in an attempt to change the investor's mind.

I do not know if the new offer will make any difference, but I am immensely impressed with Chase's efforts on our behalf. I obviously am not privy to all of the number crunching as to who gets what if there is a short sale vs a foreclosure, but I do know at least Chase is really trying to help the borrower avoid foreclosure. That makes me feel pretty warm and fuzzy about them today.

If you have any questions about short sales in San Mateo or Santa Clara County please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

D.R.E. 01191194

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Because I Said So or How to Survive Silicon Valley Real Estate

It is no secret that the market in Silicon Valley is crazy. The inventory has never been lower so the competition for homes is fierce. For example, Taylor Morrison is opening up a new town home development in Sunnyvale in May and they already have 300 people on the waiting list. Homes in Palo Alto are sometimes getting over 10 offers. 

If you are a seller you may be trying to acomplish a short sale, and life becomes complicated with all of the details of supplying documents, giving the bank what they want, when they want it, and living by their timelines.

Maybe you are trying to buy an reo and you have to sign documents that make you do everything short of giving up your first born.

So the big question is "Do you want to buy a sell a house right now?" If then answer is yes then you need to listen to the person saying "because I said so." Whether that person is the listing agent for a home you want to buy, the bank who needs to approve your short sale, or the bank who owns the foreclosed property you want.

Follow directions, exactly. If the directions say fill out the disclosure package completely, fill it out. If Bank of America says they want the first 5 numbers of your social if you are trying to buy a short sale then give it.

This is not an environment for everyone, and it will not last forever, nothing does. But if you want to buy right now it is best not to have issues with authority, just do what is asked of you. This is not to say that you should go into this blindly or give up your inspection rights, but it does mean you need to follow directions and do what is asked of you.

If you are selling short, do what the bank wants. You have the right to accept or reject their their conditions but you do not get to tell them what they need to do.

If you are selling in a hot market and it is a sale with equity, don't be a bully. Give clear directions and be grateful for the people who want to buy your home.

If you have any questions about buying or selling a home in Silicon Valley please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

D.R.E. 01191194

An Unusual Silicon Valley Wells Fargo Short Sale Just Closed

I just closed a Wells Fargo Short Sale that is not typical. It was a nice 3 bedroom townhome in North San Jose, close to Santa Clara. The owners were divorcing and neither could afford to buy the other one out or afford the property alone. This constitutes a hardship in most lender's minds. I have closed other Wells Fargo short sales with similar circumstances. The current owners had been able to pay the mortgage but they will not be able to in the near future because of an impending change of circumstance. These owners were current on their payments, and were hoping to sell short and then finalize their divorce.

So last fall I put the town home on the market, got a good offer, and submitted it to Wells Fargo. It was promptly denied. I was told that while this was not Wells Fargo policy, the particular investor on the loan (the person on entity who purchased the loan from Wells Fargo, and hired Wells to keep servicing the loan) had a policy of not allowing short sales unless the borrower was behind in their payments.

So, my clients stopped making payments for a few months and we put the home back on the market. We got another offer for the same price and 2 months later got an approval and closed escrow in 30 days. 

So here is what happened to the investor: They lost 5 months of payments of about $4000 a month, so $20,000 of missed payments for the same price of the home. Call me crazy, but that make no sense to me. Let me re-iterate:

THIS IS NOT THE GENERAL POLICY OF WELLS FARGO SHORT SALES.

So, if someone owed me money and I had the chance of recovering 70% of it, or 70% minus $20,000 I would go for the straight 70%. But maybe I am greedier than that investor.

If you have any questions about short sales in Santa Clara or San Mateo Counties please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

D.R.E.  01191194