Menlo Park Probate Short Sale: Why Bother?

The question of whether to short sell a home in probate used to be rare, but now unfortunately it is not. There are estates where the owner dies, owes more than the house is worth, and a decision needs to be made by the Personal Representative (executor) as to what to do.

My opinion, try it. If it is in the best interest of the bank/investor to short sell rather than foreclose they will do it. If it is not, they won't and will take it to foreclosure.

So who benefits if the home is sold as a short sale?  Well the realtor for sure.  The commission is paid by the bank.

However, if the attorney's fees are put on the HUD1 statement (the statement saying who is paying for what and who is receiving what money) the bank may pay them.  Also, the payment to the personal representative can go on the HUD1. This would make it worthwhile for the Personal Representative to try and do the short sale.  This can be very handy if the representative is a Bank or Professional Fiduciary. 

The heirs do not get anything out of a short sale so it does not matter to them if the property is foreclosed or sold short, but it does matter to the neighborhood.  A vacant foreclosed home brings the other homes around it down, while a short sale is cared for by the realtor and even if vacant is not abandoned.

So should you bother?

I think so.

If you have any questions about probate or short sales, please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

D.R.E.  01191194

Marcy Moyer Keller Williams Realty Palo Alto, Ca. Specialist in Trust and Probate Sales

Menlo Park Condo Short Sale: Get Those HOA Dues Paid

Right now it is estimated that nationally 1 in 4 homeowners owes more on their mortgage than their home is worth. You may be be one of those homeowners.  While not everyone who owes more money than their home is worth is going to sell that home, if they do, it will have to go through the short sale process. If you decide that a short sale is the best option for your circumstances be sure and check with a lawyer and/or accountant to get the best legal and tax advice.  You may find yourself unable to make the payments on the mortgage at all. If you own a condo the situation can get a little more complicated.  

In California the HOA can initiate foreclosure proceedings against a homeowner who does not pay his/her HOA dues.  In addition to that, many banks who are very willing to allow a borrower to do a short sale will not pay any money for back due HOA dues.  

So, if you can not afford your home, if you can not afford your mortgage, if you want to try a short sale, try to find a way to pay the HOA dues. If you do not, you could get to the end of the short sale process and not be able to close because a few thousand dollars are owned to the HOA and since that is a lien against the property the sale will not close.

If you have any questions about short sales, please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

D.R.E.  01191194

Federal Government Disclaimer (MARS): 1. You may stop doing business with us at any time. You may accept or reject the offer of mortgage assistance we obtain from your lender [or servicer]. If you reject the offer, you do not have to pay us. If you accept the offer, you will have to pay us commission as agreed to in listing contract for our services.
2. Marcy Moyer of Keller Williams Realty is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender; and 
3. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.

Marcy Moyer Keller Williams Realty Palo Alto, Ca. Specialist in Trust and Probate Sales

Menlo Park Wells Fargo Short Sale Default vs. Eminent Default

I frequently hear the question "Can I short sell my house if I have not stopped making payments."  The answer to this depends on your lender, the investor on the loan, and the phases of the moon.  However, at least right now, if you have a loan with Wells Fargo then at this moment in time they will look at approving a short sale if you have not stopped making your payments.  Wells Fargo has two different review processes, one for currently defaulted and one for eminent defaults.  So if you are currently making your payments, but you have circumstances which will make it impossible for you to make the payments in the future then you are likely to have an eminent default and can potentially qualify for a short sale.  Nothing is for ever, and with short sales there are no guarantees, but it is worth a try.

If you have any questions about short sales in San Mateo or Santa 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

Federal Government Disclaimer (MARS): 1. You may stop doing business with us at any time. You may accept or reject the offer of mortgage assistance we obtain from your lender [or servicer]. If you reject the offer, you do not have to pay us. If you accept the offer, you will have to pay us commission as agreed to in listing contract for our services.
2. Marcy Moyer of Keller Williams Realty is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender; and 
3. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.

Marcy Moyer Keller Williams Realty Palo Alto, Ca. Specialist in Trust and Probate Sales

Distressed Property Watch Menlo Park CA

The first quarter of 2011 has net seen a lot of activity of distressed properties in Menlo Park.  Here’s the update:

1.     Sold foreclosures: 4 single family home  0 condos  All are in the Belle Haven neighborhood

2.     Active and pending foreclosures: 5 All single family homes:  3 Belle Haven, 2 West of 101

1.     Sold short sales:  1 condo 4 Single family homes: Condo west of 101  homes, est of 101

2.     Active and pending short sales:  21   20 single family homes and 1 condo 14 are east of 101 and 7 are west

Total Homes sold in first quarter:  86 (combined single family homes and condos)

Total Active and Pendings:  162

As you can see the percentage of distressed properties is still very low in Menlo Park.  There have been more in Belle Haven, east of 101, but overall the numbers are still quite low.  The number of short sales is higher than REOs, so that may be an option for people looking for a good deal.

If you have any questions about short sales or bank owned properties in Menlo Park please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

D.R.E.  01191194

Federal Government Disclaimer (MARS): 1. You may stop doing business with us at any time. You may accept or reject the offer of mortgage assistance we obtain from your lender [or servicer]. If you reject the offer, you do not have to pay us. If you accept the offer, you will have to pay us commission as agreed to in listing contract for our services.
2. Marcy Moyer of Keller Williams Realty is not associated with the governmPublish Postent, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender; and 
3. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.

Marcy Moyer Keller Williams Realty Palo Alto, Ca. Specialist in Trust and Probate Sales

Menlo Park Short Sale Approval Today!!!!!

Well, it has taken a lot of months, and 4 buyers, but I finally got approval today from Chase for a short sale in the Belle Haven neighborhood of Menlo Park.  So far everyone is delighted, and hopefully we will make it through the loan and property contingencies. 

Short sales are sold "As-Is", period. Banks do not allow any credits, repairs, or other consessions for things that are wrong.  That is why I try to get inspections on all my short sale listings before they go on the market. That way there are fewer surprises at the end.

Nothing is a done deal until it is done, but we have come a long way, and my record is still 100% on getting an approval, and hopefully will stay at 100% on closing.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

D.R.E.  01191194

Federal Government Disclaimer (MARS):
1. You may stop doing business with us at any time. You may accept or reject the offer of mortgage assistance we obtain from your lender [or servicer]. If you reject the offer, you do not have to pay us. If you accept the offer, you will have to pay us commission as agreed to in listing contract for our services.
2. Marcy Moyer of Keller Williams Realty is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender; and
3. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.

Marcy Moyer Keller Williams Realty Palo Alto, Ca. Specialist in Trust and Probate Sales

Why Hasn't My Offer For menlo Park Short Sale Been Submitted Yet?

Question: We wrote our offer over a week ago. Why hasn't the listing agent presented it yet? The offer has expired. Should we withdraw? Are they playing games and using this to get a better offer?

Answer: Good question. In our area if a seller or agent believes there are going to be multiple offers or wants to have multiple offers they will often set a date for offers and either not present any offers until that date, or keep presenting offers as they come in until that time.  In this case the short sale was listed right at market value, not below market in order to stimulate multiple offers, and the agent said offers will be presented as they are received.  The agent told me he had the flu and was not able to get together with the client. I spoke to him on the phone and he does sound very sick. He is not faking the illness. He is an independent broker with no agents working for him who could meet with the sellers. While this is not particularly convenient for us, I believe he is telling the truth.

Real estate transaction involve trust and are not always predictable. Sometimes you trust one of the parties is doing the right thing and they are not, but many times they are. This agent knows you wrote a great offer and are very likely to stick it out for the short sale process. 

So the bottom line is if you want the house you should hang in there and if you do not want the house withdraw the offer. But you have no control over what the agent does, what the lender does, or what the seller does. You need to do what you want and what is best for you and hope the other parties in acting in their best interests coincide with your best interests.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

D.R.E. 01191194

Marcy Moyer Keller Williams Realty Palo Alto, Ca. Specialist in Trust and Probate Sales

WHAT IS A B.P.O?

Question: My lender said that the offer of $360,000 on my house was too low because the realor hired by the bank to perform a BPO said it was worth $380,000. What is a BPO?

Answer: A BPO stands for Broker's Price Opinion. When a lender wants to know the market value of a home for that moment in time they will often hire a realtor ( or a company who hires realtors) to give them their opinion of what the current market will bear for the property in question. This is not a full appraisal but there are certain parameters that must be followed by the realtor. In general the parameters are:

3 active listings and 3 recently sold comps that are:

1. Within 1 mile of an urban property, 2 miles of a suburban property,and 20 miles of a rural property

2. Within 20% of the gross living area and lot size of the subject property

3. Within 10 years of the age of the property

4. Not a foreclosed or short sale property unless a lot of the neighborhood sales are distressed properties

These comps should bracket the subject property, that is they should be a little above and a little below in all parameters and ultimately in value.

By sticking to these parameters a value can be placed on the home.

Problems can arise when there are not enough active listings or sales in the previous 6 months of similar homes to make comparisons. When this happens the realtor needs to go outside the required parameters and then make adjustments. Most problems BPO's happen during this adjustment time.

If your BPO comes in at a price that seems off the wall, the listing realtor can do his/her own or hire an appraiser to justify what they think is market value. Of course, it is ultimately the bank or their investor's decision, so they can listen to reason or not.

If you have any other questions about short sales please ask!

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

650-619-9285

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

D.R.E,  01191194

Marcy Moyer Keller Williams Realty Palo Alto, Ca. Specialist in Trust and Probate Sales

How Does A Short Sale Work?

Question: I am interested in a house that is a short sale. How does that work?

Answer: That is a huge question! Here is the very simplified version of the answer:

•1.       The seller owes more money to the bank than home is worth but still needs to sell it.

•2.       The seller needs to get permission from the bank to sell the house for market value and have the bank agree to take less than what they owed.

•3.       If there is more than one loan or other liens against the house they all have to agree to accept a payoff that is less than what they are owed. The first lender will decide how much the house must sell for and how much they are willing to give to any junior lien holders to accept a short payoff.

•4.       The junior lien holders then decide if they will accept what the first lender offered or if they want to stop the sale.

•5.       Any of the lien holders can ask the seller to contribute money to close the deal.  The seller can agree or refuse to do the short sale.

•6.       The buyer can either accept the price the bank has insisted on (if it is higher than their original offered price), or they can  say they do not want to buy the house.

•7.       The process of short sale approval can take anywhere from a month to a year. It is only worth making an offer on a short sale if you are motivated to wait out the process and do not have a deadline where you must buy that house.

•8.       Once everyone agrees to the price and terms, the seller, the buyer, the banks, then the sale goes pretty much like a normal transaction but must be an As Is sale with no money going back to the seller for anything.

•9.       This is a very simplified explanation and there are many nuances to a short sale, but this is the general overview.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

D.R.E.  01191194

Marcy Moyer Keller Williams Realty Palo Alto, Ca. Specialist in Trust and Probate Sales