Showing posts with label palo alto short sales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label palo alto short sales. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Palo Alto Ca Short Sale/Bank Owned Round Up

In Palo Alto from Jan 1, 2012 until June 30, 2012 there were:

1 closed short sales
3 closed bank owned homes
Total sales during this time period were 284
Total % Short Sales: .3%
Total % REO Sales: .9%
Total Percentage  Palo Alto Distressed Properties: 1.2%

1.2% of all Palo Alto sales being distressed properties is not enough to even comment on. The price of homes have in Palo Alto is now up to pre 2008 prices in the $2,500,000 price range and the homes over $2,500,000 usually do not have loans that are a very high percentage of their value so anyone who is having financial problems can generally sell and be made whole. So if you are looking for a bargain, look outside of Palo Alto.

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

Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams Realty
www.marcymoyer.com
marcy@marcymoyer.com
650-619-9285
DRE  01191194

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Palo Alto Distressed Property Watch 2011

It's the end of the year so time for the round-up of distressed property sales in Palo Alto. So here's what happened:

Single family and condo townhomes 2011:
Total sales:  590
Short Sales: 13
REO:           9
Distressed sales as a percentage of total sales: 3.73%
Compare to 2010
Total sales:   563
Short Sales:   8
REO:            6
Distressed sales as a percentage of total sales:  2.5

My conclusion:
The percentage of distressed properties in Palo Alto are not enough to make a difference in the market value of homes. There was an increase in both short sales and REO in 2010 over 2011, but again, not enough to make a big difference. Palo Alto has so far managed to escape the trauma of very many people losing their homes. The same can not be said about many surrounding neighborhoods.
If you have any questions about short sales or bank owned homes please feel free to contact me.
Marcy Moyer
marcy@marcymoyer.com
650-619-9285
D.R.E.  01191194
Marcy Moyer Keller Williams Realty Palo Alto, Ca. Specialist in Short Sales and Trust and Probate Sales

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Great News For Silicon Valley Short Sale Sellers

A few days ago short sale sellers in California got great news!  Governor Brown signed a bill which prohibits lenders and investors of junior loans to pursue a deficiency judgment on most approved short sales.  First lien holders are already prohibited from deficiency judgments, but second mortgages and HELOCS were not previously exempted. As of July 15th, they are included. So, if a bank approves your short sale, then they have to give up all rights to going after the borrower for any deficiencies. So if the second lender says they will take $6000 for an $85,000 HELEC, that is all they get. After close they can not come back to the borrower and say we still want more money.
This is great news for short sale sellers in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.  Certain exceptions apply if the bank can prove fraud, but for most sellers, this is the last piece they need to be able to transition out of their homes and have a chance to start over.
Since California has had such a large percentage of homeowners who owe more on their homes than they are worth, and of those people there are always going to be those who need to sell, this is a welcome relief for huge numbers of homeowners.
If you have any questions about buying or selling short sales please feel free to contact me!
Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams Realty
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

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Distressed Property Watch Palo Alto CA

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


1.     Sold foreclosures: 1 single family home  4 condos
2.     Active and pending foreclosures: 0

1.     Sold short sales:  1 condo
2.     Active and pending short sales:  5 single family homes and 1 condo

Total Homes sold in first quarter:  156 (combined single family homes and condos)



The percentage of distressed properties in Palo Alto is still very low compared to most of the country with almost no foreclosure activity.  However, there are a few short sales, and for those willing to wait out the escrow period they can be a good deal.


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

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
marcy@marcymoyer.com
650-619-9285
D.R.E.  01191194

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

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Palo Alto Ca Short Sale/REO Watch 11/30/2010

One of my short sale listings in Menlo Park

Are you waiting for the rash of short sales and REO properties in Palo Alto so you can snatch a bargain. or just curious about them? Well, not much has changed in the last few months. There are a few of these types of sales, but not many. Short sales, as in other places, are more common than foreclosures. Most banks are at least giving homeowners the option to try to do a loan modification or short sale before foreclosing. These options do not always work, but they are worth a try.

Active Short Sale Listings:  1 condo  2 Single family homes
Pending short sale listings:  5 condos  2 Single Family Homes
Closed Short Sales since Jan 1, 2010:  2 Condos  2 Single Family homes

Active listings:  0
Pending:   1 Single Family Home
Closed since 1/1/10:  3 condos   1 single family home

There have been 478 sales of homes and condos in Palo Alto since Jan 1, 2010 so the percentage of distressed home sales is less than 2 %, not enough to have much influence on the market yet.
However, I think that there more may be coming in the next few years.  If you need to sell and owe more than your home is worth I would be happy to have a confidential discussion with you about your options. I am an experienced short sale realtor.  If you are interested in purchasing a short sale or reo property I would be happy to speak with you about what you need to do to successfully purchase one.

Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams Realty
650-619-9285
Marcy Moyer Keller Williams Realty Palo Alto, Ca. Specialist in Trust and Probate Sales

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Palo Alto Market Update

According to the MLS here is the state of the market for 10/28/2010...


Active listings:  88
Pending Sales:  60
Active Short Sales:  1
Active Bank owned: 1
Pending Short Sales: 1
Pending Bank owned: 0
Sold Short Sales 2010: 2
Sold Bank Owned in 2010: 1


What does this mean? Despite the reports of doom and gloom in the media for the national real estate market, and despite the hysteria on many web sites, as of now, the Palo Alto market is not being influenced by distressed properties.  This does not mean that it will not be in the future, but so far in 2010 there are not a lot of distressed properties on the market. So if you are looking for a bargain, this is not the place to find it. Not only are there not many distressed properties, but the ratio of listings to pendings is very healthy. There are still a number of homes in the upper price range, over 3,000,000 that are not selling easily, but otherwise the market is still quite active and healthy.  What this says to me is that Palo Alto is a very desirable place to live, and there are enough people with jobs and money to support the market in Palo Alto.

Marcy Moyer
www.marcymoyer.com
650-619-9285
marcy(at) marcymoyer (dot) com
D.R.E.  01191194




Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Silicon Valley/Bay Area Short Sale Up Front Pricing: How It Can Help Both Buyer and Seller

HAFA does it, and now Bank of America is trying it. What is it?  In a short sale the seller owes more to the bank than their home is worth. In order to sell the home the bank or banks have to agree to accept less than property is worth to satisfy the loan.  The problem is that no one knows what the bank will accept until they get an offer and that offer is analyzed by the lenders.  Since this often takes many months it can often lead to foreclosure at worst, and incredible frustration at best.
  
HAFA short sales which were started by the Obama administration can give you the amount the bank will accept ahead of time so that the seller, agent, and buyer know how to structure the offer in order to get it approved.  The seller still needs to qualify, and having a vacant home eliminates the qualification.  Bank of America is now beginning to try this method as well, and it should cut down the amount of time it takes to do a short sale, which in most cases is anything but short.

As a Silicon Valley/Bay Area short sale specialist I can help you buy or sell a short sale property. Feel free to contact me for help.

Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams Realty
www.marcymoyer.com
marcy@marcymoyer.com
650-619-9285




Thursday, August 26, 2010

Why Don't Banks Act Rationally in a Short Sale?


Why do some short sales get approved, and others rejected? 

Why do some short sales with loans from the same bank get approved while others don’t? 

Why do some short sales with loans by the same bank in the same developments get approved while others are denied?


The world of the short sale is changing on a daily basis, and what you know today will be different tomorrow. The rules change, the players change, the documentation changes every minute.  There is, however, one constant: you do not always know whether a short sale will close or not. 

Two years ago only about 5% were closing, now that number is more like 50%. Still, it's quite risky for buyers and sellers to get their hopes invested in a successful short sale when the odds are 50/50.  There are some things you can do to help insure the process has the best chance of closing. 


In general if the following are true then the chances are better:

1.     The realtors on both ends know what they are doing and have the time, energy, and resources to follow up to set expectations appropriately.  The buyer can not be in a hurry!

2.     The fewer the liens the better. One loan is best, two loans with the same bank is second, two loans with two banks third, two loans with other liens such as taxes are probably not going to work out.

3.     The short sale process was started before a notice of default was filed.

4.     The buyer is well qualified.

5.     The home is owner occupied.

None of these things will guarantee a positive result, but they help.  The biggest problem in the short sale process comes from third parties who are not the bank, but either investors that purchased the loans like hedge funds, or insurance companies who insure the loans for the banks (not mortgage insurance for the borrower). 

These entities can derail a short sale, and it is not possible to know if they exist, or what they will say before the process begins, unless of course you are dealing with a bank approved short sale--but that is a different story.  So the lender may appear to be Bank of America or Chase, but the investor who put up the money maybe someone else and if so they have to agree to the price and terms.  Or sometimes the second lender will get more money in a foreclosure and will not agree to release the lien.  When this happens, what appears to be an irrational move by the bank, may have nothing to do with them.

These are a few of the reasons why seemingly illogical things often happen in the world of short sales. 

Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams Realty
DRE  01191914
www.marcymoyer.com

Friday, July 30, 2010

Will Palo Alto Have a Rash of Closed Short Sales?

Last year I predicted that Palo Alto will see more short sales in the future. Well, the future is now so what is happening?  There are currently 2  short sales on the market,  5 in escrow,  and 6 closed in the last year.  This isn't a huge number, but certainly more than we saw in the early part of the century.  There's a lot of chatter in the media about how the government is giving banks and homeowners incentives for short sales, and how banks save money by allowing short sales, but does that help the typical Palo Alto underwater seller?
The short answer is no.  There is not a lot of help for owners with jumbo mortgages.
The long answer is maybe not.  
Here is what I have learned in the last year. It may not be the whole picture, as this world of what happens at the banks, hedge funds, and mortgage insurance companies is not transparent--but I have been involved in short sales and have studied them a lot.
If you are one of the few owners who has one loan then the chances of  a successful short sale are much higher.  The bank will lose less money than with a foreclosure  and will be more inclined to approve your sale. This is assuming you have a verifiable hardship.  However, even people with only one loan may run into road blocks if the bank has investors who own pieces of that loan,( frequently hedge funds) and if they don't feel the offer on the house is good enough for them they may derail the sale.
Ok, so what if you have 2 loans, but they are both with the same bank.  Again, this is usually easier than some of the other scenarios, but not a guarantee.  The bank may be willing, but the investors may not be.
Third scenario, you have 2 loans with 2 different banks.  First bank offers second bank 3-10K to allow short sale.  The theory is second bank will get nothing if there is a foreclosure.  Second bank can have 3 reactions.  
1.  Co-operate because they get nothing if there is a foreclosure.  
2.  Play hardball because they know the first bank will lose more money if they foreclose.  
3. Not cooperate because they have insurance on the second loan and will get more money if the first bank forecloses and they get paid 25% of their loan from the insurance company as opposed to the 1-5% they are being offered by the first lien holder.  In this scenario the first bank is probably not losing too much because borrower has very little equity to begin with since they borrowed on a second or equity line.
4th scenario:  In addition to a first and second loan there are other liens against the house including tax or business or personal loan liens. In this case a short sale is almost impossible to accomplish and it is not worth anyone’s time.
So as you can see this is a complicated process and not for the faint at heart.  Since many of the loans on Palo Alto homes are jumbo, there are a lot of hedge fund managers out there making decisions about markets in which they may not have enough information.  Added to that is the growing resentment against borrowers who are opting for a strategic default or foreclosure because the asset (their home) has depreciated so much they don't feel it is a good investment strategy to hold onto it.

It will be very interesting to see how many attempted short sales actually go through in the next year.
Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams Realty
650-619-9285
Twitter

*photo courtesy of South Florida Short Sales

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Don't Get Behind on Your Mortgage in Palo Alto

Many distressed homeowners have found that if they are unable to make mortgage payments they are frequently not foreclosed on for many many many months.  It appears as if many banks are trying to release foreclosures in a way that will not further depress prices and want to keep these delinquent homeowners in a home so that it is not vacant for long periods of time, which further devalues their investment.  

However, this does not seem to be the case for Palo Alto. 

While Palo Alto has had very few foreclosures come to the market, the ones that have are not in the delinquent phase for long.  If a homeowner misses 3 payments the banks can record a notice of default.  In Ca. they must give the homeowner 90 days to cure the default or they can set a date for the trustee sale, where the bank can buy back the home or an investor with all cash can purchase the home if they pay off all the liens. Since most homes in foreclosure have larger liens on them than the home is worth, investors do not often get to buy at the courthouse auctions.

In many areas the time between the notice of default and the trustee sale is quite lengthy, over a year in many cases.  Sometimes it is because the owner tries to get a loan mod, or do a short sale, but sometimes it is because the bank is just not ready to take possession and sell the home.  

For the few foreclosures in Palo Alto this has not been the case.  There have only been 2 foreclosures in Palo Alto in the last year that have come to the market.  In both cases there was only 4 months between the notice of default and the notice of trustee sale.  There is one home that actually was purchased  by an investor at the courthouse auction and that one also had only 4 months between notice of default and notice of trustee sale (I think the investor may have held the second loan but it is a little confusing as to what actually happened). 

So the moral here is don’t get behind in your Palo Alto mortgage. The banks know this is an easy place to re-sell their assets. If you cannot pay your mortgage do not hide your head in the sand and hope for the best.  Contact a professional (accountant or tax attorney) and then either try to modify your loan,  sell as an equity sale or short sale depending on your equity, or do a deed in lieu of foreclosure if you only have one loan (click here for an article I wrote on the deed in lieu of foreclosure process, and its benefits for underwater homeowners).

Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams Realty
650-619-9285
D.R.E. 01191194

Friday, July 16, 2010

Do You Want to Buy a New Car?


OR: What Hurts More, A Short Sale or One Where There's Still Equity But You Have Lost A Lot



This morning my husband opened up an envelope with information about his stock options. He looked at me and said, “Do you want to buy a new car?” 

My answer was of “Of course not.” He then explained we'd just lost $50,000 in value from his stock options. 

My response? “Don’t be so greedy.”  

We are both working, our mortgages are almost paid off on the house and rental properties, and the stock options are like dessert, nice but not essential. However, it was painful to him to lose that much money on paper.

It made me think of my latest clients.  Some have lost all equity and if they have to sell it will be a short sale. By the time they get to me it is gone, and they do not seem to be concerned about the price as much as the process.  Others who are losing equity when they sell seem to fall into 2 categories: those who are grateful to be able to sell and those who are fighting for every penny and do not seem to see the value in taking an offer to make a sale if it means losing a little more money.

If you are a buyer then your life will be much easier if you can find one of the former sellers. If you are working with a seller who is emotionally invested in every penny they are losing it will be a much more difficult sale.

If you are a seller it is important to clearly understand your goals when putting a home on the market. If you only want to sell at your price, then if your price is market value, you may get it. But if your price is above market, it won’t sell. Period.  

The most difficult part once you understand your financial choices is overcoming the emotional ties to a particular number.  If you want 1.5 million and you only get 1.4 million and life can go on, can you let go of your emotional attachment to to 1.5? If not, this may not be the best time for you to sell.

It is no different if you want 400K and you can only get 380K.  If your life can go on with a lower price and you need to sell, you may have to eat the emotions.  If you are just testing the market, don’t bother. In this environment you will fail. If you focus on your need and not your want you will get to your goal of selling a house much quicker and easier.

Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams
650-619-9285

Friday, July 2, 2010

Hardships and Short Sales

This informative post is re-blogged from Partner First, an online real estate network with resources for buyers, sellers, and agents. This post was written by Jacob Swodeck, and published on his Partner First affiliated blog.



Back to the Basics: Hardship and the homeowner...What will Fly?

Posted by: jswodeck on Jun 01, 2010
Tagged in: Untagged 


What qualifies as hardship in a short sale? I get this question fairly often, and it should be addressed. First, I’ll tell you what does not qualify as hardship, and that is simply being underwater. If you owe more than you are worth, being upside down alone is not adequate hardship to get a short sale approved. That is only half the equation. There has to be a financial hardship.

In nearly every case of hardship I have ever seen, a loss of income has been involved. It could be unemployment, divorce, being laid off, the failure of a business, or any of a hundred other things, but a loss or decrease of income is absolutely hardship. When your expenses remain the same and your income goes down or disappears, you have a case for hardship. You could be a ditch digger paying a $500 per month mortgage or a brain surgeon paying $10,000 per month. If you lose income, hardship is not hard to prove. In rare cases, income has remained the same but the payment has adjusted up, but the mathematical outcome, namely a deficit, is the same.

That is as basic a yardstick as I can find. I’d be surprised to find a more common or less complicated theme.

I can pretty much guarantee that with mortgage investors, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac shaking in their boots about strategic defaults that hardship will have to be proven and justified.  It may not be enough to state your hardship.  Borrowers will more than likely have to provide any and all supporting documentation in order to have qualified hardship.


--
Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams
650-619-9285
marcy@marcymoyer.com
https://twitter.com/marcyagent
DRE # 01191194

*thanks to the UK Daily Mail for the image

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

The Facts About Palo Alto Short Sales and Foreclosures






There's a lot of chatter on real estate blogs about the steep increase in foreclosures and short sales in Palo Alto. Unfortunately many sites post stats from a company called Realty Trac which tracts everything from a Notice of Default through a listed bank owned property.  Many things can happen before a home with a Notice of Default actually gets to be sold by the bank, but unless you read the fine print carefully it is easy to confuse a house that is behind a few months in payments with an actual bank owned property on the market for sale.

Most bank owned homes as well as short sales (where the seller owes more than the home is worth and the lender/lenders have agreed to accept less than the amount of the mortgage to release the debt) are sold through the MLS.  So to see how many of these distressed sales have hit the market in the last year I went to the MLS and looked.  

Here is what I found for single family homes:

Bank owned properties sold in last year:              4
Current Pending sales of Bank owned:                 2
Short Sales sold in last year:                               3
Current Pending Short Sales                               1
Current Active Short Sales                                 1

For condo/townhomes the numbers are:
Bank owned sold:                                             2
Bank owned pending sales:                               1
Short Sales sold:                                              3
Short sales pending:                                         4
Short sales active:                                            2

As you can see this is not a huge number, especially since the total number of homes sold in Palo Alto in the last year is 369, making distressed sales account for less than 2%.  There have been 97 condo/townhomes sold in the same period making the distressed sales about 5% of that market.  These numbers are not enough to have any impact on the price of homes in Palo Alto at this point.  The percentage would have to increase several fold before Palo Alto prices are affected by distressed properties.  I am not saying that this is or is not going to happen, that is a discussion for a future post, just that it has not happened yet.

Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams Realty
D.R.E.  01191194
www.marcymoyer.com

*Photo Credit: found this hilarious picture at the website for The Sacramento Bee. 

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

A Better Way to Do a Short Sale


In the past few years short sales have been long, frustrating, and undependable. The sellers had to prove they were desperate and often had to stop making payments in order to qualify for a short sale. The listing agent had to spend hours trying to figure out who was able to make the decision and whether or not the documents were even received. They buyer’s agent had to wait endlessly for an answer while his or her buyer threatened every day to bail. The closing statistics for short sales have been estimated at 10-30%. Many people felt why bother?

So why should you bother? For some reason banks are getting on board with the idea that allowing a seller to do a short sale is a better deal for them than foreclosure. In general banks get 45 cents on the dollar for a foreclosed home and 75 cents on the dollar for a short sale. It has taken a long time for the banks to get on board with short sale approvals, but short sales are now getting approved and some banks have started trying to make the process more efficient.

Bank of America, who has taken over Countrywide, is now using a platform called REOtrans for their short sales. This platform started as a method for asset managers to process bank owned properties with realtors and is a very effective method for all parties, as they can see in real time where the file is and what else needs to be done. As anyone knows who has dealt with a Bank of America or Countrywide short sale, it can take a month after an agent faxes the short sale package to the bank for the bank to upload it onto their system. Now it is uploaded directly on the site and everyone knows it is there. Everyone will always know where they are in the process so no more allocating 3 hours a week for follow up per file.

Wachovia wins the prize for the best short sale system. Twenty five percent of Wachovia loans are 60 days or more past due, so they have decided to encourage more short sales. They have a system that will get the sale approved and closed in 45 days or less, and do not care if the seller has hardship, or just made the decision that they would rather give up a home than pay for a home for 10-20 years before they are no longer underwater. Underwater means that more is owned on the home than the home is worth. Some estimates put the number of underwater homes in this country as high as 50%. Given those stats Wachovia has made a decision that if someone wants to sell short they will facilitate it. This is not to say they will just give a home away, but if a home has $700,000 of loans on it, and it is now worth $500,000, Wachovia will let someone buy it for close to $500,000 and forgive the other $200,000 debt, and do it in a reasonable amount of time. Plus, they will even give the seller up to $5000 for moving expenses.

Wachovia bought World Savings so this applies to World Savings loans as well. Wachovia was acquired by Wells Fargo but as of now Wells is not doing the same thing with short sales. Hopefully this program with Wachovia will work well and spread to not only Wells Fargo, but to other banks as well.

If you have any questions about short sales, or other real estate related questions please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer
Intero Real Estate Services
650-619-9285
D.R.E. 01191194

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Palo Alto Market Update, Single Family Homes: October 25th


Here's today's snapshot of the Palo Alto single family home market:

93 Active listings
61 Pending sales

What does this mean? Inventory has decreased again, down to a more favorable number for sellers, especially in the under 1.5 mil range, and pending sales are up. To me the big news is that between Sept. 1, 2009 and Oct 10, 2009 there were 43 single family home sales on MLS. Of these, three homes sold over $2,000,000 and 40 sold under $2,000,000. That is not good news for sellers in the over 2 million market. That segment has a long way to go before we see any real recovery. However, as of today there are 8 pending sales between $2,089,000 and $2,198,000 which is good for that segment. There are still only 4 pending sales over 2.2 and the 49 remaining pending sales are all under 2 million. My prediction for the upper end market is that we are going to start to see some short sales if the sellers have overleveraged their homes and need to sell. Banks are starting to streamline the short sale process and the credit hit is not nearly as severe as a foreclosure. Added to that is the fact that the debt relief is not taxed by the feds leads me to believe that we will not see a wave of foreclosures in Palo Alto, but maybe a trickle of short sales if the employment picture does not pick up or if a homeowner needs to leave the area.

  • If you are interested in finding the final selling price of any home, anywhere, you can do it on my web site. Go to www.marcymoyer.com and click on Cyberhome Home Valuation. You can then type in any address next to the search icon and get the county records.

If you need anything else please feel free to contact me. I am here to help you.

Marcy Moyer Intero Real Estate
650-619-9285
DRE 01191194