A Plea For More Silicon Valley Listings in December

It happens every year. Agents tell their sellers that they should wait until after the holidays to put their homes on the market. They say no one is looking during December so don't bother. Translation: Agent wants much needed and deserved time off during the holidays, or seller has a lot of family coming and does not want people traipsing through their home with all of the activity going on.

Other side of the equation: Very busy professional gets some down time the last two weeks of the year. Or, out of town relocation buyers are coming to the area to look for a place to live in the new year.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the problem. The only inventory left on the market at this time of year tends to be overpriced or weird which does not help the buyers who finally have time to look. 

I was with one of these too busy for the last 3 months buyers today. You would not believe some of the weird stuff we saw in San Carlos today. A house with a kitchen with gorgeous newer cherry cabinets, and a tiled blue stone counter that would hold bacteria in its many ridges forever. Why someone spent the money to tile a kitchen counter with these impossible to keep clean tiles when they could have put a slab of granite on for the same price is beyond my comprehension. this same home had replaced the asbestos wrapped heating ducts in the entire house, except for about 5 feet under the house. Why? If you are going to spend the money to remove asbestos on yards and yards of ducting why leave a few feet undone? Another home had 7 different kinds of flooring, on a 1400 square foot home.  A third home had removed the bathtub from the main hall bathroom and installed a double vanity. They then added a full bath with tub in the family room completely on the opposite side of the house from the bedrooms.

I was with a pre-approved buyer who can afford a million dollars with time on his hands to buy a home, and there is nothing for him to consider. 

I know I am not the only one frustrated by this disconnect between buyers and sellers.

So I am putting my money where my mouth is and putting a short sale condo in downtown San Jose on the market on Dec 26th. It is not overpriced or weird.

So sellers, next year put your home on the market in December if you want to attract hard working qualified buyers who have time to look.

If you have any questions about buying or selling a home in Santa Clara or San Mateo County please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@mrcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

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

Can A Bank REally Change The Locks On My Mountain View Short Sale?

Seems like a bizarre question doesn't it? Well guess what, it is not.  If you are selling your home as short sale the bank may have the right to send a property preservation company to the house and "secure it" if they feel the house is vacant and abandoned. But it is still my house, right?

Yes, it is still your house, even if you have stopped making payments, but here is the catch. Many loans contain clauses that say if you abandon your home the bank has a right to secure the property to preserve their interest in the home while they are waiting to re-posses it.

So here is the typical situation.  Owner has a home that they need to short sell.  They have already left the home, often to take a job somewhere else, but maybe for some other reason.  The short sale is initiated and the bank finds out the property is vacant. They do not want any damage to the property so they send out a property preservation company to secure the house.  The company changes the locks and may even board up windows. There are even some instances where the property preservation company employees help themselves to some things that were "abandoned" in the home that do not belong to them. The realtor listing the property may not be given the key and other agents may not be able to get in until the mess is straightened out.

What is the solution?  There is no fool proof solution but there are some things you can try.  If you are selling an empty home for what ever reason the best thing to do is to hire a realtor who can stage it for you. (I do this for all my listings) Once the home is staged, or even if that is not possible, take pictures. Show the bank the house is being cared for by the realtor, that the windows are not broken, and that there are locks on the door.  Take pictures of all the fixtures to show what is in the house.  Send these pictures to the bank along with the initial short sale authorization and then again with the short sale package to show that the home is not abandoned and in case there is any question about things going missing.

This may not stop the the bank every time from "securing" an un-abandoned house, but it should help.

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

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

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

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

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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

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