An Interesting Alternative to Foreclosure: A Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure

There is a new (actually renewed ) option for underwater homeowners who cannot, or do not want to pay their mortgage.   A deed in lieu of foreclosure is an agreement between the bank and the borrower.  The borrower gives the home back to the bank and the bank does not have to go through the foreclosure process.  It can be a win win situation for both the bank and the borrower.

The government HAFA program is the major force behind this renewed option.  If a borrower does not qualify for a loan mod, or gets a mod and is not able to make the payments, this government program encourages the banks and the borrowers to pursue either a short sale or a deed in lieu.  By encouragement I mean gives financial incentives, in order to decrease the number of foreclosures, vacant homes, and neighborhood blight. 

Under the HAFA deed in lieu program the borrower agrees to give the home back to the bank and in exchange the bank helps with some relocation costs and also agrees not to pursue a deficiency judgment.   Depending on the state the borrower lives in and they type of loan, after a bank forecloses or agrees to a short sale they still may have the right to go after the borrower for the amount of the money the bank lost.  HAFA stops that ability of the bank to pursue a deficiency.

In addition to the halting of any deficiency judgments, the privacy afforded by not being foreclosed and evicted, and the help with re-location costs (Bank of America is offering $3,000-$15,000) borrowers who agree to a deed in lieu can purchase another home after 2 years instead of the 5-7 after a foreclosure.

So what is the catch?  The pesky second loan once again can get in the way.  If the borrower has a HELOC or second loan on the property this process does not work. In these cases the borrower must try for a loan mod, do a short sale, or be foreclosed if he/she can not pay the mortgage.

In California as well as other high priced states many homeowners have at least two loans on their homes. The cost of the home required so much down payment that many borrowers used a second loan in place of, or in addition to the amount they had for their down payments.  As a result the option of a deed in lieu of foreclosure is not an option.

If you have any questions about short sales, foreclosures, or any other real estate issues just ask. 

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

*thanks to Irving Housing Blog for the image

Mountain View OPEN HOUSE THIS WEEKEND (July 3rd, 1-5PM): EXPERIENCE THE LIGHT

148 Holly Court, Mountain View, CA

EXPERIENCE THE LIGHT.

$599,000

DON'T MISS THE OPEN HOUSE THIS WEEKEND, July 3rd.

Saturday from 1:00-5:00.

Welcome to this striking townhome in the popular Whisman Station Development. 

You will delight in the modern amenities, convenient location, and wonderful life style options available to you if you live here.

Some of the lovely features include a fenced yard, central heat and air, new carpet and paint, attached 2 car garage, kitchen with granite counters, a center island, and gas stove, family room/kitchen, high ceilings, and, and rich cherry laminate floors.

Add to that wonderful Mountain View Schools and a great community with pools, parks, and easy access to light rail, freways, and major emplyment centers. Don't miss this wonderful home buying opportunity!

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

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

Watch Out For Probate Appraisal

If you are buying or listing a home that is being sold through the probate process my congratulations. It is a great niche to be involved with.  One of the first steps in the process is to have the estate appraised. A probate appraiser will come in and give an opinion about how much the home is worth. 

Most of these appraisers are honest,  hard working people, but occasionally you will run into a problem.  The appraiser may over inflate the worth of the property.  This can cause a potential problem down the line when the home is listed and sold.

 First of all the heirs are going to expect that if the appraiser comes in and says this home is worth $600,000 the probate court is going to have a hard time approving a sale at $500,000, and the heirs are not going to be too happy.

You are probably asking: why would this happen?  It may just be a mistake, but it may also be because the probate appraiser pay is tied to the value of the estate, so there is an incentive to over appraise the value.

If this happens, just be over prepared to justify what the true market value is.  A good realtor should be able to do this in his/her sleep, so if you are a buyer, use a good realtor. If you are a realtor, make sure your CMA is airtight.

If you have any questions about probate or trust sales, feel free to e-mail or call me.

And if you are interested in reading any of my other posts about probate sales, here's a link:

WHAT IS A PROBATE SALE?

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

Palo Alto CA Market Update, June 28th: With a Neighborhood Twist!

Active Listings: 110

Pending Sales: 49

There has been a jump in inventory this week ahead of the fourth of July holiday. Since there will not be a lot of new listings this week due to the holiday some of this inventory may be sold off, or maybe not. I will keep my eye on it.

I thought the neighborhood breakdown was interesting so I am going to do it again.  So here is the neighborhood breakdown:

Downtown:  5 Active  2 Pending                                      one less pending

Professorville:  3 Active  2 Pending                                 exactly the same

Community Center:  6 Active  3 Pending                       more listings

Crescent Park:  5 Active   4 Pending                               one more pending

Green Gables:  9 Active  8 Pending                                one more active one less pending

Old Palo Alto:  11 Active   3 Pending                             one more pending

College Terrace:  Active 8  Pending 4                           two less listings

Ventura:  6 Active  1 Pending                                       two more listings one less pending

Midtown:  15 Active  3 pending                                   six  more listings

South Palo Alto: 23 Active  14 Pending                       five more listings and one more pending

Barron Park:  Active  10   Pending   0                         one more listing one less pending

Green Acres:  4 Active  2 Pending                              two less listings

Palo Alto Hills:  5 Active  1 Pending                           one more listing

So what does this mean?  Still better ratios in north than south. Barron Park is still slow.  Crescent Park is better and Community Center worse than 2 weeks ago.  I will keep this up for a while, so we can track the neighborhood trends.

Here's a link to last week's neighborhood-focused market update, so you can see how things have changed: Palo Alto Market Update, June 15th: With a Neighborhood Twist!

And here's another link to a market update I posted a year ago--it's really interesting to compare! Last June the number of pending and active sales were almost identical to this week's.... Palo Alto Market Update, June 27th (2009): Single Family Homes.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

marcy@marcymoyer.com

www.marcymoyer.com

D.R.E. 01191194

650-619-9285

Mountain View OPEN HOUSE THIS WEEKEND (June 27th, 1:30-4:30): EXPERIENCE THE LIGHT

148 Holly Court, Mountain View, CA

EXPERIENCE THE LIGHT.

$599,000

DON'T MISS THE OPEN HOUSE THIS WEEKEND, June 27th.

SUNDAY FROM 1:30-4:30

Welcome to this striking townhome in the popular Whisman Station Development. 

You will delight in the modern amenities, convenient location, and wonderful life style options available to you if you live here.

Some of the lovely features include a fenced yard, central heat and air, new carpet and paint, attached 2 car garage, kitchen with granite counters, a center island, and gas stove, family room/kitchen, high ceilings, and, and rich cherry laminate floors.

Add to that wonderful Mountain View Schools and a great community with pools, parks, and easy access to light rail, freways, and major emplyment centers. Don't miss this wonderful home buying opportunity!

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

Menlo Park Ca Open House Sat & Sun 1:30-4:30: A Green Home You CAN Afford

YOU CAN AFFORD TO BUY A GREEN HOME IN MENLO PARK

501 Sandlewood St, Menlo Park, CA 94025

VERY ATTRACTIVELY PRICED AT $598,000.00

Open House This Weekend, Saturday June 26th and Sunday June 27th from 1:30-4:30.

ALL GUESTS ARE ENTERED TO WIN A $100 GIFT CERTIFICATE FOR TIFFANY'S

Welcome to 501 Sandlewood St, a Green Home in an enclave of 3 year young Green Homes in Menlo Park.Conveniently located near the Dumbarton Bridge, gorgeous new office buildings, Mid Peninsula High School, and even a new Starbucks. You owe it to yourself to see how the city of Menlo Park has done a spectacular job on this re-development area, and to see what a wonderful home Clarum has built.

Some of the fantastic features include photoelectric roof panels which keep the PG&E bill to under $500 a year, tankless water heater so you never run out of hot water, tiles made from recycled glass, a lawn that looks gorgeous but never needs watering, granite counter tops in the kitchen and baths, solid surface tub surrounds, a huge master bath with a soaking tub, double paned windows and tons of natural light, walk in closet, and a bonus landing that is great for an extra office or playroom. There is aneighborhood park and a great community surrounding you. All this for under $600,000!

Seems almost too good to be true, but it is real. Don’t miss this incredible opportunity!

GREAT features include:

3 Bedrooms including a large master suite

2 ½ bathrooms with granite topped vanities, solid surface bath surrounds, and tiled floors

A wonderful U shaped kitchen with a gas stove, microwave, granite counters, maple cabinets, tiled floors, and a large pantry

Large, doubled paned windows

No water lawn

Attached 2 car garage

Re-circulating water heater pump

1,640 square feet of living space (per assessor)

3464 square foot lot (per assessor)

Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams
650-619-9285
marcy@marcymoyer.com
Follow Me, Marcyagent, on Twitter!

DRE # 01191194

Trulia's Buy vs. Rent Index: What's in a List?

Earlier this month Trulia released a comprehensive look at the difference between renting and buying in major American cities. They created a list of the top ten cities where renting is a better financial decision than buying, and another top ten list that shows where it’s smart to go after that dream house.

The findings might surprise you.

Here’s how the Trulia blog post explains the methodology behind their lists: “Trulia calculated the price-to-rent ratio using the average list price compared with average rent on 2 bedroom apartments, condos and townhomes listed on Trulia.com. To create the list, Trulia analyzed the largest 50 cities in America, by population.”

The list is Trulia-data exclusive--which makes it pretty reliable, in my opinion. A lot of agents use Trulia to market their listings, and although this should be considered a representative sample, the numbers probably wouldn’t differ too much from a larger pool of listings.

Trulia includes a handy interpretation key to help readers decode their cryptic rating system.

If a city’s Price-to-Rent Ratio is between 1-15, it’s cheaper to buy than rent.

If the number rises to 16-20 it’s more expensive to own than rent, but not by much. Basically that’s the circumstances matter category.

Anything above 21 indicates that in this city, the overall costs of owning your own home are significantly higher than renting.

Trulia smartly takes into account all the added bonus costs of home ownership, include mortgage principal AND interest, closing costs, mortgage insurance, etc., and they even factor in some leeway for the tax advantages of owning your own property.

Let’s start with the best cities to buy vs. rent.

First on the list? Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a Price to Rent Ratio score of 8.  I’ve heard a lot of great things about this town: Minneapolis has a great literary and theater scene, awesome food culture, a mellow, friendly vibe, and is still extremely affordable despite its burgeoning popularity. I hope this number one ranking doesn’t go to its head…

Trailing Minneapolis, in descending order, are Arlington, Texas; Miami, Florida; Fresno, California; San Antonio, Texas; Mesa, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; Phoenix, Arizona (not surprised to see this city here); El Paso, Texas; and Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Excluding Minneapolis, I’m surprised by how many of these cities are in the Southern/Southwestern reaches of the country. Any theories on why it’s cheaper to buy vs. rent where the sun is always shining? Is it because cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Miami, got hit the hardest when the bubble burst, and now sellers have to compete with foreclosures flooding the market?                                                              

And the best cities to Rent vs. Buy are…..

New York City is number one, of course, with a whopping Price-to-rent Ratio of 33. Cue feigned surprise.

Following in New York’s footsteps are Omaha, Nebraska; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon (a little surprised to see this one, would loves to hear from natives on what the real estate market’s like there… Portland’s such a great city); San Francisco, California; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Kansas City; Missouri; San Diego, California; Cleveland, Ohio; and Dallas, Texas.

Of course New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, even Dallas are all big renter’s cities. But it’s kind of weird to see those Midwestern towns heading up the list. Omaha? Kansas City? Cleveland?  In those cases I think it’s important to remember that even though it’s technically cheaper to rent, prices have dropped so much there might be many affordable housing options available.

Trulia’s blog post had over fifty comments, with many readers chiming in about the intangibles of buying vs. renting/renting vs. buying---the security and emotional connection that comes with homeownership and might be worth the extra financial strain, the flexibility renting offers those who have to move often, or aren’t quite ready to settle in one place. The only thing that really determines whether renting or buying is right for you, no matter where you are, is YOU.

I’m interested in what you think--both about the list, and the importance of lists like this in the first place. How much would you take these numbers into consideration if you were looking to rent or buy in any of these cities?

 *Thanks to the Calfinder Solar Blog for the gorgeous desert picture, and Penn for Life for the house/calculator image. 

Menlo Park Ca Open House Sat & Sun 1:30-4:30: A Green Home You CAN Afford

YOU CAN AFFORD TO BUY A GREEN HOME IN MENLO PARK

501 Sandlewood St, Menlo Park, CA 94025

VERY ATTRACTIVELY PRICED AT $598,000.00

Open House This Weekend, Saturday and Sunday from 1:30-4:30.

ALL GUESTS ARE ENTERED TO WIN A $100 GIFT CERTIFICATE FOR TIFFANY'S

Welcome to 501 Sandlewood St, a Green Home in an enclave of 3 year young Green Homes in Menlo Park.Conveniently located near the Dumbarton Bridge, gorgeous new office buildings, Mid Peninsula High School, and even a new Starbucks. You owe it to yourself to see how the city of Menlo Park has done a spectacular job on this re-development area, and to see what a wonderful home Clarum has built.

Some of the fantastic features include photoelectric roof panels which keep the PG&E bill to under $500 a year, tankless water heater so you never run out of hot water, tiles made from recycled glass, a lawn that looks gorgeous but never needs watering, granite counter tops in the kitchen and baths, solid surface tub surrounds, a huge master bath with a soaking tub, double paned windows and tons of natural light, walk in closet, and a bonus landing that is great for an extra office or playroom. There is aneighborhood park and a great community surrounding you. All this for under $600,000!

Seems almost too good to be true, but it is real. Don’t miss this incredible opportunity!

GREAT features include:

3 Bedrooms including a large master suite

2 ½ bathrooms with granite topped vanities, solid surface bath surrounds, and tiled floors

A wonderful U shaped kitchen with a gas stove, microwave, granite counters, maple cabinets, tiled floors, and a large pantry

Large, doubled paned windows

No water lawn

Attached 2 car garage

Re-circulating water heater pump

1,640 square feet of living space (per assessor)

3464 square foot lot (per assessor)

Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams
650-619-9285
marcy@marcymoyer.com
Follow Me, Marcyagent, on Twitter!

DRE # 01191194

Mountain View Ca Open House Sat & Sun 1:30-4:30: Experience the Light in Whisman Station!

148 Holly Court, Mountain View, CA

EXPERIENCE THE LIGHT.

$599,000

DON'T MISS THE OPEN HOUSE THIS WEEKEND, June 19th & 20th. 

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY FROM 1:30-4:30

Welcome to this striking townhome in the popular Whisman Station Development. 

You will delight in the modern amenities, convenient location, and wonderful life style options available to you if you live here.

Some of the lovely features include a fenced yard, central heat and air, new carpet and paint, attached 2 car garage, kitchen with granite counters, a center island, and gas stove, family room/kitchen, high ceilings, and, and rich cherry laminate floors.

Add to that wonderful Mountain View Schools and a great community with pools, parks, and easy access to light rail, freways, and major emplyment centers. Don't miss this wonderful home buying opportunity!

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

Palo Alto CA Market Update, June 15th: With a Neighborhood Twist!

Here's the latest update on the single family home market in Palo Alto, with a neighborhood twist! 

Active Listings: 98

Pending Sales: 50

The market seems to be holding pretty steady, with a ratio of one pending sale for every 2 active listings. So this time, instead of breaking the numbers up by price range I did a neighborhood breakdown. 

Are some neighborhoods more popular than others? If so, which ones? 

So here's what I found when I crunched the numbers by neighborhood: 

Downtown:  5 Active  3 Pending

Professorville:  3 Active  2 Pending

Community Center:  3 Active  4 Pending

Crescent Park:  5 Active   3 Pending

Green Gables:  8 Active  9 Pending

Old Palo Alto:  11 Active   2 Pending

College Terrace:  Active 10  Pending 4

Ventura:  4 Active  2 Pending

Midtown:  9 Active  3 pending

South Palo Alto: 19 Active  13 Pending

Barron Park:  Active  9   Pending   1

Green Acres:  6 Active  2 Pending

Palo Alto Hills:  4 Active  1 Pending

So what does this mean?  Well, after a year and a half of looking at PA by price range it is very interesting for me to look at things from a different angle.  Intuitively it has felt to me like the Community Center has become the “it" place to be, and this week’s stats definitely support that.  It is one of only two neighborhood with more pending sales than active listings. The other is Green Gables.   

What I find most fascinating is the Barron Park stat. 9 active listings to 1 pending sale is the worst neighborhood in Palo Alto.  Why? I have some theories.  It was the most popular for a while and perhaps was more over inflated than others so needs a bigger adjustment.  Or is it the 900 pound gorilla in the room that no one wants to discuss:  suicide. Did the rash of Gunn suicides send buyers to the northern end of Palo Alto?  If you look at the active to pending ratios of all the neighborhoods they are uniformly better in north Palo Alto than south Palo Alto.  

Now, this is only my first look, and the numbers for each neighborhood are small, but it is definitely a trend I want to follow.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

marcy@marcymoyer.com

www.marcymoyer.com

D.R.E. 01191194

650-619-9285

MOUNTAIN VIEW OPEN HOUSE THIS WEEKEND (June 12 & 13, 1:30-4:30: EXPERIENCE THE LIGHT

148 Holly Court, Mountain View, CA

EXPERIENCE THE LIGHT.

$599,000

DON'T MISS THE OPEN HOUSE THIS WEEKEND, June 12th & 13th.

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY FROM 1:30-4:30

Welcome to this striking townhome in the popular Whisman Station Development. 
You will delight in the modern amenities, convenient location, and wonderful life style options available to you if you live here.

Some of the lovely features include a fenced yard, central heat and air, new carpet and paint, attached 2 car garage, kitchen with granite counters, a center island, and gas stove, family room/kitchen, high ceilings, and, and rich cherry laminate floors.

Add to that wonderful Mountain View Schools and a great community with pools, parks, and easy access to light rail, freways, and major emplyment centers. Don't miss this wonderful home buying opportunity!

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

MENLO PARK OPEN HOUSE THIS WEEKEND (June 12 & 13, 1:30-4:30: A GREEN HOME YOU CAN AFFORD

YOU CAN AFFORD TO BUY A GREEN HOME IN MENLO PARK

501 Sandlewood St, Menlo Park, CA 94025

VERY ATTRACTIVELY PRICED AT $598,000.00

Open House This Weekend, Saturday and Sunday from 1:30-4:30.

ALL GUESTS ARE ENTERED TO WIN A $100 GIFT CERTIFICATE FOR TIFFANY'S

Welcome to 501 Sandlewood St, a Green Home in an enclave of 3 year young Green Homes in Menlo Park.Conveniently located near the Dumbarton Bridge, gorgeous new office buildings, Mid Peninsula High School, and even a new Starbucks. You owe it to yourself to see how the city of Menlo Park has done a spectacular job on this re-development area, and to see what a wonderful home Clarum has built.

Some of the fantastic features include photoelectric roof panels which keep the PG&E bill to under $500 a year, tankless water heater so you never run out of hot water, tiles made from recycled glass, a lawn that looks gorgeous but never needs watering, granite counter tops in the kitchen and baths, solid surface tub surrounds, a huge master bath with a soaking tub, double paned windows and tons of natural light, walk in closet, and a bonus landing that is great for an extra office or playroom. There is aneighborhood park and a great community surrounding you. All this for under $600,000!

Seems almost too good to be true, but it is real. Don’t miss this incredible opportunity!

GREAT features include:

3 Bedrooms including a large master suite

2 ½ bathrooms with granite topped vanities, solid surface bath surrounds, and tiled floors

A wonderful U shaped kitchen with a gas stove, microwave, granite counters, maple cabinets, tiled floors, and a large pantry

Large, doubled paned windows

No water lawn

Attached 2 car garage

Re-circulating water heater pump

1,640 square feet of living space (per assessor)

3464 square foot lot (per assessor)

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