Santa Claus Sighting in East County Mall – Antioch Ca Last night I took the five youngest boys to see Santa at East County Mall in Antioch Ca. This Santa is very good, the best part was there were no lines at about 7:30 PM. Now there was a time we dressed them all up and where very formal about. However, we are now worn out parents of 6 kids and feel lucky to even keep them in the same place for brief moments. For some reason my 15 year old son felt this trip was beneath his dignity. There were a lot of pictures snapped trying to get smiles on all their little faces – This is as good as it gets. Merry Christmas from Gene and his crew! 12/21/2011

I am impressed! Fannie Maes new website is one of the best on line resources available for anyone considering what to do with an unaffordable payment. It is very thorough about short sales and loan modifications.  It provides real life scenarios, loan modification calculators, short sale videos, and information about the available options.  It has helped so many of my clients choose between a short sale, loan mod, or foreclosure.   It also contains information for a home owner to compare short sale vs. foreclosure or loan modification vs short sale or deed in lieu vs. foreclosure.  It also addresses: Options to stay in the home Loan Modification Refinance Forbearance Repayment Plans Deed in Lieu Options to leave the property Short Sale Deed in Lieu Foreclosure For Northern California Re... 12/20/2011

      Antioch CA – The right agent can make the difference between success and failure on your short sale. You risk losing a lot when your agent doesn’t understand short sales. The short sale can be denied and the home foreclosed. Then you have to wait five years to buy another house. Or, the lender may ask you to repay the loss. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Here are the questions I would ask an agent before hiring them. Question #1: How many short sales have you listed and sold in the past 6 months? This is important because you want an agent who is up to date on all the potential issues. They should understand the short sale process from start to finish. Question #2: In the past, what lenders have you negotiated short... 12/20/2011

    Antioch CA – I read an interesting book. The author talked about persistence and how it helps you be successful. He told a story about phoning a call center. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. The first person he talked to told him that he couldn’t buy something in bulk for a certain price. Rather than argue with her, he instead hung up and called back in. The next person he talked to agreed to sell him the product in bulk for the price he wanted. He got what he wanted a lot faster and easier than if he had spent time arguing with the first person. He gave another example of trying to change his account info with a phone company. The first person tells him he needs to print and sign a form. Then, he must have it notarized... 12/16/2011

December's Season of Celebrations and Sharing Contest – New Years Eve Service Cornerstone Christian Center! Are you looking for someplace to Ring in the New Year on New Years Eve? Cornerstone Christian Center in Antioch Ca has an early family friendly service on New Years Eve at 6:00 pm on December 31, 2011. Come and make a fresh start in the New Year at Cornerstone Christian Center. New Years is a time for New Beginnings and Fresh Commitment. We have young kids and we find this New Years Eve service to work perfect for us. It is very kid friendly and early enough the kids are not too tired. Cornerstone Christian Center is at 1745 E. 18th Street in Antioch Ca. Go to CornerstoneChristian.net or call 925-779-2000 for more information. Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year 12/16/2011

December's Season of Celebrations and Sharing Contest – Christmas Eve Service Cornerstone Christian Center! Are you looking for someplace to celebrate the Birth of the Lord Jesus on Christmas Eve? Cornerstone Christian Center in Antioch Ca has an early family friendly service on Christmas Eve at 6:00 pm on December 24, 2011. Come and sing Christmas Carols, here the message of the Gospel, join us in a Candle Lighting, and Celebrate the Birth of Christ. We have young kids and we find this Christmas Eve service to work perfect for us. It is very kid friendly and early enough the kids are not too tired. Cornerstone Christian Center is at 1745 E. 18th Street in Antioch Ca. Go to CornerstoneChristian.net or call 925-779-2000 for more information.   Merry Christmas 12/16/2011

  Pittsburg CA – Short Sales are a situation that can often cause emotional turmoil as well as financial. It’s amazing how quick people are to judge others but times may be changing when it comes to today’s financial situations. We’re all feeling tough times. We all have seen local businesses close, people we know losing jobs they’ve had for years, and seen how the cost of living increases while the income we’re making doesn’t seem to be keeping the same pace. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Most of us don’t speak “legal-eze” and personally I’m thankful that most of us also don’t operate like some lenders. It’s hard to understand why a lender will jump at doing a Short Sale on a home as opposed to working with someone who’... 12/14/2011

Antioch CA – While most people think of realtors as a person you turn to only when you’re buying or selling a home; many don’t realize that a realtor’s expertise in the housing industry can help you in other ways also. If you are facing possible foreclosure, turning to a realtor for help may be one of the smartest options to choose. While realtors can’t give legal advice about handling foreclosures, they can show you many options that are available to you as both a home owner facing possible foreclosure and as a possible home buyer if you should have to release your home to the lender. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. 1.) The right Antioch realtor will know the area well and be able to guide you as to how others in your sit... 12/12/2011

Antioch CA – What can you do if you are facing a foreclosure? One of the scariest and worse case scenarios for a homeowner is getting so far behind in your payments that foreclosure is leering around the corner. You feel as though you have let everyone, yourself included, down. You feel embarrassed, even if you aren’t actually holding the papers yet. So now what? Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Here are a few tips to help you out: 1.) First off if you’ve been getting letters “threatening “ foreclosure you need to step up and take action. Ignoring them until you actually get the foreclosure papers sent to you will not make it go away. 2.) It’s time to sit down and figure out how far behind you are and if it is truly realist... 12/11/2011

  Antioch CA – We recently saw something positive on short sales with Bank of America. Bank of America recently sent out an email stating that you can no initiate the short sale process without a buyer. The agent can start the process and get things going before a buyer makes an offer to purchase the property. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. This will help to reduce the short sale timeline. All of the documents will be submitted and if the negotiator needs anything else, they can request it earlier in the process. This also allows Bank of America to contact the owner of the loan earlier. This is important as some loan owners can take a while to respond. We think this is a good development that will make Bank of America sho... 12/08/2011

Antioch CA – The Stop Foreclosure Insitute recently received a question from Denzel. Here was his question. “I purchased my home in 2007 for 365,000 and put 18,000 down. Today I owe approximately 340000. The mortgage is with Wells Fargo. No Second. The same size home is being sold by the builder brand new for 240,000 brand new. I have to move for retirement, and don’t have a job lined up. What are my options. Denzel.” Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Here was our answer to Denzel’s Question. I think a short sale would be your best option. Let me explain why. First, in most cases the bank will forgive you of the upside down debt. Second, it is a clean break that allows you to move on without having to worry about the house a... 12/06/2011

  Antioch CA – Short sales are difficult when you do not know what you are doing. But, they aren’t as difficult as people say. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Here are the three keys to getting a short sale approved. #1: Follow up. Many agents don’t take short sales seriously. They have heard the horror stories from other agents and therefore don’t think their odds of success are very high. Because of that, they don’t put much effort into the short sale. They’ll submit the short sale file, but won’t spend much time following up on it. If it gets approved, then great. If not, then oh well. A denied or drawn out short sale just confirm their perception that short sales are difficult. “I knew short sales were hard and this ju... 12/05/2011

Antioch CA – This is another short sale myth we’ve seen tossed around. Some people in the media even suggested that banks were delaying foreclosures to delay losses being recorded on their books. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Here is what I think is the real reason: The bank departments that handle foreclosure are understaffed. After all, foreclosures increased hugely since the housing crisis started. The banks have tried desperately to hire on more staff. But, it takes time to hire and train people when the banks are handling a huge increase in delinquent loans. Besides, there is little accountability. Do you think a Fannie Mae Bureaucrat cares if a foreclosed home isn’t put on the market right away? It’s all play money... 12/03/2011

Antioch CA – Some people think that short sales represent a bargain in the real estate world. Some people have said that banks sell short sales for below market value because they want to avoid foreclosure. That isn’t true. Yes, banks do prefer to sell a property in foreclosure as a short sale. They know that short sales usually sell for more money than a foreclosure. I am sure you are wondering why. Let me explain. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Most short sales are still owner occupied. As you probably know all bank foreclosure properties are vacant. An occupied property is much easier to sell than a vacant one. An owner occupied home looks like a home. The furniture and appliances are setup in their proper places. The ... 12/01/2011

Antioch CA – The agent you hire to short sale your house should know how to “influence the BPO.” Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. The BPO is another agent’s opinion of the value of your home. The bank will willingly sell your home on a short sale if they think the home is selling for close to its fair market value. The BPO is what they use to determine the fair market value. But, most agents that do BPOs do a lot of them. They may not spend a lot of time evaluating your home and the value. Some of them turn in 100-200 valuations a month and not every one is accurate. That is why it is important that your agent make saure they understand what your home is worth. They should meet the agent at your home and explain what the ho... 11/30/2011

Antioch CA – It is very helpful in loan modification negotiations to know the fair market value of your home. You can use the value to convince your lender to accept your loan modification offer. As an experienced Short Sale Realtor, I can help you determine the value of your home. Here’s how I do that. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. First, I will look at all of the homes similar to yours that have sold in the last 6 months. I will pick out the 3 homes that are most similar to yours. Here are a few things that will cause me to pick one home versus another: Home has very similar features, number of bedrooms, and number of bathrooms. I also prefer to use bank owned and short sale properties. Yes, it is true that bank owned ... 11/29/2011

Antioch Ca Real Estate Investors – When the Numbers do not Equal the Facts! As a Realtor working with Investors in Antioch Ca and Beyond I often get a gut feeling about the market and what is happening in it; but then I run the numbers and they say something else. A popular home with Investors in Antioch Ca are the single story, 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2 car garage home. Generally for a buy and hold Investor the older homes built in the 60's to the early 90's offers a great price for a solid home. My impression is that the prices on these type of homes dropped in early 2010 but over the summer the prices tightened up. I am constantly looking at market reports and pricing trends, but there are lots of sub markets. All Real Estate is very local and different types of homes can be trending ... 11/29/2011

Antioch CA – If you are looking to convince your lender to approve your loan modification, then here is a tool you might find useful. Here is a sample calculator you can use to convince your lender to approve your loan modification. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. The numbers below are an example. You can get your home value from an experienced short sale realtor, or an appraiser. Current Home Value: $240,000. Current Prevailing Interest Rate on a 30 year mortgage: 4.02%. Current monthly payment on a $240,000 mortgage at 4.02% interest over 30 years: $1,148.57. What I am offering to repay monthly on my loan modification: $1,400. $1,400 over 30 years will repay a $292,538 mortgage at 4.02%. That means your bank will actuall... 11/28/2011

  Antioch CA – In our last post, we talked about how you could contact the entity that owns a loan. But, some people were wondering how they could find out who owned their loan. “I thought ABC Bank owned my loan. I send them a payment every month”, they told us. Well, here is how to research the owner of your loan. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Between 65% and 70% of all loan losses are borne by Uncle Sam. He has direct/indirect ownership or insures against losses thru the following entities: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and the Veterans Loan Program (VA.) Here is how to find out if your loan is owned by any of those entities. Fannie Mae. http://loanlookup.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/ Fredd... 11/23/2011

Antioch CA – In our last post, we ranted about how the bankers do a lousy, incompetent job on short sale and loan modification negotiations. Here is how you can avoid suffering under their incompetence. The key is to hold your bank accountable. Here’s how to do that. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Tell them they can do as good of a job or as bad of a job as they want to on your short sale or loan modification. But, if they do not approve it, and lose money as a result, then you will report them. Here is an example from an email we sent to a short sale negotiator. (Some of the details have been changed to protect the home seller’s identity.) 1. We have had the property at 193 NE Brock Lane for sale for over 4 months. Any b... 11/22/2011