Antioch CA – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Tamra. She is buying a home and her agent is trying to talk her out of short sales. Here is Tamra’s question. “I am looking to buy a home. Some of the best priced properties are short sales. However, my agent won’t show me these homes. She keeps on telling me the prices are lower than the lender will accept and that short sale never close. What should I do? I am really interested in these homes, especially at the price they are being offered at.” Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Here was my answer. Tamra, you should talk to your agent and see what they dislike about short sales. Your agent may have had a bad experience with short sales in the past.... 01/04/2011

Antioch CA – The Stop Foreclosure Institute sometimes receives e-mails from people that short sales are impossible. Well, short sales are not impossible. They just take time. Here is an example. The Stop Foreclosure Institute was attempting a short sale on a property. The bank turned down an offer for $220,000 on the house. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Today it looks like an offer for 185k will be approved. Why is that? The first offer was submitted 4 months ago. The bank did an appraisal. The appraiser thought the house was worth $265,000. The lender rejected the offer because it didn't meet their guidelines. We put the home back on the market and waited for another offer. The property values continued to decline. The ... 01/03/2011

Antioch CA – Here is another common loan modification mistake that many homeowners make. They accept a very short term payment agreement that is not a loan modification. They could have gotten a real modification, but settled for whatever the lender recommended to them. They settled for what is called forbearance. Here’s how it works. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. A forbearance does not reduce your payments. It doesn’t reduce your back payments, or reduces them very little. The lender just allows you to catch up on all the debt over a set time period. You start paying your normal payments again. In addition, you also have to pay extra every month to catch up the back payments. Many homeowners are so desperate to keep thei... 01/03/2011

Antioch CA – Most homeowners negotiating a loan modification are not amazing negotiators. After all, it’s not every American’s job to be a great negotiator. America is built on hard work and treating people fair. Most stores offer products at a good, fair price. The price is the price. If you don’t like it, then don’t buy it. But, don’t kid yourself on loan modification negotiators. The lenders teach them how to negotiate. They train them to do everything they can to squeeze as much money out of you as possible. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. The supervisors tell them, “If it means not modifying the customer’s loan, then go ahead and do what you need to do. Don’t modify their loan.” Here is a trick they use to avoid havin... 01/02/2011

Antioch CA – Loan Modifications are tough. Lenders don’t want to reduce your payment or reduce the amount you owe. It’s insane. Don’t even get me started on the topic of the nation’s courts being tilted in the favor of the big banks! Most loan modifications end in failure because the banks are so hard to work with. In a recent story in the news, a New Jersey Company is accused of defrauding homeowners out of thousands of dollars. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. According to the story, one couple had more than $2,800 billed to their credit card but received no loan modification. Another customer paid more than $3,500 and received no assistance. Your best bet for a successful loan modification is to negotiate it yourself. No ... 01/02/2011

Real Estate Investors often get started with Investing like a Blogger gets started with Blogging. They tell you to just get going and learn as you go. There is a difference. As a Blogger I make a lot of mistakes. I look back and wish I had written something different, set my categories different, worked on the back side of it better, or did any number of things different. Some of these things I can correct easily, others not so easily, and I loose opportunities by not starting off right. In Real Estate Investing I see a lot of Investors here in Contra Costa County Communities such as Antioch, Pittsburg, Oakley and Brentwood start of in the wrong direction. The problem with starting off wrong in Real Estate Investing is it is harder to fix the problem, if you can fix it all. What seem li... 01/02/2011

For Real Estate Investors almost every example I have found shows the Real Estate Investor is better off putting as little down as possible. I will tell you why before the end of this post. But first a word of caution. Click Here Now If You Just Want to Search Homes! This appeals to some Real Estate Investors either because they have little or nothing to put down and are thinking about flipping the property. There are a lot of guys on late night TV selling investment strategies like this. I often wonder if they are selling the plans because they cannot make a living actually doing their plan? Real Estate Investing involves careful in site and some work. I think Real Estate Investing can be very profitable and now is certainly the time to Invest in Real Estate. However, be careful of tho... 12/31/2010

Short Sales in Antioch California 94531 Short Sales have become the dominate part of the market. You cannot ignore what is going on with Short Sales. I expect that in 2011 Banks will begin to ease and speed up the Short Sale process. This report looks at Single Family Homes that are Short Sales in Antioch California 94531 by comparing the Active Market to the Pending Short Sale Market and the Short Sales for the last two months. The 94531 zip generally represents the newer parts of Antioch, which features many fine homes. There are 111 Active Short Sales in Antioch California 94531 on the market now with an average asking price of $229,000.00 and a median price of $229,000.00. These Short Sale Homes are listed at an average or $109.00 per SF and have been on the market an average of 74 ... 12/29/2010

Short Sales in Antioch California 94509 Short Sales have become the dominate part of the market. You cannot ignore what is going on with Short Sales. I expect that in 2011 Banks will begin to ease and speed up the Short Sale process. This report looks at Single Family Homes that are Short Sales in Antioch California 94509 by comparing the Active Market to the Pending Short Sale Market and the Short Sales for the last two months. The 94509 zip generally represents the more established parts of Antioch, which features many fine homes. There are 71 Active Short Sales in Antioch California 94509 on the market now with an average asking price of $167,381.00 and a median price of $152.900.00. These Short Sale Homes are listed at an average or $105.00 per SF and have been on the market an aver... 12/29/2010

Antioch CA – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Richard. “I accepted a job transfer and had to move. Unfortunately we were upside down on the house. I decided to rent it out rather than short sale it. The renters just moved out. I just checked the house. They trashed it! I could rent the house out again, but I would have to spend several thousand dollars fixing it up first. What would you recommend that I do?” Richard asked. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Here was our recommendation. That is a tough situation. You could fix up the house and rent it out again. But, you risk having the same thing happen all over again. Here is the other problem. The amount you can charge for rent has gone down i... 12/16/2010

[caption id="attachment_1149" align="alignright" width="283" caption="Yes, you can Short Sale and buy another home."][/caption] Antioch CA – We get this question a lot from people. “I am upside down and need to move. I would like to buy another home. Can I do that?” they ask us. Today they can. FHA (the Federal Housing Administration) has a new program that enables you to short sale your existing home and buy a new home at today’s reduced prices. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. The home you purchase would have to meet FHA’s standard lending guidelines. FHA is a great mortgage program. In fact, more people buying a home in today’s market are getting an FHA loan. Here is what you would need to do to participate in the program... 12/15/2010

Typical Abandoned Real Estate Antioch CA– The New York Time had an interesting article about one man’s mission in the fight to stop foreclosure. According to the article, Mark Guerette, attempted to make use of all the empty, abandoned houses he saw. I get frustrated when I see homes sitting empty for months and months. “Those homes should be put to good use!” I thought to myself. It bugged me that homes would sit empty for months and even years at a time. The lawn would become overgrown. A window might leak. Or, vandals would break the windows. Rain would start getting inside the house, thereby causing mold on the walls and ceiling. The house would get uglier and uglier. As a working short sale realtor, I knew how much this would cause the home’s value to drop. Most of the homes were i... 12/14/2010

Antioch CA - The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Jennifer. She is having a hard time selling her home. “I have had my house for sale for a little while, but it hasn’t sold. No buyers have come to look at it. At first I thought the price was fair. But, now that no one has come to see the home, I am beginning to realize that I am upside down. My realtor hasn’t talked to me about a short sale. What should I do?” Jennifer asked. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Here is what I would recommend to her. First, talk to your current agent about a short sale. They might be uncomfortable with bringing it up. Short sales are a sensitive issue. Some people get offended when you ask them about a short sale. It ... 12/13/2010

Bank Owned Homes Antioch California 94531 Bank Owned Homes have dominated the market for the last couple of years. At this time Short Sales may be more prevalent, but as banks begin to unload inventory we may see more and more Bank Owned Homes on the Market. (Click Here for Free Report on Bank Owned Homes!) This report looks at market trends of Single Family Bank Owned Homes in Antioch California 94531 - by looking at the current market and comparing it with sales of Bank Owned Homes in November and October. Right now there are 50 Bank Owned Homes in Antioch California 94531 on the market with an average asking price of $232,224.00 and a median asking price of $219,900.00. The average asking price per SF is $113.00 and they have been on the market an average of 42 days. In November 26 B... 12/13/2010

Bank Owned Homes Antioch California 94509 Bank Owned Homes have dominated the market for the last couple of years. At this time Short Sales may be more prevalent, but as banks begin to unload inventory we may see more and more Bank Owned Homes on the Market. (Click Here for Free Report on Bank Owned Homes!) This report looks at market trends of Single Family Bank Owned Homes in Antioch California 94509 - by looking at the current market and comparing it with sales of Bank Owned Homes in November and October. Right now there are 72 Bank Owned Homes in Antioch California 94509 on the market with an average asking price of $162,808.00 and a median asking price of $159,900.00. The average asking price per SF is $107.00 and they have been on the market an average of 49 days. In November 33 B... 12/13/2010

Antioch CA- Loan modifications have become a joke. People get turned down for no reason at all. People really want to keep their home, but just can't figure out what to do. The loan modification negotiators realize how desperate the homeowners are. They use their power over the person to take an ego trip. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. [caption id="attachment_1126" align="alignright" width="332" caption="Banker to Homeowner, "You Pay Up!""][/caption] "I'm going to make this person beg me personally for their loan modification", they think to themselves. Everything becomes a competition between negotiators on who can squeeze more out of people. They talk to their fellow negotiators about what they are able to force people t... 12/09/2010

Homes for Sale Antioch California 94531 The Market Report looks at Single Family Homes for Sale Antioch California 94531 by comparing the current market with sales for the last two months. Right now there are 204 Homes for Sale Antioch California 94531 with an average asking price of $246,263.00 and a median price of $235,000.00. The average asking price per SF is $113.00 and the homes have spent an average of 62 days on the market. In November 53 Homes for Sale Antioch California 94531 sold for an average price of $253,763.00 and a median price of $257,000.00. This is an average price per SF of $109.00 and the homes were on the market for an average of 37 days. In October 52 Homes for Sale Antioch California 94531 sold for an average price of $239,612.00 and a median price of $225,563.... 12/09/2010

Homes for Sale Antioch California 94509 The Market Report looks at Single Family Homes for Sale Antioch California 94509 by comparing the current market with sales for the last two months. Right now there are 200 Homes for Sale Antioch California 94509 with an average asking price of $180,643.00 and a median price of $170,000.00. The average asking price per SF is $112.00 and the homes have spent an average of 63 days on the market. In November 67 Homes for Sale Antioch California 94509 sold for an average price of $169,833.00 and a median price of $161,000.00. This is an average price per SF of $107.00 and the homes were on the market for an average of 30 days. In October 70 Homes for Sale Antioch California 94509 sold for an average price of $180,238.00 and a median price of $175,450.... 12/09/2010

Antioch CA - Maybe this is a pet peeve of mine. Or maybe it just seems ridiculous that someone would call a debtor over and over again asking to be paid, when they have already been told the debtor doesn't have the money to pay them. Or maybe it is the fact that I see countless examples of debt collectors breaking the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. But, no one seems to care that they are breaking the law. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act forbids collectors from threatening to sue you, but then not following thru and actually filing suit. To get around this rule, they will use language that sounds legal, but isn't. In one situation, a debt collection firm in Buffalo, New York named their firm Hoffman, Weinberg & O'Brien to make it sound like they were a law firm. They would t... 12/08/2010

Antioch CA - If homeowner's have a bill of rights, then bankers must have one as well. We decided to put together the Banker's Bill of Rights. That way they wouldn't feel left out. Let me know if we should put this together and petition congress to add it to the constitution. The Banker's Bill of Rights. 1. All Bankers have the Right to make any mistake they want and still get bailed out by the American Taxpayer. They can fiddle around with complex derivatives with no risk to themselves or the bank they run. When they run their bank into the ground, they get the full assistance of the American Taxpayer to bail them out of their mess. [caption id="attachment_1104" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="American Taxpayer Bailing Out The Banks"] [/caption] 2. All Bankers have the right to ... 12/07/2010