Real estate is not always an easy venture to be involved in. Mortgages are huge loans, and monthly payments can be extremely steep. Especially with the trend a few years back to give out sub-prime mortgages, there have been a lot of foreclosures lately. But foreclosure should be avoided at all costs.

So let's assume for a moment that you are unable to make your mortgage payments. You become a defaulted owner. Now what? Well, typically, your lending institution will foreclose its…

Short Sale Information and Favorable Laws in 2012 for California Homeowners



Short Sale Related Laws you should know about as a homeowner



SB 931 Deficiency Waiver on First Mortgage



When First mortgage holder of your loan accepts full payment and satisfaction of all your outstanding first loan from the successful completion of  the sale of your home, your lender is  is prevented from pursuing a deficiency against you even after a short sale. This…

Short Sales are listed to be APPROVED, and that's just what has happened...again here in La Quinta, California.

5255 Avenida Obregon, La Quinta, CA. 

Primary Residence with one note with Chase.  Sellers were relocated for work. 

Listed and approved in approx. 90 days. 

Approx. Note value: $165,000

Approved at $135,000.  Not a huge write down for the Lenders, and they were…

Is there any good reason to do your own home inspection? How about to get a better deal. Every flaw you can find is a negotiating point. You don't have to learn building codes, and you probably should use a professional inspector in any case. The point of learning what to look for is to protect yourself and get a better deal.

Home Inspection - Use A Checklist

A good home inspection checklist, keeps you from forgetting things. I have more than a hundred items on my own…

I finally closed a Redwood City short sale that started in Sept of 2011. Yes, one year for a short sale. What was the problem? Let me count down just the top 10.

10. The sellers asked another agent in my office to sell this home as a short sale but this wonderful agent had never listed a short sale before. She asked me to help her, but by the time she did they were 2 weeks from the trustee sale date and the sellers were sitting on a perfectly good…

South Bay Short Sale Specialist Sam Xavier RE/MAX Execs

Sam Xavier's Real Estate Market Trends

Hello all,

I am in a state of confusion as the listing agent doesnt seem to be asking the negotiator the right questions and my agent isnt addressing my concerns with her. We accepted a counter offer on August 22nd from B of A, same price just 1,000 dollars less in closing costs. The listing agent said we are good to go and suggested I lock my rate and order the appraisal. I was ecstatic until I started researching on my own and found out we may be nowhere near done. I thankfully…

I HAVE FOUND IN MY AREA IN KANSAS CITY MO & KS THAT THE PEOPLE DOING BPO'S AND GIVING HIGH APPRAISALS AE THE SAME ONES LISTING THEM WHEN THEY GO TO FORECLOSURE!!!!!!!!!! SO GET PAID FOR BPO THAT IS WRONG AND THEN GET PAID TO LIST FORECLOSURE??????   WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE????? IS THIS NOT FRAUD??????  I BELONG TO NAR PAY MY DUES FIGHT FOR CONSUMER RIGHTS IS THIS NOT A CONSUMERS RIGHT NOT TO BE DEFRUDED BY THE BPO AGENT?????????? FOR THE FORECLOSURE LISTING?????????? I HAD A…

99% of Loan Modification Transfer Title…

The basic reality that needs to be understood by a homeowner is that when ANY paperwork is done on or for a loan modification there is a 99% chance that there will either be a short sale or a foreclosure.

The reason why?

Simple, other than the 1% that hit the lottery or the homeowner that gets a full rewrite or recast or alternatively a possible balance reduction on their existing loan terms, they won’t!

It is just basic…

If you're are planning on selling your home and moving up, do your homework before offering your home for sale. Read the following story to see what can happen to home sellers who don't do their math.



A young family sold their home in California, before they determined how to buy their next house. All they thought about was moving into a larger home for their growing family.



Two years before, after this young couple purchased their first home, they bought a minivan with…

I have to admit that I have not done any B of A COOP short sales before the one I am currently handling.  Not out of choice, it just seems that I don't get the Short Sale listings until it is long past a pre-approval situation.

This Seller, however, was only a couple months late and…

Has anyone experienced this?

On August 10, Greentree, as second lien holder, sent conditional approval for $20,0000, with deadline of  Sept. 21. They  were told that CITI as the 1st lien holder will only approve $8,500. Greentree negotiator said to send her CITI approval in writing once received.

CITI grants written approval Sept 5 ---enough time to meet Greentree's deadline...but when Greentree was called to give them CITI's approval, Greentree…

According to the tax relief law, the homeowners were able to exclude certain debts that were considered as income by the IRS. But all those who are planning to benefit from these need to be aware of the fact that this tax break is about to expire on December, 31st, 2012 and that a foreclosure or a short sale may take many months to complete. During the housing crisis and during a time when the mortgage rates are at their lowest levels, a window is soon closing on the most important…

Short Sales are NEVER smooth.  Even the pre-approved by the Lender Short Sales, commonly called COOP (co-operative) with B of A, and varieties of that with Chase and a few other Lenders.  Even then..they have to get final approval by the Investors and all Short Sale List Agents know that can take some time...or only a few days!  Hey, you just never know.

After 5 years…

Silicon Valley Home Prices are on the rise. Inventory is low, and there are plenty of buyers out there making multiple offers the norm, not the exception. Investors have been a big factor in the market since the crash, but now it may be time for a change if you are an investor.

For the last few years investors were gobbling up foreclosed homes, short…

Improvements and more improvements have been the recurring case for the government sponsored enterprises Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Although these GSE’s (Government Sponsored Enterprise) had a slow start in finding the right solutions for the housing crisis we are facing, the momentum for improvements via federal guidelines have picked up speed. The Goal: Get through distressed properties quickly to catalyze the housing recovery. How? Streamline their short…

First impressions matter most. This is one concept that many homeowners trying to sell their homes and first time property investors trying to sell or rent property fail to understand. Curb appeal is the first impression when it comes to a house. This is the place that you as an investor or seller want those driving buy to think of as home. For this reason you should pay careful attention and spend some degree of time and effort making the outside of the home inviting and appealing to…

HSSN CASE FORWARDED ~~ Hopefully good news on this traditional short sale? I haven't seen this phrase used previously with Bank of America.  Does anyone have an idea of what is next?