This is so inherently unethical I can not believe I am actually writing a blog about this, but a buyer asked me this question today and apparently it is happening. 

I have a short sale listing in Menlo Park and offers are due by the end of the day on Tues.  At thus point I have 2. It is in Belle Haven,  a popular area for investors and is close to the the new Facebook Headquarters so the appreciation prospects are…

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If you are selling your home as a short sale and it needs work you may get one or more offers from flippers. These can be contractors or investors who want to buy your home at a discount, fix it up, and then resell it for a profit. I do not believe there is anything unethical about this, and in fact I used to flip homes myself, but that was a different market.

However, there are many banks who disagree and often will…

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1115 Madera Ave Menlo Park, CA Menlo Park: Charming…

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It is estimated that about 25% of home in the US are underwater, that is the owner owes more on the mortgage than the home is worth. So if the owner has to sell, they would have to either make up the difference or do a short sale.

However, just being underwater is not enough reason for most banks to do a short sale. They want to know you have a hardship. what is a hardship?

there are a number of reasons that banks will accept as a hardship. they basically want to know what has…

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Milpitas Single Family homes

Active Short Sale Listings:  23

Active Bank Owned Homes: 9

Pending Short Sale Homes: 49

Pending Bank Owned Homes: 11

Sold Short Sale Homes: Last 6 months 23

Sold Bank Owned Homes: 19

 

Milpitas Condo Townhomes

Active Short Sale Listings: 12

Active Bank Owned…

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San Jose Single Family homes

Active Short Sale Listings:  371

Active Bank Owned Homes: 77

Pending Short Sale Homes: over 578 (mls stops counting at 500 and there are more than 500 San Jose Short Sales waiting for bank approval, 41 bank approved waiting for buyer to remove contingencies, and 338 just waiting to close)

Pending Bank…

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When making an offer on a San Jose Short Sale it is common for the buyer's agent to ask the listing agent about his or her experience with short sales. They want to know if the seller's agent knows what he or she is doing because that is essential for a successful short sale completion. So when I am asked those questions I can honestly say that I am certified (CDPE),…

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Today in the Mercury News there was a story about how first time home buyers who need to purchase with loans are getting beaten out by investor cash buyers who often offer less than traditional buyers for foreclosures. …

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There is a new law that mandates Carbon Monoxide monitors be installed in all residential properties in California. Lenders are taking this seriously! I had a buyer purchasing ashort sale in Sunnyvale that was scheduled to close last Friday, after several extensions. (The first lender kept asking for closings that were not physically possible to adhere…

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So you have to sell. Here is what you should…

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There is another conflict brewing between investors and first time home-buyers, and this time the home buyers may win. In the more affordable areas of the Silicon Valley distressed properties, ie short sales and reos have been popular with investors and first time buyers. Many would be owner occupiers lose out on great opportunities to investors who have all cash.  Since condos are the least…

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If you are an owner of a home with a second loan that is a Home Equity Line and you are having trouble paying your mortgage you should do something about it right away. I know you have probably heard that banks are taking up to 2 years to foreclose so you have plenty of time, but there is a dirty little secret in the mortgage world.  HELOCs are not entirely like traditional mortgages, they are more like credit cards. If you do not pay your first mortgage your lender needs to find a way to…

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Gorgeous Condo in Secure Building	$125,000.00 …

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The question of whether to short sell a home in probate used to be rare, but now unfortunately it is not. There are estates where the owner dies, owes more than the house is worth, and a decision needs to be made by the Personal Representative (executor) as to what to do.

My opinion, try it. If it is in the best interest of the bank/investor to short sell rather than foreclose they will do it. If it is not, they won't and will…

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Last year I predicted that Palo Alto will see more short sales in the future. Well, the future is now so what is happening? There are currently 2 short sales on the market, 5 in escrow, and 6 closed in the last year. This isn't a huge number, but certainly more than we saw in the early part of the century. There's a lot of chatter in the media about how the government is giving banks and homeowners incentives for short sales, and how banks save money by allowing short sales, but does that… Continue

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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.…



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There's a lot of chatter on real estate blogs about the steep increase in foreclosures and short sales in Palo Alto. Unfortunately many sites post stats from a company called Realty…

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