Selling homes as-is is becoming more and more widespread through the U.S., in large part because of the many benefits it has for homeowners beyond just stopping foreclosures. In San Diego, we have seen many homeowners finally find peace of mind once they decided to sell their home as-is. However, many homeowners were concerned that selling a house under the “as-is” name can negatively impact the resale value, and shrink the pool of potential buyers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqMxoNoy_hQ&feature=player_embedded

Are you in pre-foreclosure or can foresee yourself in foreclosure status in the near future? You are not alone my friend. There are government sponsored HUD counselors available for you in your area who can help you explore your options and choose the best one for your particular situation. Do this immediately as waiting may be consequential to your situation.

However, one option that HUD counselors may not discuss with you but is worth exploring if you are in pre-foreclosure is the “Produce The Note” strategy.

A few conventional options to stop foreclosure and stay in the home would be a refinance, modification, and a forbearance plan. The two popular exit strategies to avoid foreclosure would be a deed-in-lieu or the popular option, a short sale. Your HUD counselor should explain all of these options to you and recommend a particular plan depending on your specific financial situation.

One strategy to delay foreclosure which is not known or often discussed is the “Produce The Note” strategy. What this strategy entails is, the homeowner, whose home is in a foreclosure process, asks their banks to produce the original loan documentation when they purchased the home. It’s quite simple but surprisingly, a high number of banks are not able to come up with this information thus homeowners can delay banks from foreclosing on their property. There are no guarantees for this strategy as they may be able to “produce the note” but it is certainly worth giving it a try.

By using this strategy, some homeowners were able to stall their foreclosure process for years but keep in mind that delaying is not necessarily solving the problem. Choosing a short sale for your home will help you recover your financial situation much sooner than waiting and simply enjoying the free rent. A wise decision would be to exit the property on good terms with your current lender so you can have the chance to purchase a new home with your next lender who is able to see how you performed with your previous home mortgage.

Have you heard of the produce the note strategy? I would love to know what you have heard about the idea.

Peter

Brentwood Governors Club Seeing More Distress Sales
Well Known Gated Brentwood Tennessee Neighborhood Experiencing Increased Short Sale and Foreclosure Activity

Per my previous blog posts, Financial Distress Hitting Affluent Towns and Neighborhoods, Brentwood Distressed Sales Activity Increasing and Franklin Distressed Sales Activity Increasing, it is clear that exclusive, affluent, executive, luxury, gated, high-end and golf course neighborhoods are experiencing increased levels of Distress Sales (short sales and foreclosures). However, even with this information it is still surprising to such a prominent Brentwood Tennessee neighborhood like the Governors Club be hit with so many distress sales. Please consider the following sales figures which I obtained from the Middle Tennessee RealTracs MLS:

• There are currently 35 Active Listings (i.e. homes that are actively being marketed for sale) in the Governors Club. Out of those 35 Active Listings 4 are Distress Sales (i.e. short sales and foreclosures account for over 11% of the Active Listings in the Governors Club).
• There are currently 4 Pending Sales (i.e. homes that are under contract with buyers and are probable to close) in the Governors Club. Out of those 4 Pending Sales, 1 is a Distress Sale (i.e. short sales and foreclosures account for 25% of the Pending Sales in the Governors Club).
• Since 1/1/2010 there have been 31 Closed Sales in the Governors Club. Out of those 31 Closed Sales, 4 were Distress Sales (i.e. short sales and foreclosures account for almost 13% of the Closed Sales in the Governors Club).

While the numbers above are not staggering when compared to other parts of the country and even other parts of the Nashville Tennessee, for a neighborhood like the Brentwood Governors Club to have 11%+ distress sales in every sales category is really bad. It is clear that even ultra exclusive, affluent, executive, luxury, gated, high-end and golf course neighborhoods are not immune to the economic and housing market collapse, and, as a result are seeing increased levels of short sales and foreclosures. I highly recommend that these homeowners seek qualified professional real estate, legal and financial advice right away to avoid foreclosure. Since I understand that many homeowners do not want their neighbors to know about their financial hardship, I generally do not use For Sale signs on my listings. I also use short sale pre-qualification techniques to minimize the marketing period of my short sale listings by thoroughly researching the financially distressed homeowners' loan type and actual lender (i.e. the loan owner or loan investor) and communicate with my clients via their cell phone (calls and text messages) and personal email to avoid embarrassment. In short, I market my listings as the "Discreet Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR and Real Estate Expert".

Free* Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance for Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Nolensville, Spring Hill, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, La Vergne, Columbia, Mt. Juliet, Springfield, Gallatin and Middle Tennessee Financially Distressed Homeowners and Property Owners. Stop the Bank from Foreclosing with a Quick Cash Offer or Short Sale. If you are a Nashville Tennessee, Franklin Tennessee, Brentwood Tennessee, Nolensville Tennessee, Spring Hill Tennessee, Murfreesboro Tennessee, Smyrna Tennessee or La Vergne Tennessee homeowner, property owner, condo owner, real estate investor, home builder or real estate developer who cannot pay your mortgage payments (due to losing your job, having your income reduced, illness, health problems, adverse business conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.), know that you will not be able to pay your mortgage, have defaulted on your mortgage, are already in foreclosure, or owe more than your home is worth, please contact Jim to discuss a short sale (when the real estate sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off the mortgages and liens on the property). Jim helps sellers (homeowners, property owners, condo owners, owners of high end homes and properties (estate homes, luxury homes and executive homes), real estate investors, home builders and real estate developers) of distressed real estate, short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, investment properties, failed new construction projects and struggling commercial real estate developments located in any Middle TN County (Rutherford, Williamson, Davidson, Maury, Sumner & Robertson). If you need to short sell your house or property, or you need a quick sale to stop a foreclosure sale, you can Get Free* Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance from a Nashville Tennessee and Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR, Real Estate Expert and Real Estate Investor. (*Free: In a real estate short sale, the bank or mortgage company usually approves and pays all of Jim's commissions and fees.)

Per my previous blog posts, Brentwood Distressed Sales Activity Increasing and Franklin Distressed Sales Activity Increasing, there are now larger numbers of short sales and foreclosures in wealthy areas as such as Brentwood Tennessee and Franklin Tennessee (both are located in Williamson County Tennessee). Both of these affluent towns were previously immune to the effects of the failing economy and housing market decline. The primary cause of these increased real estate distress sales are homeowners suffering from financial distress (i.e. job layoffs, and long-term unemployment). Recently, I have been contacted by two financially distressed homeowners who previously were earning in excess of $100,000 per year working in the health care industry. I say "previously" since both homeowners were recently laid off from their high paying jobs in an industry that was once thought of as a safe haven for employees. This is proof that almost no job is really "safe".

I think many financially distressed homeowners who are well educated and were formerly high income earners try to handle their mortgage delinquencies without the help of a real estate professional since they think that the bank will work with them at first. Of course, many will find out the unfortunate truth about how little the banks will do for them despite their once stellar payment history and credit. I think embarrassment is another reason why financially distressed homeowners who live in executive, luxury or otherwise high-end towns and neighborhoods delay seeking out professional real estate assistance from a short sale expert. In short, they do not want their neighbors to know about their financial hardship. This desire for discretion is fully understandable. The good news is that I am keenly aware of this concern. For example, several short sale sellers have asked me not to use a For Sale on their home. As a result, I don't use For Sale signs on my short sale listings. I also use short sale pre-qualification techniques to minimize the marketing period of their home by thoroughly researching their loan type and lender. Another way I keep the circumstances of my financially distressed seller clients as quiet as possible is communicate with these clients via their cell phone (calls and text messages) and personal email. In short, you can call me the "Discreet Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR and Real Estate Expert".

Free* Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance for Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Nolensville, Spring Hill, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, La Vergne, Columbia, Mt. Juliet, Springfield, Gallatin and Middle Tennessee Financially Distressed Homeowners and Property Owners. Stop the Bank from Foreclosing with a Quick Cash Offer or Short Sale. If you are a Nashville Tennessee, Franklin Tennessee, Brentwood Tennessee, Nolensville Tennessee, Spring Hill Tennessee, Murfreesboro Tennessee, Smyrna Tennessee or La Vergne Tennessee homeowner, property owner, condo owner, real estate investor, home builder or real estate developer who cannot pay your mortgage payments (due to losing your job, having your income reduced, illness, health problems, adverse business conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.), know that you will not be able to pay your mortgage, have defaulted on your mortgage, are already in foreclosure, or owe more than your home is worth, please contact Jim to discuss a short sale (when the real estate sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off the mortgages and liens on the property). Jim helps sellers (homeowners, property owners, condo owners, owners of high end homes and properties (estate homes, luxury homes and executive homes), real estate investors, home builders and real estate developers) of distressed real estate, short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, investment properties, failed new construction projects and struggling commercial real estate developments located in any Middle TN County (Rutherford, Williamson, Davidson, Maury, Sumner & Robertson). If you need to short sell your house or property, or you need a quick sale to stop a foreclosure sale, you can Get Free* Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance from a Nashville Tennessee and Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR, Real Estate Expert and Real Estate Investor. (*Free: In a real estate short sale, the bank or mortgage company usually approves and pays all of Jim's commissions and fees.)

Missing a mortgage payment (i.e. defaulting on your mortgage loan) creates a lot of personal and financial stress. This stress is even worse if the financially distressed homeowner and borrower receives a foreclosure notice, Notice of Default, or Notice of Trustee's Sale (or Notice of Substitute Trustee's Sale) from the mortgage lender or bank, or an attorney representing the mortgage lender or bank. This stress is absolutely legitimate and understandable since foreclosure severely damages a borrower's credit, and, in many states, will leave the borrower open to the mortgage lender/bank pursuing the borrower for the deficiency balance (essentially, the amount of the mortgage loan owed by the borrower, but not recovered by the mortgage lender/bank upon the sale of the foreclosed property). Declining housing prices have left many homeowners in a situation where they owe more than the market value of their home. The deficiency balance is a serious issue since when mortgage lender forecloses and resells the property the amount they recoup can be substantially less than the amount owed by the borrower. However, there is some good news for homeowners in foreclosure. If the property is the borrower's home (i.e. principal residence / primary residence), the borrower obtained a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Insured Mortgage Loan (either when they purchased the home, or when they refinanced the mortgage loan), and the borrower wants to sell the home, there is a way to possibly avoid foreclosure altogether and to ensure that they are never pursued for the deficiency balance. Since the FHA is part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD), financially distressed homeowners can request help under a HUD Loss Mitigation Program known as the HUD Pre-Foreclosure Sales Program (aka HUD PFS Program). Some valuable information about the HUD Pre-Foreclosure Sales Program can be viewed here: HUD Pre-Foreclosure Sales Program Facts Sheet and HUD Pre-Foreclosure Sales Program Mortgagee Letter 2008-43. As these documents suggest, the HUD Pre-Foreclosure Sales Program has certain borrower financial and hardship requirements as well as property type, use and market value requirements. If a financially distressed homeowner is not sure if they qualify for the HUD Pre-Foreclosure Sales Program they should seek out the advice of an experienced short sale and pre-foreclosure real estate broker who has been through the HUD Pre-Foreclosure Sales Program before. If the financially distressed homeowner is not sure if their mortgage loan is FHA Insured, they can find out by looking at the Settlement Statement (HUD-1) from when they purchased the property, or refinanced the mortgage loan. In the first box on the top left hand side of the HUD-1 there is a box titled "B. Type of Loan". In that box the type of mortgage loan will be checked. If "FHA" is checked then the borrower's loan is FHA Insured, and, therefore, they may be eligible to participate in the HUD Pre-Foreclosure Sales Program. If the financially distressed homeowner does not have a copy of the HUD-1 then they should contact an experienced short sale and pre-foreclosure real estate broker since they should be able to look up this information, or at least help find out if the mortgage loan is FHA insured. If the mortgage loan is FHA insured then the borrower should apply for the HUD Pre-Foreclosure Sales Program. If the borrower is accepted into the program, they are protected from foreclosure for a period of not less than 4 months and will never have to worry about a deficiency balance. That alone is worth the time and effort spent on the HUD Pre-Foreclosure Sales Program application process. here again, an experienced short sale and pre-foreclosure real estate broker who has been through the HUD Pre-Foreclosure Sales Program before will be a great help to a financially distressed homeowner since they will be able to assist in the application process.

Free* Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance for Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Nolensville, Spring Hill, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, La Vergne, Columbia, Mt. Juliet, Springfield, Gallatin and Middle Tennessee Financially Distressed Homeowners and Property Owners. Stop the Bank from Foreclosing with a Quick Cash Offer or Short Sale. If you are a Nashville Tennessee, Franklin Tennessee, Brentwood Tennessee, Nolensville Tennessee, Spring Hill Tennessee, Murfreesboro Tennessee, Smyrna Tennessee or La Vergne Tennessee homeowner, property owner, condo owner, real estate investor, home builder or real estate developer who cannot pay your mortgage payments (due to losing your job, having your income reduced, illness, health problems, adverse business conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.), know that you will not be able to pay your mortgage, have defaulted on your mortgage, are already in foreclosure, or owe more than your home is worth, please contact Jim to discuss a short sale (when the real estate sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off the mortgages and liens on the property). Jim helps sellers (homeowners, property owners, condo owners, owners of high end homes and properties (estate homes, luxury homes and executive homes), real estate investors, home builders and real estate developers) of distressed real estate, short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, investment properties, failed new construction projects and struggling commercial real estate developments located in any Middle TN County (Rutherford, Williamson, Davidson, Maury, Sumner & Robertson). If you need to short sell your house or property, or you need a quick sale to stop a foreclosure sale, you can Get Free* Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance from a Nashville Tennessee and Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR, Real Estate Expert and Real Estate Investor. (*Free: In a real estate short sale, the bank or mortgage company usually approves and pays all of Jim's commissions and fees.)

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Short Sale Santa Clara County News: Short Sale Success needs SKILLS, LUCK which will goes beyond just a commission check. We realtors, have the opportunity to help real people with real problems.

The short sale could be a win-win situation for the seller, buyer and seller's lender. When the seller . cannot afford to pay the mortgage, the short sale gives the seller one way out. The buyer can buy it at the short sale home price and the seller's lender can avoid the long process and high cost to maintain the empty property.

I help one Santa Clara seller closed his short sale home about 3 months ago. When we met the Starbucks Coffee house, he did not know what options he would have and none of the other Realtors told him either. He thought he would just walk away house and let it be. When I explained to him all the options he had. He chose the short sale. We found a buyer quickly, the challenge here is the 1st and 2nd mortgages are not at the same lender. The 1st lender only wanted to give a fraction of the 2nd loan. Finally, the 1st and 2nd both lend holders agreed the payoff amount. It is difficult for the investors to accept even the highest and best offer we received today is still much lower then the orginal loans. I have communicated the whole process with the buyer's agent so they were involved our our short sale's up and down. The loan agent helped buyers to repair their credits and shopping around for the best interest rate. We are able to close the transaction before the foreclose process and the bank wrote off the deficiency. This Santa Clara seller is very happy the out come from this short sale.

Short Sale , Deed in Lieu, Loan Modification, Foreclosure, HAMP, HAFA in California and what they mean to you.

Under the HAFA program you have the option of doing a Short Sale or Deed in Lieu. According to current FHA guidelines you can buy another home 2 years after the short sale. The lenders are required to give you at least 120 days to market the home and obtain an offer. The lender does not have to give you more time and you are required to follow the guidelines set forth by the lenders. Many lenders are closing short sales sooner than 120 days so be prepared to move. The only thing I have seen that has been extending the short sale timelines is Mortgage Insurance.

A Deed in Lieu is when you sign the deed over to the lender and walk away from the house. The lender has to give you permission to do so and it has to be a clean marketable title. That means no other liens on the property, second mortgage, mechanics lien, taxes are paid, etc.

Visit my website: www.edsellsre.com

Pardon my "newness". I have been trying to avoid short sales and now have given in to the reality that they aren't going away. So, I have been researching short sale agents in my area and have run across this statement on a couple of websites:

4. WHY WOULD I USE YOU TO HELP ME RATHER THAN MY RELATIVE THAT ALSO HAS A REAL ESTATE LICENSE?

Most banks will not stop the foreclosure process and start the short sale process until you have an offer on your home. We start the process by making an offer on your home. The key to a successful short sale is the BPO or Appraisal. The bank will determine what it will accept based on this number. Our team includes an appraiser and an experienced BPO agent that will provide the bank with this information and get the deal done.

IS THIS SOMETHING THAT IS NORMAL? Have I completely missed the boat here?