At the end of May, I was fortunate to go on a road trip with Davidson Realty’s Short Sale Coordinator Cindy Vaughn to Tempe, AZ to attend the Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) seminar. We had a great time and learned a lot. There were many great speakers and I wanted to share some of the comments I found most interesting.
Rick Sharga from Realty Trac Inc. talked about three waves of foreclosures. The first wave of foreclosures occurred when employment was strong and the economy was growing. These foreclosures were caused by the sub-prime loans. The second wave of foreclosures was caused by unemployment. They estimate that there is 1 foreclosure for every 6 to 10 jobs lost. The third wave of foreclosures is mainly due to Option Arm loans resetting. Many people will see payments rise by $1,000 to $1,500 per month. The resetting Option Arms will peak in 2011.
Matt Vernon from Bank of America spoke about improvements to the short sale process using a new technology called Equator. Just to give you an idea of their volume of short sales, in March 67,000 short sales were initiated and 64,000 decisions were made. They have made major improvements in the time frame for approvals; however, Matt pointed out that only about 10% of the loans are owned by Bank of America. Most of the approvals have to be made by an investor and some investors respond more timely than others. (more…)
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With an estimated 12% of Jacksonville and St. Augustine area home mortgage loans currently delinquent, new regulations from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program (HAFA) may provide some much-needed financial help. The new HAFA regulations, which went into affect on April 5, offer more incentives that make a short sale a smarter and better alternative to foreclosure for the majority of homeowners. Explains Davidson Realty President Sherry Davidson, “The new HAFA rules are a huge help for homeowners who otherwise might be faced with foreclosure. A HAFA short sale can help homeowners protect their credit, gain a $3,000 relocation incentive and not worry about future liability so they can get on with their lives.” The top five things homeowners should know about the new HAFA short sale, include:
1. Homeowners who qualify for a HAFA short sale are fully released from future liability for the first mortgage debt. This means that the mortgage lender cannot come after the homeowner at any future time for repayment of the original loan.
2. A HAFA short sale allows for a $3,000 relocation assistance payment for homeowners. That’s a one-time payment of up to $3,000 to help sellers with moving costs, rent security costs, etc.
3. Most major lenders are already on board with the new HAFA rules, including Citibank, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Wachovia, Chase, Wamu, and the list continues to grow.
4. With HAFA, the short sale process has been standardized and streamlined so homeowners can expect a quicker outcome.
5. Homeowners can enlist the Realtor of their choice to help them through the HAFA process so they have an advocate. A Realtor can also help the homeowner determine if they qualify for a HAFA short sale and, if not, what other options are available to them. (more…)
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Florida is one of the states hit very hard by residential foreclosures. We had over 13,000 foreclosure filings in the Seventh Circuit Court (for Flagler, St. Johns, Putnam and Volusia Counties) in 2008 and over 16,000 filings in 2009.
A task force was formed to address the crises and they identified lack of communication between the parties as the most significant issue. The Florida Supreme Court addressed this issue by requiring mediation in all foreclosure cases involving homestead property unless the parties agree otherwise or have already participated in mediation.
The mediation will be handled by a Florida Supreme Court certified mediator appointed by the Court. The costs of the mediation will be paid by the lender and the total cost may not exceed $750. The plaintiff (lender) must have a representative who has full authority to settle at the mediation but they may appear by telephone or other electronic method. (more…)
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I have been working with many homeowners lately that are in a distressed financial situation. They aren’t able to pay their mortgage any longer and are looking at alternate solutions, like a Short Sale and, in extreme cases, foreclosure. Unfortunately, this has become quite a common occurrence, which is why there are so many foreclosures in Jacksonville and the rest of the Northeast Florida real estate market. As the homeowners make these difficult decisions, they feel grief and sadness. It is my job to help my clients with their real estate transactions, however, as I work with them they become my friends too. And I want to help alleviate their stress and get them to a brighter tomorrow. So I did a little research to get a better understanding of what they are going through. I realized that the stages you go through when you are losing your home are the same stages as when you lose a loved one. After any significant lose, people experience the five stages of grief. They are:
1. Denial and Isolation- At first, you tend to deny the loss has taken place.
2. Anger – You may be angry with yourself for letting the event take place, even if, realistically, nothing could have stopped it. (more…)
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Don’t miss the encore presentation of our free, educational webinar series titled “Avoiding Foreclosure” in December. The online webinar series offers the following presentations for homeowners in distressed situations:
Dec. 1, 2009 at 10 a.m. EST: “Why You Should Avoid Foreclosure”
Register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/859811800
Sherry Davidson, President of Davidson Realty, Inc., will lead a discussion with Mirtha Barzaga, an agent with Davidson Realty and Kevin Koscinski, a mortgage loan officer with Bank of America. Barzaga will share information about how she has helped northeast Florida homeowners to avoid foreclosure, as well as how she educates them on the impact a foreclosure would have on their jobs or security clearance. Koscinski will share his experience about impacts to credit score.
Dec. 10, 2009 at 10 a.m. EST: “How to Avoid Foreclosure”
Register at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/584635016
Sherry Davidson, President of Davidson Realty, Inc., Suzy Evans, an agent with Davidson Realty, Inc. and Damien Blumstein of Dolphin Mortgage will (more…)
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