Empowering You All Ways

Feds Force Recompense from Robo-signers

2012-02-12T13:16:00.000-08:00

Federal officials announced this week that they have reached a $25 billion settlement with the five largest mortgage servicers in the country for “loan servicing and foreclosure abuses.” The breakdown is as follows: Ally Financial ($207M), Bank of America ($175.5M), Citigroup ($22M), JPMorgan Chase ($275M), and Wells Fargo ($87M).

Robo-signing refers to the practice of bank employees signing mass amounts of foreclosure documents without verifying the information. There are numerous accounts of these instances. Beth Ann Cottrell, a manager at JP Morgan Chase, stated in a court deposition that she and a team of 8 others signed upwards of 18,000 documents a month without personal review, many of which were foreclosures or critical affidavits of indebtedness. In another instance, Erica Johnson-Seck, an employee of OneWest Bank, estimated she signed about 750 foreclosure-related documents a week, spending about 30 seconds on each one.

Oftentimes, the people who signed these documents were not even properly authorized to do so, resulting in homes that were fraudulently foreclosed on.

Once these practices were brought to light, four major banks, J.P. Morgan Chase, Ally Financial/GMAC, Bank of America and Wells Fargo halted foreclosure actions in 23 states (BOA halted foreclosures in all 50) because some of its employees “might have improperly prepared the necessary documents.”

Now they are paying the price for their actions.

Federal officials announced this week that they have reached a $25 billion settlement with the five largest mortgage servicers in the country. The breakdown is as follows: Ally Financial ($207M), Bank of America ($175.5M), Citigroup ($22M), JPMorgan Chase ($275M), and Wells Fargo ($87M).

The $25 billion will be distributed in two ways: $20 billion is designated for financial relief to borrowers, and $5 billion in cash will go directly to federal and state government agencies.

Have I Been Robo-signed?

Robo-signing is usually difficult to trace. It requires analyzing a paper trail of signatures in order to determine whether or not the signatory has legal authority. But as the courts filter through these documents, even more complex issues have begun to arise.

As Carlin Phillips, a wrongful foreclosure attorney explains, recently there have been instances of homeowners that were foreclosed on receiving notices from the bank giving them their house back. These notices of rescindence, or wrongful foreclosure, come up to a year after the homeowner has moved out, and in many cases cause more harm than good.

These homes, which have been sitting empty for months, often fall victim to vandalism, illegal activity, and disrepair. The homeowner is then abruptly saddled with the damaged property and forced to pay taxes on it.

Hopes are that new standards and regulations will prevent cases like this from happening again. President Obama recently announced the Home Owner’s Bill of Rights, a set of standards that call for increased communication between banks and homeowners, the discontinuation of dual-tracking (when a home is foreclosed on while the owner is in the process of negotiating a loan modification or bankruptcy), and proper documentation procedures for foreclosures.

Call Toni Real Estate Show - Starting Feb 4, 2012

2012-01-26T07:55:00.000-08:00

I really need your help please. I have some amazing news to share with you.

I recently encountered an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to represent my community, my industry, and all of the good, hard working people in America. The Real Estate Radio Network and I have reached an agreement that I will be representing their Nationally syndicated brand as the new Host of the Call Toni Real Estate Show.

I will co-host the show with Jason Jerzewski, Director of Business Development and Marketing for Toni Patillo & Associates, LA City Short Sales, and LA City Probate.

The show will air every Saturday on Clear Channel’s Radio Network KTLK AM 1150 from 3pm to 4pm PST, and our first show is scheduled to air on February 4, 2012.

How long we are on the radio will be up to you....

Let me explain. Radio is dependent upon ratings, just like television. However, radio is much harder to track. In order to reach the station's quota, we've been asked to build a fan base of at least 1,000 fans within our first 30 days. In order to achieve that number we're asking that you please become a "Fan of the Show" by clicking HERE, and also share the page with as many friends as you can.

We have always had a passion for educating the public, helping people save money, and achieve the dream of home ownership. We are dedicated to bringing true value to the show every week.

The goal of the “Call Toni Real Estate Show” is to challenge, empower, inspire and educate people to take their lives to a higher more meaningful, purposeful level and provide a balanced view of the current real estate and financial market by offering solutions to improve the quality of our listener’s lives.

Each week, we will have Real Estate and Financial experts share new and fresh ideas with our listeners. If you know of someone that you think would be a great guest, please let us know.

We are extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity, and we hope you will join us on facebook
CLICK HERE FOR THE FAN PAGE

Thank you for your help!

Foreclosure Starts Decline on West Coast

2012-01-17T08:53:00.000-08:00

West coast states saw a decline in foreclosure starts in December, according to ForeclosureRadar. In fact four of the five states tracked by ForeclosureRadar’s monthly survey saw double-digit declines.

The exception was Oregon, where foreclosure starts rose by 5 percent.

Foreclosure sales in the West coast states were mixed but “down far less than we expected given lender announcements of holiday moratoriums,” ForeclosureRadar reported.

Foreclosure sales rose in California and Washington and fell in Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona.

Foreclosure timelines declined overall, which was “surprising,” according to California-based ForeclosureRadar.

The greatest drop in foreclosure timeline was seen in California, where the time to foreclose is now 250 days, a 16.9 percent drop from November.

After a 3.2 percent decline, Nevada’s 331 day foreclosure timeline was the greatest, while Washington’s 104-day timeline was the lowest. Washington also posted the lowest rate of change for the month – a 0.9 percent increase.

Arizona’s timeline also increased in December, rising to 145 days after a 2.1 percent increase.

With a 30.6 percent drop, California posted the greatest decline in foreclosure starts in December. Arizona followed with a 24.2 percent decline.

ForeclosureRadar reported a 45.8 percent rise in foreclosure cancellations in December, which it attributes to the closing of a trustee sale location in Norwalk.

Affecting foreclosures in Nevada, which declined 14 percent in December, is a new law requiring lenders to file an additional affidavit.

“Nevada’s new foreclosure rules appear on track to bring a near complete halt to foreclosures in that state.” stated Sean O’Toole, Founder and CEO of ForeclosureRadar.

Source: DSNEWS

How to get a HAMP Loan Modification

2011-12-18T18:12:00.000-08:00

After watching this, join our free webinar on the 7 biggest mistakes homeowners make when attempting a loan modification:

Click HERE

California and Nevada AGs Announce Mortgage Investigation Alliance

2011-12-11T20:44:00.000-08:00

Attorneys General Kamala Harris of California and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada have entered into a joint investigation alliance targeting both mortgage servicers and perpetrators of mortgage-related fraud.

The AGs say the initiative is designed to assist homeowners who have been harmed by misconduct and fraud in the mortgage industry.

The alliance will link the California and Nevada attorney general offices’ civil and criminal enforcement teams in order to speed up investigations of wrongdoing in the two states, which have experienced similar foreclosure and mortgage fraud crises.

“The mortgage crisis is a man-made disaster that has taken a heavy toll on the country, but it saved its worst for California and Nevada,” Harris said. She described the mortgage crisis as “a law enforcement matter,” adding

that she and Masto will pursue prosecution to hold those responsible accountable.

The partnership forged between Harris and Masto illustrates the deep rifts that have developed within the attorney general camp in recent months over robo-signing settlement negotiations.

What started out as a united front of lead counsels from all 50 states has splintered as talks between the AGs and servicers has dragged on for over a year.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley filed her own individual lawsuit against the five servicers taking part in the negotiations last week.

The California-Nevada mortgage investigation alliance is the product of weeks of discussion between Attorneys General Harris and Masto to ascertain “the most effective and efficient means of achieving justice” for their respective states, the two said in a joint statement. Tuesday’s announcement formalizes an agreement reached between the two officials last week.

By most measures, California and Nevada have been the states hardest hit by the nation’s foreclosure crisis. The attorneys general note that the crisis in their states are similar because both employ a non-judicial foreclosure system in which a bank can foreclose on a borrower’s home without court oversight.

“The collective result has created a rich opportunity for predators, leading both states to make mortgage-related law enforcement action a top priority,” according to Harris and Masto.

If you know of anyone facing foreclosure please send them to www.CallToni.com or call our office at 310-482-2034.

Source: DSNEWS

4 Keys To Saving For Your Future Home

2011-11-24T08:03:00.000-08:00

In this video, we will explore some things to consider when you're getting ready to save for your next home purchase.

CALL US TODAY AT 310-482-2035 or Email Toni@ToniPatillo.com

Mutifamily Properties for the First Time??

2011-11-22T07:51:00.000-08:00

If you’re getting ready to purchase your first home, you may want to consider the advantages of leveraging your money through the use of a multifamily property. This can be especially appealing to young families just getting started out or busy couples/singles on the go. So let’s review some of the top benefits of multifamily investing:
First, by purchasing a 3 or 4+ unit within a desirable area, you will immediately start reaping the benefits of home ownership and collecting strong investment income. By finding reliable tenants, you will be able to cover up to a half or more of your mortgage payments.

And you will be consistently paying down principle and building up great equity. When the time comes to upgrade to a different property, the consistent income from you multi-unit home will help to cover a portion of your new mortgage, plus you will already be on the path to building your investment portfolio.
Additionally, instead of driving across town to keep up with maintenance and tenant issues, you will essentially be your own on property manager. This makes it infinitely easier when trying to collect rent or conduct showings, and you don’t need to pay another party to keep up with your home.

Next, in today’s market, cash flow is of the utmost importance. Nothing is worse for a new investor then when the property goes vacant for months. With a multifamily unit, you can alleviate the fear of being stuck with the full amount of mortgage payments, because typically your home should be at least 50% occupied.
Finally, you will be learning the ins and outs to one of the most effective investment strategies available. Purchasing your first multi unit will teach you all about how to buy, repair homes, market your property to tenants, collect rent, and how to invest your income into future properties.

Therefore, it is worth considering a multifamily home for your first purchase. Before choosing an area to live in and searching for a property that fits your needs, it will be to your advantage to consult an experienced Realtor within you local area that can give you professional guidance.

Contact us today to start learning more about the opportunities available to you and to discover where you can make a wise investment for your financial future! 310-482-2035 or Toni@tonipatillo.com

Weird Video Makes You Think??

2011-11-20T18:17:00.001-08:00

How many money trees are you walking by without noticing?

Thinking of Selling Your Home FSBO??

2011-11-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

If you’re looking to sell your home in the near future, you may feel inclined to list it as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) before working with a Realtor. For many, this is considered one good way to cut back on costs and possibly earn a little more profit on the sale.
However, there are certain aspects you may want to consider before going down this path. Statistically, over 80% of FSBO’s end up being listed with a Realtor at some point. Therefore, it pays to take the time to fully assess whether or not this is the right plan of action for you.

Properly Marketing Your Property

First of all, listing a home for sale can be a very time consuming and difficult process. Unfortunately, this typically is not as easy as posting a sign in the yard and setting up a classified ad in the local newspaper. There is certainly a lot more than meets the eye.
For instance, many FSBO websites will tout that you can obtain a wide exposure to buyers nationally, but this pales in comparison to the results that you can expect from big named sites like Realtor.com, which only agents can post to.
Next, your agent will have a lot of expertise with implementing online real estate marketing strategies that will gain you a ton of locally targeted searches. And in fact, nearly 90% of all searches for real estate related inquiries start online.
Realtors will also have a strong network of both agents and buyers that they work with on a regular basis. This is a business where it pays to network. More contacts equals greater exposure.

Asking Price & Showings

For starters, a lot of FSBO’s will start at the wrong asking price. This is by far one of the most important factors that goes into marketing your home, so you want to do this properly off the bat. But, without being fully invested in your local market and understanding the current trends, it can be difficult to price the home accurately.
As alluded to in section one, selling a home can be a lot of work. Most individuals these days have to juggle a full time job, family obligations, recreational activities, household chores, etc. Where do you find the time for fully investing into the sale as well?
When the opportunity would arise for interested parties to view your property, you would need to schedule individual showings, open houses, inspectors, appraisers, etc., while also trying to stage and maintain your property’s appearance. Miss out on a good opportunity for matching schedules and you can quickly lose interest.

Negotiations & Contracts

If you get to the point where you negotiate with a buyer, it is much more difficult to handle this aspect without a qualified agent. Selling your home can be a very emotional undertaking, so it is easier to set unrealistic expectations, or to even concede on more than necessary when you don’t have a 3rd party buffer.
During most real estate transactions, both the buyer and seller will typically have a set of concessions and contingencies. For a majority of buyers, they will expect to have some type of a financing, inspection and/or termite contingency.
This is set up for their protection, in order to complete their due diligence on the home before moving forward to closing. If other issues are found, this may even been grounds for further negotiation or eventually walking away from the deal.
Or you will be expected to lower the price, fix the issue or offer a concession on something else in order to alleviate the problem. Likewise, you want to ensure that the buyer is not overstepping their boundaries or that you are pressured into giving away more than is reasonable.
In summary, it’s worth taking the time to carefully consider these 3 areas before making any final decisions. If you still decide to take the FSBO route, we sincerely wish you great success. Also, please feel free to share our information with a friend and to bookmark our page for future reference as well!

Call us today at 310-482-2035 or email Toni@tonipatillo.com

If you're looking to buy a fixer upper here are some rules to follow:

2011-11-10T21:22:00.000-08:00

Pick the right location!

Know Your Stuff

Make sure you consider the time and cost associated with doing a rehab

What are your financing options?

Once you are ready to move forward, call our office for a free list of "Fixer Uppers" in your area. 310-482-2035 or www.CallToni.com

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Sues Law Firms Engaged in National "Mass Joinder" Mortgage Fraud

2011-10-30T23:10:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO --- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that the California Department of Justice, in conjunction with the State Bar of California, has sued multiple entities accused of fraudulently taking millions of dollars from thousands of homeowners who were led to believe they would receive relief on their mortgages.

Attorney General Harris sued Philip Kramer, the Law Offices of Kramer & Kaslow, two other law firms, three other lawyers, and 14 other defendants who are accused of working together to defraud homeowners across the country through the deceptive marketing of "mass joinder" lawsuits. "Mass joinder" lawsuits are lawsuits with hundreds, or more, individually named plaintiffs. This is the first consumer action by the Attorney General's Mortgage Fraud Strike Force.

Kramer's firm and other defendants were placed into receivership on Monday, Aug. 15. The legal actions were designed to shut down a scheme operated by attorneys and their marketing partners, in which defendants used false and misleading representations to induce thousands of homeowners into joining the mass joinder lawsuits against their mortgage lenders. Defendants also had their assets seized and were enjoined from continuing their operations. Nineteen DOJ special agents participated as the firms were taken over Wednesday, Aug. 17, along with 42 agents and other personnel from HUD's Office of Inspector General, the California State Bar, and the Office of Receiver Thomas McNamara at 14 locations in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Sixteen bank accounts were seized.

"The defendants in this case fraudulently promised to win prompt mortgage relief for millions of vulnerable homeowners across the country," said Attorney General Harris. "Innocent people, already battered by the housing crisis, were targeted for fraud in their moment of distress."

"The number of lawyers who have tried to take advantage of distressed homeowners in these tough economic times is nothing short of shocking," said State Bar President William Hebert. "By taking over the practices of four attorneys accused of fraudulent marketing practices, the State Bar can put a stop to their deplorable conduct as part of our ongoing effort to protect the public."

It is believed that at least two million pieces of mail were sent out by defendants to victims in at least 17 states. Defendants' revenue from this scam is estimated to be in the millions of dollars.

As alleged in the lawsuit, defendants preyed on desperate homeowners facing foreclosure by selling them participation as plaintiffs in mass joinder lawsuits against mortgage lenders. Defendants deceptively led homeowners to believe that by joining these lawsuits, they would stop pending foreclosures, reduce their loan balances or interest rates, obtain money damages, and even receive title to their homes free and clear of their existing mortgage. Defendants charged homeowners retainer fees of up to $10,000 to join as plaintiffs to a mass joinder lawsuit against their lender or loan servicer.

Consumers who paid to join the mass joinder lawsuits were frequently unable to receive answers to simple questions, such as whether they had been added to the lawsuit, or even to establish contact with defendants. Some consumers lost their homes shortly after paying the retainer fees demanded by defendants.

This mass joinder scam began with deceptive mass mailers, the lawsuit alleges. Some mailers, designed to appear as official settlement notices or government documents, informed homeowners that they were potential plaintiffs in a "national litigation settlement" against their lender. No settlements existed and in many cases no lawsuit had even been filed. Defendants also advertised through their web sites.

When consumers contacted the defendants, they were given legal advice by sales agents, not attorneys, who made additional deceptive statements and provided (often inaccurate) legal advice about the supposedly "likely" results of joining the lawsuits. Defendants unlawfully paid commissions to their sales representatives on a per client sign-up basis, a practice known as "running and capping."

Defendants' alleged misconduct violates the following laws:
-False advertising, in violation of section 17500 of the Business and Professions Code
-Unfair, fraudulent and unlawful business practices, in violation of section 17200 of the Business and Professions Code
-Unlawful running and capping, in violation of section 6152, subdivision (a) of the Business and Professions Code (i.e., a lawyer unlawfully paying a non-lawyer to solicit or procure business)
-Improper fee splitting (defendants unlawfully splitting legal fees with non-attorneys)
-Failing to register with the Department of Justice as a telephonic seller.

Homeowners who have paid to be added to one of the lawsuits should contact the State Bar if they feel they may be victims of this scam. They can also contact a HUD-certified housing counselor for general mortgage related assistance.

The Department of Justice has seized the practices of the following non-attorney defendants:
Attorneys Processing Center, LLC; Data Management, LLC; Gary DiGirolamo; Bill Stephenson; Mitigation Professionals, LLC; Glen Reneau; Pate Marier & Associates, Inc.; James Pate; Ryan Marier; Home Retention Division; Michael Tapia; Lewis Marketing Corp.; Clarence Butt; and Thomas Phanco.

The State Bar has seized the practices and attorney accounts of the attorney defendants:
The Law Offices of Kramer & Kaslow; Philip Kramer, Esq; Mitchell J. Stein & Associates; Mitchell Stein, Esq.; Christopher Van Son, Esq.; Mesa Law Group Corp.; and Paul Petersen, Esq.

Attorney General Harris is challenging the defendants' alleged misconduct in marketing their mass joinder lawsuits; her office takes no position as to the legal merits of any claims asserted in the mass joinder lawsuits filed by defendants.

Victims in the following states are known to have received these mailers, or signed on to join the case. This is a preliminary list that may be updated:

Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Washington

The complaint, temporary restraining order, examples of marketing documents and photos of the enforcement action are available with the electronic version of this release at http://oag.ca.gov/news

Source: Office of the Attorney General Press Release

If you or anyone you know needs free help with a loan modification go to www.FreeHelpForHomeowners.com or call our office at 310-482-2034.

My Electric Bill is HOW MUCH??

2011-10-25T10:14:00.000-07:00

With rising utility costs and overall living expenses, people everywhere are looking for creative ideas on how to reduce spending. One of these major areas that can have a significant impact on your bottom line long-term is with heating, cooling and electric bills.

Therefore, it is important to take strides whenever possible to help alleviate this financial burden. We have devised a checklist of 6 items for you to review and determine where you can start cutting back expenses and improving efficiency in your home:

1. Maintain your furnace and air conditioning units:

this is one area that homeowners can tend to disregard. Yet, just like conducting routine repairs on your automobiles; likewise, it is just important to keep up with these items as well. And it’s only necessary once per year!

In fact, the amount of money you can save in the long run by avoiding more significant maintenance hassles or losing a unit well before it’s time makes this step well worth it. Additionally, you will maintain a higher efficiency and experience cleaner air too.

2. Standby power:

Did you know that many items around your house such as your TV, entertainment system, Wii, computer, microwave, etc. are constantly drawing electricity even when they are not powered on?

In fact, items throughout your house such as these typically can account for approximately 10% of your total energy consumption! Simply by having certain items plugged into a power cord that can be switched off when not in use may have a significant impact.

3. Consider investing in a programmable thermostat:Installing one of these can be fairly inexpensive and is extremely useful for families that are always on the go! Simply set the meter to fluctuate a few degrees during key time frames, and the savings will really start to add up.

4. Decrease your water heater’s temperature: By switching the temperature down to the lowest setting can impact your energy bills from 5-10%. You will still have plenty of hot water and can enjoy some extra cost savings as well. .

5. Change you appliance settings: Many dishwashers, washers, and dryers have advanced settings that could also be increasing your utility bills. Consider turning off those extra bells and whistles such as the heated dry, automatic sensor settings, or wrinkle shield. Also, you can wash with cold water and only do larger loads when necessary.

6. Dimmer switches and motion detectors: Another tip is to replace your current fixtures or switches with these energy efficient alternatives. You will be able to consume far less energy and your family will only use light when necessary. Even if you do not install these items, get in the habit of shutting off the lights in any room that is not occupied..

By following these 6 simple steps, you will begin to save more money and consume fewer resources. There are so many other ways that you can improve energy efficiency as well, so we encourage you to take the time to research what may be beneficial for you. Be sure to bookmark our page for regular updates and other free real estate related tips. Also, please don’t hesitate to refer us to a friend or family member! Thanks for stopping by.

Oh..and by the way. If you know of anyone who needs Free Help with a Loan Modification, tell them to go to www.FreeHelpForHomeowners.com

Or...Call us at 310-482-2035

Today’s Loan Modification Scams Exploit Foreclosure Crisis

2011-10-04T21:27:00.000-07:00

Fewer things are worse than taking advantage of someone losing their home. This is precisely what mortgage loan modification scams are doing at the worst time in the foreclosure crisis. Perhaps worst of all, most of those targeted are minorities, bringing an even more sinister edge to what’s already a heinous crime.

How Loan Modification Scams Work

First you’ll get a call telling you how to renegotiate the terms of your home loan. Often times, you’ll be promised or strongly led to believe you will get a modification of loan terms and a lowered principle. You’ll also be asked to cough up around $3,000 to make it happen.

Telling the modification company you aren’t interested won’t get them to stop–they’ll keep calling, lowering the cost of services and promising more and more. Finally, you give in, pay half what they originally asked for and wait for… nothing.

Get Out of Debt?

The loan modification scams work around the idea that there are problems with your original mortgage. The company offers to audit your mortgage.

This is fair enough. Most mortgage audits reveal some problems that aren’t mortgage fraud on the level of the robo signing scandal, but should get some attention. Unfortunately for you, this almost never leads to a reduction in principle or a substantial renegotiation of the terms of your loan.

Mortgage Fraud and the Foreclosure Crisis

Sad as it might be, the foreclosure crisis has been a booming industry for less-than-ethical businesses. It seems not a week goes by without hearing about the continued robo signing scandal or a bank foreclosing on a family current with mortgage payments.

The loan modification scams are merely the latest attempt by unscrupulous businesses to turn a profit on people’s misery during the foreclosure crisis.

Fighting Loan Modification Scams

Many people are not taking being targeted lying down, however.

Jose Chirino, the subject of a Daily Finance article, contacted a non-profit legal aid agency specializing in mortgage law. Such non-profits have begun aiding consumers in their fight against loan modification scams and mortgage fraud.

The robo signing scandal has sent a clear message to consumers: Know your rights and mount a fight. Homeowners wishing to get out of debt during the foreclosure crisis have a number of legitimate debt consolidation and debt management agencies to appeal to.

Hallmarks of Loan Modification Scams

There are some clear indications of a loan modification scam. Avoid any company that:

Guarantees results of any kind.
Urges you to stop making payments on your mortgage.
Pressures you to sign contracts or puts a deadline on how long you have to sign.
Demands a fee up front for services rendered.

Most legitimate loan modification companies are non-profit enterprises who exist for no other purpose than to help consumers like yourself get out of debt. When someone seems more interested in getting their hand in your wallet than helping you deal with mounting debt, contact the Federal Trade Commission.

Those looking for legitimate help with a mortgage should contact the FTC or the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Either can direct you toward reputable services, often at low or no cost.

By Nicholas Pell

Job Loss Could Put One in Three Out of Their Home

2011-10-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

One in three Americans would be unable to make their mortgage or rent payment beyond one month if they lost their job, according to the results of a national survey taken in mid-September.

Despite being more affluent, the poll found that even those with higher annual household incomes indicate they are not guaranteed to make their next housing payment if they lost their source of income.

Ten percent of survey respondents earning $100K or more a year say they would immediately miss a payment.

The survey was conducted on behalf of a financial consortium comprised of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Financial Planning Association, Foundation for Financial Planning, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Sixty-one percent of those surveyed said if they were handed a pink slip, they would not be able to continue to make their mortgage or rent payment longer than five months.

Job loss has become the primary driver of mortgage defaults. With the national unemployment rate holding

above 9 percent for five straight months and not expected to drop by any significant measure in the foreseeable future, the state of the labor market is one of the biggest obstacles for struggling homeowners and their lenders.

A number of programs at both the national and state level have been launched to assist unemployed homeowners, but so far the expected results haven’t materialized.

HUD has told DSNews.com that it does not expect to meet the original goal set for the $1 billion Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program (EHLP) of subsidizing 30,000 unemployed homeowners’ mortgage payments.

The New York Times reports that fewer than 15,000 borrowers are likely to receive EHLP assistance and more than half of the money allotted for the program will go unspent.

An analysis of government records by USA Today shows that a separate federal program which provides money to individual states to assist homeowners who’ve lost their jobs has been slow in ramping up.

Through the Treasury’s Hardest Hit Fund, 18 states were awarded a total of $7.6 billion to develop their own localized programs to counter unemployment and falling home prices in the fight against foreclosure.

USA Today says only about 1 percent of this money has actually been distributed to distressed owners, 16 months after the program was launched.

The news agency found that as of June 30th, 17 states had used the federal funds to help about 7,500 homeowners.

USA Today noted that several states are just now getting their individual programs off the ground and dispersing the money to qualified applicants, and the states have until 2017 to use their allotted funds.

By: Carrie Bay

Homeowners Beware: Mortgage Mod Scammers Are Selling an Audit to Nowhere

2011-09-27T07:55:00.000-07:00

The calls started last November. Speaking in Spanish, a representative from New Century Solutions in Lake Forest, Calif., pitched Jose Chirino to purchase a forensic loan audit. For $2,995, the representative said, an audit could help the San Jose, Calif., homeowner get a much-desired loan modification and principal reduction. Chirino, who works for Santa Clara County, said no, but New Century called again -- and again, and again. After about 20 such calls, Chirino finally agreed and sent $1,500 to start the process in January.

In a written contract, New Century said an attorney would review and advise Chirino, draft a demand a letter, and negotiate with his lender. And then, nothing happened.

He's not alone. Hundreds of organizations have cropped up over the last two years offering forensic loan audits, often linked to professional attorneys and auditors. They promise to review a homeowner's mortgage loan documents to determine whether the lender complied with state and federal lending laws, and expedite a loan modification request. While the audit may indeed reveal errors in loan documents, the process very rarely results in a loan modification or rescind.

Thousands Have Been Scammed

In 2010, the Federal Trade Commission issued its first alert about the bogus auditing practice. That year, the Better Business Bureau had no complaints filed in its category for forensic loan audits. But in the first eight months of 2011, the BBB said it filed 50 complaints in that category, with more than half of them against Accelerated Equity & Development, Inc., and Tila, LLC.

Since 2008, the FTC has seen a jump of more than 300% in mortgage foreclosure relief and debt management complaints, and last year received more than 28,580 for the category that includes all mortgage-related issues. The not-for-profit Homeownership Preservation Foundation, which operates a national free counseling hotline, receives 4,000 calls a day for housing help, and between 100 to 150 of those callers identify themselves as victims of a mortgage scam, says Josh Fuhrman, the organization's senior vice president of community affairs.

"They lure consumers to believe that by hiring them for a review of loan modification package, they can expedite the process and get better results, or they make false promises that they can get a loan mod or principal reduction," says Fuhrman. "Homeowners are not typically getting any results. [Scammers] are just stringing [homeowners] along, or they disappear."

Fighting Back

By March, Chirino started to wonder why hadn't heard anything from his lender. He contacted the audit organization, which pressured him to pay the remaining $1,495, he said. After a few rounds of back-and-forth with the company -- and still no movement on his primary mortgage -- Chirino contacted a local nonprofit, the Fair Housing Law Project, for assistance. With the help of a volunteer attorney, he drafted a demand letter in July and was able to recoup his $1,500 from New Century. Separately, he was able to obtain a loan modification through a HUD-approved housing agency, and today remains in his house, where he lives with his wife and daughter.

Like so many mortgage scams, this one was based on a kernel of truth: Chirino says his original 2006 home loan from Countrywide -- which has since been accused of widespread lending violations -- may have marked him as a potential scam target. But the difference between what New Century Solutions promised -- a loan audit and modification -- and what it delivered -- nothing -- is the hallmark of the scams that continue to plague distressed homeowners. Homeowners, burned once by bad mortgages, are now getting burned again as scammers try to milk their distress for profit.

New Century Solutions did not return several calls for comment on Chirino's case.

How the Scam Works

Bait-and-switch auditing shops attempt to leverage specific guidelines in the Truth in Lending Act that allow for some loans to be rescinded if certain disclosures were not made in the loan origination documents. The practice of forensic loan auditing is in fact a real one, and it has been used in recent years to expose mortgage fraud in specific instances. However, scammers have deployed their own marketing to exploit the law and capitalize on people's misunderstandings of it -- with door-to-door, radio, TV, direct calls, and web advertising. Their goal is to lure vulnerable homeowners into paying a substantial sum of money for an toothless audit.

The latest evolution of this scam involves approaching homeowners who are current on their payments.

"The [scam] that we have seen have a lot of traction with most recently is targeting borrowers who are current. [They are selling] the notion of taking a preventative measure," says Marietta Rodriguez, the national director of home ownership programs for NeighborWorks, a government agency. "With the forensic audit, [the scammers] see if they can refi or get you into a lower mortgage."

Reilly Dolan, assistant director for the division of financial practices at the Federal Trade Commission, says operators promise to find the mistakes that [the homeowner] can use to obtain the loan modification they want. "If they are making false promises like, 'We'll find a violation and guarantee you can use this information to make a loan modification,'" that's a deceptive practice, he says. In reality, however, very few loans qualify for the Truth in Lending Act exception.

Another complication surrounds the three-year statute of limitations for the right to rescind. "Even if they do uncover something, they are very unlikely to able to assert [a case] because of the statute of limitations," says James Zahradka, supervising attorney at the Fair Housing Law Project of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, where Chinino found help. The foundation has been providing resources to homeowners to mount their own small claims cases to get their money back from auditing shops that make false claims. Zahradka says it has helped about 100 homeowners with loan mod scams over the last year.

He adds that this particular scam undermines real cases because it can pit real legal work against feckless attorneys, who are either not filing cases at all based on the audit or creating frivolous cases.

There is still an estimated 4.5 million to 5 million homes at risk of foreclosure, according to the Homeownership Preservation Foundation. Mortgage mod scams are continuing to cloud the path to help for distressed homeowners, and borrowers looking for help are increasingly faced with a confusing landscape. One outcome is that many of the government- and lender-sponsored events offered to provide help to homeowners have been poorly attended, as DailyFinance has reported.

Fuhrman says that many homeowners turn unwittingly to scammers after getting frustrated with legitimate attempts to work with the lenders. As the loan modification process has become more visible in the last year, the number scammers has shot up.

"They go where there is blood in the water," he says.

Five Ways to Spot a Mortgage Mod Scam

Don't trust any organization or person who guarantees results.
Avoid any organization that asks for an upfront fee before providing any services.
Don't sign any contracts under time pressure, and don't sign an that you do not understand.
Don't stop making payments on your loan, even if they advise you to.
Don't hand over your personal financial information unless it to an appropriate loan help organization.

Learn more about scams.

What To Do If You Have Been Scammed

Zahradka says that many homeowners must take matters into their own hands if they hope to get the money back from scam organizations. The first line of defense is a persuasive demand letter, in which the homeowner asks for the money back, specifies what happened, what was promised and what was delivered including dates. The letter can threaten to take the organization to small claims court. He suggests that homeowners be ready to compromise and accept partial refund.

If you have been scammed, report the fraudulent company to your state's licensing entity, and make a complaint to the state bar if an attorney was involved, and/or the local district attorney.

Where to Get Free, Legitimate Help

All homeowners in the United States who have questions or are facing foreclosure can call (888) 995-HOPE for free, nonprofit housing counseling 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, with assistance in more than 160 languages. Housing counselors work with homeowners in a three-way conversation with the lender. HUD also provides a list of housing organizations providing help to homeowners by state.

Catherine New is a staff writer for DailyFinance.com with the AOL Huffington Post Media Group.

See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/qUdaBs

List of Foreclosure Trustees and Posting Websites

2011-09-22T15:37:00.000-07:00

If you are facing a foreclosure, you may be able to find out more information on your foreclosure sale by checking on of the foreclosure trustee and posting sites. Here is a list of many of the sites we use to help inform our clients about their upcoming foreclosures:

Trustees and Posting Companies

Trustees will process your foreclosure, posting companies handle the posting, legal publication and auctioning. This is not an all inclusive list, but does include many companies with an internet presence. Trustees listed first, Posting companies listed second.

USFN
A network of Trustees and foreclosure attorneys throughout the U.S. Use the member directory to search by state.

Trustees

ALL AMERICAN FORECLOSURE SERVICE
Specializing in San Luis Obispo County, CA trustee sales and posting.
We are Certified Trustee Sale Officers with years of Experience and can provide service throughout the State of California.

AMERICAN TRUST DEED SERVICES

ASSURED LENDER SERVICES
Commercial and residential foreclosures and related services in Arizona, California, Nevada and Idaho.

BEST ALLIANCE FORECLOSURE & LIEN SERVICES

C & H TRUST DEED

CAL WESTERN RECONVEYANCE

CALIFORNIA DEFAULT SERVICES
We know that a defaulted loan ties up your capital. So, with CDS, we begin processing your foreclosure THE SAME BUSINESS DAY that we get your file, and complete your foreclosure AS FAST AS LEGALLY POSSIBLE, guaranteed.

COUNTY RECORDS RESEARCH

FCI LENDER SERVICES
FCI has an excellent reputation for processing foreclosures efficiently and professionally.

FIRST AMERICAN FORECLOSURE TRUSTEE SERVICES
First American LoanStar Trustee Services provides a complete suite of foreclosure trustee services to assist with each case and individual client.

INTEGRATED LENDER SERVICES
Integrated Lender Services is the only place to turn for complete, foreclosure and default management services.

PLM FORECLOSURE SERVICE

PREMIER FINANCIAL ASSOCIATES,INC.
Premier Financial Associates is a full service trustee company established in 1994 to meet the needs of financial institutions as well as Homeowner Associations. We provide foreclosure and lien services in California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon and Washington.

REDWOOD TRUST DEED

RELIABLE FORECLOSURE
It's our goal to insure that our clients receive quality information and the best representation possible throughout the foreclosure process.

RELIABLE TRUST DEED SERVICES

REGIONAL TRUSTEE SERVICES
Foreclosure, bankruptcy, eviction and post-sale related services in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, Alaska, and Montana.

SBS TRUST DEED NETWORK
SBS Trust Deed Network, a financial services company located in Westlake Village, California, has been providing a complete spectrum of trustee services since it was founded in 1978. SBS provides foreclosure services in California, Arizona, Washington and Nevada.

SEASIDE TRUSTEE, INC.
Seaside Trustee will process foreclosures in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

STANDARD TRUST DEED
Some forms and links. Process foreclosures in AZ, CA, NV, OR, WA

T.D. SERVICE

TRUSTEE CORPS

WEST COAST POSTING & PUBLISHING
Search by Trustee Sale Number, or find sale sites in California, Nevada and Washington

WOLF FIRM

POSTING COMPANIES

BECKSTROM POSTING
No searchable database, but they provide personalized services for the Southern California region.

PACIFICA POSTING SERVICES

RELIABLE POSTING
Has an online list of trustee sales

RSVP FORECLOSURES
Has an online list of properties scheduled for sale

PRIORITY POSTING
Searchable database of properties scheduled for sale using the Trustee Sale Number

LPS - AGENCY SALES AND POSTING
Searchable database of properties scheduled for sale by date and location

MK CONSULTANTS
Foreclosure service for trustees offering services on full-cycle foreclosure settlements and legal publishing (Trustee's Sales, Articles of Incorporation, Notice to Creditors, LLCs, Summonses, Etc.)nationwide

If you or anyone you know needs help avoiding foreclosure, call our office immediately at 310-482-2035.

Foreclosures: Uncle Sam and His 248,000 Homes

2011-09-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

The number of homes listed for sale by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Administration on Aug. 29, 2011: 89,819

For sale or rent by distressed owner: 248,000 homes. That’s how many residential properties the U.S. government now has in its possession, the result of record numbers of people defaulting on government-backed mortgages. Washington is sitting on nearly a third of the nation’s 800,000 repossessed houses, making the U.S. taxpayer the largest owner of foreclosed properties. With even more homes moving toward default, Fannie Mae (FNMA), Freddie Mac (FMCC), and the Federal Housing Administration are looking for a way to unload them without swamping the already depressed real estate market.

Trouble is, they haven’t figured out how to do that. The government admitted as much in August, when Fannie, Freddie, and FHA issued a joint plea to the public for ideas about how to solve the problem. (Give it your best shot: You have until Sept. 15 to submit ideas.) “They’re stuck,” says Karen Shaw Petrou, managing partner of Federal Financial Analytics, a Washington-based consultant that advises banks and other clients on government policy. “They don’t know what to do.”

Since the 2008 financial collapse, the government has spent billions of dollars trying to extricate borrowers from high-cost loans, aid delinquent homeowners, and stabilize neighborhoods. The results have been disappointing. The Obama Administration’s signature loan-modification program has helped about 657,000 homeowners—far short of its goal of 3 to 4 million. The program was a victim of its complexity and its inability to cope with overwhelming demand. Many families hit hardest by the housing downturn are concentrated in states that are having the most difficulty recovering from the recession, including Florida, Ohio, and Nevada.

The government’s call for ideas is a sign it is deluged with repossessions, commonly known as real-estate-owned properties or REO. “It’s almost like having the captain of the Titanic go on the public address system and say, ‘Does anybody have an idea?’” says Mark Wiseman, a former director of Cleveland’s foreclosure-prevention program. “It’s not a confidence builder.”

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA made progress in the first half of this year, reducing their combined backlog from 295,000 single-family homes in December to about 248,000 in June, according to the Housing and Urban Development Dept. The nation’s total number of repossessions also fell during that period, from nearly 981,000 to about 817,500. The government’s share has remained steady at about 30 percent. In coming months, however, as lenders and the courts clear up the “robo-signing” scandal that slowed new disclosures, the number of government-owned properties will likely grow. More than a fifth of the 3.65 million homes for sale at the end of July were foreclosures, according to RealtyTrac, a housing data provider.

“It isn’t necessarily our preference that FHA is going to itself continue to hold these properties,” says FHA Acting Commissioner Carol Galante. “We want to move homes through the system so we can recover.” The agency has to be careful as it goes, she says. “If you’re putting too much through that system you are helping to drive down prices.” That’s especially true in regions congested with government properties.

Shielding the market from a flood of government homes might be good for property values and the economy. It’s not such a great deal for taxpayers, who bear the costs when government-guaranteed loans go bad and who pay for maintenance on vacant homes the feds take over. One idea the Administration is exploring: allowing Fannie, Freddie, and FHA to keep an ownership stake in the properties by converting them to rentals in partnership with private investors. When the market recovers, the government would sell the homes for more than they could get now and not risk glutting the market. Structured properly, such joint ventures could reduce the impact of foreclosures on struggling neighborhoods.

It’s not at all clear whether that would work on a large scale. The government would have to spend money to bring the rental properties—many of them old and dilapidated—to code; pay still more to insure the rentals; and build a bureaucracy to manage and maintain them. Even if they do all that, there might not be people willing to move in. In parts of Cleveland and Detroit, for example, some houses are stripped and vandalized the minute they’re vacant. “Some of the neighborhoods, you can’t move into,’’ says Wiseman. “There are so many empty houses, it’s just not safe.”

In places like that, it’s sometimes difficult to convince people to stay in their houses. Freddie Mac allows occupants of foreclosed homes to remain on a month-to-month lease until the house is sold. Few do, says spokesman Brad German. “People prefer to take cash for keys and move on.”

The bottom line: The government, struggling to figure out what to do with 248,000 foreclosed homes it took over, has issued a plea to the public for ideas.

Woellert is a reporter for Bloomberg News. Benson is a reporter for Bloomberg News.

West Coast States See a Surge in New Foreclosures

2011-09-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

Foreclosure starts soared during the month of August in states along the country’s western coast, reversing what had been a declining trend over the past several months, according to the tracking firm ForeclosureRadar.

The California-based company keeps close tabs on foreclosure activity in the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. ForeclosureRadar recorded a spike in the first notice filed in the foreclosure process across its five-state coverage area last month.

ForeclosureRadar says the jump appears to have been primarily driven by Bank of America and its related entities, which initiated 116 percent more foreclosures in August than in July. Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank also saw increases in foreclosure start filings, while filings by JPMorgan Chase and Citibank were essentially flat.

“Bank of America appears to be primarily responsible for the surge in foreclosure starts this month,” said Sean O’Toole, founder and CEO of ForeclosureRadar.

“Since their average time to foreclose has recently increased to more than a year, it is unclear that these foreclosure starts will lead to an increase in foreclosure sales anytime soon,” O’Toole noted.

Foreclosure sales also increased throughout most of ForeclosureRadar’s coverage area in August.

Investors bought more properties on the courthouse steps in August than in July everywhere except in Washington, while the number of properties taken back by the bank jumped significantly in Oregon and also rose in California and Nevada.

In Arizona, ForeclosureRadar found that notice of trustee sale filings jumped 15 percent between July and August, reversing a four-month downward trend.

Foreclosed properties sold back to the bank as REO, however, continued a five-month decline, with an 8.0 percent drop from July to August, and a 42.8 percent drop

compared to this time last year. Arizona investors were more active in August, with properties sold to third parties up 4.9 percent month-over-month and up 38.7 percent year-over-year.

California’s notice of default filings increased 69.5 percent to their highest level in 12 months. Notices of trustee sale were up more moderately, rising 6.0 percent month-over-month.

Activity on California courthouse steps increased in August. Properties returned to the bank as REO increased 12.3 percent from the prior month, while properties sold to third parties rose 9.9 percent. Time-to-foreclose in the Golden State increased to 333 days in August, which is 49 days longer than a year ago.

Notices of default in Nevada jumped 44.2 percent month-over-month, but fell 13.6 percent year-over-year. Notice of trustee sale filings slipped for the fifth consecutive month, dropping 9.9 percent from July.

Investor activity increased in August, with 19.8 percent more foreclosed properties sold to third parties in August than in July. Foreclosure cancellations declined for the fourth straight month, dropping 9.0 percent in August to the lowest level in 15 months.

Time-to-foreclose in Nevada jumped 14.3 percent in August when compared to July’s timeline, reaching a new record of 368 days. The time to resell a foreclosed home increased month-over-month for both banks and third-party investors, to 179 days and 108 days, respectively.

In Oregon notices of default were up in August over July by 35.6 percent, but filing activity remains 45.8 percent below this time last year.

Properties returned to the bank rose dramatically in the state, up 243.3 percent month-over-month, as Recontrust, a subsidiary of Bank of America, began to clear the 2,800 foreclosures it started in April.

Properties sold to third-party investors were up as well, 46.0 percent month-over-month and 17.4 percent year-over-year. The time-to-foreclose in Oregon dropped in August for the second month in a row, down 9 days from July to 150 days.

Washington saw a 3.4 percent increase in notice of trustee sale filings in August from July, which reversed four months of consecutive declines.

Activity on the courthouse steps slowed as foreclosures sold back to banks dropped 29.4 percent month-over month, and those sold to third-party investors were down 33.3 percent.

Source: DSNews

Price Reduced! Buyer fell out of escrow

2011-08-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

VISIT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND PHOTOS OF THIS LISTING: http://www.facebook.com/LACityShortSales

Leimert Village

bed/bath: 2/1
sq. ft.: 1546

Property Type:Residential
Property Sutype:Single Family
Listing Status:Active
Area Name:Los Angeles Southwest
Style:Spanish
Year Built: 1935
Square Feet:1546
Square Feet of Land: 4443
Roofing:Tile
Parking Type:Garage Is Detached
Heat Type:Floor Furnace

Fireplace Rooms:Living Room
Flooring:Hardwood, Tile (N)
Appliances:Dryer, Refrigerator, Washer
Cooking Appliances: Built-Ins, Range

Rooms:Den
Bedrooms:2
Total Baths:1
Laundry:Inside

Remarks: Leimert Park Original Spanish Charmer wtih Impecable details, 2 beds, 1 bath, hardwood floors, recessed lighting - bathroom maintains the original tile in great condition, kitchen features coved ceilings, bay windows and breakfast nook has wood built-in's the peaceful courtyard entry makes for nice entertaining space. Neighbor is located on a tree-lined street in the heart of the artsy "Leimert Village" - Lots of room for your own touches.

Banks Now Prefer Short Sales to Foreclosures

2011-08-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

The nation's biggest mortgage servicers- Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo are beginning to step their efforts to ease the short sale process for borrowers who are unsuccessful in getting loan modifications and face the threat of foreclosure.

Servicers are attempting to reach out to borrowers and are paying out more incentives to those suffering financial hardship to help proceed with a short sale. They are also cutting down the time taken to approve short sales, although realtors still complain that the process takes too long.

JPMorgan has processed 120,000 short sales through its proprietary program since June 2009 and now averages 5,000 short sales a month. The bank says its average response time to approve a short sales transaction is 30 days.

"We think the short sale is a good solution for many struggling homeowners and we let them know that it's an option," said Christine Holevas, spokesperson for JPMorgan in an email. "Our outreach efforts have increased in the past year or so. Foreclosure can be an expensive and lengthy process for all parties. It's a good deal for the homeowner and a good deal for us (a cheaper way to get a bad loan off the books.)"

A short sale is seen as a more palatable alternative to foreclosure for borrowers. In its simplest form, borrowers with underwater mortgages sell their homes to a buyer at a price that is approved by the lender. The lender normally forgives the difference between the loan and the sale proceeds- in essence the bank is being shorted for the loan amount.

Previously, lenders were said to prefer foreclosures to short sales because they -- or the investors in the loans -- figured that more money could be made from the former.

But the average time for the foreclosure process- from the time of notice to the completed foreclosure- is now 318 days in the U.S., according to RealtyTrac.

The foreclosure process in the state of New York, which follows a judicial process, took 966 days on average for properties foreclosed in the second quarter. New Jersey and Florida followed with an average processing time of 944 days and 676 days respectively.

The longer it takes for a foreclosure to be approved, the longer bad loans stay on banks' books.

Foreclosures are also more expensive, because of the legal expenses involved as well as the expenses for maintenance and upkeep while the property is in foreclosure.

Wells Fargo, for instance, incurred expenses on repossessed homes to the tune of $305 million in the second quarter and $408 million in the first quarter, according to data from SNL. Data for the other big banks wasn't available.

But at a time when analysts are paying more attention how well expenses are managed, banks might be more willing to look at other alternatives.

According to real estate analytics firm CoreLogic, the number of short sales in the market have tripled in the last two years and transactions are anticipated to grow by 25% in 2011. The markets with the largest short sale volume are California, Arizona, Colorado and Florida.

"Lenders often consider short sales as the lesser of two evils when compared to foreclosures," Core Logic noted in a May 2011 report on short sales. "While significant losses may be incurred in both foreclosure and short sale scenarios, the overall negative financial impact of short sales is typically less than that of foreclosure. In many cases short sales represent the best way for lenders to minimize their overall losses. In general, all parties fare better when a foreclosure is prevented."

JPMorgan is now paying certain types of borrowers- such as those with infamous option-arm mortgages as much as $35,000 to help them out with a short sale, the Herald Tribune reports.

JPMorgan spokesperson Holevas told TheStreet that the incentives vary and that they are available only for certain kinds of borrowers. She would not share specifics about the incentives.

CitiMortgages, the mortgage servicing arm of Citigroup is paying an average $12,000 in incentives, up from between $3,000 and $5,000 in 2010 for short sales on its own loan portfolio, HousingWire reported in June, citing a senior real estate management executive.

Again these incentives are paid out by servicers on the short sales of their own loan portfolios. In cases where loans have been sold, investors often dictate how much is paid out. But it suggests that servicers are beginning to push short sales more aggressively.

J.K. Huey, a senior vice president at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage- REO and Short Sales says transactions through the bank's proprietary program have been fairly stable. But the bank has seen a pickup in short sales through the government's HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives) program, which loosened restrictions in February.

Most of the short sales executed by Wells are in the harder-hit housing markets such as California and Florida, which is also where they service more loans. The borrowers in these transactions are fairly late in their delinquency stage, although Wells does engage with borrowers who reach out to them earlier in the process.

Investors too are willing to consider short sales as a first option.

"Short sale is considered a positive alternative to foreclosures," said Huey. "Investors for the most part will do a short sale over a foreclosure provided the net present value shows it that way. Investors have been very attentive to this, as has the Treasury."

Still, the short sale process is not easy and industry observers say sellers and buyers of short sale properties must set realistic expectations.

For one, borrowers should realize that their credit scores aren't any less affected under a short sale than it is in the case of a foreclosure. In both case, the borrower is considered in default.

However, in a short sale, the borrower's debt is often forgiven, at least on the first lien. Also, a borrower who does a short sale might be able to apply for another mortgage sooner than he or she could in the case of a foreclosure, where the wait can be as much as 7 years.

For buyers interested in bidding for short sale properties, the process can be frustrating. P/>Jeff Lischer, managing director for regulatory policy at the National Association of Realtors says banks are trying to do improve the process, but realtors still complain that the process is chaotic.

Most still say there is a lot of back and forth in the documentation process as well as disagreements over valuation of the property. Short sale contracts often fall through because there are multiple parties involved. And the process varies significantly from one servicer to another.

"It is hard to know what the rules are," says Lischer. "You can have a house with two loans serviced by two different servicers. You need to get four parties to sign off on your short sale, instead of one."

Wells' Huey says that servicers are now using workflow processes that have shortened the processing time considerably.

In the simplest of cases, where loans are owned by the bank and there are no junior liens or mortgage insurance companies involved, a short sale transaction can be approved in as little as five days, provided all the documentation is in order, she says.

It gets more complicated when there are more parties involved. Investors, junior lien holders and mortgage insurers often want more documentation to prove financial hardship of the seller, proof of funding for the borrower and they usually want to negotiate the price. That adds to the processing time, which takes Wells on an average 15 days.

She also adds that the short sale process can go a lot more smoothly when the real estate agent is someone who understands how to do a short sale. "This is not a regular sale where there is just one contract between a buyer and a seller," she said.

17446 Tiara St, Encino, CA - 2 beds/1 bath

2011-08-01T06:51:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Encino Park!!! Quaint, Cute, Clean, Located on a beautiful tree-lined street, this 2 bedroom charmer has a gracious living room * Step down /sun/family/dining room or office * Wood flooring, Spanish Tiles * Recessed Lighting, Lots of natural light * Recently painted interior * Great private backyard with garden, spacious grassy area w/ room to build or expand * Centrally located just minutes to the 101 & 405 freeways * Close to Trader Joe's, Balboa Park, and tons of shopping. Excellent starter home. This is a Short Sale, Listing agent is a Certified Pre-Foreclosure Specialist.

LA City Short Sales is your short sale specialist in Southern California. With listings in LA, Ventura, Riverside, and Orange County. Whether you are looking for a great investment or if you need to sell your home Call4ShortSales.com is your partner in the current real estate market. Call us today! 310.482.2035

Home prices rise again, but experts are unimpressed

2011-08-01T06:50:00.001-07:00

Home prices in major U.S. cities increased in May for the second consecutive month, according to a closely watched index, although experts dismissed the uptick as seasonal while separate reports provided fresh evidence of a weak housing market.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas rose 1% from April to May when left unadjusted for seasonal variations.

Prices often rise in spring because of changes in the types of homes selling: Foreclosures make up a higher proportion of sales during the winter as families take a break from home shopping and cash-rich investors dominate the market. Higher sales volumes in spring also push up prices.

But compared with May 2010, home prices slid 4.5%, according to the index released Tuesday.

"Year-over-year, prices continue to deteriorate, although there has been a seasonal uptick over recent months," said Stuart Gabriel, director of UCLA's Ziman Center for Real Estate. "This reflects a market that continues to be in search of a bottom."

Chris G. Christopher Jr., an economist with consulting firm IHS Global Insight, said in a research note that the seasonal kick in prices will probably fade by October.

"Things do not look very favorable on the housing front since the employment situation has taken a turn for the worse in May and June," he wrote. "The unemployment rate now stands at 9.2%, and consumer confidence is at depressed levels. Going forward, the Case-Shiller indexes are likely to post increases during the home-buying season, and then turn down again."

The housing market began a renewed decline last year after the expiration of federal tax credits and has been limping along ever since. In March, home prices fell below their recession-era low, hit in April 2009, confirming a much-expected double-dip. Values have ticked up slightly since then.

One factor keeping housing weak is the high number of homes in foreclosure or headed into the foreclosure process. Then there's the stalled jobs market, weak consumer confidence in the economy's direction and the significant number of people saddled with mortgage debt that exceeds the value of their homes.

A separate report released Tuesday by Santa Ana research firm CoreLogic indicated that the nation's housing market is hampering the broader U.S. economic recovery. The report said that while several temporary factors have contributed to a slowing recovery, including high gas prices, U.S. floods and fading stimulus programs, "fundamentally, the recent slower economic growth illustrates that as the housing market goes, so does the economy."

Housing influences the economy directly through residential construction, which typically gives a recovery a key boost. But with stiff competition from foreclosures, sales of new homes have been very weak for more than a year.

Sales of new homes in June dropped 1%, according to data released Tuesday by the Commerce Department. That put sales at an annualized pace of 312,000.

"We see no chance that a strong rebound in new-home sales will be a key driver of broader economic growth any time soon," Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics, wrote in a research note.

Housing also influences the U.S. economy in less direct ways because people often buy new furniture and other items when they purchase a new place to live, or even when they do home improvement projects such as adding new rooms.

In California, a recent poll for The Times and USC's Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences shows that Californians are coping with hard times by cutting household expenses, skipping restaurant meals and forgoing home improvements.

Tiffany Suarez-Martinez, 34, and her husband, Eduardo, 32, rent a house in the Inland Empire town of Chino. The parents of three young children said that they are concerned about the future and scraping to get by because of high gasoline costs and lost work hours. Their neighborhood has been ravaged by foreclosures, bringing down property values and leaving empty homes with dead front lawns, Tiffany said.

"Everybody I know has almost lost their home or is in the process of losing their home," she said. "I am renting, thank God, because I didn't think we could afford a house, so we didn't buy."

Homeownership remains a dream for the couple, but "we are still not ready," she said, "with a family of five and only one person working."

The state of the housing market also influences consumer views on the economy. Consumer confidence improved slightly in July, with expectations for the economy rising slightly, although pessimism remains high, according to the Conference Board's consumer confidence index, released Tuesday. The index now stands at 59.5, up from 57.6 in June.

The Case-Shiller index, created by economists Karl E. Case and Robert J. Shiller, is widely considered the most reliable read on home values. The housing index compares the latest sales of detached houses with previous sales and accounts for factors such as remodeling that might affect a house's sale price over time.

Sixteen of the 20 metro areas tracked by the Case-Shiller index posted increases on a month-over-month basis, but only Washington was up from May 2010, rising 1.3%. From April to May, Los Angeles was up 0.5%, San Diego 0.2% and San Francisco 1.8%.

The index also provides seasonally adjusted data. S&P has warned that the adjusted data are unreliable because the high number of distressed properties has distorted the market.

Source: LATIMES

Brokers open today 7/26/11 2485 ARMACOST AVE , LOS ANGELES 90064

2011-07-26T07:21:00.000-07:00

Charming West LA 3bdr, 2.5bth updated family home, located within minutes to Santa Monica and the 3rd street Promenade. Fully updated with Copper Plumbing, Central Heating, Dual Pane Windows and a Wood Burning Fireplace in the Living Room. This home is perfect for relaxing and enjoying the Cool Ocean Breezes or Spending time with Family. The permitted Large Rec Room adds an extra bonus and is Perfect for a home office. Don't miss the Coved Ceilings and Archways. This home is a Terrific Value in the Sought after Westdale Neighborhood. This is a Short Sale, Listing agent is a Certified Pre-Foreclosure Specialist.

California foreclosure starts fall to lowest level in four years

2011-07-26T07:17:00.001-07:00

The number of Californians entering foreclosure dropped steeply in the second quarter to hit its lowest level since 2007, a sign the foreclosure crisis in the Golden State could be easing amid a more stable housing market and increased scrutiny from regulators.

Notices of default filed against California homes dropped 19.2% during the three months ended June 30, when compared withthe same period a year earlier, and 17.0% from the prior quarter, according to San Diego research firm MDA DataQuick.

A total of 56,633 homes received a notice of default, which is the first formal step in the foreclosure process.

Foreclosure practices have slowed nationally as homeowners challenge foreclosures in court and the nation's biggest banks face settlement talks with regulators over faulty repossession practices. The nation’s five largest mortgage servicers are currently negotiating with a committee of all 50 state attorneys general over last year's robo-signing scandal, where banks employed people who attested to the veracity of key documents without reading or understanding what they were signing.

Some experts believe if a settlement is reached, foreclosures could spike again once banks overhaul their practices. Unlike other states whose foreclosure system is overseen by the court system, foreclosure activity in California has seen a steady decline for more than two years, as the housing market has recovered faster than other hard-hit states.

John Walsh, DataQuick president, attributed the declines to a steadier housing market.

"Homeowner distress spreads fastest when home price declines are steepest," Walsh said in a statement. "And it now appears likely that, barring some new economic shock, the worst of the price declines are behind us.”

The number of homes taken back by banks also fell in the second quarter. A total of 42,465 homes were taken back by banks during those three months, a 10.9% decline from the same period a year earlier and a 1.4% drop from the prior quarter.

Southern California housing market improves slightly in June

2011-07-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

The Southern California housing market showed some signs of stabilizing last month with sales popping up more than average from May to June, a real estate data firm reported Tuesday.

Sales rose 11.6% from May, driven by first-time buyers and investors scouring the market for bargains. A total of 20,532 newly built and previously owned homes sold in the region last month, according to DataQuick of San Diego. That tally was nevertheless a 14.0% decline from the same period a year ago, the last month that buyers could close on their home purchases and qualify for the popular federal tax credit.

The median sales price for the region was $285,000, a 1.8% increase from May though still down 5.0% from June 2010. The median, the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less, was 15.4% above the most recent bottom of $247,000 hit in the throes of the financial crisis in April 2009.

“The housing market remains dysfunctional and lopsided, just somewhat less so than it was a few months or a year ago,” DataQuick President John Walsh said. "The market mix indicates that a lot of potential buyers are either stuck, for lack of equity, or spooked and are waiting things out.”

Sales of so-called distressed properties -- those whose owners are in some state of default -- made up more than half of the Southland resale market last month. Roughly one out of three homes resold was a foreclosure, while almost one in five was a short sale, in which the mortgage holder accepts a sale price that is less than the outstanding debt on the property.

Investors to the rescue of housing market

2011-07-12T08:40:00.001-07:00

Who is going to lead the housing market out of the doldrums?

Certainly it won't be move-up buyers. People who already own homes are not likely to be venturing forth to find another one until they can sell their current residences. And with all those foreclosures gumming up the works, it's tough to stand out in the crowd unless you're willing to give your place away.

It probably won't be first-time buyers, either. Despite the most affordable prices and loan rates in ages, rookies have shown a marked propensity to remain on the sidelines. After all, why rush? Who wants to buy a house, only to see its value go down? Why not wait until we know values have hit bottom?

That leaves investors. According to a new survey from the California outfit that operates the official website of the National Assn. of Realtors, real estate investors will outnumber traditional borrowers 3 to 1 over the next two years.

Investors are sometimes thought of as bottom feeders who pick off properties from financially troubled sellers who see no other way out. And while there most likely will be a bit of that going forward, this time around the main prey will be banks, not strapped consumers.

That's a good thing. The overwhelming consensus is that before the sinking housing market can right itself, banks must rid themselves of millions of houses and apartments they've already taken back or will repossess in the future. Get them off their books and into the hands of users. Only after houses under duress are cleared from the decks will housing find its footing.

Investors often are in and out in a flash, buying a place, splashing some paint on the walls, maybe updating the appliances and then reselling at a good, if not huge, profit. Again, while there will be some "flipping" in the future, the survey by Move Inc. found that most investors will buy and hold for at least five years, long enough for many neighborhoods to stabilize.

Moreover, nearly half say they plan to invest their own time and energy to repair, maintain and improve their properties. And 30% say they'll hire a contractor to do the work.

These would-be investors still expect to reap decent returns. Nearly half of the 200 investors queried — a statistically relevant sample — expect to make a profit of 20% or more when they sell after their five-year or longer hold. In the meantime, most will put their investments to work as rentals. Some may even live in their properties until they jettison them sometime down the road.

In other words, says Move Chief Executive Steve Berkowitz, today's investors, many of whom are new to real estate, are not your stereotypical deal-driven sharks. Rather, he says, they are mostly entrepreneurial individuals who "will make vital contributions to local communities by investing their own money and sweat equity [that] over the long run will help improve housing stocks, home values and property tax bases in thousands of local communities."

Let's hope so.

Two Opens Today

2011-07-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

4631 ALLA RD # 6, MARINA DEL REY 90292

1921 GLENDON AVE #302, LOS ANGELES 90025

For more information on these listings please contact Toni Patillo at 310.482.2035

Or visit our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/LACityShortSales

New Listing: 4631 ALLA RD # 6, MARINA DEL REY 90292

2011-07-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

$549,000

2 Bed

3 Bath

Beautiful 2bdr, 2.5bth Tri-Level Townhouse in Villa Vallarta! Relax in the private plantation like patio to entertain family and friends. The high ceilings, recessed lighting, and Spanish tile, updated kitchen makes this the perfect retreat. The laundry is located inside on the main floor, there is a wet bar for the entertainer and a gas fireplace for those cold winter nights. This Home is a Must See!This is a Short Sale, Listing agent is a Certified Pre-Foreclosure Specialist.

New Listings

2011-06-29T09:19:00.001-07:00

$519,000

2 Bed

1 Bath

Secluded behind wall of jasmine lies a Magical Retreat. This Craftsman w/ tons of light & original redwood flrs boasts definite Venice vibe. French drs open up to sunlit deck. Ample corner lot provides great flow for entertaining. Inviting front & back yards w/ fruit trees & mature shrubbery create total privacy. Escape to this feel-good sanctuary. This is a Short Sale. Listing Agent 2 is Certified Pre-Foreclosure Specialist.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150339140268761.421715.337134778760

$699,000

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION - Excellent Investment Opportunity, Possible Future Condo Development, Expenses are estimates, Rents are Actual. Inside with Accepted Offer - This is a Short Sale - Listing Agent is a Certified Pre-Foreclosure Specialist.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150358779848761.428909.337134778760

California May Home Sales

2011-06-27T15:14:00.001-07:00

An estimated 35,536 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That was up 0.9 percent from 35,202 sales in April, and down 13.3 percent from 40,965 sales in May 2010. California sales for the month of May have varied from a low of 32,223 in 1995 to a high of 67,958 in 2004, while the average is 46,840. DataQuick's statistics go back to 1988.

The median price paid for a home in California last month was $249,000, unchanged from April, and down 10.4 percent from $278,000 in May 2010. The year-over-year decrease was the eighth in a row after 11 months of increases. The last time the median fell more on a year-over-year basis was in September 2009, when it fell 11.3 percent. The statewide median’s low point in the current cycle was $221,000 in April 2009, while the peak was $484,000 in early 2007.

Distressed property sales made up about 53 percent of California’s resale market last month.

Of the existing homes sold in May, 35.5 percent were properties that had been foreclosed on during the prior 12 months. That was down from 36.4 percent in April and about the same as 35.4 percent in May 2010. The all-time high was 58.5 percent in February 2009.

Short sales – transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property – made up an estimated 17.9 percent of resales last month. That was up from and estimated 16.9 percent in April but down from 18.9 percent a year earlier. Two years ago short sales made up 12.2 percent of the resale market.

The typical mortgage payment that home buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $1,025. That was down from $1,050 in April and and down from $1,178 in May 2010. Adjusted for inflation, last month's mortgage payment was 53.8 percent below the spring 1989 peak of the prior real estate cycle. It was 61.5 percent below the current cycle's peak in June 2006.

San Diego-based DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity has declined somewhat but remains high by historical standards. Financing with multiple mortgages is low, down payment sizes are stable, cash and non-owner occupied buying has eased a bit this spring but remains relatively high, DataQuick reported.

RealtyTrac's Housing Recovery Forecast

2011-06-23T07:09:00.000-07:00

At HousingWire's 2011 REO Expo in Texas this week, a RealtyTrac spokesperson gave the firm's housing recovery forecast. Senior Vice President Rick Sharga's predictions were probably not what most wanted to hear.

"It's taking so long to get out of this mess because it took us so long to get into this mess," said Rick Sharga. "We were at the tail end of an unusually long boom time in housing. Unfortunately, we're anything but recovered, we're actually still searching for the bottom."

With that in mind, Sharga is predicting a full housing recovery is years away, perhaps around 2015. In the immediate future, it will take at least another year to work through the mountain of REO inventory. The next two years will see similar foreclosure and home sales levels as the industry attempts to deal with what RealtyTrac is calling higher levels of distressed properties than we've ever seen before. Apparently, there's growing evidence that an increasing backlog of seriously delinquent mortgages exists.

In addition, RealtyTrac estimates that a staggering 80% of the 1.1 million properties in foreclosure and 75% of the 900,000 REO properties are not on the market yet. Couple that with a high number of adjustable rate mortgages which will reset and it's easy to see why there's continued cause for concern.

The total foreclosure filings for 2010 fell just shy of 3 million (at 2.9 million). Compare that to five years earlier when only about a fifth as many foreclosure filings happened (550,000 foreclosure filings for 2005), and the astronomical increase becomes even more apparent. Where will we be for 2011? Well, if the 2011 first quarter is any indication, we will far surpass 2010's totals. For the first four months of this year, there were 941,851 foreclosures. Nearly a million in just over a quarter! At this pace, we could flirt with the four-million mark!

For short sale agents, NOW is the time to pull out all the stops. Every home lost to foreclosure is a missed opportunity to help a family and make a sale. Perhaps it's time to look into the HAFA program more thoroughly to expand your short sale reach.

For real estate investors, so much opportunity exists that it may be hard to focus or narrow your investment selections. That's where the help of a real estate agent who really knows the area you're seeking would be of great benefit. With or without an agent, however, it's an absolutely historic time to be investing in real estate.

Freddie Mac: 30-year mortgage rate levels off at 4.5%

2011-06-21T06:35:00.001-07:00

Mortgage rates leveled off this week, according to a Freddie Mac survey that found the 30-year home loan up a single notch and the 15-year mortgage down by the same amount.

The survey said lenders were offering 30-year fixed-rate loans to well-qualified borrowers at an average 4.50% compared with 4.49% last week and rates in the 4.2% range for a couple of months last fall.

The 15-year fixed loan was at 3.67%, down from 3.68%, Freddie Mac said Thursday. The borrowers would have paid an average 0.7% of the loan amount to the lenders in upfront fees and points for the fixed-rate loans.

Adjustable rate loans, for those tempted by the riskier mortgages, are "at or near record lows," Freddie Mac economist Frank Nothaft said in an economic outlook report this week.

The start rate on Treasury-indexed home loans that become adjustable after five years at a fixed rate averaged 3.27% this week, with 0.6% in lender fees, down from last week's 3.28%.

Treasury-indexed loans that adjust once a year averaged 2.97% with an average 0.5% of the loan amount in lender fees, up from last week's 2.95%.

With the rates so low and home prices edging lower again in many areas, housing affordability is very high -- but not so consumer confidence these days, Nothaft noted. From his outlook report:

Consumers who feel heightened uncertainty over their economic well-being and future prospects are more likely to be cautious when considering purchases of big-ticket items, such as cars or homes.

Further, the first-quarter data on U.S. house-price softness has removed a catalyst to immediate action: Some potential buyers who have the means to buy are awaiting clearer signs that home values have firmed.

Buyers' hesitancy and the continuing foreclosure crisis have resulted in greater demand for apartments. Vacancy rates in buildings with at least five apartments have steadily drifted lower over the past year, Nothaft noted, while monthly rents have risen.

APPROVED SHORT SALE AS OF TODAY 6-20-11 BUYER BACKED OUT LAST WEEK

2011-06-21T06:31:00.001-07:00

$599,000

BEDS: 4
BATHS: 4
SQ. FT.: 4,183

CALL LISTING AGENT #2 FOR ALL INFORMATION & SHOWING INSTRUCTIONS - Wow! The history behind this celebrity property is not to be believed. Originally part of the Roy Roger's Ranch Estates, ownership has traveled to Val Kilmer to the playright Christopher Hart, son of Moss Hart and Kitty Carlisle. This historic home sits on the famous Trigger St. cul-de-sac and features 4,183 sq. ft. of entertainment and living space. The floor plan includes 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, each with their own balcony and expansive views. This home has a 5 year new roof, newer water heater & HVAC, all new double & triple pane Pella windows and sliders. The large entertainer's grassy yard and rose garden lead to open spaces and hiking trails. Enjoy absolutely Amazing Panoramic Views of the valley and mountains. This is a Short Sale Listing, Agents are Certified Pre-Forclosure Specialists.

Three big banks fail in foreclosure relief program

2011-06-10T09:28:00.000-07:00

Three of the nation’s biggest banks have failed to live up to new performance guidelines under the Obama administration’s main foreclosure relief program and will be cut off from receiving financial incentives until they improve.

Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo were found to be in need of “substantial improvement” under the administration’s Home Affordable Modification Plan, the administration said Thursday.

The new assessments are intended to compel the nation’s biggest mortgage servicers to improve their practices in the program, officials said. The foreclosure program has long been criticized as ineffective and falling short of its goals in helping troubled borrowers. The program is voluntary and provides financial incentives for banks to modify loans.

“While we continue to get tens of thousands of new homeowners into mortgage modifications each month, we need servicers to step up their performance to meet the needs of those still struggling,” said Tim Massad, acting assistant secretary for financial stability in the Treasury Department. “These assessments set a new benchmark by providing an unprecedented level of disclosure around servicer performance and will serve to keep the pressure on servicers to more effectively assist struggling families.”

Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC was also found to be needing substantial improvement but funds were not denied to that company because its poor performance in the first quarter was largely due to its acquisition of a portfolio of troubled loans. The administration graded the top 10 servicers in its program, and all of them were found to be needing improvement.

In April, 29,000 homeowners received a trial modification under the HAMP program and 29,000 received a permanent modification. The permanent modifications had a median payment reduction of 37% -- or more than $500 every month.

[Updated 11:20 a.m. June 9: The immediate reactions from the large banks were mixed. Wells Fargo, in a sharply worded statement emailed by spokeswoman Vickee J. Adams, said that it would formally contest the characterization of its performance by the administration and that the report “does not fairly reflect” the bank's record.

“It paints an unfairly negative picture of our modification efforts and contradicts previous written assessments shared with us by the Treasury,” Adams said. “The report reviews activities that date back a year or more and in no way reflects the improvements Wells Fargo has made in our processes and the work we have done to help homeowners.”

Bank of America, in an emailed statement from spokesman Richard G. Simon, said that it acknowledged that it needed to improve its practices. The bank said that more than 127,000 of its homeowners had completed modifications through the HAMP program and more than 850,000 through other homeowner assistance programs.

“We acknowledge improvements must be made in key areas, particularly those affecting the customer experience,” Simon said. “We have made great progress in several key performance areas and, in the first quarter, Bank of America was responsible for one of every four modifications completed under HAMP. We believe future reviews will confirm that progress."

Chase did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Homes prices hit new lows in March

2011-06-03T06:57:00.000-07:00

Reporting from Los Angeles and Washington—

Home prices hit new lows in March, falling past the bottom reached two years ago and renewing concerns about the economy's ability to fully recover from the grip of recession.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of housing prices in 20 metropolitan areas declined 3.6% from March 2010, its sixth consecutive year-over-year drop. That pushed the index below its most recent bottom of April 2009, confirming the widely anticipated "double dip" in home values.

Many analysts believe that prices could continue rolling back as the risk of falling prices frightens potential home buyers away from the market. Although the Great Recession ended in June 2009, economists believe that the weak housing market will continue to be a drag on the recovery for years to come.

Construction work driven by residential building typically fuels the U.S. economy when it is coming out of recession. But with home prices sagging and a glut of inventory, there is little demand for new construction.

"This economic cycle is different from anything we have seen in 20 or 30 years, because housing is not playing that leading role," said Christopher Low, chief economist with FTN Financial. "Manufacturing is leading the economy now, and manufacturing is an industry where the last three decades the focus has been on productivity, doing more with fewer people."

The severity of the housing decline is having other broad effects on the economy. Seeing their home values plunge, many Americans are reluctant to spend money — a drag on an economy that depends on consumer spending.

Entrepreneurs, meanwhile, are less able to tap their real estate collateral for loans to launch or expand small businesses. State and local governments are struggling with lower property tax revenues. And all of this has cut into economic and job growth.

The downturn is also leading older workers to postpone retirement and, more broadly, limiting Americans' ability to relocate to new jobs.

Robert Shapiro, an economic advisor to President Clinton, said the housing market's woes present an obvious political risk to President Obama and other incumbent lawmakers.

"Every president wants to run on a strong economy," Shapiro said. "This president will have to run on the fact he's bringing the economy back from the reckless policies of the previous administration. That's the case they'll have to make."

The Obama administration has tried, with little success, to tackle the foreclosure problem by pushing lenders to modify loans and reduce borrowers' payments. Few experts expect any substantial new aid given the tough budget situation.

Advocates for struggling homeowners have urged stronger medicine, including delaying the upcoming reduction of the loan limit on home mortgages and providing emergency loans to "underwater" homeowners whose homes are worth less than the amount they owe.

The Case-Shiller index released Tuesday showed 12 metro areas posting fresh lows since the start of the housing bust. The 20-city index, which declined 0.8% from February, showed prices at 2003 levels. It was the eighth month-over-month decline in a row. A broader national index, also released Tuesday, indicated that housing values were now on par with what they were in 2002.

The picture was brighter in the Los Angeles-Orange County metro area, which remained 5.4% above its most recent bottom, hit in 2009. Prices locally are equivalent to those seen in the fall of 2003.

With prices falling again, some economists fear that the nation's housing market could enter a new downward spiral, with declines pushing more borrowers underwater, triggering more foreclosures and setting off further drops.

"There has been no recovery or even stabilization in home prices during or after the recent recession," said David Blitzer, chairman of the Standard & Poor's index committee. "Further, while last year saw signs of an economic recovery, the most recent data do not point to renewed gains."

Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, said he expected prices to continue to fall through the rest of the year.

"You are going to see a further negative wealth effect as the price declines from last year," Baker said. "So that is another source of drag on the economy."

Others believe that prices are near, if not at, the bottom and that recent improvements in employment will keep things from getting worse.

Report: Investment Buyers Strengthen Foreclosed Home Sales

2011-05-31T06:27:00.000-07:00

While home sales have slowed from the typical pace seen at the start of the spring buying season, the foreclosure market is performing better than the market for all other homes, according to the RPX Housing Market Report from Radar Logic Incorporated, a real estate data and analytics company based in New York.

So far this year, the motivated transaction count within the firm’s RPX Composite, which assesses sales of foreclosed homes by financial firms and at foreclosure auctions, increased just slightly less than its average gain for the period over the last four years.

All other sales, on the other hand, increased by less than half as much as they usually do during the period.

Radar Logic credits investment buyers for these latest findings.

“Investment buyers are driving sales of foreclosed homes, but they have largely ignored the rest of the market,” said Quinn Eddins, director of research at Radar Logic.

“On average, foreclosed homes are priced at a 39 percent discount to other homes,” Eddins said. “Investors believe they can purchase these properties at a significant discount to their future value. Sellers in the rest of the market have not lowered their prices to levels where investors feel confident they can make an adequate return on their investment.”

Eddins explained that non-investment buyers are not as active this year.

“Widespread negative equity is reducing demand as it makes it difficult for would-be move-up buyers to sell their current homes,” he said. “And buyers in general are wary of making a down payment of 20 or 25 percent in an environment where home prices are widely expected to fall over the next 12 to 24 months.”

The report also revealed that home prices increased less than usual this spring.

The RPX Composite price measures home prices in 25 major U.S. metropolitan areas. So far in 2011, the RPX Composite has increased just 0.5 percent.

The weak performance of the RPX Composite price is consistent with the fact that, unlike most years, the market for foreclosed homes is the segment of the housing market with the strongest sales growth, according to Radar Logic.

Source: DSNews

New-home sales rise 7.3% in April

2011-05-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

U.S. sales of new homes posted their second solid monthly gain in April after hitting extremely low levels in February, according to data released Tuesday by the Commerce Department.

In April, sales rose 7.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 323,000 after an 8.3% increase in March, the Commerce Department reported.

The increase surprised economists, who had forecast a slight decline to 295,000, according to a MarketWatch survey.

Sales gains took place in all four regions. Sales rose 15.1% in the West, 7.7% in the Northeast, 4.9% in the Midwest and 4.3% in the South.

Those gains followed February's steep drop to a 278,000-unit pace. Analysts had attributed that weakness in part to winter storms that depressed figures in the East and the Midwest as well as a California tax credit that has expired.

Economists were cautious about reading too much into the increase in April new-home sales, as the level of sales remains very depressed and not too far above record lows.

"Is it a rebound that is for real? At least it's a start toward one," said Robert Brusca, chief economist at FAO Economics.

Compared with April 2010, last month's sales were down 23.1%.

On a three-month moving average — which reduces the month-to-month variance in the hugely volatile release — sales rose to a 300,000 rate from 296,000.

Economists at Barclays Capital noted that new-home sales have ranged from 275,000 to 310,000 since May 2010, when the effects of the federal tax break for home buyers began to wane.

By comparison, monthly new-home sales averaged a 1.05 million pace in 2006, just when the housing bubble was beginning to collapse.

In April, the number of unsold new homes on the market slipped 2.8% to a record-low 175,000. That represented a 6.5-month supply at the April sales pace, the leanest inventory since April 2010. This is down from a peak of 12.2 months in January 2009.

New Listings 5/25/11

2011-05-25T08:33:00.000-07:00

8612 CADILLAC AVE , LOS ANGELES 90034

$349,000

2 Bed

1 Bath

You'll appreciate this charming starter home located in the quant neighborhood of Beverlywood, the 2 bedroom, 1 bath remodel has amazing value. The open floor plan offers generous bedrooms with beautiful

hardwood floors throughout, the tiled floors lead you into the remodeled kitchen with granite counters, stainless appliances, and a cozy breakfast nook. The bonus room is great for a playroom, office, or den. The extra long 4 car driveway leads to the garage and cozy back yard that's perfect for entertaining. This is a Short

Sale. Listing Agent is a Certified Pre-Foreclosure Specialist with an In-House Negotiation Team.

17111 PALISADES CIR , PACIFIC PALISADES 90272

$549,000

3 Bed

2 Bath

1777 SF

This Short Sale Opportunity Knocks! Serenity abounds in this Palisades Highlands townhouse featuring 3 Bedrooms and 2.5 baths and views of the tranquil Santa Monica Mountains. A spacious master suite has a private balcony. The chef's kitchen features a Viking range, stainless steel dishwasher, refrigerator/freezer, granite counter tops and refurbished cabinets. There is large open floor plan living room w/fireplace which steps up to dining room w/wet bar and out to the patio. There is an over-sized two car garage w/ built-in workbench and storage shelving big enough to fit your cars, bikes and beach/pool gear. Listing Agent #2 is a Certified Distressed Property Specialist.

For more information please contact Toni Patillo directly.

Toni Patillo & Associates
Broker Of Record l DRE#0313287
Keller Williams Realty Santa Monica
2701 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 140 • Santa Monica, CA 90405
Office (310) 482-2035 • Fax(424) 744-4148

Nontraditional data may help mortgage applicants

2011-05-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

Some credit experts call it the best-kept secret in home mortgage finance. Others say, so what?

Millions of Americans whose credit scores have declined in recent years because of economic stresses could start rebuilding their scores if their rent, utility, cellphone, insurance and other monthly payments were reported to the national credit bureaus.

But typically they are not, and as a consequence fail to show up as positive factors on credit scoring systems such as FICO or VantageScore. These on-time payments essentially go to waste for consumers, even though monthly rents often can be as large as mortgage bills, and years of utility and other payments are widely recognized as strong indicators of creditworthiness.

Now for the secret: Under federal law, these unreported accounts need not go unused. You as a mortgage applicant are guaranteed the right to bring evidence of your unreported on-time payments to lenders, and they in turn are required to consider those records in making a decision on granting you a home loan — provided that you request it. If a loan officer refuses, he or she could be open to legal penalties.

Although federal financial regulators generally acknowledge the right to present supplementary data that consumers enjoy under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, only one — the National Credit Union Administration — has published guidance informing lenders that they are required to comply.

Factoring in so-called nontraditional credit accounts not only could provide important help to buyers and owners with recession-scarred scores but could also aid the estimated 35 million to 54 million consumers who don't — or barely — show up in the files of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, the three national credit bureaus. Many of these are young people with thin files with just a couple of credit accounts, and many are minorities.

So why aren't more consumers documenting their otherwise unreported monthly payments? And why are loan officers likely to stare at account records and say: Are you kidding? We only look at credit files.

The problem is complex. Almost no one in the consumer finance field has paid much attention to the Federal Reserve's Regulation B that interprets the rules on treatment of alternative credit. Lenders who know about it don't want the hassles of sorting through "shoe box" records that may not be accurate. Major players in the mortgage market such as the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac all say they will accept alternative credit data but have restrictions on what they will consider. The FHA, for example, does not permit applicants with low credit scores to boost them by adding positive, nontraditional data.

The credit industry is eager to incorporate accurate, nontraditional information but is ill-equipped to deal with sources that cannot provide large and regular amounts of verified reports.

"The [national] bureaus know that alternative data is highly predictive," says Barrett Burns, chief executive of VantageScore, a joint venture created by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. "We think millions of people could benefit" if it were collected and loaded into scoreable files. Experian already collects positive rent-payment data on about 8 million units in large apartment complexes and incorporates the information into its scores, he said.

But Burns noted that the industry has had difficulty accessing information on utility payments in some states, and collection of cellphone account records has raised privacy issues. Without accurate information being available in large quantities, he said, it is difficult to assist large numbers of consumers.

Nonetheless, efforts are underway to mine unreported credit data and transform it into something useful. A private firm, Trycera Credit Services, has announced an agreement with the National Credit Reporting Assn. — a trade group representing companies that provide the merged credit bureau reports and scores used by mortgage originators — to independently verify the accuracy of consumer-supplied payment records. Those records can then be provided to lenders as part of the standard credit reporting and scoring information used in mortgage underwriting.

Michael G. Nathans, president of Trycera Credit Services, says that the project is just getting off the ground but that preliminary information is available at the company's website at http://www.trycera.com. The service will cost $20 to verify rental and mortgage payments, $15 for other verifications. Trycera also offers Visa debit cards that can help consumers document their nontraditional credit payments in a scoreable format.

Of course, there are no guarantees that lenders will accept your alternative credit data. But federal law requires them to at least consider it — if you ask.

Mortgage rates drift lower, Freddie Mac says

2011-05-05T16:42:00.000-07:00

Here's a bit of good news for anyone still thinking about refinancing a home loan -- mortgage rates have once again drifted lower for well-qualified buyers.

A Freddie Mac report on Thursday said the lenders it surveys were offering 30-year fixed-rate mortgages at an average rate of 4.71% early this week, compared with 4.78% the week before.

Rates for 15-year fixed loans, a popular option for homeowners looking to refinance mortgages, averaged 3.89%, down from 3.97%.

Buyers would have paid 0.7% of the loan amount upfront to the lenders to obtain the rates, according to Freddie Mac, the government-controlled home finance giant. Borrowers typically owe significant additional fees to third parties such as appraisers, and can "buy down" rates by paying lenders more initially.

The initial rates for floating-rate mortgages fell as well, Freddie Mac said.

Fixed mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which has fallen recently on weaker economic data. Laguna Niguel mortgage broker Jeff Lazerson said rates of 4.375% were available to some people with good credit this week because of the trend.

Freddie Mac conducts one of the most widely watched surveys of home loans, asking lenders across the country what rates they are offering to borrowers with solid credit who have at least a 20% down payment or equivalent equity in their homes if they are refinancing.

Source: LATimes

New Listing: 7120 LA TIJERA BLVD #D101, LOS ANGELES 90045

2011-05-04T11:03:00.000-07:00

$149,000

1 Bed

1 Bath

664 SF

This stunning mediterranian style condo offers an open and flowing floor plan great for entertaining. Complete with pergo wood flooring, living room with fireplace, and European style kitchen.The building features a spa, gym, and a romantic saltillo tiled courtyard. One covered gated parking space and one tuck under. Full size stackable washer/dryer hookup in the unit, Central A/C, and security system. This is a Short Sale. Listing Agent is a Certified Pre-Foreclosure Specialist.

Buyer Fell Out- Bank countered at $250,000.

2011-04-26T10:06:00.000-07:00

645 East Bonds Street Carson, CA 90745Residential Single Family, 3 Beds, 3.0 Baths, 1,512 Sqft.

http://www.mlslistingpoint.com/realtor/645-East-Bonds-Street-Carson-CA-90745-MLS-F11050654

Great corner lot home with spacious living space. Remodeled kitchen with granite counters and oak cabinetry. Spacious living room with fireplace, hardwood floors and spacious bedrooms. Large backyard. Great home for a large family...priced to sell.

Buyer Fell Out- Bank countered at $250,000. Contact Jason at 310-994-6091

Short Sales Lead Real Estate Market in March

2011-04-25T11:29:00.000-07:00

An industry study released Monday shows that nearly half of home sales activity last month involved distressed properties, a trend that is likely to continue as the backlog of foreclosures and mortgage defaults make their way through the pipeline.

Within this distressed property segment, the market analysis shows a boom in short sales during the month of March to record-high levels and a drop in the proportion of damaged REO.

These deductions come from the HousingPulse Tracking Survey generated by Campbell Surveys and Inside Mortgage Finance.

The survey’s overall distressed property index rose to 48.6 percent in March – the second highest level seen in the past 12 months.

Short sales rose from 17.0 percent in February to a record-high 19.6 percent in March. Over the same period, damaged REO fell from 14.9 percent to 12.0 percent.

The report referred to both developments as “a positive sign” for the market.

Short sales can eliminate the sometimes long periods of time a home sits vacant after it is repossessed by the lender after foreclosure, and because damaged REO has the worst effect on comparables used for appraisals, smaller amounts of damaged REO should be a positive for home values in future months.

In another potentially significant – but not so positive – development, the monthly survey registered a slowdown in owner-occupant activity during March.

Activity among both current homeowners and first-time homebuyers declined just over half a percentage point from February to March, while investor activity was up only slightly.

Survey respondents reported mixed opinions on traffic for the winter and spring housing market.

“January, February, and March sales were characterized by a wait and see attitude of buyers,” stated an agent in California, noting that concern over the happenings in the nation’s Capitol, as well as economic influences on consumer finances such as gas prices, are impacting buyer demand.

“Our market bottomed out last year and started to rise slowly,” reported an agent in Colorado. “January was flat with activity and inventory. February saw more buyers coming out. March has seen a sharp increase of new listings, approximately double what we had in February. It appears that we should have a marked increase in activity as we continue in this strong season of the year.”

A large number of respondents commented on the problems the high proportion of distressed properties is causing for the appraisal system, noting that when so many properties are distressed, it is often difficult for appraisers to find recently sold non-distressed properties to gauge value.

“Appraisers continue to use distressed property sales to establish value on non-distressed listings,” complained an agent in Arizona. “Further, these same appraisers will not make any adjustments for amenities, (pools, spas, solar, etc.), when compiling a normal sale vs. distressed comps.”

The agent went on to explain, “I have had at least one appraiser tell me that his firm has been given marching orders to calculate the current value based on all properties sold within the last 3 to 6 months and only use the average square footage minus 10 percent to establish neighborhood value comps. If this is indeed standard practice, it will take a mighty long time to realize any increases in property values.”

The Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey polls more than 3,000 real estate agents nationwide each month to provide insight on home sales and mortgage usage patterns.

Source: DSnews

Today's Real Estate Market a 'Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity'

2011-04-21T18:30:00.000-07:00

Greg Rand, a 20-year real estate veteran and CEO of OwnAmerica, says now is the time to invest in real estate.

Rand compares the current market to the years following the Great Depression when market conditions sparked a boom that sustained 65 years of appreciation in real estate.

“This economic crisis, while similar to the Great Depression, is also unique in the way that the housing market played a central role,” Rand said. “It is true that this is a once-in-a-generation crisis. It is also true that this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. It’s time to focus on the other side of the coin.”

According to Rand, a little optimism can go a long way toward spurring real estate back to life.

“There is a very real economic force called irrational pessimism that is the cause of much economic hardship, not the effect,” he said.

“More people are unemployed because successful businesses are afraid to expand. More people are losing homes they can afford because they are underwater and believe their home will never appreciate again. People with job security are convinced they don’t have it and live in fear,” Rand explained.

He insists, “Irrational pessimism is one reason why today’s situation runs so parallel to the Great Depression.”

Rand contends there is no housing meltdown. Rather, there was a media and Wall Street meltdown centered on a predictable housing correction.

The real estate market changes hourly, he says, and investing in real estate is a matter of watching the trends.

“It comes down to the idea that no matter how the markets change, no matter which way the winds shift, people will always need a place to live,” Rand said. “That’s been true of America since the first log cabin.

“If you plug into that concept and leave fear in a box on the shelf, you can be ahead of the curve and ride the wave of the trends that matter,” according to Rand.

OwnAmerica is a Web-based resource for real estate investors and investment advisors headquartered in New York.

Rand is also on WABC Radio, a regular commentator on the Fox Business network, a columnist for Real Estate magazine, and author of the book “Crash-Boom” from Career Press.

Freddie Mac Predicts 5% Increase for Home Sales in 2011

2011-04-18T08:09:00.000-07:00

I recently read an interesting article from DSNews. According to Freddie Mac, a pick-up in home sales is expected due to a recent increase in employment rates. This is good news and a step in the right direction for our industry. Here is the article:

Freddie Mac forecasts a 5 percent increase in 2011 home sales over 2010, according to its U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for April.

The report also contends that refinancing will likely account for a smaller share of loan applications later this year as wealthy borrowers decrease and mortgage rates increase.

“Expect to see a bit of spring in homes sales activity during the second quarter,” said Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist at McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac.

Nothaft continued, “Sales contract signings for existing homes were up in February, positioning the market for a bounce up going into the traditional home-buying season.”

The expected pick-up in home sales is due to recent positive employment reports, the Market Outlook reveals. Unemployment declined for the fourth straight month to 8.8 percent, and net employment increased by 216,000 jobs. Real estate employment was up by 10,000 jobs since last November.

The report also calculates that the share of adjustable-rate mortgage loans will be 7 percent in 2011 compared to the 5 percent 2010 average.

Freddie Mac compiles data on major economic and housing and mortgage market indicators and offers forecasts based on those indicators.

Source: DSnews

OPEN HOUSE TOMORROW SUNDAY 4/10/11 from 2pm-5pm

2011-04-09T15:51:00.001-07:00

2730 ARMACOST Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90064

BEDS: 2
BATHS: 1
SQ. FT.: 1,149

Amazing Zen Sanctuary offers a spacious modern floor plan that makes this 2 bedroom 1 bath main house feel like a much larger home. This retreat features beautiful hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings and updated kitchen with stainless appliances, great patio that leads to charming backyard ~ and guest/in-law unit. Located west of the 405 freeway this house is a bike ride from the beach and a very short drive to schools, shopping, & fine dining. The guest unit has an office on one side with its own entrance, while the main area of the guest unit has both a living area and storage space. THIS IS A SHORT SALE, Listing Agent is a Certified Pre-Foreclosure Specialist.

California expands its foreclosure relief effort

2011-04-08T10:51:00.000-07:00

California homeowners who refinanced their properties for cash or took out home equity lines of credit will now be allowed to participate in parts of the state's $2-billion foreclosure relief initiative.

Many people tapped their rising equity during the boom years, using their homes as ATMs to fuel spending. The California Housing Finance Agency had initially excluded people who used their home equity in such a manner from participating in its Keep Your Home initiative, which launched this year with federal funds reserved for the 2008 rescue of the financial system.

But California's high unemployment rate caused the agency to reconsider its policy, agency Executive Director Steven Spears said in a statement.

"In the two short months since the launch of these programs, we have collected information that has helped us identify areas of improvement to make the programs more effective, particularly given the continued high level of unemployment in California," he said.

The California Housing Finance Agency will now allow people who refinanced or took out home equity lines of credit to participate in three of its four Keep Your Home programs.

This includes the agency's biggest initiative, which allocates $875 million as temporary financial help to people who have seen their paychecks cut or have lost their jobs, providing as much as $3,000 a month for six months to cover home payments and associated costs.

It also includes a plan that would give homeowners as much as $15,000 to help them get current on their mortgages. The third program provides moving assistance for people who can't afford to remain in their homes.

These same programs also are being expanded to include mortgages that were originated after Jan. 1, 2009, the agency said. Homeowners who previously applied to the program and were disqualified for that reason can reapply.

Those who refinanced or took out a home equity loan will not be allowed to participate in the initiative's principal-reduction effort, its second-biggest and most controversial program. About $790 million is slated for that program, which would write down the value of an estimated 25,135 "underwater" mortgages, those in which the amount owed is more than what the property would bring in a sale.

Source: By Alejandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times

Proposed settlement would force banks to allow short sales for delinquent homeowners

2011-04-06T10:56:00.000-07:00

Major banks may be forced to let severely delinquent homeowners sell their houses for less than the loan amounts owed as part of a broad settlement of federal and state investigations into botched foreclosure paperwork, according to government officials involved in the negotiations.

The requirement to allow so-called short sales would be in addition to forcing mortgage servicers to reduce the amount some homeowners owe on their loans, said two officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because negotiations are ongoing.

The goal of short sales would be twofold: provide a quicker and more economical way for banks to dispose of distressed real estate and to help stabilize the real estate market by clearing out a backlog of defaulted mortgages that are poised for foreclosure.

They would be used in situations in which borrowers were so underwater that the more costly and time-consuming process of foreclosure would seem to be the only option.

"Short sales just command a better premium than foreclosures," said Glenn Kelman, chief executive for online brokerage Redfin. "It's like day-old bagels. They never sell for the same price. If they sit there for a while, nobody wants them because houses just break down when they are left alone."

Foreclosures continue to drive down housing values, with prices in 20 major U.S. cities down an average of 3.1% in January compared with the same month a year ago, according to new data from a Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index. Prices in Los Angeles were down 1.8%.

The latest proposal is among those to be discussed when executives from the top five mortgage servicers meet Wednesday in Washington with state and federal officials working on a settlement that could range from $5 billion to $25 billion.

Those servicers are Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Ally Financial Inc.

It will be the first face-to-face meeting since attorneys general from all 50 states, along with federal officials from the Justice Department and other agencies, presented the banks with 27 pages of demands calling for sweeping changes to mortgage servicing, including how homeowners are treated when they try to modify their loans.

The banks have given officials a counterproposal on some of the mortgage servicing requirements that includes a single point of contact for distressed homeowners, timelines for considering modifications, an online system for checking the status of applications and a third-party review of rejections, one of the officials said.

.

Short sales would help accelerate the turnover of homes from borrowers who are months behind on their mortgage payments, Kelman said.

Some sellers are not eager to complete a short sale because it would force them out of their home. And lenders can withhold approval of a short sale if they don't like the price.

Banks often resist such sales because they are difficult to execute, particularly when multiple creditors and other parties are involved. In addition, short sales lock in losses for the lender that might be reduced if the sale is delayed until the market improves.

Requiring banks to allow short sales could fuel further opposition from some Republican attorneys general and members of Congress who already have criticized the broad scope of the proposed settlement.

Some House Republicans have derided possible payments of $20,000 to encourage distressed homeowners — dubbed by some as "cash for keys" — as a bailout for irresponsible behavior.

Seven Republican attorneys general recently wrote to Iowa Atty. Gen. Tom Miller, a Democrat who is leading the negotiations for the states, saying the proposals go beyond resolving damages from foreclosure paperwork problems. Those problems include robo-signing, the practice of bank employees' signing sworn documents without reading or understanding them.

"I think it's morphed into something that's bigger and different than what we talked about in the beginning," said Oklahoma Atty. Gen. E. Scott Pruitt, a Republican who organized the signing of one of the letters.

Pruitt said he might not join the settlement if it is too broad. And with 24 Republican attorneys general nationwide, opposition could limit the size of a settlement and how many people it covers.

Miller has been in contact with some of the attorneys general who have raised concerns, said spokesman Geoff Greenwood.

"We'll do the best we can to reach a comprehensive agreement that is in everyone's best interest," Greenwood said. "At the end of the day, an attorney general must decide for himself or herself whether to sign on to this, assuming we get a settlement."

In Southern California, short sales made up an estimated 19.8% of the market for previously owned homes last month. That was up from an estimated 18.4% in February 2010 and 12% in February 2009, according to DataQuick Information Services of San Diego.

Combined with foreclosures, these so-called distressed sales made up more than half of homes sold in the Southland last month.

Though struggling homeowners escape weighty mortgage debts quickly under a short sale, they don't get away unscathed.

Their credit scores are damaged enough to limit their borrowing capability for years, though the damage is perhaps less severe than in foreclosure. Money for down payments and renovations would be lost, and there may be tax consequences.

The California Assn. of Realtors has been pushing for short sales to be made simpler. Earlier this month, in an open letter in the Los Angeles Times and six other California newspapers, the group called on banks to approve more short sales and for regulators to streamline the process.

The real estate agents argued that short sales are better for consumers and banks.

Source: LA Times
La Times Article

REO Influx: How the foreclosure floodgates opening will affect the short sale market

2011-04-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

After months of bank scandals, the massive held-back inventories of REOs are finally opening up!

Now that these floodgates are opening up, how will this affect the short sale market?
The bottom line is that this is a good thing; one way or another, these inventories need to be worked through in order for the market to correct itself. But read on if you want to know the specifics as to how this will help you as a short sale agent…

Lower Comps

Most of us share the experience of stubborn banks digging their heels in at a price without budging, despite a complete lack of interest at that price point. Foreclosed inventory will set new market lows for those properties we’ve had trouble completing CMAs for at a price the market will bear. As soon as the REO listings open up this will change and benefit everyone!

Bank Hiring

Banks have been cutting negotiators and asset managers while staying on a hiring freeze until the REO scandals started to wrap up. Hence, the system has been gummed up more so than usual with the banks being understaffed. Letting out more foreclosures will force the banks to bring in new staff with a lighter volume per negotiator, expediting the negotiation process of your REOs.

Public Awareness

With all these REO properties coming on the market, banks will be under increased scrutiny to help distressed homeowners avoid foreclosure and keep people in their homes.
Look for even more legislation and regulation on the short sale industry to be passed this summer, which will seek to speed up and demystify the process for everyone involved.

Source: Short Sale Daily News

Investor Interest Remains High During 3 Year Low

2011-03-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

Southland February Home Sales At 3-year Low; Investor Interest High

La Jolla, CA---Southern California’s housing market remained sluggish in February despite relatively strong demand from investors and others paying cash for homes. Prices appeared fairly flat as many potential home buyers stayed on the sidelines and waited – whether for a sign values have bottomed, job security has improved or credit has loosened, a real estate information service reported.

Last month 14,369 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties. That was down 0.6 percent from 14,458 in January, and down 6.4 percent from 15,359 in February 2010, according to DataQuick Information Systems of San Diego.

A small change in sales – up or down – between January and February is normal for the season. On average, sales have risen 0.6 percent between those two months since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin.

The total number of homes sold last month was the lowest for a February since 2008, when 10,777 sold, and the second-lowest since 1995, when 12,459 sold. Last month’s sales fell 19.5 percent short of the Southland’s average February sales tally – 17,848 – since 1988.

The 847 newly built homes sold in the region last month marked the second-lowest level on record for a February, behind 842 sales in February 2009. Builders continue to struggle to compete with prices on resale homes, especially distressed properties.

Last month’s distressed sales – the combination of sales of foreclosed homes and “short sales” – accounted for well over half of the resale market.

Foreclosure resales – properties foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – made up 37.1 percent of resales last month, up from 36.8 percent in January but down from 42.4 percent a year ago. Over the past year foreclosure resales hit a low of 32.8 percent last June but since then they’ve trended higher. Foreclosure resales peaked at 56.7 percent in February 2009.

Short sales – transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property – made up an estimated 19.8 percent of Southland resales last month. That was up from an estimated 19.7 percent in January, 18.4 percent a year earlier, and 12.0 percent two years ago.

The abundance of distressed homes for sale continues to attract unusually high levels of investor and cash-only buyers.

Absentee buyers – mostly investors and some second-home purchasers – bought a record 26.1 percent of the Southland homes sold in February, paying a median $198,000. Since 2000, absentee buyers have purchased a monthly average of 16.2 percent of all homes sold. (Absentee data go back to 2000.)

Buyers who paid cash accounted for a record 31.7 percent of February home sales, paying a median $200,000. That was up from 30.4 in January and 30.1 percent a year earlier. The February cash level was the highest for any month in DataQuick’s statistics back to 1988. The 10-year monthly average for the percentage of Southland homes purchased with cash is 13.1 percent. Cash purchases are where there was no indication in the public record that a corresponding purchase loan was recorded.

“The January and February sales data can be interesting, but we always caution that historically they’ve been a poor barometer for the rest of the year. What the past two months do tell us is that lots of people have bet, often with cash, that housing at today’s prices will prove a solid investment,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

“This spring we’ll see an infusion into the market of more traditional buyers, who aren’t necessarily purchasing with an investor mindset. If the stars line up right – low prices, low mortgage rates, available credit, higher job growth and higher consumer confidence – we could see sales shoot back up to more normal levels. There’s pent-up demand out there. Lots of people have been waiting for the right time to buy. But they’ve got to feel more confident in their jobs, they’ve got to qualify for a loan and, for some, they need to be convinced prices are at or near bottom. One group will still be stuck on the sidelines, though: Those who owe significantly more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.”

The median price paid for a Southland home last month was $275,000, up 1.9 percent from $270,000 in January, and unchanged from $275,000 in February 2010. In January this year, the median fell slightly (-0.6%) from a year earlier, marking the first year-over-year decline since October 2009.

The median’s low point for the current real estate cycle was $247,000 in April 2009, while the high point was $505,000 in mid 2007. The peak-to-trough drop was due to a decline in home values as well as a shift in sales toward low-cost homes, especially inland foreclosures.

At the county level last month, the overall median sale price fell on a year-over-year basis in four counties and was unchanged in two. Declines from a year ago were logged in Orange (-1.7 percent), Riverside (-1.0 percent), San Diego (-4.3 percent), and Ventura (-1.4 percent) counties, while the median was the same as a year ago in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.

The median paid for the largest home-type category – resale single-family detached houses – fell year-over-year last month in Orange (-3.1 percent), San Diego (-3.1 percent) and Ventura (-9.6 percent) counties. The other three counties recorded annual gains ranging from 2.6 percent in Los Angeles and Riverside counties to 3.6 percent in San Bernardino County.

Government-insured FHA loans, a popular low-down-payment choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 32.2 percent of all mortgages used to purchase homes in February. That was the lowest level since August 2008, when 26.8 percent of purchase loans were FHA. Last month’s FHA level was down from 33.2 percent in January and 36.8 percent in February 2010. Two years ago FHA loans made up 36.9 percent of the purchase loan market, while three years ago it was just 6.5 percent.

Last month 18.1 percent of all sales were for $500,000 or more, down from a revised 18.3 percent in January and down from 18.5 percent a year earlier. The low point for $500,000-plus sales was in January 2009, when only 13.6 percent of sales crossed that threshold. Over the past decade, a monthly average of 26.8 percent of homes sold for $500,000 or more.

Viewed differently, Southland zip codes in the top one-third of the housing market, based on historical prices, accounted for 34.6 percent of total sales last month. That was up from 33.4 percent in January and up from 32.7 percent a year ago. Over the last decade, those higher-end areas contributed a monthly average of 37.1 percent of regional sales. Their contribution to overall sales hit a low of 26.2 percent in January 2009.

High-end sales still suffer from tight credit policies. Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) and so-called jumbo home loans have been relatively difficult to get ever since August 2007, when the credit crunch hit.

Last month ARMs represented 7.8 percent of Southland purchase loans, up from 7.0 percent in January and 4.1 percent a year ago. Last month’s figure was the highest since August 2008, when it was 10.5 percent. Over the past decade, a monthly average of about 38 percent of purchase loans were ARMs.

Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 15.6 percent of last month’s purchase lending, up from 15.2 percent in January and 14.8 percent a year earlier. However, in the months leading up to the credit crisis that struck in August 2007, jumbos accounted for 40 percent of the market.

Last month the percentage of Southland homes that was flipped – bought and re-sold on the open market within a six-month period – was 3.2 percent. That was up from a “flipping” rate of 3.1 percent in January but down from 3.4 percent a year earlier. Flipping varied last month from as little as 2.4 percent in Ventura County to as much as 3.8 percent in San Diego County.

DataQuick Information Systems monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that Southland buyers committed themselves to paying was $1,174 last month, up from $1,128 in January and down from $1,180 in February 2010. Adjusted for inflation, current payments are 48.1 percent below typical payments in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. They are 57.4 percent below the current cycle’s peak in July 2007.

Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity remains high by historical standards but is lower than peak levels reached over the last two years. Financing with multiple mortgages is very low, and down payment sizes are stable, DataQuick reported

Freddie Mac Launches YouTube Videos to Dispel Foreclosure Myths

2011-03-24T10:33:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/FreddieMac

Freddie Mac is going 21st century by utilizing the Internet to inform distressed homeowners. Today, it released a new video series on its YouTube Channel. The videos are designed to help consumers separate foreclosure fact from fiction.

Each 90- to 120-second video dispels one of five common myths that could prevent people from keeping their homes if they face foreclosure. It is based on content from the Freddie Mac Get the Facts on Homeownership education and outreach materials.

"Individuals are worried about scams and fraud, and don't know who to safely turn to for help," said Dwight Robinson, Freddie Mac senior vice president of Corporate Relations and Housing Outreach. "The videos provide information and resources that just might keep individuals from losing their home."

The Freddie Mac YouTube Channel covers the following misconceptions about foreclosure:

►Myth 1: If my house is foreclosed, I can never buy a house again—the foreclosure will stay on my record forever.
Truth 1: Foreclosure can have a devastating effect on your finances and you personally, but you can recover. Use the time after foreclosure to prepare yourself for successful homeownership the second time around by creating a spending and savings plan and rebuilding your credit.

►Myth 2: I should stop paying my mortgage so I can get assistance with my mortgage payments.
Truth 2: Stopping payment on your mortgage only hurts your situation and can expose you to foreclosure and credit difficulties that could require years to rebuild.

►Myth 3: If I'm late on my monthly payments, I'll lose my house.
Truth 3: If you have a financial hardship and fall behind, it's possible to keep your house and get back on track if you contact your lender as soon as possible to discuss your options. You can also contact a HUD-approved housing counselor by calling the Homeowner's HOPE Hotline at 888-995-HOPE (4673).

►Myth 4: I am getting many offers for help from a variety of people. They are probably all scams.
Truth 4: Scam artists often target homeowners who are struggling to meet their mortgage commitment or anxious to sell their home. It's important to always open and respond to communications from your lender, particularly if you've already missed a mortgage payment. In addition, if you are in a financial crisis or facing foreclosure, make sure you work with your lender or a HUD-approved counseling agency to avoid common scams.

►Myth 5: My lender is not responding to my inquiries, so I should just give up and face foreclosure.
Truth 5: Whatever you do, don't walk away, and don't give up. It may take several attempts to reach your lender because their call volume can be very high.

"Housing counselors and lenders have traditionally delivered the Get the Facts messages to consumers," said Robinson. "Today, we are utilizing a popular and powerful tool—YouTube— to deliver this pertinent information to consumers."

http://www.youtube.com/FreddieMac

Local Events: 2nd Glass Wine Riot (Santa Monica)

2011-03-22T11:23:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for something to do this weekend here in Santa Monica, check out the 2nd Glass Wine Riot! Grab your friends and sip on some of the finest wines from around the world!

Date(s): 03/25/2011 - 03/26/2011
Recurring daily
Times: Opening Night Friday, March 25 7-11pm; Saturday, March 26 1-5pm & 7-11pm
Location: Santa Monica Place
Phone: (800) 430-1553
Admission: $60 opening night, $50 regular admission

Here is what the 2nd glass company has to say about the event

Sip over 250 different wines from every region of the world, all while rocking out with a few thousand of your closest friends. Discover a new Cabernet from California, sip on a Malbec from Argentina, hit up German Rieslings and wash 'em down with grapes no one can pronounce from Portugal. We have you covered in the education department with free, 20-minute Crash Course Wine Seminars and our Wine Intelligence Unit, staffed by winos who are excited to answer any question. Between sipping and learning, be sure to hop in the photo booth, enjoy the DJ, munch on tasty restaurant food pairings (for a few extra bucks), and just plain have fun! You'll walk out with a new list of favorites all stored on your phone thanks to our custom Second Glass Mobile App.

No, we're not some big, huge company. Second Glass is owned and operated by a handful of people all under 30 who just want everyone to drink more wine. After four successful and sold-out events in Boston, we're taking the show on the road to spread the Wine Revolution coast to coast!

For more information check out the 2nd Glass Event Website

Event Location

Obama extends foreclosure prevention program

2011-03-21T17:04:00.000-07:00

The Obama administration has given another year of life to an foreclosure prevention program allowing certain borrowers to refinance underwater mortgages owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

The Home Affordable Refinance Program had been set to expire June 30. HARP, as it's known, will now continue through June 2012.

With 30-year fixed-rate mortages below 5%, the level they have inhabited much of the past two years, that may provide an attractive option for some homeowners.

One catch is that they can't be too underwater -- their Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgages can be no larger than 125% of the value of their homes. They also must be current on their loan payments.

When HARP was announced in March 2009, the intent was to provide up to 5 million replacement loans to homeowners on more favorable terms.

That proved unattainable, as did the goal of the sister plan known as Home Affordable Modification Program. HAMP, as it's called, initially aimed at modifying the terms of existing loans to help up to 4 million homeowners avert foreclosure.

While far off the ambitious early marks, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had provided 621,803 refinance loans under HARP as of Dec. 31, 2010, compared to 579,650 permanent modifications provided by HAMP.

The HARP program initially was designed to handle loans amounting to 80% to 105% of the value of the home. But as property values plunged, putting millions of homeowners further underwater on their mortgages, the loan-to-value ratio was increased to 125%.

In addition to extending the program for a year, Freddie Mac will exempt HARP loans from certain recently announced increased fees, according to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's overseer, the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The FHFA also said that Fannie Mae is changing its previous eligibility cutoff of Jan. 1, 2009, to May 31, 2009, meaning another five months of loans may be considered for a HARP refinance.

New Listings 3/13 - 3/19

2011-03-17T21:25:00.001-07:00

Click here to view listing

$699,000

BEDS: 4
BATHS: 4
SQ. FT.: 4,183

CALL LISTING AGENT #2 FOR ALL INFORMATION & SHOWING INSTRUCTIONS - Wow! The history behind this celebrity property is not to be believed. Originally part of the Roy Roger's Ranch Estates, ownership has traveled to Val Kilmer to the playright Christopher Hart, son of Moss Hart and Kitty Carlisle. This historic home sits on the famous Trigger St. cul-de-sac and features 4,183 sq. ft. of entertainment and living space. The floor plan includes 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, each with their own balcony and expansive views. This home has a 5 year new roof, newer water heater & HVAC, all new double & triple pane Pella windows and sliders. The large entertainer's grassy yard and rose garden lead to open spaces and hiking trails. Enjoy absolutely Amazing Panoramic Views of the valley and mountains. This is a Short Sale Listing, Agents are Certified Pre-Forclosure Specialists

Click Here to view this listing

($399,000)

1 Bed

1.5 Bath

Open up the large double door entrance to this expansive and luxurious condominium in the heart of Brentwood. Kept in tip top condition this unit boasts, newer carpet, stainless steel appliances also it being an interior unit allowing for privacy in addition to an additional tandem parking space below with very easy access. This is a Short Sale, Listing Agents are Certified Pre-Foreclosure Specialist.

U.S. Real Estate Looks Promising to Global Foreign Investors

2011-03-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

The U.S. real estate market today offers a stronger investment opportunity than it has in the last 10 years, according to the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE).

The association’s 19th annual survey, highlighting trends in international real estate investment, reveals that nearly 65 percent of respondents indicate the United States offers the best potential for capital appreciation. That’s 54 percentage points over second-ranked China.

AFIRE says this is the highest positive response to the question of the U.S. market’s potential since it was first asked in 2000, and a dramatic reversal from 2006 when only 23 percent chose the United States as the best global investment opportunity.

“As the fear of a double-dip recession has faded, investors are becoming more enthusiastic about the prospects for the U.S. economy and are taking aim at real estate investment opportunities in the U.S.,” said James A. Fetgatter, chief executive of AFIRE.

“However, their strategy is more akin to a rifle than a shotgun,” Fetgatter added. “Except for multi-family housing, they are not scattering their interest throughout the U.S. but rather narrowly targeting it to New York City and Washington, D.C., to an even greater extent than in previous years.”

New York City and Washington, D.C., scored almost four times higher than third place Boston among the top five U.S. cities for foreign real estate investment. San Francisco and Los Angeles rounded out the list.

Multi-family properties remain investors’ first choice in 2011, followed by retail, hotel, office, and industrial real estate.

Seventy-two percent of respondents plan to invest more capital in the United States in 2011 than they did in 2010, and 40 percent said they are more optimistic about its potential than they were last year.

The survey’s respondents hold more than $627 billion of real estate globally, including $265 billion in the U.S. The survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2010 by James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate, Wisconsin School of Business.

Based in Washington, D.C., AFIRE preserves and promotes investment in cross-border real estate. AFIRE has nearly 200 members representing 21 countries.

Source: DSnews

California Realtors push for easier short sales

2011-03-10T14:53:00.000-08:00

Even as home seizures stall nationally with big banks facing a potential overhaul of the foreclosure system, California’s real estate agents want to see an alternative to foreclosure made simpler.

The short sale, in which a lender allows a borrower to sell their property for less than what is owed, remains doggedly difficult to do, the California Assn. of Realtors contends in an open letter published Thursday in seven major California newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times.

The real estate group is pushing for banks to approve more short sales and for regulators to streamline the process. The real estate agents argue that short sales are better for consumers and banks.

“We’re focusing the spotlight on short sales and calling on regulators, elected officials, nonprofits, business organizations, companies and individuals with a stake in California’s economic future to resolve this issue and others that get in the way of a recovery,” Beth L. Peerce, president of the Realtors group, wrote in the letter.

Source: La Times

Developer unveils high-rise condos for site near Century City

2011-03-08T11:05:00.000-08:00

Plans were unveiled Wednesday for a $184-million luxury condominium tower on a highly sought-after site on Santa Monica Boulevard between Beverly Hills and Century City.

Miami-based developer Crescent Heights said it had begun the process of seeking approval from Los Angeles officials to build a 283-unit tower at 10000 Santa Monica Blvd. The condos would be on the small side for the local luxury market, selling at an average of $1.5 million for 1,200 to 2,000 square feet.

The project “is styled to be modern, elegant, chic and environmentally friendly,” spokesman Steven Afriat said. It would look like “a totally modern aesthetic in glass,” he added, with few of the glass pieces being the same size.

The previous owner, Irvine builder SunCal Cos., had planned to build a 45-story luxury condominium tower designed by prominent French architect Jean Nouvel. SunCal had paid $110.2 million for the property in 2006 after winning a bidding war with New York real estate mogul Donald Trump. The housing market cooled in the recession, however, and SunCal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on the property in late 2008.

Crescent Heights bought the land in November for $59 million, according to public documents. Its proposed 486,000-square-foot building would rise between 36 and 39 stories. Approval, planning and construction could take about six years, Afriat said.

An earlier owner of 10000 Santa Monica Blvd. demolished a five-story office building completed in the 1970s that housed several tenants, including Jimmy’s restaurant.

Other residential projects developed by Crescent Heights include the Remington on Wilshire Boulevard and the Regatta in Marina del Rey.

-- Roger Vincent

Image: Early design proposal for 10000 Santa Monica Blvd. Credit: 10000 SM

Investment Mogul Predicts Housing Recovery in 2011

2011-03-02T19:45:00.000-08:00

Investment mogul Warren Buffett issued a biennial letter to investors and offered a prediction on when the housing market will see a recovery. He predicts recovery will begin within a year. He explained that this recovery is dependent upon common sense underwriting related to what mortgage borrowers can really afford to buy.

“But a house can be a nightmare if the buyer's eyes are bigger than his wallet and if a lender—often protected by a government guarantee—facilitates his fantasy,” warned Buffett. “Our country’s social goal should not be to put families into the house of their dreams, but rather to put them into a house they can afford.”

Buffett has many real estate related interests under his Berkshire Hathaway umbrella, including numerous real estate companies he has purchased around the country, a manufactured home producer and a mortgage company.

As the housing market gradually moves toward a recovery, Buffett believes home ownership still makes sense for a large number of Americans, especially with the current lower prices and interest rates. He says any future housing policy should be molded from the many lessons learned during this economic downturn.

American Government Holds 360,000 REOs

2011-03-01T11:43:00.000-08:00

At the end of 2010, the Federal Housing Administration was holding 60,739 properties that it has essentially repossessed by foreclosure. This number was up a staggering 47% from 2009. When this number is combined with the REO holdings of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the U.S government has approximately 360,000 REO properties on its books. With those kind of numbers, the American government has clearly gone into the real estate business (whether it wanted to or not). It may as well form a real estate company!

And that doesn’t include the inventory to be added in 2011 or any shadow inventory. According to Capital Economics, the FHA alone has nearly 600,000 mortgages in serious delinquency. No word on Fannie and Freddie estimates.

What this means is the government’s real estate holdings will clearly be increasing again in 2011.

Source: ShortSaleDailyNews

Toni Patillo & Associates
Broker Of Record l DRE#0313287
Keller Williams Realty Santa Monica
2701 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 140 • Santa Monica, CA 90405
Office (310) 482-2035 • Fax(424) 744-4148

Real Estate Investing with Short Sales

2011-02-28T08:24:00.000-08:00

Now is the time for folks who can take advantage of today's real estate market to beef up their investment portfolios with short sales. Banks are closing them faster than ever before and, from start to finish, it’s not as painful anymore. There are plenty to choose from, and short sale homes make good investments because they are priced at or below market. As a general rule, short sales take a little longer to buy than the foreclosed homes (but not always) and they are in much better condition most of the time.

As agents, it’s important to remind our buyers not to be afraid of short sales. In many cases, the banks will pay closing costs and an HOA transfer fee. This is not always the case in a foreclosure sale. Some of the home foreclosures are in pretty rough condition and they will cost some cash to fix up enough to be rented or lived in.

Consider talking to your investors and buyers about short sales as we’ve seen a jump in short sale purchases by investors which is great news for short sale agents.

For more information on purchasing short sale properties as an investment please contact me directly.

Toni Patillo & Associates
Broker Of Record l DRE#0313287
Keller Williams Realty Santa Monica
2701 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 140 • Santa Monica, CA 90405
Office (310) 482-2035 • Fax(424) 744-4148

Report: Distressed Homes Accounted for Nearly Half of January Sales

2011-02-23T08:44:00.000-08:00

The percentage of distressed properties in home purchase transactions climbed to its highest level in nearly a year last month, according to a report released Tuesday by Campbell Surveys in conjunction with Inside Mortgage Finance.

The distressed property index tracked by the two companies’ HousingPulse survey indicates that the share of sales transactions involving distressed homes – generally REOs and short sales – climbed from 47.2 percent in December to 49.6 percent in January. In November, the distressed sales share registered 44.5 percent.

According to the report, at the current rate of increase, distressed property transactions could account for the majority of home sales within just a few months.

Already, in the key state of California, the survey found distressed property transactions account for 66 percent of the market. In Florida, distressed property sales are making up 63 percent of the market, while in the combined area of Arizona and Nevada, distressed property transactions are a staggering 72 percent of home sales, according to the industry report.

Comments from real estate agents collected as part of the HousingPulse survey confirmed the growing share of distressed properties.

“I have noticed that less than 40 percent of what is on the market is property that is just ‘For Sale’ and not a short sale or REO,” commented one agent in California.

“We are primarily an REO/short sale market with [only] about 20 percent conventional sale[s] at this juncture,” added an agent in Nevada.

“Short sales occupy 65 percent of market share, REOs occupy 30 percent of market share, non-distressed are 5 percent or less,” reported another agent in Nevada.

The latest HousingPulse survey also found a sharp dip in first-time homebuyer activity last month. The drop came at the same time long-term mortgage rates climbed to above 5 percent and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) increased the fees associated with low down payment mortgages.

The first-time homebuyer share of home sales was 35.0 percent in January, according to the report, down from 37.7 percent in December. The survey found that FHA lending also took a tumble, falling from 30.2 percent of financing options in December to 27.7 percent in January
Campbell Surveys says the increase in distressed properties, combined with a reduction in first-time homebuyers, is causing downward pricing pressure to build in the market, especially for the categories of damaged REO and move-in ready REO. Over the past 12 months, the report says time-on-market for the REO categories has strongly increased while the average number of offers has decreased.

Also over the past 12 months, the firm’s market data shows that average prices for damaged REO have declined by 16 percent while average prices for move-in ready REO have declined 20 percent. Non-distressed prices have declined only 4 percent while the prices for short sales have been nearly flat.

The HousingPulse survey polls more than 3,000 real estate agents nationwide each month to provide market data on home sales and mortgage usage patterns.

Source: DSNEWS

Million Dollar Home Sales on the Rise

2011-02-17T08:35:00.000-08:00

Despite a decline in California home sales last year, the number of homes sold in the Golden State for $1 million or more in 2010 rose for the first time since 2005, according to a study from San Diego-based DataQuick Information Systems.

The research firm notes that California experienced a 9 percent year-over-year drop in total home sales in 2010, including all price levels.

Million-dollar sales peaked in 2005 at 54,773 and then declined each year through 2009. In 2010, 22,529 homes sold for $1 million or more in California, a 21 percent increase from 18,621 in 2009.

DataQuick says about one in 20 homes sold for a million dollars in 2010. It was one in 25 in 2009 and one in 16 in 2008.

“Prestige home buyers respond to a different set of motivations than the rest of us,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president. “Their decisions are less dependent on jobs, prices, and interest rates and more on how their

portfolio is doing. When the financial world was full of uncertainty a couple of years back and the jumbo loan market dried up, luxury sales plummeted.”

Walsh continued, “As the economy started its top down recovery, some wealthy buyers went looking for a bargain. Additionally, there has always been a safe-haven component in the million-dollar market that attracts wealth.”

The vast majority of California’s million-dollar-plus home sales last year were in San Marino in Los Angeles County, Los Altos in Santa Clara County, Atherton and Hillsborough in San Mateo County, and Rancho Santa Fe in San Diego County.

According to DataQuick’s report, statewide 463 homes sold for more than $5 million last year, 304 were in the $4 million to $5 million range, 782 were in the $3 million to $4 million range, 2,333 were in the $2 million to $3 million range, and the rest-nearly 79 percent-sold for between $1 million and $2 million.

Based on public records, the most expensive confirmed purchase in 2010 sold for $50 million. The Bel Air residence was the state’s largest million-dollar home sold last year at 35,378 square feet with 15 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms on about 2.2 acres.

Newly built homes accounted for 5.9 percent of last year’s $1 million-plus sales, down from 6.5 percent in 2009. Condo sales made up 8 percent of the million-dollar category last year, down from 8.3 percent the year before.

DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies, and industry analysts.

Source: DS News

Planned Luxury Development Opens in Western Malibu

2011-02-14T08:50:00.000-08:00

A luxury planned community has opened at the western end of Malibu and listed its beachfront showcase home at $17 million.

Called MariSol Malibu, the gated community will contain 17 properties on 80 acres. The 13 oceanfront estate sites have beach frontage ranging from 130 to 210 feet.

The showcase estate, sited on an acre, has 6,800 square feet of living space containing a 60-foot-wide great room with 14-foot ceilings, two bars, a refrigerated wine cellar, a gym, two master bedroom suites, two additional bedrooms and six bathrooms. Outdoors is an additional 3,000 square feet of sheltered courtyard space. There is parking for 10 cars.

For more information please contact Toni Patillo directly.

Toni Patillo & Associates
Broker Of Record l DRE#0313287
Keller Williams Realty Santa Monica
2701 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 140 • Santa Monica, CA 90405
Office (310) 482-2035 • Fax(424) 744-4148

Press Release: Los Angeles Short Sales Bank Negotiation Expert Launches Nationwide Service For Real Estate Agents

2011-02-11T09:16:00.000-08:00

Short sale negotiation firm L.A. City Short Sales launches nationwide service to help real estate agents close more deals and save time by handling bank negotiations for them.

Online PR News – 09-February-2011 –Santa Monica, CA - Short sale negotiation firm L.A. City Short Sales launches nationwide service to help real estate agents close more deals and save time by handling bank negotiations for them.

Toni Patillo, owner and principal Broker of L.A. City Short Sales and Toni Patillo & Associates in Santa Monica, says that if agents are not doing short sale transactions, they are not doing as much business as they could be these days. The problem is that short sales are much more difficult and time consuming than most agents realize.

While she says that handling distressed properties can be a time killer for most real estate professionals, she has proven ways to achieve a much higher success rate than most agents acting alone.

"Our mission is simple: To close more deals between banks, sellers and buyers while removing the headache of the short sale process for referring agents."

She says that as a result of her firm's high success rate, agents who refer short sales to her firm L.A. City Short Sales can still earn a great income. Commission splits are generous and vary from 25% for straight referrals to 50/50 co-listing arrangements depending on the experience and desired involvement of the referring agent.

“We work with a lot of agents who have short sale experience and want some involvement in the transaction, but a large percentage of our affiliate agents simply refer their short sale listings to us. We just write them a check when we complete the deal.”

"We work with a lot of agents who have short sale experience and want some involvement in the transaction, but a large percentage of our affiliate agents simply refer short sale listings to us. We just write them a check when we complete the deal."

Elizabeth Stein of Team Stein in the Pacific Palisades, one of Patillo's referring agents, agrees. Stein is a believer, and says that for them, there's no better way to make a living helping people in the reality of today's difficult real estate market.

"Referring short sale business to Toni has been very rewarding. When I come across a seller that is behind on payments or even a competing agent that needs assistance, she's the first person I call to step in and save the day for them."

As an experienced short sale negotiator and expert co-author of the book "Should I Short Sale My Home," Patillo has an intimate view of the short sale process from the points of view of the distressed property owner, the listing specialist and the negotiating agent. She says her compassion for the seller's predicament drives her to get the best deal possible from banks.
"With the poor job market and arguably the worst real estate market in history, homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payments and need to sell their home are in a very vulnerable position. It's easy for them to be taken advantage of, and our job is to help them avoid that."

About Toni Patillo

Ms. Patillo is currently the Broker of Record for the Keller Williams Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades Market Centers and is a member of the Beverly Hills Board of Realtors, Southland Regional Association of Realtors, California Association of Realtors, Malibu Association of Realtors, South Bay Association of Realtors, and the National Association of Realtors.

She is also a member of PartnersFirst, a Nationwide Real Estate Network that specializes in Pre-foreclosure. Toni has multiple certifications and designations in Loan Modifications, Pre-Foreclosures, REO’s (Bank-Owned Properties), and Short Sales.

At the KW Market Centers, she oversees the sales production of over 250 sales agents. Toni has consistently achieved the top 3% of all Sales Professionals within both the Prudential and Keller Williams, real estate networks nationally. While her specialty is listing residential housing with a strong focus on distressed properties, including short sales, pre-foreclosures, and bank-owned properties, she's expanding her mastery into the Luxury Home & Commercial marketplace.

For more information, please contact:

Toni Patillo, CLMS, CSSS, CREOS
L.A. City Short Sales
Toni Patillo & Associates
2701 Ocean Park Blvd, #140
Santa Monica, CA 90405
310-482-2035

http://calltoni.com
http://lacityshortsales.com
http://tonipatillo.com

Buyers Open Today 2/6 - Super Bowl Special!!! 1pm-4pm

2011-02-06T10:14:00.000-08:00

4 Bed

3 Bath

($897,000)

NOT ON MLS - SUPER BOWL SPECIAL - SINGLE FAMILY WITH INCOME POTENTIAL - OPEN TODAY SUPERBOWL SUNDAY 1-4PM -
Beautifully Landscaped, Updated& Renovated, Delivered Vacant! All New Bathrooms & Kitchen, now a 4 bedroom, 3 bath Compound inclusive of detached 1 bedroom, 1 bath. Full Guest House/Studio/Home Office/In-Laws Unit w/its own separate entry & AC. Spa tub outside of Master, w/steps down to the private outdoor lounging area. The renovated gourmet kitchen includes stainless appliances, rich dark wood cabinets, & speckled soapstone countertops w/beautiful black tile back splash. The mood is set w/recessed lighting & built-in sound system throughout. Each room has its own private audio control. Living room & Dining areas are highlighted by coved ceilings, crown molding, gas & wood burning fireplace. French drs separate dining/living room from the 1stbedroom which also triples as a sitting/media room and/or office. Refinished hardwood floors, new paint throughout & new carpet & tile in the Guest House. Buyer to do their own diligence regarding rent control, permits & zoning etc., ample driveway parking. Close to all!
Contact Listing Agent for Private Showings - Toni Patillo 310 497-7053

FOR MORE PHOTOS PLEASE VISIT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE HERE:

1644 N Stanley Ave Los Angeles, CA 90046

California AG to Use $6.5M Settlement to Help Foreclosed Homeowners

2011-02-04T21:56:00.000-08:00

California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced Friday that the $6.5 million settlement from two former Countrywide Financial Corp. executives will be used to establish a fund to help foreclosed homeowners.

The settlement comes from a litigation that began more than two years ago against Angelo Mozilo and David Sambol. According to the lawsuit, Countrywide lured buyers with low teaser rates, sometimes as low as 1 percent, and failed to inform them of the downsides of adjustable-rate loans, which included rapidly rising rates after the teaser rates expired, big prepayment penalties, and negative amortization that caused a borrower’s total loan costs to rise even when additional payments were being made.

The lawsuit alleged that Mozilo and Sambol knew of these practices and did nothing to stop them.

The suit also alleged that Countrywide loosed its mortgage standards and verification procedures in order to make more loans in an attempt to increase its share of the nationwide mortgage market.

“Our prior settlement with Countrywide provided restitution for foreclosed homeowners and set in motion loan modification programs that have helped tens of thousands of consumers,” Attorney General Harris said.

She continued, “We will use the current settlement to help Californians affected by the mortgage crisis by providing grants to agencies that help homeowners facing foreclosure with relocation assistance and providing money to state and local agencies to prosecute mortgage fraud.”  

According to the attorney general’s office, during the 18 months ending last September, 282,000 California homes went into foreclosure, and in the last three months of 2010, notices of default were filed on another 70,000 homes in the state.  The California Foreclosure Crisis Relief Fund will combat the effects of California’s high rates of foreclosure and mortgage delinquency.

Bank of America acquired Countrywide’s loan portfolio and assumed responsibility to make restitution to mortgage holders who qualify under the terms of the Attorney General’s 2008 settlement.

Source: DS News

Another Decline in California Foreclosure Activity

2011-02-02T08:54:00.000-08:00

Another Decline in California Foreclosure Activity

The number of California homes going into foreclosure dropped again during the fourth quarter of 2010 to its lowest level in more than three years, the result of shifting market conditions as well as evolving lender and mortgage servicer policies, a real estate information service reported.
A total of 69,799 Notices of Default (NoDs) were recorded at county recorders offices during the October-to-December period. That was down 16.2 percent from 83,261 for the prior quarter, and down 17.5 percent from 84,568 in fourth quarter 2009, according to San Diego-based DataQuick Information Systems.

Last quarter's activity was the lowest since 53,943 NoDs were recorded in the second quarter of 2007. It was just over half the record 135,431 default notices recorded in the first quarter of 2009.

"We don't know how much of the decline is due to less household financial distress, and how much is due to shifts in lender and servicer foreclosure policies. The level of default activity would certainly be higher if it weren't for alternative strategies such as short sales, or even lengthening grace periods," said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

"The institutions that hold these loans in their portfolios will do whatever it takes to lessen their losses, including waiting. An additional factor is all the turbulence when it comes to the formalities of the foreclosure process," he said.

While most of the loans that went into default last quarter were originated during the 2005-2007 period, the median origination quarter for defaulted loans remained third-quarter 2006. That has been the case for over a year, indicating that weak underwriting standards peaked then.

Most of the loans made in 2006 are owned and/or serviced by institutions other than those that made the loans.

The most active "beneficiaries" in the formal foreclosure process last quarter were Bank of America (16,199), Wells Fargo (10,287), Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, also called MERS (5,315) and JP Morgan Chase (5,258).

The "servicers" (or the Trustees in the formal foreclosure process) that pursued the highest number of defaults last quarter were ReconTrust Co (mostly for Bank of America and MERS), Quality Loan Service Corp (Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase), Cal-Western Reconveyance (Wells Fargo) and NDEx West (Wells Fargo).

California's priciest zip codes collectively saw mortgage defaults buck the market-wide trend and rise slightly quarter-to-quarter, while their defaults fell less on a year-over-year basis than in the overall market. The state's 82 zip codes with median sale prices of $800,000 or more in 2010 logged a 2.0 percent quarter-to-quarter increase in default notices and a 9.3 percent year-over-year decline.

At the other end of the price spectrum, zips with 2010 medians of $200,000 or less saw fourth-quarter defaults drop 22.2 percent from the prior quarter and drop 19.5 percent from a year ago.

But the concentration of defaults remains much higher in lower-cost areas: Last quarter, zips with medians of $200,000 or less collectively saw 11.3 default notices filed per 1,000 homes. That compares with just 2.8 default notices filed per 1,000 homes in zips with $800,000-plus medians, and 8.0 filed per 1,000 homes for all zips statewide.

On primary mortgages, California homeowners were a median six months behind on their payments when the lender filed the Notice of Default. The borrowers owed a median $16,368 on a median $325,775 mortgage.

On home equity loans and lines of credit in default, borrowers owed a median $3,759 on a median $66,653 credit line. However the amount of the credit line that was actually in use cannot be determined from public records.

San Diego-based DataQuick Information Systems monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. Notices of Default are recorded at county recorders offices and mark the first step of the formal foreclosure process.

Although 69,799 default notices were filed last quarter, they involved 68,338 homes because some borrowers were in default on multiple loans (e.g. a primary mortgage and a line of credit).

Mortgages were least likely to go into default in San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo counties. The probability was highest in Madera, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. Those patterns are consistent with the historical norm.

Over half of the homes statewide that received an NOD in a recent 18-month period have since been foreclosed on or sold (e.g. short sales).

Of the homes that received NODs between January 2009 and June 2010, 39 percent have been foreclosed on and about 13 percent avoided foreclosure but were sold. The status of the remaining 48 percent of those NOD recipients isn't clear, but would include those attempting short sales or who brought their loan payments current or got loan modifications, and those whose foreclosures are still in process.

At this point one year ago, looking back at the January 2008-through-June 2009 period, a higher percentage - 46 percent - of the homes that got NODs had been foreclosed on, and a lower percentage - 9 percent - had avoided foreclosure and been sold on the open market.

Trustees Deeds recorded (TDs), or the actual loss of a home to foreclosure, totaled 35,431 during the fourth quarter. That was down 21.9 percent from 45,377 for the prior quarter, and down 30.6 percent from 51,060 for fourth-quarter 2009. Last quarter's total was the lowest since 31,676 TDs were recorded during fourth-quarter 2007. The all-time peak was 79,511 in third-quarter 2008.

In the last real estate cycle, Trustees Deeds peaked at 15,418 in third-quarter 1996. The state's all-time low was 637 in the second quarter of 2005, DataQuick reported.

There are 8.6 million houses and condos in the state.

As with mortgage defaults, the filing of Trustees Deeds tended to fall the most in the lower-cost areas, where foreclosures had soared in recent years. Collectively, zip codes with medians of $200,000 or less saw the number of homes foreclosed on drop 25.6 percent from the prior quarter and 33.8 percent from a year earlier. That compares with a 16.1 percent quarter-to-quarter drop and a 17.1 year-over-year drop for California zip codes with $800,000-plus medians.

But just as with mortgage defaults, foreclosure concentrations remain far greater in the lower-cost areas: Zips with $200,000-and-below median sale prices logged 9.5 foreclosures per 1,000 homes last quarter. That compares with 5.4 foreclosures per 1,000 homes across all zip codes statewide and 1.0 foreclosures per 1,000 homes for the group of zips with $800,000-plus medians.

Foreclosure resales accounted for 37.5 percent of all California resale activity last quarter. It was 35.5 percent the prior quarter, and a year ago it was 40.6 percent. It peaked at 57.8 percent in the first quarter of 2009. Foreclosure resales varied significantly by county last quarter, from 11.3 percent in San Francisco County to 57.4 percent in Merced County.

On average, homes foreclosed on last quarter took 8.8 months to wind their way through the formal foreclosure process, beginning with an NOD. That's up from 8.7 months for the prior quarter and 7.0 months a year earlier. The increase could reflect, among other things, lender backlogs and paperwork problems and extra time needed to pursue loan modifications and short sales.

Of the 282,643 homes foreclosed on statewide in an 18-month period ending September 2010, about 77.0 percent have been resold. At this point a year ago, the comparable number was about 85.0 percent. It cannot be determined from public records how many of the unsold foreclosed properties are currently for sale, not for sale or have been made rentals (and therefore shouldn't be expected to sell anytime soon).

At formal foreclosure auctions held statewide last quarter, an estimated 22.1 percent of the foreclosed properties were bought by investors or others who don't appear to be lender or government entities. That was down from 22.7 percent the previous quarter and 25.0 percent a year ago, DataQuick reported.

Notices of Default (first step in foreclosure process)
houses and condos

County/Region 2009Q4 2010Q4 Yr/Yr%

Los Angeles 16,595 14,188 -14.5%
Orange 5,555 4,388 -21.0%
San Diego 6,536 4,917 -24.8%
Riverside 9,188 6,885 -25.1%
San Bernardino 7,290 5,744 -21.2%
Ventura 1,657 1,470 -11.3%
Imperial 503 376 -25.2%
SoCal 47,324 37,968 -19.8%

San Francisco 465 435 -6.5%
Alameda 2,806 2,660 -5.2%
Contra Costa 3,501 2,931 -16.3%
Santa Clara 2,816 2,325 -17.4%
San Mateo 903 820 -9.2%
Marin 305 276 -9.5%
Solano 1,652 1,441 -12.8%
Sonoma 878 884 0.7%
Napa 268 226 -15.7%
Bay Area 13,594 11,998 -11.7%

Santa Cruz 346 293 -15.3%
Santa Barbara 589 509 -13.6%
San Luis Obispo 436 364 -16.5%
Monterey 874 632 -27.7%
Coast 2,245 1,798 -19.9%

Sacramento 4,742 3,954 -16.6%
San Joaquin 2,513 1,989 -20.9%
Placer 1,118 988 -11.6%
Kern 2,602 2,011 -22.7%
Fresno 2,220 1,944 -12.4%
Madera 394 402 2.0%
Merced 876 645 -26.4%
Tulare 1,037 874 -15.7%
Yolo 373 319 -14.5%
El Dorado 475 463 -2.5%
Stanislaus 1,908 1,469 -23.0%
Kings 201 232 15.4%
San Benito 155 130 -16.1%
Yuba 213 210 -1.4%
Colusa 50 52 4.0%
Sutter 228 245 7.5%
Central Valley 19,105 15,927 -16.6%

Mountains* 816 663 -18.8%

North Calif* 1,484 1,445 -2.6%

Statewide* 84,568 69,799 -17.5%
includes additional counties

Trustees Deeds Recorded (signal homes were lost to foreclosure)
houses and condos

County/Region 2009Q4 2010Q4 Yr/Yr%

Los Angeles 8,467 5,597 -33.9%
Orange 2,235 1,693 -24.3%
San Diego 3,786 2,433 -35.7%
Riverside 6,472 3,942 -39.1%
San Bernardino 4,994 3,272 -34.5%
Ventura 761 630 -17.2%
Imperial 359 243 -32.3%
SoCal 27,074 17,810 -34.2%

San Francisco 174 156 -10.3%
Alameda 1,576 1,362 -13.6%
Contra Costa 2,151 1,559 -27.5%
Santa Clara 1,244 901 -27.6%
San Mateo 383 302 -21.1%
Marin 123 129 4.9%
Solano 1,087 786 -27.7%
Sonoma 541 443 -18.1%
Napa 185 126 -31.9%
Bay Area 7,464 5,764 -22.8%

Santa Cruz 162 134 -17.3%
Santa Barbara 325 250 -23.1%
San Luis Obispo 245 217 -11.4%
Monterey 589 353 -40.1%
Coast 1,321 954 -27.8%

Sacramento 3,365 2,398 -28.7%
San Joaquin 1,978 1,264 -36.1%
Placer 632 548 -13.3%
Kern 1,777 1,286 -27.6%
Fresno 1,520 1,159 -23.8%
Madera 395 256 -35.2%
Merced 856 453 -47.1%
Tulare 610 505 -17.2%
Yolo 219 158 -27.9%
El Dorado 264 213 -19.3%
Stanislaus 1,474 956 -35.1%
Kings 78 132 69.2%
San Benito 106 65 -38.7%
Yuba 191 135 -29.3%
Colusa 47 25 -46.8%
Sutter 199 105 -47.2%
Central Valley 13,711 9,658 -29.6%

Mountains* 482 373 -22.6%

North Calif* 1,008 872 -13.5%

Statewide* 51,060 35,431 -30.6%

* includes additional counties

Source: DataQuick Information Systems

In today's challenging Los Angeles real estate market, selecting the right real estate agent is crucial. It can make all the difference in the world. Whether you're planning on buying, selling, or you just have a question, feel free to call Toni Patillo. We service the Greater Los Angeles, the Westside, Beverly Hills, and more.

Toni Patillo & Associates
Broker Of Record l DRE#0313287
Keller Williams Realty Santa Monica
2701 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 140 • Santa Monica, CA 90405
Office (310) 482-2035 • Fax(424) 744-4148

Short Sale Lead Generation Boot Camp - LA CITY SHORT SALES

2011-02-01T17:09:00.001-08:00

More Info:

http://lacityshortsales.eventbrite.com/

Facebook Event

FHA Extends 'Anti-Flipping Waiver' to Speed Sales of REO Homes

2011-01-31T07:39:00.000-08:00

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced Friday that it is extending the suspension of its ‘anti-flipping rule’ through the remainder of 2011.

FHA Commissioner David Stevens says the temporary waiver will accelerate the resale of foreclosed homes in neighborhoods that are overrun with abandoned properties and blight. The move is intended to help stabilize home values and improve conditions in communities experiencing high foreclosure activity.

FHA regulations typically prohibit insuring a mortgage on a home owned by the seller for less than 90 days, but in February of last year, FHA temporarily waived this regulation through January 31, 2011, noting that in today’s foreclosure-ravaged marketplace, the agency’s research has shown that acquiring, rehabilitating, and reselling distressed properties often takes less than 90 days.

With the sunset date for that first extension just days away, FHA posted a notice on Friday extending the waiver through December 31, 2011. This action will permit buyers to continue to use FHA-insured financing to purchase HUD-owned properties, bank-owned properties, or properties resold through private sales.

“As I noted when we first announced this policy change early last year, because of the tightened credit market, FHA-insured mortgage financing is often the only means of financing available to potential homebuyers,” Stevens said. “Today I can report that this policy change has been effective.”

Stevens says since the original waiver went into effect, FHA has insured more than 21,000 mortgages worth over $3.6 billion on properties resold within 90 days.

FHA said it the notice that prohibiting the use of FHA mortgage insurance for a subsequent resale within 90 days would adversely impact the willingness of sellers to consider offers from potential FHA buyers, because the seller must also factor in holding costs and the risk of vandalism associated with allowing a property to sit vacant over a 90-day period of time.

“Because of past restrictions, FHA borrowers have often been shut out from buying affordable properties,” Stevens added. “This action enables our borrowers, especially first-time buyers, to take advantage of this opportunity and buy a home that has recently been rehabilitated. It will also help to move more foreclosed properties off the market and reduce the number of vacant homes in neighborhoods throughout this country.”

The waiver contains strict conditions and guidelines to protect FHA borrowers against predatory practices of “flipping” where properties are quickly resold at inflated prices. The agency’s anti-flipping waiver is limited to those sales meeting the following criteria:

All transactions must be arms-length, with no identity of interest between the buyer and seller or other parties participating in the sales transaction.

In cases in which the sales price of the property is 20 percent or more above the seller’s acquisition cost, the waiver will only apply if the lender meets specific conditions.

The waiver is limited to forward mortgages, and does not apply to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for purchase program.

Source: DS News

Toni Patillo & Associates
Broker Of Record l DRE#0313287
Keller Williams Realty Santa Monica
2701 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 140 • Santa Monica, CA 90405
Office (310) 482-2035 • Fax(424) 744-4148

What Are Your Biggest Short Sale Challenges in 2011? SURVEY RESULTS!

2011-01-27T14:19:00.000-08:00

Short Sale Daily news asked it's readers, "What Are Your Biggest Short Sale Challenges in 2011?" Here are the results:

We asked and you responded, Short Sale Daily News readers! Our quick and easy survey featured this single question, with the ability to click up to four out of 12 possible answers.

Surprisingly, we found a few of these were of very little concern. Issues such as the amount of inventory on the market, educating potential buyers on the short sale purchase process, funding/loan approval and consumer confidence all scored very low on your list of concerns.

So what was the #1 challenge that Realtors clicked? Lag time in bank negotiations weighed in at 44.7% followed closely by inflexibility at banks with 42.1%. The next highest ranking challenges were:

Getting the deal from approval to closing: 36.8%

Unwillingness of banks to do short sales because they profit more by foreclosure: 31.6%

Lack of proper staffing at bank: 28.9%

Time restrictions banks place on the deal: 28.9%

Educating distressed homeowners as to why/how a short sale is better than foreclosure: 23.7%

So what seems to be the common thread with the greatest concerns? The banks. Veteran short sales agents probably won’t be all that surprised about this, but it is sad nonetheless. The mega banks keep saying they are staffing more, responding more quickly, streamlining their operations, etc., etc. and yet agents still can’t get answers in a timely manner. And distressed homeowners—bank customers—keep getting increasingly frustrated with the pathetic level of customer service happening with these mortgage servicers.

You would think the last thing ANY bank wants right now is more real estate inventory on its books to maintain, carry, pay taxes for and go through an additional negotiation process for resale. And yet banks’ actions say just the opposite. Is it any wonder then why this theory that banks make more money on foreclosures than short sales is starting to sprout some serious wings? Nearly a third of you who took this survey signified that as a concern.

Source: Short Sale Daily News

Index of Distressed Property Sales Surges in December: Report

2011-01-24T14:15:00.000-08:00

Sales of distressed properties surged in December as many banks resumed foreclosures following the suspensions prompted by robo-signing issues last fall, according to an industry study conducted by Campbell Surveys.

The company’s HousingPulse Distressed Property Index (DPI) recorded a sharp jump last month. The December DPI was 47.2 percent, reflecting the share of home sales transactions that involved distressed properties. December’s level was up from 44.5 percent in November and nearly matched the 47.5 percent peak recorded by the HousingPulse DPI in September, right before the robo-signing controversy came to light.

The National Association of Realtors also reported an uptick in distressed property sales but a significantly lower share of total transactions during the final month of last year. Data released by the trade group last week put the distressed piece of the pie at 36 percent of December’s existing home sales, up from 33 percent in November.

Campbell Surveys says distressed property sales were not distributed evenly around the country.
According to the company’s latest study, in the foreclosure-ridden state of California, 66 percent of all transactions tracked in December involved distressed properties. The combined area of Arizona and Nevada similarly suffered, with 62 percent of transactions being distressed.

However, in the southern states of Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, only 29 percent of transactions were distressed, according to Campbell Surveys.

Separately, sales to first-time homebuyers continued at the high level of 37.7 percent of all transactions tracked in December, the company reported. That’s up from 34.4 percent in the months of September and October.

Campbell Surveys says fears of rising mortgage rates prompted first-time homebuyers to get off the fence and buy before another burst of interest rate-increases. At the same time, investors reduced their activity amid fears of falling house prices.

“The combination of increased property supply and growing homebuyer demand caused a blow-out month for home sales,” commented Thomas Popik, research director for Campbell Surveys. “We knew this was coming because average transactions for our survey respondents rose from 2.9 in November to 3.4 in December.”

Popik says the surge in homebuying, though, isn’t likely to last. “January and February are typically the slowest months of the year for homebuying,” Popik explained. “And we’ll still have a backlog of foreclosed homes coming on the market during the winter, so prices may come under pressure, too.”

Campbell’s HousingPulse survey polls more than 3,000 real estate agents nationwide each month to provide market data on home sales and mortgage usage patterns.

Existing Home Sales On the Rise

2011-01-21T11:34:00.000-08:00

Recovery on Move: December 2010 Existing-Home Sales Jump 12.3 Percent

RISMEDIA, January 21, 2011—Existing-home sales rose sharply in December 2010, when sales increased for the fifth time in the past six months, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 12.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.28 million in December from an upwardly revised 4.70 million in November, but remain 2.9% below the 5.44 million pace in December 2009.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said sales are on an uptrend. “December was a good finish to 2010, when sales fluctuate more than normal. The pattern over the past six months is clearly showing a recovery,” he said. “The December pace is near the volume we’re expecting for 2011, so the market is getting much closer to an adequate, sustainable level. The recovery will likely continue as job growth gains momentum and rising rents encourage more renters into ownership while exceptional affordability conditions remain.”

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $168,800 in December, which is 1.0% below December 2009. Distressed homes rose to a 36% market share in December from 33% in November, and 32% in December 2009.

“The modest rise in distressed sales, which typically are discounted 10 to 15 percent relative to traditional homes, dampened the median price in December, but the flat price trend continues,” Yun explained.

Total housing inventory at the end of December fell 4.2% to 3.56 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 8.1-month supply at the current sales pace, down from a 9.5-month supply in November.

NAR President Ron Phipps, broker-president of Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I., said buyers are responding to very good affordability conditions despite tight mortgage credit. “Historically low mortgage interest rates, stable home prices, and pent-up demand are drawing home buyers into the market,” Phipps said. “Recent home buyers have been successful with very low default rates, given the outstanding performance for loans originated in 2009 and 2010.”

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.71% in December from 4.30% in November; the rate was 4.93% in December 2009.

A parallel NAR practitioner survey shows first-time buyers purchased 33% of homes in December, up from 32% in November, but are below a 43% share in December 2009.

Investors accounted for 20% of transactions in December, up from 19% in November and 15% in December 2009; the balance of sales were to repeat buyers. All-cash sales were at 29% in December, compared with 31% in November, but up from 22% a year ago. “All-cash sales have been consistently high at about 30 percent of the market over the past six months,” Yun said.

Single-family home sales jumped 11.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.64 million in December from 4.15 million in November, but are 2.5% below the 4.76 million level in December 2009. The median existing single-family home price was $169,300 in December, down 0.2% from a year ago.

Existing condominium and co-op sales surged 16.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 640,000 in December from 550,000 in November, but remain 5.2% below the 675,000-unit pace one year ago. The median existing condo price was $165,000 in December, which is 7.4% below December 2009.

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast jumped 13.0% to an annual pace of 870,000 in December, but are 5.4% below December 2009. The median price in the Northeast was $237,300, which is 1.4% below a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest rose 11.0% in December to a level of 1.11 million, but are 4.3% below a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $139,700, up 3.3% from December 2009.

In the South, existing-home sales increased 10.1% to an annual pace of 1.97 million in December, but are 2.5% below December 2009. The median price in the South was $148,400, unchanged from a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the West surged 16.7% to an annual level of 1.33 million in December, but remain 1.5% below December 2009. The median price in the West was $204,000, down 5.6% from a year ago.

Toni Patillo & Associates
Broker Of Record l DRE#0313287
Keller Williams Realty Santa Monica
2701 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 140 • Santa Monica, CA 90405
Office (310) 482-2035 • Fax(424) 744-4148

Listing of the Week - Spanish Duplex

2011-01-19T14:47:00.000-08:00

Southwest Los Angeles

Duplex

Property Type:Residential Income
Listing Status:Active
Area Name:Los Angeles Southwest
Style:Spanish
Year Built: 1931
Square Feet:1710
Square Feet of Land: 5400
Roofing:Tile
Parking Type:Garage Is Detached, Garage
Garage Spaces: 2
Heat Type:Wall Heater

Appliances:Refrigerator
Cooking Appliances: Range

Listing Price:$239,000
Gross Operating Income:$25,560
Tenant Pays:Electricity,Gas

Remarks: BUYER FELL OUT OF ESCROW-BANK APPROVED - Adorable Side by Side Spanish Duplex in pride of ownership neighborhood. Well maintained units with great curb appeal. Each unit has 2 bedrooms 1 bath with washer/dryer hook ups. Property has a gated private spacious back yard and each has 1 parking space in the detached garage. Tenant Occupied Please Do Not Disturb Occupants. Great for Investor Buy & Hold. Short Sale

Housing Moving to Higher Ground in 2011

2011-01-18T09:44:00.000-08:00

RISMEDIA, January 18, 2011—Housing will see gradual improvements in activity this year as the nation’s economy and job market continue to move to higher ground, establishing momentum that will produce more considerable gains in 2012, according to economists who appeared at the NAHB International Builders’ Show in Orlando on January 12.

“This year’s spring selling season will be better than last year’s,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe, with job growth providing a stronger stimulus in the housing market than last year’s tax credits for home buyers.

Crowe forecasted 575,000 single-family home starts in 2011, a 21% climb over an estimated 475,000 units started in 2010, which in turn showed a 7% gain from the 442,000 homes started in 2009.

Multifamily, which is poised to profit from a disproportionate number of Gen Y members moving into the housing market, has seen the bottom of the cycle, he said, and will see its starts rise 16% this year to 133,000 units, with a further 53% increase in 2012 to 203,000 units.

Builders’ access to the credit they need to start new homes remains the fragile component of the NAHB forecast, Crowe said. So far, small builders have experienced extreme difficulty in obtaining financing, and rectifying the situation as soon as possible is the top priority of the association.

More encouraging is a rebound in the confidence of consumers, who mid-2010 “froze in place, faced with a lot of uncertainty,” he said. A recent pickup in durable purchases for such items as automobiles and furniture indicates that consumers are less afraid today of losing jobs and income.

The U.S. economy will receive a boost from the massive tax package enacted at the end of last year, he said, including more income going into the pockets of wage earners thanks to a one-year 2% reduction in Social Security taxes. This will contribute to the gross domestic product strengthening from the 2.5% range to 3.5% to 3.8% by year’s end.

New-home sales, Crowe projected, “will struggle” but begin following employment gains, reaching 405,000 for the year, up from an estimate of about 320,000 for 2010.

The housing recovery will start up slowly this year, he said, because it will be driven by the relatively low housing production Plains states, with Texas the most powerful of the bunch. Traditional bulwarks of housing activity such as California and Florida, on the other hand, will not be among the states whose housing markets recover the fastest.

In addition to stimulative fiscal and monetary policy, Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said that housing affordability and demographic trends will help support growing housing demand.

Citing research from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, Nothaft said that households should be growing at an average annual rate of 1.2 million to 1.5 million over the next five to 10 years, suggesting the need for a sharp increase in housing production; half of the 500,000 to 600,000 starts of the past two years were needed just to replace the number of homes being removed from the housing stock.

While there will continue to be supply overhangs in some important large markets, by and large the housing price slump should bottom out by the middle of this year, he said, and price increases are already occurring in some local areas. That should attract prospective buyers who have been procrastinating until they see prices hit bottom.

“Potential buyers who have resources to buy but want to buy at the bottom are likely to start coming into the market in the springtime,” he said, which for fence sitters will be “the time to come into the market.”

Fixed-rate mortgages will move up from their current 4.75% to the 5.75% range by the end of this year, he forecasted. This will push total single-family mortgage originations down about 30% below the 2010 level as refinancings fall sharply in the face of rising mortgage rates.

While a 20% increase in housing production in 2011 is good news for housing, to put things in perspective, Nothaft said that this gain is from an extremely low level, with single-family production declining about 80% from peak to trough.

Toni Patillo & Associates
Broker Of Record l DRE#0313287
Keller Williams Realty Santa Monica
2701 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 140 • Santa Monica, CA 90405
Office (310) 482-2035 • Fax(424) 744-4148

New Listing - 12567 Sanford St. Los Angeles ($639,000)

2011-01-15T14:07:00.000-08:00

($639,000)

4 Bed

3 Bath

2,117 sq ft

Back on the market! Call for details VALUE BEYOND BELIEF!! Take advantage of this Unbelievable short sale opportunity Spacious, updated 3-story home located on a cul-de-sac, on the north side of the street(not the fwy side).This home offers a great floor plan with a fantastic flow and defines true meaning of the California lifestyle. French doors lead to a lush yard w/spa, mature landscaping for the ultimate privacy & a large patio for dining al fresco all year round. Master Suite with large walk in closet, hardwood floors in living areas, fireplace, & so much more. Call this great deal home, WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT?

For more information regarding this listing, please contact Toni Patillo.

Toni Patillo & Associates

Broker Of Record l DRE#0313287

Keller Williams Realty Santa Monica

2701 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 140 • Santa Monica, CA 90405
Office (310) 482-2035 • Fax(424) 744-4148

Equator Predicts 25 Percent Increase in Short Sales in 2011

2011-01-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

In an interview with HousingWire, Equator's Chief Operating Officer John Vella said he believes 2011 will be the year of the short sale. He attributes a good deal of this to the foreclosure volume and current/pending REO inventories. With these numbers sky-rocketing, mortgage loan servicers will need to be more flexible about doing short sales.

Vella estimates this increase could be 25% or more, provided servicers are properly staffed and using proven short sales technology. (Read that as his subtle way of promoting Equator software!)

Agents, if you have real estate investors in your database, now would be a great time to share this predicted increase with them. Purchasing short sales can be an investor’s gold mine—and yours.

Source: ShortSaleDailyNews

Toni Patillo & Associates

Broker Of Record l DRE#0313287

Keller Williams Realty Santa Monica

2701 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 140 • Santa Monica, CA 90405
Office (310) 482-2035 • Fax(424) 744-4148

NEW LISTING - 905 NOWITA PL. VENICE, CA 90292 ($997,000)

2011-01-10T16:31:00.000-08:00

($997,000)

3 Bed

2 Bath

2,269 sq ft

Builder’s, Developer’s, Owner User’s – Opportunity knocks with this private, spacious 2 story, 3 bedroom, 2 bath architectural cabin home located on Venice’s Famous Walk Streets. Live in and perfect over time or update, remodel and resell for a respectable return. The home features wide open spaces, vaulted ceilings, lots of light, kitchen that opens up to formal dining room, living room, large family room or office with built in bookshelves, polished concrete floors, beautiful yard with patio deck. Very rare in Venice is an attached garage and carport. Just walking distance from Abbott Kinney and Venice Board Walk. This is a Short Sale. Listing Agent is a Certified Distressed Property Specialist.

Toni Patillo & Associates
Broker Of Record l DRE#0313287
Keller Williams Realty Santa Monica
2701 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 140 • Santa Monica, CA 90405
Office (310) 482-2035 • Fax(424) 744-4148

Short sales could improve SoCal housing market | abc7.com

2011-01-05T08:46:00.000-08:00

Here is an interesting news story from KABC Channel 7 regarding short sales and the Southern California housing market.

(KABC) -- Taking a look at the local housing market and what we can expect in the new year, there will likely be a spike in foreclosures. But that could be offset by short sales becoming easier.

Susan Varley, owner of Real Pros Real Estate in Corona, is showing a house for sale that was once a foreclosure. Believe it or not, it is somewhat of a rarity. For the past several months, foreclosures all but dried up, even in the Inland Empire.

"The truth is, there's not a lot of foreclosures right now," said Varley.
But in 2011, that's expected to change.

This now-remodeled house will likely face more competition. Banks had a moratorium on foreclosures, especially during the holidays.

But this year, some experts believe banks will release more foreclosures into the housing market.
Varley doesn't think that will change things much in Southern California.

"I think we will see an increase in foreclosures, but I don't know if a dramatic enough increase to really impact our market," said Varley.

What happens with foreclosures in 2011 may be dependent on what happens with "short sales." Short sales are when a home is sold for less than the property owner owes on it. In the past, the banks have taken quite a bit of time to do a short sale. But that's about to change.

"The banks are getting a better handle on the short-sale process, and the time frames are speeding up quite a bit," said realtor Mike Belger. "This property we're standing in right now has been on the market with a short-sale negotiator about three and a half months, and we just actually got a full approval today on it."

Even though short sales like on this Corona condominium are 40 to 50 percent of the Inland Empire market, it used to take six to nine months or longer to complete a short sale, and that was not good for most buyers.

"You waited nine months. By the time you got your approval, the buyer was gone or had bought something else," said Belger.

But with faster short sales and more inventory at good prices, 2011 is looking up.
"I wouldn't call it a banner year, but I expect it to get better than it was last year," said Belger. "2011 will be better than 2010."

Property Appreciation Expected in 40% of Major Metro Areas in 2011

2011-01-03T10:56:00.000-08:00

According to a recent update to the real estate market forecast from Veros Real Estate Solutions, select markets in the United States can expect 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent appreciation in home values over the next 12 months.

Although only mild appreciation is expected, approximately 40 percent of all major metro areas are forecast to see property values go up in 2011, Veros said.

The California-based provider of enterprise risk management and collateral valuation services predicts that San Diego’s consistent pattern of having one of the strongest home price appreciations will continue in 2011.

Washington State’s tri-city area; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Fargo, North Dakota; and the Washington, D.C., metro area will follow San Diego in home appreciation values.

“Smaller metro markets with populations less than 250,000 make up the majority of the better appreciating markets,” said Eric Fox, Veros’ VP of statistical and economic modeling, crediting affordability factors.

Projected Five Strongest Markets
San Diego / Carlsbad / San Marcos, CA +3.5%
Kennewick / Richland / Pasco, WA +3.4%
Pittsburgh, PA +2.7%
Fargo, ND-MN +2.6%
Washington / Arlington / Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV +2.5%

Veros also predicts generally good forecasts in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Iowa, with a strengthening trend spreading to parts of the Midwest.

Florida; Reno, Nevada; and Boise, Idaho, will see the nation’s greatest depreciation rates in the coming 12 months. Six of the 10 U.S. markets expecting the greatest depreciation are in Florida.

Projected Five Weakest Markets
Reno / Sparks, NV -7.2%
Orlando / Kissimmee, FL -6.5%
Boise City / Nampa, ID -6.4%
Deltona / Daytona Beach / Ormond Beach, FL -6.3%
Port St. Lucie / Fort Pierce, FL -6.3%

“It is noteworthy that depreciating forecasts remain much better than those from a year ago with nothing worse than 7 percent depreciation,” Fox said.

Fox continued, “A year ago, we were seeing some markets with depreciation rates in the double-digit range. So while things aren’t happening rapidly, the forecast indicates they are getting better.”

Source: DSNews

Toni Patillo & Associates
Broker Of Record l DRE#0313287
Keller Williams Realty Santa Monica
2701 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 140 • Santa Monica, CA 90405
Office (310) 482-2035 • Fax(424) 744-4148

Obama Pledges $1.5B for Unemployed and Underwater Homeowners

2010-12-30T09:23:00.000-08:00

The administration announced a new initiative Friday to help the nation’s hardest hit housing markets. President Obama has allocated $1.5 billion in aid for states where unemployment is high and home prices have fallen more than 20 percent in the aftermath of the housing bubble.

Home prices across the country are beginning to stabilize since the administration’s economic policies began to take effect almost a year ago. But local conditions vary considerably, and the administration says the legacy of price declines, together with the effects of high unemployment, means that many homeowners in especially hard-hit areas are still facing serious challenges.

The president is setting up an “innovation fund” for state housing agencies to develop assistance programs for underwater, as well as unemployed homeowners in their communities. There will be a formula for allocating funding among eligible states based on home price declines and unemployment rates.

According to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the money will go to support homeowners in California, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, and Michigan.

The Treasury must approve each Housing Finance Agency’s (HFA) program design, which can include direct assistance for the unemployed and borrowers who owe more than their home is worth, as well as programs that address the challenges of second liens.

“The funds must be used to pay for mortgage modifications or for other permitted uses under” federal guidelines, the White House said in a statement.

Since the recession began in 2008, unemployment has hit many families who own homes. Those in states where prices have dropped more than 20 percent often find themselves owing more than the house is worth. Such homes are often difficult to sell, and homeowners without a job often can’t pay the mortgage and may not have enough income to qualify for a modification. In such circumstances, the administration said, one use of funds would be for HFAs to begin programs to help unemployed homeowners until they have secured a new job.

For states where home prices have plummeted, a large percentage of homeowners are finding themselves underwater on the mortgage. In this case too, a sale is often difficult to secure because lenders may not agree to a transaction that fails to pay back the mortgage in full. The White House said HFAs should experiment with programs that will help borrowers negotiate with lenders to write down mortgages.

In addition to the two top-of-mind housing challenges of unemployment and negative equity, problems can also arise when borrowers have a home equity line of credit or other second mortgage on their home.

The first mortgage lender may be willing to adjust to the home price decline by modifying the loan, but difficulties often surface in coordinating mortgage relief between the first and second lien holders. To circumvent such snags and assure homeowners get an overall modification that truly improves their situation, the administration says HFA funds can be used to pay incentives to second mortgage holders and ensure collaboration.

State HFAs will determine the priorities facing their local markets. The administration said agencies’ plans will be under strict transparency and accountability rules, with all funded program designs and success measurements posted online.

The Treasury is expected to announce maximum state level allocations in the next two weeks, along with rules governing the submission of program designs by HFAs.

Source: DS News

2010 Year in Review

2010-12-29T11:30:00.000-08:00

157 banks were closed/taken over by the FDIC in 2010 (as of early December).

• 30-year fixed mortgage rates hit a 50+ year low of 4.17 percent

• Robo-signing scandal hit the big box banks in the Fall. The “fall-out” from these investigations is still developing.

• Average day until final foreclosure teeters near 500 days (it was half that in January 2008).

• The real estate market remained fragile throughout the year.

• An estimated 1 in 4 homes in America is under water in value.

• Americans are actually making strides in reducing their debt as well as increase their savings.

• It is estimated that as many as 1 in 4 property sales in 2010 were distressed properties.

• HAMP program and other permanent loan modifications provided by mortgage servicers will total nearly 1.5 million for 2010.

• Short sales were up 128% for Fannie Mae loans and 115% for Freddie Mac-backed notes. (through first nine months of 2010, which is the latest data released to date).

• REO property totals—at the end of the third quarter 2010 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s number of combined REOs totaled nearly 300,000. The big box banks are far more tight-lipped about their REO totals but, with the number of foreclosures they have been performing in the last two years, it would be easy to see where each of the top six biggies like Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Chase each have at least that number on the books. That would make REO holdings into the millions.

• Shadow inventory is estimated to be at least 2.1 million properties (based on data released by CoreLogic in November, citing August 2010 totals).

• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stocks end the year valued at under $1 each and are delisted by the New York Stock Exchange.

• National unemployment rate teeters in the 9.5 to 10 percent range throughout the year.

• The Realtor herd continues to thin, with NAR reporting 2010 membership totals (as of Nov. 30, 2010) of 1,079,687 million—down nearly 300,000 from NAR’s peak membership year of 2006.

Source: Short Sale Daily News

Toni Patillo & Associates
Broker Of Record l DRE#0313287
Keller Williams Realty Santa Monica
2701 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 140 • Santa Monica, CA 90405
Office (310) 482-2035 • Fax(424) 744-4148

2 Brokers Opens for Tomorrow 12/28/10

2010-12-27T20:49:00.000-08:00

La City Short Sales will be holding a brokers open tomorrow 12/28/10, from 11am-2pm for the following properties:

7307 W 90TH ST

LOS ANGELES, CA

LP: $639,000

BR: 3.00
BA: 1.00
SF: 1683

Beautifully renovated west of Lincoln, Westchester home. This home has been tastefully redone throughout with hardwood floors, recessed lighting, plantation shutters, 2 woodburning fireplaces and many custom touches. Designer kitchen with custom maple cabinets, granite counters, ss appliances and separate laundry room. The expansive lushly landscaped rear yard with a hot tub and water fountains is like a private retreat. Great house, great price, huge lot, bring your discriminating clients. This is a Short Sale. Listing Agents are distress property specialist. Agents see private remarks for further details and showing instructions.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=348310&id=337134778760

4646 DON LORENZO DR #A, Los Angeles, CA 90008

LP: $199,000

BR: 2.00
BA: 2.00
SF: 1,705

Fantastic Deal and Great Location! You will fall in love with this well kept and upgraded condo featuring formal dinning and, living room. Upgrades include granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, and pergo floors. This 2 bed/2 bath gem also has a spacious family room perfect for entertaining. The master suite has a walk-in closet, and a cozy fireplace. Direct 2-car garage, inside laundry, central air/heating, recessed lighting and a private balcony. Great parks in walking distance! This is a Short Sale. Listing Agents are distressed property specialist's. Agents see private remarks for further details and showing instructions.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=348085&id=337134778760

Thank you we hope to see you there!

Toni Patillo & Associates
Broker Of Record l DRE#0313287
Keller Williams Realty Santa Monica
2701 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 140 • Santa Monica, CA 90405
Office (310) 482-2035 • Fax(424) 744-4148

Mortgage Rates Predicted to Stay Below 5% in 2011

2010-12-27T11:11:00.000-08:00

With 30-year fixed mortgage rates hitting their lowest level since the 1950s in November 2010 at 4.17 percent, rates had nowhere to go but up. And up they did, with marked of nearly a half percent in a matter of weeks. However, for the last week in December, rates are again declining. So where does that leave us for 2011?

According to Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist Frank Nothaft, these long-term mortgage interest rates will stay below 5 percent throughout 2011.

“While some rise in fixed-rates is expected, 30-year fixed-rate loans are likely to remain below 5 percent throughout the year, and initial rates on 5/1 hybrid ARMs [adjustable-rate mortgages] will likely remain below 4 percent in 2011,” predicted Nothaft.

The Freddie Mac economist said home value weakness would continue in 2011, thanks largely to high inventory levels of for-sale homes and REO properties. Northaft predicts U.S. price indexes are very close to bottoming out and will finish doing so in the first half of 2011. From there, a gradual yet sustained recovery will take hold. This will make buyer affordability the best its been in decades and Northaft expects more first-time buyers will enter the market in 2011, resulting in more home sales for 2011 than happened in 2010.

Source: Short Sale Daily News

With buyer affordability the best it has been in several years, now is the time to buy! Lets work together to find you the home of your dreams!

Toni Patillo & Associates
Broker Of Record l DRE#0313287
Keller Williams Realty Santa Monica
2701 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 140 • Santa Monica, CA 90405
Office (310) 482-2035 • Fax(424) 744-4148

5 Things You Need to Know When Short-Selling an Investment Property

2010-12-20T23:01:00.000-08:00

As the market continues to drag on and owners are realizing their need to rent for a couple of years until the market comes back, it is affecting them in many ways. Most of these types of owners can’t afford the repairs and maintenance, the vacancy costs, and some are upside down every month if the rent is less than the monthly mortgage note. So, we are finding more and more owners who have been renting their homes are finally giving up and turning to us to help sell the property via short sale. The challenge with this is that most of the properties are tenant-occupied.

Here are five things you need to know in order to short-sell an investment property:

1. If you have a tenant in the property, you need to read the lease to determine if you can show the property. The tenant has the right to quiet enjoyment under landlord tenant law. This means the landlord can’t just put the property on the market and expect that the tenant will be OK with showing the property.

2. Most leases have a period of the last 60 days of the lease to show the property, so if you aren’t in that time period, you can terminate the lease and provide 60 days notice. This will provide you with the right to show the property to perspective tenants while still receiving income. Make sure you understand what is owed to the tenant for breaking your lease contract and factor that into the financial equation.

3. If you are using a professional property management firm, ask them for the total fees for breaking the management contract. Sometimes, if you use the management company to assist you with the transaction, they will lower your termination fees, but make sure you get an exact amount from them in writing.

4. The bank doesn’t like that the owner has been receiving rent on the property and not paying the note. You can expect that the bank will make you come to closing with some type of funds. What we have seen is typically two months rent as the expectation that the bank will want. However, be aware that it may be more.

5. If you are thinking about short-selling the property to an investor, you will need to handle the transaction with care. In this case, the new owner will want the tenant to stay in place. So, you have to make sure that the tenant feels comfortable with the transition. This is a lot easier said than done.

Source: http://shortsaledailynews.com/5-things-to-consider-when-short-selling-an-investment-property/

Toni Patillo & Associates
Broker Of Record l DRE#0313287
Keller Williams Realty Santa Monica
2701 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 140 • Santa Monica, CA 90405
Office (310) 482-2035 • Fax(424) 744-4148

Showing Sunday 12/19 from 2-4 PM

2010-12-17T11:52:00.000-08:00

La City Short Sales will have an open showing of 100 S. Doheny Dr. this Sunday 12/19 from 2-4 PM.

LP: $321,000

1 Bed

1.5 Bath

SPACIOUS 1-BED-1.5bath + Den floor plan with hardwood floors and smooth ceilings. Unit is located on the quite side of the building and overlooks lush grassy area and tennis court. This highly desirable full service building is located adjacent to Beverly Hills and The Beverly Center, Cedars Sinai and The Four Seasons. Building also features lushly landscaped pool & spa areas, tennis court, gym and 24 hour security guards. This is one of the few 1 bedroom units that come with 2 parking spaces. This is a Short Sale, Excellent Value – Agents see private remarks for more details. Listing Agents are Certified Pre-foreclosure Specialists.

In today's challenging Los Angeles real estate market, selecting the right real estate agent is crucial. It can make all the difference in the world. Whether you're planning on buying, selling, or you just have a question, feel free to call Toni Patillo. We service the Greater Los Angeles, the Westside, Beverly Hills, and more.

Toni Patillo & Associates
Broker Of Record l DRE#0313287
Keller Williams Realty Santa Monica
2701 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 140 • Santa Monica, CA 90405
Office (310) 482-2035 • Fax(424) 744-4148

Up to 23,000 condo projects could lose FHA eligibility in 2011

2010-12-16T07:45:00.000-08:00

According to the National Association of Realtors, 23,000 condo projects are on the verge of losing their eligibility for FHA-guaranteed sales and refinancing after 2,200 projects have already lost eligibility.

The FHA set standards last year that require condominium projects that are FHA approved before 2007 to renew their approvals by December 7, 2010 and NAR projects roughly 25,000 have missed the cutoff date.

Given the staggering number of projects that did not renew, FHA extended the deadlines out to 2011 but the 2,200 projects with the oldest approvals became ineligible this month.

With so many projects being stripped of FHA eligibility, the condo market could look a little different in the coming year having taken this hit. It will be interesting to see at the end of next year how the number compares to the current 2,200 ineligible projects.

From AgentsGenius.com

In today's challenging Los Angeles real estate market, selecting the right real estate agent is crucial. It can make all the difference in the world. Whether you're planning on buying, selling, or you just have a question, feel free to call Toni Patillo. We service the Greater Los Angeles, the Westside, Beverly Hills, and more.

Toni Patillo & Associates
Broker Of Record l DRE#0313287
Keller Williams Realty Santa Monica
2701 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 140 • Santa Monica, CA 90405
Office (310) 482-2035 • Fax(424) 744-4148

Empowering You All Ways

Feds Force Recompense from Robo-signers

Call Toni Real Estate Show - Starting Feb 4, 2012

Foreclosure Starts Decline on West Coast

How to get a HAMP Loan Modification

California and Nevada AGs Announce Mortgage Investigation Alliance

4 Keys To Saving For Your Future Home

Mutifamily Properties for the First Time??

Weird Video Makes You Think??

Thinking of Selling Your Home FSBO??

Properly Marketing Your Property

Asking Price & Showings

Negotiations & Contracts

If you're looking to buy a fixer upper here are some rules to follow:

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Sues Law Firms Engaged in National "Mass Joinder" Mortgage Fraud

My Electric Bill is HOW MUCH??

Today’s Loan Modification Scams Exploit Foreclosure Crisis

How Loan Modification Scams Work

Get Out of Debt?

Mortgage Fraud and the Foreclosure Crisis

Fighting Loan Modification Scams

Hallmarks of Loan Modification Scams

Job Loss Could Put One in Three Out of Their Home

By: Carrie Bay

Homeowners Beware: Mortgage Mod Scammers Are Selling an Audit to Nowhere

List of Foreclosure Trustees and Posting Websites

Trustees and Posting Companies

Trustees

POSTING COMPANIES

Foreclosures: Uncle Sam and His 248,000 Homes

West Coast States See a Surge in New Foreclosures

Price Reduced! Buyer fell out of escrow

Banks Now Prefer Short Sales to Foreclosures

17446 Tiara St, Encino, CA - 2 beds/1 bath

Home prices rise again, but experts are unimpressed

Brokers open today 7/26/11 2485 ARMACOST AVE , LOS ANGELES 90064

California foreclosure starts fall to lowest level in four years

Southern California housing market improves slightly in June

Investors to the rescue of housing market

Two Opens Today

New Listing: 4631 ALLA RD # 6, MARINA DEL REY 90292

New Listings

California May Home Sales

RealtyTrac's Housing Recovery Forecast

Freddie Mac: 30-year mortgage rate levels off at 4.5%

APPROVED SHORT SALE AS OF TODAY 6-20-11 BUYER BACKED OUT LAST WEEK

Three big banks fail in foreclosure relief program

Homes prices hit new lows in March

Report: Investment Buyers Strengthen Foreclosed Home Sales

New-home sales rise 7.3% in April

New Listings 5/25/11

8612 CADILLAC AVE , LOS ANGELES 90034

$349,0002 Bed

1 Bath

You'll appreciate this charming starter home located in the quant neighborhood of Beverlywood, the 2 bedroom, 1 bath remodel has amazing value. The open floor plan offers generous bedrooms with beautiful

Sale. Listing Agent is a Certified Pre-Foreclosure Specialist with an In-House Negotiation Team.

17111 PALISADES CIR , PACIFIC PALISADES 90272

Nontraditional data may help mortgage applicants

Mortgage rates drift lower, Freddie Mac says

New Listing: 7120 LA TIJERA BLVD #D101, LOS ANGELES 90045

Buyer Fell Out- Bank countered at $250,000.

Short Sales Lead Real Estate Market in March

Today's Real Estate Market a 'Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity'

Freddie Mac Predicts 5% Increase for Home Sales in 2011

OPEN HOUSE TOMORROW SUNDAY 4/10/11 from 2pm-5pm

California expands its foreclosure relief effort

Proposed settlement would force banks to allow short sales for delinquent homeowners

REO Influx: How the foreclosure floodgates opening will affect the short sale market

Investor Interest Remains High During 3 Year Low

Freddie Mac Launches YouTube Videos to Dispel Foreclosure Myths

Local Events: 2nd Glass Wine Riot (Santa Monica)

Obama extends foreclosure prevention program

New Listings 3/13 - 3/19

U.S. Real Estate Looks Promising to Global Foreign Investors

California Realtors push for easier short sales

Developer unveils high-rise condos for site near Century City

Investment Mogul Predicts Housing Recovery in 2011

American Government Holds 360,000 REOs

Real Estate Investing with Short Sales

Report: Distressed Homes Accounted for Nearly Half of January Sales

$349,000

2 Bed