Sell My Short Sales

Los Angeles, California

The numbers don’t lie, and if you think that California real estate is better check out the information below, and you determine for your self.
Every one knows of the hardest hit states in the country through the foreclosure crisis has been California.
California Pre Foreclosures have been consistently high in Los Angeles County, which has 3.08 percent of its households in foreclosure; Orange County has 3.42 percent of families in foreclosure, followed by San Diego at 4.26, San Bernardino with 7.31, and Riverside is still first with 9.27 percent of families in foreclosure.

With Los Angeles Pre Foreclosure down, the outlook for the region is positive you would suspect, as the area has seen foreclosure rates decline on average 25 percent from the November 2008 to November 2009;however we have not seen the eye of the storm as of yet.
The cities with the highest numbers of Notice of Default and Notice of Trustee Sales are Los Angeles (1120), San Diego (1067), Riverside (717), and Corona (505).
Jeff Coga, a short sale investor in Southern California pulled local data, and it clearly showed over 20,000 notice of defaults, and over 31,000 trust deed sales set between January- March. This is a frightening number as it could even be higher as the holiday Moratorium is now officially over today 1/04/2010.
Bernie Germani, another short sale investor in Southern California said ” that 2010 will be no different than 2009 as far as the real estate market in California. We are still declining, and I don’t care what the media tells you, We Aren’t On A Recovery Road Yet. The option arms that are going to adjust this year, and next year we will see many many new foreclosures, and these are good credit borrowers. Don’t let the media trick you into believing we have the bottom of the market.”

Written By:
Susan Park

Popularity: 44% [?]

Remember it was first the sub-prime market and now mortgage experts agree, adjustable rate mortgages combined with rising unemployment and falling property values could create another economic storm capable of ravaging the weak economic recovery. Here’s a quick breakdown of the ARM Storm-Tracker for those savvy short sale investors to beginning their planning:

Resetting Rates: Current interest rates are at or near historic lows with 30 year fixed mortgages below 5 percent while ARM’s are likely to readjust and drive the cost of monthly mortgage payments to double their former payments. Unfortunately, many current ARM holders do not qualify for refinancing due to changes in employment status, high loan to value ratios and increased debt to income percentages.

Evaporating Equity: Not only did millions of Americans take out Adjustable rate mortgages but they built additions and over-improved their homes based upon loans. As home values fell, so did the equity reserves required to refinance their ARM mortgages. Whether it was a first mortgage with minimal down payment or a second (and even third) mortgage, lower property values have all but erased excess equity from a large number of buyers.

Cheaper to Walk: Many homeowners are finding it less expensive to simply walk away from rapidly rising mortgage, rent for awhile then repurchase. According to industry experts, a significant number of homeowners are capable of making the mortgage payment but simply don’t desire to do so given the cost of purchasing the same home after foreclosure. Jesus Yinh of Exit Real Estate Group, said ” he has seen a trend of this happening in the mid Wilshire area of Los Angeles.” Current homeowners are eligible for FHA loans in as few as three years after default – creating an inverse incentive to continuing paying on a property worth tens (or even hundreds) of thousands dollars less than the existing mortgage.

Renting an Increased Option: Throughout the nation lenders are getting creative in order to reduce the inflow of defaulting properties on their portfolio; one of the more popular options among existing homeowners is the ability to rent your current property for a specified period of time.

ReFi with an ARM? It’s true, the FHA has a 3.87 five year adjustable rate mortgage option designed to help keep payments affordable. Unfortunately, it may simply delay the pain until interest rates continue to rise later. However, with a 2 percent cap on each adjustment/rate increase, it could conceivably buy time for those in unusual short term situations such as temporary illness, job loss of other large expenses. It also has the benefit of “buying time” for the banks and lenders who are in no hurry to acquire even more properties given the current backlog of non-performing properties in their portfolio.

What is a California short sale investor to do? Get ready for the coming wave of ARM properties to hit the market. Be sure your mindset is in place and position yourself to solve problems for both homeowners and lenders in need of a new start. Well first off, please come back shortly to http://www.shortsalewealthbuilders.com/
We can show you how to take advantage of California’s short sale market, and in 2010-2011 it will become California’s second Gold Rush… So saddle up, and get ready for the ride of your life.

Popularity: 39% [?]

Late Monday afternoon The Obama administration came to a conclusion on the final guidelines that may make it easier for some financially troubled borrowers to have the ability to shortsale their homes.

The guidelines are to help encourage the use of short sale transactions in which the borrower with lenders approval sells the home for less than what is owed on the loan.
The program taunts that it will now become easier for borrowers to voluntarily relinquish ownership of properties through a “deed in lieu of foreclosure.” (In the past banks said this program would be rolled out, but it has never quite taken off.) A homeowner just gives the property back voluntary to the bank while being in default, and it was not to have as much damage as a foreclosure to the credit score, but banks balked at this program.

Short sales generally results in higher profits for the bank than a foreclosure, and will have less economic effects to the local neighborhood, because homes aren’t left vacant, they are not exposed to squatters, and vandalism.

The new proposal would allow borrowers to receive $1,500 from the government if they sell their home as a short sale. Mortgage-servicing companies(the companies who manage the mortgage for the investor.) will receive $1,000 for each completed short sale. Is this a big enough incentive for them to get the job done?

The program is open to borrowers who have 1st pursued a government loan modification but did not qualify, or are delinquent on their modification.

This program was first introduced in May, but did not include short sales. This is the Obama administration’s $75 million foreclosure-prevention plan, which include incentives fore mortgage companies and investors to rework these troubled loans.

Under the new guidelines, second- mortgage holders can receive up to $3,000 of the sales proceeds in exchange for releasing their liens.

Another great idea(hopefully it works) is that borrowers who complete a short sale under the new program must be “fully released” from the future liability for the debt.  Susan Park, an Exit Real Estate Group Realtor said ” this will be a huge opportunity for homeowners to help insure no further repercussions of worrying if they will be sued from their lender over the remainder of the mortgage balance.”

Bernie Germani, a short sale investor in California said “he has been waiting for this day to come, but has some reservation that it will not be able to help more people out who truly need this program.”

Jeff Coga, said ” If this program works out the way it is designed to, this will have a very positive impact on the real estate community across the country.”

Popularity: 46% [?]

An unfortunate event in this economic crisis is the increase in short sales and foreclosures of homes, and now The all American Dream may need life support.

In most cases, a short sale is a sale by an owner in which the amount owed on the property is greater than the amount the seller will receive from the sale. We Recommend to our clients that they must obtain an agreement from the lender that the proceeds from the sale will satisfy the debt in full in order to convey clear title to the property to the  new buyer. Lenders are sneaky they will try and have you sign a promissory note for the remainder of the balance, but we always tell our clients to say “No” to this.

A foreclosure or a deed in lieu of foreclosure results in the repossession of a property by the lender due to default on the loan on the part of the borrower. We have heard the Government is offering cash for keys, but we have yet to find 1 homeowner who have recieved that alleged cash.

Each of these events can carry significant tax consequences unless the borrower meets specific exclusions.

With either a short sale or a foreclosure, two distinct, potentially taxable events may occur.
These include: (1) income resulting from the forgiveness of the debt is realized by the homeowner.
(2) gain or loss resulting from the sale of the residence to a third party or deemed sale of the residence to the lender in satisfaction of the debt must also be considered.

The Mortgage Debt Foregiveness Act of 2007 and the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2009 provide tax relief for debt forgiven through a short sale, foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure on a principal residence.

In most cases, in order to qualify as a taxpayer’s principal residence, the taxpayer must own and use the property as their primary residence for periods totaling two out of five years before the sale.  Under Internal Revenue Code Section 108, the discharge of qualified debt incurred to buy, construct or substantially improve a principal residence can be excluded from income if the discharge occurs in calendar years 2007 through 2012. The residence must secure the debt. Up to $2 million of forgiven debt is eligible for this exclusion for married couples filing joint tax returns.

If the taxpayer does not meet the Principal Residence Debt Exclusion under the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act of 2007 or the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2009 discussed above, they must look to other provisions for possible tax relief.

Recourse versus non-recourse

The first step is to determine if the debt is “recourse” or “non-recourse.” If the debt is recourse, the borrower is personally liable for the debt and the lender is able to pursue the borrower’s other assets in satisfaction of the debt.

If the debt is non-recourse, the lender’s remedy is limited to the property and the borrower is not personally liable for any deficiency. In California, most loans incurred to purchase a home are non-recourse. Mortgages from refinancing a previous mortgage or home equity line of credit are typically recourse.

Cancellation of indebtedness

The second step is to determine if a taxpayer has cancellation of indebtedness (COI) income. When a property subject to non-recourse debt is foreclosed on or is sold subject to a short sale, the property is treated as being sold for the balance of the mortgage. Therefore, there is no COI income.

For property subject to a recourse loan, COI income is the difference between the principal balance of the debt and the fair market value of the property securing the debt.

There are specific exceptions to this, including the Principal Residence Debt Exclusion, which blurs the distinction between recourse and non-recourse debt in determining the type and amount of discharged debt eligible for favorable tax treatment.

Gain or loss on sale

The third step is to determine the gain or loss on the sale of the property.

Short sales, foreclosures and deeds in lieu of foreclosure are treated as sales or deemed sales for tax purposes.

The gain or loss is determined by subtracting the net sales price of the property from the owner’s adjusted basis in the property.

The adjusted basis of the property is generally equal to the purchase price plus costs to acquire the property and improvement costs less any depreciation taken.

The selling price is equal to the outstanding principal balance of the loan in the case of non-recourse debt and the price that a third party would pay for the property if the loan is recourse, less any transaction expenses related to the sale.

This article focuses on the income tax aspects of foreclosures and short sales involving principal residences and other personal property.

The above information relates only to federal income taxes under the Internal Revenue Code. SB 1055 in California was intended to make California laws more closely conform to federal legislation and was only effective for 2007 and 2008. This legislation has expired. Conformity legislation has been introduced that would adopt the same rules as provided under federal law through 2010.

But with the current budget situation in California, its enactment may be in jeopardy.

Our local economy has been heavily impacted by the tightening mortgage market and the liberal loan policies of the early to mid 2000s.

If you are involved in any form of debt restructuring or a forced sale of property, you should consult with your tax adviser to gain an understanding of how these settlements will affect your federal and California income tax returns.

It is our expectation that The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 and the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 will provide some tax relief to those individuals having to face these difficult decisions.

We are not tax experts, we are just an Exit Real Estate Group/ short sale investorsin Southern California. Please consult your own CPA or attorney for more clarification that would pertain to your situation.

Popularity: 43% [?]

Fannie Mae announced a program aimed at helping ordinary home buyers compete with investors for foreclosed homes. We are not sure this is a right choice, because across the nation real estate investors have less than 10% foreclosure rate.

Under the program, dubbed First Look, Fannie plans to consider offers only from potential owner-occupants and certain public-housing entities during the first 15 days in which a foreclosed home is on the market.

Fannie and its main rival, Freddie Mac, are government-controlled companies that buy or guarantee home mortgages. They are among the biggest owners of foreclosed homes. As of Sept. 30, Fannie said it had 72,275 single-family foreclosed homes on its books. Freddie had 41,133 as of that date.

Bernie Germani said” many of us real estate investors can move faster on home purchases because we are able to pay cash and don’t have to wait to qualify for a loan and get an appraisal. Investors often turn the homes into rental units or resell them to other buyers for a quick profit. People seeking to take advantage of the drop in housing prices to buy their first homes have been grousing that they often lose bidding wars to investors.”

Fannie said it also would help owner-occupants acquire homes by reducing deposit requirements to as little as $500 and giving them a chance to renegotiate offers after appraisals. Such buyers also are to be allowed as many as 45 days to complete the transaction, up from the usual 30 days.

A Freddie spokesman said the company has similar pilot programs and is helping owner-occupants pay closing costs.

Fannie announced Tuesday that 4.72% of the single-family home loans it owns or guarantees were 90 days or more overdue in September, up from 4.45% in August and 1.72% in September 2008.

Jesus Yinh, and Susan Park, short sale investors in Southern California said ” We are not sure why Fannie would even consider this program. Us investors are the ones who are helping the economy not adding to the foreclosure challenges, but at the same time we welcome the competition of non-investors.”

Popularity: 17% [?]

Housing stats slowed significantly in October, falling by 10.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 529,000, the Census Bureau and HUD reported yesterday.

Housing starts are 30.7 percent below the October 2008 rate of 763,000. Single-family housing starts in October were at a rate of 476,000; this is 6.8 percent below the revised September figure of 511,000. The October rate for units in buildings with 5+ units was 48,000, down 33.3 percent from 72,000 in September.

Total housing stats are at their lowest level since April, single-family starts are at their lowest level since May and multifamily starts are the lowest in the history of the series, which goes back 50 years.

All regions saw declines in single-family starts; the Midwest had the smallest decline with 4.8 percent, followed by the West, down 5.9 percent; the South, down 7.3 percent; and the Northeast, down 9.6 percent.

Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 552,000. This is 4.0 percent below the revised September rate of 575,000 and is 24.3 percent below the October 2008 estimate of 729,000. Single-family authorizations in October were at a rate of 451,000; this is 0.2 percent below the revised September figure of 452,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 85,000 in October.

Privately owned housing completions in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 740,000. This is 1.9 percent above the revised September estimate of 726,000, but is 29.9 percent below the October 2008 rate of 1,055,000. Single-family housing completions in October were at a rate of 528,000; this is 10.7 percent above the revised September figure of 477,000. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 200,000.

Earlier this week, the National Association of Home Builders reported that its Home Builder Index remained unchanged at 17. According to the index, a reading below 50 indicates negative sentiment; still, the index is up from its low of 9 earlier this year.

Additionally, the Labor Department reported yesterday that its Consumer Price Index rose by 0.3 percent in October, with core inflation (excluding energy and food) rising by 0.2 percent.

Data show the higher numbers were driven by an increase in energy prices in October, as well as higher prices for new cars, used cars and used trucks, all of which saw their highest price jumps since 1980. The Labor Department said the increase in new and used car prices, fueled in part by the Cash for Clunkers program, represented 90 percent of the increase in core inflation. Cash for Clunkers increased demand for new cars and reduced inventory.

Jesus Yinh, a Realtor with Exit Real Estate Group said ” that in the mid Wilshire area of Los Angeles I have seen a slight drop in value the last 6 months, but it appears to have affected the commercial market more than residential.”

Popularity: 10% [?]

Fannie Mae has announced a new program ostensibly designed to “stem the tide of foreclosures” but actually encourages more foreclosures and seems likely to harm the ability of individual investors to participate in the foreclosure marketplace:
Last Thursday Fannie Mae announced their new “Deed For Lease” program, through which home owners facing foreclosure can deed their property to Fannie Mae in exchange for a 1-year lease (with likely extensions) at current market rates.  This program is expected to only be available to those who have tried and failed at other solutions such as loan modifications or other loan work-out solutions.

Fannie Mae is an extension of the U.S. Government, therefore what’s actually happening here is that the government is dramatically expanding its role as an owner of private residences. Is this going to be a continued trend? And is this even legal, or reasonable?

Jesus Yinh believes this is not good for real estate investors, and believes  that the federal government should have an extremely limited role in our lives, and that’s particularly true when it comes to ownership of homes.

The fact of the matter is that the federal government tends to use its financial assets and capabilities as vote-buying leverage.  That’s what welfare is.  That’s what Social Security & Medicare are.  That’s what the new health care legislation will become as well.
And the new Deed for Lease program will be just another pawn used by whatever administration is in power.

What do we need to do then? Well for starters join the Short Sale Wealth Builder Institute here in  California, so that we can help navigate you through the short sale process.

Jeff Coga, said “he knows there is a need for short sale investors here in California to do the business correctly, and that is what the Short Sale Wealth Builders is all about. We do the business with all CAR forms that Realtors are accustomed to. This organization is going to help people before the foreclosure ever happens.”

Popularity: 20% [?]

On Friday afternoon the mortgage giant Freddie Mac posted a $5 billion net loss(Yes Billion not Million) in Q309 and $10.4 billion net worth in Q309.  It purchased or guaranteed $125 billion in mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities, including $91 billion in single-family refinancing, allowing more than 78,000 borrowers in Q309 to modify under the Administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), through which the Treasury allocates capped incentives to servicers that pursue modifications for at-risk borrowers.  The company’s single-family guarantee portfolio continued to deteriorate in the quarter, with the single-family delinquency rate climbing to 3.33% as of September 30, from 2.78% at June 30 as foreclosure time-lines increased and a high volume of seriously delinquent loans were kept in trial modification periods in HAMP. We continued to see some positive housing market developments, including higher volumes of home sales and modest increases in house prices in certain areas of the country. What does this mean?

Jeff Coga, a real estate investor in Southern California told me “  Home prices in some Southern California markets appear to be stabilizing, although the many markets(Inland Empire) will take a little longer to turn around. Home prices have adjusted to levels which make existing homes more affordable, sales are increasing and conditions are becoming better.
However with that said and done there are factors  Jeff believes high unemployment, excess inventory and rising foreclosures will continue to impede a full recovery for some time and put further downward pressure on house prices. Jeff expects there will be a request for additional funds from the Treasury Department as this prolonged deterioration of market conditions continues to negatively impact our financial results.”

Popularity: 12% [?]

The number one question I hear from my clients is “Bernie please explain the APR.”

Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is a tool that consumers can use as a starting point to compare loan programs. However, it’s important to keep in mind that APR is not a perfect system, and not all lenders calculate APR in the same way. While the Federal Truth-in-Lending Act does require any mortgage broker or lender to disclose APR to the consumer, there is no rule written in stone for calculating this number that each and every lender agrees upon.

The point of calculating APR is to let the consumer know what the actual cost of their financing is in the form of a yearly rate. APR factors in certain closing costs and fees associated with the loan, and spreads this total over the life of the loan along with the actual note rate. The objective is to give the consumer a clearer picture of what their actual costs are, and this inhibits lenders from hiding fees or upfront costs behind low interest rates in their advertising.

Fees that are generally included in the APR calculation are points, pre-paid interest, loan processing fees, underwriting fees, document preparation fees, and private mortgage insurance. On occasion, lenders will include a loan application fee and/or credit life insurance. Fees that are normally not included in the APR calculation are fees from Title, Escrow, attorney, notary, document preparation, home inspection, recording, transfer taxes, credit report and appraisal.

Remember, all lenders do not perform the calculation the same way. Moreover, APR does not consider the possibility of making pre-payments, moving or refinancing. Unless the interest rate is tied to a fixed instrument, APR is even more confusing. Calculating APRs on adjustable rate and balloon mortgages is more complex because we really have no way of knowing what future rates will be.

If all lenders calculated APR the same way, we could make easy comparisons when deciding on what loan program to go with. Since they don’t, the consumer should know that APR is simply a starting point for comparison. They should rely on the skills of a well-versed loan professional to assist them in obtaining the loan that meets their specific needs. The more important things to consider are how long the loan is needed. What are the long-term goals of the borrower? If the homebuyer only expects to stay in the home for five years, there’s not a lot of sense in looking exclusively at 30-Year Fixed rates because the APR seems more reasonable. If a young couple is buying a home, knowing they will refinance in eight years to pay for their son’s college education, then once again, APR is not a realistic factor to take into consideration.

The Loan Executive should be prepared to answer questions about APR once the lender provides the Truth-in-Lending Disclosure Statement (Reg Z), such as why the “amount financed” listed in Box C is not the same as the actual loan amount, and why the APR is higher than the interest rate on the loan in most cases. The consumer will get a clear definition about the fees associated with their loan in the good-faith estimate, but the Truth-in-Lending Disclosure is often an area that is confusing to the borrower.

Popularity: 15% [?]

It looks as though the goverment is trying to add more incentives for lenders to start pursuing short sales more aggressively. Taking the new foreclosing numbers into consideration the banks should take this incentive and run with it.

According to the Treasury Department, $10 Billion Dollars of government money will be directly available to lenders to aid in loan modifications, costs associated with doing short sales, and to catch up with all the delinquent payments. The funds will only be distributed to those lenders who agree to get rid of the bad assets from their books through short sales over any other method.

Although the details of the aid haven’t been finalized the 3 most important incentives for lenders are:

1. Extra $1,000 to lenders who agree to a short sale

2. Buyers will receive $1,500 towards closing costs and fees

3. 2nd lien holders will receive $1,000

There’s no doubt that the $10 Billion Dollar aid will entice the lenders to cooperate with short sale filings but the change also needs to come from within the Loss Mitigation Departments to expedite the processing of these deals. I think this is a great first step towards trying to untangle the massive web of foreclosures but will it be enough to prevent another real estate crash from happening?

There were 937,840 new foreclosure filings this quarter, a 5% increase from last quarter and a 23% increase from the third quarter of 2008. This doesn’t even account for the 7 million foreclosure homes that haven’t hit the market yet and the foreclosures that are about to happen from the new unemployment.

It’ll be interesting to see how this will all unfold.

Popularity: 8% [?]