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real estate agent

Huntington Beach Short Sales – Expert Success Story

by vbindi on April 27, 2009

Huntington Beach, CA: The team of experts at the ShortSalesASAP Group, has closed over 93% of their short sales in the past 12 months.   Although, statistics gathered from the Orange County Multiple Listing Service (MLS), show that only 39% of all Short Sale properties listed for sale in Huntington Beach in the past 6 months, actually sold and closed Escrow.  Also, the California Association of Realtors recently reported that only about 19% of all Short Sales actually sell and close escrow statewide in California.  Why is the failure rate so high you may ask ? … the reasons are many.

A Short Sale is the most complex of residential real estate transactions. These transactions present a wide variety of obstacles that can easily trip up an inexperienced Realtor who may be a Short Sale novice.   Some of the most common problems that may cause many Huntington Beach Real Estate Agents to fail at a Short Sale are;  1.) lack of planning to avoid common problems,  2.) inexperience that prevents foresee predictable issues,  3.)  weak loss mitigation negotiation skills, and 4.) having too small of a team causing a Realtor to be spread to thin.

Here are some of the more common booby traps that can cause an inexperienced Listing Agent to  fail in a Short Sale;

1.- Listing Agent sets the listing price to low to obtain a quick sale.  Two  months later, the upper management at the  mortgage Banks review the purchase offer price compared to the appraisal.  They then reject the “low ball”  offer since it is not within price tolerances, and then the buyer gives up hope, and the Short Sale often falls apart.

2. – Listing Agent setting price too high.   This results in no showings, no offers, and then the Banks get impatient and may cancel the Short Sale process.

3. – Listing Agent not staying in regular communication with the buyers agent and buyer.  Due to the sometimes long escrow process, the Buyer looses hope and cancels escrow.

4. – Hiring the services of a 3rd party short sale negotiation company.   Many of these 3rd party Short Sale negotiation companies operate nationwide.  Often they receive part of their compensation upfront before the short sale is completed, and are comfortable with a 25% failure rate.  But not us…

5. – Listing Agent not knowing how to effectively package the Seller Short Sale documents in order to to maximize the probability of success.

6. – Listing Agent running one person band.  There are simply too many moving parts and surprises for a single individual to handle effectively.

7. – Listing Agent not managing the independent Bank BPO/Appraisal process.   If the value comes too high, this can sometimes kill the deal, or at the very least cause substantial delays.

8. – Many times, the 1st and 2nd Mortgage Bank don’t agree of the amount of the discounted pay-off amounts.  The Listing agent doesn’t know what to do next, and the deal dies.

9. – The 2nd Mortgage is a HELOC loan, and they agree to the short sale, but they  refuse to  release the homeowner from unpaid debt.   Seller says No and the short sale dies.  We most always get the HELOC debt removed or at the very least, get it highly reduced.

The ShortSalesASAP Group makes sure that none of the traps outlined above happen to their clients. These experts specialize in  Short Sale negotiations, marketing, and sales in Huntington Beach and elsewhere in Orange County  Calif.  We are the highest volume producers of Short Sale closings in Orange County, and we have a verifiable track record of success and close over 93% of our short sales. Our services are free to our clients, for we are paid by the mortgage banks.

Anaheim Short Sale Realtor – Case Study #42

by vbindi on April 14, 2009

Anaheim CA. – Short Sale Case Study #42 -   Our Real Estate brokerage firm specializes in Short Sales throughout Orange County, CA.  In this article, we will outline the completed Short Sale for a detached home located in Anaheim, Ca. that was listed, negotiated and sold by Realtor expert, Nick Roshdieh.   Certain details of this short sale such as;  property address, exact loan amounts, and names will not be quoted exactly to respect the privacy of the previous homeowner.

Anaheim Market Conditions: Due to the severe local housing market recession, and the national mortgage loan crisis, housing values  have decreased substantially in Orange County California as well as Anaheim.  Prices have been dropping about 1% per month for the past 2.5 years, but there are now signs that prices may be leveling off.

Property and Finance Details: The Anaheim short sale property was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage with 2,160 square feet of living area on a large lot.   The home was originally acquired by the homeowner  in May of 2005′  for $745,000 with 20% down, and resulted in a 1st mortgage loan balance of about $596,000.   Two months later a home equity loan (HELOC) was acquired for approximately $85,000, and was used for renovation and additions to the home.  The total loan balance was about $680,000.  3.5 years later, this home dropped in value by about  22%, and the home was upside down by approximately $100,000.

The homeowner lost their job, and was unemployed for a substantial period of time, racking up credit card debts trying to stay current on the home mortgage loans.   After a while they soon realized they were digging themselves a deeper hole, and decided to contact us to conduct a Short Sale.  Our short sale processing is broker down into three phases:

Phase 1 – Prelim Short Sale Approval: After we met with the client and answered all of the questions and concerns, we signed the short sale listing agreement with the homeowner.  Our staff then gathered all of the required documents, reviewed for completeness, packaged and delivered to the 1st and 2nd banks.  Our lead Realtor presented our short sale case to the banks, and after some skilled negotiations, we were able to obtain preliminary approval for the Short Sale with tentative terms and conditions.

During this Phase, the homeowner was living in the home as normal, free from interruptions from other agents or prospective home buyers.  Due to their job loss and subsequent financial hardship, they were living rent free.

Phase 2 – Sales and Marketing: Once we obtained preliminary approval for the short sale, we placed this Anaheim ranch style home on the market for sale. This included listing on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for a price of at a price of $596,900.   After a time of about 3.5 weeks, we made a price adjustment to $587,900.   Two weeks later, we received an offer from a loan qualified buyer for $565,000.   After our several days of skilled negotiation from our expert Realtor, Nick Roshdieh, we arrived at a purchase price of approximately $575,000.

Phase 3 – Short Sale Closing: In the last phase of this short sale endeavor, we acquired the signed offer from the Buyer, and our Realtor interviewed the buyers mortgage lender to make sure the buyer was qualified to purchase this home.   Out expert short sale then began the process of gathering the required Short Sale disclosures, and signatures to present to the banks.  We submitted this package to the 1st and 2nd mortgage banks, and our Realtor began to conduct the final short sale adjustments of the terms, conditions and costs. After some additional negotiations,  our specialists obtained the updated short sale approval letter from the 1st and 2nd Mortgage Banks. Once we received these bank approval letters, we moved forward with the closing of escrow. The last Phase was completed in about 32 days.

Final Results: One – the entire debt on the home was eliminated and the homeowner owed nothing.  If this home had gone through foreclosure, the HELOC in 2nd mortgage position, would have had an unsecured debt similar to a credit card, and would have most likely goen after the homeowner in court to try to obtain a judgment.  But the Short Sale prevented this from occurring.

Two – Due the homeowners job loss and financial hardship, they were allowed to live in the home rent Free for many months, until the close of the short sale escrow.

Three -  Although the homeowners credit is damaged, but is is not as damaged as it would have been if the home was lost via foreclosure.  The homeowner is now working with the credit restoration that we refer to our past clients, and they are on track to having there credit rehabilitated to a level where then can then buy another home in early 2010 if they choose.

ShortSaleASAP is licensed with the California Department of Real Estate, and our team of experts specialize in short sale transactions.  Our services are free to the homeowner, for we negotiate our fee with the mortgage bank(s).  Our conversations with our clients are kept in strict confidence.  We have published an information packed eBook called – “Should I Short Sale My Home”, and can for the time being be downloaded for FREE.   If you have any questions regarding Short Sales, contact our team of experts at: (949) 388-3396 or drop us an email at: Info@ShortSalesASAP.com.

Laguna Niguel Short Sale – Case Study #32

by vbindi on April 5, 2009

Short Sale Case Study #32 -  We will describe another successful Short Sale for a detached home located in Laguna Niguel, Ca.  The details of the short sale such as; property  address, exact loan amounts, and names will not be revealed to protect the privacy of the previous homeowner.

Property and Finance  Details: This Laguna Niguel home was a 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 3 car garage with 3,150 square feet of living area.  This detached home was originally purchased in the Spring of 2004′ for $885,000 with a 10% down mortgage.  In the summer of 2007′ an equity loan (HELOC) was also taken out on the home for about $245,000 with National City Mortgage.   This property was sold via a Short Sale in the winter time of 2009′ by the ShortSalesASAP team.

Market Condition: Home prices have dropped dramatically in southern California due to the severe recession and nationwide financial crisis.  More specifically, prices have been dropping about 1% per month for the past 2.5 years in Laguna Niguel, although there are now signs that prices may be leveling off.   The homeowner experienced a financial hardship and was no longer able to keep current on the mortgage loan payments.   They inquired into a Loan Modification, but even in the most optimistic scenario, they still would have been about $300,000 upside down on their home mortgage.

Preparation Stage: After we signed the listing agreement with the homeowner, we gathered all of the required documents from the homeowner.  After review and packaging, we delivered these documents to the 1st and 2nd banks to present our short sale case.   After some tricky and difficult negotiations, our expert team was able to obtain preliminary approval for the Short Sale with tentative terms and conditions.  During this preliminary short sale approval phase, the homeowner was able to live in the property as normal.  There were no interruptions from other agents or prospective home buyers, and due to their hardship, they were living rent  free.  This Preparation Phase took about 6 weeks to complete.

Sales and marketing Stage: Once the short sale was tentatively approved, we placed this Laguna Niguel property on the market for sale.  It was listed in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for a price of at a price of $825,000.   After a period of about 3 weeks with no offers, we dropped the price to $789,000.   A week later we received an offer from a loan qualified buyer for $735,000.    After several days of counter negotiations,  we obtained a purchase price of  approximately $750,000.

Closing Stage: In the final stage of this short sale process, we obtained the signed offer from the Buyer, and gathered the other required Short Sale disclosures and Buyers loan qualification paperwork.  We submitted this  package to the 1st and 2nd mortgage banks, to conduct the final short sale adjustments of the terms, conditions and costs. After some tough negotiations with our specialists obtained the updated short sale approval letter from the 1st and 2nd Mortgage Banks.  Once we received these bank  approval letters, we moved forward with the closing of escrow. The last Phase was completed in about 21 days.

The result was that the entire debt on the home was removed from the homeowner. The homeowner was able to live in their home during this short sale process and did not make any mortgage payments payments.  Most importantly, if this home were to been lost in Foreclosure,  the 2nd Mortgage HELOC loan would still be owed by the homeowner after the 1st mortgage lender foreclosed.  As a result of this short sale though, the convinced to the 2nd Mortgage Bank to accept to small pay-off we generated for them as a settlement in full.     The homeowner is now working with our credit restoration affiliate and their credit rating should be repaired to a level where they should be able to buy again home by 2010′ .

ShortSaleASAP is licensed with the California Department of Real Estate, and our services are free to the homeowner, for we are paid by the mortgage bank(s). If you have any questions regarding Short Sales, contact our team of experts at: (949) 388-3396 or drop us an email at: Info@ShortSalesASAP.com

Ladera Ranch Short Sale Success Story #38

by vbindi on March 29, 2009

Another successful Short Sale case study for a detached home located in Ladera Ranch, Ca.   This single family detached home was 4 bedroom, 4 bath, 3,568 square foot home, with 3 car garage.  This property was sold and closed escrow in September of 2008,  via a Short Sale by ShortSalesASAP.

This spacious home was bought by the homeowner in December 2006′ for $1,200,000. There was 1st Mortgage with a loan balance of $960,000 serviced by Countrywide Mortgage, and a 2nd Mortgage with a balance of $240,000 serviced by Wells Fargo.  Both loans were fixed rate mortgages.

Real Estate prices have taken a beating in the past 2 years throughout Orange County, CA. and prices have also decreased sharply in Ladera Ranch as well.  This Ladera Ranch home has dropped in value by about 28% in the past 2 years.  The homeowner had a financial hardship and was having difficulty keeping up with their mortgage payments.  They looked into a  Loan Modification, but decided to conduct a Short Sale since they still would have been $325,000 in the hole with this property after the Loan Modification.

PHASE I: This Ladera Ranch home was initially put in our Short Sale Preparation Phase. Here we gather all of the required documents from the homeowner and contact the banks to present our short sale case.  With some hard knock negotiations, our expert team was able to obtain preliminary approval for the Short Sale along with terms and conditions.   This Preparation Phase took about 4 weeks to complete.  During that time the homeowner was able to live in the property as normal, with no interruptions from other agents or prospective home buyers, and due to their hardship, were forced to stop making their mortgage payments and lived rent free.

PHASE II: Phase II was the start of the our Short Sale Marketing-Sales Phase where we market the property for sale extensively on the Internet and in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for a price of at a price of $925,000. After a period of about 2 weeks, we obtained a solid offer from a qualified  buyer for $850,000.   After a couple days of negotiations headed up by our short sale Realtor,  we obtained a purchase price of $875,000.

PHASE III: This final Phase is the Short Sale Bank Closing.   After we obtain the signed offer from the Buyer, we packaged the purchase offer, along with required Short Sale disclosures and Buyers loan qualification paperwork. We submit the updated package to the 1st and 2nd mortgage banks, to conduct the final short sale adjustments of the terms, conditions and costs.   After some tough negotiations with our expert short sale Realtor team, our attorney and the bank officials, we got both the 1st and 2nd Mortgage Banks to agree to this short sale offer of $875,000. Once we received the bank short sale approval letters, we moved forward with the buyers closing through escrow. The last Phase was completed in about 27 days.

The result was that the entire debt on the home was removed from the homeowner. The homeowner was able to live in their home during this short sale process and did not make any mortgage payments payments. They were also able to rent a comparable home for substantially less then what their payments used to be. In addition, the homeowners credit was not as badly damaged as it would have been if the banks had foreclosed. They are now working with our credit restoration affiliate and their credit rating should be repaired to a level where they should be able to buy again home in Irvine by the end of 2009′ .

ShortSaleASAP is licensed with the California Department of Real Estate, and our services are free to the homeowner, for we are paid by the mortgage bank(s). If you have any questions regarding Short Sales, contact our team of experts at: (949) 388-3396 or drop us an email at: Info@ShortSalesASAP.com