Nationally, we have seen between 2% to 7% rise in home prices over the past year. Big California cities have seen the biggest increases. The latest news is based on the increase in prices and reduction in time on market between February 2013 and February 2014. “Black Knight Financial Services released its Home Price…
No list of lenders who most shamelessly obstruct the short sale process is complete without mention of the reverse mortgage lending industry. (“RMLI”) The RMLI has gotten a pass from heavy consumer scrutiny in part because it is a fairly new phenomenon. But the list of abuses is growing and the honeymoon appears to be…
The Senate Finance Committee passed a two year extension of the Mortgage Debt Relief Act. It will be retroactive to 1-1-14. So short selling homeowners whose closings occurred during the first four months of 2014 have a greater hope of not needing to use one of the “work-arounds” we’ve talked about in other blog entries,…
For many of our short sale clients, they waited a little too long to get our help. Nothing breaks our heart more than to interview a new client at the 11th hour and find that the normal techniques for avoiding foreclosure will not work. Most of these negotiated course changes take a few days or…
The bad news: It is nearly two months into 2014 and Congress has not extended the Mortgage Debt Relief Act. (MDRA) The good news: There are still more than 10 months remaining before any taxes may be due for short selling homeowners who close in 2014. If you were a betting person: One of our…
Yes Virginia, there really is a Santa Clause! In some cases, Sellers can get out of an upside down residence or investment property without a short sale. We naturally encourage shortsales because: (1) less damage to your credit than a foreclosure, bankruptcy or ongoing loan payment default; (2) The client experiences Closure as compared…
The House Bill and budget has been sent to the Senate as I write today. It does NOT include an extension of the exemption that expired 12-31-13 for treating forgiven debt as income. There are still advocates for the extension of the exemption and this is the latest information available as of today: Bill Seeks…
My investor and flipper clients still tell me about homes that they have bought at auction that are stripped of all copper wiring, HVAC equipment, appliances, and much of the plumbing by the time they are given access. Most bidders take these potential set backs into account when formulating a bid for a foreclosure auction…
Perhaps no other profession in North America is in more dire need of respect and appreciation than that of realtor/real estate agent. Setting aside the jokes about the world’s 2nd oldest profession, even early caveman needed an “MLS” and an efficient way to evaluate all the important aspects of a prospective cave’s suitability to the…
Some clients who come into our office to sign documents to shed the albatross of an upside down home, have asked, “why do you have a dog in the office?” First I must point out that many enlightened organizations permit well trained canines at work. Dogs have long since proven their worth in law enforcement,…
