Continuing from the article I wrote last week about the 7 Most Dangerous Short Sale Myths, here’s the last 3 for your education.  I am here to assist you in helping you prevent a short sale of your property.  But if it is necessary to go that route, let a CDPE expert help you.

5. Listing my Home as a Short Sale is an Embarrassment

It is understandable that you may have reservations about letting the world know that you owe more on your home that it is worth however, understand that according to recent estimates, 1 out 5 homeowners in the US is in this situation.

With 40 to 60% of the sales in the US predicted to be Short Sales or Foreclosures you are not alone.

6. The Banks Would Rather Foreclose than Bother with a Short Sale

We know you have heard this; you may have even heard it from an overzealous collection agent working for a lender.  The reality is that banks do not want to foreclose on your property.  Banks, investors and even the federal government have all publicly said that if a person is qualified for a Short Sale the deal needs to be considered.

The qualifications are:

A.   Financial Hardship – There is a situation that is causing you to have trouble affording your mortgage.

B.     Monthly Income Shortfall - You have more month than money!  A lender will want to see that you cannot afford or will not be able to afford your mortgage soon.

C.    Insolvency - The lender will want to see that you do not have significant liquid assets that would allow you to pay down your mortgage.

7.         There is not Enough Time to Negotiate a Short Sale before My Foreclosure

This is a myth that probably hurts homeowners the most.  Many don’t realize that foreclosure is a process and there is time.

The foreclosing party (in most cases a lender) can stall a foreclosure up to the final day of the process.  These days many lenders will stall a foreclosure with as little as a phone call from you letting them know that you are trying to sell.  Almost all lenders will stall a foreclosure with a legitimate sales contract, in our view there is time until the foreclosure process is complete.

If you need more information, call or e-mail me today for an appointment to see what options you have and get on the path to recovery, there are options and I can help!

Come back next week for more information on Short Sales and Distressed properties or simply subscribe to our Blog.

But, just as they gave, they also took it away and by the middle of December, 2008, the limits were reduced.  Okay, they were still much higher than the $417,000 that we saw forever, but were then reduced to $625,500 the middle of December.

Around our area, Millbrae, Burlingame, San Mateo, Foster City, Belmont and San Carlos, we rarely saw a conforming FHA loan because of our high housing prices.  Even during the height of the housing bubble, first time buyers for condos were unable to buy without a second loan.  Today, these FHA loans are becoming a common and now that Congress has raised the limit back to $729,750 we expect to see this loan used not only for first time buyers but for the move-up buyer who have been priced out of the market for a while

Do you want to have this loan?  Then you MUST buy a home in 2009.  Do you want to see this loan stay?  Lobby Congress.  Our own Representative Jackie Speier is working hard to make this a permanent loan level for us and you can send her an e-mail to let her know you want to see this happen.

By the way, these loans can be used to buy a duplex, triplex or fourplex, so you can have your cake and eat it,too. Buy a home to live in and one next door to rent.  There are some great buys on duplexes in San Mateo County right now!  Become a homeowner and an investor in one home purchase.  There are loads of tax advantages to that one, too.  Give us a call at 650-696-2820 and we can tell you more about this kind of home ownership.

What is it that is holding you back from listing your house and moving up to that new one you’ve been dreaming about?  There’s money to lend at low interest rates.  There are people out there ready to buy, and Burlingame is a happening place with great schools, a vibrant downtown, and an easy commute to the City or Valley. So, please tell me, why won’t you list your house?  What are you afraid of?

Right now there are only 39 houses for sale in all of Burlingame.  Prices range from a top of $2.895 Million for a 5500 square foot house down to $735,000 for a small cottage.  We do have an increase in the number of houses for sale from last month’s 28.  So I do have hope that we might begin to see more homes come
on to the market.  If you want to move to Burlingame it’s a great time to do it.  We haven’t seen a house priced in the $700,000’s for several years!

The house receiving multiple offers last week wasn’t in Burlingame, it was in San Carlos and it saw 13 offers.  This is just like what went on several years ago and will likely reoccur in Burlingame, too, unless we see more houses come on the market.  There are a lot of people out there coveting our community.  Let’s help them settle here!  Okay?