Short Sale Becoming Shorter for Sellers and Buyers

Short Sales Get Shorter: New Deadlines to go into Effect

Daily Real Estate News | Thursday, March 15, 2012

As part of a settlement with state attorneys general, the five largest mortgage servicers are adopting new requirements for short sales, which is expected to speed-up what has been known as a lengthy process.
Here are some of the new requirements for servicers under the settlement:

• Servicers must provide borrowers with a decision within 30 days after receiving a short sale package request. 
• Servicers will be required to notify a borrower, also within 30 days, if any necessary documents are missing to process the short sale request. 
• Servicers must notify a borrower immediately if a deficiency payment is needed to approve the short sale. They also must provide an estimated amount for the deficiency payment needed for the short sale. 
• Servicers are also required to form an internal group to review all short sale requests. 
• Banks will be considered in violation of the settlement requirements if they take longer than 30 days on more than 10 percent of the short sale requests. Violations can carry fines of up to $1 million and $5 million for repeat offenses. 

"If a real estate broker can get a checklist from the bank detailing what documentation is needed, everything can be provided up front, and the bank will be required to give a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down within 30 days,” short sale specialist Chris Hanson with the Hanson Law Firm told HousingWire. “That's not a bad deal.” 

Underwater Mortgages and Homeowners Florida #3

States With the Most Underwater Mortgages

Daily Real Estate News | Thursday, March 15, 2012

About 22 percent of home owners nationwide are considered “underwater,” owing more on their mortgage than their home is currently worth, according to recent CoreLogic data. Some states are seeing a higher number of underwater mortgages than others too.
Many of the states with the highest number of underwater mortgages also had some of the biggest housing booms a few years ago, before prices plunged.
24/7 Wall St., in analyzing CoreLogic’s fourth quarter 2011 data, recently profiled the states with the highest number of underwater home owners.
1. Nevada
Percentage of underwater households: 61.1%
Drop in median home values since housing peak:60%
2. Arizona
Percentage of underwater households: 48.3%
Drop in median home values since housing peak: 47.9%

3. Florida
Percentage of underwater households: 44.2%
Drop in median home values since housing peak: 44.8%

4. Michigan
Percentage of underwater households: 34.7%
Drop in median home values since housing peak: 30.1%

5. Georgia
Percentage of underwater households: 33%
Drop in median home values since housing peak: 26%

Agents Make Unexpected Finds in Foreclosures

Daily Real Estate News | Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Watch for skeletons in the closet, literally. More real estate professionals are reporting making horrifying finds in abandoned, foreclosed homes, including the skeletons of the home’s former owners.
A Milwaukee real estate agent recently reported finding the body of the deceased owner on the stairs in an abandoned home. The body of the owner, who authorities say committed suicide, was believed to be in the home for up to four years before the agent recently found it.
In another incident, a real estate agent in Notting Hill, London, was showing potential home buyers a home when they stumbled upon what they thought was a home owner asleep on the couch. But the owner actually was dead.
In Janesville, Wis., an agent and her potential buyers also found the owner deceased in the bedroom of the home. Another real estate agent also said she once found a home owner deceased on the toilet.
Source: “Man’s Death Goes Unnoticed for Years,” HuffingtonPost.com (Feb. 7, 2012) and “Homebuyers’ House Tour Includes Dead Body,” AOL Real Estate

Beat the Competition in Buying Foreclosures and How to Buy a Foreclosure

A ⁺A

Beat the Competition in Buying Foreclosures

Daily Real Estate News | Monday, February 06, 2012

While bank-owned homes are plentiful in many markets, they aren’t always easy for a buyer to get. Foreclosure sell at bargain prices — sometimes at 35 percent discounts when compared to nonforeclosures. These ultra-low prices are attracting investors and all-cash offers, which makes it difficult for other buyers' bids to win out.
So how can your buyers beat the competition to get a foreclosure?
Get the first look: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s First Look program offers first-time home buyers and others who need financing and are looking for a primary residence the first opportunity to see bank-owned homes before investors. Buyers have a 15-day window to submit offers before investors have the opportunity to start bidding.
Submit a competitive offer: Homes priced at heavy discounts can be in high demand and attract multiple bids. Lowball offers won’t likely get far. Some housing experts suggest starting with your best offer. "My advice is to offer the most you feel you would ever pay for the property," said one recent buyer of a foreclosure.
Make a large deposit: If a buyer wants to get the banks attention, they could offer a larger than typical good-faith deposit. But if the buyer has to back out of the deal for some reason, he or she may be at risk of losing the deposit.
Even if your buyers really want the property, don’t let them cave in to unreasonable demands, like waiving a home inspection. Otherwise, it may be a decision they quickly regret if the home is later found to be ripe with problems.
Source: “How to Beat the Competition and Buy a Foreclosure,” Sun Sentinel (Fla.) (Feb. 5, 2012)

Florida Real Estate Market Looking Better for 2012

A ⁺A

Will the Real Estate Market Heat Up This Spring?

Daily Real Estate News | Monday, February 06, 2012

The spring season usually brings an increase in buying and selling to the real estate market, and housing experts are mostly optimistic that this spring will be even better than recent years.
Some signs are already there: Housing inventories are declining, housing affordability is at record highs, mortgage rates are at all-time lows, and the job market is improving.
Existing-home sales have been edging up in recent months, and for-sale housing inventories were at nearly 2.4 million units in December, reaching its lowest point since 2005, according to National Association of REALTORS® data.
NAR’s Chief Economist Lawrence Yun says home prices are beginning to stabilize in many markets.
Also, NAR’s Housing Affordability Index is at its highest level since the 1970s, which indicates that for the average family housing is very affordable.
The National Association of Home Builders is also predicting an improvement this spring among the new-home sector. NAHB is predicting that home sales will increase 18 percent this year, that’s after facing their lowest on record in 2011.
However, threats to a housing recovery still loom this spring. Strict mortgage lending is keeping some buyers on the sidelines, and foreclosures continue to put downward pressure on overall home prices in many markets.
"The signals are a little hard to extrapolate, but ultimately by the end of this year we should see the housing market on more solid footing," says Celia Chen, senior housing economist with Moody’s Analytics. "So an improvement but off of very, very weak activity."