The other day I look out my back window onto my little piece of Benicia Real Estate and see, what appears to be hundreds of birds(black some brown some with red wings tips) flocking toour backyard.  They swooped in with a rush and landed twittering and bumping into each other.  It did not take much to make them take flight all at the same time, once again bumping into each other as they flapped their wings and tried to appear as those air force planes flying in formation.

I thought they had left for greener yard, er, pastures as we do back to open space in Benicia. Yesterday morning down the street and round the corner, the "Birds" were touching down in a neighbor's front yard.

and I thought the other day was just a freak of nature......

Today as I am doing some work from my lazy girl chair, they appear again.  I swear it is something out of Alfred Hitchcock's "Birds", which was filmed near Bodega Bay, CA, but this Benicia, CA and my back yard not a school house where the blonde actress was scared.

I was not scared but entertained as they danced on the lawn and danced in the air.  Back and forth from the neighbor's back yard and back to ours. Swooping up and then making a sharp turn to the left and then the right.  With a clatter they landed on our tile roof. and this is not Christmas Eve, but I do know the sound of pattering bird feet!

An hour later there is peace and quiet in the backyard, just the butterflies, occasional hawk and of course a few straggling black birds and me resting in my lazy girl chair with my laptop.  I guess the stragglers did not get the message to move on.  And no one got attacked!  I wish I could have captured the flight but they all were flying so fast to catch up with each other.

When a seller decides to sell their home and they owe more than what it can sell for, this is called a short sale. 

So what does it take from a seller?  You have already been spinning like clothes in a washing machine and probably have shed some tears and some cuss words.  In addition you are on a roller coaster wondering what steps to take.

My partner and I recommend talking to several professionals including a CPA for tax consequences, an attorney for legal aspects and experienced REALTORs who can sell your home.

When you are ready to take the step use the REALTOR who will work best for and with you.  From a seller standpoint, we need you to be in a position to quickly gather the needed financial documents the bank requires.  IF you dwaddle it prolongs what we can accomplish for you.  We also need the seller to contact the bank and tell them you are doing a short sale and give them the agent's name and contact information.  Even better is to fax the information to the bank.   We have found when a seller is vocal with the bank the process is shorter. 

Our main job is to get your home in contract with a viable buyer, and from that point on we will be in constant contact with your lenders pressing for a short sale approval and negotiating terms that are acceptable to you, the seller.  This is where a short sale takes the longest, getting the paperwork to the bank, getting assigned a negotiator, negotiating with the lender, getting approval and then the buyer starts their process of inspections, getting their loan tied up and then closing!!

When the day the home closes, many of our clients are breathing a sigh of relief, knowing it is over and they can go on with their life, planning for the future.

Please do not hesitate to call (707-319-2828) or email me or my partner Jenny Castaneda (707-592-4444) if you have any questions.  We are here to sell real estate, that is our job, whether it be a short sale or conventional sale or bank owned property.  We have the experience and know how for all your real estate needs.

My partner and I have been listing bank owned properties (REO) for some time now in addition to short sales, conventional sales and assisting buyers.  We do not spread ourselves too thin by listing properties from the many, many asset companies out there. We stick with two asset companies and have been very pleased with their business model.  The asset managers work with the utmost professionalism.

This time last year we were swamped with foreclosures.  You will read about the ghost inventory of homes foreclosed upon, but not yet released to the listing agents.  We actually attended a direct lender's conference in May.  It was said to everyone there look for an influx of homes in the summer time.  Many REO agents are waiting for the slew of homes to come out to them.

It  has not happened yet.  Talk around the water cooler was  "It's coming, it's coming".  That initial anticipation has come and gone in the last two months. 

We have received several homes, one that was reassigned from another agent.  Not sure what that person did wrong, however, within two days of being listed, I got 8 offers.  The inventory is low yet the local newspapers are making some money publishing page after page after page of notice of trustee sales.  At some point it has to come out somewhere.  

We are constantly shifting with the changes in our industry.  Whether it be REOs, short sales, regular sellers,  first time home buyers, VA buyers, FHA buyers, Investors........we are about putting sellers together with buyers. Short Sales are getting through. Investors are finding incredible deals.  If the ghost inventory comes then we are ready, in the mean time we are not waiting around!  There is plenty to keep us busy!

Benicia, CA Real Estate and Vallejo, CA Real Estate - Choose me to provide local expertise and national exposure.

I just received my CAR weekly news update plus I read an earlier email about what Obama is attempting to due for all the homeowners under water on their homes.

I say HURRAY!!  I sincerely hope that the servicing companies a homeowner calls trying to get a loan modification heeds this important news.

Homeowners---Push the envelope with your lender read this:

May 14, 2009 reprinted from C.A.R. News update: 

News Flash

has added new incentives and uniform procedures for short sales under its new Foreclosure Alternatives

Program (FAP), part of the administration's Making Homes Affordable plan.

Loan servicers may consider short sales or deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure for borrowers who do not qualify to

have their loans modified on a permanent basis under the Making Home Affordable Loan Modification

Program.

! Borrowers/homeowners qualify under the FAP if they meet minimum eligibility requirements for the

Home Affordable Modification program, but don't qualify for a modification or do not successfully

complete the three-month trial period. Before proceeding with a foreclosure, servicers must

determine if a short sale is appropriate.

! Incentives include: $1,000 for servicers for successful completion of a short sale or deed-in-lieu of

foreclosure; $1,500 for borrowers/homeowners to help with relocation expenses; and up to $1,000

toward the cost of paying junior lien holders to release their liens (one dollar from the government

for every $2 paid by the investors to the second lien holders).

! The program will include streamlined and standardized documents, including a Short Sale

Agreement and an Offer Acceptance Letter. The goal is to minimize complexity and increase use

of the short sale option.

! Servicers will independently establish both property value and minimum acceptable net return, in

accordance with investor requirements. The price may be determined based on an appraisal or

one or more broker price opinions (BPOs), issued no more than 120 days before the date of the

short sale agreement.

! In the Short Sale Agreement, servicers must give borrowers/homeowners at least 90 days to

market and sell the property, or up to one year, depending on market conditions. Property must be

listed with a licensed real estate professional with experience in the neighborhood. No foreclosure

may take place during the marketing period (at least 90 days) specified in the Short Sale

Agreement.

! The Short Sale Agreement must specify the reasonable and customary real estate commissions

and costs that may be deducted from the sales price. The servicer must agree not to negotiate a

lower commission after an offer has been received.

! Servicers may not charge fees to borrowers/homeowners for participating in the FAP.

! The program is in effect through 2012.

! Servicers have the option to require the borrower/homeowner to agree to deed the property to the

servicer in exchange for a release from the debt if the property does not sell within the time allowed

in the Short Sale Agreement (plus any extensions).

REMEMBER use an experienced Short Sale Realtor!!  We are having success with short sales and now is the time to put your home on the market, before the next wave of predicted foreclosures.