I WANT TO HELP YOU AVOID FORECLOSURE!

Part of my business in helping people avoid foreclosure is calling homeowners who have received Notices of Default ("N.O.D.s") or Notices of Trustee Sales ("N.O.T.s") and try my best to explain to them what I can do for them, often completely free of charge. Often I hear the response, "ok, I'll get back to you." I stress the importance of taking care of the problem as soon as possible- the relief one feels knowing the problem is being worked on by someone else on your behalf is SO POWERFUL, my clients have told me.

And yet I still hear it- people think that by avoiding the problem it will go away. IT WON'T GO AWAY. Going through my list last night I noticed another person I have spoken to and who told me, "ok, I'll get back to you" had been foreclosed on. The bank had sold their home to an investor, who promptly told them to leave, put their house for sale, and is selling it at a decent profit. The homeowner now has a foreclosure on her credit score, and was probably kicked to the curb with nothing. If she allowed me to assist her, not only could I have enabled her to stay in her home many more months (because the banks take so long with the short sale approval process), I could have also probably negotiated her to be PAID by her bank! My recent clients have received $3000, $5000 and over $7000 to short sale their homes through me. I have been able to also keep them in their homes an additional 8 months, 6 months and 11 months! So, please, with all sincerity, PLEASE let me discuss with you your options. I can probably help you in your current situation. I have spoken to hundreds of homeowners, and only a few didn't qualify for a short sale. I can short sale any home in California. The most important factor in successfully selling a short sale is an agent who is strong and experienced in negotiating with banks. We know what it takes to deal with Bank of America, Countrywide (now BofA also), Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual/Wachovia (now Wells Fargo also), Chase, Citi, GMAC, Credit Unions, Ocwen, Quality Loan and dozens of others. We know what is expected and how to talk to the negotiators, so you don't have to! Keep in touch with your bank if you like, but let ME deal with the talks that cause headaches.

IF YOU ARE IN CALIFORNIA, I CAN HELP YOU! IF YOU ARE IN ANOTHER STATE, WE CAN REFER YOU TO ANOTHER POWERFUL SHORT SALE AGENT THROUGH OUR NETWORK! LET TODAY BE THE DAY! LET ME HELP YOU!

I strongly believe that a SHORT SALE is your best possible option if you are dealing with a frustrating mortgage! I have seen it liberate so many people and set them on the path for better home ownership, conquering debt and relieving much of the stress that was in their life! For a FREE consultation to see if a SHORT SALE or a LOAN MODIFICATION is right for you, do not hesitate to CALL ME at 661-706-6922!

Study: Less Short Sale Fraud Here Than In State, Nation (Bakersfield)

Comment from Mike: Woohoo! Also, look at the very last line in the article. It's not just you that is having a problem taking care of your monthly home mortgage!

Kern County has a lower rate of real estate transactions that look suspiciously like short sale fraud than both the state of California and the nation, according to CoreLogic's recently released 2011 Short Sale Research Study.
The Santa Ana-based real estate data firm tracked risk to lenders by examining the number of transactions less than six months after the close of a short sale in which the same property was resold for at least 10 percent more than the short sale price.
A short sale is a transaction in which a lender allows a borrower to sell a property for less than the balance owed on the mortgage.
Such deals have become commonplace in recent years because so many homeowners owe more than their houses are worth.
CoreLogic looked at properties that were sold short and then sold again right away during the first half of 2010.
In some cases, an increased sale price was legitimate because investors rehabbed the property, boosting its market value. In other cases, there were same-day transactions in which homes sold for so much more that they were "suspicious" and possibly fraudulent, according to CoreLogic.
The company assigned various real estate markets a short sale fraud rate by dividing the number of suspicious transactions by the total number of short sales of single-family homes.
Kern County had a short sale fraud rate of 0.84 percent, compared with about 2 percent nationally and 2.5 percent statewide.
"Bakersfield is doing much better than a lot of other markets that have high numbers of foreclosures and short sales," said Frank McKenna, CoreLogic's vice president of fraud strategy.
Los Angeles had a short sale fraud rate of 3.75 percent. Riverside's rate was 2.36 percent, and San Bernardino's was 1.84 percent.
It's not unusual for investors to buy homes when prices are low and sell them later for profit.
Sometimes they fix them up to boost the subsequent sale price, or they may rent them out for a little while until their value rises with the overall market.
That's called flipping, and it's perfectly legal.
What draws the scrutiny of regulators and law enforcement is something called flopping.
That's when someone buys a home for an artificially low price in collusion with bad appraisers, crooked agents or others in a position to manipulate a sale, then almost immediately sells it for it's much higher, true market value, pocketing the difference.
Flopping hurts banks, which are writing off losses unnecessarily, and hurts subsequent borrowers who are charged more to cover the cost of those losses.
"For the most part, investors in Bakersfield are flipping, not flopping," said Gary Crabtree, owner of Affiliated Appraisers and author of a closely followed monthly report on Bakersfield home sales.
But you do see some transactions that smell bad, like a house resold just a few hours after a short sale for as much as $60,000 more, or transactions in which an agent's relative or co-worker gets a house for far less than it's worth, Crabtree said.
RE/MAX agent Theresa Olson said she, too, thinks most local quick turnarounds are legitimate.
"I know that there's not a lot of inventory right now. We're seeing multiple bids," she said. "It's not that far-fetched that there would be flipping in that environment. There are still some good investment opportunities here."
Just about anyone who bought a home in Kern County during the real estate boom will have to sell short if they want to move.
Last month's $139,900 median sale price for Bakersfield area existing single-family homes was down 52 percent from the market peak of $299,925 in June 2006, according to the Crabtree Report.
Nearly a quarter of single-family home sales nationwide are short sales.

Article here.

Falling Demand Slows Rise of Home Prices (Bakersfield)

BY COURTENAY EDELHART, Californian staff writer

Although the supply of homes for sale in the Bakersfield area fell slightly from June to July, demand dropped even more.
That's causing the fragile escalation of home prices to slow, according to the Preliminary Crabtree Report, a monthly gauge of the local real estate market prepared by Gary Crabtree of Affiliated Appraisers.
Crabtree called supply outpacing demand a "disturbing trend."
Pending sales, an indication of future demand, dropped 10 percent from June to July, but rose 4.7 percent compared with July 2010.
Active listings fell 1.8 percent to 2,012 for the month, but were up 12.5 percent for the year.
"Overall, it just looks like the market is starting to lose steam," Crabtree said in an interview Monday. "But at least prices aren't going down -- yet."
The median sale price for existing single-family homes in the area was $138,450 last month, up 0.3 percent for the month but down 4.3 percent compared with July 2010.
"Now with the downgrading of the nation's credit rating, that's bound to push interest rates up, so we're still in for an interesting ride," Crabtree said.
The swelling inventory pushed the average number of days on the market from 71 in June to 81 in July.
That's up 15.7 percent from July 2010.
Belinda Capilla, an agent with Prudential-Tobias Realty in Bakersfield, said consumers are simply worried about the economy.
"In a typical market when (interest) rates remain low a long time, people sit on the fence hoping they'll go even lower, and then when they go up they all rush in," she said. "But buyers aren't behaving as they would in a normal market.
"Investors are doing really well with cash offers because they're confident values are going up in the long-run, but for the poor person who has to get financing, there's a lot of concern about unemployment and wages and am I going to get enough hours?
"People are just really worried right now."
Jason Gillies, a broker with Coldwell Banker Preferred in Bakersfield, said he isn't worried that the market may be headed for a glut in supply again.
"My listings are bank-owned properties that are better and cleaner and priced well, and those are selling," he said. "I just put two on the market last Thursday and I have at least three offers on each of them, so we're still getting multiple offers."
Lender-owned properties still account for 42.1 percent of local sales, compared with a national average of 28.7 percent.
On the upside, foreclosure sales dropped 16.6 percent to 240 for the month, a 10.4 percent fall from July 2010.

Article here.

Bakersfield 5th Worst Residential Real Estate Market In Country

The Bakersfield area was the fifth worst residential real estate market in the nation in January based on mortgage delinquency rates, foreclosures and other signs of a deeply troubled housing market.
That's according to the latest monthly report from First American CoreLogic, a housing data firm based in Santa Ana.

Full article here.

Bakersfield Californian - www.bakersfield.com

Bakersfield 8th in the Nation in Foreclosures

According to an article from bakersfield.com, RealtyTrac reported last month that Bakersfield ranks 8th in the Nation in number of foreclosures compared to number of total homes (1 out of every 118 houses is a foreclosure).

The foreclosure problem is NOT going away. This is why it is so important to consider a short sale! Give us a call today!

Full article:

Bakersfield ranks No. 8 for the top foreclosure rates nationally last month, according to RealtyTrac, an Irvine-based real estate data firm, figures released today show.
Six California cities registered foreclosure rates among the top 10: Modesto at No. 3 (one in every 107 housing units); Stockton at No. 4 (one in 107); Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario at No. 5 (one in 109); Merced at No. 6 (one in 109); Vallejo-Fairfield at No. 7 (one in 112); and Bakersfield at No. 8 (one in 118).
RealtyTrac's U.S. Foreclosure Market Report examines foreclosure filings including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.
There were problems with 315,716 U.S. properties last month, a decrease of nearly 10 percent from December but still 15 percent above the level reported in January 2009. The report also showed one in every 409 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing in January.