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Finance

Tired of hearing, we don’t have your loan mod documentation? See Tips!

by Arnie Levine on July 30, 2010

in Finance,Latest News,loan modification

Mloan modification1 Tired of hearing, we dont have your loan mod documentation? See Tips!any homeowners seeking a loan modification to lower their monthly mortgage payments find the application process time consuming, frustrating and confusing. Thus giving up before the application is reviewed.

Several documents must be collected and sent to your mortgage company that paint a picture as to why you need a modification. This needs to be completed quickly and in a very organized fashion. There are hundreds of applications being reviewed, you need to be proactive and make sure your documentation gets to the right person.

Some TIPS on seeking a loan modification:

Call a local Realtor: They can answer questions; point you in the right direction and even do a 3-way call with your mortgage company to ask questions direct.

Submit All Documents That Prove Your Current Income. Income verification is critical, If you lost a job in June, don’t provide pay stubs from March. In addition to recent pay stubs and other traditional income sources, homeowners should also provide a document called a “contribution letter.” This letter explains the source of any household income that is not easily verified. For example, a servicer will want to know the total household income of a married couple, even if only one person’s name is on the loan. The letter could also include income verifying that you have a roommate that pays rent.

Submit Current Bank Statements. Recent bank statements allow your mortgage company to verify your income and expenses. This information enables the mortgage company to see your monthly expenses for food, utilities and other expenses and determine whether you will have enough money to make your mortgage payment.

Mail Your Documents to the Mortgage Company. Many people send all of their documents by fax or email. Postal mail is usually more reliable, especially if it’s addressed to the person you spoke with at the mortgage company. Faxes often get lost, even better, do all 3 methods.

Label Each Page With Your Name and Loan Number. Don’t risk your documents getting lost in the shuffle. Write your name and loan number on EVERY page of EVERY document.

Fully Explain Any Recent or Unique Income Changes. For example, a bank deposit may show a one-time transaction, such as an asset sale, cash gifts from family members or a bonus. Unless you explain this one-time increase in income, the servicer may not understand it and use this information to deny your loan modification.

Include a Timeline in Your Hardship Letter. Every application for a loan modification must include a “hardship letter” that explains the reasons for your request. But the letter must have specific dates explaining when an income loss has occurred. If a job was lost in your household on July 15 and the income will decrease by $3,000 beginning in August, your letter needs to provide these details.

Call Your Mortgage Company Every Week. Don’t wait for weeks after submitting your documentation to hear from your mortgage company. Call them WEEKLY! Take detailed notes, get the name of the person you spoke with, what is the date and ALWAYS ASK what is the timeline for the next step.

CLICK HERE: Loan Modification FAQS from HUD

County Properties, 24 years of brokerage experience, trust and a Member of the local Better Business Bureau! We offer free counseling in real estate regarding; home values and information on options of selling vs. Foreclosure.

If you have equity in your home, we will sell your home and get top dollar in this challenging market at www.countyproperties.net/. If you do not have enough equity, and you must sell your property as a short sale we have the expertise to do so. Learn more about mortgage relief options and how to take advantage of our FREE REALTOR (R)  CONSULTATION & ATTORNEY SERVICE or go to www.ShortSaleRealtors4U.com

Please feel free to contact me today for free counseling at (619) 301-0200 or Toll free (866) 825-8124. Email: Arnie@ County4.com

By the way…if you know of someone who would appreciate the level of service in real estate we provide, please call me or have them go to www.CountyProperties.net/ and I’ll be happy to follow up and take great care of them.

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Have you been informed of the Wachovia Fast Track Short Sale Program?

by Arnie Levine on July 23, 2010

in Finance,Latest News,Short Sales,Wachovia

is32 Have you been informed of the Wachovia Fast Track Short Sale Program?

You may already be informed about the Wachovia Fast Track Short Sale Program. It is a unique program that allows the short sale process to be very successful in a quick time frame. Please see details below.

Wachovia bank recently unveiled their new “Fast Track” short sale program developed for home owners with loans from World Savings, World FSB, Golden West Financial and of course Wachovia.  This new short sale program has been streamlined to enable fast and easy processing, and can provide relief for San Diego & Riverside County home owners who are having trouble making their mortgage payments, or who are upside in the mortgage debt.

The “Fast Track” program offers many advantages as compared to a normal short sale or foreclosure, as follows:

  • No Hardship letter is required.
  • Tax Returns are not necessary in order to qualify.
  • If one is employed, paystubs are not required.
  • Wachovia is committed to a 7 Day approval process.
  • The “Fast Track” program provides for pre-approved short sales which allow the property to be sold for a higher price and in a quicker time frame.
  • This program also offers possible “Cash for Cooperation” of up to $2,500.
  • Home owner does not need to be late on their mortgage payments.
  • Credit report may have just a slight derogatory due to this Fast Track short sale, and report will only show “settled for less than owed”.
  • All Wachovia deficiencies will be forgiven.
  • Personal meeting with a Wachovia Manager at your home to obtain approval.

For more information about the Wachovia Fast Track short sale program, feel free to call us at:  619-301-0200, 619-540-5811, 619-322-7833 or email at: Arnie@County4.com

Please visit our website at www.WachoviaFastShortSale.com

More questions we can help you, at County Properties, 24 years of brokerage experience, trust and a Member of the local Better Business Bureau! We offer free counseling in real estate regarding; home values and information on options of selling vs. Foreclosure.

By the way…if you know of someone who would appreciate the level of service in real estate we provide, please call me or have them go to www.CountyProperties.net and I’ll be happy to follow up and take great care of them.

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Lenders' data mining goes deep

by Arnie Levine on July 23, 2010

in Finance,Latest News

lienholder lender1 150x150 Lenders' data mining goes deepMortgage makers are going beyond tax returns and bank statements to determine whether you’re a good risk. They’re checking such things as where you have pizza delivered and where you shop online.

That pizza you had delivered the other night could mean the difference between whether you are approved for a mortgage or rejected. Really??

There’s a big stretch between making a house payment and paying for a pizza. But it’s not what you pay for carryout that matters, at least not in the eyes of lenders. It’s where the food was delivered.

Ordering takeout proves that you live where you say you do, and that helps lenders uncover the crook who claims to live in the property he is trying to refinance when he really lives hundreds of miles away. Or expose the 35-year-old who says he has a $1,200-a-month apartment when he really lives rent-free with Mom and Dad.

When you order food online, you become part of a vast database that lenders might tap to help them determine whether you are a good risk. Moreover, all sorts of these data reservoirs exist, and none of them is off-limits to lenders who are coming off the worst financial debacle since the Great Depression.

“If the data is available and it can be obtained legally, I’m going to test it,” says Alex Santos, president of Digital Risk, an Orlando, Fla., analytics firm that works with lenders and investors to build better underwriting mousetraps. “If it is inexpensive and makes my credit model better, I’m going to use it.”

Digital Risk is just one of numerous risk-management companies that are continuously probing for ways to help clients quantify their risk, prevent fraud and otherwise ensure the quality of their loans. And they’re going to extraordinary lengths to do so.

For example, they might peek into your online-buying habits. After all, the reasoning goes, someone who buys his shirts from a Brooks Brothers catalog may have more disposable income than someone who shops at JCPenney.

“At least that’s a theory we can test,” Santos says. “We’re looking for any type of data source that you can plug into a computer. It takes only a month of trial and error to determine whether the information can help [determine credit risk] or not. We have a hypothesis, push a button, and the computer tells us whether the data is predictive or not.”

This sort of data mining goes way beyond your credit score, that financial snapshot that measures your ability and willingness to repay your debt. And, Santos says, “there’s a tremendous amount of this kind of analytics going on right now.”

Lenders are still checking credit histories, not just when you apply for a mortgage but also a second time a day or two before the loan closes. But your credit score — known as a FICO score for the name of the company that created the scoring formula — is now considered “too broad.” Consequently, it has moved down in the hierarchy of tests that lenders are using to make certain that someone isn’t hoodwinking them.

First and foremost, lenders are pulling copies of your tax returns directly from UNCLE SAM. DON’T BE ALARMED.

You give the lender permission to do that when you sign Form 4506-T. The idea here is to make sure that you haven’t altered the copy of your last two years’ tax returns that you provided when you signed your loan application. Lenders want to know if you might have exaggerated how much you earned.

Form 4506-T isn’t new. But a few years ago, at the height of the housing-market bonanza when home loans were easy to come by, many lenders failed to use it. Now practically everyone is going straight to the federal tax collector to compare the returns you provided with those on file with the IRS.

Lenders also are going to great lengths to verify employment and assets. Not only are they calling the name and work number you provided on your application, but they also are seeking confirmation in writing from your employer about what you earn, your position and how long you’ve worked there.

It’s the same for your bank accounts. Rather than being satisfied solely with the copies of the bank statements you provided, lenders are going directly to your bank to secure another set of those statements to make sure the numbers line up.

Lenders are no longer taking the appraiser’s word for how much the property you want to buy or refinance is worth, either. Now, they are employing automated valuation models as a second line of defense to be certain the appraiser’s estimate is on the money.

Lenders also are searching for other undisclosed liabilities by running your Social Security number through a huge database known as Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems.

Since 1997, more than 63 million mortgages have been registered on the MERS tracking system, each with a distinct 18-digit identification number. So, if you have another mortgage that you “forgot” to tell your lender about, this check will probably find it.

As long as it does not distinguish between race, religion, age and other “protected” classes, anything is fair game.

The Los Angeles Times

County Properties, 24 years of brokerage experience, trust and a Member of the local Better Business Bureau! We offer free counseling in real estate regarding; home values and information on options of selling vs. Foreclosure.

Click here to get loan information before the rates go up. To get started on viewing homes, condos, investment properties, pre-foreclosures, bank owned foreclosures (REO’s) or thinking of selling your property, please contact me today for free counseling at (619) 301-0200 or Toll free (866) 825-8124. Email: Arnie@ County4.com

By the way…if you know of someone who would appreciate the level of service in real estate we provide, please call me or have them go to www.CountyProperties.net/ and I’ll be happy to follow up and take great care of them.

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Two Years After Financial Meltdown, Most Americans remain anxious about personal finances

by Arnie Levine on July 16, 2010

in Finance,Latest News

financial planning1 300x225 Two Years After Financial Meltdown, Most Americans remain anxious about personal financesWashington DC, July 13, 2010 — The survey of 1,002 Americans was conducted to mark the 25th anniversary of CFP (Certified Financial Planner) Board. The Board grants the CFP® certification and upholds it as the recognized standard of excellence for personal financial planning.

The new CFP Board survey shows that:

  • Nearly two out of three Americans (65 percent) are more concerned about their finances today than they were at the beginning of the financial crisis two years ago.
  • A bit more than a third of Americans (37 percent) expect to see their personal finances improve in the next six months, versus less than half (46 percent) who expect to hold onto what they currently have, and 16 percent who expect to lose money.
  • 80 percent of Americans say that Congress and regulators have not done enough “to deal with the financial market problems and their impact on American investors.”
  • A bright spot in the findings: 44 percent of Americans expect the U.S. economy to improve in the next six months, while only 28 percent expect things to get worse. A smaller group (22 percent) anticipates no change in the economy.
  • When asked to describe how they feel about their personal finances, the #1 response from Americans was “cautious” (33 percent), followed by “calm” (26 percent), “concerned” (25 percent) and “hopeful” (25 percent).
  • Interestingly, ethnicity seems to bear on the perception of the prospects for the economy, with just 38 percent of whites expecting the economy to improve, compared to 51 percent of Hispanics and 74 percent of African Americans.

“This survey clearly shows that restoring the trust of Americans in our financial markets is an unfinished work in progress,” said Robert J. Glovsky CFP Board Chairman, president of Boston-based Mintz Levin Financial Advisors, LLC, and emeritus director of Boston University’s Program for Financial Planners. “Financial planners across the U.S. hear every day from anxious Americans. After the experience of the last two years, more people want to deal with financial professionals who are able to take a holistic view of people’s finances and who uphold a fiduciary standard that puts their clients’ interests ahead of all others, including their own. This is why CFP® professionals are going to be more important than ever going forward.”

The survey found the following about Americans’ attitudes toward financial planners:

  • More than two out of five Americans (43 percent) think financial planners are now “more important in the last two years since the start of the financial crisis,” compared to about a third (36 percent) who see no change, and 14 percent who now see planners as being “less important.”
  • Overall use of financial planners by Americans has remained almost unchanged during the first two years of the U.S. financial crisis – starting at 29 percent compared to 28 percent today.
  • Of those who have started using a financial planner since the start of the financial crisis, nearly a third (31 percent) say they have done so because “I felt like I needed more financial guidance during these difficult times for investors.” A bigger percentage of those in this group (44 percent) said they have started using a financial planner during the last two years for reasons “unrelated to the financial crisis.”

OTHER KEY SURVEY FINDINGS

  • Only 14 percent of Americans think Congress and regulators have done “much” or “all” of what needs to be done.
  • When asked to describe the economy as an animal, they tend towards slow, lumbering animals like sloths, bears, turtles, and elephants; few choose the iconic symbol of confidence, the bull.
  • Almost two thirds of Americans (64 percent) say they are “very” or “somewhat” financially prepared for the future.
  • The top three financial planning issues for Americans today are retirement goals and planning (30 percent), education funding (25 percent) and savings goals and planning (23 percent).

Full survey findings are available at www.CFP.net/downloads/CFPBoard_Public_Opinion_Survey_2010-07.pdf.

County Properties, 24 years of brokerage experience, trust and a Member of the local Better Business Bureau! We offer free counseling in real estate regarding; home values and information on options of selling vs. Foreclosure.

If you have equity in your home, we will sell your home and get top dollar in this challenging market at www.countyproperties.net. If you do not have enough equity, and you must sell your property as a short sale we have the expertise to do so also and close escrow in 60 days or less. Learn more about mortgage relief options and how to take advantage of our FREE REALTOR (R)  CONSULTATION & ATTORNEY SERVICE.  or go to www.ShortSaleRealtors4U.com.  Email: Arnie@ County4.com

By the way…if you know of someone who would appreciate the level of service in real estate we provide, please call me or have them go to www.CountyProperties.net and I’ll be happy to follow up and take great care of them.

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Looking for a decrease in your Property Taxes?

by Arnie Levine on July 16, 2010

in Current Affairs,Finance,Latest News

taxes12 239x300 Looking for a decrease in your Property Taxes?

If you own a home in California, chances are the assessed value of your property just dropped.

Last year marked the first time most counties saw property tax rolls drop since voters approved Proposition 13 in 1978. That’s because the market value of many properties dropped below the assessed value. In such cases Proposition 8 – a tax measure passed as a companion to Proposition 13 – requires assessors to temporarily lower the taxable value of properties until the market value climbs again.

Market values have continued to plummet, and as a result, most county assessors have continued to lower the taxable value of properties in their region.

This year, there is a second factor at work as well. Under state law, counties are allowed to raise property taxes by up to 2 percent a year as long as the overall cost of goods and services is rising – in other words, during periods of inflation. In a time of deflation – when the costs of goods and services are falling – they are required to lower property taxes.

For the first time since 1978, that scenario is playing out. So even homeowners whose property is still worth more than when they bought it will see a quarter percent decrease from last year in its assessed value.

The new property tax information comes weeks after counties and cities passed their fiscal year 2010-11 budgets. The question now: How well did local governments do in projecting property tax revenue when they passed those spending plans?

Homeowners should see the impact of the newly assessed values in their October tax bills. But not everyone will see a decrease in what they owe, said Ron Thomsen, president of the California Assessors’ Association.

That’s because many residents are in areas with special assessments or levies that will increase this year. Also, the figures are based on the value of a property as of Jan. 1. This means any drop in market value since that date won’t be reflected.

Owners who want to see the assessed value of their property can visit their county assessor’s website. Many counties will conduct informal reviews if property owners dispute the assessed value. Owners can file an appeal until the end of November.

If you want to appeal for lower taxes County Properties will do a complimentary CMA report for your property to send in with the appeal.

Please contact us at www.CountyProperties.net or 619-540-5811, 619-322-7833 or you may send an email at Arnie@County4.com

More questions we can help you, at County Properties, 24 years of brokerage experience, trust and a Member of the local Better Business Bureau! We offer free counseling in real estate regarding; home values and information on options of selling vs. Foreclosure.

By the way…if you know of someone who would appreciate the level of service in real estate we provide, please call me or have them go to www.CountyProperties.net/ and I’ll be happy to follow up and take great care of them.

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Are you thinking of walking away from your Home? Fannie Mae gets tough on homeowners who walk away.

by Arnie Levine on July 2, 2010

in Finance,Latest News,Real Estate news

fannie mae logo11 300x161 Are you thinking of walking away from your Home? Fannie Mae gets tough on homeowners who walk away.The mortgage giant plans to go to court against those who can afford to make their payments but decide it’s not worth it. It also will limit their access to future loans.

Taking aim at homeowners who are able to pay their mortgage but decide it’s not worth it, Fannie Mae plans to go after them in court and to limit their access to home loans for seven years.

The government-controlled mortgage giant said Wednesday that it would instruct the companies servicing its loans to recommend when it should pursue a so-called deficiency judgment —a court order requiring a defaulting borrower to pay any remaining unpaid portion of the loan after a seized home is sold.


Lenders rarely employ court proceedings to pursue foreclosures in California, nearly always opting instead for a streamlined procedure involving a trustee’s sale of the home. Under state law, however, lenders who opt for court proceedings can obtain a deficiency judgment if the mortgage was used to refinance a home, but not if it was used to finance a purchase.

Fannie Mae also said it would make new mortgages harder to obtain for borrowers if it can be proved that they engaged in a “strategic default” — abandoning a home to foreclosure not because the required payments are unaffordable but because the mortgage is larger than the value of the residence. For such a borrower, Fannie said it would not buy or guarantee another home loan for seven years.


Borrowers who worked in good faith with their loan servicers to try to stay in their homes would be barred from Fannie loans for only two or three years, even if they eventually lost their homes after attempts at loan modifications failed.

Fannie Mae’s get-tough policy on so-called walkaways is the latest fallout from the housing meltdown, which has eroded the once widely held belief in home ownership as the path to household wealth.

Fannie Mae’s new policies are designed to prod borrowers into pursuing alternatives to foreclosure, including short sales — transactions in which lenders allow a home to be sold and cancel the debt while accepting less than full payoff of the mortgage.

For the full story click here: The Los Angeles Times

More questions we can help you, at County Properties, 24 years of brokerage experience, trust and a Member of the local Better Business Bureau! We offer free counseling in real estate regarding; home values and information on options of selling vs. Foreclosure.

If you have equity in your home, we will sell your home and get top dollar in this challenging market at www.countyproperties.net/. If you do not have enough equity, and you must sell your property as a short sale we have the expertise to do so also and close escrow in 45-60 days or less. Learn more about mortgage relief options and how to take advantage of our FREE REALTOR (R)  CONSULTATION & ATTORNEY SERVICE.  or go to www.ShortSaleRealtors4U.com

Please feel free to contact me today for free counseling at (619) 301-0200 or Toll free (866) 825-8124. Email: Arnie@ County4.com

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Are you one of the many Borrowers exiting the Obama troubled mortgage program Loan modifications?

by Arnie Levine on June 25, 2010

in Finance,Latest News,Riverside Short Sales,Riverside foreclosure news,San Diego Foreclosure news,San Diego Short Sales

The Obama administration’s flagship effort to help people in danger of losing their homes is falling flat.

More than a third of the 1.24 million borrowers who have enrolled in the $75 billion mortgage modification program have dropped out. That exceeds the number of people who have managed to have their loan payments reduced to help them keep their homes.

Last month alone,155,000 borrowers left the program _ bringing the total to 436,000 who have dropped out since it began in March 2009. About 340,000 homeowners have received permanent loan modifications and are making payments on time.

But analysts expect the majority will still wind up in foreclosure and that could slow the broader economic recovery.

A major reason so many have fallen out of the program is the Obama administration initially pressured banks to sign up borrowers without insisting first on proof of their income. When banks later moved to collect the information, many troubled homeowners were disqualified or dropped out.

Many borrowers complained that the banks lost their documents. The industry said borrowers weren’t sending back the necessary paperwork.

Treasury officials now REQUIRE banks to collect:

  • two recent pay stubs at the start of the process.
  • Borrowers have to give the Internal Revenue Service permission to provide their most recent tax returns to lenders.

Requiring homeowners to provide documentation of income has turned people away from enrolling in the program. Around 30,000 homeowners started the program in May. That’s a sharp turnaround from last summer when more than 100,000 borrowers signed up each month.

So far nearly 6,400 borrowers have dropped out after the loan modification was made permanent. Most of those borrowers likely defaulted on their modified loans, but a handful either refinanced or sold their homes.

Obama administration officials contend that borrowers are still getting help _ even if they fail to qualify. The administration published statistics showing that nearly half of borrowers who fell out of the program as of April received an alternative loan modification from their lender. About 7 percent fell into foreclosure.

Another option is a short sale _ one in which banks agree to let borrowers sell their homes for less than they owe on their mortgage.

A short sale results in:

  • a less severe hit to a borrower’s credit score
  • better for communities because homes are less likely to be vandalized or fall into disrepair.

Administration officials said their work on several fronts has helped stabilize the housing market. Besides the foreclosure-prevention plan, they cited government efforts to provide money for home loans, push down mortgage rates and provide a federal tax credit for buyers.

for the full story click here:     http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MORTGAGE_AID?SITE=VACUL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

County Properties, 24 years of brokerage experience, trust and a Member of the local Better Business Bureau! We offer free counseling in real estate regarding; home values and information on options of selling vs. Foreclosure.

If you have equity in your home, we will sell your home and get top dollar in this challenging market at www.countyproperties.net/. If you do not have enough equity, and you must sell your property as a short sale we have the expertise to do so also and close escrow in 45-60 days or less. Learn more about mortgage relief options and how to take advantage of our FREE REALTOR (R)  CONSULTATION & ATTORNEY SERVICE.  or go to www.ShortSaleRealtors4U.com

Please feel free to contact me today for free counseling at (619) 301-0200 or Toll free (866) 825-8124 click http://www.shortsalerealtors4u.com/

By the way…if you know of someone who would appreciate the level of service in real estate we provide, please call me or have them go to www.CountyProperties.net and I’ll be happy to follow up and take great care of them.

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Fed researchers say economic recovery will be rapid

by Arnie Levine on May 22, 2010

in Finance,Latest News

Defying many analysts’ predictions, economists Justin Weidner and John C. Williams say the rebound ‘is likely to be faster than from the two previous recessions.’

Defying some analysts’ predictions of a slow and subpar U.S. recovery, researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco are predicting a rapid economic rebound.

Citing growth in both consumer and business spending, economists Justin Weidner and John C. Williams said recovery “is likely to be faster than from the two previous recessions” in a report released Monday.

Recent wild swings on Wall Street, tepid April retail sales figures and fears of global contagion from the Greek debt crisis have some worried that the improving U.S. economy could easily reverse course.

But that hasn’t tempered the optimism of the researchers at the San Francisco Fed.

“I see no signs of a double dip,” said Williams, director of research at the San Francisco Fed. “The economy continues to gain momentum, and consumer spending and business investment continue to improve.”

Economists have been debating for months over the likely strength of the U.S. recovery.

Though a double-dip recession is still the minority view, a good number of analysts have predicted a sluggish “U-shaped” recovery with annual growth in gross domestic product of about 3% coming out of the trough. That’s a contrast to the “V-shaped” recoveries that occurred from the late 1950s into the 1980s, during which GDP growth averaged about 5.5% over the first two years after the recession ended.

The U-shaped camp contends that debt-strapped consumers in a weak labor market won’t be opening their wallets in the near term. But Williams said low interest rates and pent-up demand by businesses are set to drive robust growth, while consumers are being helped by tax cuts and other stimulus spending.

In the first quarter of 2010, investments in equipment and software grew more than 10% over the same period last year, Williams said. Surveys of purchasing managers also indicate that spending is up, he said. Consumers are starting to buy new cars, clothes and homes again too, he said. In March, for instance, U.S. retail sales posted their biggest gain in four months.

“It’s kind of a natural part of the process — you cut back for a couple of years, and then you need to replace things eventually,” Williams said.

Other economists disagree. They point to April retail sales as a sign that the March bounce may not be sustainable; nearly 70% of chains missed expectations last month. They worry that the volatile stock market will affect spending by the wealthy, who are leading the consumer comeback.

“You still have a very constrained balance sheet on the part of consumers,” said David Shulman, senior economist at the UCLA Anderson Forecast.

Not even business spending is guaranteed to recover at a strong pace, said Christopher Thornberg, founding principal of Beacon Economics.

His forecast this month called for slow growth this year and next, warning that many banks are still stuck with delinquent loans and that the sovereign debt crisis could affect borrowing.

“The financial market is still volatile, the banks are still a mess, the commercial real estate market is still a mess,” he said. “They’re being ridiculously optimistic.”

Click here to get loan information before the rates go up. To get started on viewing homes, condos, investment properties, pre-foreclosures, bank owned foreclosures (REO’s) or thinking of selling your property, please contact me today for free counseling at (619) 301-0200 or Toll free (866) 825-8124

By the way…if you know of someone who would appreciate the level of service in real estate we provide, please call me or have them go to www.CountyProperties.net/ and I’ll be happy to follow up and take great care of them.

Foreclosed homeowners could owe ‘tens thousands of dollars’ to lenders

by Arnie Levine on May 22, 2010

in Finance,Latest News,Real Estate news,Riverside Real Estate,Riverside Short Sales,Riverside foreclosure news,San Diego Foreclosure news,San Diego Real Estate,San Diego Short Sales

  • Currently, if a homeowner defaults on a mortgage used to purchase his or her home — known as a “purchase money mortgage” — the homeowner’s liability on the mortgage is limited to the property itself.  Unfortunately, the original law did not extend the purchase money protection to loans that refinance the original purchase debt, even if the refinance only was to obtain a lower interest rate.
  • Californians who refinance a property currently do not have protection if they default on a mortgage greater than the property’s value. Called a “deficiency” liability, under current California law, the lender can sue the former homeowner for the amount of the deficiency even after taking back the property.
  • Recent years of low interest rates and aggressive marketing campaigns by lenders have induced tens of thousands to refinance mortgages.  Few homeowners realized that by refinancing their mortgage, they were forfeiting their protections and now are personally liable.

County Properties, 24 years of brokerage experience, trust and a Member of the local Better Business Bureau! We offer free counseling in real estate regarding; home values and information on options of selling vs. Foreclosure.

If you have equity in your home, we will sell your home and get top dollar in this challenging market at www.countyproperties.net/. If you do not have enough equity, and you must sell your property as a short sale we have the expertise to do so also and close escrow in 45-60 days or less. Learn more about mortgage relief options and how to take advantage of our FREE REALTOR (R)  CONSULTATION & ATTORNEY SERVICE.  or go to www.ShortSaleRealtors4U.com

Please feel free to contact me today for free counseling at (619) 301-0200 or Toll free (866) 825-8124 click http://www.shortsalerealtors4u.com/

By the way…if you know of someone who would appreciate the level of service in real estate we provide, please call me or have them go to www.CountyProperties.net and I’ll be happy to follow up and take great care of them.

Price negotiated for a home only is the one aspect on buying a home

by Arnie Levine on May 22, 2010

in Finance,Latest News,Real Estate news

  • The price negotiated for a home only is the one aspect of a real estate transaction.  Items such as financing clauses, home inspections, closing costs, appliances, and home warranties also can be negotiated.  Working with a REALTOR® can help ensure all parties are satisfied with the end result of the negotiation process.
  • Many real estate sales contracts include a financing contingency enabling the transaction to be canceled if the buyer cannot secure financing.  Financing contingencies generally are two parts: 1) the buyer has a set number of days to remove the contingency, and 2) the mortgage rate will be no more than a certain percentage.  While including a financing contingency is common, sellers should ensure the buyer applies for a mortgage right away so that if he/she cannot qualify, the house can be put back on the market without too much lost time.

Click here to get loan information before the rates go up. To get started on viewing homes, condos, investment properties, pre-foreclosures, bank owned foreclosures (REO’s) or thinking of selling your property, please contact me today for free counseling at (619) 301-0200 or Toll free (866) 825-8124

By the way…if you know of someone who would appreciate the level of service in real estate we provide, please call me or have them go to www.CountyProperties.net/ and I’ll be happy to follow up and take great care of them.

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