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In the news again

July 27, 2010 By Tempe Real Estate Agent Leave a Comment

I had the good fortune of being interviewed by the Arizona Republic two weeks ago. It is definitely a sense of “I’ve made it” feeling. J Craig Anderson at the paper had received multiple conflicting accounts of how the HAFA program is beneficial or helpful for people in distressed homes.

Some people sing praises of how wonderful HAFA is. I’ve heard that it has sped the process up significantly. You get a pre-approved short sale price in only 10 days!

In my experience, HAFA has hurt a few of my short sales. After getting approval on a short sale from the bank that buyer, seller, and bank were all happy with, we were about to open escrow. It all came to a screeching halt when we heard the words, “Congratulations, you are approved for HAFA.” It’s been three weeks since, and now nobody knows what’s going on.

In another one of my listings, we got another HAFA approved short sale. Guess what? It’s been three months, and the bank is still reviewing the documents. It’s not that I’m angry for the government trying to fix what problems we have. It’s just that if they would stop helping, we’d be fine already. Anyhow, that’s just one little guy’s feeling. So much for 10 days, huh?

To read more about the HAFA article by Anderson, you can go to http://www.azcentral.com/business/realestate/articles/2010/07/15/20100715biz-shortsalebonus0715.html

Cheers!

Filed Under: In The News Tagged With: hafa, short sale

Certified Distressed Property Expert

July 27, 2010 By Tempe Real Estate Agent 3 Comments

As a real estate agent, we normally get bombarded with a lot of sales gimmicks. Many sales people are looking for the next get rich trick that will make them money for little effort. These things do not exist, and I normally dismiss anybody that asks us to buy something to “help our business.”

I felt the same way when I first heard about the Certified Distressed Property Expert designation. Fortunately, I gave the program a little time to see what they are about, and it is one of the best programs available. Through the program, we get a little insight as to how we got into this mess, and how we can help many of the people that are still entangled in this real estate web.

I’m happy that I took the class, and I know that I can help you or anyone else that is in a situation where they are upside down in their home.

Filed Under: Featured Business

IKEA Tempe

July 21, 2010 By Tempe Real Estate Agent 7 Comments

This week’s featured business is IKEA. Normally I don’t like to feature corporations, but IKEA is a very big employer in Tempe. Also, they’ve sponsored multiple Tempe Chamber events, so they help little guys like the mom & pop stores, too.

What they do: Combining a tremendous variety of styles with 10,000 exclusively-designed product choices – ranging from sofas, bookcases, kitchens and kitchen appliances to beds, mattresses, office furniture and textiles – IKEA Tempe offers visitors affordable solutions for every room in the home. When factoring in color and sizes, we feature more than 80,000 different possibilities. To help shoppers with ideas and inspiration for creating the home of their dreams, our unique IKEA shopping experience includes individual room-settings and complete home displays depicting various “life situations” — from a single mother and her daughter to a couple moving in together. Visitors can enjoy Swedish meals such as meatballs and salmon at the IKEA Tempe Restaurant and Café or have a hot dog, frozen yogurt or cinnamon bun from the Bistro near the exit of the store. Also, our Swedish Foodmarket features specialty foods to take home.

Why they got started in it: Ingvar Kamprad founded IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retail company, in 1943. The name IKEA comes from Ingvar Kamprad, who grew up on a farm called Elmtaryd in the parish Agunnaryd in southern Sweden. There are 37 U.S. and 11 Canadian IKEA stores.

Who they serve: The IKEA vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people. Our business idea is to offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishings at prices so low that as many people as possible can afford them.

Discounts/opportunities for people that come from this site: They are offering free chair massages available on a first-come, first-served basis on July 24 and 31 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the bedrooms department. For more details, visit www.IKEA-USA.com/tempe!

Filed Under: Featured Business

Fannie Mae to Homeowner: Drop Dead

July 13, 2010 By Tempe Real Estate Agent 8 Comments

Fannie Mae has decided to decline the postponement on all foreclosure sales. There are a couple of reasons why they are not extending, none of which are logical or rational. Even though a short sale is approved, Fannie Mae is still unwilling to grant the extension.

Unfortunately, a recent client of mine had the misfortune of dealing with this awful BoA/Fannie combo.

From the BoA CEO’s office this morning. They had to research this file since it was being mishandled by BoA so badly. This is what the person who was helping me has explained:

1) The closing officer, and the negotiator, did not do their diligence, and their jobs by not helping to correct the approval. I spoke to the closing officer yesterday who informed me that she sent the correct approval letter a couple of weeks ago. I asked her to show me where she sent it, and I then proved to her that she forgot to send it. She told me that she thought my next plethora of emails were just duplicates…. Her managers are holding her accountable for this, I assure you.

2) The negotiator did not put in the foreclosure request in time even though I was personally told that it was in, and that everything was being taken care of. He too is being held accountable for his lack of actions. The CEO’s office person has assured me of this.

Fannie Mae is taking just about everything to sale when it comes to short sales. The government is telling us that they are helping homeowners, but having their companies send everything to sale.

This is pretty awful news. Fortunately, we can still help you if you have a Fannie mortgage, but we need to start quickly, because Fannie will not postpone the sale date.

Filed Under: All Real Estate Tagged With: sellers, short sale

Smile! Highway speed cameras going dark

July 12, 2010 By Tempe Real Estate Agent 3 Comments

This Thursday, all the speed cameras on the highway are turning off. The program has been a financial failure because we the people learned ignoring tickets in the mail makes them go away. In all, we’ve lost millions on the program.

Be careful, these are just highway cameras. Red light cameras, city speed cameras, and those cameras by schools are still live.

Source: azfamily.com

Filed Under: All Real Estate Tagged With: neighborhoods

Foreclosure waiting period updates

July 8, 2010 By Tempe Real Estate Agent 4 Comments

Fannie Mae now requires 7 years after foreclosure to obtain a new conventional loan. This new policy is to discourage Strategic Foreclosures. A shorter wait of 5 years may be possible if certain additional requirements are met. With documented “extenuating circumstances” a 3 year wait “may” be possible. FHA still allows buyers to purchase 3 years after foreclosure if the buyer meets all other FHA guidelines. At this time, there is no separate FHA policy on Strategic Foreclosures.

Filed Under: All Real Estate Tagged With: Buying, Financing, Foreclosures

Ways to ruin your own purchase

July 8, 2010 By Tempe Real Estate Agent 4 Comments

Due to tightening lending compliance and guidelines, buyers have more risk of blowing their own transaction by changing their situation during the process. Although it is the lenders responsibility to coach the buyers on what and what not to do, some buyers need to hear the information more than once. It is to the benefit to also coach the buyers at the onset of the transaction.

No New Debt

Buyers are required to explain all credit inquiries in the 90 days prior to loan application and whether or not a new debt was established. In addition, any new inquiries that show up during the process and before closing will need to be explained. Buyers should be coached to not apply for ANY new credit prior to, or during, the loan process. If a buyer needs to establish a new debt during the process, they should contact their mortgage consultant to review whether or not it will impact their transaction. Not disclosing current or new debt could result in a loan denial.

No (Or Limited) Use Of Current Credit

THIS IS NEW! Fannie Mae has recently issued a new policy on conventional loans that lenders must now pull a new credit report after loan documents have been issued and before funding can occur. Any change to the credit balances or credit score “could” affect the loan approval and require re-underwriting.
This may be impossible for some who have automatic payments set up on credit cards or use them for business. Buyers should have a full discussion with their mortgage consultant early on about what credit usage they cannot avoid. At this time, FHA loans are not affected by this policy, but could be in the future.
Buyers should be coached to not use their current credit accounts during the loan process.

No Job Changes

Due to the current job economy, all investors require a “pre-funding employment verification call” to be done after loan documents are sent to title and before funding and closing a loan. This is simply to verify the buyer is still employed at the time of closing. In addition, stricter verifications are done during processing regarding a buyer’s likelihood of continued employment, continued hours, expected overtime and continuation of bonus/commission income. Buyers should be coached to avoid any changes in their employment or structure of pay during the process. If a change occurs, they should contact their mortgage consultant immediately.

No Unsourced Deposits

Lenders are becoming increasingly strict on verifying that all funds used in the transaction are “sourced and seasoned” for proof that the buyer is using their own funds (or gift funds in some cases) for their purchase. The buyer must document all deposits or transfers in their accounts that are not auto deposit payroll. Buyers should be coached to avoid transferring funds between accounts and to not deposit any undocumented funds or cash into their accounts.

Filed Under: All Real Estate Tagged With: Buying, Financing

First American Title says ok to treat African Americans differently

June 4, 2010 By Tempe Real Estate Agent 10 Comments

Got this in the email today. In my opinion, sensitivity training is treating ALL people the same, regardless of race, gender, or any other protected class. Apparently, First American Title has a different view on this subject.

Treating people differently because of political correctness is exactly what is wrong with our country today. I’m shocked that with all the federal laws in real estate and protected classes that a major title company is putting this on. Thoughts?

Filed Under: All Real Estate

ARMLS can predict the future

June 2, 2010 By Tempe Real Estate Agent 1 Comment

ARMLS has started a magazine called WAVE. In this magazine, they go over what the current events and relevant news about real estate. A certain page caught my eye. ARMLS is taking statistics from last year’s sales, and overlaying that data with recent sales and current pending contracts to predict where the market is heading. Check out where they think the market is heading.

So what do you think of this?

Filed Under: All Real Estate Tagged With: Market Update

Funding Universe – Do you want free money?

May 18, 2010 By Tempe Real Estate Agent 10 Comments

I just heard of a really cool idea from Funding Universe. They will be holding an American Idol type contest in which they decide who is worthy of their money. The idea is that people come and present their investment ideas, and the winner gets money to implement their ideas. Angel investors will help the genius push their dream forward. Interested in attending? Check it out: