Day 7 since Chase received the complete Short Sale package. I talked to Kelly in New York at 800-848-9380. I wanted to confirm what Elizabeth in New York had told me about the BPO that was to be ordered and returned within 7 to 10 days.

Kelly could not talk to me as the “legal department” of Chase had not cleared me to talk with the bank. My clients had signed the Chase short sale form “Authorization to Provide and Release Information”. Kelly confirmed that I was indeed listed on the form but the time frame for the “legal department” to review the form and give their blessing for me to talk to the bank is 7 to 14 days.

We have a fantastic offer for the bank – over the appraised value. Every day the bank delays the value of the house drops in the San Joaquin valley and the buyer becomes more frustrated at waiting for the bank to get off their duff and approve their great offer. Could the legal department of Chase hire a few more people to review that the form was filled out correctly and signed by the borrowers???

JP Morgan Chase’s profits for the first quarter of 2010 rose 57%.  How about hiring people to handle the short sales with that profit. $3.3 Billion would hire many people! The bank loses money every day they do not close a short sale. AS usual – this does not make sense to me. Does it make sense to you??

These Blog entries are about a good cash offer on a property that I represent the seller. I am dealing with Chase – which was given WaMu loans by you and me – our government – at a very low price on the dollar. A long time bank employee told me that he thought Chase “purchased” WaMu loans for 30 cents on the dollar. 30% – a 70% discount. I have not found any documentation on the price Chase paid for WaMu – so if any of our readers know where that is in print – send it to us! Thank You.

Friday I called the number on the Short Sale package for Assistance – 800-848-9380. I talked with Elizabeth in New York. Elizabeth looked up the Chase loan by the number I gave her and told me that Chase had received both my FAXes – Thursday and Friday morning. I have heard horror stories from other Realtors on Short Sales where the bank claims to never have received the Short Sale package.

I ask Elizabeth if Chase was recording our phone and she said “yes”. I ask if it would be OK if I recorded the call also?  She said “It is against company policy for anyone else to record the call”!

I ask Elizabeth the time frames for approval from Chase on a Short Sale. Elizabeth said that the Chase would order a BPO – a Broker Opinion of Value – within the next 7 to 10 days. Then someone in Chase would review the BPO and produce a Reconciled Market Value report with the next three to four weeks.

So now we are out 4 to 6 weeks. Next Elizabeth said that the bank would assign a Negotiator to the file. That person would contact me three to four weeks after they were assigned the file. Now we are talking 7 to 10 weeks before we might receive an answer from Chase.

Cash buyer. More than the value. Wait 7 to 10 weeks?

What are your stories about Chase Short Sales?  Do you think Elizabeth is giving me the straight story on the time frames?  Let us hear from you in the comment section at the top of this post.

Hi! This is Steve Davis – the Broker at Realty World – Davis Homes & Properties. Many people hear about how long a short sale is. I have just started on May 6 – Thursday – a short sale with Chase. 

On this blog I will be updating you daily as to the response I receive from Chase. We will see if they really want to serve the citizens of the United States – which Chase as taken billions of dollars from – or is the bank so understaffed and unwilling to work with the public that it is a total mess.

So – here is my first installment! On Thursday May 6 I received the accepted offer back from my seller. The seller also gave me the completed Short Sale package from Chase. I did my part as the listing agent – provided three For Sale homes that we similar to the one we are selling. I also provided three Sold homes that are comparable.

I wrote a two page cover letter pointing out to Chase that the offer that another good agent in Lodi brought to me was more than the house was worth. That Chase would be fools not to accept this offer ASAP. But from all we hear Chase is fools anyway. I am giving them a chance to publicly show that they are serious about the housing crisis and willing to move quickly.

I FAXed the completed Short Sale package to the bank at 800-446-8939. The package was 60 pages long.  I will update this post tomorrow with the results of submitting the complete Short Sale package to them.

Please comment about the pro’s and con’s of dealing with Chase on a Short Sale. Any tips you have for me will be appreciated. Thank You.

A while back I posted an article about how shipping containers were being used for innovative ways for housing.  I came across another article profiling even more unique ways of using shipping containers for more than just shipping cargo.

I wonder if using these containers in this manner would help or hurt the real estate market in the Lodi, CA and Stockton, CA areas.

To see how these containers are being creatively being used, CLICK HERE.

Last summer during our annual family reunion, my cousin Jeanne put out some zip lock baggies with water and a few pennies in each of them on the picnic tables.  She said she heard/read that it keeps the flies away.

Rrriiiight.  :-/

Well, this morning she sent me an email with some comments from people online that confirm her ‘home remedy’ of ridding your area of pesky flies. ( I can’t stand flies!)  Let me know if you try this at home or anywhere and if you notice a difference.  Here are a few of those comments…

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ZIP LOCK BAG – Good tip!

We went with friends to Sweety Pies on Sunday for breakfast and sat in the patio section beside the house.   We happened to notice zip lock baggies pinned to a post and a wall.  The bags were half filled with water, each contained 4 pennies, and they were zipped shut.  Naturally we were curious!  Ms. Sweety told us that these baggies kept the flies away!  So naturally we were even more curious!  We actually watched some flies come in the open window, stand around on the window sill, and then fly out again.  And there were no flies in the eating area!  This morning I checked this out on Google.  Below are comments on this fly control idea.  I’m now a believer!

Ann Says:
I tried the ziplock bag and pennies this weekend.. I have a horse trailer.  The flies were bad while I was camping. I put the baggie with pennies above the door of the LQ. NOT ONE FLY came in the trailer.  The horse trailer part had many. Not sure why it works but it does!

Danielle Says:
Fill a ziplock bag with water and 5 or 6 pennies and hang it in the problem area. In my case it was a particular window in my home. It had a slight passage way for insects. Every since I have done that, it has kept flies and wasps away. Some say that wasps and flies mistake the bag for some other insect nest and are threatened.

Maggie Says:
I swear by the plastic bag of water trick. I have them on porch and basement.  We saw these in  Northeast Mo.  at an Amish grocery store & have used them since. They say it works because a fly sees a reflection & won’t come around.

DJ Says:
Regarding the science behind zip log bags of water? My research found that the millions of molecules of water presents its own prism effect and given that flies have a lot of eyes, to them it’s like a zillion disco balls reflecting light, colors and movement in a dizzying manner. When you figure that flies are prey for many other bugs, animals, birds, etc., they simply won’t take the risk of being around that much perceived action. I moved to a rural area and thought these “hillbillies” were just yanking my city boy chain but I tried it and it worked immediately! We went from hundreds of flies to seeing the occasional one, but he didn’t hang around long.

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Here’s to a pesky, fly-free Spring and Summer for you and your family.

Thank you Jeanne!

For several months last year I heard a lot that banks were not too willing to jump on   the Short Sale wagon due to they were making more money on a home once they foreclosed on it and then sold it as an REO.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

I’ve been hearing a lot more lately that banks are actually starting to work more easily with Sellers and Realtors® in order to get the process to go more smoothly with the short sale of the home

because it’s less costly to the banks than a foreclosure and they are starting to learn how to streamline the process a little better.

Here is a great that I came across that explains just that…CLICK HERE

I am beginning to see more and more Short Sales listed and being SOLD in the Lodi and Stockton, CA areas.  Here at Realty World-Davis Homes & Properties, we are taking the necessary steps to help homeowners that may be facing the decision to have to do a Short Sale on their home and assist in this process to help make it as less stressful as possible.

READ THIS ARTICLE, then contact us to get your questions answered and see if a Short Sale is right for you.

Randy

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• Don’t foreclose! Do a short sale  money.cnn.com)

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How would you like to take a step back in time to see Simon & Garfunkel in concert singing their top hits?  Me too!

Well, how about the next best thing.  Tribute artists Mark W. Curran and Tom Haney are a musical duo that transports audiences on a journey through the history of Simon & Garfunkel with songs from their 50-year career, and even some sing-alongs to popular favorites.

Who doesn’t remember and love “Mrs. Robinson“, “Sounds of Silence“, and “Bridge Over Troubled Water“?

The concert will take place on Sunday, March 28th at 3:00pm in the Charlene Powers Lange Performing Arts Theatre located at Hutchins Street Square in Lodi, CA.  You can even see the office of Realty World-Davis Homes & Properties from there.   For tickets and/or more information call (209) 333-5550.

For directions: http://bit.ly/bBtbq0

Sales activity for the Lodi and Stockton CA area have been down the last couple of months.  Was it due to the bad weather?  No, it wasn’t that bad.  Was it due to no incentives to purchase?  No, we still have the extended $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers.

So, what’s the real reason for the lack of sales going on right now in the San Joaquin Valley?  Are people still afraid of falling home prices?  Could it be the inventory of homes that the banks are holding on to after foreclosure?

I’d like to hear from you out there…the public.  What are YOUR thoughts on this and what do you think it will look like in th upcoming months?

Here are the stats for the San Joaquin County, CA…

Les Misérables

School Edition

On Saturday night I had the pleasure of taking my family to the Saint Mary’s High School Theatre Dept’s rendition of the play, Les Misérables.  It was performed at the San Joaquin Delta College’s Tilly Lewis Theatre in Stockton, CA.

I must say that I haven’t attended very many plays other than the ones that my own children were in while in grade school.  I got a glimpse on Saturday of what I’ve been missing out on.  I really, I mean REALLY enjoyed the performance very much.  And I look forward to enjoying other performances that will be played out at Delta College.  It was a perfect venue, as I sat down in the 5th row and felt as if I was catching a glimpse of some of our future television and even movie stars.

This was the first time that Les Misérable School Edition was presented in Stockton, and it was the first time St. Mary’s Theatre group performed at Tillie Lewis Theatre, according to its director, Kevin Costello.

I highly recommend that anyone and everyone attend your local theatre productions.  You don’t know what you’re missing out on.

Make it a great day!

Randy

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The pressure is increasing on Congress to renew the homebuyer tax credits for a third time.

The first $7,500 tax credit was passed in 2008 and required first-time buyers to repay the credit over 15 years. A few months later in 2009, Congress expanded the credit to a maximum of $8,000 that didn’t have to be paid back.

At the end of last year, Congress extended the benefit again until April 30 with an extra two months on top of that to close. A new credit of $6,500 was added for move-up buyers, too.

Now representatives of the housing industry are lobbying for another extension. Some experts, including Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, who supported the earlier credits, think the time has come to let it go.

“It’s worn out its benefit,” he says. “If you extend it again, it isn’t going to do much, and what you’re doing is providing a tax break to folks who bought anyway.”

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Nick Timiraos