Lodi / Stockton CA Homes For Sale & Real Estate Information

I hope you all had a fun and safe 4th of July weekend!  Yesterday was our country’s celebration of independence.  But what about our financial independence?

When the banks have ‘bad debt’, they write it off.  When a business or corporation has a ‘bad debt’, write it off.  BUT when a homeowner has a ‘bad debt’, just writing it off ain’t gonna happen.

A lot of people who can afford to stay in their homes are just saying good-bye to them  and their mortgages by exercising their freedom of choice and just walking away from their financial responsibilities.  This is commonly referred to as Strategic Foreclosure or Strategic Default.

So, what’s a honest homeowner to do when they’re home is now worth much less than they paid for it only a few short years ago?  Well, before you just get up and walk away you should definitely consult with a real estate attorney, a good Realtor, and also a CPA to find out what options and legal consequences you’ll have depending on your choices and situation.

You could let the bank foreclose, or you could Short Sale your home.  REOs and Short Sales in Stockton and surrounding areas are the bulk of what’s on the market these days.  Just look around and I’m sure you’ll see For Sale signs up and down many streets in your own neighborhood.

Walking away from your home that’s “under water” (worth less than you owe) instead of trying to work with your bank(s) or having a Realtor short sale it for you, could actually leave you in deep water.

Here is some more specific information about this…CLICK HERE.

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The Father’s Day concept was originally introduced by an American Christian woman named Sonar Louise Smart to honor her dad, Henry Jackson Smart. In United States Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June every year and today is that day.

Father’s Day is celebrated to honor fathers and acknowledge the love and care that they showed all these years raising their children in the best possible way.

Fathers, like mothers, are not born. Men grow into fathers and fathering is very important stage in a person’s life. Some Famous Father’s Day quotes are:

“I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.”
~ Sigmund Freud

“Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices calling him Father!”
~ Lydia M. Child

“If the new American father feels bewildered and even defeated, let him take comfort from the fact that whatever he does in any fathering situation has a fifty percent chance of being right.”
~ Bill Cosby

From all of us at Realty World, we hope you have a very Happy Father’s Day!

Could it be true?  Could it be possible?  C’mon House…Let it ride, baby!  Let it ride!

If you’ve made an Offer to Purchase a home recently, especially a Short Sale in Stockton, Lodi, Modesto, CA or anywhere for that matter, then you know what I’m talking about.

To receive the home-buyer’s tax credit you had to have been “under contract” (meaning, accepted by the seller) by April 30th and have your deal “close escrow” by June 30th.  But since some banks are extremely slow to approve short sales, a lot of these deals haven’t closed escrow yet, and may not be able to by June 30.

It was put to a vote, and the Senate said YES to an extension until Sept 30th to get these deals closed.  Now it’s up before the House to approve this extension as well.

Here’s a quick read on this story… http://bit.ly/9fr0ru

Good luck Brandon!  I’m bettin’ on the House for you!

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• Senate votes to extend home tax credit deadline (reuters.com)

Oh my!  Wouldn’t this be a great thing?  Yes!

The first-time homebuyer tax credit had two deadlines.  One was to be “under contract” by April 3o, and the other is to have closed escrow by June 3o, which is just around the corner.

So, if you’re dealing with a Short Sale, like a lot of people are, and you haven’t received your approval from the lender yet, or you have and you just haven’t closed escrow yet, then this is making for some nail-biting times right now.

This extension is up before the Senate for approval.  Here is an article explaining more info…READ HERE.

At Realty World – Davis Homes & Properties, we help a lot of people with Short Sales in Stockton and the Lodi areas.  Whether looking to buy or sell a Short Sale it can sometimes be a very confusing and time-consuming task.  It helps to have someone in your corner helping you along the way.

Let’s all focus our thoughts and energy on getting this extension to pass.

What is the Federal Housing Administration?

The Federal Housing Administration, generally known as “FHA”, provides mortgage insurance on loans made by FHA-approved lenders throughout the United States and its territories. FHA insures mortgages on single family and multifamily homes including manufactured homes and hospitals. It is the largest insurer of mortgages in the world, insuring over 34 million properties since its inception in 1934.

What is FHA Mortgage Insurance?

FHA mortgage insurance provides lenders with protection against losses as the result of homeowners defaulting on their mortgage loans. The lenders bear less risk because FHA will pay a claim to the lender in the event of a homeowner’s default. Loans must meet certain requirements established by FHA to qualify for insurance.

Why does FHA Mortgage Insurance exist?

Unlike conventional loans that adhere to strict underwriting guidelines, FHA-insured loans require very little cash investment to close a loan. There is more flexibility in calculating household income and payment ratios. The cost of the mortgage insurance is passed along to the homeowner and typically is included in the monthly payment. In most cases, the insurance cost to the homeowner will drop off after five years or when the remaining balance on the loan is 78 percent of the value of the property -whichever is longer.

How is FHA funded?

FHA is the only government agency that operates entirely from its self-generated income and costs the taxpayers nothing. The proceeds from the mortgage insurance paid by the homeowners are captured in an account that is used to operate the program entirely. FHA provides a huge economic stimulation to the country in the form of home and community development, which trickles down to local communities in the form of jobs, building suppliers, tax bases, schools, and other forms of revenue.

The History of FHA

Congress created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in 1934. The FHA became a part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Housing in 1965.

When the FHA was created, the housing industry was flat on its back:

• Two million construction workers had lost their jobs.

• Terms were difficult to meet for homebuyers seeking mortgages.

• Mortgage loan terms were limited to 50 percent of the property’s market value, with a repayment schedule spread over three to five years and ending with a balloon payment.

• America was primarily a nation of renters. Only four in 10 households owned homes.
  

During the 1940s, FHA programs helped finance military housing and homes for returning veterans and their families after the war.

In the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, the FHA helped to spark the production of millions of units of privately-owned apartments for elderly, handicapped and lower income Americans. When soaring inflation and energy costs threatened the survival of thousands of private apartment buildings in the 1970s, FHA’s emergency financing kept cash-strapped properties afloat.

The FHA moved in to steady falling home prices and made it possible for potential homebuyers to get the financing they needed when recession prompted private mortgage insurers to pull out of oil producing states in the 1980s.

By 2001, the nation’s homeownership rate had soared to an all time high of 68.1 percent as of the third quarter that year.

The FHA and HUD have insured over 34 million home mortgages and 47,205 multifamily project mortgages since 1934. FHA currently has 4.8 million insured single family mortgages and 13,000 insured multifamily projects in its portfolio.

In the more than 60 years since the FHA was created, much has changed and Americans are now arguably the best housed people in the world. HUD has helped greatly with that success.

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I am sure it will be a surprise to Justin from Monday’s call from Chase – but the Broker Opinion of Value has been finished as of this morning!  I want to thank Jan from Collins Realty in Stockton for doing the BPO.

Again – we are looking at one hand not knowing what the other hand is doing. We are making progress and I am hopeful that we will get a decision from Chase this month to accept the great offer that we have on the property.

Stay tuned – and I will update you more tomorrow.

Friday – Day 9 – I called Chase for a less than 2 min call with a Steve. Since I was not an authorized caller, he told me he could not talk to me. Short but not helpful!

Monday - Day 12 – I received a call from Chase’s Justin ask me if we were doing a short sale on the property. Duh! He wanted to know if we had a buyer already. Duh. Then he proceeded to tell me all the paperwork that I would need to send in – the paperwork that I had sent in almost 2 weeks ago. He gave me the special short sale fax line – 866-220-4130. The one that I had already sent all the forms into 13 days ago.

Justin said that when I got all the forms into him he could order the BPO. This is different from what Elizabeth in New York had told me on Day 2. Elizabeth had said that they would order the BPO and it would take 7-10 days. We are on day 13 and Justin says they have not ordered it yet.

Prices in Lodi are still falling. The longer it takes to complete this short sale, the lower the value of the home. Banks like Chase (WaMu) started this real estate mess and they seem to be doing all they can to continue it.

Hopefully we will have some good news – and some quicker response soon. Don’t hold your breath.

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.