Financial institutions are not in the business of holding and maintaining real estate properties.  They would prefer to have these properties sold.  Foreclosure auctions rarely offer the best prices for buyers and seldom provide any access to inspect the properties before the auction.  Once a property fails to sell at auction, it is then called bank-owned or REO.  Beaverton, Portland, and otherwise throughout Oregon, real estate markets now contain many bank-owned properties.  They typically listed at better market prices than comparable properties, but purchasing from banks has certain disadvantages.

Purchasing a short sale property provides the opportunity to buy a home at competitive current market prices while helping an owner that is facing the threat of losing the home to foreclosure.  The seller may be more responsive to buyer concessions than the holder of a REO.  Despite a common short sale myth, the bank with the lien on the property is not a party to a purchase transaction.  Approval of the original lender is just another contingency for the sell to be completed.

As a real estate agent listing a short sale property, I insure that all possible steps have already been taken for the lien holder and any other lenders with an interest in the property to approve a reasonable offer after the buyer and seller sign a purchase agreement.

If you have any questions or interests in short sales or foreclosed properties or know a home owner that I may assist, please contact me at 503-267-8370 or at dannyshepard@oregon.

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If you have any questions on this program or other matters concerning real estate, please call me at 503-267-8370 or email at dannyshepard@oregonfirst.com.

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4088 SW Moniker PL, Aloha, 97007

I am holding open houses for three new construction homes in Aloha this coming Saturday, February 27th from 1:00 to 4:00 pm.   They are located at 4033, 4072, and 4088 SW Moniker Place, Aloha, 97007.  This is the last weekend before the sellers take the homes off the market!

These new homes have two different floor plans, ranging in size from 1,414 to 1,512 square feet with prices listed at $221,900 to $225,900.  Each of these two story homes has four bedrooms and two bathrooms on the second story and a partial bathroom on the main floor.

For qualified buyers, Key Bank has 100% financing available.  These homes are perfect candidates to take advantage of the extended and expanded home buyers tax credit of $8,000.

For more information, see them on:

RMLS

Obeo

If you have any questions regarding these homes or any West Side real estate, or would like to see a house outside of open house hours, please call me at 503-267-8370 or email me at dannyshepard@oregonfirst.com.

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This post was inspired by this article: Your Facebook profile: An open invite to Crime?

But most credit for raising awareness to this risk in the security of your home goes to Please Rob Me, which is a site that is now drawing a great deal of online media attention.

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The VA also states that approximately $1,200 of lender fees CANNOT be paid by the veteran.  Typically, these fees will be stated as seller expenses on the HUD-1 statement, though a lender may choose to pay or waive some of these closing fees.  Common names for these lender fees include: document preparation, underwriting, processing, administration, etc…

Sources:

Kelly Parkman of the KParkman Mortgage Group

VA Loans

If you have any questions regarding purchasing a home with a VA Home Loan, selling your home to a buyer using a VA loan, or any other real estate questions, please give me a call at 503-267-8370 or email me at dannyshepard@oregonfirst.com.

Danny

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dannyshepard@oregonfirst.com

503-267-8370

Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA)

On November 30, 2009, the Treasury Department released guidelines and forms for its new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA). HAFA is part of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). HAFA provides incentives in connection with a short sale or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure (DIL) used to avoid foreclosure on a loan eligible for modification under the HAMP program. Servicers participating in HAMP are also required to comply with HAFA. A list of servicers participating in HAMP is available at MakingHomeAffordable.gov.

HAFA applies to loans not owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which will issue their own versions of HAFA in coming weeks.

HAFA is a complex program, with 43 pages of guidelines and forms, designed to simplify and streamline use of short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure. HAFA:

• Complements HAMP by providing a viable alternative for borrowers (the current homeowners) who are HAMP eligible but nevertheless unable to keep their home.
• Uses borrower financial and hardship information already collected in connection with consideration of a loan modification.
• Allows borrowers to receive pre-approved short sales terms before listing the property (including the minimum acceptable net proceeds).
• Prohibits the servicers from requiring a reduction in the real estate commission agreed upon in the listing agreement (up to 6 percent).
• Requires borrowers to be fully released from future liability for the first mortgage debt (no cash contribution, promissory note, or deficiency judgment is allowed).
• Uses standard processes, documents, and timeframes/deadlines.
• Provides financial incentives: $1,500 for borrower relocation assistance; $1,000 for servicers to cover administrative and processing costs; and up to $1,000 for investors for allowing a total of up to $3,000 in short sale proceeds to be distributed to subordinate lien holders (on a one-for-three matching basis).
• Requires all servicers participating in HAMP to implement HAFA in accordance with their own written policy, consistent with investor guidelines. The policy may include factors such as the severity of the potential loss, local markets, timing of pending foreclosure actions, and borrower motivation and cooperation.

The program does not take effect until April 5, 2010, but servicers may implement it before then if they meet certain requirements. The program sunsets on December 31, 2012.

Source: http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/short_sales_hafa

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The Regional Multiple Listing Service annually reports changes in average sale prices for five counties in the greater Portland-Metro area.  From 2008 to 2009, all five counties had double-digit percent decreases in the average sale price of residential properties.

County Average Sale Price          Percent change from 2008 to 2009

Clackamas       $336,100                           -10.6%

Columbia         $193,300                           -16.2%

Multnomah      $285,300                           -14.0%

Washington      $281,300                          -11.1%

Yamhill            $227,300                          -14.8%

So far into 2010, January’s average sale price for all of the Portland Metropolitan area was $282,400, which is down 3.7% when compared to December 2009 and 5% when compared to January 2009.

If you are in the market to purchase a home, now is the perfect time to buy. There are plenty of properties available, sale prices have continued to drop, and interest rates are low. Additionally, if eligible, the extended and expanded home buyer’s tax credit is available if in a purchase contract by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010.

Do you have any questions regarding real estate statistics, market conditions, or realtor services?

If so, please contact me at:

dannyshepard@oregonfirst.com

503-267-8370

All statistics listed are quoted from the January 2010 issue of RMLS Market Action.

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We just adopted a cat from the Oregon Humane Society. His name is Cougar. After a month in a shelter, he really seems to appreciate our home office as his starting room and to explore the rest of our house. He is also looking forward to trying out the deck. We appreciate having two floors with a baby gate on the top and bottom of the stairs, making it easier to introduce him to our other cat Gracie Joy. Did we have these features in mind when buying our home or baby-proofing it? I would have to say no.

In other news, my mother-in-law has just begun a three week visit. She has so far enjoyed sharing the room with Cougar. I am glad to continue sleeping in my own room during her visit. During the Valentines/Presidents Day weekend, we celebrated our love and patriotism by finishing the conversion of the home office to a guest room with office functionality. Meanwhile, the second office desk has been moved into our master bedroom. The idea is that neither desk is personalized and therefore usable for either my wife or I as needed. Mackenzie continues to enjoy a bedroom without a desk or work, though she is showing a lot of interest in both. You do not always have to change where you live to change how you live, but I am here to help if you want to buy or sell a home.

The Portland-Metro real estate market activity improved last month over the same period a year ago. Closed sales were up 34.7% versus January 2009 and pending sales increased by 24.3%, but new listings dropped by 6.2%.

Comparing last month to December 2009, pending sales were up 34.5% but closed sells fell by the same percentage. New listings increased by 87.1%! The drop in closed sales combined with the rise in new listings increased active inventory, which is calculated by dividing the total number of active listings for a month and dividing it by the number of closed sales. It would take about 12.6 months to sell the 12,449 active residential listings.

Sale prices for last month were down compared to January 2009 by 5%, and the median sale price also decreased by 4%. January 2010 sale prices were also down when viewed against December 2009 with average prices dropping by 3.7% while the median price slightly decreased by 0.9%.

If you are in the market to purchase a home, now is the perfect time to buy. There are plenty of properties available, sale prices have continued to drop, and interest rates are low. Additionally, if eligible, the extended and expanded home buyer’s tax credit is available if in a purchase contract by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010.

Would you like to receive more detailed information about?

• Realtor services?
• The extended and expanded home buyer’s tax credit?
• Interest rates?
• Your neighborhood or neighborhoods of interest?

Please contact me at:

dannyshepard@oregonfirst.com

503-267-8370

All statistics listed are quoted from the January 2010 issue of RMLS Market Action. The Regional Multiple Listing Service releases the previous month’s statistics near the 15^th of the current month.

Tax credit information provided by the IRS at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=215791,00.html?portlet=7

Additional tax credit information provided by the National Association of Realtors FAQ on Homebuyer Tax Credit Changes, available on request.

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Here are 5 of my recent favorites:

10 savvy home buying tips for 2010

10 secrets of off season homebuying

Top 5 cities where home prices are plummeting

Cities with the fastest-falling home prices

Quit renting and buy in Portland

If you have any comments, please post them here.  If you have any questions, please email me at dannyshepard@oregonfirst.com or call me at 503-267-8370.

Danny Shepard

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