Do you have an FHA mortgage? Are you having trouble making your payments? Well, the FHA has some good news for you. Last week the Federal Housing Administration announced that it is now going to be working with homeowners (borrowers) before they become delinquent on their mortgages. If a borrower can prove a financial hardship (or a change in circumstances) even if he or she is not delinquent on the mortgage, the FHA will be wiling to help.

According to FHA Commissioner David Stevens, “The FHA has always required lenders to establish early contact with delinquent borrowers to discuss the reason for missing a payment and to evaluate reinstatement options. . . Now servicers will have additional options for those borrowers who seek help before they go delinquent, which increases the likelihood that the borrower will be able to retain their home.”

The programs that will be available to borrowers in financial distress may available include forbearance (postponement or reduction of payments for a period of time) or permanent payment reductions (through reduction of the interest rate or forgiveness of principal).

Not sure whether you have an FHA mortgage? Curious about your options? Contact one of the qualified Realtors® at Broadpoint Properties.

As our market has shifted in the last several years, especially with more REOs and short sales, there has been an influx of out-of-area agents, especially on the listing side. 

This change has complicated the showing process from a Buyer Agent’s (and buyers!) perspective, for a host of reasons – limited or inaccurate information, lockbox issues, poor communication, and so on. 

We really do want to help your sell your listings and work hand in hand with you, so here are some suggestions to improve the process. If everyone would play by the rules, life would be so much simpler.

FOLLOW THE RULES OF THE LOCAL MLS

If you list your property on our MLS (and you should so your clients gain from maximum exposure – having it listed only on your MLS could put your client at a disadvantage) it’s a good idea to play by the rules, which may differ from your local MLS. Add the photos (it’s required here) and make sure the information is accurate. Not seeing the house because you are 100 miles away is NOT an excuse. If you are listing the property, then do your job.

INSTALL THE RIGHT LOCKBOX

That’s part of following the rules. Or at least use one we can gain access to. If it has to be a combo box let us know that it is (and tell us how to get the combo) rather than having us find out when we get to the home. 

USE THE RIGHT LINGO

If it’s a short sale you are required to state so here. And you should for an REO also. And in our area when you have offers being reviewed by either the short sale or REO lenders you are required to indicate that, and use the Contingency Status. And when it goes Pending, change it ion the MLS. It’s pretty annoying to make calls to try and show buyers property only to find out that you already have it in escrow. That’s also playing by the rules, and a courtesy. 

COMMUNICATION

This seems to be a problem these days with agents not returning calls or emails. It’s often a big issue with out-of-area agents. Yeah, it may be a long distance call but that’s your doing, not ours. If you are going to be the listing agent, then please help us by communicating so we can get the info we need or arrange to show the property. 

AVOID PUFFERY AND MISREPRESENTATION

First of all it could be an ethics violation, depending. But it really does buyers and their agents a disservice. Calling a home “move in condition” when it is a pigsty is pretty darned annoying (and since you don’t include any photos we can only rely on your remarks). Happens all the time. Or not correctly stating the rooms – had one recently where the agent claimed there was a family room plus a living room. Nope, Nada.  We know you may not bother to check the home out – it’s pretty obvious from your written descriptions – but don’t be deceptive. 

I know it can be hard managing a listing from a distance, but that’s part of the job. We would appreciate you playing by the rules even though you are an out-of-area agent. If you can’t, well, perhaps you shouldn’t be listing in our area.

********************************

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If I can provide more information about San Marcos real estate and surrounding areas, or the housing market in general, or otherwise assist you in your homes search, please contact me by phone or text at (760) 840-1360 or email me at JDowler@remax.net.

All content copyright © 2010 Jeff Dowler Carlsbad Homes and Real Estate Tidbits

As our market has shifted in the last several years, especially with more REOs and short sales, there has been an influx of out-of-area agents, especially on the listing side. 

This change has complicated the showing process from a Buyer Agent’s (and buyers!) perspective, for a host of reasons – limited or inaccurate information, lockbox issues, poor communication, and so on. 

We really do want to help your sell your listings and work hand in hand with you, so here are some suggestions to improve the process. If everyone would play by the rules, life would be so much simpler.

FOLLOW THE RULES OF THE LOCAL MLS

If you list your property on our MLS (and you should so your clients gain from maximum exposure – having it listed only on your MLS could put your client at a disadvantage) it’s a good idea to play by the rules, which may differ from your local MLS. Add the photos (it’s required here) and make sure the information is accurate. Not seeing the house because you are 100 miles away is NOT an excuse. If you are listing the property, then do your job.

INSTALL THE RIGHT LOCKBOX

That’s part of following the rules. Or at least use one we can gain access to. If it has to be a combo box let us know that it is (and tell us how to get the combo) rather than having us find out when we get to the home. 

USE THE RIGHT LINGO

If it’s a short sale you are required to state so here. And you should for an REO also. And in our area when you have offers being reviewed by either the short sale or REO lenders you are required to indicate that, and use the Contingency Status. And when it goes Pending, change it ion the MLS. It’s pretty annoying to make calls to try and show buyers property only to find out that you already have it in escrow. That’s also playing by the rules, and a courtesy. 

COMMUNICATION

This seems to be a problem these days with agents not returning calls or emails. It’s often a big issue with out-of-area agents. Yeah, it may be a long distance call but that’s your doing, not ours. If you are going to be the listing agent, then please help us by communicating so we can get the info we need or arrange to show the property. 

AVOID PUFFERY AND MISREPRESENTATION

First of all it could be an ethics violation, depending. But it really does buyers and their agents a disservice. Calling a home “move in condition” when it is a pigsty is pretty darned annoying (and since you don’t include any photos we can only rely on your remarks). Happens all the time. Or not correctly stating the rooms – had one recently where the agent claimed there was a family room plus a living room. Nope, Nada.  We know you may not bother to check the home out – it’s pretty obvious from your written descriptions – but don’t be deceptive. 

I know it can be hard managing a listing from a distance, but that’s part of the job. We would appreciate you playing by the rules even though you are an out-of-area agent. If you can’t, well, perhaps you shouldn’t be listing in our area.

********************************

     Subscribe in a reader

If I can provide more information about San Marcos real estate and surrounding areas, or the housing market in general, or otherwise assist you in your homes search, please contact me by phone or text at (760) 840-1360 or email me at JDowler@remax.net.

All content copyright © 2010 Jeff Dowler Carlsbad Homes and Real Estate Tidbits

Of the San Marcos Restaurants I have enjoyed, the Market St. Café and French Bakery is a winner.

I was introduced to the Market St. Café a year or two ago by good friends, and we had several wonderful meals there…a pleasant surprise given what seems to be a wealth of chain and fast food San Marcos restaurants. Their half price wine night is a real treat and a deal! I took some clients there for lunch and they, too, thoroughly enjoyed the food and the atmosphere on their outdoor patio. 

San Marcos Restaurants – The Market St. Café in Old California Restaurant Row 

We heard recently from our friends that the Market St. Café had a new chef, who happened to have come from a restaurant we thoroughly enjoyed in La Jolla. So naturally we had to try it out. 

They did NOT disappoint! In fact, it’s better than ever, with a Mediterranean style French bistro menu with what I think of as comfort food. At least it’s comforting to me…Coq au Vin (read this article by Chef Matt Richman) and Bouillabaisse, to name a few items on their dinner menu. 

Fortunately we made reservations, as the place was packed when we arrived. I usually find that to be a good sign. Our dinner was wonderful – I had the Bouillabaisse, and topped it off with a scrumptious three-layer chocolate mousse cake – and our server, Julie (who we remembered from at least one prior visit) was terrific, with just the right amount of friendliness and efficiency coupled with substantial knowledge about the menu and food preparation. What more could you ask for? 

My next visit may have to be at the Bakery to try out some of their pastries, since I drive by frequently when out showing property.

Visit the Market Street Cafe on Facebook to stay on top of happenings. 

Check out their other restaurants – Café Bleu (Mission Hills) and The Red Door Restaurant and Wine Bar (San Diego) 

If you haven’t been to the Market St. Café, I recommend you try it out. And if you have, perhaps it’s time for another visit to test their new menu. They are located in the Old California Restaurant Row on San Marcos Boulevard in San Marcos.

1080 W. San Marcos Blvd., #104

(760) 471-7646

Hours

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If I can provide more information about San Marcos real estate and surrounding areas, or the housing market in general, or otherwise assist you in your homes search, please contact me by phone or text at (760) 840-1360 or email me at JDowler@remax.net.

All content copyright © 2010 Jeff Dowler Carlsbad Homes and Real Estate Tidbits

Of the San Marcos Restaurants I have enjoyed, the Market St. Café and French Bakery is a winner.

I was introduced to the Market St. Café a year or two ago by good friends, and we had several wonderful meals there…a pleasant surprise given what seems to be a wealth of chain and fast food San Marcos restaurants. Their half price wine night is a real treat and a deal! I took some clients there for lunch and they, too, thoroughly enjoyed the food and the atmosphere on their outdoor patio. 

San Marcos Restaurants – The Market St. Café in Old California Restaurant Row 

We heard recently from our friends that the Market St. Café had a new chef, who happened to have come from a restaurant we thoroughly enjoyed in La Jolla. So naturally we had to try it out. 

They did NOT disappoint! In fact, it’s better than ever, with a Mediterranean style French bistro menu with what I think of as comfort food. At least it’s comforting to me…Coq au Vin (read this article by Chef Matt Richman) and Bouillabaisse, to name a few items on their dinner menu. 

Fortunately we made reservations, as the place was packed when we arrived. I usually find that to be a good sign. Our dinner was wonderful – I had the Bouillabaisse, and topped it off with a scrumptious three-layer chocolate mousse cake – and our server, Julie (who we remembered from at least one prior visit) was terrific, with just the right amount of friendliness and efficiency coupled with substantial knowledge about the menu and food preparation. What more could you ask for? 

My next visit may have to be at the Bakery to try out some of their pastries, since I drive by frequently when out showing property.

Visit the Market Street Cafe on Facebook to stay on top of happenings. 

Check out their other restaurants – Café Bleu (Mission Hills) and The Red Door Restaurant and Wine Bar (San Diego) 

If you haven’t been to the Market St. Café, I recommend you try it out. And if you have, perhaps it’s time for another visit to test their new menu. They are located in the Old California Restaurant Row on San Marcos Boulevard in San Marcos.

1080 W. San Marcos Blvd., #104

(760) 471-7646

Hours

********************************

     Subscribe in a reader

If I can provide more information about San Marcos real estate and surrounding areas, or the housing market in general, or otherwise assist you in your homes search, please contact me by phone or text at (760) 840-1360 or email me at JDowler@remax.net.

All content copyright © 2010 Jeff Dowler Carlsbad Homes and Real Estate Tidbits

This is a follow up to my previous post outlining Bank of America’s new short sale system, Equator. In my previous post I provided a detailed description of the way to upload your short sale into the Equator system. I ended the post with a few off the cuff remarks about Bank of America’s new system. Principally, I was and still am looking forward to seeing the degree to which this Internet platform will help Bank of America to handle their short sales.

In the last month my staff has uploaded a minimum of 20 new short sales into Equator. We have also been directed to upload some of our older files into the Equator system. So, a few short sales that were pretty far along (in Phase 2, if you are familiar with the Bank of America lingo) were suddenly required to be uploaded into this Internet-based system.

The short sales that we have in the system seem to be plugging along-no more quickly than before the system was used. The main difference is that we are spending a little less time calling Bank of America and significantly more time uploading the required information. Each document needs to be uploaded separately (as an individual pdf file). Sometimes more information is required than we had previously submitted. That bogs things down a bit.

Today, however, we had a typical short sale moment. We had one short sale that we were specifically directed to add to the Equator system about 5 weeks ago. We received a counter offer the other day. We accepted the counter offer, and were just waiting for our final approval letter. We were excited and hopeful. Perhaps the Equator system is actually going to work for us?

Then . . . the typical short sale whammy. Today we received an email stating that the specific investor on this short sale is not one that uses the Equator system. So, true to form, we are asked to resubmit in the traditional manner. Huh? What?

Of course, we are not short on friends in the right places and now this particular short sale seems to be well on its way to an approval letter. But, all in all, I’d say that it’s going to be awhile before all of the Bank of America employees and all of the short sale agents are working together on the Equator system like a well-oiled machine.

In the interim, drink a martini or do yoga (or whatever you do) to keep your sanity!

The main purpose of this article is to generate discussion and debate, with advice offered by fellow agents, and a sharing of good, and bad, experiences. 

The issue?  When does the buyer get to move into the new home? 

In general, once escrow has closed, or settlement occurs, the new home owners are given the keys to their new home and can move in. Occupancy is specified clearly in the Offer to Purchase Contact here in California and is part of the negotiation and contract. But there are a number of scenarios that can occur. 

Is occupancy by the end of the day at Close of Escrow? Maybe.

•  What if the seller wants or needs some more time (e.g., buying another home at the same time, relocation)?

• What if the seller wants to be SURE the closing has occurred and recordation has as well before moving out?

• What about liability for the new home owner if the seller remains for a few days after closing?

• What terms and conditions should be negotiated if buyer occupancy is not immediate? 

• What if closing does not occur as planned at the last moment?

What is the normal practice in your area? I talked to a friend in Orange County and there it is pretty standard for occupancy to be COE (that’s close of escrow, or settlement in some part of the country) plus 3 days for homes that are occupied. 

I’m not in favor of letting sellers stay on once recording has occurred – it’s now the buyer’s home, let the buyer move in. BUt there are times when an alternative must be negotiated.

And I am really not in favor of letting a buyer move in early, before closing. But there are many circumstances where these, and other, scenarios might be entertained. And folks ask about this stuff, especially if a home is vacant, they are relocating and need a place to live, or for other reasons. 

So share your thoughts. 

When does the buyer get to move into the new home?

I have been a big fan of sticky notes, a.k.a. Post-It Notes (Post-Its), for years. A great invention. In the corporate world they were indispensable. Still are, no doubt. 

Their use carried over into my real estate business and became a staple when I started blogging. Post-Its were everywhere, with all my ideas for blog articles.

I got more organized and started keeping a file filled with clippings, notes, etc. to keep track of all my ideas. Post-It Notes are still a big part of that organization. And I continue to use them in a variety of ways as I suspect many of you do. 

One of the neat things I discovered is the Sticky Note feature on PDFs. Here’s one way I have been using them. 

I developed a BUYER’S HANDBOOKand a SELLER’S HANDBOOK to use with clients once we start working together (abbreviated versions are shared with prospects). 

As I try to be more sensitive to the environment, and to make better use of technology, I now typically share these handbooks on GOOGLE DOCS instead.

This also works well because many of my clients who are buying are not local so much of our work, communication and document sharing is on-line. 

In order to educate new buyers to the Southern California area and our wealth of real estate paperwork, I include Appendices in the Buyer’s Handbook where I share sample copies of all the documents they typically will encounter. Sticky Notes are a great way to provide on-line notes throughout the documents and share information I want buyers to know about particular items buyers, especially decision points like price and dates. 

I encourage buyers to review all the documents in advance so they have some idea of what to expect. Of course we go through all this when we meet but a little on-line education beforehand saves time and answers many questions.

NOTE TOOL

Sticky Notes – the NOTE TOOL – is found under the TOOLS tab when you open up a PDF on Acrobat, then under COMMENTING. You simply CLICK on NOTE TOOL and place the note where you want in the document, fill in the information on the note, adn you’re done. Cool stuff.

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If I can provide more information about Carlsbad real estate and surrounding areas, or the housing market in general, or otherwise assist you in your homes search, please contact me by phone or text at (760) 840-1360 or email me at JDowler@remax.net.

All content copyright © 2010 Jeff Dowler Carlsbad Homes and Real Estate Tidbits

Boy has it been busy out! The past few weeks we have been overloaded with closing deals!
This is the time to be doing Short Sales!
As much as I love closing deals, helping homeowners in foreclosure and cashing checks, I know that staying updated with the current market is essential in being successful.

This past weekend my assistant Pam and I attended a Mortgage Class to obtain our Mortgage License which is now a requirement to have, if you want to do Short Sales.

See my video about that here…

This weekend I am looking forward to my 3 Days Live Short Sale Training Event, January 29-31 in Orlando, Fl. I am going to be sharing new updates, rule changes and awesome techniques to get you ahead of the game in our real estate market today. The techniques I share with you, will not be found anywhere else.
Get Ready for Outrageous Stuff!

My keynote speaker is my great friend Daredevil Real Estate Artist and Best Selling Author Frank McKinney who will be speaking Friday night from 5-7 pm.
Believe me, you do not want to miss out on this!
If you cannot afford the training at this time, please be my guest and hear him speak for FREE! . Call us at 407-772-2274 to save your seat.

Frank has amazing creativity and artistry when it comes to building homes.
See his new .3 million direct oceanfront home “Acqua Liana” just featured on HGTV
See that Here

He is a master at selling them as well.. Since beginning his career in 1986, then moving his artistry to the direct oceanfront in 1992, he has created and sold 36 oceanfront homes and properties.
Many of Franks creations have sold within the last few years for record breaking prices and were talking in the millions! The average tenure Franks properties were offered for sale (days on market) over the last decade has been an astonishingly short 54.5 days, with many selling within days of completion.
Check that out Here!

I am honored to have Frank with us Friday Night. Get ready to hear how how he finds his
buyers so quickly for these beautiful homes. He will also be sharing what he and his rescue team did in Haiti just days after the earthquake. His Caring House Project Foundation provides homes, clinics, villages and more in Haiti, which Debbie and I are proud to be a part of.

It is going to be quite an exciting weekend! Get on board and join us!
Sign up Here

The Kicking Off 2010 Superbowl of Short Sales Webinar will go down tomorrow night a midnight!

Investing in Real Estate has never been better than right now and doing Short Sales is more than a lucrative career it is a gold mine!

To Your Success,
Hunter Paschall
407-772-2274

Feel free to pass it along to anyone who might be interested.