Just the other day a California agent contacted our office because she was looking on one of the foreclosure platforms and noticed that her client’s home was going to foreclosure auction on March 29^th. This agent was in a panic. The short sale package was already at the bank and under review. “How could they schedule the sale?” she asked.

The simple answer to this question is that they have not yet scheduled the sale. What she saw online was completely misleading. The online foreclosure platforms (where you can purchase subscriptions to foreclosure and pre-foreclosure data) contain projected auction dates based upon the date when the original foreclosure filings began. 

So, in the case of this particular short sale seller, the Notice of Default (which formally begins the foreclosure process) was filed at the beginning of December. So, the projected auction date (based on California time frames) would be somewhere around March 29^th.

A foreclosure auction in the state of California will occur approximately 21 days after the Notice of Trustee’s Sale has been filed at the County Recorder’s office. So, the only way to know the exact date of a scheduled foreclosure auction is to find out whether a Notice of Trustee’s Sale has been recorded. This can be done by contacting your local title company customer service department.

How did I know that the sale was not yet scheduled for this property? Well, I’m a pretty quick mathematician. I know that the notices are filed around three weeks prior to the sale date, and the agent contacted me 5 weeks before the sale date. So, I was confident that this was only a projected date.

Here’s another short sale secret: Even the Trustee’s Sale dates on the online platforms (after the filings) can be incorrect. When the bank postpones an auction date in order to process a short sale or loan modification, the bank does not do any additional filings at the Recorder’s office. So, it is not uncommon for the published auction dates to elapse, yet the property still belongs to the borrower. The best way to confirm a real auction date is to contact the mortgage lender and ask.

I guess that’s why they say, “There are no stupid questions.”

The Carlsbad Flower Fields Open March 1, 2012 in Carlsbad CA

The ever-popular, and beautiful Carlsbad Flower Fields will be opening for the spring blooming season this Thursday, March 1, 2012 in Carlsbad.

The Flower Fields, quite simply, are one of the most amazing arrays of flowery color on the hills overlooking the ocean just behind the Carlsbad Premium Outlet Mall on Paseo El Norte.

Acres of colorful ranunculas will amaze you, whether seen from a distance, a stroll along the perimeter, the outlook on Armada Drive to the east or on a tractor-drawn cart through the fields. What is more amazing, in some ways, is the transformation from a field of brown dirt just a few short months ago to a field of colorful flowers.

There are other flowers displays as well, and several fun events, including a Bluegrass Day on April 14 and a Mother’s Day Celebration on closing day, during the Flower Fields season, March 1 – May 13, 2012.

Tickets and season passes may be purchased on-line on the Flower Fields website.

Carlsbad Flower Fields

5704 Paseo del Norte

(760) 431-0352

Carlsbad, CA  92008 (by the Outlet Mall and the Windmill)

4^th Annual Brasil Jazz Festa 2012 in Encinitas was Outstanding

We attended, with a bunch of friends, the 4^th Annual Brasil Jazz Festa at the Encinitas Public Library in Encinitas today. Having been to all the prior concerts, I can tell you it’s always great fun and the music is terrific. There aren’t too many venues where you can sit within 7 – 10 feet of the artists and truly experience an intimate setting, plus some wonderful music and singing.

As in the past, the concert featured 3 groups, with a mix of musicians and vocalists, some of whom appear every year to the delight of the audience.

This year the Brasil Jazz Festa featured Allison Adams Tucker and her group, the Danny Green Quartet, and David Scheid (from Brazil) featuring Mark Lamson on drums.

This has become an annual event so consider it for next year if you missed this year’s concert or prior years. For this is wonderful opportunity to enjoy some talented musicians and Brazilian jazz, with some classics you are sure to recognize but lesser known and original compositions in the Brazilian style as well.

Enjoy the videos below to get a taste for the talent.

Brasil Jazz Festa 2012

Encinitas Public Library

540 Cornish Drive

(a couple blocks east of downtown and Coast Road/Route 101)

Encinitas, CA

4^th Annual Brasil Jazz Festa 2012 in Encinitas was Outstanding

We attended, with a bunch of friends, the 4^th Annual Brasil Jazz Festa at the Encinitas Public Library in Encinitas today. Having been to all the prior concerts, I can tell you it’s always great fun and the music is terrific. There aren’t too many venues where you can sit within 7 – 10 feet of the artists and truly experience an intimate setting, plus some wonderful music and singing.

As in the past, the concert featured 3 groups, with a mix of musicians and vocalists, some of whom appear every year to the delight of the audience.

This year the Brasil Jazz Festa featured Allison Adams Tucker and her group, the Danny Green Quartet, and David Scheid (from Brazil) featuring Mark Lamson on drums.

This has become an annual event so consider it for next year if you missed this year’s concert or prior years. For this is wonderful opportunity to enjoy some talented musicians and Brazilian jazz, with some classics you are sure to recognize but lesser known and original compositions in the Brazilian style as well.

Enjoy the videos below to get a taste for the talent.

Brasil Jazz Festa 2012

Encinitas Public Library

540 Cornish Drive

(a couple blocks east of downtown and Coast Road/Route 101)

Encinitas, CA

It’s always my goal to help you stay on top of the latest and greatest news. Hey… you already are ahead of the game—brave enough to stare short sales in the face and take short sale listings.

Here’s a recap of some of the interesting stuff that went on this past week in the distressed property arena: 

HAMP Mods Approach 1 Million  Since the 2009 program was touted to aid 4 million borrowers and we seem to be stuck somewhere between 900k and 1 million, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this is just another ripe opportunity for savvy short sale agents to dominate the market.

New Cool Free Stuff from Realtor.com  Watch the techsavvyagent.com video. There are definitely some great ways to use this free tool in order to leverage the short sale listings that you have and get a whole bunch more, right? 

Don’t Let HOAs Play God with Your Next Short Sale Read more about how Homeowner’s Association liens, dues, and transfer fees can do a darn good job mucking up your next short sale listing if you are not careful.

Okay… we’re pinning now. Are you? If you want, you can follow the Short Sale Expeditor® on the following social media platforms:

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There’s lots going on in the distressed property arena. And, if you are actively working with ‘distressed’ borrowers, it’s important to keep up with all of the changes in the industry. Sometimes that’s hard, which is why I’ve provided you with a weekly recap right here.

This is an important post to read if you are working with clients who have not sold their home and wish to turn it into rental property and want to include the income for getting approved to purchase a new home.

This is often the case in the current market where people need to move but cannot sell their home OR wish to not sell it and lose a lot of money. Renting the home so they can move to a new one IS an option, but not without consequences. Knowing IF you can count the rental income as part of your qualifying financials, and how much is important.

George does a great job of outlining the issues you should be aware of.

And of course you should consult your tax professional so you understand the tax consequences of that rental property.

How Can a REALTOR Take Photos That are so Bad?

This from an experienced buyer I know who was looking at houses in the Carlsbad area on-line.

“They ought to be shot.” (the REALTOR, that is).

In this age of inexpensive digital photography, one does have to wonder. We complain about it all the time but the reality remains that many agents either do not know how to take a decent photo, or they simply don’t care, perhaps because they don’t feel it makes a difference.

Perhaps with REOs and short sales, or price points where there is high demand, it really doesn’t matter all that much since there are people who are interested and are going to want to see those homes, no matter what. And with many of the lower priced units (under 0K in our area), even those with just 1 lousy photo, there are multiple offers almost right away.

On tour the other day with one of my first time buyers, she commented on one unit that we were in, and out of pretty quickly, that “wow, those MLS photos can really distort how some homes look!” This in a short sale condo that was, well, in pretty bad shape. You never would have guessed from the photo.

I’ve heard plenty of comments about the lack of photos, or crummy ones, from buyers, and there have been a myriad of articles about this issue (this being yet another). We know that buyers want to see them, the more the better, and that they do make decisions to pursue homes or not on the basis of what they see.

THE FIRST OPEN HOUSE IS ON-LINE, remember?

Taking decent, or even quite good, real estate photos is not that hard, and many of us here, who are not photographers by any stretch of the imagination, do so all the time. And it costs you nothing but a bit of time once you buy that camera, which today will cost you less than a month of Starbucks mocha lattes.

It takes only a few minutes to grab a bunch of photos to make sure you can cull out the ones that suck, leaving you a quality product. Take lots of each “scene” to be sure. Or hire someone if you are so incredibly busy that you can’t perform one of the duties you should to market your client’s property. Here are “My 10 Photo Commandments.” I include this is my pre-listing kit now.

And you need to look at what you took on-line before you put them out there for the world to see. I often find what looks good on my camera is actually pretty bad on the computer screen. And sellers are usually more than happy to look at photos and help decide what showcases the home the best. Better that than to have them see your listing plastered all over the Internet and call you to complain that the photos are not very good, or worse.

Below you will find some suggestions for improving your photography from a professional, taken from an educational session SCOTT BASILE conducted for some CRSs here in San Diego that I arranged. These are some great tips and easy to implement. Feel free to print out or download to your computer.

Photography Notes – Scott Basile

That’s right, folks. The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, which was set to expire at the end of this year, may, in fact, be extended. This would be good news for anyone still on the fence about listing their home as a short sale.

According to dsnews.com, President Obama’s 2013 budget proposal includes an extension of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007.

As you may recall, the Act was designed by President Bush in order to ensure that homeowners who received principal reductions (or other forms of debt forgiveness on their primary residences) do not have to pay taxes on the amount forgiven—even though they are still subject to a 1099. 

Without the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, debt reduced through mortgage modifications or short sales qualifies as income to the borrower and is taxable. Under the Act, up to million in debt elimination can be tax-free.

The budget proposal includes an extension that would apply to any amounts forgiven prior to January 1, 2015. At that point, the government would reassess the market and determine whether another extension is appropriate. This would be the second extension of the original bill. And, given the current state of the real estate market, it may not be a bad thing for homeowners who are underwater to have more time to consider all of their options with respect to their mortgage debt.

(photo credit)

That’s right, folks. The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, which was set to expire at the end of this year, may, in fact, be extended. This would be good news for anyone still on the fence about listing their home as a short sale.

According to dsnews.com, President Obama’s 2013 budget proposal includes an extension of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007.

As you may recall, the Act was designed by President Bush in order to ensure that homeowners who received principal reductions (or other forms of debt forgiveness on their primary residences) do not have to pay taxes on the amount forgiven—even though they are still subject to a 1099. 

Without the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, debt reduced through mortgage modifications or short sales qualifies as income to the borrower and is taxable. Under the Act, up to million in debt elimination can be tax-free.

The budget proposal includes an extension that would apply to any amounts forgiven prior to January 1, 2015. At that point, the government would reassess the market and determine whether another extension is appropriate. This would be the second extension of the original bill. And, given the current state of the real estate market, it may not be a bad thing for homeowners who are underwater to have more time to consider all of their options with respect to their mortgage debt.

(photo credit)