Reno will celebrate the holiday with a parade honoring our local military veterans who have served and protected our country. The theme of the parade this year is “Women in the military”.

Please join me and hundreds of others at the parade on Friday, 11-11-11 @ 11am (time the war officially ended) on Court & Virginia Street (downtown Reno) to cheer and thank those who help keep us FREE.

Many of the banks have continued to work on their short sale process and make improvements to speed the process.  Many are also starting to roll out new programs where sellers can get “pre-approved” short sales prior to listing the property so that once the property is listed the timeline is significantly reduced which greatly benefits the buyers.   (These are programs in additon to the Government HAFA program.)

We still see obstacles when there are multiple liens, mortgage insurance and bond program loans.   It is important to know what type of loan you have and if your lender took out mortgage insurance on your loan.  Homeowners also need to know that banks are still looking for you to be in default or in danger of default in the immediate future.  There has to be a hardship or reason that you can no longer afford your payments. 

There appears to be a trend toward more deficiency waivers from servicers, but in some cases it doesn’t come without a cash contribution or promissory note on the part of the homeowner.  Many servicers are looking at the seller’s overall financial picture – credit score, other debts, monthly income, other assets etc. to determine if the seller might be required to contribute.

The key is still to seek the assistance of an experienced short sale listing agent as early in the process as possible.   It’s best not to wait until a Notice of Default is filed to consider short sale as an option.

This weekend May 28th Sparks Arts in Bloom and in June you have:

June 3-4- Reno Tahoe Odyssey Relay Run Adventure

June3-5- Street Vibrations Spring Rally

June 9- Sparks Hometown Farmer’s Market

June 16- EXPN Xtreme Bulls Tour

June 16-25= 90th Annual Reno Rodeo  

June 16-19-Reno Film Festival

The benefits is that once a buyer has made an offer they no longer will wait 60-90 days to get an answer as the underlying approval process was completed prior to listing the property for sale.   This will greatly increase the stigma that has been placed on short sales and make these listing more attractive to buyers. 

There are several other programs that follow a similar model.  The HAFA program designed by the US Treasury is available to borrowers who qualify and provides for an upfront approval.  Also, if your mortgage is FHA insured the FHA Pre-Foreclosure Sale Program requires homeowners to get approved into the program and sets the list price prior to the marketing/listing of the property. 

The key for homeowners in the Reno-Sparks market is to contact an experience agent who can make you aware of all your options when facing a possible foreclosure.  When a short sale is the best solution for a homeowner, hiring an agent who is knowledgable about all the programs available to them is crucial. 

For more information on the Bank of America Cooperative Short Sale please contact me.

Being a REALTOR has taken on a whole new meaning for me.    I have gone from a salesperson who specialized the marketing of property for sale and helping buyers find their new home, to so much more than that.   Helping homeowners avoid foreclosure by successfully finding alternatives such as short sale has made me so much more than a salesperson.  I am a problem solver, listener, helper, and facilitator.    I am genuinely helping people and making a real difference in their lives.  For buyers I am assisting them in navigating the more complicated web of purchasing short sales and REOs.  Helping them avoid the obstacles that arise in these types of purchases.  It has become harder than ever to be a buyer with tighter lending standards, distressed properties and long wait times. 

We look around in this industry and are often hard pressed to find positives and things to be thankful for.   But, there is plenty that I am thankful for.  The challenges of this market have made me a better REALTOR.  I have been given the opportunity to not only help my neighbors buy and sell homes, but help them improve thier lives.  By necessity I have been motivated to learn more, so I can help more. 

This REALTOR is thankful… 

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!

Bank owned or REO sales accounted for 32% of the sales in October.  The median was signifcantly lower at $1390,950.  These properties saw the fewest days on the market with an average of 96 days.  These listing received on average 99% of asking price.  The median sales price wasn’t helped much which only 3 homes sold over the $500,000 mark and almost 80% of the sales at the $200,000 or below price point.

Short sales accounted for 27.9% of the sales in October.  They brought in a higher median sales price than the REO properties at $161,000.  They unfortunately average the longest market times of 199 days.  Short sale listings received an average of 99.1% of their asking price.  The short sale median sales price was definitely bolstered by a $1,200,000 sale.  There were 4 sales over the $500,000 mark.  70% of the short sales were under the $200,000 price point.

What does all this mean???  Sellers with equity can successfully sell their homes in a distressed market given that they have realistic expectations of the price.     Bank owned/REO sales net the banks less than short sales, a continued argument that banks seem to be getting finally.  And lastly, short sales aren’t just for homes in the lower price points.  You can do a short sale on a $1 million home.  You just have to prove to the bank that you have a hardship and that it’s in their best interest to not take the property back onto their books.  It can be done.

FHA Preforeclosure Sales  if listed correctly will be “pre-approved”.  FHA requires homeowners to get approval into their system prior to listing thier property.  FHA sets the price and the net proceeds.  Once an offer is received the seller’s lien holder is supposed to respond to the offer within 5 business days.  If the offer meets the FHA requirements as set forth in the “Approval to Participate” that the seller is given when approved into the system then this is truly a “pre-approved” short sale.

HAFA Short Sales – This is a newer short sale program that is set up in a similar fashion to FHA short sales.  Sellers can be approved for a HAFA short sale prior to listing the property, given a sales price and net amount.  In this case the short sale is truly “pre-approved”.    The seller is provided with a Short Sale Agreement (SSA) which outlines the terms required for the short sale. 

Previously approved short sales are just that – previously approved under another buyer’s name.  Most lien holders provide short sale approval letters with the specifics of the buyer who made the offer.  If the property is being advertised as “pre-approved” but the approval letter has another buyer’s name on it, it won’t do you much good.  At that point if you make an offer, your offer and all the pertinent documents will need to be re-submitted to the lien holder in order to issue a new approval letter in your name.  This process may be shorter than the timeline the previous buyer waited, but there are no guarantees. 

Key is to work with a buyer’s agent that knows the short sale process and can inquire about the specifics of the property you are interested in.