Selling Oakland Real Estate 
Discussion/information on the market from a sellers perspective.
There are currently 12 blog entries related to this category.
New Protections for Short Sellers of Real Estate
Sunday, July 24th, 2011 at 1:41pm. 31527 Views, 0 Comments.
A new bill (Senate Bill 458) was signed into law last week, which will help protect borrowers who short sale their real estate. This bill applies to the junior or "second" lien holders, which previously had the right to go after borrowers who agreed to a short sale. Technically, second lien holders could still make efforts to collect the amount that was short..even years after the real estate was sold.
This is welcome news, because short sales are still very hard to do and the more protections there are in place for borrowers, the better the process will be.
Sewer Lateral Ordinance Coming For Oakland/East Bay Real Estate
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011 at 3:13pm. 575 Views, 0 Comments.
East Bay Municpal Utility District (EBMUD) will soon be implementing a sewer lateral ordinance for the East Bay, which currently does not have one. The ordinance basically states that any seller of real estate in any City covered must provide a sewer lateral clearance as part of the sale of the property, or when a property is getting more than $100k of work done.
The sewer clearance basically refers to the plumbing running from the house to the street sewer. Often these lines get obstructed or damaged in some way over time..usually by tree roots and movement of the soil. The inspection involves someone running a camera attached to a long line which can be inserted into the pipe to inspect it for damage via a small screen display. If damage is present,…
7 Options for Anyone who has "Underwater" Real Estate
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011 at 3:15pm. 1115 Views, 0 Comments.
Approximately one third of everyone who holds a mortgage in the state of California is underwater (meaning they owe more than the house is worth). Short sales account for almost 35% of all sales currently.
OPTION 1: Pay down/Sell-This is an option if you have money to spare. We can sell your home and you pay the difference between what your house sells for and what you owe your lender. The positive to this is you can keep your credit intact. The negative is that you need disposable dollars to do this. OPTION 2: Short Sale-A short sale is where we will sell your home for less than what you owe. We need to negotiate with your lender(s) to accept less than what you owe. It will make a difference if your loan is a purchase money (non-recourse) or…Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA)
Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 at 12:37pm. 1150 Views, 1 Comments.
On April 5, 2010 the HAFA program was rolled out. Basically it's a streamlined liquidation program that allows a homeowner to do a short sale when all other options are exhausted. If you determine that you are unable to pay your mortgage and stay in your home, the HAFA program is the best option to avoid foreclosure. All borrowers attempting a HAFA short sale must have first applied for a loan modification through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). If your lender is B of A, Aurora, or another lender on the list of HAFA approved lenders, then you may be eligible for HAFA.
Eligibility:
-Lender must participate in HAFA program
-You must have already gone through the modification application (HAMP) and submit the same docs
-Must be primary…
New Real Estate MLS feature Offers More Exposure for Oakland/East Bay Sellers
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 at 4:02pm. 570 Views, 0 Comments.
All listings that are displayed on my website (or any other website for that matter) all come from the Multiple Listing Service or "MLS". The Oakland/East Bay area MLS is where all real estate listings in Alameda County are displayed for us real estate agents to search when we are searching for homes for our clients. It's accessable only to licensed real estate agents, and it contains information that is omitted from the public listungs that you see online.
For sellers, the MLS is the single greatest source of exposure, because it is where the real estate agent who have buyer clients are looking. There are several MLS's within California, and currently us Realtors have to become of a member of each MLS that we plan to market listings in. However soon…
Short Sales Are Still The Best Option for Many
Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 4:39pm. 457 Views, 0 Comments.
Many of us were hoping that the short sale phenomenon was going to be temporary, but it's turned out to be a huge percentage of the sales in our area throughout 2009 and into 2010..with no end in sight. There are so many homeowners who are "underwater" that many of them are choosing to attempt a short sale. For most of these people, the only option other than a loan modification is to continue paying your mortgage or walk away and foreclose. Loan modifications aren't popular with many, because the modification in most cases will not change the principal balance of the mortgage, but rather reduce the interest that the borrower is paying on that balance. For many people, the thought of continuing to pay on a mortgage balance of say $700,000, when the…
IRS Allows Non-Taxable Debt Forgiveness
Friday, February 29th, 2008 at 9:31pm. 678 Views, 0 Comments.
If you are a seller facing foreclosure and attempting a short sale transaction, you could end up having a significant chunk of what you owe "forgiven" by your lender. Until recently, this forgiven debt was treated as income (and part of still can be) and you could expect to receive a 1099 form for the amount that was forgiven.
Obviously, for someone facing foreclosure this is just another problem to deal with as they attempt to bail themselves out of a tough situation. Luckily, the IRS recently changed the law to stop the taxation of forgiven debt in a short sale situation, however this only applies to the first loan. On many properties, there is a first and second loan, so any amount forgiven on a second loan is still taxable as income.
A Living Trust Is A Good Idea
Monday, February 11th, 2008 at 5:58pm. 685 Views, 0 Comments.
When there is a death in the family, a properly planned estate can help avoid a lot of the issues and headaches involved with transferring or selling the property of the deceased person. When it comes to real estate, perhaps the most important document that you want to have is called a Living Trust.
A Living Trust is a document which specifies without question who the property is to be passed to in the event that the current owner passes away. With a Living Trust, there is a Trustor, a Trustee and Beneficiaries. The Trustor is the owner of the property when the document is created, the Trustee is the person who is responsible for making sure the elements af the trust are adhered to, and the beneficiaries are the individual(s) who is to receive the…
Getting the Clutter Out When Selling
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 at 7:25pm. 599 Views, 0 Comments.
Sometimes sellers need to list their house while they remain living there, and this is fine but the selller must be able to remove much of their personal belongings from the home. This means minimizing pictures and the like, as well as excess furniture.
In general it's easier to sell a home when it is vacant, because it allows the seller to prepare the home with only one thing in mind...selling it. There's no need for personal belongings or clutter when the house is vacant, and it's allows greater access because appointments don't have to be made in order to see the home. When you make it easy for other agents to show the home, it helps the odds of getting it sold quickly.
Sellers Can Offer Interest Rate-Buydown To Help Sell
Monday, September 24th, 2007 at 5:37pm. 662 Views, 0 Comments.
You may be aware of the fact that you can buy down the interest rate from the lender, but did you know that it is possible for the seller to pay for the buyers interest rate buydown as well?
When the seller isn't willing to reduce the price, sometimes they may be willing to buy the interest rate down in order to allow the buyer to be able to qualify. So instead of the seller reducing the price, they offer to pay down a point or two on the buyers interest rate, therefore allowing them to be able to afford a bigger payment. Most times, this buy-down will cost the seller less overall than if they were to simply reduce the price by the amount needed for th buyer to be able to purchase.
The Oakland Real Estate Market is HOT
I'm happy to say, that there is definitely a significant increase in activity compared to this time last year. Multiple offer... Add Comment Read MoreShort Sale Debt Cancellation Set to Go Away
Originally, when you did a short sale you were taxed on the amount that you were forgiven by the lender. This was a seri... 13Comments Read MoreChanges To FHA Mortgage Insurance Premium
The Federal Housing Administration recently announced an increase in the upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium. Mortgage insuran... 4Comments Read More
