Keep it Real in Sacramento

This has been another busy week of dealing with short sales and lender negotiators so I am using Saturday to catch up a bit on my blogging. I just published my weekly column over at Rocklin & Roseville Today, “Getting Short Sales Done in Sacramento.” Check it out if you want to get a small taste of what it takes to negotiate a successful short sale.

We are continuing to be busy at MagnumOne Realty and are dealing with a nice group of buyer and seller clients. The market for homes priced under $300,000 is very active. Homes in that price range which show well are very hard to get into contract if you are representing the buyer. More often than not, they are getting multiple offers and being sold over the asking price. One of our agents who was showing homes priced around $200,000 has made seven offers over the past month for the same buyer and is still looking. Buyers in the higher price ranges appear to be much more price sensitive. They won’t even look until they believe the asking price is a bargain but when the price is lowered to “bargain level” then they have to deal with other buyers and multiple offer situations. Hint to buyers (particularly on short sale listings): go look at homes that interest you regardless of the asking price. If you like it make an offer of what you are willing to pay. You may be surprised to get it accepted.

If you have any questions or just want to talk about short sales, buying or selling, call me at (916) 290-9339 or send me an email to juliej@jalone.com.

The picture in this post is one of several Michael took on Father’s Day when we discovered a field of sunflowers in Sacramento. If you want to see more click, Sunflowers on Father’s Day.

I have recently been writing about the benefits of short sales in my weekly column at Rocklin & Roseville Today which is also carried over at Sacramento Today. The column today was, “Sacramento Short Sales – Good for All.” I really do believe short sales are win-win transactions where more than just the homeowner and lender benefit but there is an ugly side of short sales too.

Our team at MagnumOne Realty has been successfully completing short sales for the past three years. We have worked with almost every lender, we know what we are doing, have a strong process and we believe have a great reputation for getting them done. When you read my column today and I explain the benefits to the lender in accepting a short sale you would have to believe that our job as Realtors in working with lenders would be easy. That is so wrong!

Dealing with the lenders can be a nightmare and we treated as the enemy by most. The employees we deal with at the lenders for the most part treat us as if we are stealing money from them and should not be trusted.

I do understand that lenders are only as good as their employees and with the growth of short sales they have not been able to keep up and many of their employees are swamped with work. We were recently told that when Bank of America took over Countrywide they increased the file load on the short sale negotiators by more than 100 percent. Each negotiator now must follow 350 files. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out not much time can be given to a request.

Our experience with BofA/Countrywide is horrible. They misplace faxed information; they make you wait on hold when you call to get updates, of which they generally don’t have. They tell you not to call back until some date in the future that is beyond the trustee sale date and the thing that frustrates me the most is the inconsistent messages. We called to get an update on Monday and were told by the CSR that there were no new notes from the negotiator for the past 30-days so we could escalate the file to get attention. Naturally we agreed and were told to call back on Tuesday afternoon because it would take 24 hours to get a status update placed in the file notes. On Tuesday afternoon we called to get the update but were told escalations can take up to 48 hours and to call back tomorrow. On Wednesday, believe it or not, there was no update and we were told escalations can take up to five days so call back next Monday. Clearly their process is broken, there appears to be no effort to improve and it is almost impossible to find anyone who seems to care.

Some are better and a few even worse than BofA/Countrywide but the bottom line is most lenders have not figured out the cost/benefit of short sales and lose money every day by not adding staff and resources to their short sale departments. It makes our job of helping them and our client much more difficult.

If you are a Realtor or someone who deals with lenders on short sales, I’d love to share your stories here. Send them to me at juliej@jalone.com. Later this week I’ll write about some of the other lenders worse than BofA and a strange process at Wells Fargo.

If you or someone you know is selling or going to sell your home, check out my column, “Staging Ideas on a Budget,” over at Rocklin & Roseville Today. I am tired of showing clients dirty, messy and poor showing homes. The ones that show well get sold quickly.

I am about ready to unleash a new Countrywide/BofA RANT….it is coming soon!

Backyard Resort in Rocklin Highlands

If you are looking for a large home for a growing family in one of Rocklin’s most desirable neighborhood, this is it! With over 3,600 square feet of living space this 5 bedroom, 3 full bathroom home is beautiful, well maintained and ready for your growing family to move in with little or no work.

The floor plan includes a large bonus room, perfect for the kids to play, a game room or even could be converted into a second master bedroom. There is a bedroom downstairs, currently being used as a home office but could be the perfect place for out of town guests. The fully equipped kitchen has loads of storage, plenty or workspace and is open to the spacious family room.

Perhaps the most spectacular feature of this home is the resort like backyard. The built in spa and pool are less than three years old and no expense was withheld making this one of the nicest backyards you will ever see. The large custom pool and spa are surrounded by patios and built-in planting areas. There is a lawn area and play area for the kids making this backyard a great place to relax or to entertain family and friends on a warm summer evening.

Beautiful Home in Doyle Ranch

Stop!! You have found your dream home. This Pulte built former model home is elegant inside and out. With loads of upgrades including custom tile and hardwood floors, granite counter tops and an expanded master suite with sitting area and fireplace. The four bedroom home with over 3,800 square feet of living space was built in 2005 and has been meticulously maintained by the owners. Two of the bedrooms share a Jack and Jull bathroom and there is a terrace which overlooks the community park and playground. This really is a perfect home for a growing family

It is about time the media starts talking a bit about short sales instead of continuing to focus on foreclosures. They may not have it quite right but I am very happy to see short sales getting some print and air time as they can be a win for borrowers and lenders and the more people know about them the pressure on lenders to streamline and do a better job will come. Check out my column, “Short Sales Are Going Mainstream” over at Rocklin & Roseville Today.

Speaking of short sales I have a great new listing in Rocklin that is going to make the right family or person a great home, especially if you love spectacular views and a quiet neighborhood. Check out my listing at 4701 Gatwick Court. If you like what you see, call me at 916 290-9339 to arrange a private tour.

So have prices hit bottom? There is no simple answer. The statewide median has remained at roughly $250,000 for four months running in what appears to be a bottom. If the flattening out of prices at vastly more affordable levels entices buyers off the fence, the median price could hold at its present level or even experience some upward momentum. However, the weak economy and an anticipated peak in foreclosures later this year may limit or more than offset that momentum and drive prices below their present levels sometime between now and early in 2010. In the end, it is still not clear that home prices have hit bottom. Regardless, the desire to get a home at the lowest possible price must be balanced with obtaining a favorable mortgage rate and finding a home that will meet the buyer’s needs over a 5 to 10 year time horizon.

With local schools getting out for the summer this and next week we should see an increase in the already busy Sacramento real estate market. Unfortunately much of this will be more short sales as more and more homeowners who owe more on their homes than they are worth realize getting out from under the debt and starting over makes sound financial sense. Homeowners who used 100 percent financing options or refinanced to pull all their equity out a few years ago are beginning to understand that it may be years before their house is worth what they owe. Add to this a financial hardship such as loss of a job or divorce and you have the perfect ingredients for a short sale and a fresh start.

If you or someone you know owns a home and owes more than the current value of the property give me a call at 916 290-9339 or drop me an email to juliej@jalone.com. We may be able to help you.

Over the past month there has been a consistent rumor floating around saying there is a huge number of bank owned properties that have not come to the market but will in June. Check out my column, “Rumors dampen Sacramento area Real Estate” over at Rocklin & Roseville Today for the details.

When you say you are going to do something to make a good program even better you should be ready to do it. That is not what happened when HUD announced last week that they were going to make the first-time home buyer’s tax credit program even better by allowing qualified borrowers to use the credit to help with down payment and closing costs.

Great idea and it will make the program more effective but now as we wait for guidelines the buyers are also waiting. What they have done is make buyer’s who were looking for homes and ready to make offers want to wait to see how they can access their tax credit now to cover some of the down payment and closing costs.

If you want more details about the program, see my article, First-time home buyer’s tax credit, on my website. To read more about how the tax credit may be used for down payment and closing cost assistance, check out my column, First-time home buyer’s tax credit – Update, over at Rocklin & Roseville Today.

If this is a program you or someone you know may be interested in using, let me know, I can help you access the program and find the right home. Send an email to juliej@jalone.com and let’s get started.

The first-time home buyer tax credit of up to $8,000 can be a significant help during the remainder of 2009 for buyers who have not owned a home in the previous three years. Check out my column, “First time home buyer’s tax credit,” over at Rocklin & Roseville Today for the details of the program. I believe this is a good program and will help not only to revitalize our Sacramento real estate market but will help buyers get their first home.