Loan Modification Scam Busted in California.

This is a comparison of NON HOA homes and homes with an HOA in South Temecula.

I used Paloma Del Sol as the community with a HOA, and two neighborhoods that are comparable to Paloma Del Sol with regards to age of home, size, and within a mile of the community.

As you will see, homes in Paloma Del Sol will sell for on average $20 per square foot more than a home not in an HOA.

Paloma Del Sol has 5 community pools, 3 lighted tennis courts, basketball, sports courts, parks, tot lots, and over 108 acres of common area.

Hosted by Troy Sage of The Troy Sage Team in Temecula California

The Smart Real Estate Show July 7 2014.

Our current market for Home Sellers and Buyers. Dedicated to helping everyone with investing in Real Estate either for personal use or as an income producing property.

Today we discuss the current market and how banks are not helping people with their mortgages. Are Loan Mods good for a homeowner? Statistics show that less than 6% or the country will actually receive a loan modification that will actually help the homeowner. Most homeowners do not realize these stats, and also don't realize that if they are on an interest only loan, the loan modification will include Principle, Interest, Taxes, and Insurance. Homeowners also do not realize that a loan modification will not (over 98% of the time) reduce their principle balance.

Silent Second Loans are very popular with a loan mod. Meaning if the lender does stop collecting on a second mortgage or note, most of the time the balance of the second is deferred to the end of the loan. Meaning, the homeowner still owes the money they simply do not pay on the note till either the property sells, or the loan matures and the balance of the second note is due in full.

Dumping Your Debt. Remember, the banks are in business to make money. This being said, if you are one of the lucky ones to have a loan modification approved, you most likely not paying less for the property overall. The loan mod is designed to help the homeowner have more affordable payments, not reduce their debt.

Banks are reducing their Debt. Yes, that's correct, banks are reducing their debt and increasing their profit by showing Wall Street that their portfolios are in good shape. This is done to stimulate the market and get people to invest in Bank Stocks and Securities. How are the banks doing this? By manipulating their books and showing more homeowners paying their mortgages on time, or by removing the debt from their portfolio.

Banks want to help Homeowners. The best way for a bank to help a homeowner is to allow a short sale. That's right. If the bank can remove the debt from their portfolio then the bank shows less liability, thus stimulating more stock purchases.

Dump Debt Like The Banks. You as a homeowner have the opportunity to dump debt like a bank. If you have a shortcoming and are having a hard time making your mortgage payments, now is the time to dump your debt and look at the future. Remember, the Federal Government and Lenders have programs in place to help homeowners get a Fresh Start.

Real Estate Is An Investment. Like any other investment, if the investment is loosing money why would you continue to invest time and money? You wouldn't, now would you? Most likely not. So why continue to spend good money on a bad investment when you can have that debt relived and start investing in something that will make you money.

The Future Is Now. As the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act expires this year, and most of the debt forgiveness programs are coming to an end, now is the time to to think of your future. Dump your debt and start building wealth for your future.

What Every Buyer needs to know Before Buying a Home

Home Buyers need to know how to choose a home, working with a lender, and what agent to use for the purchase. Not every agent or lender is the same, nor are they created equal. There are many things a home buyer will need to know before choosing an agent and a lender. Added to the decisions, a buyer must be educated prior to purchasing a home. Here are some key factors home buyers need to know to have a smooth transaction, and making their real estate investment a Smart Real Estate Investment.

Choosing A Real Estate Agent

When choosing a Real Estate Agent make sure the agent is Full Time and has experience. In the past it may have been ok to use a part time agent, or a family member that simple dabbles in real estate, but today's market is very different. Don't trust just anyone to handle one of the largest investments of your lifetime.

Get a CMA

Before writing an offer on any property, make sure your agent prepares a Comparative Market Analysis. This is done prior to writing the offer so you the buyer know what an appraiser is going to see and what the value of the property is. It doesn't matter what the seller is asking, or listing the property at. The educational side of purchasing is making sure you're not over paying for the property.

Buyers Estimated Costs Sheet

Make sure your agent is preparing a Buyers Estimated Costs sheet prior to writing an offer. The estimate should include your deposit, amount financed, property tax, closing costs, and estimated monthly payments. Know what your investment will cost you prior to investing.

Current Property Tax

Have your agent print out a current property tax bill. This will show you what the home is assessed at, and you should have a good idea if you're property taxes will stay the same, increase, or decrease.

Choose the right Lender

Choose a full time lender that knows how to communicate. Your lender needs to be knowledgeable in a variety of loan programs that fit your needs. Communication is key, so make sure your lender is clear in his or her instructions of what they need from you to process your loan.

Completing the Loan Application

The loan application is very important, and everything you complete on the application has to be accurate. As a matter of fact, all buyers should provide all supporting documentation to their application. It's important that a buyer is honest and will provide everything needed for Underwriting to grant the loan.

Be Proactive with your Lender

Always give the lender everything they ask for, and I suggest giving them all needed documents prior to being asked, or at the very least be prepared and have the documents ready. Meaning, if you've ever been divorced, then have the finalized divorce paperwork ready to submit prior to your loan being processed. Being Proactive makes for a much smoother transaction.

Pre-Qualification ve Pre-Approval

Pre-Qualification means you've talked with a lender and the lender feels you're qualified to receive a mortgage or home loan, but the application and processing for the loan have not begun or verified. Pre-Approval means your application has gone from the lender to the Underwriter, and your loan is approved, sometimes with a few small conditions. Getting Pre-Approoved is the strongest position for a buyer. When presenting an offer a Pre-Approved offer carries a lot more weight than a Pre-Qualified buyer.

Feel free to contact us with any questions.

The Smart Real Estate Show - How to sell your property Quick and for Top Dollar. There is a precise outline of how to sell quick for top dollar. If you're a homeowner or an agent, use these tools to get the job done and the property sold.

Price

Pricing the property in the proper price range is step one. If you over price the property you simply will not get enough buyers to find interest. This is true for all markets, Sellers Market, Buyers Market or Stable market.

Condition

Make sure the property is the Shiny Penny of the neighborhood. New or freshened up landscaping in the front and back yard is very important. You only have one chance at a First Impression. Spending a couple hundred dollars in landscaping and mulch makes a big difference. Also, if the home needs touchup paint to the exterior, before listing the property for sale is the best time to perform touchup painting.

The interior of the home will need to be de-cluttered and all personal pictures and items need to be packed up an removed. Use your garage to store all personal items and furniture as most buyers understand when a garage is filled with personal items and honestly the buyer doesn't care much about the garage space. When placing items in the garage make sure you leave room around the parameter of the garage so the buyers home inspector has access to the walls.

Painting the interior of the property in a light neutral color will not only help make the home look larger, it will also give the property a facelift. It's important that the home looks clean and is ready for a new owner, so spending money on fresh neutral paint is very important.

Carpet and flooring throughout the property needs to be clean or replaced. Remember you're creating a Shinny Penny, and you want the buyer to have more than a desire to purchase, you want the buyer to need to purchase your property. Either have the flooring professionally cleaned, or if the flooring is more than 5 years old I suggest having new flooring installed. When choosing new flooring upgrade just one step above a renter grade flooring. Spending a couple hundred dollars more for nicer flooring will give you a much greater return.

Marketing

Most real estate agents perform the 3 P's in marketing. Place the property in the MLS, Place a sign in the front yard, and Pray for a Buyer. This does not make for a quick sale at Top Dollar.

In order to sell your property Quick for Top Dollar agents must also do the following:

Pay for advertising on Realtor.com, Zillow.com, and Trulia.com

Take High Definition Photos of the property

Have a Virtual Tour of the property

Take a Video of the property

Syndicate the Virtual Tour and Video to additional websites

Use Social Media to market and find buyers

Be proactive in finding a buyer by calling their database of buyers, clients, sphere, and past clients

If your agent is not performing at the very lease all the above listed marketing techniques, you're going to fight an uphill battle in getting your property sold Quickly for Top Dollar.

Smart Real Estate Show episode May 21, 2014. Foreclosure Lies and information about what the Banks are doing to help homeowners, and increase foreclosures. Current news regarding the Real Estate Market, and how to avoid Foreclosure.

Mortgage Settlement of 25 Billion Dollars is completed, and banks are now back on track to foreclose upon homeowners that are not making their mortgage payments. With an increase in foreclosures, this is a true sign that the banks are back on track to make more money and not allow homeowners stay in their home for free.

Remember, Banks are in the business to make money, not loose money. Since the Mortgage Settlement has been completed, banks can now return to regular business and take secured assets when a borrower doesn't make payments.

Current homeowners that have not made payments, and have been given a Notice of Default can find themselves in a position of foreclosure without additional notice. When a lender or bank issues a Notice of Default, the notice only needs to be filed once. Meaning, if you've been issued the notice, no matter when, the bank has the option to foreclose upon you without starting the process from the beginning.

This means, banks can continue the foreclosure process where they last left the foreclosure. If you're a homeowner facing foreclosure, Now is the time to either come current with your mortgage, or sell the property as a short sale.

Short Sales are expected to increase as lenders and banks now have a streamlined process in place. If you're struggling to make a mortgage payment, or have missed a mortgage payment, remember the bank has the right to foreclose once you're 30 Days Late. As long as you have a Hardship, you will most likely qualify for a Short Sale. This is great news for homeowners as it gives them the opportunity to start over and have their debt removed.

Current Market Analysis show pricing has increased another 2% since the beginning of 2014. This is due to a lack of inventory, and an abundance of buyers looking for homes. Meaning there are usually dozens of buyers looking for homes, but very few available homes on the market.

The lack of inventory is, in part, due to the 20% or more of homeowners being upside-down. This means that over 20% of homeowners can not sell their home unless they either sell as a Short Sale, or come up with the balance to pay off the mortgage. Most of these homeowners are more than 10% upside-down, so it's very difficult for homeowners to come up with that amount of money to sell.

The future of Real Estate is unknown, but indicators show there will be a slight increase in market value ranging from 2.2% to 3.2% by the end of this year. This is not engraved in stone, and pricing will be effected in the event Banks increase foreclosure.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments at [email protected]

Hope you have a wonderful day and I look forward to talking with you soon.

Short Sales and Loan Modification information for Homeowners.

The Smart Real Estate Show pulls the curtain back and lets homeowners know the truth about available programs in place to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

Now is the best time for a homeowner in distress to dump their debt and get a fresh start. Banks have programs in place to help homeowners avoid foreclosure and complete a short sale. Even better, most banks are paying homeowners to sell their property as a short sale. Why are the banks doing this? Because, the bank also gets to dump debt and show a profit. This is a win-win situation for homeowners and lenders.

If you're struggling to make your mortgage payments you have two fantastic options:

1. Apply for a Loan Modification

2. Complete a Short Sale

Loan Modifications

A loan modification is when the lender adjust your monthly payments to be more affordable. This process takes several months, and only 6% of homeowners across the country will actually qualify for a complete Loan Modification.

The first step in a Loan Modification is applying. During the application process you may be offered a Trial Loan Modification. This Trial Period is for 90 days and the payments you make to the lender are simply for processing. None of the money you pay during the trial period will be applied to your mortgage or home loan.

If you Qualify

After the 90 Day Trial Period, if you qualify for a loan modification, your lender will send you a new monthly payment amount. The payments you missed during the Trial Period will be added to the end of your loan.

Remember only 6% of homeowners actually qualify for a true loan modification, and almost 0% will see any principle reduction. As a mater of fact, if you're paying Interest Only payments before the Loan Modification, you will be surprised to see your payment increase. As when a bank modifies your loan they will require full Principle, Interest, Taxes, and Insurance payments in your new monthly payment.

Short Sales

A Short Sale is Debt Forgiveness, and release of your debt and lien on the property. Basically, you're asking your lender to understand that you're not able to make the payments, and you would like to sell the asset or property for current value and both parties get to cut their losses.

This is your opportunity as a homeowner to start all over, with a clean slate. Remember, a short sale should show on your credit as Paid As Agreed, which is much better than Foreclosure. Also keep in mind that if you choose to let the lender foreclose and take your property, you will forever have to explain this foreclosure as every Home Loan Application ask if You have EVER been foreclosed upon.

Listen to the Smart Real Estate Show for news and information regarding all things Real Estate. Feel free to contact us with any questions at [email protected]

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