Foreclosure auctions in Palos Verdes, South Torrance and the Beach Cities

What are the opportunities for Investors, Home Buyers and Homeowners Upside Down in their Mortgages

What are the Advantages of a Short Sale to the Upside Down Homeowner?

• Less Damaging to Credit_Rating: A Foreclosure will severely damage ones credit_rating for 7 years, but a Short Sale may be  less damaging and its effect does not last as long.
• Major Banks are Encouraging Short Sales over Foreclosure: Fannie Mae (FNMA) recently changed their underwriting policy so that a past home owner now has to wait 5 years after a Foreclosure before FNMA will underwrite a new loan. If the homeowner conducted a Short Sale the wait time is just 2 Years! Freddie Mac also offers participating Banks a $2,200 incentive to conduct a Short Sale versus Foreclosure.
• Probable Relief from HELOC 2nd Mortgage: When the 1st Mortgage Bank forecloses, the 2nd TD HELOC loan is not deleted from your debt. The 2nd TD HELOC Mortgage Bank may take legal means to collect their debt after the Foreclosure. With a Short Sale, we negotiate with both lenders to highly reduce or totally eliminate the HELOC loan debt.
• Dignified Solution: With a Short Sale, we sell your home just like your neighbors have done. It’s a dignified resolution to a tough situation. On the other hand, after a Foreclosure, a Sheriff performs a lock out, the grass turns brown, and a Bank Sales Rep places ‘Bank Foreclosure For Sale’ signs in front of the property for your neighbors to see.
• “Cash for Cooperation”: Some of the banks we work with are now offering home owners a Cash incentive in order to Cooperate with a short sale, versus allowing the property to be Foreclosed on by the Bank. Which Banks and amount of Cash offered, is on a case by case basis.
• If the homeowner is facing an auction scheduled, a short sale may be able to (in our experience it always has) stop the auction from taking place thus allowing the homeowner many more weeks or months in the home to regroup and strategize.  We are uniquely positioned to assist these homeowners immediately and our service does not cost them a penny.

HOWEVER the window for conducting a short sale without tax penalty is quickly drawing near!  The benefits created from the 2007 Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 EXPIRE on 12/31/2012.  Homeowners upside down in their mortgages must NOT wait as if one waits too long into the 2012 year, the short sale may not close in time to satisfy the deadline!

What are the Advantages of a Short Sale to the Investor or Home Buyer?

When I’m asked by my Buying Clients and Investors how best to take advantage of the “Foreclosure Market”, the preconception is that the Bank Owned homes are the properties wherein the greatest discounts can be achieved.  This is not the case.  There is so much scrutiny and oversight from government agencies and the banks’ investors that the banks selling an REO Property are just as motivated as any other “Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner” to extract the highest price possible. 

In fact, when I’m calling bank REO Asset managers, I’m getting the standard response (from all the banks), “…sorry, we can’t consider any offers until the property’s been on the MLS for at least 5 days…”  The banks KNOW that the best chance to get the highest price is to have maximum exposure through the multiple listing service.

So that leaves the Home Buyer or Investor two choices … either go to the auction and try to buy (you will need cash, you won’t be able to inspect the property and you may not get clear title) OR use the strategy that I’ve developed to negotiate with the Homeowner. 

What we’re doing is creating WIN – WIN situations for all parties and if you would like to know more, DO NOT REPLY to this email, rather send me an email to george.fotion@homeispalosverdes.com.  So whether you are a homeowner upside down in your mortgage, or you’re an investor or buyer or know someone in either category that could really benefit from this, send me an email and we will set an appointment to discuss further.

By the way, the map above shows just the Single Family Residences.  There are a few, just a handful, but a few Multi-Family units (apartments, duplexes, triplexes and quads)

As always, thank you for reading your newsletter!

Rancho Palos Verdes CA Bank Owned Home

as of 1/25/2012

4 Bedrooms
2 Bathrooms
1,672 Sqft Living Area (Source: Tax Assessor)
6,930 Sqft Lot Area (Source: Tax Assessor)
MLS Area: Los Verdes
Bank took back on 1/25/2012 $763,000

This property is NOT listed for sale … THIS IS THE TIME to make a move on this home before it gets listed!

For more details and availability, respond to this ad

Search for other Palos Verdes homes for sale and gets lots of information on Palos Verdes real estate without having to log in or provide your information.

To search for foreclosures in Palos Verdes go to this link 

DRE #785373

Selling a home in Palos Verdes

It’s all about E X P O S U R E !

Of the many venues available to expose and market real estate in Palos Verdes, Realtor.com is one of the best.  It’s no wonder that my investment in marketing my sellers homes pays off with faster sales and higher prices for my sellers all due to creating more buyers competing for the property.

From website images

Of the nearly 6,000 agents in the South Bay area of Southern California, there are only EIGHT maximum agents that can expose your Palos Verdes home for sale on Realtor.com as a FEATURED LISTING.  This added exposure is essential to getting the highest price in the shortest period of time and with the least amount of inconvenience for my sellers. 

When you’re ready to sell your Palos Verdes real estate, how can you possibly afford not having this benefit.

Palos Verdes Foreclosures

Were you aware that time is running out for distressed homeowners who are upside down in their homes?

The Federal Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 provided enormous benefits for distressed owners of Palos Verdes homes and Palos Verdes real estate. 

These benefits EXPIRE on December 31, 2012.  Trust me on this … if you’re in a position where you need to capture the benefits of a short sale, you do NOT want to wait to the last minute.  It could cost you tens of thousands of dollars with added tax liability to the federal government and state government.

Before this Act was passed, when a home goes to foreclosure or short sale, the loss to the bank (or debt forgiveness) is considered income to the homeowner. The bank will report that income to the Internal Revenue Service on a 1099 form, and a taxpayer in the 28 percent tax bracket could owe as much as $28,000 on a $100,000 loss to the bank.

For a homeowner, it’s like salt in the wound – not only did they lose their home to foreclosure, but they now the IRS is calling?

Lawmakers enacted the Debt Relief Act to shield distressed homeowners from such a financially devastating event.

The Debt Relief Act covers:

TIMEFRAME: Up to $2 million of debt ($1 million if married filing separately) forgiven between Jan. 1, 2007, and Dec. 31, 2012.

PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE: The forgiven debt must be on a qualified principal residence, generally considered to be a home in which you have lived full time two out of the last five years. Check with your tax preparer to determine if your home falls into this category.

Debt forgiven on a second home, income property, credit cards, car loans, etc. do not qualify for the tax forgiveness, according to the legislation.

PURCHASE MONEY: The debt must have been used to “buy, build or substantially improve” your principal residence and be secured by that property. If you refinanced the home and took cash out to remodel the home, it may be covered. Cash out to pay other bills or make purchases would not qualify, however.

Though some property owners may not qualify for the protections of the Debt Relief Act, there are alternatives.

INSOLVENCY: If a consumer’s liabilities exceed their assets, they may fall under the IRS definition of “insolvency,” and some or all of their canceled debt may not be taxable. Your tax preparer can help you determine if you are insolvent and help you complete a Form 982 as part of your tax return.

BANKRUPTCY: Debts discharged through bankruptcy are not taxable income.

DEFICIENCY BALANCE: Tax liability on a discharged debt differs from a deficiency. In California, the owner of a home lost through foreclosure or sold in a short sale often is not liable for the balance owed.

Loan modifications and short sales can take several months or longer. Homeowners facing difficulties should not wait until the last moment to take action. The rush to complete a short sale or loan mod at the end of 2012 will keep many from taking advantage of the federal protections.

If you know someone that needs to understand the benefits of short selling their home OR you want to know about what advantages there are as an investor to buying a short sale, contact me today!

How to sell Palos Verdes Estates homes

Sure, marketing is key, but what kind of marketing? What works? Does traditional print media work? It doesn’t in my opinion, but when you can combine print media with the omnipotent internet, the two combine to create some spectacular results.

It’s why I’ve chosen South Bay Diggs as the print media and internet solution for my marketing. If you’re looking for Palos Verdes Estates real estate in the Lunada Bay area of town or if you just want to see how the ad works, go to this link now. Lower Lunada Bay homes for sale

From Lunada Bay Real Homes For Sale 2809 Paseo del Mar

To read the full report on Palos Verdes foreclosures and the bank owned Palos Verdes homes, go here

Do know the “Second Oldest Saying in Real Estate”?

Posted on January 10, 2012 at 1:50 pm

Everybody knows the “oldest saying” in the real estate business right?  Go on, say it with me …

Location

Location

Location!

But there is corollary to that adage and that is that “ALL REAL ESTATE IS LOCAL”.  Meaning that what what is happening in Temecula has nothing to do with what is happening in the, oh, let’s say the Monte Malaga area of Palos Verdes Estates. 

For example, take a look at the chart below.  I bet you would be surprised to know that the Palos Verdes real estate market is actually improving significantly for the Monte Malaga area. 

If you would like a price history chart like this one for your own area, just contact me through my website at http://www.homeispalosverdes.com and I will get one to you.

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