Archive for the 'Pinellas Foreclosures and Short Sales' Category
Fannie Mae to Punish Strategic Defaulters with 7 Year Lockout
June 27th, 2010 categories: Pinellas Foreclosures and Short Sales, Stop Tampa Bay Foreclosure
Pinellas Short Sales and Deeds In Lieu Option Are Better than Ever
Pinellas short sales, deeds in lieu and loan modifications remain a better option than walking away from your mortgage. Last week, Fannie Mae came out last week with big guns and their new policy to punish those who choose strategic default – which is walking away from your mortgage even though you can afford to pay for it.
Steve Cook of UPI highlights the new Fannie Mae changes in this June 24th article, though in a nutshell, don’t plan on being able to get a new mortgage for at least another 7 years if this is your strategy. That’s a long 7-year itch!
On the flip side, Fannie is looking to give give a break to those troubled homeowners who are doing the right thing by completing a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure.
Questions? Call us at 727-366-0324 or visit us at our site for troubled homeowners. www.ShortSalesPinellas.com.
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Top 4 Dangers in Buying Foreclosure Homes for Sale in Pinellas County
June 6th, 2010 categories: Pinellas Foreclosures and Short Sales, Pinellas Homes for Sale
Buying foreclosure homes for sale in Pinellas County isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. As Pinellas Realtors we strive to make the buying experience a ridiculously happy one, yet buying foreclosures can be gut-wrenching. Watch out for these ….
Top 4 Dangers in Buying Foreclosure Homes for Sale In Pinellas County
- We might not close. There’s a new dangerous and unscrupulous trend now where banks aren’t getting clear title (from outstanding liens and deed-in-lieu sign offs from Sellers) before listing Pinellas County homes for sale. We’ve experienced and also heard about this first-hand from several insiders at several well-known banks and closing attorneys that represent these banks. In other words, they are sometimes offering properties for sale that have no business being on the market!
- We might not close on time. Same explanation as above. We recently represented a wonderful buyer who HAD to be in her new home by a certain date – and the closing was delayed over THREE weeks. Trust me, the pain she went through due to the delay – not to mention the stress of not knowing IF we would even close - was unbelievable. I can’t stress enough why it’s so important to have Pinellas Realtors that will go the extra mile for you. In this case, it took contacting the CEO at a massive firm – and everybody else there – about 10 times a day – every day - to finally get it done.
- You’ll ALWAYS have to pay extra fees that are paid for on ‘regular’ and short sale properties. These include normally paid for by seller title insurance, state doc stamps (taxes) and other title fees. This is a significant extra expense that can be easily made light of by your buyer’s agent and certainly the selling institution. Make sure you get Read the rest of this entry »
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The Excruciating Pain with Pinellas Short Sales
December 18th, 2009 categories: Pinellas Foreclosures and Short Sales, Stop Tampa Bay Foreclosure
Pinellas Short Sales cause excruciating pain. Trust me, the Pinellas Realtors we meet all agree. There’s childbirth, tooth extractions, Strep throat, getting a needle in the eye and the heartache of getting dumped by the girl in high school at the Senior Prom. None hold a candle to the pain of buying a short sale.
Can it be done? Yes. Yet this Palm Harbor Realtor has had it with these absurd lenders and their downright cruel practices with Realtors, home buyers and the sellers so desperately in need of help.
The short sale “negotiators” at these banks act like they are God and to hell with the rest of us. They keep us on the fence for months, toying with our emotions, hopes, dreams and livelihoods - playing take away – off and on – like twisted control freaks.
Oh, this is too long of a post, and DON’T READ FURTHER unless you’re interested in buying Bay Area Tampa Short sales and have Read the rest of this entry »
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Secret to Finding Pinellas Bank Owned Homes
August 4th, 2009 categories: Pinellas Foreclosures and Short Sales
In June, there were 2,708 Pinellas County foreclosures listed in the Pinellas MLS for sale. That includes pre-foreclosure Pinellas short sales and those that have already been foreclosed on, which are Pinellas bank owned homes, also know as REO’s. These are homes that went to public auction but did not sell.
We’ll get more in depth on this topic in upcoming posts, but first, you may be wondering just how does one go about finding all of the Pinellas bank owned homes?
- The truth is that “Secret” lists of Pinellas County foreclosures don’t exist.
- 99.99% of the time banks will list their Pinellas County foreclosures with Realtors.
- Many of the banks have websites that list their REO inventories. We’ve yet to find one of those listings that isn’t already listed with an agent and is also on the MLS!
- Online or other companies that sell ”foreclosure” lists are in it to make money. Keep yours in your wallet!
- Keep in mind that Florida is a judicial foreclosure action state. Translated, deliquent borrowers are allowed their day in court and can redeem or pay their mortgages in full any time prior to the final public auction date.
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Palm Harbor Waterfront Homes: HURRY on this 4/3/2 Fully Updated Gem with Dock, Covered Lift & Pool! Offers due by Aug. 7th at 12PM! May the Best Man (or Gal) Win!
July 22nd, 2009 categories: Palm Harbor Homes, Pinellas Foreclosures and Short Sales, Pinellas Waterfront Homes
Looking for a spectacular piece of waterfront Palm Harbor Real Estate at a Palm Harbor foreclosure price? Look no further! This 1,960sf Palm Harbor short sale is just about to hit the open market again at only $299,123! Note this property had 5 offers in 2 weeks when first introduced in April. However, it’s your lucky day .. the original buyer’s plans changed and so now your dream can be a reality. Call Julia at (727)366-0324 or contact us for details and to arrange your private viewing. No showings until Saturday, July 25th, and all offers must be received by August 7th @ Noon.
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Understanding Pinellas Foreclosures and Short Sales: A Glimpse into Murky Waters
July 19th, 2009 categories: Pinellas Foreclosures and Short Sales, Stop Tampa Bay Foreclosure
There’s some great news for buyers looking for Palm Harbor foreclosures AND some promising news for Dunedin home owners in trouble – IF their loans happen to be backed by Fannie Mae. This post will address the plans that are in play to simplify the Pinellas short sale approval process and hopefully modify or refinance some of the many troubled mortgages throughout Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco Counties.
WARNING: This post is just a snippet of the legal options available for troubled homeowners and for Tampa Bay investors looking for a new home.
The Pinellas Peach has compiled these Federal and Fannie Mae Resources for those facing Tampa Bay foreclosures, and our two cents worth on some.
The Fannie Mae Loan Lookup can help you determine if Fannie Mae is the investor on your mortgage. This Borrow FAQ is worth a read and explains why you may care.
Federal Financial Stability Plan includes press releases from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Stability Plan, including press releases on the second lien program and foreclosure alternatives for short sales. If you’re considering a Palm Harbor short sale, please note that much of this reads like an Infomercial and much of the good news bantered about has thus far failed to materialize for homeowners in any significant manner or number.
The Making Home Affordable Program features Fannie Mae Affordable Refinance options and the Making Home Affordable Modification Program. This month, a client friend of ours was actually able to make a Fannie Mae backed loan modification work – and he did it all by himself! This is the ONLY instance we’ve heard of where a Read the rest of this entry »
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The Obama Housing Plan Won’t Stop the Flood of Pinellas Foreclosures
March 13th, 2009 categories: Pinellas Foreclosures and Short Sales
The details of Obama’s $275 Billion foreclosure prevention plan, the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Act, are trickling out of Washington. Timothy Geithner, Obama’s point man, announced last week that the plan will enable “4 to 5 million responsible homeowners to refinance”. This lender bailout plan presents some nice “feel-good” rhetoric, but will do nothing to help most Pinellas home owners who bought or refinanced after 2001 who are generally 20% to 50% underwater on their homes.
To qualify, homeowners may borrow up to 105% of the equity in their homes. A $300,000 home must be worth at least $285,000. Polina Vlasenko, a research fellow with the think-tank known as the American Institute for Economic Research, recently stated that Floridian homeowners who are truly hurting, will likely not qualify. The additional details of the Obama plan are:
- The homeowner must be steadily employed.
- The interest rate can be reduced to a maximum of 38% of the homeowner’s income. The lender’s cost of the reduction down to 31% will be matched dollar for dollar by the government. This is an interest rate buy-down, which, on the surface, isn’t a bad idea, yet the lender/investor has to take a hit to get down to 38% in the first place, which most simply won’t do.
- The lenders must keep the modifications in place for 5 years. Hmmm.. wonder what happens after Read the rest of this entry »
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Unbelievable Pinellas Short Sale Opportunity on This Palm Harbor Home in Gleneagles
June 26th, 2008 categories: Pinellas Foreclosures and Short Sales
If you’re looking for a Palm Harbor home in an unbelievable tree-lined community, no maintenance hassles and the ability to play golf or swim next door at the Innisbrook Golf Resort, then Gleneagles Cluster is a hidden gem worth checking out. Better yet, an incredible Pinellas short-sale opportunity just became available. If you’d like more information or to see it, give us a call. 727-366-0324 Julia 727-366-0324 Matt.
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Are You Courageous Enough to Buy A Palm Harbor Foreclosure?
May 23rd, 2008 categories: Pinellas Foreclosures and Short Sales
There are several proven ways to snag a great bargain on Palm Harbor real estate.
Ideally, and it happens every day, you’ll find a nice property with a motivated seller that’s not in foreclosure and will sell at a Pinellas Short Sale price. We’d recommend buying a home this way all day long!!
However, maybe you like to sky-dive for fun and your friends consider you courageous?
If you are flexible, willing to take risks, not in a hurry and are o.k. with the idea of being outbid time after time after time after time on potential Palm Harbor homes before finding your golden nugget, and, finally, have the patience of Mother Theresa, we have proven methods to locate and negotiate your perfect Dunedin home at a below-market price.
There are only 3 effective strategies to buy foreclosed properties:
1) At auction. Unless you’ve got all cash, are willing to take enormous risks and or are an experienced investor, STEER CLEAR !!
2) Short Sales (pre-foreclosure). We are Pinellas short sale experts and are specially HREU certified to negotiate and manage these transactions with finesse. By the way, if you have a friend or co-worker not able to keep up with their monthly payments, give us a call at (727)366-0324 to discuss how we may be able to help them renegotiate their current interest rate down or do a short sale at no cost to them. There is help available from people that care (us!).
3) Foreclosed (REO) homes. There’s a common misconception that Pinellas foreclosures being sold by the banks are always a great bargain and that the banks are easy to negotiate with. The frightening truth is that sometimes these Palm Harbor homes are seriously overpriced and the banks are highly inflexible. Yet we’ve successfully nudged and budged quite a few into line with the Pinellas real estate market!
No two situations are alike, and we urge prospective buyers of Palm Harbor real estate and Dunedin homes alike to use the services of a licensed real estate consultant specifically trained in short sales and foreclosures. As an entree in to this other-world, dive in and enjoy the Wall Street Journal’s recent article Ways to Buy Foreclosed Homes Beyond Auction.
If you’re brave enough, contact us and get started now.
Or we can find a home – and a great bargain – the good old-fashioned way.
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Ready to Buy your Palm Harbor Luxury Home at a Pasco Foreclosure Price?
February 15th, 2008 categories: Pinellas Foreclosures and Short Sales
Discriminating buyers want elegance and value. You deserve both.
In this market, probably 50% or more of the Pinellas Luxury Homes for sale are overpriced and if you’re like many buyers you’ve probably had to endure showings on properties that were insulting to your intelligence. Screaming yes, are you? Don’t despair!
There are hidden gems out there – including Ozona, FL homes that aren’t necessarily posted on the Pinellas County MLS. Hook yourself up with a savvy agent that understands the true Palm Harbor Home values in the area – Ozona, FL homes with their own private beaches, Crystal Beach, FL homes, Innisbrook Golf Resort homes, and yes, even Pinellas short sale homes in Million $ neighborhoods such as Cobbs Landing and Indian Bluff Island in Palm Harbor. I’m digressing.. but, yes, there really is one – and many of the locals don’t even know it’s here.The secret to finding finding your Innisbrook Golf Resort home at a Pasco foreclosure price, is to Read the rest of this entry »
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