You’re a homeowner and are behind on your mortgage. It happens to the best of us, but what can you do? You may be upside down on your mortgage and considering walking away from your home, or stressing out trying to figure out how to keep it. But there are ways to avoid foreclosure, a short sale being one of them. Short sales are best handled by a Realtor who is Certified Distressed Property Expert (“CPDE”) certified. They are trained to handle short sales and other foreclosure avoidance options and will work with you to get you through a stressful situation.

But why even worry about a short sale? It’s been said they are hard to get and can’t be accomplished before a foreclosure happens. Or worse yet, banks aren’t even approving them, so why bother? Besides, it would be an embarrassment having all my friends and family know that I owe more on my house than it’s worth!

The truth is banks and mortgagors don’t want to foreclose. It’s an expensive process and they are left holding a property they then need to sell to recoup their losses. Foreclosure is a process that takes time. If you qualify for a short sale, a bank would rather take a smaller loss on your payoff than pay the foreclosure costs and sale costs of the property.

As for embarrassment, it’s obvious that if your home is in this position, theirs might be too. In this economy many markets are suffering from devaluation of real estate. If your neighbors aren’t they might just have been lucky enough to have purchased before values soared. Either way you aren’t alone in this situation. Millions of Americans are in the same boat.

If you are looking for a great CDPE Certified Real Estate Agent in the Palm Harbor or Dunedin areas of FL, (zip codes 34683, 34697, 34698) give us a call today! 727.366.0325

This listing MLS # U7525826 is a part the Pinellas Short Sales and Wachovia Fast Track program which means it’s slated for a very quick approval!  We often joke that Pinellas short sales should be called “long” sales, but in this instance, we’ll truly be able to get a response from the bank quickly.

UPDATED AS OF Friday, 11/11/11:  We just reduced the price down to $299,000 with the goal of getting it under contract this weekend, so Give us a call at 727-366-0325 if you’d like to schedule a showing.

We're sorry, but we couldn't find MLS # U7525826 in our database. This property may be a new listing or possibly taken off the market. Please check back again.

These disclosure rules are not without controversy but were designed by the Federal Trade Commission to protect mortgage foreclosure rescue and loan modification services from collecting fees until homeowners have a written offer from their lender or servicer that they decide is acceptable. Short Sale Realtors are indirectly affected.

They must tell their clients:

1. We do no charge upfront fees for our services in representing you.
2. Our commissions are paid from the proceeds by a closing agent (escrow, title or attorney) that are A)  Agreed to by your lender when the short sale transaction is approved, B) the terms accepted by you, the seller or homeowner and C) when sale is successfully closed.
3. Realtor commissions (typically 6% total) and closing costs will be part of your overall deficiency (the amount of your debt ‘forgiven’ by your lender.)

The new laws are tricky and you will need expert advice from a trusted and experienced short sale experts — The Pinellas Peach!

Pinellas Real Estate Statistics March 2011

1. Homes ARE Selling Like Hotcakes!!!!   The absorbption rate, which is the number of homes that sell in a given month divided by the number for sale in the MLS, is at an all-time high of 13.4% for single family homes, up almost 2 points from this time last year, and up from 5.8% in 2008.  Same is true for condos which are at 12.2% up from 9.5% last year and 3.6% in 2008.
2. Homes ARE Selling Like Hotcakes!!!!   The months supply of inventory is down to 7 months.  This means there are less than 3 houses per buyer!
3. Homes ARE Selling Like Hotcakes!!!!  Pending sales are up 75% over 2010.
4. Distressed Homes ARE Selling Like Hotcakes!!!!  45% of the 663 of the 1,463 homes sold were short sales or foreclosures. 

So, is everything rosy?  Sellers, not so fast ….

Keller Williams Palm Harbor Realtors – A View of Tampa Bay from the Trenches

1. We can’t find houses for our buyers that aren’t beat to hell and back, won’t take months to close (if they close at all), or aren’t overpriced by Sellers not accepting the market realities.  We’re often one of many bidders (we were one of NINE !!! bidders on a St. Petersburg townhome a few weeks ago). 
2. Prices Are at an All Time Low.   Great news for buyers, pathetic news for sellers.   The Single Family 5-Year Tampa Bay Median Price Trend shows us this …. January 2006 = $220,000;  January 2010 = $130,000,  January 2011 = $100,000. 
3. Foreclosure “Shadow Inventory” is looming …  Many buyers say “bring it on” – we need more houses to see.  Many sellers refuse to believe it – despite NAR’s March report showing Florida has another 29 months before the shadow inventory will be gone.  

How do absorption rates and shadow invetory affect me?   That most often needs to be assessed on an individual, case-by-case basis.  

Contact Suncoast Partners at Keller Williams Palm Harbor for a quick assessment - which can often be done by e-mail, phone or in-person if you prefer.

Investing in Pinellas short sales can be a beautiful thing, your worst nightmare or something in between.

1)  The Seller can change his mind about selling on the day of closing – and be well within their legal rights to do so.  Oops – there go your plans. 

2)  The short sale lender, who’s already approved the sale and the payoff amount (i.e. the $$ they will net), just before closing, can add on arbitrary legal fees to the seller’s debt and the whole thing goes out the window.  Ooops – the house just got a lot more expensive – or there go your plans.

3)  Your lender requires repairs to the home (particularly true if you’re getting FHA financing).  You spend your time, sweat and money making repairs PRIOR to close at your own risk in order to obtain loan approval.  If it doesn’t close, sorry Charlie.   This practice of buyer’s making repairs is commonplace now as it’s often the only way to get these homes sold as the sellers can’t or won’t pay for repairs.  There goes your wallet.

4)   You find out a few days prior to close that there’s an HOA, Utility Company or Pinellas County lien on the property that wasn’t recorded when the initial title search was done.  Oh, and there’s no extra money in the approval so you get to pay it off – if your lender will allow it.  There goes your wallet or your plans.

5)   The Seller’s bank accounts were just unexpectedly frozen by the IRS, thus they can’t print their most recent bank statements to give to the short sale lender, which is the last thing required after the bank pre-approves the sale and before the investor (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, etc.) can give the final thumbs up.  There go your plans.

6)  You find out a few days prior to close that Pinellas County Code Enforcement is holding you hostage.  They supposedly posted a notice on the house a month ago about a building code violation, although the notice was never posted (or perhaps the neighbor next door who’s upset that the pool had been green for a year swiped it because he’s fed up).  You learn that fees of $250 a DAY began accruing yesterday - for a spot the size of a salad plate on the house that’s missing paint and a piece of wood the size of a house cat missing from a fence.   Quick!!!  CALL 9-1-1 !!!!   There are UNEARTHLY DANGEROUS homes out there ready to threaten our existence on planet earth (a subject for another post).  There goes your wallet and possibly your plans.

On the upside, we do close plenty of short sales in Pinellas County that work out just fine.

Have you had a short sale experience (positive or negative) that you’d like to share?   We’d love to hear your comments below!

Yes, it’s a short sale, though, trust me when I say, we’ve got every reason to believe we can get this fully approved within two months or less.   And yes, the pool is super funky green right now, though that’s a minor issue at this price.  Full home inspection and recent property appraisal (at much higher value) available.

Call us now for details at 727-366-0324 (Julia) or (727)366-0325 Matt.    At this price, the plan is to have it in contract by the weekend.

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.

Top 4 Dangers in Buying Foreclosure Homes for Sale In Pinellas County

1. 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!
2. 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.
3. 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 an estimate of these costs prior to signing any contract.
4. Almost ZERO contract protection.  The standard FARBAR and FAR contracts have ample protections for buyers regarding inspections, property defects, disclosures, clear title, etc.   However, bank REO contracts can not be altered in ANY way.  We have to take what they dish out – and trust us, they are all in the bank’s favor.  

Absolutely, there are great buys to be had buying foreclosure homes for sale in Pinellas County, yet let the buyer beware.  If you have questions about the process, these Pinellas Realtors would be glad to chat with you.   Feel free to contact us with questions. 

By the way, the truth is that a ‘regular’ sale home can often be a better buy than a foreclosure or a short sale – it just all depends!!   We see it all the time and feel free to ask us why.  We’re here to help.

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 the patience of a saint.  This is just this week’s activity on a few of our short sales…..

• Tonight we obtained approval on a Palm Harbor short sale after 10 months with BB&T, after running through 4 buyers and countless painful hours of negotiations on numerous levels, on a home that was stripped of $75,000 worth of assets.  The homeowner we originally set out to help, bailed long ago, and we now represent the HOA who foreclosed on the title in an attempt to get their past due fees back.  The HOA lost money as did we as the jerks slashed our commissions and dues down to nothing.   Yet we are more relieved to just have the pain stop.
• Monday we closed a Palm Harbor short sale where the other agent was so unresponsive to us and his buyer that our team managed the transaction doing both agents’ work with an out of state lender from hell (friends don’t let friends use out of state lenders).  The buyer was beside himself at the end – just relieved beyond belief the pain was finally over.  This lender, HSBC, was actually fairly quick to respond, yet the seller had to come up with cash at closing to make it happen.  He didn’t care, he just wanted the pain to end.  The buyer had to pay for all sorts of unanticipated repairs prior to close.  By the end, he was so exhausted with the process that he just wanted the house, he didn’t care if he had to spend extra money.  They cut our commission, too.
• Yesterday we got a Wells Fargo Clearwater Short sale approved.  We ran through 3 buyers in 5 months (the first two lost patience), the Seller has been beside herself for months as Wells Fargo ignored us completely until just last week.  We even managed to get past the issue of the mold that grew in the condo because the air was turned off.   The buyer is so relieved that the agony of waiting is over. 
• Tonight, we learned after 9 months of negotiations on a Palm Harbor short sale with  BofA (formerly Countrywide) that was just approved last week, that they sold the 2nd mortgage two months ago (and oh, they just realized it) and that the approval didn’t mean squat.  We have to start all over.  The pain I’m feeling knowing I have to tell the sellers and buyers this tomorrow morning isn’t fun.
• This week, after 9 months of negotiations on a Westchase Tampa Short Sale, with a flood in the house and mold remediation construction along the way, we got word that just maybe they would approve the sale if we could close by December 31st.   And Bank United wanted to know if we could do it?  After 4 months of waiting with this last buyer, we jumped through more hoops and told them yes we had found a way to make it happen.  And now they have dropped off the face of the earth and aren’t returning calls or e-mails.  The frustration and uncertainty is akin to Chinese water torture.

Are you a buyer looking for a short sale?  Are you out of your mind?!  Or do you have the patience it takes to get the home of your dreams?

Why do we do it?  At the end of this day, I remind myself that we do it to help our homeowners in distress.  I sleep good at night knowing that. 

And with a 100% track record thus far (we’ve had every short sale we’ve ever listed approved !! knock on wood) – well, quite honestly, it’s an accomplishment we’re proud of.

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.

• Just because notices have been filed does NOT mean that these homes are for sale!  Truth be told….most aren’t yet.  Sellers still have the right to redeem their loans, and at this stage of the game, most haven’t even begun to explore their options. 
• The data on foreclosure lists is all public information and includes homes that:
  1. Are already on the MLS;
  2. Are up for Auction on the courthouse steps or by 3rd party auctioneers (a horrible option unless you’re a very experienced all-cash investor);
  3. Have Borrowers that are 30+ days late which have been reported to the credit bureaus.  This late payment information is then resold to the consumer on many of these sites as some sort of  “magic bullet” of information on these properties; or
  4. Have Lis Pendens notices filed with Pinellas County (a Lis Pendens is the legal notice that the banks file that officially starts the foreclosure process).

To recap, the homes that are for sale are on the MLS!

If you’re interested in purchasing Pinellas foreclosures, give us a call at (727)366-0324.  We’ll present all of the homes that are available that meet your criteria.

By the way, in the very near future, you’ll even be able to search The Pinellas Peach for Pinellas Bank Owned Homes!  Stay tuned …..