How to Choose a Short Sale Agent

There are many nuances to a short sale transaction and every short sale is unique. Therefore the short sale agent you choose can make or break the deal, so choose wisely. When researching for a short sale agent, experience is very important. Research your local market and see who has the other local short sale listings. If you have access to the MLS find out which agents have closed the most short sales. Meet with the perspective agents and make sure you are comfortable with them and don’t be afraid to ask for referrals.  Pat Holkesvig and Homes-In-NorCal.com has successfully negotiated numerous Manteca short sales, Lodi short sales, Tracy short sales, Lathrop short sales and Stockton short sales. When you choose Homes-In-NorCal.com to represent you in a short sale transaction, you can have peace of mind knowing you have chosen an expert short sale team who:

• will protect your interests
• knows the local market
• uses online technology to market your home effectively
• is familiar with the paperwork, negotiations and complexity involved
• is familiar with several lenders and their specific short sale process
• will negotiate with the lender(s)
• will stay on top of things throughout the process
• knows how to expedite your transaction
• uses online tools and resources for transaction efficiency and convenience
• is capable of sorting out any problems on a timely basis

Homes-In-NorCal.com is the San Joaquin Central Valley’s short sale specialist!  Call Pat Holkesvig at 209-471-6516 or send an email to info@homes-in-stockton.com

Who Owns My Mortgage and Why Do I Need To Know?

Stockton short sales coming together!

We specialize in pre-foreclosure short sales in Stockton in San Joaquin County and are finally finding that the banks willing to cooperate.  We have established relationships with banks and mortgage servicers to process short sales. They cooperate with us because we save them money and get the done.  Sellers list with us because short sales can provide credit, tax and deficiency repayment benefits.   Here’s how it works:

· We assist the seller in gathering financial information to support their hardship.

· We contact the banks and or mortgage servicers on behalf of our clients.

· We find a buyer and submit the supporting sale documentation to the bank.

· We coordinate with the title company, attorneys, mortgage insurance companies, public trustees, etc. for the approval of the short sale.

Stockton Renters to Receive Landlord Foreclosure Notice

Over a thousand Stockton renters will receive notice this week that their landlord may be facing foreclosure. Almost half of Stockton’s foreclosures are rental properties. All renters should know their rights and not let banks and real estate agents push them into moving out until they have exercised those rights. According to Federal law a minimum 90 days notice is necessary before renters can be forced to move out of a foreclosed rental property. Renters with a lease may continue living in a foreclosed property until the lease expires unless the new owner intends to live in it. In order to check if your rental is possibly in foreclosure call the Tenants Together hotline at 888-495-8020. If you are interested in the Stockton foreclosure market, feel free to contact Pat Holkesvig & Your Home Team experts at 209.471.6516 or complete our Contact Us form.

Forbes Bayonets Stockton and Central Valley Real Estate

Each year Forbes magazine analyzes the 200 largest U.S. cities and ranks them into their ‘Top Miserable List’. This year, for the first time Forbes introduced housing as one of the criteria, in addition to the previous criteria which included unemployment, weather, taxes, traffic and violent crime. Stockton, in California’s Central Valley, was number one. Stockton was closely followed by the other California cities of Merced, Modesto and Sacramento. Stockton’s, recent real estate market decline of 58% and unemployment rates hovering around 14.3% were the primary contributing factors for the rating. Bob Deis, Stockton’s City Manager feels this analysis is unfair and misleading. He told Forbes “Stockton has issues that it needs to address, but an article like this is the equivalent of bayoneting the wounded,” “I find it unfair, and it does everybody a disservice. The people of Stockton are warm. The sense of community is fantastic. You have to come here and talk to leaders. The data is the data, but there is a richer story here.”

Slow and Uneven Market Recovery Forecast

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 8,000,000 jobs have been lost in the past few years causing our economy to be at its worst since the Great Depression. According to Ken Rosen, chair of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of California at Berkeley, only 1,000,000 new jobs have be introduced and it will be a slow and uneven economic recovery. Boston, New York, Washington DC, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and the Silicon Valley are some of the areas already showing signs of improvement. However, the Central Valley in California continues to remain unstable. The National Association of Realtors latest real estate and economic forecast, predicts the sales of existing homes, will rise 7.9% this year, to 5.3 million, and another 4.5% in 2012, to 5.53 million.

Housing Regulators Plan New Fee System

U.S. housing regulators plan to impose a new fee system and standards for mortgage servicers by mid 2012. The Federal Housing Finance Agency instructed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to work with the Department of Housing and Urban Development in order to find ways to improve mortgage servicing for borrowers. They proposed imposing a service based fee structure for poorly performing loans in place of the flat rate added onto the borrower’s interest rate that is currently in use. In addition, the FDIC, Treasury and other agencies are expected to issue a proposed risk retention rule by next month requiring lenders to assume some of the financial burden of risky loans.

Bank of America Settles with Freddie and Fannie

Bank of America has settled with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae for $2.8 billion to silence claims that the bank sold them faulty loans. Investors are typically entitled to repayment by the lenders if the loans were sold on the basis of false assurances. Since Bank of America’s acquisition Countrywide Financial, they have been particularly exposed in this area. Bank of America claimed the $1.3 billion payment to Freddie Mac settles all claims on 787,000 mortgages that valued at $127 billion. The $1.5 billion settlement with Fannie Mae however only claims to resolve 12,045 loans with unpaid balances of $2.7 billion. It partially resolves an additional 5,760 loans with unpaid balances of $1.3 billion therefore leaving Bank of America open to a future claim from Fannie Mae.

Readers Rate Local Economy San Joaquin #2 Story of the Year

According to The Record readers, the local economy was the number two story of the year. One factor contributing to the overall economy was the housing market. San Joaquin county was number two in the nation for foreclosures in 2010 but housing prices remained relatively unchanged with an average home price of $181,000.

Advanced Mortgage Payments - To Pay Or Not To Pay

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