Sonoma County Realtor
Former Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad Station
California is truly an incredible destination—diverse, exciting, and beautiful, with amazing cities, incredible beaches and stunning parklands, all offering more ways to enjoy your vacation or new home than anywhere in the world. A certain part of it has been called the 5th Happiest Place in the US. Let’s hone in on that area.
Neighbor Yard Art Gone Wild
You own a house that you are ready to sell. You have been realistic in fixing some of the problem areas. Others that would be costly, like granite counters, you have by-passed. Your house is in a nice location and is neither too big nor too small compared to others in the neighborhood. So why can’t you sell your house?
Different roof styles on the Winchester Mystery House
Having the super finest home on the block is not necessarily a good way to get back what you put into it. Location does matter and your house would sell for more if it were nestled among other houses like it. On the other hand at times less is more.
In urban settings where mostly singles and childless couples live, you can get away with having a one or two bedroom home. You don’t need that extra bedroom or family room in an area like this. However, if you live in an area where all the homes around yours have four bedrooms, your home should, too. Your home value will be much less if you have only two or three bedrooms. These kinds of home areas also come with family or “great” rooms. If you don’t have one in your house, that’s a big appraisal minus.
Realtor Sign
A real estate agent comes to your house and gives you an idea of what it might sell for. You are shocked and not in a good way, either. There are all sorts of reasons your house might be worth less than you thought it should. It could be the way your house compares with others in the area even though yours has more bling, it could be your neighbors or it could be a faulty appraisal.
House for Sale
California, with its exceptional beauty and vast opportunities, is an attractive location for many home buyers. If you are considering relocating to this area, particularly from out-of-state, you should be aware of some differences in the way the real estate business works in the Golden State.
For example, unlike other states, where attorneys close the deal, Californians usually opt to acquire the services of a licensed, experienced realtor. While it is certainly not mandatory, hiring a real estate agent can make the buying process easier and can make the difference in negotiating a good offer on a home.
For the past few years the housing market here in the United States and now the national financial crises have caused heartache and incredible stress on American families. A particularly ruinous challenge faced by families today is foreclosure. This is more heartrending because often it could have been averted.
Here are 5 solutions other than foreclosure that could be done instead along with their pros and cons.
Reinstatement: A simple solution, but hard to do, this is the best way to stop foreclosure. To do this the homeowner asks the mortgage company how much he owes to that date and then he pays it. If the homeowner does this up to the day before the foreclosure sale, he will be able to keep his house.
What are the pros? He doesn’t need to mortgage company or the lender to approve of his actions The cons are that he has to pay back all the payments and all fines and fees at once, amounting to more than he would have paid had he been able to pay on time.
A repayment or forbearance plan is where the homeowner negotiates with the mortgage company to allow the owner to pay back the back payments over time. The homeowner will have to pay both the current mortgage payment and pay the newly negotiated back payments.
The pro of this plan is that the homeowner doesn’t have to come up with the entire amount at once. The con is that he has to pay both, and certain mortgage companies may want the homeowner to “qualify” for the repayment plan.
Mortgage modification entails reducing of one of these: the loan’s principal balance, its interest rate, the loan term or a combination of any of those. This will lower the payments made by the owner and provides a more payable mortgage.
This will be good for the owner since it might even reduce the loan’s principal balance, but the homeowner will have to “qualify” for this and will have to give full documentation. Plus the lender will be actively involved in the process.
Some homeowners have low enough mortgage payments that renting out the house will keep the house payment doable. To do this the owner has to be able to convert the house into a rental house.
The pro of this is that the owner can keep the property. The con here is that rental property is subject to many problems and the rent might not be enough to cover the entire cost of maintenance and ownership.
Did you know about deed in lieu of foreclosure, also called a “friendly foreclosure”? In this case the homeowner returns the property to the lender instead of having to go through a foreclosure process. The lender has to approve of this and the owner has to leave.
The pro here is that the lender will not get a deficiency judgment from the owner, while the cons are that the homeowner has to leave and the deed in lieu could still be passed on to credit bureaus as if it were a foreclosure.
This is just a summary of some of the solutions that a homeowner can choose in place of foreclosure. Call your local Realtor for more assistance.
Do you know of some other ways to prevent foreclosure? Please leave your comments in the box below.
Martin A. Levy, Realtor® Century 21 North Bay Alliance – Results are our way of life.Licensed since 1977, Martin A. Levy has sold over $1.5 Billion worth of real estate and is approaching 5,000 career sales. He has maintained a lofty Top Ten position in the nation for the past 25 years ranking as high as Number 1 in Northern California and Number 2 nationally. Surpassing sales records in both dollar volume and number of sales year after year, Martin has been recognized as one of the highest-producing real estate professionals in the United States, selling an average of over 100 properties per year. Martin can be reached at 707.303.3333 or martin@martinlevy.com. Visit his website at www.martinlevy.com.
Since I wrote this in February, the television ads have gone, but there are still people out there doing the same thing. I even saw a story about it on the news last night.–ML
You’ve seen the ads on television. They mimic actual news updates and offer help keeping people from facing foreclosure with their rescue plan. There is always small print in the ad, but it is very, very small print. It says that you may still have to pay your mortgage after their help.
Beware of these foreclosure rescue ads. They are scams. If you need foreclosure assistance, it should be free.
What to watch out for from a company offering assistance
Real help is available from the government
There is help available for people struggling to make their mortgage payments on time perhaps because their interest rate has increased or they have less income. You can be helped if you are struggling to make your monthly payments because of a second lien.
There is also a program for homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgage because of unemployment or they are “underwater”, which means they owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth. There is help for people who have offered a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.
This help is all available from the US government, through a program called Making Home Affordable (information found at www.MakingHomesAffordable.gov). This program is a critical part of the effort to stabilize the housing market and help struggling homeowners get relief and avoid foreclosure.
Making Homes Affordable includes opportunities for homeowners to modify or refinance their mortgage to make their payments more affordable. The program has recently been expanded to help homeowners who become unemployed or find themselves “underwater.” It also provides options for homeowners who can no longer afford their home and are interested in a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.
Remember the Foreclosure Rescue scams we started out with? One of the ways these scams work is by taking money or even the deed to your home.
There is no charge to apply for the Making Homes Affordable Program. If you are struggling to pay your mortgage, you should contact your mortgage servicer—the company to which you pay your mortgage—to determine if you qualify for the program. A HUD-approved housing counselor can also work with you for free to determine if you are eligible and help you apply for the program. The number to call is 1-888-995-HOPE (4673).
For more assistance and information, please feel free to contact our offices at 707-303-3333. Martin Levy and his team are there to assist.
Martin A. Levy, Realtor® Century 21 North Bay Alliance – Results are our way of life.Licensed since 1977, Martin A. Levy has sold over $1.5 Billion worth of real estate and is approaching 5,000 career sales. He has maintained a lofty Top Ten position in the nation for the past 25 years ranking as high as Number 1 in Northern California and Number 2 nationally. Surpassing sales records in both dollar volume and number of sales year after year, Martin has been recognized as one of the highest-producing real estate professionals in the United States, selling an average of over 100 properties per year. Martin can be reached at 707.303.3333 or martin@martinlevy.com. Visit his website at www.martinlevy.com.
Home Inspection
You have found your “ideal house” (note the quote marks?). What you don’t know about this gem is that there is a possibility that this house that you are hoping will be a good investment, might be just the opposite. It was once priced outside what you could afford, but now since the cost is so much lower, you are already dreaming of unique decorating ideas, beautiful renovations and that fantasy bathroom you have always wanted.
8833 Canyon Oak Drive, Windsor - 4/3 - $524,000.
When the guest list gets a little too big, or ‘those days’ occur when your long lost cousin Jim from Florida and the entire group show up for the family event, it’s great to have lots of space. And this four bedroom, three bath, two-story jewel, located in the Foothill Meadows subdivision, is not lacking for room. In fact, the great room is so large, the kids could play indoor soccer until they run out of energy and fall asleep (although we don’t recommend it).
The immaculate landscape with a large outdoor heated and covered patio might make the choice to spend your time indoors or outdoors a bit challenging. Yet, when the family and friends chaos dies down, you might be tempted to relax by the wood-burning fireplace and read a book under the custom addition glass atrium. And what goes better in Windsor than a fine glass of Chardonnay, or Pinot and with some mouth-watering hoers d’ oeuvres? But, it’s not all about play here on Canyon Oak.
The large bonus room/office might just be perfect for planning your new Fortune 500 endeavor, or at least turning it into a man or woman cave. Oh, back to cousin Jim and his brood. Impress your long lost family members and get your inner Guy Fieri on in the exquisite chef-quality kitchen, featuring top quality appliances from Bosch and Frigidaire. Just be careful though, if your chef skills are too good, you just might have the neighbors knocking at your door. But, don’t just take our word for what you’ll experience here. Find the full listing here:http://www.martinlevy.com/Listing.aspx?oid=18332&ot=213
Martin A. Levy, Realtor® Century 21 North Bay Alliance – Results are our way of life.Licensed since 1977, Martin A. Levy has sold over $1.5 Billion worth of real estate and is approaching 5,000 career sales. He has maintained a lofty Top Ten position in the nation for the past 25 years ranking as high as Number 1 in Northern California and Number 2 nationally. Surpassing sales records in both dollar volume and number of sales year after year, Martin has been recognized as one of the highest-producing real estate professionals in the United States, selling an average of over 100 properties per year. Martin can be reached at 707.303.3333 or martin@martinlevy.com. Visit his website at www.martinlevy.com.
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