Check out new Short Sale Listing in Mission Lakes Country Club Desert Hot Springs, this one is a Slam Dunk . . . a very clean short sale.
This is an outstanding opportunity with a golf course location and magnificent Southern mountain views . . . what an outstanding location for this beautifully maintained single family home – approximately 2500 sf including a 3bd/2 ba main home + a detached Casita with a full bathroom! Just gorgeous!
On an over-sized lot, this Short Sale home sits on just under 10,000 sf . . . and there is only one neighbor as there is a berm on the West side of home. The West side yard has a shuffleboard court and the yard is entirely landscaped with low maintenance desert scape. A high wall has been added in the back yard in one corner of the covered porch to block the wind and create a calm, entertaining space.
In the beautiful gated community of Mountain View Country Estates within Mission Lakes Country Club in Desert Hot Springs, the affordable HOA is only $98/mo. This includes a community pool, tennis court and basketball court. Owners here may “pay as you play” at the adjacent golf club or buy a membership.
This Short Sale is offered at $275,000, is a Primary Residence with only one Note with GMAC. Originally sold for almost $495,000 in 2006. Seller only one month delinquent, NOD is not filed.
Don’t miss the Open House on 5/12 12-3 pm for viewing. Keep an eye out on the price !!!
Just another Short Sale opportunity presented by the Palm Springs Valley Short Sale Closer, Kimberley Joy Kelly… I list, work and CLOSE my short sales, and I’ll CLOSE this one too!
More
.
Most Banks say, "Wasn't me!"
..but will they have any impact? The reality is that these programs are always coming up with something new such as..
Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac offer quicker Short Sale Responses
Remember that in the short sale world, the Servicer is the entity that collects your monthly mortgage payment. The Investors are the entities that actually OWN the note. Fannie & Freddie invested in millions of loans and now are left holding the bag on underwater loans. I love that they are offering these timeline guidelines. Let’s hope they actually ACT on them!!!
More
short sale just listed in La Quinta
Short Sale at the Norman Estates in PGA West, La Quinta. 81375 National Dr. $1,200,000. This is a killer house! Southern Fairway views from the back yard which has a large pebbletec pool/spa and built-in outdoor entertainment area. There is a circular driveway in the front of the home which leads to a hand-carved wooden front door. Enter the door to a huge great room with 3 sets of french doors that open to the interior courtyard with it’s private fireplace, then continue on to the lovely backyard. Both wings of this entertainers’ home open to this party courtyard through French Doors and accented with stone floors.
The home has 5 bedrooms + 5.5 baths on an almost 18,000sf, corner home site. Inside the main home is a chefs’ kitchen with Wolfe/Sub-zero stainless appliances, Fisher/Paykel dual dishwashers, custom granite slab counter tops and an eat counter to seat 4 easily. The dining area and wet bar open to the interior courtyard large french doors as well. The entire home is centered around the interior courtyard that is accessed through multiple sets of french doors.
Attached Casita, Master retreat with fireplace in each, 2 more ensuite guest rooms and a laundry room that is enormous! Then we go outside to the couryard, take the stairs up to the enclosed sky deck. A special place, with it’s private bathroom and balcony. What views! Up Fairway to the lakes and mountains beyond. Imagine sipping a glass of wine and watching the sun set from this vantage point!
Two notes. First with B of A and second with Chase. Sellers have all docs in order. Purchased in 2006 for $1,400,000 plus all the upgrades, this home is a steal. I list, work and CLOSE my short sales, and I will get this one CLOSED too!
More
short sale at Mountain View Estates
Beautiful Short Sale home in Mountain View Estates in Desert Hot Springs. Adjacent to Mission Lakes CC, Mountain View Estates is a gated community of single family residences with spectacular Views! A short drive North of Hwy 10, this is a golf course community without the high HOA’s because it’s not REALLY on the golf course.
Beautifully maintained, this 2500+ sf home has 3bd/2ba in the main home + a detached Casita with a full bath. South facing, corner lot with no neighbor to the West, this home offers privacy. Located on one of the 55+ streets in the community, one owner must be 55+ years or over.
This home sold in 2006 for $495,000 and is now offered at $275,000. Only one note with GMAC, and a primary residence for the Sellers, this Short Sale should be relatively painless. The lot is over-sized at approx. 9600 sf with desert scape for easy maintenance, two covered porches in the back and spectacular South mountain and fairway views. Owners may play golf at the Club on a “pay as you play” game or they may join Mission Lakes CC.
HOA’s are a low $98/month and include a community pool, tennis court+ basketball court..great deal! Another Short Sale listed with the Short Sale CLOSER!
More
Bank of America; short sale lemon
Just read an article in the New York Times called Banks Always Win. How serendipitous when I am encountering that very thing with my now year long Short Sale with B of A. I have been writing of this journey because it is so unbelievable to me and the Sellers, that it deserves the written word.
When you see a Short Sale listing that has been sitting for hundreds of days and the List Price keeps going up, then back down, it’s because the appraisal came in too high, the Investors believed it, and their counter was so far over what the property is worth that the Buyer walks, shaking their head in disgust. Does B of A really think that because they have a higher value in their little pea brain it is the Reality of the homes’s value? Buyers set the value you ding dongs. It’s called a Buyers’ Market for a reason. Your property is worth what a Buyer will pay..period!
First appraisl one year ago (4/15 marks 365 days with this listing and four qualified buyers). Anyway, first appraisal comes in at $980,000. At that time, I tried to convince them that my offer of $850,000 was fair. No offers came in until the List Price had been reduced to that number from my original list price of $1,050,000. Buyer of course walks.
I raised the LP to $980,000 and began reductions. Again..no offers until I hit $850,000. B of A counters at $980,000 again. Buyer #2 walks.
I get Buyer #3 at $850,000. B of A does a new appraisal. Must’ve been closer because they counter at $865,000. Buyer accepts with a conventional loan. Lender appraises the house at $825,000. Buyer #3 walks.
I List the home at $865,000..the “approved B of A price” per the approval letter which was set for a March 15,2012 close. I get an offer of $865,000 and this time I call the Lender. Local woman and she guarantees that she will fund this loan. OK..I submit the offer. Darned if the B of A negotiator doesn’t tell me “this file is aged,” so we close and re-open it once again. New appraisal is ordered. Yippee! Surely, this time it will come in at $865,000! Not so fast…
This appraiser has decided that over the past year, the home has gone up in value to..drumroll..$1,050,000!!! Hey, wasn’t that my original List Price? Why yes it was! Sure wish I could get them that number and make more money. I get the file escalated and send in the ONLY THREE COMPS that have SOLD in this SAME NEIGHBORHOOD over the past 6 months. All support this offer..maybe a little less in fact. I’m sure this time they are going to approve this offer. But no…
B of A in their wisdom, have countered at $925,000. Now, if this home was EVER worth $925,000 we would have already received an offer at that number. Well, they say..your 3 comps are very close indeed, but the comps our appraiser sent us are higher and we are choosing to use those. REALLY???? Why go outside the exact gated community for comps? Across the freeway puts you closer to the beach..values are different. A neighboring community is valued higher because of the builder.
Did B of A hand our a booklet for their appraisers that changes the rules? Since when does using DIRECT sold comps not hold any merit? I thought the BEST comps were what give you true value for that home in that neighborhood.
Oh, the best thing. I just received my first back up offer. Agent says his clients don’t see the value of $865,000 because another Short Sale just closed in the community a couple months ago for $850,000, so they are offering $815,000 since values are declining.
Who wants to take bets that B of A runs off my Buyer #4 at $865,000 and ends up with at least $50,000 LESS when they do finally accept an offer. Hee-hee..why the banksters continue to decimate property values…
More
Bank of America appraisers..dazed & confused
The appraisers for the Servicer in a Short Sale can make or break the acceptance of the offer. If they are not familiar with the area, the development, the price trends in the neighborhood…your deal could sink like a HUGE stone. That’s what happened to me..more than once. Each Lender is different (Lender being the Servicer here.) Bank of America has more bad notes than any other bank so the numbers of bad appraisals tilts to them.
In the Laguna Niguel home that has been the longest, most ill-handled of any I’ve had with Bank of America, the latest appraisal is so far over market value that it defies common sense. But..common sense and Lenders/Investors is not in the same sentence..EVER!
My offer is for $865,000. Fair Market Value. Their appraisal came back for this Buyer (#4) at $1,050,000. As I mentioned before..this just happens to be the List Price I started at almost a year ago. I suspect this appraiser came in at an easy number, never did the appraisal at all..just put the $ in their pockets. A whopping what..$50 or so? I don’t know, but they don’t make much…part of the problem..but that’s another story.
The Bank of America Social media contact did escalate my file and I was contacted yesterday to fill out a form and submit my best supporting comps. There are only 3 SOLD homes in the same gated neighborhood so that wasn’t hard to track down. All 3 of them support my price/sf. Where did that appraiser come up with that inflated value. Hmmm…very interesting and suspiscious that their appraised value just happens to match original list value. Really smart and creative of the appraisal company.
Should we all hold our breath and see if Bank of America over rules the high valuation? I’m not going to..that would take some common sense. If they do however, I will fall off my chair and then hit the blogs..
More
Just one more file number to Bank of America..
My saga with the never ending Short Sale in Laguna Niguel, CA. continues. For the property history see my previous post. A couple interesting developments in this ongoing battle..the Investors for this one purchase money loan are..drum roll here…Bank of America! Well..that puts an interesting twist on things, doesn’t it?
Bank of America is the Servicer..they collect the mortgage payment every month, but on this particular note, they decided not to sell it off to a group of hedge funders or to Fannie or Freddie, but rather to keep it in their portfolio of “high-performing Loans”…or whatever they label that particular folder.
Normally, when I have only one loan on a primary residence and it’s a portfolio loan, I jump up and down because I’m about 99% sure I can get it closed relatively quick. This one should have been a slam dunk because the Sellers get me their docs immediately, and the hardship is a separation from spouse with reduced income, making it necessary to let the home go. Not so fast. If you have been following the news, you know that the Banksters just got a 26 billion dollar settlement agreement completed with the Federal Government. I don’t know all the details..I do know that the principal reductions that they are to take on some of their notes ONLY pertain to portfolio loans..not Fannie or Freddie. Hmmm..coincidence here? I suspect there is some extra money to be made at taxpayer expense, having to do with offering to reduce principals on portfolio notes..and that is what this one is!
So..yesterday I get a call from the Bank of America media contact person. She has read my blog and seems sincere when she says she is going to look into it. “I can’t promise you anything, but I will get back to you.” I’m still waiting..
Meantime..my esteemed negotiator, Camele, calls. She obviously knows nothing of the uproar surrounding this deal, which is curious since I communicate with her a couple times a week via Bank of America’s online short sale system, Equator. Nevertheless..Camele calls and says something like,
“My Investors want this deal to work, so let’s see what we can do.”
“Camele…your Investors are one and the same..Bank of America, and they absolutely do NOT want to sell this house! If they did, they would accept this offer of $865,000 because I have their approval letter, and so do you by the way, from my last Buyer, Buyer #3. Remember them? They were approved to close on this house March 16, 2012 for the Bank of America approved price of $865,000!”
Silence.
“Well, my Investors have to see less negative numbers, so perhaps you would reduce your commission?” says Camele.
“Camele..I have spent almost one year on this short sale. I have done my job exceptionally well I would say, by bringing them not 1, not 2, but FOUR qualified Buyers..my commission is off the table.”
Next she suggests getting the Buyers to throw in some money. Not an option in California first off, and secondly, their Lender has already said they will not appraise this property at a dime over $865,000. Shock and awe here because Buyer #3 Lender appraised the home at $825,000!.
“I want a copy of that appraisal, Camele, and I also suggest that no matter the number on it, your highly qualified Investors fire him (or her)!”
What don’t they understand here???? Your Investors gave me a number of $865,000 as FMV. I bring yet another buyer to the table at that number and you raise the number to $1,050,000. Isn’t it interesting that the new Appraised Value matches my original List Price which I picked out of the air based on the note value of approx. $1,085,000.
There is something very fishy going on with Bank of America’s Short Sales. They do not want to sell this home..period! Never mind what you read in the papers. Let’s see if I get anywhere today…I’m not holding my breath.
Oh by the way..the Buyers’ Agent told me yesterday that the Buyers will not go $1 over $865,000. So..if you see it re-listed at $1,050,000, just wait..it WILL come down. To think this home could have been closed six months ago..now THAT’S good business Bank of America!
More
Bank of America; Short Sale Agents nemesis!
Bank of America is determined to ruin the Short Sale industry. I say this with complete frustration after doing short sales with them for over 5 years. I’ll have a great negotiator and experience with one and then the next crashes and burns because NOBODY at Bank of America seems to know what’s going on! Good Grief..how about some consistency???
This one particular Short Sale has been going on for almost a year! It is the longest one I have ever worked..except in year 1 where literally nobody at the Lender or Investor or even Realtor level had any guidelines in place. But that’s another story. Listed at $1,050,000 with one note and it is a primary residence. No offers or interest at that price so reductions begin. Finally..at $850,000 I get an offer and submit it. Appraisal comes back at $980,000! What??? Buyer walks of course.
Buyer 2: Same experience..except that the value is dropping even more.
Buyer 3: B of A accepts $865,000 complete with Approval Letter for a March, 2012 close (this month). Buyer walks because their Lender will not appraise the home at $865,000 but rather at $825,000. B of A won’t budge.
Buyer 4: B of A orders a new appraisal (Forget the 48 hr. Buyer substitution..it does not exist). I am SURE we will get this offer closed..but wait. The new “full appraisal” comes in at $1,050,000! Oh..and the appraiser never contacted me and I believe never even went to the home.
Buyer will be walking. I am going to the Investor to see if I can get them to budge. Have asked Buyers Lender to submit a new appraisal. Have asked Buyer to contact B of A and threaten with Legal Action.
What kind of idiocy is this??? For some mysterious reason known only to the powers that be at B of A, this loan is going to go to Foreclosure. They have decided that..never mind “we are trying to reduce the inventory by closing Short Sales quicker..” That’s a marketing line from B of A.
The Banks do NOT care about the economy other than keeping their shareholders in the dark and driving housing prices further into oblivion.
More
I often hear from a potential buyer..”I want a deal, you know..a Short Sale..something like that.” Let me make this really clear..the Short Sale “deal” is NOT always the best deal for you.
If you are considering buying a Short Sale, be sure your Agent understands how to handle the deal. It’s not just writing an offer and submitting it. The work starts BEFORE submission.
- Who is the List Agent?
- How many Liens?
- What is the Fair Market Value and what is the home priced at?
- How delinquent is the Seller?
- How accommodating is the Seller?
- Does the List Agent really UNDERSTAND the process?
- Who are the Lenders involved?
- Where in the process is the List Agent?
Even if all the questions are answered positively, there is always the issue of the incompetent negotiator. You have no way of knowing who your deal will be assigned to by the Lender..and that is crucial. A good negotiator can move a file to close within 90 days. A bad one can slow the deal down for many, many months. Are you tough enough for the Short Sale process?
Compare that Short Sale very carefully to the Standard Sales for comparable properties. $5-$10/sf more may be worth paying to know when you will acquire the home and when you can actually move in. Tread carefully when buying a short sale….that “deal” may not be such a good “deal” after all…
How much do you LOVE that short sale???
Just Listed in the La Quinta Cove. 4bd/2ba home built in 1997. $148,000. This home is cute as it could be with many Seller installed upgrades. The Seller is leaving window coverings, custom fans and custom lamps. She installed 18 by 18 inch ceramic tile floors and hardwood floors in three of the four bedrooms. The 4th bedroom has engineered wood floors and is lovely as well. Her father even installed a custom, wood carved mantle over the fireplace! This is a great family home.
This is Seller’s primary residence, she has a true hardship (disability), and only one loan with Carrington Mortgage, LLC, so we’ll get this baby done!
If you need an experienced Short Sale agent to help you understand the ins and outs or list and CLOSE your own Short Sale, give me a call!
Slab granite in kitchen!
custom hardwood floors!
More
