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Our company specializes in helping homeowners understand their options when it comes to mortgages, and buying or selling Real Estate. What ever your Real Estate related situation or intentions, we have a full range of solutions for you. Some of today’s most popular are noted below.
Refinancing:
Many mortgages have reset to a higher interest rates and that is one of the main causes for homeowners to miss their payments as they start to struggle to make ends meet. Some of the last fixed rates are yet to reset and it’s just a ticking time bomb waiting to happen for many. Now is a good time to check your mortgage note and prepare for any upcoming adjustments before they occur. We are Realtors® and the mortgage and lending industry is the lifeline of our business so having a trustworthy lender to refer to our clients to is only good for business. If you would like us to review your current mortgage situation and put you in the best possible position for the future we would be honored to help.
Loan Modification:No charge
If you have lost household income or experiencing a financial hardship in any way, a loan modification is an option that may work for you. Unfortunately the success rate is very low for loan modification but there is a chance and we can advise you how to increase that chance. We can supply you with a instructional DVD and all the forms you need for the best results. Many home owners pay an attorney thousands of dollars to correctly file their loan mod. The truth is there is nothing an attorney can do that you can’t do yourself for free with a little guidance. This is a free service we offer to our communities we service.
Short Sale:No charge
Short sale is the easiest way out for most homeowners that have little or no equity. Short sale is also a better option than foreclosure. Foreclosure can ruin your credit for up to ten years. With a short sale and a little guidance it is possible to restructure your credit to a point where you can qualify for a new loan and purchase again in 3 years or less. We hire full time short sale coordinators that service our listings to assure our clients homes will never be left on the back burner. Any Agent can get a market value offer, but getting your lender to accept it before the foreclosure is the critical part in which we excel.
1031 Exchange:
Many of our clients are repeat investors. When buying and selling real estate for business or investment, there are several tax liabilities you should be aware of. A 1031 exchange is a tool investors use to avoid paying capital gains tax. There are certain restrictions involved while doing a 1031 exchange.
Deferred Sales Trust™:
A Deferred Sales Trust is a legal way for a owner to sell a highly appreciated property, commercial property, investment property, or a business and defer the capital gains taxes due at the time of sale over a period of time, even beyond the seller’s lifetime. This works well for retires or someone wanting to roll their real estate investments into other investments such as stocks or CD’s.
For Sale by Owner:
Some sellers prefer to sell their home on their own for one reason or another. Some reasons may be they don’t have enough equity to pay a full real estate commission or they may just like to try selling on their own before they pursue listing it with a Realtor®. We have many successful marketing platforms other than the MLS including website and magazine advertizing. If a FSBO is willing to pay a buyer’s agent commission ½ the full rate we have an incentive to introduce and represent buyers on their property.
For further details on how we can help you, feel free to give me a call Toll Free 888-399-4844
The lucky 2009 first time home buyers take a piece of the pie. It’s 8/16/09 and to take advantage of this $8,000 free credit, buyers better hurry because time is running out. To claim the credit a buyer must close escrow on or before 12/1/09. Remember the average escrow period is 30 day’s from the accepted offer, If a buyer wants a piece of the pie I would hope they are actively searching for their dream home. If you would like to see what homes are available in our Laguna cities such as Laguna Niguel, Laguna Beach and Laguna Hills Just let us know and you will have a list in no time. We also service all of south Orange County from Newport Beach to San Clemente.
This is what a buyer needs to know about the tax credit.
First time home buyers only.
To qualify a buyer must not have owned a home in the past 3 years from the date of close of escrow.
Tax credit maximum.
The tax credit will be 10 percent of the purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000. If you are buying a home in orange county California you will find it hard not to get the full $8,000.
You must close Escrow in 2009 or you miss out.
The $8,000 tax credit was created to stimulate the housing market in 2009. To qualify you must buy and close Escrow between 1/1/2009 and 12/1/2009
You don’t have to pay the tax credit back.
Unlike the previous tax credit, you do not have to pay it back. However you may be required to pay a portion back if you don’t live in the home as your principal residence for at least 3 years from the purchase date.
The 2009 tax credit is refundable.
The home buyer can claim the credit even if they have little or know income tax to offset.
There is a income restriction.
A single taxpayer can claim the full tax credit as long as their income is under $75,000. A married couple can claim the full tax credit if their income is under 150,000. (Partial tax credits may be claimed for buyers with incomes over the income restriction limits).
As always We are here to help and answer your questions.
There are many questions I get from home owners every day wanting to know more about short sale. Some of the most common are:
“Is short sale the best option for me?”
“Will I owe money after a short sale”
“How will short sale affect my credit?”
“Who can help me with short sale?”
“What’s the difference between short sale and Foreclosure”?
There is a lot of confusion about what benefit a short sale has over foreclosure and why it can take so long to get approval from the bank. Well this should help answer some common questions.
What is short sale?
A successful short sale is when the Banks or Lien holders that hold the note against a home that has negative equity agree to sell the home for less than the principal balance on the mortgage. The bank in first position will negotiate with any secondary lenders, other liens or judgments against the property, and the buyer. If an agreement made between all parties and all documents have been filed correctly, a short sale may be possible.
Who qualifies for a short sale?
Any home owner that has negative equity and has or will be experiencing some kind of financial difficulty. A qualified home owner will need to prove to the lender that they are unable to keep up with their mortgage payments. An experienced short sale Realtor can help with qualifying a home owner in need of help at no cost to the home owner.
Who to contact for help?
The first thing a home owner in need can and should do is speak to their lender and ask for their options. If no luck the next step is to contact a Realtor that has experience with short sales. It’s important that the Realtor has experience with short sales or they have a short sale department that coordinates the sale. A Realtor with little or no short sale experience should not take on the task without help from a reputable short sale coordinator. A short sale transaction is more complex and is very time consuming compared to a regular sale. Incomplete files will not be reviewed by the lenders and the lenders do not call and ask for correction. If a file is incomplete and not corrected the home will more than likely go into foreclosure.
Short sale vs. Foreclosure?
It is best to avoid foreclosure by far. If a home go’s into foreclosure the home owner will have much more debit and they will still be responsible to pay it back. Foreclosure has a greater negative impact on credit and will stay with the home owner for much longer than a short sale. With a successful short sale the sellers, lenders and buyers negotiate the sale and the lender relieves the seller from most if not all of the debit.
Why would a Bank accept a short sale and take a loss?
In many cases a distressed home owner gets to a position that they cannot afford to pay their mortgage anymore and they stop paying completely. After the 3rd delinquent month the homeowner will receive a notice of default and that is the point the foreclosure processes clock starts ticking. Once the seller or the sellers Realtor brings a purchase contract to the table, the bank at its own desertion will halt the process while they review the numbers. The bank must then decide the most economical procedure to remove the property from their books with the least amount of expense. A foreclosure is a costly and time consuming procedure and the bank must take into consideration the cost of doing so. Let’s look at it from a banks point of view!
Bank:
The Mortgagee “The home owner” has stopped making payments on our investment! “The mortgage” It is now costing us money daily instead of making us money. OK we have tried to recover the delinquencies with no luck so start the foreclosure procedure as agreed in the loan documents they signed.
Meanwhile the distressed homeowner has seek-ed help from a Realtor. The sellers Realtor has aggressively marketed the property and has procured a buyer. The Realtor has also gathered all the correct document and forms necessary to submit to the bank for review.
Bank:
The Bank now reviews the offer and compares it to the market value of the property. No matter what, nobody in their right mind is going to pay more than market value. The bank has limited options.
Option 1) Foreclose on the property spending thousands of dollars doing so and try to sell at a public auction with no guarantee it will sell at market value. If it doesn’t sell at an Auction hire a Realtor to manage and maintain the property at additional expense.
Option 2) Take the market value or close to market value offer and be done with it.
The bank wants out just like you do at this point and chances are it can be a better situation for both seller buyer and the bank if a successful short sale is negotiated.
As always Contact us for advise we are here to help.
Today here in our three Laguna Cities- Laguna Niguel, Laguna Beach and Laguna Hills there are currently 305 homes advertised on the MLS as Short sales and 29 Bank owned Homes or (REO’s) At least once a week I hear a horror story of a home owner that has been ripped off by a phony foreclosure company. They make out to be a legitimate company but turn out to be nothing more than scam artists stealing thousands of dollars from innocent people. Unfortunately when there is blood in the water the sharks will come out to pray.
Loan Modification scams
Talk about scams and the booming scam market the opportunities are huge in the Real Estate Industry. Some of the same predator’s that helped get consumers into this mess are so called Loan Modification Experts now. The only differences is the company name has changed. Whether is a law firm or a so called government agency, distressed home owners need to do their home work first and cross their fingers. It’s a sad case out there and it’s going to take some time before the authorities get a grip on it. Beware of any company that asks for an upfront fee, or guarantees success because there is no guarantees with a Loan Mod. Over the last few years I have seen so called Loan Modification Companies speak to distressed home owners even if they are listed with a Real Estate Agent, and talk them into a phony Loan Mod holding up the listing with no results. After the home owner realizes their mistake and continues to try and sell the property, the bank turns around and forecloses leaving the home owner on the street with a ton of debit.
Big Brother is watching
The FBI has been looking into these cases and so far almost 4,000 cases have been reported. According to the Federal trade commission, these scam artists advertise guarantees and high success rates to mislead consumers about their services. Some charge upfront fees to begin their work on a file and then they move on to their next victim leaving the innocent consumer in the water without an Orr. Some have websites that look like government agencies with government logos etc, don’t be fooled by this, only real government agencies have .gov and anything other than .gov should be thoroughly investigated before contact.
Be safe when asking for help
To be sure you will not be scammed, Speak to a local Realtor. Realtors are licensed by and strictly governed by the Department of Real Estate, (DRE) and the U.S. Department of Urban Development (HUD). These agencies are in place to protect the consumers and licensed Realtors have a fiduciary duty to protect their client and look out for their best interests. A Realtor should not ask you for an upfront fee but if they do check em out on the DRE website to see if they are licensed and the are who they say they are. If you would like more information on this topic or are in need of advice don’t hesitate to contact us. We will point you in the right direction.
Most home owners pay their mortgage payment each month and have no idea they can save tens of thousands of dollars and pay their mortgage off several years earlier just by making a simple adjustment to their payment schedule. My eyes are always open looking for opportunities to make or save some green but this is a biggie and every one should benefit from it. Real Estate in Orange County is some of the most expensive in the States and most people that live here like to find ways to maximizes their investments and capital gains. This is an example of a simple strategy that I use and recommend to my clients here in Orange County California.
Here’s How
Change your monthly payments to automatic Bi-weekly payments.
By changing your payment schedule to biweekly half of your monthly payment is withdrawn every other week. In a years time, 26 biweekly payments will be made. This is equivalent of one additional monthly payment applied to your Principal each year. Not only are you adding one additional payment per year, you are also saving on interest because you are paying down your Principal biweekly rather than monthly.
The diagram below is an example of a typical $300,000 mortgage with a fix interest rate of 6% for 30 years.
The Red demonstrates the traditional monthly payment plan most home owners use. If the home owners on the monthly plan stick to the minimum payments each month it will take 30 years to pay off with no savings.
The purple demonstrates the minimum payment over a 30 year term, but in fact is paid off 5.5 years earlier and saving a ton of cash along the way. If you can afford to add a little extra each month it will be applied directly to the Principal and will help with the compound effect drastically over time cutting and saving even more.
Some of of you will be thinking, (like I did at first) Two withdrawals form my checking account each month will just make my account management that much harder to deal with. This is what I did.
Open a new free checking account.
Calculate what your Bi-weekly payments will be.
Deposit a cash cushion of equal to one bi-monthly payment plus a little more to be safe.
Set up a automatic monthly transfer of equal to two biweekly payments. (if your like me round it off to the next $100.)
Then change your monthly mortgage payments to Bi-weekly. Done!!!
You can now pat yourself on the back and watch your mortgage accelerate to the $0.00 finish line.
As always we are just a ph call away and willing to put you on the right tract.
Real Estate Marketing Specialist/Realtor
With close to 90% of buyers and sellers searching the web these days before they choose a Realtor, it has become more and more important for Real Estate Agents to have web presence. Having Our Real Estate Listings ranking high in search engines is the key to our success. Whether you are buying, selling, leasing or refinancing, Contact us to see what our team can do for you.
Random Testimonials
I was a first time buyer and Brett was really patient with my requests and educated me a lot in buying process. He was very responsive and helped me with all questions I had even after the house was bought. I’ve already recommended him to my friends and they were happy with him too.
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