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Active:

San Benito County-143 of which REO/Bank Owned-22 or 15%

Hollister-82 of which REO/Bank Owned-14 or 17%

Pending:

San Benito County-207 of which REO/Bank Owned-47 or 23%

Hollister-172 of which REO/Bank Owned-39 or 23%

Absorption Rate:

San Benito County-.69 months supply of inventory or 21 Days

Hollister-.48 months supply of inventory or 14 Days

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Solds for the week: 17

High: $1,225,000 Equity Sale, New Conv. 1st

Low: $79,900 REO/Bank Owned, All CASH

Full-Price or Over-Asking: 7 or 41%

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Sale Type

REO/Bank Owned: 11 or 65%

Short Sale: 1 or 6%

Equity Sale: 5 or 29%

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Financing Type

New Conv. 1st: 9 or 52%

FHA Loan: 4 or 24%

All CASH: 4 or 24%

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And a personal note… earlier this month I had some dear friends of mine who lost their home to foreclosure. Sadly they took the advice of a family member and were scammed. By the time they realized it, they had lost their home.
Please…if you or anyone you know is in this situation..there are options and I am here to help. My advice and guidance is at no charge.

One of the most important rules that I impliment is that my sellers are in the game. I explain that at times it may seem that I am demanding, and asking for more and more documentation (ie. paperwork), but I am just the messenger and at the mercy of the bank. If they want it, I am going to get it to them promptly. As long as my sellers know that up front before I even take the listing, that this may not seem easy for them…I will do everything I can to help them. But, they need to be ready to jump when I ask and they always need to be immediately available whether by email (preferably) or phone.

As far as tools…I have a number of them in my short sale arsinal. From brochures explaining the difference between a short sale and foreclosure, to my method for completing and submitting the short sale package.
And I must admit with my background in escrow…it helps to know the “lender lingo” and when the lender asks for something, if you get it to them NOW..your file will not go back to the end of the line, but proceed forward.

So what can be done to help make the Short Sale process run smoother?
The obvious answer would be to have the banks streamline their system. But I think that many banks have done that now, making the process easier than it ever has been. I think as agents we need to do what we can to make the process easier for them and our clients. That means having a complete package ready in our possession and being prepared to hand the lender what they need immediately. If the lender asks for an updated paystub…you should have that in hand unless it is not yet available. I instruct my sellers to deliver to me updated paystubs, bank statements, etc. as they receive them…so I don’t have to ask.

And the big question……Why do I want to do short sales?
We actually…I hate to date myself here, but back in my escrow days…. I have done short sales for over 20 years. At a time when escrow actually did the negotiating with the bank (how many of you remember that??) So short sales are nothing new, they are just more prevelant than they have ever been due to the drop in the market. But back to the question…plain and simple…I want to help people. This is a time when they need help the most. I have seen too many people that were “helped” by others, only to lose their homes to foreclosure. I can help them with the process and we can make the journey together to get their home sold. It’s also a good thing for our neighborhoods and communities…a sold sign is much better than a deteriorating foreclosed property.

Now for a market update….here are the stats:

Active:

  San Benito County-133 of which REO/Bank Owned-20 or 15%

  Hollister-72 of which REO/Bank Owned-11 or 15%

Pending:

  San Benito County-218 of which REO/Bank Owned-51 or 23%

  Hollister-102 of which REO/Bank Owned-42 or 41%

Absorption Rate:

  San Benito County-.61 month’s supply of inventory or 18 days

  Hollister-.71 month’s supply of inventory or 21 days

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Solds for the week: 10

  High-$345,000  REO/Bank Owned, New Conv. 1st

  Low- $165,000  REO/Bank Owned, FHA Loan

Full Price or Over Asking-7 or 70%

Sale Type

  REO/Bank Owned-7 or 70%

  Short Sale-3 or 30%

  Equity Sale- none

Financing Type

  New Conv. 1st-5 or 50%

  FHA Loan-4 or 40%

  All CASH-1 or 10%

But I have also met new people who have become my clients because their previous agent just didn’t work for them. They were the ones perusing Internet sites looking for property that fits the criteria of what they are looking for, then calling their “agent” to see if he or she can give them information or set up a viewing. When I have explained to these new clients of mine (thank you to their previous agent), that I can set them up on an MLS alert that will notify them as soon as a property hits the market with the characteristics they are looking for, their immediate response is “why didn’t our  previous agent do that”?

When I first started working one of the first lessons my Broker taught me was that if a person called on one of our listings the first question I asked was “are you working with an agent”? I learned then that although the majority of the calls came from people who were indeed committed to an agent, they went on to say that they couldn’t get ahold of their agent, or their agent was attending a family function, or hadn’t even returned their phone call. And of course they have to see the property immediately! I even had one such person call me and I explained that if she was working with an agent, her agent could make arrangements to preview the property with her. Not five minutes later…her agent (who worked for a large local office) called me to say he was at swimming lessons with his kids and well, could I show his client my listing? Sure…I would be happy to provide excellent service to YOUR client, and actually showed her a couple of houses that day. By the way….that client is no longer his, but I don’t think he still knows that !

So, if your agent is not available, not answering their phone and checking their emails and just plain not working for you…..I am always welcoming new clients, and I am never too busy for any of your referrals!!

National Clean Off Your Desk Day 

January 11 is National Clean Off Your Desk Day. 

Today is a great day to not only clean off your desk but to start preparing for your taxes. Carefully separate bills, statements and receipts…then you can add your W-2′s and 1099′s to them as they come in this month. 

 Here are a few tips to get you going on cleaning up and organizing your desk:

1. Don’t get overwhelmed.  Since many desks get overrun with paperwork, notes, office supplies, etc. so quickly, it can look like an insurmountable task.
2. Trash the trash.  Get rid of any junk: notes you don’t need anymore, broken items and/or garbage.
3. Check your supplies.  Do you have too many boxes of staples or paperclips stacked on your desk?  Is your pen supply more than is necessary for a small country?  Or are you always looking for a pen because you set one down somewhere and just can’t find it?  Minimize the extra amount of supplies you carry on or in your desk and store the rest.  Replenish any office supplies you find you are lacking.
4. Tackle the paperwork.  This can be the biggest issue when organizing your desk.  Paperwork seems to pile up quickly.  Separate paperwork into workable piles so that you can file them where they need to go.  You may want to invest in inexpensive wall file that allows you to separate and easily organize your paperwork.
5. Don’t forget the drawers.  Drawers are easy receptacles for trash, broken pencils and little bits of paper or junk that we forget all about.  They are also usually the most cluttered parts of our desks.  The first thing to do is to take all the contents out of the drawer and place them on your desk.  Empty the drawer of all little pieces of trash (pencil shavings, broken paperclips, errant staples) in a trash can and put it back in its place in your desk.  Then, place all usable items neatly inside.  Get rid of anything you don’t use or have no need for anymore.
6. Organization is key. Create folders for current projects. Start a new accordion folder for 2010 and tuck all receipts, statements and paid bills here for easy access for next years tax preparation.

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Actives:

San Benito County-136 of which REO/Bank Owned-28 or 21%

Hollister-72 of which REO/Bank Owned-17 or 24%

Pendings:

San Benito County-209 of which REO/Bank Owned-45 or 22%

Hollister-178 of which REO/Bank Owned-38 or 21%

Absorption Rate:

San Benito County-.65 months supply of inventory

or 19.5 days.

Hollister-.40 months supply of inventory

or 12 days.

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Solds for the week: 9

High: $650,000 REO/Bank Owned, FHA Loan

Low: $125,000 Equity Sale, All Cash

Full-Price or Over-Asking: 2 or 22%

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Sale Type

REO: 6 or 67%

Equity Sale: 3 or 33%

Short Sale: none

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Financing Type 

New Conv 1st: 2 or 22%

FHA Loan: 3 or 33%

All Cash: 4 or 44%

The bill was introduced by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) because it was thought that military personel serving oversees this year did not have the same opportunity to take advantage of the tax credit. If the original qualifications are met, the extension applies to military personnel who spent at least 90 days of the current calendar year oversees. It also does not require borrowers to payback the tax credit if they are deployed after receiving it. The current tax credit requires borrowers payback the tax credit if they do not occupy the home within three years of receiving the tax credit.

No word yet on whether the $8,000 tax credit will be extended for all eligible borrowers. Although there has been alot of talk and speculation that is may be extended for another six months or more.