Lynne Pope is your Realtor in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach

This article is written for realtors. Homeowners need to know this also. Will you see it in plain english in the press our local papers, the LA times, NO.  It is informative. Here is the added fact..really bad behavior is going on out there now. Scamming -its like a scam-lord. Some people are pretending to be the leasing agent and take a deposit on a property they have no right to. It is forclosed and they are faking ownership. I spoke to a savvy agent who said..this…if you get a NOD notice of default. Cancel your phone. Get another phone and let your lender know it. People will be calling the old number and going over to your home..Don’t let them in, don’t discuss it with whoever shows up. Get a qualified agent and get some information that way. Otherwise…you don’t know who you are dealing with.  

here is the article 

Senate OKs Foreclosure Bill Minus Cramdown
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved a version of the latest foreclosure-prevention plan.

The bill shields mortgage servicers from lawsuits if they participate in federal loan modification programs, making it potentially easier for home owners with a second lien to refinance.

The bill also gives renters of foreclosed properties at least a 90-day grace period before they have to move. Plus, it modifies the Hope for Homeowners program to provide better incentives for lenders to adjust mortgages.

The bill also extends through 2013 an increase in deposit insurance by the FDIC from $100,000 to $250,000.

The Senate version of the bill didn¢â‚¬â„¢t include a provision allowing bankruptcy judges to modify primary mortgages. This cramdown legislation passed the House in March and is considered a key to the Obama administration¢â‚¬â„¢s foreclosure prevention plan. Lawmakers consider it dead in the water.

The Senate and House versions must now be reconciled before President Barack Obama can sign the bill into law.

Source: The Associated Press, Ann Flaherty (05/06/2009)

 Don’t feel skunked if an REO or Short Sale is right on your street….but if you are trying to sell your house…you certainly will feel it. It’s just a fact of the times. Be brave.

Thank goodness for the machine turning into loans for people   http://www.hud.gov/

Check out the “hope for homeowners fact sheet“! Most important- people want to know some options. Things are changing pretty fast…here is a quote from the article…

“The President has signed into law the Hope for Homeowners program. This program will continue FHA’s existing and successful efforts to provide aid to struggling families trapped in mortgages they currently cannot afford. Certain borrowers facing difficulty with their mortgage will be eligible to refinance into FHA-insured mortgages they can afford.

Hope for Homeownership Fact Sheet

read articles HUD Secretary: FHA has helped 300,000 families find relief with government-backed mortgages

Having helped a seller with a short sale gave me in the line of fire experience with the ups and downs of working with sellers( the bank) that never sold before…

It had a good final result and it sold- we had 4 escrows and 1 finally closed. The difficult part was “Realtor-Agents” trying to do both and not being super great at either. It took a lot of hand holding with escrow, and patience.

All I can say is thank goodness lenders didn’t get to cut out the middle man…..woman  REALTORS!  We are really like teachers….helping families get moving into a home. It takes education, preparation and hand holding.

For now the G0v is trying to hold out a hand….it has to. Lets hold our hands together.

I am not even kidding. I had a pristine property for sale for months. This is the Crenshaw Manor area in Los Angeles, California. My listing began November 28 through the winter, through the rains (yes we really have them, even in California- weekends of wet open houses in Feb). Then the check to the Gardener was returned as a bad address.

The grass started to grow. The neighbors complained and the grass grew as I struggled to find the gardner and pay him.  My seller had moved. As the grass grew the calls grew…sometimes 5 a day. Where have you been? I asked the people driving through the neighborhood. They just didn’t pay attention to a white post with a sign- it took a yard of grass for people to sniff out a Good Deal.

And yes a short sale is a good deal. I think even a better deal than REO- foreclosures. Now I did get that grass cut. I am still hunting for the Gardener. Someone cut it and I don’t even know who. I think a good neighbor.

This could be my contoversial blog…

As for short sale, I have had it in escrow 4 times. The falling out business has been a learning curve. A few were the banks fault..so slow, two were lender/realtor fault one had to be my fault, just to be fair.

My pet peive…..realtor/lendors or lender/aka new realtors. This is a breed in the area that is really not good in either area from my view. In each case I have been amazed at the lack of ability in either world. What is your take on the breed?

Oh who am I to not even be able to find Octavio Gonzales in a sea of Gonzalaes’ in LA.