Dear Buyers Agent,
Please do not stalk me, call me 5 times a day. Call the Bank and try to get information or pretend you are me. All this and when I get the approval……. your buyer has walked… poof they are gone!

Keep your buyer in check, let me do my job. I really do know what I am doing. Please do not ask me give you information that I cannot, would not give you. My Sellers hired ME and my brokerage not you, I cannot give you their personal …. private information.

Thank you!
Lisa

Decisions on offers may be trimmed to 20 days or less
BY INMAN NEWS, TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012.
Inman News®


Bank of America says it’s making changes to its short-sale procedures that will shorten decision times on short sale offers to 20 days, down from 45 days or longer.

The new task flow in Bank of America’s short-sale management platform, Equator, will enable short-sale specialists to conduct tasks like document collection, valuations and underwriting simultaneously. When buyers walk, agents will have five days instead of 14 days to submit a backup offer.

Bank of America is requiring a new third-party authorization form for short sales initiated beginning April 14.

When the changes to Equator take effect Saturday, five documents will be required to process short sales initiated with an offer:

A purchase contract including buyer’s acknowledgment and disclosure.

• HUD-1.

IRS Form 4506-T.

• Bank of America short-sale addendum.

Bank of America third-party authorization form.

The Equator platform will be offline the night of Friday, April 13, and into early Saturday, April 14, to implement changes.

Offer documents and supporting documents for all short sales submitted with an offer must be uploaded before Friday, April 13, or files may be declined.

I have several Bank of America Files, lets see what they really do.

If you need help with a short sale call me at 480-655-0904.  You have options … don’t just walk away ask why!

Everyone at A Better Realty.Net wants to wish a Happy Mothers Day to all the wonderful Mothers.

Call Lisa 480-655-0904

Remember these items;

1) don’t pay for short sale help!

2) don’t put anyone on Title to help you!

3) if you stop paying your payment, it will hurt your credit!

4) what ever you do …. keep paying the HOA!

Victory !!! Chase Bank short sale approved!
Well, another short sale is approved. Another happy client, I am so glad that I could help her short sale the home. Avoid the foreclosure on the credit…. Chase hasn’t been the easiest bank to work with however the outcome is the important thing.
If you know of someone in this situation PLEASE help me, let me help them.
I was in Class yesterday and we talked about short sales, and the only way our market will ever recover is to Short Sale Homes… I know some agents don’t want to do it, it is toooooo much work, it is too hard, it is scary!!! Let me tell you when you can call the home owner and say Victory we have the approval letter, the burden that is lifted from them… no more threat of the TRUSTEE’s SALE. You hear it in their voice, you see it on their face.. And that is WHY I do it!

If you need help or know someone who does call or email me.
Lisa@abetterrealty.net 480-655-0904

Mood of the Market
By Tara-Nicholle Nelson                             Inman News™

Foreclosures are old news. Down real estate values? Been there, done that, right? Well, we might all have gotten tired of hearing bad news about the real estate market, but the facts show that in many areas, foreclosure rates will rise before they decline, and a number of other indicators point to things getting worse before they get better.
Reality check: A down market is not all bad news. Weak home values translate into opportunity for buyers — especially when the government keeps rates as low as they presently are to encourage homebuying. Many of the mortgages being foreclosed were toxic and could stand to be purged.
Today’s low prices and record-low interest rates also portend well for the future stability of the housing market in that new homeowners are much less likely to face the problems this last generation of homeowners did (i.e., spiking mortgage payments and plummeting home values).
In any event, the real estate market is likely to stay down or continue to decline, in terms of home values and sales activity, and increased foreclosures, before it improves, for the following reasons:
1. The massive foreclosure backlog. The New York Times recently reported that it would take lenders 62 years — years! — to repossess the 213,000 New York state homes currently in some stage of foreclosures. New Jersey homes? Forty-nine years. Illinois and Massachusetts? A decade.
While the foreclosure pipeline moves more quickly in states where homes can be foreclosed without a court’s involvement, like California (three years), Nevada and Colorado (two years each), the fact remains that there is a massive backlog of homes in mortgage default that will take years to work through.
And the trend is for these foreclosures to take more, not less, time than before — after the robo-signing scandal and related self-imposed freezes, courts and law enforcement have imposed more verification requirements, settlement conferences and more detailed audits of foreclosure files before they will allow repossession to take place.
Despite the fact that the rate of new foreclosure filings has slowed (some say this has more to do with banks being slower to file than any real change in the default rate of homeowners), the rate of foreclosures will increase and/or stay elevated for years to come.
2. Too-tight lending guidelines. How tight is too tight? Lending guidelines are too tight when they screen out creditworthy borrowers, which many industry insiders say today’s loan standards do.
Sixteen percent of REALTORS® reported a contract failure in July, which usually indicates that a borrower who was probably preapproved (i.e., had a good job and credit history) had her loan declined because she failed to pass tough underwriting standards, the property didn’t pass the lenders’ muster, or there was an appraisal problem.
Ron Phipps, president of the National Association of REALTORS®, described this number as “unacceptably high,” explaining that with “both mortgage credit and home appraisals, there’s been a parallel pendulum swing from very loose standards, which led to the housing boom, to unnecessarily restrictive practices as an overreaction to the housing correction.”
Loans originated in 2009 have a default rate right around 1 percent, compared with the 22-27 percent default rate on 2007 loans and the 3 percent default rate on 2003 vintage loans.
These numbers, taken along with the contract-failure numbers, suggest that today’s lending guidelines are a knee-jerk overcorrection that is prohibiting many worthy would-be buyers from becoming owners and limiting the much-needed absorption of the excess inventory of homes on the market.
3. Job market woes and transitions. The national unemployment rate of 9.1 percent is just barely better than the average 2010 rate of 9.6 percent — and job growth totally flat-lined from July to August of this year, the latest available figures.
And those numbers are, many feel, misleadingly optimistic, as many long-term unemployed have stopped being counted, and are underemployed in part-time jobs or working freelance gigs because they have no other option.
Clearly, none of these people will be buying homes anytime soon (most thriving freelancers will need to file two years of tax returns as self-employed before they can qualify to buy); and even some employed would-be buyers are hesitant to enter the market as long as jobs are scarce because they view their own positions as insecure. Job market health is a prerequisite to housing market health.
Tara-Nicholle Nelson is author of “The Savvy Woman’s Homebuying Handbook” and “Trillion Dollar Women: Use Your Power to Make Buying and Remodeling Decisions.” Tara is also the Consumer Ambassador and Educator for real estate listings search site Trulia.com. Ask her a real estate question online or visit her website, www.rethinkrealestate.com.

You have Options.. Let me help you!

Mortgage default warnings surged in August
Report: Mortgage default warnings spiked in August, signaling potential new foreclosure wave

Alex Veiga, AP Real Estate Writer, On Thursday September 15, 2011, 12:29 am EDT
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Banks have stepped up their actions against homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments, setting the stage for a fresh wave of foreclosures.

The number of U.S. homes that received an initial default notice — the first step in the foreclosure process — jumped 33 percent in August from July, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.

The increase represents a nine-month high and the biggest monthly gain in four years. The spike signals banks are starting to take swifter action against homeowners, nearly a year after processing issues led to a sharp slowdown in foreclosures.

“This is really the first time we’ve seen a significant increase in the number of new foreclosure actions,” said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac. “It’s still possible this is a blip, but I think it’s much more likely we’re seeing the beginning of a trend here.”

Foreclosure activity began to slow last fall after problems surfaced with the way many lenders were handling foreclosure paperwork, namely shoddy mortgage paperwork comprising several shortcuts known collectively as robo-signing.

Many of the nation’s largest banks reacted by temporarily ceasing all foreclosures, re-filing previously filed foreclosure cases and revisiting pending cases to prevent errors.

Other factors have also worked to stall the pace of new foreclosures this year. The process has been held up by court delays in states where judges play a role in the foreclosure process, a possible settlement of government probes into the industry’s mortgage-lending practices, and lenders’ reluctance to take back properties amid slowing home sales.

A pickup in foreclosure activity also means a potentially faster turnaround for the U.S. housing market. Experts say a revival isn’t likely to occur as long as there remains a glut of potential foreclosures hovering over the market.

Foreclosures weigh down home values and create uncertainty among would-be homebuyers who fret over prospects that prices may further decline as more foreclosures hit the market. There are about 3.7 million more homes in some stage of foreclosure now than there would be in a normal housing market, according to Citi analyst Josh Levin.

“This bloated foreclosure pipeline now presents the greatest obstacle to a housing market recovery,” Levin said in a client note this week.

Banks have been working through a backlog of properties that first entered the foreclosure process months, if not years ago. But the August increase in homes entering that process sets the stage for a host of new properties being targeted for foreclosure.

That’s bad news for homeowners who may have grown accustomed to missing payments for several months without the threat of foreclosure bearing down on them. In states such as New York and Florida, for instance, processing delays have helped some homeowners stay in their homes for more than two years before banks got around to taking back their properties.

In all, 78,880 properties received a default notice in August. Despite the sharp increase from July, last month’s total was still down 18 percent versus August last year and 44 percent below the peak set in April 2009, RealtyTrac said.

Some states, however, saw a much larger increase.

California saw a 55 percent increase in homes receiving a default notice last month, while in Indiana they climbed 46 percent. In New Jersey, where last month a judged ruled that four major banks could resume uncontested foreclosure actions in the state under court monitoring, homes receiving a default notice increased 42 percent.

Despite the increase in new defaults, the number of homes scheduled for auction and those repossessed by banks slowed in August.

Scheduled foreclosure auctions declined 1 percent from July and fell 43 percent from a year earlier, RealtyTrac said.

Auctions increased from July levels in several states, including Colorado, where they rose 51 percent, and Arizona, where they grew 20 percent.

Lenders repossessed 64,813 properties last month, a drop of 4 percent from July and down 32 percent from a year earlier. Home repossessions peaked September last year at 102,134.

Banks are now on track to repossess some 800,000 homes this year, down from more than 1 million last year, Sharga said.

The firm had originally anticipated some 1.2 million homes would be repossessed by lenders this year.

In all, 228,098 U.S. homes received a foreclosure-related notice last month, a 7 percent increase from July, but a nearly 33 percent decline from August last year. That translates to one in every 570 U.S. households, said RealtyTrac.

Nevada still leads the nation, with one in every 118 households receiving a foreclosure-related notice last month.

Rounding out the top 10 states with the highest foreclosure rate in August are California, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Michigan, Florida, Illinois, Colorado and Utah.

You have options to Foreclosure

AG HORNE WARNS HOMEOWNERS: MORTGAGE LAWSUIT SCAM HITS ARIZONA
PHOENIX (Monday, August 22, 2011) — Attorney General Tom Horne today issued a warning to consumers to be wary of any notices or advertisements that claim to offer homeowners facing foreclosure “complete forgiveness of the loan” or other monetary relief if they join a class-action lawsuit. Such ploys are likely a pretext to collect illegal up-front fees for foreclosure assistance.
In class action litigation, consumers generally do not have to pay to join, and most reputable firms will not charge a fee for attorneys to review your case or to determine if you are eligible to join a lawsuit.
“The mortgage crisis is only made worse by predators who take advantage of consumers who are already facing the loss of their home,” Horne said. “State and federal law ban almost all types of up-front fees for foreclosure assistance. I am committed to prosecuting anyone who engages in this type of consumer fraud, and it is just as important that consumers be vigilant against these types of scams.”
The California Attorney General recently filed a lawsuit against California lawyer Philip Kramer, the Law Offices of Kramer & Kaslow, plus 19 other lawyer and non-lawyer individuals and companies, for deceptively marketing class action or “mass joinder” lawsuits. The defendants in that case are believed to have taken over $7 million in fees from homeowners in 17 states – including Arizona – after sending out hundreds of thousands of flyers advertising the program. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants advertised nationwide settlements against lenders that did not exist and that many servicers were not provided by lawyers or legal staff.
Notices may be mailed to homeowners or posted on their doors. Typically, the business claims that the fee they are charging is for a forensic audit of your loan documents to see if you are eligible to join the class action litigation. However, the Federal Trade Commission’s Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule (“MARS Rule”) contains a broad ban on requesting or collecting up-front fees for almost all types of mortgage assistance, including forensic audits related to foreclosure relief. Arizona’s foreclosure consultant statute also prohibits companies from collecting an up-front fee for assisting homeowners in foreclosure.
Foreclosure rescue companies may promise to refund your fee if you are not eligible to join the litigation. However, the Office’s experience with guaranteed refunds indicates that they are very difficult to obtain, or the company may disappear before the refund is paid. If you are facing foreclosure, refuse to pay up-front fees and instead contact the Arizona Foreclosure Prevention Helpline at (877) 448-1211 for free assistance provided by HUD approved housing counseling agencies.
If you feel you’ve been a victim of a class joinder scam or any other type of consumer fraud, please contact the Arizona Attorney General’s Office Consumer Information & Complaints Unit at (602) 542-5763 / (520) 628-6504 / (800) 352-8431. You can also file a consumer complaint online at: http://www.azag.gov/consumer/complaintform.html

Foreclosures Sink To 4-Year Low

Posted: 12 Aug 2011 05:47 AM PDT

Foreclosure concentration July 2011Foreclosure activity continues to slow.

According to RealtyTrac, a national foreclosure-tracking firm, the number of foreclosure filings nationwide fell 35 percent as compared to July 2010, a statistic suggesting that the housing market continues to improve.

“Foreclosure filing” is a catch-all term encompassing default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions.

Filings fell to a 44-month low in July 2011.

For all the improvement, though, activity remains concentrated in just a few states. More than half of all bank repossessions last month occurred in just a handful of states.

In July, 6 states accounted for 52% of activity.

1. California : 19% of all repossessions

2. Georgia : 8% of all repossessions

3. Florida : 7% of all repossessions

4. Texas : 6% of all repossessions

5. Michigan : 6% of all repossessions

6. Arizona : 6% of all repossessions

At the other end of the spectrum is Vermont. With just 11 repossessions for all of July, Vermont accounted for 0.016% of repossessions nationwide.

Distressed homes are in high demand with today’s home buyers. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, they account for 30% of all home resales. That’s no surprise, either.

Distressed homes typically sell at 20 percent discounts as compared to non-distressed ones.

But, if buying a foreclosure is in your agenda, be sure to do your homework. Buying bank-owned homes is different from buying from “people”. The contracts are different, the negotiations are different, and the homes are sometimes sold with defects.

If you plan to purchase a foreclosure in Scottsdale, Gilbert, Chandler,Mesa, or Apache Junction including Gold Canyon , therefore, be sure to speak with a licensed real estate agent first. There’s plenty of available information online but when it’s time to buy, have an experienced agent on your side.

Make sure you have a HUD agent if you are looking at HUD homes, have an experienced HUD agent on your side.

Thank you, Mark for sharing this with us. That is mark@awesomerates.com

Lisa Hanawalt

A Better Realty.Net

480-655-0904

Lisa@abetterrealty.net