Antioch CA - If you have been reading about short sales, then you have probably heard the term "BPO" and wondered what it meant. BPO stands for Broker's Price Opinion. A Broker's Price Opinion is when a licensed real estate agent gives their opinion of the value of a property. That value is what the lenders use to process the short sale. Most short sale approvals or denials are based off of that opinion of value. The agent goes thru all the recent sales of properties similar to the property they are valuating. They want to find the 3 closest comparable sales. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. The more recent a sale is then the closer of a comparable it is considered to be. The same goes for properties that are close geograph... 02/18/2011

Antioch CA - You might have heard of Dave Ramsey. He has a popular radio program where he talks explains the benefits of getting out of debt. Dave is a zealot for the debt free life. "You don't need to see the inside of a restaurant unless you are working there", he will tell people in financial trouble that call his show. What does Dave recommend people do to get out of debt? Reduce spending, eat at home, pay off high interest debt first, etc. Here is why I think Dave would love a short sale. A short sale is a great way to reduce debt. Where else can you wipe out $100,000, $200,000, and even more in debt? That will make up for eating a lot of rice and beans. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Do you have a house that is unde... 02/17/2011

Antioch CA - The biggest reason people short sale their house is to avoid foreclosure. They cannot afford the house anymore and the bank has said they will foreclose soon. If the short sale is not successful, then their lender will foreclose on the house. We at the Stop Foreclosure Institute have successfully closed short sales for several years. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. We've made it our business to know what we are doing. But, we see many agents that have no clue about short sales (or the short sale process) listing short sales. This gives short sales a bad name. Many agents have been involved in short sales where the listing agent didn't know what they were doing. Because of that the short sale wasn't successful ... 02/16/2011

HAFA to Speed Short Sales in Antioch California 94531? Every month I prepare detailed reports on Short Sales in Antioch California 94531. If you want more details on the Short Sale market reports or other market reports in Antioch California 94531 or other markets you can e-mail me directly. There are two Zip Codes in Antioch California. The 94531 Zip code is generally the newer part of the community featuring many fine homes. The numbers on Short Sales go up and down some from month to month but one thing remains consistent about Short Sales - They are not selling as fast as they should! Right now in Antioch California 94531 there are 110 Short Sale Homes on the market representing about 1/2 of the Antioch California 94531 real estate market. Currently there are 100 Pending Short Sale ... 02/16/2011

HAFA to Speed Short Sales in Antioch California 94509? Every month I prepare detailed reports on Short Sales in Antioch California 94509. If you want more details on the Short Sale market reports or other market reports in Antioch California 94509 or other markets you can e-mail me directly. There are two Zip Codes in Antioch California.  The 94509 Zip code is generally the more established part of the community featuring many fine homes. The numbers on Short Sales go up and down some from month to month but one thing remains consistent about Short Sales - They are not selling as fast as they should! Right now in Antioch California 94509 there are 86 Short Sale Homes on the market representing almost 1/2 of the Antioch California 94509 real estate market. Currently there are 100 Pending... 02/16/2011

Antioch CA - Have you ever attempted to get a loan modification? If you have, then you probably get bugged when you hear banks talk about how they suposedly care about their customers. Somehow these banks think we will believe it. They must think that, or they wouldn't be running ads that say: "Come to ABC Bank. We answer you by your first name. You're not a number. We care about you." What a bunch of garbage. Anyone who has attempted to negotiate a loan modification feels like they just went thru the meat grinder. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. "Sir, we can't approve your loan modification until you send us the APG form", the person at the bank tells you. "But, I already faxed that to you five different times over the las... 02/15/2011

Homes for Sale Antioch California 94531 Homes for Sale in Antioch California 94531 are some of the best buys in Contra Costa County. This report looks at Single Family Homes for Sale in Antioch California 94531. Antioch California 94531 is one of two Zip Codes in Antioch California. Antioch California 94531 has many newer homes in upscale neighborhoods. Right now there are 205 Homes for Sale in Antioch California 94531. The asking price on this homes averages $238,329.00 or $110.00 per SF. The prices on Homes for Sale in Antioch California 94531 went up a little in January, the total number of sales however was down slightly. (This is based on price per SF - Average cost was down.) In December 56 Homes for Sale sold at an average price of $242,634.00 or an average or $108.00 per SF. How... 02/11/2011

Antioch CA - The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Paul. Here is Paul's Question. "I am thinking about a short sale, but I am behind on my property taxes. Will I still have to pay them if I short sale my home? Paul." Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Here is the answer to Paul's Question: In most cases your lender will pay those property taxes. Property taxes are a first priority lien on a property. That means that if a property is foreclosed upon, then they still have to be paid. They don't go away for any reason. This is also why most lenders want to charge you monthly and then pay the property taxes themselves. They know that the taxes are a big bill that only comes once a year. Not everyone can... 02/10/2011

Homes for Sale Antioch California 94509 Homes for Sale in Antioch California 94509 are some of the best buys in Contra Costa County. This report looks at Single Family Homes for Sale in Antioch California 94509. Antioch California 94509 is one of two Zip Codes in Antioch California.  Antioch California 94509 has many fine established neighborhoods featuring classic ranch style homes and new construction too. Right now there are 198 Homes for Sale in Antioch California 94509. The asking price on this homes averages $174,921.00 or $110.00 per SF. The prices on Homes for Sale in Antioch California 94509 dropped a little in January, the total number of sales was down slightly. In December 63 Homes for Sale sold at an average price of $174,670.00 or an average or $107.00 per SF. However in J... 02/10/2011

Antioch CA - The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Max. Here is Max's Question. "If I pay mortgage insurance and default on my loan, why wouldn't that cover the deficiency amount? Max." Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Here is the answer to Max's Question: Yes, the Mortgage Insurance should pay your lender for any loss. So that reduces the amount that your lender will lose on the short sale. There are a couple of problems. Many Mortgage Insurance Companies have gone bankrupt. They can't pay on their claims. In this situation your lender may or may not pursue you for the loss. (I've written extensively on deficiencies on other blog posts. In 60-75% of all short sales, you won't owe a deficiency. E-... 02/09/2011

Antioch CA - The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Tawny. Here is Tawny's Question. "I have not been late on any payments but my income will be changing dramatically towards the end of the summer. What is your exact service and what are the fees involved? I do not have any cash in savings and pretty much live paycheck to paycheck. Tawny." Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Here is the answer to Tawny's Question: A Short Sale doesn't cost the homeowner any money. All of the costs are paid for by the homeowner's lender. Now, I'm sure you are asking, "The bank is losing money on the short sale. They wouldn't want to have to pay to sell the property." Many people also think this. After all, it makes sen... 02/08/2011

Real Estate Investing - The Good News As a Realtor working with Real Estate Investors in East Contra Costa County, Brentwood, Antioch, Pittsburg, Oakley, Discovery Bay and other parts of Northern California I try to keep up with what is going on. (By the way I know I said that next time I was going to compare ways of reviewing Investments based on the Post Real Estate Investing - Capitalization Rate and Real Estate Investing - Rate of Return. I will get back to that but I wanted to get this good news out while it was fresh.) One of the Blog's I follow is a great video Blog The TBWS Daily (Think Big Work Small). Frank and Brian are the host and in about 5 minutes every morning they bring me some valuable news about real estate, lending, and related issues in a humorous and easy to follow... 02/05/2011

Real Estate Investing - Rate of Return Rate of Return is one of the best ways for a Real Estate Investor to evaluate the profitability of an Investment Property. There are actually several ways to calculate Rate of Return on an Investment Property. The easiest and most important for the small Real Estate Investor is called Rates of Return for the First Year. I find Rates of Return for the First Year an odd name as it does not really apply easily to the first year. The Real Estate Investor’s first tax year of having an Investment Property will probably involve a pro-rated return since the Real Estate Investor will probably only be invested part of the year. If it refers to investment year the issue is that it will probably straddle two tax years. The Real Estate Investor’s Investment Pro... 02/05/2011

Real Estate Investing - Capitalization Rate A method Real Estate Investors use to evaluate Investment Properties is the Capitalization Rate. This is a very basic easy to use tool, but you need to have a good idea about what your Net Operating Income will be. The Capitalization Rate is very simple: You divide the Net Operating Income by the Asking Price: Net Operating Income/Asking Price = Capitalization Rate So if one of your Investment Properties has a projected Net Operating Income of $13,700 with an Asking Price of $200,000.00 for a piece of property the Capitalization Rate is 6.85%. $13,700.00/$200,000.00 = 6.85% The Real Estate Investor needs to know what the Market Capitalization Rate is in the local market to compare potential Investment Properties. This information may not be re... 02/05/2011

Antioch CA - The nuclear option is what you do when your lender demands a promissory note or they will not approve the short sale. A promissory note is not the end of the world. It will take a lot of work on their end to collect from you. If the lender forces you to sign a promissory note, then sign it and never make a payment. Here is what we recommend that you do to avoid paying the promissory note. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. It takes time for the lender to move your file out of the collections system. This will last for anywhere from 1 month to 6 months. The rest of this post is simply my opinion. It is not legal advice. I am just telling you what I would do if I was in this situation. Simply tell the debt collector... 02/02/2011

Antioch CA - Short Sales can be frustrating. It can take a long time for the lender to process everything and finally give the buyer an answer on their offer. Oftentimes, by the time the lender makes a decision, the buyer has gotten impatient and moved on to another property. Most lender short sale departments are overworked. That is why it takes 60-90 days for them to get back with an answer on the short sale. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Some buyers get impatient and move on before they get an answer. On the other hand, we have seen some buyers wait for 4-5 months to get an answer on their offer. The lender approved their offer and they bought the house. That's why we don't sweat it if a buyer gets impatient. Another ... 02/01/2011

Antioch CA - Have you heard the following myths about short sales? Myth #1: You can buy short sales for dirt cheap and then turn around and resell them for a profit. Myth #2: Foreclosures, Short Sales, and Bank Owned Homes can be bought for 30 to 50 cents on the dollar with no money down. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Myth #3: Lenders will accept any short sale offer even if it is for only 50% of what the home is worth. After all, they don't want a foreclosure on their books. These myths are just not true. Lenders are willing to foreclosure on properties. They have entire departments handle the sale of properties that they have foreclosed on. Another foreclosure is nothing to fear. At the same time, they do prefer short ... 01/31/2011

Antioch CA - Many home buyers think that the short sale lender is in charge during a short sale. Nothing could be further from the truth. The short sale lender can only veto short sale offers. They can't put the property up for sale or decide who to sell it to. Only the home owner can do that. Why is that? Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Until the lender forecloses on the home the home owner is in the driver's seat. They "own" the property until the lender forecloses. We have had many buyers get angry that a home owner would not accept their lowball offer. "You have to submit my offer to the lender. If you don't then that would be fraud", they tell the home owner. You, the home owner are in charge. That means that you can m... 01/30/2011

Bank Owned Homes 94531 Right now many Real Estate Investors are buying up Bank Owned Homes. Bank Owned Homes are some of the best bargains for Real Estate Investors and traditional home buyers in years. This report looks at Bank Owned Homes in 94531, Antioch California, by comparing the current active month with the sales from the last two months. The 94531 ZIP Code represents the newer parts of Antioch featuring many fine Investment Properties. This report only looks at Single Family Bank Owned Homes, not condos and townhouses.   Right now there are 60 Bank Owned Homes on the market 94531 with an average list price of $232,627.00 and a median list price of $223,900.00. The average price per SF is $106.00 and the homes have been on the market an average of 46 days. In November 27 Bank O... 01/30/2011

Bank Owned Homes 94509 Right now many Real Estate Investors are buying up Bank Owned Homes. Bank Owned Homes are some of the best bargains for Real Estate Investors and traditional home buyers in years. This report looks at Bank Owned Homes in 94509, Antioch California, by comparing the current active month with the sales from the last two months. The 94509 ZIP Code represents the more established parts of Antioch featuring many fine Investment Properties, Single Story Homes, and Classic Ranch Style Homes. This report only looks at Single Family Bank Owned Homes, not condos and townhouses.   Right now there are 65 Bank Owned Homes on the market 94509 with an average list price of $159,912.00 and a median list price of $159,900.00. The average price per SF is $102.00 and the homes have b... 01/29/2011