Many of the loan modifications in process are running into challenges when the second mortgage holder is asked to cooperate. Homeowners trying to stop foreclosure in Maple Valley are having success with their first lien holders just to find out that the second mortgage holder is refusing to cooperate. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D- Massachusetts) has sent out a petition to some of the nation's largest junior lien holders demanding that they take "immediate steps to write down second mortgages" to create a clear path for sustainable loan restructurings. Reducing a homeowner's overall debt to 31% of their monthly income so that modified payments are within their budgets requires cooperation from both the first and second lien holders. In a letter to the CEOs ... 03/29/2010

The debate over banking reform rages as President Obama's efforts to reign in the "too big to fail" institutions are endlessly debated. Capitalism vs. over reaching government is the debate of the day. A comment on the topic by a friend brings some focus to me as to why I became a Short Sale Specialist and launched StopForeclosureinMapleValley.com.The question posed was "Why do people hate the rich? Would you give up 1/2 your income in order for all to be equal?". My response is I would not give up 1/2 my income to make every one equal. The possibility of becoming wealthy keeps me striving to become more than I am. In that endeavor I serve more people and society benefits as a whole. It's the essence of Capitalism. I'll confess that my primary objective is to provide for my family. My i... 01/23/2010

Loan Modifications are supposed to allow a borrower to redeem themselves and regain their financial footing long enough to survive their hardship. Short sales are supposed to help lenders reduce their losses and help homeowners stop foreclosure. These transactions make up a significant percentage of the current real estate market and should be helping us to recover from the economic woes we all face. Short sales and loan modifications are very similar in their execution in that the lender requires a financial disclosure, copies of bank statements and proof of income. In each case the borrower and lender come together for a mutual benefit which is to mitigate the lenders financial losses and limit the damage to the borrower's credit and finances. It seems to be symbiotic relationship in ... 01/11/2010

The National Short Sale Center sent out a notice 3 days before Christmas that they are closing up shop.This is going to leave a significant number of homeowners who are currently in process with NSSC out in the cold after having wasted precious months trying to avoid foreclosures by relying on the services of this company. MY mission is to stop foreclosure in Maple Valley to the extent possible and any assistance to that end is welcomed. I personally have a listing in Renton Washington with NSSC which was put on the market in June of this year and was sold in July. The property has been pending ever since. On 12 /22/09 I received a formal notice that the NSSC will be closing up operations as of January 15th 2010. It is very unfortunate that the customers relying on their services are go... 12/28/2009

For decades to come business students will study the events that led up to the great recession of 2008. There will be a lot of debate and finger pointing. Politicians will attempt to make fall guys of their opponents in the rewrites of history, and corporate leaders will attempt to devise new rules and systems to avoid another situation like this. In the broadest sense we are in our current morass because both short term profits and gains blinded banking elites to the longer term ramifications of their actions (its called greed). With a blind eye towards their customers well being, and actual ability to repay the money that they were lending them, they flooded the market with lending capital to fund their highly profitable mortgage backed securities. Lending standards were relaxed (elim... 12/16/2009

If you are thinking of short selling your home, or are already in the process DON'T MOVE! Why? President Obama passed legislation earlier this year which allows you to stay in your home for 90 days AFTER a foreclosure sale. You may be thinking "the entire reason we are short selling is to avoid foreclosure so how does this affect us?". Here's how it affects you. Your lenders motivation to grant a short sale is based purely on weighting whether taking the house back at auction is going to cost them more than granting a short sale. For them it is not a matter of making or losing money, it's a matter of how much. For them it is a matter simply of short sale or foreclose, short sale or foreclose. By staying in your primary residence while you are marketing the property for a short sale you ... 12/06/2009

When you present your preapproval letter to the listing agent does it help, or hinder your chances of getting an accepted offer? Financing preapproval letters are widely dismissed by the real estate industry as not being worth the paper they are written on. The reason is there are no consequences for the loan officer who issues a preapproval letter and is unable to follow it up with a full approval. It's especially true in this market when underwriters (the people who actually approve your loan) are under strict scrutiny and are nitpicking every detail of every potential loan looking for potential problems. This is also the result of earlier years when loan officers were disinclined to spend allot of time getting initial approvals and would produce letters like flyer's knowing some woul... 11/24/2009