Archive for the 'Foreclosures' Category
Parkland Real Estate Agent Michael Citron Helps Negotiate Successful Short Sale
It is a pleasure to announce that the Parkland Parrot Real Estate Team just successfully help negotiate a short sale for a client of ours in the Cypress Head community. Bank Of America agreed to accept almost $500,000 less than was was owed and gave my client a full release for the deficiency.
Our client was ecstatic to be able to successfully short sale his Cypress Head home in Parkland, Florida and now be able to move on with his life. The government implemented the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program which is in place to help homeowners settle their mortgage debt without going through a foreclosure. The goal of this program is to help homeowners sell their properties through the short sale process and settle their mortgage debt if they owe more on the mortgage than what the home is actually worth. With the help of this program, the short sale process is streamlined and also offers financial assistance to help with relocation. In particular, our client in Cypress Head was even given $3,000 from this program in moving costs.
On Bank Of America’s website, here is the qualification to be eligible for the HAFA program:
1. The property is your current principal residence, OR the property has been vacant or rented out for less than 12 months, and you have not bought another principal residence during that time.
2. The amount you owe on your first mortgage for your property is equal to or less than:
- $729,750 for 1 unit
- $934,200 for 2 units
- $1,129,250 for 3 units
- $1,403,400 for 4 units
3. You owe more on your home than it’s worth
4. Your current mortgage was taken out on or before January 1, 2009
5. You are experiencing a hardship (such as a job loss, divorce or medical emergency) and are unable to afford your current home loan
It is a great pleasure for our team to be able to help someone in need and get them on to the next step in their lives. In particular, this stressful situation was handled with the utmost professionalism and care. Our short sale clients truly understand that we have their best interests in mind and are here to help throughout the entire process. We were able to close this transaction in only 4 months, where most short sales take approximately 6-8 months to get done.
If you know anyone in Parkland or South Florida who is “underwater” on their home, tell them to give me a call directly at: 954-609-0591, so I can help answer all of their questions and concerns and provide them with pertinent short sale information.
Know the neighborhood. Know the value. Know your hometown agents: The Parkland Parrot Real Estate Team. If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Parkland or South Florida and are looking for experienced local Realtors, please do not hesitate to contact the Squawk at 954-609-0591 or send us a message here.
Data Shows That Foreclosure Listings Starting To Loose Appeal From Parkland & South Florida Buyers
Michael Citron, Parkland Realtor and co-founder of ParklandParrot.com, was quoted in today’s Sun-Sentinel cover story supporting recent statistics showing how Parkland and South Florida bank foreclosure listings are loosing their popularity among current home buyers.
According to RealtyTrac Inc., the Tri-County area (Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties) posted that in January, February, & March of 2011, there was a total of 8,878 foreclosure sales, which was a 11 percent decline from the fourth quarter of 2011. Even more dramatic from a year ago to date, there was a 20% decline in foreclosure sales.
One factor that has slowed down the sale of bank foreclosure inventory is that many distressed homeowners were being unlawfully foreclosed upon. As a result, many banks slowed down their foreclosure process and even implemented moratoriums on future bank foreclosure proceedings. This caused a dramatic decrease in available bank foreclosure inventory. But, will the banks start listing their foreclosure inventory for sale soon?
Another factor is that buyers are not as enamored with buying distressed properties as they were in the past. Many savvy buyers are seeing that foreclosures or even short sale listings are requiring a lot of out-of-pocket costs to fix damage to properties that were possibly left vacant for many months and even years. The numbers sometimes just don’t add up, and potential buyers are seeking regular listings, where they can purchase move-in-ready properties.
Finally, regular home sellers are starting to become aware that distressed listings (bank foreclosures and short sales) are their competition and are instead pricing their homes at appealing asking prices in order to compete with the distressed listings. Among many Realtors, we are emphasizing to our home sellers how appraisers are using distressed sales when appraising properties. As a result, we are better preparing our sellers to list their homes more competitively in order to beat their competition. Instead of overpricing, which results in helping to sell the competition, sellers are now starting to price their homes correctly from day one!
In South Florida right now, nearly 4 out of every 10 home sales involve a foreclosure. Many experts still believe that the drop in South Florida foreclosure sales is due mainly to the freeze from the banks. Only time will tell, but we definitely see more and more potential home buyers seeing the advantages of purchasing a regular sale over distressed ones.
We want to thank Paul Owers of the Sun-Sentinel for thinking of our team when providing expert advice and opinions in regards to the South Florida and Parkland real estate market. We encourage all readers to check out his articles as well as his contributions on the House Key Blog site.
Know the neighborhood. Know the value. Know your hometown agents: The Parkland Parrot Real Estate Team. If you are interested in buying or selling in Parkland or South Florida and are looking for experienced local Realtors, please do not hesitate to contact the Squawk at 954-609-0591 or send us a message here.
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With approximately 11 million current homeowners underwater on their mortgages, not many of these individuals understand the consequences of their actions if they “walk away” from paying their mortgages. The popular term called strategic default is when a person walks away from paying their mortgage payments, which usually results in a short sale or foreclosure.
In general, if you are considering walking away from your mortgage, the major consequences of your actions are as follows:
- Impaired credit Deficiency risks
- Deficiency Risk
- Tax consequences
- Moving costs
- Professional implications
Impaired Credit: Most people are unaware how their credit will be affected if they default on their mortgage payments. If you instead work with your bank and do a short sale, you may be able to qualify for a new home purchase in as little as 3 years. If you instead choose to walk away and have your home foreclosed on by the bank, your credit score will be significantly impacted for 7 to 10 years, or more. Also, by defaulting on your mortgage, you will cause your credit card companies to possibly cancel or lower your credit limits. As a result, you will have difficulty obtaining financing for large items such as automobiles, furniture, and of course, houses.
Deficiency Risks: If you default on your mortgage, your lender may come after you for the difference between what you owe on your mortgage and and what your short sale or foreclosure proceeds were along with legal fees and interest incurred during the process. In the State of Florida, there is no anti-deficiency protection laws from banks or lending institutions pursuing the difference between what borrowers owe and what the home sells for in foreclosure. If you are concerned about a deficiency judgment, then it is imperative to consult with a real estate lawyer, who can provide you with the necessary legal advice for your unique situation. Please do not consult with your neighbor or friend that just sold their home through the short sale process. Each bank and situation is different, so please hire a real estate attorney, or ask us to refer you to one.
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2010 is here, and the Florida court system has announced that banks and lending institutions MUST mediate before foreclosing on a real estate home. I wrote an earlier article: Could Home Foreclosure Mediation Be Mandatory Soon? and now the court system in the state is intervening.
Now, both the lenders and borrowers on homesteaded Florida properties will have to meet at the bargaining table. This court order, carried out by Chief Judge Peggy Quince, guarantees an audience for distressed homeowners and the lending institutions to discuss all available options from loan modifications or short sales before foreclosure.
Banks will be responsible to pay the court costs for each potential foreclosure, which will cost them approximately $750 each. Judges are hoping that this new requirement will help reduce the thousands of foreclosure cases taking over the court systems.
Distressed homeowners must be referred to counseling before mediation. The mediation must take place no earlier than 60 days and no later than 120 days after a foreclosure suit is filed. Also, non-profit organizations, such as the Collins Center for Public Policy, must be provied with mediators specially trained in mortgage foreclosure.
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association in the third quarter of 2009, Florida’s 12.74 percent rate of home loans in foreclosure was the nation’s highest. As a result, 441,440 Florida home loans were in foreclosure at that time.
Hopefully, this new policy will help distressed homeowners remodify their loans or agree to do a short sale. It is important that homeowners call their banks and speak with a real estate agent along with a real estate attorney. Please give us a call at 954-609-0591 if you are in need of assistance.
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If you are interested in buying or selling a real estate property in Parkland, please give us a call at 954-609-0591 or send a note to the squawk.
Del DeMarino (left), had to take less money for his Coral Springs home because of foreclosures and short sales nearby. His real estate agent Michael Citron is helping him deal with a difficult market. 
