Well, the real secret to getting a loan modification is, like most thing in life, that there is no secret. 

Yeah, I know, that was a dirty trick, but if you keep reading, you’ll find a great deal of information about getting your loan modified, though I have to say, it will take some work. 

Now I have to say, I’ve been meaning to write about this topic for a while – but Eric Glaser, a fellow agent at Zephyr Real Estate, was kind enough to share the info with not just me, but all of Zephyr! 

This would be a good time to make a little sidenote and throw out some props to the realtor gang at Zephyr.  You see, unlike a lot of other real estate brokerages in San Francisco or anywhere else for that matter, the real estate agents at Zephyr find that sharing information with each other actually helps us get our jobs done.  I know, I know, it’s crazy!    But that’s why I haven’t thought of leaving Zephyr since I started in the biz. 

Anyhow, back to Eric Glaser’s fabulous information on how to get your loan modified.

For what it’s worth, here’s my take on the current situation:

 

Basically, no one knows for sure exactly how things are going to shake out.  Jesse Tannlund [from Integrated Mortgage] equated the current loan modification process to the wild west.  Currently, there is no one formula and it varies from situation to situation and from lender to lender and it even varies depending on who you happen to get on the phone at any given bank.  Modification guidelines are supposed to be instated on March 4, so there may be a hold on loan modifications until then, but that may not necessarily be the case with all lenders.

 

There is definitely a consensus across the board that one does NOT have to miss loan payments to be considered for a loan modification.  In fact, as you probably know, a big part of Obama’s Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan is being implemented precisely so that homeowners do not miss their payments and start going down the foreclosure road.  In some cases, the banks will modify loans for folks who are current in their payments faster than those that have defaulted.  Again, there seems to be no set formula, but the squeaky wheel seems to work in some instances, I’ve been told. 

 

In order to be considered for a loan modification, one does need to show financial hardship and/or that the property value has fallen below the principal owed (through providing informal comps).  I’m told that most lenders are not verifying property values through BPO’s or appraisals, and as crazy as it may seem, it is my understanding that a good percentage of loan modifications are being pushed through largely on what the homeowners “stated figures” are for debt owed, property value, etc. with minimal financial verification requirements and minimal paperwork. 

 

I know this sounds ironic considering how difficult it is to get a new loan approved and it may even sound too good to be true at first glance.  However, the lenders would rather receive mortgage payments from a homeowner, even if it’s at drastically reduced 30 year fixed rate (I’ve heard they are sometimes going as low as 2% FIXED), than to have to go through the lengthy and costly foreclosure process, where they will undoubtedly lose money.  At least with a loan modification, they will still be making some income from the loan, and the government is also providing financial incentives for the lenders to modify loans vs. foreclosing on properties.

 

Sorry for the lengthy email, but this is an extremely complex issue.  I hope I have been able to inform some of you about the “word on the street” regarding the loan modification process and to provide some good resources for you for further information.  I wish the best for all of us and our clients during these challenging times.

Now, if you find that you’re in a situation where you are facing financial hardship and are struggling to keep your home, start by calling your lender.  If it doesn’t work, try calling your lender again.  And if that doesn’t work, maybe try a dozen more times.  And if you find you get a lender representative that is willing to help you modify your loan and keep your home, let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. 

And if you’re in San Francisco, I’m happy to provide you (at no charge, of course) with recent comparable sales if you need to show any to your lender (or any other info that I can provide) – all you have to do is call me at 415–307–1392, or email me.  I want to help.

Oh, and once again, I’d like to thank Eric for sharing this info with his teammates at Zephyr, and I’d like to thank him for allowing me to post the fruits of his research here on my SF real estate blog.  He rocks!

For those of you that like your San Francisco real estate market data without commentary, here ya go.  Take a look, check it out, come to your own conclusions.   (As a side note, it appears that the 2-4 unit data is missing districts 2-10.)  Or – you can always ask me questions.   

Single Family Homes

Condos

2-4 Units

NUMBER OF UNITS is the equivalent of number of sales/transactions. For condominiums, each unit is treated as a sale. For 2- to 4-unit buildings, the “building” is treated as a sale. NUMBER SOLD is the number of properties in the market segment that closed escrow during the month. NUMBER FOR SALE is the number of active properties on the market for one day or more during the month. MEDIAN PRICE (SOLD) reflects the “middle” price point of a group of properties that have successfully closed escrow on a monthly basis, i.e. half sold for more and half sold for less than the median price. Tracking the movement of median prices over time provides a good indicator of the direction market forces are moving. If the percentage change is positive between the two periods then there is upward pressure on prices in that market segment. If the percentage change is negative between the two periods then there is downward pressure on prices in that market segment. AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET (DOM) reflects how long it has been taking (on average) to draw an offer on a reasonably priced property exposed to the market. The AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET is defined as: The average number of days it took all of the properties that went under contract during the period to accept a first position offer. MONTH’S SUPPLY OF INVENTORY (MSI) is a measure of how long it would take, in months, to sell the existing inventory at the current sales rate for the specific neighborhood and property type. The MONTH’S SUPPLY OF INVENTORY is defined as: The number of active properties on the market for one day or more during the month, less the number of properties that have been withdrawn or expired, divided by the number of properties that have gone under contract during the month.

* * * * *

Data provided by Terradatum.

So – I was browsing the blog-o-sphere like I often do, looking for fun stuff about San Francisco and about SF Real Estate when I ran across FriscoVista’s “Top Ten Classic Frisco tunes”. 

And as one thing often leads to another, I found one of FriscoVista’s older posts where he (the blog author) took a SF Bay Area Native Test at okcupid.com – and he (the blog author) did a hell of a job by scoring a whopping 17 out of 18! 

Partially because I’m competitive as hell, and partially because I claim to be an “almost native” San Franciscan (I was born in the former Soviet Union, a.k.a. today’s Ukraine, but came to San Francisco when I was just two and a half years old), I decided to take the test and….

I scored a 16 out of 18 which puts me at:

16-18 correct – You’re a true Bay Area native – and you even got some of the EXTRA CREDIT questions! Impressive. Feel free to look down on Los Angeles with pride. (You probably already do.)

Yes – I admit, FriscoVista beat my score, but I’m human.  And I took the test late at night (um, or is it early morning?) and I didn’t eat my Wheaties today (that whole low carb thing doesn’t allow for Wheaties).  But it still called me a “True Bay Area Native” – I done good! 

I often tell people that I’m as close to being native as I can get without actually being born here.  I’ll spare you the full story (you can check out the about me page if you like) – but I have to say that I’m ridiculously lucky to not only live in the only City I’ve called home (or ever wanted to, for that matter), but to also be able to do what I love for a living (sell real estate) in the best City in the world!

If you have questions about the City or about SF Real Estate, contact me - I love the City and am happy to help you call it “home” too – even if you’re not a native. 

Welcome back to the “Over, Under, At” weekly feature. It’s a simple breakdown taken from MLS data that shows the number of closed sales that sold Over Asking Price, Under Asking Price or At Asking Price. 

*Just a reminder that new construction sales are rarely included in this list since they don’t get posted on the MLS.

Happy Monday folks. Sales are still kinda sad this week.  Single family homes sales increased, condo sales decreased and TIC’s stayed the same (one closed last week, one closed this week.)  But, these are still most likely sales that went into contract in 2008 since a typical escrow these days is 30–45 days with longer escrows being more and more and more common.  And I’m hearing about a lot of new construction sales going into contract, but those won’t show up in this report so we can’t comment on them (but I do know that sales are happening). And of course, one thing I can’t help but comment on is how many properties are selling UNDER the asking price.  In face, MOST are under asking.  But asking price is really, just a marketing tool.  What this tells me is that the strategy of listing low to create a marketing buzz doesn’t work nearly as well anymore – unless the seller is willing to list REALLY low to create an auction type atmosphere.  Case in point: the one single family home that did sell over asking was listed at $399K and sold for $530K because the seller was willing to let the market determine the properties true market value.        

Keep in mind that these reports are meant to be helpful for potential buyers and sellers – but to really understand the pulse of the SF real estate market, talk to a local real estate agent. We’re in the trenches and these closed sales went into escrow a month ago (sometimes less, sometimes more). We are much better in tune with what’s going on in the market TODAY and can give you much more in depth information than any set of statistics can. If you need advice from a San Francisco Realtor, feel free to contact me. I’m always happy to talk real estate.

Here’s a quick breakdown of closed San Francisco home sales for the week from February 9 – 15, 2009: 

Single Family Homes - 12 Homes Sold

Condos/Lofts/Co-ops’s - 10 Homes Sold

Are you looking to buy a house in San Francisco?  Or maybe you’re pondering selling that little SF condominium or TIC? 

Whether buying a house, condo or TIC, investment property,etc. or looking to sell any of the above in the City, you want TOOLS!

I’m not talking hammers, table saws and drills – I’m talking about tools that provide you with HONEST and UNBIASED information about the San Francisco Real Estate Market!

So – you want to know what kind of tools you can get your hands on?

 

The City Update(TM) – San Francisco’s Friendliest Real Estate Newsletter

The City Update(TM) is a little SF real estate newsletter delivered straight to your inbox (almost) every Friday.  It has ALL sorts of awesome features including:

• San Francisco Market Reports from the Altos Research folks
• All of the NEW San Francisco real estate listings from the last 30 days
• All of the SOLD San Francisco real estate listings from the last 30 days
• Links to SF Open Houses, SF Foreclosure Listings, and more
• Commentary about the SF Real Estate market from yours truly
• SF Property “Pocket Listings” that I hear about (properties that AREN’T available to the general public!)

You can SIGN UP HERE or you can check out the site (just keep in mind that frankly, the site sucks – but I created it myself and since my HTML skills are LACKING, I’m just happy I got THAT far with it!)

 

SF Real Estate Market Updates

If you just can’t get enough San Francsco real estate market updates between this blog and The City Update(TM), you now have one more option when it comes to getting the latest deets on what the market is doing. 

Again, brought to you by the Altos Research folks, you can narrow down your reports by zip code or property type AND you can sign up for as few or as many zip codes as you like (you just have to reenter your info for each new zip code/property type). 

Go ahead, get your SF real estate data fix on!  You can SIGN UP HERE.

 

100% Complete Access to the San Francisco MLS

Know everything that’s on the San Francisco market in real time.  Just like a REALTOR, you’ll get access to ALL of the listings in the MLS. 

Unlike other Real Estate search sites, Zephyr MLS Direct gives you the most complete, accurate and up-to-date listing information available, which lets you find properties as soon as they hit the market. 

It also lets you save your searches and new listings that match your criteria emailed to you as soon as they hit the market!  And you can save your favorite properties, watch them go into escrow, and if they’re in your “favorites” folder, you can even see the price they sold for (which we all know is super secret data.)  You also get notified of any changes that occur to the property listings that match your criteria AND Friday Open House reports.  Cool or what?

You’ll have to give up some personal info, and “agree” to work with me as your REALTOR (it’s a technicality that the MLS requires), but I NEVER EVER EVER hold you to it.  To really build a client/agent relationship, we have to meet in person to decide if we’re a good fit to help you achieve your real estate goals.  And you’ll have to CONTACT ME to make it happen.  WHY?  Because I’m just not into stalking and I’m easy to find. 

Want your own MLS access?  You can SIGN UP HERE.

 

So, go ahead, get your SF real estate information fix on!  Sign up for one, two or all three of the San Francisco real estate tools above! 

And if you think you’d like me to represent you in the sale or purchase of a property, call me at 415–307–1392 or shoot me an email.  I’m happy to schedule a free consultation with you to see if we’d work well together.

Oh, and as a reminder, should you sign up for any of the tools above, as always, your info will not be sold, rented, shared, abused, danced on, or in any other way misused. Just thought you’d like to know.

I originally posted this back in May of 2008 for the first time, but the real estate situation in San Francisco has only gotten worse (not by a landslide here folks, so don’t panic…)  But as more and more people want a bargain, I keep finding myself answering questions about foreclosures more and more often, and so, I thought now would be a good time to revisit the topic.  So, here you go…..

So you want to take advantage of the whole mortgage meltdown that’s been going on.  Who can blame you?  You want a deal!  Deals are good!  We all like saving money. 

But buying property during the foreclosure process is challenging.  Ask most people that have seen both good and bad real estate market and everything in between and they’ll tell you that buying foreclosures takes nerves of steel, an acceptance that there is risk involved and a strong stomach.  And of course, it takes being knowledgable about the foreclosure process.

Now I’m willing to give you a little lesson, but people teach entire multi-day seminars on foreclosures and the foreclosure process – so my little blog post here isn’t going to go too far in the way of your foreclosure education, but it should give you enough information to decide if your stomach is strong enough to attempt purchasing a property in some stage of foreclosure. 

So read on to learn about the various stages of the foreclosure process and the potential pitfalls of each. 

Short Sale – A short sale occurs when a property owner is upside down on their mortgage (they owe more than their home is worth) AND they can no longer afford the mortgage payments.  ,

Some lenders, rather than foreclose on a property are willing to settle for less than they are owed.  They aren’t really being kind or generous – it’s just that banks aren’t in the business of buying and selling real estate, but rather, buying and selling money.  They have no desire to keep homes in their portfolios, and in most cases, lenders would rather settle for a portion of what is owed to them and forget the whole thing ever happened.

The Short Sale purchase process starts rather simply.  You see a property that you like, you make an offer on it, and the seller accepts the offer.  Well – you still have another major hurdle to jump through.  The offer now must be submitted to the lender, or in some cases lenders, and this is where the meditation class you took in college pays off. 

Once the lender receives your offer, they rarely accept it right away.  Typically it takes weeks for them to approve it (or reject it) and I’ve even heard of it taking months!  During this time, the lender is reviewing the seller’s hardship package, they are reviewing your offer, and they are waiting, hoping and praying that another offer better than yours will come in.  Of course, you can add deadlines and such to your offer, but the reality is that the bank will decide only when it’s good and ready. 

Now, if the bank accepts your offer, then it’s pretty much like any other sale.  Unless of course, the seller had a 1st loan and a second loan that they can’t afford to pay off.  In this case, things get rather complicated rather quickly, because now you have two separate banks that have to agree to forgive part or all the seller’s debt rather than foreclosing on the property.  

Sale Day (Courthouse Auction) – Let’s assume the bank rejected the short sale.  Instead, they opted to file a notice of default followed by a notice of sale which led up to the Sale Day, where we are now.   Sale Day occurs on the courthouse steps in the county where the trust deed was recorded.  You can find out in advance which properties will be auctioned off on which day by looking in the local newspaper, going to the local courthouse, or contacting a REALTOR familiar with foreclosures.

The first thing to keep in mind is that your credit is no good on Sale Day.  In fact, if you don’t have the money, either in cold hard cash, or in the form of a cashier’s check, you have no hope of winning the property on Sale Day. 

In addition to the ALL CASH policy, you don’t have the opportunity to do any inspections, you don’t get title insurance, you don’t have disclosures from the lender, you don’t have crap.  You may as well be throwing the dice.  Why am I being so dramatic?  Well – your property might come with LIENS ALREADY AGAINST IT – including various unpaid utilities or mechanic’s liens.  If you buy the property, the liens come with it and it’s YOUR duty as the property owner to take care of them.

What about the price, you ask?  Well – the lender is going to want to make back what they were owed by the former homeowner – so the starting bid will likely be the amount of the first note.  Once again, you can get this information from a REALTOR.

Sale Day is frankly kinda scary.  You might walk away with a ridiculous bargain, but you might walk away with a HUGE liability on your hands.

REO (Real Estate Owned) – So Sale Day often comes and goes with no offers on the courthouse steps.  The bank is left with the property on their books – and as I’ve mentioned before, banks aren’t in the business of buying and selling real esate, so they want to get these properties off of their books rather quickly. 

Now this is the time to find bargains!  Banks usually unload these properties at a significant discount because they don’t want to hold on to them.  The bank’s representatives usually respond to the offers rather quickly, and while you’re unlikely to find a property in pristine condition (former owners often take anything of value in the house from appliances to lightbulbs and doorknobs), you are likely to find a damn good deal.

But as with all things, there is a catch – you need to be ready to hustle!  You have to move fast to grab one of these deals and you won’t have time to think long before you make an offer.  However, if your offer is accepted, you often have the ability to do inspections (although in a competitive situation, you may not have that opportunity either.)  Again, you should be working with a savvy REALTOR to make sure you don’t miss out on one of these deals.

I hope you found today’s foreclosure lesson helpful.  If you want more information about Short Sales, Courthouse Auctions or REO’s, contact me.  I’m always happy to help!

Farmers Market San Francisco, originally uploaded on by Swami Stream  

It’s Photo Friday again here on Luba’s San Francisco Real Estate Blog! 

It’s been a rough week here in Luba Land.  Two different clients lost out on two separate properties because they thought they had time to think about things.  After all, days on market has increased all over San Francisco.  But even in this weird real estate market, some properties move fast.  Of course, plenty don’t, and I’m sure we’ll find something else that fits their needs and budget soon enough. 

I also have been living in a state of chaos for the last few days since my old computer crashed.  I’ve been painstakingly migrating my old files and software programs to a new machine and trying to stay organized in the process.  It’s been horrible, but it’s almost over.

So now, I decided I wanted to look at something pretty, and if your week was anything like mine, you might too. I’m not sure which of SF’s fabulous farmers markets this was taken at, but no matter which one, I’m sure the photographer left with more than just some awesome photos!

Don’t forget to check back next week for another glimpse of San Francisco as seen through the eyes of Flickr’s photogs.

And if you’d like to throw your photos into the pool of candidates for my SF Photo Friday collection, tag your SF Photos from Flickr with LubaSF.

Happy Friday!

Yet again, Luba’s San Francisco Real Estate Blog brings you latest San Francisco Real Estate market report here. (You can also view previous market updates by selecting the archives on the upper right portion of the screen).

Heres’s a little glimpse of the report:

Read on for full details.

Sigh.  My trusty computer is dying. 

It was good to me for three years.  It helped me send emails, write posts about the San Francisco real estate market, search the MLS, and much, much more.

But now, it’s on life support.  Yes.  My trust laptop is taking its last breath. 

Its replacement is getting settled in though.  Getting used to my likes and dislikes.  Figuring out where everything should go.  Unpacking its bags, so to speak.

And when the new guy is all unpacked and has had time to relax and have a cup of tea, I’ll be back and talking about SF real estate all over again. 

In the meantime, check out the blogroll at left for some spectacular reading.

I’m still struggling to get my new computer set up.  All sorts of stuff has been crashing on me, software that I need to write offers won’t load, files I had saved have disappeared, other programs have decided that they don’t like the Windows Vista platform without tech assistance, so that means that for at least another few days, I can’t crank out any SF real estate blog posts. 

But, one little bit of goodness that has come out of this whole thing is a little bit of good customer service from the Coding Robots. 

Who are they?  Well, they’re the folks that created Blogjet, the blog client I use for this here fabulous San Francisco real estate blog. 

Why do they rock?  Well – Blogjet isn’t free.  It isn’t expensive or anything, but still, when my old computer crashed, I lost the license code to most of my software.  And most (well, so far all) companies have made me purchase the software all over again to get a new code, but not the Coding Robots.  They verified that it was really me, and went ahead and sent my my old license key, thus saving me a few bucks and creating some good vibes in the process. 

They also seem to have some other cool software, so don’t hesitate to check them out. 

Thanks Coding Robots!