Margo Christophilis' Blog

Banks are seeing the true benefit of a Short Sale vs. Foreclosure - times have changed over the last few years!

Now with the costly lawsuits, properties being vacated for much longer times after the bank has foreclosed and all the back log of inventory the banks are more willing to work with the homeowner that truly wants to short sale. There are many reasons for the bank to work with the person who is seeking to do a short sale, typically the homeowner still lives in the home and the owner is helping to maintain the integrity of the inside as well as the outside of the home.

By moving in this avenue to short sale the home banks are mitigating the financial losses. When a homeowner is ready to look into the short sale process typically the bank wants the property listed with a real estate agent, on the open market to all perspective buyers, hoping this will net the bank more money and be a benefit to both homeowner and bank.

When the bank is looking at the bottom line they also want to see the homeowner doing everything they can to help reduce the loss, so being proactive is key to your success. Move your mouse cursor over picture and click for HELP! 

Short Sale is easier on your FICO Credit Score and does not damage you as badly as what a foreclosure will.

One of the Rating Agencies - Moody's has found that Short Sales help lower liquidation losses. Read More by CLICKING HERE

1. Google
2. Yahoo
3. Bing
4. MSN

Just looking to see which one of these is the most used or favorite search engine to use.
After talking to our closest frined it was split, it appears more of the younger generation seems to search using Google and those of us that have been around awhile tend to use YAHOO.

Curious to find out - and hope this receive some feedback.

Enjoy your Memorial Day Weekend & Stay Safe!
In memory of our Armed Service Personnel - Active, Retired, & in our Memeories!
Thank you,

- Margo

FICO Scores & What is a Rapid Re-Score? 

May 23rd, 2011

Posted by margo christophils - AKA Seattle Margo

Rapid Re-Scores can be completed to eliminate incorrect information (public records, late status, etc.), update balances on revolving accounts, update or correct collection accounts, and remove a dispute status on an account.  With the appropriate documentation, one simple change could provide the opportunity for a loan when a loan did not appear possible.

Unlike credit repair, re-scores permanently change the borrower’s information at the credit bureau level.

We took a moment to analyze what Rapid Re-Scores have revealed this past year – here are some of the results:

Result 1 – Average Re-Score Point Increase by Bureau

Result 2 – Average Point Increase by Credit Score Group

We at www.SeattleMargo.com wanted to say – Thank you to ARC for providing this excellent information regarding their Rapid Re-Score information, and help some of our own clients benefit in this model. Having your credit score move higher can truly benefit you when it comes to purchasing a home, car, or even with your own personal information, being informed counts. Increase your knowledge and and improve your FICO Scores today

Looking for more information we would be glad to connect you with the right people.  Contact us Today!

Short Sales & REO's - these properties are dominating the real estate market, currently in our market the distressed property is the majority on closed transactions per month.

The trade group notes that these properties generally sell at discounts in the vicinity of 20 percent. Their large market share served to dampen the median existing-home price. For all housing types, it came in at $159,600 last month, down 5.9 percent from March 2010.

Read more

We are looking forward to the day of having a normal housing market recovery - when that is the magic question. Let us hope we can begin to see the job market pick up as we all know this is what we truly need.

Continue to watch our upcoming video feed and blog - we will keep you posted.

Success doesn't matter! What matters is how you deal with the events that surround your situation when you own a home and a mortgage. Life Happens!

Whether you are a fantastic, brillant actor like Nicholas Cage or a loving, adorable TV Star from "Happy Days" Erin Moran "Joanie" who loved Chaichi by the way... or you are a reality TV personality like some of the ladies on The Orange County Housewives - Alexis Bellino , well what is the difference?

There is a huge difference between these two.
Our famous folks mentioned above had the worst happen - Foreclosure, where the Orange County icon negotiated a succesful - Short Sale.

These two instances in ones life are drastically different, but depending on each persons individual circumstances there comes with it a plan or strategy  when life happens.

Foreclosures -  have a tendency to hurt your credit for a longer period as well as remain on your public record up to 10 years of time and make financing a little tougher in the future if you need to get a tradtional mortgage.




Short Sale - In a properly managed short sale, the home is sold at a price that should be close to market value and in almost all cases will be better than a REO sale resulting in a lower deficiency, when negotiated correctly.

CLICK HERE NOW to request more info if you would like to have the difference between Foreclosure vs. Shortsale - put this in your subject line.

This can and will get better - hope this helped!
All our best - from SeattleMargo.com

Homeowner’s that are having a hard time in this tough economy and are not able to meet paying their mortgage payments – well, we came across a very interesting idea and article called Adzookie. We at the Seattle Real Estate News and Seattle Margo wanted to get this out ASAP!  Get to their website and fill out their form! They will assist you with help on your mortgage payment.

 If a mortgagor needs money, tell them to call Adzookie. Read More Details  - Click Here

Seattle Real Estate Agent – Margo Christophilis with SeattleMargo

Having worked with many agents over my 25+ career in real estate there are often times you come across those people and outstanding Real Estate Agents in ones life – Margo Christophilis is one of them and I am proud to have her among one of my listing agents at our Green Lake office in Seattle.

You will be able to find her website called www.SeattleMargo.com this is a wonderful website that has alot of seller information that will help you when it is time to list and put your home on the market for sale.

Margo has an exceptional skill set that will help in selling a home in today’s market, it is much more complicated than it was at the height of our real estate market five years ago. What you need today is an agent who is at the forefront of new marketing ideas, has the experience and knowledge to correctly price a home and who will always persevere until your home is sold. Every home is unique and every sales plan needs to fit accordingly.

Why would I recommend using Margo, it’s simple – Statistics have proven that sellers who use a Realtor will always net more for their home than sellers who negotiate for themselves. Let Margo provide you with her expert skills and experience with negotiating.  She knows  how to best assess each situation and come up with an outcome and proposal to best serve your needs. Margo is  respected by her peers and she brings  a track record for putting the deal together.

When you need to think like a buyer when it is time to list your home and Margo will create a plan that will simple, quick and truthful in our Seattle Market, when you think real estate – Think “Seattle Margo.”

She is ready to assist you today! Call 206-963-5525 or email: margo@seattlemargo.com