Fran,

This house has been released from showing. It is a short sale. Why was it released from showing? Not sure.

To add to what Bonnie has posted, The ratio of Short Sales that actually sell before going to a Trustee's Sale is 1 out of 10. These short sales are difficult when there is more than just a Deed of Trust in trouble, many of these have seconds , tax liens and other debt that needs to be cleared.

Thu Apr 3 2008, 14:03

Hi Fran, Well, it is a great home, especially for a first time buyer. If you are working with a Realtor already, you should share your interest in that area with them. If you arent working with a Realtor yet, let me advise you to start that sooner rather than later. When I was a first time buyer, I thought I would save myself money by driving around and doing a lot of looking on my own. It was 15 years ago so, we didnt have great online tools. Todays buyer usually spends a lot of time educating themselves online and that is great news for real estate professionals because buyers come to us when they know a lot already. However, a good Realtor can help you early in the process and the typically earn the same, a commission, for helping you 6 months before you are ready or just 6 days. A Realtor can introduce you to a lender if you dont already have one. Working with a lender early can help you improve your credit score and just get your financials in order to be able to provide documentation that will be needed. It's good to have some time in advance to take advantage of all your possibiliies. What if you had moved some of your obligations around and it improved your credit score before you had to qualify? Your loan program would perhaps be better and thus your affordability might be better. Another thing most area Realtors can do is they can answer your questions and share their MLS data with you. I have found that it is worth mentioning to First time buyers that in our area the usual custom is that the Buyers Agent, in this case the Realtor who helps you purchase a home, is compensated by the Listing Agent in exchange for "bringing the buyer" to the property. Usually, there will be a small adminstrative fee of around $300 for handling your transaction but unless you sign an Buyers Broker Agreement that is contrary, you make no obligation to pay commission just by starting to work with a Realtor. Even the administative fee is not due unless you actually complete your purchase. In selecting a Realtor, of course I highly recommend ME. That aside, what you should look for when you select a Realtor is someone who is a full time active agent. Not that a part time agent cant assist you but if real estate isnt their full time job, they may not be very invested in their career and very importantly, they may not be available when you need or want their assistance. Look for someone who seems easy to get a hold of and talk to them. Make sure they seem compatible with YOU!

Thu Apr 3 2008, 13:16

the house was one i really liked.i am a first time buyer.i still thought that the house was priced quite high,suddenly the listing disappeared on most websites so i was curious. i believe it was put up on shortsale .

Thu Apr 3 2008, 11:15

There was a Notice of Default (NOD) filed with the County Recorders office on 3/12/08. It lists the opening bid amount at 647,000 with the default amount as 17,871. When a NOD is filed the time starts ticking on the foreclosure process which typically takes 4 months before the bank can take posession of the property. In many cases, the homeowners has multiple loans on the property and their total outstanding debt for the property is more than the property is worth, like being upside down in a car loan. So, the homewoner will often walk away. To avoid a foreclosure on their credit, some homeowners will try to sell the property for less than what is owed. This is negotiated with anyone who holds a lien on their property. They ask their bank(s) to basically accept less for the home than the bank is owed. If the numbers arent too far off, the bank may do this in order to avoid taking possession of the property after a foreclosure proceeding and then having to manage the sale of the property for themselves. I am the area foreclosure specialist at RealtyTrac ~the nations largest foreclosure web site~ referenced below or at my personal web sitehttp:// www.SterlingLiving.com. There are a lot of homeowners in just this situation and I can tell you that the banks are overwhelmed with properties both in preforeclosure and foreclosed status. So, even if the homeowners make an attempt to sell prior to foreclosure it only happens less than 50% of the time. If the home becomes a foreclosured Bank owned property, it could be another couple of months because it can be sold. The lack of timely response by the banks to the properties they currently own or are about to own is hurting property values as much as the sub-prime situation, which sadly affects all homeowners. What interested you about this home? Are you an owner in the area?

Thu Apr 3 2008, 10:43