Shel-lee Davis

Check your purchase offer. Hopefully your agent checked the box on page of of the CAR form Item 2. I. that says "the loan contingency shall remain in effect until the designated loans are funded" and you did not sign any subsequent addendums that changed that. Your agent should be able to advise you on where you stand.

Also, I work with a local loan officer (in Seal Beach) who has been able to get loans for people who were turned down by other lenders or by FHA desk top underwriting. If you would like a referral to him contact me through my profile.

Good luck in buying your home and Dare to Dream.

Shel-lee Davis
Real Estate Consultant
RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty - Yesterday, 06:54

Each bank is different. Some accept the highest and best offer withing 24 - 72 hours of submission, some will take their time accepting an offer, others will accept an offer right away and then take 10 - 20 days to open escrow. It is really an alphabet soup of responses and the buyer needs to be patient. Banks do not pay attention to the amount of time you give them to respond. They respond when they respond, and if you want the property you accept their acceptance when it is received.

Here are my suggestions on how to handle an REO offer:
1. Work with a great Realtor who knows what they are doing and is tenacious in follow through.
2. Make your offer as clean, simple, and straight forward as possible.
3. Set yourself apart from other offers by shortening your inspection and closing times (the banks will usually ask for this anyway when they accept the offer, so this is preemptive).
4. Have your Realtor follow up with the listing agent daily (and politely) until the offer is accepted.
5. Be prepared for the bank wanting you to respond quickly and then taking their time in doing what they need to do like turning on utilities, opening escrow, etc.
6. Document, document, document everything. Never assume that because the utilities did not get turned on until day 9 that you do not have to complete your inspection by day 10. If you need more time, put it in writing with the reason why. Most bank addendums state that the mere passage of time removes contingencies, so on day 11 in this scenario the bank would deem your inspection contingency removed unless you can show that you informed them in writing, in advance, that you were unable to perform because they did not perform.
7. Have fun with the process and don't take things personally. Remember, you are dealing with people at the bank who get paid hourly whether they respond to your needs or not. They are doing a job, not helping a homeowner into their home. They follow policies and procedures and can take as much time as allotted by the bank. Just because they can do something right now does not mean they will, especially when they have it in writing from management that they have 7 or 10 or 30 days to respond.
8. Make sure your team of real estate professionals is looking out for your best interest and following up and following through on all your stuff.

Enjoy the process, get a great deal, and Dare to Dream.

Shel-lee Davis
Real Estate Consultant
RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty - Yesterday, 06:44

Alex:

Downtown LA is have billions of dollars invested in bringing it into this Century and making a destination location again. Of course my crystal ball is broken, however I believe that those who find great deals in Downtown real estate in the coming year(s) will probably be happy they did.

KFWB produced an exclusive on the Downtown LA marketplace just this week. I have provided the link below. It has some very interesting information which some would view as bad and others would view as opportunity. Listen and decide what you hear. And Dare to Dream.

Shel-lee Davis
Real Estate Consultant
RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty - Thu Jul 24 2008, 21:08

Jacqueline:

I specialize in short sale transactions and will share my experience with you. The short answer is no, the new buyer will not have to pay the delinquent taxes unless they agree to do so. The way this is handled is:

When a listing agent, who knows how to handle short sales, submits a short sale package to the bank, one of the items that must be included is a HUD-1 or Net Sheet. This is a calculation of how much money the bank will get on the deal. I work with my Escrow officer to make sure that all liens (including property taxes) are fully disclosured to the lender and handled through the transaction. This must happen for the new buyer to be able to get title insurance on the transaction. And the buyer's new lender will not fund their purchase loan without title insurance. This is your guarantee that you are buying the property free and clear of liens and encumberances other than those disclosed in the title policy.

Make sure you review the preliminary title report, make sure that at closing all the liens are being paid through the escrow, and make sure that you are getting title insurance on the transaction from a reputable, and stable, title company. The best way to make sure all this happens is to work with a great team of real estate professionals including a Realtor, Title Officer, Escrow Officer, Lender, etc.

Good luck in building Your Dream Team and Dare to Dream.

Shel-lee Davis
Real Estate Consultant
RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty - Thu Jul 24 2008, 20:56

Yoruba Ann:

You can find a townhome in the Scottsdale area for that price, but currently that is too low to buy a home. I would be happy to send you what is available in Carson. It is one of my areas of specialization and many of my clients either own homes or are in the process of buying homes there. Contact me directly if you would like to join them.

There are some great areas of Carson, and if you are a first time homebuyer, we should get you working on filling out the paperwork for the city's downpayment assistance (which can be as much as $150,000). You might find that you can buy more home than you imagined. Dare to Dream.

Shel-lee Davis
Real Estate Consultant
RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty - Wed Jul 23 2008, 22:26