Sacramento Homeowners Beware!

I have been hearing several different foreclosure rescue scams at work here in the Sacramento area. The perpetrators of the scam are approaching financially distressed homeowners and promising to help them stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure. I found and posted some warning signs of “foreclosure scams” to be aware of on the Real Estate News page at my jalone.com website. In addition there is a list of legitimate organization that are helping homeowners and where you can report anyone who you believe is out to make money at your expense. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is not true.

Although the forecast is for rain tomorrow, today is bright, sunny and warm so get outside and enjoy the early spring weather. Good-bye winter!

Should you walk away?

If your home is worth less than you owe, the payments are killing you and have a lender who refuses to help what will happen if you walk away? Walking away is letting the bank foreclose, giving them the keys or avoiding a foreclosure by doing a short sale. If you do one of these things how bad will it be for you? Will you get sued by your bank? Will you ever be able to get credit again? How much will Uncle Sam and the IRS want from you? It may not be as bad as you imagine. Check out my weekly column, “What are the consequences of walking away?” over at Rocklin & Roseville Today and find out.

Other Items: Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I hope you have the luck of the Irish today and all year long!

I have been reading reports about a new California bill that may require banks to wait longer before foreclosing on mortgage obligations. Last year it was taking some banks up to 9 months before they even started the foreclosure process. Today they are responding much faster to delinquent loans so this bill may be helpful to Sacramento homeowners who want to qualify for a loan modification, refinance program or who want to avoid foreclosure

Just a bit angry today!

This morning I read an article in the Sacramento Bee about the former executives of Countrywide that got rich on bonuses and golden parachutes after they made tons of questionable loans which we are all now paying for. Believe it or not they have taken their wealth and created a company that buys up bad loans from failed banks. They are paying pennies on dollar for these loans and making a killing on collecting. The economy is in the tank, the everyday guy is suffering and these guys are making millions again!

Why do I feel that when this is all said and done the people that will have prospered are the ones who helped create the problem and the borrowers who made risky and poor financial decisions to buy homes they couldn’t afford? Those of us that bought homes we could afford and are making our monthly payments, even when our income has declined and other costs have skyrocketed, will maybe just be lucky get through this recession.

Today, another Washington scheme was announced called the “Making Homes Affordable” initiative. I am not saying the housing market and homeowners shouldn’t get help but there are now so many plans and programs it is confusing and most of my clients, who we help avoid foreclosure, say when they call their lenders and ask about these Government sponsored plans the answer is generally something about we don’t care what you read, send us money or we will foreclose.

There seems to be a breakdown in the communication between Washington and the lenders. Why when we are giving banks billions don’t we get commitments to follow the program? You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand “make loans and help borrowers.”

If you want a bit more detail on the latest plan to help you keep your house, check out my column, “Dizzy in Sacramento” over at Rocklin & Roseville Today.

Sacramento Real Estate Picking-up Steam

I have been watching and experiencing a steady increase in real estate activity around the Sacramento area. We have a number of new listings, several of which are on fire. Yesterday I listed a great home in a downtown Sacramento neighborhood, 1324 35th Street. The agent “hits” on MLS has been very high and the phone has been ringing non-stop. It is an unfortunate Sacramento short sale but will make a new buyer very happy.

The other property that is hot is another short sale but this one is in Newcastle on over 4 acres. We had an accepted offer which is being reviewed by the seller’s lender but they had to back out because they could not obtain financing. We put it back on the market yesterday and can’t keep up with the requests for more information.

Although the Sacramento listing on 35th Street and the home and acreage in Newcastle are so different they have two striking similarities. First they are priced aggressively and as important they are both beautifully maintained homes with loads of curb appeal, charm and are both move-in ready. No matter what you hear about the market and the economy, price a great house right and they will come!