Category

Foreclosure

Sep 29
0

LOAN MODIFICATION ATTORNEYS UNDER INVESTIGATION

By | Economy, Foreclosure, Sellers, Short Sale, Sonoma County info | One Comment

This came in my email news feed today:

Brought to you by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

The State Bar of California has recently launched numerous investigations against attorneys for misconduct related to loan modifications.  In a rare move, the State Bar has released the names of 16 attorneys under investigation, by opting to waive investigation confidentiality in favor of public protection.  These attorneys have allegedly taken fees for promised services, but failed to perform those services or even communicate with their clients who face the possible loss of their homes.  Their non-attorney staff may also be under investigation for unlawfully practicing law.

Not all attorneys engaged in loan modifications are unscrupulous.  However, this announcement from the State Bar serves as a good reminder for REALTORS® and their clients to be careful when dealing with attorneys and others for loan modifications.  Scam artists may intentionally associate or affiliate themselves with attorneys in an attempt to lend credence to their fraudulent schemes.  The list of attorneys currently under investigation is available at http://calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/calbar_generic.jsp?cid=10144&n=96395.

Your Realtor will be a great source of information and help to look at your options. Recently I finished the CPDE training: a training for Realtors to help distressed homeowners with options to avoid foreclosure. Foreclosure has serious consequences and for some it might mean not only loosing a home but also loosing a job… There are many options out there, contact your Realtor for help.

  Have a great day!

mirjamnew.jpg Mirjam

Sep 05
0

Rental Scam Advisory from our local MLS®

By | Buyers, Economy, Financial news, Foreclosure, Sellers, Sonoma County info | No Comments

Yesterday we received a ‘Red Alert’ email from our local MLS board about the Rental Scam on Listed properties. The PressDemocrat had an interesting article about the subject earlier this week.

There is a rental scam taking place in which listed properties are advertised on Craigslist and other online classified services for rent, when the property is not for rent at all.  The ads run for a very brief period of time.

 How can you protect your listings from being a part of the scam?
Some brokers have removed the address of their listings on the internet.  While this hides the address from the scammers, both the buying public and the seller could be disadvantaged.
Monitor classified advertising internet sites like Craigslist to watch for ads using your listing information “for rent”.
Put a “NOT FOR RENT” rider on your signs.

The FBI’s guidelines for the general public to avoid being victimized.

  • Only deal with landlords or renters who are local.
  • Be suspicious if you’re asked to only use a wire transfer service.
  • Beware of e-mail correspondence from the “landlord” that’s written in poor or broken English.
  • Research the average rental rates in that area and be suspicious if the rate is significantly lower.
  • Don’t give out personal information, like social security, bank account, or credit card numbers.

Should you have your property listed, please follow the advise your Realtor gives you. He/She is made aware of the problem and knows how to handle this. So far we do not know of people being victimized in Sonoma County and right now it is a major nuisance.

Enjoy the rest of this wonderful weekend, it’s a bit breezy still sunny and warm.

 mirjamnew.jpg Mirjam

May 10
0

Foreclosures …

By | Buyers, Financial news, Foreclosure, RE by the numbers, RE Investing, Sonoma County info, Wine Tasting | No Comments

With so much said in the news about foreclosures and short sales just some facts.

At this moment the bank owned properties are selling well, the lower price range of our market is selling, some bank owned properties were priced so low that they had more than 20 offers on them and I know of one property ( NW Santa Rosa) that went into escrow $100,000 over asking. It will be interesting to see the numbers when these transactions close.

Financial Title did sent me enclosed stat, an overview of the sub prime ARM’s that will mature the coming months/are maturing now. Sorry to say that quite a bit of these will end up as foreclosure. Banks are only interested to sell these properties as fast as they can.

forclosure-stat.jpg

While you have to be careful buying these (use a good Realtor), they are excellent opportunities for investors and buyers. Should you like to be on my ‘opportunities watch list’, just send me and email with your contact info so I can set you up. By the way, not only bank owned properties are great deals, sometimes a regular sale might be a better deal.

We are going to have a wonderful weekend, great for touring around Sonoma County an enjoy some wines. I did meet Pat Maier at the Chamber Expo this week, she was pouring an excellent 2005 Cabernet. Check out their website, you have to make an appointment to taste their wines, they are also available at some great restaurants in town (one was Willi’s Wine bar in Larkfield).

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mirjam de Rijk Mirjam (mirjam@C21alliance.com)

Apr 27
0

Smart Home Choices Workshop

By | Buyers, Foreclosure, Sellers, Sonoma County info | No Comments

Yesterday we had what most likely will be the last in a series of the Smart Home Choices Workshop. It was a great success, I counted about 80 home owners and great feedback.

It was great to see that banks have ramped up their assistance for troubled homeowners but it was clear that if you need help from your lender you do need to do a lot of homework -> banks are not social security. Should you like a copy of the handouts given, please let me know.

Data from Harvard University’s Joint Center of Housing Studies illustrate not only that the median net wealth of homeowners is 34 times greater than that of renters, but also that over half of that wealth is generated from home equity.

The website Housing Markets Facts mentions :The Department of Commerce reports that between 1995 and 2004, the average renter accumulated a little over $4,000 in net worth. The average homeowner accumulated $184,400. That translates into $180,000 more, or $1,500 per month. In other words, each month that the average first-time buyer continues to rent, it costs them $1,500 in lost wealth accumulation. Furthermore, renters are subject to rent increases as well as higher tax rates because they cannot take a mortgage deduction.

So no matter how difficult it is: if you can, hold on to your house.

Have a great day!

Mirjam de Rijk

Nov 22
0

More about foreclosure

By | Financial news, Foreclosure, Mortgage, Sellers | No Comments

On the bottom of this page (scroll down) you will find the announcement for the Smart Home Choices Workshop.  If you are interested in real estate and want to know more about the financial aspect, you are cordially invited to come. The program is going to be great! You can register online.
Somewhere I read the 70% of all the people that went into foreclosure never talked to their lender to see whether they could arrange a solution. It’s the fear, the shame, name it. Whatever it is, I think it’s also because of lack of knowledge. – The Smart Home Choices Seminar will be educational!  However, there is a company that is there to help home owners  to keep their homes. Lowering the interest rates is not the only solution.

hpf_logo.gif This company is called HOPE, it stands for Homeownership Preservation. It’s good to know about companies like these. In our area, Redwood Credit Union will alway refer you to HOPE.

Foreclosure is not a good solution, it’s the last solution. There are many alternatives that should be tried first.

Of course, should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact Denise or me.

  Have a great day!

mirjamnew.jpg    Mirjam