Modification Companies

Approved

With all of the negative news that can be found about Loan Modification companies and the aggressive advertising behavior of some of them.. The State of Nevada’s Division of Mortgage Lending has released a list of Loan Modification companies that have applied to the State and approved to provide such services.

As of 11/03/2009, click on the following to view:

State of Nevada Approved Loan Modification Companies

Keep in mind… it is not mandatory to pay a service to ask your lender to modify your loan. The Making Home Affordable program has created all kinds of incentives for your lender to work with you and you can do this directly. For the most part… all you have to do is call them and they’ll tell you what you need to do. (Trust me… they handle these calls all day long.)

Granted.. Professional Services certainly do have their benefits.

Make sure you take a look at the Making Home Affordable website to see if you qualify for a loan modification in the first place with this handy reference tool. I’ve come across situations where homeowners who would have never qualified paid some hefty fees to services that just submitted paperwork with no results.

I do not do Loan Modifications

I do Short sales for homeowners who do not want to stay or homeowners who have applied for a Loan Modification with results that are less then favorable in getting back on track. Las Vegas Homeowners that wish to keep their homes but are under financial hardships that do not warrant continuing the current circumstances are highly encouraged to explore all avenues before short selling.

Whatever homeowners decide… just don’t walk away without exploring your options.

Paul Francis, CRS
Prudential Americana Group – Realtors®
Las Vegas Short Sales
702.592.3058

Reported as $138,000 in

September ’09

Rising Unemployment… the highest foreclosure rate in the Country continue to challenge Las Vegas.

From Bloomberg:

Las Vegas Plagued by Unemployment

Nevada’s 13 percent unemployment rate and declining population growth are contributing to a foreclosure level that’s been the highest in the U.S. for more than two years. Rising joblessness is making it harder for borrowers to meet mortgage payments, and a slowing flow of new residents into the state is shrinking the pool of potential homebuyers, said economist Keith Schwer from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Majority of Las Vegas Homeowners Owe More then the Home is Worth

Sixty-nine percent of all properties with a mortgage in Las Vegas and the nearby suburb of Paradise are worth less than the amount owed on them, compared with 32 percent nationwide, based on the most recent figures from real estate data company First American CoreLogic Inc. in Santa Ana, California.

After reading this report from Bloomberg.. I recognized the name of the reporter right away from somebody who had contacted me back in January of 2008 with some questions that I posted on my Real Estate Solution to stimulating the Economy post in February of 2008.

”As you may know, many people are forecasting a recession due to poor real estate conditions and I was calling Las Vegas real estate agents because the Las Vegas real estate market is getting hit really hard. I was wondering if you could put me in touch with some of your clients for an interview to see how the declines in Las Vegas home prices have altered their spending habits.”

As explained to her back then… the booming economy of Las Vegas during the hey day was based on unsustainable factors that eventually came to an end. Las Vegas has been the fastest growing city founded in the 20th Century and the building eventually had to slow down as evidenced by this Construction Job Report you can Read Here.

Las Vegas has historically been heavily dependent upon construction work, which at one time accounted for more than 11 percent of total employment

Unfortunately… it’s going to take quite some time to return to the economic production levels that Las Vegas grew accustomed to in recent years. I personally know construction workers recently laid off from the City Center Project and it’s very unfortunate that their great paying jobs have come to an end with high competition for the dwindling construction jobs to move to. It’s certainly a very complicated situation in place and I don’t think it’s going to get better any time soon.

For Las Vegas homeowners currently underwater, struggling to make mortgage payments and getting buried expecting things to turn around any time soon… and not being able to get a favorable loan modification.. they may want to look into doing a Short Sale. It’s a far better solution then just walking away..

Contact me with the information below to learn more about the Las Vegas Short Sale Process for the beginning to a new start.

Paul Francis, CRS
Prudential Americana Group – Realtors®
Las Vegas Short Sales
702.592.3058

cover what I owe?

This is a common question that I’m asked when consulting Las Vegas home owners that are on the fence about doing a short sale. Something has happened to them that has created a cut in their income and/or the financial burden has become too much for them to continue paying for a mortgage based on 2006 prices… yet they don’t want to hurt their credit. Temporary solutions to “ride out the bad economy” until Las Vegas home values rebound that I’ve come across have been from renting their homes out, renting rooms, cashing out retirement savings and even borrowing money from friends or family.

Unfortunately.. you need to understand what created the high home values to begin with to have an understanding of what went wrong. NPR had a fantastic presentation some time ago that went over what created the problem to begin with that is simple and easy to understand. From all of my research and studies, I think this is the simplest thing to follow and I suggest everybody take the time to learn what was a major contribution to out of control home values that took place in highly speculated real estate markets such as Las Vegas. Here is the great and simple presentation –> HERE.

New Predictions by Moody’s

on Real Estate Values

Once you understand The Giant Pool of Money and how it was used, it should be no surprise When something comes out such as the latest report from Moody’s that you can read by clicking on This Report from MarketWatch.

Before I continue.. I need to make a correction to the article concerning this statement:

The housing market is in the third year of the current downturn, one of the worst corrections in U.S. history as a result of the economic recession and the mortgage industry nearly grinding to a halt during the credit crunch.

If you took the time to listen to the NPR broadcast concerning the Giant Pool of Money, it’s pretty easy to tie the robust economy to real estate. In other words… real estate values did not plummet because of the “economic recession” or the credit crunch. In fact… it’s just the opposite. When home values reached an unsustainable peak, Americans Got Debted to death and the money spickets were turned off… money stopped flowing into the economy.

Nevada Home Values won’t recover

from the peak until after 2023

According to Moody’s. To me… this is no surprise and I’ll go over why with some simple calculations using some home values. Keep in mind the massive increase in inventory in the form of new homes built during the real estate boom that people don’t factor in or conveniently forget. In other words, there really is no shortage of homes available that would suggest appreciation rates rising faster than normal.

A Great Example using a Henderson, NV Home

I have one particular Las Vegas Home for sale where the owner paid $375,000 for it during the peak in 2006. The current value is around $150,000. Historical appreciation rates for the entire United States range in the 3% to 5% range. (Pre 2002… Las Vegas only had an average appreciation rate of 3%.) Taking the current value of around $150,000 and using an average annualized appreciation rate of 3%… we would be looking at around 31 years for this home to be worth $375,000 again. Or… the year 2,040 before it will be worth $375,000 using a 3% appreciation rate.

That is if Las Vegas Home Values do not fall even further. Keep in mind there are some MAJOR factors in place right now tampering with the real estate market. The $8,000 first time homebuyers credit, Loan Modification programs and the foreclosure moratorium that has delayed foreclosures from being on the market. The current Las Vegas Unemployment rate is over 13% and that does not even count all of the real estate related industries where professionals have taken significant cuts in pay. Let’s not even get into all of the Option Arms that are set to be recalculated in the next several years.

Let’s get generous and use a 5% annualized appreciation rate for the current value. It would take 19 years for this $150,000 home to reach $375,000 again or the year 2,028.

Sure… there will be years when the appreciation rate is higher.. but historically, real estate appreciation rates are in the 3% to 5% range.  In the past, I’ve posted articles that discuss why using the median Las Vegas home price “appreciation” maps for making investment decisions is not a very wise way of investing in real estate.

The calculations I use are some of the simplest involved when it comes to working with my real estate investors. We don’t buy on “what if” appreciation rates… we use solid and true numbers tested by time.

The Writing is on the Wall..

As mentioned… there are several other factors in play concerning today’s Las Vegas Real Estate values. One comment from reading all of the other comments in the article mentioned that really stood out for me is the one to the right.

I would have to say that almost 50% of all the offers coming in on my Las Vegas short sales are FHA loans. The banks selling their REO properties are going for the Cash Buyers. (See my Last Post on this –> Las Vegas Real Estate Demand rises as Cash Investors become kings with Banks.) This has resulted in buyers tired of losing out on their Bids for REO homes taking a shot at Las Vegas Short Sales and even bidding up on homes for more than list price.

There are some current issues going on with FHA loans right now and I don’t think it will be too long before we have another bailout. Throw this in along with the $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers set to expire on 11/30/2009 and we may have a further decline in home values. Even if the $8,000 tax credit is extended / expanded.. it is an incentive that is non-sustainable.  Home values and the economy need something significant  such as the internet / tech revolution seen in the 1990′s. In other words, the economy needs to be based on producing something then consuming before it gets back to the roaring economy recently witnessed.

Perhaps Alternative Energy / Solar Energy development in Southern Nevada will create a truly sustainable economic boom but don’t hold your breath for this to happen.

Sure.. City Center will be done / open soon but this is only going to be raiding business from less competitive Casinos already struggling to keep their doors open. There is absolutely no shortage of hotel rooms in Las Vegas right now as it is and there will certainly be some cannibalizing going on here. The planning for this project started in 2004 and there is absolutely no way this project would have been planned / developed using post 2007  numbers. Don’t be disappointed if home values in Las Vegas don’t magically jump in value after City Center opens up as many sales minded people are predicting/pushing.

There is no quick solution that is truly sustainable except for time. Time can be your friend or your worst enemy depending on how you understand / use it.

If you are looking to get out of a Bad Investment or an Investor looking to invest in Las Vegas real estate the right way.. you can use the information below to contact me.

Paul Francis, CRS
Prudential Americana Group – Realtors®
Las Vegas Real Estate
702.592.3058

First American Title just sent out some pretty neat Foreclosure charts via e-mail to Las Vegas Realtors® that shows the trends for Foreclosures in Clark County, Nevada.

Notice of Defaults in Clark County Nevada

Clark County, Nevada Defaults

Notice of Defaults are the first stage of the Foreclosure process in Nevada. The chart to the right shows the trends that have taken place so far this year.

in preventing Bank Owned

Homes Inventory…

Blighted Homes, Vandalism, Stripped Homes, etc, etc, etc… There are numerous ways lenders COULD be helping out in the recovery process but this article from USA Today pretty much sums it up when it comes to banks helping themselves:

Short Sales Deals Collapse

Bank of America has begun trying to slash the turnaround time on short sales from up to 90 days after a buyer submits an application to just a week. In a typical short sale, a buyer makes an offer, then the bank conducts appraisals to determine the price it will accept. Setting that price can take so long that would-be buyers may walk away. To try to avoid such delays, Bank of America has begun doing appraisals and determining a minimum price it will accept before a home goes up for sale.

Don't Believe Everything You Read!

Just more lip service from Bank of America? They have a lot to catch up with on all of the short sales that are sitting in their department for months before releasing statements that they are working on approving them in seven days. Anybody doing a short sale with Bank of America KNOWS they are really backed up and it can easily take up to seven days before they even upload hardship information to their system… much less even look at it and approve it in seven days.

Bank of America has also become REALLY popular in attempting to charge / hold hostage Distressed Home Sellers 5% cash on the loss or 10% on a no interest promissory note for the amount of the loss on the loan…  Which many distressed homeowners who have a true financial hardship just can’t handle when that loss could easily be well over a $100,000+ in areas such as Las Vegas.

Unfortunately, this leaves the sellers one of the choices of just letting it go to foreclosure and not being very happy about it after trying to do the right thing.

Paul Francis, CRS
Prudential Americana Group -Realtors®
Las Vegas Real Estate
702.592.3058

in Las Vegas facing Foreclosure

I was in a Las Vegas community showing homes that I specialize in and happened to be driving by a friends home when I saw the signs posted on the garage and the front door. I knew what they were right away… eviction signs posted by the bank that the home had been foreclosed on. This happened this past Wednesday and quite honestly… it’s a pretty depressing feeling.

Not Reaching out to a Friend in

Foreclosure is also Sad

Foreclosure is never happy for anybody involved. With the amount of Las Vegas homes in foreclosure, chances are you know somebody facing the same thing.

I had sensed that my friend was going through some hard times but I never addressed it with her. She is highly educated with a Bachelors degree from an Ivy league school so I sort of automatically assumed that if she needed help, she would have told me. But… like so many Las Vegas Homeowners that don’t want to admit they need help and let the depression take over, she never contacted me.

I think the biggest travesty currently taking place is that Las Vegas Homeowners are scared to reach out due to the stigma involved. Personally, I certainly understand her situation with the slowdown in the economy and what this has done for the business she is in. She paid over $550,000 for the home that is currently only worth $230,00 in today’s market values for her Las Vegas Home. She bought it brand new straight from the Las Vegas New Home builder with no outside real estate representation at a pretty heft price. Like many other homeowners in Las Vegas that are finding themselves in a bad situation with payments for her Las Vegas Home higher then what she could keep up with for a home now half of the value of what she owes, she made the decision to let it go and start over. It probably even hurts more since she put so much money down on the property that is all now gone.

I knew business for her could not be too good in the current economic conditions and in the end, she just came to the decision to let it go. She tried doing a loan modification but in the end, the lender only offered to just extend out the mortgage by another 10 years and payments were still too much for a home that had lost half of it’s value.

I know her street very well since so many homeowners have also let their homes go to foreclosure and I’ve shown a lot of them once they’ve become bank owned and put back up for sale. She held out for far longer then many of her neighbors.

If I would have been paying attention to the signs… I would have looked up the property on my foreclosure reports and reached out to her for help in doing a Las Vegas short sale.

Unfortunately, it’s too late for her. Her credit is now shot and she will not be able to buy another home for at least five years instead of two years if she would have done a short sale. I’m pretty sure she would have easily qualified for a short sale since she did have a pretty significant loss in income. In other words, there is no way she would have qualified for a $400,000+ mortgage today.

There is Nothing Wrong with Doing a Short Sale

I should have been paying attention and reached out to one of my friends. I don’t like to be nosy and research my friends but I certainly sensed that she was not her normal happy self for the past several months.

Personally… I find myself siding with Las Vegas homeowners who were taken advantage of. I know how this particular homebuilder built a list of over 1,000 “VIP” buyers and used the phase selling to entice buyers in. Don’t want to buy it today or want to think about it? Then move on… the 900 people behind you will and we’ll put you at the back of the list. Looking back… I think everybody can pretty much agree that those long lines and “Phase” price increases were a big mistake.

So what do you do about it if your income has gone down, you lost your job or need to relocate to take another job?

You do a Short Sale.

There is NOTHING wrong with doing a short sale to get out of an overpriced Mortgage considering the circumstances that took place. NOTHING. Lenders are guilty of rubber stamping loan applications for anybody which resulted in prices for Las Vegas Homes going up in price far above what homes were really worth. Without all of this money given away… less people would have been able to buy which would have meant less sales, lower demand and lower prices.

Perhaps you or somebody you know is in the same predicament… It’s not a great feeling to find out afterwards that there is a better way to get out of foreclosure and rebounding faster.

The Worst Thing you can do if you or somebody you know is in a dilemma.. is doing nothing.

Please contact me with the information below.

Paul Francis, CRS
Prudential Americana Group – Realtors®
Las Vegas Real Estate
702.592.3058

Never Fun

However… understanding the foreclosure process will certainly help out in getting rid of the fear/stigma associated with a foreclosure. Homeowners often seem to be under the impression that the big bad lender is going to send people over to kick down the door and throw you and all of your belongings out on the street. They get a notice and they think they have to move out right away.

Not true… I suggest you read over my Las Vegas Foreclosure Process page for an understanding if you, a friend, a family member or your landlord are in the foreclosure process and what can be done. Once you understand the process… foreclosure is actually very tolerable with the right planning considering the circumstances. You are stuck with a home worth far less then the mortgage, your income has gone down, the mortgage payment is far higher then renting the same type of property.. face it.. you need to change some things to get back on track with life.

We can help you do that.

Sharing Real Life Examples of Real People

handling Foreclosure

I’m not going to specifically give names or the properties we’ve helped people with but I will go over their story (with their permission) and what we did to help.

Today… we have a fairly successful small business owner who owns a store that primarily sells home furnishings. As we all know, the slowdown of the free money flow from using Homes as ATM machines has pretty much ended which has caused a significant decrease in income for many business owners.

I was first contacted by this person from a referral of a commercial real estate agent that we successfully sold their Las Vegas Home as a short sale. They were thrilled and pretty much could not believe how well everything went… so like many of our clients, they referred us to somebody else in a rather bad situation.

This referral was a particular person that owns several homes and even land in Las Vegas. The general myth you might see out there on the unregulated internet is that anybody who owns more then one home can not do a short sale. NOT TRUE. Anybody who tells you this is obviously does not have an understanding of the true requirements to qualify for a short sale in the first place.

I first met this person at their beautiful Las Vegas home that they had purchased for over a Million dollars during the peak of the Las Vegas real estate boom. They had been trying for months to do a loan modification with their lenders and the best their lenders would give them is around $50,000 off of the principal and 1% off of their interest rate which really did not help them out too much considering the value of the Luxury Home had dropped over $400,000 in value. The worst part was it had taken over four months for their lenders to give them those terms. They had stopped making their mortgage payments and the foreclosure process had already started with a notice of a trustee sale on the near horizon. We obviously did not have much time to get everything going, market the home and find a buyer before their lender became the proud new owner.

To make things even a little more difficult, they had two loans on the property from two seperate lenders.

The stress this particular seller was going through was obviously evident and I sensed they really did not trust just anybody which is fine. They did tell me that their commercial real estate agent had spoken very highly of us and that’s really the only reason they were even going to attempt to do a short sale on this particular home in the first place. Otherwise… they were just going to let it go through foreclosure and give it back to the bank. I did explain what a short sale would do to their credit vs. a foreclosure on their credit report and that certainly motivated them to really want to do a short sale.

I went through the listing paperwork needed including evaluating their financials to make sure they had gathered everything that I needed to submit to their lenders.  A trustee sale was already scheduled by their lenders and they made the decision to move out of this particular home to their previous home that had a far lower mortgage balance that they could afford.

Marketing the Las Vegas Home for Sale

Once I was done… the magic starts in marketing the home and finding a highly qualified buyer at the best price possible ASAP to greatly improve the chances of the lender approving the short sale. This includes extensive internet marketing and the services backed by a company such as Prudential that markets everywhere. Keep in mind a Trustee Sale is already scheduled and we need a solid offer that will help the lenders agree to a short sale.

Why would lenders even consider approving a Short Sale?

Las Vegas short sales have been classified as a waste of time by those not in the know or uneducated in the process. It’s been shown several times that Short Sales for the most part get more money for the lenders then an actual foreclosure when it’s all said and done. The lag time (time value of money) and process of a foreclosure is generally more expensive to a lender then just approving the short sale and allowing a happy homeowner get out leaving the home in one piece. (It’s not too often you come across a short sale that is completely trashed.) So I’ve personally always harped that helping homeowners from going to foreclosure that can’t do a loan modification or are relocating is in the best interest of the lenders and home values in general.

They obviously want the most money possible…. They also want to work with their clients in helping them out in these hard economic times so that somewhere down the road when the economy impoves… their clients are not going to hesitate to use them for any future loans. Certainly a VERY smart business practice. (If your lender helps you out… who wil you use for your next loan?)

I’ve come across the tactic of listing Las Vegas homes far below market value just to get a buyer in and I find this practice somewhat a waste of time for everybody involved in the current Las Vegas real estate market with sales taking place all over.

Some Las Vegas short sale services have little marketing skills or systems in place… which means they are going to get a lower price for your home to submit to the lender which decreases your chances of the lender approving the sale. Make sure you take a look at the numbers of Las Vegas short sales actually closing escrow on my last post.

Short Sale Offer Two Weeks after it was Listed for Sale

Two weeks after we listed this Las Vegas short sale for sale, we got a great offer in from another Las Vegas Realtor® that was actually from the past Las Vegas real estate company we used to be with. He knew we know what we are doing with short sales and was comfortable in working with us to buy this great Las Vegas Home. Once the property actually closes escrow, I will sincerely thank him for having the patience during the process.

Presenting the Offer

Here is the whole point of this story that I’m sharing. Two weeks after putting the property up for sale, I went to the homeowner to have the purchase agreement signed. They had already moved to their new home which was actually the home they owned and lived in before they had purchased their dream home. The sense of relief that I experienced vs. the first time I met them at their old home was as evident as night and day from our first encounter. It was sort of late in the evening and the sellers were still unpacking but they took the time to invite me for some pizza as we sat around their table for signing.

This is when the Seller Really Opened up to me and

what a Great Story of Moving On in Life

Foreclosure is never a great experience. But how somebody handles it tells me of what type of person you are and how they are able to adapt to the changes of the U.S. economy and moving forward in life.

The story is quite moving….

They worked over 12 hours a day running their own business to get ahead in life which gave them less time with their family. The seller has taken very little time to enjoy life since moving to the United States when they were 24. No movies, no restaurants and pretty much no life. Their children are now in their teens.

The Short Sale Sellers are Now enjoying Life

Their stress levels have gone down significantly and it’s MORE THEN obvious in their personalities. They have moved to another home that they can afford and actually enjoy all of the fantastic things that Las Vegas has to offer. Basically… they are no longer married to a mortgage they can’t afford with the current economic conditions. They could have just closed up shop but they are true fighters and have made changes to their business which also includes buying nothing on credit. These are the people that make a community a real community.

They don’t want a government bailout… they don’t want free money. They just want a chance to move forward in life and get back on their feet. They honestly admit they made a mistake by getting too leveraged out but they are not blaming anybody.

We had Two Weeks to get the Short Sale Approved

An impossible task but we did get the trustee sale extended from the lenders. This one was obviously much more difficult then the typical short sale but the great news is that after several extensions and some incredibly hard work, the Short Sale Just Got Approved.

It took tons of hard work and patience but probably the most difficult short sale possible has been approved. It certainly breaks the rules of the rules you might see on the internet and this is a great time to remind you that when it comes to rules for Las Vegas Short Sales…

It Depends on the Seller’s current Financial Situation

While not everybody can qualify for a short sale, there are a lot of myths and misconceptions out there on what automatically qualifies or does not qualify somebody to do a short sale. I have yet to come across any two home sellers that have the exact same financial situation, the exact same jobs, the exact same homes or the exact same expenses. The statistical probability of ever coming across this is probably astronomical.

Tough to come across any set rules when you consider these factors..

Paul Francis, CRS
Prudential Americana Group
Las Vegas Short Sales
702.592.3058

Approved (and Closing!)

Increasing

May has been a very busy month and A VERY NICE side effect has been the number of our Las Vegas Short Sales getting approved by the lenders. Currently, I have five Las Vegas Short Sale transactions that I have an interest in get approved and we are in escrow with actual scheduled closings after months of much appreciated patience by everybody involved. And, we closed one Las Vegas short sale earlier this month which only took 93 days from the date it was listed to close of escrow.

The majority of lenders for the most part appear to be ramping up efforts (More GOOD News for Las Vegas short Sellers) to really help out and keep Las Vegas Homes from becoming bank owned homes in the first place.

Saving Las Vegas Homes

It certainly makes sense for them to do this in the first place since they will probably net even less money on their bottom line when they allow the Las Vegas home go through the foreclosure process and end up selling it as a Las Vegas Bank owned home. I’ve been harping that Banks need to do a better job in keeping Las Vegas Homes from ending up as Bank Owned Homes for some truly needed help in helping keep Las Vegas Real Estate values in a free fall.

Las Vegas Short Sales

Report for May 2008

First, Let’s take a look at my Las Vegas Short Sales Report from a year ago and pull some historical numbers by viewing the following —> Las Vegas Short Sales Report May 2008

• There were 5,294 Las Vegas Homes classified as Short Sales (25% of the total inventory) available for sale.
• 1,738 Las Vegas Homes classified as Short sales that were Pending/Contingent
• For April of 2008, 145 Las Vegas Homes classified as Short Sales closed escrow (actually sold) in April.

*Las Vegas Homes = Single Family Homes, Condominiums and Townhomes for areas 101 through 606 on the Las Vegas MLS which includes the areas of Henderson and North Las Vegas.

Las Vegas Short Sales Numbers for the Year

Here are the amount of Las Vegas Homes classified as short sales that have closed escrow

• January = 221
• February = 210
• March = 234
• April = 317
• May 1st through May 18th = 145

Compare these to the numbers from May of 2008 and you should have a pretty good idea that the actual success numbers are pretty weak in comparison to the availability of the number of Las Vegas short sales available for sale or the ones that were actually under contract.

Las Vegas Short Sales

Numbers for Today

Currently, there are 6,130 Las Vegas Homes classified as a short sale in the Las Vegas MLS. Out of these, 563 are reported as in some stage of the foreclosure process. That’s actually a pretty good ratio considering the number of Las Vegas Homes currently in foreclosure… but then again… it’s somewhat of a sad indication of how many Las Vegas homeowners are simply doing nothing. According to a blog post on Consumer Reports, there were 14,073 foreclosure filings on Las Vegas homes for April alone. 

Las Vegas Home Debt got you a little down?

Only 563 of the 6,130 Las Vegas Short Sales currently available for sale are being reported as in being in some stage of the foreclosure process.

So it appears we have several Las Vegas Homeowners that may be doing nothing. This is very easy to understand with the amount of bad information out there such as trying to do a short sale is a waste of time, etc.. etc.. You can’t do one if (put excuse in here), It’s just as bad as a foreclosure (not true).

Remember.. Every seller has a unique financial situation and what might apply to your neighbor or friend, may not apply to you.

Call me directly at 702.592.3058 for an absolutely free no obligation, completely confidential consultation. I don’t get paid unless the short sale is successful and closes escrow so I’m not going to waste your time and give you false expectations as some services that charge up front fees.

Las Vegas Short Sales Currently

Contingent or Pending

There are currently 4,419 Las Vegas Short Sales classified as Contingent or Pending on the Las Vegas MLS. Out of these 4,419, only 448 of them have been classified as being in some stage of the foreclosure process.

So… we still have a lot of work to do but there are some signs that the work is going to pay off and a recent announcement by the Obama Administration is going to bring some MUCH needed help when it comes banks working with Las Vegas homeowners in helping them with a Short Sale…

To Be Announced in my next Post as I Sort through it… From what I see so far, it really helps Las Vegas Homeowners that cannot qualify for a loan modification… which helps Las Vegas Home values by letting professionals sell real Las Vegas homes not owned by a bank located somewhere on the east coast.

Las Vegas Short Sales are Changing… don’t stereotype them and use an experienced Las Vegas Real Estate agent with actual experience in Short Sales.

Paul Francis, CRS
Las Vegas Short Sales
702.592.3058

Las Vegas Real Estate

Thinking is Everything

As you may have noticed, I really have not had the time to do any posting on any of my blogs. April started getting really busy for Las Vegas real estate and May is even busier. Certain Las Vegas neighborhoods I track for my clients are getting offers on the newest listings that come up for sale almost immediately. You have to act really fast and be on top of what is going on in the neighborhood.

In a recent real estate class I attended, a survey taken of the attendees showed that the average was four offers written up on average to get one sale. (Primarily on Las Vegas Bank Owned properties for sale that everybody has been chasing.)

Short Sale Secrets

I have so much to catch up on and share… but today I’m going to write about the newest wave taking place with Las Vegas Short Sales. The tactic of offering 30% below current market may not be in your best interest if you really want to purchase a property due to the enormous amount of increased sales activity and declining inventory.

Offering Far Below then what the current market values are for a Short Sale

It took a little while, but it finally hit the Las Vegas Real Estate Market to where it seems to have become mainstream and it goes something like this. A Las Vegas short sale listed at market value, offer 30% below to take a shot. The reasoning (and a fair one) is that the lenders would prefer to go this route then the increased fees and costs to go through the foreclosure process and sell it through an REO Agent who might will probably sell it for less. It certainly holds a lot of weight since the time /costs involved of the foreclosure process can get quite pricey.

This is a so called “Short Sales Secret” or AKA get rich in Short Sales that I know people are selling all over the internet right now and bombarding one of my junk e-mail accounts. My little secret to you is that it’s a little old right now and works better in real estate markets where sales are really tough to come by. (Maybe that’s why they are selling the tactic instead of practicing it?) If you read my last Las Vegas Real Estate report, you’ll know that sales are not very tough to come by in Las Vegas right now.

Works Fantastic in a Declining Market with a high amount of inventory.

Let’s take a look at the side of the Las Vegas Short Sale Agent and what we need to do for the sellers in order to understand the current thought process that needs to be considered.

Sellers need the best representation to get the highest price possible for their home for the best chance of an approval.

The lenders are going to do their own due diligence of what the current market value is for the home either through an appraisal or a BPO aka Brokers Price Opinion. There’s nothing like a buyer waiting around for two months for a decision just to find out the lender wants tens of thousands of dollars more for an approval then what was offered.

Regardless… six months ago when nothing was selling, it was a little easier to submit offers for 30% below the current market value then it is when there are multiple sales taking place. For the most part, there are plenty of recent sales in Las Vegas to help determine current market values and see where they are going. Inventory is also going down which takes away the tactic of showing the bank a gazillion similar homes also available for sale that buyers can buy elsewhere.

We have a Duty to Represent the Las Vegas Real Estate Short Sale Seller

A lot of time is involved in Addition to everything else that goes on by professionals for Actually Marketing the Las Vegas Home for sale. If we get an offer in 30% below the current market value, is everybody wasting their time with the current market conditions for Las Vegas Real Estate?

More then Likely

I certainly want to get my Las Vegas short sale sellers out of a bad situation so they can move on in life but I don’t want to be wasting everybody’s time in the process. Below are some things that I’m going to take in consideration before talking to the sellers.

The 30% below Market Value offer

When I represent Las Vegas Home buyers.. I certainly want them to get the best deal possible… but I also don’t want them getting false expectations of a get rich quick real estate scheme. Buyers certainly have the final say on taking a shot but I’ll advise them of the process that the lender is going to be looking at to approve the short sale in the first place. Also, I already know the tactic in use so while you might be trying to get a steal that may never happen in the first place… somebody else might swoop right in and submit a solid offer. Which brings me to…

Real Estate Agents Representing Buyers that may not understand the Short Sale Process

You might be drawn in to this “fantastic little get rich in short sales secret” of offering far below market value by an agent looking for your business… but it’s certainly nothing that I would be selling right now.

Something else that stands out to me is failure to include a simple GLVAR short sale addendum with the offer. It’s a simple two page form that just outlines the expectations the buyer should expect from attempting to buy a Las Vegas short sale. When a Las Vegas Realtor® submits this form along with their offer to me, I get a little bit of a warmer, fuzzier feeling that the buyers agent has properly advised the potential buyer of what to expect. Las Vegas short sales can certainly be a long process and we want you to be fully aware of that right up front.

• Not Even Calling before Showing or submitting an offer to purchase. When representing buyers to purchase a Las Vegas Short Sale, there are certain questions I’ll ask the listing agent before wasting my buyers time. When I receive an offer on one of my Las Vegas short sale listings and the agent did not even bother to call me to let me know it is coming over… I wonder if they are embarrassed they are submitting the 20%+ below market value offer or if they have any idea what they are getting into. When no short sale addendum signed by the buyers is attached, it’s generally the latter.

Did Not Even Look at the Las Vegas Home:

We have these really cool little things called electronic lockboxes that tell us who accessed the property at what time.  When receiving a 30%+ below market offer and the property was never even viewed….it’s a pretty good indication of the “short sale secret” of getting rich in real estate. Yep… my little “short sale secret” is I check that report to see if they even looked at the property to begin with. I’m pretty sure that’s around a 100% match right now with the 30%+ below market offer. It could also be a pretty good indication that the buyers are not going to stick around if when the lender comes back and wants a higher price. In a slow market… fine. It starts the dialogue with the lender to see what price they will accept but when actual sales are taking place all around the neighborhood, all we are doing is bogging down loss mitigaters with more paperwork and slowing everything down.

Remember this though… a 30% below Market Value offer is different then 30% below the listing price. I see list prices all over the place. If you need that explained further… please call me. That’s why I track certain neighborhoods and know what the market value ranges are off of the top of my head.

Final Summary

My intention is to educate you with current Las Vegas real estate market conditions that I told you about over a month ago on this very same blog.  Your real estate market across the country might just be getting slow and starting the correction process, but Las Vegas has already been there and done that. You need to be prepared to ignore the drama reports from real estate journalists that live a thousand miles away that only write about what they hear from who knows where. (Or what was happening last year.) Things for the time being have certainly changed for Las Vegas Real Estate as multiple offers are coming in on homes priced at current Market value. (Different then the stories of multiple offers coming in on properties ridiculously under priced.) Yes… Nevada is right in the top 3 for homes in foreclosure, and I’m pretty sure we are right near the top for the most sales Currently taking place.

(What could be going on now is Las Vegas homeowners just giving up when knowing their home values are 40 to 50% below what they owe and just moving on.)

As a short sale Listing agent one of my main responsibilities is helping Las Vegas homeowners in true distress get out of their bad situation. We can’t be wasting their time tied up in situations with buyers that are not serious.

When you understand the process of what it takes to get a short sale approved, your chances of actually getting a great Las Vegas Home are greatly enhanced. It certainly beats running around putting in a bunch of machine gun offers on anything available for sale.

Paul Francis, CRS
Las Vegas Real Estate
702.592.3058

Saving Las Vegas Home Values

A couple of more  Las Vegas Short Sales put into escrow and another one listed with another real estate agent waiting to be put into escrow. Now we get to wait for the lenders to figure out what they are doing. The lack of direction of lenders when it comes to short sales is hindering the correction process because my sellers need to sell and my Las Vegas real estate investor wants to buy…

In other words… the seller has no intention of bothering with the new Government Plan to save real estate values from correcting on their own. You probably heard about this new plan… it’s the one where they want to take taxpayers dollars to help pay other people’s mortgages, let judges have the authority to modify loans in BK proceedings, etc.. etc.. I’m not going to get into the discussion concerning this since you can make up your own mind…and it’s far too much to devote just one blog post towards. But… the plan certainly does not address helping people out who just want to move on but do not want to go through a foreclosure in the process.

I do have to question if the new policies will keep real estate prices from correcting on their own in areas of the nation that it will apply to.  As mentioned in my last post and from reading what was available about the new plan, in my opinion it would not help the majority of homeowners in Las Vegas since home values have already dropped significantly. You also need to keep in mind what created high appreciation rates to begin with that eventually got us in this mess before thinking that borrowed money is going to Truly solve anything when it comes to home values.

I’m certainly not out to discourage Las Vegas home owners from trying a loan modification… Please try since we always encourage Las Vegas home sellers to attempt a loan modification before proceeding with us on a short sale… if they indeed want to stay in the home.

You do not need to pay a loan modification company to attempt this… Some language in the Tarp bailout strongly encourages lenders to reach out and attempt to help out homeowners before foreclosing. Unless you’ve been hiding out with no TV or radio, you’ve probably heard all of the commercials from all of the new loan modification companies that charge to do something that you can easily do yourself with a simple call to your lender. In fact, I’ve come across homeowners who attempted a loan modification and were charged $3,000 just for the company to send in all of the requested documents on their behalf and achieved absolutely nothing.

The hard part is getting all of the documents together and you’ll need to do that regardless.

Every lender that I have come across has a department that specifically handles helping homeowners and will tell you exactly what to do. Some companies such as Countrywide actually give you the phone number and list of documents that you will need to start this up on their financial hardship information page.

If you don’t get the terms you need to continue ownership that works for you financial situation… then proceed with a Las Vegas short sale.

However… please keep in mind the time line of the foreclosure process in Nevada if you have stopped making payments. Unfortunately, we’ve come across cases where the request for a modification process took too long and the homeowner was eventually denied with little time left needed to proceed with a short sale without everybody pulling their hair out.

Also… keep in mind that I do not charge Las Vegas home sellers up front to proceed with a short sale. We get paid for actually achieving the results that you need done.

If you have any questions or would like more details… please use the information below to contact me.

Paul Francis, CRS
Las Vegas Real Estate
702.592.3058