BEFORE FORECLOSURE OR SHORT SALE – WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS?

Upside down on your mortgage? You have company, estimates are that between 50 to 75% of our community is upside down. This is a serious situation that is only getting worse.

Don’t giving up! Don’t move out, Don’t just ignore the situation, we can get through this. As bad as it may seem today, someday this will all be behind us! You and your family will Prevail.

my name is Jeff Cameron with Keller Williams Integrity First here in Scottsdale, helping home owners across the valley. Unfortunately, I have been there. I have had a personal short sale, foreclosure and that led to bankruptcy. I know what you are feeling.

As dramatic as these experiences were on me and my family, I believe they happened for a reason. For me to grow from what happened, so I can help others through it.

This experience, along with a strong support team and my 15 years in real estate is why I am qualified to assist you on your journey!

Most people I talk to just don’t know what to do, they call their bank and can’t get a real answer. That is why I have put together this series of videos, to help you with the important information you need.

So where to begin? This video focuses on the steps You should take in determining what is best for YOU and YOUR family.

Step 1
1. Can I save my home? This should be the first priority. There are several options such as: Reinstatement, Forbearance, loan modification, Refinance and Short Refinance. It is very important you follow through with this step first and decide what is best for You and Your family. Answer the question “is it possible to save my home.” Our video Before Foreclosure or Short Sale – Step 1 on Save My Home will walk you through this step in greater detail. Programs such as HAMP, Making Home Affordable Modification Program.
Most people watching this can’t save their home. This is why we have focused more information on the next steps.

Step 2
2. If I can’t save my home, am I protected? I mean protected from the bank and the IRS. We work with attorneys that will review your situation. They will help you get answers to these legal questions. Is your mortgage a purchase money mortgage? Can the bank come after you for recourse or do you have a Non Recourse loan?
What about the IRS? Talk with a CPA. One that is familiar with this subject.
Do you qualify for The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007.
The answers to these questions will help you decide the next step. Is it better to do FC or BK? What about the new HAFA program, Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative, do you qualify? Can this remove the recourse of the bank? These are all important questions you need answers to. We can help you. Our video on Am I protected will go into more detail on these subjects.
Remember- even if you are exposed, FC and BK may not be your best answer.

Step 3
3. If you can’t save your home and you are not doing a Foreclosure or Bankruptcy the next logical step is to save your credit? For many people, Short Sale is the fastest and easiest way to start over. First, many people stay in their home, make no payments, and begin to get caught up. Through short sale we help sell your home, save your credit and get YOU on path to start over. We work to get your home sold quickly and then have the legal arm take over to negotiate with the bank. We use a law firm to negotiate our short sales. They deal with hundreds of banks and know the back doors into the bank and how to get things done. I always ask this question, how could I negotiate with a bank, constantly call and be there when we contact is made when being a Realtor is a full time job.

Step 4
4. Time to clean up your credit? Start Over. This at first can be very difficult with poor credit. Now is the time to live within a Budget you can afford. Pay everything On-Time.
Hire a legitimate Credit Cleaning company. We work with a company that has been very successful for some in removing all those negative marks on your credit. Be proactive, don’t just wait until you need your credit. Give it your all and do what you can to get it scrubbed today! Check our site for video interviews with our credit scrubbers!

I know, from my own experience, how hard this is on you. These next steps you take are so important for the future of you and your family. It is so easy to “do nothing” and all of the sudden your home is gone to foreclosure. This could really affect your future.
Our clients have reported such a relief, clarity and excitement upon the sale of their home. See our testimonials from people that have had successful Short Sales and how much better they felt and how happy they were they took the best step for them.

For a FREE compassionate, intelligent consultation call 480-502-7699 or Jeff@TheCameronTeam.com

Last, I want to leave you with a quote that really helped me. It is from Vice Admiral Stockdale, the highest ranking naval officer held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam for 7 years.

“I will Retain Faith that I will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties.
And at the same time Confront the most brutal facts of my current reality, whatever they might be!”
The Stockdale Paradox

Retain the faith! And step up and confront the current reality! Don’t giving up! Don’t move out, Don’t just ignore the situation, we can get through this. As bad as it may seem today, someday this will all be behind us! You and your family will Prevail.

Thanks for watching, we have a full series of videos to help you through this process. Please comment on my blog, let me know what other videos you would find helpful and if you have a friend that may need help, pass on this video.

BEFORE FORECLOSURE OR SHORT SALE – WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS? is a post from: The Cameron Team Website

Welcome to our series on Before Foreclosure and Short Sale – Step 1 – How Do I Save My Home? This video reviews the different options you have to save your home. The first steps are reinstatement or refinance. Next is forebearance, then loan modification and last is Short Refiance.
I hope this helps you review the options to Foreclosure, Bankruptcy and Short Sale; and you find a way to keep your home. Please let me know if there are other questions or issues I can help you with!

Thanks Jeff Cameron

Before Foreclosure and Short Sale – Step 1 – How Do I Save My Home is a post from: The Cameron Team Website

Before doing a Short Sale it is very important to understand the recourse laws here in Arizona. This is a very important fact you need to know. It may be better for you to go through Foreclosure for protection from the lender.  In this video I interview Mark Winsor, an attorney at Winsor Coleman, PLC. He discusses when a borrower is protected from the lender regarding any deficiency from a foreclosure or Short Sale. I hope you find this helpful.

Winsor Coleman, PLC  480-505-7044

Call Mark’s office, tell them you are my client, they will give you 5 to 10 minutes on the phone to answer basic questions. If you have a more complex case, you will need an appointment to review your situation. They charge $150-250 to my clients for this consultation.

Before Foreclosure and Short Sale – Step 2 – Are YOU Protected from the Bank is a post from: The Cameron Team Website

This video, Am I protected from the IRS,  is part of my series on Before Foreclosure and Short Sale – What are my options.  Today I review some of the reasons why anyone facing foreclosure, Short Sale or Bankruptcy should review with their tax professional all the potential issues, so they understand their exposure to the IRS.

Before going down any of these paths understand your tax consequences.  Below are some links that may help you:

The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation

Cancellation of Debt – Insolvency Worksheet

Mortgage Workouts, Now Tax-Free for Many Homeowners; Claim Relief on Newly-Revised IRS Form

Before Foreclosure and Short Sale – Am I Protected from the IRS is a post from: The Cameron Team Website

Here we are on Step 3 of our series on before Foreclosure and Short Sale – save my Credit Through Short Sale. Here I review the steps to listing your home for sale as a Short Sale. We use a professional negotiator, Georgi Straton. She works at the law firm, Winsor Coleman PLC. This gives her a lot of weight negotiating with the banks.
Georgi’s success rate is incredible. She has gotten approvals on just about every one of the short sales we have submitted to her. Some have been foreclosed on, for various reasons. However, most are approved and we close escrow.

What questions do you have?

How can we help you?

Before Foreclosure and Short Sale – Step 3 Save my Credit Through Short Sale is a post from: The Cameron Team Website

Before Foreclosure and Short Sale- Time to Clean Up Your Credit

This is from my series for homeowners affected by the financial crisis. If you had a late payment, short sale, foreclosure or bankruptcy; the next step is to clean up your credit.
Today I interview Sandy with The Credit Clinic. Sandy worked in the mortgage business for over 40 years before getting into the clean your credit business.
They are very reasonable at $179 down and $99 per month. They have had fantastic results, sometimes removing bankruptcy, foreclosure or short sale in a matter of a few months.

If you have been affected dramatically by the financial crisis and either fought to save your home, had to do a Foreclosure or Bankruptcy or started the path to save your credit through Short Sale; then when you complete which ever path you take, it is time to clean up your credit.

Don’t wait until you need it, start now. Be proactive contact The Credit Clinic or a similar company and clean up your credit. It always takes time, so don’t wait. Do it now!

I wish you the best on your journey, please let us know what worked for you and what did not work.

Before Foreclosure and Short Sale- Time to Clean Up Your Credit is a post from: The Cameron Team Website

Short Sale Realtor Recommendation Phoenix Arizona – Aviano at Desert Ridge sold by Jeff Cameron

Michelle first spoke to another Realtor about listing her home for sale. She asked me a few questions. I in turn asked her a lot of questions. She fired the other agent and immediately hired The Cameron Team to Short Sale her home in Aviano at Desert Ridge.
“I didn’t even think about all those tax questions, legal questions and so many other things you covered Jeff.” Michelle stated. We referred her to a CPA that understood how Short Sales work and the tax implications. We also referred her to an attorney to answer her legal questions. So many attorneys try to force a bankruptcy on people that are doing Short Sales, when it is not necessary. However, sometimes doing a Short Sale can eliminate the ability to do a bankruptcy later. That is why we highly recommend that all our clients review all scenarios with an attorney before they decide on a path to starting over.
I had another client. His CPA was telling him to do a bankruptcy. I am not an attorney, but I know someone with a purchase money mortgage in Arizona, money in the bank and no real debt is far from being a bankruptcy candidate. I didn’t give legal advise, but recommended him to an attorney that set the record straight. Short Sale was no problem for him.
Before you do Foreclosure, Short Sale or Bankruptcy you need to get all the answers and make the best decision for you.

Call us at The Cameron Team for a FREE consultation:
Jeff Cameron
480-502-7699
jeff@thecameronteam.com
goshortsaleaz.com

Short Sale Realtor Recommendation Phoenix Arizona – Aviano at Desert Ridge sold by Jeff Cameron

Short Sale Realtor Recommendation Phoenix Arizona – Aviano at Desert Ridge sold by Jeff Cameron is a post from: The Cameron Team Website

Phoenix Tatum and Bell Foothills Home Sales Report for February 2011
Hi this is Jeff Cameron with Keller Williams here in Scottsdale Arizona. Welcome to your place on line to get the real estate facts. Today we are reviewing the single family home sales for February 2011 for the neighborhood at Tatum and Bell, I call the Foothills neighborhood due to the elementary school right in the middle. This report is for the tile roof homes built from around 1990 to 1996, with a few other in-fills later on. So, let’s get to the numbers!
There are 30 available listings in the neighborhood, down from 33 last month. Pending homes jumped to 17 from 10. Closings were flat at 7. But with 7 sales per month and 30 available homes, that is a 4.3 month supply of homes and should be a seller’s market.
Values bounced all over last year, however, our last sale had a HUGE appraisal problem due to low Bank Owned sales.
The problem right now is 2 fold. One, this is an FHA price range. Almost all owner occupant buyers are using FHA financing. Several Bank Owned properties have been in Average shape but didn’t qualify for FHA financing. Thus there only buyer was an investor. When you shrink the size of the pool of buyers, you lower values.
The next problem is the unregulated Short Sales. Agents and Short Sellers are dropping to unreasonable prices to attract offers, driving the market further down. The home I mentioned closed at $173,500 but there were two short sales available at $155,000.
Fannie Mae was in town a few weeks ago. They said they are no longer pricing aggressively and will not be accepting below market sales. They said appraiser are averaging 99% on their valuations while realtors are averaging 90%.
What can we do to change your market. One thing is to hire responsible realtors to short sale properties. If you or one of your neighbors is in trouble, call us at the Cameron Team. We will work to get your home sold at the highest price and our success rate with Short Sales is soaring! You have to know what you are doing. An agent that closes 5 or 10 short sales a year does not have the experience of our negotiator that has closed over 130 short sales successfully. She knows the back doors, she knows what works and what doesn’t work.
One of my clients was going to hire an attorney to negotiate the short sale. It was an up front fee of $2500. He told my client none of that stuff matters, just get an offer and we will submit. Now, first everyone thinking of short selling should talk to a reliable attorney to answer their legal questions. But hiring an attorney to negotiate the deal, to me, is no benefit. The attorney will turn the file over to an hourly waged person and go get another seller. He has not motivation to get the short sale accepted and a deal done because he makes the same $2500 whether you go to foreclosure or are sold as a short sale.

Are you a buyer looking to purchase a Short Sale Home at a Great Price? If so, you want to be aware of the fact that some listing agents continue to search out other buyers, keep the home on the market for sale, have other offers and when they get a response from the bank they go back to ALL the buyers looking for highest and best. When you buy a Short Sale, you want an agent that knows the ins and outs. What to look for to secure as the only buyer for that home, The Cameron Team and our buyer specialists are experts in Short Sales and Bank Owned Foreclosure homes. We know the tricks and are your best choice. Call 480-502-7699 or email Jeff@TheCameronTeam.com

Are you a Seller Looking to sell your home in a Short Sale? Before you act, know your options. We have videos that walk you through the process in the privacy of your own home at what every time you wish to watch as many times as possible!

the links below will take you there:

Before Foreclosure and Short Sale: What are my Options?

Before Foreclosure and Short Sale: Save my Home!

Before Foreclosure and Short Sale:

Am I protected from the bank?

Am I protected from the IRS?

Before Foreclosure and Short Sale: Save my Credit Through Short Sale

Before Foreclosure and Short Sale: Last Step – How to Clean up My Credit!

Or for a Free 1 hour consultation and a referral to an Attorney for 5-10 minute Free consultation call me at 480-502-7699 or click here to contact me!

Phoenix Home Sales for The Foothills Neighborhood at Tatum and Bell Feb 2011, by Realtor Jeff Cameron is a post from: The Cameron Team Website

OK, if I am reading this correcly they are stating the delinquency rates peaked a year ago in the first quarter of 2010. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that a year ago they started approving short sales in greater quantity. As a matter of fact, by the end of the 2010 Short Sales were being approved at 4 – 5 times the rate of year earlier.

The answer to the financial meltdown is to approve Short Sales and stop the foreclosures. That was the message executives from Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Chase brought to the valley in separate meetings over the past 6 months.

There are still too many people in trouble. Forclosures will continue but as more turn to Short Sale and Short Sales get approved more quickly and with no recourse, then the market will begin to recover. The last thing I want to see is it taking another 5 years to get out of this mess. And I don’t believe it will take that long.

Back to the banks. They met with top Short Sale agents here in the valley and brought this message:

1.  We prefer Short Sale over Foreclosure. We are staffed up and ready to give you better service. (Making fun of their service)

2.  Hardship =  approved Short Sale.

3.  70% of people that foreclose don’t talk to their bank or a Realtor. Get the word out!

4.  No longer will foreclosure extensions be given without a clear Short Sale approval or extreme reasoning.

5.  Loan modifications are a JOKE. Well, they didn’t use that word.

MY OPINION, Short Sales will catch up with Foreclosures by the end of the year. Qualified Short Sellers will get approvals in less than a month or be pre-approved by summer. Prices will stop falling. Our real estate market will see price appreciation in 2012.  Let’s see!

RISK OF FORECLOSURE DIPS… 5 Years Into This MESS I Hope So! is a post from: The Cameron Team Website

Yes, I said what a JOKE! But let me go further and say after meeting with executives from Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Chase; they feel the same way. The biggest problem with loan modifications is that they give false hope to people. The second biggest problem is that 70% that get approved are back in foreclosure within 9 months. The 3rd problem is they are not logical in their approval process for a loan modification.

Let me address the last problem first, number 3. I have several friends, colleagues, and past clients that are doing everything they can to keep their home. Some have lost their jobs, some are under employed and some have radically reduced incomes. This pool of people are perfect Short Sale candidates. But they don’t want to. They are drawing savings and retirement savings to keep their home. A loan modification for these people that are fighting for their home makes sense, doesn’t it.

Not to the banks. They don’t want to add to their failure rate of 70%+. Each of the individuals I am referring to has managed to keep their home. Why should it matter if they have a job or are pulling from savings? If they are such a high risk, then why not try? The banks have already designated them foreclosure or short sale, yet they fight on.

There is not a whole lot to say about #2, 70% failure rate in anything is horrible. This is why the Federal government came out with HAFA. They had to do something when HAMP failed. What is HAMP? It is the federal modification program that was a complete FAILURE! What is HAFA? It is the government’s way of saying DO A SHORT SALE. Because all studies show Foreclosures net the bank much less than a short sale near market value.

Well, time to address the biggest problem with Short Sales and that is the False Hope! I have spoken to dozens of people waiting for their loan modification and even more people that got foreclosed on while waiting. I asked bank executives how they are going to stop sending the false message. Their answer was: it is difficult, but basically if you have been rejected or it is taking more than 6 months to get approval, chances are it is not coming. Let me be clear, that was my interpretation of what they said. They all understand the problem, they did say people are not understanding “NO”.

If you or anyone you know is struggling, have them call me for a FREE 1 hour consultation. Oh, by the way, they told us the best way to get you to do a Short Sale was to promise a loan modification and when that failed we were connected for the Short Sale. I hate misrepresenting the truth! Call me, I will give you my opinion. If loan mod is possible, I will suggest that route, but if not I won’t lie to you!

Update on federal loan mods in metro Phoenix

by Catherine Reagor

The federal Housing Affordable Modification Program is nearly two years old, and so far it has helped fewer than 27,000 metro Phoenix homeowners lower their mortgage payments to afford foreclosure.
At the end of 2010, about 5,000 homeowners were in trial modifications. The federal government defends the program but is obviously as frustrated as many struggling borrowers with lenders. The $75 billion HAMP program was supposed to help 3 to 4 million eligible U.S. facing foreclosure. It hasn’t only failed to meet expectations in metro Phoenix. The number of U.S. homeowners to avoid losing their homes through HAMP is less than one million. Can something be done to overhaul the program and spend the money to help homeowners and struggling housing markets?

Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 02:31 PM

LOAN MODIFICATION IN METRO PHOENIX – WHAT A JOKE! is a post from: The Cameron Team Website