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Many people have no clue what happens or if anything happens to their credit when they complete a short sale. Truth is, many people just don’t know however, some really great articles are out there about this very topic and yet, so many questions still exist.

The first article I want to draw your attention to is notably an older article however, based on all the chatter I hear on a daily basis about how a deed in lieu or short sale will impact your credit, I really think this article should be revisited.

As published in the Washington Post 8/30/2011 by Michelle Singletary she stresses the fact the actual credit score it’s self, also known as the FICO score may be impacted differently by a short sale or deed in lieu however, that impact is so marginally different that, claims a short sale is less negatively impactful than a deed in lieu seem a bit farfetched, when strictly referring to impact of the FICO score. If you want to read her article yourself, click here.

A 2^nd article I think you should read is by Linda Ferrari on 6/9/2009 on her blog, Linda Ferrari Your Credit Score Expert. She wrote an article titled The Mortgage Crisis and Your Credit Part Three: Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure. This article is really good from the stand point about how your credit score is impacted by how the deed in lieu is reported. Many people don’t realize that the bank can report your deed in lieu three different ways and of those three different ways, the negative impact will vary from most negative impact to lest negative impact. I would strongly suggest you read her article to learn more about how it’s reported. It was a huge eye opener for me.

Finally, I found a great article, maybe the best one on what the future may hold for those of you who have completed a short sale vs a deed in lieu. Now this article is very recent, in comparison to the other two, it was written back on 7/8/2013 by Alanna McCargo and even better, it’s posted on the Equifax forums giving it credibility. It’s titled “Can I buy a Home After a Short Sale or Foreclosure” and, the best part is her approach to credit fundamentals and how important it is to do all you can to protect your credit.

All in all, after these I read these articles and did some further investigation on my own, here is what I learned.

1. Your credit will be negatively impacted by a Short Sale, Foreclosure or Deed in Lieu.
2. The negative impact to your FICO score will be marginal at best between the Short Sale, Foreclosure or Deed in Lieu.
3. When you agree to participate in any of these default disposition options, CONSUMERS MUST READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THEIR PARTICIPATION and watch out for how their action is being reported to the credit reporting bureaus. The truth is, some reporting options are much more negatively impactful than others. Consumers need to know they have options they can negotiate here for a less negative impact to their credit.
4. Finally, benefits like, relocation assistance, no risk of future deficiency judgments are not guaranteed and once again, CONSUMERS MUST READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THEIR PARTICIPATION as these additional benefits are NOT guaranteed. Consumers have options here to negotiate a better deal and should be aware they have options.

If you are considering a short sale, contact me, Jesus “Jesse” D. Gonzalez Jr. Realtor / Principal Broker of Liberty House Realty LLC. I would be happy to discuss your options with you and how we can help. 615-424-0961

We typically expect MLS inventory in the 4^th to quarter begin dropping but boy howdy, inventory levels really dropped this year! We are at the lowest level since starting this project in 2009 and on a long-term downward trajectory in all three segments of sale type.

To see a graphic illustration of this trend view the charts and tables:  http://www.centralorproperty.com/Central,ORTrends.html

Reminder: the charts and tables do not include bare land, multi-family homes, time shares or mobile homes without land.

Bank Owned (REO) inventory remains but a fraction of total inventory in Bend and Redmond. Total REO inventory is down approx. 85% below peak levels.

Future availability of this segment remains uncertain as government intervention and the developing reluctance of lenders/servicers to foreclose in the first place or release for sale their current inventory has slowed the flow of these properties to the market.

The continuing saga of the fate and actual size of this “shadow inventory” I believe will continue to be shrouded in uncertainty for quite some time. What we do know, is most homes for sale in this segment sell quickly.

Short sale inventory continues the long-term slide as well. Total Short Sale inventory is also down approx. 85% below peak levels.

The Mortgage Debt Relief Forgiveness Act expires in just a few weeks and may have slowed down this segment. Most “experts” believe the act will be extended and retroactive if extended after the deadline.

Of potentially equal importance I believe, in my face to face experience with most distressed home-owners they have no intention of short selling or even letting go of their homes in any way. What happens with the distressed homeowner segment whether it is short selling, foreclosure, loan re-modification or some other form of settlement will be pivotal to future market direction.   

“Non-Distressed”/“Traditional” Inventory is roughly half of what it was at peak levels since starting this project in 2009. The downward trend is less pronounced than short sales and REO but a significant downward trend nonetheless. An overwhelming percentage of this segment experiences long marketing times, expirations and terminations as most list prices continue to be misaligned with what current market conditions will bear.

Looking forward, we are right in the middle of the seasonal low inventory period and typically expect tighter supplies in the coming months. The list-to-sold ratios however, indicate future MLS inventory will fall below seasonal levels of the past 3 yrs.http://www.centralorproperty.com/Central,ORTrends.html

We are also near the typical end of year jump in expirations which will put a big, typically short-term dent in inventory if this is a typical year. Whatever that is these days!

Final Thoughts

Our market has definitely strengthened. Some might argue it is an artificial development while others will argue it is a sign of recovery. What can be said for certain is we have experienced a long-term and significant trend of declining inventory accompanied by price firming and appreciation in many areas throughout Bend, Redmond and Central Oregon.

Supply is tight and appears this will be the case at least in the near-term.

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!

Ok....so for the past few months, I have been hearing a lot
of people saying that their REO Inventory has been slashed or REO is really
slow....or...."a decrease in REO inventory" however, I would like to
suggest an alternative opinion.

First, let's talk about one of the earliest steps to
foreclosure, the NOD or Notice of Default. Now, I have looked everywhere and I
can't find a single source authority on just how many have been sent out
monthly since the start of 2011 as a nationwide statistic however, I did find some
interesting articles on many different websites that lead me to believe that
the NODs are on the rise. Granted, I searched like 20-30 different websites so,
I can't realistically quote each one however, the overall trend was most areas
have seen a steady or slight increase in the number of NODs each month. I did
see some articles where some areas have seen a decrease in NODs but, these were
really rare and seemed to be in areas where the average home price was well
over 250k.

My point above is, most of us haven't seen the numbers of
NODs drop significantly enough to see such a dramatic decrease in inventory.
Let's be honest with each other....how can we have a decrease in NODs when we
haven't really seen a correlated decrease in the unemployment rate? Yeah, I
said it.....and yes, it's obvious. If you don't have jobs...or job growth then
how can you see a decrease or even a leveling out of NODs? You can't....well,
you shouldn't anyways.

Now, what I do see happening, more and more is that many
homeowners are staying in their homes much, much longer than ever before. I
remember a time when I would do a relocation assistance negotiations and the
homeowner had only missed like 7 payments. Now, it's more like 24.....as a
minimum.

The sad truth of the matter is, regardless of how long these
people stay in their homes, regardless of whatever new "refinance"
plan the government can come up with, these people can't maintain a monthly
payment because they are too buys trying to find the money to pay their cell
phone bill, their electric bill, their car payment, car insurance, gas, bread,
milk, new shoes for little Jimmy and Susie, etc...

In short, yes....your inventory maybe shrinking...hell, it
my have even dried up but, it's not because no one in your service area is in
default, it's likely because the servicers and investors in your area are under
some type of regulations or "understanding" that if they don't want
to loose their FDIC insurance or be audited by the FDIC, they better slow their
roll on foreclosure and keep people in their homes....at least until after the
election that is.

First off, let's all agree that at some point in some random conversation with some random person, we have all done it. We have all bragged about our success but, to be arrogant and bragging....well, it's stomach turning.

I just got off the phone with a local agent who wanted to know the status of one of my short sale listings. Well, if you are an avid reader of my blogs, you know....i don't play that game so, I asked her specifically what she would like to know.

Instead of asking me a question she proceeds to tell me how she doesn't like showing Bank of America short sale listings. Because I didn't hear any question in her statement, this strange awkward silence fell onto the conversation like a lead balloon and then she pipes up and ask, "are you still there?"

I replied, "yes, I was waiting for your question." Ok.....maybe it was a smart ass response but, I knew what she was wanting to know and, to be honest, I didn't and will not provide that information so, unless you specifically ask, I am not going to volunteer it. Anyways, she asked, "Is this with Bank of America". I honestly replied with a "I don't know" because at that specific time, I didn't. You see, I have over 25 listings currently, all in different stages of sale and it's not practical or even within my ability to know details on every single file just off the top of my head.....that's why I have files.

So, she huffed...just like a little girl who has been told she can't have another cookie from the cookie jar...she actually huffed, I heard her huff. Well, this action on her part almost caused me to go into a death spiral of laughter but, I held back...with a tear in my eye, it was hilarious.

She then asked me how it was possible that I didn't know. Ok.....well, the thought crossed my brow like a news ticker in times square, "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" but, I didn't say that because, I am sooo above that...right?

Anyways, I answered her question, "I have 25 listings at the moment and my buyer's team is handling over 100 leads so, for me to keep track of every file off the top of my head isn't practical." Yes, I was a bit snobby when I replied but, who the hell does she think she is to ask such a question?

She then replies with an arrogant and condescending, "Well that must be nice?" Not sure if that was a statement or a question, I replied, "It is."

After this point, her tone changed and she started talking in some weird alien language that i couldn't understand. It's that same tone your mother or wife uses when they are just about to hit their stride with nagging you about everything you didn't get done over the weekend. Women, just a word of advice, when working or dealing with a man, if you manage to hit that magical, nerve wrecking, skin crawling, hateful thought evoking tone, we men....even us "non-traditional" men.....SHUT DOWN! At that point, nothing you say is being heard or even understood so, go...take a nape, wax your upper lip, shave your pits....do whatever it is you do and then come back when you can talk more reasonably. Just a thought.

Now, I can't really recall what she was saying but, I did hear some key words. They were,"don't like Bank of America, takes too long, my clients don't have a year to wait" so, i got the idea and I interrupted her and informed her that even if the property was with Bank of America, with Equator and the new style of customer service in Bank of America's Short Sale Department, no reason why we couldn't get a deal done in 60 days or even less.

She then seems to have ignored everything I said, I guess women have a tone threshold as well, and started telling me that she knows all about Equator and that Bank of America called her once to offer her to be a agent for them and she turned them down.

Ok, for those of you REO agents who are experienced...or maybe not even ever sold a REO, if Bank of America calls you to offer you a job to list their assets and you turn them down either you are an absolute fool or you are just an absolute idiot.

At this point, I knew this woman had no clue, she just wanted to waste my time with her stories of how she knows all about short sales and I realized that she had no clue who she was talking to.

Yes, I had to brag a bit at the end....did you catch that?

Stay Safe, Stay Funny and don't forget to be Fabuloustastic!

Titanium Solutions a dream or nightmare?

I have been a Titanium Housing Retention Consultant for a while now and as of tonight, I don’t believe I am anymore.

Let me say, when Titanium first started, it was a force to be reckoned with. They had clout, standing and were well respected yet, how time strips even the most promising of their ability to fulfill a profitable future.

You see, it has come to my attention through my experience and company insiders that Titanium has greatly reduced their Salt Lake city staff, greatly reduced their number of assignments and it’s staff are wondering, will today be the day the doors are locked.

I don’t want to talk about my personal experience with Titanium Solutions because, at one time, it was a company I truly supported and in fact, it could be argued that due to me, a lot of their HRC’s heard of them so, I have a bit of affinity for the company however, things have changed.

I have been rejecting assignments lately because the pay has become almost laughable, the contact ratio is ridiculously low and the short sale conversion rate has almost dried up. Granted, some might say all of these things depend on the individual agent however, I beg to differ.

You see, Titanium no longer has the monopoly on home retention specialist or short sale experts and thus, these homeowners are finding alternatives and not relying on the banks to make first contact. In fact, most of these homeowners are going to 3^rd parties like NACCA or Federal and State foundations set up through local community centers, churches and non-profit organizations. Truth be told, even banks are now sending out information to local resources these at risk homeowners can drive to in order to get the help they need so…..large national outreach companies like Titanium are finding this new market place of proactiveness very difficult to deal with. You see, the Titanium business model was built on a reactive frame work. In other words, when the bank wanted to make contact with a homeowner to save the home, they would send out Titanium as a last resort but, that is no longer they case. In fact, many States now handle home retention locally through nonprofit organizations so, instead of paying a company, they can get a nonprofit to do the work for much less.

Anyways, enough about why Titanium is failing let’s talk more about my call with Francine Bailey Bird. Francine is my HRC Manager, or something like that and she calls wanting to know why I haven’t accepted or declined my assignment. Well, I explained to her the pay was too low and we the conversion rate to short sales was non-existant because, many assignments we were now getting were strictly home retention. Of course, she begged to differ with me and that’s fine but, none the less, I told her I wasn’t going to be accepting the assignment if it was just another home retention assignement. She then proceed to tell me that is all she does and if I am not interested she can just remove me from all assignments. Her flippant attitude towards me really sealed it and I replied with a, “Ok, that’s fine with me”

So, as of right now, I don’t think I am a Titanium HRC but, I have to be honest, with a Area Manager like Francine, I am ok with that. I mean, I am sure someone would find her as effective and good at what she does but, if her job is to keep HRC’s and work at making them successful in a team effort….in my opinion, she will fail miserably.

I don’t think Titanium is on the right path, I think Excellen, their REO division has destroyed them and their reputation. I think they have lost a lot of great employees that once made them great and now they are dealing with a skeleton crew, over worked, under paid, under appreciated, jaded, pissed off Area Managers and now, they can watch their best HRC’s walk away because half of us were only staying on due to the promise of getting REO inventory and now we are one and half years later with nothing more than an email telling us Excellen isn’t expeting REO’s for a “while”

Sorry Titanium but, your house is obviously not in order and we are seeing it.