9645 Hillside Drive, Roswell – Martins Landing Short Sale – FMLS#4291622

By Ryan Ward | November 4, 2011

We just listed a new short sale in the very popular neighborhood of Martins Landing. Below are a few pictures and the details are underneath. Please let me know if you have any interest in this home.

Property Details

  • 4 bedrooms
  • 2.5 baths
  • Split Level
  • 2 Car Garage
  • Private, fenced backyard
  • Hardwood floors

This home has beautiful hardwood floors on the main level, has a new AC compressor and needs paint and carpet. It’s an excellent deal in one of Roswell’s most popular location.

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High End Short Sales in Atlanta – Hot Properties

By Ryan Ward | October 18, 2011

Right now there are 64 short sales listed for sale above $750,000 in the FMLS and 25 of them show as under contract. No segment of the market is immune to the perils of this market, but there are some advantages that luxury short sales have over short sales in the average price range. Typically, high end short sales are easier to close than other short sales as they typically have different loans that are either jumbo loans or some form of construction loans which means that they are portfolio loans held by the banks and not sold or serviced by outside parties.

View Luxury Atlanta Short Sales

Want to see what is available in the high end short short sale market? You can view them here: Atlanta Luxury Short Sales

Buying Luxury Atlanta Short Sales

Since these properties are handled differently by the banks, the decision time is often much shorter than it is with normal short sales because it’s easier to make contact with the lender making it easier and faster to get approvals. Another advantage is that these properties have huge discounts from their original or previous values making them relative bargains in the market. This is evidenced by the large percentage founder contract to total active short sale listings. People recognize them as exceptional deals and are willing to go through whatever additional headache that may be associated with them. If you are looking for a home in this price range, you should know that competition for the properties is heavy. They are often pre approved so the final sales price is typically close to the list price – sometimes above the its price so don’t expect to make an $800,000 offer on a $1,000,000 short sale.

Selling Your Luxury Atlanta Short Sale

If you read the paragraphs above, it should be clear to you now that the process is not as difficult as you may have hears although there are exceptions and they are more difficult than traditional sales. That said, if you find yourself in a place where you think you may need to sell as a short sale, there is hope for you. It may be better than your other alternatives and worth investigating further. If you have any questions about selling your home as a short sale, give us a call and we will let you know. No obligation of course.

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Short Sale 101 Video – Who is it For?

By Ryan Ward | September 14, 2011

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What You Should Know Before Contacting Your Atlanta Short Sale Agent

By Chris Bain | November 11, 2010

I have gotten several inquiries lately from people who wanted to short sell their home

…but who had no idea what they were really asking for.  That in and of itself is not so significant because the short sale process is typically fairly complicated and daunting, but these inquiries were unique in one way. All of these people could afford their mortgage and they had no need to sell their home!  The reasons I heard basically boil down “I don’t want to pay this much anymore since my home isn’t worth what it used to be”.

These people were all in an “upside down” situation.  They are not alone as there are many many more out there.  What they failed to understand is that being upside down in your mortgage isn’t the only qualifying factor for lenders to agree to a short sale on your home.  There isn’t a short sale agent in Atlanta that can help you if those are your only qualifying reasons.

Two Things That are Used to Qualify a Potential Short Sale Candidate.

1.Iminent Default – Based on your financial situation you are, or soon will be, in Default on your mortgage. This has to be documented.

2.Hardship – You have to be in a situation that contributed to your financial problems. This could be a variety of things such as  loss of a spouse, divorce, or job loss for examples of some common reasons. Each situation is unique and your circumstances will be looked at by the banks.

Some Useful Info To Look at If You are Considering a Short Sale.

Here is a link to the Treasury/HUD website on elegibility for  HAMP. Home Affordable Modification Program. One of your first steps before a short sale should be to see if you can have your loan modified.

Here is also some information about HAFA on the same website. Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives. If your lender is part of this program you may be entitled to some benefits if you are unable to sell your home.  Just remember that in most circumstances, a short sale is much better for you and your future than a foreclosure.

If you are trying to short sell your home and need a short sale agent in Atlanta, we can help you.

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Atlanta and National Foreclosure Statistics

By Ryan Ward | March 6, 2010

The fourth quarter of 2009 offered more of the same with homeowners in foreclosure or at least in default with at least a 30+ day late. There are options if you are one of these people so don’t hesitate to call us. We promise to hold your information in the strictest of confidence and will not disclose any personal information. A short sale may be an option and so is a loan modification to help keep you in your home.

National Foreclosure Statistics Q4 2009

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association:

  • 4.58% of homeowners are in foreclosure
  • 10.44% of homeowners are in default of at least 30 days late
  • 15.02% total

Prime loans:

  • 3.31% are in foreclosure
  • 6.73% are in default
  • 10.04% total

Subprime:

  • 15.58% are in foreclosure
  • 25.26% are in default
  • 40.84% total

That means that over 40% of subprime loans are currently are in or are at risk of going into foreclosure!

FHA:

  • 3.57% in foreclosure
  • 13.57% in default
  • 17.14% total

VA:

  • 2.46% in foreclosure
  • 7.41% in default
  • 9.87% total

Atlanta Foreclosure Statistics

Atlanta foreclosure statistics come from First American CoreLogic.

The Atlanta area foreclosure rate in January of 2009 was 2.81% compared with 1.63% in January of 2009.

Foreclosure Rates Tied to Unemployment

There is no question that the increase in unemployment is placing additional strain on homeowners and part of the reason foreclosure and defaults are still on the rise. The unemployment rate in Georgia is higher than the national unemployment rate.

Many people hoped we were at or near the end of the crisis – at least from the default perspective, but, there appears to be 2 more years of foreclosures and short sales coming onto the market and that will keep resale and new construction values depressed.

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HAFA – Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program

By Ryan Ward | February 11, 2010

HAFA, an acronym for Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives sets some wonderful goals set to begin on April 5th, 2010. It is one of the most important updates to the short sale process mandated by the Federal Governement thus far. To summarize from the Fannie Mae administered website:

HAFA simplifies and streamlines the short sale and DIL [Deed in Lieu] process by providing a standard process flow, minimum performance time frames and standard documentation.

The entire document can be read here.

Some of the important points to consider if you need a short sale and think that this program may help you:

  • A loan must be HAMP (www.makinghomeaffordable.com) eligible and meet the other requirements to be eligible for incentive compensation under HAFA.
  • The program begins April 5, 2010
  • Borrowers may be accepted into HAFA if a Short Sale Agreement is fully-executed by the borrower and received by the servicer on or before December 31, 2012.
  • Borrowers must first be considered for a loan modification before being given a short sale through HAFA.

Think of HAFA as an Organized “Foreclosure Alternative”

In a short sale, the servicer allows the borrower to list and sell the mortgaged property with the understanding that the net proceeds from the sale may be less than the total amount due on the mortgage. The short sale must be an arm’s length transaction with the net sale proceeds (after deductions for reasonable and customary selling costs) being applied to a discounted (“short”) mortgage payoff acceptable to the servicer. The servicer accepts the short payoff in full satisfaction of the total amount due on the first mortgage.

It should be noted that each loan servicer will have some of its own guidelines to determine whether or not to accept a short sale:

Each participating servicer must develop a written policy, consistent with investor guidelines, that describes the basis on which the servicer will offer the HAFA program to borrowers. This policy may incorporate such factors as the severity of the loss involved, local market conditions, the timing of pending foreclosure actions and borrower motivation and cooperation.

Finally, there are some specific guidelines that must be met to qualify under HAFA:

  • The property is the borrower’s principal residence;
  • The mortgage loan is a first lien mortgage originated on or before January 1, 2009;
  • The mortgage is delinquent or default is reasonably foreseeable;
  • The current unpaid principal balance is equal to or less than $729,750; and
  • The borrower’s total monthly mortgage payment exceeds 31 percent of the borrower’s gross income.

Some streamlining will take place because the information obtained for the potential loan modification will be used to evaluate the short sale.

Other important notes on HAFA:

  • Prior to short sale approval, a buyer will know a minimum net proceeds acceptable to the lender (servicer).
  • “reasonable and customary” transaction costs that are customary for your community must be considered.
  • A fixed termination date not less than 120 calendar days from the effective date of the SSA (“Effective Date”). The Effective Date must be stated in the SSA and is the date the SSA is mailed to the borrower. The term of the SSA may be extended at the discretion of the servicer up to a total term of 12 months, in accordance with the requirements of the investor.
  • A requirement that the property be listed with a licensed real estate professional who is regularly doing business in the community where the property is located.
  • Either a list price approved by the servicer or the acceptable sale proceeds, expressed as a net amount after subtracting allowable costs that the servicer will accept from the transaction.
  • The amount of closing costs or other expenses the servicer will permit to be deducted from the gross sale proceeds expressed as a dollar amount, a percentage of the list price or a list by category of reasonable closing costs and other expenses that the servicer will permit to be deducted from the gross sale proceeds.
  • The amount of the real estate commission that may be paid, not to exceed 6% of the contract sales price, and notification if any portion of the commission must be paid to a contractor of the servicer that has been retained to assist the listing broker with the transaction.
  • A statement by the borrower authorizing the servicer to communicate the borrower’s personal financial information to other parties (including Treasury and its agents) as necessary to complete the transaction.
  • Cancellation and contingency clauses that must be included in listing and sale agreements notifying prospective purchasers that the sale is subject to approval by the servicer and/or third parties.
  • An agreement that upon successful closing of a short sale acceptable to the servicer the borrower will be entitled to a relocation incentive of $1,500, which will be deducted from the gross sale proceeds at closing.
  • Notice that the servicer will allow a portion of gross sale proceeds to be paid to subordinate lien holders in exchange for release and full satisfaction of their liens.

There really is a lot more to this and if you need to know, please read the full document here. What you should know is that this will streamline the process and may expedite the process. Let’s get it rolled out before we tout this as the short sale fix we hope that it will be.

Regardless of how the process unfolds, it will remain a complicated transaction and one that you should be very careful in the selection of your real estate professional. I suggest using the services of a CDPE designated real estate agent. Those of us who have earned the CDPE designation have additional training in the process.

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What is a Short Sale

By Ryan Ward | February 10, 2010

There are a lot of complicated definitions of what a short sale is so let me try to give you one that is easy to understand instead.

A short sale occurs when a lender or lenders agree to allow a home to sell even though the proceeds of that sale are not enough to pay off the loan. Typically, the lender, which could be a first mortgage, a second mortgage or a HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) will also agree to pay additional costs such as attorney fees, commissions and sometimes even repairs for a new buyer on top of taking a reduced amount of money that does not cover the loan.

It’s not as simple as applying for a short sale though. The lender will not simply give you a short sale because you are upside down and want to get out of this mortgage so that you can get a new home. The lender is going to look for a hardship which can come in many forms. Some may be like the one I describe on my about me page or they could be due to a loss in income, health or various other reasons.

One thing is for sure though, short sales and short sale transactions are not like regualr sales and require specialized knowledge and training. Whether you want to buy one or you need to sel one, you want to work with someone who has taken additional training to become an expert in the field. It can often be the difference between a succesful short sale and foreclosure.

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Atlanta Short Sales

By Ryan Ward | February 10, 2010

Welcome! My name is Ryan Ward. I am the Principal agent with Premier Atlanta Real Estate, LLC and this is our website and blog that is dedicated to helping sellers who have reached a point in their lives  that may force upon them the difficult financial decisions which may including leaving their home.

There is hope and there are options. I am an expert who is experienced and I am a trained Certified Distressed Property Expert. For some of you, we may be able to help you stay in your home, for others we can at least help to keep your home out of foreclosure and perhaps prevent less desirable people who looking to take advantage of you from being successful.

We will have much more to come to help you in a time where you may need it most.

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