A Fist Full of Dollars: Tighten up!

Money 101 with Pink Floyd: "Get a good job with good pay and you're okay. Money, it's a gas. Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash."

Unfortunately for many, Money has slipped through our fists: In the past year, we've lost 20% in equity from our 90% leveraged position, putting us 10% "upside down?" There are only two solutions: Fight or Flight. Is your house a home, and is your home worth fighting for?...or do you just walk away from it all? File Chapter 7, Chapter 13, File for the Homestead Act, sell it "Short" or just get foreclosed on? It's not just a home, it's where your family is growing up, it's a water park and playground in the summer, it's a haunted house in October, it's where you store your stuff, it's your American Dream. It's your identity, your ego, your place in the community. But now, Today, It's keeping you up at night and if you can sleep, it's become your panic attacks and source of night terrors. Let's find the solution. Pat Townsley, Mortgage Advisor. 415-485-1776. www.ptre.net

Loss Mitigation: The Short Sale

"I fell in to a burnin' ring of fire" rings in my head as I think about Short Sales. A Short sale is different from a foreclosure. Basically, a Short Sale, the Homeowner is still Selling their home on the open market, but the existing loan company must agree to forgive some of the debt owed against the home. And, the home has to SELL in order to get out from under it. Yes, it damages credit, but not as bad as a Foreclosure, where the Homeowner has failed to make the mortgage payments and the bank simply (well, it's not "that simple") takes the home away from the homeowner. In short, A Short Sale has to SELL in order for it to close. In a Foreclosure, the bank takes the home away from the owner and it becomes the property of the bank, sometimes called a Bank REO (Real Estate Owned). The banks have companies that negotiate the sales of these properties. In most cases, the bank will take a loss. These losses are analyzed by the Loss Mitigation Department of the bank. The Loss Mitigation reps determine if they’ll accept the terms of a Short Sale. They can also talk directly with the borrowers in some cases to re-negotiate an existing note. Banks do not want to own real estate. They want the interest. They’re interested in liquidity and ROI. Questions?
Ask Broker Pat Townsley, 415-485-1776, http://www.ptre.net/

Looking for Foreclosures?

Find forelcosed homes for two-dollars and help a family out. Hmmmm. Look at this happy family. Are they happy because they just got a screaming deal on a new home or are they happy because that Was their home and they got caught up in the financing overleveraged mess and now lost their home and someone magically "helped them out." Foreclosures on owner occupied homes are no fun. Someone is losing, someone is winning. There's no "feel good" in it for the ones getting foreclosed upon. That being said, Pay your mortgage at all costs. Foreclosures, short sales, bankruptcies....they'll ruin your credit regardless, so do everything to save your home. Now, If you are looking for Foreclosures, your local Realtor can help as well as many foreclosure websites (generally finder's fee based). One site is http://www.hudforeclosed.com/ and there are many more. Watch out for scams....and of course, call me to get financing for a home you're going to buy at 415-485-1776. Also, call be BEFORE you go upside-down on your existing home financing. Pat Townsley, Mortgage Broker. http://www.ptre.net/

Action without Reaction

Last Tuesday the Fed took another step at "helping" the economy by lowering the Fund Rate by a quarter of a percent. There’s also continued talk of the government and banks agreeing to "freeze" certain existing adjustable home loans as well as a bill on the table to eliminate "yield spread premiums" to lenders (in an effort to "level the playing field"). None of these will really help. Foreclosures and bankruptcies will tear us up in 2008, decreasing values and tightening guidelines will make refinancing harder in the months to come. It will make Purchase prices much more attractive, but you’ll need more money down in most cases. Get pre-approved before you shop! Purchase Loans throughout the State of California: Broker, Pat Townsley. 415-485-1776. http://www.ptre.net/