As I read this morning's paper that more than 1,200 home owners attended the Hope Now Workshop yesterday at the Sacramento Convention Center, I feel good about the process. However, the other facts such as nationally, three million home owners lost their homes in 2006; California foreclosures have reached 275,000 since 2007; and in northern California, in the counties of Amador, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba, more than 29,000 home owners have lost their homes since 2007 to foreclosure, the number of people who are actually able to avoid or stop foreclosure seem abysmally small.
This Sacramento foreclosure workshop was the 28th held nationally by Hope Now. The next workshop is scheduled for Los Angeles on Saturday.
Some home owners walked out of the Sacramento Convention Center with a workout plan or loan modification, but some also left feeling hopeless. Especially when told by their lenders to fax information to them that has already been faxed and most likely misplaced. Yet, I still believe that trying to help people stay in their homes is a step in the right direction. It makes me wish that the banks and our politicians had started this process much earlier, like two years ago, but hindsight won't buy you a cup of coffee these days.
Photo: Big Stock Photo
The Short Sale, by Elizabeth Weintraub, coming from Archer Ellison in January 2009.
---
Certified HAFA Specialist
My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com.
Lyon Real Estate is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.
Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.
The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.
Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice. It could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.
A little hope is a whole lot better than none, thanks for the good post, appreciate you & your attitude!
Elizabeth
I bet this turns out to be a big gathering. Hope all is well.
Sincerely
Tom Braatz
I heard on the news this morning that 10% of mortgage holders are behind in payments or in some stage of foreclosure. Ten Percent. I was floored the number was that high. It's a shame that loan modifications were not mandated by congress instead of giving them $700 BILLION dollars that any consumer in trouble will ever see a penny of. If they would let me be queen for a week... I'd fix some of the stuff that our government has broken.
Hopelessness of people hurts my heart so much. Hindsight. I'm not even sure politicians have any of that.
Elizabeth,
This is something we do not know what to do with. It is easy to blame now, but, as you say, it won't buy you a cup of coffee.
On the other hand time will settle the mess. Will we come out smarter?
I went to the Hope Now in Sacramento yesterday. I was so upside down in my loan. My payments each month was 2800. My total loan was 378,000 to make that worse my interest was 7.5%. How did I get into it was Todd Shaffer at Mattco lied to us on the interest rate and he was not even there the night we signed the paper work. The person who was, was trying to slam everything into our loan when we didnt want everything slammened in there.. They maxed out our loan.. And did I forget to mention he was able to fool us twice. When we first bought the house we had good credit and 20,000 dollars he wouldnt let us use.. he said we could not get the house that way. He put us in a 2 year fix.. then when we refinanced we thought we where in a 5 year fix.. we where lied to big time.. we had good credit when we refinanced.
Now here is what is important. Select Portfolio is my servicing company. I thought they would do nothing to help us. Not after all the phone calls I had with them. I cried in joy when shock when Chris Wheeler at Select Portfolio told us what he could do for us..
He gave a a 29 year fix loan, they do not do 30 years. My loan amount is 185,000 at 6% interest my payments will be just under 1,500 a month. I have not paid them in 5 months and they are excusing that from my loan. If ever there was little elfs working for Santa Claus this year, well he is one and he is handing out miracles. I am so thankful. I know I was Mortgaged Stupid in the beginning scared the prices would keep climbing up where I would never have a house. But that gives no one the right to take advantage of that. I am thanking god that it is being recatafied as quickly as they can. I was really scared of loosing my house.. I can now come home everyday knowing my house is my house and believe in it is my home not theirs..
Thanks, Steve and Tom. Tammy: You should be Queen of the Universe, then everybody would be happier!
Hi Jon: Will we come out smarter? I don't think so. People don't seem to learn from their mistakes and, as time goes on, the memory fogs and we seem to forget all about it. We know that if something sounds too good to be true, it is. We know we should save for a rainy day. We know not to count on appreciation. None of that held its ground when this mess happened.
Hi Terrie: I am thrilled you were able to get resolution and a workout for your loan. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. Merry Christmas to you!
Elizabeth, it is so sad.... I just hope that more people are able to get the loan they need to stay in their homes. ;-) Terrie's story is fabulous. That is such a great story she shared! A positive one! ;-)
We need to do something and the earlier in the process we can get involved the better.
Elizabeth - Programs such as that held at the Convention Center yesterday are so valuable. A home that is saved from foreclosure, is one that will not as likely see it's price dumped, and ultimately affect the value of it's neighbors. Three million folks losing homes, ia a horrible number to fathom.
Thank you for having a sight I can share our story with.
When I was at the Convention Center in Sacramento I did not know not everyone one was getting things worked out. My prayers are with them people and I pray that things will work out for them.
I took the day off work and I was first in line to meet with Select Portfolio. My husband and I make great money we just can not afford the mortgage we where paying from the start. Our broker made us believe we could. When bad times fell on us last year things got really hard. I was hit by a car, I had chest surgery, when I went back to work I got laid off and there was more than 4 months I didnt work. We still tried to hang on. But this year when gas prices went so out of hand that is what broke our backs. My husband and I both commute. I stopped paying my mortgage in August because I maxed out my credit cards trying to live. Here I thought I should pay my credit cards.. I learned that even if you keep paying your credit they are eventually going to punish you for not paying your mortage. They have not done that to me yet. I know someone who went through foreclosure and their credit cards shot up over 500 dollar a month payments. People need to know this before they decide to stop paying mortage. We also lost over a 100 points on our credit scores.
I read every blog I could find about foreclosure, short sales and shortpays to try to learn what was the best thing to do. So I hope this credit card versus the mortgage advice helps them make a better decision than we did.
People also need to be aware of predotors when your looking for FHA Loan help. I got a hold of a lender off the FHA Lender approval list. Well the broker had a real estate license and before I could blink my eye he almost had my house sold. I went to him and told him I want to save my house not loose it and last resort short sale it. He brought someone over to my house just two weeks ago. They loved my house but they wanted to wait till the price got lower than the 174,000. So last week when they lowered the interest rate I called them first thing in the morning and said I dont want to sale my house. I had to get a hold of the broker because the real estate agent under him wouldnt call me back and I wanted to be sure they got the message.
They have not given me back my house keys as of yet. I think they where waiting for me to fall into foreclosure and they would already have the keys are something. I called them yesterday asking for the keys and told them I saved my house they did not seem to thrilled.
My prayers will always be with the people loosing their homes. I really thought our lender wouldnt work with us. These where people telling me to sale my wedding rings and how I should be eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and they even told me they are not a bank there is nothing I could do except short sale or short refinance.
Marry Christmas to everyone I really believe in Christmas Miracles and I hope everyone has a Miracle this year.
Terrie
Thanks, Terrie, for such an uplifting story and for sharing what happened to you. May I add one piece of advice? The mortgage broker-slash-real estate agent who has your home listed needs to cancel that listing. If the listing was taken properly, it would have included a short sale listing addendum that spelled out the listing was contingent on selling as a short sale and obtaining the lender's approval. Since the lender is not going to approve the short sale, you should have a way to cancel that listing without penalty.
So, call that mortgage broker-slash-real estate agent and get that listing canceled, the sign out of your yard, the lockbox off your door and the keys back in your hand. If you don't get action, call the agent's broker.