Some Short Sale Statistics in West Bellevue

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I had occasion last week to do some digging for short sale listings in West Bellevue – the NWMLS area 520, west of I-405 and north of I-90 including  Beaux Arts, Enatai, Medina, Clyde Hill, plus Hunts Point, and Yarrow Point on the north side of Hwy 520.

I wondered whether the new NWMLS listing fields to indicate short sale or bank-owned/REO would help – they didn’t; it only showed 3 hits.  So just for fun I went back and did it the drudge way.  There were 313 active listings for single family homes.  I scanned through the agent summaries for each looking for “subject to lienholder approval” or some similar phrase.   I found 32 listings that were short sale, about 10% of the total, and 5 that were bank owned, less than 2% of the total.  So 1) as we knew, there are a lot of short sales going on, and 2) there is very little use so far of the new fields.  So add this to the previous good post that Jillayne  did before the new fields were added by the MLS.

Some other interesting observations out of this little study – this is a relatively high-priced area: 68% of the listings are over $1 million.  But 67% of the short sales are under $1 million.

And last of all, since Sunday, 4 of those shorts have gone under contract – sounds like a pretty good absorption rate; I’ll track them for a while and post an update later.

County recording office closures creating frustration

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The past couple of days our escrow office has received several phone calls from frustrated loan officers handling both purchase and refinance transactions. The frustration has come about due to the county recording office closures and furlough dates.   Contact your escrow or title office to confirm closure and furlough dates/times.   In Snohomish County they have recently indicated that the entire excise, recording and Dept. of Licensing floor will be closed during lunch time, in addition to their shortened hours and closure dates.

Much of the frustration has been directed at loan officers and escrow. Both escrow AND title offices have for months been active both calling on offices and online via website and blogs sounding the alarm about the impact of county office closures for agents writing purchase and sale agreements.

Behold, I give you some relief to help assist your buyers and sellers through tomorrow’s (May 22nd, 2009) county closures for recording sales and also being that recording offices are closed on Memorial Day.

From your very own NWMLS Form 21 purchase and sale agreement it appears (I’m not giving advice nor am I an attorney giving advice) that the contract is NATURALLY giving you an extension whether or not you were aware of it.

Computation of Time

Paragraph “I

WA Loan Originator Licensees Drops to 5335

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At the end of 2007, Washington State had 13,722 loan originators licensed under a mortgage broker.  At the end of 2008, that number fell to 8739.  As of May 5, 2009, we’re at 5335.  This number also includes inactive licensees. Based on the number of LO students who tell me that they already have a full time job elsewhere and are just keeping their license active “just in case” they want to originate a deal for a friend or family member, I’d say the number of active licensees is below 5335. 

In 2008, many mortgage brokers were forced to re-license as consumer loan companies due to changes in state law. Subsequently, many of those LOs let their license go in 2008. LOs who work for a consumer loan company will start their licensing process in August and we will be able to better track the number of consumer loan company LOs licensed in WA State.  As more lenders begin using the National Mortgage Licensing System to verify if the person who originated the loan is licensed in that state, perhaps some of the unlicensed, out of state shadow LOs will start being counted.

Buyers want a house; Sellers want a buyer

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The National Association of Realtors held their Mid-Year conference this week. Often the Mid-Year Conference kicks up more dirt than the Annual event, as the Mid-Year conference focuses more on the business end and the mls issues (legislative sessions).  Less partying…more in depth issue discussions.

The big new issue is about Trulia and Zillow and the like. “Scraping” data vs. being spoon fed “appropriate” data. The big old issue is Dual Agency and what are “we” going to do about “it”.

The only news we must all and always be mindful of during these discussions is “we” are not the only ones in the “room”, and never will be.  Remember in the Bible when the Powers That Be of the time tried to trick Jesus into boiling everything He said in His whole life down to ONE major and single Rule?  Jesus didn’t skip a beat. If you don’t know what His one line answer was, well…go Google that. This is a Real Estate blog .

The one and only single rule of real estate, from which all other rules should follow is this: Buyers want a house at the lowest overall cost; Sellers want a buyer who gives them the highest net return.

Now take every mls rule, every State’s agency law, everything any broker wants and doesn’t want, everything any agent wants or doesn’t want, and hold it up against that one measurement…that one rule above all rules. Does what you want help buyers get their house at the lowest overall cost to them? Does what you want help sellers sell their house at the highest net return possible? If the answer is no…then change what you want.

The Big “New” Issue is about control of the mls data, control of the inventory, data scraping vs. direct feed via what insiders call IDX.  IDX is what you see when you search property on any agent site. Simple as that.

The sticky wicket for issue number one is that buyers want to see all the houses, including For Sale by Owner homes, preferably all on one site. That is why a Public MLS (kind of what Trulia and Zillow may turn into) serves the needs of buyers better than a private and Broker controlled site. That will continue to be true until and unless the Brokers fill the need of buyers (and to some extent sellers) by permitting listings that have no listing agent. Don’t hold your breath on that one.

The answer, as I see it, is two sources and not one.  One that has all listed property via any Brokerage site (as we all have access to all via IDX) and one that has all UN-listed property…and nothing else. Until then, buyer’s of homes will be confused into thinking that Zillow and Trulia and the like have all of the listed property PLUS…which it doesn’t. That means some portion of the public is always being mislead. Those that use only a brokerage site, and miss a choice For Sale By Owner property, and those that use Trulia or Zillow or Realtor.com, and miss a choice listed property. [One additional site for all rental property would be nice too. There’s a need someone should fill. But there never seems to be enough money generated by rental fees to support it actually happening.]

The Big “Old” Issue is Dual Agency. We already have that answer to some extent, it’s called Designated Agency. We simply need more time and practice and experience in the actual practice of Designated Agency…and that as they say is the SLOG of it. Until California adopts Designated Agency…there is no answer beyond the slog of it. When and IF California adopts Designated Agency, we’ll be able to make quicker progress.

Eradicating Dual Agency is not The NAR’s prerogative (Jim Duncan). Why? Look at The main rule of real estate according to ARDELL, characteristically in BOLD lettering in this post at paragraph four.

Sometimes and often, the buyer’s best way to get the house and/or get lowest overall cost, is by using the listing agent.  Not always, but sometimes and often. The State can’t…the NAR can’t…remove that option from the buying public. In reality what a buyer wants is full representation, from the person who knows the most about the house, and at the lowest possible cost which is free (or what they sometimes perceive to be free).

Sometimes and often, the seller’s best way to get a buyer to buy his house and get the highest net return is to cut out one of (or both of) the agents in the process.The State can’t…the NAR can’t…remove that option from the selling public In reality what a seller wants is ready access to all buyers in the marketplace without having to pay two agents, AND they want the buyer agent fee to come back to them vs. it being given to the buyer, if the buyer has no agent. They also don’t want to pay a buyer agent to tell the buyer that the house is overpriced or inadequate. They also want the agent they hire to be free to bring them a buyer direct (dual agency).

All of the answers with regard to Dual Agency are done with from the NAR’s perspective. They discourage agents from practicing it, until and unless it is absolutely necessary (when the buyer and seller want it). Each State has a long way to go on agency issues, like explaining “no agency” in it’s required agency disclosure noting it as an option. Until States stop asking for the real estate industry to approve and help with it’s agency options, “No Agency” will not appear as a fully explained option for their constituency.

Let’s discover what “Lending with Expertise” means to Paramount Equity

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Paramount Equity has settled their case with the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions. Read the Consent Order here.  The Statement of Charges outlined many, many violations of state and federal law:

  • Using the term “mortgage bank

Foreclosure Rescue Scammer or AG Victim: You be the Judge

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In order to go into the foreclosure rescue business, foreclosure rescuers must make themselves believe that they are helping the homeowner. This is done in a cognitive way, by attending many foreclosure seminars, reading lots of books and memorizing scripts that can be played back inside the foreclosure rescuer’s head over and over again until it becomes real and true to them.

Similar to how we fool ourselves over and over again when we say to ourselves “it’s only one drink,” “it’s only a cookie” and “it’s not really sex.”  Self deception is very powerful and it appears to be working well with foreclosure rescuers.  I hear many phrases over and over again such as, “it’s perfectly legal,” “homeowners want to stay in their homes,” and “if it wasn’t for me, then….”  With the case of Joe Kaiser, we are starting to hear a different song. It’s the whine of the victim.  You know the type of person I’m talking about who constantly complains about being victimized to the point where they transform into victim.

Joe Kaiser (doing business as PreFlop, LLC, G. Hobus Investments, LLC, Bobo Buys Real Estate, and Unclaimed Funds, Inc.) makes money selling foreclosure rescue sales courses and books (examples: ‘The Subterranean Marketplace in 2009″ for $997. “Learn How to Day Trade in Real Estate Online Using Craigslist for $667.) though not everyone has been a satisfied customer.  Joe buys and sells homes in foreclosure but not just any kind of foreclosure: tax foreclosure.  Some of you will remember fine movie, “The House of Sand and Fog” very well acted by Sir Ben Kingsley, Jennifer Connelly, and the beautiful Shohreh Aghdashloo. I assign this movie as extra credit for my college students because of all the possible title insurance issues surrounding the tax foreclosure plot.  This movie should be required viewing for anyone thinking about entering the world of tax foreclosures.

In a very methodical way, described in his books, Joe locates homeowners who are delinquent on their real property taxes, and also have equity in their home.  This is a bit like a needle in the haystack kind of work today but during the bubble run-up, as others swarmed the trustee sales, Joe focused on tax foreclosures. Interestingly, several of his victims have Hispanic surnames but I digress. Le’ts read the public records documents:

The Court found that Mr. Kaiser violated the Consumer Protection Act by soliciting homeowners with false promises to help them keep or save their home when partial interest deals do not actually result in the homeowner keeping or saving their home.  The Court also found that, in the course of creating partial interest deals, Mr. Kaiser violated the Consumer Protection Act by falsifying real property excise tax affidavits and by acting as both trustee and co-beneficiary seeking a profit from the trust.

Kaiser solicits homeowners facing tax foreclosure and induces them to place their home in a trust, with Kaiser, through his business entities, as trustee and co-beneficiary.  Mr. Kaiser does not pay the homeowner for their homes. Once title to the home is in Kaiser’s control, he pays the delinquent property taxes and stops the sale of the home.

The land trust…that Kaiser created give him complete title and control over the homes and leave the former owners with only two tenuous rights: 1) the right to some percentage of the sales proceeds if Mr. Kaiser chooses to sell the property, and 2) the right to occupy the property for one to three years, provided the former owner pays rent. These two rights are tenuous because the documents contain hair-trigger default provisions which void these rights if the former homeowner is even five days late on a rental payment or violates any of the other terms contained in the numerous documents Mr. Kaiser has them sign.

Mr. Kaiser testified that every partial interest deal he has created is actually in default…therefore, none of the former homeowners maintains their right to possession of the property or a percentage of the proceeds if Kaiser chooses to sell it.  By virtue of the lease provisions and other contractual provisions for reimbursement of all of Mr. Kaisers expenses, his terms entitle him to receive either the entire home vacant or his share of the home’s equity without having ultimately paid any money….Homeowners who enter the transactions believing they are saving their homes are actually stripped of any ownership interest and are not even given a right of first refusal to buy back their home.  No fully informed person, not acting under compulsion would enter a transaction with such onerous terms.

There is much more in the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law and if you want to learn how to “Negotiate Foreclosures Like a SWAT Team Leader” then by all means, meet Joe here.

There are some investors who feel sorry for Joe.  Joe feels like he has been attacked by the AG’s office and is blogging about his new role as a victim. Let’s see if this logically works.

In the F&G M. transaction, Mr. Kaiser claimed he saved F&G’s home…What Kaiser actually did was purchase the home at the foreclosure sale and then had Mr. M. sign over his rights to the overage money from the foreclosure sale. As a result, Kaiser obtained both the house and the $45,428.47 in overage money he had paid at the auction. Kaiser never sold the house back to Mr. M. even when Mr. M. obtained a Realtor and made an offer. Kaiser then sent Mr. M. an eviction notice demanding Mr. M. immediately pay $2700 in rent or vacate the property.

I’m trying to work up some tears but they’re just not coming.  Now it’s your turn: is Joe Kaiser a posterboy foreclosure rescue scammer, a victim, a sociopath, a combination thereof, or am I too  justice oriented to become a real estate investor guru?  I just can’t look at someone, flat-out lie to them, and steal their house and money.  If that’s what it takes to be a real estate investor guru, count me out.

HVCC…I’m not making this stuff up

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I’m closing my first conventional purchase that falls under the rules of HVCC (a majority of my transactions have been FHA) which became effective at the beginning of this month.   Today I was asked by the Real Estate Agent, in disbelief:

“If I understand you correctly:

  1. We don’t know who the appraiser is
  2. We cannot contact the appraiser even if we knew.   [Note:  the real estate agent CAN contact the appraiser if they somehow know who it is…the loan production staff cannot].
  3. We have no idea when the appraisal will be done”

Yep.  In a nutshell, people who are considered a part of “loan production” including mortgage originators and loan processors have no idea who the appraiser is until we receive it from said appraiser with conventional financing.

HVCC does not prohibit the real estate agent from communication with an appraiser.  However, unless the appraiser contacts the agent to schedule an appointment there will be no way for a real estate agent to know who the appraiser is.

Note to Real Estate Agents:  please keep this in mind when you are writing up offers with conventional financing.  The mortgage originator has no contact with the appraiser and therefore, the Letter of Loan Commitment that is typically required within 20-30 days may still be subject to appraisal or the underwriter’s review of the appraisal.   We can request the appraisals are provided to us by a certain date; but I cannot contact the appraiser to say “what’s the e.t.a. on the Jones appraisal; we really need it by Friday”.

Currently FHA is not following HVCC however, FHA has been adopting some of Fannie Mae’s other appraisal guidelines and addendums.

Are we having fun yet?

Look No Further Than Seattle Neighborhoods For Penny Pinching Summer Fun This Year!

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Some people don’t know this, but….

Gorgeous globe light at Hiram M. Chittenden locks in Ballard

Gorgeous globe light at Hiram M. Chittenden locks in Ballard

I was a single mother for years until I met and fell in love with my next door neighbor in the Sunset Hill neighborhood of Ballard. Single parents develop a real knack for making every dollar stretch, and I am thankful that things have been easier (most of the time) with a husband! As we all look for ways to save money and make sure that our families are provided for, I find myself revisiting some of those older ideas.

Seattle is really a phenomenal place to live for great free entertainment, but out of town visitors will love these, too! Make sure and check out the Seattle Parks Foundation website if you have a minute, too. They have wonderful resources for all the latest and greatest in parks! This is only the first ten of these because I really don’t want to hog the whole page. Happy Seattle summer 2009!

1. Go visit the Hiram M. Chittenden locks (aka Ballard Locks) in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. OK, I will be honest. I am starting with my one of my very favorite places.dsc_0299 This was built in 1911 and serves as a passageway between the Puget Sound and the Ship Canal so that boats can travel to and from Lake Washington and Lake Union despite the huge difference in water levels. Visitors can watch as the water is raised and lowered to let boats come in and out on either side. But that is not all! The grounds are beautiful and feature extensive mature gardens and plantings. There is also a cool fish ladder on site as well as a museum/learning center. Even after any trips here, we always have fun going again!  Need more free here? In 2009 from June 6th to September 7th (Labor Day) there will over 30 FREE and open to the public concerts at the Ballard Locks!

Just one section of this amazing place! 

2. Museum of Flight This is one of the Seattle museums that offers first Thursdays free (after 5PM only) and is a great place to see some of the world’s amazing historic planes including one of the Air Force One planes that Kennedy flew in! This is another of my favorite places in Seattle. This museum is located in one of the early Boeing facilities and the history is just rich. There is something for everyone here and it is kid friendly. I would suggest visiting item #6 (Hat n Boots) after wards because of the close proximity. There is a good restaurant on site at the museum, but a picnic at the park is much more fun!

Beautiful entry at the Conservatory in Volunteer Park3. Conservatory at Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill is so much fun! The park itself is also amazing and has great paths and spaces, but I am in awe of the Conservatory building itself – 6200 square feet of plantings and displays by people that obviously know what they are doing. There are 3426 glass panes on the building. It was assembled in 1912 and has two plants in it that are over 75 years old – one of which is a giant Jade Tree. This is not your ordinary Jade plant! The Conservatory is completely FREE, though I do encourage you to throw a few dollars in their donation bin.

4.Carkeek ParkOver six miles of trails and an Education Center, large open spaces for playing, picnic facilities, a stage, wonderful dsc_0450playgrounds including a fish slide where children can slide through a salmon, plus the beach!!!! Carkeek Park overlooks the Puget Sound and is one of my favorite parks in Seattle! Carkeek Park is just North of the Blue Ridge neighborhood in Seattle and well worth the trip from anywhere in the Puget Sound.

5.Pike Place Market – You do not need a dime to go have fun here, but support these locals if you can. I love it here and could spend all day watching the hustle and bustle!

6. Hat 'N' Boots in GerogetownThe Hat N Boots in Georgetown – I love these!  How cool is it to visit some old giant boots that used to be his and hers restrooms at a gas station. According to one source when the hat and boots gas station was up and running in its previous location even Elvis stopped in once ( I am sure there are lots of Elvis sighting stories – true and untrue, but I love the idea that Elvis may have peed in that boy boot!).  The good people of Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood played a huge part in getting the Hat n Boots moved to their current location at Oxbow Park (6400 S Corson Ave.). The boots are newly refurbished, but the hat is looking sad while waiting for funds. There is a great neighborhood p-patch there with some of the most amazing plantings I have had the privilege of seeing and the playground keeps my kids entertained for quite some time, but don’t expect to be able to use the boots as a restroom today – they are for display only.

7. Green Lake – Go explore Green Lake Park – This park has it all – a 3+ mile path around the lake itselfdsc_0036 which is perfect for biking, hiking, running, skating, and more, play space, ball fields, pool, tennis courts, and my favorite: the wading pool on the North side of the lake which is filled when it is warm. There are docks for kayak launching or you can fish off the side of the banks of the lake. There is golf here and basketball, plus bathrooms. Swimming is allowed and there is a life guarded swimming beach. Green Lake is a great neighborhood to live in anyway, but really gets busy when the nice weather hits. Green Lake is a great place to take the dog for a walk, too.

8. Fremont Troll. This is a giant troll made of concrete holding an actual VW in its hand! It is located in Fremont under the Aurora Bridge and WORTH THE STOP! The Fremont Troll is also a great photo opportunity! While you are in Fremont, take a stroll along the ship canal waterfront and visit all the great little vintage shops. There is almost always something fun going on in Fremont.

9. Alki Beach Park While I was a single mother, the tradition was to go every Sunday morning and find beach glass at Alki Beach in West Seattle and then drive up into the hills and look at the dreamy houses. Alki has some of the best views of the Downtown area of Seattle anyway and the beach glass is abundant! There is also a rough boat launch for hand carried kayaks, etc. and restrooms. Alki Beach is a 2.5 mile strip of beach and one of the closest to a California Beach atmosphere I can think of right here in Seattle complete with rollerblading and jogging patrons.

10. Take a bike ride on the Burke Gilman TrailGo basically from Ballard all the way up to Kenmore2008-1661 along some of the prettiest trails and areas in Seattle. The Burke Gilman is virtually uninterrupted for the most part from Fremont to Kenmore and skirts the Western side of Lake Washington plus there are restrooms along the way.

Okay, well that is it for now with my penny pinching ideas for fun around Seattle! Even if you aren’t in the market for saving money, go and explore your city! Seattle is a great place to live and play.

The Day Twitter Died

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#fixreplies “Drove my Chevy to the levy, but the levy was dry…”

Marshall says it best, “Goodbye People I Never Knew” <tear>

The hustle and bustle of Twitter slowed to the level of a party gone flat…no bubbly. At first people just thought everyone decided to take a nap, all at the same time. Then there was a mass uprising…but no one can see it, because you can no longer see the @replies of people you don’t follow.

Last week, Twitter added a great new feature called Trending Topics.  Little did they know that the #1 Trending Topic would be turned AGAINST them and their recent decision to quiet down the party.

#1 Trending Topic is #fixreplies and here are  what some of the people are saying, as they are charging up to the castle to put the stake in Dr. Twitterstein’s heart.

“Oh gee that’s right @ev & @biz don’t follow most people, so they won’t see THAT WE’RE FREAKIN’ PISSED…#fixreplies”

Checking @ev the CEO of Twitter, it would appear that they didn’t notice until #fixreplies hit #1 on the Trending Topics list, as all @ev had so say during all this was “Lunching w/@BertDecker at Yank Sing. It’s been a deem sum week.”

Talk about clueless. Did they think people woudn’t notice that someone turned off the light switch?

Seattle’s own @Shih_Wei says: “Dear @ev, the only alternative is to put the options back in users’ hands. Newcomers will figure it out, too. #fixreplies”

Some hearfelt pleas: “Twitter is now hiding messages from people you follow, if it’s a reply to someone you don’t follow. How am I supposed to discover people now? #fixreplies “

Lots and lots of complaints, like this one: “Looks like Twitter will kill itself w/ stupid un-social changes like #fixreplies “

Given the comment above, maybe the post should have said The Day Twitter Committed Suicide.

Some of the Coders who write Twitter Apps, like Seattle’s @dacort see it as an opportunity: “dacort  Twitter taketh away, and small angry developers will provideth. http://ff.im/2Qd4Z“

I’m going to go to sleep and hope I will wake up to find it was all just a bad dream.

May 15 – Bike to Work Day

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While many of you may already know that May 15th is Starbuck’s Bike to Work Day, you may not know that there is an After-Party!

“On Friday, May 15 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. 22nd Avenue is being opened up and connecting to Bergen Place Park creating one large park. Cascade Bicycle Club has partnered with the city to make this a great event.”

More info included in the links in the first paragraph.  If you are driving on May 15th, be aware that there will likely be a lot more bike traffic than usual, and be careful out there.