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First of all, you’re not alone. Hundreds of thousands of households all across America are facing foreclosure.

First: BEWARE  OF  FORECLOSURE SCAMS.

I had a homeowner call me recently that asked for help in retrieving the money she gave to a company to save her home from foreclosure.  The company that took her money did absolutely NOTHING.  Realtors© are NOT ATTORNEYS and cant help you after you have been scammed.  Report the scammer to the police and have the local District Attorney help you.

Second: Know that there is help available through legitimate non-profit orginizations.  I suggest Neighborhood Works, ” a national nonprofit organization created by Congress to provide financial support, technical assistance, and training for community-based revitalization efforts.” or its affiliate: Foreclosurehelpandhope.org.

The primary job of a Realtor© is to SELL HOMES.  Its true that if your facing foreclosuer you may very well need the services of a Realtor© but Realtor© DO NOT have the time, resources, or expertise to help you in many of the matters one might have when faced with foreclosure.

If you and the  person who counsels conclude that a *Short Sale is the best remedy for your situation they will instruct you to contact a Realtor©.

* WHAT IS A SHORT SALE ?

Difinition from Wikipedia:  A short sale occurs when the proceeds of a real estate sale fall short of the balance owed on the property.^[1] In a short sale, the bank or mortgage lender agrees to discount a loan balance due to an economic or financial hardship on the part of the mortgagor. This negotiation is all done through communication with a bank’s Loss mitigation department. The home owner/debtor sells the mortgaged property for less than the outstanding balance of the loan, and turns over the proceeds of the sale to the lender, sometimes (but not always) in full satisfaction of the debt. In such instances, the lender would have the right to approve or disapprove of a proposed sale. Most Short Sales leave a deficiency balance for which the Mortgagor / Borrower is still liable. In 99% of all cases it is not a settlement-in-full. A deficiency balance will remain while the mortgage broker, real estate agent / broker, loan officers, title and closing agents still remain getting their profit. And no regulatory agency governs this hybrid transaction. (read more)

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On the other hand - if all you need is help in purchasing a home - possibly a “Short Sale” or REO (real estate owned — meaning owned by the lender) feel free to call me today.  I can help.

		Direct: Fax:		559.301.1647 559.438.7475
1319 W Bullard #4 — Fresno CA — 93711
© Randy “Lazarus” McAtee

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Today I attended a California Association of Realtors S.W.A.T class. SWAT stands for:

Special Weapons and Tactics - to survive a down market.

The morning session was mostly a review of the stats that have been compiled by C.A.R presented by someone with a marketing/economics degree. It was the opinion of the speaker that the stats show that the market has hit a bottom in California. Based upon what I heard and saw I cant argue with the figures - whether or not this is A bottom or THE BOTTOM only time will tell. The reason I say this is that while the speaker was going over the numbers I was reading today’s news and this article Citigroup, Wells Fargo May Loan Less After Downgrades raises some concern that there could be further tightening of the credit market esp if there are more losses reported in the banking sector tied to home lending.

If the banks tighten up — we could see things get worse.  If the credit markets stabilize, I think the real estate market will improve and we could come out of the woods.  I am hoping for the latter.

Two things I gleaned from the morning session:

1. So many Foreclosures, Short Sales, and REOs have come onto the market that the lenders have had to create “loss mitigation teams” to handle them.  These loss mitigators have never really done this before because nothing like this has ever happened in our generation so these guys that the Sellers and  Realtors are dealing don’t necessarily have all the answers.  They have been slow to move but as the market has deteriorated they have begun to come around.
2. The cheese is moving.  Meaning the money to be made today isnt where it was yesterday.  We need to “follow the cheese”.

One of the speakers said that if we wanted to service the short sales and foreclosures we need to put “SHORT SALE EXPERT” on our cards and websites.   Well, what do you expect, this is one of the few industries where people study on line for 6 weeks, take a test, then call themselves PROFESSIONALS.  (ok — remember Lazarus - this is not the way to win friends and influence people in this industry)

After lunch we given a good review of the foreclosure and short sale process.  I found this part more interesting and I we really only scratched the surface.

If you are interested in purchasing a foreclosure, pre-foreclosure, short sale, or REO property in Fresno  Call me today:  559-301-1647

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I just added two testimonies from clients to my profile on Active Rain.

Here they are:

Dear Lazarus,

 

We just wanted to express our appreciation to you for the outstanding job that your company did for us regarding the sale of our home. We appreciated the knowledgeable advice received in preparing and pricing our house for sale. Also, the frequent and timely communication with us throughout the whole process from listing to closing was excellent. In today’s very difficult housing market, we were so very glad to have listed our home with Lazarus Realty. There are many details involved in getting a house from listed to sold, so please accept our thanks in getting our house sold in less than two weeks!

Obviously, we would not hesitate to recommend Lazarus Realty to anyone looking to buy or sell a home. Again, thank you!

Sincerely,

Eric & Yoly Miller

___________________________________

Lazarus I want to thank you on behalf of my family. You have helped us in many ways. You helped us to find our home. When times were hard for my family I did not know who to call. But for some reason your name came to mind. I made a call to you. We were in alot of financial trouble and we were close to losing our home.

You helped us find a way to get through a tough time. You loaned us the money we needed to catch up on our mortgage and that gave us time to find a way to keep our home. Not too many people would loan money out of their own pocket. We did not know when we could pay you back, and I think you might have known there was some risk. But you gave from your heart. And I am very happy that we were able to pay you back.

We are still in the same home and with your help and some answered prayers we are making it. I dont just see you as a financial adviser, I also see you as a friend and an answer to our prayers. When we did not have a place to turn to, we were led to you.

I just want you to know, If you ever need anything please call me and I will do my best to help.

Thanks Lazarus.

The Torres Family