About Short Sales

for everything you need to know about short sales, REO and bank owned properties.

Posts Tagged ‘Reality’

Tips To Stay Scam Free With An Arizona Foreclosure

Monday, October 18th, 2010

Everyone seems to be under the assumption that you can save a lot of time and money when you purchased a foreclosed home. The fact of the matter is it can be incredibly hard to find a home that will not cost you an arm and a leg in the repairs and upkeep department. Before you think about purchasing an Arizona foreclosure, make sure to look over these tips that will help protect you and your hard earned money.

You will never be able to work with the banks on a lower price for a foreclosed home. When you look over the home with your agent and you read over the specs, the price that you see is the price that needs to be paid. Make sure that you factor in other possible costs as well so that you do not run into any trouble.

Foreclosed homes might are not always in the greatest condition. There might be damage that has been made to the home that could cost thousands of extra dollars to fix. The main thing to remember when buying an Arizona foreclosure is the fact that the house remains as-is. The bank will not send out any crews or help to clean up any part of the mess that is associated with your home.

Closing costs are what usually have prospective buyers running in the other direction. These costs can quickly add up and you might not have enough in your pocket or from your lender to cover it all. Make sure that you know how much everything is ahead of time so that you are not left with any unexpected surprises that you cannot afford.

Finding a bank or a lender that will give you the money that you need to purchase an Arizona foreclosure home is going to be a hurdle. Most banks will overlook these applications or keep them at the bottom of a stack that never ends. Take a look around online or try to borrow the money from a friend or family member if you are confident you can profit from the home.

Banks that hold all of the keys to these homes are not easy to get a hold of either. The ad will be posted for a few months at least, but it can be very difficult to actually get in touch with a person rather than a recording. Push through or get with an agent that knows how to pull strings and get in touch with the right people.

Saving a certain percentage on a foreclosed home might seem like an excellent deal. The fact of the matter is you are going to spending a lot more to fix up the home. Before you know it that 25 percent that you have saved has been spent and you still have thousands more to go. Save your home and look for other lending options and possible grants that you might qualify for.

Avoiding the Arizona foreclosure scene may be difficult in this economy but you can still find some hidden gems. Get with an agent that knows what to look for and get what you need. Watch out for lurking foreclosure homes that will only set you behind and keep looking for your dream home!

Discover the many Az foreclosures that you can purchase for cheap. These Arizona foreclosure chances should be looked into closely. Discover your new home today by going online.

Choosing To Refinance Your Mortgage

Saturday, October 16th, 2010

Rates on a 30 year loan are at historic lows. In fact the interest rate on a 30 year loan is lower than it has been in the past forty years. Along with this low interest rate comes gigantic opportunity for property owners to decrease their loan payments. Determining whether or not it makes sense to refinance is dependent on your unique situation, as well as how much money you will save in comparison to the new costs. The analysis is a relatively simple, but you should understand the procedure so that you can benefit from refinancing.

If you are thinking about refinancing your mortgage, first you must look at your payoff and the monthly payment. After that, you need to look at what your new loan and payment will be after renewing the loan. If overall you will either save money or reduce your payment or both, then the refinancing your mortgage makes sense.

The simplest way to see if refinancing your mortgage makes sense from a quantitative point of view is to make a list that includes your payoff, your monthly payment, and the number of payments that have yet to be made. Multiply the number of left over payments by your current mortgage payment each month and record this number.

Now record the amount that you will need to refinance, the new refinance term, and the approximate new mortgage payment. Simplify the calculations by using a spreadsheet, or mortgage calculator. Include your refinance costs as part of the total amount that you will be financing, bank fees, appraisal fees and transfer and escrow costs. Now repeat the same calculation as before, multiply the total number of payments by the monthly payment amount.

If you are updating your mortgage, but not pulling out any equity, the refinance makes the most common sense if you can lower your periodic payment, and if the entire amount paid (number of payments multiplied by the monthly payment) after the refinance is lower than the complete amount to be of the payoff your current mortgage. If the periodic payment is lower than your current payment, but the full amount is more, you have to decide if paying lower monthly outweighs the greater amount you will need to disburse. The opposite decision is needed if your payment increases but the entire amount due decreases. In either case, check your calculations carefully as you come to a decision.

One think to take into consideration as you go through the above analysis is that the current mortgage must equal the amount that you are refinancing. If the refinance amount exceeds the amount presently due on the mortgage then a much more complicated analysis is warranted. For this type of analysis, you will need a spread sheet with present value and amortization calculations. If you are not comfortable with these types of calculations, consult a financial adviser or accountant to assist with quantifying your decision.

Learn more about investing in real estate at GRAR and
MRMLS. Visit these sites now to learn more about the resources available to real estate investors and realty professionals to help them succeed in real estate.

Will You Be Able To Refinance Your Commercial Loan

Sunday, October 3rd, 2010

As I drive around town I see lots of commercial buildings that are either empty or with multiple vacancies. There are so many “For Lease” signs in the windows that it is easy to see that the economic melt down has hit the commercial section heard. Homeowners are not the only ones worried about losing their properties these days, landlords and commercial property owners are having many of the same headaches, but on a bigger scale.

The bad economy is making many companies close branch operations or otherwise consolidate operations and personnel. Many other companies have had to stop doing business altogether as business dried up. Bankruptcy has caused others to close their doors. In every town I have been in lately, I’ve seen the same thing. When these businesses fail we frequently don’t think about their landlords, but in this market, they are in trouble also.

They are in trouble for a couple of reasons but the immediate problem is that they are losing the cash flow from their vacating tenants. Banks expect commercial foreclosures to increase as the property owners start to experience cash flow problems. Although landlords are fighting to increase cash flow and decrease expenses to make their payments, it might be a losing battle unless they can refinance their loans or get loan modifications.

It’s a fact that commercial property owners are losing tenants. This creates tremendous hardships for these landlords. With the glut of vacant space on the market, it’s hard for landlords to replace lost income from their previous tenants. The banks are worried about this because they know that landlords without tenants can’t pay their mortgages. When the loans were made years ago, it was usually with interest only loans for 7 to 8 years. Everyone expected that by the end of that time frame they could refinance the loans at cheaper rates and for a longer-term. But that is proving impossible now because property values have plummeted from previous levels. Many of the property owners are upside down just like the residential homeowners who are losing their homes.

The combination of lower property values and decreasing tenant income could be a fatal blow for many commercial property owners. On top of that, lending practices are much tighter than they were 10 years ago when these loans were made and they can get even tighter. These tight lending practices are making it very difficult for most commercial property owners to refinance.

This new crisis is going to result in a lot more vacant and foreclosed commercial property if it is not solved. About the only thing that will save it is effective commercial loan modification. This will take a lot of negotiating between property owners and the bank, but it’s important that it gets done. There are negotiators whose only business is negotiating these commercial loans. The landlord needs to find a competent commercial mortgage negotiator to help them get the best deal. He needs to have his principle reduced so that is no longer underwater with the loan. That’s the only way he’ll be able to get the refinancing he needs.

Getting started is not hard but requires a lot of paperwork. There’s a detailed application that needs to be filled out along with all the financial data that the property generates. A commercial appraisal needs done and that’s pretty expensive. The commercial negotiators that I just mentioned know exactly what to do to help smooth the process tremendously. Once you make the decision to go forward, it should go pretty smoothly because both the negotiator and the bankers are professionals who deal with this everyday. So if this applies to you, get started now before it’s too late.

Are you going to be able to Refinance Your Commercial Loan? We will tell you more at www.PalmDesertForeclosures.org.