Ask Erin: What happens to my short sale if my loan servicing is transferred to another company??

I listed a short sale in Orangevale a few weeks ago...at the time I listed the house, the loan was serviced with Bank of America and the sellers and I were navigating our way through their "Co-Operative" short sale listing process (where we complete a few steps in advance in order to list the property with a pre-approved short sale price). Then something happened...we were notified of an upcoming "Service Transfer" and the loan would be moved from Bank of America to another lender for servicing. Huh?

This does happen from time to time. Bank of America, like many other large lending institutions, services mortgage loans for hundreds of investors. An "investor" could be Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, a hedge fund, another bank, etc. As a part of normal loan servicing, these investors may opt to release or transfer servicing from one company to another company.  In most cases, once the servicing transfer occurs, the short sale process ends with Bank of America and the homeowner must contact the new servicer to start navigating that company's short sale process.

When I list short sale property, I generally talk about the possibility of this happening with the seller. This is not a really common occurrence mid-transaction (this has happened only 4 times out of all of the 100+ short sales I have worked on), but a servicing transfer is a risk that may occur at any time during the short sale process -- EVEN after a short sale has been approved! This is one of the reasons why it is important to move as quickly as possible to facilitate a short sale.

Generally, if your loan is going to be transferred from one servicer to another, the current servicer will send the homeowner a letter 15 days before the servicing transfer date. The lender may or may not contact the listing agent -- so short sale sellers PLEASE open your mail and keep your agent in the loop as far as what the communications say! The new loan servicer will send a introduction letter to the seller with a new loan number and payment or collection info. One thing to note -- before you send ANY payment or personal information to the new servicer, please call them to verify that your service has been transferred and the new mailing address. Some fraudsters will send bogus letters in an attempt to get you to mail them money or steal your identity! If an offer has already been accepted on your short sale, a closing has been set and an approval letter issued, the new servicer will determine if the short sale will continue. Unfortunately the new servicer may not be obligated to honor the approval.

Wells Fargo and NeighborWorks introduce the NeighborhoodLIFT! $15,000 downpayment assistance for eligible Sacramento home buyers...

The folks at Wells Fargo, Wells Fargo Foundation and NeighborWorks have introduced a new downpayment assistance program! For a limited time eligible home buyers may receive $15,000 for down payment assistance for the purchase of a primary, owner-occupied residence in the City of Sacramento. This amount you receive from the program is fully forgivable after you live in the home for five years. The program is available if you are approved for home financing and your household income is equal to or less than 120% of the area median income. See the NeighborhoodLIFT eligibility requirements here.

The program will launch in Sacramento, California on November 16 and 17, 2012 with an educational event where buyers can be pre-approved for the program. RSVP to come to the NeighborhoodLIFT launch event where you'll be able to:

• Find out if you are eligible for up to $15,000 of down payment assistance on qualified properties.
• Sign up for education programs that can prepare you for finding and financing a home and managing the financial responsibilities of homeownership.
• Make an appointment for one-on-one counseling session to set up an individualized plan to work towards homeownership.
• Go on a neighborhood home tour featuring homes for sale.

To register for the launch event or to learn more about NeighborhoodLIFT, click here. All attendees MUST bring the required documents to the event. Required documents include things like your last month's paystubs, last two years of tax returns and W-2's, bank statements, etc. To see the checklist of required documents, click here.

Not able to attend the launch event on November 16 & 17? You may still have an opportunity to become eligible for up to $15,000 in down payment assistance if funds are still available after the event. AND although Wells Fargo is the sponsor of the NeighborhoodLIFT program, you may seek financing for the remaining balance of the home purchase from any lender who accepts the NeighborhoodLIFT down payment assistance program.

If you are interested in receiving email notifications of new listings within the City of Sacramento, visit SacHomeList.com and fill out your home search criteria.

Somebody pinch me - I got to go to Game 1 of the World Series!!

OMG...somebody pinch me! Three of my best friends and I went to game 1 of the 2012 World Series! We sat in the Right Field Arcade and we got to see an amazing game! Pablo Sandoval hit THREE home runs in the opening game victory! GO GIANTS!

How many smoke detectors does it take?

Paranoid much? This high level of residential disaster prep is a little bit over the top. When I toured this cute little 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom East Sacramento home today, I couldn't help but wonder...why? Three. Separate. Smoke. Detectors. Over just one of the bedroom doors. The other bedroom door had zero smoke detectors. Was the occupant of that bedroom not as "important" as the occupant of this bedroom? Does each smoke detector work? Perhaps the seller couldn't figure out how to change the batteries and just installed new ones? But why install new ones without removing the old ones? Well...my buyer client opted not to make an offer on this one, so I suppose that the mystery of the smoke detectors will go unsolved.

New Listing - 6100 Palmaya Lane, Orangevale, CA 95662

Well maintained 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, 1,426 square feet Orangevale home on .14ac lot in a lovely gated community! You will love the open floorplan, spacious kitchen with tile counters and breakfast bar, master suite with amazing bathroom, large rooms, extra storage, backyard is one of the largest in the neighborhood! Low HOA dues! Offered at $195,000, subject to lender approval of short sale. For more photos and information, please visit 6100 Palmaya Lane, Orangevale, CA 95662.

Sacramento Real Estate Listing Inventory September 2012

Where have all the Sacramento home listings gone? Well , there are not as many homes on the market in MLS. AND the homes that are listed are selling quickly. Our absorption rate in Sacramento is amazing - we have less than one month's worth of housing inventory on the market. In fact, we have nine tenths (0.9) of a month of for sale housing inventory here in Sacramento County. I am seeing multiple offers on my listings, and it's really competitive out there. I have six theories as to why there are not too many homes on the market right now. When I wrote my "Six Theories" post in May of this year, interest rates were higher then than they are today -- they were around 4% vs. 3.25% today for a 30-year fixed loan -- and our median home price in Sacramento has increased from $167,000 in May to $180,000 last month in September. Statistics don't lie...the market is HOT! I think most home buyers have decided now is the time to buy...and with prices increasing, perhaps folks who need to sell will decide now is the time to sell...