New Facebook and Twitter usernames! Out with the old, and in with ErinNStumpf!

In a continued (and seemingly never-ending) effort to remove my former last name 'Attardi' from my life, I have finally gotten around to changing my Twitter and Facebook usernames to something more fitting. Can you believe there is another Erin Stumpf out there??? Since the username 'erinstumpf' was not available, I have incorporated my middle initial 'N' into my usernames...so you may now find me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ErinNStumpf and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ErinNStumpf. It's not case sensitive, but I felt for the sake of pointing it out -- there's an extra 'N'. Putting in the wrong username, sans N, will take you to another Erin Stumpf's site...I'm sure she's nice and all (and from Missouri!), but she is definitely not me. For people who are already following me on Twitter or are my friend on Facebook, there should be no change. I am now trying to find all of my online profiles that link to either page to change them...that may take years!!

What the F--- is wrong with this photo??

I took other agents in my Dunnigan Realtors Land Park office on a tour my new Tahoe Park listing today...we tour each other's listings as a group every week. I was taken aback by the sign out front! My name misspelled!!

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, or have been following my recent blog posts regarding my name change, you will know that I changed my name this summer after a several months-long process (from Erin Attardi, my former married name -- to Erin Stumpf, my maiden name that I reverted back to following my divorce a few years back).

Of course changing all of my marketing materials was part of the process, and my listing signs were changed out when the CA Department of Real Estate finally recognized the change and issued my Real Estate Broker license. This sign must have been made at 4:30pm on a Friday. Or perhaps they ran out of F's that day. Either way...it's been fixed.

New Listing - 5836 20th Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95817

Adorable 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom 1,168sf home near Tahoe Park! You will love the updated kitchen, large dining area, wood and laminate flooring, spacious bedrooms, large backyard (.16ac), covered patio, attached 2-car garage, and more. Don't wait! Offered at $159,900 subject to lender approval of short sale. For more photos and information, please visit 5836 20th Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95817.

Home Buyer Final Walk-through - do NOT skip this prior to closing escrow on your home...

I have blogged in the past about the process and importance of buyer home inspections on a property they are purchasing. Additionally I have blogged about a buyer's request for repairs on the property they are purchasing. I have also blogged about the purpose of doing a "final walk-through" on a house, just before the close of escrow. Today I would like to take a few extra minutes to explain the importance of doing a final walk-through to verify that repairs have been completed and that the house has been maintained by the seller in the same condition in which the buyer first viewed the home, the house was not damaged during the move-out, and no conditions were concealed by the seller's personal belongings.

Not to cause unnecessary alarm home for Sacramento home buyers -- because in the vast majority of transactions, the seller does all agreed upon repairs, and/or keeps the lawn mowed, keeps the house secure so its not vandalized, the house is not damaged at move-out, etc...however every now and then the final walk-through reveals a condition that needs to be corrected. Keep in mind -- a final walk-through is NOT a contingency of the sale. A buyer should not cancel the close of escrow if there is a repair that was missed or the house isn't clean. The buyer's agent needs to document whatever was not done, not maintained, or damaged and alert the listing agent immediately. The seller is contractually obligated to do any repairs that were agreed upon in writing, and the seller needs to maintain the home.

A couple weeks ago, a buyer client and I did a final walk-through for his soon-to-be new Pocket / Greenhaven home. We walked into the master bedroom, and next to a french door to the backyard was a severely deteriorated baseboard. This space had been concealed by a bookshelf. The baseboard (pictured above) was discolored and "spongy." This was a problem. And our closing was supposed to be 3 days later.

I alerted the other listing agent immediately. She had the pest inspector revisit the house the next day (we had already gotten a "Section 1" pest clearance), and it turns out there was substantial dryrot to the baseboard and the subfloor below the carpet. Cost of this additional repair was about $400 -- paid by the seller. Mission accomplished and escrow closed.

The moral of the story? These types of conditions really need to be discovered before the close of escrow. After the close -- the buyer has very little leverage on the seller. If the seller refused to cooperate after closing, the main remedy would be for the buyer to take the seller to small claims court...and then the buyer would have to prove that those conditions existed prior to closing escrow. Not fun!

So I am a Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE)...I'm sure you can sense my enthusiasm...

Well, for the last couple of days this week, I have been in a classroom earning my "Certified Distressed Property Expert" designation, aka the CDPE. Between my own listings and those that I have negotiated on behalf of other agents, I have closed somewhere near 75 short sale listings....So while I can't say I really learned anything new that I haven't experienced first hand in one of my transactions -- this is definitely a solid course that can provide agents with a basic understanding of some of the fundamentals of doing short sales. This class is no substitute for experience though...so if you are thinking about doing a short sale on your own property, be sure that you ask your agent for client references and find out just how much experience they have in addition to that fancy CDPE designation that cost $450 (plus the upgrade to become an "advanced member" of the CDPE family for only $149 down and $99/month).

Many short sale lenders (like Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, GMAC, CitiMortgage, etc) are now referring their distressed borrowers/sellers only to agents who have this CDPE designation, so I finally pulled the trigger and took the classes. Candidly, I was a little annoyed that after all my experience and depth of knowledge in Sacramento short sales I was forced into taking this course in order to justify to banks that I am competent to do these transactions. So anyway, now I am a CDPE for a year, until I cough up much more money to extend it another year. Extortion if you ask me. But whatever. I guess I just bought some additional credibility. And it's a good tax deduction at the end of the year.

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!