Friday, November 16, 2007

Santana Row Showing Signs of Short Sales

Wow that's a lot of "S's"
And yes, the glitzy Santana Row has the same financial issues as the rest of the valley. In fact, most of the short sales and foreclosures are in homes that sold in the last three years - precisely when all the condos sold at Santana Row. The popular A2 units with one bedroom and a den have been selling for approximately $650,000 in the last few months. Now there are at least two units for sale under $600,000. With rents going up, this may be a great opportunity to buy one and hold it. The market will come back next year, time to go bullish before everyone else does.

Short Sale But Still Making Payments?

Can you get lender cooperation if you need to sell your home via a short sale and you are still current on your loan payments? Most lenders will not capitulate to this. Why should they? If your history shows you can make the payments, they have no incentive to take less than what is owed if you decide to sell. That is the surface answer and then you can fill in the details of what may really be happening. Has there been a change in household income? Did someone lose a job? Are the payments eating through your savings and will the missed payments eventually begin? If you can paint the picture to the lender that the disaster is imminent, then they may become more cooperative. Banks are becoming far more realistic and cooperative as they learn how to deal with these situations. The main thing is to communicate with your lenders. Then together you can work out the difficult situation.