Short Sales in South Lake Tahoe

For those of you that have been following the South Lake Tahoe Real Estate market, you know that foreclosures have been accounting for a large percentage of our current escrows and recent sales activities. Currently 12 of the 44 single family homes in escrow are foreclosures. On the other hand, there are only 3 short sales in escrow out of the 33 short sale listings on the South Lake Tahoe mls. With the changes that are happening with lenders and short sales, the number of foreclosures may soon be decreasing, and the number of short sale listings may be on the rise.

A short sale occurs when a homeowner owes more on their property than the property is actually worth, but the bank agrees to accept less than is owed as “payment in full”, in an effort to avoid the foreclosure process. A short sale is a great option to foreclosure for a homeowner because the homeowners credit will not be damaged nearly as much. In most short sale cases, the only damage to the homeowners credit will be the delinquent mortgage payments that will eventually fade off of the credit report. It is important to make sure that the lender reports the loan as “Paid in Full.”

With the recent changes to the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt relief Act, the debt that is forgiven on the first mortgage is no longer taxable as long as the house was your primary residence. If the house is not your primary residence, the IRS considers the amount of the loan discount taxable income.

 Why would a bank want short sale a property and accept less than they are owed?

• Foreclosure is expensive for the bank and averages about $14,000 to $20,000 dollars.
• Banks are required to hold 3 to 5 times the amount of any foreclosure properties held as assets in reserves. If a bank forecloses on a $500,000 house, they are required to have an additional $1,500,000 to 2,500,000 in reserves that they cannot lend out and make money on.
• With the new stimulus package, banks are now getting a bonus from the government for closed short sale transactions.

Banks are now realizing that short sales can be a better option than foreclosure for both themselves and the homeowners, which is why we may be seeing more successful short sale closings in the future.

A bank will not just approve a short sale because the homeowner owes more that the home is worth. In order for a homeowner to qualify for a short sale they must meet certain requirements.

• In most cases the homeowner must be behind on payments (Countrywide requires that you are 90 days behind on payments).
• Homeowners must be able to prove that they have a legitimate hardship such as a loss of a job, divorce, illness, decrease in income, or increase in expenses.
• There must be little or no equity in the home.

The homeowner must provide the following documents to the listing agent, who will provide them to the lender:

• Authorization to release information
• Hardship letter
• Financial worksheet
• Listing agreement
• Two years tax returns
• Two months bank statements for all accounts
• Two pay period pay stubs

Although lenders are now realizing that short sales may be a better option than foreclosing on the property, short sales are still far from easy. Lenders are overloaded with thousands of short sale packages. It can take up to a couple of months to get a response from the lender.

It is very important that the listing agent is a short sale transaction has knowledge in short sales. Real estate agents who submit a complete short sale package are much more likely to get assigned to a loss mitigator and potentially get approved. There are also cirtian things that a real estate agent can do to help expedite the approval process, such as making sure that the loan number is on the top right and the bottom  of each and every page of the short sale package. Being able to contact the loss mitigator and keeping in communication with them regarding the transaction is another difficult but important job of the listing agent. Ultimately it is the listing agent who the buyer and the seller will be relying on to facilitate the short sale transaction.

Why would a buyer want to purchase in a short sale listing?

Short sales are consistently listed at 5% less than the current market value. Going through the short sale process may take more time, but it may be worth it for the buyer.

When looking at South Lake Tahoe Real Estate, do not avoid looking at short sale listings. There may be less competition over the short sale listings than the foreclosure listings, and you may get a great deal on a house!

If you would like a list of short sale listings in South Lake Tahoe or foreclosure listings in South Lake Tahoe on the South Lake Tahoe mls E-mail Brent and Jill Johnson. If you have any questions about South Lake Tahoe real estate or about South Lake Tahoe mls listings, please contact us today!

Stateline

The Stateline area on the California side is one of the most convenient locations in South Lake Tahoe Real Estate. It is the location that draws most buyers to this area. The Stateline area is the closest area to the Casinos out of all of the areas on the South Lake Tahoe mls. Heavenly Valley Ski Resort can also be accessed from Stateline by the gondola at the Heavenly Village.

The houses in the Stateline area are very diverse. Most of the houses on the South side of Highway 50 are older and smaller cabins with some remodels. The prices for these cabins usually run from $250,000 to $400,000.  The houses on the North side of Highway 50 can vary from smaller cabins to multi-million dollar lake front homes. The area between the Lake Side Marina and Highway 50 is known as the Lakeside subdivision, and offers private beach access passes with home ownership. just West of the Lakeside subdivision is Tahoe Meadows. Tahoe Meadows is a private gated community with lake view and lake front homes. The Tahoe Meadows area is one of the most sought after areas in South Lake Tahoe.

The Stateline area makes an ideal location for a second home buyer, or an investor looking for  vacation rental property. If you are looking at homes in South Lake Tahoe, make sure to include the Stateline area.

South Lake Tahoe Foreclosure Listing

The latest foreclosure in South Lake Tahoe listing is 1049 Reno Ave. This home is priced at $199,900 bringing the total number of homes on the South Lake Tahoe mls priced under $200,000 to 15. Out of the 15 houses priced under $200,000 six of them are in escrow and six are foreclosures.

• 889 square feet
• 5000 square foot lot
• 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1 car garage
• Storage shed
• Central location
• $199,900!

 

Currently there are 29 single family foreclosures listed on the South Lake Tahoe mls. Out of the 29 foreclosure listings 11 are in escrow. With only 29 single family foreclosures listed in South Lake Tahoe and 443 single family mls listings, foreclosures only account for 7% or our current inventory.

The current median list price for the foreclosure listings is $284,900

The current median square footage for the foreclosure listings is 1,476

The current median days on market for the foreclosure listings is 66

 

Here is a list of the current foreclosure listings in South Lake Tahoe. If you have questions about foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe, South Lake Tahoe mls listings, or South Lake Tahoe real estate, please contact Brent and Jill Johnson today!

Chase International Is Providing Real Estate Forums

The South Lake Tahoe real estate market is ever changing and very complicated. There is so much information regarding short sales, foreclosures, loans, and loan modifications that it is hard to know what is the truth and what is not.

In order to provide home owners and home buyers with answers to their questions, Chase International is providing local real estate forums in Reno, South Lake Tahoe, Truckee/ Tahoe City, and the Carson Valley.

 Experts in the following fields will be available to answer you questions at the forums:

Finance and Legal Experts

• Banker/Mortgage Brokers
• Real Estate Attorneys
• Credit Repair Advisors                                                                              

Default Specialists

• Loan Modification Specialist
• Certified Short-Sale Specialists
• Foreclosure Process

Local real estate professionals will be on hand to answer your questions. You will be able to meet your local experts who can provide you with the options that you need.

Dates and Locations

• RenoThursday, March 26th 6:30-8:30 pm at Chase International 985 Damonte Ranch Parkway, Reno NV
• South Lake Tahoe Saturday, March 28th 10am-Noon at Chase International Elk Point Rd. & Hwy 50, Zepher Cove NV
• Truckee & Tahoe City Saturday, April 4th 10am-Noon at the Hampton Inn 11951 State Hwy 267, Truckee CA
• Carson Valley Saturday, April 18th 10am-Noon at the Carson Valley Inn 1627 Hwy 395, Minden Nv

There is limited space at the forums so call today! If you can not attend any of the forums, pass your questions on to me so that I can either answer them or forward them to the correct expert. There are many options to loosing your house to foreclosure. Do your self a favor and become educated about the options that are available to you!

For more information about South Lake Tahoe Real estate, short sales, or foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe, please contact Brent and Jill Johnson. This South Lake Tahoe real estate blog post was written by Brent Johnson,

Short Sales in South Lake Tahoe

With more and more short sale listings on the South Lake Tahoe mls, it is very important to work with an agent that is experienced in short sales. There is a lot of information and time required in order to get a short sale escrow closed. With lenders now willing to negotiate short sales and loan modifications more consistently, foreclosure listings should decrease. With the decrease in foreclosure listings in South Lake Tahoe, buyers looking for deals on houses will need to shift their attention to short sales.

I will be attending another class on short sales on March 17th, and I will be sure to write about what I learn from this valuable class. I currently have two short sale escrows, one of which has been accepted by the lender, and one that is still in negotiations. I also have a short sale listing that has been getting a lot of activity. Over half of the current escrows on the South Lake Tahoe mls are either foreclosures or short sales.

There are still a lot of real estate agents out there that have not had any experience in short sales and are not taking the time to become educated about the process. It would be a mistake to list your home with one of those agents. Time is of the essence when it comes to short sales and if the listing agent does not understand the process, there is a chance that the lender will just close the file and foreclose on the home.

Working as a buyers agent on a short sale deal can be very frustrating because you are basically on the sideline and can only hope that the listing agent is doing everything that they should be doing to communicate with the lender. There are a lot of tricks and techniques that a knowledgeable short sale agent can apply in order to get a quicker response from the lender.

I look forward to sharing all of the short sale information that I learn from this short sale class next week. I will be writing a lot about short sales in the future because short sales are turning into a huge market share. All of the  buyers, sellers, and agents who are not educating themselves about short sales are missing the boat!

If you would like to know more about short sales in South Lake Tahoe, South Lake Tahoe real estate, or foreclosures on the South Lake Tahoe mls, please contact Brent and Jill Johnson!

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