Isi Wu's Blog

Hellooooo My Beautiful Wonderful Bay Area… just had to share this with you… “the greatest glory in living… lies not in never falling… but in rising everytime we fall.” ~ Nelson Mandela

Greetings My Wonderful Beautiful Bay Area!!…  Today I want to revisit what can happen to you if you enter into a Short Sale or if the Bank Forecloses on your property and sells it.

There is NO FREE LUNCH when it comes to the IRS… whenever your home is sold… whether by regular conventional means or if you sold your home at a loss and you paid the difference or by short sale approved by the Bank or involuntarily by foreclosure… be warned you may be subject to taxes!

It doesn’t seem fair and what’s worse… you may not even find out that you owe taxes until the day you open your mail and find a 1099.

The IRS has tax rules for foreclosures or repossessions by lenders of homes belonging to owners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments.  There can be severe and unexpected tax consequences for any owner who simply walks away just because he or she has little or no equity and the lender takes over and sells the property.  When a mortgaged property is foreclosed or repossessed and the bank re-acquires it or the bank knows the owner abandoned the property… the bank will send Form 1099 to the owner and the IRS… it will include the foreclosed bid price, the actual debt (loan) amount and the amount short of the debt amount… that amount will be taxed as ordinary income… the same as for your salary.

Sellers of residences acquired within the past two years or so are going to incur losses.  Even assuming no price declines, losses will result because of expenses for real estate brokers, lawyers and the like.  Sellers will not be able to deduct those losses… it makes no difference that they are forced to sell because of ie)… job changes or health reasons.

**  There’s also information floating around that Banks where distressed properties have overtaken the area in certain markets…are taking steps where even after they approve and close a property for short sale… they will be actively tracking the owner of that short saled property over the next 6 years… during that time if their credit rating goes up and if they attempt to purchase another home they will be pursuing them for the  “short amount” they lost when they approved that person’s short sale 6 years prior… This bit of information is not fact – as of yet here in California… yet people… Everyone please do everything you can to protect yourselves BEFORE A FORECLOSURE OR SELLING… PLAN AHEAD… especially before attempting to sell on a short sale or going through a foreclosure… please get legal and tax advice… do the planning BEFORE ITS TOO LATE!!…

Thanks for checking in…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay!

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• Frequently Asked Questions on Short Sales answered by my Short Sale partner IFR (visionaryrealtynews.com)
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Hello My Beautiful Wonderful Bay Area ~ How are things going for you today?…  No matter whats going on in our crazy lives… this certainly brings a smile to most everyone’s face… it’s something we all have fond childhood memories of…  One of the most treasured guilty pleasures for most everyone is “ice cream“ !!!… its simply ageless… lots of late nights spent topping off a nice day or evening out, or going for a sweet treat with friends,  or spending time with a loved one or just going for a fun time…  One of my most favorite places to go is a place called Fenton’s … its not just a place for ice cream… its  a “happening” place to be… with darn good ice cream… all kinds… and an “all american” style menu filled with your favorite basic foods nothing fancy… but sure to please those who choose to have a meal before their “very special dessert”…here’s my attempt in sharing the essence of Fenton’s…  enjoy and if you havent been… you must try it at least once in your life!… soooooo soooo yummeeeee…

Clik This >>>>>>>>> >>>>               The Legendary ~ Fenton’s Ice Creamery

Thanks for checking in…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay!

HELLOOOOO My Beautiful Wonderful Bay Area!!…

Due to the horrific destruction caused by the recent  merciless earthquake that hit the island of Haiti and its effects on the people of Haiti  we will give, share and extend a hand wherever possible… Please be reminded…if you’re considering donating some of your hard earned money… evaluate the charity of your choice… go to “Charity Navigator”  at http://bit.ly/72XzNB…

Thanks for checking in… your comments are always welcome…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you…

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay…

Just read this article by Gil Linton and thought it was pretty insightful…  It struck me that this same train of thought could be applied to how we view the business of real estate here in our beautiful cities by the San Francisco Bay … check it out..

http://tinyurl.com/yfy9onb

Your thoughts???…

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay…

Greetings To You Today!!... Yesterday… I attended a class offered by my brokerage http://www.realtyworldnca.com… on Social Media… designed to give us insight and information on today’s technology and networking capabilities… all about the How’s, Why’s and What To Do’s and how to incorporate it all into my business… WOW what a concept!!… Help to Help Me in my work!!… Awesome… here’s my chance to go and get myself more informed… and Free… whats not to like?!?…

This class was jammed pack with information… great overview  but wished we had more time for Q&A and actual instructions on the downloading of all those tools… most of these tools were brand new to me… never had anyone share these with me (thanks so much Erin…our in-house social media guru)… I was so excited and anxious to start using them ASAP!!

I wanted to download these tools while still in class… NOT… the internet connection at the venue was faulty, my own air card wasn’t working correctly… nothing I did allowed me to download a thing… was advised to wait til I got home (better connection) to download… NOT… tried and tried over and over to download… I’ve learned over the years…with much trial and error and anxiety… one must be patient, stay calm (take deep breaths) and not get aggravated when working with the computer… nothing was working out right… went to bed… woke up this morning and the very first thing I did … (even before my morning coffee) was to get on my laptop to go at it again… NOT… to avoid bothering our in-house tech guru Ron… I called my local realtor board/tech support… NOT… they couldn’t get the downloads to take… sent emails to the various sites for help… (remember that saying… if at first you don’t succeed don’t give up… keep trying… ) so I reached out to our in-house tech guru Ron… Funny thing he was at that moment working on some of the same issues I was calling about…  he’ll send out update on the fixes later…

Moral to this story… there’s lots to learn, its all there for the taking, be patient, anything worthwhile will come in good time…

Have a Really Good Day All…

As always… would love to hear back from you… I welcome your feedback… Lets Start a Dialogue!…

Save Me in your Favorites and come back and visit all the time!!…

Thanks a Bunch for your time today…

Isi Wu… the realtor for you…

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay…

You may feel too much has been written and talked about on the subject of the “downturn” of the real estate market and all of the various topics that have sprung up because of it… or just way too much info on anything related to real estate… Or perhaps you happen to be one of those folks who love to read all they can about the market… there is after all such a huge spectrum of topics to cover … and you really enjoy absorbing and reading everything you can get your hands on…
But how is one lowly realtor able to cover them all??… its an impossibility!…  I choose NOT to stress about what to share on my blog… after all… we cant all be the perfect blogger with the perfect subject matter all of the time…  Do you agree?  After all the purpose of having a blog is to use it and express our thoughts, our knowledge, our feelings, share information, share events etc… the ideas are infinite… and geeez why worry about… what  I should say… what about the content… I’m a professional am I making an impression?… Do I sound like a lunatic?… Am I rambling?… Am I choosing meaningful topics?…. who am I reaching?… so on and so on … yet we’re told constantly just to start… Don’t Not Start… JUST START … All of the techno wizzes keep drumming it into us that blogging is important…no one will find you if you don’t blog and blog often to make it work… don’t think too hard… therefore… I’ve decided very recently not to take this real estate blogging soooo seriously that I become paralyzed from participating… I’ve decided to just share whatever’s on my mind at the moment or maybe whatever’s been on my mind the last few days… or to be perfectly honest…perhaps no longer than a week prior.
I hope you’ll find what I share as somewhere between being helpful, insightful, meaningful, straightforward, informative and perhaps challenging and even enjoyable at times… I would love to hear from you… please let me know what you think… I’d really like to hear from you… in fact Let’s Start a Dialogue!!…
Actually I meant to start off with a very short intro leading into my topic but I got carried away…
The very next entry will be the topic that was meant to be a part of  this entry… please check it out… in fact Save Me in your Favorites and come back and visit all the time!!…
Thanks a Bunch for your time today…

Isi Wu… the realtor for you…
Servicing Clients All Over the Eastbay…
(including but not limited to… Berkeley, Oakland, Montclair, Piedmont, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Castro Valley, Hayward, Union City, Fremont, Dublin, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Danville, Alamo, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Orinda, Lafayette)

Calif. Median Home Price - August 09: $292,960 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. Highest Median Home Price by C.A.R. region August 09: Santa Barbara So. Coast $828,750 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. Lowest Median Home Price by C.A.R. region August 09: High Desert $111,770 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. First-time Buyer Affordability Index – Second Quarter 2009: 67 percent (Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage Rates – week ending 10/01/09 30-yr. fixed: 4.94% Fees/points: 0.7% 15-yr. fixed: 4.36% Fees/points: 0.6% 1-yr. adjustable: 4.49% Fees/points: 0.5% (Source: Freddie Mac)

A jury sided Thursday with Carlsbad real estate broker Mike Little in a closely watched lawsuit that pitted a local couple against the agent that helped them buy a home. The couple, Vern and Marty Ummel, claimed that Little neglected to mention recent sales in their neighborhood, leading them to overpay by about $150,000 for their home in July 2005.The case attracted national attention as it posed a hot question: What are the responsibilities of a real estate agent? The real estate camp was concerned that if the plaintiffs won Thursday, it would catalyze and focus a growing urge around the country to find someone to blame — and to hold financially responsible — when houses aren’t worth as much as their buyers once paid. Those who sided with the Ummels worried their case would be chalked up to rich people problems, a matter of a measly $150,000 in the scope of a million-dollar tract home near a golf course in North County.

With an enthusiastic and unanimous response, the jury found that Little had executed a reasonable standard of care when he showed his clients, Vern and Marty Ummel, more than 80 homes in a house hunt that began in May 2005, ultimately leaving them to their decision to pay $1.2 million for their house two months later.

In arguments delivered Thursday morning to conclude the jury trial that began last week, attorney David Bright said his client, Little, was being unfairly blamed for the Ummels’ house dropping in value.

“The Ummels want to own the most desirable house and pay for the least desirable house and have Mr. Little make up the difference,” he told the jury.

At a time when

housing market trouble has rocked the global economy, the individual roles of people involved in the basic housing transaction have come under fire. A soaring market this decade hid a multitude of mistakes, a plethora of cut corners and fudged appraisals, because buyers could sell for a profit, nearly no matter what.

But now that the value of housing has come unhitched from what once propelled it upward by double-digit percentages year after year, a spotlight has become trained on the topic of ethics in real estate. Scores of fraud cases, underpinned by inflated appraisals and collusion between buyers’ and sellers’ agents, have landed in national headlines and aggravated bank losses in a major nationwide housing slump.

And arguments in this two-week trial attempted to answer some of those questions: What right did the Ummels have to expect Little to know and tell them about all of the other nearby homes? What duty do buyers have to do their own research, to challenge what their agents and appraisers and mortgage brokers tell them?

At least in this specific case, the Realtor was found to have exercised sufficient care in helping the Ummels find their house, including helping them negotiate other offers they made on houses before they settled on this one. That made an important part of the case Vern Ummel’s admission on the stand that after looking at so many homes, he had a good sense of value in the neighborhood.As for the buyers’ responsibilities, juror after juror gushed praise for Little and heaped criticism on the Ummels’ failure to research the comparable sales themselves.

Bright argued the trial had illuminated the hard work that responsible real estate professionals, those that have been in the industry for a while, do for their clients.

“I think Realtors are scapegoats for a declining market,” Bright said after the verdict was reached Thursday afternoon.

“There are always people out there who will blame someone for something that is beyond their control.”But Marty Ummel, “devastated” by the conclusion of the case, said the jury’s decision enables real estate agents to skimp on information they provide to their clients.

“I think it sends a bad message to people about the real estate industry,” she said. “Evidently there is not the relationship of trust that I would’ve expected.

“The verdict marked an end of a battle that began soon after the Ummels bought a house on Amante Court in Carlsbad for $1.2 million in late July 2005. They were still unpacking when Marty found on their doorstep one day a flyer from another real estate agent, touting a recent sale of a similar-sized home down the street from the Ummels’. What caught Marty’s eye: that house sold six weeks earlier for $105,000 less than they’d paid.

When they received a paper copy of their appraisal after they bought their house, the Ummels noticed the comparable sales in the neighborhood had not just lower prices, but, in their view, better amenities and larger lot sizes. A few months later, they saw another flier for a house down the street that sold for $175,000 less.

The Ummels contended their agent had misrepresented a reasonable value to pay for their house and had breached his fiduciary duty to them, acting to protect his commission instead of their best interest. They filed suits in July 2006 to that effect against their agent, Mike Little, and Re/Max Associates, the parent franchise of 14 affiliated offices in San Diego County.

The Ummels picketed, carrying signs that exclaimed “Caution, Beware: All Re/Max offices are independently owned,” and “It’s our money; we want justice” to Re/Max offices around the county and even to the Greenwood Hills, Colo., national headquarters of Re/Max.

The original lawsuit named the appraiser and the mortgage broker, who each settled with the Ummels for $10,000.And though the case was decided in his favor Thursday, the impact of the picketing and the media attention over the last 18 months was significant for Little, Bright said.

“It’s been extremely hard,” Bright said. “Now, when he looks at a client, he’s got to wonder, what’s going to happen? Are these people going to second-guess me?”Marty Ummel said her efforts weren’t in vain. The jury spoke and the Ummels lost, but she said she was proud of herself for “doing what I thought was right.”"The fact that there’s dialogue on what Realtors need to do, the fact that it looks like the Realtors don’t need to do as much,” she named as aspects she was happy the case brought to the public consciousness.

Todd Lackner, a real estate appraiser not associated with the case, said the Ummels had “lost the battle but won the war” when it came to raising questions and delivering a hit to the reputation of real estate agents.

“I think it’s scaring Realtors more than anything else,” he said. “[Little] won the court case, but there’s a lot of other Realtors out there that are very concerned. Not just in San Diego. It’s got to be nationwide.

“I think people are a little bit more skeptical, more concerned, and rightly so,” he said. “If you don’t think this is the right value, don’t do it.”

 

 

Buyers! Please! Please!

1. Please do not believe what you hear or read from the Media.

2. Please listen to the advice of your Realtor.

3. Please believe us when we say the lenders are not willing to give away the properties.

4. Please understand that that the lenders are taking anywhere from 30 to 50 per cent loss on the home.

5. Please understand for the most part the lenders will not take less than listed price.

6. Please understand that when the property is in great condition and in a good location that the there will be multiple offers.

7. Please understand that when there are multiple offers, you need to offer more than listed price.

8. Please understand that real estate in the long run has always gone up in value.

9. Please understand that interest rates will not remain low forever and now is the right time to buy.

10. AND finally, Please understand that there are not any deals!… The deals are here right now!… Homes are ON SALE right now!!!