Isi Wu's Blog

HELLLOOOO My Most Beautiful Wonderful Bay Area!!…  The “Question of the Day” is … Are you sure your realtor is licensed to do business?

Most sellers, buyers, soon to be in the market consumers and yes even fellow realtors probably don’t think too much about the licensing status of the agents they work with! And we all should know!! In fact its crucial to know… why would you work with someone who isnt licensed, why would you work with someone who has been disciplined or has complaints placed on his/her record?… As with everything else in life we must scrutinize the who, what and whys which includes “making sure your realtor is licensed and current” when it comes to working closely with that person regarding your home or any kind of property and where a huge amount of your life and money  is involved… Use a Licensed Realtor!

Jim Malmberg wrote a very insightful article on why its important to know the status of the realtor you work with…please take a minute to read it… and enlighten yourselves… http://bit.ly/A5hHlw

(the DRE – Department of Real Estate License Lookup link is inside Jim’s article… its FREE to use…do yourselves a favor and do this…)

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HELLOOOOOO…. MY Wonderful, Beautiful, Wet and Cold Bay Area!!… Today we have a Q and A for you… check it out… (Send me your questions anytime…)

QUESTION… In today’s environment (February 2011) can one purchase a home with 10% down, credit score of 740, $200,000 income and a short sale in 2009?

Asked by Donsfan – Home Buyer in Oakland – Home Buying

ANSWER… Hello… As you must know the current market is not exactly a wonderful one to be in… one would think its very much to the advantage of the buyers to be able to buy lower than ever before… because of all the challenges in the lending process these days and because of all of its ever changing requirements it can be a huge headache to maneuver through… I suggest that you connect up with a realtor who has some years of experience to counsel and guide you through what can and cannot be done… Good Luck to you… Isi

Related articles

• How first-time buyers can get on the property ladder (telegraph.co.uk)
• Short Sales, Foreclosure and Your Credit Score (creditscore.net)

HELLLLOOOOOO My Beautiful, Wonderful Bay Area!!… Its a gorgeous day today…  hope you’re out there enjoying it!… Wanted to share some food for thought for all you 

First Time Home Buyers out there…  

First Time Home Buyers – so excited, filled with anticipation and hope for the future… the first homes you see may well be foreclosed properties – terrible carpeting, damaged walls, missing items, various aromas inside the house… the excitement and hope may begin to fade…

All of a sudden your dream home appears!!… Brand new kitchen, remodeled bathrooms, new paint, new flooring, new windows… its perfect!!… It’s the only one you want… no way will you consider those awful foreclosed/distressed homes!… its too good to be true!!…

Your Realtor informs you it’s a “Flip”…  what the heck is a “Flip” you ask?… A flip is a property purchased by an investor at a discounted price, either on the courthouse steps or some other means… the investor “Flipper” will usually send in a crew to upgrade and improve the home before putting it back on the market for a profit.  The upgrades usually include new paint, new flooring, new kitchen cabinets, new counters, new appliances, new dual pane windows, new hot water heater, a new roof and more…

The drawback is… permits are required for many of the upgrades, and in many cases the “Flippers” don’t bother.

Whenever improvements are made without the necessary permits its creates a real problem. Permits are required for almost every kind of home improvement.

When a buyer purchases a home without the required permits, they become liable for bringing the home to compliance.  This is the problem… time is money, to make a profit “Flippers” must get the home improved and back on the market asap.  Obtaining permits can take more time and delays and more money.

Since the “flippers” buy properties “as is” they inherit the pre-existing improvements – many without permits.  They really should get these properties into compliance with the local building departments BEFORE doing anymore additional work and re-selling.  Its safe to say this isn’t happening in most cases.

In Summary…

The Good?  Flippers are upgrading homes and improving neighborhoods.

The Bad? Shortcuts. Buyers should check city records for permits… None? Ask the seller to provide them.

The Ugly?  Not all flippers do good work. Some just paint over issues and hide problems to turn a quick profit. There’s no guarantee all improvements were installed properly and safely.

Make sure you get a proper home inspection so you know what you’re getting into. BUYER BEWARE!..

Thanks for checking in!! Your comments are always welcome…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you…
the right agent makes all the difference

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay…

Related articles

• House Flippers: The Forgotten “Victims” Of The Real Estate Implosion (247wallst.com)

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HELLLLLOOOO My Wonderful – Beautiful Bay Area… The news is out… A number of major banks have volunteered to temporarily suspend foreclosures in 23 states and Bank of America is temporarily suspending foreclosures nationwide…

This situation is changing daily… this is just part of what we know so far… so far only Bank of America has extended its foreclosure moratorium to California, where the vast majority of foreclosures are conducted without a court order… the other 22 states are processed through the court system.  However non-judicial foreclosures in California do have legal requirements that lenders must follow… Other lenders and servicers placing foreclosure moratoriums are… Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s Litton Loan Servicing, Ally Financial Inc’s GMAC Mortgage unit, JPMorgan Chase and PNC Financial… please keep in mind they are only Temporarily halting the foreclosure process until they have reviewed whether some lenders/servicers were following correct procedures prior to foreclosing on properties.  This is all taking place voluntarily there has not been any mandates by either State or Federal entities. The bigger question is… just how long will it really take to straighten this mess up??!!!

The immediate impact of this moratorium on your transactions may cause delays and may even remove the listed foreclosures.

Lets all hope these latest events will be resolved swiftly to minimize the impact on our housing market in the Bay Area!

Stay tuned in and check back for updates as they become available…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay!

Hellloooo My Wonderful Beautiful Bay Area!!… How many of you have gone through the home buying process and gone to the title company to sign off your loan documents and actually experienced waiting the day or two before your home finally became officially yours??… For those of you who have never gone through the process here’s a glimpse of what actually happens when you go to sign off your closing documents just prior to your home loan funding and recording at the County Recorder’s Office and getting your keys to your new home!…  the following video is an actual signing for one of my clients (who happens to be just 23 years of age, who purchased her first home without any financial help from her parents… (I want to make clear that this example is one that is happening much more frequently than ever before … and I want to emphasize that anyone I mean anyone no matter how young or old can achieve homeownership if the desire is there…)

I hope this will enlighten you and give you extra insight as to what happens towards the end of a transaction in escrow… By all means please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have… it will be my pleasure to assist you…

Maddi is now a very happy and proud homeowner and I’m very honored to have represented her!…

Thanks for checking in…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay…

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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