This week’s little noticed but important news

It was a busy week for news in the financial world, but there is one little piece of news that could have a positive impact for a lot of people. This bit of news is a rule change by FHA that if people have completed a short sale of their home in which they made all their payments, they can immediately get a loan for another home.

Up until now, someone in this situation who wanted to sell and buy another house they would have needed to wait two years from the time they sold their house in order to buy another house. Pretty much their only option during that two year period would have been to rent a home. This is a likely explanation why new listings are down almost 25% from a year ago, many people are just holding off because they owe too much on their homes. At the same time, pending sales are up almost 30% August 2010 to August 2011 so the market is definitely changing!

One of my goals is to reach homeowners who are in this 25% who may owe more than their homes are worth, yet would like to sell their home and move for reasons that are other than financial. The reasons for wanting to move are often just regular life changes such as a growing family or if the kids are grown and it’s time to scale down. These are victims of the housing downturn that did everything right and have maintained good employment.

A critical factor in doing this successfully is to work with an agent and negotiator who are experts in negotiating short sales. Many agents mistakenly believe that “negotiating” short sales doesn’t really involve negotiating at all, that it is really just a paperwork function of waiting for an answer from the bank. In fact, it definitely involves negotiating. We constantly push for ways to get to a yes, and in difficult situations reconsider strategies to work towards the best possible outcome for the client.

Two videos on our “short sale videos” website tab are this one where we discuss the role actual negotiating plays in short sales,

Video: Do We Negotiate With the Bank or Wait For An Answer

and this second one where we point out that it’s not necessary to be in a dire financial situation in order to complete a short sale. Actually, unfortunately sometimes depending on the lender it is necessary to be in a bad financial situation, but that can quickly be determined up front before you go to the trouble of putting your home on the market.

What Will Happen To My Savings

If you are considering a move, call or email anytime and we can find the best solution for you.


--Ward Spears
503-522-8269
wspears@equitygroup.com