by Paula Swayne | Oct 30, 2011 | Fico scores, foreclosures, Short Sales
As strange as this sounds, it has been suggested at several meetings of late. Just imagine qualifying someone who, other than a short sale or foreclosure, has perfect credit. They pay their bills on time….some even doing so until they are told that they have to have a late or non-existent payment in order to qualify for short sales. They are stable other than this one issue…the short sale or foreclosure. Can you imagine the number of qualified buyers we would have out there and how quickly the housing industry would recover if these people could purchase sooner than 2-7 years?Now, it would not be perfect. I think anyone who did a strategic foreclosure or short sale should not be able to qualify. I am speaking of people who, for one reason or another, simply were forced to move. These would include people with health issues, job transfers, or who were forced to take less to keep their jobs. These are the people who are responsible, who deserved a break…and I think we should give it to them.It’s an interesting thought, isn’t...
by Paula Swayne | Feb 27, 2010 | banks, foreclosures
I will be the first to admit that I don’t do a lot of foreclosures…in fact, I am in the middle of my first one. No, I am NOT going to answer any questions on how in the world I have accomplished this remarkable feat! Being a rookie at this, but not uninformed, there have been few surprises. The bank shortened up the removal of all contingencies to 10 days (and we all know how well the banks do at moving things along in a timely manner). We had to promise that there would be world peace…okay, maybe not, but it felt like it!Anyway, we have been hustling to get everything done in the 10 days we were allotted. My clients signed the final counter from the bank on the 19th, so we have until Monday to remove our contingencies….you would think! I received a call from the listing agents assistant explaining the error in my math. You see, the BANK signed the counter offer THEY wrote on the 16th, so add 10 days…and yep…the contingencies were suppose to be removed today. Now, some sane person may ask if we were in contract on the 16th and the reasonable answer would be no, since my clients hadn’t agreed to their counter yet. The assistant kindly explained to me that the date that my clients agreed to and signed the counter really didn’t matter. Hmmm…. This being the case, the next time I receive an offer on a property I have listed, I am just going to assume that the buyers have agreed to it and go forth and...