Joshua Chavez, C.A.R.E Team Blog

Evergreen San Jose, CA Real Estate - HAFA SHORT-SALE FAQ

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Evergreen San Jose, CA Real Estate - HAFA SHORT-SALE FAQ

I hope everyone had a great holiday season! As always, I am back to share some useful information with you. As a Certified HAFA Short-sale Specialist, I have come across several questions over and over and I feel they need to be addressed.

What is a HAFA Short-sale?

In short, the HAFA Short-sale is a program put together by the Gov. to standardize the way Short sales are done. Historically, Short sales have not had a structure and really only benefit the banks i.e. saving cost. The traditional Short sale is still there for sellers who do not qualify for the preliminary HAFA Short-sale qualification and still want to salvage their credit.

Why would I be interested in doing a HAFA Short-sale?

A Short sale is meant for seller who cannot afford their homes and wish to salvage their credit. With Traditional Short-sale, there were no guidelines as to who can afford their home and who cannot. With HAFA, the preliminary HAFA Short-sale qualification outlines that part of the equation. The Gov. has standardized that if your Mortgage payment is more than 31% of your gross income, then you cannot afford your home. With that in mind, the Preliminary HAFA Short-sale qualification does just that, and does not approve your Short sale. With that said, once it is established a seller cannot afford their home, and then the HAFA program allows for the follow benefits:

- Up to $3000 towards seller relocation cost – seller gets a check at COE

- Up to $3000 towards the payoff of a 2^nd lien.

- Guarantees that the lien holders will not come after the seller for the unpaid debt- seller is no longer liable.

- Seller can list their home with a pre-approved Short sale.

- Seller will have enough time to move out.

- Lets the sellers sell their home in an honorable way.

There are other benefits as well.

What do you need to Qualify?

First of all, the seller must try to do a modification through HAMP (same preliminary qualifications). If the modification does not work out, or the seller decides to not take it, then the HAFA will proceed with the same documentation.

Qualification for HAFA approval is actually two fold. First, the seller must qualify for the "Preliminary" HAFA Short-sale Qualifications. If the seller preliminarily qualifies, then the seller must identify if Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or an investor owns the loan. If owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, then the guidelines for full approval have already been disbursed and it is easier and more secure to get approved. If the Loan is owned by an investor (not Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac) then the seller will need to submit the their documentation and hope the investor approves it. Investors usually have their own qualifications and typically will not share that information with the seller. Also keep in mind that the bank that owns your loan must be registered with Makinghomesaffordable.gov. There are over 100 banks that have registered and the odds are that your bank is registered as well. On the website, there is a list of banks registered and a link, which lets you check if Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac owns your loan.

The above answers have been shortened and do not fully explain the HAFA Short Sale Program. To get more accurate and current information based on your situation, please feel free to contact me. I hope this information has been useful.

Thank you,

Joshua Chavez
   Realtor
Coldwell Banker Platinum Group
   C.A.R.E Team Realty
Direct:    408.836.9720
Fax:    408.409.2053
www.chavezrealestate.com
DRE #:    01827938 & 70010089

HAMP & HAFA Certified, A-REO AGENT

Unemployed, Underemployed…What Does It All Mean?

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

I was reading through the CAR Website and found this great article explaining unemployment, underemployment and how it ties into the Real Estate market. Hope you enjoy the info.

Josh

Unemployed, Underemployed…What Does It All Mean?
By Sara Sutachan, senior research analyst & Robert Kleinhenz, Ph.D. deputy chief economist

California’s housing market is closely tied to jobs, employment, and incomes for the obvious reasons. With a national unemployment rate of nearly 10 percent and well over 8 million jobs lost since the start of the recession, and with a statewide rate of almost 13 percent, many people have questions about employment and unemployment. So what does the unemployment rate really mean?

The unemployment rate is derived from a national survey of households and is conducted U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Based on the survey results, a person falls in one of three categories: employed, unemployed, or not a part of the labor force. The labor force is the sum of employed and unemployed persons. Someone is defined as unemployed if he or she is unwillingly out of work but still looking for a job. The unemployment rate is number of unemployed as a percentage of the total labor force, and was 9.7 percent for the US in March 2010.

That rate may be referred to as the headline unemployment rate, but there are broader measures of unemployment which include the underemployed and discouraged workers. Underemployed workers are included among the employed numbers, but are individuals who would like to work more hours than they currently work. Discouraged workers have stopped looking for work because they just could not find a job. By definition, they are not in the headline unemployment rate because they are not actively looking for work. Taking these individuals into account along with those who make up the headline rate defines a more comprehensive view of labor market health that includes the unemployed, underemployed, and discouraged workers (see figure). For March 2010, that rate was 16.9 percent, 7 percent higher than the headline rate. This broader measure of unemployment tracks closely with the headline measure that is so much a part of the commentary on the economy.

Because more individuals begin to look for work as the economy recovers, improvements in the unemployment rate and the labor market typically lag gains that appear in other economic indicators. So while the Great Recession may have already ended, it will take some time before the unemployment rate comes down.

What is an REO?

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Hello Everyone!
One question I always get from people is, "what is an REO?", so today, I have decided to define an REO for you all.
First of all, REO stands for Real Estate Owned, and what this means is that the original owner of this home defaulted on their loan, so the Bank took the home back through the foreclosure process. So who owns the home? Well, now the owner of the home is the Bank. To more clearly answer the question, An REO is a home that is on the Market and is being sold by the Bank to collect on an unpaid debt.

For the next blog I will be giving my definition of a Short-sale. Please keep tuned in and I look forward to all your comments!

Thanks,
Josh

Press Release- Chavez & Associates for Top Producer

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:06:00 -0800

NEWS RELEASE

Media Inquiries:

David Siroty

Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation

973.407.7199

David.Siroty@realogy.com

Catherine Sullivan

MS&L

212.468.3485

Catherine.Sullivan@mslpr.com

Joshua Chavez Alba Chavez

COLDWELL BANKER PLATINUM GROUP HONORS CHAVEZ & ASSOCIATES –

ALBA CHAVEZ AND JOSHUA CHAVEZ AS THE NUMBER ONE SALES ASSOCIATES FOR OCTOBER 2009

San Jose, CA. November 11, 2009 – Coldwell Banker Platinum Group agents Alba Chavez and Joshua Chavez, known as Chavez & Associates are receiving recognition for their outstanding performance. Chavez & Associates have been named #1 Top Producers of the month for October 2009 with the highest closed transactions. Chavez & Associates have been specializing in residential real estate for 6 years and has been affiliated with Coldwell Banker since August 2007.

"The strength of Coldwell Banker comes from top-producing sales associates, like Alba Chavez and Joshua Chavez who give outstanding customer service" said Kamran Chitgar. "It is an honor to have them as part of our organization."

About Coldwell Banker^®

Since 1906, the Coldwell Banker^® organization has been a premier provider of full-service real estate services. In 2006, Franchise Times magazine’s prestigious Top 200 issue ranked the Coldwell Banker system number one in real estate for the seventh straight year and number eight among all franchisors. The Coldwell Banker System has more than 3,800 residential real estate offices and 123,700 Sales Associates in 31 countries and territories. The Coldwell Banker System is a leader in the industry in residential and commercial real estate, and in niche markets such as resort, new home and luxury properties through its Coldwell Banker Previews International^® division. It is a pioneer in consumer services with its Coldwell Banker Concierge^® Service Program and award-winning Web site, www.coldwellbanker.com. Coldwell Banker Mortgage is one of the largest telephone/web based lenders in the country. Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation is a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation (NYSE: H), the world’s largest real estate franchisor. Coldwell Banker^® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation. Each office is independently owned and operated.