Santa Clarita Real Estate Blog

Buyers need to close on time, or the short sale transaction may be canceled. Wells Fargo has announced that its investors, including government-sponsored entities (GSE’s), have requested that they halt extensions on short sale transactions. Short sales that close by the date on the approval letter are safe from further action it appears. However, if [...]

Experts say that decline in California foreclosure activity is not just a seasonal decline. New foreclosure filings, including Notice of Default (NOD) and Notice of Trustee Sale, declined significantly in December 2009 as compared to the prior month. While Notices of Default dropped a significant 17.5% during December 2009, they actually dropped 32.5% on a [...]

First Look program aims to build stronger communities by allowing owner occupants a better chance at buying foreclosed properties. Fannie Mae’s new First Look program gives non-investor homebuyers a 15-day edge over investors for newly listed foreclosure properties. This is great news for homebuyers who have had troubles getting their offers accepted when competing against all-cash [...]

Borrowers who don’t qualify for other loan workout programs to be offered new Deed for Lease option. Fannie Mae has announced a new Deed for Lease Program (D4L) where distressed homeowners who cannot qualify for other loan workout solutions will be able to trade their deed for a market-rate lease. While this seems just peachy on [...]

How short sales and foreclosures affect your credit report and FICO scores. Both short sales and foreclosures have negative impacts on borrower’s credit reports, but a foreclosure is much more difficult to recover from. After a foreclosure, it will also take considerably longer to restore your credit rating once your financial difficulties are resolved than it would [...]

New Payment Reduction Plan (PRP) will be available to investors and owners of second homes. Fannie Mae has announced that it will start helping out residential investors by offering temporary payment relief, or forbearance, while the servicer and the borrower work together to find the appropriate permanent foreclosure prevention solution. The new Payment Reduction Plan (PRP) [...]

Banks are no longer allowed to require buyers to use the bank’s choice of escrow and title services on REO’s. It’s Happy Dance time again! Gone are the days when buyers of bank-owned (or REO) properties are forced to deal with the seller’s (bank’s) choice of escrow and title services. The newly-signed Buyer’s Choice Act (AB [...]

FDIC’s new ‘toolkit’ provides easy access to consumer resources relating to foreclosures, loan modifications, and foreclosure scams. FDIC’s new Foreclosure Prevention Toolkit really doesn’t have any new info, but it does put it all in one convenient location for easy access. Included in the Toolkit are the following: Brochure: Is Foreclosure Knocking at Your Door? [...]

Wells Fargo exec uses bank-owned Malibu home for her personal benefit. Wells Fargo executive Cheronda Guyton has just been busted for using a recently-foreclosed Malibu mansion as her personal Party Central this summer. The home, valued at about $12 million, was handed back to the bank with an agreement that it would be held off [...]

Loan Modifications can help homeowners stay in their homes during difficult times. With more and more Santa Clarita homeowners experiencing financial difficulties due to changing job situations and other factors beyond their control, loan modifications may be the best way for many people to reduce their monthly payments so they can stay in their homes. [...]