Realtors recommend loan officers for a reason. It is not because the loan officer is “nice”; it is because they believe that that loan officer can “get you to the closing table”. 

Not staying in touch and un-returned telephone calls from loan officers and real estate agents are the biggest complaints in real estate transactions. So, what’s the big deal about a skipped or delayed telephone call? What difference does it make if he/she doesn’t stay in touch? And if a loan officer misses an occasional telephone call, does it make a difference if he promises you a better interest rate?

Right now, Atlanta home interest rates are the best they have been in decades. Of course, a low rate is important to a buyer, but the difference from lender to lender may only vary 1/8% – 1/4% of a point.  On a $250,000 loan, that is approximately $15-30 per month, or approximately $.75 per day! What if the lender cannot get you to the closing table? Consider this:

1. Will the savings of $.75 per day be worth it to the buyers if they have to move into a hotel, store their furniture and start looking for another home to purchase? How much will these additional things cost?
2. If the buyers have to start over again with another home and lender, will the interest rates will be as good at that time, as they are now?
3. A delayed closing may cost a buyer additional interest and tax savings;
4. What is the ‘cost’ of stress to all the parties when a buyer is late to closing or worse, does not close on the transaction?

Case in point: We were the listing broker for a home that was supposed to close almost three (3) months ago. No one in this scenario won and I blame “Vance” , their loan officer, for it. The closing date was extended six times, several days had two different closing times, often changed and reset by the loan officer. We were  not sure if this closing would happen at all. The loan officer, “Vance”, did not return calls from me  or the other Realtor (I was representing the Seller; the other Realtor was representing the Buyers, Vance’s client). Because of Vance’s  lack of professionalism, no one, not the Seller, the Buyers, the two agents representing the Seller and Buyer, the paralegal, the closing attorney or the underwriter, knew when the closing would take place. That is a minimum of eight people that “Vance”  directly affected by not returning our telephone calls! There was also the “missed opportunities”  for the attorney’s office, as other buyers may have wanted the Buyers’ closing time-slots (at one point, it was the end of the month and the end of the year: a key time for Atlanta home closings). The buyers had to be out of their rental apartment and the Sellers, initially, were unwilling to extend the closing date.  If ”Vance” kept all the parties informed, perhaps the Buyers could have moved into their new home on time and the Seller would not have had to agree to extend the closing date several times. But “Vance” didn’t return his telephone calls or keep any one informed as to why the closing was delayed. No one knew where the other party stood or if we would even close on the transaction. The loan officer’s inability to close this loan on-time, also cost the buyer their Homestead Exemption for 2009 (to file this tax exemption, a buyer must own his primary residence, as of January 1; this exemption represents a tax savings to a buyer in the State of Georgia).  The final straw was when “Vance” told the two agents that the loan was cleared to close, but his mortgage company was not cleared by the state of Georgia to handle FHA loans! The buyer decided to switch loan officers and closed quickly.All this confusion for less than $1 per day.

If you are in need of a good loan officer, please call  or email us – we call help. Listen to the advice of a seasoned agent – it will get you to the closing table!

When you buy a foreclosed (bank owned)  or short-sale home, congratulations, you’ve probably gotten a great deal. However, just because the seller cut you a deal, there are two things that you should remember:

•  The county still wants their taxes. It will collect its taxes at the old, higher appraised value – not at your purchase price.
•  Don’t under-insure your home. Talk with your insurance agent about what kind of insurance you and your new home needs.

If you’d like help buying or selling a foreclosed or short-sale home, call us. Experience True Experience!

If you live and own property in Georgia, you should know what foreclosure means in your state. Remember all the documents that you signed at your closing? If you took out a mortgage on your property, there is a “power of sale” clause in one of the documents, that gives your lender the right to foreclose on your property.

A foreclosure is “the sale of real property by a secured lender pursuant to the power of sale clause contained in a security instrument”. This means, simply, that the lender has the right to foreclose if there is a debt secured by a valid security instrument and if the statutory foreclosure and notice process has been followed.

In Georgia, real property foreclosures are non-judicial (a judge is not involved in the process). Other states, such as Florida, require that a judge be involved in the foreclosure process. Generally, if a lender forecloses in Georgia:

·    There must be the existence of a promissory note and security agreement, secured by real estate in the State of Georgia;

·    The promissory note is in default;

·    Witten notice of the default has been mailed to the borrower (the borrower may bring the debt current within the next thirty (30) days to stop the foreclosure process);

·    Advertisement has been published in a legal organ (newspaper) of the county in which the property is located. The ad must run once per week, for four (4) consecutive weeks, prior to the sale;

·    Auction of the property takes place on the first Tuesday of the next month (except when that date is January 1 or July 4) on the county’s courthouse steps. The property is sold to the highest bidder for cash.

 What happens on the day of foreclosure?

In most metropolitan Atlanta counties, there are dozens of people milling around. The attorneys read out loud the foreclosure ads, and many times, there are multiple ads being read at once. After the attorney reads the foreclosure ad, the attorney opens the bidding.

·    Typically, the foreclosing lender will make the first bid, which is for the debt owed. That debt includes principal, interest, late fees, as well as the attorney’s fees and expenses of foreclosure;

·    After the first bid, there is open bidding. Anyone, other than the original borrower, can bid;

·    The terms are simple: cash from the highest bidder. If you are bidding, bring certified checks!;

·    Once a winning bidder is determined, the attorney will write down the bidder’s contact information, so that a deed under power of sale (known as a “DUP”) can be prepared. The DUP is typically given to a buyer after foreclosure; it is usually the buyer’s responsibility to record it.

A foreclosed property does not guarantee a clean title. Many savvy investors conduct their own title searches or have an attorney or title company perform one. Either way, a title search is important for several reasons:

·    Liens (all types), encumbrances and mortgages filed prior to the mortgage being foreclosed, are not affected by the foreclosure;

·    The foreclosure a second mortgage does not wipe out a first mortgage;

·    Federal tax liens against the borrower in foreclosure vest a right for the IRS to redeem the property. Proper notice must also be delivered to the IRS to start the time running on the IRS’s redemption rights.

Looking for a specific area? Click here: Atlanta Foreclosures and Bank-owned Properties. We’ve already done the searching for you! Or, if you are interesting in buying or selling a home in Atlanta, call us. Experience True Experience!

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We hear a lot these days, about “Short Sales”.  What is a short sale and who qualifies for one?

If a Seller sells his mortgaged property and the proceeds of the sale will not pay off the property’s loan(s), he will need to either “bring money” to the closing or arrange, before the property goes under contract, for a short sale. In essence, a lender will agree to “short” its proceeds from a sale and take less than what is owed on the loan. Short sales are meant to help a borrower that has no or little savings, lost a job or has catastrophic circumstances (such as health or medical issues) that will not allow the borrower to pay off the loan in its entirety.

Before agreeing to a short sale, the lender will require that the borrower show that he does not have the funds to pay off the loan(s). This process resembles a reverse of getting a mortgage; in other words, it’s like showing the lender why the borrower can not pay. A seller should seek his lender’s permission before pricing, and placing under contract, his property. If not, the seller could be in default of a contract, by not being able to close and deliver clear title to the buyer.

Many lenders will agree to a short sale based on simple arithmetic: it will probably cost less if the lender accepts a short sale rather than forcing a foreclosure. Banks don’t like short sales, but who can blame them? In short sales, the lender loses money or gets a lesser return. Most lenders limit short sales to primary residences.  
 
Short sales are not meant to help borrowers that have sufficient income or savings to pay off the loan(s). Many borrowers think that they can ‘declare’ a short sale, without the lender’s permission, because the property has depreciated in price. This is incorrect. If a borrower has savings or a 401K, the lender will probably say “no” and pursue the borrower for the remainder of the loan(s).  

In most cases, a borrower’s credit will be damaged with a short sale, but it will not be as badly hurt as it will be in a foreclosure. Within a few years, most short sales’ borrowers can get credit, but foreclosed-upon borrowers will find it more difficult and will need to wait longer to buy another home.

Looking for an Atlanta home? If you are interesting in buying or selling a short-sale home in Atlanta, call us. Experience True Experience!