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gary_broker
Participantbsrsharma,
The house is in Westlake Village. Closed in 2005 for a $1M and is currently listed just under $1.5M. I am in the business so I can state with extreme confidence that it will not sell for anywhere close to that price.
Participantbsrsharma,
The house is in Westlake Village. Closed in 2005 for a $1M and is currently listed just under $1.5M. I am in the business so I can state with extreme confidence that it will not sell for anywhere close to that price.
Participantbsrsharma,
The house is in Westlake Village. Closed in 2005 for a $1M and is currently listed just under $1.5M. I am in the business so I can state with extreme confidence that it will not sell for anywhere close to that price.
ParticipantFSD… that was lol funny
ParticipantFSD… that was lol funny
ParticipantFSD… that was lol funny
ParticipantFormerSanDiegan pretty much nailed this by referencing the inablility of the lender to file a deficiency judgement againt the owner (loss is limited to the real estate that secured the loan).
Furthermore, the comment regarding possiblity of fraud on the application is dead on.. unfortunately many people do not understand what they are doing when they sign over IRS form 8821 and hand it to the lender.
On a stated income loan lenders were typically allowing the borrower to put whatever salary that was reqd to qualify for the loan. At closing the borrower is told to sign the IRS form and provide it to the lender (no form = no loan). This little gem gives the lender permission to pull the borrowers tax records to verify they told the truth on the loan application. In essence the lender has provided the borrower with the rope that they use to hang themselves. If the person lied the lender has recourse for fraud. I believe that scores of folks are in for a rude awakening because of this tax document, and most people have no idea that they ever signed it.
Attempting to re-negotiate the rate is a waste of time. They should get a broker who is versed in dealing with short sales pursue that route. If PMI was involved the broker should contact them..seeing how CW is listed as a second holder this was more likely a piggy back situation without PMI. If this is the case contacting CW is useless as the second is likely toast and they therefore have no incentive to help out.
ParticipantFormerSanDiegan pretty much nailed this by referencing the inablility of the lender to file a deficiency judgement againt the owner (loss is limited to the real estate that secured the loan).
Furthermore, the comment regarding possiblity of fraud on the application is dead on.. unfortunately many people do not understand what they are doing when they sign over IRS form 8821 and hand it to the lender.
On a stated income loan lenders were typically allowing the borrower to put whatever salary that was reqd to qualify for the loan. At closing the borrower is told to sign the IRS form and provide it to the lender (no form = no loan). This little gem gives the lender permission to pull the borrowers tax records to verify they told the truth on the loan application. In essence the lender has provided the borrower with the rope that they use to hang themselves. If the person lied the lender has recourse for fraud. I believe that scores of folks are in for a rude awakening because of this tax document, and most people have no idea that they ever signed it.
Attempting to re-negotiate the rate is a waste of time. They should get a broker who is versed in dealing with short sales pursue that route. If PMI was involved the broker should contact them..seeing how CW is listed as a second holder this was more likely a piggy back situation without PMI. If this is the case contacting CW is useless as the second is likely toast and they therefore have no incentive to help out.
ParticipantJJ,
You have extrapolated much into the lawsuit debate. I mean there are a lot of “what if” scenarios that one can theorize. I guess if I came home and found my client / co-defendant in bed with my wife that could also dissolve the “team” too. In the end you seem to be set on your beliefs that a knowledgeable, competent and well insured agent would be of no benefit to you in a litigated transaction…well then, so be it.
As far as your statement questioning the intrinsic value of an agents service doubling over the last seven years (an affect of inflated home price increases), well.. I do agree with you on this. Just remember that real estate commissions are negotiable. I live in Ventura County and the homes here are expensive. I routinely cut my commission (often deeply) to make a deal work. I own my own company so I am liberty to do this, note that some agents out there are not. Many brokers enforce a nothing less than 5% rule on their agents.
Our current RE market is filled with new agents who got in when the market was booming. Many of these folks quickly came to believe that they deserved a large commission check on each transaction (regardless of the amount of work they put in). These agents believe this simply because they know no different, for them the money has always been easy. I know from past experience that many of these agents will not be working in real estate by this time next year.
Understand that I am going to rant here and that this is not directed at you or anyone in particular, however this needs to be said and I guess this space is as good as any, so here goes.
I am certainly not a defender of the average salesperson. However I have been lurking on this board for quite some time and I realized straight away that what first appears to be a pent up hatred for real estate agents is actually a bipolar form of jealously. Allow me to explain.
There are a lot of post here from people that go on and on about how stupid agents are, what little service they provide, how little they really know and what little actual work they do for those big, fat, tremendous commission checks..yada..yada..yada.
Lets face the facts, If these people truly believed in their heart that being a realtor was so easy and the money so tremendous and the life style so grand, they would not be wasting their time posting here, they would be rushing out to get their license. It is kind of like they want believe what they are writing but in the back of their minds they either know better or worse yet, don’t know better and lack the balls to plunge into the business. In either case it is silly. It is analogous to someone believing their gardener makes $300K a year for pushing around a lawn mower. Then that person spends hours on end posting on a gardening site complaining how stupid and overpaid gardeners are, instead of going out and buying a lawn mower.
ParticipantJJ,
You have extrapolated much into the lawsuit debate. I mean there are a lot of “what if” scenarios that one can theorize. I guess if I came home and found my client / co-defendant in bed with my wife that could also dissolve the “team” too. In the end you seem to be set on your beliefs that a knowledgeable, competent and well insured agent would be of no benefit to you in a litigated transaction…well then, so be it.
As far as your statement questioning the intrinsic value of an agents service doubling over the last seven years (an affect of inflated home price increases), well.. I do agree with you on this. Just remember that real estate commissions are negotiable. I live in Ventura County and the homes here are expensive. I routinely cut my commission (often deeply) to make a deal work. I own my own company so I am liberty to do this, note that some agents out there are not. Many brokers enforce a nothing less than 5% rule on their agents.
Our current RE market is filled with new agents who got in when the market was booming. Many of these folks quickly came to believe that they deserved a large commission check on each transaction (regardless of the amount of work they put in). These agents believe this simply because they know no different, for them the money has always been easy. I know from past experience that many of these agents will not be working in real estate by this time next year.
Understand that I am going to rant here and that this is not directed at you or anyone in particular, however this needs to be said and I guess this space is as good as any, so here goes.
I am certainly not a defender of the average salesperson. However I have been lurking on this board for quite some time and I realized straight away that what first appears to be a pent up hatred for real estate agents is actually a bipolar form of jealously. Allow me to explain.
There are a lot of post here from people that go on and on about how stupid agents are, what little service they provide, how little they really know and what little actual work they do for those big, fat, tremendous commission checks..yada..yada..yada.
Lets face the facts, If these people truly believed in their heart that being a realtor was so easy and the money so tremendous and the life style so grand, they would not be wasting their time posting here, they would be rushing out to get their license. It is kind of like they want believe what they are writing but in the back of their minds they either know better or worse yet, don’t know better and lack the balls to plunge into the business. In either case it is silly. It is analogous to someone believing their gardener makes $300K a year for pushing around a lawn mower. Then that person spends hours on end posting on a gardening site complaining how stupid and overpaid gardeners are, instead of going out and buying a lawn mower.
ParticipantSorry you missed the point of my post. As sdrealtor stated It was never my intent to suggest that realtors prevent lawsuits. The point is that when realtors (and inspectors for that matter) are involved in a transaction that ends up in litigation, they are certain to be dragged in because they carry high limit E&O insurance policies. This in effect spreads the pain around..at minimum.
Your statement “In fact, once the lawsuits start to fly, your realtor and you will certainly no longer be on the same team.” is illogical. I have direct experience with this and when a lawsuit is filed against a client and their agent they are by definition on the same team. I also take issue with your premise that a realtors will not jump in and help if a deal goes south. FYI.. I have spent many hours in mediation meetings for clients and I was more than happy to help them in any way I could. I have a stong feeling the other broker/agents that post on Piggington would do the same for their clients. You speak in absolutes regarding agents which is unfortunate because there are some good ones out there.
Lastly, your final statement “If you want actual ‘representation’, hire a lawyer” made me chuckle. Well JJ, if you sold a home and made a mistake and needed to hire an attorney I can assure you the first words out his or her mouth would be “Did you have an agent?”
ParticipantSorry you missed the point of my post. As sdrealtor stated It was never my intent to suggest that realtors prevent lawsuits. The point is that when realtors (and inspectors for that matter) are involved in a transaction that ends up in litigation, they are certain to be dragged in because they carry high limit E&O insurance policies. This in effect spreads the pain around..at minimum.
Your statement “In fact, once the lawsuits start to fly, your realtor and you will certainly no longer be on the same team.” is illogical. I have direct experience with this and when a lawsuit is filed against a client and their agent they are by definition on the same team. I also take issue with your premise that a realtors will not jump in and help if a deal goes south. FYI.. I have spent many hours in mediation meetings for clients and I was more than happy to help them in any way I could. I have a stong feeling the other broker/agents that post on Piggington would do the same for their clients. You speak in absolutes regarding agents which is unfortunate because there are some good ones out there.
Lastly, your final statement “If you want actual ‘representation’, hire a lawyer” made me chuckle. Well JJ, if you sold a home and made a mistake and needed to hire an attorney I can assure you the first words out his or her mouth would be “Did you have an agent?”
ParticipantAs an engineer in the rocket industry and a 20 year veteran of the RE market (broker and mortgage broker) I sympathize with many of the views posted here. I entered the market thinking 95% of the agents were useless buffoons. It took a while but I found that there are a decent percentage of highly qualified and caring agents out there. Every industry has individuals who are exceptional at what they do…understand that real estate is no different.
One thing many here are missing is that no matter how much homework you do, if you screw up (and even if you don’t sometimes) you will likely be sued. One major reason that many people prefer to use an agent is for their Errors and Omissions insurance (which brings protection to you in the form of deep pockets).
Case in point. My architect knows real estate better than just about anybody I know. He has been designing very upscale houses under his own firm for 25 years. Last year he decided to sell his own home. He found a buyer and was able to close the deal quickly. Nine months later he got a letter from an attorney informing him of mold infestation that was discovered when the new owner tore apart a bathroom while undergoing a major remodel. Basically it was a trumped up charge of failure to disclose. He hired an attorney and decided to fight it as it would have been impossible for him to be aware of the mold unless he had gutted the bathroom himself. The buyers wanted $200K, after three months he was at $20K in legal fees and his attorney’s advised him to settle for $75K. All told it cost him $95K…a very hard pill to swallow (BTW: the house sold for $540K).
As this market continues to turn south (yes.. I am a bear) more people will become upside down in their homes. Folks that bought near the peak will be looking for any way to maintain ownership and suing the seller is easy pickens. Knowing what I know I would never sell real estate in today’s market unrepresented.
ParticipantAs an engineer in the rocket industry and a 20 year veteran of the RE market (broker and mortgage broker) I sympathize with many of the views posted here. I entered the market thinking 95% of the agents were useless buffoons. It took a while but I found that there are a decent percentage of highly qualified and caring agents out there. Every industry has individuals who are exceptional at what they do…understand that real estate is no different.
One thing many here are missing is that no matter how much homework you do, if you screw up (and even if you don’t sometimes) you will likely be sued. One major reason that many people prefer to use an agent is for their Errors and Omissions insurance (which brings protection to you in the form of deep pockets).
Case in point. My architect knows real estate better than just about anybody I know. He has been designing very upscale houses under his own firm for 25 years. Last year he decided to sell his own home. He found a buyer and was able to close the deal quickly. Nine months later he got a letter from an attorney informing him of mold infestation that was discovered when the new owner tore apart a bathroom while undergoing a major remodel. Basically it was a trumped up charge of failure to disclose. He hired an attorney and decided to fight it as it would have been impossible for him to be aware of the mold unless he had gutted the bathroom himself. The buyers wanted $200K, after three months he was at $20K in legal fees and his attorney’s advised him to settle for $75K. All told it cost him $95K…a very hard pill to swallow (BTW: the house sold for $540K).
As this market continues to turn south (yes.. I am a bear) more people will become upside down in their homes. Folks that bought near the peak will be looking for any way to maintain ownership and suing the seller is easy pickens. Knowing what I know I would never sell real estate in today’s market unrepresented.
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