Real Estate Virginia

Expert - A person with a high degree of skill in or knowledge of a certain subject.

The Earl of Real Estate Team handles short sales for home owners that are "Upside Down".  We do so with a high degree of skill. We have knowledge on the subject of Northern Virginia Short Sales.  Expert - that is for you to determine.  Our focus and our job is to help.

We have handled short sales as listing agents in Arlington, Loudoun County and Fairfax County.  We have represented buyers of short sales in Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax and Loudoun Counties. 

We think that when one is considering hiring a Northern Virginia Short Sale Listing Agent, you should look for the following in a real estate team:

• Do they care about your situation enough to get the job done, and still tell you the truth as to what it will take to be successful?
• Are they systematic in there approach are are they able to show you the process before you get started?
• Do they work with a professional negotiation company like The Earl of Real Estate Team does of do they try to negotiate with the bank themselves in their spare time?
• Do they charge you an upfront fee or make you pay commissions?  (The Earl of Real Estate Team does not charge you any fees, upfront or otherwise and we get all commissions paid by the lender as part of the negotiation.  We also cover the cost of the negotiation company.)
• Are they willing to talk to you in a free - non pressure - no obligation - straight forward consultation? (give us a call - we are)
  

There are other important things that you should look for.  My team and I are happy to speak with home owners that are "Upside
Down" free of charge and with no obligation.  If you like our approach
and would like to move forward great, we feel that we are some of the
best to work with.

Short Sale Resources:

• Northern Virginia Foreclosure Prevention
• Short Sale Process in Northern Virginia
  
• Northern VA Short Sale FAQ
• How to get the calls from the bank to STOP
• Northern Virginia Mortgage Forgiveness
• Northern VA Short Sale REALTOR

One of the questions that The Earl of Real Estate Team gets regarding short sales has to do with the area of the taxability of the amount of the difference in the amount of the mortgage and the amount that the bank accepts as the short sale payoff. 

As you can see from the information contained in the tax tip from the IRS, (IRS Tax Tip 2010-44)  If your mortgage debt is partly or entirely forgiven during tax years 2007 through 2012, you may be able to claim special tax relief and exclude the debt forgiven from your income.

Here are 10 facts the IRS wants you to know about Mortgage Debt Forgiveness.

1. Normally, debt forgiveness results in taxable income. However, under the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, you may be able to exclude up to $2 million of debt forgiven on your principal residence.
2. The limit is $1 million for a married person filing a separate return.
3. You may exclude debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in a foreclosure
4. To qualify, the debt must have been used to buy, build or substantially improve your principal residence and be secured by that residence.
5. Refinanced debt proceeds used for the purpose of substantially improving your principal residence also qualify for the exclusion.
6. Proceeds of refinanced debt used for other purposes – for example, to pay off credit card debt – do not qualify for the exclusion.
7. If you qualify, claim the special exclusion by filling out Form 982, Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of Indebtedness, and attach it to your federal income tax return for the tax year in which the qualified debt was forgiven.
8. Debt forgiven on second homes, rental property, business property, credit cards or car loans does not qualify for the tax relief provision. In some cases, however, other tax relief provisions – such as insolvency – may be applicable. IRS Form 982 provides more details about these provisions.
9. If your debt is reduced or eliminated you normally will receive a year-end statement, Form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt, from your lender. By law, this form must show the amount of debt forgiven and the fair market value of any property foreclosed.
10. Examine the Form 1099-C carefully. Notify the lender immediately if any of the information shown is incorrect. You should pay particular attention to the amount of debt forgiven in Box 2 as well as the value listed for your home in Box 7.
    

For more information about the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, visit IRS.gov. A good resource is IRS Publication 4681, Canceled Debts, Foreclosures, Repossessions and Abandonments. Taxpayers may obtain a copy of this publication and Form 982 either by downloading them from IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

My team and I are happy to speak with home owners that are "Upside Down" free of charge and with no obligation.  If you like our approach
and would like to move forward great, we feel that we are some of the best to work with.

Short Sale Resources:

• Northern Virginia Foreclosure Prevention
• Short Sale Process in Northern Virginia
  
• Northern VA Short Sale FAQ
• How to get the calls from the bank to STOP
• Northern Virginia Mortgage Forgiveness
• Northern VA Short Sale REALTOR

The Earl of Real Estate Team has handled successful short sales in Reston VA - short sales in Sterling VA and many of the  surrounding Northern Virginia areas (to see the areas we serve - please visit our website).

One of the question that we get asked as a Northern Virginia Short Sale Buyer's Agent from buyers and home owners is:

How long does it take to do a Short Sale?


There are several stages that are involved with the Short Sale process...


(1) The first stage requires working with you as the homeowner to get all of the required documentation that your bank will require us to send them. This stage shouldn’t take longer than a couple of days.


(2) The second stage involves us preparing the listing paperwork and scheduling an appointment with you to see your home and prepare your home to be listed for sale. This stage only takes a few days as well.


(3) The third stage entails us aggressively marketing your home for sale to the general public and producing a willing, ready, and able buyer. This stage can take as little as a few days or as long as a few months.


(4) The fourth stage is the actual presentation of the offer to your bank.
This is where our negotiator companies expertise and experience in negotiating Short Sales takes place.
The actual negotiation/approval process can take as little as 2 weeks or as much as 3 months.
On average most Short Sales take between 30-60 days from the date the offer is presented to the lender to the date of the Short Sale approval.  In most cases, 60-90 phone calls and faxes back and forth between the lender, the negotiator and our team are required. The process is usually not described as “fast” in most cases, but with the right team working on your behalf, you can be at rest
knowing that everything is being handled diligently and with much care.


(5) The fifth and last stage to the Short Sale process is the period of time between Short Sale approval from the bank and the buyer closing on the home. We prepare all of the buyers that we work with to be ready to close in as quickly as 3 weeks from the time of Short Sale approval. Often buyer’s will even close in as little as 10-14 or as long as 30-45 days.


We are dealing with you - the home owners - credit standing and your home.  We do not leave this to chance, as you can see we have a step by step approach in place to help you avoid foreclosure in Northern Virginia.

My team and I are happy to speak with home owners that are "Upside Down" free of charge and with no obligation.  If you like our approach and would like to move forward great, we feel that we are some of the best to work with.

Don't ignore your situation, give us a call.


Short Sale Resources:

• Northern Virginia Foreclosure Prevention
• Short Sale Process in Northern Virginia
  
• Northern VA Short Sale FAQ
• How to get the calls from the bank to STOP
• Northern Virginia Mortgage Forgiveness
• Northern VA Short Sale REALTOR
  

The Earl of Real Estate Team is a Northern Virginia Short Sale Listing Agent for a number of properties and we are here to help home owners that are "Upside Down" on their mortgages. 

One of the questions we get regarding short sales is:

How do I select the right team to successfully manage and negotiate my Short Sale?



Before hiring just any 'Agent' to assist you in a Short Sale, make sure they are qualified and understand all the work that is required to see you through to the end. A properly trained Short Sale Agent knows how to qualify you for a Short Sale transaction and therefore has a very high success rate. Most Realtors®, Investors and Real Estate Agents do not understand how to qualify you and your lender for a Short Sale
Transaction. This is one of the reasons they often have such low success rates when it comes to closing a Short Sale. Investors & "Average Real Estate Agents" have around a 10% success rate.



Be smart and make sure that you ask many questions before trusting your future, your credit and your financial situation with a self-proclaimed 'Expert' that may have just learned about Short Sales themselves from a Title or Escrow Company, a Real Estate Seminar, or their Broker.


Interview the agent and team before you make your final decision.  We would be more than happy to talk with you.  My team and I are happy to speak with home owners that are "Upside Down" free of charge and with no obligation.  If you like our approach and would like to move forward great, we feel that we are some of the best to work with.

You are not alone and as Northern Virginia Short Sale Listing Agents, we have made it our job to put together a short sale team and process designed to relieve the stress of home owners in the area.

Those homeowners that we have helped up to this point have started with a phone call to our office.  My Team and I are happy to speak with home owners that are "Upside Down" free of charge and with no obligation.  If you like our approach and would like to move forward great, we feel that we are some of the best to work with.

Don't ignore your situation, give us a call.


Short Sale Resources:

• Northern Virginia Foreclosure Prevention
• Short Sale Process in Northern Virginia
  
• Northern VA Short Sale FAQ
• How to get the calls from the bank to STOP
• Northern Virginia Mortgage Forgiveness
  

We are quickly becoming the premier Short Sale team in the Northern Virginia area –
we specialize in helping homeowners that owe more against their home than it is currently worth,
sell their home without bringing any money to closing.


We will list your home, we will sell your home, and we will negotiate with your bank(s) to accept less than what you owe them.
Homeowners hire us because they understand the value that we offer. This value comes from our experience, results, and process.

In this posting - we will answer some of the basic questions that home owners in Northern Virginia have about short sales.

What is a Short Sale?

The term short sale is used to describe the sale of a home in which the homeowner owes the bank more than the home
is worth. The bank agrees to allow the home to be sold for less than what is owed (AKA “Short Sale”).
The name itself is a bit misleading, as the process involved is rarely short.


Would I qualify for a Short Sale?

There are 2 main qualifications for a good Short Sale candidate…


(1) A good Short Sale candidate is a homeowner who is behind on their mortgage payment
and is unable to keep up with all of their monthly obligations. Some of the reasons for falling
behind on their mortgage payment may include sudden change in monthly household income, loss of job, divorce, and more.


(2) A good Short Sale candidate also has no equity in their home. They are not able
to sell their home and pay off all of the outstanding loans that are secured against their property.



Combined with our award winning Noble Listing System - and our use of a professional - dedicated short sale negotiation company, we are positioned to assist home owners that are in the "Upside Down" Bind.

Those homeowners that we have helped up to this point have started with a phone call to our office.  My Team and I are happy to speak with home owners that are "Upside Down" free of charge and with no obligation.  If you like our approach and would like to move forward great, we feel that we are some of the best to work with.

Don't ignore your situation, give us a call.


Short Sale Resources:

• Northern Virginia Foreclosure Prevention
• Short Sale Process in Northern Virginia
  
• Northern VA Short Sale FAQ
• How to get the calls from the bank to STOP
  

You want the calls from the bank to stop!  They are trying to get blood from a turnip.  You have tried to explain the situation to the person in the cubicle on the other end of the phone and it has not helped, the calls keep coming.  They come in the morning when you are getting ready to go to work or worse yet, go on a job interview.  They come at night when you are trying to figure out how you are going to put food on the table.  They keep coming and you want to make the calls from the bank stop?

What can you do?

Loan Modification?  Please - don't get me started again about the way that Northern Virginia Loan Modification don't work.

There is a lifeline - it is called a Short sale.

What is a Short Sale?

The term short sale is used to describe the sale of a home in which the homeowner owes the bank more than the home is worth. The bank agrees to allow the home to be sold for less than what is owed (AKA “Short Sale”). The name itself is a bit misleading, as the process involved is rarely short.

You know that you Assets and your income - even if you get the raise that you were promised, is not enough to cover your financial obligation.  The biggest of these obligations is usually the mortgage or mortgages. 

Now, if you have savings or a 401k or other assets, and you ask the bank to forgive you mortgage for a lesser amount, be prepared for the bank to counter with a request for a promissory note or a cash payment to offset the difference.

All of this is part of a short sale negotiation and it is critical that you select a Short Sale Listing Agent that understands this and has a short sale negotiation company on retainer to handle the direct negotiations with the bank.

As soon as the bank get the short sale package - the calls will stop.  My team and I are happy to speak with home owners that are "Upside Down" free of charge and with no obligation.  If you like our approach and would like to move forward great, we feel that we are some of the best to work with.


Short Sale Resources:

• Northern Virginia Foreclosure Prevention
• Short Sale Process in Northern Virginia
  
• Northern VA Short Sale FAQ

I am amazed at the number of homes owners that do not know about short sales in Northern Virginia. 

I have seen stats that range from 1 out of every 6 to 1 out of ever 4 home owners is up-side down on the mortgage on their primary home.

Chances are, you or someone you know in Northern Virginia is "Upside Down" on their homes value & mortgage, or even facing the possibility of foreclosure. But you need to understand that you are not alone.

Let me set out some information, because the number of inquiries that we get from homeowners shows that there is alot of misinformation in the owners mind. 

American's have been used to the concept of being "Upside Down" for years.  As soon as you buy a car you owe more than the car is worth.  Most of the time when you buy a new car and trade in the old one, the balance of your loan is rolled into the new loan.

MORTGAGE LOANS ON HOUSES DO NOT WORK THIS WAY.  In all but a handful of cases, a mortgage contains what is called a due on sale clause, meaning that the entire balance of the loan is due to the bank when the property securing the loan is sold.  Translation - if you owe more to the bank than you will be able to sell your house for, you will be in a bind.

The banks have provided a solution and a way to get out of the bind.  It is not a loan modification - a sexy term for a bunch of nothing, it is called a Short Sale.

The term in and of itself is backwards - remember when you are dealing with the bank, most will be backwards.  The short means that the bank will take a payoff SHORT of the full amount in return for releasing the lien against the property.

(I know, I know - I can hear the chatter regarding payback of the differences and deficiency judgments and all, but lets stay focused here and let the owners learn and we will cover these items in a future posting.)

Here is the bind - put in another light.  Most home owners when they do contact us are in a position where their payment has either gone through the roof because of a change in their interest only loan, or due to a job they are in a position where they have to move out of the area.  They want to sell.  But the current market values are so far below the loan amount that they are at first mad, and then depressed about the situation.  (This is OK, you are not alone.)  Many then jump into the - we can just rent it out or wait it out mode.  Trouble with this is that they may be waiting another 3 to 5 to 7 to 10 years for their particular home or condo, and renting does not cover the amount of their mortgage.

They need to take action now.  And when they end up waiting, they end up on a foreclosure list and end up losing the property and still getting nailed on their credit report.

Is a Short Sale painless?  No - it has a bite to the owner and their credit.  The comparison I like to make is - do you want a poodle nipping at your ankles for the next 3-5 years or do you want a pit bull gnawing on your arm and leg for the next 7 years.

Home owners - the choice is yours.  But that choice comes in the form of a short sale. 

Most Northern Virginia homeowners in this marketplace have more questions than answers about their specific circumstances, the Northern Virginia real estate market, and how to avoid foreclosure in Northern Virginia. Also, they wonder how it is even possible to sell their home for less than the mortgage without having to pay the difference to their lender if their Northern Virginia home mortgage is 'Upside Down'.

Most of these can not be simply answered on an email or a blog.  There are no one size fits all solutions for home sellers in this situation.

Those homeowners that we have helped up to this point have started with a phone call to our office.  I and my team are happy to speak with home owners that are "Upside Down" free of charge and with no obligation.  If you like our approach and would like to move forward great, we feel that we are some of the best to work with.

Don't ignore your situation, give us a call.

Short Sale Resources:

• Northern Virginia Foreclosure Prevention
• Northern VA Short Sale FAQ
  

I can not believe the number that I saw this weekend regarding something that was supposed to help homeowners. For nearly a year now we have heard time and again that the banks were working with home owners on Loan Modifications.  We heard that Loan Modifications were supposed to be the answer. 

What has happened to this point.

Something that is very clear to me.  Loan Modifications have about as much chance of succeeding as a snowball has in the underworld.

I recently came across these numbers and I was floored and embarrassed by the information - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38603412/ns/business-real_estate/:
"The actual numbers of permanent loan modifications that have lasted at least nine months through the end of May is tiny: just 4,764 borrowers. And 53,041 borrowers had one for at least six months through May.

Treasury said about 14.9 percent of the 4,764 borrowers who have had a permanent modification for at least nine months by the end of May had re-defaulted on their loan. That's more than six times the 2.4 percent rate they reported on July 20.

For loans that had been permanently modified for at least six months, about 6.1 percent had re-defaulted, up from just 1.7 originally estimated. Re-defaults are defined as 90 days or more late.

For loans 60 days late and not yet in re-default, the number of borrowers in trouble is even higher."

Let's take a look at this. 

If your favorite football team only won one game during this upcoming season, do you think that the coach or general manager would keep their job.  NO.  Yet out of the millions that are "Upside Down" on their mortgage, only 4,764 borrowers were helped through permanent loan modifications.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  - Do the math and you will find that there is a better chance of a baseball pitcher throwing a no hitter this year than a home owner being helped by a loan modification.

And the band-aid is coming off of another 14.9% that have re-defaulted on their loans. 

This is so sad.  The hope for homeowners - the way the system is designed today - is via a short sale.

What is a Short Sale?

The term short sale is used to describe the sale of a home in which the homeowner owes the bank more than the home is worth. The bank agrees to allow the home to be sold for less than what is owed (AKA “Short Sale”). The name itself is a bit misleading, as the process involved is rarely short.

The next few weeks of blogging are going to contain a focus on the subject of Northern Virginia Short Sales and how they can actually help home owners.

NO ONE SHOULD BE FORECLOSED ON AGAIN IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA - THERE ARE WAYS TO HELP AND HOMEOWNERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THEM. 

If you are a home owner that is "Upside Down" on mortgage vs. your homes value and need help, my team and I would be more than happy to talk with you and discuss your specific situation.  Straight Forward, Honest, Solutions.

Home Owners - You are not alone!  Look at the number of Short Sales in Reston VA, or Alexandria VA Short Sales or any other area in Northern Virginia.

Give us a call.