Realtors for Ventura | Oxnard | Camarillo

Effective January 1st, California’s new Homeowner Bill of Rights goes into effect.

In many respects, it is patterned after the national settlement between the federal government, 49 of the 50 states, and the largest lenders earlier this year.

But the new law will, in my opinion, now make the filing of a Notice of Default more significant in 2013.

Key parts of the law include:

• Applies to 1st deeds of trust
• Bans lender policy of “dual tracking”
• Lender must provide single point of contact
• Within 5 days of filing the Notice of Default, lender must give borrower notice of “foreclosure prevention alternatives” which include loan modification and short sale.

When a lender/servicer files a Notice of Default (or Notice of Trustee Sale) in 2013, it will mean:

• The homeowner hasn’t applied yet for a loan mod, or
• The homeowner has “busted” (failed) their trial (or permanent) loan mod, or
• The request for a loan mod was denied, and now
• The legal time clock for foreclosure has started.

A homeowner now has 2 choices – Plan A or Plan B:

• Plan A – apply for a loan mod if they haven’t already done so.
• Plan B – consider the benefits of a US Treasury HAFA short sale.

A number of factors may suggest doing a short sale (ie, loss or reduction in income, change in marital status, medical expenses, job relocation or other financial hardships) instead of losing the home through foreclosure.

The US Treasury HAFA (a “graceful exit”) short sale program is designed for these homeowners.

Timeline considerations…

Foreclosure in California ( a “non-judicial” state) is a 2 stage process:

• Filing of the Notice of Default stage – a minimum of 3 months
• Filing of the Notice of Trustee Sale – a minimum of 20 days

For a more detailed summary of the Bill of Rights, please see the California Association of Realtors legal summary.

Listed below are the November results for the sold prices of homes, the number of homes sold and number of homes in escrow – a future indicator of homes sold.

This data is taken from the Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo MLS.

To see the detailed charts for Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo, please see the links below.

The percentage of single family homes that were distressed sales in the month of November are:

Ventura – 22%      Oxnard – 43%     Camarillo – 40%

Sold prices – Single family homes in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo:

• 12 month graph

Sold prices – Condos in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo:

• 12 month graph

Numbers sold – Single family homes in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo:

• 12 month graph

Detailed data for single family homes sold in:

• Ventura
• Oxnard
• Camarillo

Detailed data for condos sold in:

• Ventura
• Oxnard
• Camarillo

Detailed monthly data for pendings (in escrow) – single family homes and condos:

• Ventura
• Oxnard
• Camarillo

All data is taken from the Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo MLS.

It’s happened to thousands of others – but now it’s you.  Your home.  What do you do?

Leslie has written several short newsletters – The Tough Decisions – for homeowners in the beginning stages of foreclosure.  However, they provide wisdom and advice for those in the last, crucial stage of foreclosure as well – when the auction date’s been set for the sale of your home.

The Tough Decisions in a nutshell… Read the rest of this article »

My husband Don was deployed to the New York/New Jersey area as a certified FEMA inspector for those whose homes were damaged by Super Storm Sandy one month ago this weekend. See Don’s recent post.

After several weeks and no relief in sight, I didn’t know if Don would be back home for Thanksgiving.

I’d heard from our church and the media that traditional Thanksgiving meals with all the trimmings were being served at the Fairgrounds for the homeless and folks in transition or for those in need – whatever their situation.

The need for many helpers and servers went out and I thought this would be a fun and perfect opportunity.

On Thanksgiving morning, I checked in to my post at 6:45 a.m. The day was clear and cool. Everyone had willing hearts to serve and excited for what the day would bring.

Sara and I are putting the finishing touches on the center pieces of the beautifully decorated tables in the San Miguel Room.

Students of all ages as well as adults of all ages helped in a variety of ways – stocking the trash receptacles with Andy to decorating the tables to serving the guests as they were seated to make the day a huge success. About 1,000 guests and workers feasted on turkey and all the trimmings on this special Thanksgiving .

Got back late yesterday afternoon (Thanksgiving) from JFK after spending about 3 1/2 weeks doing FEMA inspections in New York. On the 6 hour flight back I had time to reflect on super-storm Sandy and its effects on the East coast.

Spent the first two weeks working flooded basement apartments from lower Manhattan up to Central Park, then out towards Long Island in the town of Oceanside for 5 or 6 days, then finished up back in lower Manhattan.

Going up and down the storied avenues (Madison Ave, 5th Ave), the theater district around 42nd street and of course all around the World Trade Center, it appears everything is business is usual – but far from it. Lower Manhattan was deeply flooded, knocking entire 40 – 60 floor buildings out of commission. Lower Manhattan streets are clogged with huge portable generators that provide just essential, emergency power to these buildings. Many of these high rise buildings are apartments and their occupants have been forced to leave. In one case, the building “hopes” to be back in business in March, 2013.

The Metropolitan Hospital in mid-town has a high rise apartment across the street on 1st Avenue for employees. The building was heavily flooded and was red tagged by the city. In my first week, I’d meet with tenants outside the lobby as they sought emergency FEMA assistance. Each day, one floor at a time, tenants could walk up to their floor (stairwells in darkness with flashlights) and only carry out emergency clothes, laptops, etc. One gentleman told me he was forced to rent a car and sleep in it – all open hotels (with power) were booked solid.

Driving up and down 5th Avenue, I’d call Leslie and be amazed at the crowds along the sidewalks of the tony shops – you’d never know there was a major crisis occurring in the lives of tens of thousands of people.

But some of the little things amused me. Some streets are so narrow that drivers tuck in their exterior mirrors – you pass literally inches away from clipping them.

Oceanside was suburbia – with average flooding that I saw maybe 2 – 3 feet deep in split level homes. Time and again people told me, “We’ve lived here 40 years and never had water in the house”.

Imagine mid-town Ventura near Pacific View mall inundated with 2 – 3 feet of water; sounds impossible, but that’s what the east coast got hit with.

One poignant moment came as Myra, a 92 year old sharp senior was brought back to her apartment by her 60ish son. We all entered the apartment together for the first time since the storm. Upon entering, she burst into tears at the sight. Furniture can be replaced, but not the irreplaceable photos and momentos collected over a lifetime.

Another difficult situation was a somewhat challenged senior in a Red Cross shelter. I went to find her home in a walk-out basement (flooded out) but (according to neighbors) the elderly owner of the home upstairs was no where to be found. There were two flooded cars in the street out front. That situation involved working with a social worker and another case worker who would ultimately handle this long term situation.

I’ve told people these FEMA deployments are a perverse vacation for me – so far removed from my “day job”. My roommate from Colorado and I would be up around 4:30 am, be on the road between 5 – 5:30 and get back around 7pm (or as late as 9pm). Generally, we’d be in bed by 8:30 and asleep before 9pm. So this Thanksgiving weekend, I’m catching up on sleep and football!