Real estate owned (aka REO’d or bank-owned properties) are more and more commonplace in today’s housing market.  Some banks are willing to work with you, others are not.  The only true rule is that it’s like the wild west out there… everyone has their own set of rules and state laws can be ignored!

For example, “time is of the essence” in a real estate transaction.  By my state law, notification from the buyer to the buyer’s agent to the seller’s agent can stand when it comes to a full-binding contract.  Unfortunately the same is not true of bank-owned property.  Even when a bank agrees to a sale, sends final paperwork to the buyer, the buyer signs and sends back – until the bank ALSO signs, another buyer can snatch it out from under first buyer.

Other banks refuse to sell their foreclosed properties unless THEY approve the loans.  From Sonoma Couny, California, Cynthia Larsen of Safe Haven Realty reports on her experience,

Here is an example of the agent remarks in the MLS, not viewable by the public. These remarks are instructions for the agents as to when a home can be viewed and where to submit an offer.

“Bank of America REO. Pre-Approval with BofA required. Offers w/out PreApp letter will NOT be reviewed“

So this is us, Bank of America, myself and my pre-approved buyer walking away.

These are the days when rapport is absent from transactions between buyers and sellers – especially when the sellers are corporations.  I am finding buyers less likely these days to waste their time waiting for banks to try to dictate the rules everyone has to follow.  Instead, they are seeking to buy property owned by an actual homeowner.

Foreclosures have slowed during the holiday season because some lenders are feeling generous – not kicking people out of their homes during these winter holidays.

Yes that’s right, not only are the government agencies doing it, but several of the bigger mortgage companies are acting on Santa Claus fantasies again this year. They are saying that they will not follow through and evict borrowers that are in default, but just for the holidays.

Other foreclosures have stopped pending review of their process and the legality.

Robo-signing…that’s when bank employees allegedly signed documents without proper verification in states that process foreclosures through the court system. California isn’t one of those states. But RealtyTrac’s Daren Blomquist says the state still benefited.

However, some foreclosures are slowing because of court-ordered appearances.

Six lenders who have combined to file nearly 30,000 foreclosure actions in New Jersey this year face the possible suspension of their operations next month under a court order announced Monday by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner.

In the end, people will lose their homes if they don’t pay their mortgage, but it’s still good to see that some rabid foreclosures have slowed in favor of doing real research on whether a home is truly behind.

Photo by Andrew Bain via Flickr Creative Commons.

Have you been approved for a home loan of just under $70,000 and want to find a private place to live – a nice place with plenty of trees?  Perhaps this infamous Montana homestead might interest you.  If it does, you may be able to buy this piece of American history: The Unabomber’s Land.

For those of you who’d buy the land and live in the Unabomber’s old shack, put the checkbook down.  The price tag gets you the land only; the cabin and all of the Unabomber’s personal effects have long since been removed and sent to the Newseum in Washington, D.C.  Still, the plot of land does come with a chain link fence, and a tree in which the initials FBI have been carved (for whatever reason and by whatever party might be responsible).

I don’t think so, but thanks to PopFi and Ron for the tip.

Photo from Wikipedia.

I love it when I take a continuing education course and learn lots to bring back to readers of the Shakadoo sites!  Today I took a class on helping working- or low-income buyers find financing.  There were some great ideas tossed around, but what I found most interesting is that in this new lending world, seems are not the way they used to be.

Here are some ways to improve your credit score – with some *asterisks* explaining what has changed.

1)  Pay down your credit card balances.  Of course these regular payments will show that you pay in a timely, responsible way.

2) Always pay your bills on time.  What I said up there!  When you pay responsibly, a lender will feel more inclined to give you a large amount of money because it increases their chance of getting it paid back!

3) Leave all accounts open.  You read that right and it’s the FIRST big change of this brave new loan world.  When you pay off the account, leave it open.  A commenter on another site said that leaving it open improves your net to debt ratio, “If you have a lot, and you want to close a couple, then ok, but leave the accounts open that you have had the longest.”

4) Try to have available credit lines increase.  Number TWO big change.  Previously having available credit lines meant that you had more potential debt available to you. Why?  An established history of good credit goes a long way.

5) Take no action on charged off accounts.  If someone you owe a debt to finally writes off (or charges off) your account as “noncollectable” do not take any further action.  You’ve already gotten one black eye from it, so just let it season. By continuing to make payments, your credit score will be constantly pinged – a negative affect on you.

6) And finally, opt out of pre-screened credit offers!  When someone generously sends you a junk note in the mail that says you’ve been pre-approved for a credit card, they already checked your credit to see if you were qualified.  PING!  Opt out by going here.

Hoping this will help you get positioned to either buy a house or refinance!

The question, “So you want to work in real estate?” is one that has been asked many times.  Realistically not that many people do want to work in real estate when the market struggles.  However for those of you considering the profession, Lainie Doe a Realtor from Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee Region of New Hampshire and Vermont, has some answers for you.

This is the part that I found most interesting regarding lenders,

Their lender decided the buyers were no longer qualified after they spent a lot of money on general building and septic inspections and were simply left in the lurch. How does a bank or mortgage company essencially say- “yes, you’re all set to shop for your home, let me know when you find what you’re looking for and we will do the financing” and then change their minds half-way through the game? Sadly, this is what happened. My sellers were bummed, the buyers were bummed, the buyer’s agent was bummed and I was bummed-No recourse for the lender who wasted everyone’s time and money, not to mention a certain level of stress and anxiety that is inevitably involved in buying or selling a home.

This is an issue I’ve always had with lenders… that there is no recourse for when they mess up.  This is why when buying a home, you should interview SEVERAL lenders and talk to your agent to figure out who has the best track record – who can get a house to close.

What a sad scenario.

I am one of those people who have stopped using my credit card.  In the past it was too easy to run up huge bills, so I finally took a long, hard look at the road I was on and put the card away.  If I paid my minimum amount each month, it would take me over 20 years to balance out to $0.00.  I am making much higher payments than the minimum and am seeing great progress in pulling the balance down.

I am like a lot of people in that I’ve stopped using my credit card.  I am like 8 million people, in fact.  The reasons behind people not using the cards may not always be good, though.  For example, if they’re forced to stop because their financial position has declined.

In addition credit cards can be good for you, according to Miranda Marquit,

Cutting up your cards and swearing never to use them again might be a bit premature. This is especially true if you plan to get a loan sometime to do something like buy a house. Credit cards can be quite useful if you use them with discretion and discipline. Plus, the right rewards program can help you improve your financial situation.

While this may be true, I’m still glad to be rid of my card.  I have plenty of other credit sources to tap into for future loans.