Many times I hear Hemet homeowners ask if I can "Help save my home from foreclosure?" or as a Hemet REALTOR® can I "Stop the foreclosure?"I wish I could just answer "Yes" to every one of the times I am asked...but there are limitations and never any guarantees.  There is only one guaranteed way to stop a foreclosure in Hemet California and that is to bring the arrears current - and most Hemet homeowners who ask me these sensitive questions just cannot afford to do that.I explain that as a REALTOR® I am recognized by Freddie Mac, the Premium Mortgage Insurance companies (PMI), The Veterans administration (VA) and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) as well as other related mortgage and loan companies to be qualified to negotiate a repayment program on behalf of the Hemet homeowner f... 09/24/2007

A Hemet short sale for a Hemet home seller is unlike any other time a home is listed for sale.  Submitting a short sale to the lender is a detail oriented process that requires an attention to detail.Often times a short sale is the only viable alternative when I hear the words, "Help stop my home from foreclosure", in a urgent request to help save the Hemet home fro foreclosure.Once the package is assembled, in the order the lender has asked for the various documents it needs to be forwarded.  In putting together a cover letter, keep it very simple - as close to one page as possible.The opening paragraph should be just that - an opening paragraph acknowledging the help you received from the person on the other end of the phone.  Keep it short and sweet.The body of the letter should be n... 09/23/2007

Short Sale training seems to be lacking for the Hemet, California real estate market, and I am sure it is the same throughout Riverside County, the Inland Empire and Southern California as well as the rest of the nation.  Hemet homeowners don't know where to turn when they find themselves upside down in their mortgages or their loans are resetting causing higher monthly payments for the Hemet homeowners.I attended my first training on the topic in the spring of 2006, recognizing that the inevitable was on the horizon.  I know at first, I personally did not want to get very involved in this niche of helping homeowners who are in eminent foreclosure to help them save their homes.  Unfortunately, by early 2007 I heard too many Hemet homeowners cry out to me, "Help Save my Home from Foreclo... 09/23/2007

A Hemet Short Sale With Equity...What Do You Do?  That's right a Hemet short sale homeowner approached me in the supermarket last Friday where she worked, while I was talking with an Assistant Manager buying client that I have working in the same place.  She wanted to know if I buy homes in foreclosure, to which I replied that I try to sell these Hemet homes in preforeclosure and save the Hemet California homeowner from a foreclosure.It turned out her auction date was 12 days away on September 27th.  So, I gathered some very preliminary information and scheduled the appointment for the following afternoon...even though my daughter and her family had traveled 600 miles to spend the weekend with us.                                                                It turns out the Hemet home... 09/22/2007

Do You Have "MOTIVATED" Listings?  There have been numerous studies analyzing the trends of real estate homes listed for sale in the MLS and the language REALTORS® use to promote them.I recently wrote an article What Language Do You Write Your Listings In? referencing one such study that showed words like MOTIVATED are used in MLS listings that take up to 15% longer to sell then the norm.                                                                        I even conducted my own study based on the local Hemet-San Jacinto MLS regarding the use of pictures in a MLS listing and found that pictures do sell, when I wrote The Importance of Pictures In the MLS.In 2005, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBRE) conducted it's study and had several interesting revelations.What was inter... 09/19/2007

NAR Needs Your Help With Congress:  The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) sent out an email alert to its members asking for help with pressing business now before the United States Congress.                                                      I was made aware of this call to action from another blog article, written by Chris Elizabeth Griffith.  I thought the message was important enough to rehash here and call for even more REALTORS® to realize that their one voice is important and our collective voice is a voice that is to be heard and reckoned with.NAR would like all of its REALTOR® members to contact their respective Member of Congress and solicit Congressional action to stabilize the mortgage market through the passage of two very important bills that are now pending.The fir... 09/16/2007

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OR REALTORS CELEBRAT 100 YEARS WITH YOUR PICTURE!  Individual REALTOR® images are being collected to honor 100 years of the National Association of REALTORS® with a commemorative mosaic of the "R" logo.                                         NAR sent out an email announcing the campaign to solicit the photographs.  REALTORS® are asked to sign it to a special page on the NAR Website that will require signing in with the REALTOR® with the NRDS ID number.Not sure exactly what the ultimate plan for the mosaic will be other , or even how large it will be for that matter, but what the heck, it sounds like fun to me.  I've gone ahead and submitted my picture, now it's your turn!Now Have a Blessed Day,John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®Mission Grove RealtyIf you would like to ma... 09/14/2007

Mortgage Protesters Try to Save Homes From Foreclosure :  RISMEDIA reported on 9/10/07 that busloads of protesters arrived at both the  Greenwich, Connecticut corporate Headquarters as well as the California offices of Carrington Capital Mortgage raising the awareness that Carrington is refusing to renegotiate subprime loans payments that are continuing to rise.Carrington is the hedge fund that bought the subprime loan servicing operation in May, after New Century filed for bankruptcy protection.  They paid $188 million for the rights to manage more than 100,000 mortgages.  With the purchase, Carrington changed their name to Carrington Mortgage Services.Apparently Carrington and New Century have a history as New Century, the second largest subprime lender in the country, provided $25 mi... 09/12/2007

It's a Girl...It's a Boy...and Another Girl!  by John Occhi, Hemet REALTOR®   Mission Grove RealtyI have been up since the early hours of the morning assisting my wife deliver a litter of Golden Retriever Puppies.                                                                                                  This is a picture from the first litter born in January, 2007That's right, our 3 ½ year Golden Retriever Daffodil delivers her second letter of pups this morning...or should I say is in the process.   5 hours into the process and we have 3 girls and 2 boys with I'm guessing 3 more on the way.                                                                                                                  Isn't she a good mama?Toby, the proud father has kept us bust with his schanna... 09/05/2007

Back to the Basics: REALTOR® Procedures - Safety First by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR Mission Grove Realty                                                  FOR MORE ARTICLES FROM THE "BACK TO THE BASICS" SERIES, CLICK HERE                                                                                                                       The "Back to the Basics" series is my way of refreshing my own skill set.  I, like almost everyone I know, gets lazy and takes short cuts that lead to other short cuts in an attempt to streamline our businesses.  Re re-educating myself, I can now hold myself accountable...at least to myself.This article in particular is very important.  It seems like at least once a year we hear some horrible story about a REALTOR® getting killed in the line of their ... 09/03/2007

  Back to the Basics: Buyers Checklist - What Kind of Preparation Goes into a Winning Offer?   by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR                                          FOR MORE ARTICLES FROM THE "BACK TO THE BASICS" SERIES, CLICK HERE                                                                                        Once again, the "Back to the Basics" series of article is my attempt at reeducating myself. About what it takes to be a successful REALTOR®  Like many, I have read many great books, heard some fabulous tapes and CD's (even a few MP3's - I still can't really figure that out though) and have attended numerous seminars and training events - some I pay for and others are free. Just this afternoon, I received a nice compliment in an email form a retired individual who read my... 09/02/2007

Short Sales:  A Common Questionby John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTORMission Grove Realty  Aside from my ActiveRain blogs and responding to questions that are left in the comments of the articles I write, I often receive email messages from people who for whatever reason do not want to post thier question in a blog article.A common question I receive has to do with investors, as a matter of fact, I believe I have now answered this very question at least 3 times this week, that I received through email contacts from my ActiveRain blog.Let me post the specific question I received just a few short hours ago...<~>~<~>~<~>~<~>~<~>~<~>~<~>John,You seem to be the short-sale King. I have learned a lot from you about the subject.Here's my question:Will a lender consider a short sale on investment prop... 09/02/2007

Back to the Basics: Buyers Checklist - What's Negotiable?   by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR                                              FOR MORE ARTICLES FROM THE "BACK TO THE BASICS" SERIES, CLICK HERE    "Back to the Basics" is my way of re-educating myself on the basics of real estate.  Yes there have been some great changes in the time I have been selling real estate in Hemet and San Jacinto and throughout Riverside County, the Inland Empire and the rest of Southern California.  The truth though is very little has changed when we talk about the basics and the basics are what made many REALTORS® successful in the first place and if REALTORS® are going to weather the current market, then as REALTORS®, we need to refresh ourselves and go Back to the Basics.                            ... 09/02/2007

Back to the Basics: Buyers Checklist - Let's Write an Offer   by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTORMission Grove Realty                                        FOR MORE ARTICLES FROM THE "BACK TO THE BASICS" SERIES, CLICK HERE"Back to the Basics" is a series of articles that I am publishing as I reassess my own business and review the materials that I used to initially learn this great business we call Real Estate.                                                                                                 Unfortunately, many of the items I have saved on my computer do not reference their original source, to give credit to, so I do not take full credit for developing the material.  However, in most cases, including this one, I know that I have re-vamped the material, making it personal for... 09/02/2007

The Real Estate Market and the Real Estate Professional   by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®   Mission Grove Realty  With all of the dramatic changes that have taken place in the world or real estate and mortgages in the  past month it is more than apparent that something has got to change.I am of the philosophy that in order for these huge banks, mortgage corporations and Wall Street giants to stay in business they need to continue to do what has worked for them in the past - and that is make loans.                                                                          Granted, the rules have changed - but so what, the rules are constantly changing! I have enough confidence in the American Entrepreneur to know that we will build the better mouse trap...or in this case create a new pro... 09/02/2007

Today was the most unusual day I have ever had in real estate. - EVER! And it could only happen in Hemet CA By John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®Mission Grove RealtyToday was the most unusual day I have ever had in real estate. - EVER! And it could only happen in Hemet CA Not only was it extreme - it had two opposing extremes for me.  Amazing.This is a tale of two investors...two very different investors.The first investor likes small deals that she can get in and get out of in a hurry...and she does this pretty good. A week ago we found a small mobile home in a senior park for less than $20,000.  She snatched it up, writing the offer with either her or her assignee as the buyer.She went to town through her network of investors and found someone to come in an buy this property for $10,000 o... 09/01/2007

Is there such a thing as a "Good Client" in Hemet, CA? The Hemet San Jacinto Valley is a unique real estate market with many unique individuals.  I guess we are all the same in that we are all different - just like every other real estate market in the country.  It is composed of individuals with individual wants and needs and most importantly we all have our own individual personalities...which are good...right?It turns out though that no matter how good a REALTOR® I am or any of my peers selling real estate in the Hemet San Jacinto CA market that we just cannot please all of the people all of the time.  Not sure but I think some clown said that (P.T. Barnum?).                                                                In any event, when I meet a potential client, I go through the ... 08/31/2007

Hemet Home Sellers - Are You Prepared to Sell Your Home?  by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®   Mission Grove Realty                                         FOR MORE ARTICLES FROM THE "BACK TO THE BASICS" SERIES, CLICK HEREAs a REALTOR® with Mission Grove Realty, serving my local market, the Hemet San Jacinto Valley, I have the opportunity to talk with many local homeowners who think they want to sell their home, but really have not put much thought into the process.                                                                When I sit down and meet with a potential listing client, responding to the call, "Help me sell my Hemet CA home!" I must make sure that they are motivated to sell their home so as to not waste their time and energy or mine.It seems as if so many REALTORS® show up... 08/31/2007

Foreclosures and Fraud - Two Peas in a Pod   by John Occhi, Hemet REALTOR®   Preforeclosure Consultant   We all know two things about this market - both foreclosure and fraud are on the rise and the two go together like a hand and a glove.  Where you find one, the other will be.                                                                               I was reading my industry news ezines this morning, when I opened up an interesting article published by RISMedia and found an article that caught my attention, "As Foreclosures Rates Rise, so Does Fraud".The short article details how scammers take advantage of buying undervalued homes and then using them as pieces in their schemes.  One scheme is illegal cash back at the closing and another they discuss is illegal flipping by putting ... 08/31/2007

Help Save My Home From Foreclosure:  Myth Buster #1 - My Mortgage Company Wants My House Rather Than Working out a New Payment Planby John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®Hemet CA Real Estate PreForeclosure Consultant As a REALTOR® in the Hemet San Jacinto valley of Southern California,I am becoming known as the go-to guy when people are in the process of preforeclosure and are looking for a way out, preserving their dignity.I suppose, in part, my repetition is spreading by word of mouth as more and more copies of my booklet are being distributed, free of charge, to families I know are having trouble with their mortgage.  I know ActiveRain has done wonders for helping me spread my message.I wrote a booklet I call, "What You Need to Know...About Foreclosures and How You Can Stop It!" This bookl... 08/29/2007