Go to Macy's in Modesto, CA at Vintaige Faire Mall if you want to write a letter to Santa.  It's at the Macy's Mens & Home Store (in the middle of the mall). They have the cutest display that is interactive for kids.  There are blank notes that look like mail on one side & the Santa postal box is on the right.  Notice the quote that says, "Write a letter to Santa and help make wishes come true." For every letter they receive, Macy's will donate $1 to Make a Wish Foundation.  I love the Believe Meter also.  It's rating high (probably because I was standing there). 12/16/2010

Modesto CA – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Richard. “I accepted a job transfer and had to move. Unfortunately we were upside down on the house. I decided to rent it out rather than short sale it. The renters just moved out. I just checked the house. They trashed it! I could rent the house out again, but I would have to spend several thousand dollars fixing it up first. What would you recommend that I do?” Richard asked. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Here was our recommendation. That is a tough situation. You could fix up the house and rent it out again. But, you risk having the same thing happen all over again. Here is the other problem. The amount you can charge for rent has gone down i... 12/16/2010

Typical Abandoned Real Estate Modesto CA– The New York Time had an interesting article about one man’s mission in the fight to stop foreclosure. According to the article, Mark Guerette, attempted to make use of all the empty, abandoned houses he saw. I get frustrated when I see homes sitting empty for months and months. “Those homes should be put to good use!” I thought to myself. It bugged me that homes would sit empty for months and even years at a time. The lawn would become overgrown. A window might leak. Or, vandals would break the windows. Rain would start getting inside the house, thereby causing mold on the walls and ceiling. The house would get uglier and uglier. As a working short sale realtor, I knew how much this would cause the home’s value to drop. Most of the homes were i... 12/14/2010

Modesto CA - The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Jennifer. She is having a hard time selling her home. “I have had my house for sale for a little while, but it hasn’t sold. No buyers have come to look at it. At first I thought the price was fair. But, now that no one has come to see the home, I am beginning to realize that I am upside down. My realtor hasn’t talked to me about a short sale. What should I do?” Jennifer asked. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Here is what I would recommend to her. First, talk to your current agent about a short sale. The might be uncomfortable with bringing it up. Short sales are a sensitive issue. Some people get offended when you ask them about a short sale. It d... 12/14/2010

Modesto CA - In this case I would recommend you sell the house. Now, if you are reading this blog, then you must be researching a short sale. Which means that you are probably upside down on the home. You have three options. Option #1: Let your lender foreclose on the home. You just stop making the payments and surrender the home to your lender. Option #2: Short Sale the house and get the debt wiped out. A short sale offers the following benefits over a foreclosure. Issue: Can I get a Future Fannie Mae Loan? Foreclosure: The current Fannie Mae Guidelines require you to wait 5-7 years before you can buy another home with a Fannie Mae Loan. Most other banks and lenders have the same or even stricter procedures. Short Sale: If are back on your feet 2 years after the short sale, then Fannie... 12/10/2010

My hubby & I were driving down Kiernan from Modesto towards Salida, CA.  We were following each other in separate cars when he decides he wants to call me on my cell.  "Follow Me," he says. We pull into this sweet country property right near Tully Rd & Kiernan.  (actually 5307 Tully Rd, Modesto, CA)  Here's what we found, hidden treasures, old antique furniture, wash basins, washboards, world war I marine metal toothbrush holder (could've been WWII), window panes, gas cans, ALL of it so beautifully displayed. The place smelled like Hot Apple Cider (it was brewing & ready for anyone to help themselves too).  It seemed like my hubby & I found a gold mine.  Their prices were reasonable & we couldn't wait to come back later to figure out what to buy. Leland & Sue Jamison have figured this a... 12/06/2010

Modesto CA - The big banks made mistakes and received a bailout. They have the resources to lobby congress and the courts to have laws written to suit them. But, what has the little guy received? Nothing. So we decided to put together a Homeowner's Bill of Rights. It's time we had Washington look at what we want, versus taking care of the big banks. Considering that the big banks have way more rights than the little guy, here is what we think should be done to "level the playing field." The Homeowner's Bill of Rights. 1. Stop The Loan Modification Insanity! The Right to an open and transparent loan modification process. Any homeowner that can no longer afford their mortgage payment, petitions their lender for a loan modification, and it turned down shall receive a written, coherent resp... 12/06/2010

Modesto CA - The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Christy. “Why would I do a short sale instead of saving the monthly payments and letting it go into foreclosure?” Christy asked. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Here is the answer. If you stop paying your mortgage, then you can live in your home rent free for 12-24 months, depending on the state you are located within. I have seen lenders wait a year after the first missed payment just to file for foreclosure. Yes, you can live in your house for free for a long time. However, a short sale has many advantages over a foreclosure. It does less damage to your credit and allows you to buy another home in 2 years versus the 5-7 years after a foreclosure... 12/03/2010

Modesto CA - Wiki leak's Editor, Julian Assange, recently said he would be releasing documents on a large US Bank. We decided to beat him to it and release some information on how a large US Bank caused their client to lose an estimated 40k because of their incompetence. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. This is a house that we drive past every day on my way to work. We noticed that it look abandoned. We looked up the owner to see if they might want to sell the house. That’s when I saw that the home had already been foreclosed. The house was foreclosed on February 4th, 2009. That’s almost a two years ago. Since we didn’t know who the lender was, we forgot about the house. But, it was a great example of why a bank owned house ... 12/02/2010

Modesto CA - We recently negotiated a short sale on a VA Loan. After the appraisal is complete and all the other necessary document have been received, VA guidelines state the loan servicer should give us an answer within 15 days. The loan servicer took 65 days to give us an answer. That is a complete violation of VA’s requirements. “Oh, but that’s no big deal”, you might say. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. It is a big deal, because VA (and every single US Taxpayer) loses money as a result. VA insures VA lenders against loss, provided they follow their guidelines. VA is able to make an “educated bet” that they can issue these guarantees because they have laid out rules to control the lending and loan servicing environment.... 12/01/2010

Modesto CA - We had a short sale recently with a certain loan servicing company. The funny thing was that this loan servicer was hired by the owner of the loan to work on behalf of them. In other words, the loan servicer was to look out for the loan owner's best interest. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Processing and approving a short sale will usually avoid future losses on a mortgage. Boston Consulting Group recently did a study on the difference between a short sale and foreclosure. They found that a short sale dramatically reduces future losses when compared to a foreclosure. Here is a real life example: One lender rejected a 385k short sale offer. The home was foreclosed upon and put up for sale. It sold for $230,000.... 11/30/2010

Modesto CA - Most people think the person they mail their mortgage payment to every month is the owner of their loan. Not so. In fact, most of the time, they are not the owner. As an example, 80% of all loans that Bank of America handles are not owned by Bank of America. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. The largest owners of US mortgages are two companies that some would allege are owned by Uncle Sam. They are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They own an estimated 55-60% of all US Mortgages. Another estimated 10-15% are insured by Uncle Sam as well, thru the FHA and VA loan guarantee programs. Another estimated 10-15% are owned by Wall Street Firms, Pension Funds, and other entities. That means the company you mail your check to ... 11/29/2010

Modesto CA - I am following up on a question from Arman. His loan was owned by Fannie Mae and the company handling the loan for Fannie Mae was rejecting an excellent short sale offer for no reason. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. When you get in front of a jury and show how this company’s negligence caused Fannie Mae to lose $15,000 (what I project they will lose) and that it hurt him as well, the jury will award damages in a heartbeat. Here are some of the damages a foreclosed homeowner might be able to ask for. Credit Damage. A foreclosure is much more damaging long term to your credit than a short sale. For the next 7 years they will have to answer yes to the standard question that is on most credit applications: "Have y... 11/24/2010

Modesto CA - I am following up on a question from Arman. His loan was owned by Fannie Mae and the company handling the loan for Fannie Mae was rejecting an excellent short sale offer for no reason. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Here is a quick recap of what I recommended Arman do. Step #1: Call up IBM and demand a written letter explaining why they are declining the short sale offer. Step #2: Write down what you project your damages are going to be if the property is foreclosed upon instead of sold as a short sale. Step #3: Call up the company handling the loan for Fannie Mae and tell them if they reject the short sale for no reason and the house is foreclosed, then you will be suing them for those specific damages you dr... 11/23/2010

Modesto CA - The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Arman. Here is his question. I am a Seller trying to avoid foreclosure. My agent has a buyer and his offer is with the lender from last seven months. Now the lender told us that Fannie Mae investor refused the short sale offer and the house is going to foreclosure early next week. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. The lender’s own appraisal shows the house is worth $120K. The offer we have is for $150K. I told the lender that it is unlikely they will receive and offer for 150k after the foreclosure. She replied and said, "We or some of our investors will buy it"!!! I don't want a foreclose on my record. Is there anything I can do to stop the foreclo... 11/22/2010

Modesto Junior College Active Shooter Training   December 6th 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM Pirates Village 130     What would you do if there were someone shooting in your building?   What could you do to improve your chances of survival in the first few minutes before responders arrive on the scene?   What can you expect from Campus Safety?   What can you expect from Modesto Police Department?   This training has been requested many times.  They have listened and agree that what you can learn from this training could make for a safer campus and safer you.  Campus Safety has partnered with MPD and MJC Counseling Services to provide this training that is modeled after a nationally recognized program from UC Davis.  We brought you this training last Fall and Spring Semesters with excellent results.... 11/21/2010

Modesto CA - I just saw the second of two articles about homeowners losing their home or property because of high property taxes. Most of the stories were based in the Northeast, where the property taxes are much more expensive. I one story, http://www.wbaltv.com/r/25677444/detail.html, a Maryland Woman is going on a hunger strike to bring attention to the situation. The story makes it sound like high property taxes caused her mortgage payment to go up by 40%. That is a huge jump in property taxes. I have seen some people’s property taxes jump by $200 to $400 myself. In another story, a lady in Connecticut lost some property next to her house after a drawn out tax dispute. Here is the link to the news report: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFQzxY2Mlxo. The new owner of the land put up a... 11/19/2010

Modesto CA - The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Tim. Here is Tim’s Question. “I have an elderly friend who recently finalized a loan modification through her lender. The mortgage company shows on their website that the mod has been processed and the new terms are in effect. However, since foreclosure proceedings were begun before the mod was approved, her homeowner’s insurance holder will not renew her coverage policy, since the local Clerk of Courts records show that the loan is in a foreclosure process. The mortgage company has not sent the Clerk of Courts notice that the foreclosure case is closed. What can she do to avoid losing her insurance coverage?” Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking ... 11/18/2010

Modesto CA - I'm sure you have heard about forensic loan audits. I've heard people say how wonderful they are. "Your lender will approve your short sale right away", claims one. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here. An agent told me a story about forensic loan audits. He worked with a woman who was trying to short sales 3 houses. He knew they were short sales and was glad to list them for sale. There was a guy involved who was supposed to be doing all the "negotiating" with the lender. Little did this agent know this guy was trying to flip the houses. This guy had a forensic loan audit done. He claims he paid foreclosure defense lawyers out of his own pocket. He did all this stuff in an attempt to force the lender to a... 11/17/2010

Modesto CA - Negotiating short sales is tough. In my opinion, some of the banks are not making good financial decisions. "We won't approve the file without the financials completely filled out," they say. Or, they tell you the numbers won't work when the investor guidelines actually say to approve the short sale. If the agent doesn't know who owns the loan (or their short sale guidelines), then the bank negotiators can lie to them. They don't know any better. Let me give you an example. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here. The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently closed a short sale that where the owner of the loan was the Federal National Mortgage Association, also called Fannie Mae. The bank's appraiser said the home... 11/15/2010