Bay Area Short Sale Advice | Bay Area Short Sale Angels | East Bay | Albany

Exciting News in the Short Sale Industry now that SB 458 is here!

Hi this is Kerri from the Bay Area Short Sale Angels. We are :k1:'s number one short sale team. This week something very exciting happened in the short sale world. Jerry Brown signed into effect a new law SB 458. SB 931 made sure that there were no deficiency judgments allowed on any first lien. Now SB 458 makes sure that there will not be any deficiencies allowed on any second lien or any junior lien that decides to participate in a short sale. So what does that mean for you and the rest of the world? That means that on a second or junior lien that might have been a recourse loan, once that lender decides to accept the short sale, it's done. By whatever terms that might mean; they might still ask for a promissory note, or they might still ask for a cash contribution to close, but after it's done,…

Several Reasons Why You Should Choose BASSA or the Bay Area Short Sale Angels to Work on Your Short Sale

Hi, this is Kerri from the Bay Area Short Sale Angels. We are northern California's number one short sale team. Today I'm going to give you three reasons why you would want to work with the Bay Area Short Sale Angels or BASSA. The number one reason is knowledge. We keep ourselves up to date and informed of all the trends and changes in any short sale laws. Basically, anything that has to do with :k1: short sales, we eat, drink, and sleep it every day. The second reason why you want to work with BASSA is our success rate. We have a 93% success rate. In an industry where 40-50% is normal as far as getting short sales to close, I consider that a huge benefit to have us on your side. The last reason why you would want to work with BASSA, or the Bay Area Short Sale Angels, would be…

What you Need to Know about Keeping Current on Your Bills During a Short Sale

Hi, this is Kerri from the Bay Area Short Sale Angels. We are northern California's number one short sale team. One of the questions that comes up all the time when people are preparing for a short sale is what bills should they continue to pay. First of all, I have to say that I can never tell you not to pay anything. If you have a contract with someone then you need to pay. If you're in a financial situation where you have to pick and choose which bills might be more important to keep current on, the HOA dues if you are living in a community or a condo or townhouse that has a homeowners association. You need to keep those current. An HOA will foreclose on you faster than any bank would. So keep those current because those are the ones that will cause trouble if you don't. Another really…

Who are the Faces behind BASSA?

Hi, this is Kerri from the Bay Area Short Sale Angels. We are northern California's number one short sale team. You might be wondering who are the other faces behind the Bay Area Short Sale Angels, or BASSA? So of course there's me. I do a lot of the upfront work, and I'm usually the first point of contact with the clients and agents on the other side of our transactions. Then there's Monica, she's my better half, and we're the ones that formed the team together. She's been doing :k1: short sales for almost seven years now. She does 90-95% of our negotiations. All of our negotiations are in house, and we have a video about that on our website if you want more information. Monica does most of our negotiations, she's a hammer. She gets them done, and she's fantastic. She knows how to keep everybody happy and get things done.…

Information on How a Short Sale can Help With a Loan on Land

Hi, this is Kerri from the Bay Area Short Sale Angels. We are northern California's number one short sale team. Some of you may be wondering if you can do a short sale on land. The answer is yes you can. We have people who have purchased land in the past, with hopes that they were going to develop it in the future. Then the market crashed and all of a sudden there was no money to be had in order to develop the land. Now they sit holding onto this undeveloped land with no hope of being able to put money into it. They continue to pay loan payments on it, and it's just pulling from their pockets every month. Maybe they have a financial hardship, or they’ve lost their job, needed to relocate, or maybe the land payment is causing them to have a financial hardship and they just can't hold…

Non-Recourse or Recourse Loans – Short Sales and Foreclosure

Hi this is Kerri from the Bay Area Short Sale Angels, Northern California's number one short sale team. A recourse loan means that the bank can come after you for any unpaid debt regardless if you foreclose or short sale. Non recourse loans mean that they can't. California is a non-recourse state as long as the loan was taken out as purchase money. That means the money, whether its a first or second was taken out at the origination of purchasing the property. Now let's say you got a loan, you got into your property, and then a while later you took out an equity line, a second loan. The second loan is a recourse loan. So, if you short sale, what does that mean? It means that the bank can ask to have the homeowner to sign a promissory note, sometimes for the amount that's owed, sometimes less than the amount owed.…

Information for Those Suffering from Financial Hardship

Hi this is Kerri from the Bay Area Short Sale Angels, northern California's number one short sale team. So here's a piece of advice not only for people who are suffering a financial hardship or looking at pre-foreclosure or short sale, this is for everyone out there. This is just a little piece of advice based on some stuff that I've seen going on. There are some other teams out there in the US that I talk to on a regular basis, and they've noticed the same thing, so it's not just California. Do not bank at the same institution that carries your loan. Many times, written in the fine print when you sign up for a checking or savings account, it says that if you owe them any money, they can take if from your account. People usually assume that it has to do with credit cards that are linked to the…

Information on Loan Modifications and Short Sales

Hi, this is Kerri from the Bay Area Short Sale Angels. We are northern California's number one short sale team. I have a piece of advice for you that might sound crazy. Do not pay anyone to help you with your loan modification or your :k1: short sale, even if it's an attorney. You can maybe negotiate so they can have some money when it closes, but do not pay them anything upfront. Our team has had a couple people recently, one actually paid a lawyer $20,000 to do her loan modification and it went nowhere, absolutely nowhere. He made all these promises and then just took off with the money. What can she do sue a lawyer? That's not going to happen. People are getting ripped off by scams, and people making promises. There may be people that seem like they're there, they seem like they know what they are talking about,…

Understanding the Tax Implications when considering whether a short sale is right for you

Hello this is Kerri with the Bay Area Short Sale Angels. :k1: #1 short sale team. A lot of clients first question is what the tax consequences will be when filing for a short sale. The tax consequences will always vary on whether it is a owner occupied property or an investment or renatl property. Of course the first thing to always do is seek the advice of a tax professional to make sure you are aware of what the consequences will be. In my experience if it is an owner occupied property you will not have to pay federal tax on the forgiven debt and as of the last 8 months in California there are also no taxes on the forgiven debt. Having said that, it is still in your best interest to double check with a tax professional to make sure no tax codes have changed recently. On the other hand…

Understanding what the term "Seller Pays Fee" Really Means in your Short Sale Agreement

Hello this is Kerri with the Bay Area Short Sale Angels. The :k1: #1 Short Sale Team. One question that comes up a lot in our business is what it really means when it says 'seller pays' on the purchase agreement. Often times it will list city/county transfer tax, closing cost credits, title fees as paid by seller on a short sale purchase agreement all owed by the seller. Since most short sale property owners can not even pay their mortgage these added fee's can be a concern while trying to gain approval. Do not be scared away by all these fee's because although the agreement says the 'seller pays' it will all be covered by the bank. These numerous fee's associated with closing on a house are deducted from the total amount that the bank would receive once your house is sold. Since the lender is taking care of these fee's there…