Jeff Star's Q&A

We really need to know if the property is upside down.  Will it be a normal sale or a short sale.  If it's a short sale it won't make any difference what is paid in commission because it's up to the bank,  they are the ones paying the fee.  Normal transactions you should pay at least 6% that's the norm.  My question is why should a realtor negotiate their commission lower?  How often do people in normal jobs other then real estate get asked to cut their paychecks for doing their job?  I would say it's pretty rare.  If your dealing with a hard working realtor that gets the transaction done then they're worth the money paid.  You get what you pay for.  You want a discount agent you get a discount listing.  Qualify your agent before you enter into a contract.  Make sure they're not cutting their teeth on your deal. 

Don't wait, property value continue to drop everyday.  I don't know how they are in your area, but here in Arizona property values are still dropping on a regular basis.  There is no time like the present.  Good luck.

whats the address?

It will never happen.  I have never seen a bank do a principal reduction.  Some banks say they will like EMC mortgage, but when it comes down to it they don't. They say it's case by case and it requires special circumstances, well how about a families house that was modified for a 10 year old blind child in a wheel chair with cerebral palsy, hallways were widened, the city came in and posted "watch for blind child" signs on the streets. The school for the blind drops the child off in front of the house.  Do you know what EMC Mortgage said,  wasn't a special enough case to allow for a principal reduction.  If that isn't a special enough case I don't know what is.  Good luck.

Solar panels adds about the same value as a swimming pool.  If your in a short sale situation it wouldn't make any difference at all.  You might want to contact an appraiser an ask what they would normally allow for solar panels.  In this market you definitely don't want to be over priced.

The short sale process goes like this.  The agent,1. Collects all required documents from you.2. Lists your property on the MLS.3. Gets an offer.4.  Agent Submits offer to the bank with all necessary documents for the short sale.5. The bank puts everything through a process called imaging .6. The bank orders a BPO "apprasial"7. The bank sends BPO findings to the investor.8. The investor either signs off or counters the offer.This is how it usually goes.  Normally takes 3 months or more sometimes less, it's up to the bank.  There are a lot of other things that are done between the listed steps, but I didn't go into all of that. 

Sellers should never have to pay a realtors commission in a short sale situation, because the seller is suppose to be in a financial hardship.  Where is a seller suppose to come up with the money If they can't even afford to make their mortgage payment? I have done over 60 short sales YTD and a few deals didn't go through because the sellers didn't agree with the banks terms and they canceled the short sale and opted to just foreclose.  I never expected to received a commissions from those home owner even though we had a ready, willing and able buyer.  Make sure your not working with an agent that is desperate for money and listings.  Those are the ones that have a hard time walking away from a deal.  Just being honest.

Good luck trying to do a refi when your upside down, it won't happen.  Loan mods will not reduce your principal balance your still stuck owning a home that is not worth what you paid.  If this is your primary residents you should protected under the Mortgage debt relief act of 2007 so you will not be taxed on the deficiency as long as your home is under 2mil.  You will want to findout if your state is a non-deficiency state like Arizona.  Also be prepared if you have a 2nd mortgage that is either an equity line or HELOC they bank may ask for you the contribute money at close or sign a promissory note for a certain percentage paid over 15 or 30 years interest free. 

If the seller doesn't have the funds to make any repairs and there are no other options and deal will fall apart if the repairs aren't made and I'm making 10 or 15k on the deal as the listing agent, I throw the money in and make the deal happen.  Most agents are to greedy to do that, but a lot aren't.  Of course if the repairs are more then half my commission it wouldn't be worth it to me to put up my money initially.  I look at it this way, if the deal falls through, the same issues will come up with the next buyer's inspection.  I would rather make some money then no money and move on to the next transaction.

Well if your trying to purchase a house credit score, debt to income and loan to value is everything.  Why do you ask?