Welcome to the new market. The shift into Seller's Market is in full effect. Fortunately for home buyers, interest rates are low and loan appraisers are hesitant to allow values to climb too fast. We are experiencing artificially low sales prices at the same time invertory is low. This runs counter to the traditional law of supply and demand. We see prices inching up and the trend will continue.

To take advantage of these artificially low prices and great interest rates on home loans, you must look better to the seller  than all the other buyers making offers.

"I've been Pre-Qualified!!!"
There was a time when getting pre-qualified for a home loan was enough to make you  a “serious” buyer in the eyes of the sellers.  You could usually get a “pre-qual” letter from any lender  by talking to them on the phone and answering a few questions. When you did  that, you got a rough indication of the loan size you might be able to acquire, but frankly, that was at best based on “educated guesses”.  None of your information was verified.  

Today, you can still get pre-qualified from a lender and many real estate agents will try to use that  to show you are a serious buyer. Fact is, when you are up against better qualified buyers, you’ll wonder why your offer was rejected, usually without comment or even a counter.

In order to be taken seriously in today’s market; you must be pre-approved by a trusted lender.  Pre-approval means you have completed a loan application, received your credit report, and your  assets and employment have been verified.  Pre-approved buyers know the exact maximum sales price of the home they are qualified to purchase and won't make the mistake of offering more for a home than they can afford.  Armed with a letter of pre-approval from a legitimate lender,  their offers will be taken seriously. We've seen many pre-approved buyers offer a lower price than their "prequal" competition and get their offers accepted. It really pays to do a little upfront work when you are making one of the largest investments of your life.

Realty World ALL STARS agents do not broker loans. We feel that only a professional who specializes in home loans will be able to shop and secure the best loan for you.  We will be more than happy to recommend a lender we feel you can trust. Our agents receive no compensation for their recommendation.  Realty World ALL STARS want what’s best for you and helping you choose a good lender is important to your overall satisfaction with the job we perform.  After all, we want you to recommend us to your friends and family and tell the world we are the best. That's how we win customer satisfaction awards like the Daily Bulletin and Los Angeles Times Reader's Choice!

The unfortunate reality about short sales is that there are no guarantees. Lenders are not required to approve a short sale.
California recently passed a law that may stop lenders from foreclosing on a home while entertaining a short sale or loan modification, but until the law goes into effect 1/1/2013 the banks can and will continue to "dual track".
What's frustrating for homeowners and real estate agents is that short sale approvals are not a guarantee that the lender won't foreclose at the courthouse steps. All we can do is try to get postponements for our clients. We are usually successful unless the "investor" who owns the loan decides that a foreclosure is the most profitable course of action. (They are not required to notify the real estate agents or even the processor at the bank that they are going to exercise their legal right to go to auction. However they are required to record and post notices at the property site to notify the homeowners.
Realty World All Stars is fortunate to have experienced short sale agents in the country working on our "team". Our agents have helped hundreds of homeowners successfully avoid foreclosure. It is unfortunate that even as hard as they try, the best agents cannot always get the lender to accept less than the full amount owed on the loan. The lender makes that final decision.
We see first hand the hardship and negative impact on people's lives FORECLOSURES create and work diligently to help our clients avoid it.