bubbleinfo.com

Banks need to start handing out bonuses for agents that close short sales like this. The extra work and the massive savings to the bank when done properly really calls for the bank to encourage short sales rather than sit on them.

Think about it - the comission isn't even two months of interest on the loan balance if the bank forecloses.

Wow! Total mortgage fraud on that deal.

I'd be scared to clean it up some of those "tags" are gang signs.

I take it the Mercedes in the driveway is not the previous homeowner's ride.

Grousing about the work involved in a short sale isn't endearing to an otherwise fantastic blog. I don't blog about working unpaid overtime on a project for three months only to see the project get cancelled when some executive decides to move in another direction that gives him more short term visibility but the company less long-term ROI.

Mike S, I don't see this as complaining per se. Why work on a Sisyphean task that wastes everyone's time? In the case of real estate, you're working solely on commissions. Doing whatever you do, you still have your base salary. As a software engineer, I'm the posterchild for unpaid overtime but I deal with it because of the high base salary.

How would you feel if you were paid by completed project? You worked those three months of unpaid overtime only to have your project canceled? That's what a short sale is.

Back to the post, whoa. That's ugly (both the financials and the house).

I don't see this as complaining as well. We all take on jobs/projects where we make the CBA (cost-benefit-analysis) at least subconsciously. There are always risks, but we evaluate the upside potential with the downside risks.

What Jim, I think is saying, is that where the upside potential is AT MOST $3500 (that needs to be shared), and the downside is months of continuous headache (not to mention the possible run-ins with the gangs), why would any sane person do the CBA and think its worthwhile. I agree. I wouldn't do it, but I am not a realtor.

This is an excellent example of why WAMU deserves to die. The sad part is that the bailout will be a huge taxpayer hit.

So, where did the money go? Why do we always assume there is no point is trying to get at least some of it back out of the borrower? This guy was handed $400K just over a year ago. It would be nice if the FDIC (after it assumes control of WAMU) would chase these people down and, at minimum, make their lives hell for a few years.

Apparently many folks are convinced a bail-out acquisition of WAMU is about to take place (their stock dipped down below $2 yesterday is is now up in the high $2 - a 50% bounce!). The only possible way for that to happen is a fed backstop of billions to WFC or BA or JPM or???

Our mortgage is with WaMu. I'm wondering what will happen if/when the place folds. I suppose our loan will be transferred to some random other company that we didn't chose, and who might not give a squat about giving good customer service to WaMu's refugees.

We do our business banking with WAMU, our rep there told us we should take out anything over the 100k FDIC amount in our accounts...

^^^ Yikes!

News story from yesterday's SF Chronicle about WaMu's troubles:
Link

It was 11pm last night, I whipped it out without re-reading.

If I'm the listing agent, I'm going to find a way to make it easier to sell - wouldn't a $1,000 paint job save a lot of aggravation?

It reminds me of that flipper show on TV when the agent presented the seller of a multi-million dollar house a punch list of repairs from the buyer. The seller, in typical seller fashion, says 'no way, I'm not doing a thing' and instead of stepping up herself and paying the $1,000 to make the deal, the agent let's it far apart.

If it's grousing that points out how crazy listing agents can be, then I'm grousing.

So any theories on where the $400K is now? If he still has any of that money, they need to sue him for it. Just go after the worst offenders, and everyone will think twice.

Don't want to hijack the thread into a listing agent bash fest, but with this real estate situation there's certainly enough blame to go around.

We all know that 5-6 years ago a listing agent could make a living by simply breathing air and taking blurry pictures with a cell phone camera. Bad spelling and punctuation in the listing? Who cares? Only one blurry picture and submit it to MLS upside down? No big deal. Add a bed, add a bath? What's a room or two between friends. The banks are shoveling stacks of green backs out into the streets and someone will come along, no matter how poorly I market this dump and give me full asking price.

Fast forward to Fall of '08 and the same unprofessional listing agents are acting like Pavlov's Dog and refuse to change a thing. Government stupidity, big corporation greed and buyer ignorance all played a role in the build up to this thing and continue to make the problem linger, but listing agents need to be taken to task at every turn for their continued determination to single handily try and keep the market propped up.

Insert a picture of JtR's Tee Shirt "I'm not giving it away" here.

Speaking of "listing agents...continued determination to single handily try and keep the market propped up", I think at least they are effective in some capacity.

And Congress is helping them as well:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20080911-1134-congress-foreclosurefreeze.html

WAMU will be purchased shortly or they are finished as a public company.

Landed here from a link posted on laland blog. Anyhow, the owner ended up with 400k that you and me will pay via bailout ($2600 per person = 700 billion). It's sad and it makes me sick...