San Jose Real Estate * Santa Clara County * Richard Gonzalez * Real Estate Broker * Realty World Powerhouse Brokers

I uploaded the latest sales data to youtube. Please take a moment to watch this three minute video.

January 2010 sales data for Santa Clara County.

10 day approval? Yes that’s what I said and for those homeowners lucky enough to have a Wachovia loan( aka World Savings) a short sale approval is possible within a few weeks time. Wachovia is able to do this mainly because they own the loans vs having to service them for investors.

What makes this more incredible is that each county has a short sale negotiator who is proactive in the approval process.  Wachovia makes its decisions on a case by case hardship a homeowner is facing. The goal is to offer a fast track process to the homeowner once it has been determined that all other options have been exhausted including the possibility of a loan modification.

Requirements for a Wachovia Short Sale Approval

1. Homeowner must have a true hardship (loss of income, job loss, medical, family, etc….). Provide required documentation to support your hardship. Taxes, bank statements, and pay stubs must be submitted to the negotiator.
2. Communication  is key! Most homeowners in this situation are embarrassed at the possibility of facing foreclosure that they stop answering the phone or opening mail. You must be willing to communicate with the lender to help yourself with this situation.
3. Work with a REALTOR who knows how the Wachovia process works. This will help the homeowner reach a timely agreement with Wachovia and help facilitate an open channel of communication with the short sale negotiator.

Wachovia’s short sale fast track is incredibly fast in comparison to the other banks and servicers who can take up to 90 days to approve a short sale. Talk to a Loss Mitigation Representative  to find out more and to explore your options.

(866) 642-8608

8:00 am-5:30 pm Monday-Thursday 8:30 am-4:00 pm Friday.

Real Estate Relationships are Key in a Hot Market

Buyers experiencing a HOT market in our area continue to deal with one frustration after another as they wage a bidding war on the low inventory we are currently experiencing.

Within all of this chaos I have developed a relationship building approach both as a listing agent and with other listing agents. I have to know that the other REALTOR is willing to work as hard as I am prior to reviewing or submitting an offer.

For example; say you want to make an offer and there are multiple offers involved. The strategy I tend to take is to make sure I package the offer in such a way that the listing agent can see that I understand the way a Bank Asset manager or a Short Sale Negotiator prefers to see an offer.

The key is to understand the inner workings of the submission process to a Bank and as such covey to the decision maker that I am well versed in this process. Its not surprising to have a listing agent pass on a offer because of the way it was presented.

I have had more success by focusing on how I have package an offer and communicated with the other agent.

San Jose's Premere Jazz Festival this weekend

Its been a yearly tradition and the Jazz Festival arrives this weekend. For those of you who have not attended its well worth the trip out to one of San Jose’s Iconic events. I have personally experienced the joy of the many stages of this grand festival my favorite being the Latin Jazz stage. Among the most popular stages you will find are the main stage in Cesar Chavez Park and the HOT HOT HOT Salsa stage. The festival begins tomorrow Friday August 7th -9th. Weekend passes are available. Hope to see you out there.

San Jose Jazz Fest Website: Click Here

NAR report credits interest rates, $8,000 tax credit, affordability, and distressed properties for the increased sales but the fuel for this fire is coming more from the lack of affordable homes causing a flurry of multiple offer activity on the sparse inventory in our area.

Read NAR report: REPORT