Check out this market update including data of active, sold and pending home sales in the downtown St. Pete Pinellas County area.

By Dina ElBoghdady
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 16, 2010

After the bank foreclosed on Fernando Palacios’s Gainesville home in March, he thought he was done with what he described as the most stressful financial situation of his life.

The bank sold the home for far less than Palacios owed on it, as often happens with foreclosures. What Palacios did not see coming was the letter from his lender demanding that he pay the shortfall: $148,064.02. “I really thought I was through with this house,” said Palacios, who fell behind on payments when the economy soured and his cleaning business stumbled.

Over the past year, lenders have become much more aggressive in trying to recoup money lost in foreclosures and other distressed sales, creating more grief for people who thought their real estate headaches were far behind.

In many localities — including Virginia, Maryland and the District — lenders have the right to pursue borrowers whose homes have sold at a loss to collect the difference between what the property sold for and what the borrower owed on it, also called a deficiency.

Before the housing bust, when the volume of foreclosures was relatively low, lenders seldom bothered to chase after deficiencies because borrowers had few remaining assets to claim and doing so involved hassles and costs. But with foreclosures soaring, lenders are more determined to get their money back, especially if they suspect borrowers are skipping out on loan they could afford, an increasingly common practice in areas where home values have tanked.

Palacios said he was committed to staying in his house, which he bought in 2005. He sunk $20,000 into improving it and hoped to raise his children there. But his lender refused to modify his loan, he said. To avoid personal liability for the deficiency, Palacios is filing for bankruptcy protection, as many people do who are in similar situations, said Nancy Ryan, his bankruptcy attorney.

“I am definitely seeing more people come through my door who walked away from houses a year or two ago and thought they were as free as the dead,” Ryan said. “They’re stunned when they realize they’re not.”
Several lenders contacted for this story declined to say how often they pursue deficiencies. But many said they try to collect the debt if they conclude the borrower can repay all or part of it.

“Lenders are not going after people who face a hardship,” said John Mechem, a spokesman for the Mortgage Bankers Association. “If they can’t pay their mortgage because they have a loss of income, there is no point in going after them.”

Those who had a second mortgage, such as a home-equity line of credit, in addition to their primary mortgage may find themselves particularly vulnerable, especially if they tapped into the equity line for cash.

Second lenders are last in line to get paid when a distressed property is sold. There’s usually little or no money left over for them, making it more likely that they will pursue large deficiencies, several attorneys said.

Gretchen Somers said she and her husband understood the risks last year when they completed a “short sale,” a transaction that allowed them to sell their Manassas home for about $150,000 less than they owed on it. But they felt they had no other options.

Somers said her family hung onto the house as long as possible. They tried but failed to sell it when her husband was transferred to Arizona for his job in early 2006, just as home prices were softening. They moved back into the house then tried to sell it again in 2008, after their adjustable-rate mortgage reset and their monthly mortgage payment nearly doubled. But home prices had plunged further by then, making it even tougher to sell.

Last year, their first lender and their home-equity line lender granted permission for the short sale. But the second lender reserved the right to come after the couple. Six months later, a collection agency called demanding $85,000 for related losses.

In hindsight, Somers said she and her husband should have just walked away from the house. “We took care of the house because we wanted it to sell,” Somers said. “If they were going to come after us anyway, we shouldn’t have done them the favor of making sure it looked good and cutting the grass even after we moved out, We should have mailed them the key and said: ‘Here you go.’ ”

Carlos Cortez and his wife managed to escape that fate after their second lender came after them for $70,000 when their short sale was completed on his Manassas Park townhouse in 2008.

Cortez knew that was a possibility, but he went through with the sale because his real estate agent said the lender was engaging in scare tactics.

James Scruggs, an attorney at Legal Services of Northern Virginia, said the lender appears to have backed off after Cortez argued that that the loan officer falsely qualified him and his wife for a home-equity line by fabricating key details about their finances.

A handful of states do not allow lenders to pursue deficiencies, nor does a federal program that took effect April 10. Lenders participating in that initiative are paid for approving short sales and as a condition, they cannot go after outstanding debt.

In many states, lenders can go after deficiencies, though laws vary widely, said John Rao, an attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. Some states limit how long the banks have to file a claim or collect the debt. Others may calculate deficiencies based on the fair-market value of the house, Rao said. For instance, if a home sells for $200,000 yet its fair market value is $250,000, “the borrower who owes $240,000 on the mortgage would not have a deficiency,” he said.

Borrowers should get a waiver in writing from their lenders to protect themselves, said Diane Cipollone, an attorney at the nonprofit Civil Justice. “Nobody should assume the deficiency is forgiven,” she said.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac just announced the introduction of their own HAFA programs. They’re both scheduled to be implemented by August 1, 2010, and the programs are very similar to HAFA in that they simplify and streamline the use of short sales and deed-in-lieu (DIL) options and use similar forms and timelines. In addition, like HAFA, the program expires December 31, 2012. However, some of the major differences offered by the new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac HAFA programs include, but are not limited to:

- Both institutions will pay the servicer a $2,200 incentive fee for successful short sales
- Both institutions will pay the servicer a $1,500 incentive fee for all successful DILs
- The Deed for Lease (D4L) is available for borrowers who request and are approved to remain in the property following a successful DIL

Specific details on these programs can be found by visiting the following links: eFannieMae.com and Freddie Mac Bulletin or view PDFs below.
.pdf Freddie Bulletin
.pdf Fannie Hafa Overview

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David Price received the Top Sales Award for all Coldwell Banker agents in NE St. Pete in Units and Volume for May 2010

WASHINGTON – June 11, 2010 – Homebuyers may get an extra three months to finish qualifying for federal tax incentives that boosted home sales this spring.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Thursday he wants to give buyers until Sept. 30 to complete their purchases and qualify for tax credits of up to $8,000. Under the current terms, buyers had until April 30 to get a signed sales contract and until June 30 to complete the sale.

The proposal would only allow people who already have signed contracts to finish at the later date. The National Association of Realtors estimates that about 180,000 homebuyers who already signed purchase agreements are likely to miss the deadline.

Reid introduced the proposal as an amendment to a bill that would extend jobless benefits through the end of November. Joining him were Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.

The Senate is expected to take up the amendment next week. Senate Democratic leaders hope to finish work on the jobless benefits bill next week, but they have yet to secure enough votes.

Reid, who faces perhaps the toughest re-election campaign of his political career, represents a state that has the nation’s highest foreclosure rate.

The Realtors group has been pushing hard in Congress for the extension. Mortgage lenders, the trade group says, have been swamped with borrowers trying to get approved by the end of the month. Many potential borrowers are unlikely to make the deadline.

“Time is of the essence,” said Lucien Salvant, a spokesman for the group. “It’s important for Congress to get this done, because there’s whole bunch of loans that aren’t going to close on time.”

First-time buyers were eligible for a tax credit of up to $8,000. Current owners who bought and moved into another home could qualify for a credit of up to $6,500.

St. Petersburg photo of the week is this:
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – June 9, 2010 –Gulf coast property owners impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill could get a property tax break. Gov. Charlie Crist wants that issue to be discussed as part of a special session of the Florida Legislature that he hopes to call as early as next month.

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink pushed Crist to embrace the tax reduction plan Tuesday as the governor and Cabinet heard presentations about the effects of the massive spill from BP, and state environmental, wildlife and revenue officials.

The economic impact of the spill – which a University of Central Florida economist estimates as potentially $2.2 billion to as much as $10 billion – is proving difficult to gauge.

“This is going to be an incredibly complex legal tangle to untangle, and to ensure that everybody is compensated fairly,” said Sink, who said she’s been advising businesses, individuals and city and county governments to carefully document losses stemming from the encroaching oil.

The tax-break proposal emerged in a joint letter to Crist from property appraisers in the Panhandle’s Santa Rosa and Escambia counties. They said that property owners are likely to endure a loss in value this year because of the spill but will face tax payments this fall based on assessments in place at the start of 2010.

“We are concerned for the taxpayers of our respective counties who are already struggling with the economic downturn and the resulting declining property values,” Gregory Brown, of Santa Rosa, and Chris Jones, of Escambia, told Crist. “When property values decline along the coast due to BP’s negligence, the affected citizens should be allowed some adjustment to their tax burden.”

Tinkering with property taxes is not new. Property tax relief has followed five disasters already, according to Lisa Echeverri, executive director of the state’s Revenue Department. The most recent property-tax break was issued to Central Florida counties battered by tornadoes in 2007.

But those relief efforts may have proved easier to implement. The 2007 legislation offered as much as $1,500 in property-tax reimbursements to residents whose houses were destroyed or heavily damaged in the tornadoes. By contrast, losses stemming from a lack of tourists coming to commercial properties or the diminished value of residential or vacant land may prove tougher to calculate, officials acknowledge.

Similarly, the loss of tax revenue to state and local government caused by the spill could require lawmakers to approve a scheme for distributing dollars coming from BP. The company Tuesday promised Florida another $25 million – on top of an earlier $25 million issued the state.

Crist has sought as much as $200 million from the company to offset damage, for advertising and continued coastal monitoring.

“We’re trying to figure out how the models may need to be adjusted,” Echeverri said of state revenue forecasts that could be shaken by the disaster. Economists were anticipating a $6 billion budget shortfall next year before the Gulf spill changed some variables.

Crist has been pushing lawmakers for a special session in order to create a proposed constitutional amendment to put on the November ballot that would ban oil drilling in Florida waters. So far, the call for a special session has been rejected by House leaders, including incoming House Speaker Dean Cannon (R-Winter Park).

Cannon sponsored legislation in 2009 that would have allowed drilling as close as three miles offshore and this spring conducted public hearings that minimized the risks of oil and gas exploration.

Crist also wants the special session to include a discussion on ways Florida can draw at least 20 percent of its energy needs from wind, solar and other renewable energy sources within 10 years.

But pulling temporary property tax relief into the session may finally give him an issue an otherwise reluctant, Republican-led Legislature can embrace this election year.