If you read my story here about what happened to us, then you know our home was foreclosed on by none other than Wells Fargo Bank. We tried dealing with them on a loan mod, we tried just getting them to let us rent until our lease ran out, everything. They would have none of it. Then as a last ditch effort, we said “Show us the Note”. They are supposed to produce the original note that says they even have a right to foreclose. They never did that either. They just bullied their way right through us because we couldn’t afford an attorney.

If you didn’t see this, a judge in Massachusetts ruled that when Wells Fargo and US Bancorp foreclosed on 2 borrowers in 2007, they didn’t have the right as they didn’t have the proper paperwork. This ruling returned the homes to the borrowers.

While I am happy to see a reigning in of these banks with absolutely no conscience, this could be a double edge sword. If enough others start fighting to get their homes back in other states, we could see the mortgage market dry up. Lenders will be even stricter than they are now about home loans which could cause an even bigger stand still on the road to recovery.

It makes me want to consider fighting to get my own home back, but then I have to ask myself, do I really want it back? Like many of the homeowners foreclosed on, legally or not, I could not make the house payment any more. Of course now there are a lot of new programs out there that weren’t available when I was getting foreclosed on. Still, thanks to a bad refi by my partner, the payments had jumped to $4400.00 per month. It was crazy! I remember feeling actually relieved to an extent that I didn’t have to worry about how to come up with that much every month anymore. It made rent where we are now seem like a piece of cake.

I don’t know the answer. I think it’s awful how callous the banks and institutions have been as they push people out of their homes, many after living there a really long time. We were in our home 17 yrs. while my children grew up and all sorts of life’s memories. We can’t get back any of the things we lost because we couldn’t get it all out in the time allowed. I think for us it’s just a time to keep going forward. We have the mobile home in Capitola to worry about now.

If you’d like to follow our journey rebuilding the inside of our mobile home from scratch on less than a shoestring budget, you can join me at http://www.lauriannsnewlife.blogspot.com

In the meantime, if you are going through foreclosure, it’s getting easier and easier to “buck the system”. Don’t just settle for Wells Fargo’s shoddy foreclosure practices, or any other bank. Tell them to “Show me the note”.

"Before Tim Larkin"

When you, as a real estate investor sells to a sociopath, this is what all the investor teaching gurus don’t tell you.

Not every “vanilla” real estate deal comes out “sweet”.

Five yrs. ago I sold my mobile home on an installment contract to a man named Timothy M Larkin. Due to the mobile needing some work, I sold it “as-is” at a discounted price. Mr. Larkin had just split with his family and wanted to stay close enough to spend a lot of time with his daughter, but could not get financing due to an IRS lien. His lawyer wrote me a letter stating that the lien would be cleared up with in the next year, and other than that Timothy M Larkin had a pretty good credit report.

I thought this would be a “win-win” for both of us. I agreed to carry the paper with 10% down at the current market rate, amortized over 30 yrs. due in 5. This kept the payments affordable for Mr. Larkin and would provide a monthly paycheck for me. That’s one of the things the real estate gurus preach. “Buy a bunch of houses with a positive cash-flow and build your wealth.”

At one point about a year and a half into the contract, he paid me $35000.00 of what was owing, and I gave him credit for over $47000.00. Once again, a win-win. Supposedly during this time he had also remodeled.

In the meantime, he harassed the lady across the street from him so much, he finally got her removed from the park. She was a little crazy, but not dealing drugs as he had claimed every time he called the police out there. He had also encroached on the next door neighbors lot so much that she couldn’t even use her driveway. She put her mobile up for sale. The people directly across from him who had had that mobile for years, he harassed them so bad about painting the outside of the mobile, they painted, and then put up a for sale sign in their window. He demanded the owner of the park remove another mobile across from him, and when the owner had it all set up to move it, Mr. Larkin declared it was a health hazard, and stopped the whole thing! Through all of these things I should have gotten a clue as to what type of person Timothy M Larkin was, but nothing prepared me for what came next.

First he had a lawyer write me a letter trying to claim fraud when I sold him the mobile home and I should give Mr. Larkin the mobile home and all of his money back. Luckily I am a very good Realtor, trained by two ladies that dotted every “i” and crossed every “t”, so needless to say that letter didn’t lead to anything. I had offered to sell him his note for a discounted price, and instead of negotiating, he just quit paying. I had to file a Notice of Default to get the back payments. After that it was as if I had to file a NOD to get almost every payment.

The park is now in flux. The owner wants to convert the mobile home park to condos. He’s been fighting for a while now, but has lost each fight as the park fills the City’s need for low income and senior housing. If you live in the park full time, it is rent controlled and the space rent is quite low.

The contract was going to be up this Feb. 2011. I really thought that he would renegotiate for longer time or try to buy out the contract at a discount. Instead, with a balance of over $88000.00 owing, all he offered was $10,000.00 and instead chose to go through the foreclosure sale. I haven’t been able to get inside yet, but he’s out and I did get some pictures from the outside. Timothy M Larkin chose to totally gut the place of everything that was in it leaving me with the shell. While I half expected as such, my boyfriend when he saw it was just devastated. He just kept saying “How could somebody with any kind of conscience do something like this? This man’s an animal!”

This is what happens when you as a real estate investor meets a sociopath. This doesn’t even touch on all of the time taken to do paperwork, etc. because he had no integrity and didn’t keep his end of the bargain.

"After Timothy M Larkin"

Disclaimer: I don’t for a fact know that Mr. Larkin has ever been diagnosed as a sociopath. I only know he appears to have no conscience for his actions toward other people.

Capitola Mobile home 4 sale

Due to a default by Tim Larkin, the man who was purchasing my mobile home, I will be auctioning/selling to the highest bidder for all cash, cashier’s check drawn on a local bank, or other terms acceptable to me, a 2 bedroom, 1 bath mobile home located in the Surf and Sand Mobile Home Park in Capitola, CA.

The actual address of the mobile home for sale is 750 47th Ave., Space #12, Capitola, CA. 95010. The sale shall take place in the Surf and Sand Mobile Home Park parking lot, in front of the park clubhouse. The sale shall be held at 10:00 AM.

The amount currently owing is $88,717.00, the sale to be made in “As-Is” condition, but without covenant or warrant, express or implied, regarding title, possession or encumbrances. It is possible that the opening bid at the time of the sale may be less than the amount due.

If for any reason clear title cannot be conveyed, the successful bidder’s sole and only recourse shall be a return of monies paid to Lienholder (me) with no further recourse.

What I personally know about this mobile home and the Surf and Sand Mobile Home Park

This mobile home park is within walking distance of Capitola Village, located near the intersection of 47th Ave. and Cliff Dr. It’s a very beautiful area and a very desired location. The mobile home residents and the City of Capitola have been battling the current park owner to avoid a conversion of the park.  It is currently rent controlled by the City for residents that are living there full time, from what I understand. Here is a link to the latest article published in the newspaper that I could find that tells of the latest battle.

I have not been inside the mobile home since selling it to Mr. Larkin almost 5 yrs. ago. While he said he has remodeled the mobile home, I have no way or knowing what condition it is currently in, or will be in when he leaves it.

If you have any questions you may contact me, Lauri Beamish at 408-313-3270 or email me at lauribeamish@gmail.com

If you’re really asking “Have we hit the bottom of the California housing crash?”, I would have to say I don’t think so, not yet. Millions of homes are still being foreclosed on, and despite what everyone says, banks are still not truly working with their customers. While working on loan modifications on one hand, the banks are taking the homes to the courthouse steps with the other.

If you’re asking “Should I sell my home now before it loses any more value?” I would say that this is the slow time of year to sell even in a good market. It’s true, your home may lose more value if you hold on to it going into 2011. As I said, I personally don’t believe we’ve hit market bottom yet. Right now rates are at an all time low, which allows more buyers to buy, giving the seller a larger market. Historically, around the middle to end of February rates start to rise knocking people out of the affordability circle. You also widen your market if you are willing to do a little ‘creative financing’ such as carrying back a note for part of the money you receive and having the buyer pay on an installment contract.

Last but not least, if you’re asking “Is this the time to buy a house?” I would say it’s a great time to buy if you’re planning on being in it for awhile. Unless you’re buying a fixer upper way below market and doing the work yourself, the days of flipping it right back out and making a huge profit are a little slower these days. If you buy a home planning to raise a family, or stay located in that spot for the next 5 to 10 yrs., opportunities abound.

You have the advantage of the lower rates, and this time of year most sellers who have their home on the market are sincere about really wanting to sell. The inventory may not be as large, but neither is the competition for the same house. Sellers tend to be a  little more negotiable when there aren’t any offers coming in.

If you’re just curious about what’s happening in your neighborhood because you’re trying to keep track of where you are financially, equity wise, I would be happy to give you a full report of the activity in your neighborhood for free. No obligation. Just remember, I only deal with the Santa Clara County, California area. I can be reached at 408-313-3270 or at LauriBeamish@gmail.com

First, the lenders put a short moratorium on foreclosures because of obvious fraud in the process. Then the FDIC’s Sheila Bair comes along and says she’s worried that law suits involving fraudulent foreclosure practices will take too long to get straightened out. Instead of fixing the problem by doing things the way they should have been done all along by law, she says to just offer the homeowner a 25% reduction (loan mod) in their mortgage payment and everyone goes on their merry way. It’s okay for these large lenders like B of A or Wells Fargo to be putting people out of their homes fraudulently. I don’t get it. How can that be okay?

The latest news in the Wall Street Journal is that Congress will be considering taking away the tax deduction for our homes to balance their budget by 2015. Why not just take away any incentive to buy a home at all?

Then we have the wonderful new SBA package that Obama signed this month. This great package to give loans to small businesses so they can grow and hire people. Great for everyone but the people that build new homes. Somehow the housing sector was “accidently” left out. This has a whole “ripple down effect” of it’s own.

The questions haven’t changed much in the last couple of years. Have we hit bottom yet? I don’t personally think so. We haven’t even felt the fall out of the commercial market yet. The last 2 months housing prices have slipped some more, and “they” expect another 20% slip through the next year.  I hope that’s all it is. Rates are the lowest in forever right now. This is a super time to buy if you’re planning on staying in your home for the next 5 yrs.

Is the housing crisis continuing in California? I think until we feel the full effect of the commercial market downfall, until people are hiring again, there are bound to be more slips in the housing market.

In the meantime, we need to get the government to quit shooting the recovery in the foot. I don’t think more taxpayer bankrolled bailouts are the answer.

If I may help with any of your real estate needs, please feel free to contact me.

According to Washington research group Center on Budget & Policy Priorities who just did a research study, 43 states are in trouble with their budgets. Of course in order to close those budget gaps, the states starts cutting funding to the counties which in turn starts cutting funding to the cities. Along the way everyone starts cutting programs. At this point it turns into a rather vicious cycle. As the different levels cut programs, they cut jobs and people, making the housing crisis even worse.

This along with the fact that the banks are still rather uncooperative when it comes to dealing with their customers regarding lowering loan balances or loan modifications, it sure makes it tough to get a recovery on sure footing. I had a lady in the office the other day had been working for months on a loan mod with her bank. She had been paying the agreed upon payments for 9 months on time, only for the bank to come back and tell her she didn’t qualify for the loan modification. Now mind you, this lady has been making these payments for 9 months already! I swear, I would love to understand the logic.

If you have your own horror story about trying to work with your lender, or if you feel the foreclosures will continue in record amounts, please feel free to share in the comments below. If I may be of any assistance to you, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

A new bill is on the floor of the Senate that again is meant to help distressed homeowners in foreclosure.  SB 1275 would help homeowners avoid foreclosure while seeking a loan modification.

Everywhere you turn you hear that lenders don’t want your house, don’t want to foreclose and carry your house on their books, would rather do anything than foreclose because it costs them so much money. Yet as I listen to the every day horror stories, I find it so hard to believe that “banks are more co-operative than ever”.  It seems amazing to me that there is even a need for the bill such as the one above, but these lenders who “don’t want your house” will go right on through with the foreclosure while you are in the process of negotiating with them! Anyone who has tried to get a loan modification or even a short sale with an offer in hand, knows these things take time and persistence. Half the time when it comes to the lender the old saying “the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing” is ever so true.

Most of the time until you’ve started missing payments, the lender won’t even talk to you. Once you have their attention because you haven’t paid in a couple of months, then it takes forever to get answers back to your requests for any kind of loan adjustments.

If you want to save your house and you have any chance of doing so, you have to stay vigilant. You cannot drop the ball for a second. We don’t know the fate of this bill that is on the congress floor right now. Many are opposed to it. If you want to save your house, it’s up to you to be very pro-active. Don’t wait for someone to ride in and save you, as you can tell by looking at all the notices still flooding the newspapers, it’s likely not to happen.

If I can be of service and help with any of your questions regarding foreclosure, selling your home, or any other real estate needs, please feel free to contact me at 408-313-3270, or by email through this blog.

March 31, 2010   6:00 PM  West Valley Branch Library                                             1243 San Thomas Aquino Rd.  San Jose 95117

Show up to learn about:

• Loan Modification/Loss Mitigation Options
• How to talk to your lender
• How to prepare all your documents
• What steps to take to receive help from a HUD approved counselor

To Register for the seminar call: 408-279-2600  ext. 229

If you need help before then, there is a place called “Foreclosure Help Center” in San Jose that is open Mon-Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. These services also are free. The program is manned almost completely by volunteers, and they will help you get all your documents together and go over them with you. Then they will turn you over to the proper channel to get you the help you need. Just call them for an appointment. The phone number is:  408-794-1242 You can visit their website at http://www.foreclosurehelpscc.org and get more information about their services.

If you’re looking to buy a home, the tax credit is supposed to run out again. The rules this time are that you must be in contract to buy a residence by April 30, 2010 and close by June 2010. I have not heard any rumblings yet as to whether there will be another extension, but I rather doubt it. If you’re anxious to take advantage of the credit, I wouldn’t wait around to see how it goes.

If you are a homeowner in trouble, or know you will be the next adjustment to your loan, please, don’t sit and do nothing. Take advantage of all the services that are there to help you. This is just scratching the surface. There’s even more help for distressed homeowners. All you have to do is ask.

There is so much concentration to keep people in their homes, which is a good thing, but people have a tendency to forget that the foreclosed on ex-homeowner has a new set of needs now.  For many this is just part of a downhill spiral, emotionally, financially. It’s important that these people don’t fall by the wayside, but learn where they too may get some help.

There are many community based programs for food, shelter, etc. One place to look is in your local yellow pages. In ours, looking right up front there is a section on community services available. Many are there to help with rental assistance, bills like PG &E, etc.

Another great place to go for help is your church. Many have funds for helping their congregation in need.

The local library. You can use the computers for free to find just about anything you need.

This isn’t a time to be “prideful”. It’s a time to take care of you and your family. If you’re in a depression you can’t seem to break out of, check with your local Mental Health Dept. You have to take action. No one can help if they don’t know you need it.

There is plenty of free help after foreclosure. You just need to dig a little sometimes.

If you have any questions, or if there is anything I can do to help, please feel free to leave a comment or contact me. If you’re a buyer or seller, there is a ton of free information on my website at http://www.SiliconValleyRealEstateOnline.com

I felt very fortunate today to be in on a conference call with a fellow Realtor, Jeff Schrager in Fresno, whom I have never met, but obviously has a good heart. He is willing to teach any Realtor whose interested how he put together a network of everything the homeowner going through foreclosure could need. He is in a what used to be very small and rural part of California and he’s been able to make it work. It seems we in the Bay Area with so many resources should be able to do a really bang up job, if everyone would just work together.

Have you ever seen that demonstration with a strand of hair? You take one strand of hair and try to break it. It’s pretty easily done. You put 3 strands together, it’s almost impossible. That’s how I feel about this program. None of the resources anyone has is enough to save all of the homeowners in trouble, but if we combine together and have a huge network, while we can’t save everyone, we can save more than we could alone. On top of all this is, these services are free! You should not be paying anyone to help you if you’re in trouble in the state of California. It is illegal for anyone to charge you any kind of upfront fee, whether it be for loan modifications, or anything else to do with your home once you’ve gone into default.

One of the things that’s so great about trying to put something like this together, is that no one wants to help you until you’re in trouble. I would like to see people getting help when they ask for it. Most people know they’re headed down a bad path, and they can’t keep it up much longer. Why do the banks not pay attention to your warnings? Why don’t they help you before the foreclosure process begins, saving them money as well as you? I don’t know. I think it’s shear stupidity and too big a business. I would like to see what we can do to help change some of that. For some of you the help comes too late, as it did for me.  If you’re in trouble or about to be, seek help now. It’s free. You don’t have to 1)sign over your house 2)pay someone up front fees 3) pay someone monthly fees to help you. There are so many agencies that only came into existance for this disaster. Take advantage of it and get assistance.

If I may be of service in anyway, don’t hesitate to contact me. All my contact info is here on this site. I would be honored to help. There is a lot of help out there for homeowners in foreclosure needing help.