Happy Thanksgiving from Northwest Property Options

According to the just released S&P Case-Shiller report, Portland has enjoyed a 7.2% increase in housing prices in the past 12 months.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Here’s a city-by-city look at house prices using the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite, which rose 0.2% in August and has advanced 5.6% year-on-year.

City	One-month percentage change	One-year percentage change
Atlanta	0.4%	5.3%
Boston	0.1%	5%
Charlotte	-0.1%	2.5%
Chicago	0.4%	2.9%
Cleveland	0.3%	0.8%
Dallas	0.5%	7.3%
Denver	0.5%	6.3%
Detroit	0.8%	7%
Las Vegas	0.5%	10.1%
Los Angeles	0%	6.8%
Miami	0.3%	10.5%
Minneapolis	0.3%	3.9%
New York	0.4%	3.1%
Phoenix	0.2%	4.3%
Portland	0.3%	7.2%
San Diego	-0.1%	6.2%
San Francisco	-0.4%	9%
Seattle	0%	6.6%
Tampa	0.2%	5.5%
Washington	0%	3.1%

• Detroit had the biggest monthly gain, of 0.8%.
• The Sun Belt region saw its worst annual returns since 2012.
• Every city apart from Cleveland saw its annual gains decelerate.
• Every city but Boston and Detroit saw their monthly returns in August lower than in July.
• Miami now sports the fastest annual growth, at 10.5%.
• From the peak in the summer of 2006, home prices nationally are down 17%, while the recovery from the March 2012 lows is 29.5%.

Here in the Northwest, we've just had a brutal weekend with high winds and heavy rains. The winds have subsided, but more rains are coming. Hah, we are in the Northwest, we know that. However, there is still time to prepare your home for the fall by following some basic tasks. Check our this article from Redfin:

http://blog.redfin.com/blog/2014/10/fall-home-maintenance-checklist.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fall-home-maintenance-checklist#.VE7K2E18P8w

Enjoy this fall weather before it turns cold.

Cody Cox
Northwest Property Options

If you find yourself having issues with your mortgage lender, allow me to reassure you that you are not alone. During these troubled economic times, we have found that many good people just like you run into tough times. The purpose of this post is to show you some possible solutions.

4 Steps To a Proactive, Positive Solution

If you are thinking about making a Proactive, Positive Solution, we encourage you to follow these 4 steps.

Step #1: Make a commitment to yourself to be proactive, take control and deal with your mortgage lender. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to find a solution.

Step #2: List your objectives. Do you want to take control of your situation?

Step #3: ASK QUESTIONS

The ways to learn about the best solutions for you is by asking specific questions and listen carefully to the answers. Here are several questions to ask:

MORTGAGE BROKER:

1.       What is my guarantee that you will close my loan before it goes to auction?

2.       Will you commit to me in writing?

3.       What interest rate are you getting me?

4.       How many points are you charging me?

5.       Will my monthly payments be more that what they are now?

6.       What are the total closing costs?

ATTORNEY:

1.       Will filing Bankruptcy make the lender problems go away, or is it a temporary fix?

2.       How much do you charge to file Bankruptcy?

3.       How much will my new monthly payments be?

4.       What happens if I can’t afford the payments?

5.       Can I file a Bankruptcy myself at the courthouse and save thousands of dollars?

REALTOR:

1.       What is your guarantee that you will sell my house and close before it goes to auction?

2.       What if I find someone on my own who wants to buy the house? Do I still have to pay you commission?

3.       If the house is sold at a price that won’t cover all of your commissions, do I still have to come out of pocket and pay you?

4.       What happens to you if you don’t sell the house and I lose it at auction?

5.       Are you only going to sell the house at a price for you to receive full commission?

6.       How long will your listing contract tie up the house and entitle you to a commission?

YOUR LENDER:

1.       Can you work out a payment plan with me?

2.       Will my monthly payments increase?

3.       How much will they increase?

4.       Will you show in writing the terms of the payment plan you are suggesting?

5.       If I agree to these terms, will you agree in writing to halt your proceedings?

6.       What happens if I am late on this payment plan?

7.       Do you start where you left off on your proceedings?

8.      With the significant increase in monthly payments, what percentage of people fail at this plan because they can’t afford the monthly payments?

9.       How many people still lose their house after working out a payment plan?

Step #4: Once you are ready to make an informed, intelligent decision, act on it immediately, before it’s too late. If you are not satisfied with the answers to these questions, and selling your house is the best alternative, we might be able to help.

The purpose of these 4 Steps is to empower you with the information and questions you need to make a wise decision in choosing the best solution for you. This information is provided by Northwest Property Options, LLC, a local real estate investing company.

Cody Cox

Northwest Property Options, LLC.

Cody@NWPropertyOptions.com

3 Ways to AVOID Foreclosure!

Top 3 Ways to Avoid Foreclosure -

1) Try to work it out with the lender -

Your best option is to get very honest with your lender. Many times you void this process but it is one that you should at least consider. Fact - it will cost your lender more to go through the process of foreclosure and resale of your property. They NEED to make a deal with you!

2) Declare Bankruptcy -

Bankruptcy is the process of eliminating some or all of your debts in exchange for either regular payments or a seizing of your property. Although it may not seem like an enviable option, it's the smartest way out of an underwater mortgage for many homeowners. When you file for bankruptcy, the foreclosure proceedings can be stopped with an automatic stay.

3) Consider Selling the House -

If you believe you have any equity in your house (value is higher than what you owe) you can sell your house. If you allow your house to go through foreclosure, no matter how much equity you have you will never see it if you do not sell before the bank takes possession.

This is not an exhaustive list of remedies for foreclosure, but does illustrate the top 3. I enjoy helping people out of bad situations. If you are interested in talking or a free estimate on what I think you could sell your house for, email me - Cody@NWPropertyOptions.com