SHORT SALE? – What is and why should you care about a “Short Sale”? Simplified, selling a home for less than what is owed to the lender(s) is known as a “short sale.” Why should you care? If you’re a seller, learn now what you can do before it’s too late. If you’re a buyer, you can take advantage of an under priced home needing to sell quickly. #1 – Hire a trusted, experienced Realtor® willing to help you to try and work things out with your lender before going through the process of selling your home on a short sale. Selling short is definitely better than foreclosure or bankruptcy, which can stay on your credit record for seven and ten years respectively. #2 – Talk taxes with your tax advisor about possible tax repercussions. It’s likely the IRS will consider the difference between the value at which you sell your home and the mortgage balance as “income” on which you’ll have to pay taxes. In most cases the exception to this rule applies if you can prove that you were “insolvent” – that your debts were bigger than your assets- before your mortgage lender agreed to a short sale of your property. A tax advisor will be able to tell you for sure whether you’d be considered insolvent by IRS standards. If you can’t prove you’re insolvent, and the tax bill on a short sale would be more than you can pay, you may have to let the mortgage lender foreclose, or declare bankruptcy. #3 - Be upfront with your real estate agent. If you find selling you house for less than you owe on the mortgage is an option short of foreclosure or bankruptcy, you’ll want to find a real estate agent who understands your situation. Agents typically take a much lower commission on short sales, and it often takes much longer to actually close the sale once the seller accepts an offer. Many agents may sympathize with financial problems brought on by unexpected circumstances, or loans that have reset at a higher payment but may not have the expertise or desire to be your advocate with your lender to help a difficult situation turn out better. #4 – No buying big-ticket items, e.g. cars, boats, jewelry, etc. Your lender will see these debts on your credit report and become convinced you’re a loose spender who doesn’t deserve a break. Short sales take much longer to close than more conventional sales, so plan accordingly. When it works, you’ve avoided foreclosure, bankruptcy and an ugly mark on your credit report. If it doesn’t work, you’ll know that you’ve done everything you could to avoid foreclosure and/or bankruptcy. For more answers to your questions, contact your short-sale expert, who is ready, willing and able to work with you through the process – David Thomas, SellThatHouse.net, 707-769-7188 ...read more

Why do you refer your real estate agent of choice to family and friends? Is it all about the money?  How much they'll cut an already mysterious commission rate to do the deal?  Do they have to be in your children's playgroup? Family member? Friend of friend? Let me know why you would or wouldn't refer an agent you know... _________________David Thomas, Realtor® - Quality Service Certified Top 300 "Best of the Best" agent in 2006Century 21 Bundesen(707) 769-7188 direct(877) 769-SOLD x188 toll freeWeb:www.SellThatHouse.netEmail:SellThatHouse@Century21.com ...read more

northbaybusinessjournal.com   AFFORDABLE HOUSING   Sonoma County falls short of ABAG goals   Monday, May 14, 2007 BY WILLIAM JASONSTAFF REPORTER SONOMA COUNTY – The Sonoma County Housing Coalition is scheduled to present the results of its latest Housing Progress Report today at the Kickoff Leadership Breakfast for Affordable Housing Week of Sonoma County.The report documents the how well the county and its nine cities are doing to reach their affordable housing production goals set by the Association of Bay Area Governments.According to an advance copy of the report provided to the BUSINESS JOURNAL, Sonoma County built or approved 1,355 affordable units from 1999 to 2006, 23 percent of its need assigned by ABAG. Affordable units are defined as being available to residents with very low to moderate incomes – from less than $37,550 up to $90,100 a year for a family of four.Santa Rosa, the city with the largest affordable housing need, met 93 percent of its affordable goal with a total of 4,304 units, exceeding its goals for low and moderate incomes but meeting less than half of its goal for the very-low-income category.Two cities, Cloverdale and Petaluma, met all of their ABAG-assigned affordable housing goals for the seven-year period. The lowest performing city by percentage, Windsor, met only 18 percent of its goal."The report clearly shows that some communities have the ability to be successful on this front and some communities are still facing some very serious challenges," said Jim Leddy, chair of the Sonoma County Housing Coalition.To read the full report, visitwww.schousingcoalition.org ...read more