This 2 bedroom, 1 bath home is SHORT SALE, located in Glassell Park/Mount Washington foothills, just off Division Street.  City records indicate 879 square feet, on a lot that is 4,850 square feet.  It is currently listed at $268,500.

The home sold in 2000 for $156,000.

It sold in September of 2004 for $420,000.

It was refinanced in August of 2007 for $490,500.

It is now listed as a SHORT SALE at $268,500

This article is not intended as an advertisement of any property listed by another brokerage firm.  It is intended only as a report of current real estate market conditions. 

However, if you are interested in purchasing a property in today's market, we have a staff of highly qualified agents ready to assist you. 

Bob Taylor Properties, Inc. –  323-257-1080 — bobtaylorprop@gmail.com  — 5526 North Figueroa Street, Highland Park, CA 90042  

The FHA Hope for Homeowners loan program was released in 2008.
The stated goal of the plan is to help homeowners, who are paying
mortgages that are significantly more expensive than when they bought
the home (due to rate adjustments), get a home loan they can afford.

Key components of the FHA Hope For Homeowners loan program are not limited to but include:

• An appraisal will be performed and the maximum loan amount will
  be 90% of that appraised value.  All subordinate liens will be
  extinguished and the exiting lienholder will have to agree to a loss of
  principal.
• The current housing payment must be more than 31% of the homeowner’s gross monthly income.
• The homeowner must not have misrepresented his/her income on the original loan application.
• The homeowner must get a new 30-year fixed rate loan and qualify based upon documented income.
• The homeowner must agree to an declining equity sharing
  agreement (for the existing equity), with the FHA, for a specified
  period of time.
• The homeowner will share in future appreciation with the FHA.
• The program is completely voluntary; existing lienholders don’t have to participate.

Mary Miller compiled some comments from Mortgages Unzipped authors which demonstrates the difficulty of the program.
Loan originators may be hesitant to work with you because of the low
probability of a successful funding.  That low probability is due to
the fact that existing lienholders may have to take significant
writedowns.  I wouldn’t blame an originator who refuses to participate
in the FHA Hope For Homeowners Program; loan originators aren’t paid on
unsuccessful fundings.

Nonetheless, we welcome loan applications, under the FHA Hope for
Homeowners, for Californians in “upside-down mortgages”.  We recently
hired a team member with the skill set to work with lenders’ loss
mitigation departments.  That specific expertise, combined with our long history as a HUD lender,
leads us to believe that we can assist folks who desperately want to
retain their California home.  We offer this program with a few
conditions:

• We must determine your maximum qualified loan through full
  income documentation at application.  If you can qualify for a loan
  amount that might be a reasonable offer to the existing lienholder,
  we’ll proceed to an appraisal.
• You must pay for the appraisal and credit report upfront; that
  should be about $500.  The appraised valuation is a key component of
  the program so that valuation must be established prior to the offer to
  the existing lienholder.
• We expect to earn a 2% fee, whether paid by you or the new lender ( through yield spread premium).
  That’s twice the amount we earn for new loan originations.  We think
  this higher fee is reasonable considering the amount of work required
  and the low probability of loan funding.  We only receive this fee if
  we are successful in funding your new loan.

The FHA Hope for Homeowners Loan program offers Californians a
chance to stay in their homes at a reasonable price.  If your intention
is to live in your home for 5-10 years, this may be a workable solution
for you.

While the plan isn’t perfect we know that certain sub-prime lenders
have sold their loans at a significant discount and will welcome any
and all offers that allow them to make a profit.  For example, if you
have a loan with First Franklin, this program might make sense for
you.  First Franklin was purchased by Merrill Lynch, in early 2007.  Merrill Lynch sold these loans,
for 33 cents on the dollar, this past summer.  What that means is that
they sold your $500,000 loan to an investor for $165,000.  If we have
to approach First Franklin’s loss mitigation department with a $350,000
payoff for that $500,000 loan, the new investor stands to more than
double his money in a few months.  That’s a reasonable proposition to
entertain.

Not all loan servicers will be that cooperative, though.  We believe
that our connections with Wall Street and secondary mortgage market
investors will be a distinct advantage to you, the beleaguered
California homeowner.  The FHA Hope for Homeowners Loan program isn’t
perfect but it may offer you significant relief.  Please contact me if you have questions about it.

Originally posted on Mortgages Unzipped

A “short pay-off”, also called a “short sale” occurs when an owner sells his or her property for an amount less than what is owed on it, and the existing mortgage lender agrees to accept less than the full amount due.

For a hypothetical example, let’s say Mary Doe purchased a home in 2005 for $590,000 and she now owes $570,000 to ABC Savings and Loan. She must sell it and move, but due to a decline of the real estate market, the most she can now sell it for is $450,000.

In order to sell, Mary must pay the $120,000 difference in cash at closing (plus the costs of sale) or ABC Savings must agree to settle for whatever the net proceeds are from the sale.

ABC Savings will require Mary to complete a “short pay-off application” in order to make the decision whether or not to accept a loss on this transaction. If it is determined that Mary does indeed have a financial hardship, ABC Savings will probably agree to accept the loss. If, on the other hand, the financial information that Mary provides in her “short pay-off application” indicates she has other assets and sufficient income, her request for a short pay off will probably be denied.

Having the short pay off approved does not mean that the loan amount is immediately reduced. Mary must find a buyer for the property first.

It is also extremely important that Mary consult with her tax advisor or accountant at this point, since a “short sale” may affect Mary’s income tax liability for capital gains or “debt relief income”.

When a buyer does make an offer on Mary’s home, Mary and her realtor will first discuss the offer with ABC Savings. The realtor will prepare an estimate of all the costs of sale based on the offer than has been received: Escrow fees, transfer taxes, city or county fees, any loan costs paid for the buyer by the seller. All proceeds remaining after the costs of sale are deducted will go to ABC Savings. Mary will receive nothing from a short sale.

ABC Savings may advise Mary to accept the offer, or they may insist on obtaining additional opinions of the property’s valve. Once the final price and terms are accepted, the sale will proceed in a conventional manner, Mary will sign all needed documents throughout the escrow period: She is still the legal owner. ABC Savings will submit a payoff demand for “all net proceeds”. The payoff demand may set limits on other fees, such as the real estate broker’s commission, or fees paid by the seller for the buyer. And it may be good for a limited time period, meaning Mary’s buyer must move quickly towards closing.