No Reductions Allowed by Fannie Mae in Short Sale Agent Commissions

TWO IMPORTANT UPDATES:
1. I've run into a number of agents who are not aware of Fannie Mae's new policy for their servicing companies that prohibits a reduction in agent commission below the listing agreement level, unless the total commission is above 6%. This went into effect March 1, 2009. For details, here's the link: https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/guides/ssg/annltrs/pdf/2009/0903.pdf
2. Since the home owner/borrower often doesn't know if Fannie Mae owns their loan, direct them to Fannie Mae's web site: http://www.fanniemae.com/index.jhtml. Then click on the button "Does Fannie Mae Own Your Mortgage?" which takes them to a page where they type in the property address. I tested it for one of our investment properties and it's a snap.

Jeffrey Woo - Unparalleled Legal Education Regarding Rental Properties

Right now there are a lot of investors in the market scooping up the great investment opportunities available. So, to help agents be better prepared and skilled at serving them, I invited Jeffrey Woo, who runs the "Complex Rental Property Group" at Sedgwick... in SF, to come educate us about the legal issues surrounding residential rental property ownership, disposal and purchase. This man is an amazing resource, with tons of hands-on experience working with property-owner clients over many years in the heavily regulated cities of San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley, as well as pretty much all of the other cities in the Bay Area. He kept a roomfull of agents (both Keller Wiliams and outside agents) completely engaged with his exceptionally useful, clear and timely information and advise on working with and guiding clients buying/selling residential investment properties. He shared so many actual stories of situations he's had to help clients get out of, as well as those he's helped structure properly up front. He's helped several of our agents and they can't say enough about his great accessibility and the value of his advice. Plus, he offers a free 20-minute consultation with their clients, so it's a great resource to be able to offer to buyers and sellers.
So, now all of us who attended understand what the Ellis Act really does, when it makes sense to use it, the difference between rent control and eviction control, and lots of other really helpful insights that make us more valuable advisors to our clients.
If you need this type of help, I recommend that you call Jeffrey at 415.781.7900 or email him at mailto:atjeff.woo@sdma.com

Oakland Duplex Sales and the Next REO Wave

Checking out the current sales stats in the West Oakland and East Oakland zipcodes of 94601, -03, -07 and -21 we find that sales have skyrocketed this year over last, due to plummeting prices ($180,000 median Mar '08 v. $138,000 Mar '09). The result is that there is only a TWO months supply of duplexes on the market in these hot areas. So, although inventory is currently low, another REO wave is about to break. The various moratoria are about to be lifted, sending a large inventory of new properties to the market. Look for this in early to mid-May.

Whole Lotta Deals Goin' On!

Our office is buzzing with deals! We're #2 YTD in Oakland in closed transactions and you can feel the energy and positive vibes in the office. Patty Flores closed NINE transactions this month (and no, she's not an REO listing agent!) We had another brokerage (AlphaUrbanHomes) join our market center this week and welcome Dan Coffman and Tim Ryan and their two assistants. Not only do they have a fluorishing investor practice, they run a super property management service and are adding short-sale listing services. Agents here know there is a lot of business out there to be had and they're going after it!
Photos from top: Claire Martin, Taylor Sublett, Derrick Debose and Libby Fraser

Tonight, Nannette Barrie, an experienced real estate investor and agent, educates new and experienced investors at our Keller Williams Oakland/Piedmont training center. Nannette invites clients and members of the public to learn about investing in real estate so that they can capitalize on the incredible investment opportunities available right here in the Oakland-East Bay area. Call our office for our upcoming real estate investment classes! Many are free and all are open to the public and other agents and brokers. 510-899-8100.

Free Agent/Investor/Broker Downloads

Keller Williams makes so many incredibly helpful, informative and productivity-enhancing products available free to the public (not just Keller Williams) for downloading. Here's a link to a number of free downloads from 5 best-selling real estate books for agents, investors and brokers: http://www.millionairesystems.com/msys/FD.html

Melissa Handy-Williams, our Director of First Impressions and Agent Services Coordinator (like many others, in this economy our staff wears multiple hats!). It's easy to see from that smile why all of our guests, clients, agents and callers feel so warmly and professionally welcomed to our market center and into our Keller Williams family!

More thoughts about loans and buying now...

Wow! BofA has a 5% rate right now up to a loan amount of $625,000 for your best buyers. Not bad! That's just a $3355 monthly payment! Do you realize that if rates rise just 1%, that same monthly payment will only borrow $560,000!!! That's a $65,000 loss of buying power, or over 10% of the purchase price. So, if you are not convinced that prices are going to fall another 10%, make your offers now and lock in a fantastic property.

Here'a a quick rule-of-thumb:
Home prices have to drop 10% to offset a 1% rise in the interest rate (when calculated using 30 year amortized payments).