The REO Market has recently had changes in Hawaii due to Act 48 which was enacted in May of 2011. The Act stipulated that there be a moratorium on foreclosures and that the lenders had to meet with homeowners prior to foreclosing on their homes. If foreclosure went forward they would have to file a Judicial foreclosure which costs time and money for the lender.

We had inventory "shadow inventory" that the lenders are still able to process and sell as long as the Maui foreclosure happened prior to the new law's date. Currently there are 55 Residential Foreclosures showing active on Maui's MLS and 36 Condos compared to short sales at 68 for Residential and 62 for Condos.

Many owners knowing that the courts are tied up are waiting it out. Others who once tried to get a loan modification and were turned down are now trying again. Leverage is there now that the banks have to go through the Judicial foreclosure process.

I've represented over 75 Maui short sale owners and I am encouraging folks to modify if they can. If not short sale is an excellent option. The Judicial process may be slow but one bad potential outcome is that they lender asks for a deficiency judgement for the balance owed. In the non-judicial process lenders for the most part forgave the difference, but if they have to spend time and money they may not be as willing.

For further information please visit our website: www.FineIslandProperties.com or email me at Mauigina@gmail.com

I look forward to assisting you with your Maui Real Estate needs.

New HI Foreclosure Law: What you should know...

Act 48: Hawaii Relief has arrived in the form of our new foreclosure law just enacted. This gives real power back to the people and makes lenders meet face to face with the borrower prior to foreclosure.

Many of our short sale clients have complained (and rightfully so) that they felt disenfranchised from the process of negotiating with their lender for a loan modification. In some instances they were told by their lender unless they were late in payments they wouldn't get modified. So late payments equalled bad credit and the banks still didn't modify their loan, and many times claimed paperwork was "missing" or not turned in. These were the same excuses from lenders that we have seen for years working with short sales.

Overseen by the Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs, Office of Administrative Hearings, with assistance from Judiciary this new law will require lenders to file with the Department prior to foreclosure process beginning. The Dept will then notify all parties and if an owner occupant (having lived in home for 200+ consecutive days) wishes to mediate then both parties are given date/time to meet. There are minor fees involved required from both parties.

If the Mortgagee is pursing a non-judicial foreclosure both parties are required to participate. The program is slated to begin on or before Oct 1, 2011 and not end until Sept 30, 2014.

Certain requirements from the owner are required including list of items to bring to the negotiating table.

To read more on Act 48 click on the link below.

http://hawaii.gov/dcca/oah/mfdr/mortagage-foreclosure-dispute-resolution-mfdr-program

My Short Sale Was Approved, Am I Good to Close?

Short Sale Approvals:

Short sales receive 3 distinct types of "Approvals" prior to an actual escrow being opened.

Our Maui Real Estate Team: Fine Island Properties has been involved in over 40 shorts sales in the past couple years. The rules of short sales do change very often, but the approval process has pretty much held.

The first type of approval is the approval a seller may receive by the lender prior to listing the property.

The seller may have gone over their options with the lender and the lender may have advised/approved of

them to list the property short sale.

The second type of approval is where the negotiator for the seller's lender states that they have "approved" your offer. This is the first step in a two step process. Once the buyer and negotiator have come to terms for

the amounts on the file using the guidelines the negotiator follows another level of approval is needed: The Investor approval.

The third type of approval is the Investor who owns the loan. They are the ultimate decision maker and sometimes counter their own negotiators guidelines. Be sure that when you are "approved" that it has the Investor blessing. A final written letter will come shortly after a verbal or "Equator System" approval.

If you or someone you know is thinking about a short sale on Maui please have them contact us for further information. We do advise our clients to explore all their options, receive legal and tax advice prior to entering into a short sale process. Visit our website: http://www.fineislandproperties.com/ for further information.

Aloha, Gina

New Maui MLS rules don't protect the seller :(

New Maui MLS rules are not designed to help sellers in short sale...

Our board recently decided to have all offers submitted on short sales trigger the active status to pending on the listing in the Maui MLS system even though escrow isn't opened and the seller may still be allowed to accept other offers till their lender approves one per the listing and sales contracts.

This doesn't protect the seller as many times multiple offers are needed to get the lender to approve the short sale, buyers of short sales are often fickle and drop out prior to lender approval and a host of other reasons.

So if you are a buyer looking for Maui short sales, you had better hope your agent knows of this and diligently cks and calls on the pending sale short sales too.

Foreclosures & Short Sales What does a Homeowner Do?

In our business the Fine Island Properties Team handles short sale listings as well as assisting buyers who wish to purchase REO (Foreclosures).

We receive calls from Sellers that are having financial trouble and wonder what to do. I always advise to first seek your tax advisor and a foreclosure/bankruptcy attorney's advice.

We also advise NOT TO WAIT.

Waiting and doing nothing severely hinders your options when it is time to decide which direction you would like to proceed.

Don't even wait till you have missed payments. Consult us regarding short sales, and keeping your home by contacting your lender. Their are many FREE options for homeowners.

We also advise to not pay anyone for services to save your home unless you consult your attorney first. Most homeowners can communicate directly with their lender FREE.

Please call us today if you think you may be heading into trouble. We will arrange a CONFIDENTIAL meeting to discuss how the Fine Island Properties Team might assist you with kind and compassionate service.

Aloha, Gina Duncan, R (S) Team Leader FIP

Fineislandproperties@gmail.com

Koi Ponds & Botanical 2 Acre Haiku Home

Koi Ponds, lush tropicals and a lovely home all on a level hilltop setting in Upper Haiku Maui.

Beautiful setting and you can call it home. A 2 acre level parcel with a charming home perfect for extended family or use the lower level as an ohana (one bedroom or studio).

Kitchen remodeled with granite, wood cabinets and upstairs floors are tiled. Upstairs features large covered lanai, open plan living, dining and kitchen. A master suite, 2 addtional bedrooms and main bath finish off the upstairs. Downstairs is just as charming with family room, kitchenette, 2 baths and a bedroom. A screen lanai overlooking the koi pond out front is very cozy and the view is fantastic.

The backyard of the home has an open grassy area and also a wooded area with a winding path lined with Ti Leaf varieties. This is a short sale that is worth the wait and a great buy at 875K.

For further information visit http://www.fineislandproperties.com/ and click on the featured listings on the home page or call:
Gina Duncan 808-250-9858 or email at Mauigina@gmail.com

How Long Does a Short Sale Take?

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS:

How long does a short sale take? Does the Fine Island Properties Team have experience in short sales?

This is not a one size fits all answer but in looking at the process for short sale the minimum time period for an approval prior to start of escrow is one month. Average time is 4 months and then a 45 day escrow unless you are paying cash. In our over 50 Short Sales in Maui over the last couple years, our quickest short sale was completed in approx 60 days total and the longest wait is still running at one year. Each bank has different criteria they use to review and then send on to the investor on the loan for approval. Different investors/groups of investors may also have criteria they are willing to accept. That is why there are no hard or fast answers. We do see certain trends with various lenders and share these with our buyers/sellers.

When an offer is accepted the Title/Escrow company must first draft a HUD statement estimating net proceeds to the lender. This statement sometimes takes time due to needing amounts from condo assoc., etc. After paperwork is submitted it takes approx one week to upload into the lender's system. After this hopefully you are assigned a negotiator that reviews the package for completeness. Then an appraisal is issued and this generally takes 3 weeks to be done/uploaded into the system. At this point a escalation of file to a new negotiator in phase 2 is done. They review and submit to investor. If approved a new negotiator is sometimes assigned/not always. This seems like a simple process but if file is missing something you generally start all over again. Financials from the seller must also be resent each month and this causes more delay.

You can be confident that by using Fine Island Properties team to represent you in your short sale transaction that we are educated, and have over experience with over 50 short sales so you can be confident you are getting the best service possible. If thinking of selling short sale on Maui please call for a confidential analysis (we always recommend to first call your lender to see if you can save the home). If buying we will make sure the process although not "short" is done properly.

As with all our short sales we can't stress to our clients enough to consult an attorney for any legal questions you may have and a tax advisor/CPA for any financial concerns.

**If you would like to see an answer to your question please write to FineIslandProperties@gmail.com and we will include it in our next newsletter or
answer privately if you wish.