Check him out here:  http://www.tonyrobbins.com/ One of Tony’s biggest messages is that in able to be truly fulfilled in life, we must be grateful and we must GIVE.  And trust me, he has some very inspirational stories to back up the notion.  So this year, and in the years to come we will be doing our part to give to our community and we strongly encourage you to join us!  Beginning this Saturday, during the Second Saturday Art Walk, we will be hosting a drive for The Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services.

Their biggest needs this year are clothing and food.  Here are a couple of links for ideas:

http://www.sacramentofoodbank.org/pdf_files/wishlists/Food%20Assistance%20021611.pdf

http://www.sacramentofoodbank.org/images/stories/pdf_files/donation/clothing_wishlist__fall-winter_2011.pdf

Although the food list contains perishable items, we ask that you please only bring non-perishable items to our office.

In addition to the drive, our office will be hosting the wonderful photography of Melissa Uroff and the amazing artwork of Jesus Cruz Jr.  Melissa has been doing photography for 17  years and has been published on stylehive.com and apparelsearch.com.   Jesus Cruz Jr. does printmaking and linoleum cuts (carvings in linoleum).  His work has been on display at the Riverside Metro Museum and the Ontario Museum of History and Art.

Work by Melissa Uroff

River City Woman by Jesus Cruz Jr.

It’s bound to be an exciting Second Saturday at Angel Lynn Realty.  Our office is located in the heart of Midtown, right across the railroad tracks from Jack’s Urban Eats at 1913 Capital Ave, so please stop by, enjoy some sangria, artwork, and don’t forget to bring your donations for The Sacramento Food Bank!  The festivities will begin at 5pm.  We look forward to seeing you!

“It is not what we get. But who we become, what we contribute… that gives meaning to our lives.”
-Tony Robbins

Short Sales Sacramento

Get all your questions answered. Starting the month of March, Angel Lynn will be hosting homeowner awareness classes in Sacramento.  Learn about how to avoid Foreclosure, what is Short Sale and how you can modify your loan.   Classes will be held at 1913 Capitol Ave. Suite C, Sacramento. Come get your questions answered about what is going on in the market.  What to expect and how to protect your family.  Please call our office to reserve your seat.  916 443-1445.

http://hosted.cdpe.com/23409/

Wednesday Nights 6pm

1913 Capitol Avenue, Suite C

Sacramento, CA 95811

Wrong.

Former homeowners may still be on the hook if there’s a difference between what they owed on their mortgage and what the bank could sell it for at auction. And these “deficiency judgments” are ticking time bombs that can explode years after borrowers lose their homes.

It can even happen to people who got their bank to approve them selling their home for less than it is worth.

Vanessa Corey, for example, short sold her Fredericksburg, Va., home in April 2008. She and her husband built the house in 2004, but setbacks, both personal (divorce) and professional (housing bust), made it impossible for the real estate agent to keep her home. So she negotiated the short sale and thought that was the end of it.

“My understanding was that the deficiency was negotiated away,” she said. “Then, last November, I got a letter from a lawyer telling me I owed my lender $65,000. I had to declare bankruptcy. There was no way I could pay it.”

Many homeowners are now in the same boat. And not just those who took out bigger loans than they could afford or who did so called “liar loans” where they didn’t have to verify their income.

Because of falling home prices, borrowers who always paid their mortgage but who have run into unforeseen circumstances — like unemployment or a job transfer — can no longer sell their homes for what they owe. As a result, they are being forced to short sell or foreclose and are getting caught up in deficiency judgments.

“After the banks foreclose, it’s very common now to have large deficiencies with houses not worth the balances owed,” said Don Lampe, a North Carolina real estate attorney.

Lenders mostly declined comment. Although Corey’s lender, BB&T did indicate it was pursuing more deficiency judgments.

“They follow the rise and fall of foreclosures,” said the spokeswoman, who would not discuss Corey’s account.

Can they come after you?

Whether banks can and will pursue deficiency judgments depends on many factors, including what state the borrower lives in and whether there’s a second mortgage or other liens. But if borrowers ignore the possibility of deficiencies, it could haunt them.

“Once they have a judgment, they can pursue you anywhere,” said Richard Zaretsky, a board-certified real estate attorney in West Palm Beach, Fla. “They can ask for financial records, have your wages garnished and, if you fail to respond, a judge can put you in jail.”

In the case of foreclosure, lenders can pursue deficiencies in more than 30 states, including Florida, New York and Texas, according to the U.S. Foreclosure Network, an organization of mortgage law firms.

Some states, such as California, are “non-recourse” and don’t allow deficiency judgments. But, even there, if the if the original loan was refinanced, some or all of it may be subject to claims.

Deficiency judgments on short sales and deeds-in-lieu can happen in many more places. In these cases, extinguishing the debt is often a matter of negotiating with the bank.

But even when lenders are willing, many borrowers may not be aware that they have to ask for release. So, if you are pursuing a short sale, be sure your attorney asks the bank to release you from any further obligation.

“People shouldn’t have a false sense of security that a deficiency judgment may not be later sought,” Zaretsky said.

He expects many will be filed over the next few years, based on the fact that banks have sold many of these accounts to collection agencies and other third parties, at discount.

“The parties who bought those notes wouldn’t have paid money for them unless they had the intention of acting,” Zaretsky said.

Ticking time bomb

What can be scary is that the judgments don’t have to be obtained immediately. Lenders or collection agencies may wait until debtors have recovered financially before they swoop in. In Florida, the bank can wait up to five years to file. Once the court grants a judgment, the lender has 20 years there to collect, with interest.

It doesn’t have to be a large amount of debt for a lender or collection agency to come after borrowers. Richard Varno and his wife short sold their Nashville home back in 2004 after he lost his job.

It wasn’t until 2008, when the second lien holder asked him for $25,000, that he realized he still was liable.

“I told them, ‘Hey, you guys released the title,’” he said. “As far as I know, I’m off the hook.”

He wasn’t. Releasing title does not necessarily end the debt. It’s complicated because of variations in state law, but, generally, a mortgage has two parts: a pledge of collateral, represented by the home, and a promise to pay off the loan.

Lenders may release property liens in order to facilitate short sales without releasing borrowers from their obligations to pay under the promissory notes. The secured debt can convert to an unsecured one after the sale.”

Lenders are also very inconsistent. One of Zaretsky’s short-sale clients was ready, willing and able to pay, but the bank did not even ask; another lender always reserves the right to pursue the deficiency.

Strategic defaults

Sometimes lenders go after borrowers walking away from their homes if they have other assets, according to Florida real estate attorney Larry Tolchinsky.

If borrowers have any doubts about their risks, they should seek legal advice. Or, at least, call non-profit organizations such as NeighborWorks for advice. According to Doug Robinson, a NeighborWorks spokesman, its counselors always try to negotiate away deficiencies when they facilitate short sales or deeds-in-lieu.

Robinson himself knows what can happen. He paid off a deficiency after his own New Jersey house went through foreclosure 11 years ago.

Published by Yahoo News.

In California the banks can not go after you if the money was purchase money.  If the money was refinance money then they will come after you for the deficiency.  The best scenario is to do a short sale and negotiate the deficiency judgements on refinance money at closing.

ANGEL LYNN

Your Personal Invite!

The 5 Mistakes Are:

1. Stop Paying Without a Plan — depending on the bank you can actually start a loan workout / modification or a short sale without stopping your payments! Other times you may need to stop paying to get their attention (or because you simply don’t have money!) Angel will never tell you to stop making your payments without making sure you understand the consequences.

I think this turned out to be a pretty nice first video with some valuable tips… what do you think?