Top Reasons to Sell Your Home Via Short Sale

Written by on March 13, 2009

Perhaps you’re “upside down” on your house and can no longer afford your mortgage payments. Maybe you owe more than the property is worth and simply can’t refinance. Or, it may be that you still can’t handle your house payments even after modifying your loan or reducing your interest rate. Times are tight and you’re [...] Read more »

Top 5 Benefits of Buying a Bank-Owned Home

Written by on March 5, 2009

1. More home for your buck. How? By taking advantage of potentially lower interest rates and dramatically lower prices, two ways in which banks entice buyers to take a losing asset of their hands—fast! Bank-owned (REOs) and foreclosed upon properties average discounts between 20% and 25% off their overall retail value. Buying the property “as [...] Read more »

Obama’s Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan: Who Is Eligible?

Written by on February 28, 2009

Here is what you need to know about President Barack Obama’s new Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan (HASP) to help stabilize the housing market and help millions of struggling borrowers keep their homes. What is it? Who is eligible? How will it directly impact you and your family? The first portion of HASP, the Homeowner [...] Read more »

Southern California Home Prices Plummet as Foreclosures Rise

Written by on February 28, 2009

Southern California home prices have fallen to 2002 levels, according to a recent Los Angeles Times report, and they won’t stop plummeting any time soon. SOCAL HOMES BECOMING MORE AFFORDABLE Studies show that significantly more people will be able to realize the American dream of home ownership in Southern California than they have been since [...] Read more »

Luxury Beachfront Belmont Shore Foreclosure for Sale

Written by on February 27, 2009

Call to Schedule a Personal Tour Address: 5341 Appian Way, Long Beach, CA 90803 Home Type: Single-Family Square Feet: 1,569 Lot Size: 3,900 sq. ft. Rooms: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths Year Built: 1961 Neighborhood: Belmont Shore This amazing, not-yet-listed foreclosure is located in Long Beach’s most exclusive beachside neighborhood. The spacious 3-bedroom, 2-bath luxury home [...] Read more »

Gov. Schwarzenegger’s Foreclosure Moratorium Explained

Written by on February 25, 2009

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a 90-day moratorium on California home foreclosures (legislation SB2X-7 and AB2X-7) amid criticism that the law likely won’t put a dent in the skyrocketing pace of repossessions. Here’s what you need to know: The bill, as part of the state’s recent budget deal, safeguards owner-occupied residences that had first loans on [...] Read more »

This Week’s Top Properties: 3 Great Value Southern California Foreclosures

Written by on February 24, 2009

44 Tavella Place, Foothill Ranch, Calif. 92610 VIP SPECIAL, CALL FOR PRICING INFO CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS Square Feet: 2,115 Lot Size: 3,794 sq. ft. Rooms: 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths Here’s your chance to buy a spectacular Orange County two-story home with all the trimmings. Nestled in a private neighborhood, this completely refurbished four-bedroom, [...] Read more »

Obama Signs Economic Stimulus, Will Soon Reveal Homeowner Help Plan

Written by on February 18, 2009

Today’s breaking housing news is centered on two historic events: The Economic Stimulus Package – President Obama signed the $787-billion economic stimulus package in Denver, Colorado, just moments ago, in an attempt to revive the hard-hit economy and slow the tide of foreclosures. President Obama’s Housing Rescue Plan – Tomorrow the President will unveil his [...] Read more »

What a start to 2009!!

Written by on February 3, 2009

Wow, January was out of control for foreclosure homes in Los Angeles and Orange County, California.  The Shandrow Group had the best month in our history.  We listed almost 20 homes for sale and put 21 properties UNDER CONTRACT. We closed escrow on 11. Of course, I could not have done this without the help [...] Read more »

Top Five Benefits of Buying Foreclosures

Written by on January 28, 2009

Whatever your real estate goals are, investing in a bargain-priced foreclosure packs enormous potential for profit. With historically high supply and record low prices, there’s never been a better time to buy one. Here’s why: 1. Dramatically reduced purchase prices. Bank-owned foreclosures (and pre-foreclosures) cost radically less from the outset, typically deeply below their market [...] Read more »

How Will Obama ‘Change’ Real Estate & Foreclosures?

Written by on January 22, 2009

Sorting out the mortgage crisis and the onslaught of home foreclosures are at the top of the long list of challenges President Barack Obama is already tackling his first week in office. Obama promises to “approach the old challenge of affordable housing with new energy, new ideas, and a new, efficient style of leadership.” Yes, [...] Read more »

Property of the Week – Spacious Westside Long Beach Home

Written by on January 21, 2009

2880 Caspian Avenue, Long Beach, Calif. Price: $295,000 CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS Square Feet: 2,058 Lot Size: 5,865 sq. ft. Rooms: 5 bedrooms, 3 baths Extras: 2-door detached garage, partial copper plumbing, new roof, new laminate floors Located in an attractive neighborhood in Long Beach’s Westside, this exceptionally large home is perfect for large [...] Read more »

Buying Foreclosures: Five Insider Secrets

Written by on January 20, 2009

Buyers are scrambling to get a piece of the exploding bank-owned foreclosures market, but most don’t know how to get an edge on the ever-increasing competition. If you want the powerful, must-have strategies to get the best value on a bank-owned foreclosure, look no further than my Top Five Insider Secrets: 1. Work directly with [...] Read more »

What will 2009 bring to the SoCal real estate market?

Written by on December 31, 2008

Well, I have a million thoughts running through my head about the residential real estate market in 2009. I think the following will happen: 1. Foreclosure inventory will grow and at an incredible rate. The banks are sitting on huge amounts of inventory and most of this inventory will come on the market in the [...] Read more »

What Happened at REOMAC?

Written by on October 20, 2008

I just got back this week from the 2008 REOMAC Fall Conference in Hollywood, Florida.  The event was attended by approximatley 2,000 industry people including asset managers, portofolio managers, REO brokers, attroneys and service provides.  The event was more than half the size of thhe 5 Star Conference in Dallas last month.  This gave the [...] Read more »

Secrets to Buying a Foreclosure-Series Intro

Written by on September 8, 2008

In this video I talk about one of the secrets to buying a foreclosure.  This is going to be the beginning of a series of videos to help real estate buyers learn about buying foreclosed property.  I am an REO agent.  This means that I work for the banks to help them sell their foreclosed [...] Read more »

How to Buy Foreclosure Properties in Los Angeles and Orange County, California

Written by on August 25, 2008

I regularly deal with a number of large asset management companies and lenders who need to sell off their real estate owned property, often referred to as REO property.  The word on the street is that most are expecting a 100% increase in the number of properties that are going to foreclosure in the next [...] Read more »

Benefits of a Short Sale Versus a Foreclosure

Written by on August 14, 2008

A great real estate agent and friend of mine, Aaron Simons, sent me this chart about the consequences of a short sale versus a foreclosure.  The chart was developed by the Distressed Property Institute.  I think it does an excellent job of dispelling some myths about short sales and their actual consequences to a borrower. [...] Read more »

Countrywide Takeover Will Pay Off, B of A’s CEO Says

Written by on July 29, 2008

This is a great article from the Los Angeles Times about the BofA and Countrywide merger.  The most interesting point is that the CEO of BofA, Ken Lewis, thinks that the California real estate market has about another 20% drop in the not too future…I would have to agree.  This is one of the first [...] Read more »

Countrywide Short Sales

Written by on July 17, 2008

I learned an interesting fact the other day from a Countywide Loss Mitigation Negotiator.  These are the people that we work with when we are negotiating a short sale. This individual said that Countrywide has over 28,000 short sales in process, but only closes about 7% of these.  Wow!!  You know what that means?  Only [...] Read more »

Tom and April Devane Give a Testimonial for Mark Shandrow

Written by on July 14, 2008

[No Auto Start]h7F7wSpvfnQ[/No Auto Start] Tom and April Devane offer a video testimonial for Mark Shandrow of Keller Williams Realty.  Tom and April bought a condo in Lakewood in 2006 with my assistance.  They were great to work with and had an awesome sense of humor. Best, Mark Shandorw Keller Williams Realty Read more »

New Foreclosure Law in California – SB 1137

Written by on July 11, 2008

As a result of the subprime loan market collapse, numerous bills were introduced this year in the California Legislature, including the recently enacted SB 1137.  Within this highly charged political environment, the California Land Title Association (CLTA), along with trustees, escrow companies, and lender groups originally opposed this legislation, which subsequently underwent a series of [...] Read more »

Testimonial from Tom Johnson About Mark Shandrow

Written by on July 1, 2008

A great client and friend of mine, Tom Johnson, just closed on a SUPER KILLER deal on a duplex in California Heights, Long Beach, CA.  It was a short sale that I was able to negotiate with Country Wide. [No Auto Start]BBqiCZ2Y1E4[/No Auto Start] Read more »

Buy and Bail . . . A New Twist On ‘Just Walk Away’

Written by on July 1, 2008

Great article from the WSJ.com. Next month, Michelle Augustine plans to walk away from her four-bedroom house in a Sacramento, Calif., subdivision and let the property fall into foreclosure. But before doing so, she hopes to lock in the purchase of another home nearby. “I can find the same exact house as what I live in [...] Read more »

LA Times Quotes Mark Shandrow of Keller Williams Realty on the Cover of the Sunday Real Estate Section

Written by on June 25, 2008

Diane Wender, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, interviewed me a few weeks ago for a story she was putting together for the Real Estate Section of the Los Angeles Times. She used a lot of the information I provide and did an excellent job explaining the short sale process and some of pitfalls of doing [...] Read more »