LEADING THE WAY THROUGH THE

FORECLOSURE & SHORT SALE CRISIS!

… IMPORTANT INFORMATION

FROM YOUR REALTORS®

SPENCER & EHLING Realtors®

925.250.0399 (JANICE) OR 925.381.3224 (CINDY)

www.JaniceSpencer.com Www.learn2ownit.com

Wachovia Takes A Stand: I am happy to share the story of hope being championed

by one lone bank that has taken a stand in the effort to help heal

our real estate market place and help our economic recovery

grow roots. That company is Wachovia.

Among industry professionals, we have long enjoyed

working with Wachovia on foreclosure properties because of

their prompt response, willingness to prepare the property for

the market, and negotiate with Buyers in good faith. Their REO

contract is one of the most straight forward and fairly worded

contracts currently being used here in California.

Wachovia has basically branded themselves as “the REO

company of choice” to both list and sell. Now, they have

committed to extend that branding into the short sale market.

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Article courtesy of Janice SpencerArticle courtesy of Janice Spencer

A short sale is what we call it when a homeowner in distress asks the bank to allow

them to sell the home for current market value and forgive the additional debt not covered

by the purchase price. For the past two and a half years, we have struggled with banks to get

them to put in place a process that provides for a higher success rate on these type of sales

and allows a timely transaction for all parties involved.

While the majority of banks are making some progress from the lowly 5% success rate

of short sales in 2007, they are still woefully equipped to deal with the needs of our market

place. A typical short sale can take anywhere from 30-120 days or more in the approval

process, and most buyers are not willing to stick around that long to see if the owner’s bank

approves. Wachovia has jumped into the fray with a profoundly different approach to these

difficult transactions. They have localized the process and streamlined it to aim for a 10 day

approval process. Yes, you heard right! Just 10 days to review and make a decision!

Cindy and I can attest to this, since we are currently closing a short sale transaction for

our buyers, and we got a record breaking approval in just 1 day because the 10 day process

had just been completed for another buyer who got cold feet and cancelled the sale.

When we close next week, the whole process from the writing of the offer to closing

escrow on a cash transaction will have taken only 25 days.

With Wachovia leading the way, it is our hope that over the next several months

we will be able to assist many distressed homeowners avoid the damage of a foreclosure

and minimize the negative credit impact by successfully selling their home as a short

sale. While Wachovia is currently the only bank making this 10 day commitment, we

hope that the positive press and the financial benefits will encourage other banks to

follow their example.

So why do we share this information with you? We are hoping that if you are

aware of anyone who is in a difficult situation with their mortgage payments, you will

put us in contact with them to provide a complimentary and completely confidential

consultation to see how we might be able to assist them. We understand what people are

going through, and we are here to help.

Beyond helping individuals, we also believe that finding the right solutions for

distressed homeowners helps us all in the bigger picture of our national, and even the

global economy. Help us help others. It’s what makes our day, and hopefully yours too!

For the most up to date information on help for distressed homeowners in East Contra

Costa County, please call us for a confidential complimentary consultation.

Janice Spencer 925.250.0399

Cindy Ehling 925.381.3224

Leading the Way continued…..

5119 Lone Tree Way, Antioch, CA 94531

www.janicespencer.com