I have been a Realtor since 2005 when the market was red hot and peaked in 2006. As a new Realtor, it was a challenge to have buyers offers accepted, let alone acquire a listing. I remember the day when Realtors would attend open houses with offers at hand and present on the spot to listing Realtor. In order to break into the market, I began to work with distressed homeowners modifying loans and/or short-sales. At that time, there were not many distressed homeowners but the team I was working with advised to prepare for the meltdown. In preparation, I acquired my designation, Certified Distress Property Expert (CDPE) to fully understand the foreclosure process and how to best advise my clients on their options. My background in psychology, social work and business all have been instrumental in helping me best serve my clients. I can't recall how many loan modifications and short-sales I conducted, but I can say well over 40. Currently, I have 2 short-sales in Sierra Madre and the process is not what it used to be. For one, the Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act and the HAMP program have expired. Gone are the days when homeowners used to receive a nice incentive of $10,000 or so for cooperating with short-sale instead of foreclosing. Also, the banks used to offer "cash for keys," to pay for moving costs. The amount given is on a case-by-case basis so I never could tell my client how much they would receive, if any. If the pre-foreclosures increase, my hope is for Congress to enact these types of incentives again.
The picture I provided is directly from the MLS. The orange squares with question marks are pre-foreclosures and the red squares with a gavel are scheduled foreclosures or foreclosed properties. I am alarmed with the amount of pre-foreclosures and foreclosures. In Sierra Madre, there are a total of 9 distressed homeowners.