Chaz Rothenberg

What's new @ Taos Home and Land

2010-03-17T04:37:00Z

We are currently processing 5 mortgage loan modifications and 3 short sales and 3 pre-foreclosures for asset management companies. All of these projects are unique and exciting on their own. We are busy listing new properties showing homes to first time home buyers and entertaining offers for our sellers. Life is full and exciting and expanding in every direction. We love what the universe is delivering to us and we are embracing our place to be of service to all our clients. Contact us if you have the need for our variety of services.

As always be well.

chaz rothenberg

Latest listing "In Town of Taos Casita" only $169,000

2010-03-13T05:13:00Z

Here is the latest listing from Taos Home and Land. This is a one bedroom, one bathroom (partial handicap access), one car attached carport, kiva fireplace in the living room, kitchen with eating area, fenced backyard with a yummy peach tree, adobe construction, .6 miles to the center of town, large mature trees, seasonal stream on one property border, and 720 square feet for easy maintenance. All this for only $169,000. Yes this is the correct price. The owner/seller is consolidating their life and is offering this property at an incredible value. This is the perfect residence, vacation rental, weekend getaway all with no home owners association fees. I know this property will be under contract very soon so if you are reading this and want a fantastic deal on an in town property and you are a qualified buyer then this seller has the deal for you. Call the office anytime at 575.758.5585 and I will arrange a showing or send you digitals of the interior and exterior.

All the best and be well

chaz rothenberg

5 things to know about Loan Modifications

2010-03-07T02:40:00Z

I have been blogging about short sales and loan modifications. I modified my mortgage loan to a 2.1% fixed interest rate for the duration of my mortgage. This was done with no cost to me. All I did was follow the instructions of the making home affordable program. The following are the five criteria for a mortgage loan modification:

Proof of hardship. This is called the hardship letter
Your mortgage payment is 31% or greater than your gross monthly income. The mortgage payment includes principal, interest, taxes and insurance. If you have home owners association dues include that in your mortgage calculation.
This is your principal residence and you are living in it.
The principal loan amount is less than $729,750.
The loan originated before January 1, 2009.

You must answer yes to questions 2-5 and show proof of your yes answers. You must show proof of a hardship with a letter and financial documents. Every mortgage company has their own criteria of what constitutes proof. In my expert experience financial proof is in tax returns, bank statements, profit and loss statements, cash flow statements and pay stubs.

If a loan modification is something you or someone you know is interested in go to the web site www.makinghomeaffordable.gov and fill out their application and fax it into your mortgage company. That's what I did and it worked, I saved $530 a month on my mortgage for the rest of the duration of the loan. I also offer assistance on modifying your mortgage loan. I am helping five people modify their loans right now. Anyone can do it on their own. However, by using my services you are guaranteed to get your loan modification package to the correct department with speed and accuracy. The key to a successful loan modification is submitting a complete package that goes through the modification system smoothly and without any delays. That is one thing I am very good at, assembling a complete package and getting it to the correct department.

Whatever your choice is have fun with modifying your mortgage loan and be well.

chaz rothenberg

Mortgage Loan Modification

2010-03-04T04:48:00Z

For all of you out there reading this blog that do not know in January 2010 I successfully modified my home mortgage loan to a fixed rate of 2.1%. Since that historic event I have written a how to book on Mortgage Modification. This week I am meeting with four clients to get them started on modifying their mortgages. At the end of 2009 I put out there (the universe) for guidance on how I will do business in this new year. I have been saying that I am changing the face of real estate and now I am getting a glimpse of how that face is looking. I am consulting with six people on mortgage modifications and have another three or four people very interested in getting on board for the loan modification program. All this is happening before the book is published (it will be sold on the Internet on my web site soon). I am totally excited and filled with joy about giving to the real estate community all the valuable lessons I have learned in the past year. My knowledge on loan modifications and short sales is invaluable and I am excited to share this knowledge with the general public. I guess I could write all that I have learned in the blog and I may do that. However, right now I am motivated to share this knowledge with people who want to do the work to modify their mortgage or to short sale their house to save their credit. I am offering my expert services at an amazing reasonable fee to guide anyone through the loan mod or short sale maze. I am not soliciting business rather I am offering to be of service to the real estate public in a time of great need. If you want to get help on keeping afloat in these stressful financial times then contact me and let me share with you how to do it.

All the best and be well,

chaz rothenberg

The New Face of Real Estate

2010-02-19T04:36:00Z

It's been a while since my last post. My business is busting loose. I am writing a booklet on Mortgage Loan Modification. This will be ready and up on a website in early March. I will make an announcement when it is available. Next up will be a short sale booklet. Right now I am consulting with 4 people on loan modifications and involved with a short sale. The new face of real estate is consulting with buyers and sellers on how to maximize and utilize all the sources of financial assistance the government is offering. My expertise is growing exponentially everyday. This is truly exciting and fulfilling. Sleep is not something that I get a lot of. However, I look forward to every day as a new opportunity to expand my knowledge of these real estate financial tools. I also look forward to being of service to my clients to assist them in getting the most amazing experiences out of their situations. I like to say take that frown and turn it upside down. Well sometimes when the universe gives you lemons you get to squeeze them and make lemon aid. That is what we are doing here at Taos Home and Land.

The news on the buying/selling economic front is whatever the news services tell us. What is happening in the real estate trenches is creativity, thinking and acting out of the box, being able to act on an instants notice, and riding your own wave of optimism. We are the new face of real estate and we are changing how real estate is being conducted. Let us keep the energy moving and keep expanding to new heights.

All the best and be well,

Chaz Rothenberg

BPO

2010-02-10T03:30:00Z

Today I did a Broker Price Opinion in Valdez. This is in the northern part of Taos. I was a full snow storm and the roads were very tricky to navigate. I got my photos and made it back in one piece. I have BPO's in Red River, Taos Ski Valley and Upper Colonias. These are all areas in the northern part of Taos as well. Red River is actually 40 miles to the north east of Taos. This community is not Taos like at all it is more like an amusement park theme park town. Very small and seasonal. Once I signed on with Clear Capital management the requests for BPO's came pouring in. I had 5 in one day. Some in Santa Fe and Espanola. Totally out of my expertise.

The BPO process is the first step in a foreclosure. It is the very first step and sometimes it can take up to a year for the actual foreclosure to happen. There is a lot of work involved in a BPO. Besides the photos of the subject property (address verification, street scene, subject view and street verification) all these images have to be clear and show the property. You are not allowed to get out and disturb the owners. So this can be the most delicate and tricky part of the process. The paper work after the digitals are taken is time consuming and detailed. You must be accurate on your comparisons both on the listing side and the sold side.

Once all this is compiled you still have to locate the property on a virtual map and then you are done. Except all your paper work must be approved and then you can close that case and start on the next one. I used to reject these requests but now I find them challenging and fun. While I am doing these I get a real feel for the market on sales and listings. I also get a real feel for the pre-foreclosures and where they are happening. This is a great help to my clients and I even hope I can help some of the people going into pre-foreclosure to get a short sale before they loose their house and ruin their credit.

So I was very busy today and will be equally busy tomorrow finishing my BPO from Valdez.

So much new and fun things in my life.

All the best and be well.

chaz rothenberg

Latest listing $160,000 under cost.

2010-02-09T05:24:00Z

I am totally excited about our latest listing. What is it? It's a warehouse/garage. Doesn't sound like your idea of real estate in Taos. Well this property, for sale at $190,000, is an amazing opportunity for the creative buyer. There is a single metal building 40X80 feet with a 400 sq ft second story. It has commercial applications as well as residential. The building sits on two acres and has an approved septic system. The perimeter of the property is ready for fencing, there are railroad ties all around the border. Electric is at the lot line and wells are in the 200 ft depth area. The concrete floor has radiant heat piping all you need is the water and boiler and the space will be heated. There are three garage doors with heavy duty electric door openers. The ceilings are 17 ft.

The possibilities are endless, divide the space into small offices, make it your own work/live industrial park, divide it into art spaces and on and on. The sellers have invested $350,000 in the building and infrastructure and are letting it go for a fraction of their investment. To build this building with land and improvements would cost well over $300,000. As the investment counselors say do the math and you will see this is a fantastic real estate deal.

If you are reading this and are interested in learning more or if you know of someone who is perfect for this opportunity then email me and I will give you the complete lowdown.

We are changing the face of real estate and you can be the new face.

Be well,

chaz rothenberg

Are you a first time home buyer?

2010-01-27T04:34:00Z

If you are a first time home buyer or know someone who is in the real estate market looking for a home then this information is vital. The government is offering home buyers incentives to purchase a home by April 2010. The homebuyer tax credit for first time buyers is an important tool in helping buyers get into a home. This article is the most informative and inclusive information that I have read. Read it and you will be well informed on if you qualify for the real esate tax credit. http://tinyurl.com/yd82do4

Wonderful oppertunities for Real Estate bargain hunters

2010-01-18T22:08:00Z

There is tons of information out there for the real estate bargain hunters. There is info on low interest rates, on how to repair your credit ratings, on which real estate markets are the best value and so on. This article that I just read is by far the most informative and optimistic article I have read in a long time. Now is the time to buy real estate and here are some of the reasons. Read on and enjoy http://tinyurl.com/ygm4l59

Get the most $ for your house

2010-01-18T19:54:00Z

If your house is on the market and not selling, that is, days on the market are over 100 days then this article on how to get the most money for your house will be helpful http://tinyurl.com/yfxxu4s

What we do.

2010-01-15T20:12:00Z

Lately the Taos Home and Land staff/Realtors have been involved in many actions that are far different from the ordinary real estate fare. We have closed many for sale by owners FSBO transactions in the past year. These FSBO closings are wonderful and rewarding for all parties involved. The sellers get to move on with their lives, the buyers get a house that was never listed and also get a fantastic deal and the Realtor get the satisfaction of bringing two parties to the transaction together under one common goal-to make a effortless real estate transaction. I love assisting Buyers and Sellers in meeting each other and working in harmony to close their real estate deal. Very rewarding.

We have assisted in getting people and businesses refinanced. In one case we helped the Taos animal shelter find a refinance deal by a private party. This deal helped lower the animal shelter's monthly financing costs and allowed them to save a lot of interest. Another deal we assisted an elderly couple reduce their mortgage significantly so that they can live out the rest of their lives in this house without fear of making a large monthly mortgage payment. All were amazing win/win scenarios.

We just completed a Short Sale with Wells Fargo Mtg Company. This deal took a little over 6 weeks to complete-a record time in Taos County. The seller was able to keep their credit in tact and not have a deficiency judgment against them. The Buyer got a great deal. Wells Fargo was able to sell the property for what they needed to and not have to go to the foreclosure process. Both Realtors were paid their full commission and the economic ramifications were limited to virtually nothing.

Currently I am processing a mortgage loan modification. This is a process sponsored by the Feds to help people in need of lowering their mortgage payment. This program Making Home Affordable is an excellent program for the right person. I am personally following this process for a client and we are near the end of the rainbow. Hopefully there will be the pot of gold for the parties involved. This process is not quick and needs a lot of attention to detail. If you or someone you know is in need of lowering their mortgage and is not in foreclosure have them contact me and I will gladly assist in getting the process started. Distance is immaterial everything is done over the Internet or via fax. Don't waist a precious second if you need loan modification.

We have been very busy at Taos Home and Land creating a new face of real estate. More to come.

Be well,

chaz rothenberg

Homebuyer Stimulus Program

2010-01-14T20:59:00Z

It looks like there is a snafu in applying for the $8,000 first time home-buyer stimulus. The fed i.e. IRS do not have a form to file for the rebate. This article explains it in detail http://tinyurl.com/yk6jkd7

Remember you read it here first.

chaz rothenberg

Tax breaks for homeowners

2010-01-12T18:51:00Z

This article is very informative on how to save money on you personal income taxes http://tinyurl.com/yhabrgk .

Home financing or refinancing

2010-01-07T20:50:00Z

Today the purchase money mortgage market is still pretty tight. The refinance market is equally as tight. This article is a fantastic tool in pre-qualifying your buyers or in fixing your credit to get a mortgage loan http://tinyurl.com/ydfnqeu . Remember it is great to have your dream house in sight and to have the seller agree to your terms of the purchase contract. However, if you do not qualify for the loan all is for naught. If your interest rate is high and your payments make you feel uncomfortable then what is the use of buying your dream house if you will feel stressed out making the payments. All my clients have their credit scores checked before they even look for a house and they are pre-qualified before we write an offer. Do everyone a big service and get qualified by a reputable mortgage broker before you fall in love with your dream home and make an offer on it. Now is the time to do that and then go out and look for the best property and the best deal you can find.

Enjoy the process and be well.

chaz rothenberg

Closing a sale

2010-01-06T22:53:00Z

This short sale took 2 months from contract to closing. Very efficient and saved the seller from going to foreclosure. All parties won on this transaction. Even the mortgage company came out a winner. The sellers credit is not ruined and there is no deficiency judgment against the seller.

Remember Taos Home and Land is changing the face of the real estate and you can be the next face to be changed.

All the best and be well.

Chaz Rothenberg