Sacramento Realtor Association's Realtor of the Month!

Sharon Boatwright!




1. How long have you been a Member
of SAR?

Since 1996
2. What did you do before you were
in real estate?

I was employed by United Parcel
Service (UPS) for over 13 years and continue
to be a “Domestic Goddess.”

3. What do you like best about being
in real estate?

I have been a part of a team with
Yoli Manzo for over 13 years. I found it
helpful to come together as one for a
team concept. I also love the interaction
and relationships I have developed with
people from varied backgrounds and
cultures. Also, I enjoy knowing that I
am offering a service to help families’
dreams come true.

4. How have you adjusted to changing
market conditions in the past
couple years?

Education, education and more education.
I continually educate myself to
keep my skills sharp. I embrace change
and I stay ahead of the curve by education
through SAR and other industry
professionals. I love learning new and
exciting marketing ideas.

5. What have been some of your
favorite programs/committees/activities
at SAR?

Of course, SAR’s Leadership Academy.
I have also participated in CanTree,
Cultural Diversity Day, Master Club,
Lunch and Learns and SAR’s Real Estate
Finance Forum.

6. Why did you decide to join SAR’s
Leadership Academy?
I was highly encouraged by other SAR
Directors and past Leadership Academy
graduates to participate in this academy.
I have a new profound respect for
ALL benefits of SAR, leadership and staff.
The Leadership Academy has given me
an understanding of why we should
participate in our Association.

7. Technology has changed a great
deal in recent years – how have you
kept up-to-date?
Numerous classes provided through
SAR have allowed me to leverage
my time for clients and activities.
Technology has also allowed me to be
more efficient with my business and
use social media networking to conduct
business in today’s environment.

8. Words of wisdom for your fellow
real estate professionals?
“Maintain your HIGH Standards”

9. Hobbies or other activities?
I enjoy dates with my husband, Alex;
reading, movies, cooking, crafts, event
planning, spending time with my family
and activities with my church.

10. How long have you lived in
Sacramento?
Over 35 years

11. What are some of your favorite
places to visit?
Mexico, Hawaii and New York
12. What would you do if you weren’t
a real estate professional?
A profession that serves others...

13. What’s a good book you’ve read
recently?
“Getting to Happy” by Terry Mc Millian

14. What would people be surprised
to learn about you?
I was born and raised in Elmendorf,
Alaska. I have been married for over 26
years, raised two beautiful grown children
(Monniece and Alex). My husband and I
have also raised five foster children since
1990 and we own a catering company.

Foreclosure Rates Hold Steady

Sharon and I get questions regarding foreclosures all the time. We came across this article today, and thought it was worthy to pass along.

In Sacramento, our inventory is still very low. Even though there are a lot of foreclosures and short sales listed, properties are still selling fast. Borrowing money is at an all time low right now. It is definitely a great time to purchase property!

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The foreclosure crisis has entered a new phase: The number of properties entering the foreclosure process has dropped, and now nearly matches the number of repossessions.

The number of homeowners falling enough behind on their loans to attract initial notices of default was down 30% in August, RealtyTrac said Thursday. Eventually, that should translate into fewer people losing their homes.

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But lenders repossessed more than 95,000 homes -- a record -- and that was up from 76,000 a year ago.

RealtyTrac spokesman, Rick Sharga, said the initial default rate should be higher, given the numbers of borrowers who have missed one or two payments. Normally, when a third payment is missed, lenders take immediate action.

"It appears that lenders are allowing delinquencies to go on longer before they issue notices of default," he said.

Lenders may delay filing for a couple of reasons. In some cases, a notice of default puts lenders on the clock; regulations force them to foreclose within a certain time frame, sometimes before they want to.

Second, borrowers might vacate their homes when they receive default notices, leaving the houses empty, subject to vandalism, and forcing lenders to take over the expense of maintaining them.

However, once lenders have begun the initial foreclosure process, they are moving quickly to repossession.

That's in part because as housing markets have improved, as it has in California, lenders are able to resell foreclosed homes more quickly and avoid further losses.

In other markets, according to Sharga, they may take homes back but not necessarily put them on the market again right away. That may represent a deliberate effort to manage the flow of foreclosures to prevent further erosion of home prices.

Not only would a flood of properties and lower prices hurt lenders' profits, it would leave more mortgage borrowers owing more than their homes are worth. As more homeowners plunge underwater, more would default, causing a new round of home price drops and still more foreclosures.

5 most affordable home markets

For the 44th straight month, Nevada led all states in the rate of foreclosure filings. One in every 84 households there received some kind of filing during the month, more than four times the national average.

The other "sand states," Florida (one in 155 households), Arizona (one in 165) and California (one in 194) followed in a familiar foreclosure pecking order.

All of the top 10 metro area hot spots recorded drops in foreclosure activity during August. In the worst hit city, Las Vegas, filings dropped 25% year-over-year but still came to one for every 73 households.

Modesto and Stockton, both medium-sized cities in California's Central Valley, closely trailed Las Vegas in filing rate. Rounding out the first five metro areas were Cape Coral and Miami.

5 Real Estate Scams You Need to Know About

With so much predatory scammers around, we thought this was an excellent article to help you notice the red flags in all those "To Good to be True" offers.

Still in doubt? Feel free to contact us with any questions.

Yoli and Sharon
Your Favorite Real Estate Team.

Don't be duped by mortgage fraud. Here are a few common scams and the red flags you should look for in a transaction.

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey | August 2010

Mortgage fraud is pervasive: An estimated $4 billion to $6 billion in annual losses result from mortgage fraud, according to FBI reports. “An entire community can be damaged by mortgage fraud,” says Rachel Dollar, a lawyer from Santa Rosa, Calif., and editor of the Mortgage Fraud Blog. Mortgage fraud can lead to a spike in foreclosures, home values plummeting, and lenders raising their rates and fees to recover losses.

The crimes are often complex, involving several parties and occurring over multiple transactions. To protect you and your clients, educate yourself about mortgage fraud and be on guard for any warning signs in a transaction. You can start by reviewing these five scams, and then test your knowledge by taking our Mortgage Fraud Quiz.

1. The Foreclosure Rescue Scheme

The Scam: “Rescuers” promise cash-strapped home owners that they can save their home from foreclosure. The rescue, which involves paying upfront fees, can take multiple forms, such as the perpetrator obtaining a new loan on behalf of the owner or by having the owner sign over the home’s deed and then rent the home until they can repurchase it. Eventually, the home owner loses the home, either to foreclosure or the fictitious rescue company.

Red Flags: With foreclosure rescue programs, borrowers are often advised to sign over the title of their house to a third party, become renters of their home, not contact their lender, or send mortgage payments to a third party, according to Fannie Mae, which provides fact sheets on mortgage fraud.

2. Loan Documentation Fraud

The Scam: This fraud involves numerous schemes in which a borrower provides inaccurate financial information — such as about their income, assets, and liabilities — or employment status in order to qualify for a loan with lower rates and more favorable terms. Occupancy fraud is one growing area: Borrowers say they plan to live in the property when they actually intend to rent it.

Red Flags: Documentation may raise suspicion if the employer’s address is shown as a post office box, accumulation of assets compared to the person’s income appears too high or low, the new house is too small to accommodate occupants, the person has no credit history, or the application is unsigned or undated, according to Fannie Mae.

3. Appraisal Fraud

The Scam: A faulty appraisal — saying a property is worth more than what it really is — is connected to many types of mortgage fraud. It entails manipulating or overstating comparables, market values, or property characteristics in order to obtain a higher appraisal. The higher property appraisal, which generates false equity, is done by falsifying an appraisal document or using an appraiser accomplice to obtain the higher value.

Red Flags: Be skeptical of appraisals that are dated prior to the sales contract, list comparable sales that do not contain similarities to the property or are outside the neighborhood, the owner is not the seller listed on the contract or the title, or a third party participating in the transaction orders the appraisal, Freddie Mac warns.

4. Illegal Property Flipping

The Scam: This entails purchasing properties and reselling them at inflated prices. These scams usually involve faulty appraisals and inaccurate loan documents. The property is then refinanced or resold immediately after purchase for an inflated value. The home is purchased at a higher price, often by straw buyers working with the “flipper,” and eventually falls into foreclosure.

Red Flags: Some key things to look for are rapid refinancing of a property; the seller recently having acquired the title or acquiring the title concurrent with the transaction; an appraisal that comes in too high; a property that was recently in foreclosure being purchased at a much lower price than its sales price; or the owner listed on the appraisal and title not matching the seller on the sales contract, according to Fannie Mae.

5. Short Sales Schemes

The Scam: Borrowers owe more than the current value of their home so they fake financial hardship and no longer make their mortgage payments. An accomplice of the borrower then submits a low offer to purchase the property in a short sale agreement. The lender agrees to the short sale, unaware that it was premeditated. The property, after being purchased at the reduced price, is then often resold at the home’s actual value for profit.

Red Flags: The borrower suddenly defaults on the mortgage with no workout discussions with the lender, an immediate offer is made to a lender at a short sale price, the short sale offer is less than current market value, or a cash back is offered at closing to the delinquent borrower (disguised as “repairs” or other payouts, for example) and is not disclosed to the lender, according to Fannie Mae.

You can report instances of suspected mortgage fraud to Stopfraud.gov.

Free Short Sale Workshop This Wednesday.

Sharon Boatright, Yoli Manzo and Special Guest, Steve Beede, are hosting a Free and Informative Short Sale Workshop.

In the past, it was rare that a bank or lender would accept a short sale. However due to the overwhelming market changes, lenders have become much more negotiable when it comes to these transactions. Recent policy changes within many organizations have made the chances of getting a short sale approved even higher.

The following information describes the short sale process:
Home owners are "short" when they owe an amount on their property that is higher then the current market value.

A short sale occurs when a negotiation is entered into with the homeowner's mortgage company to accept less than the full balance of the loan at closing. A buyer closes the property and the property is "sold short"

At the class you will learn the Homeowner Consequences of Foreclosure vs. Shorsale.
As well as how the process works and receive a free list of all the items you will need to present your "Short Sale" request.

Seating is limited, so do email us for your reservation.
yoli.manzo@gmail.com or sharoninrealestate@gmail.com

Class is Thursday, July 22nd 2010, 6:30pm.
Remax Gold
9280 W. Stockton Blvd. #110
Elk Grove, CA 95758


Steve Beede, Attorney at Law, In 1994, Steve graduated law school and immediately formed his own firm specializing in real estate and business, BPE Law Group, which has since grown into one of the most respected firms in Sacramento handing cases nation-wide. In addition to leading his law firm and advising and representing clients world-wide, Steve is in demand as a seminar speaker, coach, and business consultant.

FREE HOMEBUYER'S CLASS: Thursday, June 24th 2010

Presented by:

Sylvia Gomez-Waki Senior Loan Consultant

Yoli Manzo License# 01184359 (916) 997-6934 Sharon Boatwright License# 01207889 (916) 825-4315 Realtors Team Power For Working for You

· Get answers to questions like: · How do I qualify & what documents will the lender need ? · How much home can I afford? · Is my credit good enough? · Cal Pers loans · Government sponsored programs Downpayment Assistance · Choosing the right Realtor · Secrets to buying foreclosed properties

We’ll help you with your First Step

We know buying your first home is a big step and that you have lots of questions. We are here to help!

You are invited to attend this free informative, no obligation, seminar offering valuable insight into the step by step process of the home buying experience.

Date: Thursday June 24th Place: Summit Funding 9250 Laguna Springs Dr. #113 Elk Grove, 95758 Time: 6:00—7:30 Seating is limited RSVP: (916) 997-6934 (916) 825-4315 Email: sgomez@summitfunding.net

Licensed by Department of Real Estate #01220358