A Goodbye to Marin Foreclosures

The other day a new client asked me if I could help her find some foreclosures on the Marin County market. While there are still some foreclosures available in Marin, homes that are either in the process of default or are now bank owned, for the most part that market segment is drying up. Thank goodness too, the downward spiral and record number of defaults in the market had a very human side of suffering that at times I found almost impossible to face. When most people talk about ‘distressed properties’ they don’t realize it’s the homeowners who are really in distress, not the properties.

Since 2007 I have represented short sale sellers, those sellers who owed more than their homes were worth and banks who took back properties from homeowners who didn’t sell them short. I represented short sale and bank owned buyers too. Until a bank took complete possession of a property behind every distressed sale there were people who were losing their homes on one side of a transaction, and on the other buyers who were taking advantage of an opportunity in the market. It was a business transaction and at the same time many sellers were losing shattered dreams of homeownership and prosperity.

When I represented buyers in short sale situations I tried to counsel them to be compassionate with the sellers. My buyers understood often the sellers were losing everything. Yet still there were many stakeholders in the market who approached short sales strictly as a business opportunity: bank representatives, investors, third party vendors, and even Realtors and buyers. I had a hard time looking at short sale transactions purely in those terms. Lives were in transition brought about by distress, and I wanted to see the best outcomes for both the buyers and sellers.

One of the most difficult parts of my job happened when I represented banks and had to approach people who had just lost their homes to foreclosure. Sometimes I would get assignments to sell bank owned properties and there would be nobody still at the homes. That’s when I’d breathe sighs of relief. Other times I’d show up to a property prepared to change locks and find a person, couple or family still living in the home.  At that point I was supposed to be representing the banks, but my heart would be with the people who lived in the property.

After a foreclosure banks took legal ownership of the subject property or asset, and it would be my responsibility to negotiate vacancy with occupants. The bank would offer them some time to get out and money to leave. The properties had to be left in broom swept condition, void of personal property. It never ceased to amaze me that people who lost their homes were able to get everything out, especially when they obviously had no money to move and sometimes they had a lifetime of belongings inside. But they always got out, and I handed them checks to help with their transitions.

I’m so glad foreclosures have tapered off. I’m grateful that we are back in an economy where the housing market has come up. 2014 looks like it's going to be a much healthier environment in Marin real estate sales.