If you want to have a view like this for a relaxing weekend at your leisure or for a permenant residence it is time to buy along the Gulf Coast of Alabama.  The best deals are really getting picked over.  If you would like to be updated on a weekly basis of currently sold prices or foreclosures that area available for sale please send me an email and I will add you to my weekly Gulf Coast Update

I have been working on a short sale since May.  It is now October the 23rd.  It is extremelty frustrating to me, the buyer, the seller, and the other Realtor.  The only people that seem to be content to hold a mortgage that they are now not receiving payment for is the mortgage company.  We turned in all our paper work and were told they had a COMPLETE package.  A few weeks later they asked for something else and then they asked us to re fax everything......when they continually said they did not receive the fax (even though our fax machine said it went through) they gave us a new fax number.  After a few faxes there it was determined that we should try emailing........................................................................

Do the mortgage people not know how to use a fax machine???

This property has been with the negotiator now 8 weeks and we are told this investor is slow.  Well all of the sudden the investor looks at it and would you believe that everything is now OUTDATED AGAIN.  Now we need to re fax all current information .... oh and we need to send the same distress letter but just put a new date on it   DAH!!  We need a new BPO which supposedly was ordered on the 8th of Oct but no one has contacted anyone to do it.  So now the mortgage company has ordered it again and still no contact has been made.  Once again we go through the fax thing where we fax directly to the negotiators fax and she don't get it even though 3 times our fax says that all pages were transmitted successfully!

WAKE UP AMERICA!

Being in Real Estate sales along the Gulf Coast of Alabama is a unique market.  It is generally very easy to do a market analysis or appraisal due to so many properties that are exactly alike.  They are alike all but personal touches of the owner such as paint and furniture.  If you have a 20 story building on the Gulf Front and the 02 column of the building holds all 2bd units and one of them just sold then you got yourself a comparable property.  The problem comes in when you go to list a property and the seller believes that their property is better.  They spent more on furniture and they just painted and their view is better. 

Here is the thing .... all sellers think they have the best property and all buyers want a deal.  If one just sold for 300,000 and you want 400,000 it just is not going to happen.  There is just no way.  First of all no one will ever even call me to see that property.  Many sellers tend to believe that making a new picture or putting a slightly different angle of a picture or adding comments to the listing such as their furniture was imported from New Zealand will cause someone to view their property as the better deal.  Buyers just don't get past the price to even look at the pictures or read the comments. 

The other problem is that the appraisal just want work for an overpriced property.  Now days the appraisal industry is very regulated.  If a buyer is getting a loan the property must appraise for the sales price and if the buyer is not getting a loan (with today's market) the buyer definately wants to know they are not over paying. 

If you are a seller and you want to sell your property it is in your best interest to price your property to sell.  If you would not like to sell your property at that price then you should wait as the market will eventually take a turn.  Leaving an overpriced property on the market can make buyers believe that the market is still drastically dropping and therefore make them afraid of purchasing at all.  While some buyers are really getting good deals and it is frightening for a seller to see things go for that low of a price, that sort of thing must happen before the market can go up.  We have got to get the most motivated and most desperate sellers out of the market to get the prices to go up.

While some sellers truly do have properties that are definately a cut above the rest it is still a bargain basement market.  The yard sale will be over soon!

I believe along the Gulf Coast of Alabama that the Real Estate Market has seen the bottom.  While I say that I must also say that there are still properties on the market that are overpriced.  But, we have seen properties begin to sell for more than the last sold prices.  This is great news and hopefully the entire country is seeing the same.  Interest rates are beginning to increase again this may send us through another slow time.  All in all it seems that we are seeing a bit of light at the end of a very long tunnel.

Search my web site to find properties in my area at KarensGulfProperties

In Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Alabama we are starting to see more cash buyers.  Thank goodness since mortgage loans for 2nd homes and investment properties are difficult.  I will tell you that Vision Bank in Gulf Shores is doing a great job getting things financed.  They do in house as well as have other lenders they can send things to.  I have found they are one of the few getting deals done at the moment.

Around September of 2005 one day I got up and got ready for the usual busy day, answering phone calls and finding deals for new prospects.  Well it wasn't business as usual at all.  The phone just stopped, there were no more calls.  I became frantic wondering what had happened to my phone.  I remember calling my office line and my cell phone just to see if it was really ringing???  Well it was, there was nothing wrong with the phone just the market had totally stopped.  The days, weeks, and months to follow were scary.  They were scary for me and my clients.  It was tough times but we all knew it was just a phase.  Finally a year went by and phone calls and sales were more difficult than ever.  We had a few pre construction things to close and people weren't wanting to come and close.  We worked through that and finally before you knew it another year had past.  Now we were wondering will it ever be back and if so when???  Then around November of 2008 the stock market just fell through the floor.  What now??  What a difficult time it has been the last few years for investors, realtors, service people, builders, etc.

There is good news.  Almost as quickly as the phone stopped it started again.  It may stop next week but I thank God for His blessings!! These past 2 weeks have been a total change for me and most realtors I know.  Everyone has clients.  Sellers that are realistic have buyers and buyers have a dream market.  Buyer Be Ware the tide is turning quickly things are changing as quickly as they changed in 2005.  It is time for the deal. 

There is an upcoming Auction scheduled for Feb. 7, 2009 at San Carlos Condominiums on the beach in Gulf Shores.  These condos have been selling for around 275/sq ft.  According to the advertising there will 30 Condos auctioned absolute.  If anyone would like more information please contact me at 251-942-3764 or check out the auction company web site at www.nationalauctiongroup.com   Happy Bargain Shopping!!

I just can't believe the deals out there right now.  There are short sales, foreclosures and just out right great deals.  Check out my web site for my listings and check the mls listings on my site for general listing information.

I have scheduled lots of showings on my listings this year and most everyday I add a new showing to the list.  I have put one of my listings under contract and am working on getting a buyer a really great deal for a Gulf Front 1bd unit.  This has been a somewhat stressful time for Realtors but if you are patient people are really getting some great deals. 

Hello Fellow Realtors!  I would like to hear from you guys and find out how many short sales are you are experiencing.  I am currently working on a short sale and it is very frustrating, the lender already has all the information they need and they are now on vacation or something like that and not responding at all.  The buyer is getting antsy!! Do the banks not understand or are they just ADD and can't realize that if they let a property foreclose it cost them a lot more than taking a good offer on a short sale?  This offer was put in early Dec. and now a month later we don't have anything finalized.  I expect delays but come on with it!!!

Hey Guys, I hope all of you are experiencing the same as us on the Gulf Coast of Alabama.  This market seems to have hit bottom and I am scheduling appointments right and left.  I scheduled 11 showings on New Years day and 5 the day before.  This is good news!!! The market is at the bottom the interest rates are at the bottom and buyers are in the business of buying and sellers are in the business of selling!!!  Great news!!  It will be a great 2009!