Israel's Big Bear Blog

Crazy Market

2008-09-22T15:50:50Z

Originally Posted At www.bigbearilluminated.com

What a crazy market we are in these days. Gone are the days of conventional loans on traditional listings. Gone are the days of your only worry being if you made your offer high enough to get the property. Or if you priced your listing high enough to get maximum value without scaring everyone away. No, my friends, we are in a new era of doing business in our career of choice. Let me give you some examples.

During the month of September, I have closed five escrows, put two homes into escrow and taken one listing. Pretty straight forward so far, huh. Well, here is where it gets tricky. The first home I closed was not even in our local MLS. I found it by looking at local homes put into out of area MLS's by out of area agents. If I didn't put the extra time in to find out about every home for sale in my area, I would never have gotten the sale.

The second house I closed on was a traditional listing, but I had to do a 60 day escrow because my buyers were first timers and they needed to borrow the money for their 20% down from the wifes father. Thus the funds needed to be seasoned for over a month before the loan process could begin. A little unusual, but nothing that difficult.

The third home was an upscale bank owned property that was not quite habitable due to water damage from broken pipes. The bank was very difficult to deal with on this one. They were very inflexible and the escrow company they made us use was not very competent. It took them three weeks to remove the two water company liens from the property after they promised me it would only take two days. Then, since it was a stated income loan, it took even longer. I was pulling my hair out over this one.

The fourth home was the biggest nightmare of my career. The buyers were semi-disabled and were getting a down payment assistance loan from the County as a second. The first was an FHA loan from Chase. To top it off, the selling agent was my boss. The county seemed virtually incapable of getting anything done on time or giving me any relevant info on anything. The lender was lost in a sort of daze and never really knew what was going on either. In the middle of the deal, I got a note from the County saying that they needed to do an inspection on the home before they would release the funds. Of course it took them three weeks to get up here. Of course the inspector wouldn't pass the house until the whole thing was sanded and primed for new paint. Are you kidding me! I had to get the seller to allow my buyer to sand and primer her house to get the deal done. It was a white knuckle ride until the end. Because nobody could ever tell me anything, it made me look like a numbskull every time my boss asked me a question about it. Which he did everyday.

The last house was the only straight forward deal of the bunch. The home was brand new, so not much in the way of repairs. Plus, the house appraised at $73,000 more than the sale price. The listing agent is my best friend and sits at the desk right in front of me. It really makes paperwork a breeze when that is the case. I got lucky on that one.

The first house I put into escrow this month is a little bank owned property on the East side of town. It needs some basic repairs, but for the price it is a steal. The bank is being a real pain at this point. They keep trying to only give me two weeks to get the deal done and then won't send me in the signed contracts. They also are taking forever to open escrow. I'll keep you updated on this one.

The second house I put into escrow is a short sale property. It only took them three weeks to give us the approval, which is a huge improvement over the last four I did this year. The home inspection came out pretty clean and I feel pretty confident this will close on time. I have my fingers crossed and my eyes closed as I write this:)

The listing I took is a short sale property in great shape which I think is listed at a very reasonable price. Due to my past experiences with short sales, I have been in close contact with the bank and my seller has his package filled out and ready to go. I told him to make sure his hardship letter is good enough to make a hard man cry.

I guess what I am trying to get at is, you have to really be on the ball to make it in this market. With all the REO's, short sales, out of area listings, out of area agents , etc nothing is easy. FHA loans, VA's, County Assistance Programs, are not easy to close and require special attention. Of course knowing your inventory is still the most important tool you can possess, but experience in the myriad of options in today's market is essential for the proper representation of your clients.

Bank Owned Showdown

2008-09-15T12:33:25Z

When dealing with a bank in a foreclosure situation, you never know what you are going to get. Sometimes the bank is just happy to get the property off of their books and are extremely easy to deal with. Other times, not so much. I recently wrote a blog about how a certain bank was being a real pain in the you know what over a property my clients wanted to buy.

My clients put their first offer in a couple of months ago and the bank refused to even negotiate. We decided to wait another month and try again. sure enough, the property didn't sell and the bank lowered their price. This time we came up $10k and made another offer. Same story. The bank would only come down $500.00 and no more. So, we decided to wait some more. After two weeks, the listing agent contacted us and said they would accept our offer. We resubmitted the offer and it was accepted, except the bank only wanted to give us two weeks to close the escrow. Ridiculous. It is hard to close an all cash deal in two weeks, let alone a conventional loan.

Once again, the bank was being very difficult. They kept repeating that they would only give us two weeks and nothing more. I had my clients fill out a counter offer that basically stated we needed 30 days or the deal wasn't going to happen. Finally, after numerous offers and two months, we got the property for the price we wanted and terms we could fulfill. Luckily for us, we were the only buyers going after the property or things would have turned out very differently. It just brought home the fact that every bank and every situation is different. There is not one single strategy that works every time in these situations. As a Realtor you have to be knowledgeable and flexible enough to adapt to every situation and represent your clients in a professional and competent fashion.

Originally Posted At www.bigbearilluminated.com

Banks Making No Sense

2008-09-07T11:56:29Z

I have some clients who are looking for a little vacation place up here in Big Bear. They have done the math and decided that they can go up to $110,000 and not a penny higher. They are set on this number and will not, for any reason, go above it. As you can imagine, there are not a great many homes in this price range to choose from. Very slim pick-ens.

After a few appointments, we found a little place that they really like. It's a bank owned property on the outskirts of town. It is located in an area that is not appealing to most buyers. It is kind of far from town and located right on a semi-busy street. The pluses are, it is in good shape and has a nice size lot for the money. The property is listed at $119,000. After some discussion, we made an offer of $110,000 for the home. Since we were within 10% of the listed price, I thought we had a pretty fair chance of landing the deal. I was wrong. The bank countered back at $118,500. They were not in the mood to negotiate. Since my clients cannot, for any reason, go above $110,000, we decided to wait a bit and see if anything happened with the home.

About two weeks after we made the offer, I received a call from the listing agent. He informed me that the bank had reconsidered our offer and was willing to take the $110,000 we offered. I called my clients and they were very happy and excited. They made the two hour drive the next day and we looked the house over once again and then resubmitted our offer for the banks approval. Done deal, right? Wrong.

The next day I received the banks acceptance of our offer, but it had one more condition. We had only 17 days to fund and close. Also, they want a $100.00 per day per diem for every day we go over the 17 days. 17 days? My clients are pre-approved, have the full 3% deposit and are putting a total of $30,000 down. Anybody who works in this business, knows it is nearly impossible to close a conventional loan in 17 days. With inspections, appraisals, etc 17 days is not even close. Shouldn't a bank know better than anyone what it takes to get a loan and the time frames involved? My clients lender told us that they could probably get it done in three weeks, but only if everyone involved made a concerted effort to get everything done in an expedited manner. That almost never happens. Can you imagine the scene the would entail if the appraiser has to reschedule for a few days later or if the bank doesn't get everything in on the day they are supposed to?

I guess I am just baffled as to why the bank would accept our offer and then make it impossible for us to fulfill our part of the bargain. Are they doing this on purpose to suck a couple of hundred more bucks out of my clients pockets? Are they being vindictive because of the loss they took on the home? Is the asset manager just that incompetent to not know how long these things take. They have been dealing with this home for a long time. You would think they would be happy to do a 30 day escrow and get it off of their books. Even the listing agent is shaking his head. I have countered back and asked for 30 days. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Originally posted at www.bigbearilluminated.com

Government And County Programs

2008-08-22T12:21:18Z

As we all know, loans are harder and harder to get these days. If you have a buyer with great credit and 20% down, things are still peachy keen. However, if you have buyers that are purchasing for the first time or don't possess sterling credit, odds are you will have to deal with some sort of government program. By government program, I mean things like FHA, CalHfa, VA, CalVet, County Down Payment Assistance Programs, etc.

While these programs are great in giving buyers options they might not otherwise have, they present their own particular set of difficulties. Over the past year I have had numerous dealings with these programs and I can tell you from experience, they are never easy. Just when it seems like everything is smooth sailing, whamo, a new condition or hurdle pops up that threatens to derail the whole process. We all know how bureaucracies function and that's what these programs are mired in. Red tape and confusion abound. If you can find someone who can give you a straight answer instead of a maybe, consider yourself lucky.

For instance, I had a couple buying their first home using a CalHfa loan earlier this year. I couldn't believe the hoops they made these people jump through. The wife has a job that allows her to work from home and the husband is a computer genius who designs websites and can work remotely from his home office. The people made the wife get letters from her boss, HR Department, and others stating that yes, indeed, she was really able to work remotely. Not such a big deal, except they made her do it unexpectedly smack dab in the middle of the process. Then, the couple had a nice car that they were leasing. The people doing the loan decided the car payment was to high and told them they had to get rid of the car. So, my clients had to pay 1,000's of dollars to get out of their contract and give back the car. Guess what? Then they told my client's that even though they had gotten rid of the car, they would need another one at some point and so they were going to leave the cost of the car they had gotten rid of on their negative balances. What? So they were being penalized for a car they no longer owned. My clients actually had to go and purchase a cheap car they didn't want to get the higher phantom payment off their record. A 30 day escrow rapidly turned into a 60 day escrow. Luckily for us, the seller had a child support lien come up that he had to satisfy or else my clients would have been paying the seller for every day the house went over the 30 day escrow period.

I am dealing with a couple now who are on a Down Payment Assistance program with the County. Same thing. Nothing but red tape and numerous conditions to deal with. Nobody at the County can ever give us a straight answer on anything. My clients received a call from their lender one night and were informed that they were required to attend a County class on buying a house as a condition of getting the money. One catch, the class was 100 miles away and if they didn't show up in the morning, it would be another month before it was offered again. The County keeps losing the paperwork or demanding more things they forgot to ask for. We are faxing them papers over on a daily basis. They sent us a letter three weeks ago stating that they have decided they have to inspect the house themselves before they will give us approval to draw docs. They still have not done the inspection and nobody can tell us what is going on. Now it sounds like they probably aren't even going to do the inspection and we should be able to draw docs early next week. Headaches galore.

If I have learned one thing from all of this, it is to ask for a longer escrow period anytime you are dealing with one of these loans. An extra two weeks may be the difference between a smooth transaction and a huge mess. Be aware that your clients are going to have to jump through more hoops than a circus pony and make sure they are aware of this fact. Loans that are approved one day can be snatched away without warning the next. Never expect a straight answer and even if you get one, be suspicious. The DMV has nothing on these guys.

Originally Posted On www.bigbearilluminated.com

Big Bear Bank Owned Beauty

2008-08-12T12:18:55Z

Originally Posted At www.bigbearilluminated.com

I just put this bank owned beauty into escrow today. It is located in the prestigious Bear Loop neighborhood located on the north shore of Baker Pond. This home was built and sold in 2006 for a selling price of $869,000. It boasts 3,154 square feet of living space with a two car, stamped concrete driveway. It is situated on a 7,400 square foot lot. The views of the lake, airport, eagle preserve, and ski resorts are top notch. The house suffered water damage in early 2007 and then went into foreclosure. My client is a contractor and can repair the damage at a very low cost. We got the home for only $540,000. Now, we just have to make sure we get it closed:) Give me a call if you would like to see all the great homes Big Bear has to offer.

Different Banks, Different Rules

2008-08-07T14:46:46Z

Originally Posted At www.bigbearilluminated.com

Like most Realtors today, I have been dealing with quite a few bank owned properties. Like conventional listings, they come in all shapes, sizes, and conditions. Some banks price them to move, others not so much. For every REO I see that is a great buy, I see another that is only so so. Some banks respond to an offer right away, some take a long time. Some banks will negotiate with other, while others will not budge.

For instance, a few weeks ago I had some clients who made an offer on a bank owned home in Erwin Lake. The home was priced at $126,000 and was in decent condition. Like everyone else, my clients were after the best deal they could get. In that spirit, we put in an offer of $100,000. I didn't expect the bank to accept it, but I thought their counter would give us a good indicator of how low they were willing to go. When we received the counter offer, I was a little surprised to see the bank had not moved an inch. Surprised in the fact that this home has been on the market for quite some time and it seems rational that they would at least move a little in order to get it off of their books. Not the case.

Believe it or not, I have encountered this same scenario several times. Contrary to what is being reported in the media, getting a ridiculously low price on a bank owned property is not a sure thing. As a matter of fact, in Big Bear there is only a 5% difference between listing and selling price on REO's. If a bank owned property is priced well, it will usually garner multiple offers and actually sell for above listing price. If your Realtor tells you that something is a great buy, bickering may only serve to cost you the deal. Now if I can only get my clients to listen to me:)

Big Bear's Olympian

2008-08-05T13:48:16Z

Last night I witnessed something that was truly inspirational. We have a local man going to the Olympics to represent our country in Beijing. This may not be a big deal in some big cities, but in our little town it is an event of fantastic proportions. Ryan Hall was born in raised in Big Bear Lake and he is the fastest American born marathon runner of all time. Last night a rally was held at a local school to send him off in style.

Big Bear Lake has around 6,000 full time residents and there were around 2,500 of them on Minder Field to see our local hero off. That's over a third of Big Bear Lake showing up to show him our support. That's not all. Some of our local leaders got together and started a campaign called "Run A Million Miles For Ryan". The goal of the campaign was to get the community of Big Bear and beyond to run, bike, swim, etc and then log their miles on a website. The goal being to have a million miles run to show Ryan the community was behind him. That way, when Ryan lines up to run the marathon in Beijing, he will know that over a million miles were run in support of his dream to bring a medal home to The United States. To date, over 1.2 million miles have been logged. Wow.

So, if time permits, please make an effort to watch Ryan run the marathon and cheer him on to victory. He has the support of a million miles behind him and every little bit helps. I know he is going to make Big Bear and the rest of the country proud.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfWJVoFot_Q

This link shows Ryans workout and how his faith shapes his life.

The Road

2008-08-01T15:02:47Z

I was looking for something to read in an airport bookstore the other day. I really liked the movie " No Country For Old Men " and decided I would read the novel on the airplane. As I was about to buy it, another title from the author, Cormac McCarthy, caught my eye. The book was " The Road ", and, on a whim, I chose it over the other. Wow.

If you have never heard anything about this book, look it up right away. It has been a long time since I've read something that affected me so dramatically. I couldn't put it down and finished it in a little over three hours. It is simply amazing.

It is a story about a father and son's fight to survive a post-apocalyptic United States. The book gives clues, but never comes right out and states what happened to destroy the world. Whatever it was, it is all encompassing and terrible. The feeling's of despair and danger are omnipresent and suffocating. It is a wonder that they wake up every morning. The dangers of this new world are far more horrifying than any villain or situation I have ever heard of. There is absolutely nothing left alive in this new existence. Only roving bands of cannibals or their victims who survive by scrounging the leftovers of a dead world.

As bad as this sounds, the relationship between the father and son gives you a real sense of the power of love and the gift of sacrifice. The only thing in the world these two have is each other. The prose is stark and minimal and yet the beauty of the language shines through. This book is a true masterpiece in every sense of the word. I finished the book on Monday and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. It is one of those rare novels that impact the way you see things around you. Do yourself a favor and read this book.

Lying Liars (UPDATE)

2008-07-25T12:52:05Z

Something happened to me a few days ago that really chapped my hide and I need to vent:) I figured there is no better place than on my blog. Okay, here's the situation. I have a client that has been looking for a very specific property type for over a year now. I know he is a serious buyer, but it is going to take the perfect property to get him to move. . My client is a contractor and has been in the business for almost 30 years. He has the knowledge and ability to take a fixer and really turn it around. He really wants to be in one of our better areas and has been waiting for a bank owned property to turn up that he can rehab and then move into after he retires. A few days ago, the perfect one became available. As soon as I saw it, I called him and let him know that his wait was over. He drove up from Los Angeles the next morning to take a look at it. Here is where the fun begins.

The home in question is a bank owned property listed at $575,000. It last sold for almost $900,000 in 2006. I did some investigating and found out that the home had suffered serious water damage due to pipes breaking and flooding the home. The damage had been repaired and an extensive remodel begun. For whatever reason, the remodel was only completed 80% before the home was foreclosed on. However, all of the materials are still in the garage and for somebody with experience, it will be a pretty easy job to complete. As we were poking around in the sub area, I noticed the neighbor taking an interest in what we were doing. We spent around an hour looking at everything and estimating the costs to finish the repairs. I forgot to mention, the house in question is very beautiful with great stonework, layout, and an awesome stamped concrete driveway. We had just decided to drive to the city and pull the permits and then go back to the office to make an offer, when the neighbor walked up.

He seemed like a friendly guy that just wanted to chat. After a few minutes he started telling us about the house. His story made the tale of the great flood seem like a summer shower. He went on and on about the catastrophic damage the home had endured and how incompetent the contratctor who did the repairs was. He told us how he suspected that the contractor really hadn't fixed the water damage and only painted over it. He just kept on and on, each minute making the home seem worse and worse. When my client stated he thought he could do everything for under $50,000, the neighbor laughed and said " It would be more like $300,000". Needless to say, we had alot to talk about on the drive to Building And Safety.

I told my client that even though the neighbors tale did not bode well for us, we needed to do our own investigations and make a sound decision based on what we found out. We spent a couple of hours going over all the permits and records on the home. We looked at all the comps from the last year and made estimates on building costs. After everything was said and done, my client decided he still wanted to make a bid on the house.

So, we wrote the offer and I called the listing office to get whatever disclosures they had and let them know I would be dropping by the present an offer. In the course of the conversation I mentioned the neighbor and the things he had to say about the house. Guess what? It turns out the neighbor had driven over to the listing office after we left and made on offer on the home. That's right. The home that needed over $300,000 to repair. The home that was ruined and hacked away upon by the most incompetent contractor that has ever lived. The same home that would be the biggest money pit of all time. I couldn't believe it. This man who was posing as a friendly, concerned neighbor was actually doing his level best to torpedo our interest in the home so he could buy it for himself. Some people.

It took a little bit but, I finally put the house into escrow. The negotiation time with the bank took a long time due to the slowness of the banks response time. Every counter we made took at least four or more days to get a response. In that time, a higher offer came in but, guess what, the neighbor talked with them and they withdrew it. That guy actually helped me out, inadvertantly.

Big Bear Bank Owned Bargain

2008-07-12T12:28:26Z

Originally Posted at www.bigbearilluminated.com

This bank owned home is in the highly desirable Fox Farm neighborhood in Big Bear Lake. If you are looking for alot of square footage for a small price, this is the home for you. It measures in at an impressive 3,204 square feet. It boasts 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, and a two car garage on a 7,314 square foot lot. This home was originally listed at $748,876 before it went into foreclosure. It is now priced at a very affordable $349,900. If you would like to see this home, or any other home, bank owned or not, give me a call or shoot me an email.

Financing Difficulties In Big Bear

2008-06-26T16:41:59Z

Originally posted at www.bigbearilluminated.com

In today's uncertain market, never count your chickens until they are hatched. Even if the buyer seems rock solid, the carpet can be pulled out from under your feet at a moments notice. Lenders are canceling programs at a rate that is difficult to comprehend. They will preapprove your buyer at one rate, only to change it the next day.

A perfect example of this happened to me this week. My buyer was, in my opinion, very solid. He has a long term job and is paid a good salary. As I always do, I asked questions to ascertain his ability to buy on our appointment together. He has already been approved for an FHA loan on a home off the mountain he decided against purchasing. He was very certain he would have no problem getting preapproved again through the same lender as nothing had changed but the location of the home. As a matter of fact, the new place was significantly less.

Our first day out, we found a house which he really loved. It was a great property, well priced, in a very sought after neighborhood. We made a solid offer and it was accepted. The battle is half over, right? Nope. The next thing we know, he isn't eligible for the FHA loan because his job is too far away from the house. I didn't know that you had to be in an area within a certain distance from your job. I should have suspected. I closed a property with a CalHFA loan a few months back and they made us jump through so many hoops I felt like a circus animal. So the FHA loan was out.

His lender felt like she could get it done with a conventional loan, so we went that route. For the FHA loan, he only needed 5% down. Guess what, for a conventional loan there are zero 95/5 LTV's available. There was a possible scenario where the seller would carry 10% for two years with monthly interest only payments, but he wasn't interested. So, we investigated 90/10 LTV loans. It took several days, but we finally found one, but they raised the interest rate from 6.1% to 7.8%. The difference in the monthly payment was around $300 dollars. That is a huge raise in a monthly payment for most people. This pretty much sank the deal. We eventually found another loan but they wanted 20% down and he just didn't have it.

So, in a nutshell, be prepared for anything in these crazy times. I have had some deals I thought would never work, go through and some that I felt were sure bets, fall to pieces before my eye's. It's almost enough to make a grown man cry. In the end, I was very happy that my buyer did everything he possibly could to make this work. So many times, people will just make us work our tails off with no intention of really sticking it out. In the end, I know we both did our best and hopefully, when things get better, he will remember my efforts and use me again.

The Power of Local Knowledge

2008-06-16T14:59:26Z

With the market being like it is, more and more Realtor's are attempting to sell real estate in market's that they are not familiar with. Even though it is most likely in their client's best interest's to refer them to a local agent who can make better informed decision's on market condition's and actually be able to show up for thing's like home inspection's. They are so desperate for a sale that they will drive up here from two hour's away and make offers and take listing's in an area they know nothing about. In my opinion, they are doing their client's a grave disservice.

To illustrate my point, I am going to relate my experience yesterday with a home I put into escrow. I received an email inquiry from a couple who saw one of my listing's on the Internet. Within a few moment's I was able to ascertain that my listing, in fact, was not what they were looking for. They wanted a home that they could rent out in the winter time and my area was not in the best area for rentals. Which brings up my first point, due to my intimate knowledge of our market I know exactly which area's have the best rental potential and desirability. This is something a Realtor with only limited knowledge could have no way of knowing.

The couple had sent me a list of around eight house's they saw on the Internet that they thought they would like. " Great " I told them. "How about we look at the one's you like best and then we can look at the five home's I feel are the best for your needs". Guess what? They narrowed their choice's down to three favorite's and all three were one's that I had picked to show them. Again, without having seen, in person, all the house's on our MLS, there is no way an out of area agent would have the ability to show them exactly what would fit their needs. The agent would be guessing just as much as the client, because we all know the picture's never tell the whole story.

When we were getting close to writing an offer, my client's told me that they wanted to wait until Monday to speak once more with their lender. Due to my local knowledge, once again, I knew that the one they liked the best out of the three wasn't likely to last until Monday. I knew enough about recent sale's in Big Bear to know that the area they liked was highly desirable and most good properties sell very quickly there. I told them that if they decided on either of the other two, they could most likely wait until Monday. While they believed me, they still decided to wait until Monday. As soon as they left my office, I called the other agent on the phone and asked him to please let me know if anyone else was getting close to writing an offer. Guess what? Fifteen minute's later, he called me and said another agent had asked for the disclosure's. I called my client's and told them " It's now or never ". They came in and wrote a full price offer that was strong in every facet. We didn't ask for anything out of the ordinary and put down a good deposit. An agent without my local experience wouldn't have known that home's in that area are flying off the shelves if they are priced well. I did.

In short, due to my watching the market everyday and keeping track of every sale and new listing, I am able to be of enormous benefit to my client's. I would be nowhere near as effective in a market I didn't watch like a hawk. I almost feel bad for folk's who use out of area agent's. More often than not, they are costing themselves a pretty penny.

Originally posted at www.bigbearilluminated.com

Big Bear REO Tour

2008-06-09T14:51:09Z

I just wanted to let everybody know that we are going to be sponsoring a tour of the best bank owned homes in Big Bear. The first tour is going to be on July 12th at 1:00 pm. We are going to be meeting at the Coldwell Banker office at 42153 Big Bear Blvd. The tour will take anywhere between two to three hours. We will be providing refreshments and snacks at no charge to anybody who wants to come along. If you want to sign up, just follow this link http://www.bigbearreo.com/big-bear-bank-owned-prope.html . Space is limited, so the sooner you reserve your spot, the better.

We will be doing the tour every Saturday after the 12th. So, if you can't make it then, don't despair. Just contact us and we will put you on the next one. Also, we can show property any day of the week if you can't make it upon the weekend. My personal email is izzy@bigbeargallery.com .

Big Bear Bank Owned Sale

2008-06-03T11:40:17Z

This bank owned property just closed escrow today. I am posting it to shed a little light on how the market is dealing with bank owned properties at this time.

The home is located at 332 Downey, in a nice area in east Big Bear City. The home itself is 2,760 square feet and sits on a 10,539 square foot lot. It was built in 1973 and is in fair condition. It last sold in 2006 for $425,000.00. After it went into foreclosure, the current listing price was $249,900.00. It sold for $265,000.00, $15,100.00 more than it was listed for.

It just goes to show you, the market on bank owned properties is really heating up. The properties that are good deals are receiving multiple offers and are selling at or above list price. If you see a bank owned home that you want to purchase, be aware of this fact. If it is a good deal, be prepared to write a good offer. Many of the banks are just turning down low ball offers without even bothering to counter. If you are trying to make a low offer, at least make it as strong as you possibly can in every other facet. If you want a list of bank owned properties in The Big Bear Valley, please contact me and I'll get it too you ASAP.

Originally posted at www.bigbearilluminated.com

Izzy's MeMe

2008-06-02T11:19:23Z

I have been tagged by Chris Fisher and Greg Steffans. Here goes.

Who is your favorite musical artist? I love all kinds of music. At the moment, I am really into The Killers.

Who is your favorite artist? I guess it would have to be Monet.

Who is your favorite blogger? Tyler Wood, Greg Steffans, basically Realtors who blog about The San Bernardino Mountains.

If you could meet anyone (alive or dead), who would it be and what is the most interesting thing about them? I would love to meet The Emperor Julian. If he had lived a few more years, the whole of Western civilization might well be very different. John Lennon

What did you want to be when you grew up? Actor, Lawyer, Statesman, Restaurant Owner, Artist, Philosopher, Male Model, Game Show Host, etc.

What is the most interesting piece of trivia you know? Because Ireland was never conquered by Rome, the practice of headhunting continued for several centuries after it was stomped out in Britain.

If you could live in any point in history what would it be and why? I Would love to be a Patrician at the height of Rome.

What is the most interesting job you have ever held? I was The Director of Sales for a financial services firm. I got to travel extensively and dine at all the finest restaurants and stay in amazing hotels. I like being a Realtor more.

Big Bear Bank Owned Home's Tour

2008-05-29T16:50:16Z

Hi Everybody,

I just wanted to tell everybody who read's my blog and is interested in Big Bear real estate that we are going to be planning a great opportunity to view the best bank owned properties in Big Bear. We are still in the planning stages at the moment, but we are trying to put together a tour of Big Bear Bank Owned Homes. Depending on the amount of interest and reservations, we may even rent a bus to accomodate everybody. We want to get our most knowledgable agents as guides and show prospective buyers the best deals available today. We are going to have a catered lunch and refreshments free of charge. It is going to be a good time and an easy way to see all of the bank owned homes in the valley.

Big Bear Bank Owned Sale

2008-05-25T13:22:07Z

Originally posted at www.bigbearilluminated.com

This is a bank owned property I just closed escrow on this Friday. This home had suffered around 80k in fire damage last year. I did the comps and determined that this home would probably sell between 480k and 520k, if it was rehabbed. The home was priced at $229,000. My client started out at $200k with no contingencies, a 10 day escrow, and all cash. It turns out several other buyers liked it as well. The bank countered back with best and final on all offers. I told my client if he really wanted this home than he needed to figure out how high he could afford to go and then make a maximum bid. So, we bid $253,000, all cash and we got it. We were lucky due to an even higher offer coming in right after ours was accepted.

This just goes to prove a point I have been telling my clients all along. The good bank owned properties are going to sell quickly for either full price or above. If you try to low ball the good ones, you are only going to waste everybodies time and miss out on the property. If you really want it, make a good offer and be prepared to go even higher if you have too. If it is an undesirable home that has been on the market for months, that is a good candidate for a low offer. You are either going to get a great house for a fair price or you are going to get a fair house for a great price.

Big Bear Bank Owned Homes And Bad Agents

2008-05-19T14:48:46Z

Originally Posted At www.bigbearilluminated.com

I just wanted to rant a little bit about something that happened to me this weekend, and since this is my blog and I can do as I please, here goes:) I was out showing bank owned Big Bear homes to a very nice couple on Saturday. Since they were walk-in's and already had a list of homes they wanted to see, I didn't have time to plan out our excursion. Given time, I can usually call ahead and be ready with all codes etc. There are many bank owned properties up here that are listed by off the hill agents. They don't want to take the time or spend the money to join our board. This means that the houses don't have lock boxes that work with our supra keys. If we want to show the home, we have to call the listing office, find the listing agent, and then try to get the code from them. Let me tell you, it's a real pain.

So, there we are, standing in front of a large house in Big Bear City. Of course there isn't a lock box I can use. It's one of those combo lock boxes. I call the list office and, guess what, the listing agent isn't in. The receptionist doesn't know the code and can't be bothered to find it. She does, however, agree to transfer me to the listing agents cell phone. Of course, the listing agent doesn't answer. It's Saturday afternoon, the busiest and best time for selling real estate, and the listing agent can't be bothered to answer her phone. I leave a message telling her that I am in front of the property and to please call me back so I can show it. We wait around 10 minutes, still no call back. We decide to go to lunch and wait for her call. Lunch is over, still no call back. I try again. No luck. It's been two hours and the other agent can't be bothered. She is really doing a disservice to her client. I wonder how the bank would feel if they knew the listing agent that works for them has made the house unshowable to local agents and refuses to answer her phone or her messages. It is now Monday at 12:30 pm and she still hasn't called me back.

As Realtors we have a duty to our clients to represent them to the best of our abilities. Taking a listing in an area where you are not a board member is not a good idea. Not having the home on the local MLS, is not doing the right thing. Not answering calls so the home can be shown is not doing the right thing. Never calling back an agent who has clients interested in your listing is just plain wrong. Maybe the home has multiple offers on it, or is pending. Keeping it as " Active " and not returning calls is showing a complete lack of professional courtesy.

I just want anybody reading this to know, if you list your Big Bear home with me, I will do everything in my power to get it sold. I will have a working lock box on it right away. I will have a sign put up right away. I will put your property on numerous websites. I will answer my phone if humanly possible. If I can't answer that instant, I will call back the second I am off the other line. I guess that is the difference between a full time, professional Realtor and a weekend warrior.

Big Bear Bank Owned Bargain

2008-05-15T15:28:18Z

Originally posted at www.bigbearilluminated.com

We just listed this bank owned property located in Erwin Lake. This manufactured home is a great buy at only $145,000. It is almost 1,000 square feet and looks like it is brand new. The paint looks fresh and the carpets have been recently cleaned. It even has washer and dryer hookups. Don't let this one pass you by. It would be perfect for both a vacation cabin or full time living. Call or email me today for an appointment to take a look at this great deal.

Crazy Realtors

2008-05-11T16:20:20Z

Something funny happened over this last weekend and I thought I would share it with you. I was sitting at my desk, when I noticed a couple walking towards the door. Since I was on the up schedule, I naturally paid attention as they walked up to the receptionist. Since they were very well dressed, and had driven up in a nice car, I was hopeful they could turn out to be a good walk-in. Within moments, it became apparent how far off I really was.

The woman started explaining to our receptionist how she was a broker from another area and she was up here looking at property and was hoping she could get some help from an agent here. She said that since she was from another area, her key didn't work in our lockboxes and she wanted to see if an agent from our office could " lend " her one of theirs, so she could look at houses for the rest of the day. " Do you want an agent to show you homes and represent you?" our receptionist asked her. " No, I plan on representing myself" she answered. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This woman, who claimed to be a broker, wanted an agent to let her have their key for the day, or barring that, show her property so she could represent herself. Basically she wanted one of us to either break the rules of our board and give her, a stranger, a key so she could look at homes or show her property and work for free.

It was amazing to me that a person claiming to be a broker could be so stupid. We all know how many people waste our time and use us for our knowledge every day. Every Realtor I know has a story about someone who had them drive them around and look at property all day, only to have them turn around and have a friend/family member from another area write the property up for them. In effect, making them work all day long for nothing. Many folks have no compunctions whatsoever about squeezing us for every last drop and then leaving us high and dry. I mean, this woman, who is a broker, should know this better than anyone. Amazing.

Needless to say, we told her no. She actually left in a huff, like she couldn't believe this was actually happening to her. She was angry that nobody felt like working for free that day. My coworker's wife works at another office. He went to meet her for lunch and when he got back he saw the same woman at his wife's office. She was trying the same shenannigans over there. Guess what? They turned her down also. I wonder how many times she got told to " Get Lost "before reality set in.

Big Bear Market Update

2008-05-08T14:22:43Z

Just a quick snapshot of what is happening in the Big Bear Market.

There are 1154 residential listings on our MLS.

There are 122 residential properties in escrow.

Year to date, there have been 172 sales.

Of the 1154 listings, 47 are either bank owned or short sales.

Big Bear Bank Owned Home* UPDATE *

2008-05-03T11:17:10Z

This bank owned home was just listed by Keller Williams a little bit ago. It is located in Big Bear City in a heavily treed lot, on a quiet street. At 1,310 square feet, this home has three bedrooms and 2.5 baths. The yard is a roomy 5,000 square feet and is fenced in the back. Overall, it is in good condition with only a little work needed to transform it into a perfect vacation cabin or full time home. This home last sold for $300,000 in 2005. It was upgraded with new paint and flooring before it went into foreclosure. It is currently listed at $265,000. If you would like to get more information on this home, or any other listed on the Big Bear MLS please don't hesitate to contact me at your convenience..

Originally Posted At http://www.bigbearilluminated.com/

* This home just lowered to $209,900 today.

Unfinished Homes? Be Careful.

2008-05-01T15:10:30Z

Originally Posted At: http://www.bigbearilluminated.com/

I just wanted to relate something that happened to me last week in the hopes that it can be helpful to somebody else. With the large inventory we have at the current time, it can be difficult to sell a home. Lately, we have been seeing an increase in homes that are in an unfinished state and available for purchase. This can happen for a variety of reasons, but usually because a builder extended himself too thin and didn't have the funds to complete the project. In many cases, the homes get foreclosed on and go onto the market as unfinished bank owned properties.

When you are dealing with the bank, they don't have to follow the standard disclosure requirements because they would have no way of knowing them. Most times, the person at the bank in charge of the transaction has never even seen the place. Since the homes are sold " As Is ", the inspection and discovery period is more important then ever. As a buyer, the onus is entirely upon your shoulders.

Last week I showed a bank owned property to a client of mine who is a builder himself. It seemed like a very good buy. On our initial visit, the home looked like it was very close to completion. It was missing some cabinets and a few fixtures, but overall it was in great shape. It looked like it might need around $30,000 or less to get it into finished, salable condition. The home was listed at $315,000 and other comparable, finished homes in the same neighborhood are selling around $450,000 and up. My clients was planning on finishing it and living in it for at least two years and then selling it for a nice profit.

Knowing we have 17 days to do our inspections, we made the offer. Guess what? Somebody else thought it was a good deal and also submitted an offer. Now we were in a position to either give our best and final, or move on. Before he had to make his decision, I went to the city to get all the info on the house I could find to see if we could get a better idea of what kind of costs we were looking at. I'm glad I did. It turns out that not only was the permit expired, it had been for two years. In addition, there were pages of corrections that had never been signed off on. Many of them were inside the walls and foundation. I don't know what the builder was thinking, but we had no way of knowing if he had done the work correctly without tearing out walls and who knows what else. It turned out that the $30,000 could easily turn into $60,000 or $100,000. We passed on the offer.

I'm so glad that I took the hour to go down and do my investigation before this went through. I know we could have withdrawn within 17 days, but that would have been unfair to everybody involved. The other buyer would have missed out and had to buy something else. The listing agent would have to re-list it and redo all her advertising. Most importantly, my client would have wasted a great deal of time and so would I. I would have loved to sell my client a home. Just not this one. I'll just keep plugging away, and next time we will find exactly what we are looking for.

Big Bear Bank Owned Property. Be Realistic.

2008-04-28T12:27:57Z

Originally Posted At http://www.bigbearilluminated.com/

Bank owned properties are all the rage for buyers these days. Every other client I deal with is after the deal of a lifetime and REO's seem like the solution. In many cases they are. The banks are pricing these properties to sell and a good buy is a sure bet. However, being too greedy can throw a wrench in the works. If a bank owned home is already listed at $100,000 under value, than it is a fantastic deal. In most cases, the bank is not going to go much lower.

If you are going to offer $100,000 on a home that last sold for $400,000, the odds are not going to be in your favor. In many cases, the bank won't even bother countering such a low ball offer. It all depends on the condition of the home and how much is owed on it. If the home in question is in good shape and is priced right, it will most likely go for the listing price or within 5% of it. I ran the numbers and in Big Bear, the difference between the listing and selling price is right around 5%.In many cases, the good homes are selling for over the listing price and the buyers are still getting a great deal. If the home in question has been on the market for a year and is a falling down wreck, you may be able to steal it. It all depends on the situation.

If you see a bank owned property and think it is a great deal, you can bet somebody else is thinking the same thing. If you try to submit a ridiculous offer on a property like that, you are not going to get it. You can be sure that somebody else is going to most likely make a full price, or close to it, offer and the home will be gone. I know this from experience. I have lost out on several properties because my clients wouldn't take my advice and make a good offer. They wanted to low ball it and " see what happens ". What happened was, they lost out on a great deal.

What I am trying to get across is this, there are great deals to be had right now, but you have to be realistic. If you see a bank owned property that you really want, you need to be prepared to get serious and make a respectable offer. If it is a home you could care less if you get it or not, then feel free to go low. Just don't be disappointed when you don't get it. There are a ton of buyers out there right now who have the same idea that you do, and the competition is heating up. It is not unusual for a good property to receive several offers. If you don't start out strong, you may not even be in the race.

Beautiful Big Bear Home

2008-04-25T13:24:44Z

Originally posted at www.bigbearilluminated.com

If you are looking for all the comforts of home with none of the hassle, this home is for you. Located in The Whispering Pines mobile home park, this home is in fantastic condition. The park is very clean and well maintained with a swimming pool, spa, and sauna available for resident use. The best part, is the price. Only $199,000.

The kitchen is one the best features of this home. Corian countertops and new appliances make this a great place to prepare a gourmet meal for the whole family.

Cathedral ceilings in the living room create a bright, roomy atmosphere.

The sunny covered front porch is a great addition.

If you are interested in this home, or any other property in The Big Bear Valley, please contact me and let me put my experience and local knowledge to work for you.