I keep getting these emails asking me to register to be a gay "friendly" Realtor.  If you're a real estate professional, have you been getting them? 

At first I was thinking, yeah I'm "friendly" sign me up.  But then on second thought, are there Realtors that are not "friendly" to the gay community?  Wouldn't that be a form of discrimination?  Would it be discrimination if you only worked with the gay community?

What in the world do I care if someone is gay or if they're not?  What does that have to do with buying or selling real estate?  I'll help you buy a house with a great master bedroom but why should I care what you do with that bedroom (once it's yours that is)  Isn't it a slippery slope to start saying that I am "friendly" to a group of people or I work with that group of people.  I mean what if I was to say "I work with white buyers and sellers"  I didn't say "only" but doesn't that give the impression that either I only work with X people or that I don't work with any other group of people that are not X people? 

What is going on here?  Are these emails for real, are they serious? Seriously?

Just for the record: I will work with anyone that will work with me.  If you are a living human being, your in.  I don't work with dogs, cats, monkey's, horses, trees, worms, Lightning McQueen or Sponge Bob even though my kids would love it.  They usually can't sign the closing documents or get a loan or don't have a bank account that we can show that they have proof of funds.

I even take it a step further, I don't even care if you (as long as you're human) don't have the means to buy a house right now.  I will work with you, teach you how it works buying real estate in today's world, when you're ready, we'll take the next step.  What I usually say is, "I'll be in the real estate business until I die, so don't feel rushed, just keep in touch" "And when you have questions, call, text, email, comment on a blog, twitter me, facebook me, or message me on myspace"

Short Sale Basics

I have put together just some Short Sale basics because I have found that there are many people out there that are very unclear and are unsure about what a Short Sale really is and how they work. If you would like more information, ask me, your agent or if you are an agent you can also talk with your Broker. It is very critical that a Short Sale is done correctly as the seller only has one shot at this, there are no do-overs.

The Short Sale or Shorted Sale

A short sale or some times called a shorted sale is when the lender agrees to accept a discounted payoff when a property is sold because the owner owes more then what the home is worth in the current market. The short sale is dependent on two major things. One, a buyer making an offer to purchase and two, your lender accepting a buyer's offer that is less or short of what you owe. If the lender cannot or will not accept the offer, the short sale will not take place.

Short Sale vs. Foreclosure

There are many ways to lose a home and none of them will put a smile on your face. The signing away of ownership in a manner that destroys credit, embarrasses the family and strips an owner of dignity such as with a foreclosure, is always hard on the whole family and is in many cases unnecessary. For owners who can no longer afford to keep mortgage payments current and can't sell the home for what they owe to the bank, there are alternatives to foreclosure, like the short sale. Sometimes, to avoid going through the costs of foreclosure, a lender will agree to a short sale and takes less for the home than the mortgage balance while the home is in this pre-foreclosure stage.

Short Sale Consequences for Sellers

This is not a get out of your mortgage free card there are consequences. A short sale will show up on your credit report as a pre-foreclosure that has been redeemed, if in fact your bank has already issued a foreclosure notice. In this case there will be damage to your credit report, however, it is significantly less then a full foreclosure and you should be able to obtain another mortgage with a reasonable interest rate in approximately half the time as with that full foreclosure. And there is good news, President George W. Bush signed legislation into law on Thursday 12-20-07 that will ease the tax burden for home owners who have had debt forgiven on a mortgage due to a foreclosure, short sale, or deed in lieu of foreclosure. The tax code used to require a lender who forgives debt to provide a Form 1099 to the IRS stating the amount the borrower had been forgiven. If the property was sold at foreclosure or was sold for less than what was borrowed, that difference was considered income and subjected to income tax. But now as long as the property is your primary residence you should not be subjected to the Form 1099 income taxes. 

 Do You Qualify for a Short Sale

and

What to Do as a Seller

If you are thinking that a short sale is an option that you would consider or if you feel that a short sale is the only way for you escape a full foreclosure and want to find out how to engage this process then here are some ways to know if could qualify for a Short Sale.  With a Short Sale, time is not on your side.  Below is a basic guide to the Short Sale process and a list of what to do and what you can expect.

1. Answer the following questions:

a. Has the real estate market values dropped in your area?

b. Is your mortgage in default (not current on your monthly payments)?

c. Has your family and/or you fallen on hard times (i.e. unemployment, divorce, medical issues, bankruptcy or death in the family)?

d. Is it impossible for your assets to pay the difference between market value and mortgage balance?

2. Find a good, honest and hard working Realtor with a team of professionals that can help you through the short sale process. If you have answered yes to all four questions you may qualify for a Short Sale. Your Realtor should put you in contact with the financial professional on their team to discuss lender Short Sale qualifications and precautions. If you have answered no to any of the four questions then talk with your Realtor and ask for further assistance on selling your home.

3. When or shortly before the lender has agreed to look at a Short Sale Purchase Agreement, your home will be listed with the Realtor of your choice with notification in all advertisement that the home sale is subject to the lender's approval of the Short Sale.

4. The home is marketed at a price lower then the mortgage balance and priced at fair market value, determined by a real estate professional. Then a buyer makes an offer on your home.

5. If this offer, that can by countered and/or rejected by the home owner, is accepted by the home owner then it is taken to the lender by the Realtor and his team of professionals for intense and sometime lengthy negotiations that will hopefully end in an approval.

6. If the short sale is approved by the lender then the transaction closes when the buyer delivers the funds, the lender releases the lien and the seller delivers the deed just like a normal sale. The transaction is complete with you having fought back against the hardships you are facing and won a little bit back for yourself.

I feel that as a Realtor I have a duty to keep everyone informed about the world of real estate.  I find that the more I teach my clients the better they are at making decisions on what to do and what not to do. 

I talked with a friend of mine and he was saying that he would like to move to a different home because his family was growing.  As he was saying this, and without even taking a breath he said but the market is terrible.  This of course sent me into a 20 minutes speech and when I was done he listed the home.  We sold it fast and he made about $30,000 in equity on his new home. 

I ran into a lady at the gas station who was telling me she was having a hard time getting a mortgage last year so she is stuck renting a place where the landlord never fixes anything and she has to put her own money into the home just to keep her family alive.  I talked with her for a while that day and we now, a few months later, have a purchase agreement in on a home in which she calls "the home I have always dreamed of"

A former employer of mine started asking me questions, stuff about how the market was doing and if anything was selling.  Turns out he had his home for sale in Berkley MI for a very long time (over a year I think) and it wasn't selling.  He asked if I work that far away.  Being a Mobile Office Realtor I said absolutely and we listed it.  4 months later it sold for asking price and he purchased a home in Sterling Heights for about $100-120,000 below regular market value.  When the market comes back up, and it will, he is going to be sitting on a lot of equity just for moving into a newer, larger home that doesn't have have any of the older home problems of repair and maintenance.

On a listing appointment an owner almost through me out the door when I showed her what the market was saying about how much she could sell her home for until she said "thats less then what we owe and we are already missing payment and you want us to sell it for that, we can't pay to sell this."  We listed it that day and sold it.

A few months ago I received an email about a house I had an ad for on the Internet.  After finding out more about the home they decided it wasn't right for them.  We got to talking/typing and turns out they are selling their home by owner but have not had any interest in the property.  They are not ready to list the home with a Realtor and want to try for a while by themselves.  Which is very understandable, I would be doing the same thing if I didn't know what I know about why homes sell and why they don't.  But I gave them some advice and they are now getting several calls a week and have had a few showings, as of a week ago when I was checking up on them.  I have also helped them prepare for the purchase agreement to make sure everything is legal and when they close the deal the title company wont kick them out of the office and delay or kill the deal.

In this "different" market, as I tend to call it, we as home owners need to get very informed.  We need answers to what should we do and what should we not do, in order that we don't find ourselves in foreclosure, debt, or find that in 5-10 years that we should have done this or should have done that back 2008.  Retrospect is great for learning from but can often make us regret the decisions we made or the ones we didn't make based on something we could have found out if we would have asked.

My clients buy and sell in the Lapeer County, Oakland County and Genesee County areas.  I list vacant land, residential properties and commercial real estate.  I can help you buy or sell short sales, great deals, distressed homes, foreclosures, investment property, vacation homes, first time homes, longer term residences and can help you flip homes - yes even in this market.

I have contacts with contractors, inspectors, septic and well inspection and repair, appraisers, mortgage officers, private investigators, mold clean up, landscapers, tree removers, carpet cleaners, video and alarm security, investors, lawyers, employment locater, home stagers, dog breeders and trainers...just to name a few.  So anything you ever want for your home or business, just ask and I most likely know someone.  

So again if you have any kind of question please let me know.  The answer could help you sleep better, keep you from foreclosure, point you in the right direction and or make you rich and money safe.  Could even get you that early retirement or pay off debt.  If you don't ask you will not know.  So let me know what you need or need to know and I will get you an answer.  Thank you in advance and talk with you soon.

I received a call today from a satisfied client about a friend of his.  First to give you some history, this client was a for sale by owner that I bugged to death until he finally listed his vacant land with me.  Even in this Michigan market I was able to get him a quick sale and for a good price.  But I think our friendship was created when the deal was falling apart, I was able to go above and behind and got it done.  Isn't there a saying, something about friendships are forged on the battlefield?  Well it's true and every Realtor that has had deals like this should be able to relate. 

This client volunteers alot with a group of guys in wheel chairs, taking them hunting/fishing and such.  Well one of his friends in this group has been contacted by Extreme Home Make Over.  Yes the ABC show with Ty running around with his megaphone.  Well this friend's story is pretty dramatic, obviously since the show is getting involved.  Here are some links that will tell his story better then I could.

Detroit News  You Tube  Flint Journal

The "Maker Overee" does not have a home, which makes it really difficult for the show to come in, demo the house and build a new one.  The show's Michigan coordinator is really pulling for this family to get on the show and is working it out that if he can somehow get a donated junker/shack/mold infested house or vacant land, something, anything; that they would nominate him for the show.

What I am looking for here is if you have any ideas for me to help this family that would be great.  Any of you in Michigan that could lend a hand that would also be wonderful.  If you know someone that could help out with this situation you can give me a call on my cell, my office hours are 7am-10pm EST, leave a message if you have to and I'll get right back with you.  Emails work too... JeffDavisRealtor@Gmail.com