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3BR/2BA home with formal living room, dining room, den with 2 fireplaces and a bonus room. This home is approximately 46 years old. It has a large fenced in back yard, large bedrooms, newer roof and plenty of storage. It is priced at $129,000.
The location is convenient to Publix, Kroger, K-Mart, Rite-Aid Drug Store, and several restaurants. 2,000 sq. ft. and in great conodition.
It has a nice kitchen with lots of cabinets, built in desk, new appliances, and it's open to the dining room.
This is my favorite room. A family room with two fireplaces! It looks like one can be used for cooking and the other for heat. Lots of windows and one brick wall.
To see this home call Jerri at 706-296-4395 or jerri@movingtoathens.com
This is a part of an article just out today on requirements for banks to speed up the short sale process. When buyers are made to wait 2 or 3 months to find out if their offer will be accepted, it makes it difficult to hold out for the final approval. It looks like help is on the way...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury on Monday set long-awaited guidance on a plan for mortgage companies to speed "short sales" of homes and other loan modification alternatives to stem a rising tide of foreclosures.
The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program provides financial incentives and simplifies the procedures for completing short sales, a growing practice in which a lender agrees to accept the sale price of a home to pay off a mortgage even if the price falls short of the amount owed, according to an announcement on the Treasury's website.
Guidelines address barriers that have often sidelined short sales by setting limits on the time it takes a bank to approve an offer, freeing borrowers from debt and capping claims of subordinate lenders.
The incentives, first announced in May, expand on the government's Home Affordable Modification Program, known as HAMP, that has seen limited success in lowering payments for distressed homeowners. The Treasury earlier on Monday stepped up pressure on mortgage companies to make permanent the 650,000 trial modifications they have started.
"While HAMP program guidelines are intended to reach a broad range of at-risk borrowers, it is expected that servicers will encounter situations where they are unable to approve" or offer a modification, the Treasury said in its announcement.
Short sales are favored by real estate agents and community groups over foreclosure because they can preserve the borrower's credit rating and leave the property in better condition than when a homeowner is evicted. While primary lenders typically realize steep losses, their recovery is typically far better than under foreclosure.
But short sales have been frustrating for borrowers and real estate agents, often hung up by negotiations with multiple lien holders and mortgage insurance companies. Real estate agents have complained that sales fall through as lenders bicker over the sales price, what they should receive from the proceeds, and whether the borrower will be held accountable for the debt in the future.
Among requirements, mortgage servicers have 10 days to approve or disapprove a request for short sale, and when done the transaction must fully release the borrower from the debt.
It also prohibits mortgage servicing companies from reducing real estate commissions on the sale, a practice that has dissuaded many agents from taking short sale listings.
In one of the most contentious issues gumming up negotiations between lenders, the guidance caps the aggregate proceeds to subordinate lien holders at $3,000.
Second lien holders in recent months have begun demanding more money from the first lender, seller, buyer or agent in exchange for releasing their claim, agents have said. Because primary lenders would face larger losses in a foreclosure, some subordinate lenders have felt empowered, the agents said.
The largest second-lien holders are Bank of America Corp, Wells Fargo & Co, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup Inc.
Second lien holders may proceed with a short sale outside of the Treasury program, if they felt the cap was too low, a Treasury official said in October.
"If there was a short sale program that didn't recognize the second lien holder position, it could have pretty damaging consequences for the industry," Sanjiv Das, chief executive officer of CitiMortgage, said in an interview last week.
We have several short sale properties available. To buy a short sale, a buyer must be pre-qualified for the loan and be in a position to wait a couple of months (hopefully it will be faster) to get final approval from the sellers lender. Since the bank will be taking a loss on the property, they make sure it is in their best interest to accept a short sale offer. They will order an appraisal (or BPO - broker price opinion) to verify the value of the home. Then, the request goes to several different levels for verification before being submitted to the investor for the final approval. If you have questions about any of these houses or about short sales in general, call me... 706-296-4395. To view other listings in the area, click here. For more information about the Athens area, click here.
Here are some of our short sale listings:
Auburn, 4BR/3BA plus office and game room. Great split foyer plan. Pergo flooring on main level, open floor plan with large great room, deck off breakfast area. Separate formal dining room. Great house -only 3 years old. Priced at $135,000!
High Ridge subidivision - 3 BR/2BA home with large eat-in kitchen, formal dining room, great room with fireplace, fenced back yard and a partial unfinished basement. Priced well below other homes in neighborhood at $184,000!
Oconee County 3BR/2BA home with huge sunroom, great room with fireplace, formal dining room. Off Hwy. 53 near Herman C. Michael Park. Great house at a great price $133,900!
High Ridge Subdivision homes typically sell for much more than this. Final approval must come from the lender, but this is a great deal!
3 bedrooms, 2-1/2 bath, large family room with fireplace, large kitchen with breakfast room, formal dining room, formal living room, hardwood floors, fence back yard and a partial unfinished basement. 2664 sq. ft. All this in a great neighborhood for $184,000!
Call Jerri at 706-296-4395 to see thos home, or click here for more photos and information.
According to the Athens MLS, our sales are down 21% - 517 less homes sold this year than last year for the same period (through November 15). The prices are down almost 32% which confirms what we've been seeing... more demand for the lower priced homes. And, the good news for buyers is that there are plenty of sellers that need to sell their homes. We have all time low interest rates, the $8,000 first time buyer credit and a great inventory of homes... it's the perfect time to buy your first home.
 I have been working with Bank of America to negotiate short sales on several properties. In the past, I have gotten frustrated by the fact that I couldn't get an answer when I knew I had submitted everything they needed and worked hard to get the best offer possible.
They have taken 3-4 months to approve a short sale and in the meantime, I have lost many buyers that submitted offers thinking they would be able to close in 30-45 days. I guess the lack of communication has been the hardest thing in working with Bank of America.
However, this week has been different. I received approvals on 2 offers I submitted. both buyers had terminated their offers. I had backup offers on both properties but for less than the accepted offer. I had read on various forums that it would be at least 30 days to get the substitute offer approved. I submitted both and got approval on one of them in 2 days! Yes! I know Bank of America has been completely overloaded with this work but am very hopeful that they are starting a new trend now!
Short sales can be a great option for anyone who is facing foreclosure. It's also a good deal for a buyer that can take a little time to close. And, the banks typically net more than if they put the home in foreclosure. Everybody wins!
Thanks Bank of America!
NAR Frequently Asked Questions
Homebuyer Tax Credit Changes
National Association of REALTORS® Government Affairs Division
500 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington DC, 20001
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions on the changes to the Homebuyer Tax Credit
Question: Existing homeowner credit: Must the new house cost more than the old house?
Answer: No. Thus, for example, individuals who move from a high cost area to a lower cost area who
meet all eligibility requirements will qualify for the $6500 credit.
Question: I am an existing homeowner. On October 25, 2009, I signed a contract to purchase a
new home. I have lived in my current home for more than 5 consecutive years and
am within the new income limits. I will go to settlement on November 20. If
President Obama has signed the bill by the time I go to settlement, will I qualify for
the new $6500 tax credit?
Answer: Yes. The existing homeowner credit goes into effect for purchases after the date of enactment
(when the bill is signed). There is no reference to the date of contract for the new credit. The
provision looks solely to the date of purchase, which is generally the date of settlement.
Question: I am a firsttime
homebuyer but was not within the prior income limits at the time I
entered into my contract to purchase on October 30, 2009. I will be covered,
however, by the new income limits. If the new rules have been signed into law by the
time I go to settlement, will I be eligible for a credit?
Answer: Yes. The new income limitations go into effect as soon as the President has signed the bill.
The income limit and other eligibility rules will look to your status as of the date of purchase,
which is the settlement date. So if the new rules have been signed when you go to settlement,
you should be eligible for the credit (or a portion of the credit if you're within the phaseout
range).
Question: I am an eligible existing homeowner. I have a fair amount of equity in my home. I
have found a home with a nonnegotiable
price of $825,000. Will I be able to use any
of the $6500 tax credit?
Answer: No. The $800,000 cap on the cost of the purchased home is firm at $800,000. Any amount
above $800,000 makes the home ineligible for any portion of the credit. The $800,000 is an
absolute ceiling.
Question: I owned my home for 10 years, but sold it two years ago year and have been renting
since. If I purchase a home, will I be eligible for the $6500 tax credit if I meet all the
other eligibility tests?
Answer: Yes. Because you lived in the home for more than 5 consecutive years of the previous 8, you
will qualify for the $6500 credit. For example, Say John and his wife bought a home in 2000
and lived there until 2008 when he got a divorce. Whether John has been renting or bought in
the interim, he WOULD INDEED be eligible for the credit because he owned a home and
occupied it as his principal residence for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 years. The
keyword here is "consecutive." As long as he lived in that house for 5 years straight what he
did since 3 years doesn't impact eligibility.
Question: I am an eligible firsttime
homebuyer. I entered into a contract to purchase on
November 1, 2009. Do I have to go to closing before December 1? How does the
extension date affect me?
Answer: You do not have to close before December 1. Once the legislation has been signed, it will be as
if the Nov 30 date had never existed. Therefore, so long as the contract settles before April 30
(or July 1, worst case), the purchaser will be eligible for the credit.
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Paul & Jerri Stracener
Athens,
GA
More about me…
RE/MAX Associates Athens
Address: 1055 Baxter Street, Athens, GA, 30606
Office Phone: (706) 353-1131 x 214
Cell Phone: (706) 296-4395
Email Me
To check out Athens homes for sale, go to Http://www.usamls.net/movingtoathens/
You will be able to search by area, price range, number of bedrooms, etc.
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