Joan's South Florida Real Estate Blog

Why Do I Need A Realtor

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 11:38:13 -0700

WHY DO I NEED A REALTOR?

Whether you are a seller or buyer of real estate in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach or Lake Worth, Florida an experienced Realtor will get you safely off the ground, and look out for you all along the path as they guide you to your destination.

The analogy below that is of a Realtor being compared to an airline pilot is one that rings true more than ever as we are experiencing unprecented turbulance in the Palm Beach County, Florida real estate market.

Via David Welch (Remax 200 Realty):

Real estate is not rocket science, in fact in some respects selling real estate is simple. There is however a big difference between simple and easy. Someone once told me many years ago that bull riding is simple. You keep the bull between you and the ground. It is simple, but it is not easy. Ultimately, a good Realtor's® greatest value comes from being able to guide you safely through the sale or purchase process. The average home owner may only purchase and sell three or four houses in a lifetime. In the 13 years I have been in real estate, I have personally sold around 300 homes representing buyers and sellers. Every sale has held valuable lessons that I use to help guide my home owners and home buyers.

David Gallup, a very well respected Realtor® at Remax 200 Realty compares our job to that of an airline pilot. Our job is to get you where you want to be safely. It is not always a smooth flight, but an experienced pilot knows how to chart a safe course and when to turn on the fasten safety belts sign. Today's real estate market has a lot of turbulence, whether you are selling or buying. For homeowners who need to sell, your Realtor® can help you understand values in your area, and can offer marketing suggestions to make your home stand out in a crowded market. We are still in a very strong buyers market in many segments, but that does not mean there are not pitfalls. A good Realtor® can help home buyers and investors get the most for their money.

You would never think to try and pilot the jet on your next trip, because there is too much at risk if you make a mistake. The pilot has logged hundreds or even thousands of hours in the cockpit and probably made the same trip many times before. Selling or buying, you should have a Realtor® that you have confidence in representing you and your interests. There is too much at risk, not to.

David Welch Real Estate Optimist, Orlando Real Estate

David W. Welch, MBA
REALTOR
Remax 200 Realty
www.DavidWelch.com
www.RealEstateOptimist.com
@RealtyOptimist

5 Reasons Why You Should NOT Try to Sell Your Home By Yourself

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 09:22:48 -0700

Are you thinking of selling your home or condo in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach & Lake Worth, Florida? Or, anywhere else for that matter.

I'm reblogging this post from an Active Rain colleague of mine because it contains important information that one should consider and make note of.

Via Erica Ramus - Realty Executives / Pottsville PA Real Estate:

Are you thinking of selling your Schuylkill County Home FSBO -- by yourself?

Marketing a home in 2010 is NOT the same as marketing it 10 years ago. Even if you did this before, you have to do so much more than plant a sign on the yard and place a classified ad.

5. Advertising is more complicated. When is the last time you read the newspaper or searched the classifieds. Years ago you'd buy the paper to see what homes were for sale or rent. A single classified ad run several times a week might get you enough calls to sell the house. Now it's so much more complicated! Most agents and brokers don't advertise anymore in newspapers because THEY DON'T WORK and also because they are very expensive considering the lack of results.

4. Are you internet savvy? What does work is the internet. Buyer start their searches online now, months before they are ready to buy. A real estate broker will put your property on the MLS to advertise to all agents, plus many other internet sites. In our office, we put your property on 3 MLS systems covering all of Schuylkill, Lebanon/Lancaster MLS, and TREND MLS which stretches into Reading and Philadelphia. We then use Postlets and ListHub to feed out into over 38 sites via RSS feed. So you're on Trulia, Zillow, Craigslist, Homes.com, and so many more sites. Can you do that?

3. Are you ready to pre-qualify buyers who call on the phone? Before you let someone cross the threshhold, are you ready to ask them personal questions about their finances, or are you going to just open the door? How do you know a buyer really has the ability to buy? Because he says so? Really? Not in today's market. And once you agree to show your home to someone, you need to make yourself available to all buyers, at their request, when they want to see the home on their own time, not yours. Is it an inconvenient time? Sorry. Make yourself available for them.

2. What about all the paperwork? If you do go FSBO, call a lawyer. You will need someone to write up the contracts and get you to settlement. You should not just go online or to Staples to find generic documents. This is complicated and dangerous to try to do on your own. You need an attorney to help you once you find a buyer. The work is not finished. It is just starting, unfortunately. You have contracts, then inspections, the appraisal, and financing details to make it thru now.

1. Can you negotiate like a pro? Seriously. If a buyer walks in and asks "Can you go lower" or "Why are you selling" or "What is your bottom line?" How will you answer? This is not a business deal cut and dry. This is your house. Will you waffle a bit and tell them there is room to negotiate? Will you tell them that you need to be moved in 30 days because you got a new job? Will you hurt your negotiating power by giving away too many details about why you are moving and/or how much you will really take? Having an agent in the middle can take a step away from this, giving a bit of distance to you in negotiating. Perhaps if you do not want to pay an agent, you should hire that lawyer to negotiate for you. Don't try this yourself if you even think you're going to tell buyers too much personal information or cave when they say your home is overpriced or they can only afford X.

Real estate agents -- good ones -- will put YOUR Interests above theirs. They will negotiate fiercely to get you the highest and best price for your house. They will take care of all the little details you otherwise have to handle on your own. The best agents are worth every penny you will pay, in getting you a higher price for your home with less hassles.

Are you thinking of selling your Schuylkill County Home FSBO -- by yourself? Think again, please.

If you're going FSBO because you think you cannot afford one, it may just be that you cannot afford NOT to have an agent. Not all firms charge the same fees. All fees are negotiable. Interview a few agents and ask each one to explain what they do for their fees, and how their fees are structured. You just might be pleasantly surprised by what you find.

Flickr image courtesy MiK

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Erica Ramus is Broker/Owner of Realty Executives in Pottsville, PA.

If you're looking for a PROFESSIONAL to represent you in all of your Schuylkill County real estate needs, call Realty Executives at 570-622-6006. Serving all of Schuylkill County ... Pottsville, Orwigsburg, Schuylkill Haven, Auburn, Pine Grove, Frackville, Minersville, Ashland, Shenandoah, Port Carbon, Palo Alto, St. Clair, Barnesville real estate. Click on the link above to search Pottsville PA homes for sale or any Schuylkill County homes for sale. We have all properties listed for sale in the Schuylkill MLS on our website -- free search!

Schuylkill Appraisal Services, for all your appraisal needs: Schuylkill County appraiser.

A caution to REO purchasers. The addenda always control the agreement.

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:50:55 -0700

I hear from people from all over the country looking to buy REO properties in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach and within all of Palm Beach County,Flroida. I explain the process to them and most (even those that call themselves "experienced investors" are unaware of the addenda that will become part of the contract. Yes, it is the addenda that controls the agreement. Always!

Via Richard Weisser Coweta Fayette Real Estate:

The scenario is played over and over across the land as bargain-seeking homebuyers attempt to purchase a foreclosed property. A real estate agent constructs an offer for the home, and the offer is “acknowledged!”

But first there are a “few” addenda that must be signed before the deal is done. And while it may be true that the seller will only convey the property under their terms, buyers need to understand the absolute fact that the addenda CONTROL the agreement.

And these addenda are so comprehensive that in most cases, they override almost all of the language in the original offer. It is not uncommon for the addenda to be many pages longer than the original Purchase and Sale Agreement.

The signing of these instruments, while obligatory, is not perfunctory. A buyer needs to carefully read the addenda and understand them before moving forward with the purchase.

Because although the terms set forth in the addenda may be considered to be very seller-friendly, the purchase can still be a bargain for the savvy buyer.

And that can make all of the trade-offs pay off in a big way!

All content, including text, original art, photographs and images, is the exclusive property of Coweta Fayette Real Estate, Inc., and may not be used without the expressed written permission of Coweta Fayette Real Estate Better Homes and Gardens Metro Brokers, Newnan Georgia. All information is believed to be accurate but is not warranted, Copyright 2003-2009. Richard Weisser REOS, E-Pro. licensed Auctioneer. 770-827-6225.
Learn more about Coweta County and Fayette County Georgia Real Estate, and to search the entire Georgia MLS for free with no registration required visit CowetaFayetteRealEstate.com! Photos of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Get the latest GA Foreclosure List Updated Daily! We Do HUD bids in Georgia! 770-827-6225

Can I Buy a Home Immediately After a Short Sale?

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 12:18:54 -0700

CAN I BUY A HOME IMMEDIATELY AFTER A SHORT SALE?

This is one of the first questions asked by homeowners who consult with me about the possibility of short selling their property in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach and within all towns in Palm Beach County, Florida.

What follows are the current guidelines and qualifiication on when a homeowner who has gone through the short sale process can, once again, purchase a home. I underlined current guidelines because these guidelines are subject to change and circumstance.

If you are a distressed homeowner in Boca Raton, Delray Beach or Boynton Beach, Florida who is thinking of short selling their home please feel free to contact me for a current update on the process, procedures and potential ramifications of a short sale.

Via Markita Aldridge-Woods: "Your Woodbridge FHA/VA Lender" (WestStar Mortgage):

Can I buy a home immediately after a short sale? The answer is yes.

The other day I received a call with this exact question from a Woodbridge, VA short seller. I answered, "Yes you can with FHA, if you meet the following qualifications":

Home short sold cannot be a FHA loan

Must have been current on mortgage at time of sale

Sold home must not require deficiency payment for the difference

620 minimum credit score

3.5% down payment

Short sale caused by extenuating circumstances and not just a person trying to take advantage of the market (by selling short and buying same type home at half the price)

The last requirement of extenuating circumstances is where it gets cloudy. An extenuating circumstance, according to FHA is one of the following:

Job loss or loss of income

Sickness or illness of the borrower

Death of a wage earner

Circumstances beyond your control

If you don't meet the above criteria; here are the time frames you have to wait before purchasing again:

-Fannie Mae Conventional 2 years with 20 percent down payment
-FHA- 3 years from time of sell

As we continue to be in this market of short sales and foreclosures look for more lending guidance to come with hopefully shorter time frames. Buyers should not be punished or kept out of the market for situations beyond their control.

Need an FHA loan in Woodbridge, Va, have a question, or did the post tickle your curiosity... now feel comfortable giving me a call (703-497-3936), or shoot me an email (I have Blackberry).

Markita Aldridge-Woods of WestStar Mortgage, Inc. Contact me via email or call me direct at 703-497-3936 for answers to your questions about mortgage financing. Or get pre-approved today to purchase your home.

I service Woodbridge, Lake Ridge, Dale City, Fairfax, Stafford, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Manassas Park, Quantico, Ft. Belvoir, and the Virginia surrounding areas.

We offer FHA, VA, VHDA,USDA, and Conventional financing.

(WestStar Mortgage Inc. is licensed by the Virginia State Corporation Commission and License No. MC-1875)

Disposal of Hazardous Waste in our Homes

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 12:48:23 -0700

DISPOSAL OF HAZARDOUS WASTE IN BOCA RATON, DELRAY BEACH, & BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA

In light of the reprehensible Gulf oil spill and its ramifications on our environment -- unfortunately both now and in the future -- I thought it timely to remind residents of Palm Beach County, Florida that we should act responsibly in disposing of the hazardous waste in our homes and condos.

In viewing the Palm Beach County, Florida Solid Waste Authority's website one can not only see the drop off locations (one is right here in Delray Beach) for the hazardous waste that lurks in our homes but also what constitutes hazardous waste. Sure, we all probably know that gasoline, engine oil, household & pool chemicals, nicad batteries, etc. constitute hazardous waste. But, to be honest, I wasn't fully aware that fluorescent light bulbs, although energy efficient, contain mercury and that they should not be incinerated.

If you live in a single family home in Boca Raton, Delray Beach or Boynton Beach, or any where within Palm Beach County, Florida, I know you are aware that they, along with many other items, will not be picked up at curbside. But, I wonder if those of us who live in condos and townhomes -- with dumpsters --are aware of how to properly dispose of all the hazardous waste that we have lurking in our homes. It also leaves me wondering what did the handyman do with the three bulbs he replaced for me just last week. ??? Come to think it . . . did the air conditioner contractor responsibly dispose of my old thermostat when it was replaced with a new one last week?

Here's to a cleaner and greener Palm Beach County, Florida and let's all do our part to make it so.

Cheers!!!

Via Cathy Dick - Final Touch Designs, Inc. in Roanoke VA (Final Touch Designs, Inc.):

Did you ever have that client who has saved almost every item they ever purchased? We all have experienced this in some form or another. I had a client whose parents passed away, so they became responsible for getting the house in shape to get on the market to sell quickly. As you can probably guess, the parents lived in the same home for over 50 years! Aside from going through each and every item in the home and having members of the family taking what they want, they came across a lot of chemical products in the garage and had no idea how to go about getting rid of them. They did talk with a guy who said he'd come in for a price and "clean the whole thing out". But when I approached my client with some questions about HOW this guy would clean things out, she didn't have any answers. This presented a very large red flag in my mind, hence the need to write this blog.

With so many household cleaners, degreasers, and pesticides out there for us to buy and use around the home, we have to take into account many things when we talk about "getting rid of them" quickly. Some household cleaners can be used up in order to rid the bottles of the contents, which is better than pouring them down the drain! But others hazardous waste products are not as simple. Leftover painting supplies, automobile products, outdoor lawn & garden supplies, and indoor/outdoor pesticides are some of the more serious items that require smart thinking and investigation before they are disposed of. They need to be disposed of properly and carefully according to state and federal regulations. Here are a few tips to follow when you come across clients who need to rid their homes of potentially dangerous chemicals.

In the Roanoke area we have the "Roanoke Valley Resource Authority". The Authority owns the Tinker Creek Transfer Station, the Smith Gap Landfill, and the Waste Line Express train. Every locality should provide its residents with information about the disposal of waste products online.

First, provide your client with solid information about the disposal of household chemicals in your area. Don't just assume your client will jump on the internet highway to get the information. Please have available hard copy literature that they can read and check off if necessary.

You will find that most junk removal and moving companies will NOT handle the disposal of chemical waste products. That is why it's so important to physically hand clients the information! In the Roanoke area you can visit www.final-touchdesigns.com. Click the Other tab, then Resources, for a PDF to print and hand out to clients, or call the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority (540-857-5071).

If you or your client does know of someone who handles the disposal of household chemicals, use this article as a foundation for asking questions. Ask the person specific questions as to where, when, and how they will dispose of the items. If they can't answer the questions, then they should not be hired to remove anything hazardous from the home!

Don't leave it up to the homeowner to guess what they need to do. If disposed of incorrectly, these hazardous chemicals can leach into our soil and water systems and cause serious health problems for the members of your community. If you don't provide the correct information, who will?

Certain areas will only accept certain items on a daily basis and only within their hours of operation. Other hazardous items may require pre-registration or authorization before items can be brought in to be disposed of.

There may be maximum quantities allowed per visit. This may mean many trips to the site and thought about how the items will be stored until they can be taken in. If someone is hired to collect the items from the home, a question about adequate temperature controlled storage may be in order.

When dealing with older homes, you will likely be dealing with many old containers of numerous products and substances. Always encourage safety precautions when handling these things. Wearing long pants, long-sleeved shirts, closed shoes, gloves, and safety glasses is always a smart way to work on these projects. You never know when a corroded container is going to spring a leak once picked up or moved!

One definition of sustainability: "A sustainable way of life is one in which human needs are met without diminishing the ability of other people, wild species, or future generations to survive." I hope this information will be shared amongst Real Estate professionals and Home Stagers. As a green company, we are always looking for ways to preserve our planet and continue to enjoy what we have. It is everyone's responsibility to insure that our planet has the capacity to endure. It is everyone's responsibility to help others learn how this can be done.

At Final Touch Designs, we do everything from assisting home sellers in preparing their homes beautifully in order to facilitate a faster, more profitable sale, to assisting home buyers in adding their own character and personality to their spaces, and assisting anyone who wants to become and stay more organized in their home or place of business. We offer many other great services as well. Please visit us at www.final-touchdesigns.com for more information, tips, and ideas to turn your ordinary house into an extraordinary home!

Cathy Dick

www.final-touchdesigns.com

Roanoke, VA

Bank of America Exec Starves to Death at REALTOR(R) Banquet

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 10:29:50 -0700

This is very funny but I do hope the guy from BofA is okay.

Via Laraine Shape (Florida Real Estate Broker):

Melbourne, FL – Morton Massengill, Bank of America’s Chief of Loss Mitigation Relations, was rushed to Melbourne Memorial Hospital today after collapsing at a local Board of REALTORS(R) Installation Banquet.

Massengill, invited to the affair by outgoing President, Zola Klepp, spoke to attendees at length about Bank of America’s new EQUATOR (formerly Reotrans) short sale processing system. Attendees were skeptical, but hopeful that the new system would help to eliminate approval delays that have plagued the real estate industry for over 3 years.

Table decorations were miniature beach cottages surrounded by fragrant frangipani blooms.

The bank executive apparently collapsed during a heated ‘round table’ discussion following meal service and officer installation.

Ms. Klepp explained that catering staff started serving meals to attendees long before Massingill was finished speaking, rather than waiting untill the keynote speaker was seated, as instructed. She went on to say “he apparently never got his meal.” Klepp assured reporters that the catering company would be stricken from the board's list of approved vendors.

The President of the catering company, Chef LeGay, denies any responsibility in the matter and told reporters “I find it unthinkable that anyone could starve to death in the midst of 250 pounds of filet mignon, hundreds of lobster tails, buckets of Ceasar salad and enough creme brulee to feed an army!” He went on to say “honey, something is fishy around here and it isn’t my lobster tails.”

Witnesses at the affair claim Mr. Massengill repeatedly asked about his meal after being seated, but seemed to get the “run around” in spite of advising wait staff he was “starving to death” and hadn’t eaten since 6:00 am. Instead of food, he was reportedly served with a number of probing questions.

“Are you sure you sent your order to the right department?”

“Did you log into the menu system at http://www.eatwaiter.com properly? (it's case sensitive)

“Did you remember to click “initiate” meal after entering your table number?”

“Did you order the steak or the lobster?”

“Do you remember the name of your waitress?”

“Did you call 866-677-2516 to register your meal order?”

“Did you include all of your contact info?”

“Did you remember to initiate “other” in case a menu item was no longer available?”

“Was your 3rd party authorization menu form filled out properly?”

“Were you aware that if an order gets rejected three times in 7 days, the process starts over?

Mr. Massengill is expected to be released from the hospital Tuesday and fully recover after being treated for low blood sugar, slight dehydration and stress, according to officials at Melbourne Memorial.

A spokesperson for Bank of America refused comment and suggested reporters log on to the EQUATOR system for further updates.

Google on High Alert : New Strategy Changes the Rules!

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Mon, 10 May 2010 10:24:23 -0700

Via Stefan Swanepoel (Author, Speaker & Trends Guru):

Could a Social Media Web site be a threat to the dominance of the Google Search Engine?

Facebook has introduced a new revolutionary shift in the evolution of the Internet with its announcement last week at the f8 developer conference of their soon-to-be-ubiquitous “Open Graph” initiative - a new form of “social links.”

The launch of this new platform allows Web sites to drive traffic from Facebook by including a "Like" or “Recommended” button on their pages. Facebook's Open Graph allows readers to like a topic or article, thereby sharing it with their Facebook friends and in some cases, creating a permanent link in their profile.

Will Like Replace Links?

It seems that the “Like” button could potentially become more popular than “Links” largely because the information shared is related to a specific user and carries with that their recommendation. According to Zuckerberg billions of "Like" buttons will shortly be scattered all over the web.

It is estimated that more than 50,000 Web sites have installed the new social plug-ins within the first week of the announcement. One of those companies, ABCNews.com, reported a 250% jump in Facebook referral traffic since adding the plug-in only a week ago. So overall the “Like” button seems to be great for creators of good content such as authors, publishers, top brands, etc. Good content can now be tagged, shared and indexed and the creators benefit from potentially a huge viral distribution.

Keeping them Honest

• The obvious concern is of course that Facebook becomes the gatekeeper of millions of people’s preferences…lots of very valuable information in the hands of one company. This is even a larger concern as Wired magazine reported that Zuckerberg stated he doesn't care about the privacy of Facebook users.

• Facebook has also made a very strategic move to become a very dominant “traffic cop” that directs and shapes a significant chunk of all web traffic.

• Google must be very concerned as this undermines their algorithm that uses links between sites to determine the order of their search results. If “Likes” becomes more popular than “Links” we could have a challenge for the leader board.

• Staying in the race Microsoft this week announced “Messenger Connect.” Their version of “Your Internet ID’” they claim with be all your social profiles rolled into one. Never count Gates and company out.

For now Facebook has clearly strengthened their position as the #1 social media network. As a matter of fact they are surging forward as one of the largest repositories of personal information in the world.

About the Author Nineteen-time author Stefan Swanepoel publishes the annual Swanepoel TRENDS Report and the annual Swanepoel SOCIAL MEDIA Report. His Reports are widely regarded as the leading research on the most important business and technology trends impacting the real estate industry. For more information visit www.RETrends.com and www.Swanepoel.com

What does "highest and best" mean?

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 09:44:21 -0700

What does "highest and best" mean when you want to submit an offer on a Palm Beach County Florida property?

Here is an ordered list of "best offers." Unless one was a "seasoned" investor or home or condo buyer I am extremely reticent for a buyer fore-going an inspection to win-out on a purchase. I explain that there is the potential that there might be hidden or not readily identifiable defects within the property that the buyer has not or can not budget for.

Via Russ Ravary - Michigan Homes for sale - Michigan Real estate & Mortgage info (Remerica Hometown One):

So your real estate agent has called you and says your bid is just one of many that the listing agent has received on the Southfield foreclosure. He says you need to give your highest and best offer.

"Highest offer" means highest price. But highest price doesn't always win.

"Best offer" comes into play now. "Best offer" means the easiest type of offer to close. "Best offer" means the least number of possible obstacles. So I am going to list the "best offers" in order.

Cash offer with no inspection

Cash offer with inspection

Conventional mortgage with large down payment with no inspection

Conventional mortgage with large downpayment with inspection

FHA mortgage with no inspection

FHA mortgage with inspection

203K mortgages, or any mortgage that is out of the ordinary. Banks and listing agents get nervous about specialty loans. If the listing agent doesn't use the loan a lot or unsure about the closing potential they are going to recommend to the bank to go with a different offer.

I have seen cash offers with no inspections win over a FHA inspection when there was a $25,000 difference. So when you are putting in your "highest and best offer" think about what I said above.

SEARCH MICHIGAN FORECLOSURES

LIVONIA MICHIGAN REAL ESTATE AND RELOCATION INFORMATION

LAKE ANGELUS REAL ESTATE AND HOMES FOR SALE MICHIGAN

WHITE LAKE MICHIGAN WATER FRONT REAL ESTATE AND HOMES FOR SALE

MICHIGAN PROPERTY TAXES EXPLANATION - HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION

__________________________________________________________

So many people have helped you over the years. Take time today to thank those around you. They will appreciate it. Sometimes a simple "thanks for all you have done" will put a smile on the persons face that lasts all day.

Russ Ravary your Metro Detroit realtor

Making Home Affordable - The banks get another report card

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 08:46:03 -0700

This is good news!

Via Aim Real Estate Group, Temecula Realtors®:

According to the most recent Servicer Performance Report, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of loans modified under the Home Affordable Loan Modification Program or (HAMP). The HAMP program is part of the Making Home Affordable Program launched by the Obama Administration in February 2009.

So how are the banks doing? What level of participation are different banks demonstrating?

Let's take a look.

First an overview of the entire program. Here are some interesting statistics:

The number of permanent loan modifications is up by 45% since last month

More than 170,000 permanent modifications have been done (guaranteed lower payments for 5 years).

91,800 additional modifications have been approved and are pending borrower's approval/acceptance

Over 1,300,000 borrowers have received Trial Modification Offers

Median Savings for borrowers that received a permanent loan modification = $518/month

Making Home Affordable has a goal of offering 3-4 million homeowners loan modifications by Dec. 2012.

1,300,000 offers to date

Of the permanent modifications that have been done so far:

100% had an interest rate reduction

40.8% had the term extended

27.8% had some sort of principal reduction/forbearance

The Hardship reasons for permanent modification were:

57.4% Loss of income

10.8% Excessive Obligations

2.7% Illness

So how do individual banks compare?

One of the biggest questions homeowners have is "What are my chances of getting a loan modification with ------ Bank?". Here's how the different banks compare.

It's pretty clear that while GMAC is not the biggest servicer, they are doing more loan modifications per loan they service than any other bank. It's also pretty clear that while Wachovia has become a Listing Agent's favorite bank to work with on a Short Sale (see my post on that topic here - Wachovia / Wells Fargo reaching out to Temecula Homeowners), they are far more interested in doing Short Sales (and foreclosures) than HAMP loan modifications.

Here are the total numbers by servicer.

Here is a look at the types of Investors behind the loans that have been modified.

And one last chart to show the MSAs with the highest HAMP activity.

The numbers show that my area of Riverside/San Bernardino/Ontario is 5th in the nation with regard to HAMP activity.

If you want to see the entire report you can access it from my site at http://aimreg.com/-hamp.asp on the left sidebar. As of this post, the Feb 2010 report is the most recent.

-Temecula CA Real Estate

***********************************
David Northup - Broker, Realtor®, Owner
Aim Real Estate Group Inc., Temecula Real Estate
"Providing Direction For Buyers and Sellers"
Delivering "Raving Fan" Customer Service in the process
**Buyers - Contact David for a list of available homes!
**Sellers - Let me provide you with a comparable market analysis that will give you an idea of your home's current value. Even if your home's value is less than the amount you owe, we can still typically make arrangements to sell your home at little or no cost to you.

Call me at (951) 326-0196 or choose one of these other ways to connect with me . . .

*** All information/opinion offered is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. CA DRE License # 01802944 ***

What Makes a Short Sale Specialist?

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:20:15 -0700

Via J. Philip Faranda (J. Philip LLC) Westchester County NY:

When I closed my first short sale in 1998 I had no idea that 10 years later I'd be doing them with any regularity. At that time, short sales were uncommon; they remained uncommon through 2006. Even in 2007, other agents needed to be educated about what a short sale was, how long it took to close, and what process the negotiation would entail.

Having closed dozens of short sales in the period since 2007 in Westchester and the surrounding counties, I now see a larger number of agents who are familiar with short sales. I also see a higher number of agents who bills themselves as "short sale specialists." In some cases, they have earned a designation. I applaud any agent who furthers their knowledge. However, designations can be misleading and may not help the client.

There is only one problem with an agent who calls them self a specialist these days, and that is this: they may not really be specialists. Designations mean nothing if you cannot successfully negotiate and close a workout. In Westchester, there are enormous numbers involved, and if a home seller cannot close on their short sale because their agent, well, stunk, they could be stuck with a lingering debt, or, worse, a deficiency judgment for tens of thousands of dollars. What's worse, if these sellers really knew how many short sales their "specialist" agent actually closed (often, between zero and one) they would be mortified.

The code of ethics strictly prohibits misleading clients as to the agent's scope of expertise. A special designation might circumvent an outright violation. But it doesn't protect a Westchester homeowner from huge problems if their agent can't get the job done. In many cases, the homeowner never asked the agent how many short sales they have actually closed. This is madness. I would never have eye surgery with a rookie doctor. Our obstetricians had decades of experience. The same goes for the guy that installed our pool table, water heater, and appliances. The reasons are obvious.

Yet people still do not ask their prospective agents how many short sales they have closed. You simply cannot be a specialist with no experience; I'm sorry. I don't care if you have a PhD or a photo shaking the Pope's hand. What they taught you in class simply isn't all it takes to handle the loss mitigation department of a lender. Sellers need to understand that if they hire an inexperienced agent to do their short sale, they do so at their own peril. I'd never want a surgeon cutting their teeth on my gall bladder, a lawyer apprenticing at the expense of my freedom, or an agent getting their feet wet at the expense of my finances.

Simply ask : "How many short sales have you successfully closed?" prior to listing your home. That will guide you far better than a patch on their arm. And if you are an agent who wants to get into short sales, work for someone who does them with regularity. I have often said that any agent can make money in short sales. However, 99% of them should be via a referral to a true specialist.

J. Philip Faranda, Broker-owner, J. Philip Real Estate, LLC. 2010 Vice President, Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service.

Read my short sale blog here.

J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton, the River Towns, Westchester County, and the bedroom counties of New York City.

Free MLS Search! Register for a Free Listingbook account and search the MLS like an agent.

I'm hiring agents.

Agents: Subscribe to the 40 Somethings Group. Reach Phil at (914) 723-8900.

All content/images, unless noted, are the property of J. Philip Faranda & may not be used without permission

How can a Pre-Listing Inspection Help You Sell Your Home? Here's a Few Ideas!

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 09:56:17 -0800

If you are selling an older home or condo "as is with right to inspect" you might consider having a pre-listing inspection. Just last week my buyer decided to walk away from a condo purchase because major defects in the property were revealed in the inspection. My buyer was disappointed and, needless to say, the seller also was.

It ended up that I was able to find another property for my buyer but the seller of the 1st one ended up losing a cash buyer as well as a month of marketing time while needed repairs to the property are undertaken.

Via Sheree Wilkerson (Realty World Alliance):

Pre-Listing Inspection? What's the Point?

Occasionally I get asked about pre-listing inspections, and I've been recommending them more and more lately. A pre-listing inspection is in fact a home inspection done by the seller prior to listing their home.

Now why would you inspect your house before you have a buyer? That I have many good answers for!

1. If there's a large problem with the home that you were unaware of, you can then decide whether you can price accordingly or whether you might be able to move at all. Much better to find this out now than when you're in the middle of selling with a buyer on the hook and possibly involved in your next property as well. I have had a buyer inspection discover something so severe that there was no way the seller could fix the home and still afford to sell.

2. It gives you a chance to fix items on the list at your own time and leisure, meaning that you can shop for repair bids or get it done yourself. When a buyer finds it at their inspection, you may only have a week to get items done before closing and they may ask for specific contractors, which could easily cost you more than the inspection would in the beginning.

3. Fixing items before listing helps your home show better as it will appear obviously well maintained and there will be less items that buyers and their agents will notice. Therefore they are more likely to give their best or better offers than if they saw unrepaired items from the get-go.

4. Being able to market your home as pre-inspected gives a nice warm, fuzzy confidence to a buyer that there shouldn't be any big surprises lurking down the path. You can easily provide the home inspection and evidence of repairs, which again should lead to better and higher offers. Lots of offers hedge against the unknowns that may be found at inspection time.

5. Already having an inspection and repairs done, the buyer's own home inspection contingency should be a breeze. There may be minor discrepancies between what everyone finds, as inspectors are human and each may miss or catch something the other doesn't, but anything of big concern should already be known. Since many contracts fall apart at inspection time, having already been through an inspection means that you're much much more likely to keep your deal together and get to closing.

6. Even if you're not making any repairs from the inspection, being able to provide this report up front should still mean better offers as buyers see what they are up against. Many buyers who purchase as-is or TLC properties come in quite low because they don't know the extent of the problems until inspection time.

I know, I know! Inspections can run you hundreds depending on the size of your home. But it may be better for you to spend a few hundred now than to lose a few thousand on the offer side of things. And the peace of mind from knowing exactly what you're up against is great. Selling a home is nerve-wracking enough just trying to find a buyer and wondering why all those other ones didn't like your house. With a pre-inspection, you can negotiate with your buyer in the confidence that you know what's going on with your home and with a higher likelihood that the deal will stay together and close!

For a list of registered home inspectors in our area and to discuss how it may affect your particular situation, feel free to contact me!

Sheree Wilkerson
Realtor®
Txt/Cell: 316.461.0575

Passing judgement on distressed homeowners?

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:03:18 -0800

My Realtor colleague in Tampa, Florida has made very true points in her blog post.

Via Diana Cessna (Capital Caldwell):

Alright, quit it with the moral argument already. A person's primary responsibility is to take care of their family's basic needs. Too many families are struggling to keep their children fed and to keep their healthcare costs paid. The deadbeats with no ethics left this market a long time ago. Those investor speculators that started dumping their depreciating asset at the first sign of the market downturn are long gone. Unfortunately, because of them, property values began their downward spiral. Moreover, because the banks did not take responisibility for their actions and did not act quickly to get the distressed properties turned over to responsible owners through quick foreclosures or quick short sale approvals, neighborhoods and communities deteriorated quickly. Those homeowners that continue to pay for their mortgages despite the depreciation of the property are stretched thinner and thinner. Because of the distressed properties and the banks' continued slow response to the crisis, the homeowners that are paying have to pay more. The costs for maintenance, association fees, community district development grants and property taxes continue to escalate because there are less people paying these shared expenses. This all in an environment of deteriorating services and neighborhoods in disrepair. Not only are many people living on lower incomes due to the bad economy, their costs are increasing and their property values continue to plummet. This is pushing many to the breaking point and adding to the defaults. Those of you still on the moral responsibility bandwagon will be affected by the same market forces eventually as there is no stop to the spiral. The next wave of foreclosures and distressed properties is going to be higher than what we've seen so far. The next ones to default want a responsible option but there is none in sight.

What's so SPECIAL about GMAIL?

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:11:01 -0800

GMAIL REALLY IS SPECIAL! I switched from Outlook oh maybe about 3 or 4 years ago and I've never looked back! Besides the current features GMAIL offers Google is always adding new ones.

Via Elayna Fernandez - Marketing Expert - Naples FL (Designed 2 Impress, Inc.):

On the first day of class, my Social Media and Blogging students learn they cannot make it through the first day or move on to the second class without first signing up to Gmail to get a built-in Google account. I bring it up on my E-mail Marketing, Web Design and even Intro to Computers classes, as well, and even have a “Getting a Google Account” hand out.

While some of my students may very well have a Gmail address already, they are mostly unaware of the many benefits adhered to the wonder that is a Google Account. For my AOL, Comcast, Earthlink, Yahoo and MSN users, it may not be so obvious why I seem to be obsessed with them switching to a Gmail account.

Today was a special day, though…I actually taught the first session of a series on Google Apps, which includes the use of Gmail, Google Docs and Google Calendar. I love teaching others to use technology devices and applications I love. It sure doesn’t feel like work!

What’s so special about Gmail anyway?

Gmail Labs

Archiving – Keep your inbox uncluttered and “hide” messages you’ve already worked on. Find your messages easily by using the amazing SEARCH MAIL box or clicking All Mail.

Message translation – If you receive an email in a different language, Gmail can translate your message into a language you can understand with just one click.

Undo send – You can have a grace period of a few seconds to cancel sending, then edit your message before sending again. I try to put the e-mail address on there last, but this actually makes sense.

Offline Access – Can you believe that Gmail can work when you’re not connected to the internet? Wow…

Labels – This is just such a beautiful e-mail feature. Anyone who loves organization like I do knows that labeling your items will make it easier to find them or access them at a later time. Labels work together with Filters to give us back control over our e-mail addresses.

View Image – View PDF – You can preview PDFs and images on your browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox) without having to download them or open them with an application.

Tasks – This feature is key in keeping me organized and on track. Adding tasks to your to-do list and checking them off as you complete them is sweet! You can actually convert an e-mail message into a task. (Accessible on mobile, too). Too unbelievable!

Text Messaging -There’s a short messaging system [SMS] built-in Gmail. Send your text messages using your PC keyboard. I love that!

Set the Tone Theme – From minimalist grays to dynamic mountain landscapes, choose from over 30 options to personalize the look and feel of your Gmail account.

Gmail voice and video chat – If you’ve used Skype, then you’re familiar with this concept… sort of. Gmail users can actually view and listen to each other, by simply downloading Google Chat and having their web cam activated.

Use Emoticons on your messages. A real wide variety of “expressive icons” on both chat and e-mail.

Gmail for mobile 2.0. By going to m.google.com/mail on your BlackBerry (I have the World Edition so I can use it internationally), you can download this wonderful tool for offline e-mail capabilities.

Gmail for AIM® friends. I’m a Yahoo! Messenger kind of girl, but many of my friends are on AIM®. I can now include them on my Google chat list without having to do an unwanted switch to AOL. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that…). {AOL and AIM are trademarks of AOL LLC }

Colored labels – Everything is better in color! This is true for your labels. I use my blue and green, of course.

HTTPS by default - This protocol has been To protect your Gmail account, we’ve turned on the option to “always use HTTPS” for everyone and encrypts your page to protect your password.

Group chat – This Gmail option works fabulously for online meetings or “family reunions”. Multiple people and no multiple windows. Yay!

Easy Access to Attachments- You can access Microsoft Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and even Powerpoint presentations (as slideshows) without having to download them into your computer or opening an application.

20 MB! The allowed size of attachments to your e-mail is double on Gmail.

Get mail and send mail from other accounts – You can retrieve new and old messages from other accounts, as well as customize
the ‘From:’ address, so they look like they were sent from another one of your email accounts.

Message notifications - You will see updates to an e-mail conversation even while you are typing a reply. “That was fast!”.

Forward all – You can forward a whole thread of a message, not just single messages.

Offline Chat – You can leave “offline messages” to your chatting friends so they can see them when they logon next.

Gmail.com/app – Download this application and and start accessing Gmail on your phone.

Voicemail – If you use Google chat, you can send and retrieve voicemail right on your e-mail as an audio file.

Put a face on your Contacts – You can set a photo for yourself and your contacts so it shows up next to the contact name.

Vacation auto-responder – Tell everyone when you’re on vacation and will be back, leave the name and number of someone who can assist them or your own contact information overseas, or whatever may be the case.

Contact groups – You can send messages to a group instead of having to pick out the individual addresses every time. This is a great time saver.

View as HTML – Now you can view Microsoft Office, OpenOffice or .pdf attachments as web pages. Download what?

Auto-save – This is such a blessing. When you’re composing a message, it saves to ‘Drafts’ automatically so you don’t lose your information!

Gmail on Google.com – If you use iGoogle, you can access Gmail from your personalized Google page.

Free POP access and automatic forwarding – This is a great tool so you can use to access your e-mail messages via Outlook or Blackberry.

Import Contacts - You can move all your contacts from Yahoo! Mail, Outlook, and others to Gmail in just a few clicks. Exporting is also very easy, if you’re using e-mail marketing software and need a CSV file.

Signature options – On the settings page, you will find an option to create a signature that’s automatically added to the end of all your outgoing messages. Mine has links to my Facebook business pages, Linkedin, YouTube, Twitter, blog, website and other contact information.

You can use your Google DOCS, Google CALENDAR and events right with your Gmail. A Gmail account is also a Google account, so you can access Google Reader, Google Alerts, Google Analytics, Blogger, Picassa, Chrome, and YouTube.

Are you still hesitant? If you’re not, welcome to revolutionary e-mailing!

For more information, connect with me:

About the Author: Elayna Fernandez is a proud mother, founder of the Positive Mommies Network, blogging/social media/web design instructor, and marketing/branding strategist.

Thank you for taking the time to reading my post. Have a powerful day!

This article is the sole intellectual property of Elayna Fernandez. Copyright Designed 2 Impress, Inc.

IS THE TERM "STRATEGIC DEFAULT" FAIR? OR DOES IT DEMEAN AND DIMINISH THE UNDERWATER HOME OWNER?

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:07:56 -0800

STRATEGIC DEFAULT - My colleague at Active Rain has written an excellent blog post showing compassion for those who have or are considering a STRATEGIC DEFAULT on their mortgage.

I agree with all that she has to say.

Via Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD & VA Homes and Real Estate:

WHO INVENTED THE TERM "STRATEGIC DEFAULT"?

Seems to me that the word strategic alone is misused in the context of a home owner relinquishing their ownership of a real property.

Seems to me that, for an action to be considered strategic, it must be part of a plan of action.

Seems to me that relinquishing ownership of a piece of real property is a reaction to forces far beyond their control.

In military terms, strategic would mean a plan of military action designed to defeat an enemy.

In financial terms, strategic would mean using one's assets to leverage a financial gain.

By the use of the term strategic default the real estate and financial industries imply that the home owner who relinquishes their ownership rights to their real property is seeking some financial gain. And yet. . .

THERE IS NO FINANCIAL GAIN FOR THE HOME OWNER.

There is only a deepening of their debt, a loss of their shelter, a loss of their credit for many years, embarrassment and humiliation and the contempt and often financial persecutionof the financial institution that owns their debt.

Would any sane person volunteer for this strategy to cure a debt that has no foreseeable end to the demeaning treatment and continuing financial punishment by the world around them??? The defaulting home owner has no defense against the total collapse of their financial life.

Perhaps, if the mortgage mess and resulting collapse of the real estate market and home values was the result of a conspiracy of home owners to instigate and perpetuate the mortgage mess for personal financial gain, they could be held to a different standard. However, the perfidy of the Wall Street Gangs with the complicity of the Congress and Executive Offices of the President could more likely be the cause of the collapse of the housing and financial markets. The home owners with a home now valued at half what they paid could hardly have caused the present mess.

The fact that the home owner is defaulting is indisputable, it's a simple fact.

However, the description of that default as being strategic is, to me, quite disputable.

Perhaps the so called default is not really a default. Of course, it is a technical default under the terms of the mortgage instruments. However, when the industry classifies that default as strategic, then an examination of the action itself could lead to a conclusion that, while technically a cessation of payments is a default, in the larger picture of the mortgage mess, that default could be considered. . . .

SURVIVAL.

"Honey, are you sure we're making the right decision, to just walk away?"

"I just don't know what else to do Dear. We have to consider rebuilding our financial future and we can't do it with every dime going to a property for which we are paying for twice it's value."

HUD to Help Homeowners with Defective Drywall

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 09:38:28 -0800

WELCOME NEWS FOR HOMEOWNERS FACED WITH DEFECTIVE DRYWALL PROBLEMS

Via Tina Merritt - Virginia Beach Real Estate (Long and Foster Real Estate):

HUD has issued a press release stating that they are now offering assistance to homeowners with FHA loans who have defective drywall.

HUD has instructed FHA approved lenders to offer special forbearance to homeowners faced with financial hardship due to the effects of defective drywall.

“We’re instructing our FHA mortgage lenders nationwide to extend temporary relief to allow these families time to remove problem damaging drywall and repair their homes,” said FHA Commissioner David Stevens. “We want to remove additional pressures for these families as they find solutions to allow them to return to a safe, decent and sanitary home."

HUD has stated that while a homeowner is under the special forbearance plan (which can last for up to 12 months), the lender cannot charge late fees if the homeowner is making timely payments.

The entire press release can be viewed by clicking here.

**************************************************************************************

Tina Merritt and the ALL757 Network can be reached at email: tina@tinamerritt.com or 757-287-6338.

The ALL757 Network consists of both buyer and listing specialists helping buyers and sellers in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Isle of Wight County, Hampton, Newport News and Poquoson, Virginia.

Visit the ALL757.com Website

Search Homes for Sale in Hampton Roads, VA

Google profile

Disclaimer

HUD to Help Homeowners with Defective Drywall

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 09:38:28 -0800

WELCOME NEWS FOR HOMEOWNERS FACED WITH DEFECTIVE (CHINESE) DRYWALL PROBLEMS

Defective drywall - aka Chinese drywall - has been plaguing some South Florida homeowners for the past 3 years or so. Failing cooling & heating systems, rotten egg type odors, & health issues are some of the problems that have been reported by distressed homeowners. This is especially true in newer developments (from small condos to mansions!) in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach and other Palm Beach County cities and towns as well as homes that had had undergone renovations circa 2006. That was the period of a housing boom and it caused a shortage of building material.

Just as I and other Realtors insist our home sellers fill out and sign mold disclosures we also insist they sign drywall disclosures. Nonetheless, it is IMPERATIVE a prospective home buyer undergo an inspection with qualified inspection services for these potential problems.

Via Tina Merritt - Virginia Beach Real Estate (Long and Foster Real Estate):

HUD has issued a press release stating that they are now offering assistance to homeowners with FHA loans who have defective drywall.

HUD has instructed FHA approved lenders to offer special forbearance to homeowners faced with financial hardship due to the effects of defective drywall.

“We’re instructing our FHA mortgage lenders nationwide to extend temporary relief to allow these families time to remove problem damaging drywall and repair their homes,” said FHA Commissioner David Stevens. “We want to remove additional pressures for these families as they find solutions to allow them to return to a safe, decent and sanitary home."

HUD has stated that while a homeowner is under the special forbearance plan (which can last for up to 12 months), the lender cannot charge late fees if the homeowner is making timely payments.

The entire press release can be viewed by clicking here.

**************************************************************************************

Tina Merritt and the ALL757 Network can be reached at email: tina@tinamerritt.com or 757-287-6338.

The ALL757 Network consists of both buyer and listing specialists helping buyers and sellers in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Isle of Wight County, Hampton, Newport News and Poquoson, Virginia.

Visit the ALL757.com Website

Search Homes for Sale in Hampton Roads, VA

Google profile

Disclaimer

HUD to Help Homeowners with Defective Drywall

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 09:38:28 -0800

WELCOME NEWS FOR HOMEOWNERS FACED WITH DEFECTIVE DRYWALL PROBLEMS

Via Tina Merritt - Virginia Beach Real Estate (Long and Foster Real Estate):

HUD has issued a press release stating that they are now offering assistance to homeowners with FHA loans who have defective drywall.

HUD has instructed FHA approved lenders to offer special forbearance to homeowners faced with financial hardship due to the effects of defective drywall.

“We’re instructing our FHA mortgage lenders nationwide to extend temporary relief to allow these families time to remove problem damaging drywall and repair their homes,” said FHA Commissioner David Stevens. “We want to remove additional pressures for these families as they find solutions to allow them to return to a safe, decent and sanitary home."

HUD has stated that while a homeowner is under the special forbearance plan (which can last for up to 12 months), the lender cannot charge late fees if the homeowner is making timely payments.

The entire press release can be viewed by clicking here.

**************************************************************************************

Tina Merritt and the ALL757 Network can be reached at email: tina@tinamerritt.com or 757-287-6338.

The ALL757 Network consists of both buyer and listing specialists helping buyers and sellers in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Isle of Wight County, Hampton, Newport News and Poquoson, Virginia.

Visit the ALL757.com Website

Search Homes for Sale in Hampton Roads, VA

Google profile

Disclaimer

HUD to Help Homeowners with Defective Drywall

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 09:38:23 -0800

WELCOME NEWS FOR HOMEOWNERS FACED WITH DEFECTIVE DRYWALL PROBLEMS

Via Tina Merritt - Virginia Beach Real Estate (Long and Foster Real Estate):

HUD has issued a press release stating that they are now offering assistance to homeowners with FHA loans who have defective drywall.

HUD has instructed FHA approved lenders to offer special forbearance to homeowners faced with financial hardship due to the effects of defective drywall.

“We’re instructing our FHA mortgage lenders nationwide to extend temporary relief to allow these families time to remove problem damaging drywall and repair their homes,” said FHA Commissioner David Stevens. “We want to remove additional pressures for these families as they find solutions to allow them to return to a safe, decent and sanitary home."

HUD has stated that while a homeowner is under the special forbearance plan (which can last for up to 12 months), the lender cannot charge late fees if the homeowner is making timely payments.

The entire press release can be viewed by clicking here.

**************************************************************************************

Tina Merritt and the ALL757 Network can be reached at email: tina@tinamerritt.com or 757-287-6338.

The ALL757 Network consists of both buyer and listing specialists helping buyers and sellers in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Isle of Wight County, Hampton, Newport News and Poquoson, Virginia.

Visit the ALL757.com Website

Search Homes for Sale in Hampton Roads, VA

Google profile

Disclaimer

Our goal is to reach 3000 registered attendees to VirtualReBarcamp.com!

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:48:10 -0800

THE VIRTUAL REBAR CAMP IS BEING HELD JANUARY 4TH, 2010

THIS IS A MUST ATTEND EVENT!

Why?

1. I promise that you will learn something to grow and enhance your business

2. I promise that you will learn many things to grow and enhance your business

3. The best of the best in our industry will be presenting virtually to you. Just turn on your computer and YOU ARE THERE!

4. IT IS FREE!

5. That's right! IT IS FREE!

6. ABSOLUTELY FREE!

Via Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato):

Our goal is to reach 3000 registered attendees to VirtualReBarcamp.com!

The event is free being presented by 28 of the top minds in RE technology and social networking. Currently we have 1500+ registered attendee. To reach our goal we need your help. Fortunately, we have a ringer in our pocket: The generosity of ListingMoves.com. ListingMoves.com is going to be running a contest for everyone that helps us attain our goal.

Anyone that writes/re-blogs this post on ActiveRain about VirtualReBarCamp.com being held January 4th will be entered in a drawing to win one of the following prizes:

   1. 1 year free subscription to ListingMoves.com premium package ($720 value)

   2. HP Netbook Computer

   3. Platinum RainCamp Access Pass (If you don't know what that is go to RainCamp.com or ask one of the guys here on ActiveRain they'll fill you in :-) )

   4. One year free NetFlix subscription (3DVD's out at a time)

The rules:

Comment below with the link to your post or re-blog so we can enter you in the drawing.

You can also tweet about this for a 2nd entry in the drawing and it can say anything to promote VirtualBarCamp but it must include #VREBC & #ListingMoves as hashtags for tracking purposes such as the following:

28Top real estate tech speakers present@ #VREBC Jan4 Register now by going to http://bit.ly/8BBZYu & qualify 4 $25 StarBucks GiveAway #ListingMoves

(ListingMoves.com will also be giving away 25$ starbucks gift cards to the 2000th, 2001st, 2500th, 2501st, 3000th, 3001st registered attendees and donate the same amount to the Warmath Children College Fund Charity)

Wow! Fingers crossed... come on 3000!

A decent Reverse Mortgage Article in the New York Times

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 10:41:16 -0800

If one of my elderly clients is considering a reverse mortgage I urge them to investigage the ramifications, to consider the alternatives and to be absolutely sure to consult their children, attorney and accountant.

Via First Meridian Mortgage/Trump Financial:

Paula Span wrote a pretty unimaginitive, uninformative piece about Reverse Mortgages two days ago entitled "Trading Home Equity for Cash." While I prefer one of these to the horrendous, subjective and uninformed pieces recently in Forbes and elsewhere, the article really leaves the reader with very little.

The beginning of the article talks about how Reverse Mortgages work and the end gives some quick opinions of what to watch out for. Barb Stucki from teh National Council on Aging (NCOA)is quoted as saying :If you use your house as an A.T.M., you could jeopardize not only your financial situation, but your ability to continue to live in the house.". I'm guessing that this was probably taken out of context because I'm sure she knows that Reverse Mortgages cannot jeapordize anyone's ability to stay in their home.

The NCOA's book "Use your home to stay in your home" is a very positive handbook and I'm sure Barb said a lot of stuff and the writer took a small piece of it.

Here's the link:

http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/16/trading-home-equity-for-cash/

Bankers Still Don't Get It!

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:25:21 -0800

Yes, unfortunately, I and many others are living out in real-time the Great Recession of 2008. The economic fall-out and its trickle down impact affects so many homeowners in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach. I speak to home sellers in Palm Beach County, Florida just about every day who can no longer afford to pay their mortgage and are facing foreclosure because they have lost their jobs. Unemployment insurance and savings can only last a finite amount of time. It is a very sad situation.

A home owner facing financial distress should immediately contact their lender to see if they qualify for a loan modification as well consulting with a Realtor to explore the possibility of selling their property though the short sale process.

It would be interesting and informative to be around when historians write about this recession. Yes, there will be blame and finger pointing but we need to live through it now and find our own personal solutions.

Via Ken Crotts (Windermere Real Estate):

For decades to come business students will study the events that led up to the great recession of 2008. There will be a lot of debate and finger pointing. Politicians will attempt to make fall guys of their opponents in the rewrites of history, and corporate leaders will attempt to devise new rules and systems to avoid another situation like this.

In the broadest sense we are in our current morass because both short term profits and gains blinded banking elites to the longer term ramifications of their actions (its called greed). With a blind eye towards their customers well being, and actual ability to repay the money that they were lending them, they flooded the market with lending capital to fund their highly profitable mortgage backed securities. Lending standards were relaxed (eliminated) and oversight of underwriting practices all but disappeared. Anything that stood in the way of filling out another tranche of mortgages for the next round of securities was eliminated. In the rarified air of elite mortgage banking all was good as long as no one pointed out the elephant in the china cabinet.

Fast forward to today and the banks are dealing with the resulting financial collapse and trillions in losses by demonstrating a similar lack of understanding of how the real estate market really works. The elites (both corporate and political) are attempting to put a tourniquet on the losses they are suffering by rewriting their underwriting standards, putting new systems in place to stem the losses, and focusing on the general recovery of the institution. While it all sounds good they are demonstrating the same lack of concern for the little customers who are defaulting on their mortgages and, the same lack of understanding of the real estate market and the players in it.

As a short sale specialist I get to see the resulting policies and actions of the bank's efforts on a daily basis. The thing I find striking is their inability to accept their role in the problem and as a result their inability to deal effectively with it. This is primarily reflected in their attitudes towards the other participants in the transaction.

Banker Attitude: We're losing thousands of dollars on this house so the Realtors commission should be cut as much as possible to minimize our losses!

Reality: The Realtor bringing you the sale on your non performing asset is a part of the solution, not part of the problem. The agent did not make the bad loan, is not increasing your losses and in fact is helping the bank to lose less! It is a fact; banks lose less money on short sales than they do when they take the property back in a foreclosure action. The real estate industry represents a sale force of hundreds of thousands of sales people that have the capacity to move billions of dollars in non-performing assets and they cost the banks zero until the asset is liquidated. That's ZERO Dollars. Mr. Banker are you listening? What exactly is the point in flogging them for doing business with you?

Your current approach is to make short sales as difficult as possible, as time consuming and confusing as possible, and to punish the people responsible for participating in reducing your losses. As a result short sale properties are unattractive to both buyers and agents resulting in fewer showings, and lower prices. No one wants to deal with the banks bad behavior and as a result the banks are losing billions more than necessary. The reality is the bad loan is YOURS and if you want to lose less make selling the non-performing property easy by approving the short sales and paying your sales force well for performing. This is not rocket science, just common sense. Get over yourself and start earning your millions in bonuses by seeking solutions rather than being a part of the problem. Here's a hint; start with your attitude first and then seek a solution.

Banker Attitude: Investors and flippers are bad. They are stealing money that is rightfully ours and should be stopped.

Reality: Investors and flippers are the single most potent potential solution to the housing dilemma we are in. All of the policies that have been put into place to stymie their involvement in the current market are prolonging the downturn. An investor who buys a house in bad condition, fixes it up and then sells it for a profit is a credit to our society. They spend thousands on materials and wages, improve dilapidated properties, increases values, pay taxes, and speed the movement of capital through our economy. This is what is needed to get the housing market moving. Banker are actively holding this potential force back with title seasoning policies for buyers looking to purchase these homes and loss mitigation policies designed to shut down approvals for non owner purchasers. Politicians are holding them back with legislation and regulations designed specifically the thwart the profit potential of buying, fixing and selling properties. Why?

With investors branded as bad by the banks, government and media this force for recovery is all but dormant in our economy. The ironic aspect of this is no dollars are needed to unleash this force and it produces dollars as a result. The short term affect? Immediate tax revenue and mitigated loss on non-performing loans. The long term effect? Increased property values, increased employment, increased capital spending on housing related goods, lower losses for the banks and more tax revenue for the politicians. Hmmm.

Banker Attitude: Homeowners defaulting on their debt are deadbeats and should pay back everything they have and then live with the possibility that we will come back and take anything else they make in the next 6 years.

Reality: Defaulting customers, in many cases, are victims of your lending institutions. When the loan was made they met your (nonexistent) underwriting guidelines. The approval was subject to review and scrutiny of your (nonexistent) quality control and oversight. Many of the rest are victims of the near complete economic collapse you initiated, and the rest is a mix of bad luck and (rarely) bad faith. Putting the finger pointing aside what is the real solution?

You have millions of defaulting customers who have a history of wanting to be homeowners. The sooner they recover financially the sooner they will borrow again. Because of their credit history their new loans will be at higher rates. Taking a longer view at a solution means helping these clients recover sooner rather than later. It would suggest that this is the perfect time to engender an undying sense of loyalty from them as a result of taking an understanding, helpful approach in your dealings. I'm not suggesting you take less than you are getting now, just remember they are YOUR CUSTOMERS. When this is over they will be someone's customers again, why not yours. Continuing to treat them like deadbeats only ensures they will not be your customer when the dust settles. Even the ivy leaguers know it is cheaper to keep a customer than develop a new one.

This all seems so easy to understand and yet I get the feeling I am the boy pointing and yelling "the king has no clothes!". So to wrap up this lengthy blog here's your bankers to do list;

Wake up and check your attitude, it's showing!

Work with Realtors instead of against them!

Encourage investors to invest in your bad assets!

Be nice to your customers, it won't cost you anything!

Ken Crotts

Broker, Certified Short Sale Specialist

www.KenCrotts.com

Ken@KenCrotts.com

425-432-8600

Introducing the 2nd Edition of Virtual Real Estate BarCamp.

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 10:29:04 -0800

This is a not-to-miss event! I hope to see you (virtually) there!

Via Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato):

We're Back!
Introducing the 2nd Edition of Virtual Real Estate BarCamp.

Our first event was such a success, we decided to parlay the momentum into the launch of another.

January 4th - 9am until 4pm PST
9 Hours, 28 Incredible Speakers, 1000s of Attendees!

It's Free!

What Is Virtual BarCamp?
How Do I Register?
Who Is Speaking (To be determined)
How Can I Sponsor?

In an effort to always improve, we have made some changes to the event format:

There will be 4 Webinar Rooms (previously there were just 3 rooms).
Presentations will be 45 minutes in length (previously they were 30 mins).
Total number of Speakers: 28 (we had 27 last event).
Each Webinar Room will have its own accompanying Live Chat Room (previously there was just one).
Session Topics will be chosen by our Registered Attendees (last time it was first come first serve).
Session Presenters will be selected by us (last time it was first come first serve).
Sessions will be recorded (we were unable to record last time).

We have boosted our goals for the event as well:

Registered Attendees: 3000 (previous: 1000, actual 1928)
In-Office Events: 100 (previous: 40, actual: 71)
In-Real-Life MeetUps: 50 (previous: 20, actual: n/a)
Number of Sponsors: 15 (previous: 10, actual: 13)

We have a new website: www.VirtualBarCamp.com

Just because we hold virtual, online events doesn’t mean that we can’t create an incredibly social community. One of the best aspects of the BarCamp atmosphere is the ability to connect, network, meet and mingle. We took this into great consideration as we planned out the architecture and user experience of our new website.

The tighter the community, the greater opportunity we all have to learn, network and teach. Get involved by involving others!

If you have any other suggestions on how we can improve on our first effort, please let us know!

Absorption Rate? What is this about?

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 10:20:54 -0800

WHAT DO PIZZA'S AND REAL ESTATE ABSORPTION RATE HAVE IN COMMON? HUH?

We've all read about the recent increase in real estate sales in Palm Beach County and specifically in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach, Florida. But what about the ABSORPTION RATE?

Whether you are thinking about buying or selling a single family home or condo the ABSORPTION RATE is definitely a term you should familiarize yourself with. My colleague has done an excellent job of explaining it with an analogy to the pizza's you may have stored in your freezer.

Now that you have an understanding of this all important term please give me a call if you would like to know what the current absorption rate is in Palm Beach County Florida.

Via Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy (Diamond Dwellings Realty):

There are some terms that we toss around in the real estate industry as if people knew what we were talking about... Absorption Rate is one of those terms.

It isn't complicated, but if you are unfamiliar with the term, if can be confusing. And unlike "Bacon Double Cheeseburger", it isn't really self explanatory.

What is Absorption Rate?

There are a couple of components to Absorption Rates.

Inventory Level

Sales Pace over a specified time period

How long the inventory would take to be "used up" at the current level and pace...

That is it in a nutshell. But, let's look at a few examples, as well as some caveats. By the way, this isn't just for real estate, but can apply to anything that might be considered a commodity...

Let's say that your family eats frozen pizza twice a week, and you have 6 Digiorno's Pizzas in the freezer. If you don't go to the store to pick up more, and you continue eating them at the same pace, you have a three week supply of frozen pizza.

Obviously there are a couple of ways that you can alter that situation.

You can start with more pizza

You can alter how often the family eats pizza

Now, maybe you buy your pizzas at Costco, and go there once a month... Even though you have 6 pizzas in the freezer, if you aren't going to be going there for another month, you might want to pick up a few more. If you buy 3 more pizzas, you will have a 4 1/2 week supply, which will carry you through another month.

About that "Specified Time Period"

In order to quantify sales or usage pace, we need to look at a period of time. Back to our pizza...

With Thanksgiving happening recently, the fridge is full of turkey, so maybe in the last week we haven't had any pizza... But, things were really busy before that, so we had 3 pizzas in 6 days. So, if we look at just the last week, we had 0 pizza... theoretically, 6 pizzas would last forever. That can't be right.

So, we look at a longer time period. Over two weeks we had 3 pizzas... 1.5/week. That means that the 6 pizzas would last 4 weeks.

But wait... If we look at the last 4 weeks we had 8 pizzas... that is where we came up with the 2/week consumption level.

How about in Housing?

The generally accepted number in housing for inventory level is 6 months. That means that is 100 homes are selling each month in a given area, then having around 600 homes on the market would be fairly balanced.

If there are only 200 homes on the market, sellers have the upper hand. Basically, supply is smaller than the demand. That is referred to as a seller's market. Sellers have their pick of buyers, can push up their prices and be less willing to offer incentives.

If there are 1200 homes on the market, buyers have the upper hand. Now the supply is outstripping demand. That would be the classic definition of a buyer's market. In this case, buyers can make more demands of sellers and prices are generally pushed down.

Careful though...

Right now in Gwinnett County Georgia there are several markets happening all at once. I compile sales data for a variety of markets and micro-markets and see conflicting data...

In Gwinnett County, overall we have about an 8.6 month supply of homes.

In Duluth, for homes under $200,000, the supply is about 6.1 months.

In Suwanee, for homes under $200,000, the supply is only 4.6 months.

Also in Suwanee, for homes over $1,000,000, the supply is 45 months.

(please note, these are all using a 6 month sales average)

A little more about time frames...

Generally, in real estate we use 3 month, 6 month and 12 month averages. To arrive at these, we look at sales data for the time period (3, 6 or 12 months), divide it out monthly, and then divide that into the number of available homes in that market.

The fun pat is that we can glean additional information by comparing these three numbers. Let's go back to Suwanee...

The 12 month Absorption Rate for homes under $200,000 is 5.2 months of inventory...

The 6 month Absorption Rate for homes under $200,000 is 4.6 months of inventory...

The 3 month Absorption Rate for homes under $200,000 is 4.3 months of inventory... (note, the November sales data isn't yet complete, and this number is actually going to get better...)

Comparing these numbers tells me that that sales in this segment were actually accellerating. As we got more recent, the average sales per month increased. Of course there are a few things to keep in mind...

Limitations and other notes...

To start with there is "seasonality". This means that there is an expected change in the pace of sales because of the time of the year. Here in the Atlanta area, sales generally pick up in the late spring and early summer. They also tend to fall off of a cliff in January. So, just because we see an accelleration doesn't mean that it isn't natural.

The next thing we have to consider is "outside influence". Right now, that would be the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit. It was originally slated to expire at the end of November. So... there was a rush to get under contract in October. And a rush of closings in November. We'll have to see if the pace holds...

Which brings us to the next point... We can't predict the future. We can look at the past and we can theorize about how outside influences are going to alter future trends. But that is it. How many times has the NAR said that "Now is the time to buy" or that they "see growth moving forward"? Obviously over the last couple of years, they were WAY wrong. I have made my share of mistakes. Sometimes it is because we make wrong assumptions, and in other cases, things change... Maybe the government changes FHA qualifications... Perhaps there is a new tax credit... A large employer could relocate...

I hope this helps you understand the real estate (and other) markets a little better. Market reports are often dry and full of stats, but understanding them can be a great way to understand why the market is moving. Understanding why helps you better understand what you should do.

from LaneBailey.com

Unless otherwise noted, all content of this blog is the property of Lane Bailey, ©2009 Lane Bailey.

I'd love to hear from you...

Preparing Your Home For Sale

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:04:57 -0800

These 10 tips are great ones! Buyer's react emotionally when they first walk in to a house or condo. Do all that you can to make your home shine because first impressions do count!

Via Debbie Rumsey (Century 21 Sea Coast, Encinitas, CA):

Are you getting ready to put your home on the market and want to know what you can do to help your Realtor sell your home? Below are some ideas that will get your house looking neat and ready for potential buyers to walk through.

1. Reduce the amount of furniture you have in a room. You want the home to have a large floor area and all doorways and halls to be open and clear.

2. Get rid of clutter. The photos that you cherish and are hung throughout your home are a distraction to future buyers. They want to imagine themselves in the house and not what kind of family currently lives there. Remove knick knacks from counters and shelves and throw away or hide magazines. Begin packing and store boxes in a storage unit or in your attic or donate to a good cause.

3. Repaint those colorful walls. Create a neutral canvas for buyers, paint walls an off white or light beige color. You may have loved that bright orange in your kitchen and adorable pink in your little girls room, however, it's time to paint and create a generic look for future buyers. Paint is cheap and will make a huge difference when your home is on the market. It will look fresh and clean with a good coat of paint.

4. Organize closets. Buyers want to look in every door and sometimes the cabinets as well. Take a day or two to throw away, donate or pack items that you aren't using. Closets can get very cluttered and you want to show off your storage space as it is a great asset to your home.

5. Put valuables in a safe deposit box or in a hidden safe. Remember that strangers will be coming into your home to view. Don't put your grandma's wedding ring or your rare baseball cards in drawers or counters where people can take them.

6. Make your home sparkle. Keep your home as tidy as possible by vacuuming, dusting, keeping dishes out of the sink, hang fresh towels in the bathroom, get your windows washed, dust fan blades, replace worn out rugs, remove cobwebs.

7. Do the sniff test. If you made fish the night before you may want to open some windows and boil a pot of water with some cinnamon sticks, light a candle or bake some cookies.

8. Do some minor repairs. Fix leaky faucets, replace old grout, put some W2 on squeeky hinges, replace any burnt out bulbs, repair holes in drywall, remove wallpaper, etc. Walk into each room and really look around to see what you can do to repair anything that is visible.

9. Check your curb appeal. The first impression your buyers will have begins before they ever enter your front door. Lure them in with fresh planted flowers, neatly trimmed bushes, green and well manicured lawns, clean sidewalks and patios and clean exterior paint. Make sure your address is easy to read from a car.

10. Recruit your Realtor or best friend to do a walk through and give any advice after you have completed the previous 9 items. Everyone sees things differently and they may have some great advice on something that was overlooked.

Doing these 10 things will be the best things you can do to get your home sold quickly after you have decided on a competitive listing price.

10 Commandments Home Buyers Must Follow

Joan Lorberbaum Moore (Lang Realty) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:08:53 -0700

I will also add that your mortgage consultant/broker should be seasoned and be associated with a reputable lender.

Via Dr. Chantal Saucier (Keller Williams Realty Acadiana):

These 10 Commandments home buyers must follow may seem like common sense to many. Buyers, however, can sometimes forget with all the excitement surrounding the buying of their new home. In the past couple of weeks, I have heard of two separate buyers who saw their home loan turned down, and their dream shattered, a few days before closing because they had bought furniture for their new home before it actually became their home. Both of them now have beautiful furniture with no home to put them in.

These two buyers were not my clients but it always hurts when I hear of transactions falling apart for reasons that could have been avoided. These 10 commandments are part of the buyer packet I give all my clients when we first meet and I always stress that once they get pre-approved and the process is started, they can't do anything that might affect their credit.

1. Thou shalt not change jobs, become self-employed or quit your job.

2. Thou shalt not buy a car, truck or van (or you may be living in it)!

3. Thou shalt not use credit cards excessively or let your accounts fall behind.

4. Thou shalt not spend money you have set aside for closing.

5. Thou shalt not omit debts or liabilities from your loan application.

6. Thou shalt not buy furniture.

7. Thou shalt not originate any inquiries into your credit.

8. Thou shalt not make large deposits without first checking with your loan officer.

9. Thou shalt not change bank accounts.

10. Thou shalt not co-sign a loan for anyone.

If you are in the process of buying a home, remember that your credit must not change or be affected in any way until you actually sign the paperwork and get possession of your new home. Lenders will not only look into your credit when you first get pre-approved, they will check it again (and sometimes again and again) before they let you sign the mortgage. If you want to buy new furniture for your home or change jobs, just be patient. There will always be time to do it after the closing.

Joan's South Florida Real Estate Blog

Why Do I Need A Realtor

5 Reasons Why You Should NOT Try to Sell Your Home By Yourself

A caution to REO purchasers. The addenda always control the agreement.

Can I Buy a Home Immediately After a Short Sale?

Disposal of Hazardous Waste in our Homes

Bank of America Exec Starves to Death at REALTOR(R) Banquet

Google on High Alert : New Strategy Changes the Rules!

What does "highest and best" mean?

Making Home Affordable - The banks get another report card

What Makes a Short Sale Specialist?

How can a Pre-Listing Inspection Help You Sell Your Home? Here's a Few Ideas!

Passing judgement on distressed homeowners?

What's so SPECIAL about GMAIL?

What’s so special about Gmail anyway?

IS THE TERM "STRATEGIC DEFAULT" FAIR? OR DOES IT DEMEAN AND DIMINISH THE UNDERWATER HOME OWNER?

HUD to Help Homeowners with Defective Drywall

HUD to Help Homeowners with Defective Drywall

HUD to Help Homeowners with Defective Drywall

HUD to Help Homeowners with Defective Drywall

Our goal is to reach 3000 registered attendees to VirtualReBarcamp.com!

A decent Reverse Mortgage Article in the New York Times

Bankers Still Don't Get It!

Introducing the 2nd Edition of Virtual Real Estate BarCamp.

We're Back!
Introducing the 2nd Edition of Virtual Real Estate BarCamp.

January 4th - 9am until 4pm PST
9 Hours, 28 Incredible Speakers, 1000s of Attendees!

It's Free!

In an effort to always improve, we have made some changes to the event format:

We have boosted our goals for the event as well:

We have a new website: www.VirtualBarCamp.com

Absorption Rate? What is this about?

Preparing Your Home For Sale

10 Commandments Home Buyers Must Follow

Joan's South Florida Real Estate Blog

Why Do I Need A Realtor

5 Reasons Why You Should NOT Try to Sell Your Home By Yourself

A caution to REO purchasers. The addenda always control the agreement.

Can I Buy a Home Immediately After a Short Sale?

Disposal of Hazardous Waste in our Homes

Bank of America Exec Starves to Death at REALTOR(R) Banquet

Google on High Alert : New Strategy Changes the Rules!

What does "highest and best" mean?

Making Home Affordable - The banks get another report card

What Makes a Short Sale Specialist?

How can a Pre-Listing Inspection Help You Sell Your Home? Here's a Few Ideas!

Passing judgement on distressed homeowners?

What's so SPECIAL about GMAIL?

What’s so special about Gmail anyway?

IS THE TERM "STRATEGIC DEFAULT" FAIR? OR DOES IT DEMEAN AND DIMINISH THE UNDERWATER HOME OWNER?

HUD to Help Homeowners with Defective Drywall

HUD to Help Homeowners with Defective Drywall

HUD to Help Homeowners with Defective Drywall

HUD to Help Homeowners with Defective Drywall

Our goal is to reach 3000 registered attendees to VirtualReBarcamp.com!

A decent Reverse Mortgage Article in the New York Times

Bankers Still Don't Get It!

Introducing the 2nd Edition of Virtual Real Estate BarCamp.

We're Back!Introducing the 2nd Edition of Virtual Real Estate BarCamp.

January 4th - 9am until 4pm PST9 Hours, 28 Incredible Speakers, 1000s of Attendees!

It's Free!

In an effort to always improve, we have made some changes to the event format:

We have boosted our goals for the event as well:

We have a new website: www.VirtualBarCamp.com

Absorption Rate? What is this about?

Preparing Your Home For Sale

10 Commandments Home Buyers Must Follow

We're Back!
Introducing the 2nd Edition of Virtual Real Estate BarCamp.

January 4th - 9am until 4pm PST
9 Hours, 28 Incredible Speakers, 1000s of Attendees!