Ken Wiseman Reno Real Estate Blog

I am still here!

2008-07-08T10:30:43Z

Th roller coaster of REO's has left with little time to do anything as of late, this even includes going to the bathroom. I just got to go to the lake and take 3 days off for the first time since February. Caught a nice 21 inch 2.5 pounder! Did not want to come back, but I did! Things have not slowed down one bit, as I awoke again to yet another new asset. The money has been great, and if anyone says this is easy work, come follow me around for a day. I have over 40 REO's now, and what I have found out the most is, you arent a real estate sales person anymore, you are a property mananger and transaction coordianator. Till the next time!

I Am Tired From REO and Bank Owned Foreclosures-If You Are Listing Them You Might Laugh!

2008-01-31T09:58:08Z

Quick thoughts for the day....I have been so freakin busy with these foreclosures.

Some of you may understand:

Please get me a receipt with the exact service dates please or I wont get paid.....still no receipt coming on day 30! Bank wont re-imburse after 30 days....contractors sometimes really suck!

Never got expense approved for snow removel....please re-submit

HOA now has $300 of late fees....you are supposed to get those invoices right away.....HOA takes a month to even get you the invoice.

To turn on the gas would you like to wait around the house from 8AM-12 or 12-4PM? Yes we understand it is winter and there is no heat or power at the house and you need to sit there for four hours so we can turn on the gas.

My clients and I are getting very worried as it has been two weeks now and still no signed contract from the bank! Can't you as their agent do something?

NEW LISTING ASSIGNMENT- first thought.....do I really have to an eviction or when the locksmith gets the door unlocked what treasures will I find?

Short Sales - Only been 3 weeks....call Countrywide......we never received your fax.....oh yes we did.....oh it is still under review.....oh you never have been assigned a closing coordinator yet.....we will call you in 24 hours....ithas been 72 hours and still no word from them.
Thoughts of monkeys in front of a mountain of paper comes to mind!

BANK OWNED FORECLOSURE - PLEASE READ PRIVATE REMARKS- On normal associtation lockbox, property vacant, no need to call, just go and show...please read the foreclosure info sheet that is posted above.----What do the other agents do? Hi, I was calling to show your foreclosure listing.....can you tell me anything I need to know about the foreclosure process?

The house is supposed to close tomorrow and the bank still hasnt sent the signed deed.....does my client get a $350 per diem fee? As their agent can't you do anything? I dont think you are doing your job!

10 BPO requests due in 48 hours in the middle of every month.

Multiple Offers on a property that was listed for 2 years now becomes a bank owned foreclosure and drops $100,000 in price.

Please get your lockbox and sign off the property....it has foreclosed and I now have the listing......but we had a signed short sale on it with a verbal approval of the bank for $100,000 below the market value.

Phone rings....answer....is this Ken....yes....you handle foreclosures.....yes....I am looking for a good deal......on what specifically......well what is out there and I will need to know on every property what I could rent it for and what it would apprceiate at......click.......I think we got disconnected!!!!!

PLEASE CONTINUE TO AD TO THIS CHAIN!

Is Anyone Else Seeing In-complete Offers From Selling Agents?

2008-01-18T21:11:51Z

With my bank owned foreclosures that I have been listing lately, I have been forced into working a lot more with the "city" agents. I am amazed and absolutely FLOORED at how many offers come in that are terribly incomplete. I am also amazed at how most of the agents can't follow the directions we get from the bank. I mean these incomplete offers could jeopardize their buyer's best interests. Here in Nevada we have a simple 7 page offer contract. But yet, I see things like purchase price blank, financing terms blank, strike outs without initials, then they try to be attorneys and write ridiculous rookie legal jargon in additional terms. We are a state without attorneys handling our closings......

My real thoughts on these agents......

They obviously failed in the real world in filling out pre-printed forms and following directions, so now they are agents?

Brokers don't spend anytime looking over or training their agents, isn't it their ass on the line too?

They are just lazy and filling out complete contracts isnt necessary?

"Paperwork just isn't my thing!" Well then in this business what is?......using a key and driving a car?

Don't get me wrong, there are many wonderful agents out there who do spend their time making sure that all is correct and THANK YOU for being diligent.

What do you do when you get these in-complete contracts from these agents? Should I just submit them when I know they are incorrect and could get into legal trouble (probably 99% of the time it wouldn't end up in court...but what about that 1%?)?

When I tell them it needs to be done right, they always throw up a huge stink, and act like I am just being anal. But why should I have to train another broker's agents? I really feel like sometimes I am back teaching 3rd grade again and need to get out my red pen and giving time outs!

Please tell me your thoughts!

CSI Reno Returns! Sign Sighted!

2008-01-07T10:54:11Z

Signs That Have Been Missing Since Sept have been Sighted!

I had a sign with brochure tube and directional arrow at the corner of an intersection out in our rural area here. Well some people love using them for target practice so this one since it wasnt near any other homes I put a kryptonite cable and lock on it around a stop sign. Well in September, the sign was missing. Upon further investigation, I found that the perportrator had cut the bolt on the bottom of the stop sign, lifted the entire post up, took my cable out with sign, and then used a new bolt to bolt the sign in. For someone to do this seems really strange, who did I piss off now, maybe it was the locksmith?

So I talk to my neighbor and he was horseback riding out the BLM area to the north of the missing sign and spotted my sign along with grey carpet and landscape trimmings. You see people just love to dump in the desert here as the dump charges $35 a pick up truck load. Well, at the time of me knowing about this sighting, northern Nevada welcomed its largest snow storm in 3 yrs and so now my sign is buried under a foot of snow. Once I see the carpet, maybe I can figure out who it belongs to. My guess, it was a buyer that I did not represent, and usually their city agent has them waive their septic and well or even survey inspections and then I am the bad guy for selling them a house that there is something wrong with, not that there agent never suggested having an inspection done!

Stay tuned for more on this!

What is Left Behind in Foreclosure Homes!

2008-01-07T10:44:17Z

Usually about once a week I happen to get a new foreclosure listing via email. It is always an adventure as to what you will find when you show up at the property. The best way to tell if it is occupied is to call the utility company and see if the power is still on. If it isn't, hire a reliable locksmith and arm your self with a flashlight and a camera. The key pops, the door opens and you almost feel like CSI. Then you have the ones where they refuse to leave the house and six months after my email, they are still there! Here are some examples below of what you can find!

Just Back From the NFR

2007-12-20T10:51:41Z

NFR? What is a NFR you ask? National Rodeo Finals for the PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association) I know these are a lot of abbreviations, but unlike CRS and ABR and all the other agent designations, I at least explain what they are!

The Pro Rodeo Finals are held every December in Las Vegas, NV at the UNLV Tomas and Mack Arena. There are 10 days to the event and the last night is the big night. You are chosen to the NFR by the amount of money you made over the past year at other PRCA events. Those who have the most winnings are invited. So this is really like the World Series of Rodeo. I have never seen such amazing riders in one setting. Well yes I did when I went in 2004.

We love going because Vegas turns into a cowboy town with country music in the casinos, live country bands at night and a large convention like hall of cowboy shopping otherwise known as Cowboy Christmas (I dont go to that casue I hate shopping).

My wife's parents and brothers came down from Canada and one from LA for the event and we had our Christmas with them as well. We took a Southwest flight from Reno, $100 RT and 1 hour flight to Vegas. Stayed at Harrah's (that's were in-laws were) and to be honest I won't stay there again. The rooms were marginal for $150/night and the restaurants were absolutely terrible. Someone should implode this place! The best meal of the trip was at the New York, New York, where we had rubeuns at a deli there. Excellent bands at both Toby Keiths Bar and Grill and Hooter's (Hooter's btw is in bankruptcy and sounds like they are going to implode that one as well!).

I would go again, but the Tomas and Mack is really too small for this event now at capacity of 20,000. By 2010 there is supposed to be a new arena built behind the Flamingo. In comparison to the Reno Rodeo which is held every June, the NFR goes by so fast, one evert after another. Reason is for ESPN. Reno Rodeo is outside, has a carnival outside, has entertainment in between the events, and isnt as big. But dont get me wrong, Reno Rodeo doesnt have the talent of the NFR. As a gambling city, I like Reno better. Vegas feels like all glitz and Hollywood now, kind of a who can piss farther attitude. $6 for a beer, $8 for a drink, $5 min tables, and $14 for breakfast which consists of eggs ($1 for 12) and a couple of sausage links. Not to mention the throngs of people everywhere and lines for everything from taxis to reataurants. I think if I were to go a gambling trip, I would pick Reno over Vegas.

Why Reno? No lines, $2 min blackjack, $1 Craps, $1 bottled beers, 5 cent poker machines at the bar, $1.50 mixed drinks, $4 breakfasts and $8 dinners. We here in Reno don't have any sticks up our asses either, with good ol western hospitality!

Enjoy the pics!

Locksmith Makes an Extra Key and Robs Home!

2007-12-08T12:15:13Z

I think I have about just seen everything doing these bank owned foreclosures, until this!

I received an email for another REO listing last Friday. My usual thing is to schedule the locksmith first. I had been using a this locksmith. That was a mistake. Since I have been doing so many re-keys, the locksmith would just go out to the property and do it without me and then hide the key and I would come by in an hour and get the key....that way I didn't have to do cable guy scheduling problems. So I schedule the locksmith to go out and re-key.

I go to the home an hour after they had been there to see what I had going and take pics. There was a lot of personal debris in this home including an exercise bike and wheel barrow. It basically looked like they left in the middle of the night. Meanwhile, the neighbor came out when I was there and she was really a nice gal. She had mentioned that they had been gone since March of '07 and no one had really been there again. So I go through the home and lock everything up that needs to be locked up and check all the windows to make sure they are all locked. Off I go!

The next morning after I was done showing property, I check my messages and low and behold, there is a message from the locksmith's owner asking me if she could have the exercise bike as she was there yesterday doing the re-key. I told her I needed to evaluate the personal property to see if it exceeds the $300 limit of abandoned property, but I knew someone else who was looking for one and they had first dibs. She said well call if you can give it to me.....I started thinking.....I then asked her what she was doing in the upstairs of the house (that is where the bike was). She said, "It is our job to make sure that all the windows are secure". I told her that I only hired her to change locks, not to be a security company. I thought to myself then....this is the last time I use these guys.

So I had asked my wife Shannon (who works part time with me) and her brother who were visiting from out of town to go check this house out and see what they think the value is, plus I thought it would be fun for her and her brother to check out this foreclosure thing. Well, I get a call from Shannon and she was in the house and asked where the exercise bike and wheel barrow were. I said upstairs in the bedroom. Well low and behold there was only an indentation of where the bike was. I started asking her for all of these other things that were there and none of it was there. I asked her to go to the neighbor and ask her if anyone had been there and to check to see if there was any forced entry. No forced entry and the neighbor said that a red truck with this license plate had been there....a guy with grey hair and another guy. Hmmmm?

I called the owner of the locksmith and asked her if they had gone to the house to get the bike and other things? Seemed suspicious to me that no one had been around that home for ages, then it is robbed the next day after they were there? I told her that there was no forced entry and the locks were changed so that there was no former owner coming over. She assured me that they had been in business for 23 yrs and would never do something like that. I said ok.....welll we have the license plate and will be calling the police over and run the plate.

About 15 mins goes by and I get a call from this guy one of locksmith's finest. He told me that there was a mis-communication and he would be returning everything....I am very sorry. You see the owner and(another locksmith) re-keyed the house and they cut an extra key so that the other guy could go and take what they wanted and to give the owner the bike she wanted. So I asked...."YOU HAVE AN EXTRA KEY TO THIS HOUSE!" "Well yea I destroyed it", he said. But I will be putting everything back tomorrow.

I called the Owner and asked her if she wanted to come clean. She kept saying she had nothing to do with it. I asked her what she was going to do with Roy...she said just reprimand him!!!!

I went back to the house on Monday and everything that I saw there was returned....but who know what was there prior to me being there that the locksmiths took. I had the Sparks Police come out to file a report and they asked if I wanted to press charges for burglary, but that it would be hard to get the DA to get a case together as it is unknown what property was taken and whose property is it anyway. So, I just had them file a report and would pursue the Washoe County route which is who gives out the locksmith permits.

Yesterday, I received a bill from the locksmith. I can't believe they think that I would pay this bill, especially after I had to get another locksmith out there since who knows how many other keys they have!

The moral of the story is you can't trust anyone anymore.

Listings With Dogs and the Agnets that List the Property

2007-12-01T11:14:04Z

Three dogs on property ARE VERY FRENDLY.

This is on the comments on a country property I am going to show today. In the past, I have been bit by dogs that fit in the above catagory. I love dogs, I have five of my own, but some people just don't like dogs, nor do I like strange dogs running around on a property. I have a fear of being bit, and many people don't like dogs and this will distract from them concentrating on the home. Well, today's client doesn't like dogs and on another home we looked at the owner was waiting at the end of driveway and said the dogs were at the house, but they are friendly. We both told her to go get the dogs or we were going to leave.

So I call the agent and he tells me that there are 3 dogs that wander the property and it will be ok as they are really friendly. Well I have heard that before and the result was 3 puncture wounds through a pair of carhardts. I asked him if the seller can take the dogs for a ride when I show the property and my client doesn't like dogs. He said are you kidding? I said no, I am not.....if the dogs are there we will keep on going. I also threw in there that he is opening himself up to a ton of liability and thought to myself I am glad he is not my agent. He said he never had a request like that....the dogs are very friendly.

Well he did agree to have the dogs leave with the sellers....we will see today....but I also told him I would throw this out there for other agents opinions and see from the comments who is right!

Economist expects housing comeback for region

2007-11-29T10:20:29Z

This article was in our local paper this morning, The Reno Gazette Journal:

http://news.rgj.com//apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071129/BIZ03/711290333

This guy needs to lay off his crack pipe. We are not going to recover in 2008 for the housing market. There is 4300 active homes on the market and only 173 that have sold in Nov as of today. This figure doesnt include new home builders who keep building and undercutting the rest of their communites. There are 375 foreclosures in Washoe and this is just the start of the 2005 re-adjusters and we have all of the 2006 re-adjusters coming, not to mention that all mortgage delinquencies are up 23%.

The median price in Reno/Sparks is still at $285,000, still too high for the avg service/warehouse industry that is here. CA are not moving here anymore because they can't sell their home in CA and what other state has as high of housing prices as we do where it would make economic sense to move here? Mark my words, when the median home price gets down to $210,000 or wages increase 25% (which aint gonna happen) then the market will get better. You should see stabilization mid 2009 - 2010 and one year of flat, then a normal appreciation of 6-8% a year.

Investors and fence sitters, now is the time to buy!

Letter to My Office Landlord Update

2007-11-29T10:16:17Z

I n my last post I mentioned some problems of the new office. Well Danny addressed the issue. His mgmnt company just took over the property 4 months ago as the prior mgmnt was loosing tenants left and right. Hmmm, why were they loosing tenants you ask? The Temp Agency. This temp agency does the staffing for Amazaon.com which is in Fernley, NV and is doing their holiday staffing. By the end of December the riff raff should be gone and wont ever be back. Danny said he could hit them with a nuisence eviction, but that would take too long.

The heat now works too!

Due to all of our problems, Danny is giving December for free. I am a squeaky wheel.

Letter to My Office Landlord

2007-11-27T10:53:04Z

Sometime I wonder if moving to a new better office is worth it? Kind of like the grass is always greener over the septic tank?

We recently moved offices as I finally hired an agent to work for me and our original office was only 80 sq ft, but heck it was only me. After scouting some other locations, I found this place next to a small mexican restaurant near the airport right off the freeway.

We moved in last week and the new office was 300 sq ft and so much more room!

Here is where the grass is greener as posted in my letter this morning to the leasing agent:

Danny:

Picture this:

5:00 PM at the office I arrive to write an offer on a house. I go around the back of building to find a parking spot and the precarious crowd (remnant of downtown Reno) would not let me through or get out of the way. I do manage to find parking, and go to open up my office, while looking at the key I notice the door frame has not been painted and wondering if it ever will, just as the mail slot door flapping in the wind.

Upon entering the office I notice we still don't have heat, nor did the HVAC guy ever call as promised in an hour. My clients arrive through the downtown riff raff crowd and come in the office and the pregnant gal starts shivering. Luckily, I have a small electric heater.

We continue through writing an offer on their first home, and the next thing I know, there is a line of people the entire length of the building with some large lady leading the troops, and yelling that you will enter the bathroom and pee and then move on. Well, we then had smoke wafting through the broken mail slot, folks staring at us through the glass door, talking, yelling, and when it was time to leave, my clients couldn't even get out! Needless to say, I don't think I will be having those clients come back to our new office, nor will I be returning for quite some time.

The moral of the story is you never disclosed to us that there was so many problems with the temp agency (and this is probably why the high vacancy rate for the entire complex) and I don't see them leaving in 3 days (end of NOV as you said in the email below), and that we would have to supply our own heat as our requests have gone unanswered now for almost a WEEK. Kindly tell me, what would you do if you were the broker of a Real Estate Office and had this situation?

Ken

Buyers Trespassing On Vacant Homes

2007-11-19T13:27:26Z

I am starting to experience more and more buyers going and looking at vacant homes without an agent lately. You see most of my parcels are 10 acres or more and these people are just helping themselves to looking at homes without making an appointment. Many of the neighbors around these homes are keeping an eye on them and also have guns. What baffles me the most is that you can't tell from the road that these homes are vacant.....they really have some nerve just going up to a house that you don't know if anyone is home at.

What always cracks me up is when I am driving by and see a car at one of my listings, I always drive up and you should see the look on their faces when I pull up. Some are suprised like they are busted, but others just act like it is ok. Then I inform them they are really trespassing and should have made an appointment. I am waiting for one to get hurt and then try suing the owner.

What is your opinion on this buyer practice?

Real Estate Showing Etiquette Lacking?

2007-11-07T13:37:46Z

Is is me or are any of you seeing a lack of etiquette with real estate agents showing your listings?

Lately, I have had numerous showings on my listings and a pure lack of showing etiquette:

LOCKING DOORS - ON VACANT HOMES THE BUYER'S AGENT IS LEAVING DOORS UNLOCKED.....MAKE SURE THE PROPERTY IS SECURE AND ALL LOCKS ARE LOCKED!
WHEN SHOWING PROPERTY WITH CHILDREN, PLEASE DO NOT LET THE CHILDREN PLAY WITH SELLER'S CHILDREN'S TOYS - I just had a seller call me and say so these people who looked at the house have kids. I asked her how she knew that? She said that all of her kids toys that were all picked up were now scattered all over the living room.
READ PRIVATE REMARKS IN THE MLS - Why do I bother typing private remarks into the MLS if no agent reads them? I have a listing with a old school lockbox with a 4 number code. It says in the private remarks, no showing appointment necessary, go and show, lockbox code is...... Instead I get a call with hi this is Joe I can't read Agent, I want to show your property at...... I then ask.....did you read the private remarks.....UHHHH DUHHH I never printed that out!
IF A PROPERTY IS OCCUPIED PLEASE GIVE MORE THAN ONE HOURS NOTICE TO SHOW - I just had an agent call an hour before he wanted to show a listing. The wife works from home and they have 5 dogs. I called and didn't get an answer and left a message. I told the agent don't show until I call you back. Then the 2 hour window to show the property.....is it that hard to figure out within an hour when you will show a property or is it just too hard for them to take the time to figure that out? I asked him to narrow that time down to an hour and he whined. He said 12-1. Ok I will try my best to get you in. My client calls me back at 11 AM and sure enough....there is someone here.....I hear R-E-A-L-T-O-R. Never knocked, never rang door bell, just walked in!!!!! She told him she was sick and they weren't coming in.....
SHOWING FEEDBACK....DON'T ACT SO STUPID WHEN I CALL - Obviously, there are two things I am going to ask......is it priced right.....do you think the buyer will write an offer. It is like pulling teeth to get this out of most agents......what is the big secret here? I am also amazed at how many agents do not return feedback calls or emails.....I keep a written list of these agents so that when I show their property, I am sure to give them what they gave me....nothing!
IF YOUR BUYER DOESNT LIKE THE HOUSE AND DOESNT GO IN OR THEY DONT LIKE THE AREA, CALL AND CANCEL THE APPOINTMENT!

If this keeps happening, the public is going to really dislike real estate agents as a whole. We are supposed to be professional and if you can't be.....go get a real job! I already have one listing where they me take them off the MLS because of points 1-6. They were so frustrated that now I am the only allowed to show the property. Maybe I expect too much.....what do you think?

Rancho Haven Cows Come To Visit!

2007-10-31T15:58:22Z

Where I live in Rancho Haven Nevada, which is only 40 mins from downtown Reno, and is a community that has 10 acre homesites with over 1000 acres of greenbelts which include horseback riding trails, creeks, waterfowl, and a fishing pond, that are owned by our Home Owner's Association. On those greenbelts, the association has leasing agreements to graze cattle. Right next to my property there is a greenbelt access and the cows came to visit today!

I have many homes and vacant lots available, with homes starting at $278,000 on 10 acres and vacant lots stating at $49,000 for 12 acres.

Fed Lowers Short Term Rate and Another Lender Drops Manufactured Housing!

2007-10-31T15:34:21Z

Well the Fed has once again lowered the short term rate to 4.5%. My guess is we won't see much of this being passed on to the consumers as these banks might find ways to re-coup their losses. The only benefit will be to those on Home Equity Lines and Auto Loans, but for me it hursts my savings accounts. Today's 30 yr fixed rates are at about 6.25%. I was talking to a friend of mine today who is a mortgage broker and she was telling me that there is a bill before congress right now that would essentially eliminate mortgage brokers. I wonder who wrote that bill, do you think a big bank? When will they cease, I mean didn't they just try to become a one-stop shop where they would sell homes too?

On another note, I learned today that Wells Fargo will no longer loan on manufactured housing. Yet in another blow to the average consumer, one of the last few large banks will no longer loan on economical housing. Does anyone out there know of any good manufactured lenders, and I am not talking private paper? What are the circumstances going to be now for those who have a manufactured home that they need to sell. I guess if I get a manu REO listing, I should ask the bank if they would be willing to lend on it?

Practicing Real Estate is Like the Fountain of Youth......

2007-10-26T19:00:17Z

Or so you would think from most real estate agents' pictures....that is until you meet them in person?

On all the brochures, business cards, net pages, and magazines, real estate agents have pictures. Little do we know.....that most of those pictures are from 10, 15 , some even 20 years ago. I have been absolutely floored as you grab the card at your listings.....then you finally meet the agent in person and they look old and ragged and not the star they were on the business card?

Is it that they just haven't used up those 500 cards in 10 years?
Has practicing real estate aged them that quickly or do they really think they still look like their marketing materials?
Is there a hidden custom that you do not ever update your picture in this business?
Does this only pertain to our casino mentality of Northern Nevada?
I think my favorite ones are the ones when they have some old cordless phone up to their ear, with a hand up to their face or under their chin! That will sell your house!
Does anyone have the answer to this mystery?
What are some of your favorite pics?

Fishing Report

2007-10-26T18:10:18Z

Went fishing at Eagle Lake, CA last weekend to re-group and re-boot after I had 8 BPO's last week and one new REO lisitng. The fish were definately slow to bite.....huh, sounds like our buyers today doesn't it? I persisted from 9AM until at 11:45 bam! Figures when I was reeling in this one.....my cell phone starts ringing! I should have thrown that cell phone in the water! Here is the reward! 23 inches, 5 lbs.

DOG LEFT AT FORECLOSED HOME....NEEDS HOME! RENO, NV

2007-10-26T18:06:17Z

Ok, so the dog that I found at my recent REO listing (read story in previous blog) was never claimed at Washoe County Regional Animal Services. They have to make sure the owner has time to claim her.....why though I ask as there is no reason since she didn't have any food or water when I found her.

I asked the director of the Nevada Humane Society (which is a no-kill shelter) to take the dog after she comes out of her redemption period. She agreed and will be brought over.

Now I ask, who has room for this girl in their home?

DOG NEEDS HOME! RENO 911 Foreclosure III

2007-10-16T10:45:04Z

This dog might need a home, please contact me if you can adopt her!

Ok, so last Friday I get a new REO listing. I asked my wife if should would come with me, and in exchange I will buy her lunch. So after a nice lunch, we are off to investigate the occupancy status of my new REO.

It amazes me on how to find your REO on any given street, just look for the dead grass with junk, that is usally a dead give away! And, sure enough, when we pull up, it has dead grass and junk. We go to the front door, looks vacant and viola there is a power termination notice on the front door and a fedex package from a bank, dated in August. Front door is locked. Hmmm, let's try the garage, and yes it is open. So I go in.......into the kitchen, stuff on the counter, nothing in the fridge, a dog bed in family room, and then I look out the back door........and here is this......

This dog is in the back yard!!!!! Now I am thinking that someone lives here and getting a little scared.....there is dog food bag by the back door? So I go up stairs and it is left in a mess but no signs of life other than this dog.

I open the slider in the back (we do labrador rescue) to see if this one is friendly, and sure enough, she is super friendly! No water though for her......no shelter......and no food!!!! So we filled her four bowls and fed her.

This is a mystery.....she isnt skinny???? Is someone coming by to feed her?

We decide to ask the neighbors......the next door ones....they have been gone for two months, once in a while a truck comes up. Did you know there is a dog in the backyard? Um yea when they first left it barked a lot....then got quieter......go across street, ask that neighbor....he knows nothing other than they left two months ago.....one more neighbor.....yea dont know.....we told them all to come get the dog otherwise I will have to get animal control out. (This is a neighborhood I want to move to!!!!).

In the morning I call the bank and see if it is ok to get animal control over to get the dog. They got back to me and said yes. I drove up hoping that these people came and got their dog.....I went to the side yard...looked....whistled.....nothing.....Fhew......then her head pops out of the hole! Crap!!!!!

I call animal control and they sent over a unit. We went and got her and placed her in the truck. Our shelter here works with the humane society, and the humane society takes all the strays (they are a no kill shelter) but if the humane society is full, and there is no room at the county shelter, they kill em. So I am not too happy, but I have 5 rescue dogs myself.....but I know it is better than being in this backyard with no food and water and with rain/snow blowing in. The AC officer put a notice on the garage to call the shelter and I put a note for the mysterious random dog caregiver on where to get the dog.

If no one claims this dog by October 22, then she can out for adoption. She is a sweetheart, rolls over on her back to be pet, nudges your hand to be pet, and just wants some loving. She is probably about 4-5 yrs old. If you have a spot in your home for this girl please let me know!!!!!

Reno 911 Foreclosure II

2007-10-05T10:40:32Z

Went out to my foreclosure listing yesterday. The former owner must have received the notices I posted all over the front of his house! But he hasn't called for cash for keys and is still living there.

I guess he thinks it is ok that he kept re-fing with variable rate HELOC's and coulnd't keep up with the payments? I am sure we in the business are to blame for his house going to foreclosure? Who thinks the govt. should help bail him out?

My only real concern is with the dogs that are living there.....I just hope they don't end up in the pound.

On another note, I was out taking pictures for a BPO on a house that has a notice of default on it.......there was a huge RV parked in the driveway. I twas pretty new and my guess would retail for $175,000. I like that mentality of these people......buy an RV just in case we loose our house in foreclosure?

Is it the weekend yet? Um no, another BPO request was sent over last night......this one they have an ARM that re-adjusted in July to a nice interest rate of 10.75%. Not to mention they bought in 2005, which means they are probably $50,000 - $100,000 below what they paid.

We also have in my area an auction.....starting bid on a 1300 sq ft home on 10 acres, $50,000. I will be there with my checkbook! Inspection day is this Sunday.

Well I can see what this Winter is going to hold, as I sit here with my coffee watching the snow fall.....second Friday in a row where there was 3 inches on the ground.

New Articles On Reno!

2007-10-05T10:28:31Z

Here are some new articles on Reno, one from the Economist and the other from Esquire:

http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9867764

http://www.esquire.com/features/esquire-100/reno1007

Possible New Clients

2007-10-03T19:27:02Z

This is from an email from my friend BJ Perez of Monarch Mortgage:

ok, you know its getting slow when the DirtyBird & Guapo are in the clients chairs pretending to be clients, and keep me company so I dont go nuts! thought you'd get a kick out of this. Dirtyman says he's fully trained now and can do loans... he's even going to contact Wells Fargo for his FHA approval :)

My Life Into Listing Foreclosure Properties

2007-10-03T18:48:47Z

Ok, so if you are always looking for different ways to succeed in this market, you sometimes take a step into selling REO's right? Well you figure they will be the lowest priced home in the area and you aren't dealing with emotional sellers, but rather a large coporation that is writing off assets?

Well, I actually lucked out recently with a listing of mine that went to bank sale and to REO. All has been well with that listing so far as the former owner left graciously and the property in move in condition. I even convinced the REO company to waive the winterization. Do you think a country property on a well would sell if it were winterized? Yes maybe come May.

I just received another REO in suburbia. I was so excited to get going on this one.....expecting to have a home that was in move in condition. I even set an appointment with the locksmith. So, I went over to the home and when I pulled up to it.....it was not what I expected, the backyard was trashed with two angry dogs.

The property was sold two weeks ago, and yes there is someone still living there. Being that it was almost dark I returned to the office. I did find a phone number for the owner.....after many calls and no answer or answering machine, I gave up on phone contact.

Two days went by and it was time to post the cash for keys.....armed with my .22 rifle in the back of the truck(I really didn't bring it....but the thought was there....I would be ok with my scisscors for the tape)....of I went to knock on the door. I knocked.....rang the door bell.....the dogs barked but no answer......posted the signs and left!

I did my report to the bank, and they are going forward with the eviction proceedings......

Any suggestions as to how to get these people out?

Nice landscaping eh?

Glad the Fed Lowered the Rate!

2007-09-24T12:45:16Z

We were all anticipating the Fed lowering the rates. When they did, I jumped for joy! Well that joy elated to about 4 buyer calls.

Then.....the 30 yr fixed rate on Mortgages went up! Wells Fargo went from 6.25% the next day and ended on Friday with 6.35%. The calls have gone dead again. I know the 30 yr mortgages are tied to the 10 yr T-Bill and those are up, but come on, some help here please. My gut feeling is that these big banks are keeping it for themselves to make up for all the bad loans THEY wrote.

On another similar note:

At a House Financial Services Committee hearing Thursday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told lawmakers they should send troubled homeowners one simple but urgent message: "Call your lender or mortgage counselor today."

He noted that 50 percent of foreclosures occur without borrowers ever talking to their lenders, and said that he has gotten reports that lenders have tried to reach distressed borrowers to work out more affordable loan terms. "Yet those calls rarely get returned," he said.

Ok, seems reasonable right? Well I just has a client call me and told me that she can no longer make her payment. She recently re-fied and the loan officer asked her to lie on her income. Hmm, stated income loan? Well she is in a payment of $2500/mo at 8.95% interest. I told her to call her lender and work out a deal with them, because they would rather work with you than foreclose.

I got a call from her the next day, "Ken, I am soooo frustrated, I have been talking to people of this lender all day, and none can speak English. I finally got to one that did, and his recommendation was to do a short sale!"

Whatever Henry Paulson, that call got returned and these lenders really don't seem to care!

Oh by the way, my wife is Canadian, and last week the Canadian Dollar was on par with the US for the first time in 30 something years. Kudos to Bush for simply ruining our economy in only 8 yrs. And Kudos to the Fed, 50 basis points ain't going to help! Looks like I will be fishing this fall and skiing this winter. To buyers, looks like some really great deals will be coming your way in the 4th quarter!

Fed Lowers Short Term Rate

2007-09-18T14:04:54Z

The Federal Reserve lowers the target on a key short-term interest rate for the first time in four years from 5.25% to 4.75%

Well, it is about time the Fed woke up! In the past the Fed just kept hitting the snooze button, but now has lowered its key rate 50 basis points. Many were speculating only 25 points or none at all.

So what does this mean to you the consumer?

Well, many credit cards and auto loans are tied to the short term rate, and this should cut your rate by half a percentage point of interest.

If you had an ARM loan that was going to reset or Home Equity Line of Credit , then this will help ease your pain. Let's say you had a loan on $300,000 that was going to go up to 9% interest. Now your rate will go up to 8.5% interest. That would give you a monthly payment based on a 30 yr amortization of $2306.74 with 8.5%. At 9%, you would be at $2413.87, for a savings of $107.13. Will that be enough though to keep folks from going under?

Hopefully we will see this rate cut move over to long term mortgage rates. My opionion is we should see rates get to or slightly below 6%. An area that could use even more help would be for Jumbo Loans, those that are higher than $417,000. Those rates have jumped really high lately and could use some easing.

So what does this all mean?

If you are waiting to buy a home, go ahead and jump in. If rates come down you can buy more home for your dollar. I have been writing offers that are being accepted that are $25,000 to $30,000 below market value. If they aren't being accepted, then there are 10 other similiar homes available.