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foreclosure: Foreclosures, Then Short Sales, and Now Half Built Houses! - 02/27/10 08:49 PM
It is tough to be a buyer in this market. The Washington Post and the New York Times say repeatedly that there are bargains to be had. Poor buyers keep chasing the bargains, which seem to be on a track. always a few steps ahead of them. But now, there is a new phenomenon to capture buyers' dreams and expectations of profit - half-finished homes for sale: bare-stud, bare-yard houses abandoned by their builders.
Purchasing a partially-built home is nothing new; lots of buyers do it as they sign new-home contracts before even a slab had been poured. However, now, the builder may no longer … (7 comments)
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foreclosure: Buying a Foreclosure - Buyer Beware - 12/05/09 10:02 PM
If you are like many buyers who have been reading the real estate section of your local newspaper, you probably think a foreclosed house may be the best deal. According to the NAR, these houses often sell for about 15 to 20 percent less than comparable homes in the same neighborhood.
Despite the seemingly great deals however, anyone considering buying a foreclosed house should heed the classic warning: Caveat emptor, or let the buyer beware.
First, getting a contract on a house in a desirable neighborhood can be hard to do. Many buyers are outdone by all-cash bidders. Buyers also need to search … (7 comments)
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foreclosure: One Criminal Down - Many More Left to Convict and Sentence - 11/17/09 09:28 PM
Joy Jackson, a former exotic dancer who became president of the Metropolitan Money Store, was sentenced yesterday to more than twelve years in jail. She was convicted of stealing millions from Washington area homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure. She used the cash to buy jewelry, fur coats and vacations, and to cover a lavish wedding at the Mayflower Hotel, where Patti LaBelle serenaded guests who feasted on lobster and drank Cristal.
The Metropolitan Money Store advertised on gospel and R&B stations and promised to help people keep their homes and repair their credit. Instead, Jackson and several co-conspirators, including her husband, Kurt Fordham, took titles to … (2 comments)
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foreclosure: It is Only a Home - 09/10/09 07:35 PM
I had a client, a well educated client, recently ask me if I thought they could buy X house and expect to make $100,000 on it in the next five years - nearly a 25% appreciation in this particular case. I quickly told them NO, NO, NO!
I admit that I was rather surprised by the question. We had been looking at homes that they could fix up with some hope of financial appreciation as the result of a significant input of sweat equity, but this was a completely renovated - turnkey house.
I launched into my reminder speech about how … (2 comments)
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foreclosure: No Heat/ No Water - Just Another Day Showing Houses - 03/21/09 08:28 AM
When I got my associate broker's license in 1989, I joked with my family that I was going to sell $1M houses, pop bonbons, and drive a Jaguar. Of course, the market tanked immediately after I got my license, there were no bonbons (bad for my waistline). I never drove a Jaguar - always drove a Jeep (but hey- they both start with "J"), and I told my family that I was now selling $1M houses for $300k.
Then the market improved, and even rocketed beyond itself. Suddenly I was selling $300k houses for $1M. At least my family and my accountant were happy … (20 comments)
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foreclosure: The Reality of a Realtor 2009 - 03/20/09 11:03 PM
When I got my associate broker's license in 1989, I joked with my family that I was going to sell $1M houses, pop bonbons, and drive a Jaguar. Of course, the market tanked immediately after I got my license, there were no bonbons (bad for my waistline). I never drove a Jaguar - always drove a Jeep (but hey- they both start with "J"), and I told my family that I was now selling $1M houses for $300k.
Then the market improved, and even rocketed beyond itself. Suddenly I was selling $300k houses for $1M. At least my family and my accountant were happy … (1 comments)
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foreclosure: There is a Silver Lining to Foreclosures - 02/22/09 11:51 AM
Yes, I realize that it is hard to put the words "foreclosure"and "silver lining" together in the same sentence. However, while the foreclosure is a tragedy on a personal level for someone or a whole family and a national tragedy for all of us, it does create an opportunity for home ownership for someone who had been priced out of the housing market before.
The Washington Post just did an article in its real estate section this weekend talking about the beneficiaries of the housing bust - young couples who couldn't afford to buy a home before. These buyers are helping all … (45 comments)
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foreclosure: Foreclosure Activity Varies Greatly from State to State - Even between Neighbors - 01/03/09 09:24 PM
I subscribe to the Foreclosure News Report, and I was fascinated to see the differences between Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, which many of us in the DC metro area tend to think of as one big market. (Obviously I am mistaken!)
DC had 207 properties with foreclosure filings in October 2008 or .80 actions per 1,000 households. This was an 8.61 percent increase over Sept. 2008 and a 176.83% increase over October 2007 (possibly because of expanded data coverage).
Maryland had 2,973 properties with foreclosure filings in October 2008 or 1.29 actions per 1,000 households. This was an 32.31 percent increase … (0 comments)
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foreclosure: The Circle Goes Round - 01/01/09 08:14 PM
Have you ever had the experience of showing a client the perfect house but it was too soon to make a decision and then three months, six months, even a year later, they end up buying the house next door? Or watching a client look and look, passing up good houses, until they were too tired to keep looking so they buy the next house that comes along, even though it is not as good as several that they have passed up before.
Then there is the experience I just had recently. This summer I started working with a young man who thought that … (3 comments)
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Lise Howe, Assoc. Broker and Attorney Licensed in DC, MD, VA,Coldwell Banker
Washington,
DC
More about me…
Keller Williams Metro Team Realty
Address: 15204 Omega Drive, Rockville, MD, 20850
Office Phone: (240) 401-5577
Cell Phone: (240) 401-5577
Email Me
As an full time and very active Realtor in the DC metro area, I love to write about the DC market, special communities within the market, and new listings, and to connect with other agents in ActiveRain on ways to improve our service to the public and our marketing abilities.
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