As I search through the MLS looking for properties that meet a buyer's specific needs, I come across some very interesting photos.  I am sure we all do.

It amazes me how little attention some of our fellow practitioners pay to this critical aspect of marketing.  Don't well over eighty percent of buyers start looking for a property on the Internet?

Isn't it our responsibility to emphasize the most attractive aspects of a property in an effort to get more showings, and hopefully offers?  Granted, we can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear but we should be able to do better than this! 

Rule #1   If you put a greasy fingerprint on your lens WIPE IT OFF before you take the picture!

It's a LONG WAY to the wood stove!  But the hallway is narrow.  Maybe the cold air won't get down here very fast, or is that ice on the walls?

     Got flashlight?

                                                     Is this a shed or the single bath?

   Staged by Fibber McGee (If you are not old enough to remember him,   look him up.)

 If you opened the car window, don't you think there would be less glare and reflection?  You might even be able to get the entire house in the shot!

     Some photographers use perspective to enhance their shots.  And then there is this offering.  (If you are going to use a wide angle lens hold the camera level!!!!)

  This reminds me of the fun house at Coney Island.  (New Yorkers will understand.)

  Is this an attic or a mine shaft?

                                                And my personal FAVORITE!!!

El Dorado Hills, CA REO (BANK OWNED) SALES DATA FOR December 2009

This is a continuation of my two-plus year monthly report on Bank Owned home sales data for El Dorado Hills, CA.  This report covers REO homes sold in December of 2009.

There were 20 REO homes sold in December, twice the number sold the previous month.  This despite the normal seasonal drop in activity and a reduction in the number of REO homes on the market.

The average days-on-market doubled to 50.  There was on REO home that had been on the market for 381 days and a full 30% of the REO homes sold were on the market for more than 60 days.  Despite this fact, 45% of the REO homes sold in less two weeks or less.  The well priced homes are selling quickly as usual.  Those that were not well priced took much longer to sell-Real estate 101. 

The 20 REO homes that sold represent 35.1% of all homes sold in El Dorado Hills in December, up from 23.3% last month.  REO inventory is declining. 

The cost per square foot of REO homes in December decreased to $ 151, down from $ 156 last month.  The cost per square foot of all homes sold in December increased $ 166, up five dollars from November. 

The difference between the cost per square foot of REO properties and the cost per square foot of all properties sold indicates that REO homes represented a 9% savings for REO buyers.  

The overall sales price for REO homes was 101.2% of the final asking price, and 98% of the original asking price.  This proves once again that an expectation of buying a Bank Owned home for bargain prices is unrealistic.  There are good values available but the banks are not giving them away.

The actual, measurable savings is the difference in cost per square foot between REO homes sold and the cost per square foot of all home sold:  in December, $ 15 per square foot.  That is a $ 37,500 savings on a 2500 square foot home, not a small sum.  

The data follows:

Folsom, CA REO (BANK OWNED) SALES DATA FOR December 2009

This is a continuation two plus year study of Bank Owned home sales data for Folsom, CA.  This report covers REO homes sold in December of 2009.

There were 19 REO homes sold in December, up from 12 in November.  That is a 58.4% increase despite the normal seasonal decrease in home sales in general.  The days-on-market decreased from 37 in November to 31 in December.  The number of REO homes that sold in less than two weeks was 47.4% of the total.  That tells us that well priced REO homes are selling like hot cakes. 

The 19 homes sold represent only 27.6% of all homes sold in Folsom, a lower number than normal.  Short sales homes are having an impact.

The overall home inventory in Folsom continues to drop and we have only a 3.6 month inventory at present.  This indicates a strong seller's market.  A neutral market is considered a 6 month inventory.

The cost per square foot of REO homes in December decreased from $ 170 in November to $ 165.  The cost per square foot of all homes sold in December decreased to $ 176, down two dollars from November.  Prices may have reached a bottom since the month-to-month changes have been bouncing within a narrow range.  

The difference between the cost per square foot of REO properties and the cost per square foot of all properties sold indicates that REO sales represented a 6.2% savings for REO buyers. That is an increase from November.  

The overall sales price for REO homes was 102.1% of the final asking price.  The banks are still pricing these homes well and in December there was an eleven dollar per square foot savings, compared to the cost of all homes sold.  That is still a $ 27,500 savings on a 2500 square foot home, something worth considering when selecting a home.

The data follows:

How responsible are we, as Realtors, for our client's property security?

 The answer seems obvious, right?  When we provide access to a property we should ensure that it is secure when we depart that property.  

However, it man not be as simple as it seems.  Most of us are fairly trusting of our buyer clients.  We do not expect them to cause damage to a listing that we show them.  The problem is that some of them may have another agenda all together.

This is a true story about a short sale listing on which my buyer has the accepted offer.  We are waiting to hear from the lien holder to see if they are gong to accept our offer or not.  Many of you are probably in the same position right now.

The seller is out of the area and the home is vacant.  With a few minor exceptions the home was in excellent condition when we submitted our offer.  Naturally, until we have lien holder approval the listing agent still has the property on the market in what we call locally a Short Sale Contingent status (meaning that there is an offer accepted by the seller, waiting for lien holder approval but we will accept backup offers).  So, a few agents are still showing the property.

Some time last week as person or persons unknown got in to the home without breaking any windows or jimmying any locks.  The brought cans of spray paint and painted all of the walls, floors, cabinets and doors.  They damaged several ceiling fans, smashed the oven door glass and knocked down some smoke detectors.  Photos attached.

It looks like they were in the home either during an open house or at a showing with an agent and unlocked one of the windows.  They came back later, entered the home and did their damage. One school of thought is that they may have wanted to cause enough damage to cause my buyer to walk away so that they could pick up the property for a song, due to the damage.

Had the agent involved been more diligent, they may have caught the unlocked window and prevented the incident.  It certainly does not make the Realtor community look very responsible.

The purpose for this post is to advise one an all of what happened and what could happen to their listings.  It certainly does not give one a warm fuzzy feeling about potential buyers.  We may have to revise the ditty to "buyers are vandals!"  Agents BEWARE!

Note that this is an upscale area with security gates and roving security.

El Dorado Hills, CA REO (BANK OWNED) SALES DATA FOR November 2009

This is a continuation of my two plus year monthly report on Bank Owned home sales data for El Dorado Hills, CA.  This report covers REO homes sold in November of 2009.

There were 10 REO homes sold in November, down from 22 in October.  This reflects the seasonal drop in activity and a reduction in the number of REO homes on the market.

The average days-on-market dropped to 25, down from 43 in October.  REO homes are still selling quickly.  Of the REO homes sold, 40% were on the market for less than two weeks, up from 31.0% last month.

The 10 REO homes that sold represent only 23/3% of all homes sold in El Dorado Hills in November, down from 40% last month.  REO inventory is declining. 

The cost per square foot of REO homes in November increased to $ 156, up from $ 149 in October.  The cost per square foot of all homes sold in November  increased $ 161, up five dollars from October. 

The difference between the cost per square foot of REO properties and the cost per square foot of all properties sold indicates that REO sales represented only a 3.1% savings for REO buyers.  Short Sales are having an impact on this number. 

The overall sales price for REO homes was 100.4% of the final asking price, and 98% of the original asking price.  This proves once again that an expectation of buying a Bank Owned home for fifty cents on the dollar is a pipe dream.

The actual, measurable savings is the difference in cost per square foot between REO homes sold and the cost per square foot of all homes sold; in November, $ 5 per square foot.  That is a $ 12,500 savings on a 2500 square foot home, still not a small sum.   The data follows:

Folsom, CA REO (BANK OWNED) SALES DATA FOR November 2009

This is a continuation two plus year study of Bank Owned home sales data for Folsom, CA.  This report covers REO homes sold in November of 2009.

There were 12 REO homes sold in October, down from 19 in October.  That is a 36.9% decrease and an obvious reflection of the normal seasonal decrease in home sales in general.  The days-on-market increased from 27 in October to 37 in November.  For the first time in many months only 16.7% of the homes sold were on the market for less than two weeks.  We do not expect this to continue.  Normally over 30% of the homes that sell did so in less than two weeks. 

The 12 homes sold represent only 20% of all homes sold in Folsom, a lower number than normal. 

The overall home inventory in Folsom continues to drop and we have only a 2.9 month inventory at present.  This indicates a strong seller's market.  A neutral market is considered a 6 month inventory.

The cost per square foot of REO homes in November increased to $ 170, up from $ 163 in October.  The cost per square foot of all homes sold in October decreased to $ 178, down two dollars from October.  Prices are may have reached a bottom since the month-to-month changes have been bouncing within a narrow range.  

The difference between the cost per square foot of REO properties and the cost per square foot of all properties sold indicates that REO sales represented a 4.5% savings for REO buyers.   

The overall sales price for REO homes was 101.4% of the final asking price.  In November only 33.4% of the REO homes that sold did so for less than the final asking price!  

The banks are still pricing these homes well and in November there was an eight dollar per square foot savings, compared to the cost of all homes sold.  That is still a $ 20,000 savings on a 2500 square foot home, something worth considering when selecting a home.

The data follows:

El Dorado Hills, CA REO (BANK OWNED) SALES DATA FOR OCTOBER 2009

This is a continuation of my monthly report on Bank Owned home sales for El Dorado Hills, CA.  This report covers REO homes sold in October of 2009, the latest in my study of over two years.

There were 22 REO homes sold in October, up from 14 in September.  The average days-on-market jumped to 43, up from the record low of eleven days in September.  There were three homes that sold in October that had been on the market for 249, 127 and 108 days respectively, which had an effect on this statistic.   Of the REO homes sold, 31.9% were on the market for two weeks or less.     

The 22 homes sold represent 40% of all homes sold in El Dorado Hills.

Bank owned and Short Sales represent a majority of the home sales in today's market. 

The cost per square foot of REO homes in October decreased to $ 149, down from $ 158 in September.  The cost per square foot of all homes sold in October dropped twelve dollars, to $ 156. 

The difference between the cost per square foot of REO properties and the cost per square foot of all properties sold indicates that REO sales represented a 4.4% savings for REO buyers.  

The overall sales price for REO homes was 101.9% of the final asking price. Only 36.4% of the REO homes that sold did so for less than the asking price. 

At this writing there are 321 homes on the market in El Dorado hills, representing a 5.8 month inventory.  We have edged into a seller's market.    

The actual, measurable savings is the difference in cost per square foot between REO homes sold and the cost per square foot of all homes sold:  in October, seven dollars per square foot.  That is a        $ 17,500 savings on a 2500 square foot home, still a tidy sum.  

THe data follows:

Folsom, CA REO (BANK OWNED) SALES DATA FOR OCTOBER 2009

This is a continuation two year study of Bank Owned home sales data for Folsom, CA.  This report covers REO homes sold in October of 2009.

There were 19 REO homes sold in October, up from 11 in September.  That is a 72.8% increase.  The days-on-market increased from 20 in October to 27 in September.  The primary reason for the increase is that one home that had been on the market for 156 days sold last month, skewing the average days-on-market figure.  The fact that 52.7% of the REO homes sold in two weeks or less shows that REO homes are still selling quickly. 

The 19 homes sold represent 27.6% of all homes sold in Folsom, within the normal range for this study. 

The overall home inventory in Folsom is presently 250, a 3.6 month inventory, down from 4.7 in August, indicating a continuing strong seller's market.  At this rate there will be a shortage of available homes very soon.  A neutral market is considered a 6 month inventory.

The cost per square foot of REO homes in October decreased to $ 163, down from $ 170 in August.  The cost per square foot of all homes sold in October decreased to $ 180, down two dollars from September.  Prices are still trending downward but more slowly than in the past few years.

The difference between the cost per square foot of REO properties and the cost per square foot of all properties sold indicates that REO sales represented a 9.4% savings for REO buyers.   

The overall sales price for REO homes was 99.5% of the final asking price.  In October only 31.6% of the REO homes that sold did so for less than the asking price!  

However, the banks are still pricing these homes well and in September there was a seventeen dollar per square foot savings, compared to the cost of all homes sold.  That is still a $ 42,500 savings on a 2500 square foot home, something worth considering when selecting a home.

The data follows:

HOW TO AVOID FORECLOSURE

Fannie Mae Deed-for-Lease Progra

Fannie Mae has come out with another option to help distressed home owners avoid foreclosure.  Any program that will help is worth looking at. The program guidelines are very specific and not everyone will qualify.

It is a variation of the deed-in-lieu process, through which the homeowner/borrower gives the lien holder the deed to the property in lieu of foreclosure.  The lien holder becomes the owner of the property and the distressed homeowner who meets the guidelines remains in the home as a tenant.

• The borrower must have sufficient income to qualify to pay the market rent for the property.  The cap is 31% of the borrower(s) gross income.  So a family with a $ 2000 per month gross income can only qualify for a $ 620 monthly rent payment.  The borrower must submit proof of income.
• The borrower must continue to occupy the property.  They can not initiate the program, move out and sublet to another party.
• The property must be kept in good condition.
• This program was announced on November 5, 2009, and not many loan servicers have embraced it at this writing.  The guidelines will not allow many to qualify, but is an option for those who do.

 For more information go to:

http://www.fanniemae.com/newsreleases/2009/4844.jhtml

 If you have further questions feel free to contact Mike West:

(916) 337-0658

 http://www.ForeclosureStopper.ORG

El Dorado Hills, CA REO (BANK OWNED) SALES DATA FOR SEPTEMBER 2009

This is a continuation of my monthly report on Bank Owned home sales for El Dorado Hills, CA.  This report covers REO homes sold in September of 2009, the latest in my study of over two years.

There were 14 REO homes sold in September, four more than sold in August.  The average days-on-market dropped drastically to eleven, down from 36 days in August.  REO homes are selling like hot cakes.  Of the REO homes sold, 35.8% were on the market for less than two weeks.  The longest one on the market was 23 days.   

The 14 homes sold represent 34.2% of all homes sold in El Dorado Hills, up from 26.4 in August. 

The cost per square foot of REO homes in June increased to $ 158, up from $ 144 in August.  The cost per square foot of all homes sold in September increased seven dollars, to $ 168. 

The difference between the cost per square foot of REO properties and the cost per square foot of all properties sold indicates that REO sales represented a 5.9% savings for REO buyers.  

The overall sales price for REO homes was 102.7% of the final asking price. Worthy of note is the fact that only one of the REO homes sold did so for less than the asking price.   The limited inventory and aggressive pricing result in offers at or above the asking price; the only way for buyers to get their offers accepted over competing buyers.    

The actual, measurable savings is the difference in cost per square foot between REO homes sold and the cost per square foot of all homes sold:  in September, $10 per square foot.  That is a $ 25,000 savings on a 2500 square foot home, a tidy sum.  

 The data follows: