Homeowners with Wachovia short sales can really benefit.  Those out of state buyers from Canada for vacation homes can really take advantage of not having to wait FOREVER for an answer.

Just what this market and the buyers needed.  Pre-approved short sales.  It turns out that not only Wachovia but World Savings and borrowers with loans with Golden West can benefit from the streamlined short sale process that has started.

Hopefully, all other banks will begin to pick up on this process and we can see some market stability.

I am just happy to be able to help those homeowners that can no longer afford their home mortgage payment especially if their adjustable rate mortgage starts to put the squeeze on their budget.  Feel free to comment with questions you may have about your particular situation.

Finally, normal may be moving in the right direction.

Homeowners with loans at World Savings, Wachovia and Golden West may be the lucky ones getting some relief.

It turns out that World Savings for homeowners in areas to include Gilbert, Mesa, Chandler, Tempe, Ahwatukee and other Phoenix Cites close to Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport will be getting some relief.  Homes for sale as short sales may give great opportunities for student housing near Arizona State University and Mesa Community College because those above banks have started rolling out their pre-approved short sale program.

Many homeowners can benefit from doing a short sale and if they can get pre-approved, it allows those homes to sell within a very short period of time.  Especially since the approval process can be as short as 7 to 10 days from file opening and you don't have to have a contract in place to start the process.

Finally, some relief.

It's tough to find a dry cleaner that doesn't double crease pants or shirts.  Prestine Cleaners not only provides excellent quality in the work that they do, every morning I go in, I am greeted by either Mary the manager or Randy the owner.

Mary's son Danny recently started working there as well and the two of them do on-site alterations.  They have become almost like family.  Often, we discuss life experiences when we have the time.  Recently, I was invited over to Mary and Danny's for dinner when their new build home is completed.

It's always great to do business with a customer oriented staff.  Their professionalism matches their quality and they even have a cool motto:  "Life is too short to wear wrinkled clothes!"

They are extremely close to The Lakes in Tempe and Tempe Royal Palms.

My best client is a REALTOR!

A full time agent helping buyers and sellers.

He came across some work I did on selling a short sale quickly and approached me with a plan:

He will buy properties at auction for investors he represents and I will sell them

 at a premium and I get a full 6% co-broke.  So, what's the catch?

I gotta fetch a premium!

One way I do that...STAGING.  The staging industry "claims" that a staged home will fetch a 7% higher sales price than a vacant home.  "So, that's how I'll fetch the premium," I thought to myself, "and I'll just keep knocking down 6%!"

THE BEFORE STORY:

After buying at auction, the home is listed at $288,500.00 with a $3,000 bonus to the selling agent.  The place goes nuts with activity but after 6 days, NO OFFERS!  The seller is fully convinced that a little work here and there will get more money...

He commits to "yummying" up the home to the tune of $18,000.00 for some touch up things.

The AFTER STORY:

The interior is painted, the baseboards are cleaned, granite tile is added to the kitchen and master bathroom counters, the tile and carpet are steam cleaned, the windows are professionally washed, sinks are changed, hall and bathroom lighting is changed, the exterior is power washed and the landscaping is touched up...

THE HOME IS READY FOR THE ICING ON THE CAKE...THE STAGING

Thanks to my stager's urging, I have accumulated almost 20 silk floor plants, artwork, pottery, glassware, silk desk plants, silk plants in styrofoam (for shelves), a fake TV, mirrors, towels, etc.  My garage literally looks like a jungle as I have almost 100 plant units alone.  She had me bring some stuff over and...

 In 4 days we had 6 contracts!!!  All of them OVER list price!!!!

In closing:  My seller would've taken a net of $285,500 before the staging.  Instead, he ended up with a sales price at $315,000 with huge earnest money, no contingencies and made an extra $12,000+ on the sale of the home that took only 5 days to go under contract.  I'm glad I met Brenda Tucker of Haverhill Staging.  She did a phenomenal job.  Enjoy the rest of the photos!

The photos in the column above on the right are the "Before" and the ones below are the "After"

AFTER:

That's the headline that I have been using for the home that I have listed in the Casa Fiesta subdivison in Tempe, AZ.

This home is near Phoenx Sky Harbor airport, Arizona State University, freeway access, shopping malls and more.

Any critique of the following advertisement for the property would be helpful.  Feel free to comment away.  Thank you in advance, Mark Organek

Tempe, AZ 5 Bedroom Homes for Sale near ASU State University Student Housing Opportunity

If you or anyone you know want to search for homes, feel free to go to www.monopolyman.com to either search the foreclosure lists or to set up a custom search.

I have put a bunch of photos on a land listing that I have in Eloy, Arizona which is about 30-40 minutes from Phoenix and about an hour from Tucson.

It's a pretty large parcel of land sitting at 40 acres.  I didn't know what else to do but stand in the middle area and take a bunch of pictures.  Some of them look the same as others.  If you have the time, please provide feedback, otherwise, thanks for stopping in.

Eloy, Arizona vacant residental land for sale 40 acres near Arizona City, Phoenix and Tucson.

Thank goodness that in Gilbert, Arizona, our process to foreclose is a non-judicial foreclosure.  As such, it helps us to get properties under contract quickly.  This one went from listing to accepted offer from seller in 11 days.  Hopefully, Countrywide will move quickly to get things going now that they have control of the file.

This 4 bedroom homes for sale in Gilbert, Arizona The Islands sits in a lake community.

There are many other properties to choose from in Gilbert, AZ in The Islands and the surrounding communities.  Search on your own at www.monopolyman.com if you'ld like.

-Mark

I recently started working with large families and since they new others with large families, I decided to menu out 5 bedroom homes for them.

I contacted agents in Tempe, Arizona near ASU to see if I could "borrow" their listings and market them.  I got permission from them first but now some of the pictures aren't coming up clearly.  The link will open in a new window and you will see the pictures look fine in the thumbnail images but don't when clicked on to enlarge.

Tempe 5 Bedroom Homes for Sale

I worry that students at Arizona State University or their parents looking for student housing for college may pass on the opportunity to get a new home just because of the photos.  Is there a way to focus these photos or will I have to go the driving distance to get new shots.

Any advice will be helpful.

I used to read and post frequently on Active Rain.  It turns out that since I averaged about 20 comments per day from reading blog posts, I learned a ton.  I'm about to hit my first full year in real estate, if I haven't hit it already, and I still have the same problem I did a couple of months after I started:

I just have too much business to handle!  See below:

For a while, I didn't refer any of the business out because I was concerned about the quality of service that the clients would receive.  Would the agents dress professionally, return phone calls, show up on time, etc.?  Then, I started to refer out to random agents, each with many, many years in the business thinking that these people would be handled properly and that:

some service was better than the "no service" I was providing by not being able to get back to them.

Recently, I took a class to learn how to better manage the business.  It turns out that I need to have a job description laid out for people that I want to handle my buyer and listing business.

How can I write a job description for people when I only have one year in the business?

I know how to help a buyer and be attentive to their needs but so do other agents.  I know how to get listings and put them on the market but I know that others out there have better structured listing procedures but just lack in the ability to get listings.

Where do I find these people?

Whenever I feel down or blue, I turn to Active Rain and read things that people like Margaret or Gary post.

Now, I need someone that can help me with leads, both buyer and seller!

I need someone that can work with me that has expertise in a particular area of real estate that will say, "I specialize in helping people that are _________ (first time homebuyers, investors, short sellers, multi-family, cash buyers, etc.) and if you bring them to me, I'll do xyz and we can profit together."

If anyone can help me with this issue that I am struggling with, please comment, email or call.  I just need help and want to make sure that the people that trust my marketing, referral partners or past clients get taken care of.

Thank you!

I know that I haven't been posting for a while but now I have reached the point where I have to.  I can't keep in communication with my current and past clients effectively so I have resorted to blogging and twitter to keep in touch with my investors and FTHB's.

I have a way to go but thanks to Active Rain, I know I will get all the instruction that I need on how I can maximize the technology.  So far, I've got AR, Linkedin and Twitter as tools.  Any other suggestions or direction would be helpful.