Short Sales in Wichita, KS - Two Success Stories!

Everyone's heard the horror stories - Short Sales are iffy, 50% get denied, etc.  And yes, they are iffy.  But when you can make them work, it's the best thing for everyone. 

The sellers don't get foreclosed on.  The buyers get a bit of a deal.  The one thing you absolutely have to have if you are considering selling or buying a short sale - patience, lots of it.  They are not fast.  In fact, they are notoriously long.  Dont' think weeks, think months.

Some recent examples:

1.  Buyers come into town to find a great fixer upper to get ready for the Fall for their kids to move here to go to college.  We find a great house with lots of room and a great price though it needs a ton of work.  We make an offer on the short sale. It's late February.  Months go by as the file is processed.  It's June now - the bank tells us they promise they will have it reviewed and approved by the end of June.  3 times they promise us this.  We schedule our appraisal and inspection, and to be safe, a closing for mid-July.  2 weeks before our closing date they decide to do yet another appraisal (the 3rd so far) to double/triple check the value.  On our closing date - they claim they still haven't even gotten the appraisal turned in and can't review it and can't close.  So we don't close.  The approval is finally in and we are set to close on August 1st.  5 months later! Due to the length of time, the sellers credit is still ruined but at least not foreclosed.

2. Seller refi'd her heart out and is upside down on a home built new in an old area.  It'd be worth that in an area conforming to the style of her house, but not where it is.  To make the effort, we list it high enough to avoid short, with a few shows but  no nibbles.  After discussing the options, the seller says we got to get it sold - short it is.  So we price it for the market.  Within 2 weeks, we have 3 offers.  Packet is sent off.  After only 3 weeks, the bank gets back to us with a counter-offer.  We submit that and lose 2 of our buyers.  The lowest bidder comes back way under where the previous top was.  We submit and keep holding out.  Within 1 week of the counter, we have 7 offers on the property.  Within 3 days of submitting those to the bank, we had an approval letter!! We're scheduled to close on the top offer in the middle of August.  From short sale pricing to approval - in less than 2 months! Seller's credit is saved and she can move on with her life!

The difference in these two scenarios - the lender for the seller.  Scenario one involves getting an approval from Wells Fargo - as easy as getting Congress to agree on something.  The second involves Citifinancial - the most pleasant and wonderful loss mitigation team ever. 

Both buyers got a great deal on a house, both sellers avoided a foreclosure on their record! 

 

Just remember - if you want a deal - the easiest route is foreclosed properties.  Short sales can work - but you need patience and flexibility.  I had a total of 10 offers on that 2nd scenario.  That means that 9 buyers got told to go find another home. 

Think you qualify to sell short?  Interested in picking up a foreclosure special?  Drop me an email and see what we can do for you!  sheree@ksgreathomes.com

TGIF - MY week in review!

Oh Thank goodness it's over!

 

I love my job, I really really do! I live and breathe real estate.  But sometimes we have those weeks where enough is just enough! 

Every day this week, I have gone to the office at 8am, and gotten home at 9pm.  Yes, that's right, 9pm. I spend most of the day part at the office, and all evening showing houses.  All week.  I barely remember what my kids look like, LOL!

Wednesday night I got word that both my closings on Thursday were not going to happen.  1 was a short sale through Wells Fargo that we've been waiting 5 1/2 months for and they had promised us we were good to close for the end of June, then didn't deliver the approval, but promised it'd be good for our close date of July 17th. I was up until midnight on the phone with these clients because they were supposed to take off at 5am to drive to our city to close on this home and I didn't want them to drive all the way here THEN find out they weren't closing.  Especially since they had a trailer load of construction materials and 2 contractors in tow!!

We elected that they'd come here and we'd spend their closing day hunting for other homes. so I stayed up till 1am printing off MLS sheets so I could hit the road bright and early scheduling showings. 

Thursday came and we saw 17 houses in 4 hours. Whoo! 

The good news being that they found a house they like even better than the short sale that we put an offer in, and also the short sale finally started moving.  So it'll likely be a whichever tells us yes first scenario.  Crazy thing - the houses are right next door to each other - crazy!!!

The other, well, it was no biggee, more of a delay in underwriting because they were backed up, but it was scary as we were supposed to close it last week the first time. 

A very harrowing week, for sure.  I am exhausted and glad it's over. 

BUT: I have a clear to close Monday on a very excited young couple, I have an offer in on a better house for my out of town'ers, I got an accepted offer for my clients on a short sale fsbo, and I submitted/negotiated/got an accepted offer for another first time buyer couple!

Can I sleep now!!

 

What NOT to do while you wait to Close!

You've found your home! You're excited, overwhelmed, anxious and more!  Sometimes common sense has left the room!  But hold tight to a few key rules - or that home you loved might slip away by accident.

When you apply for your loan, the bank takes a picture of your finances.  They don't want those to change before closing, because that's what they're loaning based on.  So with that in mind, here's a few key No-No's or What Not to Do Before Closing!

• Do NOT change jobs - if you are considering it, talk to your lender FIRST and try to stay in the same line of work, where it might possibly, could, maybe be okay.  Switching careers right now could destroy your chances of your home!  Do this before or after, but not during!

 

• Do NOT make any large credit purchases - In fact, try not to use your credit at all right now.  But most definitely do NOT buy a vehicle, get another loan, etc.

  

                       FACT: This is a true story.  One lady wanted to doll up for her closing, bought thousands in BLing Bling and then could not qualify for her home.  The most frequent offense is the car purchase.  Please delay this until after closing, rent a car for a month if yours is busted, but delay this purchase!

• What you present to the bank as your liquid assets (savings, money market, etc) needs to still be there at closing.  They will check to see.  This is no time to loan your brother some bucks.

                       FACT: I have a couple who may lose a home due to using large portions of their reserves to purchase furniture for their new home, before closing. 

                          

I promise we're not trying to be mean!  We're really looking out for you!  What good is all that furniture going to be if you don't get the house because of it.  I'm not asking you to put your life on hold forever, just long enough to get through escrow and make the home yours! 

Wichitans - Please Forgo the Sprinklers!

It's that time again!

The City of Wichita has announced that there's been an unexpected breakdown in the water treatment plant, leaving the city with only about half of its normal water flow!

The water we do have is just fine, safe to drink, but there's just not as much of it!

The city is asking residents on city water to please discontinue exterior uses of water for about a week!  This would be things such as watering the lawn, washing the car, hosing down the house, etc.  And if you can be conservative in your water usage inside, that'd help too!

If we are not conservative, there is a chance water could run dry for important features such as fire hydrants, and eventually even to our faucets!

If you use well water for any of these purposes, you are just fine to continue doing so!

But for the rest of us - Hold the Sprinklers!

Make the Move - West Wichita, KS!

Why West Wichita, KS?

If you're new to the area or been here a while, you may wonder - Why West Wichita? What's the scoop?

To the true "Westies", West Wichita is typically considered to be that which is West of  235, and out to about 151st'ish.  Kellogg crosses it at the bottom, and K96 to the north.  with 235 as its east border, it's pretty easy to get anywhere in Wichita from the West side, fairly quickly.  We're also nicknamed "Squinters" because we drive against the sun both ways for traditional 8-5 jobs (unless you get lucky enough to work West too!)

The West side features some neat areas:

• The Sedgwick County Zoo - www.scz.org - Just a few minutes east of 13th/Ridge Rd!
• The Sedgwick County Park - behind the zoo, running between 13th and 21st street, this Park features many ponds, picnic areas, several play areas, walking trails, and pavillions.  A brand new playscape is coming there soon as well! 
• Ball parks, soccer fields - Again, 13th/Ridge!

There's some great shopping available out West!  New Market Square is the current big draw, at 21st/Maize Rd.  This plaza development features big names such as Borders book store, Old Navy, PetCo, Payless, and more!  There's many smaller boutiques and services in there as well, it's a fun discovery!  They often run their water fountains near the entrance, which is a very fun experience for the kiddos!  You'll have to check out Progressions Salon on just the other side of Maize Rd - Ask for Jamie, she is just the best - for some true pampering!

The West side is sprinkled liberally with small area parks, such as the Westlink Park, Buffalo Park, and Sunset Park.  Whatever area of town you live in, there's probably a park, nature park, or area pool nearby!

The schools on the West side are just great - NorthWest High, Bishop Carroll are the high schools, with some areas being in Maize or Goddard district and therefore having those schools.  You can view school reports at www.usd259.org!  Elementary schools are Peterson and Kensler, with Wilbur and McCollum being the middle schools.

The Real Estate side of it all - The West side for the most part was started in the 50's.  The starter areas, around Central/Ridge Rd - were mostly built in the 50's and early 60's, and they get younger from there.  Occasionally you'll run across one that was there before the growth spurt though.   To get into the West side, you'll be looking at starting prices in the 60's and up for a Condo, 80's and up for a twin home, and 90's and higher for single family homes.  

Take a drive out west and see!  It's a great area, with a quiet pace of life, well laid-out maintained streets, newer homes, and a great attitude!  But I may be biased - I live out West!


If you're looking to make a move out West, give me a shout!  I live there, I work there, and I'd love to show you why it rocks!

Good news - Wichita, KS home prices stable!

Forget the doom and gloom!

The Wichita Eagle recently put out an article with the results of the PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. study regarding home sale prices in various areas.  This study is done quarterly.

The article here

The point of the study was to show the chance of home prices declining in various market areas between now and the first quarter of 2010.

The results showed that homes in Wichita, KS have less than a 1% chance of declining in value between now and the first quarter or 2010!  

Compared to Florida, where the chance of decline came in at 90%, our rate is spectacularly good news for all! 

Buyers are still getting good prices, with the idea that their home will not lose value.  Sellers are still getting reasonable prices on their homes and have not lost a lot of value.

The market is regional and this study really shows that!

So when you hear all the hype and worry about your Wichita home, just remember that it's all local!  Not just city, but even local to neighborhoods and individual homes!  Every situation is different.

To find out what your home may sell for, or to snag up a great home at a good price in a stable city, get in touch and let's talk!

Unbelievable!! Ocwen will NOT talk to Realtors!

"For the protection of our customers, we will no longer be dealing directly with real estate agents"

Try it - call Loan Resolutions - 1-877-596-8580 and listen to the message.

  

I found this out as Ocwen sent me the following information:

"only considers short sales on loans that are ninety (90) days or greater past due and as the (myclientsname) loan is current; unfortunately Ocwen is not able to process a short sale. "

This after a month of giving me the run around and sending me paperwork to fill out and requesting I do an exhaustive CMA, now they tell me that they won't even think about it until the folks are 3 months late? They didn't make this June payment, so there's one. 

I want to help my clients.  I really do.  They can't keep the house.  Their mother was paying it and she has died, losing all her income.  They are mortgaged up to their eyeballs and in debt for the rest of their lives.  They loaned against their retirement accounts in order to keep things going and pay for their parents funerals.  They have nothing.  They are not bad people. 

But apparently, Ocwen would rather see their credit go to crap, the house fall apart, and pay for a foreclosure than to bother help people who are responsible enough to try to avoid that. 

Not only did they tell me that they will not consider a short until it's 90 days past due, but also that at 90 days past due they begin foreclosure proceedings and will not put those on hold while they consider a short, like other loan companies will do.

So they wait till their credit is absolutely shot, while the house continues to absolutely deteriorate (they couldn't afford to keep utilities on or maintain it, it sits vacant and has been broken into once already), then they will consider a short at the same time as they race to foreclose on it.  At which point it wil be worth half its current value, which is already worth half of what is owed on it. 

My clients have been advised that they will have to call Loan Resolutions themselves and try to work it out on their own. 

That makes the 2nd short sale I've lost this week, but the first on my listing side of it.  These are good people and I have to let them out on their own and watch them get foreclosed on because of this policy.

Why?

To end this on a good note, versus the other short sale rants, my short sale listing with Citimortgage is absolutely stunning!  They respond, have some common sense, and I've spoken to a live person several times. 

 

 

Fix Her Up in Goddard, KS!

So you want to Build?

Why do I need an Agent to Build a House?

So you've decided to build a home.  Perhaps you've reached this decision after months of searching for a place you like that was already standing, perhaps you knew right away that you wanted to go New.  Either way, you might think you don't need a Realtor at this point and maybe you don't.  I'd like to show you a few reasons why you might think about having your own agent to represent you in this transaction.  

Myth #1 - I'll pay less for the house if the builder isn't paying a Realtor.  

• No. You won't.  But you will pay the builder more profit if you don't use a Realtor, or pay the builder's agent more if you don't use your own agent.  
• As you probably know, banks will typically pre-qualify you for way more than you want to actually buy.  What do you think happens when you give the builder or their agent a bank letter or permission to contact the bank and they find you can afford more?  Think they'll be negotiable at all? Or do you think they'll possibly find ways to get more money out of you?  

Solution - Your own agent protects your confidentiality and your pocketbook.  We can help protect you from overages, options, upgrades, and being talked into anything you don't want.  

Myth #2 - My agent would just get paid for doing nothing.  

• Au contrair.  Building a home takes a lot of your personal time.  You have to pick out flooring, colors, bricks, tiles, etc.  Your agent can help you with these by setting up all the appointments, bringing samples to you, delivering all the selections to the builder, and more.  How much stress and time would it save you to have someone else doing all the phone calls, faxing, and running around for you?
• Your agent would also coordinate the closing, title-work, and loan documents.  Again, saving you all the phone calls, faxes, and running around.
• Your agent is also free to check on the home's progress while you work, helping catch mistakes early and negotiating with the builder to get them fixed.
• Builders make mistakes?  Oh boy howdy! I have never had a new home built without a boo-boo.  Here's some just from the last year!
• Buyer asked for a deck to be extended perpendicular to house.  Builder put the deck on horizontal to the house, so you walked out the mid-level walk-out area and practically whacked your head on it! This also meant the walk-out patio light was actually just inches above the deck!  Oops!
• Wrong light fixtures put on exterior of home!
• Here's a biggee - Builder installed the wrong trusses for a vaulted ceiling!! 
• Wrong tub was installed
• Builder plumbed for exhaust of gas furnace, taking up precious closet space, when there was no gas furnace!

Myth #3 - The sellers agent can do all this for me.

• Read that again - The S E L L E R's Agent.  They work for the S E L L E R.  Not you.  They do have an interest in the deal closing, but they also have a legal responsibility to make sure everything is in the S E L L E R 's best interests, not necessarily your best interests. 
• Do they have the time?  Most new home agents have to sit in the model home.  They don't have the ability to run around collecting samples, delivering documents, and taking care of you.

Other things to consider:

• Your agent would be aware of the neighborhood, pros and cons of the area, schools, drive-times, etc. 
• Your agent would be aware of the latest in loan programs that would fit your needs and any that specialize in new-construction!
• Your agent would be aware of the potential re-sale factor of the home - where you might stand 5, 10, 20 years down the road, and what options/upgrades/improvements might be a good investment.
• Your agent can help with selling your current home and coordinate it with the move to your new home.  Most new-home agents in the area don't handle any re-sale homes. 

So whether you are buying new for the first time, again, or the last time - think of having your own agent to make the transaction smoother.  After all, it doesn't cost you a dime and saves you tons of stress and time!

Wanting to build in the Wichita, Goddard, Maize area?  Call Sheree for a tour of new home communities that fit your needs!

Email: Sheree@ksgreathomes.com
Call/Text 316.461.0575  

Goddard, KS Market Update - June - It's Selling Season!

It's June! Kids are out of school and buyers are in a frenzy to find a home before school starts back!  Is this the right time to sell?  Here's the current Goddard stats!

Active - These homes are currently for sale in Goddard and would be your competition:

41 Homes - Priced from $89,000 to $550,000.  The Average days on market is 178 days (nearly 6 months).  Part of this is due to the large number of new construction homes in the marketplace.

Pending - 16 homes are under contract, waiting to close! These took an average of 138 days to get a contract.  They were priced from $69,900 to $199,000.

Sold - These homes sold in the last 3 months.

43 homes - from $87,000 to $365,000 with an average of 35 days on the market.  21 of these were new homes build just for the buyer.  When these are removed from the stats, the days on market go up to 60 (2 months). 

What can you take away from this?

Look at the price ranges on each - the higher end homes are sitting on the market.  Nothing is under contract over 199k, and nothing lately has sold over 365k.  If you're above that range, you may have a long wait. 

The largest factor to consider when selling in Goddard is the proximity and abundance of brand new homes available to buyers.  That's the competition that is harder to compete with.  But you can do it! After all, you've got a yard, and they don't, and you likely have lower or no specials! 

The 2nd biggest factor is simply gas prices.  Commuting rates are going down and bedroom communities are losing their attractiveness.

With the right plan in place though, you can get SOLD this summer!

 

To discuss your selling strategies, contact me!