BREAKING NEWS! State of California offers first time buyers a tax credit incentive of up to $10,000 on homes purchased between May 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010 or after December 31, 2010 through August 31, 2011. See the article below for full details.

Everyday buyers contact me about homes on the market or they’ll find a listing online. Invariably just about every discussion turns to the question, hey Frederic “is the home a short sale?”. As your Imperial Valley Housing Specialist I am honored to help you make the important decision of becoming a home buyer and turning you into a home owner.

I usually reply with a question or two to better understand what the buyers are searching for, to help them find and identify the right home to meet their needs with regard to location, amenities and price (LAP).

STOP listening your your family, friends, and co-workers about buying short sales, they are great homes with great prices and are typically in better condition than their bank owned cousins.



STOP listening to mis-informed real estate agents who steer you away from looking at or placing offers on short sales “because they take too long” or some other lame excuse. If you get to the truth of the matter, the agents who avoid showing short sales to you are more than likely the same agents who do not understand how short sales work nor are they interested in anything having to do with them.

I could go on and on about mis-informed or unprofessional real estate agents, however I will keep this article on task and focused on how Short Sales Benefits Buyers. How?

Speaking of LAP, let me discuss the importance of each aspect before I answer the buyers question about the home being a short sale or not.

Location, location, location
You’ve heard of the real estate adage, Location, Location, Location, right? It’s true, location is a vitally important part of the home buying process and knowing where to buy can also pay huge dividends in the future when the buyer turns into a home seller.

Where do you work? Where do your children go to school? How close or far away, do you want to be from your family? There are dozens of questions that go along with this question, but the most important part is where do you want to live?

Amenities
Once location is narrowed down, then we can focus and concentrate on the next question, what amenities are most important to you? I may ask about their current living arrangements, what they like the best and the least of their home or apartment.

Every buyer is different and places higher priorities to certain amenities, such as a pool, fireplace, patio cover, garden tub or shower stall, etc. One story or two story, corner lot versus a cul-de-sac location or middle of the street. Upstairs laundry or downstairs, east west orientation versus north south. Across the street from a park, school, or commercial business can offer both pros and cons, however only a prospective homebuyer can make these decisions since they impact everyone differently and are a matter personal choice.



I am not discussing flooring or paint color, since they are not amenities and can be changed out easily and generally fairly inexpensive. Matter of fact, most homes will need a new interior paint job and replacing the carpet or tile is almost a must for many of the homes I see. While these items are important, they are not amenities and are not considered in my search for homes for buyers.

Price
Knowing your pre-approval sale price limit or range is a must into todays home buying arena, as any bank owned home, short sale, or market sale in Imperial Valley with require a pre-approval when submitting an offer to purchase a home. An offer presented without a pre-approval or prequal is typically considered incomplete and will be overlooked and rejected before getting presented to the seller.

Cash offers need to provide proof of funds to be used when buying the home. A copy of a current account bank statement, proof of funds letter, or investment statement showing the amount of the intended sales price plus any usual and customary closing cost expenses should be included.

Once the LAP items are identified, you, the home buyer will be able to make an informed purchase decision with confidence using the assistance of your realtor as they search for homes on the market or watch the market for those certain to meet your needs.

“But Frederic, short sales take too long, I want to buy a home now, I don’t want to wait.”

What are you going to buy when most of the homes listed for sale are short sales? The bank owned and REO properties in Imperial Valley are at a premium for home buyers, since most bank owned properties can close within 30-60 days after the bank accepts the offer.

I see bank owned homes turn into bidding war competition with as many as 10 buyers, all trying to get the same home. Keep in mind that only one party will end up with the selected bid, meaning the other nice people will be stuck waiting for the next bank owned property that meets their LAP needs.

Buyers will sometimes turn to desperation and expand their LAP needs and settle for something else than the items important to them so they can make an offer on anything and perhaps buy any home. The problem with that thinking is it often only benefits the seller of the property and not the buyer, as the seller can sense the desperation in the buyers request.

I agree, every home will have some items that a would be home buyer needs to overlook, or they may need to sacrifice some amenities, location, or price in order to buy a home, however do not let those aspects of the process alone cloud your judgement.

So yes Mr and Mrs home buyer, based on your home buying needs, location, amenities and price range, the home in question fits your needs all the way around. I’ll put together the offer of $xxx and can meet you to sign the offer, collect your deposit money and pre-approval letter, is Tuesday at 4pm or Wednesday at 6pm better for you to go over the offer details?

My point? Once a home buyer has truly identified their home buying needs using the LAP process, and once the home buyer understands the short sale process, they can move forward and look at all available homes on the market that fit their needs as opposed to only as few select homes in a wide range of prices.

As I mentioned earlier in the article, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed AB183 into law last Thursday, you can more about the home buyer tax credit here NEW California Home Buyer Tax Credit”

Are you looking to buy home? Let me help you manage the home buying process regardless of the type of sale so you can take advantage of the tax credits the State of California are offering Imperial Valley real estate home buyers this year.