foreclosure: Cheap Tip #2... Tip-Top Shape in 5 Steps
- 02/05/11 02:22 PM
Image by lane.bailey via Flickr You are NOT a bank. Your home isn't a foreclosure. Hopefully it isn't on its way to a foreclosure. You need to maximize the price your home fetches on the market, and minimize the time it is on the market. The problem is those foreclosures that your house has to compete against. Foreclosures often have price going for them. That is a VERY powerful tool. It can overcome a lot of issues. But, you have to find a way to overcome the prices that banks are asking for their properties.
You are not a bank... so … (3 comments)
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foreclosure: Wayback Wednesday... Let's Freak Out Some Counties!
- 02/03/11 01:12 PM
Image via Wikipedia Two years ago I wrote a post about a bill in front of the GA legislature that would require cities and counties to use the values of foreclosures when calculating tax assessments.
It passed... and it was signed... and it became law.
Honestly, I was hoping that there might be some noise from some counties by now, but there really hasn't been. Sure, they are complaining about having enough revenue, but they complain about not having enough revenue when they are flush with cash and funding truly stupid projects. Of course, the other part of it might be … (3 comments)
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foreclosure: The WRONG Top ten List to be on...
- 01/20/11 10:02 AM
Image via Wikipedia Yahoo News recently published an article titled "The Eight States Running Out of Homebuyers". (I know, I said 10... they say 8, but they mentioned that Colorado and South Carolina barely missed inclusion).
Georgia ranked #6...
I'll cut to the chase and give you the list. Check out the article for the details on each state...
Michigan Nevada Arizona California Illinois Georgia Oregon Florida Image via Wikipedia Georgia made it onto the list because of the following statistics...
2010 Foreclosures: 3.25% (6th Worst) Unemployment: 10% (9th Worst) Decrease in Building Permits 2006-2010: -82.29% (2nd Worst) Of course, I … (45 comments)
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foreclosure: Wayback Wednesday... Homes ARE Selling!
- 12/01/10 01:22 PM
Image via Wikipedia A couple of years ago I wrote about a deal on a property I ran across. It was priced around $330,000. At the time I said that it would have around $75,000 equity. It sold for $300,000. The most recent comps in the neighborhood have sold around $400,000 in the last couple of months. Also of note, it was only on the market for about two weeks.
Since then, I have posted a couple of other times about properties that looked like good deals. None of them were on the market for more than a couple of weeks... … (7 comments)
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foreclosure: Flashback Friday... Angry Yanks...
- 11/19/10 04:12 PM
Image via Wikipedia Last year I was waist deep in dealing with buyers involved in REO properties (bank owned). Oddly, I have been waist deep in the same process lately.
As mentioned in the older post, some buyers have to go through 6, 8 or 10 (or more) offers in order to land some of these properties. And when the listing agent, or the seller, requires a pre-qualification from THEIR specific lender in order to offer on the property, that can add up to a lot of credit pulls for the potential buyer... possibly even enough to damage their credit.
The … (8 comments)
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foreclosure: Don't Bury Your Head in the Sand...
- 05/21/10 05:30 PM
A couple of years ago I wrote about folks facing foreclosure. I would love to say that things have really changed in the last couple of years, but I can’t… They have actually gotten worse in many regards. But we might be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel… but it is just a pinprick of light…recent numbers are showing that the tide of foreclosures might be easing… if only slightly… from record levels.
Image by lane.bailey via Flickr But I am still seeing something that really bothers me. People that are in the sights, facing foreclosure, close themselves … (1 comments)
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foreclosure: Would this solve the 'Foreclosure Crisis'?
- 01/10/10 03:10 PM
It is a simple option... isn't onerous, and doesn't involve the government spending billions of our dollars...
Simply make banks responsible
As it stands, in many jurisdictions, banks aren't responsible for maintenance, taxes, HOA fees or any other impacts their foreclosed properties might have on the community. So, if a block is foreclosed, the homes go to crap while the banks dither at dealing with the inventory. The cities lose valuable tax revenue while they are already struggling because of diving property values. HOAs lose chunks of their budgets trying to maintain properties in their neighborhoods... while not collecting fees from … (22 comments)
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foreclosure: DR Horton has started building in Legends at Parkview
- 01/08/10 01:58 PM
I've written a couple of posts about the Legends at Parkview. Mayfield Homes was the original building in the community, but they ended up getting foreclosed. DR Horton picked up the remaining lots and have recently started construction.
When Mayfield was building, the pricing went from the $500Ks to $700Ks. Even when the unsold homes were being sold by the bank that foreclosed, they were selling from the low $400Ks to the low $500Ks.
DR Horton is building homes priced from $270K to $310K. I would expect that there are some options that could push that price up a bit, and … (2 comments)
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foreclosure: WayBack... It CAN Hurt...
- 12/25/09 01:27 PM
Image by Getty Images via Daylife Two years ago we were staring at the beginnings of a financial crisis. Credit was clogged up, home values were sliding and the government was mulling over ways that they could intervene. They wanted to save everyone…
I had opinions then, and I have opinions now.
Oddly, we are still facing many of the same issues, and we are still looking to the future when there are supposed to be even more foreclosures and ill effects.
Take a look back and see what the way forward looked like then…
… (5 comments)
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foreclosure: Looking forward at the Foreclosure Crisis... two years ago...
- 12/20/09 03:29 PM
In December of 2007, we hadn’t given almost a billion dollars to banks. But the government and the blogosphere was abuzz with talk about bailing out home owners.
Image by JHSUM via Flickr
I have to say, I have re-read that opinion a time or two, and knowing what I know now, I’m not sure I would change it. I still think it sucks for the millions of home owners that have lost value because a neighbor was foreclosed and the house went downhill. Heck, I’ve been affected by that… as you probably have as well. But at the same time, … (0 comments)
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foreclosure: Flashback... The Deal.
- 12/20/09 02:09 PM
Without a doubt, EVERYONE is looking for a deal if they are in the real estate market. Barely a day goes by that I don’t get a call asking me about foreclosures and short sales.
Image via Wikipedia However, those aren’t always the best deals. In fact, on foreclosures I have seen multiple properties go above list… and in some cases higher than they should have gone. At the same time I have seen private party sales that went at great prices. Short sales still seem unwilling to close in most cases.
Regardless, those that move boldly AND logically are the … (5 comments)
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foreclosure: Short Sales, Bank Owned Properties and Credit Pulls
- 11/19/09 09:55 AM
A few days ago I wrote about how the purchase offering process is having issues… issues that are especially apparent on Bank-Owned Properties (we call them REOs).
Banks are often requiring that ALL offers be accompanied by pre-qualification letters from specific approved lenders (perhaps even from their own loan department). In other cases, the brokers representing the properties are interjecting this “requirement” on their own.
This morning, local (and nationally syndicated) radio talk show host, Clark Howard mentioned one of the reasons that these things chap my hide. The specific reason he doesn’t like them is that the “credit pulls” for … (4 comments)
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foreclosure: Job Loss/Mortgage Payment Insurance for Buyers!
- 11/16/09 12:54 PM
We are pleased and excited to announce the roll-out of a new program for buyers... Job Loss Insurance.
This is a cool program to take a little bit of apprehension out of buying a home. In effect, it is an insurance policy that protects the buyer in case of job loss. The policy will make up to 6 payments during the first year of ownership if you lose your job involuntarily (two periods up to 3 months each). It is available with coverages up to $2000/mo.
In addition to the year of job loss/mortgage payment protection, the policy also offers two … (3 comments)
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foreclosure: Foreclosure Stripping?
- 11/15/09 04:16 AM
Clark Howard was talking about this a couple of days ago, and Fox News is talking about it today. And it doesn't involve a pole...
Foreclosure Stripping...
In effect, some folks that are losing their homes are "fighting back" in their own little way. Prior to departure, these folks are looking to get as much cash from the house as they can before they are out. They are removing items from the home and selling them via Craigslist and other means:
Appliances Countertops Cabinetry Flooring Light fixtures Wiring Plumbing... including copper pipes Wood from the deck Most of us in real … (14 comments)
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foreclosure: First Time Home Buyers... I just found a REAL bargain...
- 09/24/09 03:22 PM
The October issue of Realtor Magazine (our industry magazine) had an interesting article about dispelling myths while educating first time home buyers. The third point was about the realities of "bargains".
There are absolutely some bargains in the market... But, often those properties that are the real bargains are NOT the ones that have rock-bottom prices.
The HECK you say...
Really... I have been in some pretty cheap properties in the last few months. It seems that a house priced at $25,000 in a neighborhood or $150,000 homes would be a slam-dunk, right? That deal starts to look WAY less … (7 comments)
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foreclosure: Water, Water, Everywhere... Trashing the House...
- 09/17/09 01:40 PM
Water is essential for life. Without it, everything dies. But... sometimes it can be a pain in the butt... like when it is in the wrong place in the house... or outside of the house...
I have a buyer that is under contract on a beautiful home... or more accurately, a home that could be beautiful. But it has problems. Water.
The biggest issue is one that people usually don't think of...
Gutters
There are several damaged gutters around the house, and some that we suspect are clogged. Furthermore, the downspouts are in less than great condition... blocked, broken or poorly … (6 comments)
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foreclosure: Deal or No Deal...
- 09/10/09 03:30 PM
It isn't just a TV show with Howie Mandel and a bunch of hotties holding briefcases. It is daily life in real estate...
And one of the issues that buyers face is the Deal or No Deal mindset. It boils down to this...
Do you want a deal?
Many buyers see the news or listen to reports about how much of a buyer's market we are in. They hear radio ads about being able to buy wonderful homes in great neighborhoods for "pennies on the dollar"... and one goes so far as to say "and she bought this beautiful home for … (2 comments)
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foreclosure: Mold, not just for bread and cheese anymore…
- 09/04/09 07:27 AM
Image via Wikipedia Ok, mold has NEVER just been for bread and cheese. and while it can be useful stuff… when it is penicillin… the rest of the time, it is NOT something we want in our bodies.
So, Mold and Real Estate? I’m seeing it more and more. Actually, it started a few years ago, but as more foreclosures come on the market, mold gets to be a bigger issue.
In some homes it is a minor issue… a little musty smell that can be handled with a couple of filter changes in the HVAC and a good cleaning. There … (4 comments)
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foreclosure: Deals in Bankrupt Subdivisions?
- 09/03/09 04:49 AM
I recently took some buyers out looking at houses in an area with a lot of bankrupt subdivisions. The houses were, in many cases, quite attractive and priced very competitively.
But there are a lot of considerations that buyers need to weigh before buying a home in a subdivision where the developer has gone out of business...
We'll start with the dangers... The amenities may not be complete... and they may NEVER be complete. If you are buying a property because of the pool or tennis facilities, and those items aren't there, they might never be built. There is NO telling … (8 comments)
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foreclosure: Strange People... muttering... muttering...
- 09/01/09 03:52 PM
Have you ever hung out around the County Courthouse on the first Tuesday of the month?
The County Courts CAN make for some great people watching on any day of the month (ok, any weekday...), but the first Tuesday on the month here in Georgia is a little more special. There are deals to be had... property deals.
OK, maybe there are deals to be had. Honestly, there wasn't much action on the foreclosure auction front... but I'm getting ahead of myself.
The the tax record on the County's website said that the sale would take place at 8:30am...
First up … (0 comments)
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Image by lane.bailey via Flickr You are NOT a bank. Your home isn't a foreclosure. Hopefully it isn't on its way to a foreclosure. You need to maximize the price your home fetches on the market, and minimize the time it is on the market. The problem is those foreclosures that your house has to compete against. Foreclosures often have price going for them. That is a VERY powerful tool. It can overcome a lot of issues. But, you have to find a way to overcome the prices that banks are asking for their properties.
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