While bank-owned homes are plentiful in many markets, they aren’t always easy for a buyer to get. Foreclosure sell at bargain prices — sometimes at 35 percent discounts when compared to nonforeclosures. These ultra-low prices are attracting investors and all-cash offers, which makes it difficult for other buyers' bids to win out.
So how can buyers beat the competition to get a foreclosure?
Get the first look: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s First Look program offers first-time home buyers and others who need financing and are looking for a primary residence the first opportunity to see bank-owned homes before investors. Buyers have a 15-day window to submit offers before investors have the opportunity to start bidding.
Submit a competitive offer: Homes priced at heavy discounts can be in high demand and attract multiple bids. Lowball offers won’t likely get far. Some housing experts suggest starting with your best offer. "My advice is to offer the most you feel you would ever pay for the property," said one recent buyer of a foreclosure.
Make a large deposit: If a buyer wants to get the banks attention, they could offer a larger than typical good-faith deposit. But if the buyer has to back out of the deal for some reason, he or she may be at risk of losing the deposit.
Even if your buyers really want the property, don’t let them cave in to unreasonable demands, like waiving a home inspection. Otherwise, it may be a decision they quickly regret if the home is later found to be ripe with problems.
Source: Sun Sentinel, FL
Monday, February 6, 2012
Monday, December 5, 2011
What Will Be Hot in Home Interiors in 2012?
The design forecasts are rolling in for the new year and the predictions of what’s going to be popular in interior decorating in 2012. Here are some interior design trends to be on the lookout for in the upcoming year:
Homes go gray: All shades of gray will be making up more households, from warm grey to charcoal gray, through furnishings, window treatments, and artwork.
Yellow pops: Yellow can lift practically any room. Pairing yellow with gray can bring a trendy look to a home in 2012.
Rustic: Furnishings from natural, reclaimed, and rustic wood are expected to catch on. Finishes on these rustic pieces will range from wire-brushed to bleached oak to gray washes.
Repurposed lighting: Reclaimed pieces that are turned into lamps and lighting pieces is expected to continue its wave of popularity in 2012.
The industrial look: The industrial look is also gaining traction, such as repurposed, industrial occasional tables or side carts.
Lower seating: Chairs and sofas are sitting lower to the ground. More home furniture manufacturing companies are debuting lounge chair seating lower than the standard 20’’ off the floor. They’re introducing more products at 17-18’’ off the floor–possibly to fit in smaller homes.
Supersized artwork: Artwork continues to get bigger with oversized photography dressing up interiors with black and white, Sepia, or standard pictures.
Source: Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
Homes go gray: All shades of gray will be making up more households, from warm grey to charcoal gray, through furnishings, window treatments, and artwork.
Yellow pops: Yellow can lift practically any room. Pairing yellow with gray can bring a trendy look to a home in 2012.
Rustic: Furnishings from natural, reclaimed, and rustic wood are expected to catch on. Finishes on these rustic pieces will range from wire-brushed to bleached oak to gray washes.
Repurposed lighting: Reclaimed pieces that are turned into lamps and lighting pieces is expected to continue its wave of popularity in 2012.
The industrial look: The industrial look is also gaining traction, such as repurposed, industrial occasional tables or side carts.
Lower seating: Chairs and sofas are sitting lower to the ground. More home furniture manufacturing companies are debuting lounge chair seating lower than the standard 20’’ off the floor. They’re introducing more products at 17-18’’ off the floor–possibly to fit in smaller homes.
Supersized artwork: Artwork continues to get bigger with oversized photography dressing up interiors with black and white, Sepia, or standard pictures.
Source: Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
Are the Holidays a Good Time to Sell?
Sixty percent of real estate professionals advise their sellers to list a home during the holidays because it’s a good time to sell, according to a new survey conducted by Realtor.com.
Why are the holidays such a good time to sell? Seventy-nine percent of the agents surveyed said that more serious buyers come out during the holidays, and 61 percent say less competition from other properties make it a great time to sell. Plus, 17 percent of agents say the cold weather is actually a benefit, making homes feel more cozy.
But online listing photos become even more crucial during the holiday season, according to the survey. Slightly more than half of agents say that the photos are more important because sellers tend to offer less open houses around the holidays, and so the online photos help buyers decide the properties to see and which ones to possibly bypass.
The biggest hurdles sellers face during the holidays, however, are keeping a home ready to show (clean and staged) as well as winter weather conditions and buyers’ vacation schedules, the Realtor.com survey found.
Source: Realtor.com
Why are the holidays such a good time to sell? Seventy-nine percent of the agents surveyed said that more serious buyers come out during the holidays, and 61 percent say less competition from other properties make it a great time to sell. Plus, 17 percent of agents say the cold weather is actually a benefit, making homes feel more cozy.
But online listing photos become even more crucial during the holiday season, according to the survey. Slightly more than half of agents say that the photos are more important because sellers tend to offer less open houses around the holidays, and so the online photos help buyers decide the properties to see and which ones to possibly bypass.
The biggest hurdles sellers face during the holidays, however, are keeping a home ready to show (clean and staged) as well as winter weather conditions and buyers’ vacation schedules, the Realtor.com survey found.
Source: Realtor.com
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Foreclosures Selling for 94% of Market Value
Freddie Mac Hits REO Selling Record
Freddie Mac has sold a record number of single-family REO homes in the first nine months of 2011, and the homes are selling for an average of 94 percent of market value, Tracey Mooney, Freddie Mac’s vice president of single-family servicing and real estate owned properties, said in a blog post.
“Because our homes are well maintained and priced right for the local market and home buyers, most of our homes sell close to full estimated market value,” Mooney says.
Freddie Mac sold more than 80,000 REOs in the first nine months of 2011.
“We are selling more homes than we are taking in through foreclosure,” Mooney wrote in the blog post. Mooney says Freddie’s REOs are selling in about 4 months or about 120 days, on average.
Most of the REO sales are to owner-occupants. "While we have always been open to selling to investors, our strategy is to limit the concentration of investor sales in any given area," Mooney wrote. "In addition, we do not typically consider any offers that require significant discount pricing."
Source: “Freddie Mac Sells Record-Number REO at 94% of Market Value,” HousingWire (Nov. 14, 2011)
Freddie Mac has sold a record number of single-family REO homes in the first nine months of 2011, and the homes are selling for an average of 94 percent of market value, Tracey Mooney, Freddie Mac’s vice president of single-family servicing and real estate owned properties, said in a blog post.
“Because our homes are well maintained and priced right for the local market and home buyers, most of our homes sell close to full estimated market value,” Mooney says.
Freddie Mac sold more than 80,000 REOs in the first nine months of 2011.
“We are selling more homes than we are taking in through foreclosure,” Mooney wrote in the blog post. Mooney says Freddie’s REOs are selling in about 4 months or about 120 days, on average.
Most of the REO sales are to owner-occupants. "While we have always been open to selling to investors, our strategy is to limit the concentration of investor sales in any given area," Mooney wrote. "In addition, we do not typically consider any offers that require significant discount pricing."
Source: “Freddie Mac Sells Record-Number REO at 94% of Market Value,” HousingWire (Nov. 14, 2011)
Monday, October 3, 2011
Low Appraisal Killing a Transaction?
The National Association of REALTORS® reported that 16 percent of real estate professionals surveyed in June reported a cancelation in a sale, mostly due to a large number of low appraisals.
Many real estate professionals are watching transactions unravel, with some appraisals coming in 10 to 20 percent (sometimes more) below the accepted sale price.
“Over the past decade, finding ‘comps’ that accurately reflect values has been a challenge as values rose quickly during the boom and fell just as fast during the bust,” according to a recent article by RISMedia, 5 Ways to Fight a Low Appraisal. “Discounts paid for foreclosures and short sales have created a dual price structure between ‘normal’ and distress sales.”
Obviously one of the easiest solutions when a low appraisal comes in: Ask the seller to agree to a lower price. But when that doesn’t work, RISMedia offers some of the following tips for fighting low appraisals:
Research to Back Up Your Case
If your clients feel the appraisal was completed incorrectly, they have the right to get a copy of the appraisal from their lender and learn more about who performed it and what comparables were used. For example, your client can find out where the appraiser is based (maybe it was an out-of-town appraiser who was unfamiliar with the area).
“If your appraisal was conducted by an out-of-town appraiser unfamiliar with your market, you have every right to demand a new appraisal,” the RISMedia article notes.
Also, your client should evaluate what comparables were used in the appraisal. If your client feels unfair comps were used, they may ask their real estate agent to pull together a list of recent comparable sales — or possibly even pending sales too — to justify the agreed-to-sales price, which can then be submitted to the loan’s underwriter to help in asking for a review of the appraisal.
Request a New Appraisal
If your clients feel the appraisal wasn’t done fairly or accurately, they can ask their lender for a new appraisal. “Depending on how convincing your argument is, your lender has the ability to override the appraisal estimate, which is unlikely, or to order a new appraisal, which is more likely,” the article notes.
Get an Independent Appraisal
Your clients may opt to get their own appraisal. (If the loan is an FHA loan, they should ask the lender for a list of approved appraisers.) The bank will generally review the appraisal and ask the previous appraisal if they agree or disagree with the new one, the article notes.
“If the first appraiser disputes your appraisal, the bank may request a third appraisal done by another appraiser, or they may just reject your appraisal,” according to the article. “However, if the first appraiser agrees with the disputes you present, they may adjust their original appraisal and you may get a better price.”
Many real estate professionals are watching transactions unravel, with some appraisals coming in 10 to 20 percent (sometimes more) below the accepted sale price.
“Over the past decade, finding ‘comps’ that accurately reflect values has been a challenge as values rose quickly during the boom and fell just as fast during the bust,” according to a recent article by RISMedia, 5 Ways to Fight a Low Appraisal. “Discounts paid for foreclosures and short sales have created a dual price structure between ‘normal’ and distress sales.”
Obviously one of the easiest solutions when a low appraisal comes in: Ask the seller to agree to a lower price. But when that doesn’t work, RISMedia offers some of the following tips for fighting low appraisals:
Research to Back Up Your Case
If your clients feel the appraisal was completed incorrectly, they have the right to get a copy of the appraisal from their lender and learn more about who performed it and what comparables were used. For example, your client can find out where the appraiser is based (maybe it was an out-of-town appraiser who was unfamiliar with the area).
“If your appraisal was conducted by an out-of-town appraiser unfamiliar with your market, you have every right to demand a new appraisal,” the RISMedia article notes.
Also, your client should evaluate what comparables were used in the appraisal. If your client feels unfair comps were used, they may ask their real estate agent to pull together a list of recent comparable sales — or possibly even pending sales too — to justify the agreed-to-sales price, which can then be submitted to the loan’s underwriter to help in asking for a review of the appraisal.
Request a New Appraisal
If your clients feel the appraisal wasn’t done fairly or accurately, they can ask their lender for a new appraisal. “Depending on how convincing your argument is, your lender has the ability to override the appraisal estimate, which is unlikely, or to order a new appraisal, which is more likely,” the article notes.
Get an Independent Appraisal
Your clients may opt to get their own appraisal. (If the loan is an FHA loan, they should ask the lender for a list of approved appraisers.) The bank will generally review the appraisal and ask the previous appraisal if they agree or disagree with the new one, the article notes.
“If the first appraiser disputes your appraisal, the bank may request a third appraisal done by another appraiser, or they may just reject your appraisal,” according to the article. “However, if the first appraiser agrees with the disputes you present, they may adjust their original appraisal and you may get a better price.”
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Attention: What does the “New” Stimulus & Real Estate have in common?
Note from Scott:
This is going to effect the majority of small business owners. There are additional fees in the fine print of the proposed "pass this" bill that will essentially be applied to those that do not make an "excessive" income.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
WATER TEST COSTS & INFO
Most water testing labs, both those run by your local health department and private water testing labs offer packages of tests for clusters of common private water supply contaminants.
If you want water tests not offered through your local health department don't hesitate to use a private water testing laboratory, provided the lab is licensed by your state. Beware - a few labs offer water tests in states where they have no license to do so, possibly using methods which are not approved by state authorities. Remember to ask.
If you are moving into a home and are testing water for the first time, it is recommended to order one of the more extensive test packages, typically costing $200 to $300.
If that test detects no problems, it is recommended to follow-up testing the water supply annually, using a less costly minimum screen for bacteria or coliform bacteria, typically costing less than $50.
Another tip: if a home is new to you, ask the neighbors, the local health department, and local labs if they are aware of any special contamination issues on your street or near your home. By doing so, you may want to order tests for unusual contaminants which otherwise no newcomer would have thought to look for.
More information such as: Choices of Water Tests & Fees: A Summary of Types of Water Tests, Degrees of Comprehensive Water Testing, Details of Water Test Parameters and Maximum Allowed Drinking Water Contaminant Levels,
Can be found at the below link:
http://www.inspectapedia.com/water/watrtest.htm
Source: The American Society of Home Inspectors
If you want water tests not offered through your local health department don't hesitate to use a private water testing laboratory, provided the lab is licensed by your state. Beware - a few labs offer water tests in states where they have no license to do so, possibly using methods which are not approved by state authorities. Remember to ask.
If you are moving into a home and are testing water for the first time, it is recommended to order one of the more extensive test packages, typically costing $200 to $300.
If that test detects no problems, it is recommended to follow-up testing the water supply annually, using a less costly minimum screen for bacteria or coliform bacteria, typically costing less than $50.
Another tip: if a home is new to you, ask the neighbors, the local health department, and local labs if they are aware of any special contamination issues on your street or near your home. By doing so, you may want to order tests for unusual contaminants which otherwise no newcomer would have thought to look for.
More information such as: Choices of Water Tests & Fees: A Summary of Types of Water Tests, Degrees of Comprehensive Water Testing, Details of Water Test Parameters and Maximum Allowed Drinking Water Contaminant Levels,
Can be found at the below link:
http://www.inspectapedia.com/water/watrtest.htm
Source: The American Society of Home Inspectors
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