Top 5 real estate post for 6/30/2009 [Read more...]
Top 5 real estate posts of the day Monday 6/29/2009
June 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Top 5 real estate post for 6/29/2009 [Read more...]
Top 5 real estate posts of the day 6/26/2009
June 26, 2009 By 2 Comments
Top 5 real estate post of the day for 6/26/2009 [Read more...]
Tips for doing a short sale
June 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment
I was talking with a couple from Chandler yesterday who were looking for a short sale agent for their home. They asked me for some things for them to keep in mind if they move forward on their short sale and of course that got me thinking of some basic short sale tips when selling your home.
Here are some good tips for sellers in short sale situations:
- Contact your lender and let them know your situation then start getting your paperwork needed for a short sale in order.
- Interview agents and ask them questions such as what they will need from you. If they don’t know (see above) then keep looking.
- Get your house ready for sale, take a few hours and make it look as good as possible.
- Price it right. If you do not have offers within a couple of weeks it is overpriced so lower it now.
- Make sure once you have a buyer your agent stays in constant contact with them so they don’t go looking elsewhere.
- Consider asking for earnest, it is not a common practice, but it makes sure a buyer is serious and greatly increases your chances of getting to a sale.
There are dozens of other short sale tips, but these are some of the key ones. A short sale is not short, just make sure when you are looking for a short sale agent, you hire someone who will put in the work needed to get the job done.
Top 5 real estate posts of the day 6/25/2005
June 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment
1) Homebuyer tax credit to be extended? Expanded? – This should have been on yesterday’s list, but I somehow overlooked it. Jay does a great job as usual of looking at the latest behind the first time homebuyer tax credit and what’s next.
2) Why are banks ignoring short sales to death – Dave is putting together a blog on short sales that I find a must for my daily reading. The title explains it all on this one.
3) Will the new national loan originator exam be too easy? – Jillayne over at the RCG takes a look at the new test coming for mortgage licensing. She is not impressed.
4) What mortgage rates will do over the next 30 days – Dan Green looks at the latest predictions. My guess is they go up and down about 63 times over the next month. Green is betting down.
5) Palm Pre vs. iPhone for real estate – One of my favorite subjects, smart phones. Time to step up to the plate Blackberry.
Top 5 real estate posts of the day for 6/24/2009
June 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment
1) Are any lenders doing the 8,000 tax credit monetization? – Remember all the talk about a month about about how you can use your 8000 first time home buyer tax credit towards your down payment or for closing costs? Well, while it is technically possible to do so, it looks like it is impossible because no one is actually funding the loans.
2) NAR to come out against the HVCC – Anyone who follows me on Twitter knows my feelings of the new HVCC appraisal rules (not a fan). Here are some posts from yesterday about NAR trying to do the right thing. NAR anti appraisal reform lobbying effort, NAR blame appraisers fro stalling housing recovery.
3) Step 2 to understand the short sale process – Dale had forget login as step 1, step 2 could have been titled forget logic again as he looks at the common question when will I hear from the bank.
4) Getting your FHA 203K closed – Tips for Realtors – If you have a client who is considering an FHA 203k loan here are some good pointers from the contract to inspections.
5) Foreclosures near light rail – good or bad? – This post is a great example of micro-targeting and knowing your audience. Nick picks the light rail as his target and talks about the market within a half mile of the rail.
BONUS: For a bonus post, REBarCamp San Francisco August 4th – Hope to see you all there!
Top 5 real estate posts of the day – Tuesday 6/23/2009
June 23, 2009 By 1 Comment
1) Obama refinance, is 105% going to 125%? – Obama’s current refinance plan allows for the home owner to refinance their home up to 105% of the value. With most homeowners being much more underwater than that, few can take advantage. There is talk of that 105% going to 125%. Another post on 125% LTV refinance.
2) How much earnest money should I put down on a foreclosure – This is a common question for many buyers looking to put an offer in on a bank owned foreclosure.
3) Agency? What is agency? – It’s one of the classes we need to renew our license, so it’s something all agents should have down and all buyers should know going into a transaction.
4) Step 1 to understanding the short sale process – Dale explains the first thing you need to understand in short sales is logic, or there is none.
5) The BIGGEST announcement in history of the Zebra… – Congrats Daniel and Kari! Guess you are going to need to cut back on those beers on ice for a while Daniel.
What will my lender need for my short sale approval
June 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment
So you talked to a Realtor, your financial adviser and a real estate attorney and you decided that a short sale was your best option. So now what are the first steps you will need to take to prepare for your upcoming adventure, and an adventure it will be.
After you talk to your real estate agent you need to start preparing the necessary paperwork to arm your agent. The bank is going to ask for it, so get ready now.
- Letter of authorization for agent
- Hardship letter
- Two years tax returns
- Two month pay records
- Two month bank statements
- Personal financial statement
- HOA statement
Once you have all these together you need to get them to your agent so they can start preparing the case in your favor. They are going to need a letter of authorization which gives them permission to speak to the bank about your situation and represent you. Another important piece of information is your hardship letter. This letter needs to state your case the best way possible and should not be more than one page. When writing this letter use lots of paragraph breaks to make it easy to read. The letter should contain three sections that basically lay out, sorry I am in this circumstance, here is my circumstance and I have exhausted all options and if this doesn’t work out we will end up in foreclosure.
The short sale process will not be an easy and short one, but if it is in your best interest, then be prepared by having all your ducks in a row.
Top 5 real estate posts of the day 6/22/2009
June 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment
1) Housing is local – As a former political operative and politician one of my favorite books was by former Speaker Tip O’Neil called All Politics is Local. In the real estate it’s the same thing and here are two posts that prove it. Housing recover yet to emerge and Median sales prices on the rise.
2) Short sales: Who picks the price: If you are a buyers agent you need to know how short sales work from the other end so you can explain the process to your buyers.
3) FHA spot approvals are on their death bed – If you are looking for an FHA loan on a condominium the building needs to meet certain FHA requirements, such as occupancy rate. If the building does not meet certain criteria then you can always ask for a spot approval for that one unit, but now Kris Berg explains how that is about to change.
4) The problem with agents: They’re not selfish enough – Makes you think of the Gordon Gekko Greed is Good speech, but it really has nothing to do with that. Time is what Sean is talking about here.
5) Showing agent feedback: Faux Paus or KumBaYa? – Any of us who have have shown a few houses have been asked for feedback either directly from the agent or through an email system. I never really thought much about it and if we should fill out that feedback. This post gets you thinking.
Top 5 real estate posts of the day – Friday 6/19/2009
June 19, 2009 By 1 Comment
Top 5 real estate posts of the day 6/19/2009 [Read more...]
