Video 101: I have read at least 20-30 different agents who have been touting how great the HAFA program is on their blogs over the last few weeks. Last night I issued a challenge a couple times on Twitter to any of those agents or even to the National Association of Realtors, who are defending the program, to do a point – counter-point with me in a blog post. I do not see how anyone who read the pages on the new short sale program could defend it as good for banks or for the home owner. If you are true believe in HAFA, and they have to be out there because there have been plenty of blog posts, let me know. I would love to debate you on the merits or lack of merit in the 43 pages of garbage. Would love to hear your thoughts, you can leave a comment or e-mail me Dean Ouellette.
Free wi-fi in Tempe AZ: Steve’s Espresso
Looking for free wi-fi in Tempe AZ? Try Steve’s Espresso
If you are looking for wi-fi in Tempe you may want to check out Steve’s Espresso at 1801 E. Baseline. It is located on the south east corner of McClintock and Baseline. Steve’s has been open for over five years now and has not only free wi-fi for their customers, but great coffee and pastries. Make sure you try their muffins.
Phoenix real estate FAQ from March 12, 2010
In this week’s episode of Phoenix Real Estate FAQ Short Sales FAQ" href="http://deansellsaz.com/short-sale-faq/">Dean Ouellette and Kristin LaVanway answer the following questions:
* Is it a good time to buy a house?
* Do I need a home inspection if I am buying As-Is?
* Can my Realtor give me the lockbox codes so I can check out a house?
* Why do short sales take so long?
Thanks, Sasha (Speilberg) Lopez doing her part and keeping us on track and keeping us laughing.
Send us your questions…we’d love to hear from you…
Top 10 real estate posts of the day for 3/12/2010
Here is today’s list of top real estate posts of the day.
1) Three Geniuses Walk Into a Bar… – Three respected individuals in the industry answering a series of questions in 10 words or less (sometimes).
2) FHA Flips for Flipped Homes (Some Restrictions Apply) – The FHA 90-day no flip rule was suspended for a year in February. There are restrictions though.
3) 5 Secrets To Success When Getting a Mortgage – Here are five things that seem so obvious to us for people who are in the process of buying a house. Then thinking about the last year I think I had someone who broke all five of these rules.
4) 1,000,000 Real Estate Agents Have Got IT All Wrong – Very interesting take on agents and how they do and should be using the internet and their website.
5) In Just 50 Days Your Home Will be Worth $8000 Less! – Going into last November I would have agreed with there, there were a flood of people looking to take advantage of the first-time home buyer tax credit. I just do not see the same wave of people this time.
6) Realtors Top Marketing Preferences – My favorite part of this may be how little agents think of Youtube. There were some surprising answers, but the one thing I agree with, referrals are still the king.
7) Paying More Than Asking Price For Your Home – In today’s market sometimes you are going to need to go over asking price to get what you want. That doesn’t mean you are overpaying.
8) Reclaiming my “rookie” enthusiasm…. – This is a great post that showed up in my RSS reader yesterday. I didn’t realize at the time it was a year old, but it is still worth posting as a top post of the day.
9) Impacting Home Values Is the Real Estate Industry Heroes or Villains? (Video Blog) – As agents we impact the value of the home through pricing and how we market the home. We also effect the future value of other homes in the area.
10) Treating Buyers the way Greg Swann treats sellers…and Cheryl Johnson treats agents in her office. – This is a very interesting tool that any brokerage could use that would save both time and money for the agents and their buyer clients.
Top 10 real estate posts of the day for 3/11/2010
Here is today’s list of top real estate posts of the day.
1) Determining Maximum Purchase Price (MPP) – If you are looking to invest you need to be able to quickly determine the maximum purchase price. Here is a quick formula that could help you.
2) Questions to Ask Before Listing Your Home with a Real Estate Agent – Advice from the Donald Trump team about what questions to ask before listing your home. Agents, are you prepared to answer them?
3) Assessed Value vs Market Value – Why is my assessed value so different than what my agent says my home is worth?
4) Real Estate Print Advertising – Not Dead, but Evolved – Interesting way to use print to drive people to your blog.
5) The Official Mortgage Rate Prediction For The Next 7 Days (March 11, 2010) – Very interesting results this week. There are three options, Up, Down, Same… usually the split is pretty good between the three, not this week. Check out these results.
6) Q&A Session with Dale Ross, CEO of the REALTORS® Property Resource (RPR) – You have a question on RPR it is probably answered here. Lots of good questions.
7) Underqualified? Underread? Under a Rock? Became an Underwriter! – This could be on the top 10 posts for the months! Dalton hits another one out of the park!
8) Safety – Cash Reserves – Never a Losing Year – If you are going to invest make sure you are really in a good position to do so.
9) Home Valuation from the Buyer’s Perspective – An interesting debate can occur from this, who does control pricing? Is it really the market or could it be the real estate agents or appraiser?
10) Does Face Book Help Your SEO? – How Twitter and Facebook can help you in Google with the new Google profile search
New short sale section of website starts with short sales FAQ videos
Video 100: The more and more short sale videos I do, the more questions I get from home owners and other agents. I am launching a Short sales agent" href="http://deansellsaz.com/short-sale-faq/">new short sale section on DeanSellsAZ.com which you will find above. It it starting out with Short Sale FAQ and we will be adding more to build out the section. I will be adding in all my short sale videos and other short sale information as time goes. Would love to hear your thoughts, you can leave a comment or e-mail me Dean Ouellette.
Top 10 real estate posts of the day for 3/10/2010
Here is today’s list of top real estate posts of the day.
1) Brokers: embrace difference, love the eccentric – Marc Davison of 1000watt Consulting talks about what he would do if he was a broker, right down to the restroom in his office. The key, being different.
2) What’s wrong with Private Transfer Fees? – While all the comments on this post agree with the author, I differ. Private transfer fees are annoying and should be done away with. Add the fee into the cost of the house and that is real disclosure.
3) The Art of Negotiating – Don’t let principle get in the way.
4) Higher Foreclosure Sales Expected By 2012 – Oh goodie-goodie, foreclosures will continue for another two years!
5) Revisit Your Circle of Influence and Revive Your Real Estate Business – Great advice for new agents and seasoned veterans, get to work on that sphere.
6) The Foreclosure Epidemic – A Discussion with Alex Charfen – Ok I am going to put aside my feelings on the CDPE program and Alex Charfen for a minute (and no John, there are better programs out there) but I love his look at foreclosures in this video. He explains why it appears foreclosures may be slowing down right now, but they are really not. 1-in-6 mortgages in this country are late. Just let that number sink in.
7) Do We Believe in the Millenials? – People currently between 18-30 are Millenials, how will they effect the future or real estate?
8) The Good Side of Loan Modification’s Failure, A Buoyant Foreclosure Market – Now here is someone reaching for a silver lining. Interesting take on the good side of loan mod failures.
9) Are Real Estate Stats Where It’s At? – Short term results, but interesting perspective on adding stats to your site.
10) Blog Carnival of Real Estate – My First Time to Host! Winners Announcement – The Canival is back in town.
Top 10 real estate posts of the day for 3/9/2010
Here is today’s list of top real estate posts of the day.
1) How To Shop For Mortgages And Keep Your Credit Scores High – Just a wealth of information in here I did not realize. A must read for agents and home shoppers.
2) 7 Expectations of Real Estate Investors – Beware of Potential – Thinking of getting involved in real estate investing or working with a new investor who is looking for some tips? Here are some tips that you need to be aware of.
3) Socialist need not read –> Like Big Oil –> Big Expired Program; windfall profits – Looking for a new marketing program, but expired listings are not your thing? Check out these numbers.
4) Homes for Sale in Denver Face Scams from Craigslist…Still. – I had this happen on one of my listings a few months ago. Beware of this scam. Seems to have hit Tallahassee too.
5) Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Needs a Good Flipping – NAR has their ideas for reforming Fannie and Freddie. What I don’t understand is how an organization I usually agree with in their political endorsements can be wrong on so many issues like supporting HAFA and even further federalizing Fannie and Freddie.
6) Taking a Short Sale Listing: ‘To Be or Not to Be?’ – I couldn’t agree with you more Melissa. Before I even take a short sale listing I make the seller gather all the required documentation, that way I know there will not be a problem and I know they are willing to do what it takes.
7) Squatter Claiming Adverse Possession in Puyallup – Ohhh if only it were that easy, I would have a new house next week.
8) Real Entrepreneurship – GREAT read. Real estate agents are true entrepreneurs.
9) Twitter 101 – Some basic Twitter tips for those who may not be getting what they hoped out of the social networking platform.
10) Keep those Garlic Fries to yourself – Those of us who do not play the Mafia Wars and Cafe World usually don’t want to see those continuous updates from others playing the games. Here is a good tip on getting rid of those updates.
Should a buyer put in a backup offer on a short sale
Video 99: So I just got done showing a short sale listing to a buyer in Tempe and we were discussing putting in a backup offer. They were a little concerned about doing so, but I think it’s a smart idea. If you have a house that you really really like, it’s a great idea to put a backup offer in so that if the buyer on that walks, you’ll be in first position to jump in and snatch up the property often at a really good price and at the same time you can continue shopping. So if you find another short sale or a foreclosure or traditional sale that you like better you can purchase that and not worry about having any earnest money locked into the short sale.
So if you see a property out there that you really like and it does have an offer on it, find out if there’s a backup offer cause oftentimes it is a great position to be in – a backup offer on a short sale. If you have any other questions you can always leave a comment below or you can email me Dean@DeanSellsAZ.com and have a great day! Would love to hear your thoughts, you can leave a comment or e-mail me Dean Ouellette.
















