You really need to talk to a few agents and find one you can trust and you feel comfortable with. Do your homework up front, ask questions, ask for referrals, find out how many closed transactions they have had in the last year.
In today’s Tempe foreclosure market, if you see a house or condo you really like do not wait to long to jump.
The foreclosure market in the Tempe and Phoenix area is moving fast for homes under $350,000. In the $100,000, even faster, and that is the market a recent first-time home buyer was looking into. She found a house she loved and wanted to wait a week until her boyfriend was back in town to look at it. You can wait, but be warned, if priced right, and most are, there is a good change that house is going to be gone in a week. Would love to hear your thoughts, you can leave a comment or e-mail me Dean Ouellette.
In today’s Phoenix Real Estate FAQ Kristin LaVanway and Dean Ouellette discuss what a SPDS (Seller Property Disclosure) is. When you purchase a foreclosure property you will not get a SPDS so you need to know what you are waiving. The SPDS is a document the seller fills out to tell you everything they know about the property, everything from who is the electric company to what repairs were made. If a bank tells you to waive the SPDS there is not much you can do, but if an investors who says they never lived in the home tells you to waive it I personally would fight back. They know enough about the property to disclose what they do know. Would love to hear your thoughts, you can leave a comment or e-mail me Dean Ouellette.
In today’s Phoenix Real Estate FAQ Kristin LaVanway and Dean Ouellette discuss how much money to put down as earnest money when you submit an offer. A general rule of thumb with earnest money is about 1% of the offer price. The exception is on a foreclosure where the earnest money is usually expected to be $1,000. Another thing to consider when making an offer is how many offers does this house have on it, if it is in a multiple offer situation and you have an offer that is probably very similar to other offers earnest money can be a strong weapon to make your offer stand out. I have had investors put down the full purchase price as earnest money because they really wanted the house. Would love to hear your thoughts, you can leave a comment or e-mail me Dean Ouellette.
NOTE All good things must end. May 3rd will mark my one year anniversary of Top Posts of the Day. It will also mark my last segment as I shift business focus. If you are interested in taking over please email me and let me know. I will export my RSS reader to you. Expect a 2-hour a day commitment.
1) Just Bought a Home; Did You Plan For Expenses? – Great post because most people do not really understand the true cost of home ownership.
2) Five best and five worst commercial real estate markets – Phoenix may be hotter than most of the country, but not when it comes to commercial real estate.
3) Four iPhone apps agents’ clients are probably using – If you know your client is an avid iPhone user you may want to know what they are using so you can speak their language.
4) NAR: 1994 Called, and it Wants its Photo Policy Back! – I thought NAR was supposed to look out for consumers not lazy agents? If 90+% of home buyers shop online why would you not require photos? How does a listing online without pictures help either the buyer or the seller?
5) Rebecca Jarvis: Got Evidence? – Rob takes apart a recent interview on CBS morning show about hiring real estate agents.
6) My first 10 days as a Realtor – you think you know, but you have no idea – Nice first 10 days, I don’t think, I know I didn’t even talk to a client in my first 10 days.
7) Just Launched: Facebook Like Plugin for Every Post on Your WP Blog! – Tomorrow you will be able to like this post, great plugin.
8) Hard Times for HOAs Could Mean Fewer Home Sales Due to Delinquent Fees – Late HOA dues can effect those who are not late and wanting to sell their home.
9) Your Self-Directed IRA is Possibly the Worst Mistake You Made?! – If you do not know what you are doing, get educated or you could pay the consequences.
10) USDA funding may not run out after all – HR 5017 passed today – Revenue neutral bill aims to make sure USDA does not keep running out of funds.
In today’s Phoenix Real Estate FAQ Kristin LaVanway and Dean Ouellette discuss why it is not a good idea, often not allowed, to sell your house to your Dad or another friend when you are selling your house as a short sale. Sure, you figure the bank is going to lose the money anyway, why not just have Mom and Dad buy that house in a short sale, then sell it back to you later at the reduced price. The banks will not allow that and will come after you for damages if you do it. Would love to hear your thoughts, you can leave a comment or e-mail me Dean Ouellette.
Today’s top 10 real estate blog posts of the day.
1) Bob Hale is sticking his neck out – who’s got his back? – This is a great start and I hope to see more associations start to implement it. Combine this with client feedback and we could really move the profession a long ways down the path in a good direction.
2) 5 Must-Have Products for the Virtual Real Estate Agent – These are five good tools you should have, but I think there may be some that are more important like DocuSign that are not on this list.
3) It’s Q2 … Do You Know Where Your Business Plan Is? – Are you staying on track? Do you even have a track to stay on?
4) Personal Branding: Defining Your Personal Values – What makes you who you are? Highlight that because people like doing business with people like themselves.
5) Grab Your Inner Tube: Short Sales are the Next Wave in Real Estate – A year ago it did not matter if you were representing buyers or sellers, it was the goal of most agents to avoid short sales. That is no longer possible.
6) Buying a Bank Owned Property Can Be Bumpy Ride – Patience is about the only thing you can do to control a bank owned property transaction.
7) Seven Things Your Agent Should Know About Your Mortgage Approval – This is good for agents to make sure they know in case their clients find it and ask.
8) Maxsell Real Estate features 24/7 Live Answering Phone System – Answering the phone makes all the difference in the world. I cannot tell you how many people are surprised when I answer my phone. It is often I hear wow an agent who knows where the answer button is.
9) Demonstrate expertise- embed a forum on your blog in ten seconds flat – I personally still like messages boards, but never thought of putting one on my site.
10) Ten Credit Do’s and Don’ts To Bear In Mind Prior To Getting Your Mortgage Loan – Make sure you tell your clients about these, there is nothing worse than finding out 2 weeks before close that your client just got a new truck and put is debt ration out of whack.
Today’s Top 10 real estate posts of the day in no particular order.
1) #RTB | Real Estate Liposuction – This was posted when? 2005? Amazing how something so relevant 5 years ago still is today.
2) Zplat! Forbes Throws Zillow Under the Bus – Forbes dumps Zillow inventory numbers as a source after Denver blow up.
3) Some Light in the USDA Tunnel? – One big problem with a USDA loan is you never know if there is going to be funding next week or not. This bill should take care of that.
3) The Price of one home – $270k, $199k, $195k, $65k, how much is the house worth? Depends who you ask.
4) Considering an “As-Is” Option? – Have a house being sold as is you really want? Worried about the money it will take to fix it up? 203k could be an option for you.
5) What Your Realtor Can’t Tell You – Realtors help you find a nice house in a safe neighborhood right? Clients never seem to be happy when you cannot tell them the neighborhood is safe or not. Some things just cannot be said if we want to keep our license.
6) Survey shows first time buyer sentiment trending positive – Good news for agents, first time buyers feel the time is right to buy, but believe they need an experienced agent to help guide them through the process.
7) Free Real Estate Coaching For Top Producer – I love this post. Top Producer owns the real estate database market and that may be why they are not as willing to make changes. They need to drop the if it is not broke mentality and go with a if it is not broke, break it and make it better mentality.
8) Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) – 100% Disaster Guarantee – I have been begging on Twitter and my blog for HAFA stories, and not getting much in response. Here is the first post I have seen on an actual HAFA case. Not good.
9) Tip Tuesday: 5 Secrets to Writing a Blog Post in 15 Minutes – If it takes to much time you will not do it, and you should be doing it.
10) Fan Zillow on Facebook for Chance to Win an Apple iPad – Want and iPad for your business? Zillow is giving one away.
Top 10 real estate blog posts of the day in no particular order.
1) Getting A Mortgage After Foreclosure Just Got Easier - Fannie says you will be able to buy a home just two years after a foreclosure, with 20% down.
2) Can I Make Offers on More Than One Short Sale? – Well said Kelly. Much respect. I can tell you we are in the minority though.
3) No Job, No Mortgage Payment – I have been one of the biggest critics of Bank of America. I have done countless videos about how they are not helping themselves. Recently though I have to give them credit. Their short sales department is getting better to work with, they are doing a small amount of principle reductions (but still more than others) and now this. At least they are trying.
4) Lenders Unload Mortgages to Collection Agencies – And if they do this before the short sale is finalized, that is going to cause problems.
5) HVCC: One Year Later – It’s been a year, it expires at the end of this year, what is the future of HVCC regulations?
6) What will a “Normal” Housing Market Look Like? – What do you mean people may have to actually save money to buy a house? Blasphemy! (We can only hope).
7) Why the Home Buyer Tax Credit Won’t Be Extended – Leading up to April 30th I personally did not see the surge like I did in November. There are a few people who have called recently saying I want in, but that number is not what it was 6 months ago.
8) Short Sale Agents: Not Paying Attention to Details Could Cost You – The HUD cannot be overlooked in short sales, it really is everything. The bank really does not care about a hardship letter, but they do care greatly about the HUD.
9) MLS Vendors Discuss Next Generation Goals – Sounds like it was a great discussion.
10) Survey shows first time homebuyer activity on the rise – As a percentage the first time buyers and investors own the market. Mostly because move up buyers cannot sell being so far underwater.
In today’s Phoenix Real Estate FAQ Kristin LaVanway and Dean Ouellette discuss why some sellers require a buyer to be approved by the seller when they already have their own prequalification from their lender of choice. The reason the seller, usually a bank in a foreclosure, requires it is because there are many LSR’s (prequal letter) that are not worth the paper they are written on. But if they were honest with you they would tell you the real reason they want a prequal with them too is they want your business. Would love to hear your thoughts, you can leave a comment or e-mail me Dean Ouellette.
