Bank of America short sales policy towards conventional loans needs to be changed. When they will reject a conventional loan offer that nets them the same as a FHA offer they will accept, that is a problem. If a conventional and a FHA offer net them the same amount they should give them the same consideration.
Here is today’s list of top real estate posts of the day.
1) How Loan-Level Pricing Adjustments Keep You From Getting The Lowest Advertised Mortgage Rates – Why am I not getting that rate I saw quoted? Here is why, same reason you may not get the quote for car insurance you saw on TV.
2) FHA 90 Day Flip Rule: Flip Flop – Just because the FHA waived their 90-day flip rule for a year does not mean all lenders will abide by it or have the same rules.
3) Agent Designations Explained – Let me help you with this, designations are a way for the NAR and their affiliates and partners to make money off agents each year. Yes agents after completing the class need to pay each year to use the designation. Kind of like if you went to ASU, got your diploma and then ASU said you need to pay us $500 each year or you cannot say you graduated here. That about sums it up. Not what this article says, but now you know.
4) Targeting Your Online Home Search – Matt does a great job here of giving advice to online home shoppers on how to narrow down your search and find the right one for you.
5) Reading up on real estate – Theresa makes a great point, most of us read up when we go to have our first kid, why not when we buy a house?
6) Top 10 Worst Places to buy real estate in the US – First I have to say I COMPLETELY disagree with this list. I may be wrong, but I would be willing to bet a lot of money that Phoenix is not dropping another 18% this year. But it is worth looking at.
7) I Leased a Property and It Is Being Sold as a Short Sale or Foreclosed…What should I do? – This is something anyone who is leasing in states like Florida, Nevada, Arizona or California needs to be concerned with. another great resource is Lemon Landlord
8) House Call: To Buy or Not to Buy – Good question, how fast would you rush out to buy a new car if the dealer said 4% off? That is what the $8,000 tax credit represents to a $200k house.
9) It’s Important to Know All Things Real Estate if That’s What You Sell! – Back in college I sold cars, it was constantly drilled into my head know your product! This post makes a great point about the same in real estate
10) The Shadow Inventory Debate – What fascinates me about the shadow inventory debate is no one knows for sure, If they did there wouldn’t be 30 different opinions on it. There is more mystery of shadow inventory than there is of the Big Bang Theory.
1) HAFA: 2 Guys, 2 Burgers and a Voice Recorder – Almost every blog post I have read over the last two months about the new HAFA program (and it has been a lot) has talked about the talking points of the program. This one goes a little deeper and gives you the stuff you won’t read in the talking points.
2) Famous blonde financial pundit expects double dip in U.S. housing market – This is something I have been hearing more and more over the last few weeks “double dip in housing market.” I still think the banks are to smart to allow it to happen and that is why they are controlling inventory, but the more I hear the more I question my thinking.
3) Zillow Launches Android App – Android finally get’s a major search app.
4) Walkaway Explosion? – Strategic defaults is becoming so popular this year I just checked to see if stratigicdefault.com was available, of course it is not. The numbers here are just staggering.
5) 10 Important Questions to Ask a Home Inspector – If you are looking to buy a house I would never consider doing so without a home inspection. And here are some important questions to consider asking the inspector.
6) Paying a fair price for the home you buy. – Great post Ardell! patience is everything right now.
7) Crime Scene Photos: A Surprisingly Effective Marketing Tool – OK probably not the best way to market a house, but sure is an interesting way.
8) War Stories – the Home Inspection – 5 hour home inspection? It does show the importance of a home inspection though.
9) New Breed of Single Property Websites for Real Estate: The Solution – Single property websites are great, but I still question if they are better than a page on my site dedicated to the property. My site already has built in Google Juice and not starting from scratch. Although the sign rider for a unique URL is more impressive.
10) FHA Appraisal Requirements – A quick look at what they are looking for in the property on a FHA approval of a loan.
Here is today’s list of top real estate posts of the day.
1) REDC Auction: Scam or the Real Deal? – There are different types of auctions for houses, there is the type where you go to the courthouse step and bid on the foreclosures and then there are the auctions like Hudson &Marshall or REDC where you can bid on a property that has been on the market a while. The advantage to the second is you can visit the house before hand and you can use financing, but don’t think you can steal it with a low ball offer.
2) Rants and Raves ! WHERE DO THESE MIAMI PRICES COME FROM? – One of my favorite subjects, why do we still price houses like it is 1992 and people are still looking at pictures in a MLS book. How we shop for houses has changes, so should the way we price them.
3) Is a Short Sale Free? Will it Cost Me Anything? – This is a common question I get too, what will a short sale cost me as a seller? The answer should be not much if anything at all. Although I would add into this equation the cost of getting legal advice.
4) Why Never Taking ‘No’ For an Answer Will Make You Wealthy – This is a great post that is relevant to investors, agents or anyone in life. If you refuse to take no for an answer it will get you thinking out of the box.
5) The Challenge of Being an FHA Home Buyer in a Seller’s Market – Condos, single-family homes, both have different challenges, but both do have challenges with FHA loans in today’s market.
6) Real Estate Agency, and Why I Can’t Help You – If you are working with another real estate agent, sometimes we just need to do the ethical thing and say sorry, we cannot help you.
7) Is Homebuyers’ Negotiation Power on the Rise? – The average price a house sold for 97.3% of the last list price in January.
8) The Difference Between a Blog and a Website – Do you know what the difference between a real estate blog and a real estate website is? Not much.
9) Consumers Are Not Getting Enough Credit in Today’s Market – Access to credit, HVCC, all things that are helping keep the market down.
10) Two Things: Agents and Listings – Great story for Brokers looking to expand, there are only two things to concentrate on. And for agents, take this information to your business. What are the two things that are money making activates, concentrate on them.
Here is today’s list of top real estate posts of the day.
1) Mortgage Markets Pass The Tipping Point; Mortgage Rates Up For Good? – We have been hearing it for a while, rates are only going up. With an increase in the discount rate is that time now?
2) Day 2: Sonic Drive-In Happy Hour in East Vancouver – This one goes under the “you should be stealing this idea for your blog” category. Don’t take this the wrong way Dale, but this post by itself is not something amazing, and the video is nothing amazing… but the concept for the series? Brilliant. So easy, so informative, such a great idea. I hope you keep it going for 365 days, I am looking forward to watching it develop.
3) Is There a Loan Modification That Will Work? – There are so many factors in loan modifications, but from my experience the answer is with the current system banks are using, no! Tom does a good job writing about it in a lot more detail here.
4) WARNING: You Don’t Want Your Home on the Market Forever! – If you are serious about selling your home do not let this be you. If you are not serious, and only going to sell if you get what you want for it (different than what it is worth) this method is ok, but don’t expect an agent to spend much money and time marketing it.
5) $100 Down payment HUD Home Financing in Phoenix – The 2,000.00 Mistake – Do you have a buyer that is interested in using the $100/down HUD program? If you are in the Phoenix and Tempe area you can almost forget it. Most of these homes are selling over list price, which causes a problem as Christoph points out.
6) RPR MLS License-What RPR can do with data – So I have a sickness, just can’t get enough reading in about the RPR. And I think my opinion on it is starting to change. I can’t wait to get to play with it.
7) What Unique Selling Proposition is a Real Estate Broker or Website Using? – Really this is a challenge, how far out of the box can you go? Who can get outside the box, help the client the most and gain traction doing so?
8) 10 Reasons Why eSignature is the Most Powerful Tool In My Bag! – Yup Docusign rocks! Why are you not using it, that is just mind-blowing.
9) Short Sale Tempe – Bank Of America Equator – I just love watching people rant on BoA short sales process.
10) FHA Flip Rule Video – This is a fairly creative video on the FHA flip rule, nothing new really, but just an interesting way of presenting it.
1) Realtor® or Detective? When Listing Short Sales, You Must Be Both! – This is good for agents who want to join the short sale listing club. I treat short sales different, I fell the home seller needs to hire me and I am only taking the position if there is full commitment. This post explains many of the things I am looking for.
2) If I Can Change, and You Can Change, Everybody Can Change! – I know Redfin takes a lot of heat from the real estate community, but this post makes me stand up and cheer. I really like their philosophy.
3) Licensing to Realtors Property Resource (RPR) and Others — Things to Consider – Attention MLS committees. Thinking about if you share your info with RPR? Here is a good place to start. Now if I could just get my MLS Committee to call me back, been trying to join them for months now.
4) No Brown Nosing Required. Your RAISE Is Ready When You Are. – This gives me an idea for a post, why I got into real estate. This may be reason number 1, you control your own fait.
5) FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums : Don’t Confuse The FHA’s Wish List For Your Own Reality – OK Dan, why are you trying to confuse me with the facts. FHA cannot just change their guidelines, they need Congress to approve it.
6) Learn by Doing, Exercise 1 for Real Estate Investors – How to Buy – This is directed towards investors, but really there are lessons here for everyone reading this.
7) How Do Search Engines Find My Real Estate Website – New real estate blogger? If so read this, just because you have a site does not mean anyone will find it.
8) 10 Home Features Buyers Want – What do buyers want it a house? The only one of these I do not really hear on a regular basis is number 8, the rest of the list I think is dead on.
9) The BEST way to share content on Facebook – Wondering how the best way to share an Internet article or video on Facebook? Here you go.
10) “Life of a Realtor” Video – This one is for pure entertainment purposes.
1) Low Appraisals Mean Even Lower Hopes for Sellers – Bad news for sellers is great news for buyers!
2) Gaining control of your schedule just got easier with TimeDriver – Teri I love this!! Thank you so much for sharing. If you are busy and know you could use your time better check this out. After just looking at it for 5 minutes I think there is potential here to be tapped.
3) Be the catalyst for community in your business – online and offline in 2010 – Every time I hear someone tell an agent they can run their whole business through things like social media I laugh. There may be a couple agents in the country who have that juice, but I am sure I can count them on one hand. That is why I like posts like that that mix new technology with traditional face to face ideas.
4) Top 20 Real Estate Websites in the United States – So we know buyers are starting online, but where are they finding their homes? Zillow drops behind Yahoo, Redfin on the rise.
5) Selling your Home? CLEAN MATTERS – Clean matters, but only if you are looking to get top dollar.
6) Character-Driven Agents #RTB – This theme of RTB (Raising The Bar) for agents is taking off. We can start out with education, the education I got when I first got my license was not as good as it should have been.
7) Another Niche To Consider Marketing To – Mothers – Who is looking for a new niche idea? I’m betting Jonathan Dalton jumps on this one first.
8) FHA Changes: It Could Have Been Worse? – Any other agents joining me on the it should have been worse band wagon?
9) They are Smarter than you, Better than you and they Know More than you – Lenders and real estate agents, we always seem to want to kill each other, yet we cannot do our jobs without one another.
10) The Old Real Estate Bait and Switch – Writer Debut – Sure I will list your home for double what it was worth, I just want the sign calls. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do about these agents.
1) FHA Rulebook Changes : Higher Fees, Bigger Downpayments, And More Mortgage Insurance – New FHA rules continue to be the talk of the industry.
2) Are You the Worst Type of Client a Realtor Can Have? – Dave discusses some of the challenges agents face working with clients.
3) How not to price a home – One of my favorite topics, how not to price a home. Just because you want a certain amount does not make the house worth that. I like this topic so much I did a video of it myself yesterday on how to price a short sale.
4) Rob Hahn vs Tom Ferry on Using Social Media – Loved watching this, both social media gurus talk about the good and bad of social media for real estate agents.
5) 3 Things You Should Know About Buying a Short Sale in the Charlottesville Area – Some things buyers should be aware of before buying a short sale. I would also add in there trust your agent if they talk to the sellers agent and believe this is the selling agent’s first time doing a short sale, it may be a good idea to keep looking.
6) Is There Any Way to Reduce Closing Costs – Buyers look to you to help with advice. The only little problem with this post is the new GFE does not have total closing costs on it.
7) Life after Foreclosure or Short Sale – Many agents are helping people facing foreclosure or a short sale, but one thing you do not see addressed much, what next for the home owner?
8) Why Blogging Is Important For Real Estate Agents – If you are an agent reading this you are probably already blogging. If not, you should be and here are some good reasons why.
9) Luxury Real Estate Branding: A Headshot Is Not A Brand! – Personal branding should be something that stands out and catches their attention and something they can remember.
10) Short Sale: Credit Score – Yes a short sale is going to effect your credit score, but most of that damage comes from your late payments.
1) Loan Modifications With Principal Cuts Attract Lenders Attention – Lenders are starting to look at loan modifications with a principle balance reduction as realistic alternatives, and they need to if they expect them to work. I personally predict that some form of principle reduction with a home equity fractional interest where the buyer needs to repay a portion of the reduction upon sale is most likely coming.
2) Foreclosures: Challenges FHA Buyers Face When Making Offers – It is true that FHA home buyers have a hard time competing with cash and conventional offers, but who can blame the seller? Much less likely a conventional or cash deal will fall through.
3) Conquering Your Fear When The Phone Rings – While this post is done from the point of view of an investor, it is relevant to anyone who is new to a business like real estate.
4) One Simple Strategy You Can Implement Immediately for More Referrals – The advice in this post is so true. When I first put up my site I had so much junk on there like everything about local schools and parks etc. Then my analytics showed me no one was going to those things.
5) 10 Cities For Home Bargains – Is your city among the best for bargains for home shopping? (Good blog material if so).
6) The People Have Spoken!… but are we listening? – People want more from agents, who is going to give it to them?
7) Is Your House Over-Priced? The Rule of Tens – A couple of basic rules for home sellers on figuring out if your house is overpriced.
8) Short Sale “Twists and Tail Spins”: Be Aware ! – I question this practice greatly! The bank is not a party to the real estate transaction and should be a RESPA violation for dictating terms. All they should be allowed to do is approve or deny the final transaction based on the HUD-1 number.
9) Here Come The 1099-Cs Turning YOUR Short Sale Into A Big Headache – Get ready for that 1099-c. I actually did a video with a local law firm on the short sale and 1099 issue yesterday.
10) FHA Cracks Down on Dubious Lenders – I heard about this yesterday while at lunch with a lender, they actually had a friend who got visited. Fun times!
1) We’re the Treasury- We’re Here To Help You With Short Sales (kinda) – More on the new short sales program. Rathbun has a reserved opinion, me, not as reserved, I think the new short sale guidelines are going to fail.
2) BofA to Repay $45 Billion in TARP – My take on this? The government is making the short sale “suggestions” listed in #1. When it fails will they make the suggestions mandatory for those who still owe TARP money? Don’t be surprised and BOA being one of, if not the worst to deal with when it comes to short sales may want no part. Just a thought.
3) FHA Downpayment, FHA Insurance Costs To Rise? – It is going to get tougher to get an FHA loan. Will be interesting to see if they do require a larger down payment. I for one hope they do!
4) Get a free credit report before you look for a house – I like her recommendation of getting one of your reports every four months. I used to do that when I cared about my credit score.
5) REW’s New IDX Map Search is Coming – For the other agents out there this is going to be an very interesting one to watch.
6) Exactly How The Long Tail In Real Estate Blogging Will Bring The Ready-To-Act Home Buyer – Determine what keeps home seller and buyer up at night and blog about that? So what is it?
7) Stop Thinking About It. It’s Time to Sell Your House. Inventory is Very Very Low in Northern Virginia – Looking for content for your site? I bet this is relevant to many agents out there and well done.
8) Christmas Comes Early For Some FHA Borrowers – Not to be confused with number 3 in this list. 2nd appraisals appear to be going away.
9) I can’t tell you how disgusted this makes me…. – Is Bloodhound becoming the Thom Vanderwell blog? He is just cranking out content. Great story he picks up here, if true everyone involved should lose their license.
10) “The Digital Handshake” by Paul Chaney – Don’t Miss This One! – There are very few books out there on social media worth owning. This sounds like it may be one
