Fort Meade - USNA - Andrews AFB: July 2010

In a real estate market where prices have declined military families with PCS orders face a difficult decision.  Do you hold on to your home and rent hoping for prices to rebound in another 3-5 years or attempt a short sale and hope that your lender will consider PCS orders a "hardship?"

There are two other options that may be available for you to consider as weill. Military families stationed at Fort Belvoir, the Pentagon, Quantico and other Military District of Washington installations who purchased a home prior to July 1, 2006 may find that Homeowner Assistance Program (HAP) may offer some relief if you have upcoming PCS orders to move.

The HAP program is aimed towards helping:

Active Duty Military Personnel with PCS orders who are upside down on their mortgage
Wounded soldiers who must relocate due to medical conditions (wounded after 9/1/2001)
Surviving Spouses (death of military member after 9/1/2001)

If you live in Northern Virginia and you are anticipating PCS orders in 2010 and you qualify for HAP, now is the time to start gathering your documents and call the HAP Field Office for our area (located in Savannah) at 800-861-8144 for additional information.

Download information on how to apply for the HAP program.

If you have a VA Loan you may be eligible for a VA Compromise Sale. In our region of Northern Virginia the VA Regional Office which will provide you with the latest updates is the Roanoke office. The VA Compromise sale does have several factors that are important to remember:

• The property must be sold for fair market value.
• The closing costs must be reasonable and customary
• The compromise sale must be less costly for the Government than foreclosure
• There must be a financial hardship on the part of the seller
• On loans that originated on or before December 31, 1989, the seller must be willing to sign a promissory note
• There must be no second liens or other liens (unless the amount is insignificant).
• The seller must first obtain a sales contract in order to be considered for the program.

To protect the seller's interest, the seller should make the sales contract contingent and/or subject to the approval of a VA compromise sale.

VA Compromise Sale Information Packet

There is an extensive list of VA approved list of Loss Mitigation Servicers available on the VA site. A VA Compromise sale does require that the VA approve the HUD-1 be reviewed and approved by the VA prior to settlement so making sure the buyers documents are in order at least 48 hours in advance is a must.

If you are stationed at Fort Belvoir, the Pentagon, Quantico or any of the Military District of Washington installations give Cindy Jones a call at 703-346-2213. Let's see if a VA Compromise Sale or the Department of Defense HAP program might help you with your future home sale.

Do you lose business because of your brokerage?


It's a question we ask ourselves periodically.  Don't get us wrong, we love being associated with RE/MAX and the discretion we have, but in our niche, sometimes we think it could actually be a hindrance!  We specialize in Expireds, so we're often mailing sellers that were listed with another RE/MAX franchise. 

We DON'T mail listings that were with someone else from our own RE/MAX office.  From the broker's perspective, it's probably great to keep the listing in house, but from our fellow agent's perspective, not so great!  There's more than enough fish in the sea that we don't need to go there.


We've heard the pros and cons of small vs large brokerages, and ultimately it SHOULD be about the agent's ability, but sometimes the sellers want the Big Brokerage Name on the yard sign no matter what!  And sometimes they need to have at least heard of your brokerage just to be willing to talk to you about listing their home.


The negative side of belonging to the big brokerage is that the average consumer doesn't differentiate us!  We're all independent contractors and we each offer a different marketing philosophy and basket of skills, so we SHOULD be viewed on our individual merits.  However, we believe that this may be a case of one bad apple (and maybe not even bad, just didn't meet the seller's expectations) spoiling the whole basket.  The seller's viewpoint may be that we tried RE/MAX the first time, so let's try someone else.


What's your experience?

The Liz Spear Team
Elizabeth & William Spear
RE/MAX Elite, Mason, OH
Direct: 513-265-3004  Toll Free Fax 866-302-8418
MailTo: Liz@LizSpear.com  Visit: www.LizTour.com

YESTERDAY:

When I was a little girl, one of my favorite hobbies was to read.  Yes, my collection consisted of what most little girls my age had on their bookshelves at the time; the entire Nancy Drew Mysteries collection and the occasional racy Judy Blume novel.  But in addition to those, I also thoroughly enjoyed reading and flipping through the thin black and white Century 21 booklets that would randomly appear on the porch every couple of weeks.

One particular day while flipping through the pages of the booklet, I came across a photo of our house.  I jumped off the couch and ran to show my mom.  I was so proud that our home had made it into the "house book."  It was with a resigned sigh that I was to learn that my parents were getting a divorce and that our 6 bed/3 ba house sitting on 2 acres was quietly up "For Sale." 

TODAY:

As sad as that may seem, eventually everything worked out for the best.  But even after 30+ years, I can't help but to always consider the story behind every "For Sale" sign.  The sellers are most likely anticipating a new beginning or possibly coming to terms with what they see as a tragic ending.  In this market of ever-increasing short sales and foreclosures, I think we can safely assume that its mostly the latter.  

Last week when showing a buyer a property that was by "appointment only."  We noticed the tight smiles on the seller's faces as we slowly walked though their home.  Clearly the kids were on their best behavior because I'd never seen three 6-9 year olds sitting side-by-side so quietly with their hands in their laps.

After the tour, I thanked them for allowing us to see the house.  As we turned to leave, the wife stepped forward and asked my buyer directly if she liked the house?  Both my buyer and I simultaneously responded yes, although I already knew by her body language that it wasn't at the top of her list.  We walked to the car without saying a word.  A few minutes later she broke the silence and simply said, "That was sad, huh?"  My response, "Very!"

It wasn't what the seller had asked, but how she had asked it.  There was such a sense of desperation and urgency in her tone that it immediately formed a lump in our throats. 

TOMORROW:

Although we didn't make an offer on the house, I was glad to see that it is now placed in "Backup Offers" status.  We as Realtors are often times assisting people through such difficult and challenging times in their lives.  A friend of mine who was recently laid off said to me that she was seeing it as a place she was starting from and not a place where she had ended up.  WOW!  What a great attitude!  If we can successfully convey that to our sellers, we will have earned so much more than a commission check.

____________________________________________

               Prudential 24 Hour Real Estate Direct: (310) 508-4354 ~ Alternative (562) 726-ANDI  ~ Fax (562) 861-0285  Email:  andi@andigrant.com    DRE # 01728424

If you or your clients are looking for a saavy Realtor® to assist with any real estate needs in the Greater Los Angeles area including Long Beach, Downey, Lakewood and its surrounding communities, do not hesitate to call me at 310-508-4354. 

HAPPY CLOSINGS!  

www.AndiGrant.com

 

So your home is rotting on the market.... The sign leans, collects rust and your neighbors chuckle about you having your 18th Open House. Just what is the problem you grumble across the dinner table. Every time you call your agent she discusses "the market."

 

You're not sure what's more annoying, this or Lindsay Lohan updates.

 

 

1. What you paid for the home has nothing to do with it's current value. If you overpaid, bought in a sellers market or over improved the property then you will likely find yourself in a negative situation.

2. Just because you didn't mind backing up to power lines, busy roads and water treatment facilities doesn't mean everyone else feels the same way!

3. All your bedrooms are upstairs. This is usually a turn off for more than half of all buyers.

4. You installed a pool that consumes all or most of the backyard.

5. You have a ton of religious, cultural or political stuff crammed in your house while it's showing.

6. Your home is filthy, smelly and disgusting.

7. You back up to commercial property.

8. You have weird colors like lime green, deep purple or highlighter orange.

9. Your walls are part black from hands.

10. Your toilets have rust in them.

11. You're home during showings asking stupid questions and getting in the way of buyers and their Realtors.

12. You'rer home during showings asking about financing and attempting to wheel and deal.

13. You demanded to take the pictures in place of those the Realtor wanted to take.

14. You're too controlling.

15. You PAD your home too much for negotiations and "cost of commissions."

16. You DECLINE showings, even if just once.

17. You watch HGTV and assume what they do is what your Realtor should be doing.

18. You cook with spices that permeate the house.

19. You leave the A/C at 85 or higher when it's 150 degrees outside.

20. You leave your big dog running around the house during showings.

21. Your dog farts, pees, and leaves hair everywhere in the house and it's disgusting.

22. Your kitty litter box is filled with feces and stinks up an entire 12 foot area.

23. You are way too house proud.

24. You converted the garage to a bedroom and expect the next buyers to "think it's cool." It's not.

25. You put $50,000 into your home and expect to get it all back. You say.. "I'm not giving my home away."

26. Your 17 year old always has his friends over. One of the guys walks around with his shirt off saying dude and other annoying sayings during showings.

27. You set up cameras all around the house so you can watch everything from work.

28. You use your master as a study, tv room, bedroom, baby changing area, gym, mediation area and boxing ring.. all in one.

29. You, for some reason, RAISE your list price. No reason makes sense.

30. Your grass is taller than your house.

31. Both homes next to you are in foreclosure and have broken windows, missing doors and look like  hell.

32. You have ash trays around the house that are full.

33. Did I mention you're too controlling?

34. You have pet snakes inside the home, specifically a boa constrictor.

35. You think it's manly to leave rifles, handguns, throwing knives, billy clubs, Chinese stars, bazookas, and bow and arrows around the house.

36. You think it's manly to have 88 different kinds of kill on the walls of your home, including a stuffed bobcat clawing at a bird.

37. You collect weird things like life size replicas of Power Rangers. You keep a couple of them standing in the formal living room.

38. Your girlfriend is an entertainer and leaves all her erotic stuff in sinks, closets, floors and door handles.

39. You are a pack rat and in denial.

40. You work on your car during showings. You are 1/2 naked, drinking beer and listening to loud awful music. You burp and use fowl language with one of your friends who's doing the same thing.

41. You have roaches laying on their back with one of their legs still twitching from that can of hair spray that your wife used.

42. You bought the home as a foreclosure and didn't spend a dime fixing it.

43. Your neighbor bothers Realtors and buyers as your home shows.

44. You bought a home that's 500 million miles off the beaten path.

 

whew.. I think you get the point. And YES, all of these are real life examples. The point is simple. We can't sell a home if you don't play ball. We can't sell over priced homes. We can't sell a home with 100 problems.

 

We can only try and do our best! Sometimes the homeowner has to lease their property instead of selling it. Sometimes a seller has to conduct a short sale or borrow money so they can reduce their price and "get out from underneath" the home.

 

Do it right the first time or possibly face foreclosure.

 

 

 

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 Agents: We Specialize In Pampering Your Referrals!

 

• Full Time Team of Realtors Working 7 Days A Week, Including Weekends & Holidays.
• We Keep Our Referring Agents Informed Throughout The Transaction.
• We Pay TOP Dollar For Referrals - GUARANTEED.
• We Represented More Buyers Than 99% of Our Competitors During The 1st Quarter of 2010. (Over 17k Realtors City Wide)

 

There are many posts written about getting the most value from our blogs and being creative about getting ‘Google Juice' and SEO. Hidden value can be achieved by simply completing our profile page. AR also rewards us for filling out our profile and updating it periodically. The easiest area to complete should be the testimonials section, especially as we often get notes, emails and letters at the end of a completed transaction.

I recently had a listing appointment with a prospective client that was referred to me by one of her cousins. She is relocating closer to her job and had been interviewing agents to sell her house and to get thoughts on how to get the house set to sell. I will be the last agent they interview, and will be getting the listing once the ‘punch list of items is completed.

A couple of days after our meeting I received emails from both the prospective client and her cousin thanking me for my help and patience. They both offered up a comment that I was every bit as helpful and knowledgeable as my testimonials on ActiveRain offered. This was a pleasant surprise to me as well as an appreciation for ActiveRain ‘pointing' me for completing this profile. 

As we blog, we often can see on the statistics section how often our blogs are viewed (seen by members), clicked (number of times someone has actually just clicked right to the blog, instead of viewing it on the blog roll), and of course number of comments. At the top of the statistics section is the number of times your profile is viewed by either other Rain members or prospective clients.

 This number can be staggering to some of us and also another indication of how successful we are being in reaching the Internet consumer.

There is so much available to us here on ActiveRain, and it takes patience and time to truly grasp how powerful a site and tool this can be for our business. Imagine a working site that is free, interactive, an incredible reference library of professionals from all over North America and a great database of agents for future referrals. It just doesn't get any better than this.

Want to get more information on available homes or condos in the Greater Waterbury area? Click HERE to sign up for ALL Connecticut property listings!

Do you know somebody who is behind on their mortgage and doesn't know what to do? I may be able to help them, especially if they are facing foreclosure!

Visit my Short Sale Help site;  www.ctshortsalessite.com 

Whether looking to buy or sell, we service the Greater Waterbury towns of Beacon Falls, Bethany, Cheshire, Naugatuck, Middlebury, Thomaston, Waterbury, Watertown and Wolcott 

Ed Silva  RE/MAX PARTNERS,  www.edwardsilva.com  203-206-0754

Late last week a fomer real estate agent who had been the target of an FBI investigation and subsequently indicted in 2009 has learned his fate.

Ruben Rojas and his family led a real estate and mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in losses to lenders to the tune of $9 Million Dollars.  Many of the homes that they were involved in flipping or tearing down to rebuild large McMansions subsquently turned into boarding homes in older Springfield neighborhoods. 

It was those boarding houses that led to complaints by neighborhood citizen groups which unraveled the mortgage fraud and subsequently the arrest of close to 20 people including Ruben Rojas his sister-in-law, Litcia Linares, his sister Lourdes Rojas Almanza and his two brothers Grovert Rojas and Jaime Nino Rojas.

Prosecutors were surprised when the judge sentenced Rojas to 5 years in prison and 5 years of supervised release. More than the recommended sentence.   He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $9.5 million.   A lawful permanent resident from Bolivia, Rojas will be turned over to immigration authorities for deportation proceedings following his release from prison.

The results of  the Rojas scheme can been seen by anyone driving through neighborhoods in Springfield.  Most of the homes involved in the transactions have gone into foreclosure or have been sold as short sales.  The 30 transactions included in the indictment amount to $24 Million in illegal loans received with bogus documents created by the Rojas group.

Though the sentencing will not fix the sharp decline of home values in central Springfield, nor will it fix the blight that the McMansions leave among the older smaller homes but it should send a message to other agents who were involved in mortgage scams and flipping schemes.  The FBI and local authorites aren't going to let you off lightly when your day in court arrives.

 

 

Sit back in your chair now, and ask yourself a question.

If you had to pick ONE WORD to describe yourself, your real estate business, your marketing plan on your listings, and your commitment to your clients.....what word would you select ??

After a meeting with a client this week, I used this word to describe my work ethic - and my client loved it.

So, here is my word of the day: RELENTLESS

Thanks to the Webster-Online Dictionary, the offiicial definition is: showing or promising no abatement of severity, intensity, strength, or pace.

We all know that a "real estate market" is a local issue, but everyone across the USA knows that it's a "tough" real estate market. For me, it's the toughest market I have worked in since I began working in real estate nine years ago. As a real estate professional in Gainesville, Florida, this market has taught me good lessons. Those lessons have made me a "Relentless Realtor®".

As a relentless Realtor®, I tell myself everyday........that "slow and steady" will Win the Race.

My daily mantra is: Stick to your plan! Put on a smile! Hard work will be rewarded!

The "Race" is to make my clients & customers happy and help them achieve their goals.

Their goals are to "get their home shown" that will ultimately "get their home sold", and/or "find them their next home".

Today, the qualified buyers are happy.........so much inventory to see! Great Prices! Low Interest Rates! If my buyers want to see homes, let's sit down and weed through the listings and select the ones we want to go view. I want to win the race - find a buyer the best home and get under contract & close!

Today, most sellers are frustrated, worried, and some are panicked from the evening news each night. " Why no showings, why no buyers,???" It is an agonizing waiting game. Do we have it priced right? It's tough to keep lowering the price, and lowering the price if we aren't getting any showings or feedback??? So many worries........ I want to win the race, I want to get my clients' homes SOLD!

The marketing of your listings, your networking, the internet exposure you yourself have as a local real estate professional, AND your analysis & understanding of your local real estate market is a key to being a relentless Realtor®. Know your local market. Use and master all the tools you can to promote your product (listings) and your services. Communicate to your clients that "you are relentless". We don't have special powers to predict the market or the future. Yesterday and Today is all we know.

Those of us Realtors that survive THIS market, will have a strong foundation for our future business and reputation.

Are you a relentless Realtor® ?

Let’s connect on these great social networks:

 

If you're looking for a home in the Gainesville area, you can visit my primary Gainesville FL Real Estate website at www.ehomesgainesville.com.  Thanks!

 

 

I had a client that was very interested in purchasing a property and wanted to go out and start shopping right away.  "These are all the things that the house must have.... here is what I am willing to pay.... I have excellent credit so that will not be a problem... I will have to sell my house, but I want to find a suitable replacement first."

Well, you might be ready, and almost willing, but you are not quite able at this point. That is, not without risk.

This is still a buyer's market, but that is changing. Especially if you are looking in a price range where you are in direct competition with numerous buyers that do not have a house to sell first. If you find a property and you want to make an offer, you will have to make it with a home sale contingency. With a home sale contingency, the seller is going to ask if your house is under contract with a buyer, and will assume that it is at least listed for sale. 

If they find out you do not even have your house up for sale (and they most likely will), they may turn down your offer outright and consider that you are not a serious buyer. If you think you can make a low offer when you have a house to sell, you might as well save yourself the effort. However, in the event your offer is accepted, the seller will most likely include a 48 hour first right of refusal clause. The seller will continue to market the property for sale with a disclosure that it has an offer pending with a home sale contingency. Be aware, this leaves a window of opportunity for another buyer (which I will mention later).

Now what? You love the house and do not want to see someone else purchase it so you are faced with finding a buyer for your home really fast. How do you sell a house really fast in this market? You have to price it very aggressively. Even then, it does not guarantee that you will sell your house fast. Not to mention that being in a position where you have to sell quickly will make you much more susceptible to accepting a lower offer. What did that just cost you?  Oh, and what about that buyer that makes an offer to purchase your house, but has a house to sell first. Do you want to accept the offer with a 48 hour first right of refusal? Not really.  

Say it isn't so, someone came forward and is able to buy the property you have an option to purchase? They can if they have like (or better) terms. You are now forced with a decision. Either remove your home sale contingency and purchase the property, or forfeit the house which will then be sold to the other buyer. That hurts, you just lost the house you really wanted. Now you have to start all over again.

A better solution, would be to list your house for sale now. If you are afraid that you might not be able to find a suitable replacement, then disclose that in your listing and make your sale contingent upon finding suitable housing. It is not difficult, and will give you some peace of mind.

You will be perceived as a serious buyer when you start shopping for your replacement home.  Any favorable action that you can take toward improving your ability to purchase will bring you closer to a successful outcome. It will also save you money. Call your Realtor today and ask for more details.

 

I recently began working with a client who had recevied a pre-approval from her mortgage broker who she had been working with for several months.  I had never worked with him before but she was pleased with the work he had done to help her repair her credit.

We met at his "home office" to get the pre-approval letter to submit with an offer.  When I met him I thought he was very strange.  He kept yelling at his wife and ordering her to do things.  Something about him did not feel right and I even asked my client if she had given him any money upfront.  She indicated that she had not paid him anything. 

He provided us with a mortgage comittment letter, not a pre-approval, that was signed by someone else.  He explained that it was the owner of the company who signed all the committment letters.  I have to admit that I did not follow my instincts which were that something was very wrong with the picture.

The buyer had been working with him to repair her credit but instead of going up her credit score actually went down.  He told her that she owed him $270 for the rapid credit rescore.  He indicated that he had put it on his personal credit card and that he needed her to repay him immediately.  Since her credit score had not improved and she had not been informed that there would be any up-front charges she indicated that she did not know what she was paying for and asked that he provide an invoice as to the charges.  This mortgage person sends her a letter indicating that he was going to call the police if she did not pay him and that she authorized him to make the charges by signing the universal loan application.

Upon investigation, it turns out that this man is NOT a licensed mortgage banker as he indicated (it's even listed that way on his email signature).  I spoke to the owner of the company with whom he is supposedly affiliated.  This gentleman indicated that this "mortgage banker" is simply a referral source.  When he meets buyers he is supposed to funnel them to the company and was certainly not in a position to issue loan comittment letters.  In the meantime, this non-licensed professional has all of my buyer's personal and sensitive information, social security number, pay stubs, bank statements, etc.

We are in the process of filing complaints against him with the regulatory board here in Maryland.

What's even more frightening, is that this mortgage "professional" was recommended to the buyer by the real estate agent she was using before she came to me.

My poor buyer is just grateful that we found this out BEFORE we had a ratified contract.

I have also learned an important lesson that you cannot assume people are telling the truth and I need to do careful research on the other "professionals" with whom I am not familiar.

If you or someone you know would like information about buying, selling, or renting a home in Prince George's, Montgomery, Charles, Anne Arundel, Howard, and/or Baltimore Counties please contact Dr. Stacey-Ann Baugh of EOP Real Estate, LLC.

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Donations made to charity with every successful closing!

Dr. Stacey-Ann Baugh

EOP Real Estate, LLC

www.staceybaugh.com

staceyannbaugh@gmail.com

240-481-3565 (C)

202-789-2848(O)

 

FINALLY!  A DOCTOR WHO MAKES HOUSE-CALLS!

EOP Real Estate

Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed!