MLS Listings on Net Sale Price The bank wants to maximize its money on the sale of an REO property. It also wants your best efforts to sell the property. So, it will try to get you to agree to a commission on a NET sales price. Or, at the last minute, once you’ve presented… CONTINUE
Catch a Wave
According to Housing in America: The Next Decade, a new research report authored by John K. McIlwain, senior resident fellow, Urban Land Institute/J. Ronald Terwilliger Chair for Housing, there are four major “demographic waves” that will affect the U.S. housing market in the next decade: Aging baby boomers (55 to 64 years old)– Although they… CONTINUE
HUD Flips Out
…and it’s a good thing. HUD has flipped the Anti-Flipping rule on its head – temporarily — in an effort to make foreclosures more attractive to investors. On Jan. 15, HUD announced that FHA mortgage insurance will now be allowed on foreclosed houses that are quickly resold – “flipped” – which will also free up… CONTINUE
About REOs: Part 6
You are a broker/agent. You are desperate for listings. The only kinds of listings out there are bank REOs. The bank wants you – as part of the listing agreement – to do things like get the property professionally cleaned, arrange for repairs, watch over the repair professionals to make sure they get the job… CONTINUE
Investing in Tough Times
“It is clear the future holds great opportunities. It also holds pitfalls. The trick will be to avoid the pitfalls, seize the opportunities, and get back home by six o’clock.” – Woody Allen. If only it were that simple. Tough times do create some great opportunities for the savvy real estate investor. The trick is… CONTINUE
About REOs: Part 5
Acting as a General Contractor You are a professional, licensed, real estate agent. You are not a licensed general contractor. Understand the differences. They’re critical. Most of us intuitively know that a general contractor is a person who builds things, or repairs things. Sometimes they are big outfits; sometimes the office is the passenger side… CONTINUE
Agent Beware
Short Sales are called that for a reason: somebody is going to take it in the shorts! Just be darn careful it’s not you (the agent). In California, the fiduciary duties create almost impossible barriers for risk avoidance. If you represent the seller, you have duties to present ALL offers to the seller – but… CONTINUE
Is the Balloon About to Pop?
“Recovery!” That’s the word the general press is bandying about. “Recovery.” Really? Residential real estate values have dropped 25-50% since 2006 (depending on what state you’re in). Many pundits, and expert economists (an oxymoron?) predict that 2010 and 2011 will be even worse because of the mass of adjustable-rate mortgages that are scheduled to re-set… CONTINUE
What Brokers Need to Know About REOs: Part 4
Property Management Banks may call for the broker/agent to manage the property. And “property management” can mean something very different to a bank than to a broker/agent. In some instances, all a broker/agent is asked to do is determine if the property is occupied. That’s it. Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong. In rent-controlled cities (Oakland… CONTINUE
We Can Work It Out? New Time Frames for Short Sales & Foreclosures
SB 306 – Effective January 1, 2010: Establishes time frames related to short sales and foreclosures. This law has been falsely reported as requiring short sale lenders to respond to a short sale within 21 days. That is not what this law is about. This is what it does provide: 1. Requires short sale lenders… CONTINUE
New Real Estate Laws from Late 2009
SB 94 – Effective Oct. 11, 2009: No more Advance Fees on Loan Modifications. No Advance Fee Loan Modifications: Starting October 11, 2009, a new law prohibits anyone from claiming any compensation for negotiating or arranging a loan modification until after that person fully performs each and every service as promised. Aimed at combating loan… CONTINUE
These Loans Were Made For Walkin’
“Walk Away Mortgages.” A “new” Federal Program? Nope. A new financial reality. When houses are worth less than the debt owed against them (“negative equity” in bank parlance), it becomes a sound financial decision to simply ‘walk away” from the house, and rent the same model down the street for about half the cost. Sure,… CONTINUE
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