Pinetop White Mountain Blog

Good Evening Everyone!

If you have been wondering what has happened to me the last couple of weeks I'll tell you, I have been BUSY BUSY BUSY!  Yes the properties are moving again and the Buyers are back in the marketplace.  That is a good thing overall but I hear a lot of confusion and fear still in the voices of those who would like to buy property. 

What are they confused about you ask?  Well, it is what is the best way to go.  Almost everyone who comes in looking for property these days think they want to buy a foreclosure or Short Sale property.  The media keeps touting what a great deal they are so buyers feel that is the only way to get a good buy in today's marketplace.  

This simply isn't true.  There are some excellent values in today's market being offered by traditional sellers who are willing to go the distance to make the sale happen.  Sellers in most areas are motivated to sell, they will look at offers if they are reasonable, and they will complete repairs necessary for their buyer to obtain financing.  This is NOT TRUE on foreclosed or Short Sale properties.

Bank Owned properties are sold "AS IS" and their Counter Proposals often take away every protection you will have under the traditional State Approved Contracts for Sale.  If the home needs repairs in order for you to obtain financing in most cases you as the buyer are going to have to foot that bill.  That means that you may have to spend your hard earned money to repair a property you don't even own.  If for some reason that sale does not close, and it can happen, you have just spent your money to repair the Bank's Property.  Chances are they are not going to reimburse you for those costs they are going to smile and say Thanks so much for fixing my property.  Now I can sell it to someone else!  Does that sound like a good deal?  I don't think so.

Now, lets address Short Sales for a minute.  A Short Sale is defined as a property being offered at a price less than is currently owed on it.  Banks don't like Short Sales!  Why, who knows, but the general belief is that they actually make more money by forcing the homeowner in to foreclosure than by working anything out on a Short Sale.   

Another downside of a Short Sale for you the buyer is you may wait for months and months for an answer from the bank on your offer, only to find out that somewhere in the past they accepted another offer and yours was just disregarded entirely.  They won't tell you that though, so you will have waited endlessly for an answer that may never come.  While you were waiting however, another home down the street either hit the market or had a price reduction and it was the house you really wanted.  While you were waiting for some faceless nameless entity to get back to you, that house sold.  Are you going to be a happy camper?  I don't think so.

My point in this is to help you to understand that sometimes a foreclosure or a short sale can be a good deal.  Most times however if you can find a traditional seller and a home you like you will be better off.  As I stated earlier, sellers are motivated to sell these days.  They will work with you to make a sale happen.  If at all possible, you are better off as a buyer to try and find a home you like that is a regular retail seller, than to settle for the crumbs the banks are going to throw at you.  There are some really good buys in the marketplace these days and going traditional will ultimately serve your interests much better than trying to forge your way past a Bank. 

Good Luck in your Searches.  If we can be of assistance to you please give us a call.  I am confident we can help you find just what you are looking for.

---remember---

"WE WORK FOR YOU!"

SANDRA & BRUCE PAULOW, Your High Country REALTORS®

Good Evening Everyone,

You will note that there isn't any big company logo at the top of tonight's post and that is because this post has absolutely nothing to do with Real Estate. 

I had a very shocking email today and it brought me face to face with the reality that nothing is certain in this life.  A very dear friend of mine wrote me today to tell me that her husband passed away very suddenly over the weekend.  He went outside to do a little yard work and they found him later gone.  They believe he had a heart attack.

It also brought home the fact that while we all feel we are indestructable, we aren't.  When we are called home, we go, no matter where we are or what we are doing.  Things like this bring home the fact that mortality applies to every one of us, none of us are immune.

So tonight, just to remember what is really really important in life, go up to those you love, give them a great big hug and kiss and tell them you love them, because you might just not get another chance.  Life is fleeting and it can be taken away very quickly.  

Life is Short so live it to the fullest and in the best way you know how.

Have a good evening Everyone,

Sandie & Bruce Paulow 

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Today's post is directed to you First Time Homebuyers who have not taken advantage of the $8000 tax credit being offered by the Federal Government for a home purchase in 2009.  There is still time to get in on this great benefit but you need to act quickly.  Remember your sale must close escrow before November 30, 2009 in order to qualify.

This is a great deal and can benefit you greatly if you just take advantage of it.  The average sale time for most First Time Buyers is about 45 to 60 days and if you don't act soon you could miss out.

Here in the White Mountains the inventory of homes is still strong and there are some really good values out there.  So don't wait any longer, grab your friendly neighborhood REALTOR® and get out there and find your dream. 

We are here to help so just give us a call.  We can get you to a good lender, get you preapproved, and then we can find you the home you want. 

Have a wonderful evening everyone, until next time!

SANDRA & BRUCE PAULOW

Your High Country REALTORS®

(928) 242-0300

Good Afternoon Everyone,

I came across an article this afternoon that I thought I would share with you.  This is especially geared to Condo Buyers.  Because of the foreclosure situation in the market and the fact that many Condos are purchased as investments for rental properties, you need to be extra diligent in your research when purchasing a condo.  I hope you find this information helpful. 

Happy Reading.

Sandra Paulow, Associate Broker, GRI

• Budget. Examine the current budget, a year-to-date statement of income and expenses, and a couple of previous years’ budgets to see how they’ve changed.
• Reserve study. Understand the plan for maintenance and how it will be paid for.
• Special assessments. Ask if there have been any and whether more are planned.
• Delinquencies. How many owners are behind in their payments? Many lenders say no more than 15 percent of owners can be in arrears or they won’t write mortgages in the complex.

Source: Chicago Tribune, Lew Sichelman (08/23/2009)

Thinking of Making an Offer on a Short Sale? What You Need to Know

Are you looking to buy a new home? Are you thinking that now's a great time to find bargains? That's true, but it pays to know a little about the seller's situation before you make an offer.

If a home is being sold for below what the current seller owes on the property—and the seller does not have other funds to make up the difference at closing—the sale is considered a short sale. Many more home owners are finding themselves in this situation due to a number of factors, including job losses, aggressive borrowing against their home in the days of easy credit, and declining home values in a slower real estate market.

A short sale is different from a foreclosure, which is when the seller's lender has taken title of the home and is selling it directly. Homeowners often try to accomplish a short sale in order to avoid foreclosure. But a short sale holds many potential pitfalls for buyers. Know the risks before you pursue a short-sale purchase.

You're a good candidate for a short-sale purchase if:

· You're very patient. Even after you come to agreement with the seller to buy a short-sale property, the seller’s lender (or lenders, if there is more than one mortgage) has to approve the sale before you can close. When there is only one mortgage, short-sale experts say lender approval typically takes about two months. If there is more than one mortgage with different lenders, it can take four months or longer for the lenders to approve the sale.

· Your financing is in order. Lenders like cash offers. But even if you can’t pay all cash for a short-sale property, it’s important to show you are well qualified and your financing is set. If you're preapproved, have a large down payment, and can close at any time, your offer will be viewed more favorably than that of a buyer whose financing is less secure.

· You don’t have any contingencies. If you have a home to sell before you can close on the purchase of the short-sale property—or you need to be in your new home by a certain time—a short sale may not be for you. Lenders like no-contingency offers and flexible closing terms.

If you're serious about purchasing a short-sale property, it's important for you to have expert assistance. Here are some people you want to work with:

· Experienced real estate attorney. Only about two out of five short sales are approved by lenders. But a good real estate attorney who's knowledgeable about the short-sale process will increase your chances getting an approved contract. Also, if you want any provisions or very specialized language written into the purchase contract, a real estate attorney is essential throughout the negotiation.

· A qualified real estate professional.* You may have a close friend or relative in real estate, but if that person doesn’t know anything about short sales, working with him or her may hurt your chances of a successful closing. Interview a few practitioners and ask them how many buyers they've represented in a short sale and, of those, how many have successfully closed. A qualified real estate professional will be able to show you short-sale homes, help negotiate the purchase when you find the property you want to buy, and smooth communications with the lender. (All MLSs permit, and some now require, special notations to indicate that a listing is a short sale. There also are certain phrases you can watch for, such as “lender approval required.”)

· Title officer. It’s a good idea to have a title officer do an initial title search on a short-sale property to see all the liens attached to the property. If there are multiple lien holders (e.g., second or third mortgage or lines of credit, real estate tax lien, mechanic’s lien, homeowners association lien, etc.), it's much tougher to get that short sale contract to the closing table. Any of the lien holders could put a kink in the process even after you’ve waited for months for lender approval. If you don’t know a title officer, your real estate attorney or real estate professional should be able to recommend a few.

Some of the other risks faced by buyers of short-sale properties include:

· Potential for rejection. Lenders want to minimize their losses as much as possible. If you make an offer tremendously lower than the fair market value of the home, chances are that your offer will be rejected and you’ll have wasted months. Or the lender could make a counteroffer, which will lengthen the process.

· Bad terms. Even when a lender approves a short sale, it could require that the sellers sign a promissory note to repay the deficient amount of the loan, which may not be acceptable to some financially desperate sellers. In that case, the sellers may refuse to go through with the short sale. Lenders also can change any of the terms of the contract that you’ve already negotiated, which may not be agreeable to you.

· No repairs or repair credits. You will most likely be asked to take the property “as is.” Lenders are already taking a loss on the property and may not agree to requests for repair credits.

The risks of a short sale are considerable. But if you have the time, patience, and iron will to see it through, a short sale can be a win-win for you and the sellers.

* Not all real estate practitioners are REALTORS®. A REALTOR® is a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and is bound by NAR’s strict code of ethics.

Note: This article provides general information only. Information is not provided as advice for a specific matter. Laws vary from state to state. For advice on a specific matter, consult your attorney or CPA.

Sandra & Bruce Paulow, Your High Country REALTORS®  (928) 242-0300

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Today's post is directed at First Time Homebuyers or Buyers who have not participated in a Real Estate Transaction in a long time.  Buying a house or a piece of land is not an easy process.  In the present market conditions they can be even more complex. 

"Back in the Day" if you wanted to buy a piece of property you found the property, wrote an offer, got a loan, and took Title to the property.  It was a fairly easy process and you got what you got.  No one cared whether the seller told you the roof leaked or that there was a drainage problem on the property.  It was an "AS IS" "Where Is" transaction and it was a Buyer Beware situation.

Today things are very different and there are concerns that we didn't have to deal with in times past.  For one thing, the Arizona Purchase Contracts are much more complex.  The Residential Contract is now 10 pages long with multiple additional addendums depending on the circumstances of the sale.  The Land Contract is equally complex with many requirements that were not even considered in times past.

To be an informed Buyer in today's market you need an agent who can walk you through the process, help you understand both the Buyer's and the Seller's Obligations in the transaction, and in general help navigate you through the transaction with the ultimate goal being a successful closing.

To help you on that trail, the link below will take you to a document developed by the Arizona Association of REALTORS® that will give you a huge amount of information and help you prepare for the buying process.  It contains any number of websites that you can check out information about the process.  It is a good guide book and will benefit you greatly throughout the process. 

Link to the AAR Buyer's Advisory:  www.aaronline.com/documents/buy_advis.pdf

I hope you find this information useful.  If we can help you with your search or assist you in your next purchase, we are at your service.

Sandra Paulow, Associate Broker, GRI & Bruce Paulow, Associate, GRI

Aspen Properties, Inc.  in Pinetop, Arizona  (928) 242-0300