My New Blog

I get asked all of the time whether or not a person should put their home up for Short Sale or let it go back to the bank via deed in lieu or foreclosure. The quick and simple answer to that question is that I truthfully do not know. Every situation is different just like every person is different. I will tell you that variables like who is the lender and do you have a second mortgage is critical to the positive outcome that we all want for the seller. The professionals that you talk to will give you their opinion based on the experiences they have had so seek several opinions before making a decision. Bankruptcy attorneys want you to declare bankruptcy, loan modification professionals want to do a loan modification, banks want you to attempt a short sale and real estate professionals want to sell the home for you and find you another to buy or lease. YOU have to do what is in the best interest of you and your family. It is the sellers responsibility to do the due diligence it takes to decide on a plan of action with the assistance of professionals.

That being said let us assume, for the sake of this blog, that you have decided that the short sale is the best option for you. There are several factors that come into play right away. You are attempting to do the sale because your agent has informed you that the bank will forgive the amount owed to you and this is true for the most part. The first lender does this. The second has increasingly not done this. They will still hold you responsible for the outstanding balance of the note, however, this is a non collateralized debt kind of like a credit card now. The second lender for the most part has contacted the seller and has offered a no interest promissory note at a greatly reduced number that the original note.

Some banks are easier to deal with than others also, Bank of America is by far the worst in my opinion followed by Wells Fargo, Chase and Sun Trust. Some say that they should just do the sale and get off of their books and move on and others say that they have a legal obligation to their shareholders to get the highest possible value and they will hold the property. I don't know why they are difficult to deal with nor do I really care what their motives are. They are too difficult to deal with and take so long to close after a contract is signed that you lose the buyer 90% of the time. I cannot take a listing with these banks because it is a waste of time for the seller and myself.

I have always taken the approach to my profession that I will not refer anyone to my clients that I have not personally done business with and I will not ask my clients to take a class that I haven't taken myself. That being said, I was taking the course offered by the Housing and Education Alliance. The class is a HUD approved course and is a prerequisite to any homebuyer funds offers by the county. The course is taught my Mr. Walter Walker and Mr. Willie Mason. I did not know what to expect in the course but I did not expect the confusion that the homebuyers who were in the class had about the home buying process. I heard horror stories that were, on the face of it, difficult to understand what the people helping them trying to accomplish. As I sat through the class it was apparent from the questions that they had regarding the real estate and loan process that either the homebuyer was reluctant to ask the Realtor or mortgage professional or worst yet they did ask and were given either confusing information or bad information altogether. I think that a little of both is probably the case. 

I would like to tell the people that if you do nit understand something that was told to you regarding the real estate process, STOP AND ASK the agent to go over it again. this is no excuse but please remember that the agent that you are working with has been doing this type of transaction for a long time and is likely to just assume that because in their mind they know what is going on that you do not have the hundred and thousands of hours of training and practical experience in the process. PLEASE DO NOT just nod your head and yes them. This is the absolutely WORST thing that you can do as a consumer. This is an important time in your life and it is important that you have trust in your Realtor and Mortgage professional and faith in what they are trying to accomplish in your behalf. To have this trust you should have a good general knowledge of the process and their role in it.

I 100% loved this class and it will benefit all who take it from the first time homebuyer to the seasoned real estate agent.

For the first time the other day I visited the craigslist housing forum. I truly did not know what to expect in this forum but I really was suprised by the venom that people have towards others who do not share their beliefs. I saw people call each other many derisive  names for disagreeing with them without at least trying to defend their position with facts. Their only defense was calling each other jerks, idiots, retarded (their words not mine), loser, etc. I saw where someone had posted a legitimate question about real estate and the people in the forum who believe that housing is not a good investment at this time jumped on the poster with an array of insults for even thinking of buying a home. These posters only want their views known and no other. If you disagree you are either mentally challenged or a lying scumbag realtor. I understand that people may have a different point of view that I have but to stereotype either me, my profession or others as part of an argument is not the best method of getting me to listen and try to understand what your point of view is.

I believe that in my market now is a great time to buy real estate. The prices are at a 35 year low and interest rates are still low. If you are trying to time the bottom of the market you are going to miss out on some good deals that are out there NOW. The Tampa market has experienced a 66% increase in home sales over the same period last year. New home construction fell 3.3% further reducing inventory. The inventory fell from 18 months to 15 months and median home sales price rose to $224,000. Is this true in every market in the United States? Absolutely not and Tampa still has work to do in the shedding of excess inventory but the bottom line is that things are improving whether people want to admit it or not. It is easy to be critical of others and their beliefs but there is great value in the opinion of others who do not share your point of view. Their arguments should inspire you revisit your own closely held beliefs and to intelligently research the topic and make your own decisions, but derision is not an argument or an exchange of ideas. It is bullying in its most basic schoolyard form. 

In my previous blog concerning Dr. Yun's visit to the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors and his lecture I summarized his lecture as best I could. Here is a link to hear Dr. Yun summarize in his own words his outlook on today's housing market, not only in the Florida market place but nationally as well.

Click on the link below to hear Dr. Yun .

http://easylink.playstream.com/gvimedia/NAR/NAR_Midyear_Mkt_Update.wvx

Additionally I would like to tell everyone who has asked me in the past few weeks about the housing market conditions that this is the best time to purchase a home in 35 years. The inventory is higher than in years past and interest rates are historically low. This is a fantastic marketplace for people who want to purchase a home. It is a great long term investment.