Time is running out....

It appears that time is starting to run out if your looking to take advantage of the first time home buyer credit....

If you are looking to buy a short sale and still get the credit, it may already be to late; in my experience short sales are taking more than 90 days and in order to qualify for the first time buyer credit you must close on or before December 1, 2009. With foreclosures & equity sellers you might just be in luck.

Here are some definitions:

Foreclosures: "A proceeding in which the financer of a mortgage seeks to regain property because the borrower has defaulted on payments." (Dictionary.com)

Equity Sellers: A seller that "The residual value of a property beyond any mortgage thereon and liability therein." (Dictionary.com)

Short Sale: "A market transaction in which an investor sells borrowed securities in anticipation of a price decline and is required to return an equal amount of shares at some point in the future." (Dictionary.com)

Foreclosures & Equity Sellers are able to sell the home and not have to wait for approvals which makes them a much quicker transaction. In some cases these types of transactions can close in just a matter of days depending on your ability to perform.

Home Values

Knowing what your home is worth with the current market conditions can in some cases cause you a heart attack. If you want to know this information I recommend you contact a REALTOR®, they will give you a value based on what other homes in your area have recently sold or listed. Using that information can help you to determine you homes value.

Some people choose to use Zillow which is most areas of the country have really good and right on values, however it is my experience that Zillow doesn't have the best values for homes in Las Vegas. For example Zillow estimates my home to be worth $200,000 (6/20/2009) however since I am a REALTOR®, I have pulled a Comparative Market Analysis(CMA) which shows homes in my area listing for between 96,900 & 179,900 and selling for $121,000 & 172,000 so you can see the differences between Zillow and your REALTOR®. I believe that using both systems can give you an advantage but you need to contact a REALTOR® for the CMA.

Thank you,
Sean T. Brown
REALTOR®

Offers on Short Sales & Foreclosures

Over the last few weeks I have been working with clients to get them into homes. The market is ever changing and can be very difficult if your not armed with the right information. That is what I am here for.

In a previous posting I talked about getting a CMA to make sure that you don't over pay for a home. However there are parts of that which can be construed has a double edge sword. Many of the homes that my clients have lost come down to the price they are welling to pay. Banks only want to deal with serious buyers, buyers that are willing to pay top dollar. Before you send me an email about what I just wrote let me explain.

Yes the people of the USA have an ownership in most banks do to the TARP funds they received late last year and even early this year. However the banks are already taking a hit on the homes when they sell them has either a short sale or a foreclosure.

This is probably going to be some of the best advice I can give you, after your agent runs a CMA on the property make your highest and best offer if that means offering a price over list and up to the market price then do it, you will have a better chance of getting the property that someone that thinks they can get a better deal. There is of course a catch you need to know about that can work in your favor. Lets say your offer is accepted and it takes 2 months before things start moving and the prices in the area drop and you are not paying cash but getting a loan like FHA, VA or Conventional then they would have to lower the property price down to the market price. So you can see how offering your highest and best price can be important.

This concludes this blog.

See you soon

Sean T. B

Protecting your interest in a home purchase

I know that everyone wants the best deal out there when buying a home. I also know that right now is suppose to be a buyers market. Here are somethings that just might help...

Banks don't like to negotiate they want your highest and best offer, like I mention before have your agent do a Comparative Market Analysis known has a CMA to make sure what homes of similar size in the area are selling for. Remember banks want to make their money back, but a keynote here is make sure that your contract has something in there saying that should the property not appraise that the price is reduced to the appraised value. This protects your money and helps insure that you don't end up owing more that the home with worth.

When buying a home make sure that you and your agent are doing all you can to protect the property you are buying. If the home is coming with appliances take pictures of them, write down the serial numbers to make sure those appliances you loved are staying with the home. Pictures and serial numbers will only help to prove those where what you where suppose to get.

In today's market a home inspection can be the greatest investment you can make into the home you have found. Not always are things what they appear to be. Just because the home looks good and the price is amazing could just mean that. A good home inspector checks many things that you might not check. In my past I have worked for new home builders in sales, construction and customer service and I have seen my share of bad ones but good ones are what you need in today's market and not so much on new homes, but on resale. I know we have all heard the horror stories on the news about homes being destroyed. I don't want that for anyone.

I hope you enjoy this and that it helps you along the way to home ownership.

Communication

Communication is the key. I know we have all heard that before, however, I have been seeing less and less communication from REALTORS(R) in the current market. Now knowing that is market it would seem that communication would be use to it's full advantage.

Example: Send and offer in on Friday at 4:30 pm, call the agent to verify it has been received at 4:50 pm, now I wouldn't expect a call at that time of the day on a Friday. I also follow that up with an e-mail by 7:00pm that same Friday. I wouldn't expect a phone call until Monday. Monday came and about halfway through the day I call again to see if the listing agent received the call. Monday ends and nothing. Tuesday I let slide by. Wednesday mid-morning I e-mail the agents broker to make sure that the agent received the offer. I get no reply. I get a call from my client telling me that he called the agent to get the update since I was unable to get a update and the agent tells him that his client accepted an offer from someone else. Now during this whole time I am in contact with my client by e-mail, texting and phone calls.

When it comes to my clients I try to stay on the ball and communicate with them has much has possible, either by phone, e-mail, text or instant message, I am available. In our modern society being available and treating the client as well as other agents well should just be part of common sense.

It is unfortunate that it does not seem to be happening.

The ever changing market in Las Vegas

The Vegas market is constantly changing, being that I am a REALTOR(R) I am seeing that more and more. Over the last few months I have made several offers on properties at full asking price only to have been out bid by someone else.

Buying short sales and foreclosures can be a great price but at times it can feel like you are on eBay, they lure you in with a great low price and then make you work up the price in some cases causing you to pay more than the home it worth. Before you make an offer on a property have your agent pull comparable on the home you are looking at, that why you know what the homes in the area are selling for. In this market education will set you apart from others.

Thank you










Sean T. Brown
REALTOR(R)