Monday February 13, 2012
You can tell a buyer she is buying a
short sale as is, and she'll say yeah, yeah, but she probably won't know what As Is means.
I know this because I warn buyers over and over that short sale homes are sold As Is. Sure enough, right after the approval from the bank and subsequent home inspection, I'll get a request from the buyers for repairs. They think the bank will issue a new approval and either lower the sales price or give them an extra credit for the repairs the home needs.
By virtue of the verbiage contained in the Residential Purchase Agreement we use in California, for instance, all homes in California are sold As Is. Only short sale homes and some foreclosures are really sold As Is. Read more about as is conditions for a short sale home.
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At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.
Friday February 10, 2012
President Obama included the deed in lieu of foreclosure initiative in his HOPE for Homeowners Program and, ever since, underwater homeowners have been wondering whether a deed in lieu is right for them.
On the surface, it sounds plausible. You give the bank a deed-in-lieu and it goes away. No more threatening phone calls or letters from bank collection departments. Poof, the problem vanishes. For example, Bank of America put out a pilot program last summer that offered underwater homeowners a deed in lieu option. Plus, the bank sweetened the pot by exchanging cash for the deed in lieu. You can pretty much guess who it benefits.
Does that mean you should consider giving the bank a deed in lieu. Maybe, maybe not . . . read more about deed in lieu of foreclosure.
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At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.
Wednesday February 8, 2012
With so many bank-owned homes on the market, some home buyers are wondering about the differences between buying bank owned vs. a regular home.
And why wouldn't a buyer be tempted to buy a bank-owned home? The prices are attractive; plus, buyers are constantly hearing that banks are desperate to give away those homes. One of the problems with this unfounded premise is banks aren't desperate to dump inventory, not on the open market, anyway. To presume that banks will do anything to get rid of a home is magical thinking. Moreover, buyers who aren't careful or don't know what they are doing can find themselves in over their heads . . . read more about the differences between buying a
Banked Owned vs. Regular Home.
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At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.
Monday February 6, 2012
Many sellers automatically assume that they have to be
delinquent to do a short sale.
I've heard agents express the belief as well -- that short sales are granted only to sellers who are delinquent. Not only that, but they believe the property has to be in foreclosure. That's not necessarily true. Even a HAFA short sale allows a seller to apply for the process while not yet in default. Of course, with a HAFA, foreclosure must be imminent, but that doesn't mean a seller needs to be delinquent upfront.
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At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.
