Is it easier to buy a short sale or a foreclosure? - Zillow Real Estate Advice

Is it easier to buy a short sale or a foreclosure? - Zillow Real Estate Advice - Click Here to see all answers.

MY RESPONSE:

A short sale under the right set of circumstances may be the easier way go. The banks want to negotiate, so you can still get a good price. The process has been streamlined, so it doesn't take an eternity anymore. If you can find a short sale, say with one loan to payoff on a primary residence, then I would seriously consider it as an option.

Over the past year and a half I've found it harder to buy a foreclosure, especially in South Florida. Prices are typically at rock bottom when they hit the MLS. This leads to multiple contracts and bidding wars, causing you to pay higher than the list price Most of the time, it's not even what you offer, but who you know or if your agent properly presents your offer to the listing broker. I've also heard that the banks are approving less foreclosure sales for the rest of the year, in order to take less losses this year. That would make buying a foreclosure very hard indeed.

Neither one are easy but with patience & perserverance you can get a great deal either way.

County shows that it is in foreclosure. What is the ... - Zillow Real Estate Advice

It can easily take more than six months before a property is sold on the court room steps at auction.

If the owner hires an attorney, it may drag out in the courts for 1 - 2 years. With all the foreclosure problems the banks are having these days, it may take even longer.You may, in the meantime, want to write the seller and ask them if they would be interested in doing a short sale during the foreclosure process. If you have a Realtor ask them to write the letter.

If you can call the owner that may be better, but you must make sure that the owner is not on the do-not-call list. There are some providers of do-not-call lists, but it may cost you some money to get one. I think that if you know to ask for them, you can get 2 or 3 zip codes for free. Your Realtor, too, may have a list available.

Click the link below for more responses on Zillow.com

County shows that it is in foreclosure. What is the ... - Zillow Real Estate Advice

Thanks for reading!

Aaron

Hole in carpet - replace or allowance? - Zillow Real Estate Advice

This is a common question.

Take a read and learn more.

Hole in carpet - replace or allowance? - Zillow Real Estate Advice

Zestimate on Zillow is lower than my neighbor's, even though my house is superior.

Yes, people may see that your Zestimate is lower than your neighbors, but that doesn't truly mean anything. I love Zillow, but they should not be the end all, be all in evaluating your home's value. That job should be up to your Realtor or an appraiser. Many people get caught up in their Zesitimate, but Zillow just doesn't always get it right. Ask your Realtor to send you the comps in your neighborhood. When selling a property, the current value is determined by what others are paying for similar properties. It's up to your Realtor to sell that value to a potential buyer, in order for you to get you top dollar.

Also, and it's rare, but some sellers will pay for an appraisal at the time they list the property. This can be a very valuable tool when trying to negotiate with a buyer. It also can add peace of mind that the price you list your house and hopefully sell your house at is correct.

Hope that helps!

Aaron Glassman, Boker/OwnerA-1 Realty Group, Inc.

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Aaron Glassman's Questions and Answers - Zillow

How do I get a better quote for my loan?

Here is a response to a question regarding getting a better quote for a loan.

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Aaron

What can I do to get more (or better) quotes for my loan request ZR-SZQRNSB - Zillow Mortgage Advice

What to Offer?

In these days, it's not unusual to put your best foot forward when trying to buy a property. It depends on what type of sale is it. Is it a short sale, foreclosure or traditional sale?Why does this matter? Well, short sales and foreclosures,(also known as REO's) are in a whole different leauge when it comes to trying to aquire them. There is competition for such houses and in South Florida people are paying more than the list price, for REO's especially.If the homes you are looking at are traditional listings, then I would say, no, stay with the traditional approach. In a short sale situation, however, I would say, yes, it might be in your best interest to put your best foot forward. The reason why? Several actually.

First and foremost, I know that when buying a short sale you need the full cooperation of the listing agent, let alone the seller and the bank. The listing agent should know what type of contract they are looking for. Usually they want a solid price, a qualified buyer,of course but preferably cash, fair terms and the approval period to be 90 days. Making your best offer does not neccesarily mean giving just the best price, but the best price and terms. This shows the listing agent you are serious about buying that property. Believe me, a solid offer on a Short Sale is very important to keeping competeing contracts off the table.

Also, a lot depends if the short sale has already been approved or not, and if your contract is the first deal that the listing agent has had on the property. If your offer is say, the second or third contract on the property and the short sale has already been approved, and the other previous offers fell through, then for sure the listing agent should know what the bank need sto make the deal work, and that just might be the asking price.

When buying a foreclosures, depending on the property, it may be essential that you bid the asking price or even above. Again, I will be happy to email you reports showing this trend in my local market. From what I've found out, however, buying an REO is not just how much you offer, but who you know. In South Florida the market is now very competetive for quality REO's. If you're agent is not the listing agent for the property, you may not stand a chance. Also, some banks require that offers be made based on specific instructions. Make sure your agent knows how to your properly deliver you offer to the listing agent.

Thanks For Reading

Aaron Glassman, Broker/Owner
A-1 Realty Group, Inc.

Home and Condo for sale. How do I find a real estate agent to sell them?

I just recently opened an account at Zillow.com. One of the great things about their site is that they reward agents who contribute content and provide answers to their sites' visitors.

Click the link below for my response to the question found in title of this blog.

Thanks for reading!

Aaron

Aaron Glassman's Questions and Answers - Zillow

Going Up?

Wow! Things are really beginning to pick up in our local real estate market. I truly believe people have come to realize that now is the time to buy, and has been for about a year.Low prices, low interest rates, and the government's tax credit has really created some sparks.

I'm not saying that housing market has fully recovered, believe me, we are all still licking our wounds. But the point is that the sentiment towards the housing market has changed. I mean every time I speak to a colleague they are off to a closing somewhere.

Of course there are still certain segments of the market that are lagging behind, but new home buyers of houses under $200k are very strong. I believe this because I see this. I get showing requests all week long for all of my properties listed under $200k. Recently, I took out an FHA buyer who could not compete with the rest of the competition. One day, while showing properties, we were at a house with four or five other parties.

I've seen business pick up at our title company too. I would not say we are doing a tremendous amount of business, but being able to pick up two or three more deals a month tells me something.

Also, In an earlier Tweet I predicted that we would see more closings of homes between 300k - 400k. Sure enough, that is happening. I myself have a contract in for $315k, awaiting short sale approval of course. My wife too is fighting for a 1.9 million deal!

All together, the trend is up. Hopefully it will stay that way. I'm a little nervous because the tax credit is about to expire on April 30th, and with the Summer looming, business can slow down some. But we are almost there. Not normalized but slowly getting back to a more steady pace of business.

Thanks for Reading!



Aaron Glassman, Broker/Owner
A-1 REALTY GROUP, INC.
http://www.A1RG.net/

**Picture of view from the backyard of my listing in Deerfield Beach.

Up to The Challenge?

Why is the market so challenging for Realtors these days?

Well for starters, there are just less people buying real estate today then in the height of the market. That's pretty obvious.

There are other factors as well. Fear of falling prices is certainly one of them. Also, I recently saw a blurb that people buying homes with a mortgage has fallen to some of the lowest levels ever recorded.

That basically means that most of the homes being bought today are done so with all cash. In fact, the new stat is that last month, 26% of homebuyers paid all cash for their property.

Probably, and more significantly, is the fact that people who are selling via a short sale are not buying after they sell, but rather renting. With no proceeds from the sale and their inability to get a mortage, because of their negativley effected credit report, they simply cannot re-enter the real estate market as buyers.

Also, take away those with poor credit, little or no savings and low income, (subprime borrowers) and you have a very small pool of buyers, to say the least. With such a large segment of the potential buying population erased from the equation, the real estate market is indeed suffering.

There are several other challenging aspects in todays market, including the competition to buy foreclosures and the process of buying/selling via short sale. Both of which are uncertain propositions.

A new hurdle, if you will, are those buyers who are racing to beat the April 30th deadine for the $8,000 government tax credit. It's going to be hard to get banks to approve new short sale contracts in less than 45 days. As I see it right now, only non short seller and approved shorts sales will make the cut.

One thing I have noticed, a bright spot if you will, is the stabalization of prices, not to mention a increase in the value of real estate.

Case in point, I had a customer who was interested in buying an upgraded townhome for 25k. He did not act and now, six months later, that property is selling for around 80k - 90k.

One more example, I have a buyer who is buying a property for 315k. That's about what the house was selling for around a year ago, minus the cost for impovements. The property's location and condition are driving the sale and purchase price.

Yes times are tough, but there does seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel. I know the numbers are down, but nothing stays the same forever, and time does indeed pass. It still may be a while, but Realtors who've been around know that, eventually, the market will stabalize and even rebound. How long that will take is anyone's guess.

Besides, as RUSH legend Neil Peart would say, "It's not as if this barricade blocks the only road."

Thanks For Reading!

Aaron Glassman, Lic. Real Estate Broker

A-1 REALTY GROUP, INC

www.A1RG.net

***Image found while doing a Google search for hurdle pictures. Funny how it was used for another real estate article on the "Hurdles of Home Buying" found at this link: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.lakesregionrealestatenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/hurdles.jpg&imgrefurl=http://blog.lakesregionhome.com/2009/11/12/home-buying-hurdles/&usg=__mP2by7TfNk8rKuOmOSy7V6eQsM8=&h=346&w=346&sz=76&hl=en&start=34&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=Gy3q2vyocjl-ZM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=120&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhurdles%2Bpictures%26start%3D18%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26ndsp%3D18%26tbs%3Disch:1

Check it out!

Real Estate Recharge

Well, it's been a very busy couple of months, both personally and professionally

Between Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Years, my daughter's fourth birthday, my wife's 40th birthday, and finally my birthday, I've eaten too much food and spent way too much money. At least we had fun along the way.

It took a while but I'm finally recharged and ready to go.

I mentioned in my last blog that I would write a 2009 year end review. Now that it's the middle of February, I'm thinking that it may be too late for that. Simply put, however, last year I had to work twice as hard to earn half as much. With prices down around 50% from the two previous years, so was my bottom line.

No doubt about it, the best time to buy REO's was in the first half of 2009. During this time there was the most amount of inventory at the cheapest prices. I sold three REO's in six months. After that, however, the word got out and it became, and still is difficult to get a contract accepted.

Looking ahead now to 2010, it's nice to know that I have several customers already with plans to come down and start looking for second homes.

Most of my buyers are from the Northeast. They have the cash and are finally ready to buy. Most of them are looking to buy properties priced at or under 200k.

Throw my new buyers in with my new sellers, and maybe I'll have a decent year.

It does seem like the market is moving. With prices low and opportunity high, there are those taking advantage of the current market. Short sales are still dragging down the market and foreclosures still dot the landscape, but mortgage rates are still very low. and lending has loosened a bit.

Nothing stays the same forever, and as RUSH's Niel Peart would say, "Constant change is here to stay." Hopefully the market will continue to work itself out, and sooner rather than later we'll have a recovery.

So with that I'd say, that even though 2009 could have been better, I'm still optimistic about 2010.

Thanks for reading!
Aaron Glassman, Broker/Owner

A-1 REALTY GROUP, INC.

http://www.A1RG.net/

**Picture of fireworks taken at Disney World.