Is now a good time to buy an investment property?

Investment properties

Interest rates are low and inventory is low as well. Our inventory for all residential listings, which include mobile homes on a permanent foundation is at a total of 940 listings.  It takes more than good mortgage rates and property availability to determine if buying residential real estate is a smart investment. Becoming a landlord is a whole different scenario than buying a single property as your residence. It requires, for instance, insight into the economic growth potential of the area where you are planning to buy and analysis of risk levels that are within your comfort zone. 

What should I consider?

  Real Estate should not, in this environment, be thought of as a short-term investment. If you feel you can hold onto it for at least five years, you will be alright. However, if you plan to flip the property quickly as people were doing about five years ago, that could be a very dangerous strategy.
 If you want to get into the "flip" business make sure you use an agent that keeps an eye on the neighborhood trends. 
* Keep an eye on what the houses are selling for in the area. What the homes are selling for in price per square foot and the appraised value of the homes sold. 

Do the math

* Make sure you can do most of the work yourself, Its alright to hire some of it out, ie: electrical, plumbing etc. but if you can do it yourself and do it properly, it will keep the profit in your pocket, not theirs. 

* Add up the cost of repairs, add the loan amount you will owe on the house once purchased, then deduct the price that it can be sold. (remember, your agent should have comparables of the area homes.)

* Another important thing to remember along with, 'Will the home appraise when it comes time to sell?'  Is, 'will I have to pay for buyers closing costs?'  The answer is, yes, most likely. Buyers now a days are asking sellers to pay the 3.5% of the closing costs, due to the fact that buyers just simply have no money saved. They may have their Down Payment, but that's about all.  So you might want to figure that in as well.

Will I make a profit?

Considering everything I said and finding a great price on a home is key to making a profit. Finding an agent that understand how all of this works is also key.

Call us today, I would love to go into this in more depth. I am very knowledgeable about this side of Real Estate. My husband and I do 2-3 'flips' a year, and have had great success!

Before...

After!

Before...

After!

When will the Market get 'better?'

Perspectives on a 'better' 

real estate market

When the real estate market improves has a lot to do with your perspective on the market, said Alex Perriello, president and CEO for Realogy Franchise Group. "Oftentimes I'm asked, 'When's the market going to get better?' It all depends on how you define the word 'better,' "If you define 'better' as 'When will I not have to deal with foreclosures, short sales, underwater homes, people with damaged credit, (problems with appraisals), tough lending standards?' the answer to that is 'No time soon' -- at least for the next two or three years, and in some places, depending on where you live, it could be much longer than that."

Diana Olick, real estate correspondent for CNBC blog at CNBC.com, who also participated in the panel session, said she doesn't expect a sharp rebound once the real estate recovery takes hold.

She said she expects that at some point in the middle of 2012 "we are going to see the price stabilization we need, then people are going to start to buy," adding, "I don't think we're going to see a great surge up ... we're going to see pockets of strength in certain markets."

The factors that she expects will keep the real estate market subdued: deflated consumer confidence, and the need to work through the stream of distressed properties.

Olick and Perriello agreed that reduction of principal for distressed homeowners has proven one of the most effective deterrents to foreclosure, and panelists generally agreed that the foreclosure process is taking far too long to run its course in many areas.

Olick said that the problem is that many homeowners appear to be "staying in their houses and gaming the system," living in their homes without paying the mortgage for several years, in some cases. "That's a big problem right now," Olick said.

She also said she believes that investors will be at the forefront of the real estate recovery.

While investors -- namely house-flipping speculators -- have been vilified for their role in driving up prices during the boom years, Olick said that "it is the private equity, the institutional markets, coming in and taking the distress out of the markets that we need right now. That's going to be the strength in the market this year, and that's a good thing."

Margaret Kelly, CEO for Re/Max LLC and a fellow panelist, said she believes the short-sale process must be improved and expedited, and appraisal reform is also needed. "Appraisals have been a nightmare." 

"If you think about the last three or four years, it's been a mixed bag, on the good side we've had government agencies buying up mortgage-backed securities, which has provided capital to the market, which has been a good thing -- it's kept interest rates low."

The series of federal homebuyer tax credit programs have also provided some welcome relief, he said.

"On the negative side, you've got legislation that's been passed -- like Dodd-Frank would be a perfect example -- that's now in the hands of the regulators. And if the regulators have their way it's going to be, I believe, very damaging for housing and it's going to make mortgage lending even more difficult for the homebuyer to get a loan and it's going to be more expensive, people are concerned, there's doubt in the market, and whenever there's uncertainty and doubt in the market people sit back and say, 'I think I'll wait,' " he said.

Housing recovery may not bring a sales spike

By Glenn Roberts Jr.
Inman News®NEW YORK --

Happy New Year!

This year has to be better then last.  There are options for those of you that would like to Sell.  For those of you that would like to buy? Well its still a great time. Take advantage to the low interest rates and dont let those good deals pass you by.

Is anyone confused as to what a Short Sale is? Let me explain...

What is a Short Sale

     I know some of you are confused about what a Short Sale really is.  Some people may have told you that Short Sale indicates that the escrow will be a short one. That it will be a quick process, and that the banks would like to get rid of the homes quickly.  Some also have mentioned that they have received advise to 'stay away' from Short Sales. That the previous home owners have damaged the property and they just are not good investments.
Well, I am here today to help you better understand, what is all entailed, what you can expect and hopefully give you a better understanding of the entire process.

Lets just say, you own your home and the loan amount still owed to the bank is $200,000 and lets say you have lost your job, or have been injured or something unexpected has come up in your life that is keeping your from making your regular monthly mortgage. Lets also say you've spoken to a Realtor and they have told you that your home, is now only worth 125,000. At this point, your options are to let the bank Foreclose on the home, or Short Sale it.

In basic terms, a Short Sale is where the bank would come up short on the money owed them.  They would need to approve a sale of $125,000 and 'forgive' the remaining $75,000.

In most situations, here is how the process works.
1. The owner calls the bank and requests a Short Sale package.
2. The agent does comparable of the homes that have sold in your neighborhood and determines value.
3. The agent then 'lists' the home on the MLS and waits for an offer.
4. The agent starts to collect items for the Short Sale from the owner, these items include and are not limited to.
     a. Last two years tax returns
     b. Two of your most recent bank statements
     c. Letter of explanation (a letter stating WHY you are short selling your home)
     d. Two most recent Pay stubs
     e. letter of authorization ( a form you sign giving your Realtor permission to speak to your bank, so they can work on your behalf)
    f. Financial Statement (this will come in the short sale package)
    g. W2 (in applicable)
    h. Utility bill with your name on it and the home address. (if appliciable)


After you have accumulated all of these documents, and receive an offer, your agent will submit everything to the Short Sale department of your bank, and we wait!
Once the Short Sale department gets a chance to open your file, they will approve or deny your application. If they approve it, they will call for an appraisal to be done on the home.  The appraiser goes out and finds value and reports back to the bank. The bank then looks at the appraisal and the 'offer' and decides they can take the loss.
If it is determined that they will, the bank will either accept the 'offer' form the buyer, or 'make a counter offer.'
Once the bank and the buyers come to an agreed amount, the bank will issue an 'acceptance' and escrow can open!
There is no easy way to explain this process, hopefully this will help.  Please call us with any questions or to Short Sale your home.  We will walk you through this process, and make it as stress free as possible.

Holiday Tips For Selling Your Home

Add Some Holiday Charm to Your Listings

Published in the RealtorMag.

Nobody wants to be the Grinch who stole Christmas but when you’re trying to sell a home, too much holiday spirit can turnoff some potential buyers. Buyers are there to look at the house and all of its wonderful features, not tippy-toe over the giant blow-up Santa impeding the front door or squint to see the roof over the nine reindeer poised upon it.
But before you stick a needle in your seller’s inflatable Santa, some real estate and staging professionals say home owners can still add a few decorations for the holidays when selling a home and don’t assume buyers won’t appreciate it too. Holiday decor can lighten moods and warm up interiors, so you don’t have to swear it off completely because you’re afraid of offending those who don’t celebrate, they say.

“Isn’t it nice to open the front door and see lights and the Christmas music playing with some cinnamon smells welcoming you? It just says ‘welcome, come in and stay awhile,’"

Principles to Holiday Staging

If you plan on staging a home for the holidays, here are some important things to keep in mind.

1. Don’t overdo the holiday cheer.
The same staging principles apply during the holidays: Don’t overwhelm the space with clutter.
For every holiday decor item put on display, temporarily pack something you keep out all the time. That way you can avoid over-decorating.
Instead of a large Christmas tree dominating the living room, you might opt to have a smaller tree display on a table top -- particularly if the space is small. Your decor doesn’t have to be super-sized or scattered everywhere: Mix in small centerpieces on dining room tables, bookcases, bathroom sinks or end tables -- simple touches such as pine cones or ornaments in a glass bowl.
You also might want to have home owners rethink hanging those Christmas stockings from the fireplace too.
Whatever the season, when you are selling a home, you want buyers to notice and appreciate the permanent features of the home and if your fireplace is almost impossible to see because your highly personalized stockings are blocking the view, then buyers will not appreciate this focal point for what it is. Instead, ask your sellers to hang the stockings on Christmas eve and remove them Christmas day.

2. Add splashes of holiday colors.
How about some holiday red? Psychology research on color responses has shown that warm colors, such as red, can increase excitement and energy in those viewing it. Pops of seasonal colors -- such as red or green -- add festive cheer to a home too and can be as simple as just adding a red everyday throw to the sofa or adding poinsettias throughout the home.
It doesn’t have to be bold holiday statements: Add greenery to fireplace mantels or as a base for the dining room table centerpieces, O’Donnell says. Or another holiday favorite: Bows and ribbons can add splashes of color -- tie them around candles, wreaths, and basket handles throughout the house for extra pops of color. Don’t underestimate the power of neutral palettes too in your holiday decor, such as silvers and classic whites.
Try repeating colors from room to room and using similar ribbons, ornaments, patterns or decorative items that can add to the consistency of your holiday look. But when bringing in holiday colors, be careful not to clash with your home’s current color scheme. For example, if turquoise is the room’s dominant color, you might want to hold off on adding bold holiday reds; try silver instead.

3. Stage for the senses.
Get buyers in the mood with some holiday music and the smell of Christmas filling the home. Christmas music mixed with holiday scents. But if you’re going to include a holiday scent just don’t forget the music.

4. Keep the tree simple, yet elegant.
The Christmas tree will likely be your biggest decor piece so it needs to make a statement. Use a string of 100 lights for every foot of tree.

5. Give a holiday impression from the curb.
You needn’t be able to view your outdoor holiday lights from space,  to show your holiday spirit. Twinkling clear, white lights (preferably non-blinking) tend to be the favorite among staging and real estate professionals for classy holiday curb appeal that adds a glow to your listings at night.
The winter months are usually less than attractive outdoors and some well-placed and tasteful holiday lights or yard ornaments can go a long way to adding a festive and welcoming touch. Just remember that many potential buyers may either cruise by your home for sale during the day or schedule a showing during the day when outdoor lights are more likely to be an unsightly bunch of wires (such as icicle lights) rather than a cheerful display of color or white lights. Do your best to make your home show its best during the day and night!