May 2nd, 2012 by Harvey Blankfeld
I’m often asked this question when listing a client’s home as a short sale. With all of the changes taking place in the short sale market, it’s difficult to have a set answer. The answer these days is less time than it was even a a few months ago.
The bank that holds the mortgage wants the seller to stay in the home right up until close of escrow. Once we list a home, we should be able to put it into escrow within a month or two. Then the process of getting the short sale approved begins. This can take around 3-4 months. Once approved, close of escrow is usually within 45 days. That means most short ssale seller’s can stay in their home for at least 4-5 months from the time they list their home here in Southern Nevada. No two deals are alike and it could be as little as 2 months or as much as 14 months.
If you are worried about where you will land once you sell your short sale here in Las Vegas, don’t worry too much. There are plenty of landlords that are happy to lease homes to recent short sale sellers.
Tags: banks, downward market, foreclosure, hardship, las vegas, lenders, market, mortgage, negotiate, opinions, real estate, sellers, selling homes, short sales
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April 13th, 2012 by Harvey Blankfeld
Have you ever heard the saying “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute.”
Well, that applies to our real estate market too. The most recent development surrounds our current inventory. As of this moment we have 5,474 single family homes available in our entire multiple list. We have 13,113 single family homes in escrow. We have closed 3,195 homes in the last 30 days.
That means we have about 45 days worth of inventory available. One of the basic premises of economics is that when an inventory of available product is low and the demand is high, prices go up. That’s not happening though. There are three reasons that pricing has not reacted to the inventory. First, the low inventory is partially a result of the lack of bank foreclosures over the last 5 months. The banks will eventually start bringing homes back to market. I do want to caution buyers however, there aren’t as many out there as you think. It’s likely that once the banks fire up their machines again the output will be the same or even less than it was last year. That’s because the banks are liking short sales. The second reason for prices not moving is the appraisals. You have heard me whine about this before, but it’s still happening. Appraisers just find it easy to bring homes in low and there is no way we can get them to allow prices to start moving in the right direction. The third reason, is that buyers are still cautious. There is a real sense that we may see another downturn in pricing as a result of either interest rates going up, or demand drying up.
All of these reasons have some validity. There will come a day, in the not too distant future when prices will start to rise. That’s when the buyers will all want to buy. Some of the wealthiest people in our country made their money in Real Estate markets just like this! Pay attention buyers. You will be wondering in 5 years why you didn’t buy now.
Tags: appraisals, balance, buyers, buying homes, downward market, economy, foreclosure, home appraisals, inventory, las vegas, lenders, listings, market, mortgage, negotiate, opinions, real estate, realtors, sellers, selling homes, short sales, trends
Posted in Las Vegas Home Appraisals, Las Vegas Home Sales | No Comments »
December 8th, 2011 by Harvey Blankfeld
We have all heard the doom and gloom being espoused about AB284. The legislation in general terms increases the responsibilities of the foreclosing entities. It asks them to provide a sworn affidavit and other elements with the intention of preventing incorrect and illegal foreclosures. The banks pushed back hard against this bill, but to no avail.
They have since been resistant and perhaps even defiant in wanting to proceed with foreclosures. That is the concern. Will the banks allow these additional requirements to impede their ability to get homes to market? While they may not be pleased with the process and it will cost them more time and money, I think they will get their procedures in order and eventually we will see the market stay on its course.
That means that while we are in the holiday season and approaching a new year, the number of foreclosures will remain low, but they will pick up in the first or second quarter of next year and the inventory will continue to remain at the levels we have seen in the last 30 months.
The impact on homeowners desiring desire to short sale their homes is still unclear, but the banks have all concluded that short sales are far more favorable than Foreclosure and this legislation will certainly not change that opinion.
Tags: AB284, banks, buyers, buying homes, downward market, economy, foreclosure, las vegas, lenders, market, mortgage, opinions, real estate, sellers, selling homes, short sales, trends
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November 21st, 2011 by Harvey Blankfeld
Short sales are unique in a lot of ways. One way they aren’t unique here in Las Vegas is that the bank holding the lien will want fair market value for the home. The lien holder will recognize that they need to offer some discount for the inconvenience, but that discount is usually in the form of buyer closing costs or a couple of percentage points off the fair market value.
When we receive a low offer on our listings, we will counter back to a price that we deem a good value to the buyer and reasonable to the lien holder. We also counter out the costs that we know the lien holder will not allow and we counter with information to the buyer and buyer’s agent that enables us to know that the buyer fully understands the nature of short sales. Sometimes the buyer decides to reject our counter. That’s OK because it’s likely that buyer wasn’t going to be patient enough to endure the process. We would rather leave the home on the market to attract another buyer that will endure and help us to close the escrow. If the buyer agrees to our counter offer, then we know we have a quality buyer that will be there when we get an approval from the lien holder.
When I’m working with a buyer that chooses to make an offer on a short sale, I will pull the comparable sales to evaluate the fair market value just like the lien holder will do upon receiving the offer. This gives my buyer the information well ahead of a counter we may get later in the process. My buyer will be prepared for the idea that the lien holder will likely counter back at a number that is close to fair market value and my buyer is prepared to accept that counter and proceed. If the lien holder doesn’t counter and accepts my buyer’s offer, even better! My buyer gets the great deal!
Tags: banks, buyers, buying homes, downward market, economy, foreclosure, hardship, inventory, las vegas, lenders, market, negotiate, negotiator, North Las Vegas, opinions, real estate, realtors, sellers, selling homes, short sales
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November 17th, 2010 by Harvey Blankfeld
“I sure will, thank you! By the way, your group is one of the most efficient real estate groups, I have had the privilege of closing a transaction in the past three years. Extraordinary job!! You and your group/team, certainly stand WAY ABOVE your competition!!!
OUTSTANDING JOB!!!! Thank you for accepting the offer on the subject property, and I look forward to closing this transaction before the close of escrow.”
- Jose Duarte, Loan Officer, First Guarantee Financial
Tags: buyers, buying homes, escrow, las vegas, lenders, sellers, selling homes, short sales
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October 15th, 2010 by Harvey Blankfeld
We are seeing a recurring issue in trying to close deals when there is a third party approval required (Short Sale). The lender (servicer, investor, MI company, etc) is countering the offer with an inflated value on the property. When we challenge the counter by pointing out that the comparable properties don’t support their inflated counter offer the lender invariably replies that the value was based on their appraisal. I find that reply to be somewhat insulting, but I can’t challenge it. I also believe that more times than not it’s actually not an appraisal but a BPO (Broker’s Price Opinion). That means the bank asked another Real Estate agent about the value and paid a minimal amount to get it. Then again, the bank might just be pulling a number out of thin air and claiming it’s an appraisal as we would never actually see the appraisal.
The way we have succesfully moved forward under these circumstances is to encourage the buyer to accept the counter and invest in an appraisal from their own lender. We sometimes extend the buyers additional diligence so they don’t have to spend money on an inspection if they don’t go forward on the deal. What this does is gives us an actual appraised value on the home and the lender that has to approve the short sale is faced with the reality of that appraisal. The short sale lender has reduced to the appraised value each time we have done this and the buyer has been able to close the deal at a true value.
There is some risk on behalf of the buyer, because if the appraisal comes in at the inflated number, then the buyer has to choose whether to move forward or not. I would point out that if an appraiser brought in the value, it is most likely accurate as most appraisers these days find it very easy to bring values in low.
Just another twist in our ever evolving real estate market!
Tags: banks, buyers, home appraisals, las vegas, lenders, negotiate, real estate, short sales, trends
Posted in Las Vegas Home Appraisals, Las Vegas Short Sales | No Comments »
October 8th, 2010 by Harvey Blankfeld
While I believe this a question for someone’s attorney, I believe that the answer is very often going to be yes. I have lately been listing homes for clients that have come out of bankruptcy and decided to sell their homes through a short sale. The reasons vary but mainly they came to the conclusion with the advice of their attorney that they had little to loose and the a short sale will look better on their credit report long term than a foreclosure. It turns out that a foreclosure is more negative on a credit report than a bankruptcy. Furthermore, a short sale will look better than foreclosure as well.
Each state has different rules regarding deficiency judgements, but here in Nevada, the banks can file deficiency judgements on either a foreclosure or a short sale. They have more time on first trust deeds when you do a short sale but the time they have on seconds or HELOCs is the same with either a short sale or a foreclosure.
Ultimately each individual homeowner must evaluate their own circumstances to make the correct decision, but remember that just because you go through bankruptcy doesn’t mean that foreclosure is your best option. Please consult with your attorney and remember you can choose your own Realtor to do the sale and you should select someone with good experience at short sales and someone that has a good record of success with short sales.
I heard a statement from an attorney friend of mine recently and I thought it quite poignant: “Short Sales aren’t about homes or about mortgages, they are about life and moving forward”.
Tags: bankruptcy, economy, foreclosure, hardship, las vegas, lenders, negotiate, real estate, sellers, selling homes, short sales
Posted in Las Vegas Foreclosures, Las Vegas Home Sales, Las Vegas Short Sales | No Comments »
June 4th, 2010 by Harvey Blankfeld
While inventory remains tight and low, lenders and appraisers are keeping prices low as well. Activity is still strong. Inventory levels indicate a seller’s market but pricing continues to favor buyers.
Tags: buyers, buying homes, las vegas, lenders, market, real estate, sellers, selling homes, trends
Posted in Las Vegas Home Sales | No Comments »
March 3rd, 2010 by Harvey Blankfeld
As a Realtor here in Las Vegas, it occurs to me that Short Sales will be a part of our market for a long time to come. Better than 65% of homeowners here in the valley are at a negative equity position in their home and they will be in a situation sometime in the next few years that they will need to sell their home. That means they will either need to write a substantial check upon selling their home or ask the bank to take a short sale.
The banks are getting better at handling short sales, but they are still not actually efficient yet. They will get more efficient and when they do, seller’s are going to have to come to terms with the following question: Do I want to wreck my credit for the next couple of years or pay the bank back what I owe them? The next logical position for the bank is to allow the borrower to sell, but make them pay the shortfall back over time. We are seeing some of this now, but I think it will become much more prevalent in the coming months. When the banks get to this point some seller’s are going to be resentful and wonder how those that have done it before got away without paying the bank back.
One of the questions I ask sellers these days is: Do you think your home will appreciate to a point where you won’t have to do a short sale in the future and/or how long do you think that will take? The answer is very often “Way too long in the future”. If that is the case, why not get the Short Sale over with now and get to a point in the future where your finances recover sooner rather than later. Take your medicine now and be fully recovered in a couple of years or wait and take your medicine later. It’s a tough question. I’m certain the answer is not the same for everyone.
The fact is that if you live here in Southern Nevada , you will most likely be facing these questions in the near future, if you aren’t already.
Tags: banks, foreclosure, las vegas, lenders, real estate, selling homes, short sales
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January 25th, 2010 by Harvey Blankfeld
Today I find myself writing this blog to relieve the stress of dealing with a bank on a short sale. Now I believe that just about everyone understands that Short Sales are difficult. They are difficult on sellers, buyers and agents. This short sale however is not only difficult, it just won’t go away.
In May of last year we took a listing. It was a short sale and the owner was very concerned about the time it would take and the toll it would take on her life. We received an offer in June and submitted the package to the bank for approval. We toiled for 5 months with the bank and got re-routed, re-started, re-negotiated and just regurgitated until in December we caught a break.
My client, the seller, met a lady that knew someone that knew someone else that might be able to help us. At first I thought it was just a hoax to get my client to send a check to someone, but it wasn’t. The man we found out was a big shot at the bank and he looked into the deal and got it approved in about 48 hours.
We proceeded to closing with great haste as we thought we were just dreaming and didn’t want the bank to re-something to us again. The good news is the deal closed in December. You would hope this story would end at this happy albeit drawn out point. Unfortunately it doesn’t end here.
Just today 1/25/2010, I get a call from the buyer’s agent. She is panicked and doesn’t know what to do. The buyers have received a letter from the bank telling them that the home is going to be auctioned on the courthouse steps on February 12, 2010. The buyers naturally told the bank that they had just purchased this home from them and they paid cash. The bank told the buyers, they must be mistaken and they should bring the account current or suffer the consequences of a foreclosure. The buyers spend the better part of the day talking to various people at the bank and trying to get them to understand that they are making a horrible mistake. The bank continually reminds them that they need to get the balance paid or suffer the ordeal of being put out on the street.
When the buyers agent called me to tell me this story, I let her know that I wasn’t sure what we could do, but we would certainly try to explain the situation to the bank and get them to understand. I had heard of a similar circumstance from a colleague, but I wasn’t really certain what to do. We called earlier today and they sent my assistant on a wild goose chase of transfers and disconnects. I then called the bank myself and was subjected to the same typical re-routing. I eventually got a person to actually listen to the situation. She then, to her credit, got her supervisor involved and I got to have a civil conversation with a person that would save them from terrible embarrassment, not to mention potential litigation.
The supervisor dug into the file and discovered that the negotiator that was handling the Short Sale never closed the file. She never let anyone else know that the money was received and the home had been recorded in the new buyers name. This is the same negotiator that dragged the process on for more than 5 months with no progress. I know the banks have it tough with so many people attempting to sell their homes as short sales, but they must be more professional, and they must be at least efficient enough to actually close a file properly and not subject a buyer to this kind of scare.
The buyer is very relieved and actually having a good chuckle about it now, but I would be willing to bet the bank wouldn’t be laughing had they actually sold the home again and put this owner out. I bet the bank would have been subjected to a significant financial hardship of their own.
Tags: banks, buyers, ethics, foreclosure, hardship, las vegas, lenders, negotiate, real estate, sellers, short sales
Posted in Las Vegas Short Sales | 1 Comment »
