September 4th, 2010 by Harvey Blankfeld
As I am between visitors at an open house I am reminded that Real Estate is still a service based industry. As Realtors we must remember that just because it’s a short sale or an REO doesn’t mean we should give any less service. I attended a Town Hall meeting recently and people are very concerned about selling their homes in this market. They have been besieged with all kinds of commentary from attorneys and politicians about the variables to consider when dealing with a home that is “upside down”. While my team and I have taken extra care to be certain we are well educated in the variables we have remained focused on the importance of providing our clients the same level of service we have always provided.
I am at this open house because my client needs to sell this home. I don’t know that this open house is the answer but I am prepared to do everything I can to sell this home. Too many agents believe that once you get the listing you need to wait and hope you will get a buyer. We believe that each home sells for a different reason. Sometimes it’s the sign or the flyers in the sign, sometimes it’s MLS, sometimes it’s an open house and sometimes it’s the extensive internet presence we provide for each of our listings.
I know that there are many Realtors that do things the right way and some that don’t, but I can tell you that success in our industry depends on our ability to adapt and our ability to be consistent with our marketing. We must never loose sight of our goal to sell our clients home for as much money as possible and as quickly as possible. That goal is most often attained by the Old Fashioned method of marketing the home in all ways and keeping the lines of communication open with your client.
Tags: agents, efficiency, foreclosure, las vegas, market, real estate, realtors, sellers, selling homes, short sales
Posted in Las Vegas Foreclosures, Las Vegas Home Sales, Las Vegas Short Sales | No Comments »
September 3rd, 2010 by Harvey Blankfeld
Please remember that HAFA is a comprensive set of “Guidelines”. It is not law. The guidelines are not intended to be a one size fits all either. Each servicer (bank, lender) is currently employing their own version of HAFA. Some have not implemented their own guidlines yet and some are well down the road already.
The important facts to remember as a homeowner are that HAFA: is only for owner occupied properties, does not apply to second mortgages, can only be employed after loan modification has been pursued (HAMP), only applies to loans originated before 2009 and does have specific timelines. Having said that, homeowners need to know that even if they aren’t HAFA eligible, they can and in a lot of cases should still pursue Short Sale.
Remember to consult with an expert in Short Sales and to get help from a qualified attorney and/or accountant. I do extensive work with a network of accountants and attorneys and I find it ever so valuable to my clients to continually reach out to those experts.
Tags: economy, foreclosure, las vegas, real estate, short sales
Posted in Las Vegas Foreclosures, Las Vegas Loan Modifications, Las Vegas Short Sales | No Comments »
September 3rd, 2010 by Harvey Blankfeld
Inventory is increasing slightly. Prices remain stable. Short sales continue to dominate the market. We expect inventory to continue to grow as demand has decreased somewhat.
Tags: buyers, buying homes, downward market, inventory, las vegas, market, real estate, sellers, selling homes, short sales
Posted in Las Vegas Foreclosures, Las Vegas Home Sales, Las Vegas Short Sales | No Comments »
August 2nd, 2010 by Harvey Blankfeld
Inventory is slightly increasing. Activity is also slightly off since the tax credit incentive expired. Short Sales continue to dominate our market.
Tags: buyers, buying homes, downward market, inventory, las vegas, market, real estate, sellers, selling homes, short sales
Posted in Las Vegas Foreclosures, Las Vegas Home Sales, Las Vegas Short Sales | No Comments »
July 23rd, 2010 by Harvey Blankfeld
As a Realtor that takes pride in personal development, I find it important to continually get educated. I have recently taken a number of very comprehensive courses related to Short Sales and I find my head spinning with all of the various acronyms and other abbreviations.
Consumers are hearing about HAMP, HAFA, FNMA(fannie mae), FDMC(freddie mac), REO, Prom Note, etc. As Realtors we are given designations for taking these classes. I am now a CSP, CSAA and PSC. Now I take pride in the fact that I have taken the additional course work to garner these designations, but I don’t believe any agent that works in our business and takes pride in their work worries about a designation. I wish to add that each class added to my knowledge and each class will help me and my clients as we continue to work through this economic mess.
One of the most important things I learned was that I have to continue to monitor the changes that are coming our way in the area of Short Sales. We have seen short sales handled in so many different ways the last several years and the process is ever evolving. I don’t believe we will ever find any specific method that can be used universally and that is a challenge. But, that is truly the challenge with any Real Estate deal. No two are alike.
We face many challenges as Realtors, but none greater than our current market. Values have dropped so much that Short Sales will be a major part of Real Estate for the next decade. I will continue to add to my personal alphabet soup as long as it continues to allow me to serve my clients better.
Tags: agents, buying homes, downward market, hardship, las vegas, Personal Development, short sales
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July 2nd, 2010 by Harvey Blankfeld
While pricing remains stable, inventories have grown since the removal of the federal tax credit. We are stil selling to those that were not eligible to those that were not eligible for the tax credit but the demand has decreased. Short sales are dominating our market. More buyers are willing to wait the extended periods it takes to close. Investors are still seeking great deals.
Tags: agents, banks, buyers, buying homes, las vegas, market, real estate, selling homes, short sales, trends
Posted in Las Vegas Home Sales | No Comments »
April 8th, 2010 by Shelley Brown
The meaning of the word “contingent” with regard to a real estate sale has changed dramatically over the years. Originally, when I first started selling real estate the term “contingent” was used when the house was sold “contingent on the buyer selling his existing home”. These buyers could be “bumped” from the transaction by a buyer without a home to sell. There was usually a “first right of refusal” with a time period where the first buyer would either remove the contingency and make the earnest money non-refundable (only when they felt the sale of their existing home was a sure thing), or the transaction was canceled and the home was sold to the second buyer.
Next, the word “contingent” was used primarily because the sale was contingent upon the buyer completing something during their due diligence period such as an inspection or an appraisal. These buyers could not be bumped and a second buyer could write a back-up offer.
Now, the word “contingent” still applies to the case above but the primary use of the term is for a contingency on the part of the seller- short sale approval. Obviously, in this case, the second person interested in the property can do nothing about it unless the first buyer cancels because they have lost interest or don’t want to wait for the approval process.
Agents need to educate their buyers because the contingent properties still show as “available” in the MLS and on REALTOR.COM. This is very confusing to the general public. I recently had a buyer asked me “Why don’t you send me everything that meets my criteria. You are leaving out all the good properties!” After a detailed discussion, we discovered he was interested in “contingent properties” and thought he could step in front of those buyers because he has cash and no home to sell. This is not the case.
I could have lost a buyer because he thought I was only sending him certain properties and not the ones he liked the best. What “contingent” means in the current market needs to be one of the first discussions we have with our buyers. This is an important step in the education process and will alleviate headaches for all parties involved.
Tags: agents, buyers, buying homes, contingency, las vegas, market, real estate, short sales, trends
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March 25th, 2010 by Shelley Brown
Years ago, when the world was in balance and real estate agents were in step with each other, an offer was written for a client and then presented to the seller. The offer was either accepted, rejected, or countered in a timely manner. Everyone knew what was going on and the clients viewed the agents as professional, responsive, and knowledgeable.
Now that banks control a large portion of our market, the agents have educated the buyers to know that it may be weeks for a reply or you may never hear at all! (The listing status may just be changed to “no longer available” in the computer). Why are we dealing with short sales in the same manner which is disrespectful to other agents and their clients?????
In a short sale, the seller of the property (NOT the bank with the mortgage!) signs the offer. Have we not prepared our sellers to be available to accept an offer?? The seller should be encouraged to sign an offer with a buyer that has these important qualifications:
1. Time to wait for the short sale to be approved.
2. Education that some of the costs they ask for may be turned down by the bank approving the short sale.
3. An “at list” offer- not a crazy bidding war offer. The bank with the short sale may ask for more so the buyer’s agent needs to prepare the buyers that they may have to increase their offer.
4. A professional agent that addresses the above items in the letter accompanying the offer.
5. An investor’s offer may not be the best offer because generally, they are making more than one offer.
6. Finally, EARNEST money with the offer and a willingness to place it in escrow!
Let’s answer (in a timely manner), the buyers that are willing to give us an offer that comes closest to meeting the criteria above! Let’s see some professionalism in real estate in cases where we have some control.
Tags: agents, banks, buyers, buying homes, downward market, las vegas, market, mortgage, negotiate, real estate, sellers, selling homes, short sales, trends
Posted in Las Vegas Short 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 »
