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INVESTMENT STEAL OF THE WEEK: FHA Ready Home Below Market Value
Posted in Uncategorized on January 6, 2010 by The Real Estate Orange
Home Seller Disclosure Reduces Liability
Posted in Uncategorized on January 5, 2010 by The Real Estate OrangeSeller disclosure is critical to a smooth home sale and reducing seller liability, but not all homeowners are aware of its value to the home selling process. Seller disclosure, the obligation of a home seller to tell any potential buyer about problems in the property, is only mandatory in several states. However, it is rapidly catching on locally and many real estate companies are developing their own voluntary disclosure policies.
The reason is simple: disclosure reduces liability. If a home buyer knows about a problem up front, then they can’t later claim you hid it from them. A buyer can file a consumer fraud suit that can cost you three times as much as taking care of the problem in the first place. So avoiding disclosure is like crossing the street with your eyes closed–eventually you will get hit.
Seller disclosure not only includes a duty to disclose problems you know about, but it also includes responsibility to disclose problems you should have known about. The days of caveat emptor (buyer beware) are over; now it’s almost seller beware. It’s better that they know about a problem now and resolve the issue than find out later through a lawsuit.
Most home buying tips include a recommendation to get a home inspection. That’s why sellers are smart to have a professional home inspection done when their house is listed. Home Inspectors can identify problems, provide solutions and offer suggested improvements that can actually help you sell your home more quickly. If there is a problem, it’s always better to find out now rather than later when a buyer is involved. This way you can elect to either fix the problem or disclose it. If you choose to make repairs, you can bet it will always be less expensive to do them before a buyer is involved. Buyers will usually want the top-of-the-line repair when an average-quality job is good enough.
Also, most home buyers will eventually get an inspection before finalizing a sale, so having one done ahead of time will give a seller some idea of what to expect. There’s nothing worse than bargaining down the price of your house to your bottom dollar, only to find out that the furnace is shot and the buyer wants a new one.
Plus, when the buyers home inspector shows up. it’s always a good idea to politely hand over a copy of your home inspection to the buyers inspector. You should not suggest that the buyers inspection will be any less valuable as a result that you had your own done, but having taken that step will demonstrate to both buyers and their inspector that you understand the process and took steps to make sure you avoided any potential problems mid-transaction.
As the old football phrase goes, the best defense is a good offense. Identifying and disclosing the condition of your house via seller disclosure will not only help sell it faster and avoid costly seller mistakes, it will allow you to move on to your new home with far fewer worries.
For more home buying tips as well as ideas for sellers, www.OnePlaceOpenHouse.com.
Viva’ Miami,
Miami Best Real EstateTeam
MiamiBestTeam
Office: 305-396-9106
Fax: 305-455-9548
"Given the degree of exposure we provide, if we can’t sell your home…no one can!"
Home Trends for 2010
Posted in FL, FSBO, First Time Homebuyers, Keystone Point, Miami, Miami Homes for Sale, Miami Real Estate Agent, North Miami, Real estate, Relocation, South Florida Real Estate for Sale, Uncategorized on January 4, 2010 by The Real Estate OrangeMany people are tightening their budgets by eating in and entertaining at home. As consumers spend more time at home, here are some trends we can expect to see:
· An increase in quality – the days of disposable products are gone. Today’s consumers are looking for quality and durability.
· Softer looks for the kitchen – the modern, professional kitchen transforms into a second living room, a place where family and friends can gather not only for meals, but also as a place to socialize and spend leisure time. Expect appliances to look more neutral and be easily camouflaged.
· Economic environmentalism – consumers want products that are eco-friendly with a competitive price tag. Water and air purifiers will likely be found in an increasing number of homes.
Keystone Point Real Estate-North Miami, Florida
Posted in Uncategorized on January 2, 2010 by The Real Estate OrangeKeystone Point is a gated community located in North Miami, Florida. Keystone Point real estate showcases luxurious single-family homes, waterfront estate homes with direct ocean access and a variety of other high-end real estate investment opportunities . South Florida’s world-famous intracoastal waterway provides an ideal landscape and route to the sea. South Florida is known as the Venice of America because it includes hundreds of miles of intracoastal waterways woven throughout it, much like Venice.
Keystone Point real estate features truly remarkable homes. The residences at Keystone Point are detailed with crown molding, marble floors, stainless steel modern appliances and more! The community offers an attractive and safe neighborhood to call home.
The gated community is elegant, with available deep-water marinas ideal for boating and recreation. Keystone Point real estate is peppered with resort-style pools, and accented with manicured landscaping. Residences within Keystone Point range up to approximately 7,800 square feet and are priced to sell! You can call Keystone Point home starting from $300,000-$4,000,000. Contact Miami Best Real Estate Team today to obtain the real estate expertise of local residents with lifelong careers locating the perfect South Florida real estate for their clients.
When it comes to choosing professionals to assist you with your real estate
needs…Experience is Priceless! Miami’s Best Real Estate Team, 786-704-8482. MiamiBestTeam@AOL.com. www.OnePlaceOpenHouse.com
2010: Year of the Short Sale or Fair Market Pricing?
Posted in Uncategorized on January 1, 2010 by The Real Estate OrangeAs we enter a new decade I’m eager to see what 2010 holds for South Florida’s real estate market and if many forecast predictions from last year will come true. Due to the new short sale rules that are being put into place, more and more, I’m hearing my colleagues call 2010 the year of the short sale.
While short sale success stories are more common as opposed to this time last year fair market pricing is still numero uno. Many home sellers have come to the realization that their home was overpriced to begin with and as a result have either become motivated to reduce the price to compete with bank reo’s and short sales or have taken their property off the market altogether.
Short sales have become a major component in our real estate market thus setting the trend for appraiser’s comparables.
Banks are beginning to go along with short sales in increasing numbers, three years into a U.S. housing slump that pushed the economy into a recession and cut resale values by 30 percent from the peak in July 2006. Short sales almost tripled to 40,000 in the first six months of 2009 from the same period a year earlier. Yet for each short sale, there were 25 foreclosures started or completed in the first half of this year, according to data from the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Pressure is building to approve short sales as the number of delinquent mortgages has grown to 3.2 million and an estimated 7 million foreclosures loom in the next two to three years, according to Irvine, California-based RealtyTrac Inc., which compiles and sells U.S. mortgage delinquency data. New Treasury Department guidelines for foreclosure alternatives scheduled to take effect in April 2010 will require lenders to consider borrowers for a short sale on their primary residence 30 days after missing two consecutive payments on a modified loan or after the borrower requests a short sale.
In addition to the U.S. Treasury Department providing financial incentives to servicers, borrowers and investors to go forward with short sales or a deed-in-lieu,
The increase in banks agreeing to take losses on mortgages is helping many home buyers who previously couldn’t afford to purchase 3-5 years ago.
In essence, banks have come to the realization that real estate is overpriced…no matter what contents or improvements a property may come with and in order to make their properties attractive to serious and qualified buyers they must price according to the demands of a robust buyer’s market.
After all, the plan has always been to sell in the shortest amount of time possible…right?
Let the Orange rise to the top…5 4 3 2 1, “Happy Prosperous 2010!”
Viva’ Miami,
Miami Best Real EstateTeam
MiamiBestTeam
Office: 305-396-9106
Fax: 305-455-9548
"Given the degree of exposure we provide, if we can’t sell your home…no one can!"
WARNING – Local Grinch Tried to Steal Christmas
Posted in Uncategorized on December 24, 2009 by The Real Estate Orange· By Dave Dinkel
This does not exactly have anything to do with the holidays but we almost got taken yesterday and so could you if you are buying any REO’s. We have closed on hundreds of these so don’t start assuming we are novices at what I am explaining next.
We were set to send in a deposit check for an REO deal and the contract was ready to be signed. The seller’s Addendum was slow in coming to us and once we got it the listing agent seemed pushy to get it signed – nothing new here. Of course the investor who brought us the deal was very eager because we had the property pre-sold.
As he always does, Bill took a close look at the Addendum and in the small print it clearly stated that the buyer had to pay any and all outstanding liens and was responsible for open code issues. We asked the listing agent if there were any and she said "none I know of". Coincidently, we had our attorneys shadowing the deal and they called to tell us there was a code violation in excess of $60,000 that would not be cleared at the closing by the seller (Lender’s Asset Manager).
We had been told by the listing agent that there were no liens against the property and we couldn’t see any in the public record since the city involved is not online. In addition, the Addendum clearly stated that the deposit amount was to be $1,000, but the agent had told us it was $2,000. When Bill asked why she simply stated "because she could!"
The agent admitted she knew about the amount of the violation, this is one that should have been cured by the seller at or before the closing. What would have happened if a novice investor had gotten to the closing table and not reviewed the HUD-1 Statement in advance? They would not have seen any charge or credit for the $65,000, so all would have seemed OK. Very, very few novices review the title commitment and ask for the B-1 deletions as we do.
However, the listing agent said (now that we knew about the problem) that it was our responsibility and it came with the property. WARNING – the listing agent would not mail the Addendum before she had a cashier’s check in hand! You see, she thought we had sent in the deposit. What a surprise when Bill said he wasn’t sending it! There was a lot of hollering and shouting but the bottom line is that had we sent the deposit, we would have lost it rather than close.
Here is the point – since a number of investors have the reputation for not closing, a few listing agents have taken the approach of getting larger than necessary deposits in hand and not worrying about the investors closing. They keep the deposits (some have their own closing agents) and move on to the next investor looking to get yet another deposit. I know I’ll hear about this as to why it can’t happen but I had a very nice couple come in last week who were losing a $5,000 deposit on a deal they tried to do.
The investor who brought us this deal was not a mentor student. We have what we call a "Wall of Shame" of investors and realtors who have acted unprofessionally or outright tried to defraud us or our students. So we don’t get everyone suing us, we do not publish the list. This investor was using one of these realtors and we warned him way ahead of time. He didn’t listen and the result was exactly as we expected. I guess we were lulled into a sense of "it’ll be OK this time" and it wasn’t!
If you intend to stay in this business, read your REO Addendums very, very carefully and whatever the Addendum says, it overrides your contract clauses and it will happen – that’s why it is in writing! Do your homework because the "factory" closing agents for the REO sellers are not on your side – they are the enemy. P.S. – These people believe that investors are the enemy, but who are the only people buying all their mistakes?
Andre Lamar invited you to join the group “South Florida Real Estate Investors Club”…
Posted in Uncategorized on December 18, 2009 by The Real Estate OrangeAndre invited you to join the Facebook group “South Florida Real Estate Investors Club”.
Andre says, “Meet fellow Real Estate Buyers and Investors near you! Receive notification of wholesale properties as they come on the market. Join our local Real Estate Buying & Investing meetup to discuss real estate. All are welcome!”.
To see more details and confirm this group invitation, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=1352122308&k=Z315X3UXUVTF6BD1QGV2WWPVQ4IB425ERSIXJ&oid=208719411866
Facebook helps you find and keep in touch with family, friends and colleagues. You can share unlimited photos, plan events and join discussion groups. It’s free and everyone can join.
To register, go to:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=1352122308&k=Z315X3UXUVTF6BD1QGV2WWPVQ4IB425ERSIXJ&r
If you’re receiving this email and are already a member of Facebook, please make sure this email address is associated with your Facebook account.
Thanks,
The Facebook Team
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was invited to join Facebook by Andre Lamar. If you do not wish to receive this type of email from Facebook in the future, please click on the link below to unsubscribe.
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Understanding Seller Pricing In Real Estate
Posted in Uncategorized on December 4, 2009 by The Real Estate OrangeWhat is the fair price of a home? Many would argue the fair price is the one agreed upon between a buyer and seller when negotiations conclude in the offer and counteroffer process. While this is certainly one approach to the situation, many buyers make the mistake of assuming the listing price on a home has some inherent relationship to the appraised price. This is sometime incorrect because of issues involving the seller.
Obviously, the first issue to consider with pricing is the natural tendency of the seller to try to get as much as possible for the property. In practical terms, this means the property will almost always be priced above what the market will support. It may be just above or well above, but it will definitely be above. The only exception to this situation is if the seller is motivated to sell fast for some reason such as divorce. In said situations, the seller may price the property at or below what the market will support. FULL STORY
Viva’ Miami,
Miami Best Real EstateTeam
MiamiBestTeam
Office: 305-396-9106
Fax: 305-455-9548
"Given the degree of exposure we provide, if we can’t sell your home…no one can!"
Quicksale in Today’s Real Estate Market
Posted in FL, FSBO, First Time Homebuyers, Investment Property, Keystone Point, Miami, Miami Homes for Sale, Miami Real Estate Agent, North Miami, Real estate, Relocation, South Florida Real Estate for Sale, Uncategorized on November 24, 2009 by The Real Estate OrangeJust Sold: 19370 Collins Ave #1211 Sale Price: $115,000
Appraised Value: $142,000 Commission: $6,900
The experts say that it is no longer a seller’s market. This doesn’t mean that it will be hard to sell, but you might need to make the extra effort to get your house to move faster. You’ve got to be proactive on price, marketing and more. By completing a few easy steps, you should be able to get your house sold in the optimal amount of time. 
However be prepared for a marathon, not a sprint. In most places, those heady days of putting a property on the market, receiving multiple bids, getting more than you expected, and accepting an offer in just days or weeks are over.
If you plan to plant a “for sale” sign, here are several things you can do beforehand:
Will FHA rule change benefit South Florida condo market?
Posted in Uncategorized on November 16, 2009 by The Real Estate Orangeby Monica Hatcher
MIAMI – Nov. 11, 2009 – The Federal Housing Administration is giving the condo market something it hasn’t had for a while – a little breathing room.
Last week, the FHA, the federal agency that insures low-downpayment home loans for private lenders, said it was relaxing its building underwriting guidelines as a way of helping the struggling sector ride out the downturn. The move could help boost sales in condos by making more FHA mortgages available to borrowers.
“The best way to bring back some level of security is to get new buyers into those vacant units. You can’t do that until new homeowners have access to financing,” said Meg Burns, director of the FHA’s single-family program development.
The new rules – which are temporary – come after more than a year of more stringent standards from lenders, who, after suffering major losses on condos, began vetting and disqualifying condominium projects for purchase loans, regardless of whether home buyers qualified.
“This might be an entree for traditional and conventional lenders to return to the marketplace. Symbolically, it’s a pretty significant move,” said Peter Zalewski, a condo market analyst and broker with Condo Vultures in Bal Harbour, Fla.
The temporary rules are effective for most of the coming year and will help the marketplace transition into a new set of tougher guidelines that bring FHA into closer alignment with the project underwriting practices of Fannie Mae.
Earlier this year, Fannie implemented a slew of new regulations governing condo projects that some claim have strangled the market by stigmatizing condo loans in tough markets such as Florida.
Similar to Fannie regulations, the FHA is also now singling out those markets for special attention by approving projects itself, rather than lenders. Burns said lenders and investors were reluctant and even “scared” to lend money, prompting the agency to step in as a way of calming nerves.
“We’re coming in and saying we’ll approve the projects and back them so you will feel confident and comfortable lending in this environment,” Burns said.
Securing the blessing of the FHA is important because it allows borrowers to get loans that require downpayments of only 3.5 percent and qualify under less burdensome terms.
Most conventional loans now require 20 percent down, keeping creditworthy borrowers on the sidelines. In some new projects, lenders have asked for downpayments of as much as 40 to 50 percent.
Among the new, temporary rules is a measure extending a deadline allowing lenders to submit mortgage loans for spot approval in buildings that have not been approved for FHA lending. The administration had said the so-called spot loans would be eliminated by the end of the year but the new deadline is February 2010.
The new guidelines also:
• Increase from 30 percent to 50 percent the number of units in a project that can be financed with FHA loans. FHA, however, will make exceptions, even allowing up to 100 percent, when buildings meet an additional set of more stringent criteria.
• Require at least 50 percent of units in a complex to be owner-occupied or sold to owners who plan to live in the units. Bank-owned units may be disqualified from the percentage calculation.
• Reduce a presale requirement in new construction to 30 percent, compared to 70 percent for loans from conventional lenders.
“This temporary guidance represents incredible leniency in terms of financing standards and loan standards,” Burns said.
It’s hard to say how many buildings may benefit from the new rules, but mortgage brokers and real estate observers applauded the reprieve.
“This should really help some of the stalled projects if they can get their buildings approved,” said Grant Stern, a mortgage consultant in Bay Harbor Islands, Fla., who specializes in Fannie Mae and FHA guidelines. “A lot of these buildings looking to sell out the rest of their inventory should be able to get FHA approval to close out the projects.”
But there will be more hurdles to overcome beginning Dec. 7. That’s when a bevy of additional regulations take effect, including a provision that withholds approval from buildings where more than 15 percent of unit owners are past due on association fees.
Viva’ Miami,
Miami Best Real EstateTeam
MiamiBestTeam
Office: 305-396-9106
Fax: 305-455-9548
"Given the degree of exposure we provide, if we can’t sell your home…no one can!"
