Portland Real Estate Blog

Portland-area home sales rise in December, RMLS says

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:25:00 GMT

Published: Monday, January 17, 2011, 7:15 PM Updated: Tuesday, January 18, 2011, 6:24 AM

By Jeff Manning, The Oregonian

A bleak year in residential real estate ended on a slightly positive note in December when the number of closed home sales in the Portland metro area jumped to 1,462, a 14 percent increase from November and the highest monthly number since June.

The figure, contained in the Regional Multiple Listing Service's December report, was a happy surprise to area Realtors, who figured the seasonal slowdown that began as usual in November would continue through the end of the year.

Jim Homolka, president of RE/MAX Equity Group in Portland, believes interest rate swings may have convinced uncertain buyers to move. After hovering for weeks near historic lows, rates jumped for a short period in December back above 5 percent, only to subside again.

The temporary increase may have been a wakeup call to buyers that the outrageously low rates won't be around forever, Homolka said.

The RMLS numbers contained one other bit of positive news -- at December's rate of sales, it would take 7.9 months to sell the 11,611 active residential listings, significantly lower than the 10.2 months reported for November.

Gary Whiting, managing broker at John L. Scott Real Estate in Beaverton, said the lower inventory was due at least in part to discouraged homeowners taking their homes off the market.

New listings finished December at 1,925, an 8.5 decline from a year ago. The median price in December was $230,000, down 5 percent from December 2009.

The RMLS report contained some eye-opening numbers showing the market's wild swings during the course of the decade. Total residential sales volume in Portland hit just $5.3 billion in 2010, down from $5.5 billion in 2009 and the lowest annual total since 2001.

Portland home sales topped $10 billion during the height of the boom in 2005 and 2006.

The ranks of Oregon real estate agents have dropped as well, from a July 2007 peak of about 9,200 to around 7,200. The RMLS expects another 700 to 1,000 agents to exit the business, said Whiting, 2010 chair of the Portland RMLS.

For all the market's challenges, real estate agents agreed that the increased activity in December has carried through to January. Rob Levy, of Prudential Northwest Properties in Portland, attributed the heightened interest to continued low interest rates and a slow increase in consumer confidence about the economy.

- Jeff Manning

A Look Ahead at New Homes of 2015

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 08:47:00 GMT

Photovoltaics and galvanized siding are green features of this Kihei, HI home.
Photo: Zillow

This Sherman Oaks, CA home has a great room, encompassing dining, living and family rooms.
Photo: Zillow

Home digital control panels can help manage security and energy consumption.
Photo: Control4

Short Sales: Four Specific Examples of Big Bank Negligence

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Here are four specific examples of big bank’s negligence causing a loan owner to lose money. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by contacting Scott with the Steve Ticknor Team Realtors.

Example #1: Not giving buyers an answer on a short sale within one week. Home buyers don’t like to wait 3-6 months for an answer on a short sale. This fact causes many buyers to shy away from short sales, thereby causing short sales to sell for less. Lenders should help the loan owners recoup as much money as possible from short sales. To do this, they make the short sale approval process as quick as possible. They could start the property valuation process when the property is put on the market and determine a certain price they would accept. More buyers would be willing to purchase the property because they know they wouldn’t have to wait 3-6 months for an answer on the short sale.

Example #2: Turning down loan mods that amortize at a higher value than what is netted on a short sale or thru REO. Let me explain a little better. A lender negotiates a loan mod with a borrower with a new monthly payment of $1,000. The borrower has a stable income and agrees to pay $1,000 a month for the next 30 years. $1,000 a month for 30 years, at a 6.5% interest rate will repay a $158,210 mortgage. The servicer turns down the loan mod and forecloses. The house sells for $125,000 as an REO and the servicer nets $115,000. Did the owner of the loan lose money? I think most people would agree yes. Obviously there are other factors involved, but I think on an actuarial basis they will do better with the loan mod.

Example #3: Not following up on foreclosures properly. I have seen countless examples of servicers hiring an attorney to foreclose on a house. The attorney files the paperwork. Then, the foreclosure case goes into purgatory. Nothing happen for 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, and even up to 2 years. I have seen this happen on more than one property. And no, there are not other factors involved. In fact, on two short sales I've handled, the sellers had moved out of the house before the foreclosure was even filed.

Example #4: Not listing REO properties quickly enough. I have witnessed several examples of banks foreclosing on a house and then taking 6 months to a year to put it up for sale. An example is a house that was foreclosed on September 9th, 2009. It wasn’t listed for sale until May 2010. Say what you want, but waiting 8 months is pathetic. If the mortgage holder had been a wealthy individual who lived in town, do you think they would have put the home on the market a little sooner? These are the clearest examples I can think of right now.

When you multiply these examples of negligence across hundreds of thousands of defaulted mortgages, you can easily see how this is costing lenders billions of dollars.

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation. Thinking about a loan modification? Our loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Request your copy.

Thanks for reading this, from the Steve Ticknor Team. Steve & Scott are Real Estate Brokers on the Steve Ticknor Team at Keller Williams Realty Professionals. Short Sales Realtor: Phone: 503-336-6111. ticknors@gosteveteam.com.

Where Portland Turns For Real Estate View My homes for sale at www.gosteveteam.com.

Short Sales. Realtor. Copyright 2011 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Important Notice Steve Ticknor Team, Keller Williams Realty Professionals, and the Stop Foreclosure Institute are not affiliated in any way, shape, or form with the government. Our services have not been reviewed or endorse by the government or your lender. Most lenders willingly work with agents on short sales. Why? Because most short sales are beneficial to a lender. If you accept our offer to help you on a short sale, your lender may not agree to a short sale or to modify your loan. We do offer a loan modification kit. However, the likelihood of negotiating a modification is like everything else in life. It takes work and persistence to convince your lender to modify your loan. No matter what you or we do, your lender may not approve a loan modification. We do not recommend that you stop paying your mortgage, because this will cause damage to your credit and could cause you to lose your home. Because we know avoiding foreclosure is so important to any homeowner, we recommend that you speak with the appropriate legal or tax advisor before making any decision. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. You have the option to reject a short sale or loan modification from your lender if it does not meet your approval. If you decide not to go thru with the short sale, then you do not have to pay us our fee. We normally make a real estate sales commission for helping you on a short sale. The views expressed here are Ticknor Team's personal views and do not reflect the views of Keller Williams Realty Professionals. This information on Short Sales: Four Specific Examples of Big Bank Negligence is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

3 Things Agents Should Know About Short Sales

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

The Steve Ticknor Team - Short-Sale Specialists

October 10, 2011|Grow Business Short Sales

By: Sarah Stelmok, ABR, GRI, e-Pro / Trulia

Listing a short sale is a little like venturing into the wild, wild west. There’s only a little order, lots of imposters, and laws are broken without much penalty.

Real estate agents bring a little stability to the transaction, but a short sale’s success depends on a variety of variables. This type of transaction is constantly evolving; however there are a few things that remain the same, and that every agent needs to know when working with short sales.

Market Value Matters

Short sales sell for market value. That’s right. A bank will typically agree to a short sale if the numbers make sense. Banks understand that homes need to appraise. Banks also need to mitigate their loss.

Listing a home for well below market value is not the best strategy for getting a short sale accepted. Sure, you may get plenty of offers, but if the bank won’t accept any of them you end up having wasted a ton of energy, not to mention paper, and facing quite a few angry potential buyers.

Banks are no longer in the business of giving away houses. If you send the bank numbers that make sense, you increase your likelihood of a successful short sale closing by 90%.

Only Real Hardships Get the Help

I’ve lost count of the number of times potential sellers have told me the only reason they are pursuing a short sale is because everyone else is doing it. Purchasing a house during the housing boom is not a legitimate hardship. Purchasing a house during the housing boom and being unable to pay your mortgage is a hardship.

Strategic default is never a good idea! Banks actually analyze short sale sellers’ hardships, and most center on the economy, so the bank is going to make sure that a short sale is in their own best interest. Acceptable hardships include medical issues, divorce, disability, significant loss of income, death, unemployment, and relocation.

Laws are local

It’s important to know your state’s foreclosure laws because there are currently no national short sale laws on the books. There are federal guidelines, but they can be applied when and how a bank wants.

States, however, can either have recourse loans or non-recourse loans. A recourse loan allows the bank to demand a borrower pay the difference between what the property is sold for and what is owed on the lien. Many recourse states allow lien holders (banks) to pursue judgment liens against the borrower for the deficiency amount. This process allows the bank to garnish a borrower’s wages until the debt is paid off. Garnishments can be as much as 25% of non-exempt disposable earnings, and bankruptcy doesn’t always save a defaulted borrower from judgment liens.

Real estate agents are not allowed to practice law, unless they are actually licensed to do so. However, agents do need to be aware of possible penalties for short selling a home and also be able to direct their clients to the right resources to discuss the possible consequences and solutions.

Short sales, just like the once-wild west, can be scary to navigate. That’s why it can pay to learn the lay of the land. If you do, there can be a few successful commission in it for you, and some much-needed relief for your clients.

4 Sites to Boost Your Family's Entertainment Budget

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:28:00 GMT

By Trevor Kerrick

A night out on the town can be expensive, especially if you're taking the whole family. So how can you explore your city without blowing your budget? There are quite a few Web sites out there made to help. Read on to learn about some of the best for your local saving pleasure.

LivingSocial.com
This site highlights a random daily deal for a local business or retail chain that can be anywhere from 50-90% off. Once you sign up, they will send you an e-mail each day with information on the deal. All you have to do is click "Buy Now" and a voucher for the deal will be e-mailed to you on the business day. A nice incentive to spread the word is that every time you buy a deal, you're given a special link to send out to your friends. If three of your friends purchase the same deal, yours is free! LivingSocial also has categories for family-specific deals, getaways, and company-run "adventures."

There's also a free smartphone application you can download to your iPhone or Android mobile device. You get all of the same perks you would from the site, but there are some exclusive features the site doesn't provide, such as a "deals map" that highlights which establishments around you are currently discounted. Also, instead of printing out your coupon, you can just bring it up on your phone and show it to the merchant–no more paper!

Groupon.com
Groupon is similar to LivingSocial, but instead of just a daily deal there are also a few limited time discounts for local establishments and online retailers as well. If you feel like taking a vacation, check out their Getaway Deals for discounted destination packages to places like Rio Rico, Arizona and Great Exuma, Bahamas.

If you're feeling green, Groupon also has a smartphone application that has all of the site deals and features available.

Bloomspot.com
This discount site focuses on the "higher caliber restaurants, spas, boutiques, and other experiential merchants." Based in San Francisco, Bloomspot features 11 of the major U.S. cities instead of the widespread discounts of the previous two sites. If you're ever looking for a 5-star experience for a 2-star price, or have a big occasion to celebrate, give Bloomspot a look.

Travelzoo.com
At over 24 million subscribers, Travelzoo is considered the largest deals publisher on the Internet. Travelzoo originally specialized in travel discounts, such as hotels, airfares, cruises and vacation spots, but they've recently added a local deal category for many of the major cities.

While their deals aren't as readily scheduled as the previous sites, they do feature multiple deals at a time. Also, if you do find yourself taking one of their worldwide travels, Tarvelzoo also has separate editions for countries like Canada, France, and China to name a few.

Remember: If you find a deal you like, don't be greedy. Many sites, including these, give credits to people who recommend the site to their friends. You can spread the word by forwarding the deals through e-mail or by posting them to your Facebook or Twitter feed for your friends to see. So the more you share, the more you save.

With the help of these sites, your family can have fun–no matter your budget! So hop online, and let the fun begin.

Trevor Kerrick earned his degree in Technical Communication, with a minor in Mass Communications, from Texas Tech University. He researches and writes about communication and new media.

6 Good Reasons to Buy a Home Now

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 11:37:00 GMT

Real Estate

Houses are more affordable than they’ve been in a decade...

By Pat Mertz Esswein, Associate Editor

From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, October 2011

1. Prices have nearly hit bottom.

In most areas, most of the excess has finally been wrung out of the market. But if you’re buying a first home or looking to trade up, there’s no need to rush. Although prices may fall some more -- blame foreclosures still working their way through the system and tighter credit -- they won’t fall by much. Fiserv Case-Shiller, which tracks home prices, forecasts that the median price nationwide will ratchet down for about six more months, then stay flat for three or four years.

In most of the cities where home values experienced a double dip after the expiration of the home buyer’s tax credit in mid 2010, median prices won’t fall below their 2009 or 2010 lows, says David Stiff, Fiserv’s chief economist. These cities include San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego and Washington, D.C. But in cities with lingering oversupply of homes for sale, Fiserv forecasts a decline of 10% or more in the median home price (for the year ending March 31, 2012). These cities include Riverside–San Bernardino, Cal.; Las Vegas; and Miami.

2. Houses are affordable again.

Homes haven’t been this affordable since 1991. Economists often define affordability as the ratio of median home price to median family income. According to Fiserv Case-Shiller, the U.S. ratio now stands at 2.6 -- down from a peak of 4.1 in mid 2005 and just under the long-term average of 2.8. Of course, some areas continue to defy affordability. In California’s coastal cities and the New York metro area, the ratio is 5 or more. Average mortgage payments are another way to look at affordability. Since the housing market’s peak in 2006, the average principal-and-interest payment in the U.S. has fallen from $1,063 to $645.

Renters considering the jump to homeownership may be encouraged by the price-rent ratio, or the median home price divided by the median annual rent. In 2005, the national median home price had inflated to nearly 21 times the median annual rent, according to Marcus & Millichap, a commercial real estate brokerage company in Encino, Cal. Since the bust, the ratio has deflated to 14, less than the historical average of 15. During the same period, the difference between the median monthly mortgage payment and median monthly rent fell from $745 nationally to $102. Marcus & Millichap expects rental vacancy rates to hit prerecession levels this year, allowing landlords to raise rents by an average of 3.5%.

3. Mortgage rates won't go any lower.

For the past couple of years, interest rates have hovered at levels last seen when the veterans came home from the Korean War. According to HSH.com, which tracks mortgage rates, at the beginning of August the national average 30-year fixed rate was 4.5%. FHA loans, which require only a 3.5% down payment, had a 4.3% rate. Adjustable-rate mortgages are even cheaper, and even rates for jumbo mortgages have hit lows not seen since the 1980s.

Freddie Mac forecasts a 30-year fixed rate of 5% by year-end and 6% by late 2012. Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the U.S. credit rating won’t have an immediate effect on rates because of the weak economy (see Ripple Effects of the U.S. Debt Downgrade). But credit is tighter, and you’ll need a credit score of 740 or more and a down payment of at least 25% to nab the lowest rates. If you fall short of that, you’ll pay interest-rate risk premiums if the bank plans to sell your loan to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. For example, lenders must charge an extra 0.25 point if a borrower has a 740 credit score but puts down less than 25% (but at least 20%).

4. It's a buyer's market.

Demand is low; supply is high. In early summer, the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes (single-family houses and condos) fell by 9% from the year before. NAR also reported 9.5 months’ supply of homes. That’s how long it would take to sell all the homes on the market at the current pace of sales, and it strongly favors buyers. (Four to six months’ supply is considered balanced between buyer and seller.)

With so much selection, you’ll find more properties in good school districts or near your job, or homes that offer added value, such as a mother-in-law suite, says Thomas Popik, research director with the Campbell surveys of real estate professionals. You’ll spend less time shopping and competing against other bidders. And you don’t have to waste time with sellers who set unrealistic prices (although they’re still out there).

One caveat: If you’re searching among entry-level homes, which had more extreme price declines than upper-end houses did over the past year, you may face stiff competition from investors. They typically pay cash, which makes them attractive to sellers who want to close the deal fast. However, says Popik, you may find opportunities in homes that were bought and fixed up by investors, who intended to flip them but have had difficulty making a sale.

5. You may find a distressed property.

Bank-owned foreclosures (or REOs, for “real estate owned” properties) sell for an average discount of 35% off the per-square-foot price of conventional homes for sale, according to RealtyTrac. In the first half of 2011, lenders owned about 870,000 REOs but listed only about one-fifth of them for sale, concentrated in such high-foreclosure states as Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, Nevada and Ohio; even with the slowdown in the foreclosure pipeline due to legal-processing issues and new supply exceeds sales. Find more on buying foreclosures. Short sales, or homes sold with lenders’ permission for less than their owners owe on their mortgages, have also grown in number. Lenders have become more amenable to them as they seek to avoid the often huge losses associated with foreclosures, says Rick Sharga, of RealtyTrac. Short sales offer buyers less of a bargain than REOs, but the homes tend to be in better condition. Banks may still take two to six months to sign off on a short sale, so patience is imperative.

6. Homeownership is still attractive.

A home is the biggest purchase most people ever make. But deciding whether and what to buy isn’t purely a financial decision, says Chris Herbert, research director at Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. When you own a home, you can control your living environment and security, upgrade and change your home as you see fit, and create a sense of rootedness in your community.

You can offset some of the cost of homeownership by deducting mortgage interest. But don’t mistake a home for an investment, at least not in the short run. “If your goal is to jump in and get a return of 6% annually, that’s a bad idea,” says Fiserv’s Stiff, given the forecast for weak price appreciation. Instead, you need to commit to owning the home for at least five to seven years to ride out any further price declines and recoup your down payment and transaction costs. If you think that you might need a bigger home before that time to accommodate a growing family or that you might have to move to another area for your job, don’t buy unless you’re willing to become a long-distance landlord.

Shop carefully, and be patient. Exclusive buyer’s agent Michael Crowley of Spokane, Wash., tells buyers it may take three to four months to find the right house. “We can be in a hurry, or we can be particular, but we can’t be both,” he says.

Tips to Get Your Stale Listing Sold

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT

September 25, 2011 - Content From Trulia

In today’s market, most listings aren’t instantly flying off the market. While we all know price is one of the most important factors in the sale of a home, there are other factors they can improve the saleability of your listings. Here are a few tips to get that stale listing sold plus a handy download designed just for sellers.

(1) Offer incentives or alternative financing options

Incentives can make a big difference for buyers who are stretching to find the down payment to buy a home or who may be sitting on the edge of loan limits. Seller incentives such as paying for closing costs, inspections, or repairs, or providing allowances or credits for home upgrades after closing can make a big difference to home buyers short on cash. Other alternatives could include pre paying taxes, homeowners dues and insurance. Consider offering buyer incentives to encourage on the fence buyers to take action on your listing.

(2) Make it accessible

Take a hard look at the accessibility of a home. Today’s home buyer is impatient. They want to see homes and they want to see them now. Make sure your listings are simple and easy to show. Carl Medford, an agent with Prudential California Realty in the San Francisco Bay Area believes home accessibility is the #1 reason homes don’t sell. “If we can’t get in, we can’t show the house. If we can’t show the house, we can’t sell it. We frequently end up showing less than six homes because we can’t get access to homes on the list.”

(3) Expose it- everywhere!

We are often surprised by the number of homes with property addresses undisclosed on the internet. It’s no secret homebuyers are looking on the internet for homes, make sure they can easily find it. Two popular search filters we see prospective homebuyers using on Trulia.com are filters for listings with open houses and filters for listings with price reductions. Want more eyeballs on your listings? Make sure they are updated weekly on popular real estate search sites like Trulia and Craigslist and be sure to list your open home times to get the max exposure for your listings. Want more info? Call The Steve Ticknor Team 503-336-6111

(4) Refresh Your Photos!

(Today’s homebuyer spends a lot of time online. As your listing becomes stale, so do the property photos. Consider retaking the photos, especially if seasons have changed. If taking new photos is out of the question, you may want ot consider changing up the order your photos display online to give it a fresh appearance for web browsing buyers. Many agents start their photos with a picture of the front of the house when they would be better served displaying the huge backyard or the amazing chef’s kitchen.

(5) Put some zing in your marketing copy

In addition to stale photos, your marketing copy may be putting prospective buyers to sleep. “Check out my 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in a great location.” Yawn. Add some zing to your headlines and descriptions to draw the attention of homebuyers. Your marketing copy needs to tell a story that appeals to the people most likely to buy your listing. Your copy can get old too. Simply freshening it up frequently is a good way to capture more attention to your listings.

It’s your turn- what other tips do you use to move your listings?

Call The Steve Ticknor Team - 503-336-6111

The Top 3 Real Estate Deal-Killers - and How Buyers Can Avoid Them

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:07:00 GMT

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson | Broker in San Francisco, CA

| September 17, 2011 12:09 PM |

Once upon a time, homebuying was a much less dramatic affair then it is today. The house hunt was fun, if suspenseful, and then there was another exciting whirlwind of inspections, closing and moving in. Today, though, as soon as buyers get the gumption to jump off the rent vs. buy fence, they find themselves on another edge - the edge of their seats, through the entire escrow process waiting to see what obstacle will emerge next, and whether their transaction will survive it.

Deals get killed all the time, and buyers can't relax until they have keys actually in hand. Here are three of the most common real estate deal-killers, and some steps buyers can take to deactivate them.

1. Appraisal too low. Some buyers incorrectly believe that the best thing that could happen to them is for the property to appraise below the agreed-upon purchase price, expecting that a low appraisal forces the seller to bring the price down. In fact, so many of today’s sellers are barely breaking even, that a low appraisal is probably the most common deal-killer around. If an appraisal comes in just a tad bit lower than the contract price, usually the seller will come down if they can, or the buyer will kick in a few extra bucks. But when it comes in 5, 10 or even 20 percent low, most sellers can't - and most buyers won't .

Low appraisals also seem like the most difficult deal-killer to avoid, as this process is entirely out of both buyer's and seller's control. But there are two things buyers can do to minimize the risk. First, check the comps - i.e., recent comparable homes that have sold in the area - before making an offer; your agent will help you do this. Then, don't make an offer bizarrely above the average range of the comparables, even if the property has multiple offers, unless you're prepared to deal with a low appraisal a couple of weeks out.

Also, consider working with a local mortgage broker who also originates loans through its own bank (vs. walking into a large bank's branch off the street); these lenders have the ability to choose from a smaller pool of appraisers that they know are qualified and knowledgeable about your area.

2.    Property condition dramas. When the market melted down, lenders found themselves with a lot of decrepit homes on their hands. This explains two things: (1) why lenders are more concerned about property condition now than ever, and (2) the raggedy condition of so many of the "distressed' homes on the market. Homes that have extensive wood rot, dangerous decks or electrical systems, or peeling paint and missing systems (sinks, stoves and the like) are highly unlikely to pass muster when the appraiser walks through, even if they do qualify as being worth the purchase price. And while an individual seller might be willing to do some work, many just can't afford to; short sale and REO sellers simply refuse to make fixes, 9 times out of 10.

Prevention is the best medicine for curing this transaction ailment. If you are buying a short sale or REO property, be aware that when the selling bank says as-is, it really means as-is. Ask your mortgage broker and agent to brief you on what sort of shape your lender will require your home to be in, at minimum, and keep that standard in mind during your house hunt. Your agent can help manage your expectations about which properties will and won't likely pass muster.

3.    Loan approval takes too long.  Every buyer knows they must get preapproved for a mortgage before they start house hunting, but many don't know that preapproval is just the first in a long list of steps that have to happen before the loan becomes a sure thing. In fact, it's common now for buyers to get their loan preapproval many months before they end up in contract, and lots can change in the interim - further extending the time it may take for their loan approval to come in.

It's common for contracts to include a standard loan contingency period of 17 days, give or take a few. But the appraisal might take longer than that to come in, or the underwriter might have lots of questions and seemingly random nitpicks about the appraisal, or about you: they want to see your driver's license, then your marriage license, then your divorce decree, and after that, a letter from your employer agreeing that you'll be keeping your job even though you're moving an hour away. It never seems like they ask for everything at once, thus it can take longer than 17 days to obtain all the requested items, turn them in and get the underwriter to sign off on them.

Until you get that green light, it's foolhardy to remove your loan contingency, as that step renders your earnest money deposit non-refundable, under most contracts. Many a buyer is forced to either secure an extension from the seller or to let the transaction die, rather than forfeiting their deposit funds. And again, some sellers understand and will play ball, but bank sellers can be particularly resistant to loan contingency extensions, especially if there are backup offers on the table.

Best practice for buyers to minimize the chances of an overtime loan approval process killing the deal? Be ready: be ready for lots of bizarre documentation requests, be ready to provide things you've already been asked for, and be ready to do so quick-like - without pushing back. The faster you can turn around the things the underwriter wants, the better.

Also, it can be very helpful to work with a mortgage broker and agent that have worked together before and have close communications, so that your agent can stay abreast of any and all loan process glitches and keep the listing agent apprised of the legitimate reasons you may need an extension throughout the contingency period, rather than assuring them everything's speeding along then having to ask for a last-minute extension.

Agents: what other deal-killers are you commonly seeing? How do you help buyers correct for them?

Sure you can sell your home yourself with out me, the broker

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT

'For Sale By Owner' Founder Needs Broker to Sell His Apartment

Colby Sambrotto is a founder of the website ForSaleByOwner.com, which, you know, lets people sell their own apartments. Colby Sambrotto had an apartment of his own—a two bedroom in Chelsea—to sell.

Colby Sambrotto, a founder and former chief operating officer of ForSalebyOwner.com, a large website for owner sales. He spent six months trying to sell his condominium himself through online listings and classified ads, before turning over the listing of the 2,000-square-foot apartment to a broker at Bond New York in November.

The broker is Jesse Buckler.... read more:

A founder of a website dedicated to direct sales of homes by their owners has sold his two-bedroom apartment in Chelsea for $2.15 million-with the help of a real-estate broker and a standard 6% commission...

"At first he wouldn't let me increase the price," said Buckler. "I told him I know what I am doing-the market is picking up."

Not only could the For Sale By Owner guru guy not sell his own apartment, but a broker was able to sell it for more money.

This is way too funny not to post again. Seems he's been caught in the lie that is so easy to sell your home yourself. That $2.15 million home was bought with the cash he took from people to sell their homes themselves, even though he knows 80% of FSBO's will end up listing with a traditional broker everytime - like the Steve Ticknor Team in Portland, Oregon!

http://www.gosteveteam.com

Sellers Brace for New Mortgage Caps

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 12:58:00 GMT

by Nick Timiraos and Alan Zibel
Wednesday, July 6, 2011

provided by

October Change Is Meant to Reduce the Government Footprint in Housing, but Industry Fears It Could Lead to Lower Prices.

The federal government is readying its first retreat from the mortgage market, with the size of loans eligible for government backing set to decline in October.

As an emergency measure three years ago, Congress raised to as high as $729,750 the maximum loan amount that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and federal agencies could guarantee.

That made it easier — and cheaper — for borrowers in pricey housing markets to obtain mortgages, because the government guarantees that investors receive payments on those mortgages even if homeowners default.

Now those limits are set to decline modestly in hundreds of counties across the U.S. as the government attempts to reduce its outsized footprint in the mortgage market and create room for private investors to compete. Government-related entities stand behind more than nine of 10 new mortgages, and taxpayers have sunk $138 billion into Fannie and Freddie, underscoring the eagerness to dial down the government's share.

The new limits will vary widely by location, but will drop to $625,500 in top-tier markets such as New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

Even though the new limits won't take effect until Oct. 1, some lenders are already warning borrowers that they will stop accepting applications for loans that exceed the new limits much sooner, to ensure the loans are funded before the cutoff date.

Industry groups are making the case on Capitol Hill that reducing current limits in some of the largest markets is "the exact wrong way to go," said Jerry Howard, president of the National Association of Home Builders. But Obama administration officials say the limits should fall as scheduled, and Republican lawmakers have introduced measures to shrink the Federal Housing Administration's reach more aggressively.

Had the lower limits been in place last year, Fannie and Freddie would have backed 50,000 fewer loans, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The bulk of the affected loans — about 60% — are in California, with another 20% in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey.

Parts of the country with less expensive homes also would be affected; their limits are scheduled to fall as low as $417,000 for Fannie and Freddie loans and as low as $271,050 for FHA loans.

Limits for Fannie and Freddie-eligible mortgages will fall in 250 counties, and FHA limits will drop in about 600 counties. While that is a fraction of the nation's 3,000 counties, economists at the National Association of Home Builders say those densely populated areas account for 27% and 59% of the nation's housing stock, respectively.

The possibility of lower loan limits is causing considerable anxiety in coastal California and other high-end housing markets that will serve as test cases for how the government's withdrawal from housing will affect the market and local economies.

Homeowners whose mortgages are too big to qualify for a government-backed mortgage must seek a so-called jumbo loan, which often carry higher interest rates as well as larger down-payment requirements, sometimes more than 20%.

"Sellers are going to have to reduce their prices if borrowing costs rise," said Scott Sheldon, a loan officer with First Cal Mortgage in Petaluma, Calif.

One of Mr. Sheldon's clients, Ed Barr, has been pre-approved for a $662,000 loan backed by the FHA, the largest mortgage the agency can insure in Sonoma County, Calif. He is racing to close a sale before the limit drops to $520,950.

Mr. Barr, who owns a wine-making machinery company, said he has excellent credit but a recent divorce left him with little cash for such a purchase. "I don't have any other alternative," the 48-year-old said. Without the loan backed by the FHA, which allows for down payments as low as 3.5%, "the sale won't happen."

Scaling back loan limits underscores a broader challenge facing the government: It wants more private players to hold mortgage risk, but it doesn't want to destabilize fragile housing markets.

Craig Van Sant is looking to pay $500,000 for a home with a $20,000 down payment in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. Once the FHA limit drops to $335,000, he would need to more than double his down payment. The only upside, he said, is that "home values slide even more, allowing us to buy more house, if we can pull together all the cash."

Investors and some academics say the government needs to shrink its footprint if private markets are to re-emerge, and that big loans for pricey homes are a reasonable place to start. "Credit unions, small banks, and hedge funds are all eager to buy these loans," said Brian Brady, a mortgage banker at World Wide Credit Corp. in San Diego.

For now, interest rates for jumbo loans are relatively low, which could cushion the impact of changing loan limits. Rates on 30-year fixed-rate jumbos averaged 5.07% last week, compared with 4.62% on government-backed loans, according to financial publisher HSH Associates. The jumbo rates are near the lowest mark since HSH began its count in 1986, and the spread is the lowest since mortgage markets seized up four years ago.

But rates are only part of the equation. Because jumbos aren't being securitized, banks must keep them on their balance sheets and are generally requiring larger down payments and stringent income qualifications."It'll be a real test of private lenders and their ability to fill the void," said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics.

Write to Nick Timiraos at nick.timiraos@wsj.com

Real estate: It's time to buy again!!!

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:26:00 GMT

By Shawn Tully, senior editor-at-large [Fortune Magazine] March 28, 2011: 5:00 AM ET

(Note, Times are better now then in March when this came out!)

Forget stocks. Don't bet on gold. After four years of plunging home prices, the most attractive asset class in America is housing.

A home under construction in Austin. The number of new homes in the pipeline nationwide is quite low.

From his wide-rimmed cowboy hat to his roper boots, Mike Castleman fits moviedom's image of the lanky Texas rancher. On a recent March evening, Castleman is feeding cattle biscuits to his two pet longhorn steers, Big Buddy and Little Buddy, on his 460-acre Bar Ten Creek Ranch in Dripping Springs, a hamlet outside Austin in the Texas Hill Country. The spread is a medley of meandering streams, craggy cliffs, and centuries-old oaks. But even in this pastoral setting, his mind keeps returning to a subject he knows as well as any expert around: the housing market. "I'm a dirt-road economist who sees what's happening on the ground, and in 35 years I've never seen a shortage of new construction like the one I'm seeing today," declares Castleman, 70, now offering a biscuit to his miniature donkey Thumper. "The talking heads who are down on real estate will hate to hear this, but America needs to build a lot more houses. And in most markets the price of new homes is fixin' to rise, not fall."

Castleman is in a unique position to know. As the founder and CEO of a company called Metrostudy, he's spent more than three decades tracking real-time data on the country's inventory of new homes. Each quarter he dispatches 500 inspectors to literally drive through 45,000 subdivisions from Baltimore to Sacramento. The inspectors examine 5 million finished lots, one at a time, and record whether they contain a house that's under construction, one that's finished and for sale, or a home that's sold. Metrostudy covers 19 states, or around 65% of the U.S. housing market, including all the ones hardest hit by the crash: Florida, California, Arizona, and Nevada. The company's client list includes virtually every major homebuilder and bank -- from Pulte (PHM) and KB Home (KBH) to Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC).

The key figures that Metrostudy collects, and that those clients prize, are the number of homes that are vacant and for sale in each city, and the number of months it takes to sell all of them. Together those figures measure inventory -- the key metric in determining whether a market has a surplus or a shortage of new housing.

Today Castleman is witnessing an extraordinary reversal of the new-home glut that helped sink prices just a few years ago. In the 41 cities Metrostudy covers, a total of 78,000 houses are now either vacant and for sale, or under construction. That's less than one-fourth of the 343,000 units in those two categories at the peak of the frenzy in mid-2006, and well below the level of a decade ago. "If we had anything like normal levels of buying, those houses would sell in 2½ months," says Castleman. "We'd see an incredible shortage. And that's where we're heading."

If all the noise you're hearing about housing has you totally confused, join the crowd. One day you'll read that owning a home has never been more affordable. The next day you'll see news that housing starts have plunged to nearly their lowest level in half a century, as headlines announced in March. After four years of falling prices and surging foreclosures, it's hard to know what to think. Even Robert Shiller and Karl Case can't agree. The two economists, who together created the widely followed S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price indices, are right now offering sharply contrasting views of housing's future. Shiller recently warned that the chances were high for a further double-digit drop in U.S. home prices. But in an interview with Fortune, Case took a far brighter view: "The lack of new home building is a huge help that a lot of people are ignoring," says Case. "People think I'm crazy to be optimistic, but housing is looking like the little engine that could."

To see where real estate is truly headed, it's critical to keep your eye firmly on the fundamentals that, over time, always determine the course of prices and construction. During the last decade's historic run-up in prices, Fortune repeatedly warned that things were moving too fast. In a cover story titled "Is the Housing Boom Over?," this writer's analysis found that the basic forces that govern the market -- the cost of owning vs. renting and the level of new construction -- were in bubble territory. Eventually reality set in, and prices plummeted. Our current view focuses on those same fundamentals -- only now they're pointing in the opposite direction.

So let's state it simply and forcibly: Housing is back.

Two basic factors are laying the foundation for dramatic recovery in residential real estate. The first is the historic drop in new construction that so amazes Castleman. The second is a steep decline in prices, on the order of 30% nationwide since 2006, and as much as 55% in the hardest-hit markets. The story of this downturn has been an astonishing flight from the traditional American approach of buying new houses to an embrace of renting. But the new affordability will gradually lure Americans back to buying homes. And the return of the homeowner will start raising prices in many markets this year.

Drumming up sales

Of course, home prices are low and home construction is weak for a reason: incredibly low demand. For our scenario to play out, America will need a decent economy, with job creation and consumer confidence continuing to claw their way back to normal.

One big fear is that today's tight credit standards will chill the market. But we're really returning to the standards that prevailed before the craze, and those requirements didn't stop prices and homebuilding from rising in a good economy. "The credit standards are now at about historical levels, excluding the bubble period," says Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics. "We saw prices rising with fundamentals in those periods, and it will happen again."

To see why, let's examine the remarkable shift in home affordability. A new study by Deutsche Bank measures affordability in two ways: first, the share of income Americans are paying to own a home. And second, the cost of owning vs. renting. On the first metric, the analysis finds that homeowners now pay just 9.8% of their income in after-tax mortgage, tax, and insurance payments. That's down from 17.2% at the bubble's peak in 2007, and by far the lowest number in the Deutsche Bank database, going back to 1999. The second measure, the cost of owning compared with renting, should also inspire potential buyers. In 28 out of 54 major markets, it's now cheaper to pay a mortgage and other major costs than to rent the same house. What's most compelling is that in all of the distressed markets, owning now wins by a wide margin -- a stunning reversal from four years ago. It now costs 34% less than renting in Atlanta. In Miami the average rent is now $1,031 a month, vs. the $856 it costs to carry a ranch house or stucco cottage as an owner. (For more, see The top 10 cities for home buyers)

Not all markets will bounce back equally, of course. Housing resembles the weather: The exact conditions are different in every city. But in general the big U.S. markets fall into two different climate zones right now. We'll call them the "nondistressed markets" and the "foreclosure markets." A more detailed look shows why the forecast for both is favorable.

Nondistressed markets: Ready for launch

No cities went untouched by the collapse in prices over the past few years. But markets such as Northern Virginia, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, San Diego, the San Francisco suburbs, and virtually all of Texas held up reasonably well. In those areas prices spiked far less than in bubble cities -- the foreclosure markets we'll get to shortly -- chiefly because they didn't get nearly as many speculators who thought they could flip the homes or rent them to snowbirds.

The nondistressed markets will be able to get prices rising and construction growing far faster than the harder-hit areas for a simple reason: Although some of these markets are still suffering from foreclosures, they don't need to work through the big overhang haunting a Las Vegas or a Phoenix. The number of new homes for sale or in the pipeline is extraordinarily low in nondistressed markets. San Diego is typical. It has just 921 freestanding homes for sale or under construction, compared with 4,425 in late 2005. The challenge for these cities is to generate enough demand to reduce inventories of existing, or resale, homes. In the entire country the resale supply stands at 3.5 million houses and condos. That's a fairly high number, since it would take more than eight months to sell those properties; seven months or below is the threshold for a strong market.

But in the nondistressed cities, the existing home inventory is lower, closer to seven months on average. So a modest increase in demand will translate into strong gains in both prices and new construction. That should happen quickly, because most of those markets -- including Silicon Valley, Northern Virginia, and Texas -- are now showing good job growth.

Zandi of Moody's Analytics expects that prices will rise three to four points faster than inflation for the next few years in virtually all of the nondistressed markets. His view is that prices will increase in line with rents, which are now growing briskly because apartments are in short supply. Those higher rents will encourage buyers to cross the street from an apartment to a home of their own.

In Northern Virginia, Chris Bratz, an engineer, and his wife, Amy DiElsi, a publicist, are planning to leave their rental apartment and become homeowners for the first time. The main reason? Buying has simply become a far better deal than renting. "The market got completely inflated, then it crashed, so prices are coming back to where they should be," says Chris. As the couple have watched prices fall, they have also watched the rent on their apartment spiral upward, reaching $2,700 a month. They calculate that they should be able to purchase a townhouse for between $400,000 and $500,000 and pay less per month for a mortgage.

The nondistressed markets will also lead the way in construction. Zandi predicts that for the nation as a whole, single-family housing "starts" -- measured when a builder pours a foundation for a new home -- will rise from 470,000 in 2010 to as much as 700,000 this year. A large portion of that activity will happen in nondistressed markets where a tightening supply of resale houses will start making new homes look like a good deal. "Our main competition is from resales," says Jeff Mezger, CEO of KB Home. "The prices of those homes have stayed so low, because of low demand, that it's hampered the ability of builders to sell new houses."

But many would-be buyers simply prefer a brand-new house. Eventually they'll move from renters to buyers, and the trend will accelerate now that prices are no longer dropping. In Minneapolis, Yuan Qu and her husband, Xiang Chen, a researcher at the University of Minnesota, just moved from a two-bedroom rental to a new light-blue four-bedroom ranch with a chocolate-colored roof on a spacious corner lot. They paid $400,000, a bargain price compared with a few years ago. The couple, both in their early thirties, moved to Minnesota from China six years ago. "We wanted to buy a house, and we've been waiting and waiting and waiting," says Qu. "The prices went down for so long, we finally thought they couldn't keep falling." For Qu the only choice was new construction. "We're not very handy people," she admits.

Foreclosure markets: The outlook is brightening

A home off the market in Mesa, Ariz.

The true disaster areas for housing since the bubble burst have been Sunbelt cities such as Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Miami -- places that boasted great job and population growth in the mid-2000s, only to suffer a housing crash that swamped them with empty homes and condos and crushed their economies. But people always want to live in those sunny locales, and their job markets are starting to recover, albeit slowly. In foreclosure markets the inventory problem is far greater because it includes not just traditional resale homes but millions of distressed properties. Fortunately those houses are now such a screaming deal that investors, including lots of mom-and-pop buyers, are purchasing them at a rapid pace. To be sure, some foreclosure markets won't rebound for years because they're both vastly overbuilt and far from big job centers; a prime example is California's Inland Empire, a real estate disaster zone 80 miles east of Los Angeles.

But the outlook is brightening for Phoenix, Las Vegas, Miami, and parts of Northern California. A big positive is the tiny supply of new homes entering the market. Phoenix, for example, has a total of just 8,100 new homes that are either for sale or under construction, down from 53,000 in mid-2006. The big test in these cities is absorbing the steady stream of distressed properties. The foreclosures put downward pressure on the market far out of proportion to their numbers because of markdown pricing. "We had levels of inventory even higher than this in 1990 and 1991," says MIT economist William Wheaton. "But they were traditional listings, not foreclosures, so they didn't create the big discounts you get with foreclosures."

Wheaton reckons that we'll see a flow of around 1 million foreclosures a year, at a fairly even pace, from now through 2013. That figure is frequently cited as evidence that the market is doomed for years in most foreclosure markets. Not so. The reason is that the vast bulk of those units, probably over 600,000, according to Gleb Nechayev, an economist with real estate firm CB Richard Ellis (CBG), are being converted to rentals either by investors or their current owners. Those properties are finding plenty of renters, since the rental market is still extremely strong across the country. Remember, the millions who lost their homes to foreclosure still need somewhere to live.

A typical investor is Alex Barbalat, a Russian immigrant who's purchased seven homes east of San Francisco in the towns of Bay Point, Antioch, and Pittsburg. His average purchase price is around $100,000 for homes that once sold for between $300,000 and $500,000. But he has no trouble finding renters, since his tenants can commute to jobs in San Francisco on the BART transit system. Barbalat is pocketing rental yields on the prices he paid of around 12%, and he's in no hurry to sell. "I'm holding them until prices drastically rise," he says.

Investment funds are also entering the game. Dotan Y. Melech looks for bargains in Las Vegas for UnitedAMS, a firm he co-founded that manages apartments and other real estate investments. The firm has raised more than $20 million from outside investors to purchase distressed properties. So far, Melech has bought around 300 houses and plans to purchase another 200 this year. He has no trouble renting the houses he buys, since, he estimates, occupancy rates in Las Vegas are touching 95%. The "cap rate," or return on investment after all expenses, is between 8% and 10% -- twice the rate on 10-year Treasuries. Melech rents to people who lost their homes but are reliable renters. "A lot of people can't be buyers because their credit got hurt," he says.

Even with investors jumping in, buying activity in foreclosure markets hasn't yet increased enough to bring inventories down. It will soon. Zandi thinks prices will fall a couple of percentage points lower in the distressed markets in the short run. "But that will be overshooting," he says. "It's like an elastic band. If prices do drop this year, they will need to bounce back because they'll be far too low compared with rents and replacement cost." Renters will come off the sidelines to purchase homes in the years ahead, precisely the opposite trend of the past few years.

Consider the example of Michael Dynda, a retired Air Force avionics technician who now works for a government contractor in Las Vegas. Dynda, 49, is a first-time buyer who put off purchasing for years, in part because prices were falling so rapidly in Las Vegas, with no bottom in sight. But last year the combination of bargain prices and low mortgage rates became too good to resist. He ended up purchasing a 2,300-square-foot stucco home for $240,000, or about half what it would have fetched in 2007. Dynda got a 4.38% home loan, and pays the same amount on his mortgage as on the rent on the house he left to become a homeowner. "The timing was about as good as it could get," says Dynda.

Mike Castleman's company tracks the inventory of new homes in 19 states across the country. He sees supply getting tight. "Home prices are fixin' to rise," he says.

Back on the ranch, Mike Castleman is lounging in his creek-front mansion, built from "a hundred tons of fine central Texas limestone." As he shows off his collection of custom-made guitars, including one crafted to resemble the skin of a rattlesnake, the homespun housing guru once again returns to his favorite topic.

Castleman claims that this recovery will look like all the others: It will bring a severe shortage of housing. He invokes the livestock business to explain. "It takes three years between the time a bull mates with a cow and when you get a calf ready for market," he says. "That's how it is in housing too. We'll get a big surge in demand and the drywall companies will take a long time to ramp up, and it will take years to get new lots approved. Buyers will show up looking for a house in a subdivision, and all the houses will be sold. The builders will tell them it will take six months to deliver a house." But those folks, says Castleman, will be set on buying a place. "And they'll want it so bad they'll bid the prices up!" In other words: Beat the crowd.

It's a Great Time to Buy a House
Mike Castleman, the Texan with the best realtime view of housing in the U.S., tells editor-atlarge Shawn Tully that the naysayers are about to get a big surprise: rising prices for new homes

Short Sale Specialists: Sick Of Your Loan Mod Taking Forever? Why Not Contact Congress?

Thu, 26 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

We recently sent everyone in congress a fax about a certain large bank. They had done a lousy job on a short sale file. We waited 90 days for an answer on an offer. Get my Free, Step By Step Loan Modification Guide by clicking here. The buyer got impatient and walked. Fortunately we had a backup buyer. Instead of using the BPO that Freddie Mac paid for and reviewing the new offer, the negotiator closed the file. Freddie Mac, the owner of the loan, stands to lose $75 spent on the BPO and 90 days worth of interest. We estimate Freddie's loss over the delay to be around $1,249. Rather than just sit here and take abuse, we decided to stand up for ourselves. We found the entire list of fax numbers for congress, typed up a fax, and sent it out. If you loan mod is taking too long, then fax everyone in congress. Most many loans are federally insured or guaranteed. Examples are loans owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or insured by FHA, VA, and USDA. Uncle Sam is the backstop for a huge percentage of American Home Loans. That leaves these banks and servicers open to huge liability. If they mess up on a federally owned or insured mortgage, they are causing Uncle Sam to lose money. Send a fax and contact your congressperson and/or senators and let them know what is happening.

Thinking about a short sale? Our team can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at: ticknors@gosteveteam.com

We will contact you for a free consultation. When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at 503-336-6113. Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking: http://www.ShortSalesPortland.com

Thinking about a loan modification? Our loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click: http://portland-shortsales.com/ to request a copy. Also learn what mistakes to avoid with collection creditors. Thanks for reading this, Scott Ticknor Broker associate of The Steve Ticknor Team. Steve is a Real Estate Principle Broker at The Steve Ticknor Team with Keller Williams Realty Professionals. Short Sales Realtor: Phone: 503-336-6111 or ticknors@gosteveteam.com Where Portland Turns For Real Estate.

View My homes for sale at Portland Real Estate "Best Buys" http://www.gosteveteam.com/Properties.

Short Sales. Realtor. Copyright 2011 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Important Notice: Steve Ticknor Team, Keller Williams Realty Professionals, and the Stop Foreclosure Institute are not affiliated in any way, shape, or form with the government. Our services have not been reviewed or endorse by the government or your lender. Most lenders willingly work with agents on short sales. Why? Because most short sales are beneficial to a lender. If you accept our offer to help you on a short sale, your lender may not agree to a short sale or to modify your loan. We do offer a loan modification kit. However, the likelihood of negotiating a modification is like everything else in life. It takes work and persistence to convince your lender to modify your loan verses foreclosure. No matter what you or The Steve Ticknor Team does, your lender may not approve a loan modification. We do not recommend that you stop paying your mortgage, because this will cause further damage to your credit and could cause you to lose your home. Because we know avoiding foreclosure is so important to any homeowner, we recommend that you speak with the appropriate legal or tax advisor before making any decision. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional like The Steve Ticknor Team before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. You have the option to reject a short sale or loan modification from your lender if it does not meet your approval. If you decide not to go thru with the short sale, then you do not have to pay us our fee. We normally make a real estate sales commission for helping you on a short sale. The views expressed here are Ticknor Team's personal views and do not reflect the views of Keller Williams Realty Professionals. This information on Short Sales: "What is a BPO and why does it matter on a short sale?", is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions. 503-336-6111 today!

Portland Short Sales What to do when lender won't accept short sale offer

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Portland OR – Another agent asked me about a short sale. His seller owed 270k. The house was selling as a short sale for 170k. The lender had two opinions of the house value. They said the house was worth 220k. However, the agent thinks those are incorrect because the house has been on the open market for several months. In addition, similar homes have been selling for around 180k.

More Here

Short Sales: How To Negotiate Away Promissory Notes

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT

If your loan has Private Mortgage Insurance, also known as PMI, then there is a high likelihood that they will request that you sign a promissory note.

Today’s blog post talks about how to convince the lender to waive it.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.

PMI companies are notorious for asking for promissory notes. The reason they ask for them so much is because there is no risk in doing so. If the home is foreclosed upon, then they will have to pay a claim for the loss. If the home is sold as a short sale, then they will have to pay a claim for the loss. Either way, they have the same result. But, if they get a promissory note, then they get some money to help cover the claim. Either way, there is no risk to them. All that you have to do to avoid the PMI promissory note is show the PMI negotiator that the seller has no assets and does not have the ability to pay a promissory note. You want to speak directly with the PMI negotiator. If you must, then escalate the file to a supervisor. When they see the seller has no assets, they will still push for a promissory note. You have to hold firm and sometimes even threaten to go to the press. If you have made a good case and talked to the right people, then they will usually waive the promissory note. We have seen this done personally!

Thinking about a short sale? I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at ticknors@gosteveteam.com. I will contact you for a free consultation. When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at 503-336-6113 Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here. Thinking about a loan modification? Our loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy. Thanks for reading this, Steve Ticknor Team. Steve is a Real Estate Steve Ticknor Team at Keller Williams Realty Professionals. Short Sales Realtor: Phone: 503-336-6113. ticknors@gosteveteam.com. Where Portland Turns For Real Estate View My homes for sale at www.gosteveteam.com. Short Sales. Realtor. Copyright 2011 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Important Notice Steve Ticknor Team, Keller Williams Realty Professionals, and the Stop Foreclosure Institute are not associated or affiliated in any way, shape, or form with the government. Our services have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by the government or your lender. Most lenders willingly work with agents on short sales. Why? Because most short sales are beneficial to a lender. If you accept our offer to help you on a short sale, your lender may not agree to a short sale or to modify your loan. We do offer a loan modification kit. However, the likelihood of negotiating a modification is like everything else in life. It takes work and persistence to convince your lender to modify your loan. No matter what you or we do, your lender may not approve a loan modification. If you stop paying your mortgage, then you could lose your home and damage your credit. Because we know avoiding foreclosure is so important to any homeowner, we recommend that you speak with the appropriate legal or tax advisor before making any decision. Thinking about a short sale? Our team can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at ticknors@gosteveteam.com. We will contact you for a free consultation. When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at 503-336-6113. Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking Short Sales Portland. Thinking about a loan modification? Our loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click "Stop Foreclosure Institute of Portland" to request a copy. Also learn what mistakes to avoid with collection creditors. Thanks for reading this, Scott Ticknor Broker associate of The Steve Ticknor Team. Steve is a Real Estate Principle Broker at The Steve Ticknor Team with Keller Williams Realty Professionals. Short Sales Realtor: Phone: 503-336-6113. ticknors@gosteveteam.com. Where Portland Turns For Real Estate. View My homes for sale at Portland Real Estate "Best Buys". Short Sales. Realtor. Copyright 2011 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Important Notice: Steve Ticknor Team, Keller Williams Realty Professionals, and the Stop Foreclosure Institute are not affiliated in any way, shape, or form with the government. Our services have not been reviewed or endorse by the government or your lender. Most lenders willingly work with agents on short sales. Why? Because most short sales are beneficial to a lender. If you accept our offer to help you on a short sale, your lender may not agree to a short sale or to modify your loan. We do offer a loan modification kit. However, the likelihood of negotiating a modification is like everything else in life. It takes work and persistence to convince your lender to modify your loan verses foreclosure. No matter what you or The Steve Ticknor Team does, your lender may not approve a loan modification. We do not recommend that you stop paying your mortgage, because this will cause further damage to your credit and could cause you to lose your home. Because we know avoiding foreclosure is so important to any homeowner, we recommend that you speak with the appropriate legal or tax advisor before making any decision. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional like The Steve Ticknor Team before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. You have the option to reject a short sale or loan modification from your lender if it does not meet your approval. If you decide not to go thru with the short sale, then you do not have to pay us our fee. We normally make a real estate sales commission for helping you on a short sale. The views expressed here are Ticknor Team's personal views and do not reflect the views of Keller Williams Realty Professionals. This information on Short Sales: "What is a BPO and why does it matter on a short sale?", is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Avoid this mistake with debt collectors

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 10:08:00 GMT

Portland OR – I heard about a guy who got ripped off by a debt collector. The debt collector asked if he could pay them $500. He wanted to do the right thing. So he agreed to pay the $500. The debt collector sent him a form to make the payment thru his checking account. He filled out the form and signed off on it. The debt collector proceeded to completely drain his bank account.

They sucked out $1,800. This caused major financial problems for this guy. He couldn’t afford gas to get to work. The reason that the debt collector was able to get the extra $1,300 was the fine print on the bottom of their form. The moral of the story? Never give any of your financial information to a debt collector or anyone.

If you do settle with a debt collector, only send them a payment where they can’t track you. Use a money order. Money orders keep all of your bank account information private. You can buy one with cash or a debit card. The debt collector will never get your account information.

Never give any of your financial information to a debt collector. Do not send them info on your checking account, savings account, IRA, 401k, or any other financial account you have. Many state and federal laws often give a debt collector permission to take money out of your accounts, with or without your permission.

Unless you are a lawyer, you won’t know if or when they can take money. So you are simply better off never giving them your info. The debt collection company that I mentioned above is based out of Colorado. I don’t remember their name. They tried to collect from another person I know. They were very pushy. They only wanted his checking account info.

They wouldn’t accept any other payment method. It appears they use that tactic on everyone they call. Hope this helps you in your situation. Would you like to discuss your situation with me? You can call e-mail me at ticknors@gosteveteam.com or call me at (503) 336-6113.

Our Portland loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved. We show you how to prove to your lender that they will make more money by accepting your loan modification versus foreclosing on the house. They’re in the business of making money, right?

That is why this strategy works. Get more info on this strategy and the tools you need for a successful loan modification by clicking here.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thanks for reading this, Steve Ticknor Team.

Steve is a real estate agent at Keller Williams Realty Professionals.

Phone: (503) 336-6113. ticknors@gosteveteam.com.

Steve Ticknor Team specializes in loan modification assistance and short sales in Portland Oregon. Portland Loan Modification Help, Portland Short Sales.

Buyers Ready to Snatch Bargains This Spring

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 13:24:00 GMT

Daily Real Estate News | March 22, 2011 |

Bargain prices on housing combined with low interest rates below 5 percent may bring the real estate market its busiest spring season in years, economists say.

Distressed sales continue to put downward pressure on home prices, which may lure more buyers off the fence and ready to snag a deal during the typical prime-time buying season.

Some builders are ramping up discounts on new homes as well as boosting commissions to brokers to try to spark more transactions.

Sellers of existing-homes also are getting more competitive in pricing their homes.

"After three years of the housing downturn, people are becoming much more realistic in terms of valuing their homes," says Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of REALTORS®.

An improved job market with better income potential may also motivate more people to buy, says David Berson of the PMI Group.

“Household formations are also very important," Berson says. "Kids may have moved back in with their parents, or two people may have moved in together, because of job concerns. Now they can move into their own place."

While interest rates are sitting comfortably below 5 percent for now (30-year fixed rates averaged 4.76 percent last week), economists warn the attractive low rates won’t last long.

"Few think mortgage rates are going lower," says Mark Zandi, Moody's Analytics chief economist. "It's more likely they will be 6 percent than 4 percent next spring. This lights a fire under buyers."

Source: “Discounts Expected in Spring Housing Market,” The Wall Street Journal (March 22, 2011)

How To Preserve Your Credit During A Short Sale

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:31:00 GMT

If the right decision for you and your family is to sell the house as a short sale, then the sale will have an immediate effect on your credit score. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.

You might feel like it’s just overwhelming and demoralizing to see your credit score take any more hits! But, here’s the silver lining: according to most experts, 78% of Americans have ERRORS on their credit score. Why is that a silver lining? If you have negative errors on your report that get fixed, that will be a benefit to your score. Average people can, on their own, take steps to repair and restore their credit report/ credit score after a short sale.

Here is how to avoid any double whammies during and after your short sale. Follow these simple steps.

1. Review your credit report. I recommend the site: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp. Do not go to any of those “free credit report” sites. After you get the report, review everything on it. If you see anything that is negative, inaccurate, or questionable make a note of it. On your list, write down why you disagree with that item on your report.

2. Write letters to the different credit bureaus about what you are disputing on your report. There are several sample letters available online: http://www.creditinfocenter.com/forms. Here is a simple tip: DO NOT use the online dispute forms that are on the websites of the three credit reporting agencies. Write your own letter and make it short, firm, and demanding of action.

3. Mail your letters to the credit bureaus through either registered or certified mail. This is what sets the clock for them to correct issues. The law lays out a timeline that they have to follow (45 days.) And, this gives you a record of the mailing, too.

4. Keep a file of all that you have done, including dates. Then, track your results, also.

5. When you’ve gotten back responses (or if 45 days pass and you haven’t gotten responses), then it’s time to repeat some of the process again for some item or another on your report. If you are diligent and proactive, you might just surprise yourself by the benefits you can see in on your credit report – even after your short sale!

Thinking about a short sale? Our team can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at ticknors@gosteveteam.com. We will contact you for a free consultation. When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at 503-336-6113.

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking Short Sales Portland. Thinking about a loan modification? Our loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click "Stop Foreclosure Institute of Portland" to request a copy. Also learn what mistakes to avoid with collection creditors.

Thanks for reading this, Scott Ticknor Broker associate of The Steve Ticknor Team. Steve is a Real Estate Principle Broker at The Steve Ticknor Team with Keller Williams Realty Professionals. Short Sales Realtor: Phone: 503-336-6113. ticknors@gosteveteam.com. Where Portland Turns For Real Estate.

View My homes for sale at Portland Real Estate "Best Buys".

Important Notice: Steve Ticknor Team, Keller Williams Realty Professionals, and the Stop Foreclosure Institute are not affiliated in any way, shape, or form with the government. Our services have not been reviewed or endorse by the government or your lender. Most lenders willingly work with agents on short sales. Why? Because most short sales are beneficial to a lender. If you accept our offer to help you on a short sale, your lender may not agree to a short sale or to modify your loan. We do offer a loan modification kit. However, the likelihood of negotiating a modification is like everything else in life. It takes work and persistence to convince your lender to modify your loan verses foreclosure. No matter what you or The Steve Ticknor Team does, your lender may not approve a loan modification. We do not recommend that you stop paying your mortgage, because this will cause further damage to your credit and could cause you to lose your home. Because we know avoiding foreclosure is so important to any homeowner, we recommend that you speak with the appropriate legal or tax advisor before making any decision. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional like The Steve Ticknor Team before making any decision.

Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. You have the option to reject a short sale or loan modification from your lender if it does not meet your approval. If you decide not to go thru with the short sale, then you do not have to pay us our fee. We normally make a real estate sales commission for helping you on a short sale. The views expressed here are Ticknor Team's personal views and do not reflect the views of Keller Williams Realty Professionals. This information on Short Sales: "What is a BPO and why does it matter on a short sale?", is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

What is a BPO and why does it matter on a short sale?

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:58:00 GMT

Some agents hate short sales. Why? Because they don't understand them. So, don't believe them when they tell you that short sales are impossible. I will explain what causes their problems in today's post. There are two things you must understand if you are doing short sales. They are BPOs and HUD-1s. A BPO is what the short sale lender uses to determine the value of the property.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure at Short Sales Portland.

BPO stands for "Broker's Price Opinion." They are what another independant real estate agent (Broker), thinks a property is worth. Basically the agent gives their opinion of the value of the property. "I think it is worth 300k", they put on the report. Lenders accept or reject short sale offers based on the BPO value and tend to stick to it like it was the gospel. If the agent has given a value of 300k, then a short sale lender will not accept a sales price of 250k. The problem is that, in my opinion, sometimes the values are inaccurate and usually over market value. I have seen agents drive 50 miles away to evaluate a property in an area they are unfamiliar with. They go to a place where they do not sell real estate. As a result they are not familiar with the local marketplace.

Because of this I always try to meet the agent doing the BPO at the property. I explain the market value to them and tell them what is happening with the property. I explain exactly why the property is selling for the sale price and where offers might be coming in at (ballpark figures). I tell them what buyers have said about the property and why it isn't selling for a higher price. This helps them to give an accurate value. The lender gets an accurate value and is able to make a better, sometimes quick decision on the short sale.

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking short sales portland. Thinking about a loan modification? Our loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click "Stop Foreclosure Institute of Portland" to request a copy. Also learn what mistakes to avoid with collection creditors.

View My homes for sale at Portland Real Estate "Best Buys".

Important Notice: Steve Ticknor Team, Keller Williams Realty Professionals, and the Stop Foreclosure Institute are not affiliated in any way, shape, or form with the government. Our services have not been reviewed or endorse by the government or your lender. Most lenders willingly work with agents on short sales. Why? Because most short sales are beneficial to a lender. If you accept our offer to help you on a short sale, your lender may not agree to a short sale or to modify your loan. We do offer a loan modification kit. However, the likelihood of negotiating a modification is like everything else in life. It takes work and persistence to convince your lender to modify your loan verses foreclosure. No matter what you or The Steve Ticknor Team does, your lender may not approve a loan modification. We do not recommend that you stop paying your mortgage, because this will cause further damage to your credit and could cause you to lose your home. Because we know avoiding foreclosure is so important to any homeowner, we recommend that you speak with the appropriate legal or tax advisor before making any decision. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional like The Steve Ticknor Team before making any decision.

Short Sales Specialists: What can go bad on a short sale when you hire an agent that doesn't understand short sales

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 10:54:00 GMT

It always amazes me when I hear the stories of agents who talk about horrible short sales are. "Don't waste your time on a short sale", they tell homeowners. "They are a waste of time. The lenders won't approve them and the process is horrible. The last short sale I worked on took 9 months", they say.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.

This gives short sales a bad name. Homeowners mistakenly believe that a short sale is impossible. I am here to tell you that is not true. The Stop Foreclosure Institute has sold and closed many short sales. There are two keys to being successful. Stop Foreclosure Institute of Portland.

First, you have to understand how the process works. Second, you have to keep an eye on the transaction from start to finish. Here is the closest comparison I can think of on why some agents hate short sales. Let's say that you are a brand new driver. You hop into a car, accelerate to 70 miles per hours, turn on cruise control, and then start reading a book. Every 5 minutes or so you look up to check on what is going on with your car. You aren't successful at driving a car. Your friend is thinking about learning how to drive. "Don't even think about driving a car. Driving just doesn't work and it is impossible to get anywhere", you tell them. Is what you just said correct? Is driving a car impossible? No, it's not! But, many agents make the same claim about short sales. They have never studied and learned the process. They have never successfully sold a short sale. But, they are sure ready to tell you that it doesn't work. Here is what they missed about short sales.

1. You need to be knowledgeable about the process. You need to have a solid understanding of HUD-1s, BPOs, and the short sale guidelines of the entity that owns or insures the loan.

2. You have to stick with the transaction. You need to follow up with the short sale lender regularly. You can't check in on the short sale every week or two. A lender will often ask for something and want it back within 24 hours. If they don't get what they need, then they will close the file. If you agent isn't checking in regularly, then the short sale file could be closed without their knowledge. In addition, your agent needs to be able to make sure the HUD-1s and BPOs are accurate. I will explain what those acronyms mean and why they are important in my next post. Ask the agent you are interviewing why they are important.

Thanks for reading this from The Steve Ticknor Team. Steve and Scott Ticknor are Real Estate Brokers in the state of Oregon at Keller Williams Realty Professionals.

Short Sales Realtor: Phone: 503-336-6113. ticknors@gosteveteam.com. Where Portland Turns For Real Estate.

View My homes for sale at Go Steve Team.

Short Sales. Realtor. Copyright 2010 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. The views expressed here are Steve Ticknor Team's personal views and do not reflect the views of Keller Williams Realty Professionals. This information on Short Sales: What can go bad on a short sale when you hire an agent that doesn't understand short sales is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Sellers Fare Better With Agents

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 11:49:00 GMT

Survey:Sellers have a better chance at getting their house sold by using a REALTOR® than opting for the do-it-yourself approach, according to a survey of 1,000 home owners by HomeGain.com, an online real estate resource. Nearly 60 percent of home owners who used a REALTOR® to sell their home were successful compared to 39 percent of FSBOs, the survey found.

In the survey, 83 percent of home owners said they used a REALTOR® to sell their home, whereas 17 percent said they tried to sell it themselves. This corresponds to results from NAR's 2010 Profile of Buyers & Sellers, which found 88 percent of sellers were assisted by a real estate agent. (Additionally, 83 percent of buyers bought their home through an agent.)

“It is especially striking that home owners fare significantly better in selling their homes using a REALTOR® than selling on their own,” says Louis Cammarosano, general manager at HomeGain. “Due to that relative success, the level of satisfaction in the home selling process is also higher for home sellers utilizing the services of a REALTOR® than those who try to sell their homes on their own.”

Among the findings in its For Sale by Owner vs. REALTOR® survey:

88 percent of home owners who sold their homes using a REALTOR® said they would use a REALTOR® again.
24 percent of FSBOs eventually contacted a REALTOR® to help sell their home.

See our "Best Buy" homes: http://www.gosteveteam.com/Properties or call 503-336-6111

Source: “HomeGain Survey Finds Home Sellers Fare 50% Better in Getting Their Homes Sold Using a REALTOR® Than Selling on Their Own” HomeGain.com (Feb. 24, 2011)