Charlotte

The Rescue

Charlotte

Making An Offer on a Short Sale? What You Need To Know!

This is a helpful article in Realtor magazine provided by Ed Butler of Starkey Mortgage.

Are you looking to buy a new home? Are you thinking that now’s a great time to find bargains? Before you make an offer, it pays to know a little about the seller’s situation.

If a home is being sold for below what the current seller owes on the property—and the seller does not have other funds to make up the difference at closing—the sale is considered a short sale. Many more home owners are finding themselves in this situation due to a number of factors, including job losses, aggressive borrowing against their home in the days of easy credit, and declining home values in a slower real estate market.

A short sale is different from a foreclosure, which is when the seller’s lender has taken title of the home and is selling it directly. Homeowners often try to accomplish a short sale in order to avoid foreclosure. But a short sale holds many potential pitfalls for buyers. Know the risks before you pursue a short-sale purchase.

You’re a good candidate for a short-sale purchase if:

You’re very patient. Even after you come to agreement with the seller to buy a short-sale property, the seller’s lender (or lenders, if there is more than one mortgage) has to approve the sale before you can close. When there is only one mortgage, short-sale experts say lender approval typically takes about two months. If there is more than one mortgage with different lenders, it can take four months or longer for the lenders to approve the sale.

Your financing is in order. Lenders like cash offers. But even if you can’t pay all cash for a short-sale property, it’s important to show you are well qualified and your financing is set. If you’re preapproved, have a large down payment, and can close at any time, your offer will be viewed more favorably than that of a buyer whose financing is less secure.

You don’t have any contingencies. If you have a home to sell before you can close on the purchase of the short-sale property—or you need to be in your new home by a certain time—a short sale may not be for you. Lenders like no-contingency offers and flexible closing terms.

If you’re serious about purchasing a short-sale property, it’s important for you to have expert assistance. Here are some people you want to work with:

Experienced real estate attorney. Only about two out of five short sales are approved by lenders. But a good real estate attorney who’s knowledgeable about the short-sale process will increase your chances getting an approved contract. Also, if you want any provisions or very specialized language written into the purchase contract, a real estate attorney is essential throughout the negotiation.

A qualified real estate professional.* You may have a close friend or relative in real estate, but if that person doesn’t know anything about short sales, working with him or her may hurt your chances of a successful closing. Interview a few practitioners and ask them how many buyers they’ve represented in a short sale and, of those, how many have successfully closed. A qualified real estate professional will be able to show you short-sale homes, help negotiate the purchase when you find the property you want to buy, and smooth communications with the lender. (All MLSs permit, and some now require, special notations to indicate that a listing is a short sale. There also are certain phrases you can watch for, such as “lender approval required.”)

Title officer. It’s a good idea to have a title officer do an initial title search on a short-sale property to see all the liens attached to the property. If there are multiple lien holders (e.g., second or third mortgage or lines of credit, real estate tax lien, mechanic’s lien, homeowners association lien, etc.), it’s much tougher to get that short sale contract to the closing table. Any of the lien holders could put a kink in the process even after you’ve waited for months for lender approval. If you don’t know a title officer, your real estate attorney or real estate professional should be able to recommend a few.

Some of the other risks faced by buyers of short-sale properties include:

Potential for rejection. Lenders want to minimize their losses as much as possible. If you make an offer tremendously lower than the fair market value of the home, chances are that your offer will be rejected and you’ll have wasted months. Or the lender could make a counteroffer, which will lengthen the process.

Bad terms. Even when a lender approves a short sale, it could require that the sellers sign a promissory note to repay the deficient amount of the loan, which may not be acceptable to some financially desperate sellers. In that case, the sellers may refuse to go through with the short sale. Lenders also can change any of the terms of the contract that you’ve already negotiated, which may not be agreeable to you.

No repairs or repair credits. You will most likely be asked to take the property “as is.” Lenders are already taking a loss on the property and may not agree to requests for repair credits.

The risks of a short sale are considerable. But if you have the time, patience, and iron will to see it through, a short sale can be a win-win for you and the sellers.

* Not all real estate practitioners are REALTORS®. A REALTOR® is a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and is bound by NAR’s strict code of ethics.

Note: This article provides general information only. Information is not provided as advice for a specific matter. Laws vary from state to state. For advice on a specific matter, consult your attorney or CPA.

  

The Ed Butler Team is one of our preferred lenders. If you would like more information on purchasing a Short Sale property, please contact me today 704-968-1965 for a free consultation.  The Carolina Realty Team and the Ed Butler Team are working together to ensure your next Real Estate transaction is a successful and hassle free experience.

Charlotte

Boating on Lake Wylie, Part 5

December on Lake Wylie is a completely different experience than boating during the summer months.  There  are only a few boats out on the water. The lake itself is still beautiful with wildlife and scenic views. 

 

 

 

Interested in waterfront property?  Call Becky Smith of RE/MAX Metro and the Carolina Realty Team at 803-804-3375 or e-mail Becky@CarolinaRealtyTeam.com.

Charlotte

Renovation Returns

Charlotte

Twelve Tactics to Become a Savvy Saver

Spend Less:

• Wait 30 days before buying anything you don’t absolutely need; chances are the urge to buy it will pass if you wait, and if not, you may find the item on sale.
• Avoid temptation by opting out of catalogs or e-mail announcements from companies trying to sell you things you don’t really need.
• Purchase birthday and holiday gifts throughout the year and keep them in a designated box or closet; making a list of every one’s special occasion needs will make it easy to take advantage of sales.
• Try frugal gift-giving, like giving the gift of spending time with someone, giving something you baked or made yourself or helping them out with a project; it doesn’t have to cost a lot to be a generous gift.
• Create a sleeve for your credit card(s) with pictures of things you really care about to remind you of what you are saving for…or the debt you’re paying off.
• Exchange your books, DVDs, CDs, video games and other items with friends and family, or use an online service to swap or sell.

Spend Smart:

• Prevent unnecessary or poor-quality home and auto repairs by finding skilled, honest professionals from a trusted source.
• Evaluate your cell phone plan options regularly to make sure they match your needs; check to see if another plan would save you money. Also get rid of the excess channels on your cable package that you rarely watch; it’s cheaper to rent a movie once in a while.
• Start shopping for airline tickets about four months before departure; look for trends and use technology like e-mail alerts to help you see when your destination has the cheapest airfare.
• Use flexible spending accounts to pay certain medical, dental and child care expenses using pre-tax dollars; check with your HR department for more information.
• Save on your insurance premiums by paying them annually or semi-annually instead of monthly or quarterly.

• Consider buying pre-owned; you can buy almost anything in a resale environment locally or online at a great price.

Don’t Get Ripped Off.

With businesses focused on increasing profits, it’s an everyday battle to hold onto your hard earned dollars.

Consider These Facts:

• Banks, thrifts and credit unions take in billions each year on fees. In 2006, they took in $36 billion, up from $24.4 billion in 2000.
• In 2003, credit card companies made $20.7 billion in credit card fees.
• The value of unused gift cards was estimated to be $8 billion in 2006.
• A recent study by Consumer Reports found that 25 percent of rebates are never claimed.
• Approximately 78 percent of cell phone minutes paid for remain unused.

There are many ways to save money these days. Buying Real Estate is still a great investment and it is important to take advantage of the new Tax Credits that are available if you qualify for them. Please contact me at 704-968-1965  for more information on the new Tax Credits available and to see if you qualify.  Don’t wait to long. Rates are still low, but they will not be for long.

Charlotte

Countdown to Lake Wylie Boat Parade

Lake Wylie boat parade is only 6 days away!  Make your  plans to enjoy the Christmas lights  on the lake  at this years event!

http://www.lakewyliesc.com/

Looking for property in the Lake Wylie area?  Call Becky Smith of RE/MAX Metro and Carolina Realty Team at 803-804-3375 or e-mail Becky@CarolinaRealtyTeam.com.

Charlotte

First-time Homebuyers Leading Market Back

Housing recovery is being propelled by affordability, bringing entry-level buyers back into the market.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Propelled by the first-time homebuyers tax credit, nearly half of home sales are now being made by first-time purchasers, according to an industry report released Friday.

In fact, 47% of all Americans who purchased homes this year had not owned one during the previous three years, according to a press release Friday from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That was up from 41% of sales in 2008 and 36% in 2006.

The tax credit boosted markets by giving first-time buyers a credit of up to $8,000 they could deduct from their income taxes. The credit is fully refundable: Even a buyer who pays less than $8,000 in income tax gets the full amount of the credit back.

The credit was recently extended through the middle of 2010 and expanded to include many existing homeowners. That has the industry buzzing.

“The credit is working better than first projected — it now looks like we’ll have 2.3 to 2.4 million first-time buyers this year,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR. “With expansion of the tax credit to additional buyers through the middle of next year, and no major unforeseen events impacting the economy, home prices should rise between 3% and 5% in 2010.”

NAR forecasts that existing-home sales will total slightly over 5 million in 2009, a 2% increase compared with 2008. Next year, they predict a gain of 13.6% to 5.69 million units. That should draw down inventory and prop up home prices, according to Yun, but, he cautioned: “Risks, such as unemployment, remain.”

Critics of the tax credit call it a poorly targeted method of boosting sales. The credit added, by nearly the most positive evaluations — including NAR’s — fewer than 400,000 sales to the total this year, about 20% of all first-time purchases.

Since all first-timers get the credit, whether it persuaded them to buy or not, that would mean about $40,000 was spent by the government for every extra sale, critics say.

Indeed, many in the industry trace the improvement in the housing market to much better affordability, rather than the tax credit.

Not only have home prices fallen more than 30% from their peak, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price index, but mortgage rates have remained extremely low all year, keeping monthly payments low.

Most sales have been of existing homes. New home sales, as well as new home construction, have remained mired in the doldrums.

NAR predicts total new home sales will total a mere 397,000 this year, rising to 549,000 in 2010. During the housing boom, new home sales were far higher, more than 1.35 million in 2005, for example.

While new home sales are still very low, the inventory of new homes for sale has been dropping. That’s because very few new homes are being built. Existing home inventory has also fallen a bit.

“We’ve seen a steady downtrend in housing inventory for well over a year,” said Yun.

Any home price rise will also have a healthy impact on the foreclosure plague. Falling prices are a major contributing factor driving foreclosures. As home values fall, homeowners are less able and less likely to continue to make monthly payments.

Mortgage borrowers often fall behind because there’s no home equity cushion to tap should they run into unexpected expenses.

Too, when home values really plummet and owners fall way underwater, owing far more than their home is worth, it sometimes makes good financial sense to give up trying to pay for the home.

Under those conditions, some homeowners simply walk away. 

Charlotte

Lake Wylie Boat Parade

 

Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce

^21st Annual “Lights on the Lake”

 Holiday Boat Parade

presented by

 Wendy’s,

T-Bones on the Lake, Light-N-Up Houseboat

and

Bi-Lo - Lake Wylie

 

Parade Begins Saturday at 6:30 p.m. December 12, 2009

Buster Boyd Bridge at T-Bones – Lake Wylie

   

 

For  a list of  Waterfront Properties for sale on Lake Wylie, call Becky Smith of RE/MAX Metro and Carolina Realty Team at 803-804-3375 or e-mail Becky@CarolinaRealtyTeam.com.

 

 

 

Charlotte

Waterfront Property Boat Tours on Lake Wylie, SC

The Carolina Realty Team is now offering Waterfront Property Boat Tours to qualified buyers.

One way we offer our clients excellent Customer Service is to provide a complimentary Waterfront Property Boat Tour on Lake Wylie. Choosing a home on waterfront property is exciting, but sometimes challenging. When viewing the home from the water, it can help make the decision process a little easier.

Please contact our office at 803-802-0640 for more details on how to attend a Waterfront Property Boat Tour.

Charlotte

1951 Huntington Place Rock Hill, SC

The Carolina Realty Team Presents: 1951 Huntington Place

The price on this home has just been reduced. Please call for details.

Located in Huntington Place

• 3 Bedrooms
• 2 Bathrooms
• 3+ Parking Spaces

Almost New, Short Sale, subject to bank approval, large rear deck, covered front porch, hardwood type floors, ceiling fan, nice size master bedroom with a walk-in closet, great location & close to the hospital.

Directions: S-77 exit Hwy 161 toward York, T/L India Hook, pass hospital, T/R Steeplechase, go 1 block, T/L, 1 block  T/R.

For more information on this home or to schedule a showing, please call John Somjak at 704-619-8300.

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