Halloween, Halloween, oh what funny things are seen…Witches hats, cold black cats, Fannie and Freddie too…Homes sinking, rates as well, and banks telling buyers to go to hell!

The Buyer’s market is shrinking a little and “traditional Sellers” are still in a ’sufferin’ state. What a dilemma for them, especially those who had (they thought), built up huge equity in their homes, so they could sell about now and use that equity for retirement.  And…what about those that made sizable down payments, kept their noses clean and have to move now, due to job relocation…trapped? It’s scary, this Real Estate market today.

Trick or treat?  Guess it’ll have to be more tricks, (by Fannie, Freddie, the Banks and the FED), but…no treats this year…and…maybe not for many years to come?

While, in my opinion, all the above, along with the Dodd-Frank debacle, are most to blame. And hey, I was there in 2002-2006, when buyers jumped on the “no doc loan” wagon, and bit off more than they knew they could chew…they can be included in the “blame game,” as well.  Take a look at the HARP program that projected four to five million people would refi by now; only 894,000 did…and…70,000 of those are still underwater…what a program hey?  The news media will say; “only 894k took advantage of the program,” a politico bunch of BS. They don’t tell us how many were turned down…and…not one of us know exactly what is required to qualify, do we?  Should we?  Does the media even know?

I read today, in the WSJ, that Obama, has a new program that will provide immense help to the mtge crisis. People whose mtge is insured by Fannie or Freddie (if your mtge is insured by someone else…or..not insured, you will not qualify), and…who have not missed more than one payment over the last year…and…who have not missed a payment in the last six months, will have a shot at this program.

Soooo, let’s look at this big deal.  If the banks are forced to refi a huge number of the loans, reducing them to market value, that will greatly reduce the balance sheet of these banks, making their stock less attractive.  Yes…no?  Then, if they are forced to do all this refi thing, and reduce their balance sheets, how excited will they be to make new loans?   Will we see another pulling back and/or stricter qualifying conditions for potential buyers? I’d bet on it.  The mess is a mess to recon with, and before the govt comes along with any new deals, these should be carefully thought out and wrung out before put into effect.

How do the banks treat people now, regarding refi? I have a client, great young gal, has a key executive position as an Underwriter for a large re-insurer.  Over the past five years, she has corrected her credit rating from a very low number to the high 700’s.  Not bad ‘eh?  She’s paying over 6% on a 200k mtge, on a home that’s probably, at best, worth 150k to as low as 135k.  The bank won’t play!  What?!  The bank won’t play.  They say she makes too much money.  So through the maniacal approach by the banks, back in the 2000 to 2006 era, they inflated the value of her home to a fantasy level, in a greedy play to expand their vaults, they now tell her she doesn’t count…she can keep paying the 6+% rate.  Your call here…is this fair trade, and…America at its’ best?  Huh?

Really, folks, when we read that the govt, or the FED, is doing this or that, do we get any solid, clear details?  Do they think we’re all jerks, dumbbells staggering around?  Why not send your opine to some of these sources…let’s get on their backs…hey media, give us the whole story, without your opinionated BS.

On a more positive note; we have been helping buyers get outstanding deals on distressed and traditional homes.  We have the tools, experience and skills to get you where you want to be with a home purchase.  In any market, but especially this market, you also need good loan, title, and inspection professionals who can help you to your goal; we have that all in place for you too.

We welcome all opinions and stories about your Real Estate results, good or bad.  How ’bout it gang, got anything you care to contribute?

Hope this is a good day for you!

Ed Klein

Investors are waiting in line for the opportunity to buy REO packages they can fix up to sell or rent out…but…Fannie Mae says there are no plans to offer them to these investors.  Put in the hands of investors, to sell or rent out, leads to more jobs.  Isn’t that a good idea?  Homes priced where first time buyers can get in a home, not a worthwhile idea?

And BOFA, with Buffet’s $5 billion infusion, after the enormous bank bail out…what are they up to?  Oh, payback for all the help?  Cutting 30,000 jobs…that’s the pay back?  You OK with that?

And Barney and the boys want to make the banks more accountable, offering them more ‘Regs’ that slow the whole process down and increase the cost to do business, screwing up the economy more yet…what the hay?  Barney wanted to “roll the dice a little longer,” back in 2003.  Apparently, the Fed and other powers did too?  A 30 page paper written by analyst, Josh Rosner, after his research of nearly a decade and after he read the study by Graham Fisher & Co., pointed out that the reckless underwriting at that time, would lead to a catastrophe of enormous proportion in the years ahead.  He wrote that this would lead to run-away prices in the housing market that would then lead to negative equity, most folks would not be able to withstand.  Did Barney and his cohorts take heed?  How about Fannie Mae, did anyone there take this seriously?  Well, at least one person read it.  But, then, she made an angry call to Graham Fisher & Company, harping that they were messed up and that they should have called her at Fannie (she is Jayne Shontell, and was head of investor relations at Fannie), before it got around.  She’s probably since then, made an apology call to them and commended them on their insight?  Yeah, right!

Care to know more? Read pages 219 - 237 of “Reckless Endangerment,” in fact, read the whole book, you’ll be glad you did!  Get the names of many of the other “Playa’s,” Playa’s that played with our money, not theirs, Playa;s that made big time money in the game, and it was a game!

I just read in the WSJ, that 500,000 foreclosures are sitting on the bank’s books now…and…it’s estimated that 4 to 5 million home owners are now more than 90 days delinquent.  What’s your best guess…how many of these home owners will pull it out, survive this financial dilemma? My best guess is 5% to 10%.  Ask any bank auditor what they think.

Have they learned from past mistakes?  FHA will now go as high as 52% for the debt to income ratio, used to underwrite a mortgage, provided, the applicant has good credit. You OK with that?  Let’s look at a scenario.  Take a couple with two kids, making a combined income of $75k/yr.  52% of that = $39k/yr.  But that’s on gross wages.  If they pay just 10% for Fed and State income taxes, they have $5,625/mo, less $2,925/mo for their mortgage payment and all other debt = $2,700 left over for all other living costs.  If their health and life Ins. is no more than $1k/mo, utilities no more than $200/mo, food for four no more than $800/mo (USDA moderate budget), $125/mo for auto Ins., they still have $575/mo left for; auto and home upkeep, clothes, school supplies and or tuition, entertainment, savings, vacation, emergencies…get the picture?

So, the game is still on…what were they thinking then, what are they thinking now?

There is some good news though; if you can buy real estate now, there is a huge inventory of “Super Deals” out there today, and will be for years to come.

What do you think?  We’d love to hear from you.

Ed

Boy ‘O Boy ‘O Boy…They think you should pay through the nose….and…for what?

Care to read about a sad, sad story, a story about greed and misery for both the sellers and buyers?  Take note; don’t let something like this happen to you!

When a home is sold, especially in this deranged and busted up market these days, the buyers often request that the seller pay a % of the buyers closing costs…generally 3%.

For example, say the home is sold for $300k and the buyers want the seller to pay 3% ($9,000.00) for their closing costs.  If the sellers go along, that means the sellers are actually getting only $291k for the home.

Now…the selling agent is getting the predetermined commission of 2.7% of the selling price , and the listing agent is getting 3.3%, if the listing agent is charging the norm of 6%.  (Obviously not a MetroHomesMarket.com listing…our top end is just 5%.)

So, you tell me, should the listing agent charge his sellers 3.3% of the sale price…or…3.3% of the gross net to his sellers, the $291k they’re actually getting.  Should the listing agent charge a commission for money the sellers don’t get?  Should the selling agent expect to get paid a commission for the $9k the sellers aren’t getting?  what’s reasonable, what’s fair, your call here.

Whadja decide?  

Here’s what we think; commissions should be based on the gross net to the seller, the $291k. But, I can tell you, 99.9% of the Realtors out there expect to be paid a commission for the money the seller doesn’t get.  When we list and sell a home, our fee is based on gross net to the sellers.  We can’t imagine the audacity of Realtors taking their clients down, for money their sellers don’t get.  We can’t imagine a selling agent expecting commission on money the sellers gave up.  When representing a buyer, we don’t expect the seller to pay us commission on money they’re giving up.

Know what?  They pull this greedy act all the time. 

When you list with a Broker, other than MetroHomesMarket.com, tell them that when you sell, you will not pay commission on any “seller paid concessions.”  Not to the listing nor to the selling Broker.  Get it in writing!

I had  a deal recently, where the sellers’ gave all they had or could give in the transaction, and the buyers’ did the same.  But the selling agent insisted they get paid on the $10,050 that the sellers’ contributed for the buyers’ closing costs = 2.7% x $10,050 (the sellers were contributing for the buyers’ closing costs) = $271.35  Wow!  Wow!  How did they earn this?

Let us know what you think…drop us a line below.

One more thing…your call again: When the market was really swinging and prices were inflated, many agents still charged 7% to list a home, even though they were knockin down big commissions for “Bubble” prices.  So, here we are today, with deflated prices, and guess what…many of them are now charging 7% because, as they say, “deflated prices have reduced our commissions, so we have to charge more.”  Does that work for you?  We’d like to know, shoot us your take on all this stuff.

We’re here to help both buyers and sellers win.  Our Fee-For-Service approach will help you save thousands, whether you’re buying or selling.  Give us a call, can’t hurt to talk?

Ed Klein (651-770-5000)

Real Estate Marketing:  Start like Elmer-Fudd blazing a shotgun at “that pesky wabbit”

Marketing has many connotations to it, depending on who you talk to: those that have spend every dime in their pocket to market a new business to no avail; those that have MBA Degree and can recite the famous 4-P’s of marketing (Product, Price, Place & Promotion); those that have a creative bent and see marketing as an endeavor in communicating through images; and those that have no idea what I am talking about and would like some assistance and direction in how to market their home to sell.

Like Elmer-Fudd, most individuals and real estate agents for that matter, consider marketing an effort to broadcast to the largest possible audience, at the cheapest cost, to try and land a prospective buyer for their property. Real estate agents do this everyday, when they list a home on the MLS - Multiple Listing Service, and wait…in hopes, that a prospective buyer will be hit on the MLS. Did Elmer Fudd ever get “that pesky wabbit”? Need I say more…?

Today, consumers are smarter, wiser and have many more tools at their disposal to search and find a home of their dreams, than to just rely on one single source, the MLS, to find their home of choice. In fact, consumers tend to use tools that are relevant to themselves, in terms of their social status and life stage. For example, a twenty something female may reach out to her social network on Facebook and receive links from friends and family via Twitter. Or, a 50 year old female that falls in the upper 5% income bracket, may reach for her local community magazine, like MSP Magazine or chat about it with her social network at her next Bunco game.

Whatever the marketing medium, tool or tactic, be sure you have a target audience in mind when selling your home. This can be defined in developing a strategy to sell your home. Strategy is the execution of a carefully thought out plan to achieve an ultimate goal. In this case, I am suggesting you put together a marketing strategy to determine what you are going to do to communicate with a targeted audience to achieve that sale of your home.

When you target your message to a particular audience, you have a more focused message that will have a greater impact on the entire social and life stage group. In fact, the communications within these social and life stage groups can be so compelling, that the dependence that consumers once had on a single source, like the MLS, has begun to change the entire real estate industry.

Next time you’re thinking about marketing your home to sell, look us up for a consultation, we’ll give you the straight scoop on marketing your home to sell.

Have you ever seen ads for pricing your home…”Free service, just sign up and receive your free home analysis.”  Did you wonder what the catch was…whether you’d really get the free analysis?

Well, most of these sites direct your inquiry to an agent who has purchased a zip code, city or county, as an ‘exclusive’ arrangement for obtaining leads.  That’s right - the e-mail or call you’ll get will be from the agent who made this deal with the site owner.  No problem…if you’re OK with that but if you thought you we’re not going to be on an agent’s radar, not so good?

Most any Broker will give you a “CMA,” (comparative market analysis) for your home.  Some will require you let them visit your home and they’ll come armed with their ’sign here’ listing agreement.  Others will e-mail it to you and follow up to try to get your listing.  Hardly ever will you get an e-mail with the info you requested and no strings attached.  Now the home visit is important as whatever amenities you might have could add to the value…things like granite counter tops, ceramic baths, new appliances, etc.

I remember years ago, working with one of these sites, and the surprise and alarm the homeowners displayed when I called. (A very watered-down description of their reaction.)  I cancelled the service as I felt it violated the homeowner’s goals.

Many of these sites host tutoring seminars aimed at teaching the agents how to sneak up on these unaware home owners.  Clever stuff, this?

Here’s what we do here but before I get to that, here’s what you should know about this game:  Realtors don’t get paid to do these evaluations…unless you’re willing to pay them?  Realtors often do a lot of work for nothing and they, much like yourself, don’t like to work for nothing…right?  Realtors are concerned that they’ll do this work for you and find you’re really not ready to sell but were just curious about what your home might sell for…if you were going to sell it.  Or, they’re concerned that they will give you the data you need and you’ll then call some other Realtor to sell your home.  Could happen, right?  So, what’s the answer, how do you get what you want without paying for it or being hassled to list your home with a Realtor you don’t even know?

Simple solution, call us…no obligation on your part…straight forward honest ‘CMA’ will be done for you.  And, when we visit your home, we do not have anything for you to sign.  You’ll get the info you asked for within 24 hours.  We feel that if we treat people with dignity and respect, providing this service without a ‘hitch,’ when they’re ready to sell they’ll get back to us.  So, fear not, no funny stuff, just good and accurate service you can depend on!

So if you’re considering the sale of your home, check it out ASAP…most industry sources feel that a lot more foreclosures will come in the next few months, putting  additional downward pressure on home prices.  Also, in this part of the country, home sales are the highest between now and July.  Again, check it out…can’t hurt to be informed?

Buyers have only two weeks to identify the home they want and get a purchase offer in place, in order to get the govt. tax break.  Why pass on a $6,500 (buyers who have not bought a home in the last five years) to $8,000 check or tax credit from the govt.?  This is big…get your share.  You have to have a signed deal before the end of this month and a close date by the end of June.  The clock is ticking and we know we can find the home you want within the next two weeks.  Give us a call and take advantage of our ‘cooperative search’ process, whereby you also get extra cash when you close on your new home.

Any stories you care to share with our readers?  We’d love to hear from you.  Just click on the title of this post and a comment box will open.

Ed (651-770-5000)