My New Blog

Just came back from my office's monthly sales meeting.  My manager shared a statistical report with us showing how average prices in our area for the summer quarter compared with the same time period last year.  It was obvious that prices are down--especially for condos.  What a tragedy for those who are trying to sell their condo, especially if they wanted to use their equity to get into a single family home!  On the other hand, if you're a buyer in the market, there's a heckuva sale going on!

The other thing the stats pointed out was that not all areas of the Cincinnati metropolitan area are seeing the same type of market.  Inner belt neighborhoods seem to be much more stable than the suburbs at this point.  I suppose that may have to do with the older area's limited supply of homes as opposed to the suburbs where contruction is busily turning out more and more units, but it's interesting to me that most cities die from the inside, and right now Cincinnati is enjoying something of an urban renewal.

Today I received my subscription email from REBAC (Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council) which contained a link to an article outlining FHA's new plan to help some of the borrowers who are flirting with foreclosure due to a reset on their ARM.  The plan is called FHASecure, and it won't help everyone, but if certain conditions are met, some borrowers who fell behind when their rates adjusted and their payments went sky-high will be able to refinance at a fixed lower rate.  I'm just passing this along in the hope that someone out there reading this will be able to use the information.  Here's the link to the article.

http://bankrate.com/brm/news/mortgages/FHA_bailout_a1.asp

Bank-owned properties

As everyone knows, we are seeing a lot more bank-owned properties on the market these days.  For many people, the first thing that comes to mine regarding bank-owned properties is "bargain."  That can be the case, but it's not always easy to complete the transaction.  I am currently in the process of helping a client purchase a bank-owned condo, and after several weeks of being involved in the process, my client looked at me with frustration in her eyes and asked plaintively, "Is this normal?"

 Giving her a short answer to that wasn't easy.  There is no such thing as "normal" in reference to bank-owned properties.  First, THEY tell YOU how much earnest money you're going to give them, and they may insist that you get prequalified with the lender of THEIR choice before they will even look at your offer.  Then they present you with an intimidating stack of paperwork that appears to take away all your negotiating ability and give you lots more responsibility than most people are accustomed to in more traditional transactions.  Then and ONLY then will they consider your offer.  Maybe they'll get back to you in a timely fashion, and maybe they won't.  It rarely has anything to do with the contract dates you write in your offer.  More likely their answer will be scheduled around the business hours of their department, their work load, vacation schedules, and who knows what else.  Maybe you won't get a response at all.  If you are fortunate enough to get a response, it will most likely be a counter-offer, or maybe a notice that they have received multiple offers and they will entertain all highest and best offers from all parties at some future date.  Once you get an accepted contract, it will probably be a verbal acceptance at first, and you'll have to wait as long as it takes to receive a copy of the executed contract before you can set about scheduling inspections.  On the other hand, they will definately hold you to the closing date you wrote in your offer, no matter that THEIR processes have slowed the whole progression down.  Too bad if that inconveniences you, but if you take longer than you said you would to close, they may decide to sell it to someone else.  At the very least, you'll be paying a per diem fine for every day past the original closing date you go. 

Every transaction is different, but my advice to my client and anyone else considering looking at foreclosures is " expect the unexpected."  Be persistent, patient, and flexible--and of course, get yourself a good Realtor.  If you're in Cincinnati, I volunteer!