originally posted on Real Estate Brokerages

The following is a true story that happened here in Charleston, SC — if this can happen in Charleston, SC, it can happen anywhere:

There was a FSBO (for sale by Owner) sign on an ocean front lot on the Isle of Palms.  Potential purchasers (we will call them, the Browns) called on the lot and discovered that they were only asking $500,000 when all other ocean front lots were going for pretty close to $1,000,000. The Browns got really excited- asked the “sellers” why it was being sold so low and the Browns were told that they had financial difficulty, so needed to dump the lot.  The Browns wrote a cash offer to close quickly — they did not want to miss the great opportunity.

The Browns selected an attorney to handle the closing for them.  During the title search, a small red flag appeared and the title searcher sensed something wrong.  The attorney had the police at the closing when the “sellers” walked in.  The “sellers” were not the real owners of the lot.  The actual owners of the lot lived out of town and knew nothing about this sale. By the way, the “sellers” had fake identification.

Now, had this attorney not sensed something wrong and had closed the deal, the buyers would have been out of $500,000.  Also the buyers, if they had not purchased owner’s title insurance, they would have been at a total loss.  However, if they had purchased owner’s title insurance, their investment would have been protected by the owner’s title insurance.

As I have said, every purchaser needs owner’s title insurance.  If the purchasers are financing the property, the lender is going to require Lender’s title insurance.  I tell buyers all the time, “Hello!!! why do you think the lenders require title insurance?”

If the owner’s title insurance is purchased at the same time as the lender’s title insurance, there is a reduced fee for the purchaser (called a simultaneous issue)

For goodness sakes, all you Realtors® out there, be sure that your purchasers obtain owner’s title insurance.

Will have another story for you tomorrow.

Liz Loadholt

Broker, SC Certified Trainer, Relocation Director
Co-founder of AgentOwned Realty ]

Liz@AgentOwned.com

http://mamaliz.onlineaor.com

843-725-5007

The AgentOwned Realty serves your real estate needs for:

Charleston, Johns Island, James Island, Mt. Pleasant,
Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island, Daniel Island, North Charleston,
Summerville,Goose Creek, Moncks Corner, Santee, Manning, Sumter, Florence, & Myrtle Beach, all in South Carolina

How to Get SC Real Estate License	How to Make More of Your Commissions
Interested in Money for Retirement?(Estate Plan)	Where are the AgentOwned Office Locations?
Interested in Training?	If interested, Who Should I talk to?
Interested in complete Freedom & Independence?	Email Mama Liz

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Let’s Get Connected!

If you’re looking for homes for sale in Midtown Tulsa, OK or just need more information on Midtown Tulsa Real Estate, please call 918-852-5036 or visit my primary website at www.loricain.com. While you’re at my web site, please sign up for my monthly e-newsletter to receive a complimentary calendar of events for activities in the midtown Tulsa area!

Lori is a residential Realtor with Chinowth & Cohen Realtors serving the greater Tulsa area and specializing in downtown Tulsa and midtown Tulsa real estate.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Let’s Get Connected!

If you’re looking for homes for sale in Midtown Tulsa, OK or just need more information on Midtown Tulsa Real Estate, please call 918-852-5036 or visit my primary website at www.loricain.com. While you’re at my web site, please sign up for my monthly e-newsletter to receive a complimentary calendar of events for activities in the midtown Tulsa area!

Lori is a residential Realtor with Chinowth & Cohen Realtors serving the greater Tulsa area and specializing in downtown Tulsa and midtown Tulsa real estate.

I just wanted to let everyone know that Interest rates today are as low as 4.5% on a 30 year fixed loan. There are a lot of buyers out there bummed out that they didn’t or couldn’t take advantage of the $8000 first time home buyers tax credit. I got to thinking and did some calculations that confirmed my thoughts.

The current low interest rates will actually save you much more than the $8000 hundreds of thousands of americans received this year. Look at it like this.

Most buyers who took advantage of the tax credit received between a 5.3 and 5.5% rate of interest. If you pay interest on a loan amount of $150,000 over 30 years the home buyer today getting the low rate of 4.5% will save $37,000 in interest over the buyer who received the $8000 tax credit with an interest rate of 5.5%. And yes, I did subtract that $8000. We all have that friend who loves to brag about how they got $8000 in free money to buy a house. Next time they bring it up, ask them what their interest rate was. odds are it was not 4.5%.

Smart buyers know that these interest rates are a great incentive to buyers. And, best of all you don’t have to be a first time buyer to take advantage.

If you are in the market for a home, or even just thinking about it let me know. I would be honored to walk you through this process.

Brian Eddins

Realtor, e-Pro

405-887-7000

brian@doncies.com

www.brianeddins.com

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Let’s Get Connected!

If you’re looking for homes for sale in Midtown Tulsa, OK or just more information on Midtown Tulsa Real Estate, you can visit my primary website at www.loricain.com

I Am A Local Real Estate Expert – Zillow is Not

Whether you are thinking of buying a home or possibly selling your home you more than likely have stumbled upon Zillow and thought you hit the mother-load of real estate information!  It’s a fancy site with Zestimates, has homes marked on a map that are either currently listed or have recently sold, and you can spy on your best friends home on the other side of town to see what it’s worth and that’s cool, right?  Wrong!  Well, if spying on your neighbor is cool to you then that’s your business BUT if you are thinking of buying or selling a home then you want to steer clear of Zillow.

You see, I cringe when I speak with a buyer or seller and they come at me with all their research from Zillow.  They already have a predetermined listprice based on what they learned from Zillow or they think they already know if a home is over or under priced with information they received from Zillow.  Well, let me set the record straight – more often then not, Zillow is inaccurate.

Zillow is a computer generated program that acquires information from various sources and then runs it through a program to give you information based on a mathematical equation.  Trust me, there is no human sitting at a desk inputting data about all of the homes throughout the country.  What Zillow can not replicate and therefore will never be able to accurately price real estate is the human touch and the ability to physically see into other properties.

Zillow does not take into account upgrades and/or updates to a home or lack thereof.  It doesn’t know:

• While your home may have Formica countertops your neighbors have all upgraded to solid surface counter tops.
  
• You have replaced your carpet, vinyl in the kitchen and bathrooms and updated the appliances while your neighbors have carpets that are worn thin, 15 year old outdated vinyl and brass fixtures from the 80s
• ZILLOW DOES NOT KNOW THAT THE HOME NEXT TO YOURS WAS A FORECLOSURE AND THE PREVIOUS OWNER RIPPED OUT ALL THE CABINETS, TOILETS AND MADE OFF WITH THE COMPRESSOR UNIT TO THE HVAC.

All Zillow knows is what is found on other public sites – statistics.  There is no room for the human touch.

So, please, if you are thinking of buying or selling a home don’t consider Zillow as your source for pricing.  It’s a fun site – lot’s of bells and whistles – cool tools and great graphics but that’s about it.  If you are serious about buying or selling real estate then you want to rely on a real estate professional that can add the human element and knows your neighborhood and the local real estate market. 

                         

Whether you are buying or selling Real Estate in Wake Forest NC it just makes sense to use a Realtor® that knows the area!  I live here, work here and play here – I call Wake Forest NC home!  For more information regarding Wake Forest NC be sure to visit my websites:

• Leesa Finley – Homes for Sale in Wake Forest NC, Wake Forest NC schools, restaurants, shops, entertainment and MORE….
• Circa Properties – My company website with information for the entire Raleigh NC area including Cary, Apex, Garner, Franklinton, Youngsville, Holly Springs and MORE….

 

 

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Let’s Get Connected!

If you’re looking for homes for sale in Midtown Tulsa, OK or just more information on Midtown Tulsa Real Estate, you can visit my primary website at www.loricain.com 

10 Questions to Ask Your Lender

1. What are the most popular mortgages you offer? Why are they so popular?

2. Which type of mortgage plan do you think would be best for me? Why?

3. Are your rates, terms, fees, and closing costs negotiable?

4. Will I have to buy private mortgage insurance? If so, how much will it cost, and how long will it be required? (NOTE: Private mortgage insurance is usually required if your down payment is less than 20 percent. However, most lenders will let you discontinue PMI when you’ve acquired a certain amount of equity by paying down the loan.)

5. Who will service the loan — your bank or another company?

6. What escrow requirements do you have?

7. How long will this loan be in a lock-in period (in other words, the time that the quoted interest rate will be honored)? Will I be able to obtain a lower rate if it drops during this period?

8. How long will the loan approval process take?

9. How long will it take to close the loan?

10. Are there any charges or penalties for prepaying the loan? Used with permission from Real Estate Checklists & Systems, www.realestatechecklists.com.

Be sure you work with a REALTOR® and lender who can discuss different options and address your questions and concerns!

To search for Santa Cruz properties please click here, www.SusanGrant.biz, or contact Susan Grant directly at (831) 247-9140.

Susan Grant, David Lyng Real Estate, Santa Cruz CA DRE#01331769

Learn about the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Housing Opportunity Program at www.REALTOR.org/housingopportunity.

For more information on predatory mortgage lending practices, visit the Center for Responsible Lending at www.responsiblelending.org. Reprinted from REALTOR® magazine (REALTOR.org/realtormag) with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

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Let’s Get Connected!

If you’re looking for homes for sale in Midtown Tulsa, OK or just more information on Midtown Tulsa Real Estate, you can visit my primary website at www.loricain.com

Ten Best Buyer Behavior Practices

Many things we read in the blogosphere inspire creative writing ideas.  I recently read a blog post about an agent who felt so abused by the actions of a buyer she thought a “Buyer Code of Ethics” should be initiated.  I too, have felt the sting of a buyer not thinking the real estate agent was a “human being” so decided to create a Best Buyer Behavior Practice list.

If you are a serious buyer and would like the BEST agent in the area to help you find the property of your dreams, then take a look at some of the Best Buyer Behavior Practices. Following the suggested behavior list can help you find the right agent to work with and be prepared to have a pleasant real estate experience.  When you find the right individual and treat them with professional respect, they will do everything within their power to help you achieve your purchase goals.

Once you connect with the right person, you will have found your “agent for life” who will help you with more things that you can ever image. You  will have a relationship on a higher level than just a “salesperson” and their knowledge of the community and people connections will be invaluable as you invest in the biggest asset of your life. You will have a friend you can call and ask any questions and if they don’t know the answer, they will probably know someone who does.

1. Determine if you are a serious buyer or just a looker. It is perfectly fine to “look” just be HONEST with the agent so they can help you create a plan of action and decide together what the best steps might be to start looking for a home. Honesty HAS to be the basis of the new relationship with a real estate broker.
2. Remember you are creating a “team” to help with the purchase of a home. There will be many players so you need to have a great captain.  You will need a lender, insurance agent, title company, several inspector possibly and in some states an attorney. You need to select someone who can be there through the entire process letting you know what to expect and who can interact with the entire team to get you to the finish line.
3. Make the purchase of the property a BUSINESS decision. Buying real estate is one of the biggest investments most people make.  Be sure you use all your business decision making skills and take the emotion out of the process.  You can fall in love with the home you select (after the inspection) but be sure you remember the entire process is still a business transaction.
4. Down payment and qualifying.

Before you even start looking you have to come to grips with the fact you will need a down         payment and closing costs.  If you do not have any down payment then selecting a real estate agent who has knowledge of the down payment assistance programs and a lender who has access to those programs is paramount in going forward. Qualifying for the loan is a MUST before house shopping!

5. Identify What You Want. Actually make a list you will be giving to the agent you will be selecting to help meet your needs: Location, Size, Bedrooms, Bathrooms, Condition, Garage size, timing for closing, Special conditions.
6. Selecting an agent. If you know the area you are wanting to purchase in, start with a search of that particular area to try and find a specialist.  The process for selecting a real estate agent requires more business skills and link above should give information for that aspect of the transaction.
7. Commit to working with one agent. Once you select the agent you connect with on a personal communication level then make a business plan of the shopping process and commit to that agent with a buyer agency relationship. What does this mean to the buyer?  That you are going to purchase any real estate with the agent you have selected. What does that do for you?  It makes you the employer and that agent is going to do everything possible to make your real estate goals come together in the form of a successful closing.
8. Respect the agents time. You are a peson and so is the agent. When doing business with a real estate agent you should think about how you would do business with any professional. If you are calling an accountant or an attorney you have to wait for an appointment most of the time. If you are connecting with a producing real estate agent who you have interviewed to help you with a purchase, you need to realize they have other clients and commitments so be understanding about your turn when it comes to looking at homes.  If you are ready to buy today, have your loan approved, and want to sign a contract NOW, most agents will be prepared to meet those needs. However if that is NOT your status then take a breath and please wait your turn and be considerate of your team.
9. Disclose your agency agreement. Many times a buyer gets excited and wants to call on an ad or a sign because they might not be able to talk to their buyers agent the minute you want to know an answer.  If you are tempted to call on your own.. PLEASE disclose to the listing agent you are calling that you are working with a buyers agent and just wanted to know the price or ask the question you may have. Full disclosure keeps everything honest and above board.  If the property you call on is the one you end up buying and you alienate the listing agent by not disclosing you are working with an agent it will be bad vibes you will have to deal with that in the transaction.  Honesty is ALWAYS the best policy.  If you are tempted to go to a new home development without your agent, PLEASE stop and ask the on site policy for coming to the project without your agent.  If they do not pay your agent a fee if they are not there, then do not go in.  Remember, you are on a team so make the plan with your agent before you go out running around without them.  A buyers agent works for YOU and has a fiduciary responsibility to protect you and your interest so let them do their job.. make a plan and work the plan.
10. Listen to your real estate agent. If you have done your job right in interviewing an agent to work with on a real estate investment then listen to what they have to say.  You can always have respectful conversation about any subject but they are in the real estate business and have the experience needed to help steer you in the right direction to coming together with resolutions on any conflict.

Buyers, if you are looking for a DEAL, select the best real estate agent then remember:

• If the home is a good value and other people might be interested in it, you might not get the property with the lowest offer.
• Large earnest money deposits speak to the seller and the listing agent showing you are serious about purchasing the property.
• Short sales can take a LONG time to process and lots of games could be going on in the process.
• Every transaction needs to be a win/win.  Find out what some of the things the seller wants and include them in the offer.

Every real estate transaction has waves….. that is almost a guarantee!  If you are in the same boat rowing with your buyers agent you will navigate the waves to a smooth closing.

Implement the ten best buyer behavior practices and you are sure to be on the A team!

Cosmic Cow Pie

Carra Riley

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Let’s Get Connected!

If you’re looking for homes for sale in Midtown Tulsa, OK or just more information on Midtown Tulsa Real Estate, you can visit my primary website at www.loricain.com

Please, whatever you do, don’t go out and put $8000 worth of kitchen appliances on your Home Depot account BEFORE your loan closes.

I don’t care if it is 0% financing and the payments don’t start for 6 months. Just don’t do it.

You may have your loan approval in your hot little hand. You may have signed your closing paperwork. But that bird is not going to fly anymore if you have added debt, all thanks to the new Fannie Mae Loan Quality Initiative that took effect yesterday, 6/1/2010.

Lenders are now required to run a second credit check right before the loan funds to make sure you haven’t run up your credit cards, bought a new car, or added any sort of debt DURING THE MORTGAGE PROCESS.

Credit scores are NOT pulled again, but the lender will be able to see additional liabilities. If any new debt rears its ugly head, do not pass GO, you are headed straight back to the underwriter to be re-approved.

And in case you don’t think this is important, ask your Realtor how messy things get when there is a DELAY OF FUNDING for a week or so while the file must go back through the approval process.

Here are the rules for managing your financial life DURING THE PROCESS of making an application to buy a house:

1. Don’t use your credit cards or keep use to the bare minimum.
2. Don’t take on new debt by buying a car, a boat, or a vacation to Mexico.
3. Don’t close credit cards and place balances on a new cards.
4. Don’t co-sign with anyone on a credit transaction.
5. Don’t close checking accounts, savings accounts, and then move money into new accounts.
6. Don’t put any LARGE deposits into your checking or savings accounts. If you do, keep a record of where the money came from…copy all documents: withdrawal and deposit slips, and the check. You are going to need to “source” the funds, that is, explain where the money came from.
7. Don’t use your equity line.
8. Remember: lenders do not allow you to come to closing with green paper money that your have hidden in your mattress. Don’t even disclose you have it.
9. If you are required to pay off debt to qualify, don’t do it in advance, since proving the account is paid off can be a problem. Pay off debt right through the escrow company in conjunction with your closing.
10. Your funds to close the loan cannot come from an account that you have not disclosed to the lender. Neither can your deposit on the house. All money that goes into the transaction must come from an account that was revealed on your credit application.

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Let’s Get Connected!

If you’re looking for homes for sale in Midtown Tulsa, OK or just more information on Midtown Tulsa Real Estate, you can visit my primary website at www.loricain.com

I’m a buyer’s agent not a set of keys, and yup, there’s a difference.

Let me start off by saying, I’m not a high pressure sales person.  It is not my intention to talk you in to purchasing a home you don’t want so I can pick up my check.  It IS my intention to make sure that we don’t waste each other’s time.

Requesting a meeting prior to showing you properties isn’t just because “I’m a people person.”

This meeting is to explain the home buying process to you: Even if you have done your homework (and it’s great if you have!), there is information that comes with my experience and you might just find it valuable.  This meeting is also to do what we call a “need assessment”: This is where we talk about your needs and wants in a home, your timeline for purchasing, your price range and anything else that’s important to you in the purchase of your new home.  This meeting is to go over important disclosures that I am legally obligated to provide you with:  At this meeting I will present you with the Agency Disclosure that I am obligated by law to provide you with.  This is a two page document that explains the different types of agency that can be provided to individuals in a real estate transaction.  I will also present you with a disclosure that explains the home inspection process (which can be daunting, particularly for first time home buyers) and the different types of inspections offered.

While the internet is an invaluable tool in finding the homes you want to see, I can help!

As a local real estate professional, I have probably been inside some of these houses already.  Which means, that I can tell you why there are no pictures of the third bedroom (because it’s an 8×8 cell with no light and a pet stained carpet that you are only going to be able to use for storage).  Because I understand the type of financing you will be using, I knowthis foreclosure property isn’t worth looking at (because it will never qualify for FHA financing…. and since we sat down together to go over your financing needs, I already know you are going FHA).

Presenting you with a buyer agency agreement doesn’t mean that I want to trap you into working with me and then stop working hard to keep you as a client.

The buyer agency form is a committment from BOTH OF US.  It commits me to represent you and find you a property, and it commits you to not use another agent in purchasing a property.  We can make this commitment for as long or short a period of time as you like.  Does it help me out to know that you are serious about purchasing a home and that my time isn’t wasted? Sure.  Exclusive agreements have been used by on the seller’s side for a long time, because we recognize that in order to sell a house in the quickest amount of time and with the best terms possible, that requires a commitment from both the seller and their agent.  The same principals apply to the buying side of the transaction.

Bottom line, I don’t want to work with you if you don’t want to work with me.

Let’s face it, you are going to be spending your free time with me looking at homes, that’s a pretty big deal and I don’t want to be a part of it if I am not going to improve that process for you.

If you’d like to know more about how I can help you as a buyer’s agent in buying a home in Waltham, MA or the surrounding area, call me (781-799-9267) or email me lori.liveston@virtualhomes.com.

About the author: This blog is provided by Lori Liveston, a Realtor with Virtual Homes Real Estate. Lori can be reached via email at lori.liveston@virtualhomes.com or by phone at 781-799-9267. Follow me on Twitter @loriliveston

If you are thinking of buying or selling your home, contact me today! I would love to put my enthusiasm, marketing expertise and dedication to customer service to work for you.

For a FREE no obligation home search tool sign up at my home search site.

I service the following towns in Metrowest MA: Waltham, Lexington, Watertown, Billerica, Burlington, Woburn, Newton, Needham, Dedham, Framingham, Ashland, Natick, Hopkinton, Upton, Arlington, Weston, Wayland, Belmont, Concord, Lincoln, Bedford and Winchester..

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Let’s Get Connected!

If you’re looking for homes for sale in Midtown Tulsa, OK or just more information on Midtown Tulsa Real Estate, you can visit my primary website at www.loricain.com

Beginning with applications dated June 1^st, Fannie Mae is implementing the “Loan Quality Initiative” (LQI) guidelines.  All Fannie Mae lenders must adhere to these guidelines.  In a nutshell, the LQI guideline changes are:

1. Credit re-verification the day of funding: Fannie Mae will require the borrower’s credit to be repulled the day of funding.  If the credit obligations change by more than 2%, the loan is required to go back to underwriting for approval.  Peoples Mortgage will reverify credit obligations on the borrower’s credit report (this will not be a hard pull of credit and will not affect their credit score; it is simply a verification of all current obligations).  Buyers should be made aware of  this rule so they know they should not purchase any large ticket items or have their credit pulled during the escrow process.  This could end up disqualifying them from buying their home at the very last minute.  This has always been true, but some lenders were not in the practice of pulling credit toward the end of escrow.  Now it will be mandated
2. Excluded Party Lists: Fannie Mae will require all parties to the transaction be checked against the “excluded party” lists, which are managed by HUD and by the General Services Administration.  These federal lists cover a broad array of risk categories, including fraud, gross negligence, and lack of business integrity.  Individuals have been placed on these lists for both mortgage-specific and non-mortgage-specific activities.  Government loans have always used the GSA list to exclude anyone included.  This will not impact most borrowers. Those borrowers who are on the list are aware they are on the GSA list;
3. Social Security Number Validation: The borrower’s social security number must be validated.  Depending on the findings of the credit report pull and “Desktop Underwriting”, the borrower may be requested to show their valid social security card or additional documentation; in some cases the underwriting lender may be requested to contact the Social Security Administration to verify a SSN.
4. Validation of Intent to Occupy: Fannie Mae is requiring all investors to verify the borrower’s intent to occupy the property.  This may include employing 3^rd-party services that specialize in investigating occupancy information, reviewing the hazard insurance policy or utility bills to confirm occupancy of the property following funding of the loan.  This has been an issue for years with buyers claiming they intend to occupy the premises in order to obtain a lower interest rate, with the full intention of using the property as a rental.
   

Please speak with your Lender for more information and details or visit Fannie Mae Loan Quality Initiatives Frequently Asked Questions.

I feel these are all positive changes.  A little like closing the barn door once the horse has escaped…but positive changes nonetheless.  What do you think?

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Search Chandler Homes      Search Sun Lakes Homes       Search Gilbert Homes        Search Tempe Homes     Search Ahwatukee Homes

Amy Jones, REALTOR, ABR, CNE, EPro, CDPE
Direct~480-250-3857
Chandler, Sun Lakes, Gilbert, Tempe & Ahwatukee Real Estate
Phoenix Business Journal “Top 50 Real Estate Agent”

4921 S. Alma School Rd
Chandler, Arizona 85248

Visit www.AmySellsAZ.com for more information including free MLS search.
Visit www.PhoenixArizonaRealEstateBlog.com for a comprehensive Phoenix Area Blog.
Visit www.SunLakesBlog.com about living in Sun Lakes, AZ.
Check out home values in your neighborhood!

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Let’s Get Connected!

If you’re looking for homes for sale in Midtown Tulsa, OK or just more information on Midtown Tulsa Real Estate, you can visit my primary website at www.loricain.com