Central Oregon Real Estate

How Are Short Sales Priced?

One of the most confusing things to a buyer on a short sale is the price.  A property will be put on the MLS with a great price, the buyer will write an offer and the process begins.  The offer is first submitted to the Seller, once the seller and buyer come to an agreed to transaction the offer is submitted to the bank. The bank has the opportunity to accept, reject or sometimes suggest a different price.

Does the bank set the price on a short sale? Yes and No – when the property is listed on the MLS the Seller and the Seller’s agent set the list price.  However, once the bank comes into the negotiations the bank can and sometimes does give a different sales price.

The question then is…. does the buyer have to pay that price the bank would like to get to keep their transaction moving forward?  The answer is like many in real estate it depends.  If you want a fast close yes you would need to step up to the number the bank puts out there or your agent and the listing agent can negotiate with the bank.

Banks depend on agents and appraisers to give them an idea of the value of a property.  They do not know the market, they do not know the area and they do not know why a house is great or not so great without a real estate professionals help.

Pricing of a short sale comes down to 2 things what does the market support and how experienced the agent is in the market and with short sales.

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Do I Qualify For A Short Sale?

Short sale helping hand

Just because you feel you are upside down in your home does not qualify you for a short sale. I do not know how many times I have been told by a seller their home is not worth what they owe so they are going to walk away or quit making payments, then try and sell (short sale) or let the bank take the house. The sooner you talk with an agent the quicker your stress will go down.  Many agents do not let these people know that there are specific guidelines to a smooth and successful short sale.

Banks have been overrun with homeowners attempting to sell their home for less than they owe and so the process can be longer than a standard sale.  Banks have over the last three years formed departments and standards to process and approve short sales quicker than in the past. However, many agents do not have a clue what it takes to put a short sale together consistently, if done correctly you can certainly shorten the time frame a short sale has taken and actually sell the home instead of loosing it to foreclosure.

Did you know there is no place on a credit report to report a short sale to show as a negative but there is a section for a foreclosure? So Do You Qualify for a Short Sale?

The first 3 questions to determine if you qualify are fairly simple, they are;

1. Do your expenses exceed your income
2. Is there a hardship that caused your situation
3. Is the likely sales price of your home less than what you owe and the expenses of selling?

There obviously are more questions to go with each of these but basically that is what determines if you qualify.  Because so many people had no clue of how to proceed with a short sale there are a lot of myths flying around that just confuse the home seller more than ever.

Contact me for more info and a quick interview  – let’s see what we can do to relieve some of your stress. To Successfully sell your home as a short sale it must be listed with an agent.

I am a Certified Distressed Property Expert – and have received special training to assist you in the sale or purchase of a short sale home.  Let me help you!

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Home Buyer TAX Credit Extended

Many buyers were anxious to find the perfect home in time to close escrow by November 30, 2009 so that they could take advantage of the $8000 (or 10% which ever was less) tax credit being offered to first time home buyers. 

I know a few of my buyers worked hard to get approved for a loan, only to find that the homes they had an interest in were flying off the shelves because they were priced well and the market is improving.

Today our President signed the bill that not only extends unemployment but also the First Time Home Buyer’s TAX credit.  There are also revisions that may make a few other buyers very happy. First of all, the income qualifications have increased, the time has extended and this is not a loan.  Keep in mind it is a TAX CREDIT though.

Another Credit

There is another credit that was included in the bill today and that credit is a little tougher for buyers to fall into place but if you do there could be up to $6,500 in a credit for you.  The basic to qualify is you have to have owned a home for 5 consecutive years of the last 8 years.  You have to be in escrow between today November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010, but you can close escrow as late as June 30, 2010.  My guess is there will be a lot of confusion over this I would strongly suggest talking to your tax advisor and checking the IRS website at www.irs.gov as this progresses.

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La Pine Oregon Bank Owned Homes Sept 2009

Bank owned homes are still a big draw to the first time home buyer and the vacation home buyer, and why not the prices are great.  We are seeing a few of the agents listing bank owned homes are not correctly marking their listings as bank owned, so it is difficult to provide the list I generally provide.

Your Bank Owned List for La Pine Oregon this list shows the 13 homes correctly marked as bank owned homes.  I am familiar with a few others that are on the market and are owned by banks that are not correctly marked, so they do not appear on the list.

As a buyer you need to know that there are several other homes in La Pine that may be of interest to you.  There are currently 276 active residential listings in La Pine, of those 140 of them are currently listed for $175,000 or less.

Instead of focusing on bank owned properties, I would encourage you to find your price range that suits your needs.  Many of the sellers have been able to lower their price to compete with the bank, these homes often time have been and are still loved.  If you have been in any of the bank owned properties  you know that some of them have been lived in pretty hard and will require a lot of elbow grease or repairs to make them livable again.

When you purchase a home that is owner occupied the pride of ownership is generally visible.  Not to mention that when you are dealing with an owner vs a bank you have more power for repairs and negotiation.

La Pine Homes For Sale Under $175,000

Bank Owned Homes La Pine

To obtain your own personal list that updates prices and home contact me directly.

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Village At Sunriver

Many of my visitors have been searching for new info on the Mall in Sunriver.  This is a topic I have avoided writing about because of the opinions of many of my readers.  Although I felt something needed to be done I tried hard to stay neutral during the time when change was happening.

This project has changed direction, owners and plans a couple times and now it appears that we are on a path of change and certainty. 

Curry Architecture created the following presentation for REDISCOVER SUNRIVER.  This link will take you to the slide show they used to present what changes and an idea of the order of changes the Sunriver Mall or Village at Sunriver will be seeing in the near future.

Many of these changes have started already.  A few of our local merchants have been temporarily been moved awaiting their final home with the remodel.

Please feel free to leave comments and links with info you may have to share with others.

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