Selling During the Holidays Is Not All Bad

Buyers can, and do, get serious during this busy time of year. 

Selling a home during the winter months has its advantages. Homes often show their best when decorated for the holidays. 

The holiday season is generally known as the worst time to sell a home. While sales do tend to drop off between November and January, there are actually some good reasons to sell your home during these months: 

• Buyers are more serious. Anyone shopping for a home during the holidays probably has to buy before a certain deadline. January is a popular month for job transfers, so some buyers may be looking to relocate before the New Year. Investors may also want to close before the end of the year for tax reasons. If you live near a university, students and staff may be looking for homes between academic sessions, and if you live near a military base, servicemen and women may be moving to the area. Work with your agent to target these motivated buyers. 
• Buyers have more time to house-hunt. Some buyers purposely wait until their families are together for holiday vacations to start looking for a home. 
• There are fewer homes for sale. Lots of sellers take their homes off the market during the holidays, assuming no one will be buying at this time. But with serious buyers still out there and a lower inventory of homes, your home has a good chance of standing out. 
• Services are more available. Business slows down for real estate agents, lenders, home inspectors, appraisers and title companies during the holidays, so they all have more time to spend with clients.  
• Homes show better in the winter. Decked out in lights and garland, homes often look their best during the holiday months. Read up on staging tips for the holidays. 

The holidays are stressful enough without having to think about staging and open houses, so if you're not truly motivated to sell, it's probably best to wait a few months. But if you absolutely have to sell, don't be discouraged. A good agent can take the burden off of your shoulders, giving you more time to enjoy the season.



See the original article:

By Shannon Petrie, FrontDoor.com | Published: 11/07/2008


As always, feel free to connect with me!

Houses By Maria on the Web

Houses By Maria on Facebook

 

Real Estate is Coming Back!

Have you heard that things are getting worse and worse and now that we have re-elect the President
everything will come to an end with the economy and blah blah!!

I do not believe that! This country is NOT only run by 1 man and that is the beauty of it.

In the past 6 years one of the BIGGEST trembles that this country had was the Real Estate Market.

Please take a few to watch this video that Chief Economist from NAR (National Association of Realtors is seen in the last couple of months …

http://speakingofrealestate.blogs.realtor.org/2012/11/20/home-owners-add-760-in-new-home-equity/

This is good news people please stop watching the sad and depress news on TV. If we keep the focus on that we will never get anywhere.

I have review also Forbes magazine and their blog expressed that the 4 signs of housing market
improvement are:

1. This fall, the housing market may avoid the slide that has occurred each of the last three years because of an improving balance between supply and demand, declining REO sale shares and slowly declining foreclosure inventory.
2. A lower likelihood of foreclosures flooding the housing market is beneficial because the marke is more likely to absorb the inventory without dramatic changes in price.
3. Many borrowers in both the boom and “rust-belt” markets lack the means to prevent serious delinquency due to their limited ability to refinance at a lower mortgage interest rate. Policies designed to offer options for borrowers to lower their interest rates further can help decrease the flow of future delinquencies.
4. The current share of non-distressed sales is at its highest level since August 2008, positively impacting home prices, and is a sign of real improvement in the housing market.

Let's keep a positive view on things and we will make the change that we all need.

As always, feel free to connect with me!

Houses By Maria on the Web

Houses By Maria on Facebook

Things to Consider When Considering a Short Sale

Here some consideration you should take when thinking is it worth doing a short sale? Or should I just give up and let the house go to foreclosure!!

Issue	Foreclosure	Successful Short Sale
Future Fannie Mae Loan- Primary Residence (Effective May 21,2008)	A homeowner who loses a home to foreclosure is ineligible for a Fannie Mae backed mortgage for a period of 5 years.	A homeowner who successfully negotiated and closes a short sale will be eligible for a Fannie Mae backed mortgage after only 2 years.
Future Fannie Mae Loan- Non Primary Residence (Effective May 21, 2008)	An investor who allows a property to go to foreclosure is ineligible for a Fannie Mae backed investment mortgage for a period of 7 years.	An investor who successfully negotiated and closes a short sale will be eligible for a Fannie Mae backed investment mortgage after only 2 years.
Future Loan with any Mortgage company	On any future 1003 Application (Standard Loan Application), a prospective borrower will have to answer YES to question C, in Section VIII, that asks, “Have you had property foreclosed upon, or given title or deed in lieu thereof?” This will affect all future rates.	There is no similar declaration, or question regarding a short sale.
Credit Score	Score may be lowered anywhere from 150 to over 300 points. Typically, this will affect score for over 3 years.	Only late payments on mortgage will show, and after sale, mortgage will be reported as paid or negotiated. This will lower the score as little as 50 points, if all other payments are being made. A short sale’s effect can be as brief as 12 to months.
Credit History	Foreclosure will remain as a public record on a person’s credit history for 10 years or more.	A short sale is not reported on a credit history. There is no specific reporting item for “Short Sale.” The loan is typically reported as “Paid in full, settled.”
Security Clearances	Foreclosure is the most challenging issue against a security clearance, outside of a conviction for a serious misdemeanor or felony. If a client has a foreclosure, and is a police officer, in the military, a government employee, a security clearance, in almost all cases, clearance will be revoked and position will be terminated.	A short sale, on its own, does not challenge most security clearances.
Current Employment	Employers have the right, and are actively and regularly checking the credit of all employees who are in sensitive positions. A foreclosure, in many cases, is grounds for immediate reassignment or termination.	A short sale is not reported on a credit report, and is, therefore, not a challenge to employment.
Future Employment	Many employers are requesting credit checks on all job applicants. A foreclosure is one of the most detrimental credit items on applicant can have, and in most cases, will challenge employment.	A short sale is not reported on a credit report, and is, therefore, not challenge to employment.
Deficiency judgment	In 100% of foreclosure (except in those states where there is no deficiency) the bank has the right to pursue a deficiency judgment.	In some successful short sales, it is possible to convince the lender to give up the right to pursue a deficiency judgment against the homeowner.
Deficiency Judgment Amount	In a foreclosure, the home will have to go through an REO process if it does not sell at auction. In most cases, this will result in a lower sale price, and a longer time to sell in a declining market. This will result in a higher possible deficiency judgment.	In a property managed short sale, the home is sold at a price that should be close to market value, and in almost all cases will be better than an REO sale, resulting in a lower deficiency amount.

  

As always feel free to connect with me!

Houses By Maria on the Web

Houses By Maria on Facebook 

Important Changes Starting November 1st!

I figured I share this important information with you. Change is happening and it is important that you are aware!

Short sales made easier

By · Bankrate.com

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced new short sale rules today that could make it easier for borrowers to sell their homes for less than what they owe on their mortgages.

The new rules go into effect Nov. 1 and apply to mortgages owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which account for more than half of the outstanding mortgages in the United States.

Here are some of the main changes:

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow servicers to expedite the short sale process for borrowers who have missed three mortgage payments, have credit scores lower than 620 and are going through serious financial hardship. These borrowers generally are asked to submit extensive documentation to prove hardship. The documentation requirement will be reduced, and in some cases eliminated, starting Nov. 1st

Borrowers who are struggling to pay their mortgages because of divorce, disability, job transfer or death of a co-borrower will have their short sale process expedited even if they are current on the mortgage.

Service members who are being relocated will be automatically eligible for short sales and will not be responsible for the balance on the loan after the home is sold.

Fannie and Freddie will limit the amount paid to second mortgage lenders to $6,000. The payment is currently used as an incentive to get the second lien holder to agree to the sale. Some lenders slow down the process as they try to negotiate higher payments. With the cap, lenders will know upfront what they can receive and won't drag the process -- at least, that's the FHFA's theory.

These new rules are part of an effort that started in May, when the FHFA established timelines for servicers doing short sales. The guidelines require servicers to respond to a short sale within 30 days of receipt of a short sale offer. The borrower must be given a final decision within 60 days.

As always feel free to connect with me:

Houses By Maria on the Web 

Houses By Maria on Facebook