Bill Evan's Real Estate Notebook for September 6, 2007 was about the state of mortgages.  

Finance / Mortgage is my least favorite thing to write about.  It has probably been a year since  I posted anything about financing on this blog.*  

Evans, the prsident of Real Living HER wrote of all thats been in the news about mortgages lateley in his the column in This Week Newspapers"

"While this bad publicity may discourage many house hunters from purchasing, it is important to realize there are still good options out there."

Good options like FHA or OHFA .... for first time buyers.  I have links to some great lenders on my website:  MaureenMcCabe.com

* I looked my last entry in the finance category was September 12, 2006.... a table of historic rates from Lenn Harley of HomeFinders.com  Like I said ... it's probably been a year.  I thnk I need a finance / guest blogger. 

Copyright 2007 Discover Columbus and Maureen McCabe

This is hardly about exercise... this is about the real estate market in Central Ohio.   Although I could say exercise caution.....  when it comes to short sales.

A fella in NJ, David M. Petrovich described short sales as a workout program...I had never heard the  term workout program before... I am taking a class on short sales today.   I have negotiated a couple of short sales (buyers side) and they are a nightmare.                                       

Short sale as in it will all be over quick?  Guess again.  Everything about a short sale takes longer. 

Definition: A pre-foreclosure sale.  The lender (s)  take (s) a short payment. 

Petrovich writes about The Perfect Storm- Get Ready to Short Sale!  ... nationally.

Back to Columbus.... If you look below there are 332 identifified "short sales"  on the market now, only 229 sold in all of 2006.  Many homes listed as "shorts sales" do not sell, they expire or are withdrawn and sell at the sheriff's sale (they are foreclosed on by the lien holders.) Or maybe the owners catch up and are able to stay in their homes!

Central Ohio Statistics (Delaware and Franklin Counties only)

Sold 2006

Sold YTD 2007

Withdrawn or Expired 2006

Withdrawn or Expired YTD 2007

 On the market NOW:

Last summer I inquired about a property for a client the listing remarks said:

"BANK SHORT SALE - BE PREPARED TO WAIT ON BANKS' RESPONSE. SEVERAL OFFERS HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED WITH NO ACCEPTED OFFERS BY LENDERS - CURRENTLY TWO OFFERS ON THE TABLE. IF YOU SUBMIT, IT IS RECOMMENDED TO CONTINUE SEARCHES FOR BACK-UP HOMES. "

That Delaware County auditors site shows that home sold at Sheriffs Sale (was foreclosed on):

11/09/2006   Sale Price: $190,000

Seller Name: Sheriff Of Delaware County 
Document Type: Sheriff's Deed

All that work by the listing agent, all that work by a number of buyers agents with interested buyers and it went to sheriff's sale.  Often you find the listing agents very dificlult to locate on short sales.  Robert Werts, with a local Re/Max franchis , the the listing agent on this property was very professional, I made an inquiry, he answered the question... my buyers moved on.

It looks like the house was on the market for 503 days...  That's a lot of working out for nothing.

The fella in NJ, the one who is an expert on short sales..... The one who calls it a workout program....does he know what he's talking about?  He wrote the book on short sales.  

On his Active Rain profile he says:

Copyright 2007 Discover Columbus and Maureen McCabe