Oct. 2, 2009 - Investors Vs Buyers In Las Vegas Real Estate

There is a new kind of housing market war going on in Las Vegas.  There are buyers that are qualified and ready to buy but they can’t.  Seems that it does not matter that the buyers are making good offers, the houses are going for less than the what they are offering.  Why?  

     There are several houses on the market right now, but potential buyers are finding out getting into one of these homes isn't as easy as seems. Even though foreclosed homes are getting multiple offers, hopeful buyers are learning that cash will usually win.

     According to a story I read in the Las Vegas Review Journal this last week end, buyers are putting in offers many times over only to find out a cash offer from an investor has been accepted.  One buyer had this to say,  “finding the perfect home for her growing family isn't a problem. She has tons of foreclosed homes to choose from in Las Vegas, but getting the banks to accept her offer is a different story. "I'm a teacher. My husband works for Metro and we cannot get into a house," she said.  In the last three months, she has put nine different offers on houses, offering to pay thousands of dollars more than the listing price only to be rejected. What's worse, the homes are selling for less than what she offered. "We offered $175,000 and we looked on Zillow and a couple of weeks before we got our rejection letter we saw that it sold for $164,000 "

    In this bloggers opinion investors and new home builders were part of the problem to begin with.  They helped cause perceived scarcity, new home builders were raising prices every few weeks $2,000-$5,000 at a time, then only releasing a few home lots at a time, holding lotteries, and investors were coming in buying them up.  After the homes were built a few months down the road the investors would put the homes on the market  and making thousands of dollars.  This of course then spilled over into the resale market.  As a buyers agent a lot of my clients were just plain priced out of the market.  Then came the creative loans.

    This of course was not the only reason for the bubble bursting, but it help move it along. So if you are a buyer and wonder why you can not get an accepted contract this could be the reason why.

    Just like with Short Sales in this real estate climate that has recently become an epidemic you will have to have a lot of patience and put in a lot of offers.  My most recent Market Update shocked even me when I saw the number of homes that are in Contingent and Pending status. 

Sep. 19, 2009 - What You Need To Know About Short Sales

While this information can go for any market in the US if you want to know about Las Vegas see http://comehometolasvegas.com  and if you want to know about Summerlin Real Estate see http://realsummerlin.com

If you are considering making an offer on a pre-foreclosure, short sale home. Keep in mind very few can close in 30days or less.

Home buyers wait could be 4 to 6 months to close on a short sale, sometimes longer. I have had clients that have waited as long as a year. This is great if you have no need to move quickly.

A short sale means the seller's lender is accepting a discounted payoff to release an existing mortgage. Just because a property is listed with short sale terms does not mean the lender will accept your offer, even if the seller accepts it.

If there are two loans, this could be a real problem. The seller will have to get permission from both lenders. The second very often loses out all around and may not agree unless the first lender offers something to them.

A lender is unlikely to agree to a short sale unless the seller has no equity and is unable to repay the difference between your sales price and the existing loans.

A lender will not even look at a short sale until there is an offer made on the property. If the home is close to going into default and there are two different departments working on the same property, one might not know what the other is doing. Be sure that your agent checks to make sure everyone is on the same page. I know of one transaction where the short sale was approved but the home still went on the auction block because there was no communication between departments.

Make your offer contingent upon the lender's acceptance. Give the lender a time frame in which to respond, after which, you will be free to cancel. The lender and the selling agent need to be under some pressure to make sure your offer is in the right hands. The hands of someone who can make a decision. Some lenders have to submit to a committee but most can make a decision within two to three weeks and either accept or send a counter offer.

Some short sales are priced ridiculously low. This is partly done to get some offers and the short sale process started. They are usually so low that the lender will NEVER accept them. If this is the home you really want, to get your offer accepted, it will need to be priced near market value. If you're not prepared to pay above a superficial price on a lowball listing then walk away now and save yourself time and frustration.

Jun. 17, 2009 - REO Las Vegas What You Need To Know Part 1

Part 1

The Contract  

This will be a five part series on buying a bank owned property.

From all accounts in the news Nevada leads the nation in foreclosures.  Las Vegas has the bulk of those homes.  How do you go about buying these homes and what do you need to know?  Much of the transaction is similar to a normal sell, the difference of course is the seller is a bank.

Another difference is you may not have a written acceptance right away.  The listing agent may notify the parties once the offer has been accepted but verbally at first.  The initial response can take 2-3 business days.  The written acceptance may take 5-10 business days.  Be AWARE that even though there maybe verbal acceptance it is still not binding until the seller has signed the acceptance.

The seller will then present to the buyer through their Realtors® a counter offer/addendum with additional terms and notices specific to that transaction. Buyers should check all of the terms and conditions of the counter as it will typically alter many terms of the standard residential contract that was required up front.  In Las Vegas that is a Residential Offer that your Realtor® filled out and you signed to submit the offer.

Some of the specific terms may include inspection periods, removal of any contingencies and very often a NRS113 which relieves the seller (bank) of any warranties on the house.  Other specifics include closing costs and closing dates with penalties attached should you not be able to close on time.

It is very very important to have your financing in order and a good loan officer that you and your Realtor® can work very close together on making sure you can meet the sellers (banks) deadlines.

There are bargains to be had in this market and things can work out well if you as a buyer are aware of what needs to be done to make this all run very smooth.  A good Realtor® can help make the process easier.  

Apr. 15, 2009 - Loan Modifications

   Loan Modifications

The definition of a loan modification is:   A Loan Modification is a permanent change in one or more of the terms of a mortgagor's loan, allows the loan to be reinstated, and results in a payment the mortgagor can afford.

I have had many clients ask me about loan modifications and there seems to be few lenders that do loan modifications.  I was at a seminar last week and the topic of loan modifications came up.  A friend of mine who was a loan officer for many years although he no longer is a lender he was still being asked everyday about loan modifications.  In his desire to help people he did research of around 20 companies and decided to affiliate with one company.   I have read, listened to and emailed the owner and my friend was correct, this company seems to have a very good product for people who want to try and do their own loan modification.   They have a money back guarantee and if you wish to try the program I would very much like your feedback.   Mortgage Relief Formula

Mar. 19, 2009 - Las Vegas Real Estate Foreclosure Crisis

The Foreclosure Crisis in Las Vegas
And Around The Nation

One day I hear and read and watch on TV that we have only just begun to see the full effects of the foreclosure crisis.  The next day that all seems to be swept under the rug and things are looking up.  It just seems you don't know who to believe and what to think about in regards to our futures.  Should we try and buy a new home, new car, new TV, etc.  Or do we sit on our money, stay put and make do with what we have.  No one has a crystal ball of course, but I do not want to live my life in fear from day to day.

I have been trying to figure out what happened?  I went to a foreclosure class recently and got a few facts.  Our teacher threw out these numbers.  9,000 letters of default are issued daily in the US. 400-500 are issued daily in Nevada.  The number that scared me some is 2.3 TRILLION ARMS (adjustable rate mortgages) have not yet reset! Now that is a scary number. Course it use to be you could not get a loan and credit was so tight.  In the Carter era in 1977 something called the Community Reinvestment Act it was to help communities get loans.  It has been deregulated almost every administration since.  Too read all about this act click here   Did this act have anything to do with the mess we are in now?  Seems to me it may have at least been easier for lenders to do very creative loans.

This is what is happening in Las Vegas right now.  If you go to a Trustee Sale you have to be a cash buyer or have a certified check.  The trustee sale is the event that concludes the foreclosure process. In states that have deeds of trusts as opposed to mortgages, the trustee is named in the deed of trust, which is the document that the borrower sign in addition to the loan documents. When a borrower falls behind with payments the lender can initiate foreclosure procedures by recording a notice of default. If the borrower does not cure the default after the notice of default, then a date for a trustee sale is set. The trustee will set a minimum bid for the trustee sale and if nobody bids, the property goes back to the lender. Keep in mind also if you bid on a property at a Trustee Sale you take on everything about that property, liens, back property taxes, and the IRS can come and take it away.

 When the properties go to AUCTION only 12% are going through.  Now the banks are trying to draw multi-offers by lowering the property to VERY low prices and then you have a bidding war.  I have a buyer right now and so far this has happened twice.  So if you are looking to buy a bank owned property, ask a lot of questions.  Ask how many times the price has been lowered, have your agent to check to see if there are any other offers and be sure you are willing to go up on price if there are.

Some lenders are now not even putting the properties on the market, but doing 5 year leases until the economy improves.  

Will the new stimulus package help? Time will tell.  In the mean time if you go to buy a bank owned property ask a lot of questions. 

Mar. 13, 2009 - Las Vegas Short Sales

Las Vegas Short Sales

There are quite a few short sales not only in Las Vegas but all over the United States.  Only 10% of the homes that are listed as short sales will actually close.  That is not a real high number.  Right now today in Las Vegas there are a total of 27,623 properties for sale this includes all pending sales and contingent ( on pending and contingent properties there is an offer) so to break it down more leaving out the pending and contingent there are 19,325 properties and of those 6,789 are short sales.  Of  the contingent properties 5,030  the number of short sales are 2,332, so these properties are sitting there with an offer on them waiting for lender approval.  The pending which are hopefully ready to close there are 3,270 properties and 272 of those are short sales that have gotten approval.

What do you need to know before you try to short sale your home?  You can be up to date on your payments but show by your hardship letter that you can not do it for long.  Your hardship letters should be as detailed as possible.  To do a loan modification you must be 3 months behind in your payments.
This may change as the Obama plan is put into use and MAY is the key word.

You have to have an offer on your home to apply for the short sale with the lender.
 

When you get an offer and your agent puts in for the short sale approval (if you are behind on payments) be sure that your agent not only talks to the loss mitigation department but also the foreclosure department.  They do not always talk to each other and the foreclosure department needs to know there is an offer as it can stop the foreclosure while the negotiations go on.  You do not want a notice of default to be filed.

Lenders expect 3-7% of loans will go bad and investors are also aware of it.  Investors now have lost a lot more than that as figures show 28% of the nation is underwater and upside down.

If you need to sell your home in a short sale be sure you work with an agent that is experienced in short sales as they can be very tricky and an agent that knows and is on good terms with the lenders is much more likely to have the short sale go through.

Feb. 11, 2009 - Eco-Friendly Products For Your Home

Some of these products are truly amazing, these products were in the recent edition of our Realtor® magazine and I really thought they were something special and need to be shared.

Smoke Free Fireplaces
Have you ever had a fireplace on your wish list when you are house hunting.  See a place you really like but no fireplace.  You really want a fireplace, well now you can have that place you fell in love with and a fireplace too!

These portable fireboxes can be placed anywhere, inside or out.  There run on ethanol (a renewable source) No pollutants and they do not need a chimney or any connection to your utilities.  Read more here Smoke Free Fireplaces  

 Composting
Have a small yard but would still like to compost.  Composting give you wonderful rich soil for your gardens.  This unit is 20x20x12, weighs 17 pounds and has the ability to compost its weight in scraps every 10 days.  It is odor free and all kitchen scraps including paper ( 2 tons of waste out of the landfill over it's life) Energy use is 5 kilowatt hours per month.

 Read more here Composting 

Your Plant Is Calling You:) AND Your Lawn TOO?
You will never over water any plant again!  Digital sensors in the soil let your plants send you a text message to tell you when you when they need water or light.  The plant will also send you a thank you after its needs have been met.  LOL on this one, it can also give status updates on Twitter so you can read all about your plants status there.  Read more here Plant Calling

Now you can hand over your lawn watering schedule to your PC and it will calculate from current weather conditions how much water your lawn needs.  Read more here Lawns

Heated From within
Now this one is a little more expensive than the ones above, but if you were building a new home and could have it incorporated as you build it would pay for itself over time.  This is called geothermal heat products.  The relatively constant temperature of the earth just a few feet below ground allows these products to heat and cool houses using 40 to 70% less energy than conventional systems.  To read more about this very interesting product click hereGeoExchange

 The building trends seem to be leaning more and more towards GREEN and Eco-Friendly products.  This is just a few that can help make a house a home and pay for itself and help mother earth also.

Jan. 24, 2009 - Why Not Just Work with The Agent At The Model Homes?

The agents at the builders site are just that the agent for the builders.  While these agents are required to have a real estate license they are not Realtors®.  The are not part of the The National Association of Realtors® nor are they held to the standards a Realtor® is held to.

   I am not saying that these agents are not ethical, I am sure they are.  But they have the builders interest first and foremost in their mind.  It is the builder that signs their paychecks. 

  Now a Realtor® representing you can usually do nothing about the price at least not in Las Vegas.  They can however negotiate options and know what incentives are available at this particular site.  ( We get email from the builders daily letting us know of their incentives.)

  They can also help the process go smooth for you the buyer, watching your back all the way.

   My advice to buyers when going to new home sites always take your Realtor® with you.

Jan. 15, 2009 - The Year Of The Ox

The Year Of The OX

 Chinese New Year is the most celebrated and significant festival on the Chinese calendar and symbolizes not only the start of a new year, but a fresh start in one's life.  This year is the year of THE OX  I happen to be an OX so I am pleased to not only to have a New Year 2009 but a new start for my Chinese sign:)  

What is your sign? 

　You can read all about your sign Chinese Horoscope 

Chinese New Years begins on January 26th and runs for 15 days worth a celebrating ending on February 9th 2009.  This years celebration for the Las Vegas area will be February 9th 2009 at China Town in China Town Plaza.  Lots of good food, Chinese Arcobats and Dancers.  If you would like to find out more about the festivaties (702) 221-8448.  

UPDATE

Here I wrote this post and opened up the newspaper and there was a whole article on the festivites that will take place: 

Jan. 15, 2009 - Comparative Statistics From Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors

LAST UPDATED:  December 8, 2008
	Single Family					Condo/Townhome
	# Listed	# Sold				# Listed	# Sold
2004	60,661	35,260	58%		2004	11,306	7,581	67%
2005	57,943	33,529	58%		2005	11,474	7,872	69%
2006	64,049	24,130	38%		2006	15,589	5,826	37%
2007	62,783	15,279	24%		2007	15,243	3,276	21%
2008	61,038	24,924	41%		2008	13,076	3,694	28%

If you have any questions about these statsor anything else please feel free to contact me Chris Shouse Chris@ChrisShouse.com.  Also visit my favorite place to live in Las Vegas  Summerlin