Sometimes it Comes Down to the Almighty Dollar!
Posted by Angie in General Information on March 8th, 2010
A Realtor takes the oath to become a Realtor, one of the conditions is that the Realtor place his client’s needs above his/her own. Sometimes, that isn’t what appears to happen. Knowing this can give you an advantage in actually helping your client achieve his/her goals. We also take an oath to help fellow Realtors whenever possible.
A Realtor in my office sold a brand new townhouse style condo in a small subdivision. The seller paid approximately $250,000. After about 9 months, the owner was transferred and needed to sell the condo. His company offered no policy for financial relocation assistance.
The property was listed at market value and the seller had negotiated a 5% commission and the agent agreed to obtain the listing. Months passed with no interest (showings). The price reduced continuously until it got to the point where the seller would have to bring money to the table at closing. He had dropped his price in total, about $50,000 from what he paid for the property. He couldn’t understand why he couldn’t sell the property, not even an offer. In addition, the Realtor had spent a great deal of money advertising, having open houses and it was a really nice property and not overpriced. There were also other units for sale similar in size, price and amenities.
The agent approached me and told me of this situation and was desperate for help. Having heard the particulars of the dire situation, I asked her to pose the following scenario to her client. “If the seller could obtain an offer at or near the price the property was originally listed, would he pay 7% for a commission as opposed to the current 5%?”. Since the seller had already dropped the list price about $50,000 and a 2% increase in commission was about only $5,000 he had nothing to lose.
The agent increased the price back to the original list price and increased the commission from 5% to 7% on a Thursday. By Saturday of the same week, the agent had received 3 Full Price Offers!!! In this case, the higher dollar amount in the commission paid to the agent appealed to several agents.
A seller needs to be fully aware that people do funny things and not all real estate agents are Realtors and not all Realtors honor their oaths. While everyone looks to save a buck where ever possible, sometimes it proves costly.
Lesson Number One in Real Estate: Pay Attention to the Details
Posted by Angie in General Information on February 8th, 2010
When I took my real estate classes a long time ago, well before I began selling Cape Coral real estate, I was told that among other things you should ALWAYS verify everything you come across when representing a client regardless of the source.
As it would happen, I represented a client that owned a waterfront cottage and also had property that was a buildable lot across the street from the cottage which was referenced on the same deed but as a separate parcel. In effect, turning one property into two properties.
I presented an offer that was accepted by the seller excluding the extra lot and I marked the deed for reference as to what was being retained by the seller.
I had actually circled the additional parcel in orange marker and wrote in the margin that “this lot was NOT being conveyed in the sale” for the title company.
At the closing, but prior to the seller signing the new deed, I asked for a copy of the HUD and deed to review. Sure enough, the parcel NOT included in the sale was there as being included in the new deed! I told the title agent that the deed was incorrect and needed to be corrected before the seller would sign it. Had I not done my job and read the deed, the seller would have conveyed BOTH lots and wouldn’t have noticed until after opening up quite a can of worms to correct.
I almost always see the other agent review the HUD at the closing table, but rarely the deed being conveyed and the buyer and seller mostly do what they are told and look to their agent for approval at best.
Moral of the story, do your job and check everything as you learned. When an error like this happens, you look very good to your client and the other agent’s client. All the while, you were really just doing your job properly.
Short Sales
Posted by Angie in General Information on January 29th, 2010
The wild west of real estate! There are no rules, yet! The banks want all the money and then some, and none of them work the same way!! They take forever to get back to you either approving or declining an offer — and you are always the bad guy! My team and I have been fortunate through our experts in marketing and negotiating to successfully close many short sales. They require patience, negotiation, long periods of inactivity, persistence and a little bit of poker playing, because you have gone “all in”.
I have successfully negotiated short sales where not only has the bank agreed not to pursue the seller for any deficiency, but even compensated the seller with money to move — paid right at the closing table! Those are the type of skills you need your agent to possess should this unfortunate situation happen to you because you need to prove the need for short sale and justify the spending of every penny from the closing proceeds.
Our government has done nothing to assist the everyday home owner in this unfortunate situation while auto makers and banks receive billions of dollars to make them whole at your expense! I fight diligently on behalf of my short sale clients because I know nobody else will!
I remember the Friday evening not too long ago, when a new acquaintance sat at my kitchen table. When they arrived, they were defeated. They didn’t know how they were going to continue to make their mortgage payments and didn’t want their hard earned credit score to be ruined. I explained the short sale process. Although they would no longer be living in their home, their credit would be saved and they could start saving up to start over. By the time they left my home that evening, heads were held high. She said “this is the first time I have felt hope in several months”. This is why I do my job. Helping people with what could possibly be the largest financial transaction of their lives. Unless you do this on a day to day basis, understanding the ins and outs of short sales is sometimes difficult to do.
Give me a call, I would love to help you out if you have gotten into a sticky financial situation over the last few years of housing boom! I can be reached at 239-246-6639. Or visit my website at http://www.KevinCloutier.com
Real Estate Experience
Posted by Angie in General Information on January 28th, 2010
Experience is what separates good agents from other agents. Having been there before, knowing how to read people, knowing what needs to be done to save a deal; these are all invaluable tools to you, my client.
I have the ability and the experience to sell your property and/or help you find one. That makes my clients comfortable and confident with me as their agent of choice to represent them in what may be the largest financial transaction of their lives!
In my 13 year real estate career, I have successfully closed in excess of 530 transactions, from homes to condos to office buildings, to motels, totaling in excess of $107,000,000.00 That is more property than most agents close in their entire career!
Before becoming interested in real estate, I owned and operated an office machine dealership — successfully negotiating the sale of the company at the end. I then dabbled a bit in the sports memorabilia market creating a niche of my own. Once again, I successfully negotiated the sale of that business and have turned my focus to real estate and helping people to live in their dream home and/or buy their next investment. My 30 years of experience as well as my degree in accounting are a huge benefit to you as my client. I work on all of my real estate deals as though each were my own property for sale or to buy. I understand the feelings of both buyers and sellers and always do my best to get them what they want.
My goal? My goal is to sell 1,000 properties in my career, thus creating 1,000 satisfied, happy clients. You too, can be one of my success stories. Feel free to give me a call at 239-246-6639. I would be happy to talk to you about your property and how I can best help you.
Creativity
Posted by Angie in General Information on January 27th, 2010
In a subdivision or condo association where several homes are on the market without he same foot print as yours, how do you get somebody to offer on your unit BEFORE the others that are also for sale? Hopefully, it won’t be by selling it at a lower price than the others!
My job is to find those differences, promoting them! I describe them in such a way that a buyer makes an offer on YOUR property and not because it is simply, cheaper. I can “paint a picture” of your home which separates it from all the others – even if they are identical. After all, in the end, no two homes are exactly the same anyway. With laws restricting our abilities in advertising so as to not discriminate against anyone, that can be a real challenge. It is a challenge that I am up to, however. I have years of successful experience doing just that! And happy homeowners and sellers to prove it. Give me a call and I would love to tell you all about it. I can be reached at 239-246-6639 or visit my website at http://www.KevinCloutier.com
Great Connections = Great Deals
Posted by Angie in General Information on January 21st, 2010
I am extremely well connected with reputable financiers, inspectors, insurance agents, movers, electricians, plumbers, etc. All of these people will play an important part in the successful purchase or sale of any property. $500 repairs don’t turn into $5,000 concessions for my clients. Bankers don’t promise funds for loans that they cannot close. Insurance costs don’t double for unsuspecting clients.
I believe an agent needs to be able to provide a full array of competent professionals to ensure each transaction closes as specified in the required time frame. I have seen where some other agents deals are lost because of building inspections where simple problems are blown way out of proportion. For example, a blown lightbulb is not an electrical issue.
In these days of Chinese drywall, you need to be sure your professional can identify any and all potential costly issues before you buy the property, not after!
For Sale By Owner (FSBO)
Posted by Angie in General Information on January 20th, 2010
For sale by Owner, also known as FSBO. Yes, you too can list your house, put a sign out front, an ad in the newspaper, even post a website and you will “save the commission”. Right? WRONG! Just to skim the surface, at last check, the average FSBO sold for approximately 20% less than the same house sold by an agent. I don’t know any agents who charge 20% for doing their jobs. I certainly don’t!
Lets say you decide to sell it yourself and a potential buyer calls and would like to see your home right in the middle of your workday. What will you do? How many times can you take off from work to show your home? You may be able to show it at night, but it will be dark outside or on weekends, after a long week of work.
Then there is the negotiation piece. I know I would not be comfortable negotiating directly with the seller. Do you know many people who would be? I would be concerned that I may hurt the sellers feelings over something, so my initial reaction would be to avoid it altogether.
Point one and two don’t deter you and you decide to sell it yourself again – and in this scenario, an agent brings you a buyer. Now, you have not only lost the 20%, but you also have the additional cost of paying the buyers agent.
Ok, now we have covered the money you have just lost, lets look at some complicating factors. What about the buyer who needs to sell his house before he can buy yours? Are you fully informed about the options of taking the house off the market until the other house sells? Do you really trust that the buyer will divulge personal financial information to you and be truthful? Can you justify finding comps for your house? Have you seen inside of these comps? Can you suggest alternative or creative financing for your buyer? Who will hold the earnest money deposit? You want to believe your buyer is bankable but you really don’t know, do you? Are you prepared to trust them?
The expertise of a knowledgeable agent is invaluable to a home seller. There are laws that all home sellers must follow – real estate agents know all of these laws and will work for your best interest – not to mention, put more money in your pocket.
New Short Sale Guidelines for Banks!!!
Posted by Angie in General Information on January 15th, 2010
Homeowners stuck while banks mull whether to approve short sales could benefit from new federal guidelines that give lenders a 10-day limit to respond to offers.
The rules from the U.S. Treasury, which also allow for financial incentives to sellers and lenders, likely will figure prominently in South Florida as the housing slump meanders into a fifth year.
“The cloud could be lifted,” said Domenic Faro of Fort Lauderdale Real Estate firm. “This could bring us back to some normalcy.”
Still, questions linger. Some real estate agents doubt the guidelines will be enforced, while bankers wonder whether 10 business days is enough time to reply to offers.
In a short sale, the homeowner sells the property for less than what’s owed on the mortgage, and the lender forgives the difference. Nearly half of the roughly 838,000 single-family mortgage holders in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties are “under water,” meaning they owe more than their homes are worth, according to third-quarter data fromZillow.com, a Seattle-based real estate firm.
While short sales are considered an ideal solution for banks and for “under water” homeowners on the verge of foreclosure, the deals often drag on as lenders take weeks or months to decide what to do.
Frustrated buyers walk away during the delays. In some cases, lenders insist that borrowers share in the financial loss, holding up the transactions even longer. As a result, homes stay on the market, prolonging the housing downturn.
Aside from imposing a 10-day deadline, the Treasury rules call for sellers to receive $1,500 moving allowances, and the sellers will not have to repay any of the debt.
Also, lenders will get $1,000 to cover administrative and processing costs, while investors owning the mortgages will receive a maximum $1,000 for allowing up to $3,000 in short sale proceeds to be distributed to less senior lenders.
AFFECTED BANKS
The 83 loan servicers participating in the Obama Administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program, including Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, are required to follow these guidelines for all borrowers who request short sales or who did not complete loan modifications.
The rules do not specifically apply to loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which represent about half of all U.S. mortgage debt. The government-run mortgage companies are working to finalize their guidelines.
The Treasury plan, which must be implemented by lenders no later than April, is meant to help sellers like Dawn Sclafani, who has been waiting since October for her lender to approve a short sale offer on her Margate home. A buyer has offered $155,000, and she owes $233,000.
Sclafani, a 50-year-old psychologist, said she’s eager for the bank to approve the deal so she can put the experience behind her.“I’ve heard that this is a horrendous process,she said. “The banks are just not very cooperative. I do believe these new rules will help.”
U.S. Rep Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, agrees, saying the guidelines are meant to make short sales “a more usable tool.” Klein points out the rules provide standardized paperwork for all short sales and give buyers and sellers a more reasonable time frame for whether or not the sales will happen.
But Klein and others say the government may have to increase the financial incentives. The $3,000 cap on short sale proceeds is not sitting well with second lien holders, who have been demanding more money from sellers, the first lenders and real estate agents in exchange for releasing their claims and allowing the short sales to proceed.
“This is a great program if all these mortgages had only one lien holder,” said Travis Hamel Olsen, chief operating officer for Loan Resolution Corp., an Arizona company that helps lenders complete short sales. “But many of these properties have two liens.”
SKEPTICISM
Some South Florida real estate agents remain skeptical of the guidelines.
Broward County agent Ron Rosen, who urged Klein last summer to push for new regulations, said he thinks “the banks will still play their little games with people and make life difficult for everyone.”
Edward Goldfarb of RE/MAX PowerPro Realty in Davie doubts the Treasury will enforce the new rules. “There’s no teeth to them,” he said.
A spokeswoman for the Treasury says it will hand down “substantial” penalties to lenders that don’t comply. The agency said it can fine lenders, withhold or reduce incentive payments and require improperly rejected loans to be modified.
Lenders have blamed short sale delays on the complicated nature of the transactions, sheer numbers of deals and on borrowers who don’t submit proper paperwork in a timely manner.
Because short sales involve so many moving parts, lenders will be hard-pressed to meet the 10-day deadline, said Anthony DiMarco, executive vice president of government affairs for the Florida Bankers Association.
“That will be a challenge,” he said.
In many cases, the banks are not to blame for the delays, said Ward Kellogg, chief executive of Boca Raton-based Paradise Bank. But he thinks the guidelines are necessary to help clear the market of so many distressed properties.
“I think the pressure on [the banks] is a good thing,” Kellogg said.
When Your Real Estate Agent Has “A Real Job”
Posted by Angie in General Information on January 14th, 2010
At the turn of the century, we experienced a nationwide sellers market. It took no effort to list a house for far more than the seller paid for it and deliver a ready, willing and able buyer. As a result, a lot of people got their real estate license and started “dabbling”, thinking, “this is easy money”, and for a while, it was! After all, all you had to do was pass a test!
Those days, my friends, are gone! Today, selling real estate is difficult, at best. Experienced agents still thrive in this market because they invested their time, efforts and resources in dedication to their career, not a “get rich quick scheme”. I have spent 13 years refining my skills. Real Estate is my ONLY job. I have even successfully relocated to the other end of the country and haven’t missed a beat. That doesn’t happen when real estate is a “hobby”. I give as much time and effort to the $25,000 short sales as I do to the $2.5 million commercial buildings. My experience is your gain when it comes to selling your property or buying one. I am ALWAYS available.
Do you know how many times I have had clients come in from out of town at the last minute a buy a property and while trying to set up an appointment to see a house, I cannot reach the agent listing the property? What if that was your house that could have been shown and possibly SOLD that I cannot get my clients in to see because the listing agent is doing something else and cannot take my call to set up a showing for your house? I know if I were that seller trying to sell my house and it missed a potential sale because of a missed phone call, I would be livid!!
I have a friend who says “there is no recession, just a bunch of people who don’t want to work”. I encounter that on a daily basis when trying to set up showings for my clients. Ask yourself “do I want to just list my property, or do I want to sell it?” If you find you want to sell it, give me a call. I will gladly assist you with that process – and will be worth my weight in gold to you because real estate is my focus, not my second job. Visit my website at http://www.KevinCloutier.com I will be happy to assist you! It’s what I do.
Your Real Estate Agent Must Know the Market
Posted by Angie in General Information on January 13th, 2010
As a real estate agent, I devote time to looking at recent sold homes, going on broker tours where I look at currently available property and drive around new neighborhoods. I find I can learn all about a market regardless of whether or not I spend every day there. There are no secrets. Everything I could possibly know about any property is available on the web. You just have to know where to look and take the time and do a little bit of work.
I invest my time and effort in knowing the property and area it is located in. Whether I am listing a new property or looking for a property for a buyer, I always ask a lot of questions. I talk with Code Enforcement Officers, Appraisers, Builders and anyone else who play important roles in our market. That effort makes me a more knowledgeable agent. It makes me better able to work for you and get you the results you want in either buying or selling property. Investing that time and effort allows me to solve any problems that may come up in a transaction. I am able to give options in order to keep a deal alive.
In today’s market of short sales and foreclosures, no deal is ever the same and my track record of saving deals, thinking creatively and solving problems is a huge asset to my clients. Give me a call, I will be happy to assist you as well. http://www.KevinCloutier.com