Can someone please explain to me why?  Why would Wells Fargo prefer to foreclose?  I asked if they would at least post pone the foreclosure, allowing time for their review.  They said they were sorry, but unwilling stop to the sale of foreclosure.  I said, “unwilling”…that does not mean you can’t, it just means …you won’t!

Why would Wells Fargo prefer to foreclose vs. accept a cash offer from a qualified buyer, that was barely short.  Does the bank make more money by foreclosing?

So now we will have another foreclosure statistic which does not help the neighborhood home values or future sales.

Welcome to Bankruptcy…thanks Wells Fargo.

You visit the home a few times, (like dating) then you bring some friends over, (like introducing to family members) and they all approve.

Now everyone is in agreement, you should purchase.

Years have passed now, you see the home differently, (some nail pops, settlement cracks and missing shingles), you are becoming less attracted (sounds like a normal relationship). Now you are considering selling (I know what you’re thinking).

Are you upside down? Is it possible to sell? What do I do?

This is a common scenario in these times and there are options. Don’t be so fast to throw the towel in and walk away!

It’s not going to be easy and there will be a lot of turbulence, (UGH) but there are agents who will fight for you.

My knuckles show my punches…love is definitely a journey.

I specialize in helping homeowners avoid foreclosure in Charlotte, NC and surrounding areas to include Fort Mill, Union County, Waxhaw, Weddington and Marvin. You do have options – go to www.HollyHelps.com.

Now…..

Bank of America and BB&T cannot agree as to who has the 1^st lien on a property!  So they are declining the short sale offer that has been in negotiations for 4 months.  Instead of working through this situation, BOFA has declined the short sale and is moving towards foreclosure.

It is frustrating to say the least.  Many realtors work very long hours and for free and might I add with the hopes of saving a homeowner from a foreclosure.  Once an agent is so involved with the short sale transaction, it becomes less about the commission and more about just getting a successful transaction.

There are many passionate realtors that do still care about the client.  If only the employees at the banks felt the same.  You see, the bank employee gets paid no matter what happens.  They even get vacation time, sick days and I suppose a 401k with company matching.  ( I am assuming this).  They do not have a vested interest or care about the homeowner.

The amount of hours getting transferred to the wrong department, then getting disconnected to redial and start all over again are common for all of us and very exhausting.  Then once you escalate the situation the manager is unavailable …meetings about the upcoming meetings or out of office for the next 10 days.  It is just a hot mess!

I know I am venting a bit, but if you are reading this and agreeing, then just know you are not alone.  More than half my business has been helping families avoid foreclosure.

It is very stressful, but I am trying to help as many families as possible.

www.HollyHelps.com or www.TeamHolly-would.com

I came across a blog discussing sellers renting their homes instead of selling.  Noticing this trend in my own market, I had to continue reading.  The information and insight was spot on and I would like to share with all my blog readers an interesting recap.

There are two major reasons sellers will typically end up renting instead of selling:

#1.  Urgency.  They need to sell quickly, but in a slower Real Estate market, this isn’t always achievable at the price the seller needs.  So to buy more time, they rent.

#2.  Price.  As we all know, home prices have taken a downward turn and sellers are not prepared to ‘give away their house’.

The idea is that in a year or two, the market will recover and then the seller can finally sell their home at the price that is reasonable to them.

As an insider to the Real Estate market, there are definitely dark corners I can shed light on that are commonly overlooked.  So consider the following before giving up on selling your house:

Buying Again:  Leaving equity behind in your house may prevent you from purchasing a new house.

Property Management:  Managing receipts, maintenance, repairs, emergencies, and other requirements associated with renting requires time, money, and effort.  You can choose to do it yourself or you can choose a property manager to do it for you.

Market recover or market bust:  It may take longer than you think for real estate prices to recover.  Right now, the economy remains weak.  Downward pressure on home values will continue for the foreseeable future.  Who can say how much longer…or steeper…prices will sink before an eventual upswing.  Once the market is on an upward trajectory, it will take years for priced to return to previous highs.

Depreciation:  While the IRS allows you to take depreciation as an expense against rental income, don’t think of ‘depreciation’ as only a tax deduction good for improving cash flow.  Since tenants are unlikely to treat your home as well as you would, physical depreciation is a very real aspect of turning your home over to tenants.

Capital gains tax:  If you rent your house for only two years, you can still sell your house and be exempt from paying IRS taxes on up to $250,000 of capital gain (when single) or $500,000 (when married).  However, the depreciation you took against rental income may have to be recaptured.  Be sure to consult your tax accountant.

Re-lease or try to sell again:  In this climate, you’ll find tenants quickly.  Once the first year’s lease is over, you’ll have to decide whether to continue renting your house or try selling.  Either way, you’ll have to invest in cleaning, painting, landscaping, replacing carpet, upgrading appliances, and making repairs before the next tenants or buyers move in.

Damage goods:  When you’re ready to sell, your house may be considered ‘damaged goods’.  Home buyers can immediately tell if a house has been lovingly cared for or simply lived in.  And they will take this into consideration when making offers.

Selling with tenants in place:  Let’s face it, tenants don’t care if you sell your house or not.  They don’t have a stake in the outcome.  They only know it disrupts their schedule.  They won’t keep the house as neat and clean as you would.  They won’t be as flexible to accommodate showing appointments as you would.  And they may hang around the house during showings, making homebuyers uncomfortable and eager to leave.  Once their lease is up, you’ll find yourself in a negative cash-flow position and may very well be forced to rent once more.

Rental merry-go-round:  After renting your house for what was supposed to be no more than a year or two…just until the market turned around…could turn into a long-term commitment.  You may get stuck on the rental merry-go-round, unable to jump off.  The window between leases will leave you with only a short time to list and sell your house.  Before you know it, you’ll be back on the rental merry-go-round, still waiting for the opportunity to unload a monumental burden.

Rental prices may go down:  Right now rental prices are what they are and they may be just fine for your needs.  But renting your house as a short-term solution may not be a long-term solution.  With so many homeowners turning to renting as an expedient to selling, tenants will have more homes to pick from.  In time, instead of facing a ‘Buyer’s Market’ on the selling end, you may very well face a ‘Renter’s Market’ on the rental end.  Such a circumstance would drive rents down year to year.  After factoring in rising insurance rates and property taxes, you may eventually find yourself in a negative cash-flow position.

Mortgage rates: Mortgage rates are the lowest they’ve been in recent history.  But they can’t stay low forever.  When the economy recovers, the Federal Reserve will start raising key interest rates.  Mortgage rates will climb in lockstep, making homeownership more expensive.  To make up for higher monthly costs, buyers will bargain that much harder, forcing prices down once again.

If you have a pressing need to move out and move on, and don’t want to be weighed down with renting your house, there is a way to sell quickly and still get full market value for your house.

Thank you Judy Chapman from Illinois for your insight on the rental market.

This tournament is unlike any other and was my first year participating.  There were over 75 teams competing on 12 different mud pits.  There were raffle prizes, great food/drink, and one of the areas top DJs!  Grats to Dave who won the iPad raffle!

My son Rocky came with me to this tournament and had a blast.  We were all extremely sore the next day and the recovery was brutal, but definitely worth the cause.  It was very inspiring to see that even though not everyone could just write a check, people were still donating their time, energy, Sunday afternoon and knees to such a great cause.  I hope to see some of you out there next year.

From simple back yard fire pits to elaborate dining areas, homeowners are looking to improve their outdoor living spaces. The American Society Of Landscape Architects completed a survey recently of their top members as to what is interesting to consumers and what trends are expected for 2011. Of high importance to many homeowners is green remodeling and water usage management. The survey results below touched on this trend.
(Remember, these responses are from the Landscape Architects when asked about trends homeowners are contemplating.)

The most popular outdoor living features this year include upgraded lighting, with 96.2 percent indicating the feature as somewhat or very popular for 2011. Rounding out the top five are fire pits (94.2 percent), seating/dining areas (94.1 percent), grills (93.8 percent) and installed seating (89.5 percent).

Among landscape and garden elements, interest continues to focus on low maintenance landscapes (94.2 percent), native plants (87.2 percent) water features (81.0 percent), and food/vegetable gardens (80.3 percent).

Respondents also indicated wide interest in several sustainable design features, such as water-efficient irrigation (83.1 percent) permeable paving (77.0 percent) and reduced lawn (72.6 percent).

So what upgrades are you doing/thinking about doing/heard about/dreamt about?  We’d love to heard from you!

First, and perhaps most importantly, be ready to buy. Readiness is not impulsiveness, however. Before you begin your home search, be clear on your objectives. This means knowing your budget (and how much wiggle room you really have), what amenities are must-haves, and what things you can do without. By having a clear plan of action, you’ll know a good deal when you see it and won’t hesitate to act. Many would-be buyers miss out on their dream home because of hesitation. They need “the night to think about it” or “to see a few more” before they make a decision. If the home is a good price and in a desirable location, one night could mean missing out on the house altogether.

To take the preparation stage one step further, be absolutely sure you are pre-qualified and pre-approved for a loan. Do this before you even set foot in a seller’s house. Why? You wouldn’t be the first buyer who puts in an offer on their dream home, only to find out financing has fallen through. Lending is tight right now. You may not qualify for as low an interest rate as you would think. And for others, you may not qualify at all!

And if you were pre-qualified or approved months ago, be sure to stay in contact with your lender, so that there are no surprises when it comes time to make an offer.

Communication doesn’t end there. Keep in contact with your agent about new listings and showings. Homes come on the market all the time and in hot neighborhoods they don’t last long. If you wait even a few days, a home could be scooped up by another eager buyer.

Next, bid competitively. This is where your agent can be invaluable. They have access to your market’s stats, which show for how much comparable homes have been selling. This means you may be able to come in a little under list price and still be competitive, or it may mean that the property is already underpriced and to beat out any other offers, you need to offer morethan the asking price.

Competitive doesn’t mean handing everything to the seller on a silver platter, though. Sellers may ask for certain concessions, such closing costs, terms, as-is purchases (without an inspection contingency in the offer), and requests regarding closing dates. Some of these requests may seem reasonable to you, but don’t be afraid to stand your ground if others are too far-fetched.

And finally, stick to your guns. It can be easy to lose sight of your true end goal, which should be the home you love at a reasonable price. This means that your predetermined budget, well, it must remain your budget. Don’t overpay for a house simply because you’ve gotten caught up in the excitement of a bidding war.

Use these simple tips to help you navigate a tough market. Before you know it, you’ll be signing on the dotted line for your new dream home.

 Boomer shows up for work daily and is usually the first one in the office.  He is very even tempered and never causes a scene.  He demands very little, although he sometimes likes to stretch out the lunch hour.  You will find him sleeping most of the day away on one of the more comfortable chairs in the office.  (He says he is just resting)

Boomer is not happy when left alone, he will whine like a baby.  He prefers human companionship to other dogs.  As a matter of fact, he does not know he is a dog.   Nobody has the nerve to tell him.

Team Holly-would is recognizing Boomer as our favorite employee of the month!  Maybe you have a special “employee” you’d like to recognize as well!

Weddington, NC is located just 15 miles south of Uptown Charlotte.  This town offers beautiful tree lined roads, many horse lovers and is mostly comprised of low density single family residences. 

 Let’s take a look at market conditions in Weddington, NC.

Active Homes (currently on the market)

Total:  53

Average Days on Market: 211

Average List Price: $708,636

SOLD Homes (from 1/1/11 – 4/11/11)

Total:  17

Average Days on Market:  215

Average List Price:  $684,871

Average Sales Price:  $599,562

These figures are from the local MLS and a macroscopic view of the Weddington Real Estate market.

I am asked all the time, “How is the Real Estate market”?  While every local market is different, one thing does remain the same:  There will always be homes for sale and there will always be buyers.  We are all aware of the growing/grown number of foreclosures and short-sales all over the country.  However, there have always been foreclosures and short-sales.  The biggest obstacle at this time is the decreasing home values which make it more difficult for home sellers to sell.  But at the same time, mortgage rates are so low that it makes a great time to buy.

So this brings me to ask you, the readers a question.  If you’re a buyer – are you ready to buy?  If not, what is keeping you from buying?  If you’re a seller – have you listed your home?  If not – what is preventing you from listing?  Getting a feel for the Real Estate climate through our community is essential for all of us in this recovery so let’s get some dialogue flowing!

For most of us, it has been a time of surviving, rather than thriving.  However, history has a remarkable tendency to deliver prosperity after misery!

Most people know this is not an ideal time to put their home on the market.  With the unsold inventory and the foreclosures added monthly, this only hurts today’s sellers.  Shadow inventory cannot be ignored either.  This is inventory typically being held by the bank and not on the open market or mls.  The shadow inventory will be a problem and according to Ali Velshi, it could take years to clear out.

If you think interest rates are more likely to increase than decrease, then buying now trumps waiting for proven house stabilization.  Many of my sellers have this attitude and are willing to accept the loss on the sale side and make up for it on the purchase side.  Good attitude!

At the end of the day, I get tired of hearing all the speculators about our housing recovery or lack there of.  I prefer to end my day feeling tired due to being productive.  It is a good feeling when you collapse in your cozy chair with a glass of wine, knowing you did the right thing for someone.  It is also a great feeling to know you did not give up, especially when the client was ready to throw the towel in.    The never in the “never give up” has more meaning than ever before!

I just know there are boxes and boxes of blessings for all of us; you just have to ask for them.