Mike and Darlene Hastings
Displaying blog entries 1-10 of 13
A good graph, which we call a snapshot, of the December market.
We're seeing an uptick early in January, but those stats are still being gauged. Based on many important indicators, this is an excellent time to consider buying, and an excellent time to sell.
I would like to add a little something to what Mike was talking about in his blog posts last week. YES! 
Homebuyer Confidence is UP. I work primarily with buyers and I have seen a major shift in the type of phone calls that we get on our listings. When I first started in the business, we mostly got phone calls from people locally and that has now changed to people from all over the country.
Mainly, people call from parts of the country that have been hit hardest by the economic change, places like: Wisconsin, Florida, California, Michigan…etc all saying that they need to restart their lives and are ready for a change. Now, I will say that my team's presence on the internet has played a big part in the phone calls, but our internet presence doesn’t make them go ahead and move here!
After speaking with the many families that I have worked with in the past year, it has become apparent that the lure of Middle Tennessee is that we have everything that a larger city could offer like: professional sports (we have football and hockey teams), MUSIC(and not just country!), soon to have an unbelievable new amusement park, great hotels and restaurants, don't miss part 2 tomorrow
So what's happened to cause such enthusiasm on the part of buyers who, six months ago, were missing in action? Is there some singular event that caused people to abandon their cocoon and venture out into the scary and risky unknown of home ownership or, is it the event that didn’t happen instead?
We, and others, believe people have begun to think the worst of our financial and economic woes have passed and there is good reason to have a degree of confidence about our foreseeable future (although we ALL now keep our eyes wide open and will NEVER AGAIN be blindsided and we will PREPARE ourselves just in case, righ
You have say yes here, in fact we need a "you BET!, YES!") and that means dusting off your old pre-2008 goal book and reacquaint yourselves with them. You may have had a goal like, “this house is too small and our family is growing, lets invest (yes, I did say invest and when you buy at the bottom there’s only one way for an investment to go) in a new family home”.
Traffic Up in January Finally some good news to crow about! Sumner County closed 39% more homes in January 2012 than for the same time 2011; and best of all, the number of new Pendings, or homes under contract that should close in the very near future, likely in February, shot up by 56 more than last year, a whopping 51%!!!
Calling us to determine whether a property will qualify for a Short Sale HAS to be easier than this!!!
"Making that first call to you guys is the hardest part"
We hear often from people that picking up the phone to call us the first time is the hardest part of the whole process. Of course! most of us have some resistance to the unknown, and starting down the road to a short sale is certainly tricky, unknown territory for most people.
Sooo, what exactly happens when you call us?
First, look at the whole process like a puzzle.... and we're all going to work together to bring all of the pieces of the puzzle together.
You are putting together a team to work for you. Select the most qualified, dedicated, competent, professional, and trustworthy team available. It would take an encyclopedia to list all the reasons you want to be sure you hire a CDPE.... Certified Distressed Property Expert, to work for you. In a nutshell, it doesn't cost you a dime more to use the best in the business, and the difference in the capability and level of service may make the difference in the successful outcome for you.
First, we'll go through a short checklist together on the phone with you. Based on that call we'll set a time to meet in person, either in the office to introduce you to the entire short sale process, or at the property.
Step two, we'll evaluate the property and determine the actual fair market value in today's market. This involves seeing the property in person, then gathering the support data to support the price.
Continued all week...... Feel free to be send your questions to us here, on Facebook, or at Twitter
The first step to a short sale is to hire a qualified real estate professional who specialize in short sales.
Interview at least three candidates for each and look for prior short-sale experience. Short sales have proliferated only in the last few years, so it may be hard to find practitioners who have closed a lot of short sales. You want to work with those who demonstrate a thorough working knowledge of the short-sale process and who hold a designation, such as the CDPE designation, which proves they have the advance training for short sale management.
Some of the important things your agent will need to be qualified to do for you, and for your bank or mortgage lender:
We'll continue our what the devil is a Short Sale series all week. Join in on Facebook, Twitter, or right here!
Why Sell a property as a SHORT SALE?
There is a significant change that can best be described as an ongoing hardship.
To go the distance on a short sale, you must document you have a hardship case.
THE PROPERTY IS CLASSIFIED a PRE-Foreclosure, or Foreclosure Risk.
Most lenders begin to consider the short sale route when a mortgage is two, or more, payments behind.
At first glance it may appear easier and quicker to just walk away from the property & letting it go to foreclosure. For many, selling a property as a short sale could be a better deal than walking away. Although a short sale will likely have some impact on one's credit score, it's typically NOT nearly as severe as that of a foreclosure, and usually doesn't follow them for the ten plus years that is typical of a foreclosure.
We've been told by lenders that a short sale knocks approximately 80 points off the pre-short-sale credit score; others have told us it's closer to 50 points. On the other hand, an attorney friend claims that foreclosure SEVERELY DAMAGES ONES CREDIT FOR AT LEAST 10 YEARS! Wooouch!
A Short Sale can be a win-win scenario -- the bank reduces a portion of "bad debt," avoids foreclosure costs, and keeps the home occupied, while you shed a housing payment you can't afford.
We'll continue this series next week as we start to look at the good, the bad, & the ugly of buying a short sale.
Displaying blog entries 1-10 of 13
