Category Archives: real estate

HGTV House Hunters looking for buyers…

Thursday, 09 July 2009 23:32

Written by Lane Bailey

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: Image via Wikipedia

I just got an email from the production company that does House Hunters for HGTV. They are calling for buyers that are ready to buy. The specific quote is “in the late stages of buying.” I would assume that would mean that they are looking for people that know what they want and will be ready to make an offer in just a few outings to view property.

There is a compensation package for the buyers, $1000 for those they select to follow. And I think it might also be a lot of fun.

If you are a buyer, not currently working with an agent, and you think you will be buying in the next month or two, give me a call and let’s see if we can get on HGTV’s House Hunters.

Get out of your mortgage for FREE?!?

Wednesday, 08 July 2009 18:32

Written by Lane Bailey

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: Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Probably not…

But that doesn’t mean that people aren’t trying it… and it doesn’t mean that people aren’t getting in trouble for it.

Here is the way it works (and it all sounds so legit…):

Mr. and Mrs. Consumer buy a house and get a mortgage from MonsterMegaMortgageCompany (MMMC).
MMMC sells their mortgage to Investor Pool #1.
Then it is bundled and sold to IP#2… and #3 and #4 over a span of a few years.
Mr. & Mrs. Consumer start having problems, and despite everything they are facing foreclosure.
To try to get help they contact a “Foreclosure Mitigation” Law Firm that fights the foreclosure by filing a “missing title” lawsuit.
The law firm (or other entity) charges an up-front fee (maybe $2000) and then monthly fees (maybe $1000 or $1500)… as well as a contingency fee upon settlement of either 50% of the reduction or 75% or 80% of the value if the mortgage were completely eliminated.
After stringing along Mr. & Mrs. Consumer for a few months or longer (collecting fees), they fail to actually prosecute the case.
Mr. & Mrs. Consumer lose their home…

According to a few of the sources I looked at, their are no recorded examples of any suit of this type EVER being resolved in the consumer’s favor.

The basis of the lawsuit is that if the mortgage holder can’t produce the documents from the mortgage, it will be set aside and the consumer will own their property free and clear. Sounds nice, huh?

Before getting sucked into something like this, here is a little more reading…

Source 1

Source 2

The State of California is going after one of the firms involved in this practice. I would expect that there are similar cases in other states.

Times are tough… scamsters know it, too

People being foreclosed on are all over the place. They are vulnerable to people that approach them to “help.” There are a variety of scams and plans that mostly just revolve around generating a profit for the “helper.”

Be careful! There is help for many home owners that are in trouble… but the easy sounding solutions often aren’t what they are cracked up to be. If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is…

I would love to lose my mortgage, too… but this isn’t the way…

$8000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit ends…

Saturday, 04 July 2009 21:44

Written by Lane Bailey

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: Image via Wikipedia

Ok, don’t panic, it doesn’t end until December 1st, 2009. But don’t get complacent, either… That is sooner than you think.

If you aren’t familiar with the FTHBTC (First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit), here is a little reading. The first thing to know is that not owning a home for the last 36 months qualifies one as a First Time Home Buyer for this tax credit…

So, back to the timeline…

Loans are taking a little longer to close lately… The end of November is going to be VERY busy with closing attorneys… The good deals aren’t on every corner…

So, getting a home under contract 45-60 days out from the December 1st date would be a really good idea. That means that you really want to have the right house picked out by September. If there is a failure on a deal… or a short sale… it could add a month or two to the process.

Bottom line…

Don’t let the time get away. If you qualify, don’t leave $8,000 sitting on the table. And finally, don’t think that looking for a house after Halloween gives you a great chance at getting closed by December 1st…

REEP and Cap & Trade

Thursday, 02 July 2009 23:57

Written by Lane Bailey

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: Image via Wikipedia

Changes might be coming… and they aren’t good.

Buried in the 1500 page bill is a very long section on the Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance program, REEP for short.

Listing Options… Just so you know.

Friday, 26 June 2009 10:47

Written by Lane Bailey

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: Image by lane.bailey via Flickr

Yesterday I posted about how some companies are adding junk fees to the traditional sales fees for both buyers and sellers. I think this practice is just plain wrong… especially the way it is usually presented.

In order to give my clients options and help them save some money, I offer three different fee structures and two different levels of service for home sellers. Here is the quick rundown:

Flat Fee – $999 listing plan. This is the plan from our discount arm, WhatIf? Realty. This puts your property on the local MLSs, and gets you a standard sign, as well as a lockbox and flyers. I have a couple of extras, as well as some available upgrades that aren’t shown on the company page, for my clients through this plan, so if you are interested, please contact me directly.
Traditional Listing. This includes all of the traditional services, like full marketing, website, video, virtual tour, interactive floor plan, interactive design tools, custom sign, blog support and more. I don’t believe that tossing it in the MLS and then shooting a couple of pictures with my cell phone is a “complete marketing package”…
The Hybrid Option. This is new and experimental, but really exciting. Many sellers want more than they get from a Flat Fee plan, but they want to save a few bucks. In effect, they are looking for a full-service marketing package with a lower overall cost… So, after looking at how we could offer something to meet this need, this is what we came up with. This includes ALL of the services of our traditional listing and adds a staging consultation. In exchange for an upfront fee, covering much of the cost of marketing, we discount the total cost.

For more information, feel free to call.

One other thing to keep in mind is that most real estate agents are actually independent contractors. While we “work for” a brokerage, we aren’t employees. In some cases, we have the ability to set our own rates, services and other aspects of our businesses. So, even agents working for the same office may offer different services or fees.

In the case of Diamond Dwellings Realty, we are a small niche brokerage… we have agents that specialize in different areas or market segments. And as a smaller brokerage, we have a LOT of lattitude to deliver the best fit for a client’s needs.

My goal is to get YOU the best total deal.

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Category Archives: real estate

HGTV House Hunters looking for buyers…