Picture it....Georgia 2013......

The real estate market across the State is experiencing some major transformations. Buyers are scrambling to find homes and Sellers are once again in the driving seat! We're seeing lower Seller paid closing costs contributions and home prices are steadily increasing. Multiple offer situations on well priced normal market sales are becoming the norm....it's definitely a change from two years…

It seems that we've weathered the storm of the foreclosure craze and have experienced a massive pendulum shift in which home seller's can pretty much dictate what they want for a change. Multiple offer and calls for highest and best on NORMAL market sales have become the norm for some markets. All of this is absolutely outstanding.....if you're looking to sell your home.…

I overheard an interesting conversation in the office yesterday. Apparently, an agent showed a rental property that was listed by another agent in the office. Of course, the listing agent asked about feedback and the showing agent excitedly mentioned that his clients were interested in the property. Their conversation quickly changed to the reasons why the prospective tenants are now choosing to rent and he mentioned that they were doing a strategic default on their…

To know me is to know that I LOVE peanut butter...I love it on a spoon by itself, on bread, with jelly, without jelly, with bananas, etc...I think you get the picture.

When someone felt it prudent to mix peanut butter with chocolate.....OH MY!!!! I was in absolute peanut buttery heaven!!!!

Now that you know how I feel about the peanut butter and chocolate.......

Recently...Bank of America announced that it was…

First off, I'd like to say that I'm completely thrilled that our Real Estate markets are rebounding (quite well in some areas)! Secondly, I'd like to say that I am, in no way, against Investor Purchasers. In fact, I love them.....well, at least I like 'em a lot. However, no matter how well our markets are doing or how long we've been in the industry, we still must deal with the lunacy and absolute hilarity of some Purchasers.

Here's the short version......

Beautiful traditional home…

This past Saturday was an absolutely wonderful day to meet with my buyers as they chose their lot and selections for their new construction home. The weather was perfect, the birds were humming, and Spring was definitely in the air.

I'd been talking with the On-Site Agent and she'd been telling me about how they've had an influx of buyers in the community wanting to either purchase their existing inventory or build a new home and they were all complaining of the same phenomena.....very…

UGH!!!!! Well, one thing's for certain.....we're never at a loss for drama in the world of short sales. I was just speaking with another agent on yesterday who was telling me about her short "sellers" who stopped the transaction a week prior to closing! The listing agent had fully ss approval with a waiver of liability, the buyer's loan had been fully approved through underwriting, and they were just waiting for the closing date to arrive. The Seller's determined that they were not yet ready…

As with most markets across the Country, Coweta County is experiencing a sort of unique market condition. What's that??? WE HAVE MANY, MANY MORE BUYERS THAN WE HAVE PROPERTIES TO SELL TO THEM!!!! Now, don't get me wrong..this has created a beautiful scenario for those who are looking to sell their homes. Demand is up and supply is down! The perfect economic dilemma!!!  

I know that this scenario is pretty difficult for some buyers to believe, but it's the God honest truth! The fact…

First of all, please allow me to preface this blog post with the following statement...."I am NOT against the use of third party negotiators handling short sale transactions. There are many effective third party negotiators and some that I would even use....after a lengthy interview, of course. The actions of some third party negotiators DO NOT reflect the actions of ALL third party negotiators".

....No that I've gotten that out of the way, it's time for me to speak my mind.

We…

As short sale agents, we have to endure the craziest scenarios. If it's not the most asinine requests from some banks/servicers, then surely it's the unusual repair requests from buyers (yeah right....my Seller's selling his home via short sale, hasn't paid squat towards a mortgage in over three months...HOWEVER, he/she certainly has $10,000 to pay for new carpet and paint). My all time favorite has always involved selling a tenant occupied home.

It always starts out the…

Here's the scenario.......Listing Agent has a million dollar listing in a high end community. The property is still owner occupied and is filled with extravagant and expensive furnishings. An unrepresented Buyer approaches the listing agent and gives her an exciting story about winning the Colorado lottery. She also mentions how she has made it her life mission to adopt homeless children and give them a lifestyle that supercedes the one that they're currently living. She needed an opulently…

Today pretty much started out as normal. I'm working diligently alongside my Assistant when I receive a phone call. This young lady is interested in a property that I'd previously listed which is now being marketed as a rental by another Brokerage. I informed her that I'd sold the property and that I no longer have any information regarding the current status of the property, but would gladly assist her in contacting the current listing agent. I look up the property in order to get the…

When I began my career in real estate 7 years ago, I quickly learned to adapt to the world of declining home prices, BPO's, REO's, Short Sales, Asset Managers, yada yada yada.....you get the picture. Almost overnight, my entire business was centered around the distressed market. From a business standpoint, it didn't bother me. In fact, it fit right into my loss mitigation background and appealed to the analytical party of me. It wasn't the best scenario and could be extremely volatile at…

Normally, it's customary that lightning will not strike twice....and I've become accustomed to believing that old addage to be true. In fact, I wouldn't expect anything different.....



HOWEVER, it's happened to me....I mean, the double strike of lightning! Right into my heart, nonetheless!!! First, Bayview fully approves my short sale with a full Seller's release of liability within 22 days....NOW, Greentree has done the same within 30 days!!!



Are these Servicers trying to…

There's nothing like the simple joys of listing a home on the market, securing a buyer, and closing within a relatively short time frame......NOTHING AT ALL! HOWEVER.......I've just recently been afforded the opportunity of handling a short sale with Bayview Loan Servicing in the first lienholder position. What a treat!!!

 

First, we received a wonderful offer on the property within days of market time and submitted the entire short sale package to Bayview on January 25th. The…

FINALLY!!!! The day has come where the stars and moon have all aligned and you have all of your ducks in a row! You've secured a wonderful lender, an exceptional Buyer's Agent, you've saved ample funds, you have your list of all that you could ever want and desire in a home, and you've found at least six within your preferred area that meet your criteria!! You pick on the phone to contact your agent and quickly provide them with the list. Your agent advises that they're going to check…

In the oftentimes chaotic world of short sales, the road from initial list to closing is filled with rough terrain, speedbumps, wrong turns, u-turns, no turns, stop signs, and many detours. Nary a day I fail to hear the laments of yet another agent succumbing to the trials and toils of short sales. In fact, in my 7 years of selling everything from normal market re-sales to REO and short sales, I've dealt with many different (and often frustrating) short sale transactions. In fact, I've had…