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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 ago.

Now....please don't mistake me for someone whose too afraid to push the envelope when it comes to pricing. In fact, I think that this market is PERFECT to test the waters a bit....for properties that are WELL WORTH IT!

On the contrary......

Just when is it too much????

I went on a listing appointment on yesterday and visited quite a charming home. It had been fully renovated and included an upstairs loft bedroom, another full bath with a jacuzzi tub, hardwood and natural tile floors EVERYWHERE, a detached man cave that actually looked like a quaint little pub, and 8+ sprawling (mostly wooded) acres! This home has it all.....now for the "iffy" items. Although the pattern on the tile flooring was consistent throughout, there were many types of different hardwoods elsewhere. I think I counted at least four different types. There were quite a few large separation gaps in the floors and three leaks in two separate sky lights (one in the detached mini pub). The bathroom with the jacuzzi tub was actually included in one of the secondary bedrooms. The master bedroom did not have an associated bath (you'd have to use the one downstairs) and the secondary bedrooms were dated. Pushing the envelope on this property would be around $185k. The seller wants to list at $200k.

My philosophy has always been to list what I honestly believe that I can sell....without having the owner want to physically beat me. So, having said that....I tucked my tail and walked away. I surely loved the character that this home has, but some relationships are simply not meant to mesh.....*tear*

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 (4/2.5) on a full basement listed as a short sale for only $124,900. Mass investor Purchaser offers $131,000. We contract with the investor who completes home inspections. No repairs are requested. On the last day of due diligence, Buyer advises that they no longer believe that they'll be able to get the initially estimated rental rate for the property and will proceed with purchase as long as Seller reduces to $115,000. I quickly notify the Seller's lender and am advised that the BPO came in a little high and that $131K with no closing costs barely met their mininum. We eventually terminate with this Buyer and increase the purchase price to $139,900.
Two days after placing the property BACK on the market, I receive another offer from the same Purchaser....for $134k. I contact the agent to ask what was different now as opposed to last week when the Buyer needed to reduce to $115K. She then informed me that this particular Buyer makes blind offers and basically throws a lot of contracts against the wall to see which ones stick.
Who has time to waste like that???? Yep....just another Monday morning in the world of Real Estate
 
Vanessa M Calhoun, Real Estate Consultant
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers
209 Newnan Crossing Bypass
Newnan, GA 30263
404-843-2500 (office)
678-406-8432 (direct)
770-254-4985 (fax)
vanessa.calhoun@metrobrokers.com
www.vanessacalhoun.com

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 to begin paying a monthly rental fee...YOU GUESSED IT!!!! They actually wanted to continue to live "rent/mortgage free". Heck, they'd done it for more than two years, so why start now??? The nerve of some people!!!
THEN..... I get to my office and receive an email from the Buyer's agent on one of my short sales. It appears the Buyer, a bulk-purchaser investor, decided to terminate a week prior to closing! Apparently, on the very last day of their due diligence period, they decided that they would not be able to get the originally anticipated rental rate and decided to grab my Seller by the cojones and threaten to terminate if the Seller refused to reduce the contractual price by $15,000! Of course, now we have to take this back to the first and second lienholders and beg for their approval!
Oh well.....at least it's Friday!
 
Vanessa M Calhoun, Real Estate Consultant
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers
209 Newnan Crossing Bypass
Newnan, GA 30263
404-843-2500 (office)
678-406-8432 (direct)
770-254-4985 (fax)
vanessa.calhoun@metrobrokers.com
www.vanessacalhoun.com
 

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 is, we currently have only 728 properties available for sale in Coweta County, GA. That's half of what was available within our market a year ago and equates to a 4.8 months supply of inventory. THIS MEANS THAT WE'RE DEFINITELY IN A SELLER'S MARKET!!! Additionally, we've had a 10% increase in the median home price in Coweta County, GA.

This means that if you're looking to sell your Coweta County, GA home, then you're primed and ready to get the maximum amount of money for your home. In fact, you should expect a multiple offer scenario if your home is priced with the market!! Yes!!! RECEIVING MORE THAN ONE OFFER ON YOUR HOME IS POSSIBLE IN THIS CURRENT COWETA COUNTY, GA MARKET!!!!

If you're looking to purchase a new home in this market, here are a few simple steps that you must take in order to be able to compete for your dream home:

1) Get pre-approved immediately! This is optimal if you'd like for your offer to be seriously reviewed by the Seller. Everyone else will be submitting an offer with some sort of proof that they can actually purchase the home...either a loan pre-approval or a Proof of Funds letter. You not submitting a pre-approval or Proof of Funds would kinda be tantamount to bringing a knife to a gun fight.

2) Be prepared to make "on the spot" decisions! You should approach each and every property that you view with the notion that if you want it, you'd better make an offer. Going home to "sleep on it" could cause you to lose the property. I've seen it happen repeatedly within the past month.

3) Be serious about your offer amount! Don't approach every situation that a Seller may ask for highest and best in a multiple offer situation. Your first offer should be your highest and best when you're dealing with low inventory and high buyer demand. You may not have a second chance to increase your offer.

4) Listen to your agent!!! Geez Louise...I can't stress this point enough! Your agent has insight into your local market and loads of useful information that will help navigate you through this market and into your dream home. You've hired them for a reason.....use them to the fullest!

Now, don't misunderstand me. Buying a new home is a very fun and eventful experience! However, there's no need to create stress for yourself when it can easily be avoided by following a few steps.

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 little re-sale inventory from which to choose. Most had become fed up with being in multiple offer situations with normal resale homes, that they'd decided on new construction.
I explained that we had record low inventory levels in the Coweta County market and many buyers were, in fact, becoming frustrated with the process.

WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS MEAN???? If you're looking to sell your Coweta County home and haven't contacted a local Realtor to discuss provide some market research and discuss your options, then you'd definitely better get on the ball!  Buyers are frantic and desperately looking for homes! Many Sellers are finding themselves in the driver's seat where they're picking through multiple offers and not even conceding closing costs!!! Buyers are no longer writing low-balled offers and have become more serious about what they're looking for. So, if you've been considering selling....NOW'S DEFINITELY THE TIME TO PULL THE TRIGGER.

Vanessa M Calhoun, Real Estate Consultant
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers
209 Newnan Crossing Bypass
Newnan, GA 30263
404-843-2500 (office)
678-406-8432 (direct)
770-254-4985 (fax)
vanessa.calhoun@metrobrokers.com
www.vanessacalhoun.com

For many distressed home sellers, the term "BPO' is totally greek. Sadly enough, it doesn't ring a bell with many Realtors either. What's more disturbing is that very few Realtors consider the significance or the power of someone else (who's probably traveled for more than 30 miles away) taking a look at your property and giving their opinion of what it would sell for in today's market....sounds simple, right??? It's much more complicated than that.

The reality is that the fate of your client's property (and financial future) may rest upon this single, solitary number...because when that figure lands in the hands of your negotiator on a short sale, it's considered GOLDEN....regardless of whether or not the BPO agent searched all MLS databases for your area for comps or not, or whether they even slowed their car down long enough to actually take a photo or not....it's your negotiator's only link between your offer and the perceived value of your listing. So, what do you do?? I'm so glad that you asked....

1) Remove all access portals to your property - Make it imperative that the person completing the BPO go through you for access and DISCUSS, DISCUSS, DISCUSS the property with the agent. Provide them with a copy of your very own BPO so that they can compare. Many times, if a lender has a pre-existing BPO for a property and a second BPO comes in with a value that's significantly different, a third BPO will be ordered.

2) Submit YOUR very own BPO to the lender along with your highest and best offer. Make sure that your comps are as close to your property in size, condition, age, location, and lot size as humanly possible.

3) ASK, ASK, ASK the BPO agent about their value opinion. To be totally honest, most BPO providers don't even read the fine print where it states that their not supposed to discuss value with anyone other than the requestor. TRY IT ANYWAY!!!

4) DON'T STEER....DISCUSS!!! Don't try to overwhelm or impress the other agent with your vast knowledge of market activity. Humble yourself and actually have a conversation with the other person. It's true, you'll actually catch more bees with honey.

I can't stress enough the importance of completing a BPO on your listing. Use it as as leverage in negotiating with the buyer's agent. Use it in discussing your opinion of value to the loss negotiator. Use it to line the bird cage....just USE IT!!!

Beautiful 3 bdrm/ 2 bth family home with rocking chair from porch originally sold on July 19, 2010 for $109,829.00. Our short sale approval timeline is as follows:

June 9, 2010 - Submitted short sale paperwork to lender along with offer and preliminary HUD-1

July 15, 2010 - BPO assigned to area agent.

July 22, 2010 - BPO received by lender.

July 23, 2010 - File assigned to negotiator.

July 27, 2010 - Negotiator conducts phone interview with seller.

July 29, 2010 - Short sale approval received!!!

Original Loan Amount - $ 109,829.00
Short Sale Purchase Price - $ 48,637.00
Amt of waived deficiency - $ 61,192.00