Documentary-Foreclosure neighborhoods devastated in Arizona

I haven’t seen the full length movie yet, but here is a link to the trailer:

http://projectmaryvale.org/HOME-Documentary.html

This documentary outlines the familiar but devastating effects of the foreclosure market as told and co-produced by Gail Buck, a broker in Arizona, in the low-income Hispanic neighborhood of Maryvale.  Similar to the housing market in parts of Elgin and the Fox Valley area, this is a painful reminder of the lower income housing market when the system breaks down.

Thanks to Gail Buck for producing such a timely documentary and bringing this into national focus.

Jennifer@ElginFoxValley.com

MSN says: Renting not always cheaper than buying?

Here’s an interesting blog post I read today and thought I should share:

http://realestate.msn.com/blogs/blog–buying-a-home-is-44percent-cheaper-than-renting-maybe?ocid=vt_twmsnre

 

Enjoy!

 

CNN Money

CNN Money

Best time sell your home is now, according to CNN Money!

Bulldozer friendly property available!

It’s on Prairie Avenue, but don’t let the name fool you.  I had been forewarned by the listing description on the MLS, “Disclaimer must be signed by all parties entering the property and no showings will be confirmed without signatures.”  I didn’t even want to get out of the car when I pulled up in front of it.  Ah well, I figured since drove out here, I might as well check it out in person.  But I was fairly certain of what I would find.  An eyesore, a nasty mutt of a house that was so ugly only a bulldozer would love being around it.  Actually, a bulldozer would be a step up from this house for living accommodations,  it was so bad.  You know a property is in dire straits when you are afraid to walk through the door, if there even is a door.  A hazard mask for checking the basement would be required.  Work gloves for opening door handles plus a really large flashlight are also necessary items.   And will First Time Home Buyer Guy want to walk through it to see what kind of deal he can get?  You betcha!  Even the local investors don’t like major hassles with their properties and this one will come with a bunch of snags.

I expect this one will go to the home renovation guy who likes to noodle around with historical properties.  This one will have issues with a side of extra drama from keeping faithful to the aesthetics of the historical societies requirements.  Read: extra expensive.  From roofing to windows to all parts in between, this one should be a no-brainer tear down.

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/352-Prairie-Ave_Elgin_IL_60120_M80692-23543

It is ugly, it is falling down ugly, the kind of house that would make better kindling than a home if not for all the lead paint and asbestos in the walls.  But then, if there were no challenge to renovating sad, ugly, desperate properties, why bother?

Jennifer@ElginFoxValley.com

When a blind offer sees straight

I was just wrapping up for the day when the update came across the MLS.  An automated search popped up: a listing I had been keeping an eye on, for a certain person, just in case, was in the search results.  Finally!  I knew exactly who to call for this property as I pulled up her contact information from my database.  I had a pretty good idea of what this client would say.  After trying her work number, and the cell phone (thanking my lucky stars to have all this contact info) I went on to the house phone before reaching her.  I skipped right to the point.

“Hi Eileen? It’s Jennifer.  And it just came in, the one on Gray Street, right now on the MLS,” I said.

“Really?  That’s great!  I’m in.  Let’s send the offer in tonight, ok?” Eileen said.

“Are you sure you don’t want to check it out with a showing tomorrow?  We’d be putting in a blind offer tonight, with no first hand look at the property,” I reminded her.

She didn’t hesitate.

“No, it’s now or never.  I’ve been waiting for this one, let’s get it in the offer before we have another set of buyers to bid us up,” she said.

We loaded up our contract, signed it off and sent it over that night, with the property on Gray Street going sight unseen.  Was this a risky idea?  You bet.  Do I recommend it for all my clients?  Absolutely not!

Here’s why it worked for Eileen:
She is an experienced buyer,
She has funds readily available for purchase,
She has seen other similar properties in this neighborhood before and knows the specific type of house,
She saw the listing photos I sent to her from the MLS sheet, so she had some idea of the exterior/interior of the property.

Lastly, she had been outbid previously in this neighborhood so she knew the market competition was fierce in this area.  She knew that if she locked up the property with a full asking price offer the same day it was listed, it might get her a leg up over multiple bids coming in on the property.  She also knew that if something untoward was found later on, she had only to surrender her earnest money deposit to back out of the contract, a risk she found acceptable.

Are you ready to make a move like Eileen?  Get your mark, get set, find your Realtor and go!  The market is slowly moving out of the buyer’s arena and back into the seller’s playing field advantage.  Be ready!

Jennifer@ElginFoxValley.com

Woes of the Deal Breaker

The crack wasn’t deep but it followed the entire length of the sub wall.  I’ve seen these before in older homes, newer homes, and everything in between.  I walked the client through the rest of the home inspection and I hoped this would not be the dreaded Deal Breaker issue.  Before the home inspector even reported back to the buyer, I knew it signaled a problem, but just how big?  

Realtors are not home inspectors.  
Realtors always seem to have all the answers, but we are not trained in the art of how and why of home inspection.  When you get a property inspected the right way, you want to know how it is working now, what happened to it in the past and how long stuff will keep working in the future.  Simple, right?  Just like when you take a used car into your favorite mechanic, you want to know what you are buying, before you drop that big down payment on it.

So how bad is it?  
A crack on the foundation isn’t always worrisome.  It could merely be a hairline settling crack, which is normal.  But you want to have it looked at if it is wide, long or deep.  This is exactly why you get a home inspector to put everything he/she finds into a report and hold onto it for future reminders.  Other major issues can include roofing problems, termites and HVAC and wiring issues.  

Is this the deal breaker?  
Here’s the thing:  Only the buyer determines if the issue is the deal breaker-not me!  I will help the buyer to determine if the issue is nothing, a simple fix, or an expensive fix.  Coming up with solutions will involve getting estimates from a reliable contractor who specializes in foundation issues.  Then your buyer can give this information to the seller with a request to review it per re-negotiating on the contract, because as your Realtor recommended, you put in your contract to purchase the property pending the home inspection, right?  Will the buyer panic at the home inspectors report?  Well, now, that depends a lot on the Realtor.  Talking with the buyer through the issues, the ups and downs of home buying and what they expect the outcome to be should have been done by now.  Communication is vital to understanding what a buyer will and will not accept.  I’ve seen a major issue be taken care of 100% by the owners because they know the next buyer will find the same issue anyway.  I’ve seen buyers get the credit they needed to fix it later on at the closing table.  I’ve also seen owners think this one issue kills the house completely for them and walk away.  This happened once, on an short sale, so it was not very surprising that the bank wasn’t too keen on the idea of compromising even more on the price tag. But I’ve never had a buyer walk away as long as the owner was willing to work it out, as long as they knew what they were getting into.

Educating the buyer is essential.  
One of the hardest things a Realtor has to do is to educate the buyer to make sound decisions.  There is no perfect house!  However, not every buyer wants to deal with a headache of foundation issues, but my experience has shown me that there is a buyer out there for every property, no matter the issues.  Giving a buyer all the tools they need to make these decisions, such as a thorough home inspection with full written report, outside third party opinions, fair estimates from reputable contractors and realistic expectations that a seller will work in good faith to finalize a sale, will all help get a deal breaker issue resolved into a smooth closing for happy homeowners.

Check out my blog from last month “Is Wood Grain Tile the Spork of Flooring?”

Jennifer@ElginFoxValley.com