Archive for the 'Tips For Buyers' Category
Banks & HAFA-Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative Program
February 24th, 2010 categories: General RE Info, Tips For Buyers, Tips for Sellers
Encouraging Short Sales as an Alternative to Foreclosure
In an effort to help distressed homeowners the Treasury Department released in November Guidelines to reduce the number of Foreclosures and ease the Short Sale Process. The program should be in effect on April 5th, 2010. Short Sales have been streamlined by Banks as time goes by it’s still a lengthy and painful process. In average a successful Short Sale Transaction had 2 or 3 Buyers during the process. The first one either tired or waiting or not interested in the price the Bank countered at opened the door for second or third Buyers.
Bank of America, is particularly known for its lengthy Short Sale Time line specially with Countrywide Loans. The process will be streamlined through the use of an interactive website easing communication and document uploading. Their goal is to offer pre-approved short sale solicitations and provide approvals within 2 weeks from the time an offer is submitted.
If you are a Bank of America borrower and you are considering a short sale, contact Bank of America Short Sale Team at 1-866-880-1232.
Wells Fargo created Field Short Sale Teams to provide local assistance to homeowners and their Real Estate Agents. Each case is reviewed by a Short Sale Specialist on site. Their goal is to obtain approvals within 7-10 Days and close in 37 days (from start to finish). For a limited time they are offering seller’s incentives to help with moving costs (your local short sale field rep will confirm availability).
If you need a market evaluation of your home to determine if you are facing a Short Sale scenario, please call me at (954) 588-7260 or e-mail me garcia.i@ewm.com
Make sure you list your property with a Real Estate Agent that will treat the Sale of your home with the same care and diligence as a non-distressed sale.
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Something Your Buyers Should Know About Title Before Closing On A REO Property
February 9th, 2010 categories: Tips For Buyers
The REO lender cannot require, as a condition of sale, that the buyer purchase title insurance from a particular title company. The buyer of REO property has a right to choose the closing and title company and pay for buyers own title policy. Section 9 of RESPA prohibits a seller from requiring the home buyer to use a particular title insurance company, either directly or indirectly, as a condition of sale. In fact, a clause in a purchase agreement that has the effect of forcing the buyer to obtain and pay for a title insurance policy from a specific title company is illegal. The only way a seller can ask that a buyer use a particular title company is if the seller pays 100% of all title insurance and related title costs. We urge buyers to stand up for their right to choose the title company if the buyer will pay for the policy.
For additional information please contact Marisa Pia Capua of EWM Title at 305.960.3067.
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Reduce your risk of online fraud
February 9th, 2010 categories: Tips For Buyers
On line fraud can be costly and annoying and can cause harm to your computer. Below are some tips from Microsoft to help you reduce your risk of online fraud.
Signs of a scam
To help protect yourself from scammers lookout for these six things .
- Generic introductions such as “Dear Customer,” which indicate that the sender does not know you and should not be trusted.
- Alarming or urgent statements that require you to respond immediately.
- Requests for personal or financial information, such as user names or passwords, credit card or bank account numbers, social security numbers, date of birth, or other information that can be used to steal your identity.
- Misspellings and grammatical errors, including Web addresses. The Web address might look very similar to the address of a legitimate business, with a minor change. For example, instead of www.microsoft.com, the scammer might use www.micrsoft.com. For more information, see Typos can cost you.
- The text of the link in the e-mail message is different from the Web address that you are directed to when you click the link. You can determine the actual Web address for a link by hovering over the link without clicking it. The Web address appears in a text box above the link.
- The “From” line in the original e-mail message to you shows a different Web address than the one that appears when you try to reply to the message.
What should you do if you notice suspicious activity?
If you think an e-mail message might be fraudulent, Microsfoft recommends taking the following precautions.
- Delete the message. Do not respond or click links in it.
- Report any suspicious activity. (See below for contact information.)
- If you believe that someone is using your Windows Live account, you can reset your password. Go to http://login.live.com and click Forgot your password?
- Fraudulent e-mail messages sometimes contain unwanted or malicious software (also known as malware). If you think you might have malware on your computer, go to safety.live.com and scan your computer to check for and remove unwanted software.
For more helpful tips from Microsoft or to report suspicious activity click here.
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Weston Homes for Sale and Sold-Real Estate Market Trends as of 2/1/2010
February 1st, 2010 categories: Bonaventure, Country Isles, Emerald Estates, Market Update, North Lakes, Savannah, The Islands, The Lakes, The Meadows, The Ridges, The Springs, Tips For Buyers, Weston Hills Country Club, Windmill Lakes Estates
As of February 01, 2020 there are 318 Active Single Family Homes Listed in Weston,Fl
On the month of January, 2010 there were 32 Closed Sales
The proportion of Short Sales and regular sales have not changed much in the last few months.
For a detailed view of the Single Family Homes that closed in Weston on January 2010 click here.
If you want to compare with November and December activity you can read the related articles:
December 2009 Market Update
November 2009 Market Update
*Some Closed Sales may not be recorded yet in the MLS as of 2/1/2010
Thinking of selling your home? Now might be a good time to put it on the market when the inventory of great properties for sale is low. For a FREE market analysis of your property contact us.
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Single Family Homes Sold in West Broward: 2008-2009 Comparison
January 5th, 2010 categories: General RE Info, Market Update, Miramar, Pembroke Pines, Tips For Buyers, Tips for Sellers
The increase in closed sales can be found all around the West Broward. Interestingly Weston’s increase has not been as abrupt as in other areas. It may be caused by any or the combination of several reasons:
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SW Broward Single Family Homes for Sale and Sold as of 01/01/2010
January 4th, 2010 categories: Cooper City, Davie, General RE Info, Market Update, Miramar, Pembroke Pines, Properties in Weston, SW Ranches, Tips For Buyers, Tips for Sellers
In most cities we can notice a very low number of homes for sale available. When we have less than 6 Months of Inventory it is considered a Seller’s Market. If you have been in the market purchasing in the last few months you have probably experienced
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Mortgage Rates Hit Rock Bottom
December 10th, 2009 categories: Mortgage, Tips For Buyers, Tips for Sellers
Unprecedented 4.71% Average 30 Years Fixed-Rate
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Nov. 2009-SF Homes Market Update Miramar West (of I-75)
December 1st, 2009 categories: Market Update, Miramar, Tips For Buyers
Single Family Homes Inventory Nov.2009
Months of Inventory based on PS= Less Than 1 month
Months of Inventory based on CS= 11 months
The number of Pending Sales is extremely high, in all this years in Real Estate I have never seen such a proportion of pending sales to active listings. The GAP between the months of Inventory based on PS and CS are due to fact that pending short sales.
Active-Number of Properties for Sale
PS-Properties Under Contract/Pending Sales and in Back Up Status (Open to receive Back Up offers)
CS-Transactions Closed/Closed Sales
SS-Short Sales
REO-Foreclosures
REG-Regular Sales
Months of Inventory are calculated dividing Active between CS and PS
Under 6 Months=Seller’s Market
Between 6-9 Months=Balanced Market
More than 9 Months=Buyer’s Market
To stay updated with what’s going on in West Broward Are and receive my blog posts directly to your inbox subscribe here.
If you are interested in buying or selling Real Estate in South Florida, please call me at (954) 588-7260 or contact me.
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Nov. 2009-SF Homes Market Update Pembroke Pines West (of I-75)
December 1st, 2009 categories: Market Update, Pembroke Pines, Tips For Buyers
Nov. 2009 Single Family Homes Inventory
Months of Inventory based on PS= 1.04
Months of Inventory based on CS= 7
Short Sales are still affecting the market in high proportions. There is an interesting contrast between pending sales (64%) and closed properties (27%) that are SS.
The GAP between the months of Inventory based on PS and CS are due to fact that pending short sales.
Active-Number of Properties for Sale
PS-Properties Under Contract/Pending Sales and in Back Up Status (Open to receive Back Up offers)
CS-Transactions Closed/Closed Sales
SS-Short Sales
REO-Foreclosures
REG-Regular Sales
Months of Inventory are calculated dividing Active between CS and PS
Under 6 Months=Seller’s Market
Between 6-9 Months=Balanced Market
More than 9 Months=Buyer’s Market
To stay updated with what’s going on West Broward and receive my blog posts directly to your inbox subscribe here.
If you are interested in buying or selling Real Estate in South Florida, please call me at (954) 588-7260 or contact me.
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Home Buyer Tax Credit has Been Extended Until April 30, 2010
November 6th, 2009 categories: Tips For Buyers, Tips for Sellers
Good News for Buyers and Sellers!
Even though it was approved by the Congress we were not 100% sure it would be extended. It’s oficial! Obama signed it as part of his plan to stimulate the US housing market.
Other than the extension of the deadline who favors Buyers seeking Short Sales and the addition of existing Homeowners as beneficiaries of the Tax Credit, the most interesting addition to the law is the increase in the amount a Buyer can earn to Qualify. Ir went from $ $75,000 to $125,000 for single Buyers and from $150,000 to $ 225,000 for married couples. This increase mat trigger the sales of higher priced homes.
Links:
Article at www.Realtor.org: The Basics: Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit
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