Jun

12

Shadow Inventory of Real Estate: And How It Will Impact Long Island Home Values

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These video’s and slide pictures and graphs below feature information on the shadow inventory and how Long Island home values will be impacted. I hope this information about the real estate market helps you to determine what course of action to take if you’re considering putting your home on the market now.

Part I Shadow Inventory

Morgan Stanley Real Estate Market Analysis

Shadow Inventory of Real Estate

Part II Shadow Inventory

Bank Foreclosure Shadow Inventory
This slide below reflects how much the banks are holding back. The banks have millions of homes to sell.

Shadow Inventory for banks

I want to point out that every time I talk about foreclosures, there is a story behind that home. If you’re behind on your mortgage, I urge you to contact me so we can discuss your options and as always, if you’ve watched this video and you want to talk about putting your home up for sale or purchasing a home, you can call me immediately at 631-831-9048.

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May

22

Challenges to Getting a Short Sale Done

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If you are struggling right now with paying your mortgage, you may be wondering what challenges exist when trying to get a short sale done in order to avoid foreclosure. Among many things, you of course may be in disbelief that this is happening to you and you may also be worried about things like where you’re going to live once you have to move out.

All things like this are tough to think about and I have spoken to enough homeowners, young and old, that have poured their feelings out to me over their situation. One thing I want to make clear though is, this challenge in your life is not just going away.

When I meet with homeowners who have lost their home to foreclosure (after the bank has foreclosed and the homeowners become “occupants”, no owners), I always ask them why they didn’t consider a short sale, even as a last resort. Almost all say that they just thought the problem would go away or that somehow, things would change.

When homeowners call me to discuss negotiating a short sale with their lender, I try to be the voice of sound mind. I try to present the facts and stick to them.

One of the facts about negotiating with your lender to sell your home for less than what you owe on the mortgage is, putting the package together. There are many challenges to getting a short sale done. And here’s the thing about that.

It’s tough enough for families to experience the scenario of losing their home. The last thing you want is to hire a real estate agent and an attorney who do not know what they’re doing when it comes to completing a short sale. They may sound very nice and listen very intently. The agent might even offer very kind words of encouragement and offer a warm smile.

Click here to read the rest of the article

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Mar

13

Short Sales And Why A Buyer Agent Is Necessary

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In this article I will discuss short sales and why a buyer agent is necessary. For any transaction, as a Buyer’s Agent I am responsible for drawing up a purchase binder, presenting the offer effectively, and prompting acceptance of a good offer. With short sales, there’s more to a buyer’s agent than just these basic qualities.

First of all, as your buyers agent, I will be helping you sift through listings, separating the good opportunities from the “time-wasters”. Many buyers I speak with do a lot of research on their own on websites like zillow.com or other general real estate informational website, but zillow cannot examine a short sale listing and determine if it’s a good deal or not.

And there’s something to be said about the fact that the price, in certain respects, has very little to do with whether a short sale is a “good deal” or not.

What do I mean by that? Well just because a home is listed as a short sale and is priced a lot less than surrounding homes in the area, that doesn’t mean it’s a good deal. How is that possible?

There is such a thing where a real estate agent could list a home too low and actually jeopardize the entire transaction. How so?

A short sale is not a give away. The sellers bank will order an appraisal and a broker price opinion. These are reports which analyze the value of property. A seller who is trying to sell their property for less than what they owe puts the bank in a curious situation. The bank must determine that the sale is legitimate.

When agents price a short sale listing too low, what will happen is the buyers will spend a lot of time waiting for the bank to make a decision, while all along, the deal has no chance of going through because the asking price of the home was too low to begin with.

Result? Rejection! And start over from scratch.

You don’t want to be in this situation and that’s where an expert in short sales can make the difference.

In order for a short sale to have wings and fly, you also have to know what values are in the area. Come in too high with your offering price and your appraisal could come in short. On the flip side, come in too low and you’ll spend all that time waiting for the bank response, only to be disappointed at the result when the seller’s bank rejects your offer or counters too high.

And you can’t get current comparables to know where a property’s value stands on zillow or some other outdated, out-of-area national website. A good local real estate agent who understands values in a given area is necessary.

Better yet, having a buyers agent who completes broker price opinions (BPO’s), like myself, be there guiding you on what short sales are good ones and which aren’t and how much to offer exactly, will ultimately make the process of buying a short sale, much more efficient than going out there on your own, being left to make mistake after mistake.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at 631-831-9048. If you are behind on your mortgage and have questions about your options to avoid foreclosure, you can email me here.

(c) Copyright 2010 www.tommcgiveron.com
By Thomas McGiveron, LSA

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Mar

5

Short Sales Changes April 2010

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I have been waiting to get more information on the new short sales changes April 2010. According to HAFA, Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives, the new Short Sale Process will be crucially important in 2010.

The Treasury department has released new rules to help simplify the “short sale” process, which isn’t “short” at all. For months, the real estate community has been preparing these new changes. The purpose of HAFA guidelines is much like other failed attempts at helping the real estate industry - one is to have less foreclosures in 2010 and two, get the real estate market back in the appreciation mode.

The key short sales changes appear to be the following:

The following changes only apply to banks that took TARP money (Troubled Asset Relief Program). Because they took TARP funds, the treasury will be requiring these banks to follow these new guidelines.

I will continue to update information on these short sale changes as they become more definite.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at 631-831-9048. If you are behind on your mortgage and have questions about your options to avoid foreclosure, you can email me here.

(c) Copyright 2010 www.tommcgiveron.com
By Thomas McGiveron, LSA

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Oct

25

Foreclosures Expected To Rise

Filed Under Foreclosure Info, Long Island Short Sales, Sellers & Buyers | Leave a Comment


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Here’s an article, Foreclosures Expected To Rise, in the Financial Post, showcasing several points that I have continually spoken to homeowners about.

If you are behind on your mortgage, you can call me and we can discuss how you can avoid foreclosure.

Tom McGiveron, LSA 1-877-765-3123, ext. 51.

May

6

Long Island Short Sales: (Try) To Buy Or Not To Buy

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Throughout Long Island, short sales have become common practice. If you’re reading this article and don’t know what a short sale is, click here for a quick explanation. With the increase in Long Island short sales, I have seen a tremendous surge of buyers looking to purchase a short sale.

So if you’re reading this article and you find yourself asking, to buy or not to buy (a short sale), then this information is for you.
Assuming you know what a short sale is, I’m going to move right to the point, should you buy a short sale? And of course, the simple answer is, it depends. If you’re out looking at homes on your own because you know more about real estate than a professionally licensed salesperson, well best of luck to you. Stop reading and go buy your short sale (little poke at the know-it-alls).

Okay, so we got rid of those people. Now, if you’re out looking on your own because you’re just new to the whole experience of buying a home, then I would say you should not jump in and try and find a “deal” on a short sale. Why? Because you don’t know what you’re doing and you’ll find that you’ll waste a lot of time and ultimately become frustrated by your lack of progress.

If you’re working with a buyer’s agent because you’ve come to understand that maybe you need a little help, I would say go forth with caution when considering a short sale.
At the end of the day, there are several factors to consider when buying a short sale. One major characteristic is time. Interest rates will remain as historically low as they are now, for only so long and a short sale takes longer to close because it’s a much more complex transaction. Several factors like seller cooperation, and listing agent and attorney competence play tremendous roles in the successability of a short sale.

For me, it’s relatively easy to determine whether a short sale is worth an offer or not and it has nothing to do with whether or not a listing agent says a short sale asking price is “approved” or not. In fact, I shy away from short sale listings where an agent has an “approved” amount. It means nothing.

I ask four to five simple questions to a listing agent of a short sale to determine if it’s a go or not. Unfortunately for you the reader, I’m not just going to put those questions in this article. You’ll have to call me at 631.831.9048 and discuss hiring me as your agent if you’re serious about buying a short sale (I’m a Licensed Real Estate Salesperson so there are no fees other than my commission which is paid by the seller at closing).

Since I’m a nice guy, I will disclose one question I ask every listing agent who has a short sale to sell. I ask them, “How will the offer be presented to the bank if accepted by the sellers?”

What does this mean to you the reader? Nothing. But it is an extremely simple and effective question for me to ask because the answer will almost definitely let me know whether or not it’s good to try to buy or not to buy.

While I was writing this article, the phrase “To buy or not to buy” seemed lacking because you don’t simply buy a short sale. A buyer tries to buy a home via a short sale. Earlier, I mentioned factors that may help or hurt the chances of a successful short sale. There, I didn’t mention the bank or banks that hold the mortgage on a particular home. Some banks are so ill-equipped to handle what is happening in this real estate industry that they simply take a long time (3 to 6 months) to actually review the short sale deal.

Do you know what banks these are?
I do.

Again, when you’re considering buying a short sale, keep in mind that if you don’t know what you’re doing, chances are you will continually be frustrated to find a lack of progress being made with regard to your offer.

Now I want to comment on whether or not a short sale is a “deal” or not. For the record, I can say that in most cases, you will be paying fair market value for a short sale. Let me repeat, in most cases, prepare to pay fair market value. What is “fair market value” (FMV)? It is not what necessarily what the asking price is. Trust me on that. FMV is simply: What like-kind homes in the same area with the same features have sold for within the previous 90 to 180 days. Period.
With a listingbook account from me, I provide all my buyers the ability to establish FMV and together, we make offers that count. Regardless of the listing agent, my offers get accepted, go to the bank (that’s key) and my buyer clients close.

So if you’re out there to “get a deal”, I can say that you almost certainly will not pay more than FMV for a short sale. If you’re serious about buying a short sale (or foreclosure), please call me and let me help you do it right - 631.831.9048.