Short Sales Vs. Foreclosures: What to expect when purchasing

As more and more homes come into the Albuquerque Foreclosure market, the inquiries relating to these properties increase. Prospective buyers of Albuquerque Real Estate are identifying these properties as opportunities to get into a home at an attractive price. And rightly so! In most cases these properties are EXCELLENT investments! The holders of these Albuquerque Foreclosures do not want to keep them on their books and often have them priced to move quickly!

But in the midst of these homes for sale exists home owners which are attempting to sell at less than what is owed to the mortgage holders: short sales...

A prospective purchaser must be aware that often these properties cannot sell for the listed price set by the owner because the mortgage company that holds the first hasn't agreed to do so. Sure, the seller wants to sell but often the bank will not sell at even the listed price. Additionally, the process can take anywhere from 60 days to 9 months to close or even to get an acceptance. The entire process can be very frustrating to say the least! But, if you are patient (and willing to see many other opportunities slip by) you can negotiate a great price. If you are a buyer under a time limit (i.e., rate lock), I cannot recommend writing up a short sale.

Remember, the foreclosed properties mentioned earlier? These can be purchased within a specific time period and are priced to sell quickly by the mortgage holders themselves and there are no occupants in the home. The mortgage holders offer the properties "as is" so you will definitely want to get inspections done on these properties as there will be no seller's disclosure to review. Once you have been satisfied with the results of the inspections, you can move forward to closing, which should fall within the customary time frame of purchasing a home.

If you are thinking about writing an offer on a foreclosed property, be prepared to provide financial approval from a qualified lender or proof of funds, and an earnest money check.

People very often confuse Foreclosures with Short Sales. Be aware of what you are previewing to purchase and make your decisions based on your needs. Consult your Albuquerque Realtor.

Springtime real estate activity

Personally, I love everything about spring. The green, new growth, the warmth in the air and summer fun right around the corner! And this year it seems to mean a little more than in the past few years for Albuquerque Real Estate. Realtors seem to be abuzz with the idea that the market will continue to slowly, but surely, tick up more than the following year. I think the entire country would love to see it!

I keep hearing time and time again from buyers wanting to buy Albuquerque homes for sale and that they are going to wait for spring to roll around before they get serious about purchasing a home. O.K., I can understand that. But are there advantages to buying now? You better believe it!

The inventory for Albuquerque Homes for sale is high and interest rates are LOW! That is what we know right now at this very minute. Will inventory increase in the spring? Probably. Will competition for buying Albuquerque Real Estate increase as well? Yes. Seems logical. Will interest rates increase...and increase...and increase? All signs point to yes.

A Realtor can not tell you what to do, and he/she shouldn't (if they are trying to tell you what to do, find another! Buying a home should not be taken lightly!). We can only advise. My advice would be to consider buying before the spring rush. But if you do wait, be ready for a little competition and possibly multiple offer situations accompanied with rises in interest rates.

Things are looking up in Albuquerque!

The Albuquerque metro area has mirrored the national trend for sales of previously owned homes!

 

Closings leaped from 469 closings in November to 505 closings for December 2010. The median price of existing, detached houses was $178,000. This was a slight increase of $1,000 from November 2010. It should be noted that the median price (the price at which 1/2 the homes are above and 1/2 the homes are below) is considered the most accurate because it is less affected by activity at either end of the market.

 

Other good news regarding the Albuquerque Real Estate market is that when compared to 2009, the median price for Albuquerque homes for sale increased year over year for the 4th consecutive month, and the average price increased year over year for the sixth consecutive month!

 

2010 was the lowest point for closed sales in Albuquerque for a number of years, but the sales activity seems to be gaining momentum so far in January 2011.

 

If you are planing to buy a property, I would get in the market as quickly as possible to possibly avoid the springtime rush.

Advantages to Selling Albuquerque Real Estate ;)

One of the advantages to selling Albuquerque Real Estate is finding the cities great little secrets before the word gets out. One secret that I was let in on over the past holiday season was an excellent microbrewery located in the downtown area of Albuquerque called 'Marble Brewery'.

If you aren't looking for Marble, you will drive right past it. The building itself is a very humble one story, cinder block structure with a patio in the front and the interior is very cozy with warm tones. Behind the bar you can admire the mash-kettle tanks and all the beautiful equipment they use to brew the ales on site (must be a guy thing but I think its neat to see!

Marble offers several micro brews as smooth or as hoppy as you want.

The ales range from a smooth, very drinkable "Wild Flower" wheat to an oatmeal stout, to a double IPA for the hardcore hops lovers! Marble also was just recognized in Draft magazines top 25 beers of the year for their barrel aged specialty Belgium ale. I highly recommend it!

Bottom line, I loved Marble and I especially loved that I got to spend some quality time with a few buyers that I helped find Albuquerque homes this past year.

I love my job!

Our New Albuquequerque Real Estate Website!

Check us out!

We have a brand new website, and what we think is the absolute BEST search tool we've ever seen. You'll find big, bright photos, information by neighborhood, a complete list of Albuquerque Foreclosures, and more to come. Our Albuquerque MLS is so big, we felt like we needed a better way to present it and to help our potential buyers in finding the perfect home.

You can now search for all Albuquerque real estate, as well as Corrales real estate, Rio Rancho real estate, and any of the other surrounding areas.  Check it out and let us know what you think!

If you signed up to have new listings sent to your email from our old site, we're afraid you'll have to cancel that and sign up again on the new one.  But you'll like it so much better it's worth the trouble!  We look forward to talking to everyone we've helped before, and all the new clients we meet soon!  Thank you for choosing us as your Albuquerque Realtors!

Looking forward towards investments

As this year comes to an end, many feel that that bottom of this tricky real estate market has been reached or at least can be seen. Whether this is true or not, I don't know.

What I do know is that in our Albuquerque Real Estate market, there are great deals right now. Inventory is high and interest rates are low. History has shown us time and time again that the maximum profits made in Albuquerque Real Estate are best when the buying occurs on the down slop or at the bottom.

By doing this the main mistake made by people in the "2005 era" (which was buy high and, with a little luck sell higher), can be avoided. Buy low, sell high. sound familiar? Luck should not have a place in this equation that several people (including myself) found themselves using.

A couple of great rules were brought to my attention by an amazing colleague of mine in a different part of the country. These rules should be followed when considering an investment property and I felt were worth mentioning.

• Focus on quality properties and areas
• Don't have tunnel vision on foreclosures and certainly not short sales. Some of the best deals are found the traditional way. Basically, Don't "pigeon hole" yourself. Look at all properties that fit the criteria.
• Do your homework. Be sure to factor all things financial whether its taxes, utilities or HOA dues. Have you Realtor help!
• Study the rental history and be conservative when evaluating the cash-flow potential.
• Be sure to work with a Realtor that has your goals and vision in mind. Make sure they are in it just for the sale. Its all about making good financial decisions! 

Albuquerque Homes are an excellent opportunity to create wealth for the future! If you need any help or have questions regarding Albuquerque, Corrales real estate, or Rio Rancho real estate, please don't hesitate to contact us!!

LET'S HAVE A GREAT 2011!!!

Short sales getting better?

So, I recently closed another Albuquerque Real Estate short sale. This one took a good 6 months which, to me, is pretty typical. It was basically 6 months of bank games that were a lot of fun! (can you see the sarcasm dripping from your monitor?) This one went through the lovely Bank of America's "equator" system. This system promises prompt, friendly and I assume honest service. The promptness...6 months isn't exactly ideal. Friendly...Some what. The assigned negotiator did give us his personal cell number because, due to appraisal service, the deal went right down to the wire (I'm talking hours to the wire). Honest...Even after the deal closed the bank wanted an additional $3k and, some how, the escrow officer was able to work around. Not to sure if the ball was dropped some where there be it seemed a bit suspect since it has happened to me once before. I'll let you decide.

I do hear conversations around the office about short sales only lasting 1.5 to 2 months. I guess it really is a learning process. If the listing Realtor knows how to get a hold of a live person and can to get quick responses, these short sales seems to go fairly smooth. It does seem that banks are finally getting better at understanding how these work. The one thing, I have to admit, that I feel uneasy about is that these homes are mainly sold as is. I warn my buyers over and over about this. Inspection costs also fall on the lap of the buyer which can go well above $1k. That's a jagged pill to swallow for me.

So, bottom line. Should you avoid short sales still. I personally don't think so. Just be prepared for some "uncomfortable situations". Your Realtor should be covering EVERY aspect of a short sale and the possible consequences.

I love my job!! ( that was not sarcasm! ;))