With more and more Americans facing the prospect of declining home values and unemployment levels not seen in quite some time, many homeowners and their lenders are facing the situation where the home is worth less than owed.  This is no problem if the owner doesn’t have to move and can afford their current payment.  If the owner is forced to sell for whatever reason, then the possibility of a short sale becomes a very real option.

What is a short sale? A short sale is an option you have before you reach the point of foreclosure where you are selling your home for less than what is owed. However, the bank has to agree to a short sale as they stand to lose money via either process.  Banks do short sales because of cost.  An average cost to the bank for foreclosure is around $65,000, so they are smart to take the short sale.

You must have an offer in hand for the bank to tell you whether they will do a short sale or not.  They have the say-so whether or not a short sale will be accepted.

The 4 requirements to have a short sale are:

1. The home’s market value has dropped.
2. Mortgage is in or near default status.
3. The seller has fallen on hard times . . . unemployment, divorce, medical emergency, bankruptcy, death
4. The seller has no assets to speak of.

Foreclosure is on your FICO score for 6 years.  Short sales start to repair themselves after 2 years.

Short sales can be a win-win for the lender and the seller.  The lender recovers more of their capital faster than would be possible if they went through foreclosure.  The owner wins by relieving themselves of the financial burdens of the home and taking a smaller hit to their credit than would happen if a foreclosure occurred.

Unfortunately it’s not as simple as it appears.  Every lender and every situation is different.  There are pitfalls to be avoided and terms to be negotiated to reduce or eliminate any further obligations for the borrower after the short sale is concluded.  It is critical to have a team of experts in place to guide you through the process.  A seasoned real estate Broker and a real estate Attorney who specializes in such transactions are the backbone of such a team.

The Charlotte Chamber of Commerce has put together a series of maps that show estimated commute times from certain points in the metro area. This is a pretty cool tool for folks thinking of moving to Charlotte and are unfamiliar with commute times in different parts of the city. The times are only estimates, of course. Included in the report are occupations shared by residents in the various areas, thus allowing those who might be currently unemployed to use this information while searching for employment. The study focused on 15-30 minute drive times in 15 different areas of Charlotte.

Check it out at:

Charlotte Commuting Time Estimator

The snow was falling early this morning

Yes it does snow in Charlotte!  Proof is in the pictures I took this morning as the flakes were falling in Southeast Charlotte, cancelling school and causing many to stay home from work. Many who didn’t grow up in this area like to laugh at Southerners who appear to panic at the first flake and stay home as long as anything white remains on the ground - but their feelings are justified as more often than not, snow in Charlotte comes with ice in Charlotte.  Driving on ice is NOT the same as driving on snow.

Regardless, it’s the perfect combination for all – the snow is pretty, kids get a day off from school, and then within a day or two it’s all gone and we’re back to dry streets and yards.  No slush or dirty roads to deal with.  What more could you ask for?

These pictures were taken this morning from my house.  As of 11am, it is still coming down, although tapering off.  I’m sure that by later today things will calm down and we’ll be back to normal.

So don’t laugh at us – if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!  Take the day off and find a nearby hill and have fun with the kids.  We don’t get too many chances to enjoy this!

Snow was clinging to the trees

The Housing Market-

What’s it going to take to turn the housing market around?  We have to believe that it will turn around and how soon depends on you!

Day in and day out I continue to hear how bad it is.  I’m just tired of it.  People still need housing and why not purchase your own home.  Renting is a waste of time and resources.  Interest rates are low, but not at an all time low.  In most cases it is still a buyers market.

The only way that our economy will turn around is we have to invest in it and spend money.  Look – life is a risk.   So help yourself and others by going out to eat, taking that vacation, buying a new car or even purchasing a new home.   

We have a special guest blogger today – Bill Saint, CFO and Director, Simonini Builders, Inc.  Bill recently spoke at several Realtor® seminars.  This is a followup to the Charlotte, North Carolina real estate market.

At our Realtor® seminars this fall, I promised to share the updated Case Shiller numbers which came out last week, for data through August.

Way to go Charlotte! We are 2nd from the lowest in price decline, reporting an overall 2.8% decline during the past 12 months. Dallas, at 2.7%, was the lowest; with Phoenix the highest at a 30.7% decline.

Here is the updated Case Shiller report.

We’ve been delighted to meet with many firms this fall to provide an update on home design trends we’ve found across the country and what is asked for by our buyers. Additionally, we have an update on the overall Charlotte real estate market and tools to assist your resale buyers and new home buyers. I’m delighted with the feedback from many Realtors that these tools are being used to help make sales! Great news!

In today’s market the value of a good Real Estate Agent is even more apparent as we struggle with the demands of finding that right buyer in order to sell your home for top dollar – let alone sell it at all.  A recent article in The Charlotte Observer “Real Estate Today” talks about why the owner of a home hasn’t been able to sell his home. This is an exceptional article that deals with the very frustration we, as REALTORS, deal with day in and day out! This particular seller has had his home on the market since 2005.  Sure the market was better then than now.  However real estate is and always will be localized in how it performs.  With in a week or two after placing his home on the market an offer came in.  It was for 5.7% less than asking price.  The owner turned down the offer convinced that they could do better.  Of course they did because SELLERS KNOW IT ALL! 

The seller, a house painter, knows more about selling their home than that of an experienced professional. OF COURSE HE DOES BECAUSE SELLERS KNOW IT ALL! Lets assume that their carrying cost for their mortgage is a mere $1500 per month. That equates to $54,000 of payments for this period vs. taking the offer that was $30,000 less than the asking price.

Here are some things to remember:

1.  Real Estate is no longer recession proof.

2.  Greed, not intelligence, is often the factor for loosing a qualified buyer.

3.  Good realtors® fire their sellers when they don’t listen to them.

4.  The seller may set the asking price but the MARKET SETS THE VALUE.  This one bears repeating – the seller may set the asking price, but the market sets the value!

I’d like to hear your opinion on this or any related topic.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools recently announced a powerful new tool that allows users to compare school performance against each other, state values, and more.  Several years in the making, this new softward gets down to the nitty gritty – are busses running on time?  what do the parents think of the school?  how does a school rate in relation to the state scores?

With newcomers to the Charlotte area hungry for information on our schools, this tool will be invaluable.  I haven’t tried it out yet, so I can’t offer an opinion on how user friendly it is.  If anyone has tried it, let us know what you think.

Read the story on the Charlotte Mecklenburg Dashboard.

Access the Charlotte Mecklenburg Data Dashboard.  (Instructions are in the upper left hand corner)

Would you place the single most expensive investment you’ll ever make into the hands of someone you may not know or trust?

Think about this for a moment; you’re asking for advice of the very person that has a financial gain yet you don’t know them.  You want them to tell you it’s o.k. to make this purchase and your probability of showing a profit is strong.  Is that correct?  We continue to trust people in my very own industry without knowing what they’re about.

When you select a Realtor® to represent you, you had better make sure that your well being is at the top of their list.  Here’s how you can do that:

Start by asking for and working with seasoned professionals that understand the industry, and have the agents define what it takes to be successful and what is their accessibility.  Do they return calls after 5pm?

Get references and check them out.  Does company ranking make a difference?  You bet it does.  Would you want to be seen by a doctor that practices part time or someone that really knows their craft? 

From my entry into this career field 17 years ago I’ve always conducted my self in a way that places my clients first at times even before my family.  My job is to protect my clients by telling them what not to buy.  They’ll know what to buy when the time is right.  I’m here to find them they best property at the best price in the best of locations.  It sounds so simple that everyone tries to be in Real Estate but the reality is that only 10%  are at the top. 

I continue to do business the old fashioned way, I earn it one transaction at a time.  If you have a real estate question you are welcome to look around my website and learn more about me and the rest of my great team. 

Sunday evenings in many cities tend to be quiet. But if you’re like me you may want to take advantage of our wonderful city and hit the concert trail. Last evening my wife and I went to Time Warner Arena and enjoyed the American Idol Concert tour. Some people may think we’re too old to see a concert of this type but believe me this was a great venue and even better concert. There isn’t a bad seat in the house. This is just one of the many things to do and places to go should you visit or even move to Charlotte North Carolina.