Sacramento Expert Short Sale Real Estate Agent

Archive for the ‘Tips’ Category

The City of Citrus Heights located in Sacramento County has opened up the Down Payment Assistance Program once again.  This program will help first time home buyers get assistance with their down payment through a low interest loan, and possibly help to finance part of the buyers down payment. Please visit their website for more information.  This is a first come first serve basis. You will need to qualify for this program and there are certain quidelines.

If you are looking to buy a home in Citrus Heights, Ca  and need help with the down payment, I would suggest visiting the website above.   If you have any questions regarding purchasing a home, please feel free to contact me anytime.

twre.info@gmail.com

 Use a Real Estate Professional

 
The purchase of a home is one of the most complex, high-risk, and expensive
transactions most people will ever go through, yet approximately 40 to 50 percent of
home buyers go to the closing table without a representative or advocate on their side.
This startling research performed in separate studies by the National Association of
REALTORS® and the National Association of Exclusive Buyer’s Agents, shows that
many buyers do not understand the importance of having an advocate. Without
someone representing their interests, how will these buyers ever know if they found the
right home at the right price?
Why should you hire a REALTOR®? Here are ten good reasons why you as a buyer
need the services of a real estate professional:

 
1. Realtors Are Real Estate Specialists.
Only a member of the National Association of REALTORS® can be called a
REALTOR®. The association provides advanced educational opportunities to its
members, enabling them to offer accredited sub-specialties such as buyer’s
representation (ABR), residential real estate expertise (CRS), or Internet readiness (e-
PRO) to the public. Many excellent REALTORS® do not have extra certifications and
designations, but if you should notice letters next to an agent’s name, be sure to inquire
about its meaning. For their own reasons, many real estate professionals choose not to
join the professional association. If you choose to work with an agent who is not a
REALTOR®, ask about the agent’s experience and specialties.

 
2. REALTORS® Lower Your Risk.
When you have a REALTOR® as an advocate, you share some of the risk of home
buying. Otherwise, it’s buyer beware. You are paying the agent to assist you, advise you,
and help you navigate the transaction legally and safely. Your agent will make sure you
take appropriate steps to protect yourself. Incredibly, many states do not have laws or
regulatory bodies in place that protect all aspects of home buying. Only 20 states
currently license or certify home inspectors, for example. Further, these and other
professionals are only liable in civil suits for the amount of their fees, not for any costs
incurred by the buyer for problems or repairs that were undetected before the closing. If
your agent suggests that you get a structural inspection, do so for your own protection.
She or he will know how an inspection should be performed and will attend the
inspection alongside you.

 
3. REALTORS® Work For You At Their Own Risk.
It is hard to name any other profession whose members work on a contingency basis.
Even attorneys charge by the hour except for some high-risk lawsuits. You don’t typically
pay for any services up front with an agent. That means your agent incurs the costs of
doing business on your behalf until you find and close your home. Therefore, it’s in your
agent’s best interest to work quickly, diligently, and use all his or her resources to help
you meet your goals. Some agents will ask you to sign a buyer’s representation
agreement, which allows him or her to represent your interests. Be sure to ask what the
advantages are, and what your release options are. Interview several agents before
making your choice and compare their representation styles. Make sure you understand
how the agent you choose will work with you, according to the laws and regulations of
your state.

 
4. Realtors Understand The Current Market.
Real estate professionals have house-by-house, street-by-street, and market-by-market
knowledge. Their experience is invaluable and can’t be learned overnight. REALTORS®
who have weathered the pendulum swing between buyers’ markets and sellers’ markets
know that the real estate market can turn abruptly. Rising and falling interest rates affect
the number of available homes for sale and their prices within weeks or days. All it takes
is the entrance or exit of a major employer, and thousands of homes in a neighborhood
can be affected. As neighborhood experts, experienced brokers and agents can help
you with home buying strategies and proposals that will get the price and terms you
want.

 
5. REALTORS® Have Inventory.
Do you want to find a home quickly? With a REALTOR® by your side, you will.
According to The National Association of Realtors, over four-fifths of existing homes in
the United States are represented by real estate brokers. So are 70 percent of new
homebuilders and their products, according to NewHomeNetwork.com. REALTORS®
cooperate with each other through an organization called the Multiple Listing Service
(MLS). The MLS has the current broker-represented properties for sale in its database.
Your agent can also show you homes outside of the MLS inventory, including for-saleby-
owner homes, new builder homes, and institution-operated homes. However, no
Realtor can be expected to show you this additional inventory without a representation
agreement and an assurance of being paid at closing.

 
6. REALTORS® Have Up-to-the-Minute Information.
MLS data entry can take from one to 10 days, depending on the listing agent, his or her
broker, and the MLS. By the time the home is posted on the Internet, it could already be
sold. Clever agents don’t wait that long to find a home for their buyers; they network with
each other. Your agent will tell other agents about you and your wish list in exchange for
information about upcoming homes for sale. That’s how many homes are bought and
sold in a hot seller’s market, without a sign ever going into the yard. If you want to be the
buyer positioned to make first and best offers on these homes, hire an agent.

 
7. REALTORS® Understand The Complexity Of The Transaction.
Less than a decade ago, a home could be bought with a two-page contract. Now
consumer-mandated seller’s disclosures, environmental and structural reports, and other
liabilities have turned the home transfer into a complicated minefield. REALTORS® work
with contracts daily, and can fully understand which points are harmful and beneficial to
you. From helping you make a reasonable offer, to providing for the discovery and
disclosure of material facts, your agent can also interpret information for you. If you
found out the neighbor next door to the house you are buying just built a new fence,
what does that mean? You won’t have to replace the fence on that side for a long time.
To your agent, it means something else. She or he will quickly get a survey ordered, to
assure that the new fence doesn’t encroach on your new property.

 
8. REALTORS® Work For You…And The Transaction.
Your agent not only represents your interests but also works on behalf of the transaction.
Does that seem like a conflict of interest? It isn’t. Buyers and sellers are natural
adversaries. You want to buy for the least price, and the seller wants the best price.
Agents must be skilled negotiators to keep bargaining chips from turning into dealbreakers.
As the buyer, remember that you are the one in control. You can instruct your
agent how far to go in negotiations on your behalf. One day, you’ll be glad your agent
talked you out of walking away because the seller wouldn’t leave the chandelier.

 
9. REALTORS® Are Homeowner Advocates.
Do you like the idea of deducting your mortgage interest from your income tax? Paying
no capital gains when you sell your home up to $250,000 if you are single and $500,000
if you are married? If so, you can thank the only lobbying group in the nation that looks
out for the interests of homeowners - The National Association of REALTORS®. Every
year, the REALTOR® PAC perches on Capitol Hill and swoops down on legislators who
try to overturn these generous government-sponsored homeowner benefits. The result is
well worth it. These initiatives keep housing more affordable, enabling more buyers than
ever before to move into a home of their own. Thanks in part to REALTORS®, more
than 67 percent of the population are enjoying the benefits of owning a home.
One of the greatest endorsements you have for using the services of a Realtor is from
your lender. Lenders are willing to finance agent commissions for buyers in the
mortgage loan. That should tell you how important it is that you get proper
representation. Many lenders agree you may get a better price for your home and better
terms by having an advocate. Put a Realtor to work for you today.

www.twre.info

twre.info@gmail.com
your dreams

       Heading Down an Unknown Road!!! 

When making a decision to sell your home without an agent being there to assist you, means that you are also taking on a lot of responsibilities that you are not ready for.  Not using a REALTOR® to help you sell your home can be costly in many ways that you are unaware of.  

 Commissions are negotiable with a broker and not set by law, so why not get the best help you have available to you?  Remember you get what you pay for. You want to be protected at all times when selling a home and this is what Realtors® get the training and experience doing. Realtors® just do not take a class then instantly their a Realtor®. We put tons of time in the field, taking class after class, after class learning regulations and laws which enables us to better serve you the client.  We get paid to give our best client service and protection to both the buyer and seller. Most of us EARN what we get from you the seller.

Here are a few things that you may not think about when it comes to selling your home on your own.

• You will need to be available at all times so that you will not miss out on a good potential buyer, this means 24/7 or at least 12/7. You will have looky loo’s stopping by, calling all the time just to see the inside of your home that are really only interested in seeing it.  Do you really want to trust a bunch of strangers coming through your front door?  Being aware of your surroundings at all times is not a comfortable position to be in.
• You will be paying out of your pocket for all the ads, “FOR SALE” sign to place on the property.  The ads are very costly these days
• You will need to locate all the legal  disclosures and such in the event a buyer wants to present an offer you can not refuse and then know exactly what they all mean. These can sometimes be difficult to understand and you the seller are held liable in the event that you do not disclose everything.
• How would you know if in fact an offer looks good?  Do not just look at the purchase price, as there are other fee’s associated with the selling process of your home. Is the offer presented to you asking for certain things from you the seller are not understanding?  Does the buyer really qualify? Lots of questions will go through your mind. Do you know what to ask in any case? If the offer is coming from a buyer with an agent, do or would you trust that person, as they are representing the buyer.

Now that this is out of the way, let me tell you a few benefits of using a Realtor® that might help you in making a decision.

• You will not need to be available all the time to show the home to potential buyers, as the agent will pre-screen the buyers and show the home for you. The agent uses a lock box that will allow only other agents to have access to your home which can be tracked in the event something might happen. No more sitting around waiting for the knock at the door or awaiting the phone to ring. 
• You will not be paying the costs of advertising your property by placing ads or buying signs.  The agent does this at no cost to you.  The agent ( Realtor ) has a vast amount of resources to market your property.
• You will not need to find any forms to fill out or purchase.  The agent also provides this for you and has the knowledge in knowing what all of this information means to you as the client. The agent is your protection as long as you are honest in your disclosure.  This transaction will also be somewhat protected by the broker representing you.
• The agent will explain the offer to purchase to you and be able to explain the contract in detail to you. Therefore eliminating all your questions and concerns you may have. 

Now this is not to say that many sellers out there have no problems with selling their home by themselves. I am just saying that is the amount you are saving on the commission worth all the headaches, hassles, and most of all your valuable TIME that you never get back?

Please feel free to contact me at anytime with any questions you may have. or feel free to post your comments as I welcome them.

Terri Wisecarver

REALTOR®

Whitman Metropolitan Inc.

Sacramento Real Estate

There are many issues that some agents take into consideration when obtaining or doing Short Sales. One of them is that some agents have never done them so they dont know how to. This comes with changing times in the economy and agents now have to take listings anyway they can. Some agents refuse to do them at all and this includes showing short sales to buyers because of the length of time and effort that goes into them.

This is an example of what I have seen in this market with other agents and the handling of Short Sales.

• I personally have learned to handle them myself because I want to know everything about the discussions with the lien holders. I want to be involved to the point that I know everything is getting done exactly to their demand.  I have learned how to communicate with the banks and know exactly what they require upfront so that when the package and offer is submitted to them it is complete.  This makes the transaction push through the banks hands more efficiently.

• Now do not get me wrong on this point, but there are companies out there that offer a service at a price to handle the paperwork and to do the negotiations with the banks for agents, in order to free them up giving them more time to handle more business.  But sometimes you need to be careful with these companies as they charge a price for this service to the Listing Agent at 20% - 30% of their commission.  I hope that the agents do their clients a good service when choosing these companies, and I can only speak from my own experience on this matter.

When I started doing Short Sales I decided to outsource to a company claiming that they had a 99% acceptance rate with negotiations with the banks.  They made me sign an agreement to to pay them 25% of my commission upon the completion of the transaction.  I decided at this point allow this and provided them with the whole package reequired by the bank to them.  After I had tried to contact them after the offer was submitted to them, they would just state that they were in process of working with the bank.  This went on for months.  Sometimes I could not get a phone call back from them with any updates on my file.  Other times they would say that they were doing all they could and the bank was not cooperating with them.  I told them that I wanted more information as to what the bank (lien holder) was really wanting and that I had concerns as the foreclosure process had already been started on this home.  Needless to say, they did nothing on this file. The home ended up going to foreclosure and I had lost the listing.  The bank ended up getting less than the offer I had submitted at the beginning.

• Now there are other independent people out there that are not even agents doing these negotiations for agents also.  They do not have a license and really do not know real estate at all.  They learn also as they go.  Here is the difference. Again from my own experience of seeing this happen first hand.  It is somewhat similar the the loan modification scams that were and still are going on out there.  Seller Beware.  These independent people would sent out flyer’s offering to help you on a short sale and you would call in and make an appointment to talk with them.  When you get to the appointment to meet with them they also have a Real Estate Agent there to discuss what it is they are offering you.  This independent person states that they charge a fee to YOU the Seller for this service that is to be paid UPFRONT and NON REFUNDABLE for them to handle the paperwork and work with the banks for you.  This money would be about $1500.00 out of your pocket and the agent there would list your home as the short sale. This independent person would then work the paperwork through because they were also working for the agent that listed the property and the agent would also give them money upon the sale of the property.  I believe this is illegal from the agents standpoint as an under the table kickback.

I am not saying that agents do not work well with outsourcing to legitimate companies specializing in working these files, I am  just saying that I myself rather work harder for the seller that is in trouble and needs to sell the home, than to pay someone else to do it for me and not know what is going on.  This is my decision only as I feel I am giving my seller the best possible service I can provide.  Make your decisions to sell your home as a short sale based on what is offered to you by the agent to ensure that everything will be carried out the way that will benefit you.

If I can be any kind of kind of assistance to you by answering any questions, please  feel free to contact me at anytime.

Terri Wisecarver

REALTOR

Sacramento Real Estate

REALTOR