In this market, never give up! Anything is possible... After three tries, my client finally won the contract on her dream home! Anything is possible during these real estate deals with the dysfunctional real estate market we are now experiencing. SO MANY DEALS ARE CANCELLED during the escrow period due to financing difficulties, multiple offers or inspection problems, that many homes come back on the market for a 2nd or 3rd shot. Just because you lose out on a house you are bidding on does not necessarily mean you are out of luck. Lessons learned? If you find a house you love, put in a strong offer...if you lose out, don't give up until … [Read more...]
How Your Homeowner’s Association Can Ruin Your Short Sale
June 8, 2010 By
...And Even If You Foreclose, They Can Still Come After You... If you owe your Homeowner's Association back dues, your short sale could be in grave danger. If you are behind in your HOA dues, your HOA can file a lien against your property which will prevent the sale of your property until the account is in good standing. Homeowner's Associations are really struggling these days and are digging in on these delinquent accounts. Because the HOA's are less likely these days to settle in the hopes of getting someone in the property who will keep up the account, you may be in real trouble if you don't keep that HOA account in good … [Read more...]
Making the Tough Decision to Walk Away From Your House? Some Tips…
June 2, 2010 By
Underwater and overwhelmed? Some tips to help you chart a course... Short sale, strategic default, walking away...whatever you want to call it, there are more families than you can imagine who are sitting around the kitchen table trying to decide if that's what their future holds. And that difficult decision is made even harder by all the chatter out there about what's right, what's wring, how to do it, why to do it, and on, and on...and unfortunately, many of those people giving the advice are just trying to make a buck. So what do you do... Start by leaving the emotional baggage out of the decision-making process...it's not going to help. … [Read more...]
So this is what housing recovery looks like…
May 28, 2010 By
The Housing Market is Slowly Buy Surely Being Restored It seems that I spend more putting out fires these days than putting in contracts. Between lender challenges, short sale booby traps, REO nightmares, and all the wacky stuff that's happening behind the scenes in real estate right now, you never know if a deal is going to close until it actually closes. But the reality of the situation is that this is exactly what kind of environment a recovering market is...it's not pretty. There isn't going to be a short and sweet wrap up to a story that was many years in the making. It's all about cleaning up messes and rebuilding and that is what … [Read more...]
Introducing the East Valley Team – The Best Darn Team in the Valley!
May 8, 2010 By
Kristin LaVanway & Dean Ouellette join forces to provide the best real estate service in the East Valley I am very excited to announce that fellow video blogger and Phoenix Real Estate FAQs reporter Dean Ouellette and I have decided to join forces to form the East Valley Team. With our growing businesses and the complexity of today's real estate transaction, working together provides us with a stronger and more efficient way to provide the excellent service our client deserve. And, I had to counter all that country music that Dean's always playing with a little rock...thank you Red Hot Chili Peppers! We would love to hear from … [Read more...]
Missed Out on the Homebuyer Tax Credit? So What…
May 3, 2010 By
If you are wondering if you can still buy a house, here's how to find out... Whether we like it or not, the days of the First TIme Home Buyer Tax Credit and the Move-up Homebuyer Tax Credit are over. From now on, when you buy a house, there won't be a litte something in it for you from Uncle Sam. There are probably plenty of folks out there who are really disappointed and think there is no reason for them to buy a house. Well, that's kind of silly... There is no denying that $8,000 is a lot of money. Especially after you buy a house and are now heading to Home Depot every weekend. But the $8,000 tax credit, a one-time event, should have … [Read more...]
