Kristin LaVanway - The Sunny Side of Phoenix Real Estate » Video Blog

National Vlog Posting Month (a few days late)

Kristin LaVanway — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 04:47:06 +0000

Thx to YouTuber Clintus McGintus (visit his site at http://www.youtube.com/user/Clintus#p/u/2/Gk5vHoy3Agw) for the heads up on NaVloPoMo1. Shooting a vid a day for a month – super psyched…see them posted at my “fun site” at http://www.http://hereinphoenix.com/. It’s going to fun to play around for a month …posting a short video everyday with (little to) no editing.

Landlord! Take My House Please!

Kristin LaVanway — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 07:04:00 +0000

I hate moving! But the worst part of this move was not loading the moving van, packing, unpacking, or even the fact that it’s a hot Arizona summer (the season I always move). No, the worst part of this move is turning the house back over to the landlord and realizing that he is planning to squeeze me for that security deposit.

Despite the fact that we have spent over $700 cleaning and sprucing, the landlord’s representative, “Janet”, nit-picksevery little thing she can in the final walk-through inspection. Not only do I get to forfeit whatever “accounting” decides to deduct for dead light bulbs, a dead fly, a piece of paper that blew into the yard, and even water drops left by the approved carpet cleaner – yeah the one we were not only told to use but told we to produce a receipt to prove we used them.

Lucky me, I pay $50 for a “re-inspection” since the house didn’t pass muster and has to be re-inspected.

Please, Mr. Landlord, I just want to be done with this house. This place has bad karma.

Who Needs Cable When You’ve Got a Real Estate License

Kristin LaVanway — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 05:54:47 +0000

Trust me…the entertainment value of real estate is gravely underestimated!!

Short Sale Buyers – Special Forces

Kristin LaVanway — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 03:14:48 +0000

Buying a short sale is not for namby pambies

The East Valley Team is taking a stand. When a buyer submits an offer on a short sale – it is hazardous to everyone’s health (financially speaking) if they do not intent to execute that contract fully.

Gone are the days of putting lots of short sale offers in to see what sticks, Banks are digging and making the process much harder so the message from the East Valley Team is this: You better be serious if you put an offer in on one of our short sale listings.

Real Estate Negotiation 101

Kristin LaVanway — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 02:58:12 +0000

Negotiating real estate deals just ain’t the same anymore
Is it just me? It just doesn’t seem like it’s much fun any more to negotiate a real estate transaction. Short sales, REO’s and homeowners who have have watched all the equity drain from the homes have taken all the pleasure out of the process.

Remember the good old days, sitting around a table, playfully bantering counter offers around until everyone was happy? What do we have now?? Waiting months and months for that 50-50 chance that the short sale will be approved…working with the overworked REO lister, if you are lucky or the REO robot if you are not…or maybe it’s an equity sale with a seller that just saw the equity drain from his home faster than a pony keg at a frat party.

Welcome to Real Estate Negotiating 101.

Short Sales, Fiduciary Duty & Tea Parties

Kristin LaVanway — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 01:55:46 +0000

Why Honesty is the Best Policy, Even When the Truth Hurts

Dean’s latest rant about honesty by buyer’s agents when it comes to earnest money deposits on short sales got me thinking…what is our fiduciary duty to short sale buyers? Is to be weaselly and help them cheat the system or is to be brutally honest about whether a short sale is really the right transaction for them?

The truth is, short sales with their long lead time and unknown outcome, are just not right for some buyers. And the only way they will know that is if their agent is honest with them about the expectations.

Cheerio!

Making Those Short Sale Calls

Kristin LaVanway — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 05:01:25 +0000

Just another sign that short sales are not for the faint of heart…

Negotiating a short sale means lots of calls to the lenders to negotiate the terms of the sale. But those calls can sure be frustrating! Sometimes they can’t find you file, sometimes, they won’t provide the written agreement letter without a fight, sometimes the BPO is out of this world and sometimes, well….sometimes, it feels like they are holding the short sale for ransom.

What I’ve Learned About Video Blogging

Kristin LaVanway — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 16:56:08 +0000

Do YOU Have What it Takes to Make it as a Real Estate Vlogger?

I have been vlogging about real estate for well over a year and I have learned a thing or two. Those social media gurus will have you believe that by purchasing the right camera, editing software, lights and mic, you will have your phone ringing off the hook.

The reality is those things don’t matter unless you are posting good, engaging content on a consistent basis. And even if you are getting the hits, social media is never enough – you also need good business practices, awesome follow-up and face-to-face relationships if you want to keep food on the table.

Do you need to do video to be successful in real estate? No way, but give it a try…you might like it!

Short Sale Buyers…What are your odds that deal will close?

Kristin LaVanway — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:20:35 +0000

Thinking about buying a short sale? You might be surprised at the chances of you actually moving in…

Short sales make up at least one-third of the inventory here in Phoenix, but what are the odds that you can get one of those deals to close? Not great…but here are some tips to help improve your odds of actually making a short sale work for you.

For more about short sales, visit my website at http://www.EastValleyTeam.com

****NOTE: My most humble apologies…it is time for a new camera…will make due with webcam until I have a new cam in hand…no more Godzilla-effect movies!*****
Statistics courtesy of http://www.funny2.com/odds.htm

Inspiration courtesy of:

Kelley Koehler: House Chick Blog

AND

Hank Green: Vlogbrothers on YouTube

Short Sale Buyers – Should You Pay A Deposit Up Front?

Kristin LaVanway — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 06:25:33 +0000

Sure the Seller Wants You To Have Some Skin in the Game, But Why Should the Seller Have All the Advantages?

Some short sale listers, including the East Valley Team, require the buyer to deposit a portion of the earnest money up front while the short sale is being negotiated so they have some skin in the game. Is this fair? Depends who you ask, but we coming up with a new approach that we think balances the scales a little bit.

When a buyer enters into a short sale contract, there is not guarantee that the short sale will be approved. The buyer could literally wait for months on an answer, only to end up empty-handed. On the other hand, the seller could wait months for an answer, only to end up with no buyer and ultimately end up with a foreclosure instead of a short sale.

Many short sale listers require the buyer to deposit a portion of the earnest money when the contract is submitted to the lender for review, to be held by title and remain non-refundable for 60-90 days. If the buyer finds another property, he or she can cancel the contract, but will lose the deposit.

Is that fair? Depends who you ask…

A good compromise might be to make a portion of the earnest money non-refundable but return the balance if the buyer cancels. At least this way, the seller has a chance to find a new buyer if the current buyer finds greener pastures.

What do you think? Leave a comment below…we would love to hear your thoughts.