Ashley Radke

Its a great time to purchase a property owned by HUD. Government owned homes are a fantastic purchase for today's home buyers! The wait isn't there like it is for the short sale, and you can tell what they paid for the home versus what the bank foreclosed on it at. Get a great deal and work with someone that likes to sell HUD homes. If you do not like the HUD process, its a great way to refer the buyers and get a tremendous referral fee!

Ashley Radke

www.SellingSTL.com

314-565-1003

In my humble opinion, when we represent a buyer that wants to buy a short sale, we should call the listing agent first. The reason to call the agent is to find out if they have ever negotiated a short sale. Ask the agent, "How many short sale approval letters have you received in the past?" If they ask you what the short sale approval letter is, I would avoid even showing the home to your buyers. RUN!!!

Our relationship with an agent and the buyers agents relationship with their buyer is like bridge made of ice. The longer the short sale takes after it gets under contract, the more brittle those relationships become they are damaged beyond repair. When the stress level of the short sale gets to that point, its time to get someone else with experience on the job. Passing the entire packet to another agent with equal or more experience can sometimes be the one thing that keeps it all glued together. Communication is so important to all parties and its very hard to do that when you are trying to get a short sale through, unless you have systems in place to keep it together for everyone.

Make a plan to communicate to all parties on a certain day and I recommend a group email and follow up phone call to the buyers agent. Once the information is absorbed by all parties, please send an email to the listing agent with the new questions that have come up and allow the agent time to make the additonal calls to the bank if needed to get the answers. If the buyer begins calling the listing agent negotiating the short sale, well its really time to back the buyers agent and let the buyer know that their agent will give them updates on a certain day each week. We as agents would like to feel as if we have more control in the transactions because that is what we are accustomed to. Its not that way with a short sale. Experience in these transactions is the best thing for the homeowner and the buyer.

When I was eight, we almost were foreclosed on as a family. Please do not practice working a short sale on a family. We can't win them all and we certainly don't want to practice on a families home to get the experience.

I have been negotiating short sales for the last two years and know each foreclosure I can stop gives another ray of hope to a family. In these times, we have to greet the day with a new sense of hope and goodwill. Some we get paid because they make it to closing and some dont sell because we help keep the family in the home. This has become a niche that its hard to work traditional business and short sale negotiations if you do not have systems in place to manage the transactions.

Ashley Radke

REMAX PROPERTIES WEST

CHESTERFIELD MO 63017

www.sellingstl.com

314-565-1003 direct

636-532-5900 Office

Today's post is about representing buyers when they buy new construction. I have come into a situation that has had my body oozing with red flags, red flashing lights, screeming sirens...I hope you get the picture.

I am putting the tips first so they will be noticed, read, and remembered.

1. DO YOUR HOMEWORK WITH YOUR SECRETARY OF STATE. SEE IF THEY HAVE OUTSTANDING ISSUES LEFT UNRESOLVED. FIRST RED FLAG
2. IF YOU ARE WRITING A CONTINGENT CONTRACT: PUT IN WRITING THAT YOUR BUYERS EARNEST MONEY DEPOSIT TO BE RETURNED IF CONTINGENCIES ARE NOT SATISFIED.
3. IF BUILDERS CONTRACT HAS SEVERAL PAGES, HAVE PURCHASERS INITIAL THE BOTTOM OF EACH PAGE. (SOME BUIDLER CONTRACTS ARE COMPUTER GENERATED WITHOUT PAGE NUMBERS ETC AND THINGS ARE TYPED IN) AVOID THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THINGS TO BE ADDED AFTER THE FACT OR PAGES BEING SWITCHED OUT ALL TOGETHER.
4. HAVE PURCHASERS LOOK AT THE "START SHEET" FOR THE MODEL THEY ARE BUILDING. THIS IS A FORM THAT IS SENT OUT TO ALL OF THE SUBCONTRACTORS THAT IDENTIFIES EVERY UPGRADE AND BAYWINDOW, ETC. THIS FORM IS WHAT THE SUBS USE TO BUILD THIS HOME ALONG WITH THE STD. BLUE PRINT.
5. NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER GIVE ADDITIONAL EARNEST MONEY TO START THE HOME PRIOR TO COMPLETION OF THE "START SHEET". THIS IS THE FORM THAT A PURCHASER WILL FIND THE DISCREPANCIES TO WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS STANDARD WITH HOME. THIS HELPS AVOID THE "GOTCHA" GAME THAT IS USUALLY THE FIRST SIGN OF PROBLEMS.
6. FIND OUT WHO THE LOCAL ATTORNEY IS IN YOUR TOWN THAT REPRESENTS MOST BUILDERS IN SOME CAPACITY. THEY ARE GREAT CONTACTS TO HAVE.
7. RESEARCH THE BUILDER AND SEE IF THEY HAVE SEVERAL CORPORATIONS UNDER AN UMBRELLA. (THIS RESEARCH ALONE IS WORTH THOUSANDS TO YOUR CLIENTS)
8. THE BEST ADVICE FROM MY MOTHER , WHO SOLD NEW CONSTRUCTION FOR OVER 30 YEARS WITH ST. LOUIS BUILDERS WAS GIVEN TO ME AND I PASSED IT ON TO MY CLIENT AT THE FIRST SIGN OF TROUBLE ARE THE SAME WORDS THAT MY CLIENT REMEMBERS MOST AND REALIZED I WAS REALLY TRYING TO PROTECT THEM AS I WAS GETTING CUT OUT OF THE DEAL! "IF AN AGENT IS GOING TO GET CUT OUT OF THE DEAL IN THIS MARKET, THE CLIENT SHOULD EXPECT EVEN WORSE ONCE THE BUILDER HAS THEIR MONEY" THESE WORDS HAVE COME TRUE!!
9. LOOK AT THE FINANCING CLAUSE: NEVER NEVER NEVER ALLOW THE FINANCING CLAUSE TO SAY "TO BE DETERMINED"
10. REMEMBER THAT THERE MAY BE LONG TIME DELAYS IN COMPLETING A PROJECT IF THEY HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED TO DEVELOPE THE GROUND. EVERY CONTRACT HAS A BEGINNING DATE AND SHOULD HAVE AN ENDING DATE. NEW CONSTRUCTION SHOULD NOT BE INDEFINATE IN THE TIME TABLE. THEY CANNOT PREDICT WHEN IT WILL BE COMPLETED IF THEY HAVEN'T DEVELOPED THE GROUND YET, BUT THERE SHOULD BE SAFETY NET FOR YOUR CLIENTS IF ITS OVER A CERTAIN TIME FRAME BEFORE THEY EVEN GET STARTED. LOAN COMMITTMENT SHOULD NOT BE EVERLASTING.
11. FIND OUT THE MINIMUM ADDTIONAL EARNEST MONEY. DO NOT LET YOUR CLIENTS BORROW THAT MONEY FROM THEIR STOCKS OR RETIREMENT TO HAND IT OVER TO THE BUILDER BEFORE THE HOME IS STARTED. ONLY GIVE WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD TO LOSE AND SEE IF IT CAN BE HELD BY A TITLE COMPANY THAT IS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE BUILDER.

These are my tips for today based on a real life new construction transaction that is still unfolding and its almost as bad as the worst movie I have ever seen. I respect builders and the communities they build for us. Times and money are very different now and we must use caution.

New construction sales helped keep a roof over my head as a child and helped put me through college. I started my career in real estate selling new construction like my mom and when it was time to have kids, I started selling existing homes. I was young and poor enough to get out of the New Homes Sales before I became dependant on the draw against commission. I have been involved and around this industry since I was 7. We really have to be proactive with every document our buyer signs. I do not feel we have been trained as agents to really understand the builder contracts and we must. I hope these tips help any of you from having your clients get taken to the cleaners