Eric Olson

I have a property that has been on the market for 477 days. We initially got a few offers in the 150's before the market turned sharply down last year and the bank turned them down because they felt it was too quick and the offers were likely lower than what they could get by holding out. 477 days later we are still trying to get the property sold. The latest update is about 4 1/2 months ago we lowered the price from the low 150's to 145K in order to get some sort of offer and pause the impending foreclosure. Ultimately the seller is our client and we don't want to see her with a foreclosure on her credit and financially ruined for years to come. The plan worked and we were graced with multiple offers that all came in with in 2K of each other. With 4 offers in hand all right at 140K or below and comps to support them we submitted them to the bank. After 3 months of looking at the offers and frustrated buyers that were holding on by a thread we were told that the bank wouldn't take less than 150K and the realtor commission had to be cut 33.33%. Well the property continues to deteriorate and the landscape is so bad there are HOA fines racking up not to mention past due property taxes that continue. Neighbors complain about the pest problems and send letters and call us to pay for repairs and lawn mowing which is more money for a listing that the bank is not helping us get sold at a realistic price. We lost all the buyers except 1 who is determined to hold his ground at 140K. So at an impasse we wait to see if former Countrywide and now Bank of America wants to rethink that 150K hard and fast counter offer if you could call it that. No doubt the realtor commissions will be sacrificed since the bank always expects us to take a loss right along with them even though we expend about 3 times the time and money on short sales to help them recover more money than a foreclosure would allow them. Why are we faced with this type of issue when common sense tells everyone the right thing to do is speed up the bank decision and accept offers that will net more than a foreclosure especially when they are within market value ranges. It's frustrating to see sellers that are trying to do the right thing but banks who receive TARP money blocking the very problem they created. What can be done to punish this behavior banks continue to practice? Help me answer this and I encourage everyone to write the NAR (National Associaation of Realtors) about this and ask them to lobby for our full commission and an expedited response from banks on short sales.

Thanks,

Eric Olson

Realtor

Sky Realty

512 300-0036 office

512 905-0506 cell

512 366-9993 fax

www.TexasPropertyInformation.com

I really see the Austin Housing Market taking off again. The Rates we are seeing are super low and the opportunities are plentiful. It seems to be in the lower end of the market around 100K - 300K. I would atribute this to the $8000 tax credit for first time buyers. The people that can qualify are going to reap the rewards from these low interest rates and the great deals out there. What I would like to see is the lending guidelines loosen just a touch. It seems we have gone from one extreme to thhe other with banks. My prediction is the market will come back in full swing when that happens. Any thoughts on this?

These are the the statistics for the Cedar Park Homes/Single Family Site Built/Manufactured or Mobile Homes for the past 6 months. We're seeing homes on the market for about 2 months before they sell. I have more Cedar Park property information on the web.

If your interested in buying or selling a home in Cedar Park, TX then please visit the Cedar Park Real Estate page to get started.

This information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Please varify before using.

I have been trying to listen to both arguments on the issue of this nearly 1 trillion dollar bail out. Can someone tell me how we are going to help things by having tax payers cover the bad debt of these banks. If I bought a hummer and couldn't pay the gas and the payment would it be right for me to ask for others to bail me out and give me a gas card and cover the payment. That's what it looks like we are asking tax payers to do. I say if these homeowners can't pay for their home then they need to sell them. If that means short sale then so be it. If it can't be sold and the bank forecloses then so be it. If the bank fails because of too much bad debt then shame on them for making risky loans. Please tell me if you see it differently. As an investor these short sales and foreclosures look very attractive. The investment in these properties will turn the market around. It will sting the banks but I don't feel bad when they made billions on the loans they made. Without risk there is no reward and I think the banks knew going in it was a risk to make loans to people in the sub-prime market.