Cynthia Smitherman

If you have been wishing to purchase your dream home, but was a little short on having the asking price, then this may be the market you have been waiting on. Fortunately for some, and unfortunately for others, housing prices are being slashed 20-70% off the original sales prices.

If you are a homeowner who is facing foreclosure, there is a silver lining if you sale the home before the Trustee auctions it. By selling your home as a short sale, you soften the hit on your credit report. It is always better to have the bureau report your mortgage was settled, or paid in full, opposed to FORECLOSED! As soon as you find you are unable to make your house payments due to an unforeseen hardship, contact a short sale real estate agent to help you put the home on the market, the agent’s commissions are paid by the Bank – so no sweat there.

If you are a home buyer, your dreams are coming true. You can purchase the home of your dreams for pennies on the dollar, as a short sale, at a Trustee sale, or a Bank owned property. Here are just a few examples of how buyers were able to purchase homes at an incredible price:

3200sf Semi Custom Home – Orig. price $650,000 sold for $355,000

3700sf Semi Custom Home – Orig, Price $770,000 sold for $412,000

3700sf Semi Custom Home – Orig. Price – $730,000 sold for $397,000

There are homes selling as low as $30,000 to Millions representing pennies on the dollar. So if you are waiting for pricing to go down, I think you have missed that window, prices are going up with each sale even though they are deeply discounted. So with a little patience and pre-approval letter from your lender, you can move into the home of your dreams in a reasonable time frame. The following are some time frames you may want to consider when looking for your new home.

Here are your time frames:

Short Sale – takes from 90 to 180 days to close after your accepted contract

Bank on Properties – 45 to 60 days to close after your accepted contract

Regular Sales – 45 days to close

New Home Builds – 30 days to 6 months to build and close

Sellers need you, and I need Buyers. If you are looking to purchase or sale a home look no further than Cynthia Smitherman, ABR, GRI, DB, CDPE, VP- AAREB, REALTOR, REALTIST, to help you navigate through the maze of real estate purchase and sales.

Emage` Fine Properties, LLC

602 697-4487

cynthia@emagehomes.com

www.homes4saleaz.com

equal opportunity housing participant

Do You Know There Are Programs Available to Help Home Buyers?

The $8000 tax credit has been renewed, so if you have your real estate professional help you write a contract to purchase a home before May 1, 2010, and close by July 1, 2010, you will be eligible for the tax credit. The tax credit would be equal to 10% of the purchase price of the home, however, it will not exceed $8000.

If you are a first time home buyer - someone who has not purchased a home within the past three years, you would be eligible for the tax credit. The credit does not have to be paid back if you stay in the home for at least three (3) years as your primary residence. The purchase must be less than $800,000 and income is a factor as well. If you are married your combined income can not be more than $225,000, or if single, no more than $125,000 yearly to still be eligible for the tax credit.

City of Chandler has a program available Neighborhood Stabilization Program, (NSP) which allows a home buyer to purchase a home that has been abandoned or foreclosed. You must be a first time home buyer, and your income, if single is bwtween $55,320 and up to $79,090 for a family of four. What makes the homes affordable for individuals is that they are purchasing the structure only, and not the land. The individual can live on the property for an indefinite period of time, and can actually pass the property on to their heirs. For more information on the program you may want to visit www.newtowncdc.org and of course you want to have your real estate professional help you in your search for the home and writing the contract.

City of Phoenix also has a Neighborhood Stabilization Program which will provide up to $15,000 loan for down payment and closing cost for the buyer. The loan would not have to be paid back until the home buyer sells or refinance the home. Again this program is to help eliminate all of the foreclosed homes, in the City. There are income limits that range from $55,250 to $104,400 depending on your family size. For more information contact City of Phoenix.

City of Mesa- has a very similar program that gives $15,000 towards down payment and closing cost, which does not have to be repaid if you stay in the home for five to fifteen years. As with all the programs housing counseling is required and a small down payment is required from the Buyer, usually no more than $1000. For more information on this program contact the City of Mesa, NSP program.

To find out more about the tax credit, or to get pre-qualified for a loan, feel free to visit:

http://www.samuelmelvin.com/Homebuyer_20_Tax_20_Credit_20_Update.html

When looking to buy or sell a home call Cynthia Smitherman, ABR, GRI, DB, CPDE, VP_AAREB,

602 697-4487 or email: cynthia@emagehomes.com or web: www.homes4saleaz.com

Today I received two calls from two different individuals about alternative financing. I am sure we will be bombarded with request from people who need to find a home, whose credit has suffered some type of casualty either from a short sale, foreclosure or results of unemployment.

I remember when I first got into real estate in the late 90's, I occasionally used alternative financing to help couples purchase homes. There were Lease Option, Lease Purchase, or Seller Carry back terms such as Agreement for Sale, Wraps, and of course there are always hard money loans. Let's address a few of these:

• Lease Option- A Buyer (Renter)may pay an amount of money to have the first option to purchase a home from Seller at an agreed upon time. The money to secure the option generally is not refundable. The Buyer (Renter)is not obligated to purchase at the end of the term, but it does insure that he will have the first right of purchase. No other person can purchase the home during the option time and the Buyer (Renter) can sell his option to another party. I have also seen where there is no money exchanged however if someone else wants to purchase the home during the Buyer/Renters term, the Seller must first give the existing Buyer (Renter)the first option to purchase. However, the price of the home is not guaranteed to be the price that was initially agreed upon with the Buyer (Renter) entered the option. Title stays with the Seller.
• Lease Purchase - The Buyer (Renter), pays a substantial amount of money down to the Seller to purchase the property. A portion of the lease amount goes towards the purchase of the home, and the other goes towards the rent. An agreement is made between the Buyer (Renter), and the Seller as to how long the Seller will continue the Agreement before the Buyer (Renter) has to get conventional financing. The Buyer (Renter) is obligated to follow through with the purchase and the Seller is obligated to follow through with the sale. If the Buyer (Renter) defaults, the Seller can evict and keep the money the Buyer (Renter) has paid in.
• Purchase Money Mortgage- works very similar to the Lease Purchase, but with a twist. Purchase Money Mortgage generally makes up the difference between the purchase price of the home and the actual down payment. It is secured by a Note or deed of trust given by a buyer, as borrower, to a seller, as lender, as part of the purchase price of the real estate. The Seller can foreclose on the note if the Buyer defaults and recover the property.

Both Buyer and Seller need to be aware of an Alienation Clause which is in most mortgage contracts. A Bank or mortgage lender will have alienation clause declaring the loan balance due payable upon the sale of the property to any other party. In other words the entire balance is due on sale. Therefore if a Seller is selling the home to a Buyer, even though it is on a Lease Purchase, the Bank can call the balance due and payable whether the Buyer can pay the full balance or not.

In any case, if you find that your credit is not up to par, and you are looking to use alternative financing, keep in mind, there may be more pit falls than you may want to encounter. Most property owners who are willing to consider Seller Carry back terms usually has a property that is hard to sell. You may will end up paying a higher sales price as well as higher interest rates. There is also a high risk of losing your money and the property.

For Sellers it is equally challenges when you sell your home through alternative terms, you may end up having to go through the expense and headache of evicting the Buyer(Renter), as well as repairing the property, as well as the negative consequences of having your mortgage company calling your note due and payable.

Alternative financing can work, and work well, however you would be wise to consult an Attorney to understand your legal rights, and always run these transactions through a third party servicing company who will collect and distribute monies to the appropriate entities thus keeping everyone up to date and on a even playing field.

Whenever purchasing real estate, always use a real estate professional who is familiar with the contracts and laws to best suit your needs. For more information, call Cynthia at 602 697-4487.

Emage` Fine Properties, LLC

www.homes4saleaz.com

HOME PRICES ARE SOON TO RISE... According the the National Association of REALTORS, we are going to see an increase in pricing of approximately 2%. I am seeing this happening before my very eyes when submitting contracts from my clients on properties for sale here in Arizona. I am seeing multiple contracts on properties that can close within 45 days or less. Perhaps the multiple offers and upward bidding is due to the fact that Buyers are still trying to close a deal before the $8000 tax credit goes away. what ever the reason - prices are not standing still.

This reminds me of where we were in 2006 - when we had multiple contracts on homes which drove the pricing beyond belief. However today, multiple bids are bringing the pricing up to where they should have, would have, and could have been before for the delirium.

If you are an investor, THIS IS the time to buy while prices and interest rates are still low . This is time to be like the Squirrel just before the snow falls - stock pile your inventory because these prices won't be seen again for a long time.

Call me today if you are looking to purchase or sell a home in the Phoenix Metro area.

Cynthia Smitherman, CDPE, ABR, GRI, DB, VP-AAREB

Emage` Fine Properties, LLC

602 697-4487

www.homes4saleaz.com

It is a Buyer's Market - So Why Do I See Multiple Offers?

Is a question that is posed to me by my Buyers when trying to purchase a home within the past few weeks. The Buyers want to move on a deal pretty quick so they can take advantage of the $8000 tax credit. We know that the clock is ticking, and the longer we delay, the less chance that we will be successful. However, we are finding that REO's are in high demand and receiving multiple offers, for the same reasons we are offering - short sales take too long.

We know that most banks are finding it advantageous to accept a short sale opposed to forecloseon a home, however the time line between contract on short sale and closing on a short sale is toooooo, long; especially when buyers need to move with in a month or so.

While multiple offers are reminiscent of days of past, these multiple offers are not pushing prices to ridicules highs as in the past. We are finding that pricing is jumping a few thousands, but pretty close to what the comps are showing in a given community overall.

Sometimes the Buyers get discouraged or even frustrated, but I am happy to say that they are pretty focused on staying within their budget or comfort zone, even though they are approved from more than they are currently shopping for in terms of pricing on the homes. They refuse to over bid their comfort zone, which is something we are learning from the past.

Multiple offers- yes, I guess we need them to clean out the muck from the housing fiasco of past. If you are a Buyer hang in there, you too will find the perfect home.

Cynthia Smitherman, CDPE, ABR, GRI, DB, VP AAREB

Emage` Fine Properties, LLC

602 697-4487

www.homes4saleaz.com