Joshua Jarvis

I'm really not sure what goes on in the CDPE (Certified Distressed Property Expert) class.  I've heard the class is excellent.  So good in fact, that some agents I know are taking it twice.  I think that's just great.  I really wish I had time to go, however, I'm pretty busy managing 30 or so short sales at time.  Those pesky closings get into the way. 

In all seriousness, I'm for education and I'm one the biggest proponents of it, considering how there is almost no actual education given to Reatlors coming into the business, let alone something that would discuss the properties that are available in this current market.    

My question is why do the people that take this class feel like their ultimate argument on the phone can be ended with "I'm a CDPE!"   In fact, let's cover what I have heard from folks just this past week. 

Agent: "Are you going to submit my offer directly to the bank?"

ME: "No, I will submit the offer to the owner first."

Agent: "You must submit the offer to the bank!"

ME: "... I'll need to submit it to the owner first."

Agent: "WELL I'M A CDPE AND I KNOW HOW TO DO THESE SHORT SALES!"

Agent: "I'd like to offer $125K"

ME: "The bank approval was for $135K."

Agent: "Just submit the offer to the bank and let's see what we get."

ME:  "I'll submit the offer to my seller, who most likely will counter you to $135K since that's what was approved."

Agent: "I'M CDPE!"

Agent: "... what do you think about Bank of America."

ME: "they are slow, hard to deal with, but I prefer them over some others."

Agent: "I avoid them."

ME: "You can refer them to me if you like.  I'll send you a referral check in 9 months when we are done." *laughs*

Agent: "I'm CDPE, I can handle them."

Oddly the only thing I can think of when people say those things is the scene from Point Break where Keanu Reeves says, "I'm an FBI agent."  My thoughts run from sarcasm to sadness.  CDPE is great for getting yourself up to speed on the current properties of the market, but if you haven't closed at least 5 of these, then you really shouldn't be spouting off at anyone. 

Foreclosures in Barrow & Jackson Counties rose in September. Barrow County topped 205 for the month of September making it the third highest month ever. Year to date in Barrow County, there's been 1,595 foreclosure actions. Cities like Winder are noticing the inventory increase.

In Jackson County, the new monthly record is now set at 150 for September. Total foreclosures for the year in Jackson is up to 1,053, already more than all of last year.

If you're in Real Estate at all, then you know that the Residential market has nearly bottomed. Don't get me wrong, it'll be there for a few years. Short Sales and foreclosures are here to stay. If you are in Gwinnett County then you know there's been a fun ride of highs and lows in every neighborhood.

Commercial Real Estate is expected to see the same roller coaster, but even more intense in the next few quarters.

Despite a pick up in sales, commercial real estate prices posted a record drop in the second quarter, according to an index developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Real Estate.

With an 18.1 percent drop, the index, which tracks commercial property sold by major institutional investors, is now down 22 percent year-to-date, 32 percent from a year ago and down 39 percent from its mid-2007 peak, according to the report released on Monday.

"The big news this quarter is not just the magnitude of the drop, but the fact that transaction volume actually increased in the presence of this decline, the first volume increase since last summer," David Geltner, director of research at MIT/CRE, said in a statement.

"Perhaps most important, the supply-side index of the prices property owners are willing to sell at plunged a record 18.5 percent, suggesting a degree of 'capitulation' that may help to finally bring market prices to a bottom. The decline in nominal terms is far greater than the 27 percent drop the in the previous major commercial property downturn in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Adjusting for inflation, both periods are now tied at a 41 percent decline. The downturn in commercial real estate, as marked by the index, also is greater than the collapse in U.S. housing prices, which are off 30 percent, the report said. The 18.1 percent decline was the steepest in the index's 25 year history, far greater than the former record -- a 10.6 percent decline in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Gwinnett Daily Post wrote a small article today about the Squillance family and how more and more people are deciding to make the move to a "active" adult community. While these are popular in Florida there are very few communities like this in the Metro Atlanta area. The most popular community, Village At Deaton Creek, is not only the most popular Active Adult Community, but it's the most popular, best selling community in Georgia, period.

"It was very, very easy for me (to leave)," Squillace said. "It was more difficult for my wife."

So he and his wife Elayne sold their home in the Connemara subdivision in Snellville and moved to Hoschton. There, they settled in The Village At Deaton Creek, a subdivision for senior lifestyles, leaving behind the home in which they resided for more than 20 years and put three kids through Brookwood High School.

Their friends at Connemara threw them a going away party and joked about how far away they were moving. But it's a trek more and more people their age are making. As the population ages - the Atlanta Regional Commission's Lifelong Communities Study says that by 2030, 20 to 23 percent of the metro area's population will be over age 60 - those people are also becoming more active. And moving to places where others are active as well.

Squillace is 66 and says, "I've never been as busy as I am since I retired. It's actually not a joke. People have asked me to do things and I haven't had time."

This is not your father's retirement. Squillace stays busy with projects, trips, children and grandchildren. But he also stays active with bocce, senior tennis, bowling and trivia. Then there's softball. A self-professed softball fanatic, Squillace is not just a player in his league (a pitcher, of course) - he's the commissioner. And the league isn't just some pick-up deal. The teams are sponsored - just like you'd see in little league. "It's great," Squillace said of the softball. "It's people the same age getting out and still having fun. It's done socially as much as competitively. But it is competitive."

Repost with extras from GaHomesDigest.com

So you are home in Gwinnett County (the leading county for foreclosures in Georgia) from work relaxing watching re-runs of Friends and suddenly your front door is kicked open and a big burly man with a gun comes in, points the gun at you and claims that he's the sheriff. Sound like something out of the show COPS or maybe a move starring Johnny Depp, but no, it's actually becoming a common occurence in homes all over Georgia.

Now S. 896 "Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009" has come out and has some provisions to protect tenants from eviction as a consequence of a foreclosure.

So what's in it for the tenants?

• 90 Days Notice will now have to be given before proceeding,
• Tenants with WRITTEN AGREEMENTS will be given the option to stay in the property as long as the lease is not significantly different than current market rent.

Tenants still have to move out in the case of the new owner wanting to use the home as a personal residence or if there is no written lease agreement. Tenants still can be evicted in the event they violate their written lease agreement.

So fast forward to the first Tuesday of next month.

This new act has the following potential impact on investors:

• Auction buyers now have to account for renters as part of their investment process, eviction, legal fees or keeping them.
  
• Auction buyer have to determine fair market value of the rent.

The difficulty will be getting written lease agreements before the auction date from the people getting foreclosed. ...

I could go on and on, but...