Kathy Fuhriman

Hello Mr/Mrs/Ms Buyer/Investor,

Shopping for a great deal on a home? Bank owned homes can be a really great bargain. Here are some things that you should be aware of before going to look at homes.

1) You MUST be pre-approved for a loan before shopping. The banks who own the home will not consider your offer without some demonstration of ability to close.
2) If you are paying cash, you MUST show proof that you have the cash. Get a letter signed by your banks branch manager on the bank letterhead attesting that you have available funds.
3) If you are getting your cash from a home equity loan on a current residence, you are not paying cash.
4) The listing agent has generally suggested a list price taking into consideration the condition of the home. This value has nothing to do with what the former borrower owed on the loan.
5) Do not be shocked if the bank rejects or just plain ignores your offer of 75% of list price.
6) Want to be taken seriously on your offer? Do not expect to buy a bank owned home and ask for remodeling allowances and non-lender repairs to be made.
7) Need to sell your current residence first? Do not get emotionally attached to a bank owned home then.
The banks generally are not interested in contingency sales. In the current real estate climate those contingencies are not worth counting on.
8) Expect to have a very short window of opportunity to conduct home inspections. Buyer will have to pay for all inspections at time of service. If the home is winterized, expect that for the majority of homes for the buyer to pay for re-winterizing.
9) Yes there may be and probably are condition issues that are undetected until after closing. That is why there are several pages of disclosures and "As-is" disclaimers with the 23 page bank addendums.
10) Based on the results of the inspection, the buyer will not be able to get any repairs done to the property prior to closing. Although they may agree to lender required repairs.
11) If the bank chooses to make some lender required repairs, they will generally want to hire their own licensed, insured contractors who will sign a lien waiver.
12) Do NOT ask to move your stuff into even the garage of the home until funded and recorded. There are legal "Possession" and liability reasons why the buyer is never granted access to the property.
13) If you are the former Borrower or related to the former Borrower, the banks generally do not want you to take advantage of them and sell you the home back at a reduced price.
14) Initial Earnest Money deposit may be as much as 3% of purchase price. At least $500 minimum depending on the bank.
15) NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS!! BANK OWNED HOMES ARE BARGAIN PRICED NOW. DO NOT MISS THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE A BUNDLE.

Celebrating 11 years experience selling Bank Owned Homes! Call me to find out how savvy buyers are saving a bundle on Bank Homes in Tremonton, Utah.

Month ending October 31, 2010

Total Homes Sold =16
Highest Sold Price =$219,000/ List price $225,000
Lowest Sold Price =$8,500 / List price $25,900
Highest Days on Market=229
Lowest Days on Market =11
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Compare to October 2009

Total homes sold=11
Highest Sold price =$255,000/ List Price $257,500
Lowest Sold price= $82,900 / List Price $87,200
Highest Days on Market=67
Lowest Days on Market=3

Monthly Housing stats include all cities north of Bear River City, UT (BRC, Deweyville, Elwood, Tremonton, Garland, Thatcher, Plymouth)

Housing market updates brought to you by:

Month ending September 30, 2010

Total Homes Sold =10
Highest Sold Price =$200,000/ List price $229,900
Lowest Sold Price =$9,000 / List price $17,910
Highest Days on Market=582
Lowest Days on Market =26
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Compare to September 2009

Total homes sold=19
Highest Sold price =$186,942/ List Price $204,900
Lowest Sold price= $90,000 / List Price $82,900
Highest Days on Market=376
Lowest Days on Market=6

Monthly Housing stats include all cities north of Bear River City, UT (BRC, Deweyville, Elwood, Tremonton, Garland, Thatcher, Plymouth)

Housing market updates brought to you by:

Search all homes online at www.BRVRhomes.com

Subscribe to my blog to get regular updates to the local housing market.

Several times a week it seems someone makes a comment about the lousy Utah Housing Market. The housing market is just great actually....it all depends on your perspective. Are you buying or selling? What do you expect from the housing market? What is your perception of normal? All of these questions when answered will get to the bottom of why consumers think the housing market is not so good.

1) Are you buying or selling? For the home buyer the housing market is FABULOUS. With low 4% interest rates and the fact that there are many loan programs available {and funds to lend} the cost of funds has never been better. Throw into the mix that homes especially the Bank homes are ON SALE at 25% or more discount and this marriage is made in heaven.
For the home seller...well it all depends on your circumstances. Should you be selling your starter home that you just happen to have grown out of....could you sell at a reduced value and reap the benefits of an even lower priced Bank home? You could reap the profit on the back end rather that on the front end....Not to mention the incredible interest rates.
Several of these people are finding a way to keep the existing home as a rental and moving up anyway. Rentals are filling up fast and offer investment rewards as well as tax benefits (for another post).

2)What do you expect from the housing market? So what drives the perception of a lousy housing market? Would you recognize opportunity if it knocked on the door? (See #1). Did you realize that 91% of the people in the area ARE EMPLOYED!! Over 74% of all workers in Box Elder County are employed by companies who hire LESS THAN 10 total employees (see graphic below from Utah Dept of Workforce services). The doctors, dentists, vets, lawyers, accountants, insurance co, hairdressers, truck drivers, etc. When you think about it there are a lot of people who do not rely on ATK for wages. So with this in mind, why would the housing market suffer due to the 9% who are between jobs? Talk about MINORITY CONTROL!!

3) What is your perception of NORMAL? Normal as viewed over the past 5-6 years as a whole has meant interest rates in 6% range or more (...some unfortunate souls paid 9% or more on sub-prime loans). Normal has meant a steady increase in property values. Demand for housing in the past 5 years has driven prices up by well over the rate of inflation. So when DEMAND exceeds SUPPLY again the values will start to soar again. This is what would be considered a normal housing market.

SO WOULD YOU RECOGNIZE OPPORTUNITY IF IT CAME KNOCKING ON YOUR DOOR?

Housing is local and has little to do with what is happening across the country. There are now several people from out of the state looking for housing due to relocation in Northern Utah. This influx of people will see the housing market start turning back to NORMAL. Will you be sorry you missed it? Opportunity that is.

Good news!! The USDA Direct program was just awarded another $40 mil to assist low income borrowers in getting into a home of their own. Funds only expected to last until Sept 30, 2010. Income limits based on number of persons in household.

To see if you qualify visit this interactive website:

http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/incomeEligibilityAction.do

The interest rate could be as low as 1% with payments subsidized to make your house payment affordable. One of my buyer clients this year purchased a nearly new home at $149900.

Work cut back? You may still qualify.

Basic requirements: Stable income, good credit, low debt on existing loans, no recent bankruptcy/foreclosure.

Call me to find out more.

"I truly love assisting buyers and sellers to acheive their dreams."

Kathy Fuhriman
Principal Broker
Bear River Valley Realty
25 West 100 North
Tremonton, UT 84337
kathy@brvrhomes.com
435-257-2787 office
435-730-3583 cell