Ken Cuellar Your North Valley Scottsdale, Glendale, Phoenix Experts

Short Sale No No's.

This is just a quick post to let anyone know, who is considering a Short Sale on your home in the state of Arizona.

It has recently come to my attention while doing some checking through some friends of ours that here in Arizona the Anti Deficiency Laws do not help those who are performing a Short Sale. This Law only applies to Foreclosure.

What this means to you is, if you Foreclose on a property the Anti Deficiency Law will protect you from any future law suits by the bank to collect the unpaid balance of the forgiven debt. (That only applies to the original Purchase Money Loan). If you have a Junior Loan in a Foreclosure it is not protected under the Anti Deficiency Laws and the wiped out Junior Lien Holder still has the right to sue for any remaining deficiency.

As for those in a Short Sale Position. If you perform a Short Sale, the Anti Deficiency Law will (NOT) protect you from future law suits to recover any remaining deficiency. That also applies to Junior liens.

OK, here is the tricky part.

1). If you only have one primary Purchase Money Loan and you let it foreclose, the only thing that stings is the hit on your credit and the time it takes to regain the ability to buy another home. (That is info for future post).

2). If you have a primary Purchase Money Loan and a second or (Junior Lien) and you let the home foreclose, you will leave yourself open to a law suit for the Junior Lien Deficiency.

That being said, in many cases it is beneficial to attempt a Short Sale if the details are handled correctly and the conditions of the Short Sale are arranged in such a way that you obtain an agreement from the First Position (Primary Purchase Money Loan), Second Position (Junior Lien Holder) that they will sign off on any remaining deficiency. One example of verbiage you might see from all lenders involved in a Short Sale would go something like this. (lender accepts the short sale proceeds as payment in full for any outstanding obligation). It is CRITICAL in a Short Sale situation that any lien holder that still has a deficiency remaining on the loan that this type of verbiage be included as a condition of the Short Sale.

Remember, the Anti Deficiency Law does NOT protect you in a Short Sale Case, so it doesn't matter whether it is a first or second position, they can still sue for the deficiency.

In closing, if you are able to complete a Short Sale and all lenders involved agree to sign off on any future claims for the deficient amounts, you will end up in a much better position than a Foreclosure.

If you just elect to go straight into Foreclosure and there is a Junior Lien holder, or the First Position Lien Holder is not the original Purchase Money Loan, you are pretty much giving up any chance of getting them to sign off on the deficiency, leaving you open to Law suit. You really have nothing to loose in a Short Sale attempt. If you cannot get the lenders to sign off on the deficiencies it will just revert back to Foreclosure. You don't have to agree with the Short Sale conditions if you don't agree to the terms.

PLEASE NOTE: The Verbiage above is just an example. Not legal advice. If you do decide to perform a Short Sale or Foreclosure, have all documents reviewed by a qualified Real Estate Attorney before signing off on the transaction. There are also certain tax consequences that need to be evaluated by a qualified Tax Attorney.

Please don't be mislead. I always have any Short Sale candidate consult with a Real Estate and Tax Attorney to be certain they know all of the potential obligations they may face in either situation.

Of course there are many different scenarios to consider this is just one example.

Please if you have any questions on this or any other Real Estate related subject, feel free to contact me any time.

Thank you for reading.

Sincerely,

Ken Cuellar

Team Cuellar

Tyler Properties

623-340-3139

teamcuellar@q.com

Scottsdale Homes For Sale

Is anybody ready to get back into the game? Do we have any newcomers?

I know it is a turbulent time for Real Estate but I haven't heard anything contrary to what I have been pointing out for several months now. I believe it is time to get back into real estate.

If anyone would like information on Bank Owned Homes Scottsdale, Investment Property Scottsdale and Homes for sale in Scottsdale follow this link:


It will give you access to all of the MLS listings in Scottsdale, AZ not to mention all MLS listings in Arizona.

I spent three hours today in a seminar regarding Short Sales and even there, with all of the information pointing out that short sales will be a part of our current market for two to four more years at least, maybe more. But, what I didn't hear is that the housing prices will continue to decline. It just means our sellers for the next two to four years are basically going to be the banks. Honestly, now that the prices have dropped to a six year low by some statistics, I think if anyone is going to get as much value out of a home it will be the loss mitigation department of the banks. They are ruthless and unsympathetic. Which means they will get absolute top dollar. It wasn't as easy at first for the banks to be choosy when marketing foreclosures but now the stage has been set over the past twelve months or so and the banks have pretty much reset the whole market. They have set the bar and are ready to deal whether it is a short sale or foreclosure they are in control to a point and slowly but surely those prices will begin to inch their way upward as they realize they can make more money if they just hold out a little bit longer. This is especially true on the short sale end which is becoming a much stronger share of the market and I can see a trend over time, before it is all over, of short sales overtaking the number of foreclosures available on the market. There are more and more realtor's getting educated on the short sale process which means you will see more and more short sales and eventually less foreclosures.

Remember you heard it hear. Now is the time to get back into the game of real estate. I don't think it will get much better than this.

Thanks and please come back soon.

Sincerely,

Ken Cuellar

Team Cuellar

Tyler Properties

623-340-3139

Home Sales Statistics In Phoenix

According to the Cromford Report the City of Phoenix real estate market hit rock bottom in the month of January 2008 with a whopping 424 sales for the month. While it is normal for January to be the slowest month of the year in nearly all Real Estate markets, for a city the size of Phoenix this is dismal at best. Less than half of what a normal real estate market for Phoenix might produce.

The good news.
Since that low point in Jan 08, monthly sales have climbed steadily month after month. As of the month of June 2008 we have a track record for the last 14 months straight where each month has out sold the same month in the year before. In most cases not by just a few sales, we are talking leaps and bounds above the previous year. One of the largest deficits, for example, is the month of May 09 out selling the previous year by 1458 homes with a total sales volume of 2308 for the month, nearly tripling the sales from that month a year earlier. It's also interesting to note that that particular month was the highest month of sales on record since 2001, possibly longer, but I didn't look past 2001 for this blog post.

I could go on and on quoting statistics, but I think you get the picture. Most important to note is the market is recovering. It may be due to circumstances that we have not experienced before, but the fact still stands it is improving.

In my opinion, the main driving force to all these sales is price. Homes are selling for approximately the same cost as they were in the year 2000. We are talking buying a house at prices lower then they were 9 years ago!!!!

Homes have become affordable again!!!! For all of those people who were priced out of the market just before the boom, now is the time to get what you've worked for.
Yes, there are more foreclosures and short sales on the horizon, but people have become immune to these terms. All anyone cares about right now is price. What this means to me is the opportunists will be coming out of the woodwork to get there piece of the pie which will ultimately start to drive the prices up. This is already evident as we are seeing bidding wars on many foreclosures and short sales and these homes are selling in days, not months. I believe this will continue, so if you are thinking about it don't think to long, I believe now is the time to take action.

If you need any assistance please visit my website at www.HomesofScottsdaleAZ.com or call me at 623-340-3139.

Until next time.

Ken Cuellar
Team Cuellar of Tyler Properties
623-340-3139

Search Homes in Scottsdale

So many of us have spent hours seeking out free access to the MLS and it is readily available.
If you're someone who simply wants to know what your home is Worth or what your neighbors house is listed for this direction makes sense however, if your truly looking for your next home I must say it makes no sense at all.
Of course I'm a little bias being a realtor myself.

Let's break it down.
Using the tools from my site or any site that gives you access to the MLS does give you access to the basic information price, bedrooms, baths etc.. it doesn't give the information that is needed to make an informed decision. Why you say. Well, the MLS cannot give out all information related to a property for security and privacy reasons, access code information, tenant information, homeowner information etc..

That being said here are a few reasons why you need a Realtor.

1). A good Realtor is experienced in negotiation and well versed in home values in any given area.
2). A Realtor has access to all the information regarding the property that you will need to make a good decision.
3). A Realtor is definitely needed to gain access to the property of choice and although a buyer can call the realtor off the sign out front, it is not in the buyers best interest to do so because the selling agents fiduciary responsibility is to the home seller not the buyer.
4). This leads me to the most significant reason to get a good Realtor. He or she is looking out for your best interest not the seller and the cost of the buyers agent is free to the buyer. That's right, FREE.
The fee to list a property is almost always negotiated between the listing agent and the homeowner before the home goes on the market and is paid out of the sellers closing costs at closing.

Many people think if they approach the selling agent they will get a deal because there is no commission going to the buyers agent, the thought is that the listing agent will pass the savings on to the buyer. In theory it sounds good but in reality, you will probably loose more than you would gain simply because the sellers agent has no motivation to lower the price which will cut his or her commission and do a disservice to his or her client. It's just not a good decision in my opinion.

More later.

Thanks for reading,

Ken Cuellar
Licensed Realtor
Team Cuellar of Tyler Properties
623-340-3139
www.homesofscottsdaleaz.com

Scottsdale is the place to be.

Although most of the posts on this blog are about the real estate market, I'd like to talk a little about what Scottsdale has to offer.
If you've never had a chance to visit, a good place to start is Downtown or better known as, Old Town Scottsdale. Downtown Scottsdale offers some of the finest galleries, cultural attractions, retail shopping, and dining in the Valley of the Sun. Downtown Scottsdale is also at the very heart of the city's art scene, with Contemporary and Western Art and a beautiful display of outdoor sculptures set amid the lush green lawns and sparkling fountains of Civic Center Mall.

Scottsdale's Arts District is home to a high concentration of galleries showcasing some of the best Western and Southwestern art in the country. Throughout "Old Town", you can find quality Native American crafts, with everything from hand-woven Navajo rugs to Zuni silver jewelry.

Scottsdale also has many activities to choose from, from hiking, mountain biking, golfing, tennis, indoor rock climbing, the list is endless pretty much anything you can think of doing in a sun filled 8 months of nearly perfect weather can be found here in Scottsdale.

If you would like more information on Scottsdale and what to do follow this link for more things to do on your visit. Many people who come never leave. It's that nice here....

Thanks for reading.

Until next time,

Ken Cuellar
Team Cuellar of
Tyler Properties
623-340-3139