Kathy S Koops

This morning's Wall Street Journal had an interesting article on "Why Lenders Are Leery of Short Sales".

In articles posted to "thecincyblog" I have tried to educate consumers on: "Crucial Sort Sale Advice for the Greater Cincinnati Area", "Foreclosure Assistance", "How To Understand The Mortgage Mess" and "4 Truths About the Subprime Bailout". And while the article in the Wall Street Journal fairly represents the lender's point of view, I think it fails to address the failure of mortgage servicers and their investors to look at the "big picture" and act accordingly.

3 reasons Lenders should jump at short sales are:

1. A bird in the hand is worth- what? Lenders who stall on short sales and ultimately lose the buyer(s) are not only losing money they are losing equity. The National Association of Realtors as well as any realtor will provide you with statistics indicating the longer a property remains on the market the lower the selling price.
2. Empty properties cost the investors more than occupied properties. Homes that fail to complete the transaction during the "short sale" period may end up as vacant properties. As a former relocation company employee, I can tell you that empty homes are expensive to maintain and give birth to a host of problems which may be costly to repair.
3. The short sale you ignore may impact other nearby properties that your investors currently "own".

As an investor I am always reminded to cut my losses and move on- perhaps these investors should heed the same advice.

April 7th, 2008 categories: Entertainment, Fairfield, Ohio, Real Estate News

They are the typical hunters laden with checkbooks, cash and credit cards....hunting for the right piece to add to their collections! In search of the "great deal" they will be driving from all over to Fairfield, Ohio.

Last February I wrote a short blog about the "Ohio Valley Antique Mall" and was totally surprised by the emails and calls trying to track down more information. Good news, the mall is officially opening on Friday, April 25th @ noon. The "Celebration" (schedule) runs the whole weekend and will bring welcome traffic to area businesses on Route 4. I have yet to drive by the Mall without seeing lots of cars in the parking lot so I am guessing there will be many antiquers making the trek from Friday, April 24th through Sunday, April 27th.

So if you are in the area watch out for the antique hunters scoping out the Ohio Valley Antique Mall for their trophies.

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The Cincinnati Buinsess Courier just released RealtyTracs latest numbers on forclosures.

Ohio ranks seventh in the country!

Read the whole article.

Need more information about this and other real estate related topics subscribe to the cincy blog.

Call 513-300-4090 if need help with foreclosures or you have questions about real estate.

March 7th, 2008 categories: Fairfield, Ohio, Real Estate Selling, West Chester, Ohio

As the snow dumps down on our area, I am thinking where is global warming when you need it?

I know people are going to be jumping all over me for making this observation. But really- enough is enough- and we have had enough snow for this year. It's 12:30pm and the snow is currently coming down sideways- and that is never a good sign of things to come.

This weekend we "spring forward" to daylight savings and if we actually get the 10 to 12 inches of snow that is predicted- "summer forward" world be the preferred time change for everybody living in the great Cincinnati area.

The good news for home sellers (and potential sellers) is that our long drawn out winter has convinced many families that their current homes are too small. So many snow days with all the kids stuck in the house has always been great for the real estate market. As soon as the weather breaks, these buyers will be hitting the pavement looking for homes offering them more space. If you are thinking about putting your home on the market, take advantage of the next few days to clean up, paint and get your property ready for the market. Currently on the market for a long time? Think about a price reduction in order to capture the new buyers coming into the market next week.

Need help getting your property ready for the market- call or send an email.

For eons consumers have been brain washed into believing the 3 key words in real estate are location, location, location!

Conventional wisdom stated that if you purchased a home in the right location-the sky was the limit when you decided to sell. It would appear the number of properties stagnating in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) defies the wisdom of this type of thinking.

Real estate has always been about price!

Priced right- the "worst" home in any neighborhood is defying the odds and selling in under 60 days.

Why?

According to NAR (National Association of Realtors) 77% of buyers start their home buying search online. They are comparison shopping before they actually walk into a home. If your home is one of many on the market, with essentially the same square footage, number of rooms, property taxes and school district- why would the buyer pay a 10%, 20% or 40% premium for your house?

Most sellers justify price premiums by:

1. commenting on the prices of homes sold in the past- ( call that yesterday's news)
2. tallying up all the things they have fixed or upgraded such as: new landscaping, roof, 95% efficient furnace, hot water heater (call that- "welcome to home maintenance")
3. summarizing all the improvements such as big deck, gourmet kitchen, lower level entertainment center.....(call that- "what I did for my/our own enjoyment).

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