Linda Suidan

I've recently heard that if a home owner sells their home in a short sale they will be sent a 1099 tax document by the Federal goverment. The home owners are selling the home for less than what is owed and the goverment considers the loss "income". If you owe $140,000 and short sell for $100,000 you will be sent a 1099 for the income of $40,000. If the home is foreclosed on the same thing will happen, only difference is the seller is working to sell, they just walk away. Under both situations your credit is ruined. How does one know what the best choice is? What is your view?

This is once in a lifetime opportunity to be apart of these Historic Times. Foreclosure Homes have flooded the subdivisions across our towns. We are educating our communities and helping Families accomplish the American Dream of Home Ownership. We would love for you to come with us on our North Atlanta Foreclosure Home Tour.

Brookhaven is one of the towns we hold our tours in. Brookhaven is located just north of North Buckhead and south of Chamblee. Atlanta residents began constructing summer cottages in the community around 1900. Today, Brookhaven has become one of metropolitan Atlanta's most affluent communities. Historically, there were modest neighborhoods surrounding the historic estates. Historic Brookhaven, Residential neighborhood located at the area's core, and is sometimes simply referred to as Brookhaven. It has homes surrounding the Capital City Club ranging from 800k to 4m. Doing the Brookhaven Foreclosure Home tour has been another chapter to add to the history for me. Speaking of which, as we were leading the tour, I would remember back when I was a little girl. I would ride in the back of my fathers' pickup truck as we rode through the streets of Brookhaven selling watermelons. I have so many memories of the Brookhaven. I have been living and working around Atlanta since 1971.

I would love to share with you one of the great home deals that came out of the tour. We had met a gentleman on the home tour. He was an Investor whom wanted to invest in a home that he could custom finish to resell for a future profit. We found just the deal. It was a four sided natural brick four story home. It will be custom finished into a 6 bedroom / 6.5 baths home that with a resale value over 800k in a down market with the potential of 1m in an up market. The home was framed only in the inside. The negotiation of the transaction was with a buyer who knew the market and held his own. We were able to get the home at a very low 30% down from list price. It took a strong and firm offer that got the job done. This was just one of a few that were able to take an advantage of these times and was able to purchase a home at a great price.

Linda had great success on our Brookhaven Home Foreclosure tours in 2009.

Free Foreclosure Home Tours in North Atlanta

Curious about the current foreclosure market?

Have you wanted to see what all the talk is about?

Have questions about purchasing a foreclosure?

Free tour of Foreclosure homes. Banks are ready to make a deal and sell these properties! This rare opportunity for buying at historical lows will be coming to an end.

No matter the buyers situation: First time home buyer? New to the area? Moving up in your current area? Investor taking advantage of the down market? This tour gives you everything you need to make your home purchase intelligent and smooth.

This is a great way for a buyer to get educated; let us answer all your questions about different types of foreclosures, loans, neighborhood profiles, building products, how to compare the home you want to others and how to make the strongest offer possible.

I am a professional Realtor and I can answer all real estate questions like:
Are foreclosures or short sales the best deals on homes?
What do I have to provide to get pre-qualified?
Can I get a FHA loan on a foreclosure?
What if I make an offer and then change my mind?
Is there an inspection if I purchase a foreclosure?
Can I use my $8000 tax credit if I buy a foreclosure?

This tour is managed by a no pressure, down to earth team that loves what they do and enjoy making the American dream come true.

For more information and to secure you attendance: http://lsuidan.resultsrealtyservices.com/infotopic.asp?InfoID=91

Tours are the last Saturday of every month, July 25, August 29, and September 26th
9:45-10 near the fountain at City Hall Park in Suwanee, at the corner of Suwanee Dam Road and Buford Highway.

SUWANEE city hall park at the fountain.
Directions: I85 North -Take the GA-317 N exit, EXIT 111, toward SUWANEE-Turn LEFT onto LAWRENCEVILLE SUWANEE RD (Suwanee Dam) for about 3 miles to Buford Hwy Left at light then 1st left into City Hall and shops.

For more information or to schedule a private tour contact:
Linda Suidan, Realtor with Results Realty Services, LLC in Suwanee.
770-757-3423 cell
linda.suidan@gmail.com

Unpredictable Short Sales

Short Sales are homes that are in the beginnning stages of foreclosure, but have not been foreclosed on yet; also known as pre-foreclosure. This can be a time of real hardship on the current homeowner; when the home is going to be foreclosed and they have to move. In most case's the homeowner has been trying to sell the home at a price that they would not have to bring money to the closing table i.e. pay someone to buy their home. Unfortunately, they have not been able to sell the home for the current mortgage balance. The only alternative at that point would be to ask the bank (mortgage lender) to take less money then what they owe on the home. The home owner is still the seller of the home, but the sale is contingent upon the bank taking less money then the original loan amount. The homeowner has to go through a long process of filing paperwork, explaining and proving their current circumstances. Along with that the listing agent must file the correct paperwork to show the market value. The bank will then take several weeks and sometimes months for the bank to process. Hopefully, the Realtor can get a contract that on the home between the current homeowner (seller) and an able buyer. Why did I say able buyer; with the regulations in banking buyers are having a harder time being approved for a loan.
My very first sales transaction was a short sale, I represented the buyer. We had put several offers on homes in this area before finally getting a seller who accepted the contract terms, but it was contingent upon the final approval of the bank. Fortunately, this bank did accept the short sale, and my buyers were able to buy the home at the lower price.
I am currently working on 4 short sale transactions. I am the buyers agent on one of the homes. With today's banking regulations the buyer has to put no less than 3.5% down as the down-payment. We can not ask for no more than 6% in closing costs to help my client with all the fees at the closing table. The home is a good value, listed as one of the lowest priced homes in the subdivision, but it needs about 20k in repairs. The current homeowners are going through hardship; so they can not afford to put the home in a move-in ready condition. The buyer put the offer on the home 40k less than the asking price because of the amount of cash needed to purchase the home. The current home owners did accept the offer but it is contingent upon the banks approval. We will not know if he will actually be able to purchase the home at the short sale price for weeks.
I have 3 other short sale homes where I am the listing agent. One of the homes is a condo in Atlanta. I had a contract between my seller (current homeowner) and a buyer. The seller and I worked closely together to provide the bank with all the necessary paperwork. The buyer was very patient with the bank taking several weeks to give us an answer. The bank came back with a 5k counter offer. Only 5k; the bank would have been able to avoid the foreclosure procedure and get my homeowner out of the loan. The buyer did not accept the counter offer. The home only has six weeks before foreclosure. We need another contract to submit to the bank. This time we already have the sales price with the banks final approval making this home "short sale approved".
The other two homes also have contracts that are pending the banks approval. One of the homes is in move-in condition that is a great deal for the buyer. This home is in a subdivision that has had a few foreclosures at the short sale price but those foreclosures were not in the same outstanding condition as this home. I do believe that the bank is getting the fair market value of the home. The other home is a great investment. It needs some repairs but the potential income that this can produce has value. The subdivision has had foreclosures that are lower and higher then the short sale but with the condition of this property it is a steal of a deal.
We are waiting to see what the bank will do. This is a hard process for all parties that are involved. The seller is going through hardship; they do not know if they will be able to come out from owing on the loan. The buyers waiting with a time limit to see if they are going to be able to purchase the home. The realtors (and their attorney's) for doing a lot of time consuming paperwork; not knowing if they will even get paid for their work. All the parties involved are holding out to just see if the bank will take the lower offer. This takes all of the parties working together to make these short sales a reality, but the whole process is at most very unpredictable.

Everyone knows that Foreclosure Homes have had an impact on neighborhoods across America. During my experience with showing groups of people foreclosure homes in Suwanee Georgia, I have found some interesting facts. One neighborhood has a foreclosure home currently active that is the lowest active listing in its neighborhood. Yes, this home needs a roof, exterior siding repair, interior ceiling repair from a leak, sheet rock repair, fresh paint, new flooring through out and update appliances, but after these repairs the home is a great value for a family or even a resale. Another neighborhood has a foreclosure home that, believe it or not, is the highest active listing in the subdivision and needs a complete rehab. In the next neighborhood we have two active foreclosure homes. One is priced with other homes in the neighborhood, a larger home in this subdivision, needs some repairs but in good condition. The second home is a smaller ranch home that needs a lot of repairs but is priced 100k below the rest. Last, we have a great deal in a great location with small repairs. In conclusion, I have found that foreclosures have impacted the price of the homes in our neighborhoods, but they are not always the best deal in the neighborhood.