Mike Giles

Despite the stigma, your doing the right thing.

Most people that don't understand the business, think that short sales are for those who bought over their heads in the first place and deserve to lose the property. While this is true for SOME, the majority of the short sale clients I am meeting with are hard working people that have fallen victim to this economy.

If you have lost your job, modifying your loan is no longer an option. For those of you that have never had to make the call to your lender to look for options only to hear "well can't you borrow the money from someone?" or "why don't you sell your car?" (I didn't make these up.), you wouldn't understand the frustration of trying to do the right thing.

Short Sales are not new and not a result of the current economy. They are a creation of past recessions and were developed to be a win,win for all involved. Believe me when I say, if they didn't benefit the banks in some way, we wouldn't have them as an option.

The basic trade off is that the consumer gets out from under the loan with limited(although there is some) damage to their credit while the bank can recoup fair market value without having to go through the expense of foreclosure.

I guarantee that you would have a different opinion as to the value of the short sale option and the people who are forced to use it, if you came to just one listing appointment with me. They are always very emotional meetings that range from sadness to frustration to anger. Most have worked and paid their way all of their lives and never thought they would be in this position. They are swallowing their pride and DOING THE RIGHT THING!

HAVE AMBER ALERTS SENT TO YOUR CELL PHONE! Anyone who has ever had a child walk off in a crowded place knows the feeling of instant fear and helplessness. Amber Alerts were put in place to get citizens involved when a child has been abducted. Obviously the more people that are aware of the alert, the better the chance of finding the child.

WirelessAmberAlerts.org is a government sponsored site where you can sign up to receive Amber Alerts from your area. Simply type in your cell # and choose up to 5 zip codes. Once there is an alert in one of the Cities/Towns that you have chosen, you will be alerted with a text message.

What a great way to possibly make a difference in a child's life!

I am a full time Realtor that works primarily in the Essex and Middlesex Counties of Massachusetts. I have extensive experience with both Buyers and Sellers. I have created these inquiry forms to help you get the specific information that your require. The Request forms are designed to alert me of your inquiry so that I can get back to you as quickly as possible with the information that you need. The Service forms allow you to take advantage of specific free services without having to contact me to set it up for you. I hope that you take advantage of these and that they help to make your transaction easier. --Mike Giles

1. Request information about Selling my home
2. Request Help With Financing
3. Request Buyer's Agent Information
4. Request A Copy Of My Deed
5. Free Listing E-mail Alert Service
6. Your Neighborhood Market Watch Service
7. Request A Customized Open House Schedule For This Weekend
8. Request For Sale By Owner Assistance
9. Request Assistance: My Listing is Expiring
10. Contact Mike With Another Question

With the rates very low and the Federal Government waving the $8000 tax credit in their faces, the first time home buyers are out in force. This is a good thing for everyone concerned with the Real Estate market.

There are certain unwritten rules that most home buyers in general like to use as a guideline while searching. I find that these rules really have no merit and sometimes stop a buyer from making an offer on a property that they like. I hope that reading this will help you with your search and keep you from missing out on a great deal.

Here are the three common rules of thumb that I often hear and have to disagree with.

1. You can't make an offer on the first home that you see.-- WHY? In most cases the first few houses that you look at are the ones that best fit your original "dream house". We sit and go over what it is you want and don't want in a house and how much you want to spend and then find the active homes that best fit for you. It is this "rule" that makes you continue to look in the second and third tier of homes that might be missing a few "wants" and may have a couple of extra "don't wants". Hopefully when you realize that you liked the first house the best, it is still available.
2. Banks will accept anything just to get the property off the books: This could not be farther from the truth. I have had a few recent cases where the bank has foreclosed and re listed the property higher than what the short sale agent was trying to get.
3. You should never pay more than the assessed value: Cities and Town assessments are only physically done about every 5 years and even then the assessor rarely enters the property. They are however adjusted every year either up or down depending on the market. My home's assessment has gone down the last 2 years but my taxes have gone up. The appraisal that the bank will have you do, will be a much better indicator of market value because it is based soley on comparable recent sales and does not rely on public records like the assessments.

I have also put together a few tips to help you while you search.

1. Always get pre approved before looking at any houses: Too often will guess what their price range is and start looking before speaking with a lender. This isn't a big deal if you guess right. If you don't, however; you could be disappointed with the properties that you see in your price range because you are comparing them to the ones that were priced higher. (request mortgage help)
2. Get a copy of your credit report from the first lender that you meet with: you may even want to make sure that they will give you this before giving them permission to pull your credit. This will allow you to shop around for the best rate without having your credit pulled numerous times. Each time this is done it effects your score in a negative way. It is for this reason that you should avoid the big online loan services that just take your information and send it out to multiple lenders that all then pull your credit.
3. Get on a listing alert service with a local Realtor: This system will allow you to set up a property profile and choose what Cities/Towns you are interested in. You will then receive an entire list of active listings that match your profile. Every day you will receive one e-mail alerting you to any new listings or status changes on existing ones. This is a great way to keep your eye on the market and stay ahead of the competition. If you are looking North of Boston you can feel free to use my listing update service

Again these are meant to help you with your search. The pride and accomplishment of buying a home whether it is your first or fifth, should not be out shadowed by frustration and stress. Do your homework, use professionals and don't forget great deals are made, not found! If I can be of any help to you, please don't hesitate to contact me today!

The Final Quarter of 2009 Could Be The Best Time To Sell Your Home.

Home sales are upand first time home buyers are taking advantage of the $8000 federal tax credit. If you have equity in your home, and are considering downsizing or upgrading, this could effect you in a positive way.

As of now, first time home buyers have until December 1st to gain the benefits of the tax credit. Unless the Federal Government continues this program or devises some other version of it, the next three months are going to give you the best chance to sell your home and take advantage of the lower sales prices on your purchase.

Short sales have proved to give a buyer with the time to wait an opportunity to get a home at under market value. This has been frustrating to Sellers that can't afford to take the losses that a big bank can. The average short sale can take 3-4 months to get done from offer to closing. If you are looking now, it would be very risky to focus on a short sale in the hopes that it is done by December 1st.

Multiple offer situations are being seen on a more frequent basis with homes that are priced correctly. Sellers for the first time in a long time are enjoying a little leverage during the negotiation process.

If the Federal Government does not continue the tax credit program, it could have a huge effect on the first quarter of next year. The uncertainty is enough to fuel the need for first timers to get into the market NOW. I believe that this last few months of 2009 will prove to be a very busy time in the Real Estate business.

If you are planning on selling for any reason, you may regret waiting until next year. If I can be of any help to you or if you have any questions about Real Estate in general please contact me.