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Mike Giles

Free Service For Home Buyers!

02-02-09
Mike Giles
Use A Free Listing Update Service Whether you are buying or selling, a listing update service will help you to keep your eye on your local market. This is a service that most Realtors can provide to you and normally it is a free service. How it works:
  1. Set up your Home Profile: create a profile including specific details such as # of bedrooms, lot size, price range, desired cities/towns etc...
  2. Receive your initial list of homes: Receive an e-mail with all current listings that match your profile , (TIP: The more specific the profile the fewer homes you will have to weed through, you can always widen the search later)
  3. Receive update e-mail every day: each morning as you log on to your e-mail account you will have one e-mail alerting you to any new listings or any changes to listings that have already appeared on your list.

Benefits:

  1. Stay ahead of the competition: Learn about listings as they come on giving you a chance to get in before others looking for the same type of listing
  2. Only look at current listings: Most of the large listing sites rely on the agents to post their listings and mark them as sold once they are no longer on the market. The Realtor's service is drawn directly from the MLS and assures you that you are getting all current listings and none that have already been put under agreement or sold.
  3. Request Showings: Stop chasing open house signs and simply hit the request showing button on any property of interest. This will allow the Realtor to set up a private showing at a time that fits your schedule.

Even in a slow market if a property comes on that is priced properly and has desirable features and location, you can miss out by finding it too late. If you are interested in properties in Massachusetts you can set your profile at MY FREE LISTING UPDATE SERVICE Otherwise, find a local Realtor that has the ability to provide this service and start looking at relevant properties that are still for sale.

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Open Your Mind To A Short Sale Purchase

12-13-08
Mike Giles

Be Patient And Make A Great Deal


As a Buyer's Agent I have participated in many short sale purchases over the last couple of years. The process has begun to get a bit more streamlined, although my last two have averaged 90 days from offer to closing.

Banks have a widening inventory of foreclosed homes on the market and are being pressured by their investors and the government to extend the foreclosure process. This, along with everybody invovled in the process having more and more experience with the overall process, is helping to avoid the major problems that were holding up deals.

In most cases, buyers are finding the short sale homes to be in much better shape than bank owned homes on the market. Banks are not giving them away, but will accept offers far below what typical owners are willing to take to get a deal done. I just closed a condo on a short sale and got the bank (Wells Fargo) to give back up to $5000 to pre pay the mortgage insurance for the buyer.

Find someone that has been through the process before. It is crucial as a buyer that you have someone constantly monitoring the Listing Agent and the Bank to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Get all of your ducks in a row!! Most of the time the Bank will want to close within 20-30 days sometimes faster. You need to be ready with your lender, home inspector and attorney to get everything done at a quicker pace than normal once the Bank sends the approval.

Many have said that the you know a good deal when eveyone walks away thinking that they lost. In the case of a short sale often times the Realtors, Attorneys and Banks have to conceed money to make the deal work. If you have the time, credit and a solid team of Professionals , you can be the one that walks away knowing that you made a great deal!