Dawn Maloney 330-990-4236 Hudson Stow Cuyahoga Falls Silver Lake

When You Go From Eggs To Bacon…

Have you heard the old joke…

A pig and a chicken were walking by a church where a gala charity event was taking place. Getting caught up in the spirit, the pig suggested to the chicken that they each make a contribution.

“Great idea!” the chicken cried.

“Let’s offer them bacon and eggs?”

“Not so fast,” said the pig testily. “For you, that’s a contribution. For me, it’s a total commitment.”

As a seller, you are either eggs or bacon.

One is total commitment. Do or die. Not just trying it out. Total commitment.

If you are eggs, you are not committed to selling…but if you do sell, that is great.

Maybe you don’t “have to sell”.

Maybe you just want to see if you can get your price.

Maybe you just want to know what your house is really worth on the open market.

But you are eggs at this point. If it doesn’t work out, the sun will rise tomorrow and nothing will really change much.

You show the house if you feel like it, you don’t care about the broken countertop, and if your lawn is mowed, great, but it isn’t first priority – the house looks good to you.

But if you are bacon…you must sell.

You are relocating.

You don’t fit at your home anymore and there is no way you are building an addition.

You aren’t staying anymore! This is it.

You are totally committed to selling. You will price it right, be available for showings, work on your curb appeal, tell others about your house, fix items you can fix, etc.

Whenever a seller becomes “bacon” – it is the real deal! Their house will sell because they will make the necessary choices, regardless of pain, to get the desired results.

So ask yourself, if your house hasn’t sold…are you eggs…or bacon?

When You Go From Eggs To Bacon…

I Taught An Accountant Something...Tax Tip If You Had A 2011 Short Sale

"Hi Dawn,

Thanks again! Thought I would update you,,,,, it might give you a chuckle. So my accountant said that he would challenge any real estate agent to teach him about taxes.... Well I guess he owes you a continuing ed fee or something because he had no clue about the form and then he emailed me back and said no because it wasn't a primary residence. So I asked him about the insolvency and I got three emails back, probably not, maybe, and I think we can. Needless to say I think I am just going to call H&R Block. Over the past few years I have been amazed at how many people claim to be professionals and have no idea about the field they represent.

Thanks again for taking the time to help me out. You have really done a lot and you always have my referral."

This is the email I received today after helping my client whose short sale was closed in 2011.

She called me earlier in the day about the 1099C form she received after her short sale last year. Her accountant was upset with her and her agent (yours truly) for not looking into this more, thanks to the tax liability she was now facing, according to him. He told her he had never heard of such a thing, and he dismissed a few other agents who had previously mentioned it.

I'm not an accountant, and I advise clients to speak to their CPA about tax liabilities after a short sale BEFORE we embark on the long journey to closing. There are times when a short sale is not the best option, even though often it is a great opportunity - it just depends on each person’s situation.

I also direct them to this IRS website: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=205004,00.html

There they will find directions on how to handle their tax liability after their Ohio short sale. Usually their accountant already knows all about this...but obviously not in every case!

If you need to do a short sale on your primary residence, you are covered (with some exceptions) by the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act of 2007, which was extended to December 2012. Again, I'm not an accountant, but it is pretty clear who qualifies and who doesn't.

I don't know if this protection will be extended after December 2012, but it is in force now. The tax relief has been a huge blessing for many of my clients.

If you are not short selling your primary residence, and you are experiencing financial difficulties, you may qualify for tax relief if you are insolvent. Again, see the link and speak to a knowledgable tax professional.

It's not everyday that I get to teach an accountant something – I’m just glad I know the current rules for my clients!

I Taught An Accountant Something...Tax Tip If You Had A 2011 Short Sale

Let's Track a Wells Fargo Short Sale Together Property A22

Bank: Wells Fargo

Listing Agent: Dawn Maloney

Let's call this Property A22. I'll update you from time to time as we make any progress.

Where we are in the process: House has been listed and marketed, we have a contract, all has been submitted to bank's attorney.

What I received today: A letter requesting all we have submitted be RESUBMITTED only on variations of THEIR FORMS.

"For an offer review, please provide the following highlighted documents within 3 days:

1. Current Listing Agreement

2. Property Status Report (attached) (They will not accept MLS printouts, I will have to fill out a separate report!!)

3. Purchase agreement signed by the seller

4. Preliminary HUD or net seller’s sheet

5. Buyer pre-qualification letter specifically stating the loan amount (It would be great to have this information beforehand!)

6. Documentation required from the seller/seller’s:

a. Written authorization to release account information (attached)

b. Hardship Letter (attached in SS packet)

c. First two pages of the last 2 year’s federal tax returns

d Last 30 days of paystubs. If the seller is self employed, we need the most recent profit and loss statement.

e. Last year’s W2’s

f. Financial Statement (attached)"

I've done a number of Wells Fargo short sales, and they are never easy. Let's see if this one is any better.

Tips welcome, questions welcome, opinions welcome.

Let's Track a Wells Fargo Short Sale Together Property A22

Fastest short sale ever!

Pre-approved from the start and seller incentive of $10,000. That's right. Done in three weeks and seller gets a check.

The bank? CHASE. No insanity, no Equator, no 100 page files to fax.

I guess I don't need the FBI on this one.

It Was A Day For Kissing Frogs...Yuck!

To find a prince of a house, you need to kiss a lot of frogs!

We headed out with high hopes, that one of the four houses we saw might turn into "the house" - the one that has the right shape

but maybe not the right interior, or kitchen...

or perhaps needed wallpaper removed...

or landscaping refreshed...

or even a bathroom gutted.

However, today's tours were like hitting the swamp - lots of frogs and no princes, no matter how many kisses!

We saw creative built in clocks:

And antique bathrooms:

Every house was like a time capsule...

Or it was painted salmon...

Or the basement wall looked like a giant sat on it.

But the encouraging thought is buyers looking for fixer uppers under $200,000 in our market

will probably save about $20,000 to $50,000 if they choose carefully

and do a lot of the work themselves.

Not a bad part-time moneymaker, if you ask me.

So today was not "the day" to find "the house"...

It was a day for kissing frogs...yuck!