Scott Messing

I was thinking of Halloween with my 2 little ones ages 6 and 3. This year I won’t be with them trick or treating as they will be with their mother. I guess you could call it a trick and not one I enjoy but just knowing they are going to have a great time as a Monarch Butterfly and a Fireman makes me smile and brings joy to my heart a real treat!

This year has been a challenging one for so many people. Yet many people have found affordable homes with the lowest interest rates seen in our lives. Some people including myself have been forced to sell their homes or have lost their homes due to the economy, personal issues, adjustable mortgage rates or another thing simply beyond their control. Each time this happens many people feel it’s been a cruel trick. However often a negative situation is really a blessing in disguise and thanks to the short sale process often sellers are given a new opportunity to move on. Sometimes banks provide incentives such as cash to move on to a new temporary rent situation and in return they make sure the seller has not destroyed the home that will be sold to the new buyers.

I’ve been privileged to work with people who just 2 years post short sale of their current home are purchasing a new one. Wonderful treats! Doug and I are currently helping several clients short sale their home and in one case the bank is providing $20,000 in incentives to make sure the home is kept in great condition for the new buyers. Another wonderful treat!

In reviewing the past few months we were able to close on one of the best deals for a UC Merced student who purchased a home for $53,000 and with around $30,000 in repairs restored the home that will more than likely sell a few years from now for $120,000 if not more. That’s one great treat for their family! Another family purchased their first home a 2200 square foot new home with 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, granite and stainless steel appliances for $145,000. It’s a treat that can’t be beat in the Central Valley area.

A great starter home that was in move-in condition in Concord was purchased thanks to excellent negotiating skills from my partner Doug Van Riper. The family is pleased and can’t believe the price and the location of the home. We were treated to an excellent bbq there at their home a few months ago.

This real estate market is challenging and full of trick or treats. Providing you with guidance and solutions to avoid the tricks and experience the treats is what we do best.

Our team wishes you and your family a very Happy Halloween. We are here for you providing real estate services from a market analysis to short sale information or from the purchase of an investment home in Merced or Stanislaus Counties to a foreclosure, short sale or home purchase in Contra Costa, Alameda or the Merced/Stanislaus Counties. You’re the focus and our YTF home team would be honored to represent your best interests!

Into October we go one of my favorite months in part due to the change to cooler weather and also due to Halloween. With the change of seasons also comes a flood of memories. Perhaps you’ve experienced the same thing. Places and faces come flooding back during certain times of the year. Not sure why for me it’s October but it’s a great month.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the passion we have in working with people. With each conversation whether it be with our clients, their mortgage lenders, title companies, inspectors, repair companies even those sometimes troubling short sale negotiators it’s about establishing great relationships and getting along for the benefit, the good of our clients.

It doesn’t matter if we are representing the seller in listing their home or the buyer in purchasing a home it’s important on each side to reach out and understand where the other party is coming from in the transaction. Motivation helps determine path to take to a dispute resolution or to reach a win-win for both parties. Sometimes we reach a mutual agreement. Other times even if things seem bleak we create a beneficial situation for our clients. There’s nothing sweeter than overcoming odds to help our clients reach their goals.

Recently one short sale after taking just a few weeks to receive a yes answer from the bank accepting the loss with certain conditions in place was about to turn ugly. An appraisal on the home missed the purchase price agreement by 17 thousand dollars. We quickly wrote up an addendum to request the new purchase price. We were racing against the clock as the home my buyer was currently residing in had sold and she had only weeks to move out. The loss mitigation specialist delayed in getting us a response. What I hoped would take 3-5 days was running toward 2 weeks. Daily I checked in with the listing agent. As time was running too close for comfort I ran out to preview homes, reached out to other listing agents and thanks in due part to the relationships I formed with those agents found 2 possible replacement homes. We wrote a new offer that was countered just with minor points that would have worked. All along I kept communicating with the short sale agent letting them know of the plan so that they could attempt to put more pressure on the lender. The lender though often doesn’t make the final decision for it’s the investor behind the lender that has the stake and decision in the loss.

In the end the investor said yes and my client was happy. From the time we issued the addendum we could have walked away from the short sale home as no answer was provided on this new price. We remained patient yet worked with all parties and had the backup just about ready to go. All parties knew the expectations and were kept informed. This communication is what we do best. Working with people can be challenging but it’s what we love to do!

Contact us any time for help, guidance and solutions. Remember we provide You’re The Focus real estate services for clients throughout the East Bay area (Contra Costa, Alameda counties) and throughout the Central Valley area (Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties).

Hope you have a great October,

Scott Messing

It's not every day that I can say that sold home was the best deal in Merced in the past year, let alone 2 years. Today is that day! My clients were looking to purchase a home with their son who goes to UC Merced. After looking with another agent and making a series of offers that went nowhere he came to me and asked for brutal honesty. He asked me what I was seeing in the market and what it would take to purchase a home less than $80,000. Fortunately the answers he was looking for is exactly what we practice as part of our "You're The Focus" real estate services.

When it comes to real estate and working with our clients it's all about setting expectations. We don't want our clients to fail and with this in mind we set buyer and seller expectations from the start of our relationship. Sure sometimes the news won't be what a particular buyer or seller wants to hear but in the end if we save them time, money and frustration it makes it more than worth it. We value our clients and continue to service their real estate needs beyond the purchase or sale of their home. How we prefer to work is based on referral and so we provide the best service possible for our clients and they appreciate what we do for them and of course we appreciate them. We have a client appreciation program where we send out information monthly and provide them with valuable resources from vendors to fix their home to real estate, safety, and other topical information that they can use or pass on to friends and family to use in the future.

Back to the home I just sold. It was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with 2,232 square feet, a fixer upper to the tune of $30,000 if not slightly more but the sold price in the end was $57,100 which is $25.58 per square foot. This home was the lowest to sell since June of 2009 according to CRMLS sales report (Multiple Listing Service). It was not easy to make this happen. At any point the bank could have rejected our offers and our request for repairs that showed bids from vendors, pest inspection reports and the home inspection report indicating $30,000 plus in repairs. We went through 6 counters, a multiple counter highest/best situation, several inspections, and bids from vendors and the request for repairs where we highlighted everything needed to make the home habitable. In the final request we asked for a lower price to end at the $57,100 price.

All along it was constant communication, setting up all the vendor reports and making sure my buyers and the listing agent where up to date with the information. In the end my clients were ecstatic. Some may say Scott there's not much money in the $57,100 sale. I would say well luckily my focus is on helping my clients and however that looks like as long as I've done a great job for them and exceeded their expectations then I'm happy!

Rates continue to be historically low so it’s a great time to buy. The tricky part is that short sales remain high and although the short sale success rate has been going up we are seeing some long waits of 60 days plus just for a decision to a buyer’s offer. In addition some sellers are making it difficult for the listing agent to provide exposure of the home. Once listed the goal of any agent and seller is to receive offers at the highest price possible. However many sellers are limiting access to the house to restricted days or times. This past week I made several calls setting up appointments but often was told that Seller X didn’t return their call or that Seller X was only available to show it on Sunday between 5 and 7pm. An agents job is to get the home sold. It still amazes me that agents will take listings and not do everything in their power to get the home sold for their seller. Yes there are difficult sellers out there but it’s up to agents to work with difficult people and make sure the home gains the exposure needed.

In terms of the real estate market right now we see it as a mixture of good and not so good news. We say mixture for we see limited inventory in certain price ranges. With limited inventory it’s more difficult for buyers to negotiate over the price and other terms of the contract. In higher price ranges such as greater than $250,000 buyers have more leeway yet some sellers are reluctant to lower the prices as they realize how much equity was lost during those inflated years. Writing a solid offer based on comparables and with some seller incentives will go a long way in giving you the best chance at owning a coveted home.

We also provide selling and buying services to many cities surrounding these areas. Call or email us today for information.

The You’re The Focus team will help you navigate the market representing your best interests throughout the process. Contact us today and watch us work with and for you. Real estate services where you’re the focus!

With You're The Focus service it's all about setting expectations for clients looking to sell or buy homes. Too often mistakes are made by not understanding all the variables that go into selling or purchasing a home. This blog entry will review some common problems that could impact your purchase or sale. Knowing these things in advance so you can be prepared will be helpful.

The first example is with lending options. The most popular program continues to be FHA loans due to lower down payment amounts and generally lower interest rates. Many clients I meet with expect to have 3.5% for their down payment not realizing that closing costs could run closer to an additional 6% (that's 9.5% total needed to purchase a home). The closing costs include such items as home insurance, property taxes, escrow fees, homeowner's title policy, loan origination fees, process and underwriting fees and sometimes Mello Roos, HOA or other handling (often on short sale) fees. We will ask the seller for a contribution toward these costs but often an additional 2% to 3% is needed from the buyer.

Inspection results: Depending on the type of lending inspection results can cost a buyer or a seller the current sale of their home. Many properties state that they are being purchased "as-is" but an inspection report showing problems that the buyer can't afford to repair or that the lender requires to be repaired could cost you the home. One example is a pest report indicating section 1 items (termites, rotting wood, etc) to be repaired prior to funding the loan. On a foreclosed (REO) home sometimes the bank will repair these items and other times they may not. Another example is a home report with plumbing or electrical issue that may not be called out by the lender but certainly will add cost for the buyer. If a buyer asks for repairs and the seller isn't in a position to pay for the repairs (short sales most common cases) then the buyer may end up walking away from the property. If you are a buyer make sure you have $300 or so for these inspections.

A recent issue my client faced was the cost of flood insurance. We found a house they loved at a great price. When we asked for an insurance quote on the property it came back as a high risk flood zone. Their cost went from an expected $600 to $1800 annual. This $100 per month increase in their monthly mortgage payment was enough to cancel the purchase and find them a home within their budget. Once an offer is approved on the home purchase obtaining an insurance quote within the inspection time frame is a must.

Review the property profile on any home you purchase. See if there are Mello Roos or other taxes that might add to your monthly payment. These taxes could add $50, $100 or even $200 per month to your payment.

When using a calculator to estimate your monthly mortgage payment remember that this doesn't contain property taxes, insurance, PMI or other associated costs. Work with your agent and lender to make sure you understand what's involved in determining your costs (closing and monthly payment).

From the seller's standpoint brokerage fees and closing costs such as providing items the buyer asks for including repairs, closing cost contributions, escrow fees, up to date taxes, etc will impact your net profit. In the case of a short sale these costs don't go away unless you have approval from the lender to cover these costs. The good news on the short sale is that there are no brokerage fees as these are paid for by the lender. We have short sale and foreclosure alternative information for those sellers looking for help in this area.

After reading this entry I hope that you will be encouraged to save extra money above and beyond what lenders indicate just in case costs increase. I also help that the agent you select will help prepare you by setting your expectations as much as possible for the variety of things that can and do happen during the real estate process. These were just a few examples and crazy things from title problems to seller or buyer issues that are beyond anyone's control do occur. I would be honored to work for you earning your trust and your business.