Nancy McNamee

Well, that depends!

• Is the house listed with a Realtor or is the homeowner trying to sell it himself?
• Is the Open House being held open by the Listing Agent, another agent, or is the person even a Realtor?
• Have you been working with a Realtor who you like and trust?
• Do you have a written agreement with a Buyer's Agent currently in force?

If you aren't currently working with an agent, don't be afraid to engage the person holding the Open House. Ask if they are the listing agent or on the listing agent's team.

Ask if they represent the bank. Often visitors mistakenly think a person holding a Bank Owned Home open is somehow connected to the bank and they have secret information.

IF...

If the person is the listing agent, then that person will be representing the seller. You need someone to represent you.

If that person is the homeowner, whose interest is he/she most concerned with, probably not yours. Who is going to protect you?

THEN...

If you don't have a relationship with an agent and you like the Realtor who is holding the Open House, who is not the homeowner or listing agent, then by all means strike up a conversation and consider using that agent for your purchase.

If on the other hand, you have a relationship with an agent, why not let that person know you saw a house and you need more information about it.

If you have a contract with a Buyer's Agent to represent you, then you are obligated to work with that agent during the contract period.

The key point here is to remember that as a buyer you deserve to have your own representation!

Nancy McNamee is a Short Sale Specialist who lists and sells property in Granite Bay, Roseville, Rocklin, and Lincoln as well as other Placer County locations. She loves to help First Time Home Buyers by educating them about this ever changing real estate market. Call Nancy at 916.708.4973 and put her experience to work for you. CA DRE #01490574

Just received this quote from a friend and thought it was worthy of sharing.

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."
~~~~ Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931

What do you think?

If you have questions about the market or are looking for a realtor in Granite Bay, Roseville, Rocklin or Lincoln I'd love to help you.

Nancy

According to California Assn of Realtors, The House today passed a bill extending and expanding the Federal Tax Credit. The Senate passed the bill late yesterday and it will now go to President Obama for his signature. When signed it will extend the credit to April 30, 2010 with a 60 day extension possible if a binding contract is in place before the April deadline.

FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS will continue to receive a tax credit of up to $8,000, while existing homeowners will receive a reduced credit of up to $6,500.

EXISTING HOMEOWNERS will be eligible for the $6,500 if they have lived in their current residences for at least five years. The bill also will increase the qualifying income limits from $75,000 for single tax filers and $150,000 for joint filers, to $125,000 and $225,000, respectively. The purchase price of the home is capped at $800,000.

The home buyers do not have to repay the credit provided the home remains their primary residence for 36 months after purchase, and waives this requirement for active duty military personnel who move due to a military order.

News from Washington said Senators agreed to extend the $8000 tax credit for first time home buyers until June 30, 2010. They also are offering $6500 to repeat buyers who have owned their current home more than 5 years.

The 3.6% drop in home sales in September, the first sales decline since March, may have prompted them to extend the credit. There is speculation that the drop is due to the uncertainty of the continuation of the tax credit.

This will help those of us with Short Sale deals pending and in danger of not closing by Nov 30th, enough breathing room to do our clients justice and complete their purchase or sale without them missing out on the credit. How many of you out there are as relieved as I am?

Anybody out there frustrated with the time it takes to get a response from the bank on Short Sales? I know, silly question. Today after umpteen minutes waiting on HOLD with the bank, my own phone told me it had put me on hold. What the!!! Grr was my first thought but my mood changed when I called again and after only 10 minutes (what have we come to when 10 minutes on hold seems short) of waiting on the second call a man answered and identified himself by name. "Wow," I said, "You're just the person I need to speak to." He was a little apprehensive with that opening... but asked how he could help. I explained I had sent an offer in 2 months earlier and it seemed that nothing was happening. He asked me to wait on hold for a while longer and returned to say that everything he needed was in the file (I knew that!) and that he had ordered not one but 2 BPOs (while I was on hold) so it should be ready to assign to a negotiator next week when the BPOs are submitted. Now, how hard was that and it took less than 10 minutes on his part.

Oh, he also said that he has been spending 8-9 hours a day with incoming calls. So, here's my question? Is someone asleep at the switch??? Why in the world are they having all of these people answer the phones instead of working on the files. We wouldn't be calling and wasting our time on hold and their time on the phone if the short sales were progressing and we knew what was going on. I would be willing to have phone lines only open two days a week if they would spend the other three working on the files. They could choose to cc us on their notes to the file and just call us when they want to negotiate the nitty gritty. Or they could use one of the programs that lets both sides log in and see what's happening. I'm sure there are a lot more ideas out there, but please DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME ON THE PHONES GUYS.