John MacArthur

As the ongoing financial crisis continues across the country, signs of foreclosure become more prominent. Agents from every section of the country are in large part chasing the curve. Rather than work for a solution, we are part of the problem. Signs like this do not mean short sale. Signs like this do not mean bank owner Signs like this only mean that someone paid a printer for the sign and slapped it in front of a home that is for sale.

There are loosely written rules regarding what is a short sale. Ask any group of real estate agents and you will get various answers that all will have a semblance of the truth. Actually, no one has truly defined a short sale from a legal perspective. None of us are following consistent rulesbecause none exist. The NAR is busy telling everyone that the purchase of a home is a great investment and they are overlooking signs like the one above and the impact that all these foreclosures have on the public.

The public is depending on us to guide them through the morass of bad newsand the NAR has their focus on some Pollyanna's version of life in the big city.

We need rules people. We need some sort of standards so that we are all operating on the same page. The liberal thought of a short sale is "the sale of a home for less than is owed on the property. The sale must be approved by those holding liens on the property." Sounds clear, but it is not clear enough.

Yes, the home is being offered for less than is owed. Yes, the lien holder must approve the sale. The devil is in the details. Lien holder approval for the attempt should be required before it is put on the market. No if's, no and's and no but's.

The haphazard method in which listings are allowed to appear in various MLS systems across the country is shameful. Homes are listed as needing third party approval when no paperwork has been filed. There are cases when people list their home as a short sale and they have not missed one payment. There are cases when the lender has said they will not accept a short sale and the home is listed anyway.

The MLS should only have homes for sale that are actually possible to purchase at a price that is the same as or lower than the price listed. (multiple offers may increase the amount received). There is little value in having an inaccurate MLS. Listing agents create the problem, but buyers agents face the wrath of frustrated buyers.

We need standards. We need valid disclosures. We need to add "the home is listed for less than is owed on the property and we have obtained permission from all lien holders to proceed in attempting to sell the house."

It is not rocket science. It is presenting the truth to the buying public. Agents that take listings with a wink and a nod hoping to get approval in the future are doing a dis-service to others. Their behavior and willingness to roll the dice with an unsuspecting client is dancing in the grey area, very close to the fire of unethical behavior.

States will have to address this soon. More properties are becoming at risk. More buyers are in the hunt. They deserve to hear the truth. A short sale is only a short sale if the lenders have agreed to the attempt. Period.

Well, they have put the world at your fingertips. You can sit back like Beethoven and create your own symphony of information in the privacy of your home. Let's be honest, you can do the same at your desk at work. You can surf to your hearts content.

Google has become the replacement for Encyclopedia Britannica and the World Book. Have a question, ....................just like the "lame duck" on Pennsylvania Avenue, you can use the "Google". All the information in the world is at your fingertips. Everything!

Well, not everything grasshopper.

You won't find guaranteed information about the future on the internet. Oh, you may read the best of prognostications, but none of them are guaranteed. You can ferret out all the facts, but they only give an indication of tomorrow. Those that follow sports need only recheck the predictions and final score of the most recent super bowl.

In my little corner of the world, I share time with other agents and we actually discuss the impact of the internet on our industry. Young folks might be surprised to learn that for the longest time, listings of homes were only available in the listing brokers office. The world was smaller back then and consisted of small towns and neighboring rural areas. There were fewer Realtors. Most of the time, word of mouth was sufficient.

The world became bigger. Neighborhoods grew. There were more agents and they came up with a system of sharing information about listings with each other. Offices now had books with all the listings from all the agents in the area. If someone wanted to know about homes for sale, they could visit any office and inquire.

Sounds archaic and by today's standards, it was. The move to the internet and putting all listings in the Multiple Listing Service took time as Brokers were convinced they should pry their fingers from this "top secret" proprietary information.

There were two major results of this accomplishment. One, the Brokers began to believethat their intrinsic value was in the listings. Two, Brokers followed that misunderstanding with the sale of all the "private" information to any on line service that requested the information.

For years, they had told the public that only agents should have this information and only agents could understand the information. (You have to admit...square feet is a pretty trickything to comprehend.) Then, in one fell "money grubbing" swoop, they dumped all the information on the internet. It is not labeled as such, but dear God this truly screams....CAVEAT EMPTOR.

You do not live in a virtual world. Well, maybe some of you true geeks are lost in the dark corner of your basement, but this blog is not for you. If you are thinking that maybe it is time to come up for air.......here's a clue.

If your significant other resembles this , there is a world right up those stepsthat will put your fantasy play land to shame.

I digress.

Where was I? O.K., it is a real world and all the information gleaned from all the websites can not take the place of practical experience. I am talking houses and neighborhoods and communities. You can read all about it...............being there is fact. You can click till your fingers blister and eyes glaze over. Virtual tours are just that.....virtual tours. All the listing information...words...pictures.....etc. are created by the listing agent. Hello.....do your think they will slap a picture of the rush hour backup on the site? Do you believe that they will do their best to show the homes accurately? Agents are some of the best photographers around. They can take a 8X10 bedroom and make it look like a ballroom. All right, I will accept they are not the smartest photographers on the planet. They seem to have a bathroom fetish instilled in real estate school and persist in including a picture of a toilet in most virtual tours. (A fun drinking game when viewing virtual tours is to take a drink every time a toilet appears. You will get hammered and begin to see the pathetic humor in their inclusion.)

I am here to tell you that the entire move to making all the listings available to anyone with a computer has a very insidious backside. Brokers screamed so long and loud that they needed to protect this information....they failed to share that the true value of the agents begins with separating the chafe from the grain and providing their clients with a reasonable list of homes that fit their personal needs.

You can search from now till the democrats decide on a nominee, you will just be gathering information. Real agents have actually been in the homes. Real agents have actually been in the neighborhoods. Real agents have actually experienced the commuting routes. Real agents will gladly go through your desires and needs and match those things against available homes and provide you with an intelligent short list.

It is not hard to find the right home if you use the right tools. The internet is a portal into information. The right tool is a living, breathing agent.

Call me....301-537-4377

This business of being a real estate agent is ever changing. There are more styles in this profession than any other. Agents not only come in all shapes and sizes....they all bring their baggage with them.

Now I will admit that I have neglected signing on and sharing thoughts lately. I have been busy. Spring has sprung and many of you have made the move to buy.....now. I don't know what they put in the water in this area, but some of those unidentified chemicals must have created buyer urgency. You know who you are and you have been sipping the kool aid.

Not a bad time to storm the DC market. Lots of inventory out there. Lots of over priced inventory. Lots of undervalued inventory. Lots and lots of houses, townhouses and condos for sale. Did I say...lots of them?

In recent weeks, there have been multitudes of buyers doing the price range and location procession. You may have seen them. They form the unstructured caravan travelling from one open house to another on Sundays.

They rush from door to door, computer print outs of listings in hand, hoping to discover "home sweet home". Don't see many agents. Don't understand that.

It is one of those things that made me go......hmmmmmmmm.

So I decided to investigate just what are these people thinking. I made up a little checklist and positioned myself outside a popular open house (I am sure the agent loved having me out there...but it was a free sidewalk, and I only talked to folks as they left and I never once shared that I was an agent and God knows I told no one I was the Naked Realtor).

I heard some very interesting things. Some of you have an agent(?). Really? And your agent told you to go out and visit open houses and if you found something you like...give the agent a call. What part of no representation don't you understand? You are walking into home after home, heart in hand, dreams in your eyes, unarmed in quagmire of legal issues that quietly put you at risk. You are spending the better part of 20 minutes to determine the quality and value of the largest purchase of your life. You carry the false belief that on your own, you can evaluate the merits of homes.

Let me share a secret. Everyone selling a home has done as much as possible to put lipstick on that pig and make her the belle of your ball. You are ravished and they are offering all the sizzle your senses can bear. A pretty red door may suit feng shui but it is no indicator of the energy efficiency of the home. Those new stainless steel appliances may gleem in the kitchen, but they are no indicator of anything other than the sellers ability to polish up the area. All that glitters is not gold. Do you realize that the agent sitting at home, watching t.v. is supposed to be representing you, ferreting out fact from fiction?

Some of you have decided to go it alone. You have read all about buying a home online and you have heard that you can strike quite a deal if you don't have an agent. You might be able to get the seller to reduce the price of the home a bit because they don't have to pay an agent. Sounds like a plan.

Of course, the listing agent is the one that has to make the concession. In Maryland, they can write up the offer for you. They can promise that things will be as smooth as silk. There may be a scintilla of truth in that statement. They represent the seller. They can not represent you. They can not say or do anything that is not in the best interest of their client.........the seller. They can not negotiate for you. They can not advise you. They can just smile......maybe make a little less for their effort..........and smile all the way to the bank. You get the keys and absolutely nothing else.

Now that sounds like a plan when making the biggest purchase of your life.

Actually, running out on your own and reporting back to your agent(?) is pretty stupid. Your agent works for you. They will be paid fairly at the close of the transaction. Don't you agree that they should earn the money? I do.

Taking your best shot on your own, with no representation, is absolutely the riskiest way to go about purchasing. Most agents will represent you and be willing to accept the commission offered by the seller. That arrangement seems like a win-win to me.

Of course, I am just the naked realtor, I do this for a living. If you want to receive further information or send hate mail or ask a question or maybe you can tell me..where the hell is your agent?...you can write me by clicking on this link.

Drives me up a wall.

On one side of the fence, we have the drones that parrot the soundbites created by the bobbleheads at the National Association of Realtors. "Everything is beautiful. This is a great time to buy a home. Investing in real estate is a winning strategy."

Those folks need to play the knock-knock game..

You know....knock knock....who's there?....real estate investors......real estate investors who?.....real estate investors that have lost their collective ass in the market over the last two years!!!!!

The folks hanging around a Metro stop holding a styrofoam cup and cardboard sign know that prices have collapsed in the DC area. The vast majority of people that purchased a home in the last two years bought it for more than it could sell for today.

For them....the real estate market sucks!

Hello.................they are only a portion of the market. If they can afford their mortgage, they eventually will see their equity increase. So, today it sucks but the future is brighter.

That must mean that the market is great for buyers, or does it?

FICO is a nasty little four letter acronym that will define just how good the market is for anyone thinking of buying. Your credit score will open one of many doors when seeking a loan. Instead of the price is right (although, that fits) the answer will relate to the interest rate located behind your door.

How about this for a qualifier....It is a great time to buy if you have saved enough money to put 10% down and your credit score is high enough to make the best rates available to you. Change any of those qualifiers and the market turns sour faster than a glass of milk sitting in the desert sun all day.

How do you know? Well, you don't. When you don't know the answer, it is time to speak with an expert.

The naked realtor stands ready to answer your questions. All the wisdom of the talking heads will be set aside and your personal situation will be analyzed. It could be your time. And then again, it may be time to slip back into the cave and hibernate until your situation is more favorable.

Send me a note....click here I will make time for you.

Don't believe the media hype. 2007 was a good year in the DC area. The market was stronger than it was in 2006. The MacArthur Group has just released sales figures for the year and they show an increase of 57%. In 2006, the group completed transactions totalling $14,000,000. The final total for transactions completed in 2007 is a whopping $22,000,000. 2008 has shown an increased level of activity and we expect to see another increase. The pent up demand is beginning to move back into the market and it is an early indicator of a busy Spring and Summer.

The media may be reporting that people are leaving the industry, but that may be more of an indicator of the capabilities of those that have left rather than a true picture of the market. If you are considering a purchase or sale of a home, we look forward to the opportunity to speak with you. If you would just like to sample a flavor of our Group, visit our website at www.themacarthurgroup.com . We welcome the chance to let you experience the difference we can make.

We are the MacArthur Group and our clients know we are there - Every Step of the Way!!!