Tarris Rogers - Bend Oregon Real Estate

One of the hardest hit housing markets during these past few years have been Condo sales. What once was one of the strongest market performers fizzled into real estate scorn.

While Condo sales remain flat in some areas of the nation such as Chicago and Las Vegas, It appears there just may be signs of life in certain segments of the Condo market across the nation. A number of cities within States that are known for their Condo market have seen an uptick in the sales statistics such as:

Florida

California

Hawaii

Much of the appeal of Condos was driven by both a simplified lifestyle as well as ability to live within desireable areas of a city either for views or location.

The Condo market took an especially hard beating over the last few years which caused in many cases, a larger depreciation than what was experienced by their single family home counterparts. These lower prices are now evidently attracting cost conscious home buyers to take a harder look at this particular segment of the real estate market.

My question is, what is happening to the Condo market within your city?

A few days ago I made mention of a California Senate Bill 306 that if passed would change the way Short Sales are performed in California. The change would require a mandatory response time of 21 days once a Short Sale package has been received by a Seller or their authorized agent. If the package being submitted includes a HUD statement then the response time is only 4 days.

As reported here, that bill looks as though it has passed. To read the bill in its entirety you can see it here. Undoubtedly there will be further clarification in the weeks to come regarding the requirements for these timelimes to be honored.

Keep in mind that this bill does not force banks to accept a Short Sale, it simply hold them to a timeline in which they must respond. As any of us who have been involved with a Short Sale can attest, one of the most frustrating aspects of the process is the banks lack of timely communication.

It also appears this will not take effect until January 1, 2010. No doubt the lawyers will be pouring over this to mesh it down into bit size pieces. I would guess they are in the process of doing that right now given the little fanfare and attention this Bill has received.

It will be interesting to see what kind of impact this law will have on our fellow California Realtors efforts in closing Short Sales. If successful, my guess is that other States will begin adopting the same policies.

What are your thoughts on the new California guidelines?

I want to begin this post by thanking the many of you who responded to my last blog post entitled The Golden Era of Short Sales and the End of Bank Tyranny. I also want to thank Active Rain for highlighting not just my thoughts but the deeply felt concerns that my fellow real estate agents expressed.

After reading through each of your posts, I was troubled by the sense of helplessness that many of us feel over the lack of response from Banks in dealing with Short Sales. I don't believe we in the real estate community who act as mediators between Sellers,Buyers and Banking Institutions ask for too much when we call for:

• An open dialog with banks and their investors
• Reasonable Time frames to be established for review and response to Short Sale offers
• Both responsible and realistic valuation of the Short Sale Property

It disturbs me how many horrific stories there are where Sellers with truly pitiful stories are being drug through the mire by the beaurocracy of banking institutions.

After contemplating the many concerns all of you expressed in my last post, I pondered how we could help those Sellers who are in the worst shape. By that I mean those who are in real crisis; those who have lost their sources of income, those who are dealing with catastrophic health issues, single mothers who are left with too great a load on their shoulders and other true hardship cases that are just trying to complete a Short Sale or Loan Modification so they can move on with their lives.

A common sentiment among many of you was that you can't count on government to bring resolve to these pressing issues. I want to at least acknowledge that government seems to be trying and time will certainly tell whether their policies provide relief for Americans who are hardest hit.

If government can't solve this issue, I asked myself who could? Then I remembered a story I read a little while ago where Bank of America came under public scrutiny for the predatory fees they were charging their poorest of customers who at times would overdraw their account by just a few dollars. The public response was so great that Bank of America backpedaled on their new policy and are repealing it next month. This prompted Chase Bank to likewise make changes to their overdraft policies.

My point is, when Public Focus was centered upon their predatory actions, they backed down, fearing a backlash of public support and inevitable loss of Profits. We all know that if there is anything in this world that will cause a Bank to pay attention...it's their profits.

I believe it was Edward Lytton who said, "The Pen is Mightier than the Sword!" When I think about how eloquent many of you are with the written word, especially here in Active Rain, it made me think, why can't we all use our writing talents to bring these hardship cases to light and expose the banks to public Scrutiny? After all, we are the ones who know best the heart wrenching stories of those hardest hit. I've seen how well so many of you articulate your thoughts in your posts...why don't we put these talents to greater use?

Couldn't we develop a forum that would expose to the world those legitimate stories of people who are suffering the greatest so as to cause the Banks to take responsive action? If they are forced to deal with the hardest hit cases, this might very well lead to universal policy changes among the different banks. As noted earlier, banks tend to follow suit with each other and if one changes for the better, perhaps the others will follow.

When it comes to where we might develop such a Forum, I cannot think of a better avenue than Active Rain to brings these issues to light. I must admit, I do not personally know any of the founders of Active Rain, but I'm willing to bet that some of you do.

Imagine a place where the public and news organizations could learn the truths of what the worst hit homeowners are dealing with when it comes to the insolent attitudes of Banking institutions. This would be a place where the weakest are given a voice by all of us who are working hard to help them out of a financially hopeless situation. Banks who are playing hardball with devastated homeowners could have the public spotlight placed on them for doing so.

It would no doubt require certain guidelines for posting and monitoring, permission of the Seller etc., but I think it could be such a force for good in helping our neighbors who are powerless against the banking behemoths. If Active Rain would be willing to help us, especially with their in depth knowledge of Internet publicity and exposure and technical knowledge of how something like this might be able to be incorporated into our stellar A/R community, well let me just say that rather than feeling helpless and frustrated, we could take up the 'Power of the Pen' to bring about some changes that could help our neighbors.

I am only a fellow Realtor with an idea and it will not have any power without the help of all of you. If any of you have access to the leaders of our Active Rain community, could you please ask if this is feasible? For all of you reading this, I would greatly appreciate your feedback on this idea whether it is positive or negative.

The more I think about this, the more I believe how powerful our stories could be upon the public consciousness and how our collective efforts might just provide the much needed help many of our fellow neighbors are desperate for.

Most Sincerely,

Tarris Rogers

As a real estate agent in Bend Oregon, Bend Foreclosures are one of the few market segments that are generating a lot of buzz right now. This has held true in many real estate markets across the nation. It is not unusual to see multiple offers on these properties despite the sluggish sales in other sectors of the real estate market.

One recent offer I wrote on behalf of some first time home buyer clients had received a total of 15 offers on it. While that may be an extraordinary amount of offers on one home, it demonstrates that there are definitely active buyers in what might otherwise appear to be a slow real estate market.

THINGS TO CONSIDER WITH FORECLOSED PROPERTY

The great prices on many foreclosed properties had generated a lot of interest among prospective buyers. Naturally many buyers are concerned about what exactly you are purchasing with a Bank Owned home. Generally speaking, the banks take care of paying off any known outstanding liens on the property and also pay real estate and escrow costs associated with the sale. As a Buyer you will generally not have any additional expenses buying a Bank Foreclosure.

The main thing buyers need to keep in mind when purchasing an REO (Real Estate Owned) home is that in most cases, they are purchasing the foreclosure 'As Is' meaning that the bank makes no representations as to the physical condition of the property and will not warrant the home against any physical defects.

TIPS WHEN PURCHASING A FORECLOSURE

TIP 1: Don't buy a foreclosed property at an Auction. The reason is because you are not allowed to view the interior or inspect the property you are purchasing. There are no refunds and no entity that is held accountable for any hidden issues that are discovered after you purchase the property.

TIP 2: Get reliable data on comparable properties within the same and similar neighborhoods as the property you are interested in. You'll learn what other homes are selling for, which homes aren't selling and why, as well as the trends in pricing that are currently going on within that price range of home. These comparables are best found by utilizing the services of a reputable Realtor who can give you the latest statistics.

TIP 3: Get your financing in order. Foreclosed Homes that are owned by Banks will not even consider an offer from you if you have not been pre-approved for a loan by a Bank or Lending Institution. There is nothing worse than seeing the home of your dreams and then losing out on the home because you didn't have your financing approved and the other buyer did. One other tip to consider is that Cash is King in a banks eyes. Even if your offer is for a higher purchase amount than a fellow buyer who is paying all cash, chances are the bank will favor the all cash offer.

TIP 4: Once you've located a good candidate and to help insure that you are not buying a potential money pit, a Home Inspection performed by a reputable and licensed Home Inspector can alleviate any real worries or concerns you might have with a foreclosed home. If the home has some substantial problems, banks on occasion, are willing to repair or replace the item(s) in question.

As an example, one recent foreclosure I worked with clients on was found to have a leaking Hot Water Tank after the water was turned on for the home inspection. Even though the bank was selling the house 'As Is' I was able to negotiate the replacement of the tank which saved my clients around $600. While not every bank is willing to do this, the approach that is taken with them can sometimes make the difference between a Yes and a No.

TIP 5: If you want further protection against physical defects of the home, you may also wish to purchase a home warranty on the home at the time of sale which covers potential issues like a roof leak, appliance break down, electrical and plumbing issues. Depending on what you wish to include in your warranty, the cost is generally between $400 and $600. Be sure and thoroughly read through the items that are covered in your policy if you choose to buy a home warranty to insure you know what exactly is covered and what is not.

TIP 6: Once you are satisfied with the condition of the property and the transaction is completed, you own the home like any other homeowner does. As long as your purchase is closed through an Escrow company, make sure the property you've purchased is covered by Title Insurance which protects you against financial loss caused by any defects in the Title transfer provided to you on the property.

When it comes to purchasing a bank foreclosed property it might be wise to opt-in to an Extended Policy Coverage, which in many cases can potentially protect you against any unforeseen liens that might arise on the property caused by any former owner. The Banks from which you bought the home will not protect you against further liens that might be placed on the property from the actions of previous owners. While rare, it can happen and this is why Extended Policy Coverage on your Title Insurance might be a wise option. Be sure and discuss your options with your Title and Escrow Officer to understand what their policies cover and what they don't.

The biggest problem most buyers have at the moment with Foreclosures is learning about them quickly enough so as to be able to write an offer on a foreclosed home of interest. As mentioned, many of these properties are receiving offers on them within a couple of days or even hours of being listed.

Tip 7: To avoid being left behind in locating and obtaining a foreclosed property, securing the services of a reputable and trusted Real Estate Broker which can go a long way in keeping you ahead of the Foreclosure market and hearing about the very best deals.

These tips can go a long way in insuring that your purchase of a Bank Owned property is one that you will be happy with in the years to come.

Our year here in Bend started in a rather sluggish manner. However from May 1st onward, our Market has picked up some much needed steam. In that time we saw 859 residential properties go Pending or Sold in the Bend area alone. 579 of that number were completed sales.

Surprisingly, the entry level market began to see multiple offers on some of its best priced homes. As an example, one of my clients, a couple who were first time home buyers, wrote an offer on a cute little 3 bedroom 2 bath home with approx 1150 square feet. It was priced just under 100k and before everything was said and done, the listing agent had received a total of 15 offers on it and it sold for more than it was listed for.

It appears we may finally have hit the proverbial bottom of the real estate market when it comes to the 'Entry Level' home market. Entry level homes that are priced between 100k and 130k are seeing shorter turnaround times for days on market and in some cases multiple offers if the property is exceptionally priced.

I believe we still have some more settling to do in the upper tiers of our marketplace, however it is nice to see an uptick in both showings and sales.

The quality of life that people move here to Bend for has not changed. So many housing markets across the nation exploded simply for the purpose of buying and selling new real estate and in the end that was all they had going for them. Bend is different in that there are a lot of reasons to want to live and invest here. Many buyers that I have worked with express their desire to live in a safer community with better schools for their children. They want a place that has considerable outdoor recreation possibilities, has an assortment of fine dining and shopping options, has a healthy music and art scene and has quick transportation access to the larger West coast cities. Bend meets all of that criteria plus protects its environment so as to keep it that charming outdoor mecca that it is.

For that reason, I believe both investors and buyers from outside the area will continue to find Bend a desireable option for real estate investment. Yes we still have more economically slow times to wade through but in the end I believe we will have weathered the storm better than most.