Walter Grewe III, Realtor Roanoke Homes and Real Estate

In the last week our local newspaper has run two articles about the state of Real Estate in the Roanoke Valley. The first related how some businesses are flourishing due to the downturn in the market, the second detailed the jump in foreclosures in the Roanoke Valley. It is unfortunate that the area is experiencing such problems and that families are losing their homes due to plant closures, lay offs and the inability to refinance homes with adjustable rate mortgages, that now adjusted they can no longer afford the payments.

The flip side of this coin is that there are many excellent opportunities to purchase distressed properties below market value. The market is flush with Bank owned properties, Housing and Urban Development (HUD)owned homes and Short Sale homes. People who are interested in finding a "bargain" and are not afraid of doing some cosmetic and minor repairs are in luck. Of course prospective homeowners are always advised to seek the services of a professional Home Inspection service to help them to determine exactly what if any repairs a home requires. Most homes that are offered by HUD, Banks, Mortgage Companies, or Short sales are sold as - is, meaning that the seller will not make any repairs to the home regardless of the condition.

The current conditions in Real Estate these days calls for the assistance of a Professional Realtor. Please fell free to visit our website at http://www.TheRoanokeRealEstateTeam.com to receive answers to any questions you might have about the constantly changing market.

In the past I have had more than a few clients question and even decline owners title insurance. Typically the response when asked if they would like to purchase title insurance is " Doesn't my mortgage company carry that?". Well the answer to that is yes and it is to cover themselves, not you. I recently talked with one of my colleagues who provides title insurance to get an idea of just what could come back and bite you if you do not have title insurance.

The answer encompassed a lot more than I expected. Many of the things I was already aware of such as, someone else owning an interest in the title, defective execution or recordation, undisclosed liens, and claimed rights because of fraud, forgery, duress, incompetency and impersonation. There were also quite a few that caught me off gaurd, such as, lack of a right of access, unrecorded easements, zoning law or building permit violations, encroachment of structure onto an easement or over a building setback line and required removal or alteration of existing structure because any portion was built without obtaining a building permit.

Many of these issues could be settled in a Civil Court proceeding, by Lawyers making arguments and monetary compensation being determined, but just imagine buying a home and wanting to add a new deck. You go and visit your local contractor, he goes and visits the local government and obtains a building permit and builds you a beautiful new deck, perfect for all your entertaining needs. Upon completion an inspector from your local government shows up to make sure it is structurally sound and built to code. Imagine his surprise when he discovers the previous owner had built that fourth bedroom and family room, which were the deciding factor in your buying decision, without a permit. How expensive would it be for you to prove that the foundation, framing, electrical wiring, etc. are all code compliant? I expect it would greatly exceed the cost of a title insurance policy. I was really happy that I had found out more about title insurance and can discuss it more in depth with my future clients. I would hate to have a client of mine experience a scenario like this.

The previous year was quite a challenge for everyone involved in Real Estate. From the people trying to buy or sell a home, to the the professionals providing mortgages, insurance, appraisals, home inspections and Realtors themselves. I have recently received the year end report for the neighborhood I live in and actively market to. Overall things seemed to move along as usual. The average percentage of sales price to list price was 95% and days on market were a lot lower than I expected. The overall days on market for our local area overall were almost double . If you are interested in a more detailed analysis of your home please feel free to contact me.

A friend of mine recently told me " Insurance is a ripoff, until you need it." It got me thinking about home warranties and what if anything home owners and home buyers know or think about them. I have recently listed a home and my client wanted it listed "as-is" because she is a single Mom and did not want to have to deal with any Home Inspection repairs. The home itself is in good shape with no issues that I or she is aware of. I talked to her about offering a 1 year Home Warranty for the Buyers to counteract the possible stigma of an "as-is" listing.

Ever since I first got into Real Estate in 2006 I have called expired listings in an attempt get business. My first broker suggested it and I have had some success with this practice. Recently I have been following up with a potential client who lives in my subdivision. I had originally called and spoke with the lady of the house and she told me they wanted to keep the home off the market until after the holidays, but to contact her right after Christmas and we could get together to discuss listing the home. I called a few days after Christmas and she told me that she had talked to another Realtor who offered to sell her home for half the typical listing percentage if she sold the home herself. I was a little confused by this, because selling your own listings of course does happen,but I had yet to run into that as a way to secure a listing, but I assured her that in the event I sold her home I would be willing to negotiate my commission. I asked when could we get together to show what marketing plan I offer and she asked me to call back the following Monday and we could set up an appointment. Well much to my surprise when I followed up that Monday she had told me they had already decided to go with another Realtor. I asked what she had based her decision upon and her response totally boggled my mind. Apparently the other Realtor had guaranteed to sell her home, I inquired as to what happened if her home was not sold and what exactly did the guarantee entail, to which her response was " I don't know." This of course left me confused, to say the least. I ended the conversation by wishing her good luck with the sale of her home.