3. October 2009 by Teri Ellis.

Lately, I’ve been inundated with requests to purchase bank owned properties - particularly in the neighborhood price range of $50,000. Since short sales take months and months to even find out if the buyer can purchase the home, I’ll deal more particularly with REO’s or bank owned or foreclosed homes.

When a home is foreclosed upon, all other liens are wiped out. In a short sale, more often than not, the seller has a second as well; therefore, the problems arise because the holder of the second is typically difficult to work with. Since it’s very costly for the bank to foreclose on a home, they often try and work with the second and therefore, take months to work out an acceptable deal for both banks.

     I recently found a home for a buyer - bank owned - the buyer had an accepted offer of $86,000, ordered a home inspection performed at a cost of over $300 out of pocket to him, had the utilities turned on for additional out of pocket, and hired a plumber to fix a water pipe in order to have the home inspection. Everything went according to plan - and then - shortly before closing, the selling agent notified us that title was unable to insure the home. There were liens on the home.

     Long story short, after speaking with the title officer, one particular investor (bank) had purchased properties from another investor/bank. (Think of Country Wide and Bank of America as an example) 300 homes fell out BECAUSE the properties had not been foreclosed upon, thereby preventing the title company to insure. Liens were on all of the properties. As I mentioned, it is expensive to go through a foreclosure process for the banks. It appears that this was yet another example of fraud! My buyer is out the money he spent to get into the home, as well as 299 other buyers just with that title company.

     Though many of the bank owned are successful, this is just one example of the unknown backlash of purchasing a bank owned. No disclosures by the owner, buyer is purchasing as is, and subject to the bank’s rules.

     My recommendation? Make sure you listen to the advice of your Realtor. Chances are, they are more in tune with the market than you are. Try and remember also? The cheaper home is not necessarily a good buy after all…..

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3. October 2009 by Teri Ellis.

Phoenix, Arizona is hosting the Save the Dream Tour (Neighborhood Assistance Corporation). Lenders are modifying the loans to meet the needs of thousands of home owners suffering a loss of their homes. Held at the Phoenix Convention Center.

Check out details below:

 http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/10/prweb2982084.htm

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17. August 2009 by Teri Ellis.

I posted a blog a year ago on my Teri Ellis Active Rain Blog about fissures appearing throughout Phoenix and surrounding areas, including Queen Creek, Arizona!!! It has now reared its ugly head once more. Check out my blog from last year in order to grab the links to the information you might need.

I received a call today from a woman living in Pecan Creek - North. She found my name online, and thought maybe I could “direct” her to a place she could lodge a concern or complaint about the “sink holes” appearing in her yard and that of her neighbors’ homes.

The builder, Fulton, had not remedied her problem, and customer service seemed unwilling to make certain her home was on stable ground. She told me that there were now issues with her water pipe. Her neighbor was experiencing similar problems and, in fact, cracks seemed to be causing stress on her patio.

My immediate thought was: “I was showing homes in that neighborhood last Saturday!!!”  These are definitely warnings that need to be out there for potential home buyers/sellers.

My suggestions included: writing to Fulton Homes, reviewing the information HERE!!!! - and checking out the Arizona Department of Real Estate  as well as sharing information on Twitter and Facebook to get the word out. I also told her I would post it on my blogs so people could be on the lookout.

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17. August 2009 by Teri Ellis.

Our MLS Stats for ENTIRE MLS (including Greater Phoenix Area of Maricopa and Pinal County for the past Two YEARS!!! I think it helps each of us get a better picture of the market. I’ve shared two graphs: One with the inventory decline during the past 24 months, and the other showing the “absorption” rate, or month’s supply of homes. The closer the number gets to six months, the closer we are to an “even” market. More months mean: a buyer’s market, and less mean: a seller’s market. I’m seeing an even market in most areas; however, there are still areas that lean one way or the other.

As you can clearly see, the median price is leveling out, AND the inventory is coming down at a quickening pace.

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