National Mortgage Settlement: Effects for Current Buyers

National Mortgage Settlement Makes Waves

The Federal Government, 49 States Attorneys, and the five largest mortgage banks came to a 25 billion dollar settlement regarding the improper foreclosure servicing that took place since 2008.  

As a St Louis Realtor, we've been reading up on this business for some time.  No one knows exactly how things will play out, but we do know it will have implications on the St Louis real estate market.  

The talk has been that the settlement will force banks to perform more loan modification and debt reduction plans to troubled borrowers.  It will also set a clear legal standard for future foreclosures and short sales.  

Right now, the settlement only applies to Wells Fargo, Citibank, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Ally Bank.  Other smaller banks are expected to join the settlement in the near future, increasing it to 30 billion dollars.

The obvious goal is to help home owners stay in their homes.  Ideally that means that fewer foreclosures will take place.   Analysts are saying just the opposite.  That these banks were waiting for the settlement to take place and for the clarity on foreclosure standards and that they have been waiting for this clarity to move forward on a backlog of troubled loans.  Everyone knows that water finds its own level.  The real estate market and banks need some help in finding their 'level' but by helping the nations real estate market and banks to reduce the bad debt and put "distressed homes" into the hands of new owners will put the real estate market in better health.

Keep an eye on the foreclosure page here at 4salestlouis.com if you're looking for a great deal on a new home.  

Open Houses Today 2/4 from 1-3

 

Moving? Don't Call a Realtor

JUST KIDDING!!!  Call a Realtor in 99.9% of the time. 

This story in today's Post is heartwarming. 

Homes that "stay in the family" are often times cared for.  There's a legacy to preserve and protect.  Its the type of home that often will sell quickly and that Realtors love to bring buyer's into. 

Foundation problems are a fact of life.  Its sad in some cases, that there's not enough concern over the future marketability of the home.  Often times homes with major structural problems end up costing a lot, and may just be abandoned. 

This case is exceptional.   

I remember when Highway 141 was being rebuilt through Manchester, my hometown, and some of the historic homes along Woodsmill Rd. were relocated, just like this home.  It was a great thing for the city, since the homes were moved to the Manchester historic district near its City Hall.  The home can continue to be enjoyed in that town by passerby's.

A win for home preservation in Kirkwood!

 

Contact Us Today if you're looking at a spring selling date as it is quickly upon us. If you haven't called your Realtor, remember, your competition probably has!  Visit our Kirwood Homes page with 6 built in Kirkood home searches and a link to our advanced home search page!

Downtown Loft Condo Education

There's going to be a good training class that all condo owners in Downtown St Louis should try to be at on January 31st.  It starts at 6:30 in the New Yaeger 1st floor conference center of the Laclede Gas Building at 800 Olive St.  

A detailed post was done on the reasoning, but the bottom line is that there are certain responsibilities that go along with owning any home.  With condos and lofts, a chunk of those responsibilities are avoided, but not entirely.  There isn't the yardwork and maintenance, but there is the oversight of these things that the association and building manager has to do.  There's also other factors to be dealt with in community living situations, like keeping the bylaws up to date, making sure the association dues are being put to good use, properly budgeting for the buildings success, choosing a good building manager and selecting the services that a building manager should provide.

The unfortunate thing is that many times condo owners aren't armed with the right information to be "good condo assocation members"  or even worse, good board members!   When that happens, people don't realize, but the building can suffer, unnecessary expenses can build up, relations within the building and property values can be affected if things aren't managed properly and every condo association member is responsible.  

This class is for St Louis area real estate professionals and property managers too!  

Often times the biggest problems being addressed in this class are from misguided professionals misleading condo owners and not making sure they know the ins and outs of condo association membership.   

Come one and all.  If the above link doesn't work, find search "Downtown Condo Education Event" on Eventbrite

The Time Is Now

One of the top 10 real estate questions we get from prospective home seller's is "When is the right time to sell?"

That's a tough question for which there is not always 1 right answer.  One right answer is, "whenever you'll get the best price in the shortest amount of time."   Of course, people expect a more specific answer from the hardest working St Louis Realtor.  The question remains, when is that?!?

The best time to sell is commonly recognized as the springtime.  That's when most apartment leases renew or expire.  Its when many people shake off their resistance to get out and when the most homes go on the market.  

Why wouldn't that be right for everyone?

Sometimes the right answer can be to list your home when you have the least competition.  If that was the case, wait until there's a foot of snow on the ground and its below 15 degrees!  

The truth about selling is really not always when you sell, but how a home seller goes about it.  Selling a home takes preparation and planning.  It takes developing a plan and executing it.  It takes some thought.  

For people thinking that SPRING is the time, NOW is when you should be reaching out to a REALTOR, discus ifsing a plan and making a list of 'to do's' so that as we reach February and March, your home is what your local home buyer is expecting in terms of cleanliness, updates and curb appeal.  

The Time is NOW!

What if you're not ready right now, or the springtime doesn't work with your overall plan to move?

No problem!  What this post is all about, is that it really isn't as important to sell at any given time, as it is to work together with a competent REALTOR to take time and plan out the process of listing your home to make it what buyer's in your area are looking for.  This all takes time, and the more time you allow, the better the results.  

A good REALTOR knows what buyer's will look for and items they may find objectionable.  Take time to view the home with your agent and write down a list of their recommendations.  Its important to allow for some time, because completing the aesthetic recommendations needs to be done prior to staging, and staging has to take place prior to taking photos.  Also, a good agent may need to make additional visits to the home for more photos if the first set isn't flattering enough.  They may also need some time to make minor revisions to the staging or the photos.    

The biggest problem is when home seller's think they have "the eye" and proceed to make all the repairs or updates that they think will help move their home without consulting a professional.  This may still work out, but all too often, seller's waste time on things that don't really impress buyers while overlooking things that are much more important.  Or they won't allow for any time to prepare for the sale process.  

Other than simple aesthetics, keep in mind, that after your home's buyer comes through, it won't be long before the critical eye of the home inspector enters the picture.  Remember that dripping faucet or broken light switch you've been thinking about fixing?  Building inspectors find problems like that and more, so its a great idea to work on getting things like that fixed before buyer's come through.  

Executing a complete selling plan is the difference between the homes that sell quickly and for top dollar with the ones that get passed by.   Give your home its best shot!

 

Contact Us Today if you're looking at a spring selling date as it is quickly upon us. If you haven't called your Realtor, remember, your competition probably has!

 

You Snooze, You Lose!

Shopping for a home is an exciting experience.  Working with folks through the home buying process is always interesting.  One fact about buying real estate is that each property is, for the most part, unique.  That may be more the case in St Louis City than it is in some place like Wentzville, where large tracts of land are just being built into subdivisions full of similar homes.

Talking with a Downtown Loft buyer today reminds me of some of the problems that take place when home buyer's take too long to make 'buying decisions'.  

Its a good topic to discuss with anyone buying, but particularly 1st time home buyers.  

Keeping in mind that real estate is not "pressure sales" and that the buyer has made a decision to buy independently, the timing of an offer is a very important consideration.  

Over the past several years, we've worked with buyers that sometimes have a seemingly endless amount of time to visit homes, think, visit again, compare and think some more before they eventually make the decision to make an offer.  Other times, buyers see a home just long enough to really fall in love, they get together with their mortgage person, crunch some numbers, and by the time the call their good 'ole Realtor back, the house is under contract.  

It brings up the question, "what should a buyer do?"  

Obviously, buying a home is a huge decision.  Not one to be rushed into.  There's also NO 1 "RIGHT WAY".  So different situations may call for different actions.

I remember the days when I'd meet a buyers for the very first time to show them a nice Lafayette Square Condo, and would tell them as we left, "If you want this, we'll have to make an offer today". A day or two would pass, then I'd get the call that they'd decided to buy that cute Lafayette Square condo, and I'd deliver the disappointing news that, as expected, the condo had already been sold.     

Those experiences were never comfortable, since it usually takes time for a buyer to develop trust in their agent and an understanding of the home buying process.   

So what does a buyer do?

Here's 3 suggestions that come from the experience of many. 

1.  Look at everything that is suitable & on the market.  Keep options open-consider similar communities to the "ideal".

2.  Once you've looked at everything and have narrowed your search to a few places, look at comparable sales in the area.

3.  Make a decision!

This whole post is really about #3.  Seeing buyers spend weeks convincing themselves that a home is the best place for them, then finding that another buyer felt the same and took action more quickly is heartbreaking.  Since real estate is unique, its not like going to Macy's and waiting until the next shipment comes in.  Similar places may hit the market, but never the same thing.

When working with buyer's, the rule of thumb is, once you've made your decision, don't make your move, because as the title says, "You snooze, You Lose".

 

"How To" Home Search

The Advent of the Internet Home Search

I remember talking to my dad about what things were like when he was in grammar school.  As a child, I was amazed that things were so different in the 40's or 50's.  

That's the same way I feel about the changes in home searching:  only the time frame is much shorter.  The new and improved features of our new website really are astounding.  Being able to search like an agent and have customized home searches saved and updated daily, with emailed updates is really amazing.  It wasn't that easy just a short time ago.

My wife and I purchased our first home in Manchester Missouri in 2000.  It was a 'fixer upper' in a good location off highway 141.  I grew up about a half mile away and was very familiar with the area.  

We scanned the Post Dispatch Classifieds and home books for listings and stumbled upon our little 'project'.   

Not being aware of the services that a buyer's agent  could provide to us, we simply called the number on the sign and spoke to the listing agent.  In that case, the seller was not willing to allow him to serve as a dual agent, so he told us that we had to contact an agent.  That's what put us in touch with our agent.   I had spoken to her, and she sounded like a pro.  I had an email address, but she had sent me a large envelope full of printed out listings from the MLS.  Despite that, we had been searching on our own, much like buyer's start doing today.  

Its amazing the difference in such a short time.  The classified ad that directed us to our little home was basic.  The asking price, the street address, the bedroom / bathroom count and the agents contact number.  That's it.  

Searching through homes at 4SaleStLouis.com and setting up custom searches that send updates blows my mind.  While today's home buyer has many advantages due to the internet, there's one common theme.  When we really got serious, we had to work with a REALTOR to get 'real life' experience with making the offer, what to ask for, how to negotiate, what inspectors did a good job and what steps needed to be done from contract to closing.  Having an experienced professional that gave us realistic information helped us immensely.  So much so, that when it was time to start buying investment properties 3 years later, we called a Realtor first, saving us lots of time, energy and money!

Best St Louis Home Search Engine

Welcome to the Newly Improved St Louis Real Estate Site, 4SaleStLouis.com!

 

This change was long overdue as we considered the hundreds of options available and which one would best serve the St Louis real estate market.  

One of the difficulties about websites is that almost all of the website companies out there say the same thing.  We've actually purchased websites, and then find out later that they aren't what they were sold to us as.  This website includes everything it claimed to be and more.  It offers specific searches of local St Louis municipalities, and the neighborhoods, high rise condo and loft buildings already built in.  Downtown Loft buyers can seach downtown by building, price range, or bedroom count.  A custom search can always be performed without any problem, but being able to bookmark the pages that are of interest is extremely simple and updated as new properties are listed.  More built in searches are being added each day.  

In the coming months after more updates, the Premier Team is confident that this will be the absolute best real estate search engine in St Louis!  We are looking at problems in other real estate sites and the errors that occur with overly automated systems and the 4SaleStLouis system will avoid these problems.  With searches being built by hand, we'll make home searching simple and convenient.

In addition, St Louis real estate market information can be added regularly to the STL REALTY VIEWS blog.  Recent sales trends, real estate buying and selling tips, and other experiences that St Louis REALTORS encounter on a regular basis can be shared.  

Call us today for a more detailed search directly from the MLS and let the Premier Team help you with your STL REALTY VIEWS by setting up private showings on all the attractive properties for sale in the St Louis area.

Thanks for visiting, bookmark, and check back often!

Chris & Lisa Grus

The Premier Team of Premier Realty Exclusive

314-517-5050