USDA loans, financing woes, oh my!

Ya know what's cool about this time of year?


The weather! Monday's temps? 47 degrees Fahrenheit. Yesterday? 10 degrees F and today a windy 27...ah, the effects of weather like this make peoples crazy, cars act funny and animals refuse to come out of the barn.


Also makes my profession, real estate, a bit of a dance on the razor's edge. First a client calls and calls, texts and texts to see this and that then cancels as the wind picks up and the mercury drops. Tis okay by me...I need the time to blog.


I've got a fabulous new listing: MLS 323552 on my website: http://rcosens.cbprimerealty.com/default.cfm/page/forsale/cat/display/mlsid/mls_egypt/propertytype/residential/ml_number/323552/referer/Home%20page%20Search.htm


I've been trying to post photos here but Google Blogger is on the fritz about letting me upload the photo. I'd think it was my computer but I've noticed others are, too, being held up by the Blogger here. All in all, though, can't complain too much about a free site to blog.


Speaking of free. I've gotten word from two bankers that the USDA will not be cutting Rural Development (or RD) funding for homes along the Route 13 corridor. There had been talk that that part of SoIL was going to be considered as one "mass population area" meaning: too populated to be considered rural thus no funding for RD.


From the email of USDA:

 

"ELIGIBLE RURAL AREAS

 

The appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2014 has been signed into law.  Section 737 includes a provision that no appropriated funds may be used to make rural area map changes this FY: None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to reclassify any area eligible for rural housing programs of the Rural Housing Service on September 30, 2013 as not eligible for such programs. 

 

This means that areas that would have become ineligible will remain eligible until September 30, 2014."

So you can see: we have funding until at least September 30, 2014.

What this means? If you're thinking of listing your home, let's get crackin' cuz time's awastin'. I need listings. I'm getting calls from buyers and have not much to show them. I have been calling on FSBO's and knocking on doors, but, seriously? If you're curious? Call me.

It also means buyers need to get your financials together PDQ so if there are a few blemishes on the credit scores, you'll have time to sort that out before the September deadline.

GRI, I am

http://www.illinoisrealtor.org/GRI


Hey, just got my IAR newsletter and there's a picture of me in the email. Yep, there I am along with 54 other Illinois real estate brokers. I am now a graduate of the Graduate Realtor Institute.


Kind of a big deal in the Realtor work world.


It was a cool class. Held the first week in December in Chicagoland.


Yay!!

Ahhhh, January in SoIL

http://rcosens.cbprimerealty.com/default.cfm/page/forsale/cat/display/mlsid/mls_egypt/propertytype/residential/ml_number/323552/referer/Home%20page%20Search.htm


May I say I love Southern Illinois in January? I consider this to be spring...we started the first weekend this month with a Polar Vortex: wind chills -30 and then today it, January 14, it was 51 degrees. Lovely.


I listed a house during the snow storm/Polar Vortex madness. Took the photo with all the snow. The seller just sent me some shots he'd taken last spring....I switched them out. In another few weeks we will have all that grass greening up.


I've been having a lot of buyers calling me, now, too, that the weather warmed up. See...that's the thing. Warm weather brings out the buyers.


I've really been trying to push up my listings. I love that the NAR ((National Association of Realtors)) have put out some wonderful stats.


All those first time homebuyers are using Realtors. (89%)


All those first time homebuyers using financing. (96%)


All those repeat buyers using financing. (81%)


All those buyers who see Realtors as a useful resource. (87%)


All those buyers (with NAR now saying the average buyer is 42 years old) under the age of 44 looking online for houses. (96%)


Of all those buyers? Only 15% will contact a For-Sale-By-Owner. Why? Probably because they are intimated and stressed out enough by the whole process without the extra heart-pounding experience of talking to a stranger about a house this buyer may or may not like.


See. That's what you have to factor in: People are not typically ready, willing or able to walk up to a stranger and negotiate a transaction as stressful as buying a house. Add in the first time homebuyer's jitters, the newly divorced or widowed still-fresh trauma or the newly relocated transplanted buyer's anxiety about the neighborhood/schools/taxes/commute distance and when the Allied Van truck is arriving. That's why I'm called in by these buyers. It is an alarmingly daunting task they are more than happy to hand off to a Realtor.


Me? I ease them into the transaction. I call their banker and start a dialog. I get them insurance quotes, house inspectors who are kind to first timers and tough on issues. I get them closing costs or carpet allowances. I know what to do, who to call, where to take them for title work, legal issues, insurability and how to negotiate not only the price but the place and timing of the closing.


See? People who are buying houses? They usually have some sort place...oh, I don't know...like a job! Where they have to be at certain days and times. Realtors like me? We get to know all these personal, intimate, sometimes TMI details about our clients. Stuff we wouldn't dream of sharing with anyone because...well...outside the deal? Its just too complex to start to relay to someone outside the deal even if we weren't obligated and compelled to keep undisclosed by law.


It is time to call me to help you sell your house, keeping in mind since I'm a small business owner, it helps the local economy. So... maybe... its time to call me to help you sell or help your daughter/son/niece/grandson/neighbor/cousin/best friend sell their house. Realtors are in business to list and sell property. We get our buyers not only from our own circle of friends but from your listing.


Me? I have a huge circle of family/friends/people in SoIL. If you are, at all, daunted, frightened, discouraged about stories of unscrupulous real estate practitioners...please rest assured when I tell you: I know too many people and far too many people watch what I'm doing for me to "pull a fast one" on you the seller or the buyer.


Me? I LIVE IN SCHELLER!! Do you think, for a second, that I could live in this small, rural, almost too-close-nose-in-your-business-gossipy-tiny-village community and do something as public as real estate without being squeaky clean in my dealings? A hint, an allusion, a soupcon (hee hee...that's French but I don't have the proper accent markings on my keyboard), a taint or nuance of wrong-doing that would put me in a short line for a public shaming with siblings, cousins, classmates and former babysitters ((yes, people who babysat ME)), still living and monitoring my actions with an interest that I, personally, find very, very endearing. I would never compromise my integrity with them. I would rather chew glass than disappoint these people, these folks who are my people.


I recently did a listing appointment with a couple who told me a dastardly deed done by a real estate practitioner that soured them on using a Realtor to sell their house. Notice I am not calling the person that soured them a Realtor...that's a name we earn and the practitioner they told me about doesn't deserve the title. That person needs to retire her license because she's making us all look bad. Shame on her. I have her name and I am currently in the process of, if not public shaming, at least a broker-to-broker shaming of her actions. She needs to know I'm out here and I have heard her buyer's side of a story in which I wouldn't want to be the heroine. She needs to be ashamed of herself for letting them down. And she needs to feel shame for tainting our profession, shaking the public perception of Realtors. Hopefully, my local connections will convince this couple I am worthy of their trust.

New year, New Neighbor?

I've been spending quite a lot of energy giving listing presentations. Negotiation around the crazy weather patterns, not withstanding, I'm feeling very good indeed about getting my message out there to those sellers.


My new brokerage helped by sending me a copy of the latest stats from National Association of Realtors. The NAR puts a great deal of the monies collected from us Realtor-types into some concrete facts surrounding the sale of residential property.


Some highlights?


* Well...How about this? 88 percent of sellers were assisted by a Realtor when selling their home.
Probably because:
** 41 percent of home buyers looked online as their first step in the home-buying process. The use of the Internet in a home search rose slightly to 90 percent. And...for those buyers under the age of 44?  This share jumps up to 96 percent. ((Hint: if your house isn't online, you are losing a lot of potential buyers.))
***89 percent of those buyers purchased their home through a Realtor. That is up from 69 percent in 2001. And 9 out of 10 of those buyers would use their Realtor again or recommend to others.
**** Reasons given for using a REALTOR by homebuyers, whether it is their first or 91st house?? Want to take a guess??? No? It is a really easy answer and, no, you can't have another minute to think about it....
Buyers used Realtors because they don't like to, aren't comfortable with, or simply don't know how to -- NEGOTIATE.


I think this is a big deal. While it did surprise me; it just wasn't something I thought about. I've spent a career, previous to this real estate one, getting in someones business and putting a giant microphone in their face. Granted in some markets, like Buffalo, New York, I had a "Thor-sized" off-duty police officer pulling security duty for the radio station...which does tend to make me a lot bolder. But even in markets where it was no one but me and my press card, I never got too nervous about asking questions. I did get chased to my car more than once while covering city politics, but, hey, that was the allure of the gig.


In this career? Real estate? The most I have to consider is dogs, their, a-hem, leavings and not letting cats out/in during showings. I did have a near heart attack once while showing a house in Mt Vernon: upon opening a seldom used front door, a huge and I mean HUGE spider landed on my head. My quick-thinking client grabbed me, swept her hands over my noggin thus displacing Mr. Big-n-Creepy. I didn't scream until I saw what she'd brushed outta my hair. (( yes that was 2010 and folks in that neighborhood thought the city was testing some new kind of siren that day)).


She didn't buy that house.


Some other interesting tidbits?


### 87 percent of buyers will finance and they will finance 91 percent of their purchase. What this means for sellers? You aren't likely to get a cash buyer....heck, seller's are likely to get a buyer who can put more than 9 percent down!! Its been my experience that buyers will not be putting down anymore than 3.5 to 6 percent down. So...Sellers? Forget the rich Chicago cash buyer. You will most likely be selling to someone getting a mortgage and using a small down payment which means:


FHA, USDA - commonly called Rural Development, or VA. Get cozy with those terms because I sure have. I can also tell you that FHA made a huge comeback last year as government loan of choice for local bankers. USDA has become rife with delays, mind-numbing inspections/appraisals and underwriting combing over the documents using very fine teeth.


First time homebuyers? They are using financing 96 percent...that's up from 81 percent for repeat buyers.


What does this mean?


If you are trying to sell your house, you will be talking to a Realtor: Your buyer's agent. A Realtor who doesn't care one whit for you or your problems.
As a matter of fact, the more you tell that Realtor? The more they will use it to their client's advantage because they don't represent you. You are going into a gun fight with...not even a knife...you're going in with your finger pointed like a gun. And you will lose.


My first contact with sellers trying to sell on their own is for information for my buyers. Each and every single one of these sellers has disclosed information they should not have. I -- unlike some of my profession -- will stop you from spilling your guts to me. I will tell you not to tell me stuff. I am only previewing your property for buyers. But this year, I got serious about telling sellers they need to list with me.


The primary reason given by sellers to NAR for not listing? They didn't want to pay a fee.


So...because you didn't want to pay a commission, a fee, you are willing to let good buyers not know about your house ((all those online lookers)) and you will let those non-negotiators pass you up ((because they are intimidated or scared or have an agent who can find them something just as good that's listed)).


Here's one more factoid from NAR that those trying to sell it themselves might want to research:


$$$$ -- Direct quoting the NAR now...."The typical For Sale By Owner home sold for $174,900 compared to $215,000 among agent-assisted homes." That's almost 18.5 percent....I typically charge 7 percent to market and sell your property. Yep. Ya just "saved" yourself paying someone a fee.


And what, exactly, do I do for that fee?


I market your house. I put it on the MLS. I put it on my website: rcosens.cbprimerealty.com
My office feeds it into nearly a dozen websites including the big Z and Trulia. You should be able to search your address and find it on any number of online sites. Pictures, tours, we put them on YouTube! And, yes, I put a sign in the yard with my name and phone number. Plus, here in SoIL, I get it in the print media that appeals to your property. I facebook it, tweet it, LinkedIn it, and I blog about it.


I pay for all of those things except the last few...Facebook and such is still free. But websites and web runner feeders are not.


Most important to my sellers? I have a dog in the fight. YOU. Your property is now MY property. Let's get it sold.

Happy New Year!

Okay. Last post of 2013 and looking forward to a busy, happy, fun 2014 with my new location at CB Prime Realty with the main office in Carbondale.

Lots of interesting data being spit out by Zillow with predictions like:

"We’ll see a rise in mortgage rates.

According to our data, mortgage rates are predicted to hit 5% by the end of 2014. While that’s still low, it’s up from the 3-4% range in 2013, making it more expensive for people to finance a home."

and

"Homeownership will decline.

Zillow data predicts that homeownership rates will fall below 65% in 2014, the lowest since the mid-1990s. However, the easy lending standards we saw during the housing bubble led to higher-than-normal homeownership, and in the recovery we’re seeing ownership rates normalize. Another issue impacting the decline in ownership is the large number of Gen Y-ers who are renters. This group is the next generation of homeowners, but they’re seeing high unemployment and low wages, which will reduce the number of first-time homebuyers in 2014."

I believe I've already starting seeing these trends. In 2012, with a Presidential election, sales were effected negatively with bank loans becoming harder to process. In 2013, government loans tightened their underwriting so USDA loans, especially USDA Direct, became arduous to achieve. I didn't do any USDA Directs in 2013, mostly because the guidelines became stricter and my folks that could qualify? I urged them to use bankers who could put them in a FHA product.

It has become harder and harder for the first time homebuyer and, in 2014, we're going to see more changes to USDA loans and their underwriting. For the first time, too, we might even see areas in SoIL along the Route 13 corridor excluded from these loans.

All in  all, if you're thinking of selling your home, you're going to have to be careful to screen those who wish to see it. Qualifications for loans will be tighter with more processing and underwriting delays. Even more of a reason to list your house with a Realtor. Seriously.

And for those who are buying: The inventory is still really low in SoIL. If you find a house you can see yourself living in, even if its not perfect...buy it or someone else will.

Buyers get qualified. NOT pre-qualified...I mean, go do the loan app and get qualified. I had two deals die in 2013 because the loan fell apart after these buyers handed over a pre-qualified letter.

Believe me, I will be calling bankers about "pre-qual" letters when I get them. I will be looking out for my clients best interests when I represent the seller. Contracts will stall until I get some assurances these loans are good and the banker is standing with the buyers.

And BUYERS -- don't waste a Realtor's time! If you can't buy now, say so in the first call. Tell me about it and, if I'm doing broker's views, I will call and see if you can tag along. But you are buying my gas. It is a good way to make up you're mind what you really, really want or what you won't do.

Buyer, you may also be surprised at the loan options available. That its easier to get into a house that you might "settle" for right now, live in and fix up with plans to sell it in a year or two. I can help with that as I know what sells, what's not worth the investment or what is worth the investment. As I've said before -- Some of the HGTV shows aren't all bad about what to fix and what not to bother with.

Sometimes, Mr & Ms First Timer, the closing won't give you a huge wad of cash to pay into the next house....but what you've built is credit. You might even put more money into a house and have to bring cash to the table to unload it. But you've built your credit up to the point, that now, you can get that loan for the house you want.

Look at it this way: Buy the fix-up, imperfect house; fix up the majors & make it cute. We then sell it and you're now able to get the bigger loan on the house you love. You didn't lose any money, you built your credit better and faster than paying rent plus you had the added tax benefits of home ownership.

Zillow says home prices will increase.

"Home prices will increase.

Zillow data predicts that home prices will rise 3% in 2014, building on the 5% rise in national home prices we saw in 2013. However, due to higher home prices, a rise in mortgage rates, and increased home inventory, prices aren’t expected to rise aggressively."

I'm not at all sure that's going to be true in SoIL. I am 100% sure that houses priced right for the market will sell. Overpricing your house will cause it to sit on the market longer....no matter how wonderful it is.

All-in-all, buying and selling property is one of the most stressful things you can do. Don't try and do it alone...choose me to help you. I'm fun, I'm experienced and I'm going to be on your side. And I need your listing!!



 

New Year, New Attitude

rcosens.cbprimerealty.com

My new website is up and running....I'm chasing after it with hopes of making my web-a-tude more worthy.

I got a new Galaxy Tab 3 phone "system" with Bluetooth headset ((as here in IL after January 1, ya gots to be hands free whilst driving)).

So I took my first "selfie" with it on Xmas day. My talented niece Christa captured the other shot.

My other talented niece, Celeste, captured this one (above). I'm using it on my business cards but I've also gotten a good tip about an online site for those so I'm only getting 500 to start. Then I can refresh those photos as I go. Because as you know: I hate having that one photo out there forever. Ugh.

Christmas is still drying up. Oldest son, Alex, was here for a much-too-short visit:

He's been out in Arizona working on Cisco Systems for Maricopa County. He wasn't sure he was going to go back and wanted to cut our visit short so he could go back to Ashton IT Solutions main office.

That's okay. I have plenty of new gadgets, webinars and learning/training going on with the new move to Carbondale Coldwell Banker Prime.

And, by the way, the first week of December I finally finished up my Graduate Realtor Institute or  GRI...courses are a series of three and you must complete all three to gain the certification. http://www.realtor.org/designations-and-certifications/gri-designation/value-of-a-gri-designation
It is kind of big deal in the real estate world and it should be to anyone thinking of listing or buying property.

Especially since a lot of Realtors are not carrying any college credits except for their realtor's license requirements. GRI brings up the scale of knowledge, the credential, the ethics, and the value of that realtor's licensure: it is kinda a big deal for the consumer, too.

We only have a couple of days left of 2013; I'm so looking forward to this new year. Out with the old chaos, in with a new techno-savvy and forward-thinking management style of the Jackson office. In 2013, I sold property from Murphysboro to Mt Vernon (($1.5 million)), I sold farms and I sold in urban neighborhoods; I made my goal of becoming a REGIONAL agent. My car, my phone is my mobile office and this year, in 2014, I will expand that more than ever with the new managing brokerage and new technology like mobile hotspot and boost battery pack to take my laptop presentations to clients with ease. This broker/owner wants me more mobile and supports that 110 percent with office support staff and technology, innovative ways to capture leads, continuing education, and more advertising support: all the big, key, push/pull points to propel my goals.

It is a whole lot more than just jibber-jabber. I can do that all by myself...hee hee.

2014 will be the year of action, activity and connectivity. Using my natural skill set with new enhancements.

Yay!

New work profiles and photos

Okay readers, I'm sorry for neglecting you. So I guess I need to bring you up to speed with what's what with the Reluctant Broker:

First -- I've moved my license...again. This time, though, I did stay in the brand. Just moved to a different, more progressive and more aggressive brokerage: Coldwell Banker Prime Realty. www.cbprimerealty.com

Check the website and you'll see I've moved up. We're going all mobile and touch screens, too, soon. Broker/owner is Greg and he's positive-attitude central: tech/savvy, hands-on with training and presentation, AND is pro-training outside the office. He's on board with advertising, blogging, and aggressively going mobile. I can't make any money if I'm not moving among the public...he wants all his broker/agents out there moving, networking, talking to people. Big plus for this guy? He's a gym/workout routine machine.

So...

Now on to homework assignments from the new broker/owner: I had to profile myself on Zillow and Trulia. Never been one not to like to write about my favorite subject....me and mine. Here it is:

"Totally awesome woman who has travelled around the country with a broadcasting career doing the news/talk/morning shows in various places like Anchorage, Alaska and Buffalo, New York even some freelance voice work in Canada.
Moved back "home" to Southern Illinois in 2009...where I stumbled my way into a new life and a new career in REAL ESTATE, which, I find has a lot of the same elements of my previous occupation as it is all about the hunt.
Hunting is all about preparation. No hunter goes into the field, sits down; just waiting and hoping for game. Anyone who's ever hunted for game ((or even bargains while shopping)) knows you have to know where to look, you have scout the trails ahead of the season, and you have to plan.
In Alaska, I was fortunate enough to be included while hunting moose. Believe me, you have to have a plan to hunt an animal that big because once you shoot it, you have to pack it out of the area before the bears come take it from you.
Real Estate is about the planning. It is not just sticking a sign in the yard and hoping someone comes along. There's a campaign with advertising, networking, and diversity. It is a moose hunt.
Real Estate for the buyer is hunting a totally different animal. More like hunting geese, quail or doves. Some agents just blast away hoping to hit a bird. I take a different approach by digging into my buyers preference: likes, dislikes, hopes, and dreams. Then when we're ready to take a shot we are sure to get our golden goose.
2009 - 2011 Mt Vernon Downtown Development Committee, Mt Vernon, IL
2009 - 2011 Granada Preservation Committee, Mt Vernon, IL
2011 Voted "Best of the Best" in Real Estate, Mt Vernon Registered News.
2012 - Charter Member Williamson/Jackson County Sunset Rotary
2013 Earned GRI accreditation"

I'm sure I'll be editing it. I'm sure Greg will be editing it.

But for now. For this day, for this time...this is me.

Government Loans

It has become apparent that this is the year of the slow loan process.

Yes. There are government loans out there where you do not have to put any money down but if you take advantage of this? You will pay in other ways.

Right now, today, I have two such deals going where buyers are getting a USDA loan. No money down and that's fantastic. But....

Be prepared to wait and be prepared to do extraordinary things.

First case is a Fannie Mae house with a USDA 100% guaranteed loan. These used to sail right through but over the last 24 months? Nope.

Just. Nope.

The process has become a lengthy one. First with home inspections. Then with "fixes" then the bank sends an appraiser. That appraiser will fill out forms for USDA. Appraiser will "ding" the property for things like gutters, pressure relief valves on water heaters, GFI's near water (kitchens and baths) and outside, CO detectors, battery life in CO detectors and smoke detectors. This is a small list of things but these things keep coming up.

So....sellers...if you want it gone, do these things! If you aren't handy, call a Mr. Fix-it and get it done!

These 'issues' can hold up the loan. These fixes have to be fixed before the loan gets sent to processing.

In Springfield.

Allow 14 business days.

These are the things your banker should be telling you but, nope. That's left up to me to be the bearer of bad tidings.

People, these loans are a good product. They allow you to get into your house with no money down but, sweetie, honey, baby, lovey, you are going to have to wait for that loan.

Argh.

Posts from now and forever

Holy crap its July and this is my first post to you! So...

It is a passionately cloudy day today with more blustery and lusty storms approaching. Its dark, the winds are starting to howl and there are rumbles of thunder. <sigh> ((fun fact: this type of sentence structure is called 'puffing' or 'puffery' in the real estate business...so those little 'fixer-uppers' that need "TLC" but have warnings about rotted floors and black mold forests on the walls??))

A lot of the houses I had contracts on have closed or started down the "pending" slopes. Still working a few corrections-inspections with USDA and more than one stubborn seller. Had a contract collapse because a buyer's job disappeared. And then it was July.

May and June were more moderate this year than last with temps staying out of the 90's for the most part which I believe aided getting things done. Then we hit a wall at the end of June with every living banker in SoIL going on holiday with at least 67 percent of the title company closers.

Now into July with strong storms -- really wet this year! -- and hot, humid days. Plus the wrinkles of higher interest rates. Yes, we had a good long run with next to nothing interest rates but now they have started to pop up a couple of points overnight sending some buyers into panics.

This happens. The housing market in SoIL is rebounding. We had BIDDING WARS on properties last season and started the early spring with more of the same. Yet...there are those buyers who insist they know better. That housing markets are still dropping, that we haven't bottomed out yet, that we are living in some other state than Illinois, apparently.

I will say this once again. Slowly so you can repeat it to your foolish, dullard friends: STOP. WATCHING. NATIONAL. (ESPECIALLY FOX!! WHICH IS NOT NEWS BUT TALK/ENTERTAINMENT/OPINIONS!!). Again...STOP. WATCHING. NATIONAL. NEWS. FOR. YOUR. LOCAL. ECONOMIC. NEWS. Especially about real estate markets. Just quit.

Ask a local real estate broker. Even the most silly, fluffed-up, over-inflated, drama-mongering, and negative of the bunch will be able to pull up reliable and recent data from the LOCAL MLS system to give you the real, accurate and daily rundown of what's for sale, what's pending, what's sold, how long it was on the market, who bought it and for how much. Remember, too, as braggarts are so fond of telling me...not all sales are recorded in the MLS. Yes, Charlotte, there are private sales recorded at the courthouses that are not in the MLS. For that my office has to trot on down the courthouse and take a peep once or twice month. In some counties, like Jefferson, you can buy a print out of  last month's recorded deed transactions. TaDAAAAAAHHHH...all the info your little heart desires.

Private sales. I do watch these with interest. Between friends and family the price of land/houses can be as little as you can imagine but there is also some tough love transactions out there. I'd bow out of a family that raked me over in some of these deals. That's because the average citizen doesn't know squat about what their property is worth.

Oh, I know they know what they'd like to get. Which is very different from what it will bring in the open market. Yes. I do comparable searches to see what's what. It is not pulled out of my butt. I've actually had several classes by some very "accredited" and "learned" specialists. You have to compare APPLES to other APPLES. Not apples to imagined golden apples from heaven. Using actual and accurate information gleaned from actual and accurate sources very unlike Cousin Bubba or Freddy down at the Circle K.

Which is actually kinda sad, really. I come across folks all the time who proceed to tell me how the real estate market is because Bubba down at the bar told 'em so. Or they heard from someone, who knows someone, who was dating someone who read something somewhere about it.

Hopefully one of those someones will stumble across this blog.

<sigh>  I had no pictures of apples by the way.

Fabulous Older Homes

Let's recap what's popping this month:

June 1st -- my first ever, most wonderful radio open house broadcast live on MAGIC 95.1.

 

 

I really got a lot of calls, texts and emails from the radio broadcast. Still getting a lot of wash from it and that's the point. I have listings that need to be sold, people.

 

Watch for more radio...we're going to do more with MAGIC and Z.

 

Geesh...lots of rain this year to offset the drought from last year! Farmers having a hard time getting in the fields and home sellers are having an awful time trying to keep the lawns mowed around properties.

 

The listings in SoIL are scarce and, mostly, the majority are older homes. Some in great shape but need a touch of paint.

 

Still, its a good time to lock in the deal before interest rates really zoom up.

 

For the most part I've been kept jumpin' this month trying to close a deal in Scheller with a contract I wrote in December. See? That 45 days to close your contract looks sweet now, doesn't it?

 

The Scheller deal involved a lot of survey/non-survey issues - Plat Act and Warranty Deed - ugh. I did tell you I got into this business not to do paperwork and I am not a lawyer!!

 

We closed it Monday, June 24, and the buyers and sellers couldn't be happier.

 

This is what a closing looks like. The people change and the venue changes but its always a group sitting around signing papers. This is a life event for a lot of people. One of the biggest ones; like marriage or the birth of a child. And it looks pretty much like this.

Two other closings happened in short order for me this month. A couple sold their first house on Friday and bought their second house yesterday, Wednesday. You hear a lot of about deals where the closing on the first house and the second house happen on the same day. I really tried to get this done. Had it scheduled but the second house was a short sale, and, you guessed it: one of the big banks was involved so dragged it out.

Even my best efforts couldn't get them everything they wished for. <sigh>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

Real time real estate

Life is not a reality TV show.

In real estate I hear about HGTV all the time. I even started watching the channel so I could better estimate what expectations were.

In House Hunters we have a thirty minute search of properties which yields a "find" and a "decision" but we don't follow that purchase to the closing table. We have no idea how many days, weeks, months were consumed while filming the search as I totally doubt that only three properties were viewed. It is good TV to show us the final three but in real life? Depending on the market, buyers will have more options or no options at all.

I like Love it or List it because the realtor on that program does start to show you how difficult it is to find some one's dream location. That program also starts to show how difficult it is to reconstruct a house. The contractor almost always finds some major "issue" that needs to be solved eating away much of the reno budget. But, see...that's what real life is really like. In reno jobs you must expect set backs and budget sucks. Otherwise you are just living in Oz.

Property Brothers shows us some real life negotiations and how they fall through, plus, more importantly, this program shows some hard reality with pricing....sometimes you have to pay more than you wished to get the house you want. I'm actually partial to this show, too, because we always see a diva whining about the cost of the fixer-upper they are going to buy. "Why's it so expensive? I don't wanna pay more than this. This place is a dump." Yeah, well, that's what the market will bear, sweetie, so either pay up or keep renting.

If you aren't an HGTV watcher but want to buy some real estate, I do suggest you start to watch these. Also take the time for House Hunters International -- there's a wake up for you. Other countries where people live without central air and heat, where water heaters have to be turned on, where there is no such thing as a Master Bedroom much less a Master Suite. This show, I like to point out to my clients, is more like house hunting in SoIL. Because there are plenty of little houses in our small towns and cities that have a lot of charm but no master bedroom and no dining room. You have to make do with what's there in your price range.

Especially now.

Interest rates took a big leap up over the weekend. Starting about Wednesday of last week they started to climb and now they are hovering around 5%. This is going to be the new norm. These low interest rates where not going to last forever and those who waited? Maybe waited too long.

If you keep waiting; riding that fence waiting for even lower prices: ((foreclosures and short sales are getting scarce and, although you will still get a steal, you will not get a $200,000 house for $20,000 anymore)) AND you will pay a higher interest rate for the money you borrow. Housing prices are going up.

Bidding wars are a real thing now, not just in California, but here in SoIL.

Interest rates bottomed and are rising again.

If you want that house -- be prepared to buy it.

Happy Anniversay to Me.

I'm starting my 5th year as a realtor.

It is a career path I'd never imagined for myself but one that sorta chose me. I had a good run as a news gatherer and I enjoyed (mostly) that lifestyle. Never knowing what the day would bring, having lots of irons in the fire all at once and everything seeming to "pop" at the same time.

I liked that. NO. That's not right. I cherished that. Was proud of my ability and agility -- able to stir all the pots at once, decide on the spot what was priority and what could stew just a minute longer for a fuller flavor.

I held on to that career fearing a very dull life without it. I really didn't know what my particular skill set could be used for once the hunt for news was over.

In real estate I have found a home for my skills. I didn't think I'd enjoy this career;  had felt I was settling for a lesser life. I was...more than reluctant...I was recalcitrant, contumacious. All those steadfast, hard, and stubborn reactions usually reserved for uncooperative or hostile interviews. I girded my loins; marching into this new career prepared to do what was required and no more.

Surprise!

I really do enjoy this game. A new friend has told me I am a finder:  Someone who finds what others lack, what others need, what others hide.

Because real estate is so much more than finding a house for a buyer or a buyer for a listing. Real estate is about finding a home for someone; finding a way for them to actually close the deal.

This new career of mine, one that I've finally embraced, is about solutions to problems.

Now, I have never liked being the go-to for 20 questions. Ask my friends who pepper me with their questions! I shut the whole thing down; will clam up to the point of either leaving the room, or, if unable to escape, I will fall asleep. ((One of my friends told me this was passive-aggressive)) Personally I believe folks get caught up in asking questions, not hearing the answers, so over stimulate themselves by asking more questions. Watch your over-questioning ((passive/aggressive)) friend/family sometime and see if they don't just get more and more giddy/gleeful/rabid as they ask over and over and over and over....zzzzzzz...huh? What?

I steadfastly believe if you can't get some answers within 3 questions you are -- Asking the wrong questions. I am faithful to the query of Why? But with real estate I've learned to branch out to the arena of What?

As in: What are you looking for? What have you done to secure financing?

If you can answer those, I'm your realtor. We'll find you home.

If you're a seller I ask: Why and when. Then we move into how much and how long. Pricing a listing to sell quickly is different from pricing it to get what the seller wants. I get to explain the market, the trends I see. I take the pulse of the market all time -- I chat with people in supermarkets and gas stations. Strangers will tell me the most personal details; while queued up, waiting for a cashier.

These past few weeks I've been working the phone as four deals were teetering on closing this month. One I have been working since December and I'm pleased to report I have a close date next Monday! Two deals where penciled in for Friday. One has been moved to next Wednesday. <sigh> One was scheduled for the last Friday of this month and has been moved into July.

All the while I've been showing some property to three different clients, working the marketing on all my listings, negotiating sales contracts on several deals, and adding a listing last week.

I like this pace. Its almost newsroom quality timing.

Crafty Red Fox

As summer solstice approaches....

Uh, oh..and yikes! Solstice is tomorrow! And not a minute too soon 'cuz right now I can use the extra daylight! Yes, my days are that long!

Here's my newest listing:

http://www.visualtour.com/applets/flashviewer2/viewer.asp?t=3079995&sk=1

Rally 'round

Not a whole lot of real estate info in this offering. Over the weekend my Rotary club put on a Youth Rally.

We had severe competition for the weekend: sunny day, fishing, boating, a circus was in town, several towns had festivals, carnivals and car/vehicle shows, the local motorcycle shop had a huge promotion involving...what else? Helicopters! With motorcycles! Sheesh.

But we had a strong showing for a start up event. Kids from 11 - 17 showed, signed in and selected their choices of workshops.

 

 

 

We made some mistakes (ordered too much pizza) and had some really great insights provided by kids and volunteers.

Watch out for next year's event: Jackson Williamson County Sunset Rotary Rocks.

Fighting the price

Appraisers appraise.

"Oh they just put those together to match the contract price." said a buyer of mine.

Sigh. If only.

Here in Illinois, Southern Illinois especially, if you have a business practice that, shall we say, swings loosely on the hinges? Some will use your services just to get the number they want but sooner or later these shenanigans will catch up to you. This goes for licensed inspectors, appraisers, contractors, mold mitigation....expands into other licensed professions like doctors, nurses, cosmetologists, Realtors. We are all licensed by the Great State of Illinois. We paid for college, training, fees to get to take the test, more fees to get the gosh-darn license printed and sent by the state then more fees to boards and associations to be recognized and legal. We then pay dues, required monthly or quarterly rents/deposits, and, last but not least, insurances. Sure. Easy as pie. Commit a felony for you just to collect a fee, sure, I'll get right on that.

Sure. Yes. It can be done. Just like you can find a licensed physician to write any or all 'scrpts for you; you can find a licensee to mock-up an appraisal for you. Money always finds the ones who will.

Putting those licensees into that category with Dr. Nick or Conrad Murray shames all with the M.D. after their name and a Caduceus on their business card. Lumping me in with frauds bothers me, too.

Because that's what that phrase "match the contract price" means to me; that these appraisers are all frauds and real estate is a racket. We're all in kahoots to swindle poor suckers out of their money; little better than used car salesmen. Little faith is put into the collective education. We are not one of those states that allow the weekend diploma mills to set up in hotels, where candidates are given the answers for a "proctored - rhymes with doctored" test Saturday night.

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fraud  

/frôd/

Noun Wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain. A person or thing intended to deceive others, typically by unjustifiably claiming or being credited with accomplishments or qualities.

Synonyms cheat - deceit - deception - swindle - humbug - fake

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Holy crap!

Is that what the general public really thinks about Realtors? I can lose my license, be criminally charged with felony activity and be sent off to jail. So I can sell you a house?? Believe me. If I was the type person to do this type of illegal enterprise I would not be setting up shop in SoIL where the average price of a house is about $120,000. (Yahuh...with a split on six or seven percent commission -- or less!! -- in some cases because there are some unbelievably cheap bastards out there). You'd really need to put another zero in that loop and then I'd still have a problem because...see? That behavior is wrong.

I've always been of the opinion guys like Dr. Nick and Conrad Murray get swept up in the fame. They aren't famous but enjoy being around the famous. They get off on being needed and on call to a celebrated figure. I get it. These guys are groupies!! Just like the girls/boys who shag the boys/girls in the band. I had a modicum of success in radio -- people seek you out when you are top-of-mind news. They send you flowers, food, free tickets to their events, invitations that wouldn't be sent if I'd been just plain ol' Rosie from SoIL. Hell, I even had a stalker!! So I get it.

Now take that back into SoIL real estate reality. No one sends me flowers unless its my birthday or it was a lovely date night. Free food comes from vendors who want to curry favor for my business referral and invitations to events come with a sponsorship fee.

Appraisers and inspectors make even less per transaction than I do. They have more transactions per week than I do but they make a set fee not a commission of the whole of the sale. All are heavily regulated and, in this little marketplace, governed by their peers! Oh, yes! There is nothing quite as tasty as the gossip about a misstep made by one of your brethren. Fabulously titillating! Oh my!

Even Realtors or inspectors who are working within the law, collect sneers from those who watch their tiptoed steps along the ledge of misrepresentation. Gossip, gossip, gossip...what the heck to you think we do in our down time?

So...

"Oh they just put those together to match the contract price." 

Ouch.

Stuff to share

                                                              


Photos above are from my newest listing: 4183 Black Bird, Mulkeytown, IL.
http://www.promatchcomplete.com/default.aspx?guid=EEE95C17-0B37-4561-AA2C-9A64146902AA

It was a wild week; I listed two:
1101 Thomas, Carterville;
http://www.promatchcomplete.com/default.aspx?guid=EEE95C17-0B37-4561-AA2C-9A64146902AA

I've also, in the last 7 days, gotten a contract negotiated for my listing on Timothy: (Full Price!) We've gotten the legal done for my Scheller listing and the appraiser is due May 30th. (This one has been on my desk since December and I have high hopes it will close next month: see my blog "Pending")
The sellers of Timothy are buying a short sale. These usually take months but I heard last Thursday we've gotten a green light to close next month! ((Meanwhile Timothy's first round of inspections found some beasties...Please SoIL sellers -- get your house treated for termites because with our wet weather the beasties are busy))
I hosted my out-of-stater buyers buzz in for a round of looks. They tell me they have to find their new home because their home they are selling closes late next month. Got a call from a couple whose house I sold in 2011 - they are tired of renting and want to own again.
A closing on Friday took me to Campbell Hill, IL (On Highway 4-- I never knew this place existed so I got to see something new in my beloved SoIL.) My buyers are the couple I talked about in "Houses Are a Girl's Best Friend" -- we were delayed by a week. When closings are delayed because of wrinkles at the bank, bankers find I am better than 'Constant Contact' with emails, texts and calls. <snicker> Stalkers have nothing on me when I am bugging someone to close. Finally met the loan officer face-to-face Friday and he was quite charming after being hassled my me for more than a week.
Ended my week with a first outing with some new buyers and making appointments for next week when it all starts over again.

Today I am taking my 'day off' by updating my blog. <sigh> Like I said before...if we could only cuddle.

In the middle of all my activity I finally got the finishing touches put on my summer marketing push. Watch this space! I will be sharing my upcoming ad campaign soon!

Pending

The time of anticipation. The time of wait-and-see. The gibbous, unbalanced, salient and giddy moments before the event: things are pending.

I've spent the last 6 months working to close a property in Scheller. 4855 N Scheller Lane: see the Virtual Tour here --

http://www.visualtour.com/applets/flashviewer2/viewer.asp?t=2907334&sk=1

I have a personal connection with this property...it was the home of some very close friends of my daddy's, Andy and Martha. Daddy would have been 90 this past April had he lived. Daddy was younger than Andy and Martha by a few years.

Their daughter's name? Rosie -- not me -- the woman who babysat me, baked me cookies and made sure my hands were clean. My youngest son, Andy, is named for the man who built this house. Close friends of my dad's? Yep.

They built the garage first and lived there while Andy picked up a trowel and, with some help, built Martha's house, brick by brick. The pines out front? They were less than my height when planted -- I remember because I was there -- and I've been trying to sell this house since Martha died in 2009 (Andy predeceased her by several years).

Martha had her brick house. Meant to outlast her, withstand any fury mother nature could dish out, with 4 cisterns so she'd never, never, never run out of water, Dammit.

Her granddaughter inherited the place and I was tasked with selling it. And a task it was...because I truly believe Martha walked beside me sniffing out every nuance of potential buyers. Nixing the deals until a buyer met with her approval.

That house had to go to someone who not only loved it and appreciated it but someone who met Martha's standards:  Someone who could tell a good story, play a good game of cards, laugh loud at themselves, fill the house with loud friends, obnoxious relatives, arguments, opinions, regrets, redemptions but, above all, love.

Someone who could hold their liquor but not their tongue. Someone who could not only dish it out with righteousness and sass then was big enough to take it and take it with dignity and class.

It was a hard act to follow. With many not making the cut, I knew I'd found a winner when he lit a cigarette just outside the garage. A veteran of two tours in Iraq, this buyer knew to stand into the wind blowing away from the house -- which he did -- not a whiff of smoke should have come into that garage. But it did, just one little puff, almost like it was inhaled by the house;  I knew right then and there the heavy-smoking Martha had made her choice.

My buyer, a war veteran, a single father, has had hurdles to leap and challenges aplenty. But I knew Martha was pulling for him. And anyone who knew her, knew she usually got what she wanted.

We hope to close on Father's Day.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Start your Engines.

This will most likely be my last weekend off. The selling season in SoIL is just about to leap into hyper drive and I'm chillaxing before the big push.

Almost like having shore leave before the tactical offensive...Semper Fi.

Anywaaaaaaaay. Here we go with the real estate stuff:

The Mother Ship has tipped me with some great advice to clients to pass along. This time the topic is bidding wars. Yes, kids, the bidding war are back and back in a big way. The days of low balling an offer are done.

Last year I was bested in bidding wars so this year I upped my game. Yeah, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

I have clients right now who are the winners of the first bidding war of my selling season. I trusted my instinct and set them up with the right tools so if it happened, we'd be ready.

Mother Ship has offered six ways to make sure you win your wars:

1. Make sure your lender and your broker (hopefully me) have a touchy-feely relationship. If you are my client, I want your lender's cellphone number. Period. End of sentence. If we can't get that then I'd strongly suggest you consider one of the half dozen lenders I have in my cell, who will take my call until way into the evening, on holidays and weekends. I want a lender for you who isn't getting paid but getting commissions on what he/she brings to the closing table.

2. If you are a cash buyer: prove it. Make sure your finance guy, lawyer, trust manager writes a letter stating your liquid assets. It is a proof of funds letter and your financial guy knows exactly what to write. Have it emailed to me so I can access it PDQ and put it in the hands of the seller's agent. This can make the difference in a bidding war. Even if your are mortgaging BUT you putting in a substantial down payment, one of these letters is priceless.

3. Be quick, be creative, be helpful. Be compassionate and kind. Sellers need to sell quickly but have nowhere to go? Offer a short term lease-back to sellers. Say you have cash; we can close in 10 days: those sellers might appreciate 30 days to move (rent free is a plus!). I've done this before in a non-bidding war situation and it works well. Or maybe the sellers have pets they need to place -- offer to help. Offer to allow the sellers to store stuff in what will now be your garage for a put-in-place and agreeable time.

4. If you really want the house have it inspected before you have a contract in place. Then your contract is not contingent on inspections. In fact, do away with any and all contingencies to be more attractive to the seller. The object here is to win the house.

5. Trust me. Give me a game plan and, if necessary, put in place an escalation clause. This is an addendum that allows me to bid for you.  Mother Ship explains: "An escalation clause is an addendum to a purchase offer that authorizes your agent to offer a specified amount above the best offer the seller receives." These are powerful when I deal with short sale properties listed at below appraisal or below the market comparable or 'comp'. What's a comp to 7 acres and stick-built house from the 1970's in a rural school district? Zillow and Trulia won't tell you. I can and will explain how it should be searched.

None of this is secret stuff. It is all out there in cyberspace and, yes, you can do with all without an agent. But why would you want to do that? Sellers pay commissions. Frankly it would be stupid not to choose someone to guide you along.

And it is your choice. Whether you are buying or selling: you choose your agent. I've gone into this before but I'll say it again. You get to hire your own broker whether you are selling or buying. If you want a bargain basement agent to sell your property, please go with the cheapest one. If you want someone you can trust, someone who has your back, someone who is just as interested in getting the right price for your property as you are: choose me.

If you are buying -- I'd say the same goes. I want to get you the house you want. Even if I have to go knock on a door to see if the owners are ready to sell.

It is all about finding the right property. The right deal for the client. Soon I will be showing off a super-new marketing tool I've been working on. Hopefully unveiling it this week.

Watch this space.

Closing Time

Taking one to the closing table today.

Glad for that as I get my commission check when I close. Notice I said, "Commission check."

That's because I do not get a paycheck.

I get a commission check which goes into my business as a paid. Of that paid amount I feed the Mother Ship, the fees to the brokerage house (rents). I pay the funds that fuel my business: Advertising, Insurances, Car, Marketing/Promo; then and only then, I get to pay myself. I like bar charts for this. This is how I have my business set up so at tax time I can go through all these titles and see what is costing me what. After a year or so, I can see if insurance companies are raising rates and look at different policies. I can look at fuel/car issues and see how uneconomical my Lincoln has become so I can start the "new ride" funding.



I have continued education funds, vacation funds, upkeep funds. They get fed when commissions come in. I do lots of graphs.

I have future business plans funds. I have dream funds. I like pie charts for these. All fed by commission checks.

Not a great deal different from when I collected a paycheck except all these funds get referenced with whether or not they are tax deductions for my business.

Paychecks. FICA and taxes are taken out.

Commission checks. FICA and taxes are my responsibility. One I do not take lightly, one that takes a lot of planning and oversight. I am a small business.

This is not my first foray into small business ownership. I owned a catering company in Anchorage. I owned a drywall finishing business for a while when I first came home to SoIL. The ache in my right thumb pretty much sidelined that business. (I broke that thumb twice so it is full of pain.)

I minored in accounting in college. Worked as an account's clerk - a job I hated but I loved the old dude (Mr. L) who owned the place.

My own books are set up a lot like all those in Mr. L's office. I did learn stuff while working for him -- he also taught accounting at the local junior college.

So....yeah.

I'm good with money. It isn't a issue for me. Unless you refer to my commissions as a paycheck.

Bankers and lawyers and titles, oh my!

Never a dull moment. Well, yeah, really there are lots of dull moments in the daily life of a typical real estate broker. It is up to me to add some sass and sway to the day.

Today's journey begins with a call from a lawyer dealing with survey and title for one of the deals in the 'pipeline' -- the pipeline? It is the journey or, funnel, from accepted contract to closing table. Hold on to your hats, boys and girls, 'cuz it is always different with dots and dashes of crazy thrown in. Sort of like riding the slurry line down the stream for the gold at the end. (That one's for my pals in Alaska.)

Adds some zest to my otherwise dull existence, don't ya know?

Today's torment begins with getting one of said pipeline contracts to new lawyer in the mix so he can tango around the survey requirements. Getting some extensions put out there in email-land and waiting to hear from mystical and magical creatures of myth and legend known only as appraisers. Egad, people, this is my day.

It is 12:27 p.m. and already I'm thinking of cocktails. It has gotta be 5 o'clock somewhere.

Usually I do love lawyers. Yes, I know, I'm the only one but I like lawyers because they, like me, are usually quickly thinking of ways around the problem. Nimbly dancing around the dicey and doing a mean doe-see-doe while sidestepping objections thrown out there by bankers, underwriters and all others who seem to think their job is to stop transactions.

Really? Really? Real estate sales move the economy, people. Get out of the way of progress!

For those not familiar with Dante's work --

-- one of the circles? Real estate transactions. Oh, I know they say the Fifth Circle is Wrath and Sullenness -- its just shorthand for real estate transactions. A broker's wrath and the lender/underwriter's sullenness. True, dat.

Me: "Hey! Hi! Remember me? Your client is my client and where's the loan commitment?"
Bank: "Oh, hi. Ummm...lemme see...oh, that's not in-house so we're waiting on the bank we farmed it out to so..they have to make the call to appraiser."
Me: "What's their number so I can call them? And who do I talk to?"
Bank: "I don't know that information."

Huh?

Okay, you've just told me you are a middleman for my client so I need to talk to someone who can get things done and you "don't know" their phone number or who I need to speak with?

Again...HUH?

One thing I do know from years of dealing with sources in the newsroom? There is a human somewhere who can somehow answer the call and get some kind of answer for you if you are persistent. Texts work, too. You'd be surprised...or maybe those of you who know me, wouldn't be surprised...at how many financial officers will give me their cellphone numbers so I can text them.

I'm fun to text. You should try it. 618-438-1900. I find I can be very irreverent and get quite a few laughs from the crankiest of bankers. I'm thinking their jobs aren't always very fun.

So...sullen...yes, I can see that. They probably get a lot of crabby real-a-tours calling and cranking on them.

That's the other thing I'm finding in real estate. A general rudeness and defensiveness displayed by other real-a-tours.  I'm beginning to think this trend is caused by stressful work environment, lack of control and feeling out of control. So far, I've found there are a lot of real-a-tours out there would have some major control issues. Dude...dudette! Chill.

The whole of this real estate business is out of my control. I have to be cool with this otherwise, you see, I'd start to display some sullenness. And we all know that's the bankers' domain.

All this leads to...da, da, daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa: MicroManaging. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! Oh. The. Horror.

A topic for another blog, though, kids, because those calls are starting to generate the afternoon's callbacks.

Happy hunting out there and text me if you need some great, snappy answers to your real estate quests.