Now is truly a great to buy, especially if you are first-time buyer. Homes have dropped in price and government tax credits are a great incentive. But as new construction slows and layoffs hit the blue-collar sector, now may also be a great time to build. Current homeowners who are looking for something more personal can take advantage of discounted labor and materials as contractors drop prices in a down economy.

Ki Gray blogs about other ways to save money and control costs when building a home:

“Home building costs can often be a challenge to control when you’ve got so many variables in the building or remodeling project. You can avoid overages or, at least, keep them at a minimum if you are armed with some valuable advice. When planning your build, pad your budget with a 15 percent contingency fund.

This fund will enable you to pay for overages you have no control over, like unknowns behind walls and ceilings and problems found once excavation commences. You may not be able to avoid all of them, but you can certainly keep overages under a certain amount of control if you consider the following tips and tricks. If you are building your dream home, these are three of the most significant factors that contribute to your bottom line: size, style and shape.”

Even if you are not in the position to build a new home, these tips can also apply to renovations and face-lifts for your home. Now is a great time for simple renovations like flooring and bathrooms that also add value to your home.

Click through to read Ki Gray’s post.

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“Single-family housing starts rose for the fourth straight month in July, another sign that the battered housing market may be making its comeback. ‘Housing starts’ are new homes on which construction has recently started. Not surprising, in a related story, homebuilder confidence moved to a 12-month high. Ironically, an increase in newly-built homes could actually slow a nationwide housing rebound because values are driven by supply and demand. More in-the-pipeline supply means that buyer demand has to stay strong or else prices will eventually fall.”

As long as demand can keep pace with supply, there will be no serious effect on home values from new homes being built. Incentives for buyers has kept interest strong and have helped home values stabilize. However, as we leave the busy summer buying season and the incentives begin to expire, we may see that change. Click through to read Bob Phillips’ full post. Sign up for a free Featured Blog on Realtor.com today.

What do I need to know if I buy and sell a home at the same time? –Shane

The most important thing to remember in this situation is to sell your home first. In any real estate market, you will be better off having your home sold. You avoid getting into a situation where you own two houses. Even if you can afford to do it, don’t. You will be in a stronger negotiating position if you are still [living] in your home [when you are trying to sell it]. Once you move out, buyers know that you are going to be more motivated. That gives them the upper hand in the negotiations. On the purchase side, you will also be in a better position to negotiate. If you don’t have your home under contract, you will have a difficult time getting a seller to accept a contingency on the sale of your home. Also, having your home sold when you close will give you more money for a down payment, closing costs, moving expenses or just a cushion that could come in handy in today’s economy.

David Welch specializes in residential re-sales and new home construction at RE/MAX 2000 Realty in and around Orlando, FL.

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Selling in the current market can be difficult for homeowners trying to fight falling values and tough buyers. They hire an experienced REALTOR® to advertise and facilitate the process, but sometimes the problems that arise are outside the realm of a Realtor’s job description. A Realtor can stage a home and tell their client how to keep the property in selling condition, but what happens when a neighbor is the one keeping buyers away?

Robin Jones blogs about how a neighbor can hurt your home’s value:

“We’ve talked about curb appeal before. But what if it’s not your curb that’s the problem? We’ve all had that neighbor – with the always overgrown lawn, peeling paint, and junky cars. They turn up even in the best neighborhoods. If you live next door to the neighborhood eyesore, you might have trouble selling your home. Since appraisals also evaluate the condition of nearby properties, this can become a negotiating point for potential buyers. In fact, The National Association of REALTORS® says you could lose about 10 percent off the value of your home. You could price your home a little lower to begin with to generate more interest. You could also approach the offending neighbor. Chances are the property is neglected because the people are physically or financially unable to keep it up.”

Buyers are not only looking at the home, but they are looking at the entire neighborhood. They want to make sure the home is priced right and will gain value over the years. If you have a messy neighbor, Jones recommends finding out why they don’t maintain their home and, if appropriate, see if you can lend a hand. Sometimes a little assistance can be all that’s needed to fix the problem.

Click through to read Robin Jones’ full post.

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Though foreclosure statistics show that a large number of homes are still working their way through the system before they hit the real estate market, there is good news for homeowners facing foreclosure right now. Banks are willing to work with you on a loan modificaiton or short sale to avoid a foreclosure completely. However, if a homeowner has negative equity–as many in California do–there won’t be much help out there from your bank.

Allan Glass blogs about both the good and bad foreclosure news today:

“The good news in all of this is the apparent willingness banks are showing to attempt to work out foreclosure problems via loan modifications, or short sales.  If homeowners can’t find a solution to stay in their homes they may find an opportunity to minimize damage to their credit by avoiding a foreclosure via these means.  I would also expect that banks are preparing for bulk releases of residential assets, either defaulted loans or foreclosed assets in the coming months as prices continue to show signs of stabilizing, spreads between bank expectations and investor valuations decrease, and confidence is regained. The brown spot on the banana is the growing backlog of problem assets.  As the summer buying season winds down and banks look to right their balance sheets at year’s end, we could see increases in supply and dramatic decreases in demand.  for those of you who skipped economics 101, this is bad for value.”

Glass explains that, according to Foreclosureradar.com, more than 72 percent of foreclosure sales last month were actually delayed either through the lender directly, or due to a direct request from the borrower and lender. Additionally, he writes that a small percentage–10 percent– of foreclosure sales were put off due to filing bankruptcy, which is a more traditional tactic when a borrower is trying to postpone a foreclosure. These statistics are positive for homeowners, who may be exploring options if they are potentially facing a foreclosure.

Click through to read Allan Glass’ full blog.

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Though foreclosure statistics show that a large number of homes are still working their way through the system before they hit the real estate market, there is good news for homeowners facing foreclosure right now. Banks are willing to work with you on a loan modificaiton or short sale to avoid a foreclosure completely. However, if a homeowner has negative equity–as many in California do–there won’t be much help out there from your bank.

Allan Glass blogs about both the good and bad foreclosure news today:

“The good news in all of this is the apparent willingness banks are showing to attempt to work out foreclosure problems via loan modifications, or short sales.  If homeowners can’t find a solution to stay in their homes they may find an opportunity to minimize damage to their credit by avoiding a foreclosure via these means.  I would also expect that banks are preparing for bulk releases of residential assets, either defaulted loans or foreclosed assets in the coming months as prices continue to show signs of stabilizing, spreads between bank expectations and investor valuations decrease, and confidence is regained. The brown spot on the banana is the growing backlog of problem assets.  As the summer buying season winds down and banks look to right their balance sheets at year’s end, we could see increases in supply and dramatic decreases in demand.  for those of you who skipped economics 101, this is bad for value.”

Glass explains that, according to Foreclosureradar.com, more than 72 percent of foreclosure sales last month were actually delayed either through the lender directly, or due to a direct request from the borrower and lender. Additionally, he writes that a small percentage–10 percent– of foreclosure sales were put off due to filing bankruptcy, which is a more traditional tactic when a borrower is trying to postpone a foreclosure. These statistics are positive for homeowners, who may be exploring options if they are potentially facing a foreclosure.

Click through to read Allan Glass’ full blog.

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REALTORS®  who are taking advantage of the foreclosure market are re-tooling and learning how to navigate this lengthy and complicated process. This may include learning how to negotiate with banks and setting new time lines, or it may be learning new ways of doing familiar processes. Forelcosure listings are also known for their multimple offers. Unlike the standard multiple offer scenario, with a foreclosure, the buyer may have to act even faster with even more documentation.

Marilyn Bell shares how she gets her clients into homes that have multiple offers:

“What if you’re on the buying side and trying to get noticed in the crowd of multiple offers? What do you do then? This has kept me busy lately. Gone are the days when you show a few houses and the client picks out the one they like. In the past six months I’ve had several clients had to make at least five offers before they could get a contract on a house. And that’s not including how many I called to check on before placing an offer to make sure the seller (usually the bank) hadn’t already accepted an offer. There were probably twice as many as those. So how are we getting them into homes? Well, as a Realtor I let them know on the front end that’s how things are right now when you’re trying to buy a hot deal (usually foreclosure). Of course, they can be hesitant at first, so we go through several rounds of making offers that get rejected or countered or sent out for best and final (common when there are multiple offers on the table). Then, the clients get serious about listening to me.” 

Competition for foreclosures can be stiff. Investors and cash buyers are not uncommon, so rejected offers need to be turned around fast. As Bell points out, sending a big check shows a buyer is serious. Also, remember that while a foreclosures can be a great deal, the highest offer often wins, so sending in plenty of documentation along with your best offer is a strong negotiating tactic.

Click through to read Marilyn Bell’s full blog.

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States like California and Florida are seeing a backlog of homes listed as short sales awaiting bank approval. While the homes await approval, a process that can take eight to nine months, the banks are not collecting payments nor are they moving forward with the foreclosure process. This wasted time creates frustrated buyers and sellers as they wait for some type of confirmation from the bank. REALTORS® wonder what could motivate a bank to take so long when there is so much money at stake.

David Welch crunches the numbers and finds out just how much the banks are losing from their indecision:

“More than likely the banks are not only not receiving mortgage payments, but they are probably not pursuing foreclosure, at least not on the pending sales. The consensus is that the average short sale is taking about eight months to approve and another month to close. That is nine months of payments on the pendings that ‘the Bank’ is not receiving. In the Orlando market alone, I figure nine months of interest at 6 percent on $690 million is about $31 million that the banks are losing while they are busy not approving the short sale. If these numbers continue, the total amount of annual interest income at 6 percent for the $1.66 billion is almost $100 million. These numbers are all based upon the list price, not the amount the banks are actually owed. If you consider prices are off by nearly 50 percent from the highs of 2005/2006, all these numbers could be double.”

It’s difficult to know why the banks would not want to move as fast as possible through this process. Some theorize that banks are worried about inundating the market with cheap homes that could further suppress values. Others see the banks as underqualified to handle the complicated procedure, and the delays are due to mismanagement. Either way, unloading the toxic assets would allow the banks to get out of the Real Estate business and back to lending money.

Click through to read David Welch’s full blog.

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The line for homeowners in need of refinancing continues to get longer. As mortgage rates adjust and home values fall,  homeowners are trying to find alternatives to losing their home. Those that are able to beat the odds and modify their loan feel like they have just been through a frustrating ordeal that they thought would never end. But when it is over, the payoff is well worth the effort with reduced payments and new-found security.

Emily Lopez continues her loan modification story with some final words of wisdom:

“It has been a while since I posted any update to my story, but I felt I should write today as I am winding down (I hope) to a final conclusion. Last week I received a packet in the mail from CitiMortgage. Inside were yet another set of documents for my loan modification. What made me the happiest is that it is finally in the context I requested. This is not a modification program put in place by the Obama Administration a.k.a Home Owners Assistance Program, which is only a 90-day fix, but an actual loan modification that will remain permanent until I sell my home. My payments have been reduced by 30 percent and it has been extended out for 40 years. That is all I wanted and six months later, it is what sits in front of me ready to sign and deliver.”

Lopez’s persistence can be an example for all homeowners who are working towards a loan modification. Even though she feels she has learned a valuable lesson about how strong she can be if needed, the whole ordeal has been nothing short of a nightmare. Lopez advises all who are going through the same process to not give up!

Click through to read Emily Lopez’s full post.

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