First, you will need to determine if you can sell your property out right or will you have to get lender approval to sell your property for less than what is owed.  If you are in a situation similar to thousands of other valley home owners, it’s important that you talk to a qualified tax advisor before listing your home.  THEN it is equally important that you find a qualified realtor who has been trained to work short sale transactions.  Most realtors today will tell you that they can work a short sale, but my experience is that in fact few are equiped to close the deal….but that is a topic for another blog!

So now you are ready to list….how long will you have to wait for the right buyer to walk through the door?  Like anything else in real estate, everything is relative.  Some homes will sell quicker than others, but based on numbers alone……the “average” home in metro Phoenix should sell within 90-180 days.  But what is average?  Again, that’s relative and to help you see where your home might fall within the continuim I’ve created the following graph…..

The graph has been broken down by price range on the left and the number of active listings currently on the market in those price bands.   The column labeled Buyers represents the number of buyers who successfully closed on properties during the past 30 days, 90 days, 180 days, and past year.  The percentages represent your chance of selling your home during that time frame……ie:  30 days, 90 days, 180 days or 1 year.

So if you have a $250,000 home, your chances of selling it within 30 days is approximately 12% and you have a 83% of selling it within 6 months. 

If you have a home worth half a million dollars, you should be prepared to have your home listed for a year or more with homes priced between $500,000 and $599,999 only having a 88% chance of selling within 365 days!

Obviously this graph is just a representation of what is happening in the market but it should provide some insight.  Homes are moving……but that then begs the question…why are some homes selling and others are languishing on the market?   Obviously there are things such as condition, location, etc., that have to be taken into account but another issue…..how is your realtor marketing your property? 

Many realtors  merely register their listings on MLS, then sit back and wait until another agent calls to say they are sending over an offer.   They MIGHT create a flyer to leave at the property and they might hold an open houses now and then but for the most part, they take a passive role in getting a property sold. 

In stark contrast, the Phoenix Real Estate Source takes a pro-active approach to listing properties.   According to Realtor.com and other online marketing sources, 90% of buyers start their home search on the internet.  The Phoenix Real Estate Source and the KUHL team have positioned themselves in such a way as to provide clients with maximum exposure through featured listings on Realtor.com, property specific webpages, and targeted emailing lists not mention traditional means of marketing such as broker open houses and public open house events that feature your property at it’s finest. 

If you are thinking about selling your home, give us a call at 623-256-7270. 

Let’s  BEAT THE ODDS and get your home SOLD!

For numbers on other metro area cities such as Peoria, Glendale, Surprise, and the Sun Citites….visit our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Phoenix-Real-Estate-Source/200947187280?ref=ts and become a fan!

Vistancia Village is a family friendly community featuring homes from seven quality builders. The Discovery Trail connects neighborhoods to the two elementary schools, the pools, gymnasium, event lawns and the Mtn Vista Club, the Foothills Center and Vistancia Marketplace. An on-site lifestyle director oversees recreational activities and facilities including three pools, water slides, a gymnasium, and tennis courts.

Trilogy is an age-qualified community catering to homeowners wanting an upscale active life style in a luxurious resort-style setting. Sitting on 1,000 acres, Trilogy is designed and built by Shea Homes. Trilogy at Vistancia is uniquely different from other mainstream active adult communities with its wonderful array of amentities including the 35,000 sq ft Kiva Club, Alvea Spa, Center for Higher Learning, and a championship golf course.

Blackstone at Vistancia is a 590 acre private, gated country club offering custom home sites and luxury homes by respected builders. Blackstone also features a 30,000 sq ft Hacienda clubhouse and an award-winning Jim Engh designed golf course.

Vistanica Marketplace is Vistancia’s urban center and will provide a mix of shopping and medical services. 

How you can help:

You can be a volunteer at our booth
You can participate in the 1 mile walk
You can participate in the 5 mile walk
You can be a virtual walker
You can sponsor a walker who is registered with us

The registration is free if you are under 18 years old. for those over the age of 18 there is a $25.00 registration fee. The website is www.mypetwalk.org
Look under Get Involved and click on Team Search, we are registered under Blistered Whiskers Inc. You add your name and email address and set a goal for yourself. There are flyers you can print off the site or you can get some at the shelter. The website is fun because it shows how much each rescue group has raised to date for their cause…!!!

To look at pictures from last years event click here:

http://www.petsmartcharities.org/petwalk/photogallery.php

You can walk with your dog also…!!!
This will be a really fun day…!!! This is the largest Animal related event in Arizona…!!! Last year there were 8,000 walkers and 10,000 pets there with a total raised of $350,000 for homeless pets…!!!

Then all of a sudden it was the week before our closing date. Neither lender was prepared to send docs to title early. What’s the problem….none was the reply.

The Monday before the intended Friday close, neither lender had sent docs out. What’s the problem…..none the reply. So why no docs? Just slow….we are in line! 

Tuesday….no docs.  What’s the problem…..WELLLLLLL, the underwriter has been trying for 2 weeks to get a copy of the buyer’s bank statement and hasn’t been able to get it.  OH?  Did they ask the buyer for a copy?  WELLLLLLL, no.  They were going directly to the bank for it.  HMMMM, ever think of asking the buyer to submit it?  OH.  WELLLLLL that might work!  DUH!  Okay, here is the document….let’s get it moving! 

Second property…..What’s the problem….WELLLLLLLLL, the underwriter has decided to REJECT the FHA appraisal.  We have to order a new appraisal. WHAT????  You have got to be kidding me.  This is 3 days before we are supposed to close.  Don’t worry, we’ll get it done!  YEAH RIGHT!

By the grace of God, docs went out on both properties and buyer’s signed on Friday December 18 BUT neither lender funded until the following week.  I had disappointed clients who were each trying to get into their new home before the Christmas holiday.

Property #1, the bank owned property, didn’t close until Tuesday December 22.  I met my clients at the house in the afternoon to present them the keys and they told me the movers where coming on Christmas Eve!

Property #2 was funded on Monday and the buyers moved in on Wednesday December 23. 

I’m thankful each closed, but it was heart wrenching to the end and it didn’t need to be!  If we had 2 closing dates, one for the lender and one for the buyer/title there would be fewer moments of disappointment and dispair.  Buyers would not have expected to get the keys before Christmas and then when I was able to get the key to them early, they would have been excited!

Frustrated, my buyers ask about short sales. As they review properties listed on MLS, they find a few that appeal to them. I explain the process involved in a short sale purchase along with the pros and cons. They insist on taking a look at a couple of properties.

The first few are reject immediately. We then drive up to a property I know they will love. It’s an amazing tri-level in a great neighborhood with super neighbors (ME). I explain that this is a short sale, but they are insistent on seeing it….besides the listing agent put in the remarks that a response would be forth coming in just 2-3 weeks after receipt of an offer.

Just as I thought….they love the house. It’s the one!  They want to submit an offer….we do.  The listing agent notifies me that they are going to submit my client’s offer to the bank.  The “LAWYERS” negotiating the short sale expect an answer quickly…….

2 weeks later, I call and inquire about the status of the short sale!  I’m told to be patient….these things take a while. 

2 weeks later, I call and inquire about the status of the short sale?  I’m told to be patient.  (Hmmmm, what happened to an answer in 2 weeks! )

Several weeks later, I call and inquire about the status of the short sale.  This time instead of receiving a call back, I’m sent an email.  I’m told that these things take a while and I will be notified if and when the bank accepts the offer!

I won’t bore you with the weekly details….because I did try to get feedback from the listing side on a weekly basis……

Fastforward now to November 25….two days before Thanksgiving.  I send the listing agent an email inquiring about the status of the short sale.  I receive notification back that they have receive an approval letter from BOTH lenders and my clients have to close by the 18th of December!  WHAT????

That’s 3 weeks to get inspections done, an appraisal completed, the underwriters to approval the loan, have the bank approve the final settlement statement, sign documents, fund, and record!  Not to mention, there is a holiday in there somewhere! 

In today’s market, getting a deal closed in 30 days or less is difficult to say the least. Most lenders are asking for 45 days to close.   Negotiators approving short sales need to be realistic when they set the COE for approved short sales.  After waiting months for them to make a decision, my clients are stumbling over themselves trying to get everything done in time to close as dictated.  Will we get it done…..heck yeah!

As we got acquainted, we started to talk about her family that she was visiting while here. She told me her brother lived in Peoria and that her mom & stepdad were down visiting. She went on to explain that her Mom & Stepdad came each winter and were considering buying a home near her brother. In fact, they had made a verbal offer on a “little yellow house”  just a day or two before.

We looked at homes around the Sun City area and eventually moved north into an area that merges Peoria and Sun City. All of a sudden she exclaimed….”I know this area! This is near where my brother lives and near my mom’s little yellow house!”

I asked her specifically where her brother lived and she pointed to the west and said “over in that trailer park!”

I then asked her if that was where the little yellow house was and she confirmed that it was!

I sat there in stunned silence for a minute and then I said…”is the little yellow house a trailer too?”  (A strange buzzing began in my head)

“Yes”

“Is it a corner lot?”  (I sensed the stars beginning to shift)

“Yes”

“Your mom made an offer on it?”  (The cosmos was almost in alignment)

“Yes…….well sort of!”

“You aren’t going to believe this, but……………………..that’s my listing!”  (Wham!)

“No way!” she exclaimed!

I went on to tell her that it was indeed my listing and that I wasn’t aware of any offers having been made on the property.

She went on to explain….”well, my stepdad, talked to the owner and told her that they wanted to buy it. I guess the owner told them to call her agent, but he hadn’t gotten around to doing it yet!  I’ll give him your number when we’re done today!”  (heck yeah!)

About 30 minutes later……my cellphone ringsYou guessed it…..my client’s stepdad was on the line, ready to make an offer!

What a small world!

With thousands of realtors in the Phoenix metro area, what are the odds that I would be the listing agent for that property? 

The end of story……we wrote up an offer that my client accepted and the property is now in escrow! 

My client is back at the hotel deciding which of the wonderful homes we looked at will become her Arizona get-away,

and I bought a powerball ticket! 

The long awaited event will open the northwest valley from I-17 west to past 99th Avenue.   In the past  traveling from the northwest valley to Scottsdale, Anthem or other areas of metro involved driving along quite a number of surface streets in order to make your way to either 101 or I17.  Now, commuters will be able to drive along Happy Valley Road all the way from 115th Avenue to I-17. 

The street party is slated to be an exciting event. More than 65 area businesses are scheduled to particpate….New Venture Realty will definately be taking part in the festivities.   Come see me there and spin the New Venture wheel to win fun & exciting prizes donated by our affiliate partners such as Magnus Title, Action Termite, FlexMortgage, and many many others!

I have been working with Blistered Whiskers for several years now,  primarily helping to take care of the kittens looking for FOREVER homes at the Petsmart located at Happy Valley & Lake Pleasant Parkway.  

I would like to encourage all my friends, family members, clients, and blog followers to remember our furry friends during these difficult times.  Unfortunately as many of us struggle with our finances, our 4 legged companions suffer as well.  I can’t tell you the number of stories I’ve heard about cats and dogs being abandoned when a family vacates their home because of foreclosure or other circumstances. 

I would like to encourage everyone who can to donate to the shelter or animal clinic of their choice. 

During the months of November & December 2009, I will donate $100 from each closing to the Blistered Whiskers Hardship Fund set up by Parkway Animal Clinic for the medical care of kittens at the shelter.  

Thanks for helping take care of the kittens!

My daughter is a high school cross country runner. I have got to say that I don’t understand her fascination with this sport. We live in Arizona, so she runs in 101 degree temperatures with many kids passing out from heat stroke & dehydration. Unless you are one of the first to cross the finish line, if you cross the finish line, you collapse in an “end zone” littered with puking exhausted sweaty bodies.

Before we moved to Arizona, we lived in Ohio where Cross Country is HUGE! Her junior high team had more than 80 7-8th grade girls and just as many boys. At one of the first meets, I stood in the midst of the crowd of cheering parents expecting to cheer her on, then go home. What happened next, gave me a new perspective on these athletes and the meaning of teamwork and endurance. First, remember that cross country is one of those sports that is made up of all kinds of kids. Some of the runners are naturally gifted. Others are made to participate because their parents “encourage” them to do so and others join the team because they don’t have to fear being cut from the team.

The gun sounded and the runners took off…..I have to say it reminded me of a stampede  and anyone not lucky enough to get off clean had the chance of being trampled. Anyone who says CC isn’t a contact sport has never been to a meet. Anyhow…..quickly the top runners separated from the rest of the group and ran the course. My daughter crossed the finish line somewhere in the middle of the pack and we were thrilled. As each runner finished, he or she would “recover,” then join the rest of the team on the sidelines to cheer the remaining runners.

Given the nature of CC, you can’t see where the runners are or how much further they have to run. Because I knew many of the kids on my daughter’s team, I knew that one of the boys of the team still hadn’t finished.  He was quite a bit slower than the other kids, but he was determined to finish.  He had some medical issues, including heart problems, but with his doctors and parents permission had gone out for the team.  As I stood there with other parents and fans, I heard a woman near me exclaim….”Wow, Jackson must have a huge team!”  Confused a turned to see what she was talking about since most of our runners had already crossed the finish line.  Out of the woods through which the course had run, came the most amazing sight30+ Jackson runners(boys and girls) running towards the finish line.  They were to the sides and behind that last Jackson runner…the final competitor to finish.  The kids…some of the best runners in the state, as a team, with no prodding or encouragement from the coaches or adults had banded together and gone out on the course to find their teammate, then they finished the race with him. It was the most amazing sight. This didn’t happen just once……..it happened at every single meet.  Those kids showed such maturity and support.

Since moving to Arizona, I’ve seen similar displays of support and encouragement at almost every meet my daughter participates in.

It’s a lesson that we could learn from and should implement in our own lives. I’m not saying we should give away our trade secrets or provide proprietory information to our “competition,” but I do think we need to offer encouragement & support to those on our team. 

I consider myself to be in the middle of the pack, much like my daughter was when she finished that first race, but like her I am willing to provide help & encouragement when I can and while learning from those who are in front of me on the course.