Approximately 25 percent of real estate practitioners say low appraisals have broken up deals, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

While foreclosed properties typically are not included in a comparable sales analysis, they account for about 40 percent of home sales -- more than 50 percent in some markets -- making it difficult for appraisers to value properties not in the foreclosure process.

Additionally, new industry rules that require mortgage lenders to order appraisals through in-house staff or appraisal management companies means more appraisers without knowledge of the local market are making valuations.

While Zillow.com says non-foreclosures are selling for upwards of 30 percent more than foreclosures, a study of 20 years of home sales in Massachusetts by Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies indicates that dwellings closer than 100 yards to a foreclosure lose about 1 percent in value.

Source: USA Today (01/04/10)

Hendersonville Lakefront & Luxury Real Estate, Realtor® Jenny Markham

Don't spend a PENNY 'til you call JENNY!  CONTACT JENNY CELL: 615-812-4174 (Fastest)   Phone: 615-859-7150 Ext. 599 Cell: 615-812-4174 Fax: 615-431-2514 Address: 505 Johnny Cash Parkway City: Hendersonville State: Tennessee 37075 Tennessee License 292251

Fewer Americans moved in 2009 than any other year this decade, the U.S. Census Bureau reported this month.

Population also grew less this year than any other year since the turn of the 21st Century. It reached 307 million on July 1, up less than 1 percent from a year earlier, the bureau says. About 850,000 people immigrated from other countries, down 15 percent compared to 2006.

The losers in this trend included Florida, which lost 31,000 people to other states, a first for the Sunshine State, which used to be No. 1 in attracting new residents. "The middle of the decade's huge surge to the Sun Belt stopped on a dime," says demographer William Frey of the Brookings Institution.

Demographers say real estate is one of the big reasons people are staying put. "People are trapped," says Yi Zhao, senior forecasting coordinator for the Census Bureau in the State of Washington. "They can't sell their house or they have a hard time getting credit for a new one."

Source: USA Today, Dennis Cauchon and Paul Overberg (12/23/2009)

Hendersonville Lakefront & Luxury Real Estate, Realtor® Jenny Markham

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A homeowner found himself in a bind last year after moving to Atlanta for a new job.

He couldn't sell his condo for what he owed on the mortgage. And he couldn't find a renter who would pay the $730 per month mortgage payment plus $150 per month association dues at his Donelson two-bedroom townhouse.

So, he sold the home as a short sale — the bank agreed to take less than what was owed as a way to avoid foreclosure. In this case, the homeowner’s bank took $89,000 for the home when it was sold to a new owner in November, about $8,000 less than what he bought it for just two years prior with no down payment.

About one of every 13 homes for sale in the Nashville area is listed as a short sale on the local real estate agents' multiple listing service.

The sheer volume of desperate homeowners, stuck in homes they can no longer afford because of rising unemployment and flat home values, has led some real estate agents to try "short sales" as a way to get homeowners out of properties without a foreclosure.

Some real estate brokers are responding by changing the way they do business — working exclusively with homeowners who owe more money on properties than the homes are worth.

The concept is that a "short sale" will be less damaging to someone's credit than a foreclosure. Also, the bank might save money compared with what a foreclosure would cost in legal fees, maintenance and resale costs. And the eventual buyer might walk away with a good deal at a good price.

But some short sale practices are controversial in an industry already battered by rising numbers of foreclosed or distressed properties, and a recent history of questionable mortgage practices. So, regulators and real estate brokers say homeowners must be alert to a slew of potential risks and consequences of a short sale.

There is no industry standard for best practices. For instance, some brokers or investors get distressed homeowners to give them a legal interest in the property with little or no compensation, via such documents as an option to purchase or power of attorney.

The broker or investor then goes out and tries to find another buyer to flip the property to a new owner. In other words, the investor or broker buys it and then resells it quickly to someone else for a higher price, sometimes on the same day, pocketing the spread. That's all well and good if another buyer is found. If not, the flipper can just walk away and the home is foreclosed.

Not everyone likes the way some brokers handle such sales. "A situation like that is ripe for abuse,'' said Charles Sanger, a real estate attorney at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings.

He said options tie up the property so it can't be sold to other buyers. He would only give power of attorney to his most trusted adviser, not a real estate broker.

"That prevents you from selling it without that person's permission,'' he said. "I would not advise a homeowner to do that."

A spokesman for the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, said the agency frowns on brokers taking on power of attorney, but it's not against the rules. In some cases, a seller or buyer might be out of town and wants a broker to handle the closing sale.

Sometimes, lenders won't agree to a short sale without making the sellers sign documents promising to repay the bank's loss on the sale. That's true for foreclosures as well, where lenders can try to come back after homeowners for the bank's loss on a mortgage.

Hendersonville Lakefront & Luxury Real Estate, Realtor® Jenny Markham

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All I can say is, they must be pretty happy, because everyone I know LOVES the Nashville area and Hendersonville, Tennessee!

 

Daily Real Estate News   April 7, 2009 

10 Happiest States in the U.S.
Money can’t buy happiness, but it can make life a whole lot easier.

MainStreet.com’s Happiness Index examined household income, debt, employment, and foreclosures to choose the states that are surviving the current economic crisis with the most panache.

The analysis discovered that despite disastrous conditions in parts of Michigan and Ohio, overall, the Midwest is navigating the financial meltdown with the highest average salaries, lowest unemployment, and fewest foreclosures. In fact, Nebraska, in the center of the corn belt, scores highest on MainStreet’s Happiness Index.

Here are the rest of the top-10 happiest states:

1. Nebraska
2. Iowa
3. Kansas
4. Hawaii
5. Louisiana
6. Oklahoma
7. Wyoming
8. South Dakota
9. West Virginia
10. Wisconsin

 

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CONTACT JENNY MARKHAM

CELL:

615-812-4174 (Fastest)

 

Office:	615-826-4040 Ext. 159
Fax:	615-822-2027
Address:	1517 Hunt Club Blvd.
City:	Gallatin - Hendersonville
State:	Tennessee 37066

  

 

Blue Ridge, Hendersonville  -  REDUCED!!  Best of all worlds - A NEW HOME IN BLUE RIDGE!!  We invite everyone to visit our open house at 112 BLUE RIDGE TRACE on April 5 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM.  Near Bluegrass Yacht & Country Club & Old Hickory Lake in Beautiful Hendersonville Tennessee!   Remember ... Don't spend a PENNY 'til you call JENNY!  615-812-4174!

Property information

 Feddie Mac reports a drop in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 4.98 PERCENT during the week ended March 19 from 5.03 percent the prior year, marking the lowest rate since 4.96 percent in mid-January. Experts say rates could fall further in response to the Federal Reserve’s announcement that it will add $1.2 trillion to the economy to alleviate the credit crisis.
[SOURCES: Freddie Mac; Information, Inc.]
 

Hendersonville Luxury & Lakefront Realtor®

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Contact Jenny Markham

Cell 615-812-4174 (fastest)

Bob Parks Realty, LLC Office 615-826-4040

…at least according to the Washington Post and the Mortgage Bankers Association. Although there have been, and will continue to be, variations from week to week, experts predict rates will remain low for a while, but won’t go very much lower.

A boost in refinancing demand usually pushes interest rates up and puts a damper on refi activity, but experts say borrowers have no need to worry about rising costs as they rush to take advantage of the U.S. government’s new no-equity refinance program. Mortgage Bankers Association economic forecaster Orawin Velz explains that the Federal Reserve plans to purchase $500 billion in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage bonds to hold interest rates at about 5 percent by maintaining demand for the securities. Experts say borrowers should not wait in hopes that rates will fall as low as 4 percent, as this scenario is unlikely.

[SOURCES: Washington Post; Information, Inc.]

Hendersonville Luxury & Lakefront Realtor® Jenny Markham Bob Parks Realty, LLC

Don't spend a PENNY 'til you call JENNY!   CONTACT JENNY Cell 615-812-4174 (fastest) Office 615-826-4040

 

 

Business Week magazine reports real estate commissions in some parts of the country are going up as anxious sellers are willing to pay more to attract the attention of agents with buyers, and listing agents are become more particular about the homes they list.

The magazine said commissions of 8 percent are not unusual in hard-hit parts of the country – such as California – and that some home builders are paying agents as much as 10 percent to help them reduce inventory.

Business Week quoted an agent with EXIT Realty in Minneapolis as saying he charges sellers 6 percent commissions for his “typical menu of services,” 7 percent if the seller wants a guarantee that the home will be sold in 39 days, and for an 8 percent commission he’ll do free home staging and mount additional advertising.