Ann Arbor Real Estate Talk

How long do short sales take in Ann Arbor is a question I get asked quite a bit.

The answer is it depends.

Depends on the bank…

Depends if there is two loans…

Depends if the agent knows what the heck they are doing…

One of the first things we do on the Missy Caulk Team is collect EVERYTHING the bank(s) are going to require UP FRONT.

It is called the “Short Sale Package” and includes, last 2 pay stubs, hardship letter, last 2 years of tax returns, authorization forms and financial work sheet.

Once we have collected this from the sellers, we label each page with the sellers last name, the loan(s) numbers and the last 4 digits of the sellers Social Security numbers. This goes on every single page, because banks are known for loosing them.

Then we wait for the offer to come in. Once it does, we send it off to the bank with the whole Short Sale Package.

After this it is out of our control.

But, we were prepared and ready to go to do our part in moving the Short Sale Process along.

If you are upside down on your mortgage don’t bury your head in the sand, call us today. 734-926-9797

Ann Arbor Area Home Sellers is your home getting exposed?

www.SearchAnnArborHouses.com

The chart below shows the medium price of homes in Ann Arbor continues to drop. With a peak in October the prices continue to come down.

I am asked all the time when will we hit the bottom?  I wish I knew. In 2009 we sold the same amount of homes in the Ann Arbor Area, according to the Board of Realtors data. But….the prices were much lower.

Pricing your home to sell is the way to get it SOLD. Pricing above the market, or saying, “the buyers can always make an offer,” does not work. Buyer are looking for the best value.

Search homes and condo’s for Sale in Ann Arbor Area. There are some great opportunities for buyers right now.

Ann Arbor Sellers, Fannie Mae is offering a new Deed for Lease Program to homeowners in trouble with their mortgages.  If you live in Ann Arbor Area and are having difficulty making your mortgage payment and are about to go into foreclosure Fannie Mae announced a new D4L program. (deed for lease)

• As a homeowner you must have tried to modify the loan and been denied
• You give the house back to bank via deed- in- lieu of foreclosure
• You will be allowed to rent back your home for 12 months
• You must qualify to pay rent at the fair market value
• You must not use more than 31% of your gross monthly income to rent back

I have read the announcement and there is nothing on here how it will effect your credit score.  In my opinion it still might be more beneficial to try to sell your home in a short sale. Fannie Mae has announced this new program to help with homes that are abandoned or vacant in neighborhoods.

More information is available on the Fannie Mae web-site with forms and instructions if you would like to pursue this Deed for Lease as an option.

When you are selling your Ann Arbor Area home, it is important to get the clutter out. Everything from kids toys to too many nic-naks.

When you get to your new homes, the kids get to enjoy the toys all over again.

Back in January, I wrote a post on getting my Certification as a Short Sale Specialist.

Last night we had a situation come up which confirmed that was the smart thing to do. We have a Buyer Client who was interested in making an offer on a Short Sale listed in the MLS. So we called the Listing Agent up and asked the following questions to see how far along in the process it was. A short sale is where the bank agrees to allow the seller of the home to sell for less money than what the bank owes.

Here is what you need to know before moving forward in purchasing a short sale:

• Have you spoken to your lender or has your Realtor?
• Have you missed any payments?  How many?
• Have you ordered the “Short Sale” package?
• Have the sellers submitted the hardship letter?
• Have the sellers tried to get a loan modification?

Suffice it to say the listing agents we spoke to last night, had no idea what we were talking about.  What package? What letter?

We told our buyer to move on.

Typically a Short Sale takes a minimum of 12 weeks.

I said minimum.

It can take much, much longer.

Sellers in Ann Arbor ask your Realtor BEFORE you list if they understand the Short Sale Process and know the right procedures on Selling Short Sales. If not your home will sit, sit, sit.

In this case a Realtor with experience in Short Sales and banks is critical.