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Plot of Land, Romania, Land … price on request

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For sell parcels of land in construction area

Have you ever played the game telephone? You say something to the person directly next to you, they whisper the “same message” in the next person’s ears and so it goes around the circle. By the time the last person receives the message, it’s usually all garbled and funky. Sometimes the message ends up not making any sense.

Perception is in the ears of the listener.

When you are working with a real estate buyer or seller, make sure all parties are present and accounted for when the most important decisions are being made. Letting one person relay information to the other party about big decisions - price negotiations, home inspection repair issues and last-minute closing mishaps - is setting the scene for a game of telephone.

You don’t know what will end up being the final words.

Sometimes, communicating with only one person can’t be avoided. You might have a spouse who is overseas or an in-law who just can’t travel because of health reasons.

Understood.

Here is where the power of the Internet kicks in. If you can’t meet both parties in person during the listing or home finding process, get confirmation online from the person who is M.I.A.

Don’t trust that your game of telephone is going to be successful.

As a Realtor, are you having a hard time broaching the topic with your clients? Think about the grief and misunderstandings that you’ll save your clients by establishing a clear line of communication with both parties.

You don’t want to get vetoed by the missing party after all signs were a “go.” Even presidential elections have absentee ballots.

Posted by Rebecca D. Levinson

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Perception is in the ears of the listener

The difference between a mediocre transaction and a great one is the care that goes into the process. You can be a home buyer and make an offer to purchase, then end up regretting your decision.

You can be a homeowner and accept an offer, only to feel remorse at the day of closing. It’s a business transaction and your mind confirms this … but your heart just won’t cooperate. If it’s such a wise financial move, then why doesn’t your gut feel better about it?

Has real estate lost that loving feeling?

“It used to be that home buyers fell in love with a house. Now it’s a commodity, an investment,” Pat Von Mosch, Connect2Agent member and real estate agent in Anoka Minnesota, shared with me. ”People are more upwardly mobile now. Real estate has become a fax/email deal. Sometimes I never even meet the other real estate agent.”

How very different it is from the coffee table deals of yesterday. It used to be typical for all parties to meet at some point, and almost all offers to the seller were presented from the listing in person to a homeowner. Now a homeowner receives an offer by cell phone, fax, email or text.

In a house purchase, our habits of brevity online won’t always cut it. Here’s how to make a change.

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The ability to communicate in a high-touch world should sharpen our senses of communication and free our minds a little more. We can be enabled through words, song and video to make our point at the touch of a “Ctrl” command and a tap of the “Enter” key. As consumers, we are becoming good at expressing ourselves online … but sometimes we fall short when it comes to real estate.

Our habits of brevity and acronyms can leave a large margin of error.

We need to flex our old-school speech skills and become a bit more expansive when we’re talking real estate.

• If you see a listing you like online, do email it to your real estate agent. Make sure to include an explanation as to why it intrigues you.
• When your real estate agent asks what you think your house is worth, do speak up. Don’t just name a price. Explain where you got it from - remodeling in the kitchen, upgrades in the bathroom, your cul-de-sac location, a neighbor’s house down the street, a website online with a house value option, etc.
• Don’t skim the terms of the Purchase Agreement. Do read it word for word before you sign it. Do ask questions if you don’t understand. Don’t make an assumption that something is in there. It might not be.

Has real estate lost that loving feeling? Only if you let it. A real estate transaction’s success rests on communication.

Speak up and get involved.

Posted by Rebecca D. Levinson

Continued here:
Has real estate lost that loving feeling?

The choices can be overwhelming in a real estate market saturated with inventory. REO properties and short sales - added to new construction and regular resale properties - make an interesting potluck for real estate buyers. If you are diligent, there are many great real estate buys across the United States today.

Most importantly, if you are realistic, you can hit a bullseye in real estate.

I spoke with Connect2Agent member and real estate agent in Scottsdale Arizona, Jan Green, about the multiple housing options buyers have to choose from. Similar to a multiple choice test, there is usually one right answer. Unlike that popular testing method, the right answer changes for each real estate buyer.

While a buyer’s final answer results in a big financial commitment, the reasons for the commitment are personal.

In the Phoenix area, variety is the spice of the real estate market. Buyers are able to choose from a mix of resale, REO (real estate owned) and short sale properties. The majority of the houses on the market right now are ones that are nearing or already in foreclosure.

Four hundred foreclosure properties typically come on the market in a day in Phoenix. Green says it is her job to pick the best ones for her clients - not an easy task. She shared with me that some foreclosures have pools that have not been maintained. These become cesspools for mosquitoes and their larvae.

Other foreclosure properties have been left in varying stages of disrepair, from unsightly yards and dirty interiors to more pressing problems, like water damage due to a burst pipe that’s been leaking and left neglected. Vandalism can also be a common occurrence for REO properties. Green has seen houses where built-in speakers have been ripped out of the walls and the interiors have been gutted of valuables and spray painted.

Green tours many REOs in order to find the ones left unscathed by neglect and abuse. The ones that remain are true diamonds in the rough.

Next are the short sales. These houses are still with the original owner, but are nearing foreclosure. Because the sellers of these houses have fallen behind in their payments and owe more than what they can list the house for, the banks have to agree to the final sales price negotiated between the owner and a real estate buyer.

The short sale process is not for the faint of heart. It can be long and problematic. Green does not recommend short sales to many real estate buyers for this reason. They take longer to close and the deal can go from desk to desk in the loss mitigation department. It is difficult to keep the communication efficient and consistent. The time from contract to closing can be months and in between that time, the deal can fall apart.

Finally, you have the resale and new construction houses. They may not be the cheapest houses for sale in the Phoenix real estate market, but some are aggressively priced to keep up with the abundance of REO properties and short sales. Sellers and builders alike might offer incentives, like free upgrades and closing cost assistance, to tempt home buyers.

The resale and new construction properties are the best-maintained properties in the market today.

Each type of housing has its own flavor. At the end of the day, how do you know where to find the bullseye? I asked Green - who has recently assisted four first-time home buyers in a row - this question. One of the first-time home buyers purchased new construction and the other three purchased REO properties. She broke it down to three questions home buyers need to ask themselves:

• What am I looking for?
• What location do I want to be in?
• What am I willing to sacrifice?

Answer these questions and share your hopes and dreams with your real estate agent. This is where the impartial party can step in and give you the guidance you need. Then step back, adjust your stance, aim and throw … you can hit the bullseye in real estate.

Posted by Rebecca D. Levinson

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How to hit the bullseye in real estate

Is a short sale a good option for a home seller looking to escape foreclosure? The answer is an undeniable yes. Is it a good move for a real estate buyer? The answer to this question depends on who you are talking to and what real estate market you are in.

Some real estate agents work the short sale market as their niche. They learn the ins and out of working with the banks and getting approval from them. The process is similar with every transaction, but each bank has different people behind desks making decisions. Even more complicated is that each bank has different departments–legal and loss mitigation–working on the short sale process and seemingly not working in conjuction with each other.

As a homeowner, you need a real estate agent who specializes in short sales to make sure you are as timely and effective as possible with the banks. As a real estate buyer, you need an agent who specializes in short sales to guide you to the better deals and to be your support staff through the excruciatingly long process of acceptance.

Tanya Endicott, a Connect2Agent member and real estate agent in North Dallas, is a true-blue short sales guru. She’s been selling real estate in North Dallas for the past eight years and has specialized in REOs and short sales. Short sales are a good situation for homeowners who are upside down on their house, says Endicott. 

In this situation, the banks are more inclined to work with a homeowner. Homeowners need to work with their real estate agent and get all the proper documentation to the bank. The process is the same for all banks, Endicott informed me. 

It is really a matter of being steadfast in getting the right paperwork to the bank and having a real estate agent make sure the communication happens to both the loss mitigation and the legal departments at the bank. Although these two departments are in the same bank, they often don’t talk to each other. 

Even the most extreme situations can work out successfully. Endicott shared a story about a client who had three strikes against her and still was able to come out OK: Her client’s daughter had expensive back surgery. Then the client herself had costly back surgery. The final strike was the tenants in her rental properties stopped paying rent.

Endicott was able to renegotiate the mortgage terms on one of the houses, and it’s currently listed. Another of the houses closed in escrow on July 28. 

For buyers, short sale transactions can be a roller coaster ride. They need to have patience because the process is so long. Even when the homeowner and the buyer settle on a sales price, the bank still has to approve it.

Endicott takes pride in being able to close 8 out of 10 short sale transactions. She informed me this is a high closing ratio for the marketplace. Many real estate agents, she estimates, may have 1 in 10 short sale transactions go through.

Can you be a homeowner again after you have closed your house on a short sale? The dream of homeownership is not lost for these homeowners. Endicott informed me it is “Free for people to do a short sale and in most instances, it doesn’t impact your credit.” If you go past 30 days paying on your mortgage, it will still go on your credit, but you can work on credit repair after your short sale transaction.

How do you find a real estate agent who specializes in short sales properties? This seems to be the million-dollar question. Endicott recommended a seller’s best avenue might be to Google “short sales” and take some time to read up on what kind of advice a real estate agent might give you. 

As always, when it’s time for you to choose a real estate agent to work with, make sure you ask questions like:

• How long have you been working on short sales?
• How many short sales have you closed in the last six months?
• What are the pros and cons of buying/selling a house on a short sale?

The success of a short sale transaction can begin and end with your real estate agent’s expertise.

Posted by Rebecca D. Levinson

View original post here:

Is a short sale a good option for a home seller looking to escape foreclosure? The answer is an undeniable yes. Is it a good move for a real estate buyer? The answer to this question depends on who you are talking to and what real estate market you are in.

Some real estate agents work the short sale market as their niche. They learn the ins and out of working with the banks and getting approval from them. The process is similar with every transaction, but each bank has different people behind desks making decisions. Even more complicated is that each bank has different departments–legal and loss mitigation–working on the short sale process and seemingly not working in conjunction with each other.

As a homeowner, you need a real estate agent who specializes in short sales to make sure you are as timely and effective as possible with the banks. As a real estate buyer, you need an agent who specializes in short sales to guide you to the better deals and to be your support staff through the excruciatingly long process of acceptance.

Tanya Endicott, a Connect2Agent member and real estate agent in North Dallas, is a true-blue short sales guru. She’s been selling real estate in North Dallas for the past eight years and has specialized in REOs and short sales. Short sales are a good situation for homeowners who are upside down on their house, says Endicott.

In this situation, the banks are more inclined to work with a homeowner. Homeowners need to work with their real estate agent and get all the proper documentation to the bank. The process is the same for all banks, Endicott informed me.

It’s a matter of being steadfast in getting the right paperwork to the bank and having a real estate agent make sure the communication happens to both the loss mitigation and the legal departments at the bank. Although these two departments are in the same bank, they often don’t talk to each other.

Even the most extreme situations can work out successfully. Endicott shared a story about a client who had three strikes against her and still was able to come out OK: Her client’s daughter had expensive back surgery. Then the client herself had costly back surgery. The final strike was the tenants in her rental properties stopped paying rent. Endicott was able to renegotiate the mortgage terms on one of the houses. It’s currently listed.

Another of the houses closed in escrow on July 28.

For buyers, short sale transactions can be a roller coaster ride. They need to have patience because the process is so long. Even when the homeowner and the buyer settle on a sales price, the bank still has to approve it.

Endicott takes pride in being able to close 8 out of 10 short sale transactions. She informed me this is a high closing ratio for the marketplace. Many real estate agents, she estimates, may have 1 in 10 short sale transactions go through.

Can you be a homeowner again after you have closed your house on a short sale? The dream of homeownership is not lost for these homeowners. Endicott informed me it is “Free for people to do a short sale and in most instances, it doesn’t impact your credit.” If you go past 30 days paying on your mortgage, it will still go on your credit, but you can work on credit repair after your short sale transaction.

How do you find a real estate agent who specializes in short sales properties? This seems to be the million-dollar question. Endicott recommended a seller’s best avenue might be to Google “short sales” and take some time to read up on what kind of advice a real estate agent might give you.

When it’s time for you to choose a real estate agent to work with, make sure you ask questions like:

• How long have you been working on short sales?
• How many short sales have you closed in the last six months?
• What are the pros and cons of buying/selling a house on a short sale?

The success of a short sale transaction can begin and end with your real estate agent’s expertise.

Posted by Rebecca D. Levinson

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CAR HIRE & TRANSFERS

<span class=”field_caption”>Full Description</span>:&nbsp;Car hire & Transfers with mini vans or estates vehicles.<br />
Private trips with driver & English speaking guide, from 50€ per day. All destinations.<br />
Rent a mini van or limousine from 15€ per day.<br />

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CAR HIRE & TRANSFERS

<span class=”field_caption”>Full Description</span>:&nbsp;Car hire & Transfers with mini vans or estates vehicles.<br />
Private trips with driver & English speaking guide, from 50€ per day. All destinations.<br />
Rent a mini van or limousine from 15€ per day.<br />

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CAR HIRE & TRANSFERS

What happens after a seller signs a listing agreement with a real estate agent? Too often, a homeowner’s participation in the sale of their home just fades to black after the ink dries on the listing agreement. Homeowners will commiserate online, talk to their friends and expound with their family about their real estate listing.