Real Estate Prices Pick Up...6/15/2009 8:45:00 AM
This spring, real estate sales began picking up in many U.S. markets as buyers snatched up homes at depressed price levels. As a rule, sales involving foreclosures and short sales take longer than usual to close because of their inherent complexity. Still, they represent a significant portion of sales activity. How can you get in on a good short-sale deal? It takes a certain amount of fortitude and patience, plus a lot of luck.
What's a short sale?
Selling a home for less than the amount the current owner owes the mortgage company is called a short sale. Buying a home that is a short sale is different from buying a property that is actually owned by the bank, known as an REO, or real-estate owned property, or a property that is in foreclosure. All of this sounds arcane, but it's lingo that anyone shopping for a home needs to understand to navigate today's marketplace.
A short sale can be a good deal for a buyer, and it can help the seller avoid having a full foreclosure on his or her credit record. Although a short sale and a foreclosure negatively affect a seller's credit score, in a short sale the damage can be minimized if the homeowner can persuade the lender to report the debt to credit bureaus as "paid in full."
See Mortgage Debt Relief Act For Details and Forms
In a short sale, the proceeds from the transaction are less than the amount the seller needs to pay the mortgage debt and the costs of selling. For this deal to close, everyone who is owed money must agree to take less -- or possibly no money at all. That makes short sales complex transactions that move slowly.
A recently announced extension of the government's housing rescue plan could make it easier to buy short-sale properties. The new version of the Making Home Affordable plan will pay lenders up to $1,000 if they allow a short sale of a property when the owners don't qualify for loan modification because they owe too much money on the home. The program will spell out a short-sale process and provide standard documents, the U.S. Treasury says. The government's plan should encourage lenders holding the first mortgage to move the process along.
If you're house hunting and spot what seems like a great deal, chances are good that you are considering a "Short-Sale" or "Bank Owned" (REO) property up to 50% off.
Please let us know how we can help you in these challenging times.
Congratulations On Daring To Have A Dream And Finding The Way To Make it Come True!
This is the Best Real Estate Investing Market in the History of Our Country!
Needless to say, this buyer's market is not going to last forever. That's why you shouldn't pass up the opportunity to take advantage of the down real estate market and make serious profits by investing in distressed properties and properties in foreclosure.
Why Invest in Real Estate?
The real estate market moves in approximately 20-year cycles. You've heard of buy low and sell high. Guess what? The "buy low" time is right now! Right now we are in a Down Cycle. This is the perfect time to invest in real estate because there are currently thousands of under-valued properties -- ready to be purchased at up to 50% below market value!
The recent rise in distressed properties is an amazing opportunity for you to achieve the privileged life you've always dreamed about. The key is to take advantage of these conditions NOW before the market takes an inevitable up-turn.
You owe it to yourself and your family to reach your financial goals by investing in real estate while prices are at record lows.
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