Minna Reid's Blog

At least a few times a week I get an inquiry from a would-be-homebuyer who has found a house in foreclosure on realtytrac or some other foreclosure site, and they want to purchase the house and want to know they can do it or request my help in doing so.

A HOUSE IN FORECLOSURE IS NOT NECESSARILY A HOUSE FOR SALE!

The truth is unless the house is listed for sale or you have personally approached the owner and they have agreed to sell to you - you can't buy a house simply because it is in foreclosure.

BUT WHY CANT I WORK WITH THE BANK TO BUY THE HOUSE?

Until the lender completes the foreclosure process, they do not own the property and therefore cannot sell it. It is not theirs to sell.

BUT IF ITS ALREADY FORECLOSED BUT NOT YET LISTED CAN…

May 14, 2013, Wallingford, Connecticut: While the year is not even halfway over yet, so far 2013 seems to be a fairly stagnant year of short sales in Wallingford as short sales hover at just under 6% of market share  - virtually unchanged from 2012. Of all residential sold inventory since 2008 (when the MLS required disclosure of potential short sales) sales of short sales as a share of the Wallingford market has continued to climb yearly:

Other recent Wallingford market reports also suggest no growth in sales or values, which certainly explains the continued pace of short sales in town as Wallingford homeowners continue to watch the values of their homes decline.

If I only had a dollar for every time I've heard this one...

Pricing right is the key to a quick home sale! If you overprice your Connecticut home for sale - waiting around won't fix that problem! Many home-sellers mistakenly believe that if they just hold out long enough someone will just fall in love with the home and pay whatever is asked. The truth is this rarely happens. 

The last two years of single family residential sales in Connecticut tell a very different story...

30,295 single family residences sold in CT in the last two years. You may notice that the majority (34%) sold in under 30 days. You may also notice that of those homes that sold within 30 days sold at almost 98% of their listed price! Every 30 day period thereafter leads…

As a would be homebuyer wanting to go see homes there are generally two initial questions you are likely to encounter when talking to real estate agents:

#1 - Are you working with a Realtor in your home search? The reason Realtors ask this is to find out whether you are already working with another real estate agent as agency laws prohibit us from assisting buyers who already have an agent. If you have a Realtor you are already working with - there is no need to seek assistance from other Realtors. Contrary to popular belief, calling the listing agent won't get you a better deal, but it will leave you without representation in the largest financial transaction of your life. Not a wise choice, but if you do decide to proceed without your own agent, by…

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), rates are headed to rise by the end of the year- to a predicted 4.4%. After a 4 year boom in refinances due to historically low rates in the 3%'s...the party may be over as rates start to increase by the end of the year. Economists seem agree with MBA's prediction of increasing rates, according to this Yahoo article.

Homebuyers-to-be still sitting on the fence watching the market should take note and consider taking action on their home purchase plans. While recent market reports for central CT towns do not yet suggest that values have increased significantly, rising interest rates could easily outweigh any savings from further drops in prices in many CT towns.

READY TO GET STARTED ON YOUR…

Many CT home sellers, especially those facing a short sale have questions as to how to properly price their home. Most short sellers have a tendency to believe that what their home sells for will impact whether the lender will be less likely to approve their short sale. The common held myth is that the larger the loss - the less likely the lender is to approve the short sale, which is just not the case. 

The truth is the most important number that will sway the lenders decision in a short sale is MARKET VALUE of the property - Market value is the price at which a particular property in its current condition will sell for in todays market. Once a lender is presented with a request for a short sale - the lender will order a valuation of the…

There is no shortage of real estate recovery headlines all over the internet and the news - making some buyers wonder if they missed their opportunity to buy a home at rock bottom prices. While in fact some areas of the country are experiencing a turn towards a sellers market - this is certainly not the case here in Connecticut. While recent CT market reports do in fact show an increase in sales activity since 2011, these same reports also show sold prices still on a downward trend year over year. 

The first 4 months of sales here in CT reflect a similar trend. Sales have in fact increased a bit in the last two years, although nowhere near the activity levels seen in the early 2000's:

However - sold prices have not improved and in fact are…

Meriden, CT Market Report - April 2013: The state of the Meriden real estate market today and a look back at the ten year trend. Today in Meriden we have 511 properties on the market listed at an average price of $170,035. So far this year 147 properties have sold at an average sales price average of $128,499 - The lowest average sales price in over 10 years. While sales prices in Meriden have fallen back down to 2003 levels in 2012 and seem to be continuing to fall so far in 2013, there is at least some refreshing news for Meriden homeowners when looking at the ten year trend in real estate sales:

While sales peaked at 1154 residential sales in 2005 and 6 years of declines have followed (except for a slight jump in 2009), 2012 saw a 20%…

April 29 2013, Southington, Connecticut: While the year is not even halfway over yet, so far 2013 seems to be a year of improvement in Southington. Of all residential sold inventory since 2008 (when the MLS required disclosure of potential short sales) sales of short sales as a share of the market peaked in 2011 and has been slowly climbing down since:

The reason for this is unclear as other market reports suggest values in Southington are still on a downward trend. Perhaps news of "recovery" and improving conditions have left many Southington homewoners hesitant to list their home as a short sale, and instead continue to wait for their home's value to improve and get them out of their negative equity. The wait may be a long one.

Credit events such as short sales, foreclosures, bankruptcies and deed-in-lieus present special challenges to former homeowners wanting to get back into homeownership after a home loss. While these former homeowners are generally in a better position financially after relieving themselves of an overleveraged home or excessive debt - there are usually some obstacles in the way of being able to purchase a home again, such as:

Credit score: All these events have some impact on the credit score. It will take some time of establishing good credit again to get yoru FICO scores back up to where you will considered for a new loan.

Down payment: Although there are a few programs that will loan at 100% of value, most lenders will want at least 3.5% of the…