For homeowners across the United States who need to sell their homes the question arises, should I sell or rent? There is no doubt about it, many sellers are in a tough position and they need to sell their real estate. Home prices in most areas are far from their peak prices and selling at a loss, or a significant step down from what could have been a large profit, is discouraging to say the least.

To avoid losing money many homeowners are leaning toward renting their homes when they stay on the market for a given time period. The rental option is chosen as an alternative to dropping the price.

The flip side of keeping a home and renting it is the costs involved. Are you prepared to fix problems that arise with the property? How long are you prepared to hold on to the property? There is no guarantee that home prices will increase any time soon, and you may end up holding on to the property for much longer than expected.

There are many things to think about when deciding whether to sell or rent a piece of real estate. Click here to read a recent article on the subject from Smart Money Magazine.

Relocating can be much easier with the right Realtor

Moving to a new home can be quite an ordeal, whether you are moving within the same area or across the country. To make a complicated and often stressful situation easier choosing a qualified and experienced real estate broker can make all the difference.
A qualified Realtor can:

• Help you locate the best neighborhood to suit you and your family’s needs. He will know the area and will match it with your considerations and needs.
• Help you settle in faster by matching your interests and hobbies with the appropriate groups. He will also point you toward the right doctors, schools and professional areas that will set you out on the right foot.
• Will have the answers to your questions. He will have survived relocation many times with many people and have the answers you are looking for.

Keep in mind that choosing a Realtor with a solid reputation, a track record behind him and the knowledge you need to not only succeed in your real estate transaction but adjust to your new surroundings will make your entire move run much more smoothly. Do your homework and the real estate broker you choose will do the homework on your new environment.

ARIZONA RESIDENTIAL SHORT SALE TIPS

1.  Understand your loan terms, your liability to the lender, tax implications and the market for your home.  A borrower must understand whether its loan falls under Arizona’s anti-deficiency laws, the tax consequences of a potential short sale, and the home’s current value.

2.  Know your leverage, if any, and what your lender wants to accomplish in the short sale.  Some lenders are better suited than others to conduct and approve short sales, while some lenders may prefer a foreclosure given insurance or guarantees on the loan.  If your loan falls under Arizona’s anti-deficiency protections, you’ll have more leverage when dealing with your lender.

3.  Hire a real estate agent or other real estate professional with experience handling short sale paperwork, submittals, negotiations and review of short sale terms and conditions.  Most borrowers simply don’t have the time, experience or patience to handle a short sale transaction from A to Z.

4.  Understand the typical requirements for a short sale and be sure to get your specific lender’s complete list of requirements before starting the short sale process.  Most lenders require a borrower to demonstrate a hardship and to disclose its current financial condition, along with supporting documentation.  If you could be liable to a lender after a short sale, you may want to re-consider whether submitting personal financial information to your lender is a good idea.

5.  Know what you want in a short sale approval letter or short sale agreement and be sure the key terms are in writing.  If you are seeking a written release of liability following the short sale (highly recommended, but often times not given), be sure your documents don’t reserve the lender’s rights to a deficiency or state that you are responsible for a deficiency.

6.  Be patient and don’t give up.  Lenders can and often times do change their initial position – an initial denial or demand for a large borrower monetary contribution may not be the lender’s last offer.  Short sales are negotiations, so don’t be afraid to negotiate.

7.  Stay current with Federal and other short sale programs or lender incentives.  Commencing on April, 5 2010, the Federal Government’s Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program will implement changes to short sale and deed in lieu workouts for participating lenders and loans.  Among the many requirements of the program, a lender will not be able to seek a deficiency following a qualifying short sale or deed in lieu.

Marc McCain,

McCain & Bursh, Attorneys At Law, PC,

www.marcmccain.com     www.mccainbursh.com

(602) 604-2138  mmccain@mblawaz.com

Waiting for the bottom in real estate is similar to grabbing a Yo-Yo at the bottom, you are usually a little early or a little late

There are many people out there waiting for the bottom to hit in many facets of the economy, including real estate.  Perhaps there will be a big announcement one morning across newspaper headlines and across the internet “THE BOTTOM IS HERE: NOW IS THE EXACT MOMENT TO BUY”.  Of course by the time the announcement comes the bottom will have hit and the exact time to buy real estate will have come and gone.

A great analogy to the bottom of the real estate market is a yoyo.  Take a yoyo in your hand and use it.  Can a person grab the yoyo at the exact moment it hits bottom every time?  Chances are a person will grab it just before it hits bottom or just after, rarely at the exact bottom.   Real estate is the same game, if it is indeed a game.  If people knew, absolutely knew, the exact time to buy stocks, real estate, or any other investment then no one would ever have a financial worry.

For people who believe in investing in real estate now is a great time to buy.  Interest rates won’t be low forever, real estate has either already hit the bottom, is about to or is already on its way up, we’ll know for certain sometime in the future.  If you want to buy at the bottom, buy now or wait until it’s too late, when you can look back and say, “If only I had bought then.”

Real Estate data indicates that the overall housing market is slowly improving

Price declines are getting smaller, sales volume is getting larger and the overall real estate market appears to be mending.  October sales were up for pre-existing home sales, 23.5% up compared with October of 2008.  Homes sales for October were predicted to be 5.70 million, but the sales volume turned out to be 6.1 million.

Encouraging words are being spoken about real estate by NAR’s chief economist who stated that, “Existing home sales have already bottomed. Home prices are almost there. We are seeing less of a decline in house values.”

Approximately one third of home sales in October were made by first time home buyers taking advantage of the first time home buyer tax credit.  The median home price fell 7.1%, still affected by distressed properties which accounted for 30% of October’s home sales .

In addition, inventory of homes for sale has dropped slightly, indicating that the housing market is indeed recovering slowly.  Tax incentives, low mortgage rates and decreasing home values continue to make their mark, helping real estate sales to increase.  The housing market’s recovery will hopefully seep into the minds of consumers, giving a bit of peace and spurring on recovery in other sectors.

Click here for a Yahoo Real Estate article about real estate sales.

Real estate appears to be stabilizing across the Country

A recent report shows improvement in real estate across the country.  The well known S&P/Case-Schiller index shows that the 10 city index and the 20 city index a marked improvement in real estate in the majority of cities that it tracks.  What the reports displays are small improvements or minimal devaluation in home values.  Home values are up anywhere from .1% to 3.4% in ten cities. In other areas real estate values have remained flat and in harder hit areas home values are decreasing at significantly lower rates.

While the news is certainly not staggering it is encouraging because it indicates that real estate markets across the Country are leveling out.  Home values are falling less sharply and people are being drawn back into the real estate market.  It is no surprise what is stimulating the market.  Low home values, low interest rates and the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit have combined to create an ideal buyer’s market.

For more information on the latest info click here for a report from Yahoo real estate.

A program is in the works to promote incentives for short sales

Incentives are in the works for promoting short sales in order to avoid more foreclosures than are seen as necessary.  The plan is meant to prod lenders into allowing more short sales.  Currently short sales are frequently avoided by lenders because the offers that come in are seen as too far below the last appraised value of the property, even though the foreclosed upon sales price in the end may be even lower.

The incentives that are being mulled over are expected to pass soon.  The plan is to give the lender $1,000 for allowing a short sale to occur and the buyer a $1,500 credit at closing.  The plan is expected to be passed by the treasury as a way to keep properties selling.

Short sales are seen as a way to help the home owner avoid a harsher hit to his credit as well as to get the house off of a lenders books before it even gets there officially.  The new incentives are seen as a way to avoid the foreclosure rate increasing more than expected.

For more information about the short sale incentive click here to read an article from Realty Times.

Making green improvements to your home can be good for the environment and your wallet

Going green can not only improve the environment but can also help the wallet.  If renovations are in store for your home consider making them energy efficient.  There are tax credits for 30% of energy efficient home improvements for amounts of up to $1,500 for improvements to existing homes.  Acceptable projects include:

•    Windows and Doors
•    Insulation
•    Roofs (Metal and Asphalt)
•    HVAC
•    Water Heaters (non-solar)
•    Biomass Stoves

There are also tax credits available for 30% of the project cost, no limit, for existing homes and new construction.  These projects include:
•    Geothermal Heat Pumps
•    Solar Panels
•    Solar Water Heaters
•    Small Wind Energy Systems
•    Fuel Cells

Reducing the carbon footprint for your home has never been more affordable or had such incentive.  Whether you want to change your windows or alter your home’s energy source, making changes to make a difference in your environment can help save you money.

For information on energy efficient tax credits click here.

Real Estate has a lot of conflicting reports these days but overall appears to be on the upswing

Gloom and doom reared its ugly head as real estate sales reports declared a 2.7% drop  in August, however, if you read between the lines the data isn’t as disappointing as one would think.  The two biggest highlights of real estate sales in August are:

• August sales are up compared with last year, 3.4% compared with August 2008.

• August 2009 had the second highest sales figures of 2009

Hand in hand with the negative news is more positive news, mortgage rates dropped again last week leaving 30 year rates hovering at 5.04%.  There is still time to take advantage of the first time home buyer tax credit and lobbyists are hard at work trying to get the tax credit extended, as well as amended to include all home buyers.

The reality of realty is that while the recession may be over or nearing its end, recovery does not happen overnight.  Real estate sales are improving with dips in data here and there.

Click here for more information on August real estate sales and a look at an article recently posted in the New York Times.

According to reports June was the 5th month in a row where pending real estate sales were on the rise, great news for the national real estate market.  While there are still many areas where sales are faltering the majority of the country is seeing home values stabilizing or dropping at greatly decreased levels while at the same time the volume of sales is picking up.

A recent Associated Press article pointed out that “the last time there were five consecutive monthly gains was July 2003.”  What is bringing about this positive change?

• Lower home values
• The first time home buyer tax credit
• Reduced mortgage rates

All of these benefits are seen as drawing people back into the real estate market.  People can find bargains as far as real estate goes and that is an attraction in any market.

For more information visit YahooRealEstate.com.