Attention! New Service!

I just signed up for a SmartPhone Website with Quinn McNulty and I'm excited on all the new marketing I can do for my sellers.

I'll be linking all of the QR codes to the properties so Smart Buyers and get a hold of me to show them homes. Awesome stream of over 80,000 new ways to reach buyers.

Quinn can tell you all about it...at quinnmcnulty@yahoo.com--he'll explain this new marketing tool or visit http://pgp.mviso.com for an example.

I am sooooo excited!!

Several years ago, when our market was changing, most sellers were hoping that the values would change back. Now, our sellers are aware that this down draft is what it is.

When you list your house with a full time professional agent who participates in the Multiple Listing Service (MREDLLC.com), you get a lot of service for your money, might you be a buyer or a seller.

Today our MLS service allows the agent to list the property where buyers have connections to other agents. (No longer the big books to float through). The exposure is a more powerful tool in marketing than previous older mls systems. The buyer is alerted to the listing by email of homes that fits their criteria at the same time as their buyer's agent. There are opportunities for the listing agent to have 15 pictures, attach a video or virtual tour to show off the house. Pertinent information is included in the listing, ie the location, size, number of rooms, style of home and the personal property that comes with the price of the home. Other key information are the schools serviced in the area, what kind of terms are acceptable to the seller and the housing.

A good Realtor is a real estate matchmaker, trying to find the features that best fit their buyer as well as the seller. Today, we sit at a tough market. The pricing of the home has to be competitive to other listings not only for the buyers but for the appraisers to see the value. The house has to shine above the crowd, so condition, pricing and size determine the price, but the buyer will be the one to confirm the value.

Fox Run - Luxury surroundings in a Great Location -Elk Grove Village

Built by Centex Homes in 1985 and 1987, 29 building of attached home residences were offered to the public as a Contemporary Coach home. 8 different floor plans, three were 2nd floor units with coffered and cathedral ceilings. The horse shoe shaped streets over views of the forest perserve, golf course and a central park.

Tucked in between Meacham & Plum Grove Road, south of Schaumburg Rd & Nerge, these coach homes had large windows and bays to expand the view in square footage. Homes range from 916 square feet which offer 2 bedrooms and 1 bath to 1519 square feel having 2-3 bedrooms and 2 baths. Each unit has its own individual garage. Close to Fox Run Golf Links run by the Elk Grove Village Park district which offers a restaurant, casual dining and a beautiful course. Close to 53/355 east on Schaumburg rd to the Higgens entrance which can lead to 90 express to Chicago or the airport.

Centex dealt with details in upgrades: Oak railings, 6 panel vinyl doors, wood doors, lighting enhancements, and unique entry ways. Each of the Fox Run Manor Homes have 2 staired entry with Paladiam windows to light up the common entry. No feeling of boxiness with these coach homes offering bay windows in eating areas, dens or bedrooms. These are upscale starter homes but the demographics suggest that the downsizing senior feels right at home, as well as the empty nester. Divorcee's with children appreciate the Enders-Salk Dist 54 schools as well as the very popular District 211 James Conant High School.

Since these past beginnings, the updating for todays' style can surely be seen. In 2011, Alma Properties has been managing these facilites. Association fees include garbage, water, snow removal, landscaping and common insurance. Unique to this association is the window are covered by the association.

I read this post in a Mortgage Industry article, that mortgage insurance typically to insure the shortfall for many buyers between the standard of 20% down to a lesser amount is about to increase.

FHA and VA loans have mortgage insurance between the 3.5% down to the 20% limit. If you have 20% down, you are not required to have this insurance.

This is the important part:

“After careful consideration and analysis, we determined it was necessary to increase the annual mortgage insurance premium at this time in order to bolster the FHA’s capital reserves and help private capital return to the housing market,” said Stevens. “This quarter point increase in the annual MIP is a responsible step towards meeting the Congressionally mandated two percent reserve threshold, while allowing FHA to remain the most cost effective mortgage insurance option for borrowers with lower incomes and lower down payments.”

The proposed change was announced last week as part of the Obama Administration’s report to Congress, which outlined the Administration’s plan to reform the nation’s housing finance system. The Administration’s housing finance plan also recommended that Congress allow the present increase in FHA conforming loan limits to expire as scheduled on Oct. 1, 2011.

This premium change enables FHA to increase revenues at a time that is critical to the ongoing stability of its Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) fund, which had capital reserves of approximately $3.6 billion at the end of FY 2010. The change is estimated to contribute nearly $3 billion annually to the Fund, based on current volume projections. It is vital that HUD take action to ensure that FHA will continue to serve its dual mission of providing affordable homeownership options to underserved American families and first-time homebuyers while helping to stabilize the housing market during these tough times.

On average, new FHA borrowers will pay approximately $30 more per month. This marginal increase is affordable for almost all homebuyers who would qualify for a new loan. Existing and HECM loans insured by FHA are not impacted by the pricing change.

Between the interest rate increase as well as the mortgage insurance increase, the new housing buyer will find how much they can afford will lessen. Prices are stabilizing, the decline has slowed down so now is the time to take advantage of the lowest prices since 2000.

Buyers need the help to analyze values of homes and costs and how it will impace their budget. The path has been rough these past few years. Let my 22 years of experiance help you to find the solution. Jan McNulty, RE/MAX SUBURBAN, Your Real Estate Counselor and Friend, 847-274-0535.

I am re-blogging this article from Realtor.com Magazine to Realtors. I think it's really noteworthy, since I have seen the same data to a Seller from 2 different Realtors to be utterly different. How can that be you ask? Well, as a trainer once said, there's a Realtor who will give a wholesale price on a home-he wants a quick sale, there's a Realtor who will give a high price on a home-he's buying the attention and hopes of a Seller, and then there's the Realtor who shows it all, and they are trying to explain market conditions to the Seller.

                 Appraisals Increasingly Becoming 'Deal Killers'

Appraisals are increasingly being blamed for preventing deals from making it to the closing table. In a common scenario playing out across the country, sellers are accepting buyer offers to later have an appraisal come in at a dramatically lower amount, which threatens to derail the entire deal. Unless the seller comes down in price or the buyer puts down more money, the deal often fizzles.

"The appraisers have so much power to kill deals," Jennifer Snyder, president of the St. Paul Area Association of REALTORS® in Minnesota, told the Pioneer Press.

Appraisers determine a property value by evaluating over the past six months sold transactions, current listings, and pending sales. But some critics argue that appraisers are giving too much weight to foreclosed properties in their comparables. While appraisers once rarely factored in short sales and foreclosures, appraisers would be negligent not to do so now, said Paul Sellwood, owner of Real Estate Appraisal Services in White Bear Lake.

"We're not playing God and saying what is your property worth," says Neal Harrah, owner of Regional Appraisals Inc. in Lakeville, Minn. "We're offering an opinion based on current data out there."

Real estate pros are educating sellers more about the appraisal process, realizing that sellers will need to consider the appraisal process more than they ever have and how it can threaten the sale. For example, one of Snyder’s clients had an appraisal come in $10,000 under the buyer’s accepted offer. To save the deal, the seller agreed to drop the home’s price to offset the difference.

In another incident, a buyer offered $110,000 for a condo in St. Paul, Minn., which was then appraised at $65,000. That deal was able to survive, thanks to a buyer who had deep pockets and was willing to put up more money, but the agent says with a normal buyer, it would have never gone through.

Source: “Appraisals: The New Deal Breaker in Real Estate,” Pioneer Press (Jan. 24, 2011)

I am re-blogging this article from Realtor.com Magazine to Realtors. I think it's really noteworthy, since I have seen the same data to a Seller from 2 different Realtors to be utterly different. How can that be you ask? Well, as a trainer once said, there's a Realtor who will give a wholesale price on a home-he wants a quick sale, there's a Realtor who will give a high price on a home-he's buying the attention and hopes of a Seller, and then there's the Realtor who shows it all, and they are trying to explain market conditions to the Seller.

                 Appraisals Increasingly Becoming 'Deal Killers'

Appraisals are increasingly being blamed for preventing deals from making it to the closing table. In a common scenario playing out across the country, sellers are accepting buyer offers to later have an appraisal come in at a dramatically lower amount, which threatens to derail the entire deal. Unless the seller comes down in price or the buyer puts down more money, the deal often fizzles.

"The appraisers have so much power to kill deals," Jennifer Snyder, president of the St. Paul Area Association of REALTORS® in Minnesota, told the Pioneer Press.

Appraisers determine a property value by evaluating over the past six months sold transactions, current listings, and pending sales. But some critics argue that appraisers are giving too much weight to foreclosed properties in their comparables. While appraisers once rarely factored in short sales and foreclosures, appraisers would be negligent not to do so now, said Paul Sellwood, owner of Real Estate Appraisal Services in White Bear Lake.

"We're not playing God and saying what is your property worth," says Neal Harrah, owner of Regional Appraisals Inc. in Lakeville, Minn. "We're offering an opinion based on current data out there."

Real estate pros are educating sellers more about the appraisal process, realizing that sellers will need to consider the appraisal process more than they ever have and how it can threaten the sale. For example, one of Snyder’s clients had an appraisal come in $10,000 under the buyer’s accepted offer. To save the deal, the seller agreed to drop the home’s price to offset the difference.

In another incident, a buyer offered $110,000 for a condo in St. Paul, Minn., which was then appraised at $65,000. That deal was able to survive, thanks to a buyer who had deep pockets and was willing to put up more money, but the agent says with a normal buyer, it would have never gone through.

Source: “Appraisals: The New Deal Breaker in Real Estate,” Pioneer Press (Jan. 24, 2011)

Catch the Wave!

Market Spotlight! 2011 offers a Golden Opportunity, but for a Golden Opportunity to be had the public needs to have the positive message about the market.

•  Fact: The average fixed rate 30-year average interest rate is 9.0%.

Current rates are at about 5%. The historically low rates make it possible for more people to purchase a home or to even refinance a mortgage. FHA has a new program for lower credit scores (500’s scores) which entails 10% of the borrowers own funds, but happy news a loan could be had.

•  Houses are on Sale and to some it’s like a “blue light special”.

Because of the downturn in the economy, Buyers throughout Illinois are finding values at 2000 price levels or even lower.  Typically, a Short Sale or distressed sales have had their prices reduced by an average of 20%. Foreclosures nationally are sold for less than similar homes by 26%.

•  Indicators Hint at Better Days Ahead.

Per Harvard University, The State of the Nation’s Housing 2010, only 357000 new households were created in 2010-which is down more than 70% from the average in 2002-2007. This 63 year low resulted from lower immigration rates, and many Americans moved in with family members or doubled up with friends when we had a greater economic instability. New household formations are expected to return to more normal levels as the recovery continues.

•  Sudden Stop for Housing Starts

In response to economic weakness, tighter credit and higher resale inventory, builders slammed on the brake. Housing starts per the US Census Bureau have dropped below 1 million units on 3 times since World War II, in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

 Indicators are hinting of Better Days Ahead-