Question of the Week:   How much is my home worth?

Every week I get this question, and my response is almost always less than the owners anticipated.  It's very easy to look up all the asking prices within a neighborhood, but those are asking prices only. A property is only worth what buyers are willing to pay, and they usually aren't paying the asking price.

Asking Price is NOT Market Value!

Right now, I see asking price vs. sold price being 2 totally different numbers in most neighborhoods throughout Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra.   It's up to the real estate agents to advise the home owner on pricing appropriately, but it's disturbing of how many over priced homes are on the market.

"Maybe someone will just fall in love with the home and…

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2 examples of homes selling extremely fast in Jacksonville:

  1. Short Sale in Eagles Hammock:  26 days flat. Here's the scoop.  The owners, knowing the home needed to be in tip top condition, volunteered to install new carpet after moving out of the home.  Not only did they install new carpet, but they also had the home professionally cleaned, paint touch ups throughout the home, and they continue to keep the yard in top condition.  The home by itself, was a gem.  End of cul-de-sac, very large fenced yard, and a large open floor plan.  We took photos of every room, wide angle photos of the incredible yard, and marketed the home on the internet.  We had about 12 showings and 2 offers.  Sold and now waiting to close.
  2. Short Sale in Bartram Springs: 4…

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The government was kind enough to intervene with a new plan called HAFA, which was intended to give incentive to both the Seller and the Seller's bank for completing a short sale.  The Seller would receive $3000 for successfully completing a short sale.

Real World $3000 HAFA program: See Flying Pig to the left

The program is so riddled with red tape and qualifications that barely anyone is actually TRULY qualified.  If the seller is qualified, it's up to the sole discretion of the bank to participate!

If the bank participates, they waive their right to collect the deficiency in the future - in Florida.  (All states have different laws for collecting balances....speak to your friendly short sale attorney).

How many people have been approved for…

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Short Sales are not short as the name suggest.  Often called "Long Sales", they are notoriously slow and seem to take forever to get to the closing table.

You can speed this up by reducing the first phase of a short sale:  the amount of time that the home is on the market (selling it faster).

Steps to sell your Jacksonville Short Sale FASTER

  1. Work with Professionals: Hire a REALTOR who knows Short Sales & knows how to market your house appropriately:  Meet Brad.  Hire an attorney who specializes in Short Sales.
  2. Curb Appeal: Trim hedges & trees.  Cut your grass weekly.  Water the hedges and yard.  Plant flowers.  Get rid of any unsightly items in the yard.
  3. CLEAN: Clean the inside of the home above and beyond your normal standards.
  4. Clean…

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Through the last 2 years of becoming very fluent in Short Sales, I've started seeing a growing trend in the cost for doing a short sale.  The cost have gone up.....a little.

5 legitimate expenses for doing a short sale based on experience.

  1. Attorney Fees: $500 to retain the Short Sale Attorney.  The attorney's office also charges your bank an additional $1500.  The additional fee is paid from the closing cost that the bank pays from the sale proceeds.  DO NOT attempt a short sale without legal representation.
  2. Repair Items: All the sale contracts that I do are AS IS, however I've been involved in several deals where the seller had to put up some repair money in order for the buyer to get the loan.  It's not something you want to do obviously,…

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A very smart man with plenty of time on his hands, just spent a year trying to track his own mortgage.  I originally heard about this from Fox News, and then found the chart below on ZeroHedge.  Trying to figure this out is nearly impossible.  This is why Short Sales take forever and have become increasingly complex.  A big take away from this chart:  It's not possible to "just call the bank and get an answer".

The chart verifies 4 important take aways for home owners who need to Short Sale:

  1. You need legal representation on your side.
  2. You need a REALTOR who works Short Sales daily.
  3. You need to start the process of a Short Sale sooner rather than later.
  4. You need patience.

5 questions Short Sale home buyers and their real estate…

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Banks agree to take a less than is owed on the mortgage due to a financial hardship on the Seller.  To do this, banks go through a valuation process to determine the market value of the real estate being sold.  In my professional opinion, the valuation process is flawed, but that's an article for another day.

Banks will not take low ball offers on a Short Sale in Jacksonville

It just won't happen unless there is a reason for the property to be sold for much less than the market value.  Examples that could cause low ball offers to be accepted:

  • House has had a fire
  • House has no kitchen, bath, carpet, doors, etc.
  • Mold has overtaken house
  • Major foundation problems
  • Flooded recently
  • Roof leaks causing destruction

For your normal…

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It's Time to Stop Shopping and Start Making Offers

Working on behalf of the Home Seller, I am present at many of the showings as buyer's agents bring their buyers through the seller's home.  I do this as a service for the waterfront real estate owners in Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra, St Augustine, and Orange Park.  I want to make sure the home is presented at it's best, and I want to answer questions about the property and get immediate feedback from the buyers.  I also want to ask every showing to make an offer regardless of their feedback, and see if we can't put together a deal that makes since for both parties.

Being present at the showings, I see a lot of frustrated home buyers and frustrated buyer's agents looking at  30, 60, even 100 houses…

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  1. Priced to Sell

  2. Priced to Keep

This is one of my Canadian friend's rule of thumb on pricing, and I fully agree.  In any real estate market cycle, this rule of thumb works.  It's one of the keys to the success that I have had at liquidating properties for owners or banks who MUST sell.

Too often I believe we all forget about the dynamics of selling real estate.  It is everyone's intention to sell a house at absolute top dollar and then buy a house in perfect condition for the absolute lowest dollar.   It rarely ever happens this way.   More often than not, home owners end up having to reduce the price because the idea that "someone will come along and just fall in love with it" never happens.  Frustration sets in and the price…

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We've just been given another SunTrust approved Short Sale and the sellers, buyers, and all parties involved are ready to get this one closed.

Suntrust Short Sales are not too difficult as long as the appropriate expectations are set upfront.  The way Suntrust currently works short sales is that all phases of the process are completed in the 60-70 day time frame, and then it gets handed to the Suntrust negotiator.

YES, they do take longer than many of the other big banks, however the legitimate short sales are getting approved.  It's just a waiting game.  The good news on Suntrust is that if you get assigned to a negotiator, you are basically done and should be closing shortly thereafter.

Check out the Suntrust Short Sale information on their…

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