http://images.kw.com/docs/0/0/9/009127/1251340775455_Farm_and_Sphere_Newsletter_Aug_09.pdf

Woo Hoo!  We closed on the foreclosure property today.  As it turns out, only a few small hiccups on the way to the signing table.  We were asked to use a title company in another part of the state, which was a little frustrating and involved about 3 extra steps for our every one step.  They take a little longer to get the same result, but as you can imagine they deal with nothing but bank owned properties all day long.  I asked the title company that I use on a regular basis to do a “courtesy close” so we would have someone we trusted walk us through the actual signature process.  As usual, Hexter Fair did a fabulous job.  After closing we stopped by the property and met our contractor there to get the project plan in place.  The most exciting part – the make it pretty part.  I took all of the “before” pictures and will post a link to them in Part IV.

Perfection in Craig Ranch! Corner lot faces greenbelt,100 yds from pool*Amazing 24×20 outdoor lvg with gas fireplace,TV mounts,built in Grand Turbo grill and cooler,extensive landscape with waterfall pond*HS hardwood flrs,frieze carpet and mediterranean tile thruout*wrought iron spindles*stainless appliances*skip trowel walls and custom paint*custom wired media rm*oversized gameroom*2 bed,2 bth,study down*2 bed,1 bth,game,media up. One of a kind!  See it here: http://singleentrylisting.com/789/8005_boulder_river_trail

So my home inspector called me the morning of the inspection to tell me that yes, the listing agent did have the utilities turned on and he was at the water meter ready to go…but there is a dead bolt on the water meter.  He can’t get in to turn the water on to test.  It’s 8:30 am and I’m sitting at the kitchen table catching up on email while the kids finish breakfast.  AAAAGGGGHHHHHHH!  We’re up and running now, on our way to Lowe’s to purchase BOLT CUTTERS.  We get the bolt cutters and run over to the home so my inspector can break in to the water meter.  This was a definite first. 

The inspection went well.  Despite the less than stellar condition of the home, the major systems appear to be in decent working order and there is nothing that really jumps off the page.  Hooray!  We move forward and lock their rate with the lender.  (By the way, investment properties require a minimum of 20% down and you really need to put down 25% to get a better rate/loan.  The rates are in general higher than regular residential loans, too.)  Next step is to get contractors in the house to quote on replacing flooring, painting walls, replacing some doors and hardware and installing a new dishwasher (the old dishwasher is disconnected and sitting in the middle of the breakfast area for some reason).  I’m going to take some photos of the rooms as they are now to post in the next blog post and then show you the after in a few weeks.  As of today, 6/29 we are closing at the end of this week.  Oh, and good news today.  The appraisal came in and before we even close my clients have already made a 12% profit.  Awesome.  More to come in a few days, hopefully to report that we have closed on this property!

Back in early May I was approached by a friend from PTA about a foreclosure property in Plano. Seemingly perfect, it was ripe for the picking and a great rental property in the making. The only problem? No one seems to know the status of this home except that it is owned by Indy Mac Bank….yikes! Indy Mac went under months ago and it’s beyond hard to find a valid phone number, much less a live person to talk to. So I set up a search in MLS specifically for this address and waited…and waited. About a month later it showed up! It was a Saturday morning and I was heading out with Buyers. I called my friend and let her know that I would get her in to see this foreclosed property later that afternoon.

We went to see it about 1pm and by 5pm that night we had an offer submitted. The home was listed well below market value, we offered very close to list price, putting a sizeable amount down and willing to close as fast as the bank could make it happen. We were VERY competitive. Very. The listing agent let me know that he would have to wait until Monday morning to submit our offer, when the bank rep was back in the office. Fair enough.

On Monday our offer was submitted, along with another one that came in that weekend. We waited. Two days later the listing agent let us know that we needed to submit our best and final offer by the next afternoon as we had a competing offer situation. We held. The day after that they let us know that they were extending the date by another couple of days to get all offers in. We held. Within 2 hours of the deadline for the final submission we were told that we did not win the bidding and were thanked for our time.

Approximately one day later I received a text from the listing agent, asking if my Buyer was still interested. The accepted offer was withdrawn by that Buyer. We indicated that we were and then we waited. Two days later we were informed by the listing agent that they Bank had decided to go with our offer. We had 24 hours to get the paperwork signed, earnest money check written and delivered to their office in Flower Mound. During the time that it takes the listing agent to receive this info, get it to the bank and the bank to sign off on it and execute it, they can STILL accept other offers. As you can imagine, this is extremely aggravating to my Buyer.

It took about 4 days to get the executed contract back from the Bank. We received it on Friday, June 19 and had our inspection on Monday, June 21st. In the next installment I’ll tell you about my purchase of a pair of bolt cutters to aid in this inspection…

I had to let a listing expire today and it was difficult and heart wrenching as heck! This is the first time that I have had a client literally ignore my advice from beginning to end. I advised them before we went on the market that we needed to list at a certain price, needed to paint and re-carpet the home and make a few other adjustments to make it more competitive with the comparable solds in the neighborhood. They chose to list it too high (and make a very small price adjustment near the 45 day mark), not replace anything and not make any of the other adjustments that were suggested to them. Needless to say, the feedback was that the house was overpriced for the amount of money it would take to update it and bring it up to “today’s look”. I honestly tried. Begged. Pleaded. Could not get them to budge one inch because in their minds they were not in a hurry to sell and the perceived value was inflated. Unfortunately, the market does not care that you are not in a hurry. The market looks at how long you have been on the market and what you have to offer for the price. If you are overpriced and under-whelming then you are going to suffer the fate of sitting there, un-seen for a long, long while. As an agent who is primarily a listing agent I pride myself in pricing properly and staging to show well. I thought long and hard before I took this particular listing because I knew what the situation was, but it as a personal referral and well, who can turn away a referral from a friend? At the end of the day I went by the house, removed my signs and stepped over the huge stack of new Realtor cards, flyers and goodie bags to take my lock box off the door. I am disappointed and wish it hadn’t ended this way but head home knowing that I did everything to the greatest of my ability and offered superior customer service. What more can you ask for?

For the first time in my real estate career I find myself representing a Buyer in a multiple offer situation and I have to admit, it stinks. I operate primarily as a listing agent, probably 99% of my business is listing and have been in situations in the past where I had more than one offer come in at once. In that situation, it’s pretty simple to decide. Just pick the strongest offer, right? This one is a foreclosure and at first there were only 2 buyers in the picture. Now we are facing an un-disclosed number of Buyers and it feels significantly different on this side of the deal. My Buyers are frustrated (rightly so) because we put in an extremely strong offer, one that under normal circumstances would be a slam dunk and it looks like we will have to go above list price to nab this one. But then you have to tread carefully, because appraisals are so tight that you can’t pay too much, or it won’t appraise! Frustrating indeed. It just goes to show you that in this market there are a lot of people looking for a “deal”. Make sure you have your financing all lined up and are ready to pull the trigger when you find the “right” property – because they are going fast!

Opting for new home construction

Whether to buy an existing home or have one built is yet another decision to make during the home-buying process. If you decide to go with new construction, a real estate agent can be a powerful advocate in your corner as you negotiate upgrades, a move-in date and other terms with the home builder.
Below are some basic pointers to prepare you for the journey ahead.

Selecting a builder
Shopping for a large production or custom home builder can be a daunting task. Start by defining what architectural styles appeal to you and then seek out the builders in your area who offer those styles. Due diligence is essential. Ask friends for referrals to get firsthand accounts; verify the builder’s state license status, if applicable; and check whether they’re certified by the National Association of Home Builders.

The builder representative and your real estate agent
A builder representative’s ultimate goal is to sell you a home. His or her role is to provide a wide range of information to help you in your decision-making, from building restrictions, roads and easements to inspections, warranties, rebates and upgrades. A real estate agent knowledgeable in new-home construction will be able to help you wade through all the data and point out the downsides and upsides of each line item. Your agent also can look out for your interests in reviewing the builder’s contract, which often contains more legal jargon than consumer-friendly language.

It’s all about timing
Market conditions greatly dictate a builder’s incentive to make a deal you cannot refuse. When a builder has inventory on his hands, his carrying costs start adding up. When this happens, a builder might be more amenable to strike a favorable deal, whether it’s throwing in upgrades or taking a bit off the asking price. A real estate agent can help you know when market conditions are right for these benefits. Also, watch for builder close-out sales. Builders promote these special events when a new subdivision is near completion but empty inventory still remains.

A word about paying up
While there are always exceptions, most builders require a deposit when a purchase agreement is signed. They also require that the buyer pay for any upgrades prior to closing. If you back out prior to closing, unless the agreement states otherwise, you will lose that money. Make sure you understand every detail in the builder’s contract before signing it.

Today was a great day in real estate. I had two closings today and while financially that is a good thing, it is more than that. Four families moved forward with their plans, their goals and their dreams today and I got to be a part of that. I got to call 2 families and tell them that they had made it to the finish line. I got to hear their relief, their joy and their thanks. What a blessing.

Don’t listen to the hype on the news. The real estate industry is not all doom and gloom and while yes, sometimes it’s tough, sometimes the day ends like this one. I love my job.

How exciting to be embarking on a new adventure! I cannot imagine what his nerves must have been the night before. Sad that he’s a Redskin but happy that he did so well!

NFL Draft diary: Brian Orakpo
Former Texas DE Brian Orakpo checks in from New York City on his NFL Draft experience.

April 24, 2009

Man, this week has been a great experience. We just got through being honored at the closing bell at the Stock Exchange then taking pictures and walking through draft day at Radio City Music Hall. They took us out on the roof of Radio City with all of the people looking up at us. That was pretty cool and we hammed it up for some photos.

It’s been a long, but fun day. We started early with the Youth Clinic at Central Park. Giving back to the community and working with kids is something Coach Brown really preaches and a big part of the Longhorn program so I always enjoy that opportunity. It was great to see all of the kids having so much fun. From there we went to Mount Sinai Hospital to visit some kids. They had a media room there and all of the little kids were interviewing us and they asked a lot of good questions.

My week started here on Wednesday, which was nice because I’d never been to New York before. We walked around a lot, took a lot of pictures, saw a bunch of stuff and ate some good food. On Thursday, they started putting us to work and then EA Sports held their big event where they unveiled their 2009 College Football covers. Being such a huge fan of video games it was something special to see my picture on the cover of the PS2 game.

Then today has been pretty non stop up until now. I’ve really enjoyed the experience and would recommend it to any draft prospect that is fortunate enough to be invited to come. It’s an experience of a lifetime. My whole focus has been to enjoy the process. I’ve never worried about where I was going or with what pick. I’m just taking it all in and making sure I enjoy the experience.

I’m not gonna lie, I can’t wait for tomorrow to get here and to find out where I’ll be playing football for the next several years. I’m really anxious. Most of my family got in today, so I’ll hang out tonight and just enjoy being around them, trying not to think too much about tomorrow. But, when I put that suit on and head back to Radio City, I’ll be ready to start the next step in my life. Can’t wait.

Although I don’t know where I’m going quite yet, one thing I do know is I’m a Longhorn for life. I hope you all get a chance to watch tomorrow. Everyone in the Longhorn nation is part of where I am today.

Hook ‘em

Brian

Compliments of www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com