This is one of the questions I am asked most by sellers who are interested in a short sale. In most cases, it is not really an issue as the majority of sellers face very difficult times. These people are already behind on their payments or are current, but having exhausted nearly all of their available cash and credit trying to stay afloat, will begin missing payments.

There is a lot of confusion out there. Most of it born of perceptions created in the loan modification process. Many banks told their servicing clients they would not be considered for a loan modification unless they missed payments. Some banks even required them to be seriously delinquent in order to demonstrate a hardship.

The short sale is a very similar process to loan modification; both are considered “workout” programs. Examples of these programs may include short sales, deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, forbearance, loan modification. The purpose of a loan workout is to modify the terms of a loan in order to prevent the borrower from becoming delinquent or worse, default. The difference is in a short sale, you don’t have to be late to begin the short sale process.

If a seller determines quickly that loan modification is not a remedy that can really solve their problems, then there is no reason to delay, and a short sale should be considered quickly. This is especially true here in the Las Vegas real estate market where values have plummeted 50% in many areas. Without a write-down of the loan balance, how much can playing around with interest rates, balloon payments, and the length of the loan term really mean to someone whose $300,000 home is now worth $140,000?

There are a few key points to a potential seller wanting to do a short sale while being current. First, you will have to demonstrate you are facing imminent default. You can make it a few payments but the end-game is known. A seller with a lender with a reputation of making very slow decisions on short sale approvals might make this option impossible or at the least very expensive. The last factor is your agent. Your agent cannot listen to every $8 dollar an hour customer service rep stonewalling them with their command of “bank policy” and must know to demonstrate their clients’ immediate need for a short sale to an uncaring institution.

While there is no guarantee that a short sale will be completed without the seller eventually having to miss payments, I hope this dispels the myth that a seller must be delinquent in all cases when attempting to do a short sale.

Paul Rowe is the listing agent team leader for the Sena Team at North American Realty of Nevada. For a personal evaluation, click here to request an appointment or call our team at 702-376-0088.

New home options are varied, luxurious and convenient. They provide comfort and practicality and they meet the demands of today’s homebuyers.

There is any number of great Las Vegas new home options, depending on which home community you are looking at. However, there a few Coppell new home options that we think best reflect the needs and wants of today’s families:

• Entertaining Kitchens – Kitchens remain the gathering spot in most homes, so it is no wonder that most Coppell new homes feature kitchens that are conducive to entertaining. Some of the options found in the kitchens of new homes include: center islands, granite countertops, large eat-in areas and access to outdoor areas.
• Great Rooms that open up to the Kitchen – Family rooms or great rooms that open up to the kitchen are a popular Coppell new home option, as these rooms provide an extension of the family gathering space. A great room that opens up the kitchen allows guests and family to mingle in between both rooms, thereby expanding the space of the kitchen.
• Walk-in Pantries and Specialty Storage in the Kitchen – In addition to large, well-equipped kitchens, today’s kitchen feature a great deal of storage space in the form of large, walk-in pantries and specialty storage areas, such as butler’s pantries. Larger refrigerators and wine chillers are also upgrades in many of today’s new homes.
• Master Bedroom Suites – Master bedroom suites are popular for today’s new homes, as is reflected in their large size and luxurious appointments. Double-door entries, tray ceilings and luxurious master bathrooms, complete with Jacuzzi tubs and double sinks, are commonplace in many of today’s new Coppell homes.
• High Ceilings – It is quite common to see higher ceilings in today’s homes. Many times, ceilings are between nine and ten feet high, thereby creating a feeling of openness and space. Because many of the new homes are smaller in square footage than their counterparts of just a few years ago, builders are looking to create a feeling of more space, and higher ceilings often accomplish that.

Author Bio – Richard is a Dallas Condo specialist in the Downtown Dallas real estate market. Feel free to research out up-to-date real estate blog too.

I read a quote from Warren Buffet a few months back. He said:

“I would rather buy a great company at an average price than buy an average company at a great price.”

I found this one interesting. Often times within the first seconds of a conversation with a home buyer they say, “I’m looking for a deal!” Who can blame them in a market like this? If I was looking to buy a home I would be looking for a deal too. “Deal” means different things to different people. To me a deal is a home that I can buy for 80% or less of TODAY’s market value. A deal to someone else might be buying a home simply at market value. Because today’s market values are definitely considered “a deal” when compared to prices 4 years ago.

The problem comes when you want to find “a deal” along with a laundry list of other necessities like 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2500+ square feet, swimming pool, in a good school district, within 20 minutes of my work, on a cul-de-sac, built within the last 10 years, open floor plan, split plan and with a large yard. What are the chances of finding that? Probably pretty slim to none.

Homes buyers can usually find a smokin deal which means a home selling below TODAY’s market value however it is not in a great section of town, the home needs a ton of repairs, is too small, on a busy road, does not have a pool, has a choppy floor plan, was built a long time ago, and in a bad school district. Or they find the home that matches most of their needs and wants but can only be bought at TODAY’s market prices and not below it.

Home buyers should ask themselves:

“Do I want an average house at a great price or a great house at an average price?”

Marc Rasmussen selling Longboat Key Real Estate

A Buyers Guide To the Short Sale Process

With Las Vegas Home prices and interest rates at an all time low, it is a great time for buyers to start shopping around.  However, it is a different market than it was five years ago and terms like “foreclosure” and “short sales” are on the tip of every real estate agent’s tongue.  Short sales can be a great way to save money on a property in Las Vegas, but it could come with some bumps in the road.  As a buyer it is important to know what you are getting yourself into.

A short sale is a negotiated settlement in which a lender agrees to accept less than the amount owed to payoff a home loan as an alternative to foreclosure.  The result is that the bank and the seller don’t have to go through the foreclosure process and the buyer gets the property at a discount.

Sounds simple enough, right?  Well, unfortunately for the buyer, the short sale process does not mean what its name implies.  It is usally not a short process.  Once an offer is submitted it can take anywhere from 30 days to six months to get an acceptance from the bank to do the short sale.  Some banks, like Bank of America, have historically been a very difficult instution in appoving short sales. Some of our team’s agents however, have reported Bank of America speeding up their approvals with the implementation of their Equator system. Equator is an online portal agents and the bank use to upload and process short sale documents.  This is where having the right agent is critical. Their experience can go a long way in helping a buyer analyze which short sales may have a better chance of closing in a more reasonable time frame and which ones a buyer may want to avoid.

Now that you are aware that you may be in for a long haul, here are a few things to expect when going through the process.  First, your offer will be submitted to the bank, while financial statements will be sent to the bank on the seller’s behalf to establish the need for the seller to do a short sale.  Second, the bank will do an appraisal on the property.  Third, a negotiator will be assigned when all paper work on the seller and buyer’s side has been submitted.  The negotiator will go through all the paper work and make sure everything works out.  At this point the bank should have an idea of what they expect to get from the property.  They can either accept the offer, counter the offer or reject it. If approved, the bank will issue letter which allows the property to be transferred. At this point the escrow can continue in earnest.

Each bank may have a slightly different way of doing things.  As well, each bank may work on different time tables.  Some work more swiftly than others, while some take their time.  What is important is knowing that it is often not a quick process, but if you are willing to wait, you could pick up a gem. A buyer will also have the benefit of locking up a transaction rather than being forced to continually look to foreclosures, many of which are now multiple offers due to the lower foreclosure inventory currently available.

Additionally, if you are a Las Vegas homeowner and have any questions about selling your home as a short sale, feel free to give us a call for a free consultation at 702.376.0088 or complete our contact form.

There are no written rules for preparing for home ownership, which leaves many first-time homeowners struggling to find their way through this often-confusing process. However, there are a few things that you can tackle to make sure that your first-time home buying process goes a bit smoother:

• Don’t look at even one Las Vegas home until you figure out how much home you can afford. Luckily, there are many online home loan calculators that will help you determine this. But don’t let a calculator guide you completely; make an appointment with a local lender who can give you a more concrete understanding of how much home you can afford in the Houston real estate market.
• Have a serious discussion with your partner about possible Houston neighborhoods in which you’d like to live. Make a list and write down all of the advantages and disadvantage of living in each neighborhood, taking into consideration the schools, the commute time and home values, for example.
• Order a copy of your credit report and make sure it shines before applying for a home loan. While you’re at it, consider paying down some debt as to lower your debt-to-income ratio.
• Research your home loan options and current home loan rates through several lenders. Make it a point to thoroughly understand your options when it comes to mortgages.
• Get pre-qualified for a home loan through a lender. Getting a lender’s preapproval is important, as it shows home sellers that you are serious about purchasing a home. In other words, if two people make an offer on the same property and only one person has a lender preapproval, the homeowner will most likely always choose the person with the pre-approval status.
• Ask your lender about the documentation you will need to provide at closing, and work on assembling all of it sooner than later.
• Hire a qualified, experienced real estate agent to help you find a Las Vegas property, to help you make an offer, and to guide you throughout the entire home buying process. A qualified real estate agent is simply invaluable for most homebuyers, particularly first-time homebuyers.

Author Bio:

Richard assists Dallas Apartment renters find their perfect Dallas home. If your in need of an Apartment in Dallas area, don’t hesitate to give us a call.

A pre-planned multi-builder development with recreation, public services, commercial sites and residential housing in a self contained community. This is part two of a multiple part series looking at various master planned projects throughout Southern Nevada. I will be focusing on Southern Highlands in this article.

Southern Highlands is located in the Southwest part of the Las Vegas Valley. Secluded up against the mountains the community is still convenient to the Las Vegas strip, the Airport (without being in the flight path) and easy access to I-15/California. The 2300 acre community has more than 50 acres of parks, walking trails and community sports facilities.

Southern Highlands is home to the Southern Highlands Golf Club. A private golf  course designed by Robert Trent Jones which is consistently ranked one of the top 30 golf courses in America. There is also a 42,000 square foot clubhouse and spa with dining and private party facilities.

There are two public elementary schools (Aldeane Comito Ries, Charles & Phyllis Frias) and a public middle school (Lois & Jerry Tarkanian). There is also a private school for grades k-8 (Southern Highlands Preparatory School). Visit these two links for more information http://www.ccsd.net/, http://southernhighlands2.reachlocal.net/page.cfm?p=12873/?utm_source=ReachLocal&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=Brand

Currently there are approximately 213 resale homes for sale in Southern Highlands ranging in price from $106,000 to $10,000,000. In addition there are 12 builders currently selling new homes with prices similar to the resale range. Since this is a master planned community there are association fees to consider when buying a home here. Monthly association fees run  from as low as $39 up to$600 a month. Another cost to consider is called a SID (Special Improvement District), basically a bond that is repaid by homeowners over a period of years. The SID was initiated to pay for the initial installation of infrastructure (roads, sewers, sidewalks, streetlights etc.). The SID’s payments range from $260 to $4800 a year and not every house has a SID balance. They are transferable from old owners to new owners and sometimes you can find a house where they have been paid off.

Needless to say, I am a big fan of master planned communities and Southern Highlands is one of the standouts in Southern Nevada. Feel free to contact me if you have any real estate questions regarding Southern Nevada. I have lived here for 20 years and I have been a Realtor here since 1999. greg@senasellsvegas.com or 702-683-6913

CNNMoney.com came out with their list of the most overvalued and undervalued cities in the United States. You can read the article here or see the list of overvalued and undervalued cities. They listed Las Vegas, Nevada as 41.40% undervalued as well as the most undervalued city in the United States. In 2006, CNNMoney.com wrote a similar article where they said Las Vegas was 38% overvalued.

Good news for those who own Las Vegas real estate. If you are looking to buy a home this appears to be a very good time. These inventory levels won’t be this high forever. I know the same thing is happening with Sarasota real estate. Inventories are declining and sales are increasing.

The signs seem to be pointing that way. The current administration has been flailing away on many areas of the economy and one of the most glaring weak areas have been the loan modification plans such as the Home Affordable Modification Plan (HAMP) which has seen less than 10% of individuals successfully modify their loans and a whopping 40 – 50% of those people are re-defaulting after receiving a modification.

To their credit however, the White House along with the Treasury Department, have recognized the need for a more orderly transfer of homes and avoid foreclosure. Treasury has been pushing hard for banks to transfer properties via short sales and deed-in-lieu rather than taking homes back in huge numbers.

The next program on the horizon is called the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA) which will become active this April. This program is a supplement to the previously mentioned HAMP program. Any bank who is participating in HAMP must also participate in HAFA. The new program encourages banks to approve short sales on a faster timeline. The average short sale file now takes 4 months to approve. The actual time period is often longer as buyers frequently walk out before an approval for the sale is obtained, forcing the seller to find another buyer and start the process all over. A shorter approval process will encourage buyers to stay the course and increase the closing percentages for short sales.

The final set of indicators I have seen are changes within the real estate industry. Banks are cutting back dramatically on their REO staffs. These departments handle the liquidation of foreclosed properties. On my end of the business, residential real estate, agents are also gearing up for a switch from foreclosure to short sale transactions. Short sale education classes are packed, REO listing agents have been cutting their staffs and many agents are now looking for a new place to land within the industry.

Our team is expecting our current inventory to double and is actually adding staff to accommodate the business. This is a far cry from last year when most Las Vegas real estate agents cringed at the very thought of getting involved in a short sale. I have been listing short sales almost exclusively for a year in anticipation of what is now becoming a reality.

If you are considering a short sale and have questions, I can be reached at 702-376-0088.

Paul Rowe is the listing team leader for the Sena Team at North American Realty of Nevada. You may reach the Team Sena at 702-376-0088. They offer representation for buyers, sellers and operate a full service property management division.

Why is now a great time to buy the golf course home of your dreams?  In the Las Vegas area there are over  50 golf courses with homes surrounding most of them.   Currently Las Vegas has over 800 properties listed in golf communities that range in price from a condo at Lake Las Vegas for $39,000 (no, that’s not a typo) to an estate in McDonald Ranch for $15,900,000.  There is literally something for everyone in every price range.  Selecting a home within a golf course community can be a very personal experience.   A community that meets your needs can include a view of the fabulous Las Vegas Strip,  private golf club,  recreational facilities with community rooms, pools, spas, walking paths,  exercise facilities, media rooms, massage,  on-site dining,  hotels and even a Casino, many have scheduled events, entertainment venues and much, much more.

Living in the Las Vegas area is truly an experience with great shopping, restaurants, freeways and beltways that can get you just about anywhere in the valley in less than 20 minutes – however, many find that life away from the “Strip” is much the same as anywhere else they’ve ever lived, a real community.   Many locals will tell you that they rarely go to the Strip except when company comes, but thankfully — it’s your choice.   In the coming weeks, I’ll give you insight into the various areas that are often overlooked.

GOLF IN HENDERSON

The very first Master Planned Community in the Vegas Valley was Green Valley in Henderson.  It was built in the 1970’s surrounding what is now the Wildhorse Golf Club, www.golfwildhorse.com.  Wild Horse  was built in 1959 and at one time owned by Hank Greenspun of the Las Vegas Sun and later by Howard Hughes.   Previously on the PGA Tour as the Sahara Invitational, it is now a public course owned by the City of Henderson.  (If you google this course, you’ll find it labeled as Paradise Valley Country Club.)   Wildhorse Golf Club recently had two holes chosen by the Las Vegas Review Journal’s readers for the Vegas Fantasy 18,  the par 3 4th and the par 4 9th.   This course was just re-designed  to provide recent xeriscaping to both beautify the property and conserve water.  Wildhorse offers an enjoyable round of golf at a reasonable price and is definitely a local’s favorite!

If you have interest in this golf community, there are only 91 properties that surround the course itself and possibly 5 vacant estate lots still available.    While many of the homes are older, a many have undergone extensive makeovers.    Interested?  There are only a few properties available that have golf course frontage.

If you are interested in a Golf Course Home in Las Vegas, feel free to give us a call at 702.376.0088 or fill out the contact form to the right.

If you have a new home purchase on your mind then there are a number of factors you should consider beforehand. Purchasing a new home is often a different process than purchasing an existing one; therefore, there are a number of things to take into consideration before making the leap into purchasing a new Las Vegas home:

• Find a Great Buyer Agent – Although you may be wowed by the builder’s sales agent, it is important to remember that he or she is working for the builder, and therefore has the builder’s best interests at heart. Many sales agents may lure you into purchasing a new Plano home that may not be the best fit for you; and the sales agent may not offer you the best price on a new home. It is therefore important to hire a buyer agent who is there to represent your best interests, no the builder’s. Your agent can guide you on the process and show you both the advantages and disadvantages of purchasing a new Las Vegas home.
• Consider other Lenders – Most builders will have their own lenders, but you don’t have to use them. In fact, the builder’s lender may not offer you the best rate. It is therefore in your best interest to shop around and find the lender that best fits your needs. This is not to say that the builder’s lender may not offer you the best rate; only that you should consider all of your options.
• Consider Talking to a Real Estate Attorney – New home purchase contracts can be riddled with language you may not understand. From contingencies and cancellation rights, a real estate attorney can provide much-needed guidance during negotiations.
• Check out the Builder’s Reputation – You owe it to yourself to check out the builder before purchasing a new home through them. You can talk to other neighbours and ask questions about their experience with the builder and the construction quality of their homes. You can also contact the Better Business Bureau and ask about any problems with the builder. Your builder should be able to provide you with a list of referrals; if they can’t, move on.

Author Bio:

Richard specializes in Dallas Apartments and Dallas Office Space for rent. You can also view market information regarding the Dallas real estate market via our blog.