Trying to Change the Closing Date

Your buyer is anxious to move up the closing. The lender says that they are ready, the buyer is ready, BUT: This is a short sale or a foreclosure!

What does that mean?

It means that the lender has to approve the HUD 48 hours prior to closing. It means having the HUD perfect. It means waiting for the title to arrive, via courier, to the attorney.

When The Wells Team works with a buyer or seller in this situation we become a second set of attorneys. We check on the status of financing, liens, paperwork from the selling institution, paperwork from the buyer's lender, review of bank addendums, inspections, appraisals, surveys and much more.

Bottom line: There are a lot of moving parts that go into a closing. Foreclosures and/or Short Sales make them that more complicated.

The Wells Team prides themselves on keeping up with their clients closing to the point that we also need law degrees!

When you buy or sell a property, especially a short sale or foreclosure, keep in constant contact with your real estate agent. Also realize that there a lot of moving parts to a closing. Trying to change the date can be done but only if everything comes together perfectly.

The key to a successful closing is keeping to a closing date, keeping in constant contact with your realtor, the closing attorney,and your lender.

A lot of work but well worth it at the end!

Relationships Still Work

We were approached by a company offering an internet lead capture system.

I know that they are great systems but The Wells Team obtains their business the old fashioned way: Personal Realtionships.

We are going to have a successful year despite the tough real estate market. The majority of our business is from personal relationships.

The Wells Team has made it a point to be active in the local community, participate in local organizations, and donate to local groups that need assistance.

I realize this is very basic but, after six years in the business, relationships remain a fundamental part of our success.

A simple concept.

The Norton Agency Has a New App

The Norton Agency is a local company with its dominant presence in North Georgia. Even though we are local, our company keeps up with the latest technology.

If you go the website below, you will be able to download an app that features The Norton Agency. The app will take you to our website where you can search the latest residential and commercial properties available. You will also see the additional services the company provides including property management, Homeworks, insurance, and our affiliations with closing attorneys and title companies.

http://www.wdun.com/accesswdunapp/

The Norton Agency: Local knowledge with both a national and international presence.

The Presidents Job Speech Thursday Night

The Presidents Job Speech Thursday Night

Communications, Still a Real Estate Basic

Yes communications is still a basic in the real estate world!

This is another lesson learned from dealing directly with clients.

Our sellers had asked us to lower the price of their home. Months later we received our FIRST offer! After submitting this offer to our seller we were met with a less than enthusiastic response! Our seller was not coming down off of his price! Matter of fact he had a change of strategy and would be taking the home off of the market!

This was a big breakdown in communications!

Lesson learned: Before I make any changes to any of our listings, at the request of the seller, I will make sure that there is a clear understanding of the ramifications!

6 months worth of work gone!

Do you really want a foreclosure?

We have been busy the last week with multiple buyers looking for the "deal"!

This group of buyers are looking in two upper end neighborhoods that include golf and boating.

We took these potential buyers into foreclosures, short sales, and traditional resales.

Here is what we found:

•Some clients want a home because it says foreclosure or short sale regardless
•Some of our clients looked at foreclosure homes with "resale criteria". They did not like the floor plan, color of paint, carpet, or overall condition
•Some of our clients looked at the foreclosures differently once they actually enter the home. The home looked a lot different than it did on the Internet


Here are some questions that we ask our clients:

•Are you ready to tackle a foreclosure in terms of time, sweat equity, and cash?
•Does it make more sense to pay a higher price for the "move in quality" resale or pay cash later for repairs and remodeling that you want to do on a foreclosure?
I bring up these points because we have some move in ready resales that are within $40,000 of some foreclosure property.

Last week we saw 30 year fixed rate mortgages at 4%. $40,000 more in the price of a home equates to approximately $190.96 per month.

Foreclosure or resale, a question worth pondering.

Barb and I have sold approximately 20 foreclosures and short sales. If we can help you please let us know.

FHA Lowers Loan Limits

I just received some information about FHA loans. This will have an effect on some of my clients. Overall this is still a great program with 3% required downpayment. 3% down in combination with low interest rates (3.75% last week) makes this is a great product.

Here is the breakdown for the North Atlanta Metro area effective September 1st

FHA has lowered the maximum loan amount from $346,250 to $320,850 in Metro Atlanta counties (includes Forsyth and Dawson)

HallCounty remains at $271,050 max loan amount

The Wells Team has a list of lenders that we have worked with in the past. If you would like a name please let us know.