Corona (34)
Lake Elsinore (20)
Murrieta (33)
Temecula (20)
Perris (30)
Moreno Valley (49)
Hemet (16)
San Jacinto (11)
Riverside (44)
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Ducks in a row...
"We need to cancel," are the words the ring through my cell phone.
Unfortunate words...mostly because we had all of our ducks in a row. We had talked about all of the pertinent issues (financing, down payments, deposits, inspections, found home, etc...).
As we have talked about previously, buying a home is not a spur of the moment transaction. It requires planning and effort. It also requires diligence...following up with the lender, providing them with tax returns, pay-stubs, credit reports, signatures.
My clients and I had spent hours looking at homes. We had spent hours pouring over listing after listing, hoping to find the perfect home. We had written a few offers...had a few rejected. We hit a snag on the home that they wanted...it had a snag due to the FHA 90 day flipping rule...or should I say the amended rule (see FHA Amends Anti-Flipping Rule). The lender and I worked our way through this "snag" only to find out that the home was sold a few hours earlier.
So, here we are...having found another home...having reached agreement. The lender began to flip-flop on loan programs. He began to call all sides (seller, buyer, myself) and tell us all different stories.
"We are in underwriting," he tells me.
"You need to fix your credit," he tells my client.
"Tim is not getting me the info I need," he tells the listing agent.
We have spent 3 weeks working on a deal, signing disclosures, paying for appraisals and inspections and out of nowhere the deal is dead. The lender (or should I say more specifically the mortgage broker) is unable to perform on his promises.
My client is mad. The listing agent is frustrated. I am left trying to figure out the details...with a lot of unanswered questions. Am I working with a qualified buyer? Do my buyers want to buy a home?
The result is that we have to cancel the transaction. My clients are out $300 for the home inspection and $375 for the appraisal (and are lucky that their deposit is not in doubt). I am frustrated because of all of the effort put into this transaction. And the listing agent has to put the house back on the market. All because the mortgage broker didn't do what he said he could do.
So we are left to wonder how the most important duck got out of the row.
Unfortunate words...mostly because we had all of our ducks in a row. We had talked about all of the pertinent issues (financing, down payments, deposits, inspections, found home, etc...).
As we have talked about previously, buying a home is not a spur of the moment transaction. It requires planning and effort. It also requires diligence...following up with the lender, providing them with tax returns, pay-stubs, credit reports, signatures.
My clients and I had spent hours looking at homes. We had spent hours pouring over listing after listing, hoping to find the perfect home. We had written a few offers...had a few rejected. We hit a snag on the home that they wanted...it had a snag due to the FHA 90 day flipping rule...or should I say the amended rule (see FHA Amends Anti-Flipping Rule). The lender and I worked our way through this "snag" only to find out that the home was sold a few hours earlier.
So, here we are...having found another home...having reached agreement. The lender began to flip-flop on loan programs. He began to call all sides (seller, buyer, myself) and tell us all different stories.
"We are in underwriting," he tells me.
"You need to fix your credit," he tells my client.
"Tim is not getting me the info I need," he tells the listing agent.
We have spent 3 weeks working on a deal, signing disclosures, paying for appraisals and inspections and out of nowhere the deal is dead. The lender (or should I say more specifically the mortgage broker) is unable to perform on his promises.
My client is mad. The listing agent is frustrated. I am left trying to figure out the details...with a lot of unanswered questions. Am I working with a qualified buyer? Do my buyers want to buy a home?
The result is that we have to cancel the transaction. My clients are out $300 for the home inspection and $375 for the appraisal (and are lucky that their deposit is not in doubt). I am frustrated because of all of the effort put into this transaction. And the listing agent has to put the house back on the market. All because the mortgage broker didn't do what he said he could do.
So we are left to wonder how the most important duck got out of the row.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Repo Lists
Corona
Lake Elsinore
Murrieta
Temecula
Perris
Moreno Valley
Riverside
Sorry about the delay. I will post new ones very soon.
Lake Elsinore
Murrieta
Temecula
Perris
Moreno Valley
Riverside
Sorry about the delay. I will post new ones very soon.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Wait...why didn't we get it???
"Tim, what am I supposed to do?," my client exclaimed this afternoon.
We were standing on the dead grass in the front lawn of plan G for this particular client. I could sense the frustration in her voice, I could see it in her eyes and her body language as we stood looking at this "new" home. I felt it too. You knew there is a story coming...
My client is a lovely woman who is trying to get her family a new home. She is a single mom who works hard to provide for her family. Last week we fell in love with a beautiful home in Moreno Valley. The home was a little more than she could afford. We made a very reasonable offer...but we just couldn't reach an agreement.
So we met late last Wednesday night. The house was perfect. It boasted a big back yard, 3 bedrooms, a den, and it was perfectly in her budget. We got to work on submitting an offer.
The listing price was $145,000. The seller was offering $5,100 in closing costs. This nets the bank (the seller) $139,900. Our offer was $155,000 with $10,000 in closing costs. This offer nets the bank $145,000. A difference of 3.645% above the banks net.
I begin calling the listing agent daily...multiple times a day. I speak with the agent on Saturday and he tells me that they have received 2 offers. He told me to call his assistant to determine if we were "competitive" with our offer. I called her on Monday, Tuesday...finally chatting with her late yesterday afternoon. She said she was unaware of the other offer price and that she would call me back. I am still waiting for that call.
My client wanted this home very bad. So, I called again this morning, and was informed that they had accepted another offer. I called the listing agent and asked him how far we were from being accepted. His response...
We had the higher offer!!!!
Why would this be? How could the bank accept less? Who makes these decisions?
The only logical explanation I can come up with is that the bank (sellers) are in the business of closing deals. Therefore, someone had to have a stronger offer. What constitutes a stronger offer (more downpayment, better pre-qual letter, higher credit scores, etc...)?
Either way...the ebbs and flows of this market continue to change. Summer is typically a very competitive time of year for buying a home. This year proves to be more challenging...because there is no rhyme or reason to which offer the banks are going to accept.
We were standing on the dead grass in the front lawn of plan G for this particular client. I could sense the frustration in her voice, I could see it in her eyes and her body language as we stood looking at this "new" home. I felt it too. You knew there is a story coming...
My client is a lovely woman who is trying to get her family a new home. She is a single mom who works hard to provide for her family. Last week we fell in love with a beautiful home in Moreno Valley. The home was a little more than she could afford. We made a very reasonable offer...but we just couldn't reach an agreement.
So we met late last Wednesday night. The house was perfect. It boasted a big back yard, 3 bedrooms, a den, and it was perfectly in her budget. We got to work on submitting an offer.
The listing price was $145,000. The seller was offering $5,100 in closing costs. This nets the bank (the seller) $139,900. Our offer was $155,000 with $10,000 in closing costs. This offer nets the bank $145,000. A difference of 3.645% above the banks net.
I begin calling the listing agent daily...multiple times a day. I speak with the agent on Saturday and he tells me that they have received 2 offers. He told me to call his assistant to determine if we were "competitive" with our offer. I called her on Monday, Tuesday...finally chatting with her late yesterday afternoon. She said she was unaware of the other offer price and that she would call me back. I am still waiting for that call.
My client wanted this home very bad. So, I called again this morning, and was informed that they had accepted another offer. I called the listing agent and asked him how far we were from being accepted. His response...
We had the higher offer!!!!
Why would this be? How could the bank accept less? Who makes these decisions?
The only logical explanation I can come up with is that the bank (sellers) are in the business of closing deals. Therefore, someone had to have a stronger offer. What constitutes a stronger offer (more downpayment, better pre-qual letter, higher credit scores, etc...)?
Either way...the ebbs and flows of this market continue to change. Summer is typically a very competitive time of year for buying a home. This year proves to be more challenging...because there is no rhyme or reason to which offer the banks are going to accept.
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