Is that the best you can do?

Every morning, I pull up the foreclosure "hot sheet" on the local MLS of Portland and Vancouver. This search lists only REO/bank owned properties in Clark, Skamania, Cowlitz, Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington counties of Oregon and Washington State – new listings, price reductions, and homes that fell out of escrow and are back on the market. I like to know what properties are available daily in our market area.

I am a true believer in the power of a good photograph. Even if it is an ugly house, it should have as many pictures as possible broadcast to the home buyer…. the good, the bad, and the ugly. I was frustrated as I scrolled through the list because so many lacked quality photographs. The kicker was a 14,000 square foot custom home on over 30 acres with a fabulous view - 7 hazy photos. So I decided to a little research. Out of 61 foreclosure properties priced from $68,000 to $549,900 - here are the statistics:

• NONE, I mean ZERO out of 61 had a virtual tour
• 24 listings had only a front shot or NO photographs
• 22 had less than 7 photographs, of which 60% were blurry (looked to be taken from a cell phone issued in 2001). The rest were dirty floors, toilets, kitchens with the cabinets wide open, or half of a room:

The bottom line is that inadquate photographs are costing banks/sellers money.  Out of the 46 with inadequate or no photographs on the MLS, 38 were price reductions. Coincidence? I don't think so. As agents, is that really the best we can do?  

 

Julie Baldino is a Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington Windermere broker with over 8 years experience in the real estate and construction industry. Specialties include short sales, foreclosure/REO sales condominiums, residential home sales, lots/land, multi-family, and investments properties in Vancouver, WA and surrounding areas. If you need help buying or selling a home in the Pacific Northwest, I can be reached by phone, email, or text message. You can also instant message me from my website.

• Cell: 360-910-3586
• FAX: 360-326-1823
• Julie@JulieBaldino.com

Serving Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, Clark, Skamania, and Cowlitz Counties in the following areas: Vancouver, Ridgefield, Battle Ground, Brush Prairie, Hockinson, Woodland, Amboy, Yacolt, Camas, Washougal, La Center, Kalama, Kelso, Longview, Portland, Lake Oswego, Oregon City, Beaverton, Tigard, Clackamas, Hillsboro, West Linn

Repairs and Bank Owned Homes

Just this week, I had a sale fall apart due to buyers with unrealistic expectations about the home they were purchasing. When you are buying a foreclosure, your standards about the condition need to be more relaxed than on a traditional sale. Bank owned properties come with deferred maintenance issues… period. Even move-in ready, seemingly perfect houses can have troubles. Many of these homes have been vacant for months, or had former owners that didn't have the money to maintain them.






Please remember when buying a foreclosure… it is highly likely that the home inspector will find a few common issues associated with deferred maintenance and/or abandonment. You need to be prepared to deal with those matters BEFORE you make an offer, just in case the bank will not fix anything. 11 out of 12 of the financial institutions I work for have taken into account what needs to be done and the home has been priced to reflect those issues. Adjust your expectations accordingly when looking at bank owned homes… or you may find yourself continually disappointed.

        

Julie Baldino is a Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington broker with over 14 years experience in the real estate and construction industry. Specialties include short sales, foreclosure/REO sales
condominiums, residential home sales, lots/land, multi-family, and investments properties in Vancouver, WA and surrounding areas. If you need help buying or selling a home in the Pacific Northwest, I can be reached by phone, email, or text message. You can also instant message me from my website.

• Office: 360-694-4050, Ex. 107
  
• Cell: 360-910-3586
  
• FAX: 360-326-1823
  
• Email: Julie@JulieBaldino.com
  

Serving Multnomah, Clackamas, Clark, Skamania, and Cowlitz Counties in the following areas:


Vancouver, Ridgefield, Battle Ground, Brush Prairie, Hockinson, Woodland, Amboy, Yacolt, Camas, Washougal, La Center, Kalama, Kelso, Longview, Portland, Lake Oswego, Oregon City, Beaverton, Tigard, Clackamas, West Linn

For Sale: 2BR/2+1BA Condo in Washougal, WA, $149,900

For Sale: 2BR/2+1BA Condo in Washougal, WA, $149,900

Clark County, Vancouver WA HUD homes for sale! Burton, Evergreen, Cascade Park

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<><><><> <><><><> 1109 E 29th Street Vancouver, WA 98663 (Downtown Vancouver, Lincoln) HUD owned, sold AS IS. Cute cottage style home for a bargain price! Located minutes to downtown, this home could use some cosmetic updating but has features and charm already built in. Hardwood floors, tile counters in kitchen and bath and more. Nice fenced back yard for entertaining. Hurry on this one. Contact Julie for additional information. $82,500 - MLS 11462261 <><><><> <><><><> 14920 NE 34th St Vancouver, WA 98665 (Burton, Parkside) HUD owned, sold AS IS. Nice 3 bedroom, 2 bath manufactured home located in a quiet neighborhood. On a nearly 10,000 SF lot, there is plenty of room for entertaining in the huge back yard. Features include a fireplace for cool winter nights, separate laundry room, an attached double garage and central A/C. Super low price makes this a unique opportunity for home ownership. Contact Julie for additional information. $110,000 - MLS 11063319 13705 NE 30th Circle Vancouver, WA 98682 (Burton, Logan's Landing) HUD owned, sold as-is. This is one of those rare "steals" - a solid, clean house, move in ready that your buyers will love. A must show! 3beds/2.5baths 1710 square feet and so much room to move! Generous bedrooms with great sized closets, a huge garage and light, bright, clean. All located on a quiet cul-de-sac street with great neighbors. THIS ONE WON'T LAST AT THIS PRICE! Contact Julie for additional information. $127,000 MLS - 11085899 <><><><> 3615 NE 137th Av Vancouver, WA 98682 (Burton, Evergreen) HUD owned, sold as-is. Nice, cute ranch on huge, fenced qtr acre lot. Clean and in good condition, this home comes with a nice kitchen with cabinets in great shape and enough room for an eating area. The living room is large and bright. 2 full bathrooms that have nice flooring and vanities. Back patio for entertaining and one car attached garage. Contact Julie for additional information. $136,000 MLS - 11389212 4330 NE 97th St Vancouver, WA 98665 (Hazel Dell, Moonlight Meadow) HUD owned, sold as-is. You've found your new home! Spacious rooms, well planned kitchen, and plenty of room to grow. Four bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2 car attached garage. Soaring 9ft ceilings, open entry, formal dining room, gas fireplace and a nook in the kitchen for Sunday breakfasts. Super popular upstairs laundry room. Sold as-is. Contact Julie for additional information. $210,000 - MLS 11453971

Home inspections and foreclosure purchases – what to expect

Just this week, I had a sale fall apart due to buyers with unrealistic expectations about the home they were purchasing. When you are buying a foreclosure, your standards about the condition need to be more relaxed than on a traditional sale. Bank owned properties come with deferred maintenance issues… period. Even move-in ready, seemingly perfect houses can have troubles. Many of these homes have been vacant for months, or had former owners that didn't have the money to maintain them.


Items of a cosmetic nature…scratches in the wood floor, stains in the carpet, trim missing in the living room, bedroom light fixtures needing bulbs, etc. I personally don't think they belong in an inspection report… especially on an REO property. A lot of these homes have taken a beating, and it's typically evident when you walked in the door. These types of items are irrelevant to the bank (they usually already know about them from the pictures the listing agent takes prior to putting on the market) and they should be to the buyer. If it was visible at the time you wrote the offer, and you signed the addendum stating the property is being sold "as-is"… what you see it what you get.

Purchasing in the Pacific Northwestbrings about another set of issues, due to the amount of precipitation we receive and our weather patterns. Homes in the Camas/Washougal area, and the Columbia River Gorge get a lot of wind and heavy rain in the winter. The extra harsh conditions are tough on a home's exterior and require maintenance more often.

Some of these items are a simple fix; some can turn into major repairs. Either way, I see one or more on this list in 75% of the reports that come across my desk:

1. Water in the crawlspace
2. Furnace needs to be serviced and air filter changed
3. Dry rot near tubs, toilets, and decks
4. Broken window seals
5. Roof failure, leaks, missing shingles and/or flashing
6. Broken pipes due to freezing
7. Missing appliances, fixtures, disposals, copper piping
8. Gutters need to be cleaned
9. Missing downspouts
10. 
    
    Chimney needs cleaning

Please remember when buying a foreclosure… it is highly likely that the home inspector will find a few common issues associated with deferred maintenance and/or abandonment. You need to be prepared to deal with those matters BEFORE you make an offer, just in case the bank will not fix anything. 11 out of 12 of the financial institutions I work for have taken into account what needs to be done and the home has been priced accordingly... please know what you are getting in to, so you aren't disappointed over and over again by having unrealistic expectations!

I would love to hear from agents in other parts of the country….

What are typical/common repair items in your market area?

The Looooooooong of Short Sales Part 5 – What To Look for in an Offer

You may think with a short sale, that you should jump on any/all offers…
In my opinion, this is absolutely NOT true!
Choosing the right buyer is as prudent as completing your paperwork with diligence.
If you keep an eye on the real estate market, you may notice homes come back on the market repeatedly. This is typically because non-committed buyers or investors write offers hoping for the deal of the century. During the process, a better deal comes along, or a foreclosure that can close right away appeals to them, and they move on. Not only do you have to start from scratch, if you are in a declining market, you're property value has again gone down. The history on a listing where this has occurred looks something like this:

ßPending again at a much lower price
ßBack on the market after 3 months
ßPending
ßStarts out at market value with gradual reductions
It is not uncommon to see this recurring pattern for 12 months or more. With most major banks no longer allowing foreclosure postponement, it is more crucial than ever to make sure every day counts. Sometimes situations are beyond your control… you get flaky buyers, bank won't accept the offer price, you cannot get a response quick enough, etc. Beyond your control. On rare occasions the bank tells you what they want up front, or specifically ask for you to submit all offers. Very rare. Every situation is different.
For most circumstances here are a few tips for avoiding problems on your short sale, and moving on to a successful closing:

• Make sure buyers know how long it will take by putting an approximate # of days on the MLS listing... and estimate high. That way they know what to expect, and won't walk based on timeline.
• Ask the buyer to commit to 90 days or more, and agree to submit one offer. They give you their loyalty, you give them yours – it is a fair trade, and better in the long run for all involved. Let's face it, most negotiators have 500 files on their desk… do you think they want to sift through 5 crappy offers, or look at one committed offer?
• 
  
  Make sure your buyer is qualified for more in case the bank counters your offer. If you are priced 25% below market value to induce an offer, chances are the bank is going to want more. Make sure the buyer is flexible (just in case). Explain that you want them to get the best deal possible… but you need to know they can buy the house if the price goes up a couple thousand dollars. In simpler terms, if your house is 200k, don't accept an offer from a buyer that only qualifies for 150k… unless you are very close to foreclosure and have no choice.
• Lastly, and probably the most important – Find an agent that is experienced with short sales and with your bank. Not too long ago I submitted an offer for some buyers that were insistent they had this house. There were 3 loans on the property, the agent had never done a short sale, and was submitting offers by the dozens to all 3 lien holders. Not surprisingly, it foreclosed and nobody got it. Try a Certified Distressed Property Expert, and if you can't find one – CALL ME. I would be happy to find one for you.