Well, in “short,” a Short Sale is when the mortgagor/lender/bank accepts less than what the homeowner/borrower actually owes on the home (a “short” payoff).  Essentially, the mortgage company and the homeowner are using it as a solution to avoid a Foreclosure.  I’ve heard in the past that a mortage company will eventually lose approximately 18% on a property that forecloses instead of selling as a short sale, due to legal fees, worsened property condition, etc.  However, shockingly enough, close to 80% of the homeowners that go into foreclosure never even put their home on the market for sale, not even attempting a short sale.

Many short sale and foreclosure situations arise from either a spike in the borrower’s payment because they were maybe on an Interest Only ARM (Adjustible Rate Mortgage) which adjusted higher, a balloon payment at the end of an ARM, or due to a job loss, etc.  Sometimes, it’s merely because the homeowners needed to move, for one reason or another, and they couldn’t sell their homes for anywhere near what they paid for it in the booming years & they just decided to move on & cut their losses.  It’s not the ideal scenario for anyone or their neighbors or neighborhood, for that matter, but it definiltey happens.

Short Sales are definiltey the better route, for everyone involved (the seller, the seller’s lender, the buyer, etc) mainly because a foreclosure does more damage to the homeowner’s credit.  Also, the Seller’s Lender is normally getting more money than if they were to take it back in Foreclosure, and the Buyer will usually be buying a home in better condition than a foreclosure would be, but still at way below market value.

So, why do we see so many foreclosures happen – why don’t they all “short sale?”  Probably the biggest obstacle with short sales is the Seller’s bank’s ability to (or willingness to) process them in a timely manner and Buyers get anxious & tired of waiting on the bank’s response, so they decide to terminate & move on to another home.  Many times, the delay comes from the secondary lender (i.e. the subprime market) from the loans in which home buyers a 4+ years ago could get a 1st & 2nd mortgage (i.e. 80-20 loan, or 80% 1st & 20% 2nd) to avoid Private Morgage Insurance (PMI) and structure interest only payment, etc, to keep the payment low (essentially buying more home than a conventional mortgage would’ve afforded them).

Short Sales are consistently becoming more & more popular in this real estate market, though, and have been for a few years now, and the Government has put some plans in place to speed up the process & close more short sales.  Every market is local & different, but we’re all seeing it happen around us.  Some markets just have it worse than others.  Currently there are just over 5000 Atlanta homes for sale in FMLS for sale marketed as “Short Sales.”  Let’s hope many of these sell without going into foreclosure!  It will help the market, no doubt.

Homeowners: Are you in trouble of going into Foreclosure?  Would you like to talk more about the option of a Short Sale?  Give us a call or shoot us an email, we have an Atlanta area Short Sale Specialist on our Team to negotiate with your lender to help you aviod the obstacles and roadblocks  mentioned above & help you succeed in selling your home to prevent foreclosure.

Buyers: Click here to Search Atlanta Short Sales in your price range (click the More Search Options link in the search criteria for the Distressed/Short Sale option).

You can also click here to search the MLS for Atlanta homes for sale, including all of the metro Areas.

Thank you for reading!

The KellySellsAtlanta.com Team
www.KellySellsAtlanta.com
Your 1 Stop Real Estate Shop!

TODAY’S RATES:

30 Year FNMA: 4.375% with a .500% Origination Fee or 4.500% with a .125% Origination Fee

15 Year FNMA: 3.75% with a .750% Origination Fee or 3.875% with a .125% Origination Fee

30 Year Jumbo: 5.00% with a 1.00% Origination Fee or 5.125% with a .375% Origination Fee

30 Year FHA: 4.250% with a .250% Origination Fee or 4.125% with a Zero Origination Fee

5 Year FHA Arm: 3.00% with a Zero Origination and the lender paying -.875% of Closing Costs! This would be $1,750.00 on a $200,000.00 Loan Amount!

7 Year FHA Arm: 3.250% with the Lender paying -1.500% of Closing Costs! This would be $3,000.00 on a $200,000.00 Loan Amount!

Disclaimer: Rates are subject to change and are also based on the strength of the borrowers pre-qualification.  The above rate info was provided by Bank of America on Tuesday, 8/17/10…

Let us know how our Team can help you reach your goals in Buying or Selling.

With gratitude,

Aaron Allen & The KellySellsAtlanta Team
www.KellySellsAtlanta.com | 404-863-8680
For Sellers | For Buyers | For Results

Listed below are a few of the most common issues that can arise during the process of a Real Estate Transaction, which usually last 30 to 60 days from the Contract Date (aka Binding Agreement Date) to the Closing Date. Our Team’s job is to avoid these scenarios, along with the help of our preferred lender & closing attorney. Let me know if you need a referral to them & hope you find this info helpful:

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR REAL ESTATE CLOSINGS:

A) FHA Condo Considerations:

a. Condominiums must be covered by hazard and liability insurance and, when applicable, flood and fidelity insurance.
b. No more than 15 percent of the total units may be in arrears (defined as more than 30 days past due) of their condo association fee payments.
c. Condo associations must have a reserve account which holds an amount equivalent to at least 10% of the condo association budget.

B) Furniture Sold as Part of the Contract:

a. Be cautious when including personal property, such as furniture, in the contract. Appraisals are consistently coming in lower than the sales price, and an inflated sales price due to personal property can exacerbate that issue.

C) Seller Mail Aways/Seller Signing Early:
a. Be aware of whether the buyer has an FHA loan. If so, the lender will send documents that must be signed by the seller with the loan package. The seller must have access to a fax machine on the day of closing so that they can sign the FHA docs and fax them back to us as these docs are usually required for funding authorization.

D) Closing Costs:

a. Make sure to prepare both the buyer and seller that closings costs can change. The lender can put a cap on the amount of seller concessions allowed or a minimum on what the buyer must contribute. Therefore, the closing costs listed in the contract will not always be the closings costs allowed to be paid at closing.

Again, our Team’s job is to avoid these issues – whether we’re the Buyer’s Agent or Listing Agent. Our Preferred Lender and Closing Attorney are with you every step of the way to ensure a seemless closing & experience for our clients. I’m serious – they’re fantastic, and our business woulnd’t be where it is without them. We’re definiltey blessed to have found them & our clients have always felt the same.

Hope this was helpful! Let us know if you need us…

The KellySellsAtlanta.com Team of Keller Williams Realty
404-863-8680 | www.KellySellsAtlanta.com | HomeTeam@KellySellsAtlanta.com

If you’re looking for a GREAT East Cobb Swim & Tennis community to join, look no further! Kings Cove in East Cobb (Marietta, GA) has Swim / Tennis Memberships available for ONLY $450/year for non-residents!! This is a fantastic bargain…

Kings Cove is perfectly located just west of Johnson Ferry between Paper Mill and Lower Roswell.

Please contact Brad Williams (Membership Chair) at 770-565-8255 for more information & we’ll see you at the pool!

Market Summary: Even though rates have been super low in recent past, based on Lender calculations a 1% increase in mortgage rates could cost the consumer approx 17% more in monthly payment. In addition, there are only 2 weeks left to be under contract to take advantage of the $8000 and $6500 tax credits. If your friends, family or associates are even considering buying or selling, time is running short. We’re ready when they are, so have them call The KellySellsAtlanta.com Team asap (Aaron: 404-863-8680).

Good news is that Rates are staying somewhat flat at the start of the week, but they were trending upward last week…and the upward trend is expected to come again & continue. Who knows? It’s a moving target, but here’s what we’re seeing currently (sourced from Bank of America email):

30 Year FNMA: 4.875% with a .750% Origination Fee

15 Year FNMA: 4.250% with a .250% Origination Fee

30 Year Jumbo: 5.500% with a.875% Origination Fee

30 Year FHA: 4.750% with a .500% Origination Fee

7 Year FHA Arm: 3.750% with a .875% Origination Fee or 3.875% with a .375% Origination Fee

Disclaimer: Rates are subject to change and are also based on the strength of the borrowers pre-qualification. Please contact us at 404-863-8680 or email us and we can refer you to a lender & get you started.

…your next move is our business.
The KellySellsAtlanta.com Team of Keller Williams Realty

Morningside Elementary is one of the best Elementary Schools in the State of Georgia (ranking 56th on the Georgia Public Policy Foundation website). It is absolutely one of the best schools in Atlanta – no doubt. Some classic, cool & very desireable neighborhoods feed into Morningside Elementary…like Virginia Highland, Morningside, Ansley Park, Sherwood Forest, Johnson Estates, some of “Midtown,” etc…

Currently there are just over 200 homes for sale in the Morningside District with an average list price of $703,889. There are 35 homes under contract (this is a HOT area) and in the last 3 months, 42 homes have sold for an average sales price of $581,184.

I’ve set up this hot sheet link for you (see below) to view all homes for sale in the Morningside Elementary School District. The list of homes is always up to date, so you can put it in your favorites & feel free to revisit anytime.

Once you’re ready, you can call or email us for a FREE home valuation on your home, to set up a listing appointment or to view some of these listed homes and we can tailor a search that fits your specific criteria.

Our Team would love to help…and until then, Happy Hunting!! Oh, and the tax credits expire in 3 weeks & mortgage rates have gone slightly this week…still really good rates, but seems like they may not stay in the 4′s too much longer.

Click here for a list of homes for sale in the Morningside Elementary School District!

Click here for the Morningside Elementary School Website…

HomeTeam@KellySellsAtlanta.com | www.KellySellsAtlanta.com | 404-863-8680 cell | 404-969-1600 office

Keep more of your own $$ by appealing your property assessment valuation if it’s too high. If you haven’t received an assessment valuation this year, call the county or go online & look for a PT-50R form (Property Tax Return form) and also find out what your current valuation is (you can also find this online through the county tax assessor’s or tax commissioner’s website or office). We just won our appeal & reduced our property valuation by $42k…2 years ago we reduced it by $38k.  Go save yourself some of your OWN $$$.  It’s a little work (which = a little pain in the butt) but if you can save some $, it’s worth it.  I have informational materials if you need them that will help you along…also, after your assessment appeal is finalized they will freeze that valuation for 3 years so you don’t have to worry about it while (unless you decide to appeal again)!! – hope this helps…

The Kelly Sells Atlanta Team | 404-863-8680 | www.KellySellsAtlanta.com
#1 Real Estate Team in Keller Williams Premier Atlanta - Buckhead office

Since lending restrictions have tightened, FHA has BY FAR been the most popular loan program out there.  They have competitive rates (practically as low as you’ll find on a 30 year mortgage), the LOWEST downpayment option at 3.5% and they will loan up to $346,250 for your home purchase, so a home slightly over $350k would still qualify for an FHA loan with the 3.5% downpayment on top of the loan amount.  This loan program has had a LOT to do with the metro Atlanta Real Estate Market’s stabilization.

Coming in early April, FHA’s upfront mortgage insurance should increase from 1.75% to 2.25% of the purchase price.  This fee is paid at closing as part of your Closing Costs or “rolled” into/added to your loan amount & you basically pay it with each mortgage payment.  This will increase a payment approximately $5/month on a $150,000 loan.  Nothing drastic…

Spot approvals (for condos) will be going away, possibly by end of February, but this has been rumored for a few months so we’re not sure when they’ll finally make this official.  Spot approvals are used for Condo units when the Building, as a whole, hasn’t been fully approved by FHA.  That doesn’t mean something’s wrong w/ the building…it may only mean that the building HOA or Management hasn’t taken the time to go through the FHA approval process.

Lenders will still be able to do FHA Spot Approvals, but it will just be a little more difficult for them & it will take a little longer to close a loan.  It would probably be smart to add 15 days to the Contract to Close timeline to give the Lender a little more time.  Some lenders, like the one we use, will still get the job done in 30 days if needed…give me a call & I can put you in touch with him.  Many others you talk to will ask you to schedule a 45 day closing to make sure they can get the job done in time, but our guy is no feet dragger…his team will make sure you’re not inconvenienced by this change.

Whether you’re thinking of Buying or Selling, this is a great market to reach those goals.  Buyers want that $8000 1st Time Homebuyer Tax Credit or the $6500 Move-up Buyer Tax Credit.  And since Buyers have been so active, the home inventory has drastically reduced, making it a very opportunistic market for Seller’s with a well priced home in good condition!!

Please feel free to call/text/email us with any questions or if we can help you in any way.

The KellySellsAtlanta.com Team
#1 Team in Keller Williams Premier Atlanta/Buckhead
404-863-8680 | aaron@kellysellsatlanta.com
www.KellySellsAtlanta.com
>> click here to see what homes in your n’hood are selling for…>>

One of the toughest elements of this market is the fact that houses lose their uniqueness. The real disconnect is coming from this: Most sellers are trying to sell emotionally and buyers are buying logically. And agents who list properties and only speak “emotion” are really exacerbating the level of disconnect because buyers can’t understand the logic behind their sales pitch. The best thing that we as agents can do for sellers is to speak “logic” when we take a listing a pitch it to buyers in the market. An emotionally charged marketing campaign in the absence of a logically based price results in reduced prices and expired listings, and sellers continue to be “held hostage” by a home they no longer want. Logic means that something has to make good sense, particularly when compared to other things. Therefore, the properties that sell in less than 1 month on the market are the properties that show better than the other active listings on the market and are priced better than anything else that a buyer sees.

A listing is like an illness. With the right prescription (price) it goes away. With the wrong prescription (price) it gets worse.

As agents (and essentially independent business owners), no matter what, we have to be more concerned about taking an overpriced listings: it hurts our bottom line; it hurts our reputation; and it does our sellers a disservice by giving them false hope and wasting time and money that many of them don’t have.

Our ability to price listings accurately enough to attract offers has never had more importance. The time and money that this can save our sellers can literally save them. It can save their marriages, their families and it can save them financially. For the agents who understand this and become obsessive about it, there’s never been a more rewarding time to be a Realtor.

We realize that the truth is tough and can hurt a seller right now. However, the lack of truth hurts more and does more damage than most people can see on the front end of selling a home. Our challenge and our opportunity is to raise the level of our game so that our clients can trust our data, trust our recommendations and predict the future as clearly as we can. Together we can meet this challenge! 

We’re fighting the good fight! Together, we are making a huge difference in the lives of the people that we serve.

Thanks to Keller Williams & our owner, Shaun Rawls, for providing us with this info and for all of the traning we receive.  I’m so proud & fortunate to be in business with you.

Aaron Allen & Kelly Allen | Atlanta Real Estate Consultants

The Kelly Sells Atlanta Team | Great Service for Great People