Alison Creamer's Real Estate Blog

Hampton Roads' Real Estate market is in good shape.

I'm a full time Realtor in the Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Suffolk sales market. I don't think Short sales and REO's are taking over the market. I do think there is a good inventory of homes to choose from of these types of homes but I also see a lot of traditional listings. Sellers are understanding the values and the market now and I think are getting used to offers that are asking for closing costs or price reductions.

If you're a buyer and you're still thinking asking yourself, "Is this the right time to buy?" I want you to consider this. The bottom may have been hit and sellers took about 1.5 years to say to themselves, "Hey, we are in a buyers' market."  Really, it's like a perfect storm for you .

NOW is the time to BUY! With the credits, the flexible sellers, and the inventory, you might just find your DEAL of the century. It was only a few years ago that people where kicking themselves because they did not buy BEFORE the values sky rocketed.

Will you be sitting there again saying to yourself, I missed it again? I'd love to talk with you. My team has over 60 listings, many are steals, deals and bargains. Let's get you loan approved and into a home before the sellers' market returns! 

Southside reports :

Active listings are above 2007 by 801, but down by 433 from 2008 levels. Listings are slowing, when the inventory drops you start to see a swing to the seller market. Demand goes up and prices do too.

Pending sales are up and settled sales are steady. I wonder if that is a reflection of all the short sales and REO's that still need to close?

Off market time increased by 12 days from 2008 and sold times increased by 13 days.
Membership for REIN is also down. I guess with the market, members might be looking at getting other jobs. 

Great, will my property taxes rise again?

I'm 2 days behind in reading the newspaper so this may not be new to some readers. WHAT? RAISE TAXES!!!!! That's what I was thinking when I read that the city is looking to build or improve some Bayside centers. Projects to be included are an animal shelter and a Bayside recreation center. I thought, "Wow, there is a really nice rec center on First Court Road. I wonder how full it is? I wonder if it's so full they need a new one?" I have to admit the animal shelter might be a needed project but with these new buildings comes additional expenses, staff, utilities. I don't think they are going raise the tax then lower the tax once the projects are completed. I wonder, can't they find the money somewhere within the system already?

Did you know?  If you are using FHA loans, you better be sure the home you have been eyeballing has been in the current owner's possession for at least 90 days. With all these short sales, investors are snapping them up and selling them within 30 days. When you walk into a vacant, updated home, always ask, "IS THIS A FLIP??!!!!" The last thing you want is to find out is that you cannot get your loan.

Here are some red flags to keep an eye for:

RED FLAG 1. The home is vacant and totally updated
RED FLAG 2. The seller is an LLC
RED FLAG 3. The name on the tax record and the person selling it are different. ASK!

Currently, you cannot even contract on the home within the 90 days of a new owner purchasing the home. The best you can do is on the 91st day, WRITE THE OFFER!
You can still do a loan application and know you are set but you cannot contract on the home.

I would love to talk with you about other options if you have to have that home! 

What does a Hampton Roads realtor do all day?

STORY #1: Monday was a wonderful and wild day. I was thrilled to meet my new clients. Our day started at 9:30 so that we could review buyer disclosures and purchase contract information. Next, we moved onto the part every client loves, HOME SHOPPING!!! My client chose 9 homes they wanted to see - 2 were under-contract and 2 were short-sales. I also decided that while we were in the area I might as well see what else was for sale. I pulled an additional 32 homes and we settled on 2 more to see. With the tour ready and 7 homes to see that day, we set off to Hickory. It's funny as it seems a bit like a goldilocks story. TOO BIG, TOO SMALL, JUST RIGHT! After getting to Upton Farms and viewing the homes, we narrowed it down to the best 2. We drove to the office and I suggested my client go get something to eat and give themselves a moment to catch their breath and relax while I pulled market values and started the paperwork. 45 minutes later, we started the offer. There are a few key questions: money, deposit, closing date, closing cost amount, and home inspection. After reviewing the final documents we were all satisfied. I scanned copies for the client and sent the agent the offer. NOW, WE JUST HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS.

STORY #2: I met with Mrs. Buyer for the 4th time this week. I have to say this client has my heart. Max sales price of about $98K and needs help with closing costs. It has been a hard battle finding anything in a community where Mrs. Buyer would feel safe in. THEN, THERE IT WAS!!!!! A brick home in distress and the seller is offering closing cost assistance!!!!! (LIGHTS SHINE, ANGELS SING) WE found it. Mrs. Buyer and I parted ways with a little bit of homework - I have to research what will help her with her offer on the house and she needs to research her solid loan options. I’m confident we’ll be writing an offer today.

STORY #3: Even more on Monday....... I met with Mr. and Mrs. Buyers’ family for the 4th time and get ready to set out for a 6 home tour. We started in Norfolk in a sweet brick ranch community. I pulled up and said, “WOW,” this is it. I knew in my gut this was the right house. As we walked into the family room, I could see from the body language they felt into it. 5 more homes that night and YES, we all agree the brick home in Norfolk is the one. Again we parted ways with some homework. I’m getting property values together and the buyer is ensuring this is the home they want. I think I’ll be also making an offer on the home with them today as well.

STORY #4: Mr. and Mrs. Seller called to ask questions. Of course, with 20+ homes to show Monday there was no way I would be able to reply. So at 9 pm I made the call only to get an answering machine. I’m sure this will be 1st on the to do list today – call MR. AND MRS. SELLER!

Why I hate to blog

Okay, here we go - all the reasons I hate to blog! 

1. SPELLING

2. FORMATTING

3. MAKING SENSE

4. GRAMMAR

5. TOO MANY THINGS TO BLOG ON 

There you go, I laid it all out on the line. I think I have ADD and I have a hard time getting all my thoughts together. I'm not a very good blogger and the posts seem to be very simple and to the point. I wish I could organize my thoughts better.  I have tons of stuff to blog on. I'm very active with Real Estate. Our team holds 40+ listings within all price ranges. I could do a blog daily on the calls, the promotions, and the contracts. I closed 4 homes last month. I would be able to blog about how I met the client, the process, the rewards, and crises on each. I could blog about Social Media and how it has given me a new edge. I'm part of a social media class for Hampton Roads - www.newmediaconventions.com. Just that little tidbit could give me tons of content to talk about.  If you add in all the fun stuff I like to do like rubber stamping, making movies and all the books I try to read, the information is limitless. Really I think what stops me from blogging is just the fear of not coming across as an educated person. Really, I am! I just do so much better in PODCAST and Video than typing. So there you have WHY I DONT BLOG MORE! I prefer video. I love to connect eye to eye with my audience. No worries on grammar spelling or how the words are being read. It's so much easier to convery feeling and context with a video. 

Now the part I hate the most, PROOFING this blog. I'm sure I will miss something.

Im a few days behind in my reading of the local newspaper so this is old news Im sure. Military homeowners who must sell their home at a loss can get some help from the government. The DOD has about 555 Million for the HAP program. Families could get up to 90% ot there loss reimbursed to them when they must sell to do orders relocation them out of the area. Another option is for the DOD to buy the home for 75% of the origianal purchase price. Basic Guidelines to meet are .

1. Must have bought your home prior to July 2006

2. You must sell yor home prior to December 31

3. Submitt an application to by March 31, 2010 for assistance

I currently have 2 service member;s homes listed that would qualify for the program. Im sure there are other bits and pieces of the program to read about. I think the biggest question is the service member still has to be able to cover the loss then be reimbursed. Lucky for me one of my sellers has about 10k they would have to bring to the table at closing based on the average price in the area they are trying to sell.

If you want more information see http://hap.usace.army.mil/

I think this is a wonderful option for our service members

WHOAAAAA Hold on yes we closed this shortsale. Norfolk Va Shortsale. Alison Creamer,Bzibee, was able to keep this together.

I have been working a short sale with citimortgage for the past few months. It has been an experience I will never forget. We are to go to closing Friday 2-13-2009 and I cannot express how happy I and my seller will be when this is all done. I have learned some lessons on this topic.

1. Be very patient

2. Make sure you have a flexible buyer

3. Make sure all parties are reasonable

4.Read everything the bank gives you

We received a letter approving the short sale 60 days after submitting the offer. I was calling daily to try to get loss mit on the phone and I think of I had just been a bit more patient I would not have driven my self insane with worry. Once we got the letter there was a number that the bank wanted to net. No on not the buyers agent nor the title company re ran the numbers to ensure base don the contract terms that the bank would net this amount. So we are 48 hours to closing and we get the new finial HUD and it has the seller bringing 7600 to closing to see this home!!!! I was in a panic !!!! After more reading it appears that we should have been more diligent in the pay off and terms before this stage. Today I'm burning up the phones trying to get loss mit on the phone and see that we can do. Now I understand why agents say they will negotiate the listing fee at the last minute. The fact that we over look certain details that might actually have reduced this panic at the end and made all parties aware of “shaving” at the end is a fact of this process.

Stay tuned for 2-13-2009 blog to see if we got it all done and if we closed !

Hello,

Its seems as if the summer is starting to wind down. The Kids are getting ready for the school year and the nights are cooling off. I'm not sure I can say there has been much change in Real Estate. The July REIB stats noted that there is still a decrease in both buyers and seller for the month. I'm not sure where the trend is going. I can say I am seeing more and more bank owned homes and foreclosures in the area. NOT A good sign. I don't think it is anything like other areas are experiencing. If you want to know more send me a message. See more about what I'm doing at www.BZIBEE.com or hear me in Itunes