Watkins Talk - The Real Deal on Real Estate

210 Pintail Dr

Mallard Lakes at Mckinney Beauty - Priced to sell FAST!!

For full property info, click here 210 Pintail Dr

 

Rates Dipped! I'm here if you have any questions.

Rates:

FHA: 4.25%   VA: 4.25%    Conventional: 4.375%    USDA: 4.5%    Jumbo: 5.25%

Home-mortgage interest rates fell last week to the lowest point of 2011 amid signs of a slowing economy, according to the latest survey from Freddie Mac. "U.S. house prices indexes may be nearing a bottom soon," Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said, pointing to slower price declines in recent months and a reduction in the serious delinquency rate. At the same time, the U.S. economy has showed signs of slowing, with Federal Reserve banks in Philadelphia, Chicago and Richmond, Va., reporting less business and manufacturing activity in their regions.

 

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.60% in the week ended Thursday

5030 Iroquois Dr

Price JUST REDUCED another $5k!!  Offering $1k realtor bonus. 

Do YOU know someone interested in buying or helping someone buy a home in the Frisco area?  Don't let them miss out on this beautiful house!  Let me know if you have questions.   

5030 Iroquois Dr.

Yes!! We do Short Sales! (but we understand them! most don't!)

Roughly forty percent of the homes for sale on today’s market are short sales and foreclosures! Distressed properties are well known for their value (a reputation which is sometimes accurate, and sometimes not), but they also have a reputation for causing buyers to become distressed, too!

Transactional snafus, last-minute surprises and long, drawn-out escrows that never close seem to be par for the course. Instead of avoiding these properties altogether, get educated about the most common dramas that go down in these deals, and how you can avoid falling victim.

1.  Run-on (and on, and on) escrows. When you’re buying a home (or selling one, for that matter), time is absolutely of the essence.  And buyers reasonably expect that the big time suck in real estate is in the house hunting process itself; seems like once you find a home you want to buy and the seller agrees to your price and terms, things should move pretty quickly, right?

Not so much, when it comes to some distressed property sales. I’ve heard tell of the occasional, swiftly-moving escrow on an REO (real estate owned – by the bank). But for the most part, these transactions take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks longer than “regular” sales, because of the extra signatures, supervisor-level approvals and even investor involvement required to seal the deal.  Banks don’t have the same sense of urgency individual home sellers do, and it’s not uncommon for the people who need to sign on the dotted line to be on vacation or scattered across the country, adding days’ or weeks’ worth of time to the escrow.

And short sales are also an entirely different animal when it comes to escrow timelines. While a standard sale from an individual seller to an individual buyer might take 45 days from contract to closing, a short sale can take anywhere from 45 days to 6 or 8 months (!) to get the deal closed, after the seller has accepted the contract.

Avoid the drama by: expecting your escrow to run long, and being pleasantly surprised if it doesn’t.  Expectation management is everything. Make sure you take these extended timelines into account when you’re working with your mortgage broker on the issue of when to lock your interest rate, and how long your rate locks will last. You might even need to plan on and/or set aside an allowance for the cost of extending your low interest rate, if rates are rising rapidly during the time you’re waiting for the deal to be done.

2.  Bank won’t take lowball offer.  If I had a dollar for every time I’ve received a question from an outraged reader to the effect that a buyer has had their short sale or REO offer rejected on grounds that it was too low,  even though the bank has no other offers, I could buy a foreclosure myself (admittedly, it’d be one of those $150 foreclosures in some blighted town with tax liens and no plumbing, but still).

Banks owe their shareholders and investors a duty to get as much as they can for these properties. Just because you see it’s on the market and listed as a short sale or a foreclosure doesn’t mean they’re going to give it to you for a fraction of its worth. The bank’s goal is to get a purchase price as close as possible to the home’s fair market value, as determined by the recent sales prices of similar, nearby homes, with some adjustments made for the property’s condition.  Fact is, many banks would rather see the listing agent reduce the price by a moderate amount, and wait to see what offers come in, than to accept an offer 30 percent below the asking price just because there are no other offers on the table.

Avoid the drama by:  working with your agent to make a realistic offer, based on recent comparable sales in the neighborhood, not just on what you think you can get away with.  You can waste a lot of time, spin a lot of wheels and lose out on a lot of properties making lowball offer after lowball offer on distressed homes. Sit down with your broker or agent, review the ‘comps’ and make a smart offer that reflects a good value for you, is within your budget and is not bizarrely out of the realm of the fair market value of the property.

3.  Last minute postponements/cancellations. These transactions have an uncanny way of being delayed at the last minute – or never going through at all, through no fault of the wanna-be buyer. You signed docs yesterday, put your dog in the crate this morning and just hopped in the moving truck, only to get a text from your broker that the deal didn’t close because the escrow company which was selected by the bank flubbed the checkboxes on a single sheet of paper (it happens). Or, you’ve been in contract (with the seller) on a short sale for four months, and the bank refuses the sale entirely because the seller refuses to kick even $1 of their own cash into the deal, despite having a flush savings account.

Avoid the drama by:  staying as flexible as possible with your moving plans as long as possible.  Best practice is to plan on some overlap between the time you can be in your last place and your scheduled move-in date.  Also, if you’re in contract on a short sale, you should take the point of view that you don’t have a firm deal until you get the bank’s approval of the transaction. So don’t even think about starting to make moving plans or paying for home inspections and appraisals until you know the bank has greenlit the deal and that the purchase price and terms they’ve approved work for both you and the seller.

4.  The bank’s black box. Make an offer on a normal home and you’re likely to know what the outcome will be within a few hours or a few days, at the outside. If things take longer because the seller is out of town or some such, the listing agent tells you that, and you at least know what’s going on.

Make an offer on a bank-owned property or a short sale?  It’s a crap shoot – could be days, but could also, easily, be weeks or months before you know what’s going on.  And no amount of calling, pleading, prodding or nudging is likely to get you much information on how your offer or the seller’s short sale application is being handled or what (if any) progress is being made.  And that “black box” into which your offer disappears at the benk level is very frustrating.

Avoid the drama by:  continuing your house hunt until you have an answer back.  Maniacally pestering the listing agent for answers or harrassing your buyer’s broker into spending hours on hold with the bank is highly unlikely to get you any insight. (With that said, it does make sense for your agent to check in regularly – sometimes even daily –  with a short sale or REO listing agent to stay updated on any developments with the property and to make sure your offer/transaction stays in the front of their mind.)

Most of the angst in these situations arises when a buyer feels they passed on properties that would have really worked for them when they pinned their hopes on a distressed home.  You can only control your efforts and activities, not the bank’s.  So, consult with your own broker or agent about staying proactive in viewing and even pursuing other properties until you have a firm “yes” from the bank on your short sale or REO offer.  Until that time, and usually for a short time after you get the bank’s approval, you have the right to back out of the transaction if you need to (make sure your broker briefs you on precisely when your right to rescind your offer or exercise contingencies – i.e., bail – will expire).

5.  Double standards. In a “regular” equity sale with no bank involvement, both buyer and seller are obligated to meet various timelines.  Seller has to provide disclosures by X date, open the property to inspections – with utilities on – by Y, and close and move out by Z.  REO and short sale buyers, on the other hand, are often dismayed to find that  even though the bank might take weeks or months to sign or handle its deliverables, the bank will insist that the buyer show up, sign or send a check quick-like.

Avoid the drama by: chalking it up to the (admittedly irritating) way things are – the price you pay to buy from the bank.  Realize that working with the bank on the bank’s terms is unavoidable when you buy a distressed property. Then, go into the deal with realistic expectations – including the expectation that the bank will drag its feet, despite expecting you to keep every deadline – and you’ll be less frustrated, and less likely to make poor decisions out of frustration.

Also, make sure you do respond in a timely manner to the bank’s requests and your obligations under the contract.  I’ve seen banks capitalize on buyer delays in returning signatures and removing contingencies to accept higher offers they received in the interim.  Don’t lose your home on a technicality because you assume that the bank’s lackadaisacal timelines apply to you as well.

Rate Dip!! Who's going to take advantage?

If you are thinking of buying, selling, refinancing or investing..  Call me!!   Rates move daily.

Conventional Loans:

30yr Fixed             
4.750% (0.000 discount points) with 0.625 point credit      
4.625% (0.250 discount points)
4.500% (0.875 discount points)  
            
20yr Fixed           
4.375% (0.000 discount points)                        
4.250% (0.625 discount points)
4.125% (1.375 discount points) 

15yr Fixed             
3.875% (0.000 discount points) with 0.250 point credit                   
3.750% (0.250 discount points)       
3.625% (0.750 discount points)          
           
10yr Fixed             
3.375% (0.000 discount points) with 0.750 point credit                            
3.250% (0.125 discount points)    
3.125% (1.250 discount points)                          
           
Conventional ARMs:

5/1 Libor ARM (5/2/5 Caps)
3.875% (0.000 discount points)          
3.750% (0.250 discount points)
3.625% (0.500 discount points)     

7/1 Libor ARM (5/2/5 Caps)
4.250% (0.000 discount points) with 0.125 point credit               
4.125% (0.250 discount points)
4.000% (0.625 discount points)

FHA/VA (Government Loans) :

30yr Fixed             
4.875% (0.000 discount points) with 0.250 point credit  
4.750% (0.375 discount points)
4.625% (1.125 discount points)   
            
20yr Fixed           
4.625% (0.000 discount points)                              
4.500% (0.375 discount points)
4.375% (1.000 discount points)
           
15yr Fixed             
4.125% (0.000 discount points)                   
4.000% (0.500 discount points)
3.875% (1.000 discount points)

Conforming Single Unit Investment Property Rates (30yr Fixed)
            
20% Down           
5.000 with 1.000 discount points
           
25% Down           
4.875 with 0.125 discount points

5030 Iroquois Dr

Click on ME ->  5030 Iroquois Dr.

Price JUST REDUCED!!  Take advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend and check out the unbelievably amazing backyard retreat of this immaculate home!  Do you know anybody that this could be the perfect home for?  Let me know and I'll take great care of them! 

Bugs and Foundation - Are you ready?

With summer coming soon, we all know that the bugs are coming.  There are some things that you can do to help deter the pests and help your house at the same time. 

 Make sure all of your bushes and plants are at least 6 inches away from the house.  The vines going up the side of the house may look pretty, but they can cause plenty of havoc as they allow bugs to travel into your home.  Not to mention that they can easily grow into your attic, windows and walls.  The more they grow into your home, the more damage they can cause. 

 Make sure you can see at least 2-4” of the concrete slab foundation around your house.  Otherwise bugs and moisture can penetrate the house through the weep holes along the bottom row of bricks.  Do not cover those weep holes, as they are there for a reason.  You can put steel wool in there to keep the bigger bugs from getting in, but don’t cover them. 

 Make sure your soaker hoses are at least 18 inches away from the house.  Soaker hoses right up against the house will cause more problems than it will fix.  The goal of the soaker hose is to regulate the moisture content of the soil around the house, not under it. 

 Make sure your gutter downspouts can drain at least 18 inches away from the house.  Make sure that your splash blocks at the ends of the gutters properly drain the water away from the house.  

Call me ASAP if you or someone you know is even "thinking" about buying or selling!   My clients are capitalizing!

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Absolute BEAUTY in Frisco, Saltwater Pool and Tons of Upgrades!!

Impeccably maintained house, shows like a model!!  From the moment you enter, you are surrounded by pure elegance.  Handscraped wood floors in foyer and dining room leads to light and airy family room.  Travertine tiles grace the floor and showcase the gas log fireplace with a custom slate inset and beautiful wood mantle matching the built-in book cases.

The open floor plan brings you a kitchen with a large center island, granite counters, gas cooktop, double ovens, SS appliances, custom lighting, butlers pantry, additional storage cabinets and so much more!!  Privacy is assured with blackout blinds in the master bedroom, which has a sitting area overlooking the custom landscaped backyard, complete with a sparkling saltwater pool and spa with waterfall, stone and granite outdoor grill with Dacor natural gas grill and refridgerator, extended brick patio and poolside seating areas, perfect for backyard retreat and entertaining guests!!

Upstairs are four additional bedrooms, two full baths and an oversided game room perfect for playing games or watching a movie.  Each room features designer paint and special touches such as hand troweled finishes in the kitchen, breakfast nook and master bath. 

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Visual Tour

5030 Iroquois - Website

A/C Unit Checkup

The temperatures are on the rise, which means that your electric bills we be rising as well.  The largest consumption of electricity in the summer is from our air conditioning units.  Prepare yourself as best as possible to keep your house cooler, while keeping that bill lower.  Make sure you change your filters regularly.  Having a clean filter will ensure that the system can draw enough air through the system to allow it to function properly.  Make sure your ducts are sealed properly.  Check where the ducts connect to the system and make sure you don’t have air leaking out into your attic.  This is one of those rare situations where you can actually use duct tape on ducts.  Scary thought I know. 

 If you have the means, check the temperature of the unit while it is running.  When the air conditioner is running the unit should lower the temperature of the air by between 15 and 20 degrees.  Anything outside of that range means the unit is not functioning properly, and you should have an HVAC technician service the system.

 Most of you will have vent registers on your ceiling.  Most of those have levers on them to open and close the vent.  If you have rooms that are colder than others, then you can open and close these to better balance the system out.  The rooms that are colder, you can close the damper off about 50%.  This will force more air into the other rooms that aren’t getting as cool.

 Your condenser unit is on the outside of the house.  The Freon line should be completely covered with black foam insulation.  If it isn’t, you can go to your local hardware store and purchase for pretty cheap.  Make sure that line is insulated or the line can freeze up and make your unit less efficient.  Also check the fins around the unit.  The side closest to the house tends to get dirty.  Clogged fins can restrict air flow coming into the unit.  Make sure to keep these clean.

I hope this helps keep your AC units running at peak efficiency.  Have a great day, and please let me know if there is anything that I can do to assist your family or friends.