Short Sales 101 - Response to The Daily News article

There was an article in The Daily News newspaper about the emergence of short sales in this Sunday's paper. (Jan 3, 2010 issue) I found that the article was not 100% accurate. It said that short sales only involve your primary residence and that is not the case. Also that short sales can only occur on properties less than $729,750 which is also not true. The thing to keep in mind when shopping for a home, even as a buyer, is that you need a really good agent who resonates with you and is knowledgeable. It will not only make the process much more fun but it will also save you $$$$$$$$$$ :) OH YA!!!!

"SUMMER" BUYING

Traditionally in real estate things slow down for the summer especially around the holidays but this year things are different. There are several explinations for this, one of the is weather. We as human beings are completely affected by weather. This unseasonably cold and wet "summer" changes our focus from usual summer activities and puts us more into the spring/fall mental timeframe. Add to that mix the fact that many foreclosures and short sales are coming through on wide range of homes and you have a recipe for deals and as George and Weezie used to sing, "Movin' on up!" Deals like the ones I'm seeing are some of the best deals I have ever seen! This is the time that most investors dream about. If you are about to enter into that world remember that the number one rule in real estate is still location, location, location!

FEAR VS TRUST - which will YOU "buy" into?

I have a very different background than most other real estate agents mainly because of my degrees (Boston College-BA & Simmons College-MBA) and my almost 2 decades working for some of the largest public relations firms in the world. Additionally I've also developed a deep passion for studying human behavior. With that kind of background it is incredibly interesting to see people's reactions to what is happening in real estate.

The media focuses on what sensationalizes. They do this because it hooks people and that is how media outlets survive. For example, if you're flipping through channels and you hear, "dangerous storm coming" you are much more likely to stop on that channel, then if you hear, "beautiful weather expected". It's human nature, part of our genetic makeup linked to helping to keep us alive. We don't live in the same dangerous world as our great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents but we still pay attention to those triggers.

When it comes to selling or buying in this market, fear is what is still selling papers. What I see happening is that people are so fearful that they FREEZE. They let the fear override every fiber of common sense they have. One of my clients Steve (not his real name) was going to help out his daughter and her family by buying a bank-owned property. This property was in great shape and listed for less than half of its value, even for these times. Steve is the rare person who saved a significant amount of money and could buy this house oughtright with no mortgage and it would still only affect a small portion of his money. After much back and forth, Steve decided to follow the advice of his financial planner and keep his money in stocks/mutual funds. (BTW, the person he went to for advice is also the same person who would be benefitting from his keeping his money in the markets.) Four days later the market crashed and he lost a large chuck of it. Had he bought the house he would have lost none of it and would actually have built equity because it was being bought way below market value. In the meantime, that house sold for even less that it was advertised for. That FEAR helped Steve make a decision that was not in his best interest. Even if the markets had not crashed he still could not make as much money in the markets as he would have from this deal.

When decided what to do for your specific situation, use your breath, relax, write it down, talk it out. See what makes sense and what feels right. Always remind yourself that you are always safe and that everything is happening in divine order.

A Challenge Out There...Moms Grab Your Hammers!

Hello Moms!

Thanks for coming back and getting another dose of fun and informative realty reality. Most real estate agents cover only a specific area so they get stuck in just the info for that area. I like to shake things up a bit so I did a seach today for ALL single family homes in Massaschusetts that are FOR SALE and found some interesting information:

-There are 28,521 for sale.
-429 were listed in the last 3 days.

Ooops! Just to show you how crazy the market is, this morning I started writing this blog, went to a long meeting and went back to check the stats a few hours later and now the numbers are:

30,361 for sale!!! WOW! THAT IS NUTS! This is only in Massachusetts which again proves that it is a FABULOUS time for buyers!

Ok, so with these new results can you guess what the lowest priced home in Massachusetts is this week? (drum roll)


166 Brombach St, Pittsfield, MA
6 room, 2 bed, 1 bath Ranch
$35,000 (isn't that the price of a car???)
Approx. Living Area: 1294 sq. ft.
Approx. Acres: 0.19 (8276 sq. ft.)
Heat Zones: Forced Air, Gas
Parking Spaces: 2 Off-Street
Needs a lot of TLC.

For explore more fun properties like this go to http://www.brickhouserealty.com/ and sign up to view properties. Don't worry we won't sell or give your info to anyone not even to our own moms!

Have a fantastic week!
Mariaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
:)