[bearishgurl]

[quote=EconProf]I suspect a lot of these 5+ bedroom McMansions are dinasaurs and will suffer greviously on a price per SF basis. When rising utility costs are factored in along with Americans’ coming healthy desire to downsize, quality and location will triumph over size. A smaller footprint is a good thing.[/quote]

I wholeheartedly agree, Econprof. But you forgot to add their exorbitant MR and HOA to the mix. Thanks for posting!

[bearishgurl]

[quote=EconProf]I suspect a lot of these 5+ bedroom McMansions are dinasaurs and will suffer greviously on a price per SF basis. When rising utility costs are factored in along with Americans’ coming healthy desire to downsize, quality and location will triumph over size. A smaller footprint is a good thing.[/quote]

I wholeheartedly agree, Econprof. But you forgot to add their exorbitant MR and HOA to the mix. Thanks for posting!

[bearishgurl]

[quote=EconProf]I suspect a lot of these 5+ bedroom McMansions are dinasaurs and will suffer greviously on a price per SF basis. When rising utility costs are factored in along with Americans’ coming healthy desire to downsize, quality and location will triumph over size. A smaller footprint is a good thing.[/quote]

I wholeheartedly agree, Econprof. But you forgot to add their exorbitant MR and HOA to the mix. Thanks for posting!

[bearishgurl]

Oh, and sdr, I’ve never had a dispute over a “screen door.” It was more like exp. pool pumps, spa heaters, roof leaks, plumbing leaks, failure to do the necessary work to obtain a termite clearance and sellers not properly disclosing defects that they HAD to have known about.

A buyer has EVERY RIGHT to walk if the seller agreed to fix or replace something and then tries to close without fixing it. Your lawyer will advise you NOT to close until the terms of the contract are performed.

[bearishgurl]

Oh, and sdr, I’ve never had a dispute over a “screen door.” It was more like exp. pool pumps, spa heaters, roof leaks, plumbing leaks, failure to do the necessary work to obtain a termite clearance and sellers not properly disclosing defects that they HAD to have known about.

A buyer has EVERY RIGHT to walk if the seller agreed to fix or replace something and then tries to close without fixing it. Your lawyer will advise you NOT to close until the terms of the contract are performed.

[bearishgurl]

Oh, and sdr, I’ve never had a dispute over a “screen door.” It was more like exp. pool pumps, spa heaters, roof leaks, plumbing leaks, failure to do the necessary work to obtain a termite clearance and sellers not properly disclosing defects that they HAD to have known about.

A buyer has EVERY RIGHT to walk if the seller agreed to fix or replace something and then tries to close without fixing it. Your lawyer will advise you NOT to close until the terms of the contract are performed.

[bearishgurl]

Oh, and sdr, I’ve never had a dispute over a “screen door.” It was more like exp. pool pumps, spa heaters, roof leaks, plumbing leaks, failure to do the necessary work to obtain a termite clearance and sellers not properly disclosing defects that they HAD to have known about.

A buyer has EVERY RIGHT to walk if the seller agreed to fix or replace something and then tries to close without fixing it. Your lawyer will advise you NOT to close until the terms of the contract are performed.

[bearishgurl]

Oh, and sdr, I’ve never had a dispute over a “screen door.” It was more like exp. pool pumps, spa heaters, roof leaks, plumbing leaks, failure to do the necessary work to obtain a termite clearance and sellers not properly disclosing defects that they HAD to have known about.

A buyer has EVERY RIGHT to walk if the seller agreed to fix or replace something and then tries to close without fixing it. Your lawyer will advise you NOT to close until the terms of the contract are performed.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=sdrealtor]bg,
That is the way you handle things but people who want something special in tight markets have no choice other than sitting out if they want something special.

As for your advice, it is full of more holes than swiss cheese. . .

I stopped reading because it is clear why you no longer are in this business. You werent made for it.[/quote]

First of all sdr, I agree that buyers should sit it out if they want “something special” – that means wait until “something special” comes on the market that they are looking for instead of just bid on everything in sight.

I did not intend to give “advice” in my post. This is simply the way I do things. I’ve had to assist in cleaning up numerous messes when things went awry in RE transactions, as they OFTEN do.

I never actually made my living as a RE agent. The most time I devoted to it was Mon./Thurs nights and weekends. I always had a 40-hr. wk. DAY JOB when working in RE. My clients were people I already knew.

Yes, RE transactions ARE adversarial, just like lawsuits. The seller wants the highest price and the least concessions and the buyer wants to pay the lowest price and get the most concessions. The other party is not your “friend” nor is their agent. I don’t believe in dual agency – I think it should be outlawed. I’ve seen too many disputes arise from it. “Professional” agents can come to a “meeting of the minds” to effect a smooth-flowing sale with a timely closing that benefits both parties.

These “banks” seem to be playing “blind-bidding games” and take days or weeks to make up their mind and/or don’t have a closing date that they will stop accepting offers. This leaves buyers just hanging who may have a lock-in on their interest rate or while another, more suitable property comes on the market and they can’t make an offer on.

What makes these vacant, run-down (and sometimes stripped) REO’s so “special” that banks can get away with this nonsense?? Buyers and their agents that don’t submit ironclad offers and instead PLAY BY THEIR “RULES,” that’s who! To each his own.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=sdrealtor]bg,
That is the way you handle things but people who want something special in tight markets have no choice other than sitting out if they want something special.

As for your advice, it is full of more holes than swiss cheese. . .

I stopped reading because it is clear why you no longer are in this business. You werent made for it.[/quote]

First of all sdr, I agree that buyers should sit it out if they want “something special” – that means wait until “something special” comes on the market that they are looking for instead of just bid on everything in sight.

I did not intend to give “advice” in my post. This is simply the way I do things. I’ve had to assist in cleaning up numerous messes when things went awry in RE transactions, as they OFTEN do.

I never actually made my living as a RE agent. The most time I devoted to it was Mon./Thurs nights and weekends. I always had a 40-hr. wk. DAY JOB when working in RE. My clients were people I already knew.

Yes, RE transactions ARE adversarial, just like lawsuits. The seller wants the highest price and the least concessions and the buyer wants to pay the lowest price and get the most concessions. The other party is not your “friend” nor is their agent. I don’t believe in dual agency – I think it should be outlawed. I’ve seen too many disputes arise from it. “Professional” agents can come to a “meeting of the minds” to effect a smooth-flowing sale with a timely closing that benefits both parties.

These “banks” seem to be playing “blind-bidding games” and take days or weeks to make up their mind and/or don’t have a closing date that they will stop accepting offers. This leaves buyers just hanging who may have a lock-in on their interest rate or while another, more suitable property comes on the market and they can’t make an offer on.

What makes these vacant, run-down (and sometimes stripped) REO’s so “special” that banks can get away with this nonsense?? Buyers and their agents that don’t submit ironclad offers and instead PLAY BY THEIR “RULES,” that’s who! To each his own.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=sdrealtor]bg,
That is the way you handle things but people who want something special in tight markets have no choice other than sitting out if they want something special.

As for your advice, it is full of more holes than swiss cheese. . .

I stopped reading because it is clear why you no longer are in this business. You werent made for it.[/quote]

First of all sdr, I agree that buyers should sit it out if they want “something special” – that means wait until “something special” comes on the market that they are looking for instead of just bid on everything in sight.

I did not intend to give “advice” in my post. This is simply the way I do things. I’ve had to assist in cleaning up numerous messes when things went awry in RE transactions, as they OFTEN do.

I never actually made my living as a RE agent. The most time I devoted to it was Mon./Thurs nights and weekends. I always had a 40-hr. wk. DAY JOB when working in RE. My clients were people I already knew.

Yes, RE transactions ARE adversarial, just like lawsuits. The seller wants the highest price and the least concessions and the buyer wants to pay the lowest price and get the most concessions. The other party is not your “friend” nor is their agent. I don’t believe in dual agency – I think it should be outlawed. I’ve seen too many disputes arise from it. “Professional” agents can come to a “meeting of the minds” to effect a smooth-flowing sale with a timely closing that benefits both parties.

These “banks” seem to be playing “blind-bidding games” and take days or weeks to make up their mind and/or don’t have a closing date that they will stop accepting offers. This leaves buyers just hanging who may have a lock-in on their interest rate or while another, more suitable property comes on the market and they can’t make an offer on.

What makes these vacant, run-down (and sometimes stripped) REO’s so “special” that banks can get away with this nonsense?? Buyers and their agents that don’t submit ironclad offers and instead PLAY BY THEIR “RULES,” that’s who! To each his own.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=sdrealtor]bg,
That is the way you handle things but people who want something special in tight markets have no choice other than sitting out if they want something special.

As for your advice, it is full of more holes than swiss cheese. . .

I stopped reading because it is clear why you no longer are in this business. You werent made for it.[/quote]

First of all sdr, I agree that buyers should sit it out if they want “something special” – that means wait until “something special” comes on the market that they are looking for instead of just bid on everything in sight.

I did not intend to give “advice” in my post. This is simply the way I do things. I’ve had to assist in cleaning up numerous messes when things went awry in RE transactions, as they OFTEN do.

I never actually made my living as a RE agent. The most time I devoted to it was Mon./Thurs nights and weekends. I always had a 40-hr. wk. DAY JOB when working in RE. My clients were people I already knew.

Yes, RE transactions ARE adversarial, just like lawsuits. The seller wants the highest price and the least concessions and the buyer wants to pay the lowest price and get the most concessions. The other party is not your “friend” nor is their agent. I don’t believe in dual agency – I think it should be outlawed. I’ve seen too many disputes arise from it. “Professional” agents can come to a “meeting of the minds” to effect a smooth-flowing sale with a timely closing that benefits both parties.

These “banks” seem to be playing “blind-bidding games” and take days or weeks to make up their mind and/or don’t have a closing date that they will stop accepting offers. This leaves buyers just hanging who may have a lock-in on their interest rate or while another, more suitable property comes on the market and they can’t make an offer on.

What makes these vacant, run-down (and sometimes stripped) REO’s so “special” that banks can get away with this nonsense?? Buyers and their agents that don’t submit ironclad offers and instead PLAY BY THEIR “RULES,” that’s who! To each his own.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=sdrealtor]bg,
That is the way you handle things but people who want something special in tight markets have no choice other than sitting out if they want something special.

As for your advice, it is full of more holes than swiss cheese. . .

I stopped reading because it is clear why you no longer are in this business. You werent made for it.[/quote]

First of all sdr, I agree that buyers should sit it out if they want “something special” – that means wait until “something special” comes on the market that they are looking for instead of just bid on everything in sight.

I did not intend to give “advice” in my post. This is simply the way I do things. I’ve had to assist in cleaning up numerous messes when things went awry in RE transactions, as they OFTEN do.

I never actually made my living as a RE agent. The most time I devoted to it was Mon./Thurs nights and weekends. I always had a 40-hr. wk. DAY JOB when working in RE. My clients were people I already knew.

Yes, RE transactions ARE adversarial, just like lawsuits. The seller wants the highest price and the least concessions and the buyer wants to pay the lowest price and get the most concessions. The other party is not your “friend” nor is their agent. I don’t believe in dual agency – I think it should be outlawed. I’ve seen too many disputes arise from it. “Professional” agents can come to a “meeting of the minds” to effect a smooth-flowing sale with a timely closing that benefits both parties.

These “banks” seem to be playing “blind-bidding games” and take days or weeks to make up their mind and/or don’t have a closing date that they will stop accepting offers. This leaves buyers just hanging who may have a lock-in on their interest rate or while another, more suitable property comes on the market and they can’t make an offer on.

What makes these vacant, run-down (and sometimes stripped) REO’s so “special” that banks can get away with this nonsense?? Buyers and their agents that don’t submit ironclad offers and instead PLAY BY THEIR “RULES,” that’s who! To each his own.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=AN] . . . Overbidding against yourself is still overbidding. In a blind auction, buyers have no idea how many real buyers are out there competing for the same property. Maybe the seller agent is just very good at making the buyer and buyer agent think that there are 20 other offers out there and to get them to go higher.[/quote]

AN, I think this is the case more often than not. I would never engage in a “bidding war” and would WALK if I was given a story by the listing agent of having recieved “numerous” or “several” other offers or told “other offers are coming in.”

My first offer is or very nearly is my highest and best offer. I have always written purchase offers clean, unless there was lis pendens on title for the seller to clear (2x this has happened to me, personally). If I don’t get a counter-offer or rejection within 72 hours, I WALK. Only one time did I wait four days until Sunday when all the bids would be reviewed by the seller (who had been out of town). My bid was rejected and I had my answer.

These same principles applied when I acted as a buyer’s agent.

If I found myself trying to purchase or represent a purchase of an REO today, I would NOT put up with a bank’s drawn-out shenanigans. I would write an offer to be valid for five business days only and expect an acceptance, counter or rejection by then. If not, move on.

I would NOT make an offer on a short-sale myself or steer a buyer I was representing towards a “short-sale” listing as I feel they are a HUGE waste of time and energy, for both buyer and seller and don’t really help the seller much, credit-wise.

I want to clarify that I would insist my buyers had a COMMITMENT letter signed by an underwriter for up to a certain loan amount and place that letter in the offer, so they would be very strong in the event of an all-cash offer. I know this gives away the max amt. they can qualify to borrow to the seller’s agent, but I don’t care. It in NO WAY MEANS that they are WILLING to borrow that amount for *THIS* PROPERTY.

In the past, I coached my buyers to go to a “direct lender” and frequently accompanied them at the time of application and reviewed all their comm. from lender with a fine-toothed comb. I never tolerated lender or escrow shenanigans, either, including 11th hr. closing surprises, screwing up payment due dates & terms, phony escrow “amendments,” walk-thrus where the items requested were not completed, last-minute “liens turning up,” etc. If the docs aren’t redrawn for free, we WALKed. If the items requested are not finished on the final walk-thru after ample notice, we WALKed. If the seller doesn’t have enough proceeds to pay the lien(s) and can’t pay them, we WALKed. If the lender comes in with a *new* back-end “trash” fee + pts. + orig. fee + loan fee, etc. we WALKed.

Call me a control freak if you wish. IMO, if you don’t make your intentions and requirements crystal clear from the moment you sit down and write the FIRST OFFER on a property, the other parties in the transaction will more than likely WALK ON YOU! Caveat emptor – it’s a minefield out there! He/she who votes with their feet sends a strong message.

Note: I have never represented FHA or VA buyers, only VA sellers (helped them get their Stmt. of Eligibility back). Thus, the buyers I DID represent had substantial downpayments. I don’t know if the WALKING mindset would work with low or no downpayment buyers, because they aren’t in as strong of a position.

What ever happened to the buyer’s agent getting in front of the seller(s) THEMSELVES in person and presenting their client’s offers – properly. Has that practice gone out the window??

I still believe a buyer’s agent should advocate in all areas for an inexperienced buyer but many seem afraid to or don’t know how.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=AN] . . . Overbidding against yourself is still overbidding. In a blind auction, buyers have no idea how many real buyers are out there competing for the same property. Maybe the seller agent is just very good at making the buyer and buyer agent think that there are 20 other offers out there and to get them to go higher.[/quote]

AN, I think this is the case more often than not. I would never engage in a “bidding war” and would WALK if I was given a story by the listing agent of having recieved “numerous” or “several” other offers or told “other offers are coming in.”

My first offer is or very nearly is my highest and best offer. I have always written purchase offers clean, unless there was lis pendens on title for the seller to clear (2x this has happened to me, personally). If I don’t get a counter-offer or rejection within 72 hours, I WALK. Only one time did I wait four days until Sunday when all the bids would be reviewed by the seller (who had been out of town). My bid was rejected and I had my answer.

These same principles applied when I acted as a buyer’s agent.

If I found myself trying to purchase or represent a purchase of an REO today, I would NOT put up with a bank’s drawn-out shenanigans. I would write an offer to be valid for five business days only and expect an acceptance, counter or rejection by then. If not, move on.

I would NOT make an offer on a short-sale myself or steer a buyer I was representing towards a “short-sale” listing as I feel they are a HUGE waste of time and energy, for both buyer and seller and don’t really help the seller much, credit-wise.

I want to clarify that I would insist my buyers had a COMMITMENT letter signed by an underwriter for up to a certain loan amount and place that letter in the offer, so they would be very strong in the event of an all-cash offer. I know this gives away the max amt. they can qualify to borrow to the seller’s agent, but I don’t care. It in NO WAY MEANS that they are WILLING to borrow that amount for *THIS* PROPERTY.

In the past, I coached my buyers to go to a “direct lender” and frequently accompanied them at the time of application and reviewed all their comm. from lender with a fine-toothed comb. I never tolerated lender or escrow shenanigans, either, including 11th hr. closing surprises, screwing up payment due dates & terms, phony escrow “amendments,” walk-thrus where the items requested were not completed, last-minute “liens turning up,” etc. If the docs aren’t redrawn for free, we WALKed. If the items requested are not finished on the final walk-thru after ample notice, we WALKed. If the seller doesn’t have enough proceeds to pay the lien(s) and can’t pay them, we WALKed. If the lender comes in with a *new* back-end “trash” fee + pts. + orig. fee + loan fee, etc. we WALKed.

Call me a control freak if you wish. IMO, if you don’t make your intentions and requirements crystal clear from the moment you sit down and write the FIRST OFFER on a property, the other parties in the transaction will more than likely WALK ON YOU! Caveat emptor – it’s a minefield out there! He/she who votes with their feet sends a strong message.

Note: I have never represented FHA or VA buyers, only VA sellers (helped them get their Stmt. of Eligibility back). Thus, the buyers I DID represent had substantial downpayments. I don’t know if the WALKING mindset would work with low or no downpayment buyers, because they aren’t in as strong of a position.

What ever happened to the buyer’s agent getting in front of the seller(s) THEMSELVES in person and presenting their client’s offers – properly. Has that practice gone out the window??

I still believe a buyer’s agent should advocate in all areas for an inexperienced buyer but many seem afraid to or don’t know how.

[Author]

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