Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Steve Eveleth Livermore ca Real Estate News steveshomesearch.com
Attention buyers: Forget what the media tells you the entry level housing market is moving right along. The price of homes now in the Bay Area have come down low enough now that many people can now afford to purchase. Im here to tell you from my everyday experience out in the field that PEOPLE ARE BUYING! I am seeing many REO's with multiple offers a day or two after they come on market. The entry level market in the Livermore, Mountain House & Tracy area, anything around & under $400k is moving quickly. All we are doing now is building a new foundation of solid buyers in secure loans. Reports now confirm that we have hit bottom in most desirable areas in the entry level price range. I personally have 8 pre-approved buyers that want to purchase, qualified to purchase, ready to pull the trigger but there is nothing to purchase!!! What we have to do is monitor the MLS daily. As soon as something comes on the market we go look that same day & get our offer in. If I could sum up a message to buyers I would just say this: If you are betting that the market will continue to go down you may miss the boat. Prices have come down low enough now that there is a huge affordability gap now open for many buyers that could not afford to purchase before. Most people know real estate & home ownership is a no-brainer. When the opportunity is in your face go for it......When people ask me if it's a good time to buy, I tell them "why would you want to wait until its not" Steve Eveleth StevesHomeSearch.com
Monday, June 9, 2008
Steve Eveleth Livermore ca Real Estate News steveshomesearch.com
Steve Eveleth says REST ASSURED I value your time!
Because I value my client’s time this is the strategy that I utilize before I take you out shopping for homes.
1)”people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care” this goes a long way. Most buyers are pretty savvy & know ahead of time what area they want to buy in. No buyer wants some know it all agent telling them where to buy a home, or only showing them the easy deals with their broker friends or high paid commission deals. I show my clients EVERYTHING current on market in there price range & let you decide what home you buy; it’s not my decision to make for you! Its my job to step up to the front line when needed & negotiate, protect & advise you in the transaction. Many times my buyers already have a few houses in mind & have list prepared for me as soon as they are preapproved. So first thing I do is ask them how they would like to go about their home search. Do they have their own list of homes or would they like me to send them one. I then have them choose the homes THEY WANT TO SEE. This is not because I do not want to do the work it’s because you as a buyer know what you want to see best! My tastes may not be yours…vise versa. Once you give me list I call to make sure EVERYTHING I SHOW YOU FROM LIST IS AVAILABLE. I will not show any homes that I have not personally talked to someone & know home is available when I show it to you. Now guess what, every door I open for you is a home that is available, ready to fall in love with & write offer on at your request. And there will be a very good chance that if your offer is reasonable it will get accepted & you will be in your new home before you know it! Last thing anyone wants to do is finally find a home they love, get excited, make the decision to write an offer only to find out it is pending & agent forgot to change MLS status…which happens all the time…I want to do everything I can to get you excited & keep you excited about finding & purchasing your new home from start to finish! www. StevesHomeSearch.com
Because I value my client’s time this is the strategy that I utilize before I take you out shopping for homes.
1)”people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care” this goes a long way. Most buyers are pretty savvy & know ahead of time what area they want to buy in. No buyer wants some know it all agent telling them where to buy a home, or only showing them the easy deals with their broker friends or high paid commission deals. I show my clients EVERYTHING current on market in there price range & let you decide what home you buy; it’s not my decision to make for you! Its my job to step up to the front line when needed & negotiate, protect & advise you in the transaction. Many times my buyers already have a few houses in mind & have list prepared for me as soon as they are preapproved. So first thing I do is ask them how they would like to go about their home search. Do they have their own list of homes or would they like me to send them one. I then have them choose the homes THEY WANT TO SEE. This is not because I do not want to do the work it’s because you as a buyer know what you want to see best! My tastes may not be yours…vise versa. Once you give me list I call to make sure EVERYTHING I SHOW YOU FROM LIST IS AVAILABLE. I will not show any homes that I have not personally talked to someone & know home is available when I show it to you. Now guess what, every door I open for you is a home that is available, ready to fall in love with & write offer on at your request. And there will be a very good chance that if your offer is reasonable it will get accepted & you will be in your new home before you know it! Last thing anyone wants to do is finally find a home they love, get excited, make the decision to write an offer only to find out it is pending & agent forgot to change MLS status…which happens all the time…I want to do everything I can to get you excited & keep you excited about finding & purchasing your new home from start to finish! www. StevesHomeSearch.com
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Steve Eveleth Livermore ca Real Estate News
www.steveshomesearch.com Livermore Ca real estate news
Steve Eveleth Tips to buyers on the REO’s & offer strategies, process. Stevehomesearch.com
I wanted to take a few minutes to educate my current buyers, prospects that I am in communication with & current preapproved buyers that are currently shopping with me. There are some good deals out there right now. The trick to getting a good deal on an REO (bank owned property) which 75% of entry level homes under $417k in the Livermore, Mountain House & Tracy area are either short sales or REO’s. 1) Make sure you are preapproved & are comfortable with your monthly payment!! Last thing we want to do is go out & look for homes, find one you love, write an offer, get it accepted & find out you cant get your payment where you want it.
2) Be prepared not to get the first house you write an offer on!! As I said in my previous blogs, many of these bank owned homes that are low priced GET MULTIPLE OFFERS. I have been taking buyers out on an average of 2-4 times looking at an average of 10-15 homes, writing an average of 2-4 offers before we snag one.
3) Be available!! If you are a serious buyer be prepared to take some time off work 1 day a week or so to spend house shopping. DURING THE WEEK IS THE BEST TIME TO SHOP as there is way less competition, much quicker response time to our offer submission. Also banks have same hrs most of us do 8 to 5 Mon through Fri. So if we submit an offer on a home that does not have any offers on it during the week chances are its going to get to bank that day verses a weekend when the bank might have several offers by Monday then we become “just another offer” with the pack & have less negotiation opportunity & less chance of getting offer accepted when competing with other offers.
4) DO NOT EXPECT TO LOWBALL. We are not In a low ball market. Banks are not that desperate. There is an asset manager that is on the other end of the bank owned home, just like you want the best deal you can get, so does the investor that is taking the hit on his return. If the banks wanted to give the property away they could have sold it on the Auction at the court house steps for 50-70 cents on the dollar. If its listed with an agent on MLS they are expecting to get close to full price for home. Many buyers think since it’s a buyer’s market that means that you can write an offer for 20% under asking price. This is a waste of your time & mine & waste of paperwork. The most we are seeing in price reduction is 3 to 6% possible 7 or 8% in a few over priced homes. Let me tell you how the banks operate: They take the last sold comp in the area & price the home slightly over that last comp as they expect that we will talk them down..(Bottom line is they. They typically wait 30 days to see what happens. During that 30 days they will entertain reasonable offers. If nothing happens in 30 days they need to get home off the books. So they lower price really low then everyone comes running. This is when we talk about the multiple offer situations. Then the bank sits back collects all the offers & counters everybody back at what’s called “highest & best” meaning hey, we are not going to tell you the details of other offers but there are many, no how bad do you want this house &” what’s the most you are willing to pay for it” This is the banks strategies of getting current true market value for the home in the quickest period of time! I hate it drives me nuts as I am on the front line with my poor buyer chiseling there pocket for a home they really want with a set low price in their mind as the motivation for making the move to write offer then we find out we have to pay 5 -10 maybe even 15% more to out bid other buyers. We could have saved everyone time & went & looked at homes in the 10-15% higher price range & probably found them a home that was just as nice & not played the banks games with bidding war!!!!Bottom line is expect to pay close to asking or a little above on a well priced REO, also I know buyers are smart, most of you know what is a good deal that is why you are pursuing it, so when a good deal pops up go for it & get what you want. In this market there will be someone right around the corner that will.
5) Don’t get discouraged!! If you are persistent & proactive we will find you a home you like & a reasonable price. I have no problem shopping for however long we need to get you what you want.
6) If we do land a deal on the first offer or two, do not think something is wrong or you are paying to much, know that we got lucky & it was meant to be! Some buyers love the chase & game once they get into it. They become overwhelmed or cannot make a decision because they are not properly equipped with the information or knowledge they need to make an informed decision. Then they become impulsive & later down the road develop what’s called “cold feet” that is they don’t really have a particular legitimate reason for backing out of a deal they just “feel” like they have to back out. This is a waste of everyone’s time & can be avoided by the agent properly taking the time with them to educate them. This can be a problem if the agent you are working with is pushing you or licking their chops thinking about pay day & not having your best interests in mind! PICK A GOOD AGENT THAT YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH, ONE THAT YOU FEEL LIKE YOU CAN CALL ANYTIME OR ASK ANY QUESTION TO without them getting all razzed up. Buyer: Please educate yourself so you know what is a reasonable deal & be prepared to follow through with it….if there is a legitimate reason for backing out of a deal that’s one thing but cold feet & ambivalence as an uneducated consumer wanting an unreasonable deal is another.
7) Have faith in your agent, loan officer, title reps, WE KNOW WHAT WE ARE DOING (most of us anyway….) Most of the agents that should not have been in the business in the first place have been weeded out & are back at there 9 to 5 jobs . Have faith that your agent will contact you when necessary. Remember we want you to get into your home as much as you do, its what we do for a living too!
8) Please have respect for our time as there is so much time spent behind the scenes, setting up showings, driving buyers around, writing up offers, researching property requests, calling banks & listing agents. If you decide not to purchase or are not happy with the job your realtor is doing for you, COMMUNICATE to them. A good agent will welcome constructive criticism, not push a sale & want to know how to serve you better, I do anyway. Thanks for reading this book (LOL) It helps me to help you if you have this knowledge as we work together to get you the deal & home you want & get ahead in the game! Have a great day, thanks for reading my blog! Steve Eveleth loves helping people get into homes! www.steveshomesearch.com
Steve Eveleth Tips to buyers on the REO’s & offer strategies, process. Stevehomesearch.com
I wanted to take a few minutes to educate my current buyers, prospects that I am in communication with & current preapproved buyers that are currently shopping with me. There are some good deals out there right now. The trick to getting a good deal on an REO (bank owned property) which 75% of entry level homes under $417k in the Livermore, Mountain House & Tracy area are either short sales or REO’s. 1) Make sure you are preapproved & are comfortable with your monthly payment!! Last thing we want to do is go out & look for homes, find one you love, write an offer, get it accepted & find out you cant get your payment where you want it.
2) Be prepared not to get the first house you write an offer on!! As I said in my previous blogs, many of these bank owned homes that are low priced GET MULTIPLE OFFERS. I have been taking buyers out on an average of 2-4 times looking at an average of 10-15 homes, writing an average of 2-4 offers before we snag one.
3) Be available!! If you are a serious buyer be prepared to take some time off work 1 day a week or so to spend house shopping. DURING THE WEEK IS THE BEST TIME TO SHOP as there is way less competition, much quicker response time to our offer submission. Also banks have same hrs most of us do 8 to 5 Mon through Fri. So if we submit an offer on a home that does not have any offers on it during the week chances are its going to get to bank that day verses a weekend when the bank might have several offers by Monday then we become “just another offer” with the pack & have less negotiation opportunity & less chance of getting offer accepted when competing with other offers.
4) DO NOT EXPECT TO LOWBALL. We are not In a low ball market. Banks are not that desperate. There is an asset manager that is on the other end of the bank owned home, just like you want the best deal you can get, so does the investor that is taking the hit on his return. If the banks wanted to give the property away they could have sold it on the Auction at the court house steps for 50-70 cents on the dollar. If its listed with an agent on MLS they are expecting to get close to full price for home. Many buyers think since it’s a buyer’s market that means that you can write an offer for 20% under asking price. This is a waste of your time & mine & waste of paperwork. The most we are seeing in price reduction is 3 to 6% possible 7 or 8% in a few over priced homes. Let me tell you how the banks operate: They take the last sold comp in the area & price the home slightly over that last comp as they expect that we will talk them down..(Bottom line is they. They typically wait 30 days to see what happens. During that 30 days they will entertain reasonable offers. If nothing happens in 30 days they need to get home off the books. So they lower price really low then everyone comes running. This is when we talk about the multiple offer situations. Then the bank sits back collects all the offers & counters everybody back at what’s called “highest & best” meaning hey, we are not going to tell you the details of other offers but there are many, no how bad do you want this house &” what’s the most you are willing to pay for it” This is the banks strategies of getting current true market value for the home in the quickest period of time! I hate it drives me nuts as I am on the front line with my poor buyer chiseling there pocket for a home they really want with a set low price in their mind as the motivation for making the move to write offer then we find out we have to pay 5 -10 maybe even 15% more to out bid other buyers. We could have saved everyone time & went & looked at homes in the 10-15% higher price range & probably found them a home that was just as nice & not played the banks games with bidding war!!!!Bottom line is expect to pay close to asking or a little above on a well priced REO, also I know buyers are smart, most of you know what is a good deal that is why you are pursuing it, so when a good deal pops up go for it & get what you want. In this market there will be someone right around the corner that will.
5) Don’t get discouraged!! If you are persistent & proactive we will find you a home you like & a reasonable price. I have no problem shopping for however long we need to get you what you want.
6) If we do land a deal on the first offer or two, do not think something is wrong or you are paying to much, know that we got lucky & it was meant to be! Some buyers love the chase & game once they get into it. They become overwhelmed or cannot make a decision because they are not properly equipped with the information or knowledge they need to make an informed decision. Then they become impulsive & later down the road develop what’s called “cold feet” that is they don’t really have a particular legitimate reason for backing out of a deal they just “feel” like they have to back out. This is a waste of everyone’s time & can be avoided by the agent properly taking the time with them to educate them. This can be a problem if the agent you are working with is pushing you or licking their chops thinking about pay day & not having your best interests in mind! PICK A GOOD AGENT THAT YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH, ONE THAT YOU FEEL LIKE YOU CAN CALL ANYTIME OR ASK ANY QUESTION TO without them getting all razzed up. Buyer: Please educate yourself so you know what is a reasonable deal & be prepared to follow through with it….if there is a legitimate reason for backing out of a deal that’s one thing but cold feet & ambivalence as an uneducated consumer wanting an unreasonable deal is another.
7) Have faith in your agent, loan officer, title reps, WE KNOW WHAT WE ARE DOING (most of us anyway….) Most of the agents that should not have been in the business in the first place have been weeded out & are back at there 9 to 5 jobs . Have faith that your agent will contact you when necessary. Remember we want you to get into your home as much as you do, its what we do for a living too!
8) Please have respect for our time as there is so much time spent behind the scenes, setting up showings, driving buyers around, writing up offers, researching property requests, calling banks & listing agents. If you decide not to purchase or are not happy with the job your realtor is doing for you, COMMUNICATE to them. A good agent will welcome constructive criticism, not push a sale & want to know how to serve you better, I do anyway. Thanks for reading this book (LOL) It helps me to help you if you have this knowledge as we work together to get you the deal & home you want & get ahead in the game! Have a great day, thanks for reading my blog! Steve Eveleth loves helping people get into homes! www.steveshomesearch.com
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Steve Eveleth Livermore ca Real Estate News
Steve Eveleth....Whats going on with the market? A lot!!! Anything under $417k is moving in the Livermore, Mountain House & Tracy area. Prices have come down low enough now that the affordability gap has widened enough to accommodate a much larger spread of blue collar entry level buyers to the entry level market. I refer to entry level market as anything priced under $417 k.(conforming loan amount) Many of these homes are getting multiple offers as soon as they hit the market. Good news is there is still time to buy & I think plenty of it. This is due to the fact that there is an estimated 2 million foreclosures predicted to hit the market in next two years. Now one thing to consider before you wait & assume prices may dip another 5-10%, 100% financing is back! There are programs coming out daily that allow buyer to purchase in a secure 30 yr fix loan that is safe with no money out of pocket or little down. I personally closed one of several deals last week that buyer got in with $620 total out of pocket. And a nice safe 30yr fixed loan. So as long as the inventory keeps coming on supply & demand is not going to come into play. Once all the homes that were purchased between 2001 & late summer of 2005 have went through the foreclosure process & are sold to new buyers in solid loans, eventually the inventory with be gone. Dried up inventory & new programs that are available with a new foundation of buyers in safe secure loans & maybe next few years increased wages & a new president that is not taking up to his bank & we just might see some stabilization in the housing market prices in the near future....of course this is all my opinions........people ask me all the time if I think it's a good time to buy...my response to them is "why would you want to wait around until its not? www.steveshomesearch.com
Take a peak at this latest program, its hot for 2008! CDPAP first time buyer program (California Down Payment Assistance Program)
(CDPAP) CALIFORNIA DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM Steve Eveleth www.StevesHomeSearch.com
(CDPAP) CALIFORNIA DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
*First time buyers/previous home owners/investors
*Safe 100% financing,
*Minimum out of pocket expenses for purchase
*Closing costs paid w full program credit
*5% down gifted to buyer. Gain instant equity
*Nationally approved “gift source”
*No re-payment of funds ever, free & clear
*No asset or income limitations (this is a beauty)
*Credit score flexible Co-signer ok
*Total household income before taxes ok to qualify
*Combined income with partner/family member/spouse ok
*Buyer rate buy down option to lower payment
*First step toward wealth accumulation
*Any home any area can qualify, no geographical restrictions
*Must use certified program finance/title/realtor for transaction
*Past client references available upon request
This program is perfect for:
1) Buyers that have average to good credit but no down payment
2) Buyers that have solid employment & are able to prove their income
3) Buyers that have their down payment but would rather save it & use the banks $
4) Buyers that are not currently working with other programs or realtors
5) Buyers that are motivated & serious about purchasing
6) Buyers that have been told they have all the qualifications for a loan but no down payment
Take a peak at this latest program, its hot for 2008! CDPAP first time buyer program (California Down Payment Assistance Program)
(CDPAP) CALIFORNIA DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM Steve Eveleth www.StevesHomeSearch.com
(CDPAP) CALIFORNIA DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
*First time buyers/previous home owners/investors
*Safe 100% financing,
*Minimum out of pocket expenses for purchase
*Closing costs paid w full program credit
*5% down gifted to buyer. Gain instant equity
*Nationally approved “gift source”
*No re-payment of funds ever, free & clear
*No asset or income limitations (this is a beauty)
*Credit score flexible Co-signer ok
*Total household income before taxes ok to qualify
*Combined income with partner/family member/spouse ok
*Buyer rate buy down option to lower payment
*First step toward wealth accumulation
*Any home any area can qualify, no geographical restrictions
*Must use certified program finance/title/realtor for transaction
*Past client references available upon request
This program is perfect for:
1) Buyers that have average to good credit but no down payment
2) Buyers that have solid employment & are able to prove their income
3) Buyers that have their down payment but would rather save it & use the banks $
4) Buyers that are not currently working with other programs or realtors
5) Buyers that are motivated & serious about purchasing
6) Buyers that have been told they have all the qualifications for a loan but no down payment
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
