Kensington short sale...SOLD after 653 days on the market!

A Kensington model on Houlton Circle that had been on the market since April of 2008 has finally sold for $345,000.

The original agent placed it on the market at $549,000, eventually reducing it to $410,000. After 269 days on the market, the owner switched agents. The new agent priced it at $400,000, had it on the market for over a year, and eventually sold it for $345,000. A selling price over $200,000 less than the original asking price...think someone made a pricing error here?

I see this too often, where wrong pricing, whomever is at fault (agent, owner, or both) ends up costing the seller tens of thousands..and in this case hundreds of thousands of dollars...as well as a great deal of time and stress.

Pecos price reduction

A Pecos model that is being marketed as a short sale has just reduced their asking price from $450,000 to $399,900. The home was priced at $450,000 for 80 days.

The sellers are the original owners who purchased the home in December of 2000 for $290,000.

Laredo short sale

A Laredo that has been on and off the market since February of 2007 has gone under contract. The home was priced at $249,000 at the time of contract. But, back in 2007, the seller was asking $399,900.

Take a look below at the pricing of this home and you will once again see what I refer to as "chasing the market down". That means: A seller pricing to high, usually with the thought that "I can always come down", but ending up always one step behind the declining market...with terrible consequences.
Here is the pricing progression:

1. $399,900...2/2007
2. $379,900...8/2007
3. $359,900...11/2007
4. Off the market from 4/2008 - 9/2008
5. $349,900...9/2008
6. $329,900...11/2008
7. $299,900...1/2009
8. $275,000...8/2009
9. $249,000...10/2009

If you are selling now, or thinking of selling; don't make this mistake. Even if you are not our client, make sure that the agent you have now or eventually hire advises you honestly about pricing and can support their pricing recommendation with solid market data...

Santa Fe...comes back on the market

A Santa Fe that was once on the market for $725,000 back in the wild-n-wooly 2005 heyday of local real estate is now back on the market as a short sale at an asking price of $335k. This short sale went under contract back in July but that contract is no longer in place.

This home was purchased by the current owner in June of 2001 for $380,000.

For all intents and purposes, this home has been on the market since 2005, but the owner just kept missing the proper price point and ended up "chasing the market down"...and its still not sold!

Another short sale offer falls through

A short sale Kensington with a 2 story guest house, that was under contract, has just come back on the market. The home was under contract back in September, then again in October.

The home has been on the market now for a total of 229 days.

I am sure this is tough on the seller to have 2 buyers back out, walk away or be turned down, but this is the state of short sales today. I have found that it is usually because the banks are so slow in making and/or reporting ANY progress on a file to the parties involved that many buyers just move on...The banks are either understaffed, innefficient, unmotivated or stalling until the President gives them some more of our tax dollars. It should be clear that it is a fiscally more prudent decision to short sell an occupied home than to try to forclose on and sell a home that may become vacant  and be vacant for months. One can only hope...

Short sale negotiation inside info...

I thought my readers may find it interesting to hear a little bit about some of the "behind-the-scenes" information regarding negotiating a short sale...Every day we are dealing with lenders and are involved with negotiations on short sales. A recent hurdle has been the negotiations with 2nd lien holders (2nd mortgages/home equity liens). We thought that the following may be of interest to a lot of folks currently contemplating how or even IF they should do a short sale....

These days many 2nd mortgage companies are now asking for 10% of their principal balance in order to release their lien. Prior to these recent changes, ALL 1st mortgage holders allowed a maximum of $1,000 to 2nd mortgages, period. Once 2nd mortgage holders started demanding 10%, it made obtaining approvals from both mortgages quite challenging. After all, 10% is quite a large number! And most 1st mortgages will only allow a maximum of $1,000 right?

Well luckily for our sellers, SOME 1st mortgage holders have paid attention to the changing trends and have started to change their policies to match. Now, more and more 1st mortgage holders are allowing a payoff of up to 10% to 2nd mortgages to avoid any complications. And for us short sale specialists, this is helpful to successfully navigating a short sale for our sellers! One of the lenders that have started to be more open to this policy change is ASC.

Keep in mind, not all 1st mortgage holders are doing this, and it is on a case-by-case basis, but, they are at least open to it and some will approve 10% to be paid to 2nd mortgage holders.

Grande Estates, Buckingham sale

A Buckingham on Houlton Cir was just reported sold. The selling price was $325,000...reported to be a cash purchase. The sale was a short sale.

The property was on the market for 189 days.

The sellers purchased the home in May of 2003 for $349,000.

Kensington short sale, price reduction

A Kensington model that has been on the market a total of 557 days now just reduced their price from $390,000 to $375,000.

This home was originally placed on the market in April, 2008 at $549,000.

The current owners purchased the home in September of 2006 for $613,000.

Kensington short sale...sold

A Kensington (courtyard) model that had been on the market at one point for $699,990 just sold for $317,000 as a short sale.

It appears that the original owners, who purchased the home in November of 2002 for $339,4000, were the sellers.

Under contract...Kensington

A Kensington on Houlton has gone under contract. This home is currently priced at $399,000 and was priced as high as $450,000 at one point. It is being sold by the original owner who paid $370,300 for it in December of 2001. 

The home was marketed as a short sale.

New listing...Pueblo

A Pueblo model on C Durham just came on the market priced at $225,000. This home is being marketed as a short sale.

Kensington...back on the market.

A Kensington that last sold for $613,000 in September of 2006 just came back on the market.

This home was placed on the market by the current owner in April of 2006 at an asking price of $549,000. As of today, the asking price is $400,000. This home has been on the market for 520 days. The home is a short sale and has gone under contract (and fallen through) three times since January of this year.

Back on the market..Versailles

A Versailles model on Eugene Court has just come back on the market.

This home, marketed as a short sale, has been on and off the market since February of 2007. Originally priced at $599,000, the home came back on the market today at a "bank-approved" price of $362,000.

The current owner purchased the home in July of 2004 for $478,000

Journeys End, Taos...Sold...Finally!

A Taos on C Durham, mentioned several times already in this blog as being under contract and falling out of contract, has finally sold at $325,000.

This home had been on the market for 419 days! It was originally placed on the market by the current agent at $590,000...It is just this bloggers opinion that this short sale could possibly have been avoided had the home been priced properly when it was first placed on the market in June of '07...but it did not sell with the $590,000 price tag. Then the owner rented it for a year...all the while the market was continuing its tailspin...this owner lost about 2% of the homes value every month it was rented! It was then placed back on the market, as a short sale, in July of 2008, for $419,000. And as you see here, it eventually sold for $325,000 in September of 2009.

Back under contract...3rd time's a charm

A Taos short sale on C Durham that has been on the market for 412 days has gone under contract once again.

Back in June of 2007, this home was placed on the market for $590,000...it was then rented out for a year and then went back on the market at $419,000. Two weeks ago, after multiple price reductions, the home was reduced to $325,000.

This home is owned by the original owners who purchased it in August of 2001 for $252,300.

Journeys End...price reduction

A Laredo, 3/2.5/2, 2067 sq ft, on C Durham just reduced to $275,000 from their previous price of $299,900. This home has been on the market over 750 days since 2007. The home is being marketed as a short sale, although it was not a short sale in the beginning.

This is possibly another case-in-point about proper market pricing to maximize a sales price: If this home were priced properly at the outset, the seller may not have ended up in this short sale situation.