Summerfield Real Estate, LLC on Blog Talk Radio

 

Summerfield Real Estate Logo

 

After a month of using Blog Talk Radio, I think I have the hang of it. I found that my little intro music can’t be controlled remotely when calling in and not using my computer. I also found that it’s easier to schedule a show for later in the day and move up the time than to miss the earlier time and have to schedule out. 

I never took AV in High School or College, I was a Marketing and Accounting major so all this is a HUGE learning curve for me. I’m thankful I learn quickly. 

Although the creation of Summerfield Real Estate, LLC was to address the FSBO market in the Charlotte area and to offer exceptional service for the people who want their listings in the MLS, we do offer other services as well. Realtors need printing services for their flyers and presentation generation. Why pay $0.25 per side of paper for color prints when you can pay $0.20 for BOTH sides? hmmm… sounds like a no brainer to me. 

We hope you like the shows and if you have any topics you would like to have discussed for future shows, feel free to e-mail them at info@summerfield-realestate.com 

Thanks for listening!

Charlotte #2 Best City to Buy into

This Just in from Wilkinson & Associates….

This is an article from Forbes Magazine

 

 Here are the top 10 cities the magazine chose as the best places to buy right now.

1.Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.

2.Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C.

3.Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.

4.Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.

5.Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colo

6.Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis.

7.Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del-Md.

8.Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Ore.-Wash.

9.San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif.

10.Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.V.

                                              Source: Forbes, Francesca Levy (01/21/2010)

Vendee Financing Program. Heard of it?

Today as I was surfing the web looking for an image I was going to need for my next flyer, I came across an article that really caught my eye. When this happens my husband calls it “the bunny” meaning that I am focused on one task then I shoot off in another direction because it’s caught my eye… I call it A.D.D. LOL

Anyway, there is no avoiding the fact that the Veterans have also been affected by the economy and have homes in foreclosure.

Here’s a little background on VA loans. Only a Veteran may obtain one if they have a valid VA certificate. When they sell the house the buyer may purchase the home using any method they choose to finance it, but in order to assume the payments on a VA financed home only another veteran can do so without going through LOTS and LOTS of red tape and LOADS of reviews and approvals. (much like today’s short sales) This is because the home is financially backed by the Veterans Association and not by a public bank/lender.

When homes purchased with conventional loans go into foreclosure, they may be put back on the market with reduced prices, offering buyers a way to get more home for less money, but what happens when the VA loan goes into foreclosure?

There’s a company called BAC Loan Servicing that lists and sells these properties now owned by the VA…. ok… so if the VA owns the home and only veterans or active duty member can get loans to purchase VA owned properties, how does this help the general public? Through a program called Vendee financing.

Veterans, active duty and non-military buyers may qualify for this type of financing. So how does it work?  Although it’s a lot like a typical VA loan, there is no appraisal needed on the home and your credit isn’t the qualifying factor; it’s really unique because it doesn’t have an “owner/occupant” requirement. Unlike a traditional VA loan where the buyer has to live in the home as their primary residence, with the Vendee, they do not. There are of course other stipulations when you plan to rent it out, like 5% down, and 75% of the anticipated rent may be used to offset the mortgage payment, so on and so forth.

Here’s a link to a PDF  that talks about the Vendee program, what its all about and how to obtain the financing…. This may be just what some of your buyers need to purchase a home.  As of the date of this post there are 108 listings in all of North Carolina. It’s slim pickings, but sometimes you can find that needle in the haystack.

FSBO’s & Expireds. A Flat Fee Listing service just for you!

When I came into the real estate market and was learning about how to become the perfect agent, the one thing they told me was “Beware of the Limited Service Companies” Those companies were after our jobs and weren’t creating a good name for us realtors. Well…. I have 4 years under my belt with the end is getting mighty long… which means I’m feeling the pinch with this market.

So… I have researched several different Limited service companies, Flat Fee Companies, MLS only listings; whatever you want to call them these days and what they have to offer to the consumer… the home seller is that they “offer” a lot but don’t provide much of anything.

not mentioning any companies, I found one that after putting together a package of materials that a normal (and I say normal meaning a full service brokerage) realtor will provide when taking a normal listing; it came to a staggering 4,000! (with shipping & handling) That’s almost a listing agents commission depending on the list price of the house. So this seller hires this company, gets the whole package and locks themselves into a 1 year listing agreement and still has to pay the buyers agent. If I were that seller, this company wouldn’t be helping me much since both costs are comparable to the listing agents fee. It gets better. What if the seller decides to list with a firm after all? They are automatically in the hole the money they spent.

I started a company last year called Summerfield Real Estate, LLC which ws designed specifically for Flat Fee Listings. I have 3 programs with 3 distinct products and from what I have seen over the net, it’ll cost the seller a whole lot less, AND if the seller decides to list with me after all, I’ll credit them the money they paid me at closing. (noted on the HUD-1 of course)

So there are my thoughts. Selling Flat Fee listings is against everything I was trained to do, but you know what? I can still provide a high quality personal service to people who want to be independent with their real estate transaction but still need some help. It’s a win-win situation and THAT makes me feel good.

Why do people freak out about power lines?

I’m selling my home…I posted a blog a while ago when it went under contract after being on the market for 6 days. Sadly the buyers financing fell through only 2 weeks before the closing day. How extremely frustrating.

Anyway… the house is back on the market and we’re getting showings galore, but the power lines and cell tower in the back turns off buyers. Can they not see the tree thats right in front of them? When summer arrives and the leaves come in, the tree fully hides it. The way my husband and I look at this situation is this…NO ONE EVER WILL BUILD A HOUSE BACK THERE. The yard is super private. No one walks back there except for the deer, the rabbits and an occasional possum and it’s so super quiet.

In this part of the city you almost always have someone looking into your backyard from one direction or another. Not here though. There’s natural tree lines and hedges so you have complete privacy from your neighbors and like I said about the backyard, no one will ever build a house back there. The Photo to the left  is of my husband mowing at the property line where the power tower is located. Can you see the tower? (hint: it’s just behind the flowering dogwood) This photo is in the booklet I supply for the buyers which also includes an EMF report that shows you get as much EMF’s from your laptop and other areas of the house than you get standing exactly under the lines. In fact you get 300% MORE EMF’s just by turning on your electric top stove.

Maybe this blog post is a rant, maybe it’s a post looking for feedback about how to see the real benefit of having them there. The photo to the right  is what it looks like in the winter. Yah, it’s a bit of an eyesore, but there are hawks that nest in the top of the cell tower and you can watch them come and go. Never mind that you’ll ALWAYS have great cell signal and the rabbit population stays controlled. (smile) This photo was taken during a sunset when the sun was reflecting off the towers really making them POP. Truthfully it was quite pretty, otherwise I would not have taken a photo of it I presume.

So here’s my question to my readers. How would you overcome this as it is the #1 concern I get from buyers who have seen the house.