By: Stephen Garner – Title Representative
Ah the good old days. Remember the good old days of looking for a home? It’s so exciting. Meeting your Realtor in front of the house you just gotta have. You, your husband and your 2.2 children. You can hear the kids-“Look mommy, this one has stairs!” “Calm down you say, we are just looking” Of course, you are emotionally invested in this house, this is the one! All those months of searching the Internet, checking print publications and the newspaper for open houses has finally paid off.
“Whoa! Look babe” your husband says, “it even has a huge backyard, perfect for the man cave we talked about!” “I know-I know” you say, trying to control yourself. It’s hard though. This beauty even has that detached 3rd car garage you have always wanted, no more storing those nik-naks under your kids beds, in the closets or in the attic-there is now a place for all that. You get the family together for a family gathering in the corner, “should we make an offer?” you say, “YES!” everyone says excitedly. You call your Realtor over, “Let’s make an offer” you say. And then he tells you, He told you before, you just didn’t hear it or didn’t want to hear it-he say’s it again: “This is a short sale” It didn’t mean much to you the first time you heard it but now that you have found “the one” you perk your ears up and ask “what does that mean?” You listen attentively, as your Realtor explains “A Short Sale is when the bank agrees to take less than the balance owed”. “And” you say. Your Realtor continues… “well, we can make an offer on this home but it could take months before you know if your offer is accepted, and even if it is accepted, it still might not close”. “What!” “Why?” you say. He explains “We need to talk to the listing agent, to see if the short sale has already been approved by the bank…the waiting time is horrendous. Even if a short sale is approved and they accept our offer, it may still take 30 days to get an answer from the Lender who has the final say in whether to approve, reject or counteroffer our offer. Your shoulders sink, it’s frustrating. But your Realtor isn’t done explaining, “In the meantime, the longer the short sale takes to sell, the closer it gets to being a foreclosure”.
By: David Dion – Owner of Solutions Real Estate
Many people in The Valley view buying a home with a fairly simple logic: Older homes are cheaper than newer homes. Due to this train of thought, pre-owned homes are the first place that home buyers look when they are thinking of purchasing a home. What many people don’t realize is that buying a newly built home can be just as inexpensive as buying a pre-owned or distressed property!
Of course, one of the main selling points of buying new homes in Arizona is that you and/or your family will be the first to reside in the property. A homeowner won’t have to worry about structural damage, carpet odor, cosmetic redesigning, or any other upgrades that older homes may not have. This is huge when you think about it from a long-term investment standpoint. Many builders will work with you to insure that your new home meets all of today’s latest standards, both for the state and for yourself! This is because it is much easier to install newer technology into a home that is just being built. For example, cable and phone jacks, specialized ports for newer electronic systems, as well as new-age security systems can all be included from the start. Trying to install these, and other similar items, is very difficult in a pre-existing home since you would need to remove parts of walls, floors, and ceilings to do this.
