IS THERE SHAME IN A SHORT SALE?

In the early 90’s when real estate activity began declining along with home values, I began doing short sales. Lots of them. They were sad, painful, and tough to do. What would shock me was the homeowner’s reaction to being in financial trouble and how they handled it. At least 50% of the clients who contacted me did so long after they should have. When I asked why they did not deal with the issue sooner, most could not give any answer. Finally they would say “I thought there was a way out”. There was denial, and shame about what had happened.

Most of the shame has been eliminated in today’s market. Plus for one more year the government is giving homeowners a present if they do a short sale. They voted to extend the Debt Forgiveness Act until 01/01/14. What this means is that normally the homeowner would pay tax on the amount of debt that was forgiven in the short sale. So if your loan amount was $600,000 and the bank agreed to be paid $500,000, the $100,000 would be considered income. However, for this year the government is agreeing to forgive those taxes on that income. Depending on your tax bracket, you might owe $15,000-$30,000. Another reason for doing a short sale is you get rid of an investment that is worth significantly less than what you paid. How long will it take for that value to come back to the price you originally paid? Plus any money you put into that property could be put in another investment that earns you a positive return immediately rather than a negative one. Once I show sellers what they can save and how much further ahead they will be by doing a short sale, they see the financial sense. Plus get rid of the weight of being harassed by lenders or collection agencies. How could there be shame in that?

Why does your Realtor need to be a marketing expert in today's market?

          This market makes or breaks agents. To be effective they have to know what causes a home to sell, plus be able to advise the homeowner on everything from paint colors to staging of the home.

          There are thousands of ways to expose your home to possible buyers. These include the Multiple Listing Service, print media, internet marketing to the consumer, internet marketing to the agent, specialty advertising, niche internet sites for types of properties and buyers, social media, direct mail and much more.

Most agents put your home in the Multiple Listing Service, run a few ads in the local newspapers, put your home’s ad in their pretty glossy company magazine, and on their company and personal website. Using those methods the average Realtor sells a home in approximately 83 days*.

I and my Team have a comprehensive PRE-MARKETING CAMPAIGN AND PROPERTY PREPARATION TEAM that helps you with everything from what color to paint your home, what flowers to put in the front yard, what to fix, and how to stage your home to look like it came right out of a magazine; all cost effectively.

With our program, our average "days on market" is 38.

TIME IS MONEY. I GUARANTEE YOU THAT YOUR HOME WILL SELL MORE QUICKLY AND FOR MORE MONEY BY USING OUR PRE-MARKETING CAMPAIGN AND COMPREHENSIVE TEAM TO GET YOUR HOME “MARKET READY”.

What is the strongest skill your Realtor should have?

Is it the ability to market your property?  The number of years experience the Realtor has?  The number of transactions in the past year?  Actually, it’s how well your Realtor listens to you and communicates with you throughout the process of listing or selling you a home.  And, it’s their ability to negotiate with you and prospective buyers/sellers.

Why is this so important?

For many reasons that are both obvious and not so obvious.  A successful Realtor is involved in the details of buying or selling real property on a daily basis.  You’re not.  You want to work with someone who will listen carefully to your questions and answer them in a timely and detailed fashion.  The current real estate contract has a 17 day rescission period during which a buyer will inspect, investigate and evaluate your home.  You need to have someone who is on top of this process, negotiating solutions for termite work, roof work, chimney work, physical inspection items, escrow periods, times frames, costs, etc.  Each of these requires a real estate professional that listens to you and negotiates in your very best interest.

Dear Friends...

Dear Friends,

This time of year is wonderful for many reasons.  First, we should look back on some of the very trying times including our current economy, the recent wind storm, or the Station Fires. These incidents make us appreciate our homes and what we continue to enjoy when the day is done.  Also, It should cause each of us to reflect on the many blessings we have and all the special people that make our lives better.  This year, I am thankful for all the wonderful trades people that assisted my clients in making repairs or helping to get their homes ready for sale. Also, for the significant number of new clients and past clients who allowed me to assist them in buying or selling their properties. They put their trust in me and I value that.

My goal for 2012 is to have my most productive year yet and to continue to satisfy the dreams of my existing clients and new clients for the new year.  I would love to be your Real Estate Consultant for life.  To that end, please call me if you have a loan question, are considering refinancing, need trades people to do work at your property, or want to buy or sell.

I want to especially thank the following people for making this year rewarding, special and filled with gratitude.

Ms. Blaine-Haines Canyon, Tujunga                             Current Electric-Mike Delaney

Mr. & Mrs. Doyle-McConnell, L.A.                                Siftar Home Inspections-Paul Siftar

Mr. & Mrs. Stanton-El Tovar, Glendale                          InsideOut Window Washing-Jim Holder

Mr. & Mrs. Fisher-Mesa Vista, La Canada                     BRS Painting-David Lee

Mr. & Mrs. Steuben-Timberlake, La Crescenta              Valley General Contracting-Shawn Eshback

Mr. Trader-San Pasqual, Pasadena                              GlenPacific Floors-Tony Martinez                 

Ms. Frost-Old Mill, Pasadena                                       Landscaping-Paco Ortiz

Mr. and Mrs. Niero-Harriman, L.A.                                Staging-Teresa Romeu

Mr. & Mrs. Green-El Vago, La Canada                          Noteworthy Movers-Mark

Mr. & Mrs. Sanders-Saint Katherine, La Canada            Appraiser-Jim Ransford

Mr. & Mrs. Liss-Encinas, La Canada                        

Ms. Clark-Stocker, Glendale

Mr. & Mrs. Gonzales-Westminster, Alhambra

Mr. Faucette & Ms. Stallard-Henrietta, La Crescenta

Mr. & Mrs. Reichley-Galaxy Heights, La Canada

Mr. & Mrs. Diaz Harriett, Altadena

Ms. Lopez, Mr. Vicchi-Belgrave, L.A.
Mr. Coldwell-Eaglepoint, Glendale

I hope your holidays are full of wonderful surprises.  

Warm Holiday Wishes,

Jennie Manders

Will the FHA Become The Go-To Financing Option For Borrowers In High-Cost Areas?

Higher loan limits have transformed the FHA into a key financing source.  For more information on this check out the LA Times story using the above link.

Spotlight: Angel Flight West

 A cause close to my heart is Angel Flight West.  This nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization arranges free, non-emergency air transportation for people who need to access to health care and other critical services. Angel Flight West's volunteer pilots donate their time, talent, airplanes and fuel to make it happen.

My husband, Alan, joined Angel Flight West as a volunteer pilot in 1993 and went on to serve on the board for six years and as the Southern California Wing Leader for four years. I have also served on the board.  Alan is currently Angel Flight West's executive director.

Angel Flight West provides more than 4,000 flights each year in California and 13 other Western states. Besides flights to access health care, AFW arranges transportation for other needs as well -- individuals and families escaping domestic violence; injured military personnel taking part in therapeutic programs; prospective parents hoping to adopt a child; and flying youngsters and teens to special needs camps like those for burn survivors or kids with cancer.

And it's all free. Since the organization started in 1983, AFW has completed more than 50,000 flights -- flights for passengers like Michelle, who was a cancer patient. In a letter to the organization, she wrote, "

“Angel Flight West has helped to give me the one thing I’ve learned to cherish the most: time.  Time with friends, time to fight my disease, and most importantly, time with my three beautiful daughters.  One more hug, one more kiss, one more I love you Mommy.  I embrace each moment with appreciation and love in my heart for the wonderful people at Angel Flight West who helped give me . . . a little more time!"

For more information, please visit http://www.angelflightwest.org/

International Home Buying Activity in 2011

            Realtor.com the official website of the National Association of Realtors will soon go global.  They will feature listings from all over the world, translations for all listings in eight languages and currency and measurement conversion services. 

            According to NAR’s 2011 Profile of International Home Buying Activity, international buyers were responsible for 82 billion worth of purchases of US residential real estate, up from 66 billion the previous year.  Realtor.com president Errol Samuelson attributes it to the strength of the dollar and the value and desirability of US real estate.  Also homes in the US are viewed as secure long term investments as rentals or for the buyers own use. 

            Last year 62% of the foreign buyers paid cash, versus 8% of domestic buyers.   This makes the foreign transactions more streamlined and even more desirable, especially when so many domestic buyers are struggling at times to get financing.

            Realtor.com receives 900,000 hits from non US buyers each month and of the 82 billion in sales last year, 70 countries accounted for those sales.  This also means that there is a huge market sitting there for realtors, with 4-5 billion in commissions in the last 12 months alone.

I am currently updating my website in order to have a page dedicated to overseas buyers and ex-pats returning to the states.  Do you have any thoughts on information I should include?  What would you be looking for in a Realtor if buying in another country?

WHAT SHOULD YOU REALLY LOOK FOR IN YOUR NEXT REALTOR?

Here are reasons we heard from clients for selecting their last Realtor:

They sent me a calendar every year; he was my Uncle; the Realtor said they would reduce their fee; their kids went to school with mine; I met them at an open house and they seemed nice.

WHAT QUALITIES SHOULD THE REALTOR REALLY HAVE?

You are hiring an expert who will handle your largest asset. This Realtor should have qualities that will allow you to achieve your goals. The top goals are:  to minimize the work to get the home sold; to sell the home quickly; and, to sell for the most money in today’s market.

YEARS OF EXPERIENCE-This usually determines the agent’s knowledge of the real estate process and how to sell in different markets. This is a different market!

CREDENTIALS-what kind do they have? In any field, there is specialization. This shows an agent’s areas of special interest and additional training that will help you achieve a better result.

UNIQUE SELLING PLAN-In today’s market unique efforts must be made to sell homes quickly for top dollar. A defined plan that is special to this market is absolutely necessary.

RESULTS-The average Realtor sells 4 homes. You are not looking for an AVERAGE result. Your Realtor should give you their annual sales with the days it took to sell their homes, list price to sales price and references you can call to discuss their client’s happiness with the result.

Why Should You Be Loyal to Your Realtor?

Loyalty fosters better relationships.  A buyer can expect the maximum level of service from a Realtor who knows the byer is loyal.  A loyal buyer would be more inclined to hear about the “great deal” as soon as, or before, it hits the marketplace.  An aggressive Realtor will even do “targeted marketing” to individual homes in neighborhoods you are interested in to identify homes that may be going on the market.  Why?  Because there is much more motivation from the Realtor who knows that their efforts in finding you a home will result in a successful sale.  Additionally, it makes sense to work with only one Realtor because it saves you time and there is less chance for duplicated efforts.

Call the Jennie Manders Home Team and find out why they have earned the loyalty of their many clients.

WHY FIX IT UP IF YOU’RE JUST GOING TO SELL IT?

Would you put your car up for sale without a thorough wash and detail? Most homeowners mistakenly think buyers will be able to visualize themselves living in their home with their stuff. WRONG! 90% of buyers cannot see beyond what is there.

A move in condition home has a greater value to buyers and will sell at a higher price. “Today’s Market” and “HomeGain” (real estate research companies) say that homes that have been cleaned up, painted and updated allow the seller to realize a 100% or more return on the cost of any of those improvements. Guess which improvement is one of the tops in returning 586% of your investment?  STAGING

Today buyers are reluctant to purchase a neglected property because they must do costly repairs immediately.  Also, they do not have financial resources like equity lines any more to use to do this.

So if 94% of prepped/staged homes sell on average in 29 days or less when the average days on market for a home to sell is 90 and these homes sell on average for 7% more, what should you do?

Call the Jennie Manders Home Team to hear about the comprehensive program we have in place to make repairs, improvements and do staging cost effectively and without stress.

Top Markets for Real Estate Agents

The state of the housing market may seem glum to some out there.  However, there actually are real estate professionals working hard and doing a lot of real estate business.  On a national level, some real estate markets are seeing rising prices and strong local economies which have brought a high dollar volume in home sales in these areas according to Andrea V. Brambila of Inman News.   Brambila and Inman News studied many factors including total sales, median sales price, and real estate licensee data in metro areas across the U.S and came up with a  “top 10” list of areas where real estate professionals are succeeding in the highest number of sales and in some cases rising home values.  Of the top cities, nearly half are in the West and 9 of 10 are projected to see double digit population growth through the next 9 years.

So where is the real estate market taking off?  The top metro areas according to Inman News from number one area to 10 are: Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash.; Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas; Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colo.; Salt Lake City; San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas; Pittsburgh; Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas; Kansas City Mo.-Kan.; Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas; and Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, Tenn.

The Top Improvements to Make Prior to Putting Your Home On the Market

How do you capture the attention of buyers who are looking at many homes and you want your home to be the “standout”, when they decide which home they want to buy? What features will buyers look at in your home that will differentiate it from the other homes they see?

Based on recent research and my 28 years of real estate experience, the top 4 improvements you can make to your home before selling to ensure that it is shown at its best, plus Guarantee that your home will sell faster and at a higher price are:

1. De-clutter and repurpose furniture

2. Re-landscaping the front yard including planting colorful flowers and putting bark in flower beds

3. Painting the exterior trim and interior

4. Staging the home

A staged home sells 80% more quickly than a non-staged home and for 7% more*.  These improvements are cost effective solutions that make your home “sale ready”. We have a team of experts who can cost effectively, quickly, and in a stress-free manner complete these items for you. We coordinate the entire process.

*Stats from Today’s Market

Senior Tax Benefits

Are you over 55 and thinking about moving, but you’re afraid you will lose your LOW property tax rate? You may be able to transfer your current low rate to your next home. Under Proposition 90, if you are over 55 years of age and purchase a home of equal or lesser value in one of 7 counties that reciprocate, you may be able to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

Call me today to find out if you qualify. I can show you the potential value of your home in today’s market, and help you find your new home, too.

MY TEAM AND I WILL HELP MAKE THIS AN EASY TRANSITION FOR YOU.  

ForSalebyOwner.com Founder Hires a Broker!

According to Daily Real Estate News, the founder and former CEO of ForSalebyOwner.com recently listed and tried to sell his New York condo on his own. After six months of advertising his home through classified ads and for sale by owner sites he gave up and hired broker Jesse Buckler. Buckler immediately advised Sambrotto on a price change to help attract the right type of buyers for his condo. Sambrotto’s decision to hire a professional paid off. It led to multiple offers and a purchase price $150,000 over his original asking price! The Wall Street Journal has reported the listing sold for $2.15 million and that Sambrotto paid a 6% commission. Well worth it!

Why Stage Your Home?

Why Stage Your Home?

Because homes that are staged sell 80% faster, and for 7% more than non-staged homes*.

Most buyers do not have the imagination to see beyond what the home looks like when they first see it, so they cannot visualize the home de-cluttered, painted in different colors, with different furnishings, etc. Major builders have conducted studies and confirmed that staged homes sell faster and for more money. That is why they spend the time and money to create a model home with the most desirable paint colors, inviting landscaping, and furniture staged to allow you to visualize living there.

w    If staged homes sell faster…

w    If staged homes sell for more money…

w    If staged homes sell before others…

Shouldn’t your home be staged, too? Plus shouldn’t you use the Realtor who has been staging homes for the last 5 years allowing her sellers to get more money and sell 80% faster than other homes?

We have a cost-effective solution and system to get your home ready in 15 days and we make the process stress-free!

Statistics from Today’s Market and HomeGain

Actual staged listings.

Weekly Neighborhood Market Reports Available

Dilbeck Real Estate now offers reports to help track neighborhood market conditions.  These reports can be obtained by calling or emailing The Jennie Manders Home Team.  Here is more information from Dilbeck:

National and County-wide news sources are slow and do not accurately represent what is happening in our local market.  It's important to stay informed about conditions impacting your local neighborhood.
The Dilbeck Real Estate weekly reports track neighborhood inventory, median price, price per square foot, median sales price, average days on market and more. The market reports are updated weekly, and are a service we provide to you, so that you can be "ahead of the curve" as to the direction in which the housing market is heading in 2011.

The Home Team is happy to provide you with the Market Reports of your choice.  The link above is the market report for the week of July 25th for the Rossmoyne area of Glendale.  If you would like to receive a specific area report, please contact me at Jennie@JennieManders.com or 818.949.7830.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE TAX BENEFITS GO AWAY FOR HOME OWNERSHIP?

When the economy starts shifting, the government begins looking for ways to cut costs or “save money”. The tax benefits related to home ownership have periodically come under scrutiny as a way for the government to retain more money by not allowing certain credits, allowances or write-offs.   

In December 2010, the President’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (best known as the Deficit Commission) issued a report identifying tax and spending changes designed to sig­nificantly reduce the deficit over the next decade. That Commission recommended different tax options. At least three different approaches were included:

• Eliminate all “tax expenditures” (deductions, exclusions, credits).

• Eliminate the MID (Mortgage Interest Deduction) for second homes and reduce the amount of allowable mortgage debt from $1 million to $500,000.

• Convert the deduction to a 12% tax credit.

Since this report was issued, the National Association of Realtors has aggressively reminded Congress that any change to the tax rules that apply to home ownership would disrupt the market and cause home values to further decline.

The above factors deal with the monetary part of the home ownership equation. However, our general economy correlates almost directly to the housing market. The ripple effect of building a home and then purchasing it benefits individuals in numerous related companies including banks, mortgage companies, title, all the trades, heat and air, plumbing, electrical, wood production, cement, carpet, flooring, appliances, appraisal and much more.

The bigger question is “If you take away those tax benefits, what is the incentive to own”? As evidence of this, the recent tax credits offered to buyers of $8000 caused more activity and sales, showing that a credit does incentivize buyers to purchase.

Taking away these benefits would permanently and dangerously change Americans views of the American dream, home ownership. It also would immediately impact those baby boomers that were relying on what equity they have to retire and live comfortably. What about all those industries that would be impacted with less work, fewer orders for improvements, etc.? If every property eventually becomes a rental, how often will landlords improve them? Certainly not as often as a homeowner does. The end result is a huge negative impact that will have a ripple effect on everyone. There are other ways to generate revenue. If we are all trying to “run lean and mean” how about the government doing that for a number of years with the goal being no deficit?

A Perspective on Multiple Offers in This Market

When to buy real estate above list price Inman News

This article contains one perspective on multiple offers in this market. I would love to hear your opinions on this. Please comment and share your thoughts with me.

Summer Traditions- Music in the Park

The city of La Canada Flintridge’s Music in the Park series is a special summer tradition for my husband and me.  Similar to a small version of the Pasadena Pops but on a local level, the city holds concerts at Memorial Park. 

From Jazz to Country to Elvis tributes, each concert is truly entertaining.  Bring your dinner, libations, and relax under the stars listening to local talent for free! This is a great event to catch up with friends and neighbors or to just enjoy your family. 

Coming up this month is A Tribute to Elvis by Steve Roth on July 10^th, The Jack Lantz Big Band on July 17^th, and Classic Rock by Misplaced Priorities on July 24^th.  All concerts are from 6pm-8pm on Sundays.  A complete schedule can be found at http://www.lacanadaflintridge.com/.

My husband Alan and me at a recent Music in the Park concert.

Peace and Serenity in Montecito Park

This single story Ranch located on a secluded cul-de-sac is ideally situated to enjoy the treetops views and views of the foothills from your home and striking rear yard.  The flow of the floor plan is ideal for today’s lifestyle with the kitchen opening to the family room and the living room oriented to the views.  The rooms are spacious and include 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, a formal dining room, family room plus a great neighborhood. Offered at $824,900.