Rich Cederberg's Albuquerque Real Estate Blog

With more and more short sale homes and bank owned homes coming on the market here in Albuquerque, I thought it would be interesting to see what percentage of closed sales in June were distressed property sales.

Of the 581 total sales that have been reported in June 2010, 83 were bank owned listings and 49 were short sale listings. Together that's 29% of total sales. Bank owned homes made up 18% of June closed sales, and short sales made up 11% of June closed sales.

29% doesn't sound that high, but let's look at it another way, 29% means almost 1 out of 3 closed sales were distressed property sales. These numbers are for the Albuquerque market as a whole, and some neighborhoods have fared better than others. 

Read more about Ventana Ranch distressed property sales, Paradise Hills NM distressed property sales and Taylor Ranch distressed property sales.

With short sale homes selling for 10% below market value, and bank owned homes selling for even less, distressed property sales are definitely having an impact on housing values in Albuquerque.  

This is excellent information for anyone considering selling their Albuquerque or Rio Rancho home anytime soon.

Here are some great before and after photos from my friend in Calgary, Alberta.

If you are considering selling your Albuquerque or Rio Rancho home, you might want to consider hiring a licensed appraiser to do a pre listing appraisal. Not all appraisers are willing to do this, but I know one who will measure, draw a floorplan and comp out a house for about $150. 

I think this is money well spent. After all, Realtors and appraisers do not look at house values the same way. We have different perspectives. Realtors look at a house and think "I wonder how much I can get for this," and appraisers look at it like "What will the bank approve." They can be two very different numbers.

In listing appointments all too often the deciding factor about which agent gets the listing is how high they'll price the house. This is called "buying the listing." Promise you can bring the seller more for their house and of course they'll pick you.

This really does you a disservice in the end, because houses can not sell for more than they will appraise for (except in the rare event a cash buyer is willing to overpay). What happens with an overpriced house is the house takes longer to sell, maybe after a price reduction or two, and probably sells for less than a house that is priced properly from the start.

If you have an appraisal done up front, you'll have much more realistic expectations, and it will most likely save you time and money.

Would you like to have a consultation before you list your Albuquerque or Rio Rancho home for sale? Just let me know, it's a service I am starting to offer. Contact Rich Cederberg and mention "Active Rain" and I'll provide you with a free pre listing appraisal if you list with me.

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With this post I will cross the 100,000 point threshold. I'm excited about it, and somewhat proud too, although I know I have a lot to learn.

I started blogging here on ActiveRain around July 1, 2009, so it's taken me only 7 1/2 months to reach this milestone. On the one hand it seems like it's taken forever, on the other it seems like overnight.

All it takes to reach 100,000 points is dedication and commitment. It's not east to carve out the time every day to write. I've pretty much given up watching TV to write every night. In the beginning, on some days I had no idea what to write. Now the ideas "pop" into my head a lot easier. Sometimes they are still difficult to write, however.

I'm dedicated and committed to everything I do in life. Dedicated to my wife, dedicated to my kids and dedicated to my job.

As a Realtor I'm dedicated and committed to my clients and getting the job done.

Call me if you need someone like me to help you sell your Albuquerque or Rio Rancho home.

I've had a great week showing homes to several buyers who are ready to purchase their new homes. They're pre-approved, motivated and have contacted me with a list of homes they want to see.

So why then am I begging Sellers to "Please Let Me Show Your Home!"

Over the last week I've been turned away by 25% of the sellers I called to schedule showing appointments. I know it's inconvenient to have to keep your house ready for showings all the time, I know it's frustrating when Realtors call and make appointments only to show up late, but here are some things you need to understand.

Buyers have tight schedules too and they don't have all day to look at homes. If you are too picky about when your home can be shown they'll probably just move on to another.

Buyers have a large selection of homes to view. If you require them to schedule an appointment with your Realtor because you don't want to have your house on a keybox, and your Realtor won't call me back, the buyers will just move on to another house.

And I know you want to keep the renters in the house while it's on the market, but understand those tenants are not going to call Realtors back to schedule showings! The buyers are just going to move on!

It's frustrating for me. I think we might have missed some really great homes because I could not get permission to show them, but mostly it's bad for you because Your House Did Not Get Shown!

Here's an excellent post about selling a home when you have a pet.

If you owe more than your home is worth and you are getting behind on your payments or you have to move you may want to consider doing an Albuquerque Short Sale.  

Here are answers to 7 frequently asked short sale questions:

1) What is a short sale?

A short sale happens when the seller's mortgage company agrees to take less than the amount that is owed on the mortgage. When a buyer makes an offer on a short sale, the seller signs it but then it has to be submitted to the bank for approval.

2) How long does a short sale take?

The term "short sale" is misleading. There is nothing short about the process. That's because the bank has to approve the sale and banks are flooded with requests for short sales right now. Some smaller lenders can approve and close a short sale in two or three months. Larger lenders like Bank of America can take as long as 6 to 8 months.

3) Will a short sale hurt my credit score?

Yes, the mortgage will appear as a debt that has been settled for less than what was owed, but it will not appear as a foreclosure on your credit report. A foreclosure can stay on your credit report for up to ten years. A settled debt is much less harmful to your credit. This is the main reason to consider a short sale, to save your credit score as much as possible.

4) Why would the bank do a short sale?

A short sale can be less expensive and less time consuming for the bank than foreclosure is. Foreclosure is a long and drawn out legal process that adds extra time and cost for the bank.

5) Will a short sale save me from disclosure?

That depends upon the timing. If you are behind on your payments and you wait too long to start the process, time can run out on you. In most cases bans are not anxious to close and with the assistance of a Realtor you can buy time for the short sale to take place.

6) Can you guarantee the short sale will be approved?

No. Every bank has different criteria for approving and processing a short sale. This is no guarantee the short sale will close until you have bank approval.

7) Will I get any proceeds from the sale?

Absolutely not. The bank is taking a loss on the loan and they will not allow you to walk away with cash.

Check back in several days for most Albuquerque Short Sale FAQ's.

Avoid Foreclosure and Do a Short Sale

If you're thinking of selling a home in Albuquerque or Rio Rancho a little home staging can do a lot of good! Take a look at these great before and after photos from Michele Reneau, Carolina One Real Estate in Charleston SC.

Via Michele Reneau, Realtor, CRS, ABR, GRI ~ Charleston, SC Relocation Experts Team (Certified Staging Professional (CSP) Elite Instructor):

We are so proud of this seller who was willing to act on the advice of our stager’s consultation. The sellers worked really hard to declutter but when we went back to revisit the home, we felt the home was still not ready. After our stager, Melissa Marro, presented a written staging consultation, the sellers had a check list to follow on necessary changes to make and they followed through with flying colors.

Here are some before and after photos. 

The master bedroom is beautifully decorated but a mauve coat of paint could be a turn off for male buyers. A simple change of paint really shows off this room.

The hood over the fireplace was a terra cotta color which went along with the seller’s southwest theme, but it’s hard to take one’s eyes off that hood until you see the after photo which makes this room feel larger.

The bedroom was painted terra cotta and this color may not be for every buyer. A simple coat of paint makes this room ready for any family member. We also removed a few other items in the room, but the change cost less than $50 to make, but the impact is worth much more.

This home is located in Colony North in N. Charleston, SC was just listed at $129,900. It's 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1416 sqft with a 2 car garage. To view other photos of this home, click here. 

If you would like more information about this listing, call us at 843-849-5217 or email @ info@CharlestonRelocationExperts.com.

Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CRETeam. 

Contact Michele Reneau, Top Real Estate Agent, North Charleston, SC Relocation Expert, CRS, GRI, ABR. 843-814-6680. We are approved by Boeing 3rd party relocation company as Charleston Boeing Relocation Specialists with Carolina One Real Estate in Charleston, SC. Michele Reneau is a Certified Staging Professional Elite Instructor and teaches agents how to use staging to maximize their real estate business and Help Sellers Protect their Equity using Home Staging while earning the CSP Elite designation. Michele is a Certified Residential Specialist with a top real estate team in Charleston, SC.  RESA 2009 and 2010 Staging Realtor of the Year Nominee. The Charleston Relocation Experts Team specializes in military relocation, first time homebuyers and creating marketing exposure to sell your home in the Charleston SC Real Estate market. Michele can also be contacted by email at michele@CharlestonRelocationExperts.com.

Michele Reneau, ABR, GRI, CRS

www.CharlestonRelocationExperts.com

Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CRETeam

Thanks to Michelle Reneau, Carolina One Real Estate!

Are you considering selling your Ventana Ranch Home? Then you need to get a market analysis from an experienced Albuquerque Realtor.

Free Market Analysis for Your Ventana Ranch Home

A good market analysis will help you understand an accurate price for your neightborhood. It should help you determine a realistic price for your home that will bring you as much money as the market will bear within a reasonable length of time.

Here are some of the factors Realtors and Appraisers use to determine the value of your home:

• Closed comparable sales. The value of your home is determined by the value of other homes in your neighborhood that have recently sold. The price of homes that are currently for sale cannot be used to determine value until they have been closed. What if your neighbor has overpriced their home and it hasn't sold? Would you want to overprice your home too? Overpriced homes don't sell, by the way, so the answer should be an emphatic "NO!"

• Location. The comparable sales used to determine the value of your home need to be located very near by. Appraisers will rarely go further than one mile away, especially if there are other recent sales located closer to your house. They will not bend over backwards to pick the best comps for you, they will pick the closer sales.

• Recent sales. Comparable sales need to be the most recent comparable sales, they need to be "fresh" and reflect the current market climate. Values go up and down like the stock market. No one would pay peak price for a stock when they realize they could pay less for it today.

• Square footage. The size of your home is very important when determining value, and it's helpful to compare the price-per-square-foot from one house to another, but it rarely yields an accurate list price for a home.

• Builder. In some area of town you can find custom homes next to tract homes. They should not priced similarly. The same is true if you have a Pulte Home. You shouldn't use the sale of a KB Home as a comparable sale unless their are not any recent sales of Pulte homes to use as comps.

• Lot size. I remember in 2007 some builders were charging up to $30,000 for larger lots in their communities. They can't do that anymore, and neither can you. Yes, it will increase your homes value, but not like it used to.

• Cooling. Does your home have refrigerated air? These days when everyone is concerned about energy efficiency swamp coolers are quickly becoming obsolete. 

• Number of Bedrooms. An extra bedroom should bring a slightly higher sales price. I can't tell you exactly how much, it varies from neighborhood to neighborhood, but it's usually not more than $1,000 to $1,500, not $15,000!

• Options/upgrades. Here are some other features that add value. Does your house have ceramic tile while the comps have vinyl flooring? Add value. Does your house have wood floors while the comps have carpet? Add more value. How about the appliances. Are they Stainless Steel or white? It seems like everyone wants stainless steel these days. Ca ching-Add value.

That's not even a complete list of the factors that go into accurate pricing of a home. I didn't even mention landscaping, paint colors, decor and furniture (yes, your furnitue matters!) or views.

In today's super competitive market, you need to use an agent who understands acurate pricing. Contact me, Rich Cederberg, today for your free market analysis.

Free Market Analysis for Your Ventana Ranch Home