Charlotte Real Estate, Foreclosures, Short Sales

                                                                                                
                                     
Welcome to Charlotte North Carolina's Real Estate Blog. Today's Real Estate & Auction specializes in residential home auctions for lenders, new home builders and home sellers across the Carolinas. 

We offer today's buyer up to the minute property information on the best deals available.  We offer today's seller a way to sell their home outside of the traditional listing method to create a competitive bidding environment among qualified buyers.

More and more home owners are trying to find ways to compete with foreclosed properties and deep builder discounts.  Besides making it look pretty, price it to sell.  The McAllister's, a couple who recently put their 1917 Craftsman-style home on the market with renovations, artwork and beautiful furnishings received three offers within two days of listing their home.   The home owners felt that any investment put into their home to help it sell quicker was made up with peace of mind. 

Pricing a home to move may sound obvious, but some home owners may not be fully aware of how important it really is.  "Distressed Properties," including foreclosures and homes at risk of foreclosure, accounted for 32% of fourth quarter transactions, according to a report out Thursday from the National Association of Realtors.  There is just too much inventory available for buyers to "pick through".  If the home owner does not have the funds available to make improvements on their home, they should really consider their bottom line and set the list price accordingly to increase traffic and bring in orders within the first 30 days.

If home owners want to compete against foreclosures, offer all of the things a foreclosure does not offer buyers.  Aesthetically speaking, foreclosures often have cosmetic work to be done.  If the home owner walls are in need of painting, the carpet is worn and the landscape is in need of attention, the foreclosure wins. Ask for a tour of competing homes and specifically foreclosures and short sales in your market area.  Know what the buyer is seeing and what your competition looks like.

New Buyer Seminar on Foreclosures, Short Sales, Auctions and NC Downpayment Assistance programs!  Click to talk with an online sales agent for more information.

According to DailyFinance.com, about 5.1 million mortgage holders will own a home that is worth 75% or less than what they owe on the home. A new study drawn by First American CoreLogic then given exclusively to the New York Times states that it would take $745 billion dollars to get mortgages to the point where no home loans in the United States were underwater. Ironically, that is somewhere around the amount that the banks received for their bailout???

RealtyTrac has recently estimated that there will be a rise from last year's foreclosure rate. They are estimated roughly 3 million homes will go into foreclosure in 2010. We are still waiting for the federal government for a long-term solution. Adding more money to this problem may not be an option since the federal budget deficit this fiscal year is projected to be nearly $1.6 trillion.

We will continue to see a sharp increase in short sales and foreclosures in Mecklenburg and the surrounding counties. As a Certified Distressed Property Professional, I am able to assist buyers and sellers navigate through the ups and downs of our housing market with less stress, more ease while keeping more money in your pocket. Call me today, Sandra Allen at (704) 559-5988 X5 for more information on buying short sales and foreclosures or if you are an owner of a distressed property.

Faced with criticism, the Treasury department outlined new guidelines to help streamline the loan modification process under the adminstration's Home Affordable Modification Program that started over a year ago.  The previous paperwork required an overwhelming amount of forms to include 2 year's tax returns, paystubs, hardship letters, etc.. The new guideline specifies that borrowers provide three items to loan services; a form requesting a loan modification, authorization for the servicer t seek tax returns from the IRS an evidence of income.

As of December 31, roughly 900,000 borrowers had been given trial modifications, but only 66,465 had been converted to a permanent loan modification.  As of September 30th, about 7.5 million households were behind on payments or in the process of foreclosure.

If you are a buyer looking for short sale properties in need of immediate or if you are a seller in need of avoiding foreclosure by short sale or if you are in need of loan modification information, please click here.

Some lenders are forgoing the foreclosure process for new home builders facing foreclosure.  Instead they are opting to place these properties into receivership.  By placing these properties into receivership, lenders prevent having to absorb the cost of utilities, finishing construction of the unsold homes, preparing the homes for sale and the liability associated with the new unsold homes.  Court-appointed receivers protect the asset for the lender by maintaining the property.  Newport Beach, Calif.-based California Real Estate Receiverships has been assigned the assets of several banks, including nearly 1,100 lots and homes that Bank of America retrieved from WL Homes. 

What do receivers do?  Receivers work for the judge.  Their main responsibility is to complete the house and deliver it back to the bank free and clear of liens or warranty obligations.  Some production homes when placed in receivership have few construction defects associated with the property.  They may have an expired permit and may be in need of re-inspection. 

There are new homes within the Charlotte and surrounding areas that are in receivership that need to be sold.  For a list of these homes, please click here for more information.