Archive for April 22nd, 2008
Raleigh Home Seller Seminar
April 22nd, 2008 Categories: Events, Selling a Home
| May 13, 2008 | ||
| 6:30 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
You’re invited to a FREE seminar on How To Sell Your Home For Top Dollar In A Challenging Market. Come hear a panel of experts discuss how to edge out the competition. With local residential real estate inventory up and home sales down, this is a message that needs to be heard.
Learn how to:
- determine a competitive market price that will net you more money
- stage your home to beat the competition
- create curb appeal that draws buyers like a magnet
- calculate net proceeds to determine your bottom line
- pre-qualify potential buyers to minimize your risk
Refreshments will be provided.
Tuesday - May 13th at 6:30pm
Reserve your place today by calling Tonya at 919-882-2175 or sending an email to tmartin(at)wrstarkey(dot)com
| Discussion: No Comments »
3 Choices When Facing Foreclosure
April 22nd, 2008 Categories: Mortgage and Finance
The bad news is foreclosures are on the rise here in Wake County, just like they are in most of the country. The good news is the rate of increase is not nearly as bad here as in most other real estate markets.
Even though we are doing better than many areas with regards to increases in foreclosures, the sad part is that good people are still facing this problem right here in our local communities. If you are behind on your mortgage payments, and don’t think you have the ability to get current, you have three choices.
Let Your Home Go Into Foreclosure
This is not a good choice. Your credit can be ruined for 7 years. You will not be able to buy anything on credit for a very long time. You could end up still responsible to the bank for the costs of foreclosing on your home. Debt collectors will follow you wherever you go in their efforts to collect the outstanding balance.
By the way, the banks really do not want to foreclose on homes. It costs them a ton of money each time they do it. It’s a lose-lose proposition for homeowners and banks alike.
If you let your home go into foreclosure, it’s too late. No one can help you at that point.
Renegotiate Your Mortgage
Depending on the circumstances, you might be able to renegotiate the terms of your mortgage. The key thing to remember here is that banks really do not want your home. They are not in the real estate business. They are in the banking business.
If you want to stay in your home, this might be a good option. Most of the time it can be done with minimal damage to your credit. Much of this will depend on how many payments you miss before seeking help.
Ask for help early. I have experience with renegotiating mortgages and will be glad to try to help. Just give me a call, but please call as soon as you realize you’re in trouble.
Negotiate a Short Sale With the Bank
If there is no way you can afford to stay in the home, then a short sale may be a viable solution. This is where you find a buyer for your home and negotiate with the bank to settle for less that what is owed on the loan. If you are successful, the bank accepts the offer and your credit report shows several late payments followed by a satisfied in full remark.
If all goes well, you will walk away with your credit in far better shape than it would be as a result of foreclosure, and you will not owe the outstanding amount to the bank. I have experience with short sales too. Again, just call me and I’ll try to help. Just don’t wait too long. Call as soon as you realize there is a problem
Don’t be too proud to ask for help
I’ve had several past clients contact me recently to ask for advice for people they know who are at risk of losing their homes. More often than not I get these phone calls after many payments have been missed and the bank has hired a collection firm to start hassling the homeowner. I cannot over emphasize how important it is to reach out for help sooner, rather than later.
If you, or someone you know, is facing possible foreclosure, call me or email me as soon as possible. Foreclosure is the very worst choice, out of the three available to you, that you could possibly make. Anybody can get in a jam. Asking for help is always the best choice.
| Discussion: No Comments »
Back From The Attack
April 22nd, 2008 Categories: Odds and Ends
If you’ve stopped by this blog in the past week, you have witnessed the aftermath of a vicious hacker attack. Raleigh Real Estate Talk and 19 other real estate blogs were the subject of a criminal attack, according to the people who host our sites.
As of right now I’m back up, although 4 months of articles are still missing. I’m told the missing months should be restored soon. It’s been a different kind of week to say the least.
To be honest, I’ve been able to keep myself pretty busy while my host has worked feverishly to put my blog back together again. I’ve had several new clients to serve and a couple of closings to schedule. That’s what it’s all about anyway. Helping people navigate through the sometimes perilous process of buying and selling homes.
I have had a few moments to reflect on why someone would want to do such a malicious and destructive thing to people whom he or she presumably did not even know. There is no answer to that question. But what they meant for harm has resulted in some good.
I’ve heard from quite a few people who enjoy reading what I write and who use the home search tools here on a regular basis. It has made me realize that this humble little blog serves more people that I thought, and that they depend on the information that is posted here.
I just want everyone to know that Raleigh Real Estate Talk is back and here to stay. By the way, there’s lots of new stuff coming soon. A new search home tool that you’re gonna love. You’ll also see the launch of a new way to organize information on a community by community basis. And I’m more committed now than ever before to writing something every day.
I missed everyone and It’s really good to be back!
| Discussion: 3 Comments »
