Due Diligence In Our Contract – An Important Perspective

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Our new Offer To Purchase that was put in affect in January of 2011 has brought on some much needed fairness to the seller.  The seller is paid a due diligence fee by the buyer to allow the buyer to investigate the property.

Really the most important aspect of buying a house is now in the preparation.  It never should have been up to the seller to determine the buyer’s credit worthiness.  Now that we have a due diligence period, the contract should only be about the property.  After all it is an offer to purchase a property.

The buyer should investigate his/her credit worthiness and be comfortable with it before EVER writing a contract.  You see the due diligence will only really work as intended if the buyer is pretty sure they can be approved for a loan.

So, what are the steps for loan approval?

Pre-Qualification
This occurs when the buyer provides information about income, assets and liabilities to a lender and allows a credit report to be run.
Pre-Approval
This step requires confirmation of income and assets through thorough documentation like bank statements, paystubs, W2’s and tax returns.
Final Approval
This occurs when all information is validated and an appraisal is completed that is acceptable to his/her lender.

So where should the buyer be before writing an offer?  They should have completed the Pre-Approval process.  This would only leave selecting the property and having the appraisal done along with other ‘property’ inspections.  You see the due diligence should only include issues with the home and not issue with the buyers credit worthiness.

If the buyer is PREPARED, the due diligence period can be done in 10-15 days and the due diligence amount can be a small sum of money or ZERO!

 

How To Remove Pet Stains From Carpets

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Carolina Living Real Estate

More tips to help you with managing and preparing your home for sale.  Information is provided by Carolina Living’s preferred Home Warranty Company; American Home Shield and Merry Maids.

First, blot up any liquid by putting towels or absorbent rags over the spot and stepping on them. Start with gentle pressure and increase it up to putting your full weight down. Change to fresh rags or towels until no more liquid comes up.

For fresh stains, apply a bacteria/enzyme digester from a pet store, following the directions—it’s the only way to deal effectively with both the stain and the odor. Bacteria/enzyme digesters work slowly, so leave the solution on as long as the directions say. Urine has probably penetrated into the carpet and pad, so use enough solution to reach as far down as the stain.

Apply the solution, put plastic over it, and step on the spot several times until the area is well saturated. Then, leave the plastic on the whole time the digester is working to make sure the spot doesn’t dry out.

Old or dry stains are hard—sometimes even impossible—to remove, but try the bacteria/enzyme digester. If it’s a popular accident site, the bacteria may produce enough ammonia in the course of breaking down the stains to create a super-alkaline situation that interferes with its own action. In this case, you may need to neutralize the spot after the digester has been working for about four hours. Mix a solution of one cup of vinegar to a gallon of warm water. Rinse the area with this solution and apply a fresh batch of bacteria/enzyme solution.

If the stain or odor remains, call a professional deodorizing specialist. A complete cure will probably involve cleaning the entire carpet by extraction and replacing the pad underneath, if not replacing the carpet.

Squatter Nation – Years Without A Mortgage Payment

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According to a recent article at CNN-Money, Some 4.2 million mortgage borrowers are either seriously delinquent or have had their cases referred to lawyers to pursue foreclosure auctions, according to LPS Applied Analytics.

Nationwide, it takes an average of 565 days to foreclose on borrowers in default from their first missed payments to the final auction. In New York, the average is 800 days and in Florida, where the “robo-signing” issue is particularly combative, it’s 807.

In this article specific examples were given where borrowers have stayed in their homes as long as 5 years without making a mortgage payment.

An example of what has happened across the nation:

A borrower purchased a two-bedroom on Tampa Bay in 1998 for $135,000.

As the waterfront property’s value skyrocketed, eventually reaching $750,000, they refinanced twice (once to expand a business), and took out a second mortgage. They now owe more than $600,000 on the home, which is worth only $235,000.

Until we get out of this mess, the housing market will continue to drag!  However if you are looking to buy a foreclosure in the Charlotte and Lake Norman areas, the time may be right.

Check out our FREE list of foreclosures

Lake Norman Foreclosures

Charlotte Foreclosures

Find Your Charlotte Area Dream Home

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Charlotte Real Estate Listings By Town/City

Just click on your town of choice and easily find the homes for sale!

City-MLS area City-MLS area City-MLS area
Mooresville – 12/13 Charlotte 1-9 Concord – 11
Gastonia – 16 Cornelius – 1,13 Huntersville – 1,9,11
Denver – 13,14 Kannapolis -11,21 Troutman – 12,13
Matthews 3,4,10 Belmont – 16 Sherrills Ford – 13,29
Davidson – 1,11,13

Charlotte MLS Areas

charlotte real estate

Carolina Living Real Estate Has Grown By 4 Agents

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Carolina Living has recently added 2 full time agents and 2 referral agents to it’s growing list of professionals.

Also, we are very excited that a team from one of the bigger firms is set to join in late June.

Joining us on a full time basis are Terri Church and Elizabeth Neil.  Both of them come from us from the recently closed DEJ Realty.  Terri was Broker in Charge and has many years experience and millions in closed transactions under belt.  Elizabeth was the top producer at DEJ Realty with many ties to the  NASCAR Community.

We are very excited at the recent growth and future growth on the Horizon.

100% Commissions – It’s is about the Money and Great Support!

 

 

Carolina Living Real Estate and Lake Norman

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Boats On Lake Norman

Carolina Living serves the Charlotte area with agents positioned around the entire area.  One of the areas where we are truly experts is Lake Norman.

We  have created a series of websites that encompasses everything you will need to know about Lake Norman Real Estate.

Starting with our blog which has all kinds of miscellaneous information about Lake Norman, from boat slips, to understand waterfront purchases.

Our company website Carolina Living Real Estate, has information about our company and information about the Charlotte area, from the arts to sports.

Lake Norman Communities has home listings for most of the communities surrounding Lake Norman.  Search by community and Lake Norman Waterfront and see all the active listings in the area.

Lake Norman Foreclosures has foreclosure listings all around the lake.  You can see home listings of Lake Norman foreclosures by price and by waterfront listings.

Birkdale at Lake Norman has home listings and miscellaneous information all about then Birkdale Golf Community and Birkdale Village which are two of the premier communities around Lake Norman.

Finally, Lake Norman Property Management is one of the premier property management companies in the area.  Our website displays many many rental listings as well as defines our services.

8 Tips For Adding Curb Appeal To Your Home

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Houselogic created by The National Association of Realtors recently published an article about adding curb appeal your home.  Carolina Living Real Estate has had recent success selling our listings by insuring that we are “winning the war online” and by providing our clients tips to enhance their home against the competion.

Homes with high curb appeal command higher prices and take less time to sell. We’re not talking about replacing vinyl siding with redwood siding; we’re talking about maintenance and beautifying tasks you’d like to live with anyway.

The way your house looks from the street—attractively landscaped and well-maintained—can add thousands to its value and cut the time it takes to sell. But which projects pump up curb appeal most? Some spit and polish goes a long way, and so does a dose of color.

  1. Wash your house’s face
  2. Freshen the paint job
  3. Regard the roof
  4. Neaten the Yard
  5. Add a color splash
  6. Glam your mailbox
  7. Fence Yourself In
  8. Maintenance is a must

Read more: 8 Tips for Adding Curb Appeal To Your Home

According to RealtyTrac -1 in 4 Sales Was A Forclosure

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This information is courtesy of Inman News.

Foreclosure sales accounted for 26 percent of U.S. home sales in 2010, with those properties selling for more than 28 percent less, on average, than homes not in the foreclosure process, data aggregator RealtyTrac said in its latest report.

A total of 831,574 U.S. residential properties either owned by banks or in some stage of foreclosure sold to third parties in 2010, a decrease of 31 percent from 2009 and a decrease of nearly 14 percent from 2008, RealtyTrac said.

Homes in foreclosure accounted for a larger percentage of sales in 2009 — 29 percent — but their share of total sales was up from 23 percent in 2008.

While controversy over loan servicers’ handling of foreclosure paperwork put a dent in fourth quarter foreclosure sales, the impact of the so-called robo-signing controversy seemed to be waning in the final month of the year.

RealtyTrac recorded a total of 149,303 foreclosure sales in the fourth quarter, down 22 percent from the previous quarter and down 45 percent from the same period a year ago. That decline was in spite of a 21 percent monthly uptick in foreclosure sales volume in December.

“The catch-22 for 2011 is that while accelerating foreclosure sales will help clear the oversupply of distressed properties and return balance to the market in the long run, in the short term a high percentage of foreclosure sales will continue to weigh down home prices,” said RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio in a statement.

A total of 512,886 bank-owned (REO) properties sold to third parties in 2010 at an average discount of 36 percent, up from an average discount of 33 percent in 2009.

Another 318,688 pre-foreclosure properties — homes in default or scheduled for auction — sold to third parties in 2010 at an average discount of 15 percent, down from an average discount of nearly 17 percent in 2009.

In North Carolina :

Foreclosure Sales = 10,315
Percent of All Sales = 11.69
Average price = 146,261
Average Discount Percent 25.8

Looking for a Charlotte Forecloure

Looking for a Lake Norman Foreclosure

Huntersville Home For Sale

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8620 Lizzie Lane, Huntersville NC 28078

Carolina Living Real Estate

Under Contract in 12 days!

Learn about Schools and More

See The Virtual Tour

Move-In Ready home shows like a model in highly sought after established Wynfield Forest neighborhood. Hardwoods throughout first floor, study w/ french doors, sunroom, butler’s pantry, granite countertops, tile backsplash, and ss appliances in kitchen.  Outdoor living spaces include large deck and oversized screened porch. Laundry and spacious bonus room upstairs. This one is a must see!

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