Jeff Rickard

Today’s Denver area real estate market is what I call a “Buyers Up” market. You, the real estate home or condominium buyer are for the most part in the driver’s seat. You need a savvy, experienced Realtor® to make certain you get that best price along with the best terms.

So…how do you find the right real estate broker to represent YOU and your best interests?

First, ask your family and friends for referrals to a Realtor® they have used or know well. Ask around, get a few referrals.

Do a little homework. Go online and look at their websites. Read their blogs. Look at their listings online. Google their names for good and bad news.

Next, select and call 2 or 3 agents. Introduce yourself. Let them know you are looking for an agent to represent you, in a future real estate transaction. When you call, if you leave a voice mail message, pay attention to how long it takes for their returned call.

Here are a dozen questions to ask each agent. Continue Reading »

I just read a blog on the U. S. House voting to eliminate the “Phantom Tax”. I did not know what the “Phantom Tax” was until this post. Did you know that if you go into foreclosure and the mortgage company agrees to a short payoff that the IRS considered the amount you short paid to be taxable income? Are you kidding me? Your life is destroyed, you have your home foreclosed on and the IRS thinks you had a windfall. To read the complete article from Renae Bombardiere of HomTur Video Realty click on the following link: http://blog.renaesellscolorado.com/2007/10/08/tax-reflief-for-foreclosures/

The changes in the mortgage industry are well documented and you are seeing new releases everyday announcing the closing of more mortgage companies. What you may not be aware of is that everyday, multiple times a day, we are getting announcements from all investors and the secondary markets that programs are changing or worse - totally going away.

In the past if a loan program was stopped, the investors would honor all previous approvals and rate locks. This is not the case anymore. When a loan program is cancelled it is gone and you cannot close anymore. Also, this is not dictated by the size of the mortgage company you use; all companies are being effected by no liquidity in the market place. Wall Street is scared to death of mortgage backed securities, no one is buying.

What does that mean? It means you can be fully approved, be at closing and find out one second before signing documents that the deal will not close. Or worse, close on a refinance and have the loan program disappear during your three day right of rescission period. This is happening right now in the marketplace.

We are having meetings in the mortgage business everyday telling us to caution our clients and Realtors that things could change at a moments notice. The stress that this situation will cause is unmatched and unfortunately unavoidable until the industry settles down. That could be a long time. So the first piece of fallout from these volatile times; earnest money. If a loan does not close on the closing date what happens to the earnest money? As a realtor you have to address the situation that you will no longer get a loan commitment. If you do, it is not real, no matter what you are told. All of these deals that are not closing at the last minute had loan commitments from major players in the market. Do you match loan commitment dates to closing dates? There are no answers at this time; it is just the reality of the market. Is this wrong? Unfair? Not going to work? Going to cause major stress for everyone involved? Will you be involved?

The answer is Yes - be prepared!