You must be under contract by  April 30th and closed by June 30th. You still have time, but get going.  Don’t delay,
in our distress market it can take awhile before you have an accepted offer on a house. Often time banks are taking two to 5 days or longer  to respond on an offer and owners of a short sale, often take their sweet time as they are receiving NOTHING from the proceeds and most often don’t care if they sell on a short sale or the bank forecloses on them. So, don’t wait too long and miss your chance on receiving your tax credit. It would be a shame to miss the date by a day or two.  Call you local tax preparer to see if you will qualify.

Happy Easter and happy house hunting!!

Its that time again the “Bratton Report” is out.

Thought you might want to hear about some interesting changes. 100 homes sold between 12/09 to 01/10 in Bend area. The average days on the market for these homes, was 96 days.

The Median sales price in Bent in this month was $99,000. Yes that is correct! Redmonds average sales price for this same time frame is $75,000.

Jefferson County sold 32 homes between 12/09 to 01/10. The average days on market for these homes, was 81 days. While in Redmond they sold 35 but the days on market was 123.

Interesting facts and numbers and always an interesting read. This report really helps you get a feel for what the current market is doing all over central oregon.

We hope you are out enjoying the great summer weather!

I have been asked this question a lot in past month.  I asked my CPA exactly that question. He said that if you close before you do your  taxes,  your tax preparer can add it to your  2009 taxes, but if you file your taxes before you close you will have to do what is called and “Amended”  tax return.  So you  can receive your tax credit this year, but it will take at least 2 month to 4 months to receive  any credit from the IRS, as they will  be inundated with these and it will take them some time to get through them all. My CPA estamited as long as 4 to 6 months. 

As a reminder, here are the dates again.  You need to be under contract by April 30th and close the transaction by June 30, 2010.

Please call your tax preparer for any additional information as to the guidelines and if you qualify. As always when it comes from the Government youwill  have some red tape and hoops to jump through.

You only have 51days more to sign a  contract, for the tax credit to apply, so g0 house hunting soon, the clock is ticking!

Happy house hunting.

Delita Cordes

D and D Realty Group

541-475-3030

Well, it’s true! You can live where you play in Central Oregon, with all the outdoor activities, you never run out of things to do. Where else can you, ride a bike, go camping, go snow skiing,  boating,  hunting,  fishing, or maybe even a hike within 30 to 45  minute drive from your house. 

We have new people moving to Central Oregon all the time.  They often take a job that makes less money just to live here, and I can honestly say I understand why.   So don’t be afraid to buy your dream home now!!

I net with a young couple this week. They were concerned, because they are under contract to buy and wanted to know “were we at the bottom yet”?  Did they make a good decision?  The answer is YES!!!  

You will not find a better time to buy. Interest rates are low and supply of houses is high!  Buyers are able to buy a much better house than they have ever expected. 

So you can  live where you play and buy a house today and learn to love Central Oregon and all is splendor!

Delita Cordes

D and D Realty Group, LLC

541-475-3030

It’s true!!  The average home price in Bend Oregon dropped again last month from $205,000 to $189,000. Redmond it dropped from $137,000 to $120,000. Will it continue to drop???  Good question!!

I would love to answer that but my crystal ball is covered with dust and I can’t see through it.  This is good for buyers. NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY. Why wait until it hits bottom? At that point it is already on the way up. When you can buy a house cheaper than you can build it, why would you wait?

What is “Good News” for buyers is bad news for sellers. All I can say, is don’t sell unless you absolutely have too, but BUY BUY BUY if you can.

The general public has settled into the fact that we are in a recession and seem to be over the embarrassment of it all. No one knew or predicted this to happen, and it happened so fast their was no adjustment period either. 

Happy House Hunting out there, and don’t be afraid to jump in. NOW is the time to BUY!!!

Delita Cordes

D and D Realty Group, LLC

What is a Short Sale vs is A Bank Owned and which is better to buy? Good Question!  Where do I start?  I’ll give you the short version first, a short sale is where we offer the bank less than what is owed on it and a bank owned property has already been forclosed on and the Bank now owns it.

Which is Better???  Let me explain in detail and you’ll see why I can’t answer that question. The Bank’s are in control of both, and ultimatly will determine your destiny.

When you are in a deal with a “short sale” the downfall is that you can have up to 5 different entities that ALL have to agree, before you can actually purchase the home. The seller may have two loans and can have Mortgage Insurance as well,  so 3 different Banks, the Buyer and the Seller all have to agree on the sales price, terms and time frames.  This is NEVER easy! The surprising thing is that they do actually go through, more often than not.  I have found the trick is to managing both the buyers and the sellers expectations, and this can only be done  if  BOTH the listing and selling agents have knowledge/experience with short sales. The problem is that we have NO control over the Banks and are at their mercy. We can call often and encourage  this process along but in the end,  we have no control. You will receive conflicting information from the banks too  so my advice to you is,  DON”T shoot the messenger and settle in for the long haul. It can take as long as 9 months for some banks to come back with an approval. 

On a Bank owned property, it usually closes within 30 days, but again you have no control. The Asset Manager’s are so different too, and have usually never been to Oregon, much less have any underatanding of our market and/or our  laws, and on top of it  they must comply with their Bank’s rules and regulations.  If your offer is “accepted” (Ooh By the way, does not mean anything) the Bank will send you a 3 to 30 page addendum/counter offer, that you must sign it, but they wont bother to sign your original offer.  This is a very ONE SIDED contract,  made to protect the bank and leave you out to dry.  You will see things such as; they have the right to sell to another party, at anytime during your contract, and NO you won’ t get your appraisal or home inspection costs back . They might have you  pay the sellers closing costs, or  a per Diem and or extension cost, if the closing is delayed because of you, but they don’t have to pay if the delay is on their side(which it usually is). This list goes on and on, but you get the idea and if you don’t sign it, you don’t buy the house. Did I mention this usually closes sooner that a short sale might? 

See why I can’t answer the question “which is better”. Most buyers don’t want either, but given the market have no choice. The only word of advice I can offer is; don’t shoot the messenger, and don’t marry the house before your agents hands you keys. 

The upside to buying either is that you can make a great investment and have a home of your dreams  at a price that makes since.

Happy House hunting!

Delita Cordes

D and D Realty Group

With the Real Estate market slowly but surly making its way on an upward trend, you don’t want to miss you opportunity to own your part of Central Oregon.

I thought I would use this oppurtunity to give you some intereting facts about our local real estate market!

In 2009 there were a total 1419 sales in Bend. Compared to 1113 in 2008.

In Redmond the total sales were 598 for 2009. Compared again to 464  in 2008.

In Jefferson County the total sales for 2009 were 177. Compared to 2008 total which was 433.

These numbers are sales of Single Family homes but does not include those of condos, town homes, manufactured homes or any on acreage. So these are not the total of homes sold.

It does give you a basic idea of where we are at within communities. Jefferson County being the exception, the housing market has picked up this year. The start of 2010 has been no different for us.

I hope you have found this information useful. These numbers were taken from the Bratten Report which is sent out every quarter. Always an interesting read.

More food for thought, October was the busiest month for sales in 2009 inall three areas!

Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to read our blog!

Yes, it’s great news and I am not sure most buyers understand. You can still get your credit in 2009, if you close by April 30, 2010, you can still claim the tax credit on your 2009 taxes.  Call your trusted tax preparer for information regarding how to claim this.

You can not use this money as a down payment, unfortunately. That would have been nice but was not the intent of the tax credit.

Another issue I would like to clear up is the fact that this tax credit is UP TO $8,000 or 10% of the sales price. so, if you buy a $70,000, home you will only receive $7,000.00 tax credit.

The tax credit will arrive as a refund check would.  It is not given as a credit at the time of closing, towards closing costs or sales price.

It will help with any repairs needed to the home such as a new heating system, remodel of an outdated bathroom or kitchen or may-be to pay off some bills so that your monthly expenses are lower.   I had one couple say they are saving it for a rainy day as a incentive to save more in the future.

I thought that was a great idea, but anyway you use the money make sure it works for you and will make your everyday life a little easier.

Have a great new year and remember to keep your priorities in line for the new year.

Thanks,

Delita Cordes

D and D Realty Group, LLC

 Hi All,

Some good news. The new Oregon sale agreement covers the issue of the seller paying for the Owner’s Title Policy for the buyer. FYI though, it will show as a “Borrower Cost” on the HUD1 per HUDs rules, and then as a seller credit in Oregon. This means it still will most likely be included in any lender (FNMA/FHLMC) guideline as part of any seller concessions (IPC) and any limits of 3% or 6% will apply. So if you’re bumping against the maximum allowed by a lender guideline, most likely your costs covered by the seller will be reduced to cover the Owners Title policy as well.

This development does not release lenders from still being liable for the cost of the Owners title Policy, disclosing the cost, and any tolerances for under quoting it. They are still on the hook all the way, but the new changes on the EMA will help.  Contact your trusted lender for more information.

I will talk more about Short Sales VS Bank owned on Friday, so stay tuned….

Delita Cordes

D and D Realty Group, LLC

From new 01/2010 sale agreement:

2009 is Over, and I am ready to bring in the new year!!  It will be a great one, but it will be one of learning stretching and growing, Oh wait a minute, I thought that was last year!!    Starting Jan 1, you better know all the new rules and guidelines for the lending industry. Are we ready??  I don’t think so.  I talked to several lenders last week, who were just learning

about them and the dead line is here… WOW!!  Buyers beware out there

Ask your lender, if they are ready and what some of the rules are. If they don’t know, RUN!!  All offers written after tomorrow will fall under the new guidelines, so if you are under contract right now, you are ok, so don’t worry.  These laws were put into place to protect you, and they will, the trouble is the learning curve that will take place it won’t be fun.  The government is holding the lenders responsible for their good Faith Estimates they give us. They can only have a 10% or less, 0% on some items,  margin of error. You will no longer get to closing and have the payment or interest rate  different that what were promised. I know you know what I mean, it happened, more than I care to admit.   

Your Settlement and Good Faith Estimate have to match each other. 

Now, with that said, here are the hurtles we have to jump..  The lenders will no longer be willing to issue a Good Faith Estimate until we find the house and then NOT until you have an accepted offer.  That’s a long time not ot have vital information such as, what is my payment, or what is my interest rate. So try asking for a Summary Statement, it will probably take the place of the Good Faith Estimate.  I expect the good lenders to jump on the band wagon and figure that out.  The second issue I see, is when we roll into  the loan, the closing costs and  the seller pays those costs associated with the buyers loan.  Currently, the seller pays for the title insurance policy, which is basically "for the buyer" I guess,  but now, because it helps the buyer it must be part of the "seller paid closing costs", so in reality the buyer will get less money to help because this fee is expensive and he might have to come to escrow with more money, and that can be a problem. There is only 3 to 6 percent allowable under the guidelines of these types of loans, so we’ll see.

Have I been clear as mud???? Now, do you understand the reluctance to embrace these new and challenging rules.  If you want some light reading,

you can find the changes on the HUD web site and it only takes 62 pages to explain it……..Good luck and Happy New year!!