Charlotte Real Estate Blog

Lot 4 Hawkstone Dr. in the Chatsworth Subdivision....Waxhaw, NC

I just listed a lot for $75,000 that is just over 0.75 acres and is located in an estate style subdivision, Chatsworth.  This really is an incredible deal.  The lots in this subdivision have never been listed under $100,000.  This lot does not back up to a main road and was previously listed at $119,000. 

The house across the street is listed for $729,999 and there are two others on the street listed at $659,990 and $885,000.

The lot has water and sewer and has a beautiful house directly next door.

Lot 4 Hawkstone Dr. in Chatsworth needs a new owner and a new house....check it out!

New information on the first time home buyer tax credit.

CNNMoney.com released an article that is causing many people to be confused.  The article talks about how first time home buyers will no longer be able to e-file their taxes if they want to receive the tax credit.  This article is misleading to many. 

To read the article click here.

I spoke with several CPA's today and now I understand the article.  If you have already closed on your house prior to filing your taxes then you will not be able to e-file your taxes. The reason for this is that there was a lot of fraud.  People were buying houses and claiming them as their first home purchase when in fact they owned investment properties or were not even claiming their purchase as a primary residence.  Now the IRS is requiring that a separate form 5405 be mailed to them along with a copy of the closing report and a copy of your drivers license to prove that this is your first home purchase and to insure that you are using it as your primary residence. 

If you are planning on filing your taxes and THEN closing your house before June 30th (remember you must be under contract by April 30th) then you can still e-file.  You will e-file your taxes and will have your tax return to show to your lender.  Once you close on your house you will need to amend your taxes and will then have to mail the IRS a copy of the closing report and a copy of your drivers license.  It will be 1-5 months before you receive your tax credit check. 

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Short Sale Negotiating Process of 2009

I am sure that you have heard the horror stories of short sales and how they can seem like a never ending process.  While they are definitely more tricky than a normal sale they can even be confusing to other agents who have dealt this short sales in the past.  It seems that every short sale transaction is different and that every bank has a different procedure to move the file closer to a closing date. 

This has been my experience with short sales in 2009:

My first short sale transaction took place in January of 2009.  I represented the buyer who found a house that was new construction where the builder was going under.  The list price had already been approved by the bank and the transaction was very fast and smooth.  Since, the banks have been swarmed with short sales and foreclosures and it seems that the process has changed a lot....at least with the banks I have been dealing with.

Since my first short sale closing I have obtained several short sale listings.  2009 was a learning experience for all agents in the short sale category but while many agents steer away from them I am looking to obtain more.  I would be lying if I said that short sales are easy but they are another piece of the pie that all agents should be chasing. 

When you take a listing as a short sale you should start by notifying your lender that you will be attempting to sale the property for less than you owe.  The lender will give you a list of information to send to them.  This usually includes a hardship letter explaining your loss of income and your reason for being unable to continuing to pay your mortgage, 2 years of tax returns, income statements, tax bills, pay stubs, bank statements and anything else the banks think may be useful in getting a full picture of your financial status.  Once the banks have received this information, they will keep it until you receive an offer.  Some banks will give you an idea of what the property should be listed for in order for them to do a short sale but many will just allow the agent to list the property to try to obtain multiple offers.    If it is several months before you receive an offer the bank will ask for updated financial information.

So now that you send the offer to the bank, what's next?

It could take days or months for the file to be looked at depending on the bank.  Some banks are definitely harder to work with than others.  Once they start to work on the file they will either order a broker price opinion or a full appraisal of the property.  The bank will want to have a pretty good indication of the current market value before they will allow the property to close.  Again this process can take several days or several weeks. 

The banks I have dealt with will only look at the highest and best offer.  The other offers are still there incase the buyer of the best offer decides the walk.  The bank will ask the sellers to sign the highest and best offer but this does not form a contract because the MLS should state that the closing of the property is contingent upon 3rd party bank approval.  Until the bank approves the offer and approves the short sale, a contract is not formed between the bank/sellers and the buyers. 

Once everything has been approved, the buyers will begin obtaining financing and will perform all necessary inspections and the property will move towards closing like a normal sale.

I hope this helped somebody understand what is going on with short sales.

New Listing | Avenue Condominiums Unit 3202 | $399,999

210 N. Church St. Unit 3202 Charlotte, NC 28202

I just received a new listing...and this one came off of my website and this is a short sale.  This unit has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 parking spaces and a storage area.  The unit has hardwood floors in the entry halls, kitchen and living room.  The kitchen has all stainless steel appliances and shows great. 

The amenities in the Avenue Condominiums are hard to beat.  They offer a concierge service, fitness room, theatre room, resort-like pool, rec. room with pool table, outdoor grilling and fireplaces.  The environment is very hip and is a great place to meet some new friends that live in the building.  The outside fireplaces have couches and flat screen televisions where groups will hang out and watch a game or movie. 

The unit is on a corner and all of the exterior walls are glass.  It has amazing views of the city and is priced very aggressively. 

Park South Station Information

Take Park Road south of the city and take a right onto Archdale just south of SouthPark.  Park South Station will be 0.7 miles on your left and you will enter the community at the bottom of this neighborhood map. 

The units that are marked with red marker are sold but as you can see the community has a long ways to go.  This is a Ryan Homes community and because of their business plan, the builders will not build the units until they are under contract. 

This property is the old location of Celenese and because of this the community is located on a Brownsfield.  A Brownsfield area is where a commercial business used to be and has contaminated the soil and now the area has been cleaned up and is being used as residential space.  Ryan Homes has done a great job of cleaning and contaminated soil and they continue to test the ground after every hard rain. 

What does this mean for a buyer?

• Since this is a Brownsfield area you will only have to pay a portion of your property taxes for the first several years
• You will not be using city water and will have a higher water bill than normal

I sent a mass email to the 100+ agents in my office last week about the stigma that comes with a Brownsfield...they agreed that it is definitely something that needs to be disclosed and explained to the buyer but it doesn't seem to have a strong negative impact on buyers decision. 

Ryan Homes is offering competitive prices for new townhomes and they are also able to throw in several upgrades to make your new place just the way you want it. 

All of their units come with:

• 10-Year Warranty
• Energy efficient gas heat and central air conditioning
• 50 gallon quick recovery water heater
• 9 foot ceilings on the main floor
• Oak railings with primed spindles
• GE appliances
• Luxury owner's bath with soaking tub....some floor plans have a separate shower
• Cultured marble vanity tops
• 42 inch Maple Recessed cabinets with crown molding

These items come standard but Ryan Homes can take you to their design center and you can customize your house with the colors and upgrades that you like.  Make sure your agent asks for these upgrades under the price that has already been quoted to you.  New construction subdivisions are more likely to throw in upgrades than to lower the list price because they want to keep the home values at a certain level. 

Park South Station amenities: 

• Gated Community
• Very large pool
• Club house
• Fitness center

Park South Station Home Owners Assocation fees = $195/month

Is now a good time to build? - The answer is that it can be but don't get stuck in an unfinished subdivision.

Here is a question that I get weekly and I would say it depends on what you mean by build.

If you want to have a house built in a community with a financially stable and reputable builder then I would say go ahead because you will be able to get a lot of house for the money...but be sure that you aren't one of the first moving in this community.  I would want the community to be at least half way built and I would ask the sales agent to see a stat sheet to show me a consistent sales history in the subdivision.  You don't want to be stuck in a neighborhood with empty lots for 10 years.  I know of several subdivisions in south Charlotte that are offering great buyer incentives on top of their competitive list prices and I would feel comfortable buying my own house in one of these subdivisions. 

If you want to build a custom home on a private lot or in a new subdivision (when I say new I mean you will be one of the first 10 houses in the neighborhood) then I would say find a resale or find a new house that has already been built.  Too many buyers have this dream of owning a custom built house but you need to understand the market. 

The market is saturated with new houses that builders are unable to sale so they continue to drop their list prices.  The resale market is influenced by this and is even worse.  There are so many home owners upside down on their mortgages (they owe more on their house than it is actually worth) that the real estate market of tomorrow is going to have more short sales and more foreclosures than what most think.  

If you are considering finding a lot, outside of a planned subdivision with a reputable builder that you know will stay in the neighborhood to finish the job, I would suggest that you take some time to also view the resales in your area.  You should see that you can get more for your money if you decide against building.

As an agent you hear of horror stories about short sales and how much of a pain they can be.  I have closed several short sales but only recently have I understood what some of the agents were complaining about.  Some banks will approve the list price of a short sale.  When the bank approves the list price it is a much smoother transaction and the process does not take as long.  If the bank does not approve your list price then it can be frustrating.

Why would the bank approve a list price?

• They would order a BPO (broker price opinion) early so that they know the market value of the property and this will attract buyers knowing that the price is approved and the process will not take months after they submit an offer.  Some short sale buyers don't want to wait around for months while the bank is making its' decision.

Why wouldn't the bank approve the list price?

• It is possible that the short sale is on the market for several months and the market value will change so many banks don't want to order a BPO (broker price opinion) or start the short sale process until they have an offer.
• If they approve a list price then they have pretty much set a cap on the amount that will be offered and they will more than likely receive low ball offers.  It is not uncommon for the buyer to offer more than the list price if the price has not been approved by the bank. 
• The unapproved list price will probably be lower than if they approved a list price and this will spark more buyer activity and hopefully they will get multiple offers...this turns into a bidding war until they get the offer at or near market value.

If the bank decides not to approve a list price then they pretty much don't want to talk to the listing agent until there is an offer on the table.  At this time the bank will ask to see the offer, a preliminary HUD1 (this is your settlement statement that you receive from the attorney at closing), they want a hardship letter explaining why the sellers are unable to continue paying their mortgage, financial statements and two years of tax returns. 

Be prepared to pull your bank statements, income statements and a list of your monthly expenses multiple times during the process.  The process will probably take several months and the banks are going to ask for updated information throughout the sale.

Once the bank has an offer, the seller's financial information and the market value of the property then they will begin to negotiate with the buyers.    There are a lot of buyers that only want to look at short sales so you need to know what you are doing before diving in to the action.

More information on the short sale process.

Are you ready to start looking at houses in Charlotte?

Before you start your search you should know at least a little about the process.

Your first step should be to talk to someone about a mortgage.  They will be pull your credit score, check your income and will then be able to tell you how much house you can afford.  The lender should also be able to show you a good faith estimate.  This will show your expected interest rate (this will not be set until you go under contract on a house and decide to "lock in" in your interest rate) and the expected monthly payment. 

Now that you know that you can get a mortgage you should begin looking for the right house.  The market is still saturated with listings.  A lot of the inventory from $200,000 and below has been bought by first time home buyers over the last couple months but there is still a lot available and there are a lot of great deals in this price range and higher. 

You should decide to work with a real estate agent that is familiar with the area that you want to buy.  A buyer's agent is free to you and will be paid by the seller.  The sellers have a listing agreement with the listing agent and it states that they will be paying a certain percentage once the house closes.  The seller is going to be paying the commissions so you might as well get an agent that will help you look at property and that will guide you through the process.  The buyer's agent will be able to set appointments and will be able to open houses for you to view, they should also be able to tell you about the current market in that subdivision as different subdivisions have been effected differently by the economic downturn. 

Once you do find the house you want, the agent will be able to complete the offer for you, they will negotiate the price on your behalf, set up inspections, negotiate repairs and get all of the information to the appropriate closing attorney. 

Buyer's can find a lot of the information online.  They can see the properties that are for sale and can also look up the previous sale prices for that property.  What the majority of buyers do not know is the reputation of that certain subdivision, the future development that will be taking place in the area over the next few years and other pertinent information such as the closest waste plant, the closest shopping and the school districts.

If you are going through the buying process or are considering buying and have some questions feel free to give me a call.

Charlotte Real Estate Market Update for October 2009

There has been a wave of first time home buyers trying to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit.  It seems that most of the activity was in the $250,000 and under price range.  The first time home buyers have slowed significantly as most of the anxious buyers have already entered into a contract in hopes of closing the house by November 30th.  This will be harder for buyers who are trying to obtain a FHA loan because the underwriting process is more stringent. 

The last couple weeks we have been noticing more buyers starting to dabble in the higher price ranges (600's and below).  Hopefully this is an indicator that home prices are starting to near the bottom at the higher price ranges.  I blogged a couple weeks ago about how I feel that we have already hit a bottom in houses priced at $250,000 and below.

Investors are starting to reenter the market.  They are being picky about where they invest but are out there looking for good deals...especially short sales and REO's. 

It sounds like the tax credit is going to be renewed.  The last I heard they wanted to offer a tax credit equal to 10% of the purchase price, up to $7,290, for first time home buyers.  I have also heard that the government was going to offer an incentive for home owners who have lived in their current house for 5 or more years.  If these home owners decided to buy new construction they were going to receive a $6,500 incentive. 

More to come once the Senate as ironed out all of the details.

BF