Wednesday, July 29, 2009

What Business Model are Banks Following

What are they thinking?

It's no wonder that banks need a bail out. By the way they are acting lately they'll need another bailout soon.

Recently I've personally been involved in with different banks who were trying to sell a distressed property.

In one instance a home was listed for sale as a short sale, after months of waiting to hear a response from the bank they finally made a decision. They turned down the short sale offer. This resulted in the bank listing the property FOR LESS THAN THE AMOUNT OF THE SHORT SALE CONTRACT. The house went under contract in less than a day for the list price. ????

Another short sale resulted in the bank conducting an auction. When the auction didn't produce acceptable results the bank proceeded to negotiate with one of the higher bidders. Post auction other offers were submitted to the bank, through their agent. The bank didn't foreclose, loosing over $70k in seasonal rental income. They took almost 2 months to decide to accept the LOWER of the two best offers. So they lost income, took a lesser offer and will now get to write off a greater amount than necessary. ????

The final example is how another bank decided to market one of their bank owned properties. They hired an agent from several counties away, who has never conducted any business in this area to handle the marketing of the property. Their agent changed the locks, didn't put a sign in the yard, didn't put a lock box on the property and didn't answer messages for almost the first week of the listing. My only guess is that they felt with the extremely low price the house would sell quickly. Many contract were submitted and after 30 days the bank hadn't responded to any of the offers. ????

Thank Goodness this is only a financial crisis not national defense!!

To get information on Sandbridge Beach homes and condos for sale go to: www.SandbridgeRE.com

Sunday, July 19, 2009

See All Sandbridge Homes For Sale Online

Local Real Estate Multiple Listing Service Sees The Light

Finally REIN, Real Estate Information Network, has decided to allow member REALTORS to easily share complete MLS details on all listings with visitors to our web sites.

Interested buyers, sellers or lookers can now see all homes for sale in Sandbridge with just a few clicks of the mouse. Same for Sandbridge Condos.

Go to www.SandbridgeRE.com and click on All Sandbridge Listings. Want to get this information sent automatically to your email box, send me an email, Charlie@Siebert-Realty.com

This is good news for sellers whose homes will now get much greater exposure to a larger audience. Data sharing is what the internet is all about, Thank you REIN board members.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Condominiums in Sandbridge Beach

Sandbridge Beach Condominiums

People often shy away from buying a Condo because of the monthly Condo fees. At first blush $400 or $500 per month does seem like a large fixed cost, something you wouldn’t have with a single family home.

Upon closer inspection buyers find that homes have several expenses that are covered by the monthly fee. Property Homeowner/Hazard insurance, water, sewer, trash pick-up and routine maintenance bills are normal costs of homeownership that are often included in the condo fee. So before ruling out condos as an option take a closer look at what is included in the fee.

Another important consideration when buying a condo is what future special assessments or lawsuits are pending that you will become a party to if you purchase that condo. A case in point is the current litigation between Sandbridge Dunes owners and developers.

Considering buying a beach home or condo? Select an agent who is specializes on the community you have chosen. For details on all properties for sale in Sandbridge Beach go to www.SandbridgeRE.com

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Sandbridge vs NC Beaches

A recent visit to the inner banks of North Carolina gave me an opportunity to stand back and reflect on differences between Sandbridge and the inner & outer banks of North Carolina.

Beaches, the ocean, bay, canal locations and the chance to reconnect with important basics are standard stuff.

Sandbridge Beach offers some critical things rarely found in a "getaway" beach town. Year round resident families of varying ages and backgrounds bring balance and diversity. The presence of non-seasonal: employment, shopping, entertainment, world class medical support just a short drive away makes Sandbridge a year round community as well as a vacation spot. The relatively small number of retail shops in Sandbridge maintains the old timey feel a beach towns from another era.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Resale Housing Market

Sandbridge Sales Activity Picking Up

Over the last 6 weeks we have seen a sharp increase in ratified sales contracts on single family homes here in Sandbridge.

The activity isn't all concentrated in one area of our community. There have been oceanfront, semi-oceanfront, north end, Sandpiper Rd. and bay/canal homes under contract or closed.

The price that seems to be selling is also well distributed. Although if there is any trend I would say it is towards the lower end of each market segment. The other trend seems to be first time buyers of Sandbridge property, families who want to have a beach house for their own enjoyment, while benefiting from offsetting rental income.

The buyers in many cases have been watching the market for several months or more. Don't under estimate the online traffic and viewings that may be occuring on your "for sale" property.