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Bill Gassett

Realtors Should Not Let Short Sale Investors Negotiate With Lenders

by Bill Gassett on September 1, 2010 · 10 comments

Short sales in Massachusetts

The reason why Realtors handling short sales should not let a short sale investor take over negotiations with a lender may not be fairly obvious.

If you are a Realtor who works  short sales or are thinking about doing them here is where you really need to pay attention. Without a doubt we live in a very litigious society today. There are undoubtedly going to be lawsuits that come out of many of the short sale transactions that are taking place or should I say don’t take place.

When you sign a listing contract to represent a seller they are YOUR client. YOU are THEIR trusted adviser and advocate. You need to be thinking about doing everything possible that benefits THEM. To put it more bluntly a Realtor owes a seller undivided loyalty, reasonable care, disclosure, confidentiality, accountability and obedience to lawful instruction.

The same holds true when it is a short sale transaction. The rules of the game don’t change!

I have found through reading various Real Estate forums that investors don’t understand that we are held to different legal standards than they are.

What do you mean by that Bill? Simple…when a person needs to short sell their home and they hire me they can expect that I am going to do everything that I normally do for every other seller. My goal is to get my client the best terms and conditions.

Once I get a good offer from a buyer that has a strong probability of closing, an attorney, who is part of my team, takes over the negotiations with the lender. The attorney I use is very good at what he does. This is part of the reason why a seller would hire me to complete their short sale. Most Massachusetts home owners in need of short selling their property have done their research and selected me because of my track record with closing short sales.

When an investor approaches you about making an offer they will undoubtedly want to negotiate the deal for the seller. Well guess what the seller didn’t hire an investor to get them out of the financial mess they are in… they hired YOU!

If you go along with this arrangement and the transaction goes sour for any reason causing the seller to be foreclosed on guess where the fingers are going to be pointed. Do you have a mirror handy? This is akin to letting a buyer’s agent negotiate for the seller!

I can already hear the seller’s attorney in court:

The Realtor said this was a good idea and told you should let the investor take over the short
sale negotiations Mrs. Jones”. Is this correct? Yes sir it is.

“Didn’t you hire this Realtor and his team to help you with the short sale mam”? Yes sir I did.

“Did the Realtor advise you to work with this investor mam”? Yes sir they did.

“Do you know this short sale investor Mr. Gassett?” No sir I do not.

“Mr. Gassett do you think the investor was working on behalf of the interests of your client”

Well Um Err they told me they were going to do everything in the best interests of Mrs. Jones.

NO THANKS! I certainly don’t want to find myself in court and neither should you. Do yourself a favor and don’t end up looking like the dude below.

Inexperienced short sale Realtor

If you are a consumer and thinking about doing a short sale and have NOT listed your home with a Real Estate agent I want to make something perfectly clear…There are lots of very good short sale investors that know what they are doing and can accomplish the same thing a qualified Realtor or attorney can in getting a short sale approved.

Like any other financial decision you make in life you should be doing your due diligence when deciding whether or not to work with an investor and their company. Checking out their track record and getting a list of references probably would be a very good idea.

If something sounds fishy or too good to be true it probably is. You want to be careful you do not get caught in short sale fraud. There have been cases recently where both investors and Realtors have been caught in shady deals that are both illegal and immoral.

An investor of course is going to be looking to buy your home as cheaply as possible as their goal will be to turn around and re-sell it for a profit. While getting the best price for an investor is going to be key for them moving forward, a reputable one should also be looking out for getting the best deal for YOU which includes negotiating the lowest deficiency possible.

In many short sales today the lender is going to ask you to pay back something. It will more than likely be pennies on the dollar but the chances of a seller walking away Scott free have grown slimmer.

If you hire a short sale investor to negotiate your deal the debt removal part of the transaction becomes essential. Short sale debt removal becomes critical because the last thing you want is a someone chasing you down years later for a deficiency.  A number of lenders are selling unpaid mortgages to collection agencies which in some states have years to come after you for a collection of this unpaid debt!

There are some differences in working with a short sale investor vs a short sale Realtor. A Realtor is going to be far more concerned about getting an offer that makes financial sense to a lender. In other words is the offer presented to the lender going to be accepted because it is close enough to market value. As previously mentioned, an investor is going to want to buy the home as cheaply as possible.

One of the biggest reasons why many short sales never reach the closing table is because the seller accepts an offer that is too far under market value and the lender rejects the contract denying the short sale.

Rejected short sale offer

Most short sale investors are not going to make their 1st offer to the lender the best one. They are going to be looking to negotiate for the best deal for themselves.

As a seller you need to be confident in the fact that an investor will raise their offer to a point that the lender will accept it.

Despite what all investors claim there is a greater chance when a profit margin is involved that a lender will not accept their offer. Do you think lenders like leaving money on the table?

Realtors should also be doing the same. If the seller accepts a low ball offer and submits it to the lender for approval and the buyer is not willing to come up you have wasted a lot of time and possible condemned the seller to a foreclosure.

Just because an investor tells you they will increase their offer if necessary does not mean they will come to an agreement with the lender. After all they are looking to make a profit which creates a gap between the market value and where they are trying to purchase the property at.

I guess you really need to ask yourself if you want a buyer negotiating for you?  My advice of course  would be to work a qualified Realtor or attorney when doing a Massachusetts short sale.

If you are needing to complete a  short sale of your home or condo in Ashland, Bellingham, Framingham, Franklin, Grafton, Holliston, Hopedale,  Medway, Mendon, Milford, Hopkinton, Southboro, Westboro, Natick, Northboro, Northbridge, Whitinsville, Upton, Uxbridge, Shrewsbury, Worcester, or Douglas Get in touch! I would love to interview for the chance to represent your best interests.

I am successfully completing short sales through out the Metrowest Massachusetts area. So far over the last three years, knock on wood, I have a 100% success rate for short sale approval! I work hand in hand with a local short sale Real Estate attorney who knows how to get short sales done!

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About the author: The above Real Estate information on Realtors should not let short sale investors negotiate with lenders was provided by Bill Gassett, a Nationally recognized leader in his field. Bill can be reached via email at billgassett@remaxexec.com or by phone at 508-435-5356. Bill has helped people move in and out of many Metrowest towns for the last 24+ Years.

Thinking of selling your home? I have a passion for Real Estate and love to share my marketing expertise!

I service the following towns in Metrowest MA: Hopkinton, Milford, Southboro, Westboro, Ashland, Holliston, Medway, Franklin, Framingham, Grafton, Hopedale, Mendon, Upton, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Northboro, Bellingham, Uxbridge, Worcester and Douglas.


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Massachusetts Title 5 Bedroom Count Deed Restriction

by Bill Gassett on August 24, 2010 · 0 comments

Septic system deed restriction

In Massachusetts the law governing septic system installation and maintenance is known as Title V. Whenever a home owner is going to be selling their home they will need to get what is called a Title V inspection done.

In order to close on a property in Massachusetts you will need to have a passing title V.

If a Title V test reveals that the septic system has failed a seller has two options in order to get to the closing table. They can either replace the system prior to closing or they can put an appropriate amount of money in escrow guaranteeing the system will be fixed. A third option could be to get the buyer to pay for the septic system although this is less likely to occur unless the buyer is desperate for the property.

Most lenders will accept funds to be held in escrow, however they are going to generally ask for 1.5 times the cost of the estimated amount to install a new system. For example if a septic installer gives a quote of $20,ooo for the installation of a new system, the lender is going to ask for $30,000 to be held in escrow.

One of the things a Title V inspection will reveal is what is known as the septic systems “capacity”.  A septic system is “rated” according to it’s bedroom count. For example if a septic system has the capacity for four bedrooms it will say as much in the report.

One of the subjects I have written about in the past is bedroom count misrepresentation with septic systems. The are many Realtors that don’t even know this law exists and have put homes on the market stating there are more bedrooms than the septic system capacity allows for.

In other words if the septic system is only rated for three bedrooms you can not market your home as a four bedroom regardless if you have a room that qualifies as one. This is an easy way to get sued. Don’t make this mistake as it could be a costly one!

By the way, the qualifications of a bedroom must be a room providing privacy primarily used for sleeping purposes, have at least one electrical outlet, ventilation, at least one window, and have minimum dimensional criteria. There are also some towns where you need to have a closet as well although some also will accept space to house clothing such as a bureau.

One of the things that I made mention of in the article about septic system misrepresentation is how a home owner could potentially add an addition to their home that could be construed as a bedroom. It could meet all the criteria of a bedroom but not necessarily be used as such.

Deed restriction for septic system and room countUsing a bedroom count deed restriction

One of the things I have seen become more common place over the last couple of years is towns forcing home owners to put deed restrictions on their properties. This can happen because of the bedroom issue as well as another little know Title V rule.

When calculating bedroom count one of the rules of calculation is to take the number of rooms in the home and divide that by two.

For example, a proposed “game room” addition to a nine room, 4-bedroom house will create the tenth room of a house. Per Title 5, the number of bedrooms is calculated as: 10 rooms divide by 2 equals 5-bedrooms.

A deed restriction can be used so that a building permit may be issued for homes that exceed the approved septic design flow based on the total room count. The intention of the deed restriction is to resolve the possible conflicting Title 5 definition of a bedroom to the actual bedroom count.

This deed restriction is not intended for construction that will actually increase the bedroom count beyond the approved design. If  sometime in the future the septic system is upgraded to meet additional bedroom flow capacity, or the house becomes connected to public sewer, the owner may request the Board of Health for a release of the deed restriction. This release  also gets recorded at the Registry of Deeds.

A deed restriction is also not something that has to be done although the alternative to a deed restriction would be to seek approval from the Board of Health to upgrade the septic system in order to meet the proposed design capacity.

What I have found interesting about these Title V bedroom count deed restrictions is that some towns are fairly rigid with them and others are not. I know in my home town of Hopkinton MA the board of health regularly puts deed restrictions on properties using the room count divided by two formula.

Related Real Estate home selling articles:

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About the author: The above Real Estate information on Massachusetts Title 5 bedroom count deed restriction was provided by Bill Gassett, a Nationally recognized leader in his field. Bill can be reached via email at billgassett@remaxexec.com or by phone at 508-435-5356. Bill has helped people move in and out of many Metrowest towns for the last 24+ Years.

Thinking of selling your home? I have a passion for Real Estate and love to share my marketing expertise!

I service the following towns in Metrowest MA: Hopkinton, Milford, Southboro, Westboro, Ashland, Holliston, Upton, Mendon, Hopedale, Medway, Franklin, Framingham, Grafton, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Northboro, Bellingham, Uxbridge, and Douglas.

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Beware of The Short Sale Investor|Short Sale Fraud

by Bill Gassett on August 17, 2010 · 93 comments

Short sale scammer

Any Realtor that regularly works with short sales is bound to come across a proposition from a potential buyer who happens to be a short sale investor.

As a home owner you may have also at one time or another noticed some signs around town that say  something like “we buy houses” or “stop foreclosure” or “We buy homes for cash FAST”

If you are selling a Massachusetts home and it happens to be a short sale let me give you some words of wisdom – make sure you or your Realtor does their due diligence when deciding whether or not to work with an investor.

A short sale investor has one goal in mind and that is to buy your short sale at the lowest number they possibly can. Seems reasonable enough. An investor obviously needs to buy the home on the cheap because more than likely they are going to turn around and flip it to someone else making a handsome profit. As a Massachusetts home owner trying to short sell your home you may be thinking why should you care as long as you find a buyer?

The answer is real simple. One of the biggest reasons why many short sales never reach the closing table is because the seller accepts an offer that is too far under market value and the lender rejects the contract denying the short sale.

When you are short selling your home what you need to understand is that the lender is going to verify the market value of the property prior to giving short sale approval. The lender will send out either an appraiser or ask an independent Realtor to do what is called a BPO (broker price opinion).

The contract price that you have accepted from the short sale investor needs to be within a reasonable proximity to appraised market value or the short sale will be rejected. From an investors perspective they could care less because they have your home tied up and there is no risk to them if the transaction does not happen. They get their deposit monies back if the lender does not accept their offer. A short sale investor knows this and will put offers on many short sales hoping something eventually sticks.

Just by putting a few of these deals together they can make quite a bit of money. Guess at who’s expense though? Trust me their pitch is going to be how they are going to be helping you get out of a desperate situation.  You will be more desperate when it does not happen because you will be that much closer to FORECLOSURE.

Your home will be off the market tied up for months with this investor while you wait for the banks reply. When it finally does come and the answer is no way Jose you will be starting from scratch and the foreclosure will more than likely be right around the corner. This scenario happens all across the country on a regular basis with short sales.

If your Realtor is naive to how short sales work, you could easily get caught in a situation you are really going to regret. I tell people all the time in the short sale articles I write that it is critical to work with a Realtor that has a strong track record of closing short sales.

There are also situations where the investor buyer is the referral source to the listing agent. The listing agent may be given an incentive from the investor buyer to take on a short sale in return for receiving the re-sale listing after the investor buys the short sale home. In essence the Realtor lists the house again when the home is being “flipped”. For performing the transaction for the investor the Realtor is promised they will handle  more of these transactions in the future. The problem with this arrangement is very simple.

Any Realtor who signs a contract with a seller to sell their home is working for that seller! It is the Realtors fiduciary responsibility to get the seller the best terms and conditions. How can a Realtor do this when there is an inherent conflict of interest? THEY CAN’T. This is a short sale scam!!

Financial ramifications of an accepted low ball short sale offer

Going back a few years ago it was not uncommon for many lenders to completely forgive a seller of their short fall. So for example if the seller was $50,000 short the lender would wipe out the debt and the seller would be free and clear. The game and the playing field has changed quite a bit in 2010.

It is much more routine for a lender to require a seller to pay back a portion of their short fall in order to close the property. An agreement to pay back a portion of the debt will become part of the approval letter. Typically the owner will be asked to sign a note where they agree to pay back a certain amount over “X” amount of time.

The reason why this becomes important when dealing with a short sale investor is because if they do manage to get the lender to approve the short sale you will more than likely be on the hook for a larger portion of debt than if you held out for something closer to market value.

Short sale investor/mortgage fraud

One of the other short sale scams that takes place is when there is fraud committed against the lender by efforts of both the Realtor and short sale investor. A simple example would be a short sale that is listed for $175,000. A Real Estate agent receives an offer from a couple that wants to buy the home for $160,000.

Massachusetts Short sale bribe

Instead of submitting the offer to the lender, the agent calls up an investor friend and has them submit an offer for $140,000. The agent does not let the lender or seller know about the $160,000 offer but instead submits the investors offer of $140,000.

The investors offer of $140,000 gets accepted and the investor turns around and sells the property to the couple who was willing to pay $160,000. Folks this is what is known as MORTGAGE FRAUD! The other term for this practice is known as “flopping”. Someone caught doing this will find themselves in Federal Court.

Many of the larger lenders now are requiring a full appraisal before a resale can take place. They are also requiring short-sale buyers sign statements affirming the transactions are arms length, with no hidden buyer-seller relationships, and that there are no agreements to resell the property in place.

Firms such as Bank of America and others have language in their short sale approval letters that prohibit the flipping of a property and after closing they will audit transactions to identify “flips” or “flops”.

Other measures have been put in place by the Treasury Department to prevent short sale fraud by requiring that the buyer and seller have no hidden relationship and banning a re-sale to take place in under 90 days.

Let me be clear on this issue. If the bank knows up front that a flip is going to be taking place it is NOT mortgage fraud.

There is nothing wrong with an investor making money. Being in business and making a profit is what most people strive for. Non-disclosure is a completely different story! A Realtor however, does not get off the hook quite so easily if they have not performed their fiduciary duty to get their client the best terms and conditions in the sale. Realtors that get involved with these kinds of transactions walk a fine line with getting themselves into a situation where they are clearly not working in the best interest of their client.

Block head Massachusetts short sale Realtor

If you find yourself in a position that you are going to need to do a Massachusetts short sale it is highly advisable that you work with a short sale specialist who is knowledgeable, honorable and someone you can trust! There are numerous Realtors that have begun to take short sale listings that have no experience what so ever completing a short sale transaction.

I would encourage you to do your home work when selecting a Realtor to work with in a short sale transaction. The last thing you need is to be stuck with a block head agent that does not know what they are doing!

Many agents do not know the 1st thing about short sales and try to learn on the fly. When you are facing foreclosure the last thing you want is to be stuck working with an agent that doesn’t know about short sale procedures!

If you are needing to complete a  short sale of your home or condo in Ashland, Bellingham, Framingham, Franklin, Grafton, Holliston, Hopedale,  Medway, Mendon, Milford, Hopkinton, Southboro, Westboro, Natick, Northboro, Northbridge, Whitinsville, Upton, Uxbridge, Shrewsbury, Worcester, or Douglas Get in touch! I would love to interview for the chance to represent your best interests.

I am successfully completing short sales through out the Metrowest Massachusetts area. So far over the last three years, knock on wood, I have a 100% success rate for short sale approval! I work hand in hand with a local short sale Real Estate attorney who knows how to get short sales done!

If you are outside of the Metrowest Massachusetts area or even in another state and need to do a short sale please feel free to contact me and I would be happy to refer you to a Realtor in your location that handles short sales and knows what they are doing! I have referred short sales to other Realtors all around the country.

Other short sale articles of interest:

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About the author: The above Real Estate information on beware of short sale investor|short sale fraud was provided by Bill Gassett, a Nationally recognized leader in his field. Bill can be reached via email at billgassett@remaxexec.com or by phone at 508-435-5356. Bill has helped people move in and out of many Metrowest towns for the last 24+ Years.

Thinking of selling your home? I have a passion for Real Estate and love to share my marketing expertise!

I service the following towns in Metrowest MA: Hopkinton, Milford, Southboro, Westboro, Ashland, Holliston, Medway, Franklin, Framingham, Grafton, Hopedale, Mendon, Upton, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Northboro, Bellingham, Uxbridge, Worcester and Douglas.


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Divorce and Selling a Home

by Bill Gassett on August 9, 2010 · 4 comments

Divorce and Massachusetts Real Estate

One of the realities of being a Massachusetts Realtor is that I often encounter folks that are going to need to sell their home due to a divorce.

The divorce rate today is higher that it has ever been. It is just a fact that people do not stay together for better or worse like they used to.

The divorce rate of course opens up the opportunity for Realtors to be helping those that need to sell what usually amounts to their largest marital asset.

Purchasing a Massachusetts home together can represent a significant outlay of funds for one or both members of the divorcing party. When it comes to a divorce both members are going to have have an active interest in ensuring that their part of the investment is protected whether there was a cash outlay or not.

Divorce can often times be a highly charged emotional event. Even in an amicable divorce there could be times when discussing the sale of the home could lead to rash decisions. Keep a close lid on your feelings and make sure that you are not led by emotion into a bad decision. You will need to keep in perspective that this should be a smart business decision.

There are typically three scenarios when selling a home in a divorce:

  • One spouse keeps the home and buys out the other parties interest.
  • One spouse keeps exclusive use for a specified period of time, typically when the youngest child turns eighteen, after which the home can be sold.
  • The home is sold immediately and the profits are shared amongst each spouse.

Both parties should really be thinking about what it is that they would like to do. Does one party want to sell and the other would like to keep the home? Is it financially feasible for one party to keep the home? In the event one party does keep the home how will the other party be compensated?

For purposes of this article I will focus on some of the considerations when selling a home during a divorce.

Possible Tax Benefits Selling a Home During Divorce

Taxes selling a Massachusetts home

There are many that do not realize there are tremendous tax benefits when selling a home due to the Real Estate capital gains tax law that went into effect in 1997 known as the Tax Payer Relief Act of 1997.

The current capital gains tax law when selling your personal residence allows for an exclusion of up to $250,000 in profit if you are single and $500,000 if married!

In order to be eligible you must have lived in your home for two of the last five years. The home must be your personal residence and can not be an investment property.

In a nut shell what this means is that the parties could get a tremendous tax break if the home is sold while you are still married. Selling the marital home will allow up to $500,000 in profit to be excluded from federal capital gain taxes. A couple may apply for this tax break if they file a joint tax return. If you choose to file separately, each partner can still claim up to $250,000 on their tax return, provided that they still meet the two-out-of-five years in the home qualification.

If the parties have owned the home for a significant amount and there has been a large equity growth this can amount to a significant tax savings. If one party chooses to remain in the home but plans on selling in the near future there could be quite a difference in tax savings.

Can I afford the home after the divorce

Selling Massachusetts home in a divorce

One of the unfortunate things I see a lot in a divorce is one parties desire to “win” at all costs.

There have been occasions where one spouse insists on keeping the home even though it is not a prudent financial decision because they see it as winning a large battle.

If they end up keeping the marital home there are times when they later realize that maybe taking on such a large debt and all the expenses that come along with home ownership was not such a good idea.

When going through with a divorce and keeping the marital home you need to make sure you can afford the mortgage payments. So many couples getting a divorce underestimate what it’s going to cost them to live once the divorce is finalized. One of the things that should be done when contemplating keeping the home is to develop a comprehensive budget before you lock yourself into a divorce settlement.

The emotional side of things should also be considered as well. Does the home have treasured memories shared together or is it a place you would rather forget about. Going back to the part about “winning” is what clouds many peoples judgments when it comes to both financial and emotional decisions.

Selecting a Realtor in Divorce

When couples go through a nasty divorce selecting a Realtor is something that most are not going to do as it will more than likely be court appointed.

When the relationship is amicable however, selecting the  Realtor to work with is an essential part of the process. Just like any other Real Estate transaction you should be looking for a Realtor who has a strong track record of success.

Given that over 90% of all buyers today find their homes online you want to work with an agent that is going to provide dominant internet exposure. The agent should have their own website that comes up on local internet searches, as well as placing your home in the most traveled consumer sites for looking at properties.

Customer service selling Massachusetts home

I should emphasize though that it is not enough to just place your home in the popular sites. This is what the average agent does.

You should work with a Realtor that is going to spend the time adding great photography, expanded descriptions of your home, as well as some kind of video tour.

These are the type of things that make a difference and help your home stand out from the competition.

Above all else in a divorce you are going to want to work with a Realtor that has great communication skills.

Given there are two parties involved who might not be sharing the same roof anymore, you are going to want to work with someone who understands the nature of divorce and all the feelings that come along with it. The agent is going to have to have a certain level of patience as all communications will more than likely be repeated multiple times.

Selecting a Realtor is a process that should be done together. What I have witnessed 1st hand over my twenty four years in the business is that if one party selects who they want to interview, the other party may feel slighted in the process. The natural instinct is to feel that the Realtor is going to play favorites.

When I am hired to represent a couple in a divorce I want them both to be present for any interviews that take place. I want them to know that I represent both of them equally. The goal is always to get the best terms and conditions in the shortest amount of time with the least amount of headaches.

Creating an atmosphere of trust where either party can call me at anytime is very important. Getting a divorce is stressful enough as it is. Adding a home sale on top of it can make you feel like your life is totally upside down. Making the home sale process go as smooth as possible is always one of my missions.

Related Real Estate articles:

_________________________________________________________________

About the author: The above Real Estate information on divorce and selling a home was provided by Bill Gassett, a Nationally recognized leader in his field. Bill can be reached via email at billgassett@remaxexec.com or by phone at 508-435-5356. Bill has helped people move in and out of many Metrowest towns for the last 24+ Years.

Thinking of selling your home? I have a passion for Real Estate and love to share my marketing expertise!

I service the following towns in Metrowest MA: Hopkinton, Milford, Southboro, Westboro, Ashland, Holliston, Medway, Franklin, Framingham, Grafton, Hopedale, Mendon, Upton, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Northboro, Bellingham, Uxbridge, Worcester and Douglas.


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Moving From a Home During a Short Sale

August 3, 2010

One of the questions I am often asked when consulting a Massachusetts home owner about short sales is whether or not it is alright if they move out of the home. Sometimes  life circumstances dictate that it would be more convenient to live somewhere else. The answer to this questions is an easy one. Leaving [...]

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Massachusetts Moving and Storage With PODS

July 27, 2010

If you are pretty observant like I am you may have  noticed a white container in a local yard that had in big bold lettering the word PODS and wondered what it was. PODS is short for portable on demand storage. More than likely a home owner who has one of these units is either [...]

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Buying a Massachusetts Foreclosure Property

July 20, 2010

Are you considering buying a Massachusetts foreclosure property?   Investors that have a long term perspective of the Real Estate market understand that purchasing a bank foreclosure can be an excellent financial proposition. In the Metrowest Massachusetts area there are plenty of them around and they can typically be bought at a discount to the present [...]

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When To Do a Short Sale Home Inspection

July 13, 2010

In most Real Estate transactions there is a buyers agent representing a buyer and a sellers agent representing the seller. In a traditional purchase, the home inspection is generally done within the 1st week or two after a contract has been executed by both the buyer and seller. This is know as a “home inspection [...]

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USDA Loans For No Down Payment Financing

July 7, 2010

A USDA guaranteed loan is a government insured 100% purchase loan. This type of loan is only offered in what is considered a rural area. They are serviced by direct lenders that meet Federal guidelines. USDA loans (US Department of Agriculture) aka Section 502 loans are an excellent mortgage vehicle for those home buyers who [...]

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Realtors Should Be Attending Home Inspections With Their Clients

June 30, 2010

In the Real Estate industry it is usually pretty easy to spot a truly dedicated Realtor who has a passion for their business. It is also just as easy to spot a pretender that does as little as they can get away with. Unfortunately, there are very low barriers to becoming a Realtor. Take a [...]

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