Betsie Melter's Real Estate Blog: October 2009

I just saw a flyer at Fry's Marketplace announcing that the Arizona Science Center will have FREE General Admission this weekend October 24-26th from 10am -5pm. I think that is so exciting! I haven't been there in over a year but my son who was only 16 months at the time had a blast. I am thinking of going there this weekend to see what activities he can do now that he is 2 1/2.

For those who don't know the Arizona Science Center has over 300+ hands on exhibits, interactive demonstrations, IMAX theatre, plantetarium. And the special Exhibit right now is ROBOTS: The interactive Exhibition.

They are located at 600 E. Washington St. Phoenix, AZ 85004 and their website is www.azscience.org

About 2 years ago homes started selling rather quickly in the city of Maricopa, AZ. Then about a year ago homes would have multiple offers within an hour of posting (luckily they were foreclosures so the banks made quick decisions and buyers new right away if they had were the lucky winners of that house). Today, is the same, but in a completely different way.

The Foreclosure inventory in Maricopa is less than 1 month. That being said, the homes that are on the market are still going in hours or days, but they are short sales. UGGGGGG. The entire job description has changed when you are dealing with short sales. Instead of buyers placing their bid and waiting to see if their's was selected, buyers are now racing around putting multiple bids on every house that is available.

This makes it hard for both the buyer's agent and the listing agent. It also skews the numbers in the market and makes the stats of the inventory incorrect. Take for example 1 buyer putting in 10 bids on short sales. When one actually gets accepted by the bank the other 9 offers are now rejected which means the houses are back on the market. Hopefully the agent had accepted back up offers so they can move the next person up. But then think of it this way too, if the buyers weren't putting in multiple offers than the other buyers wouldn't have to put in multiple offers either. Does that make sense? My brain hurts!  Seriously though, if that one buyer had only put in that one bid, the other 9 houses would be available for 9 other buyers. Instead I feel like my buyer who is waiting on 10 bids as well wouldn't have had to put in 10 bids and be in backup position on 5 of them if everyone just slowed down and chose the house they really wanted in the first place.

Who's fault is this? Well, nobody's fault but the system of short sales works so slowly that buyers get anxious and want to have an answer. It gets to the point where they don't even care what house it is as long as it gets accepted. Wow, who would have thought that the biggest purchase someone would make would come down to throwing out bids and seeing which one will stick?

Many of my sellers or landlords ask me every year if they should winterseed (overseed) their grass or not. I always tell them that it is a good idea. In Arizona if you don't plant winter seed then the grass goes dormant and is brown and dry over the winter months. If a seller is trying to sell their house, it needs to be in its best condition and having brown, dull, dry grass does not show the house's best side.

October is the time to plant the winter seed so, if you haven't done it yet, get busy doing it. It doesn't take that long  to plant the see for  a typical Arizona lawn and in 2-3 weeks you will notice the difference and the buyer's will be happy you did in the months to come.

For more information on my listings and myself as a realtor, please visit www.betsiemelter.com or follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/RealtorBetsie

I have been getting this question a lot lately. Because investors have begun buying and flipping homes again some are selling within 90 days of being bought by the investor. According to the FHA guidelines, a buyer cannot purchase a home that is being resold within 90 days. I have been informed by one of my lender's that the rules have changed and they have lifted that 90 day hold in order to reduce some of the inventory currently on the market. My best advice is to ask the listing agent ahead of time if that particular home has been purchased within 90 days and if so talk to the lender upfront to see if it is a home that the buyer can pursue. In most cases, it may not be. But if you have a knowledgable lender, then they may know how to get around the rule. According to the FHA, it is completely up to interpretation and just depends on who you get as an underwriter and which way they interpret the guidelines.

Good Luck, noone ever said getting a loan was easy, and it is even more difficult in this market.