Information for sellers Archives

Foreclosures – Not Your Typical Real Estate Transaction – Part II

In the first part of this series, I talked about the preforeclosure process which ended with the issuing of a notice of default by the bank. In this post the next step of offering the home at auction will be discussed.

After issuing the NOD (notice of default), the lender will offer the property for sale at auction. The auction may take the form of a sheriff's sale or through a private party. Usually the auction will start with a minimum bid which will cover the balance of the mortgage, interest and any costs associated with the foreclosure. However, most foreclosure auctions don't even get one bid, because the amount owed on the home is usually greater than the market value of the property. As a result the lender will end up the highest bidder thus becoming the owner of the property.

If you do decide to bid on a home at a foreclosure auction, there are some points to be aware of. Often the homeowners are still occupying the home, and will be unwilling to let you in to see the interrior of the home. This results in your bidding on a property that you have only seen from the exterrior. In addition you will not be able to bring in any inspectors. The home will be sold "as is" without any warranties. It is crucial to do your homework and research the title before bidding on the home to determine if there are any back taxes or leins on the property.

You will need to obtain all of your financing in advance, because public auctions usually demand cash payment at the time of the sale.

If you do end up being the highest bidder and buying the home, you may be faced with evicting the homeowner. Also be aware that the former owner may try to vandalize the home before leaving.

If the bank does end up as the owner of the home, it is now referred to as a real estate owned (REO) or bank owned property. I will talk about the special aspects of buying bank owned properties in the next post in the series.

Click here to see all homes for sale including foreclosures in the Charlottesville, Virginia real estate market.

Charlottesville, Virginia and the Albemarle County area is a beautiful place in which to live. Now is the perfect time to buy a home is this area and there are some great deals in the local market right now. We are also seeing more Charlottesville foreclosures as well.

Pam Dent, e-PRO, SRES, NHD
Real Estate III
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville Real Estate Talk
Jump into Greener Pastures

Foreclosure – Not Your Typical Real Estate Transaction – Part 1

Due to this year's volatile mortgage market, we are seeing an increasing number of homes go into foreclosure. As adjustable rate mortgages continue to reset to higher rates with increased mortgage payments, we will see more foreclosures coming onto the Charlottesville real estate market. This can present a chance for the knowledgeable home buyer to purchase a home for a bargain price, but it is not without risk, and therefore it is necessary to understand the process.

Preforeclosure occurs when a homebuyer is in default on their mortgage. After three or more mortgage payments have been missed,and the homeowner has failed to work out a solution with their lender, the lender will issue a default notice to the homeowner and will also publish the notice in the local newspaper. The notice of default specifies a deadline for the homeowner to pay either the past-due amount or the balance of the loan. If the property is not reclaimed by the deadline, a notice of sale will be published, formally moving the home into foreclosure.

During the preforclosure phase may be a good time to purchase the home. This would be called a shortsale. Although the price may not be as deeply discounted as it could be after foreclosure, there are benefits to buying at this time. To begin with there may be fewer competing offers at this stage. We are seeing multiple offers on foreclosed properties in the Charlottesville and Central Virginia area. Also the purchaser is negotiating with the property owner instead of with the bank. You are helping the homeowner avoid foreclosure and the ensueing black mark on their credit, so they may be inclined to cooperate. The homeowner will present the contract to the bank. Hopefully the bank will be negotiable and approve the sale rather than having to go through the expense of the foreclosure process. We are seeing many banks that are extremely slow to respond to these short sale offers so any buyer should be prepared for long delays before an answer.

If the home is not sold at this stage and the homeowner has not been able to work out a loan payment plan with the lender, the next step in the foreclosure process will be a sheriff's sale or auction. The next post in this series will discuss that stage.

If you are interested in discussing foreclosures in the Charlottesville, Virginia area real estate market, I would be happy to talk with you.
To search all Charlottesville area homes for sale including foreclosures and bank owned properties click here.

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What is a “Green” Home

We Hear a lot about "green" homes these days. With the rising gas and oil prices, and increased awareness of environmental issues, more home buyers are interested in finding a home that is more energy efficient, with a lower ecological impact.

The following is a list of some of the features that builders strive for in a green-built home:

energy efficiency resulting in lower utility costs
cleaner indoor air
low maintenance and long lasting materials
conservation of water and natural resources
environmentally friendly construction
sustainability
higher resale value

There are several green-built homes on the market in the Charlottesville, Virginia area and I would be glad to show them to you.

Search all of the homes and farms for sale in the Charlottesville area.

Albemarle County is Going Green

The government of Albemarle County is going green, and hopes to save money and reduce the county’s carbon footprint at the same time. Albemarle County is located in Central Virginia surrounding the town of Charlottesville.

All new county buildings to be constructed will meet stricter energy standards, beginning with the new Crozet Library. In addition since 2003, the county has bought new hybrid vehicles.

Albemarle County has set a goal of reducing internal energy use by 30% by 2012, and has pledged to reduce greenhouse gases by 80% by 2050.

Is There A Recession In The Albemarle County Horse Industry?

For several months this spring the Virginia Horse Journal had an ongoing discussion about whether there is a recession in the Virginia Horse Industry. One of the points that everyone agreed on was that the rising cost of gas was having an impact on horse ownership. Due to an increase in transportation costs prices of feed and supplies are going up. We will see an increase in the cost of hay this year in the Charlottesville, Virginia and Albemarle County area due to the higher price of fuel to run the tractors and hay making equipment. Luckily so far this summer we have had ample rainfall; so we should be able to buy hay locally and not need to incur the added expense of shipping hay in from other states.

Many stables are seeing customers cutting back on extras. They are taking fewer lessons and going to fewer horseshows. The stable owners are forced to raise shipping fees which also results in a smaller number of cllients who are able to afford showing. Unfortunately it is a no win situation as stable owners will either need to raise board or cut back on services. It looks like we will need to tighten our belts for a little while until the Virginia horse industry rides out the next few months before it can rebound as it always does.

In the meantime, if you are thinking of buying a farm, it may be the perfect opportunity to get the price of a lifetime. Buying or selling, I would be happy to talk with you about the Central Virginia and Albemarle County real estate market.

Pam Dent, e-PRO, SRES, NHD
Real Estate III
Charlottesville, Virginia
434 960-0161
www.JumpintoGreenerPastures.com
www.CharlottesvilleRealEstateTalk.com

Crozet Farm – The First To Receive Conservation Funding

A 288 acre farm in Crozet, Virginia is the first property to be protected from development under a program that was funded by the 2007 General Assembly and designed to stop the loss of farmland and forests. The farm has 128 acres in agriculture and more than 6,700 feet fronting on the protected Beaver Creek Reservoir. Under the program Albemarle County was the recipient of a grant of $403,220 to purchase the development rights.
Albemarle County now has more than 74,000 acres of farm and forest protected. They especially target properties that protect critical natural resources. The use of easements can help to keep farmland in agriculture by compensating a farmer for money that he might receive from developers.
The use of conservation easements is one more tool to use to keep the balance between growth and farm land in the Charlottesville area. It is important to preserve the rural beauty that makes Albemarle County such a special place in which to live.

Read the entire article.

For more information on farms, country homes and residential property in Charlottesville and Albemarle County contact:

Pam Dent, e-PRO, SRES, NHD
Real Estate III
Charlottesville, Virginia
434 960-0161
www.JumpintoGreenerPastures.com
www.CharlottesvilleRealEstateTalk.com

Will You Be Able to Insure Your New Home?

One of the essential steps in buying a home is obtaining homeowner’s insurance. Sounds easy? But there are some potential insurance red flags that you should be aware of and may want to check out in advance before making an offer. Not all of them will prevent you from obtaining insurance but they could make it more difficult or result in a more expensive policy. Read about many of the red flags to look out for.

June Market Activity for farms in Fluvanna and Louisa

In my last post I talked about the June real estate market in the Charlottesville area mls regarding farms. Delving further into the available information it is apparent that the majority of the activity regarding farms and estates in the month of June was in Albemarle County.

Louisa County did not have any sales, or contingent or pending contracts for farms in the month of June. However there are also only 3 active listings for farms in Louisa County ranging in price from $478,000 -$3,200,000.

In Fluvanna County for the month of June there were also 0 sales and contingent farm contracts but there is 1 pending priced at $168,900. There are 3 farms listed actively for sale priced from $439,900-$650,000.

Compare this with Albemarle County with 2 pending, 4 contingent contracts, and 22 active farm listings. There were 2 farms sold in June in Albemarle, one for $4,800,000 after 189 days on the market and one at $7,800,000 after 315 days on the market.

From the available data we can see that the area farm sales are lagging behing the residential market. It is a very good time to buy a farm.

Please contact me for information on either the farm and estate or the residential market in the central Virginia area.

This information is from the area mls and is deemed correct but not guaranteed.

Charlottesville Farms – June Market Data

If you are interested in buying or selling a farm in the Charlottesville, Virginia area it is important that you are up to date on what is happening in the local real estate market. There are often many opportunities to hear about what the activity is in the Charlottesville, Virginia residential market, but what is happening with farms for sale?

In the month of June in the total Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors market area one new farm came on the market. It is priced at $1,250,000.

There were not any farms with pending or contingent contracts.

Two farms sold with an average list price of $8,225,000 and an average sold price of $6,300,000. The average days on market was 252. They sold at an average of 76% of list price.

There are currently 22 farms actively on the market in the entire Charlottesville area as of today July 4, 2008. The average list price is $2,873,927 and the median sales price is $1,645,000. The average days on market is 187.

At the June rate of sales there is about an 11 month inventory of farms on the market in the Charlottesville, Virginia area.

Will Incentives Entice A Buyer to Purchase Your Home

Due to the large inventory of homes on the market sellers are looking for anything that will make their home sell faster. According to the Daily Progress as of Friday there were 3,753 homes actively listed in Central Virginia; this is up from 1,708 in May of 2005. Consequently sellers have been getting creative with incentives designed to entice buyers. These incentives may range from a simple price decrease, to the seller paying the buyers closing costs, a car or a vacation. Another popular incentive is the seller’s purchasing a home warranty for the buyer. However, it is important to remember that it is still vital to make sure that the home is properly priced. No amount of incentives will persuade someone to buy an overpriced home.

For a discussion of this topic as reported in Sunday’s paper click here.

Pam Dent
Real Estate III
Charlottesville, Virginia
434 960-0161
www.JumpintoGreenerPastures.com
http://activerain.com/blogs/pamdent