ALL PHOENIX REAL ESTATE

Each day seems to bring with it a new, odd request … the type of thing which makes me think the insanity of 2005 hasn’t faded as far into the past as all of us may once have believed.

Recently I’ve been asked by some readers to send them blank real estate purchase contracts for them either to peruse or use as they see fit. At the risk of stating the obvious, as a buyers’ agent I am compensated on my ability to find the right home for a buyer, write the contract and help them through the escrow process.

There’s nothing that says you can’t do it alone but you have to admit it doesn’t make sense for me to send you a blank contract for you to do so. As I’ve written here before, you can write a valid purchase contract on a cocktail napkin. I just don’t advise it.

Another common question regards what a seller, more often than not a bank, might take for a home. I’ve got some idea of what price points might succeed and what might not. But having said that, there’s no seller with a functioning synapse who will tell you “yes, the home’s listed at $225,000 but since you asked I’ll take $160,000.” The list price is the list price. Make what you believe to be a fair offer and we’ll negotiate from there.

Some of the more reasonable requests also are the hardest to fulfill. Many deal with the photographs (or lack thereof) on the listings that appear on my websites. Photographs are the responsibility of the listing agent. Some of us take many photos, others can’t seem to be bothered to take even one.

Once formally hired by a client (takes about five minutes of discussion and a signature on the appropriate paperwork) I’m more than happy to fill in the gaps and photograph or video a home myself. Not so for those who want more pictures but also want a blank real estate contract they can fill in themselves. Again, that would seem like common sense.

It’s a strange market these days. I have more and more buyers looking at price points below the cost of a decent mini-van … almost all are stunned to learn many of these homes are selling for more than list price. Why? Simple supply and demand. The bank attaches a price intended to elicit multiple offers and create demand. And so it is that offering far less than list on a home already priced in the $20,000 - $40,000 is totally useless and writing an offer at list price is only slightly less so.

In this respect, and considering the questions coming through, it’s 2005 all over again at 10 to 70 percent percent of the price.

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An increasing number of requests have come through the e-mail of late from folks looking for homes somewhere in the Valley. Somewhere is the key word; they don’t know where they want to be other than a place that is “safe” or “quiet.”

And I can’t legally help them.

The Fair Housing Act specifically prohibits real estate agents from directing buyers toward or away from any particular areas barring specific instructions, and even then the instructions can’t run afoul of the Act. (For instance, not wanting to live near people of a certain race is something I can’t legally address; my license and career are too valuable to risk.)

If you want information on crime states, I can help you. If you want data on the local schools, I can provide that as well. Eventually, though, you’re going to have to make the decision where you want to live. I can’t make it for you.

But once you pick the area I can help you find the house.

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You have fungus on your shower shoes. When you win 20 games in the show, you can let the fungus grow back on your shower shoes and the press will think you’re colorful. Until you win 20 games in the show, however, it means you’re a slob. - Crash Davis

Does it seem odd to anyone else that a listing agent who hasn’t been able to find the time to return my calls and e-mails suddenly finds the time when he gets a call from a prospective buyer? Never mind that the buyer was my client.

Deed problems are a common occurence when dealing with bank owned homes in the Phoenix real estate market. Still, is it really too much to ask that an escrow company call when they know there’s a problem just so everyone knows where things stand? For that matter, is it too much to ask for an escrow company to call (or return a call) … ever?

This is a simple game. You throw the ball. You hit the ball. You catch the ball. Got it? - Joe Riggins, manager of the Durham Bulls

If the contract says the seller shall have all the utilities on from the time the home goes under contract until the close of escrow, shouldn’t that really mean that the seller shall have all the utilities on from the time the home goes under contract until the close of escrow? If the bank has a clause in their addendum shifting responsibility that’s another story, but short of that … I mean, isn’t this part of your job as a listing agent?

These days, especially when dealing with bank owned homes, the catch-all excuse is “we are just so busy.” Want to know a little secret? You’re not the only ones who are busy. In fact, some of us are even busier than we ought to be because we’re picking up the pieces and catching the balls that are getting dropped by the “busy people.”

It’s not just the front lines. The other day, my company’s sign company billed us $50 for an unrecoverable post for one of my listings. They said their men had looked around the house trying to find the sign that was to be removed. I guess the only place they didn’t look was right in front of the house.

(Maybe they had my 10-year-old looking … she’s the queen of “I can’t find it even though it’s sitting six inches away from me.)

Real estate’s a service business, plain and simple. One day, the bank owned home gravy train will pull out of town. Agents will be back to scrapping for listings and title companies will be back to begging agents for business once those bank contracts disappear.

How successful will they be? I guess that depends on how much they forget about service between now and then.

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Some people say that there’s a woman to blame

But I know … it’s all Jimmy’s fault.

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Earlier this week I detailed the beginnings of the purchase process here in the Phoenix real estate market, particularly as it pertains to bank owned homes. So let’s say you’ve survived that part. What comes next?

Assuming nothing in the bank addendum changed the basic timelines set out in the Arizona Association of REALTORS Residential Real Estate Purchase Contract, here’s where you go from here (and if you used a cocktail napkin for your contract then you’re on your own.):

1) FINANCING. If you’re financing your purchase, you’ll have five days to formally apply for your loan. This also is the time when you need to get any and all additional documentation requested to the lender all so your mortgage officer can order the …

2) APPRAISAL. This one almost always comes out of pocket and payment’s due at the time of the appraisal. Costs vary but you’re looking at somewhere around $150. The appraisal is ordered by your lender in the name of your lender so if for some reason you decide to switch lenders midstream you’ll need to do this again. In short, the appraisal is an opinion of the home’s value. Your loan will be for the lesser of contract sales price or appraised value so if the house doesn’t appraise, you’ve got some decisions to make.

3) INSPECTIONS. You’ll have 10 days to complete all of your inspections and due diligence. This is the time to hire a professional home inspector to check the home. These inspectors are generalists so it’s possible (if unlikely) that you’ll need additional specialists to determine the state of certain systems. You’ll also want to get a termite inspection to see if which group your home falls into - those houses with termites and those that will get them someday. Welcome to Arizona.

4) TITLE REPORT. This is sent to you by the title company and shows you if there are any irregularities in the title. This is one of those items that never seems that crucial until something strange comes up. You’ve got five days to look it over and if you don’t like what you see you can cancel the contract.

5) REPAIRS. Repairs? On a bank owned? In some cases, if repairs are needed for a loan to be approved the seller/lender may be willing to do them. Before discovering the bank didn’t own the house, Fannie Mae had taken care of a water leak, some apparent mold and had shocked the swimming pool to a lovely shade of blue to meet FHA requirements. If you’re paying cash, by the way, you are more or less on your own … but cash still works better from a leverage standpoint.

6) CLOSING. Loan docs and deeds are supposed to be signed three days before the actual close of escrow date. This tends to be a moving target in as much as for those wanting to close early, you often can sign one day and fund the next. Docs need to be notarized. If you’re local, you can do this at the title company. If you’re out of state, you’ll need a notary. And if you’re in Canada, you’ll need an attorney since attorneys are the only notaries there.

7) FUNDING. Funds must be in cleared funds - either a wire, which is the most common, or a cashier’s check. Once you’re funded, the escrow company records the deed and you’re the owner of the home.

Granted this is a high-level overview; if you have specific questions, you know where to find me.

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