Redding's Ups and Downs

Everyday, Shasta County Realtors belonging to the MLS, look at the hot sheet to view new listings in the last 24 hours.  Good agents will also look at price changes, back on the market, or pendings.  We look, not only for our buyers, but also to see if there is any hint that our market is changing.  

I was shocked on Sunday to realize every new listing was a REO, or bank owned property.  Gave me that yuck feeling in the pit of my stomach knowing that home owners and even investors just lost their homes.  When will it end?

For buyers, there are some good deals out there and some foreclosure properties at bargain prices are attracting multiple offers.  Work with the best Realtor you can find.  And before you make an offer, make sure you're ducks are in a row.                                       

First, always get a proapproval letter, not a prequal letter, from a lender.  Preapproval means actually making a formal loan application, having your credit checked, as well as verifying your funds for down payment and closing costs, and validating your income and employment. The preapproval letter should always accompany your offer.

One of the main things buyers need to remember is to buy a home in their comfort zone, not a penny more.  Many lenders in past months and years have qualified buyers for much more money than they could actually afford.  We always ask our buyers to sit down a make a budget to find the amount they can comfortably pay each month for a mortgage payment.    

It's frustrating to buyers and agents today because most of the time when we call the listing agent of the REO property to see if it's still available, we get no return call.  So the buyers get soooo exited, go through the hoops so their agent can present an offer, only to find there's already several offers on the property.  So buyers often need to take a deep breath, and start the process all over.  

But when buyers are finally in their home, they will forget the difficult times, and will grin ear to ear when they cross that threshold.