First Impressions Last for Just One Week
When you’re selling a house, you get one week to capture the interest of potential buyers. That’s it.
Longtime real estate journalist Mary Umberger recently reported that two recent studies in the U.S. and New Zealand came up with the same results: that an online listing captures four times as many views in its first week as it does a week later. After that, traffic to the listing, and buyer interest, fall off a cliff.
What does this mean to anxious sellers?
One thing: get it right the first time. There is no room to ‘test’ a price or update photos depicting a cleaner, brighter, less cluttered house. Serious househunters check every day for new listings. If yours does not appeal on the key elements – price, condition and location – they will move on and never look back.
There’s not much you can do about location. But you have full control over price and condition.
Price is the hardest to get right. Real estate agents tout their “market analysis,” which compares your house in size, condition and price to those that recently sold, and those that are currently on the market. It’s not hard to pull together this information on your own. Either way, this type of ‘market analysis’ lacks one vital component: it’s untested with lenders. That’s why ForSaleByOwner.com recommends that sellers always get an appraisal from a licensed appraiser. Appraisers work with lenders to independently validate the selling price of a house.
When you base your selling price on a current appraisal, you are aligning your price with what lenders are likely to accept. That dramatically increases your chance of getting an offer that a a lender will support with a mortgage. And that’s the end game of a strong first impression.
From: Forsalebyowner.com
Gateway Title is a preferred provider of Title and Escrow services to forsalebyowner.com customers
Friday, October 8, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Foreclosure Lawsuits Starting In Ohio
Just when we think we have a handle on what is happening, something new pops up to rock our world!
This article came to me via email today. It will affect many who are involved in a short sale from the buyers, sellers, Real estate agents, banks to the title company.
Attorney General Cordray Files Lawsuit Against GMAC Mortgage -10/6/2010
(CLEVELAND) — In a lawsuit filed today against GMAC Mortgage, LLC and its parent, Ally Financial Inc., Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray accuses the loan servicer and its agents of filing fraudulent affidavits to mislead courts in hundreds of Ohio foreclosures.
"We know that as Ohioans were fighting to save their homes, this loan servicer benefited financially from the dire circumstances," said Cordray. "Instead of stepping up and assisting those at risk of losing their homes, it is clear that GMAC chose to compound the problem through fraudulent and unfair and deceptive practices."
According to the lawsuit filed today in Lucas County Common Pleas Court, GMAC and its employees committed fraud on Ohio consumers and Ohio courts by signing and filing hundreds of false affidavits in foreclosure cases. The fraud came to light after a GMAC employee, Jefferey Stephan of Sellersville, Pa., testified in a foreclosure case out of Maine that from 2006 to 2010, he signed thousands of affidavits without verifying the content.
Through the lawsuit, Cordray is asking the court to grant a preliminary and permanent injunction preventing GMAC/Ally from proceeding to foreclose in any pending Ohio case or allowing the property to be sold. Cordray is also asking for civil penalties of up to $25,000 for every violation of Ohio's Consumer Sales Practices Act and for consumer restitution.
As a result of similar reports regarding depositions taken by a JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America employees, Cordray today also requested that JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America suspend moving toward a judgment, sale, eviction or property transfer involving any foreclosure case with affidavits signed by those employees. Cordray also sent letters to Wells Fargo and Citibank, requesting that the banks meet with his office to discuss foreclosure affidavit procedures.
According to recent statistics from the Ohio Supreme Court, the wave of foreclosures in Ohio has shown no signs of receding. In the first half of this year, there have been 45,930 foreclosures in Ohio, which is ahead of last year's record-breaking pace. From 1995-2009, Ohio foreclosure filings quadrupled.
In July 2009, Cordray was the first attorney general in the nation to file a lawsuit against a loan servicer for violations of the state's consumer laws. His office currently has cases pending against three loan servicers: Carrington Mortgage Services LLC, American Home Mortgage Services Inc. and Barclays Capital Real Estate dba HomEq Servicing. Last month, a Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge affirmed Cordray's case against HomeEq by overruling the defendant's motion to dismiss which has cleared the way for Cordray's case to move forward.
Want to read the documents? See below:
To view today's lawsuit and exhibits, visit www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/GMACLawsuit.
To view the letters sent to the national banks, visit www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/GMACBankLetters.
To read Cordray's opening remarks at today's press conference, visit: www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/GMACCordrayRemarks.
To view the latest foreclosure statistics from the Ohio Supreme Court, visit: www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/SupremeCourtForeclosureStats.
To view a recent report on Ohio foreclosures from Policy Matters Ohio, visit: www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/PolicyMattersForeclosureReport.
This article came to me via email today. It will affect many who are involved in a short sale from the buyers, sellers, Real estate agents, banks to the title company.
Attorney General Cordray Files Lawsuit Against GMAC Mortgage -10/6/2010
(CLEVELAND) — In a lawsuit filed today against GMAC Mortgage, LLC and its parent, Ally Financial Inc., Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray accuses the loan servicer and its agents of filing fraudulent affidavits to mislead courts in hundreds of Ohio foreclosures.
"We know that as Ohioans were fighting to save their homes, this loan servicer benefited financially from the dire circumstances," said Cordray. "Instead of stepping up and assisting those at risk of losing their homes, it is clear that GMAC chose to compound the problem through fraudulent and unfair and deceptive practices."
According to the lawsuit filed today in Lucas County Common Pleas Court, GMAC and its employees committed fraud on Ohio consumers and Ohio courts by signing and filing hundreds of false affidavits in foreclosure cases. The fraud came to light after a GMAC employee, Jefferey Stephan of Sellersville, Pa., testified in a foreclosure case out of Maine that from 2006 to 2010, he signed thousands of affidavits without verifying the content.
Through the lawsuit, Cordray is asking the court to grant a preliminary and permanent injunction preventing GMAC/Ally from proceeding to foreclose in any pending Ohio case or allowing the property to be sold. Cordray is also asking for civil penalties of up to $25,000 for every violation of Ohio's Consumer Sales Practices Act and for consumer restitution.
As a result of similar reports regarding depositions taken by a JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America employees, Cordray today also requested that JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America suspend moving toward a judgment, sale, eviction or property transfer involving any foreclosure case with affidavits signed by those employees. Cordray also sent letters to Wells Fargo and Citibank, requesting that the banks meet with his office to discuss foreclosure affidavit procedures.
According to recent statistics from the Ohio Supreme Court, the wave of foreclosures in Ohio has shown no signs of receding. In the first half of this year, there have been 45,930 foreclosures in Ohio, which is ahead of last year's record-breaking pace. From 1995-2009, Ohio foreclosure filings quadrupled.
In July 2009, Cordray was the first attorney general in the nation to file a lawsuit against a loan servicer for violations of the state's consumer laws. His office currently has cases pending against three loan servicers: Carrington Mortgage Services LLC, American Home Mortgage Services Inc. and Barclays Capital Real Estate dba HomEq Servicing. Last month, a Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge affirmed Cordray's case against HomeEq by overruling the defendant's motion to dismiss which has cleared the way for Cordray's case to move forward.
Want to read the documents? See below:
To view today's lawsuit and exhibits, visit www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/GMACLawsuit.
To view the letters sent to the national banks, visit www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/GMACBankLetters.
To read Cordray's opening remarks at today's press conference, visit: www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/GMACCordrayRemarks.
To view the latest foreclosure statistics from the Ohio Supreme Court, visit: www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/SupremeCourtForeclosureStats.
To view a recent report on Ohio foreclosures from Policy Matters Ohio, visit: www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/PolicyMattersForeclosureReport.
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