New Real Estate Scam to be aware of
June 16, 2009 by Irene
I don’t mean someone selling the Brooklyn Bridge: When you are working with money, there is always a scam around. Some are easy to detect, others a bit harder.
This past week I was at a training class sponsored by Lawyer Title. They identified and shared with us the newest scam to be aware of. Sellers having a “dirty” Release of Lien. The release has been filed with the recorder’s office, so when the title company goes to provide clear title, there are no mortgage notes attached to the property. (Those have been released)
The scam is: the release if fraudulent. The seller still owes. The seller continues to make their payments, so no one is aware and once the home closes they walk away with all the proceeds from the sale of the home. Then they stop making payments and the house starts to foreclose.
When a call is made to the previous mortgage lender, the fraudulent actions are exposed. If this is detected by the title company prior to closing, the buyer is out of luck. They will get their earnest deposit back, but they won’t be getting the house. If it is not detected and the house closes, the title company is in for a big payment to the sellers bank as they guarantee clear title to the buyer.
So if a seller recently paid off their mortgage, and has the ‘paperwork’ to prove it. Be aware. Things may not be as they seem.
Old West Alive and Well!
June 16, 2009 by Irene
Sometimes I forget I live in the wild west. Yes, there are plenty of Saguaro cactus around, lots of open desert just out of the city. But when you live in a metropolitan area with a population of over 3 Million, you just forget.
Well in Cave Creek this week they had elections and the vote was a tie for city councilmen candidates Adam Trenk and Thomas McGuire. The Maricopa County Superior Court Judge ordered the election be determined by a game of chance.
The Judge shuffled the cards, and the opponents each cut the deck, high card to win. With the King of Hearts, Adam Trenk won the seat.
I couldn’t make this stuff up folks, the wild, west lives on!
Inventory is down, pending closing up, all improvements
May 19, 2009 by Irene
Here in the greater Phoenix area there is a lot of talk about the changing market. Our outlying areas have seen the greatest recovery. Well, let me rephrase that. Those outer areas, prices have dropped to such a level that people are jumping in to purchase.
This chart is the current inventory, the number of homes currently on the market actively listed, divided by the number of homes that are closing. Giving us an idea how long it would take at the current level to sell all of the homes available. Back in April of 2008 there was a 420 day supply of homes. That is a lot of homes, and not many people purchasing.
Move forward a little more than a year, and we have 209 day supply of homes. Currently we have people buying homes, and fewer on the market.
The first chart must be looked at comparing it to active listings. Together they tell a better picture. This is the chart of active listings. I included the 2002 and 2003 data because they show a ‘normal’ market.
You can see the inventory levels rose and reached their highest point in late 2007, and remained high all through 2008. The first part of 2009 we see the number of listings is reducing, currently at 41,197 active listings.
The last chart to compare is the pending listings. Is this a fluke or going to last. This chart is jagged, due to many closing at the end of the month. You can see the current pending listings is high. Due in part to lenders taking longer to approve buyers.
From this information we know there are lots of people purchasing homes. The inventory levels are dropping, and there are lots of homes pending and about to close. At least for the next few months, the Phoenix market is moving!
Wild Kingdom update in McCormick Ranch
May 18, 2009 by Irene
Yesterday we had fun with the Badger.
In the afternoon I got a call back from Critter Control. They didn’t belive that we had a badger. And in McCormick Ranch, impossible…
They asked for proof and I sent them to my blog to see the photos. No doubting us, a badger is what we had. They were speechless. In 17+ years of doing critter control in the valley they have never had a confirmed badger report. They once had a call from someone in Buckeye, but could not confirm it, as they didn’t trap it.
So a badger is rare in populated areas. Almost unheard of.
That is good to know. Today, someone checked the last known location of our little friend. He has moved on. Hopefuly to a more rural area, or out to the desert even better.
