As a Pleasanton Realtor and resident of Shadow Cliff homes in Pleasanton, I recently made the cable change from Comcast to ATT U-verse. I wanted to give my opinon on the service so that in the event others are thinking of changing, they have some feedback to consider.
ATT U-verse is new to my neighborhood and only one other resident in Shadow Cliff Homes had subscribed to the new service at the time I was approached by the door-to-door salesman. Of course I was apprehensive, but the package sounded really good. Even though there were more features, more channels and supposed higher speed internet I was concerned I’d turn out to be a disappointed.
I signed up for U-verse TV, Phone & Internet. I was scheduled for an all day installation. The installer showed up on time, spent most of the day at my home, and was efficient and friendly. Best of all, the service works perfectly! I am able to record on the main television and just like the commercial says, watch the recordings on any TV in the house. I’m very happy with the change!
“Buying a listing” occurs when a seller adamantly believes their property to be worth more than what the market comparables will support and the interviewing agent “agrees” to the price in order not to lose the listing. Is this in the best interest of the seller; absolutely not!
What can happen with an overpriced listing?
- The seller begins chasing the market
- This positions the seller “behind the 8-ball”
- The listing becomes “stale” on the market
- Buyers won’t offer on these properties as they believe the seller is difficult, or they feel the may offend the seller.
- The agent can earn a bad reputation in the industry
- The seller usually ends up mad at the agent and after the listing period decides on a more professional approach
- Time and money are wasted
Seller beware…when interviewing agents to sell your home, be weary of agents that would rather tell you what you want to hear price-wise than trust in their own knowledge of the market. If your chosen agent can’t negotiate with you, they can’t negotiate for you. Choose a professional with market knowledge!
With the news released yesterday about the new 90-day moratorium, home sellers are given another chance to get their home sold (in the event they choose not to modify).
In the last several months, banks have been very lax about dealing in a productive way with short sale properties. With the second moratorium in the last 6 months, this may just be what banks need to realize they must deal with distressed home owners. While some home owners may wish to modify their current loans, this will give others who wish to sell the ability to do so.To successfully sell a short sale in this market, a home seller must find a real estate professional experienced in dealing with banks in these situation. In my personal experience, the banks DO NOT like 3rd party negotiators. Sellers beware when it comes to hiring a company that asks for money upfront. This process can efficiently be handled with the right real estate professional.
As a Pleasanton Realtor® an important part of my job is to team with the top professionals in the business regarding lending, home insurance, home inspectors, etc. Today I sat with one of my key team members to understand what’s going on in the mortgage market. Kurt Kessler, owner of Pleasanton Mortgage explain a bit about Mortgage backed securities to me.
”Mortgage backs or (MBS) have taken a roller coaster ride the last week and a half; as they go down, rates go up. This negative movement seems unprecedented and beyond the word ‘volatile’. Trying to advise clients as to whether to lock or float has been very difficult. Large downward movements have been followed by small corrections and then another large downward move” Kurt explained to me.
He further went on to say that “Bill Gross, the President of Pimco said earlier this week that the appetite for bonds and MBS is dwindling and we should see higher and higher rates. With China and other foreign countries not buying our treasuries and our government really becoming the only buyer of our own home grown debt, which creates more debt, it seems his outlook is very accurate”.
Kurt believes the treasury and the Fed have backed off from their position of targeting an interest rate. He said, “Last year and then Secretary Paulson stated that the treasury would target an interest rate of 4.5%. After 2.5 months and much government intervention, they were able to achieve that. Now it doesn’t seem that is their goal, so free market is now in play and more government interaction will lead to more fear of inflation”. In the opinion of Kurt Kessler, rates will go from 5.5% to high 6%’s and low 7%’s (depending on loan type, size and credit score) in the next quarter.
He also believes, the demand of money is also increasing due to the affordability of properties and that is truly the light at the end of the tunnel. “The 2 things that we know will hold true,” Kurt told me, “is the first-time homebuyers will do very well in this market and secondly, FHA and VA loans will continue to be the product of choice”.
If you’ve been on the fence about interest rates, would like to get pre-qualified or would like to ask some of your own questions, I welcome you to contact Kurt directly. The path to home ownership is still very attainable.
