Ask Your Agent

Home Buyers Purchasing for Less Than Monthly Rent Payments

2011-06-17T12:48:00Z

Marysville, Ohio, June 2011. Potential home buyers are missing wonderful opportunities. Recent home sales are indicating that prices for move in ready homes have dropped considerably in the past 12 months. In Union County (and some areas of Delaware County) home buyers can take advantage of USDA financing. These are rural development loans that work for homes on under 5 acre parcels without large outbuildings that pass FHA condition requirements. A qualified buyer with good credit CAN purchase a...(read more)

Marysville Ohio Real Estate Market Report May 2011

2011-05-07T14:15:00Z

2011 Is off and running to a good start in the Marysville area. As of May 7, there are 238 Active listings available to home buyers. Of those, 24, around 10%, are indicated to be short sales, foreclosure, or auction properties. This is a good indication that our market, in Marysville School District, is beginning to recover from the housing slump. The average list price from homes in our area is $190,959, and the average sold price is $169,078. This may be an indication that we do have a few home...(read more)

Extra Fees May Come As Surprise to Home Sellers

2011-02-09T12:03:00Z

Submitted by Vicki Owens, ABR, CRS, GRI, SFR, Best Homes Real Estate, Marysville, Ohio Heads up to owners with homes on the market or anticipating a future sale in 2011. If you live in a newer home in a subdivided community, you may want to read the fine print from your builder about transferrable warranties as well as from your Home Owners Association about transfer fees. If you live in a community that has a Home Owners Association, you may be paying fees annually, quarterly or even monthly to...(read more)

For Home Owners: What It Takes to Sell In 2011

2011-01-23T14:50:00Z

Submitted by Vicki Owens, ABR, CRS, GRI, SFR, Best Homes Real Estate, Marysville, Ohio Want to make that sale finally successful in 2011? Perhaps you have tried in the past years to sell with no luck or have been “waiting for the market to bounce back” to make your move or you have a need to sell due to personal circumstances. If you are reading this, chances are you are seriously considering making your move this year. Contrary to bad media static or conversations with friends, family...(read more)

Time to Buy, Sell or Stay Put? Your 2011 Plans

2011-01-23T13:40:00Z

Submitted by Vicki Owens, ABR, CRS, GRI, SFR, Best Homes Real Estate, Marysville, Ohio Whether it’s email, texts or phone calls, I get so much communication from clients, their friends and community residents alike who are seeking to know exactly what they can expect from the market. “Where are things really? I know that you shoot from the hip and will tell me the real story on what you are seeing out there in the trenches”. For Buyers: What a load of opportunity for first time...(read more)

Happy 2011! New Year Tips for Home Owners

2010-12-29T15:32:00Z

8 Tips for Adding Curb Appeal and Value to Your Home Appraisers and real estate agents offer advice for adding curb appeal that both preserves value and attracts potential buyers. Read Tax Tips for Homeowners Looking Ahead to 2010 Returns From energy tax credits to vacation home deductions, check out these tax tips for homeowners looking ahead to 2010 returns. Read A Financial Plan for Your Home Your home is probably your biggest investment. To manage it, create a financial plan that takes into account...(read more)

Marysville Ohio 2010 Single Family Home Statistics: The Year In Review

2010-12-28T14:26:00Z

Submitted by Vicki Owens, ABR, CRS, GRI, Best Homes Real Estate This year has proven to be an interesting one for single family home sales within the limits of our school district. As of 12/28/2010, there are 245 single family homes listed for sale. There are 39 homes indicated as pending sale or in contract. A little over 16%, or 44 of the 289, are indicated as either bank owned (foreclosed homes) or short sale properties (pre-foreclosure). The average days on the market for homes currently listed...(read more)

Vicki Owens Earns NAR Short Sale & Foreclosure Certification

2010-05-21T10:59:00Z

Buyers and Sellers Benefit from REALTOR ® Expertise in Distressed Sales Marysville, Ohio, May 2010 — Vicki Owens with Andy & Associates, Realtors has earned the nationally recognized Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource certification. The National Association of REALTORS ® offers the SFR certification to REALTORS ® who want to help both buyers and sellers navigate these complicated transactions, as demand for professional expertise with distressed sales grows. According to a...(read more)

More Lease Purchase Pitfalls

2008-12-13T00:59:00Z

Submitted by Vicki Owens, ABR, CRS, GRI, Andy & Associates, Realtors, December 2008 With the market as tough as it has been, I have received yet more calls and emails from people who have had a lot of difficulty with their lease purchase arrangements. It unfortunately seems this always comes after the fact and always reiterates the reason why I always advise against these sort of agreements. One gal contacted me who was at the end of her 2 year agreement. I spoke to her way back in 2006 when...(read more)

To Short Sale OR Not to Short Sale?

2008-05-30T22:05:00Z

That IS the question. So What Is A "Short Sale" Anyway? A short sale is when the bank agrees to take less than what they are owed on a mortgage and forgive some of the debt in order to avoid foreclosure. The key is "to avoid foreclosure". In this 21st Century market, many home owners that purchased their homes anywhere from 2001-2006 have come to find out that their values declined. VERY disappointing when so many were promised appreciation by super charged sales reps, realtors...(read more)

Short Sales & Bank Owned & HUDS, Oh My!

2008-02-14T13:54:00Z

First & Foremost you need to know as a home buyer that buying one of these repossessed homes take a great deal of PATIENCE . U nfortunately, banks are not in the “instant gratification” business. We are so used to things happening fast. When an offer is made on one of these homes, it has to pass through MANY hands. The banks are overwhelmed with work with so many foreclosures available for sale. Because they are NOT in the real estate business, systems have not been streamlined to...(read more)

Marysville Ohio Area Homeowners Getting Ready to Move in 2011

2007-12-30T19:32:00Z

Marysville, Ohio area homeowners are taking advantage of great consultation in getting their home ready to sell! From organization, clean up, updates and staging, let Vicki Owens put her experience and successful track record to work for you. Vicki can assist within a 30 mile radius of Marysville. If you are anticipating moving into your next home in the area, you will want to take advantage of this free consultation especially if it has been years OR you have never sold a home. Flexible rates are...(read more)

Is Your Home Positioned to Sell In Today's Buyer's Market?

2007-12-01T15:01:00Z

Submitted by Vicki Owens, ABR, CRS, GRI, Best Homes Real Estate, Marysville Here it is, another holiday season. If your home is or has been on the market this year without an offer, you are not alone. So what does it take to win over that buyer in today’s challenging market? · See Your Home from the Buyer’s Eyes by asking yourself one of the toughest questions that you can. If you were on the market to buy, what would you pay for the home today? Forget your memories there and the...(read more)

Lease Purchase. . .Pitfalls. . .

2007-02-11T23:17:00Z

By Vicki Owens, ABR, GRI, RSD, Andy Siers, Realtors

Mary Jane and Doug are really nice people. They have 3 children and have relocated into a new area for Doug’s work nearly 2 years ago. When they moved here, they had a home to sell back home and decided it would be best to rent an apartment until their home sold. There home did sell about 4 months ago and they have a little money in the bank saved for a down payment.

Over the coarse of the year, they had to trade both of their older cars for newer ones because they had a longer commute to work and their vehicles were starting to show a lot of wear and costing a lot for repair. In addition, 5 months ago, Mary Jane got a new job and used some of their credit cards so that she could have a new wardrobe for her improved position with the employer. Then Christmas came and went and they charged some toys for the little ones and gifts for their families.

About a year ago, they began looking to buy their new home. They found a home that they absolutely loved. They wanted to make an offer and went to talk to some mortgage lenders to find out what their payments would be. After meeting with several lenders who had looked at their credit, they realized that their credit scores were lower than they expected. The debt they had taken on and a few late payments on those credit card bills had put them in a position that they could not quite afford the house they loved. Houses in a lower price range that were available just were not large enough for their family or were in such poor condition that they could not move right in. Both working, they just didn’t have the time, skill or cash to rehab a home. Needless to say, they were very disappointed. They would have to wait awhile longer and work on their credit.

While driving around on a Sunday afternoon, they spotted a beautiful home with a sign that stated “For Sale By Owner Lease/Purchase Available Bad Credit OK”. They called the number on the sign and the owner came and showed them the home. It was just stunning. The owner, Jack, had recently divorced and was struggling with his home improvement business and could no longer afford to live in the home. Mary Jane and Doug knew that this was much more home than they would be able to afford to buy outright, and signed a lease purchase agreement with the owner feeling they were getting a great deal. They could paint, improve the home, do anything they wanted to do because they had a purchase agreement with Jack.

They used all but $1000 of their savings to give the owner a $5000 down payment to move in. They agreed to pay Jack $1700 a month for the home. They moved in and their was plenty of room for the kids, their things and Doug even bought the new big screen TV he’s wanted since they moved to town. Mary Jane got some beautiful light fixtures that they installed in the home and decorated the kids rooms so cute. Oh how they just loved this house!!

About 6 months after moving in, the sump pump in the finished basement stopped working during heavy rains. Doug opened an account at the home depot, and replaced the sump pump, the damaged carpet and trim and ended up with quite a bill to pay for the repairs.

In the 7th month, Mary Jane noticed they were starting to get urgent looking mail for the owner of the home, Jack. She called him, but had a hard time reaching him as his cell phone was disconnected. When Jack came to collect their payment for month 8, 3 weeks later, he was quite distressed and told the two that he had been unable to pay the mortgage for several months. His divorce was finalized and he had big child support payments now. He explained, nearly in tears, that the bank may foreclose on the home and they will have to move out. Jack apologized profusely to Mary Jane and Doug and drove away.

Stunned, Mary Jane did not know what to do. She was in a panic. She made a call to her real estate agent that they had dealt with when they were looking for homes previously and asked her what to do. The agent advised Mary Jane to contact an attorney. Doug was just plain mad. They had paid and paid and even had debt on the home, done all of these repairs and improvements, and for no fault of their own had to move out? Mary Jane called Jack’s mortgage company to see if maybe they could assume toe loan or make up payments, and found out that even the property taxes were behind and that and homeowners insurance needed to be caught up. With late fees all to the tune of over $20K!! They knew there was no way a mortgage lender would approve them for a loan on this home, it was worth way more than they ever shopped for. They started to look for places to move.

And if you are on the edge of your seat to find out what happened. . .well, it’s a fictional story, but points out what a major pitfall can be to the lease purchase option. What if Mary Jane and Doug just decided one day they didn’t really like the house enough to buy it? If they were leasing from an investor or builder, the builder may say fine, move right out. And the owner of the home may never have had any true intention of selling, just renting with a big deposit up front, knowing they would have to go in and clean it up to do it all again. Again, Mary Jane and Doug are vulnerable as they have no way to get a refund of the down payment or for any improvements they added to the home with out paying attorneys and going to court. .

In lease purchase you don’t own it until the deed is in your name. Most of the time, at least here in Ohio, this is when the final payment is made to the owner, whether that be with a mortgage loan up the road or actually paying him for years. Paying lease payments to Jack doesn’t show positive on your credit, does not show that you own anything and you cannot take out an equity line of credit or gain tax deductions benefits on a house you don’t own.

And now, with prices that have declined, I get many calls from folks that have been in lease agreements for a year or two now finding that the price they committed to is to high. The home will not today appraise for what they need a loan to buy. Again, an attorney should look over any agreement that you commit to and you should be protected to ensure that you are not overpaying for a home.

I understand folks with not so good credit who are just so anxious to be in a house they will agree to almost anything. Many times, I’ve helped people be patient and work through those credit issues, sometimes for years or through several loan resources, and to not be as emotional about what is essentially a huge business decision for your personal finances. With us being such an instant gratification society, so many people who have bumps in their credit do not want to take the time to untangle the knots and make it better.

I know it’s hard, yes, it takes effort. It is so wise to calm down, get a reality check and find a resource you can trust to help resolve things. Whether that be with a credit councelor, your banker, a financial advisor. You need to take this dream seriously! Otherwise, you are open season to expensive lenders, hungry vendors and opportunists who see you as another way to make a quick buck and not give it a second thought about your well being. The old saying “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” applies here.

I am so proud of the people I’ve been so blessed to help who have worked hard to get things back in line. And completely blown away by some really bright people, especially the young ones, who are on this credit thing and have this down to a science before they ever call me to shop for homes. Amazing.

And yes, I’ve had some people who contact and question me about lease purchase be absolutely nasty to me treating me as the enemy when I even suggest resolving the credit problems and getting a mortgage. Well, you asked and I answered, sorry you did not like the answer. If you want someone to take advantage of your vulnerability, not care, and not discuss the options and pitfalls with you, you’ve called the wrong agent.

Maybe I “shoot myself in the foot” by not doing all I can to take advantage of people and hooking them into something that they cannot afford, but I have to sleep nights folks. They will find someone else to “help” them I am sure with just a few more calls. And we wonder why there are so many foreclosures? I want my clients to know that I have their best interest in mind and feel comfortable passing my name along to a friend, co-worker, neighbor or family member as an agent that has patience, does the right thing and keeps her client’s best interest in mind. That’s the backbone of my business. So far, so good. Thanks for reading.