Best Place Real Estate

Going through a divorce is a very tough and emotional experience. Decisions regarding your house are part of this emotional upheaval. Typically your equity is calculated using appraised value less the outstanding loan balance. However, if one spouse decides to keep the house, appraisal minus mortgage does not equal equity. I have heard horror stories of damaged credit, default, foreclosure, and bankruptcy after the divorce that resulted from decisions made regarding the marital house.Many of these problems could have been prevented during the divorce, but can’t be fixed after the divorce. Even though the family home is often a couple’s most valuable asset, many divorcing couples are not doing their due diligence when it comes to determining its value. They are overlooking factors that can cause serious problems for both spouses after the divorce.

I recently completed the course work to earn the RCS-D designation as a Real Estate Collaborative Specialist - Divorce. My intention is to assist couples during the divorce process with the necessary due diligence regarding their house. They will then be able to make an informed decision and avoid problems that could haunt them for years after the divorce.

I have had this conversation with several clients recently regarding bank owned listings. When you make an offer, it must be your “highest and best”. While it is understandable that buyers do not want to pay more than they have to for a property, the old days of making a low offer and expecting a seller to counter do not apply in today’s foreclosure market. A good percentage of foreclosures are in the lower price tier and first time buyers and investors are all over them. Most listings receive multiple offers shortly after they hit the market and sell for at least full list price if not over.

There is so much in the news about the terrible housing market, all the foreclosures, and declining prices. So it is very understandable that many buyers think they can come in way lower than the asking price. But the truth of the matter is that usually the asking price is the low price. Some of the comments I get from many buyers are:”Is the listing agent lying about having all those offers just to apply pressure and make you offer more?” or “What if the lender would have taken less than my offer and I end up paying more than I needed to?”

REALTORS are required to abide by a Code of Ethics and lying about multiple offers, or anything for that matter, is unacceptable. And, I can tell you from experience, multiple offers on bank owned properties is common place in today’s market. As far as the purchase price the lender will accept, the bank’s goal is to get the highest price with the best terms. That does not mean that the highest offer always gets it. In addition to price the bank considers the terms of the offer as well as the financial soundness of the buyer.

My advise is to offer a price you feel the property is worth to you, but it should be the highest price you feel you are comfortable with for that property. Offering a lower price and expecting the bank to come back with a counter is usually a waste of time. It really wouldn’t make good business sense on the part of the bank to spend time countering one buyer when they already have a better offer from another buyer. Your offer should be contingent on an appraisal, so if the appraisal comes in much lower you can renegotiate.