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Teresa Turner, Realtor & Broker, with The Teresa Turner Realty Group at Keller Williams Town & Country Realty, is one of the most established and respected names in NW Florida Real Estate with 25+ years of experience in Residential Real Estate. Over that time, she has developed a superior pipeline of connections and is the go-to person for getting results in Residential Real Estate. She understands and cares for people and is excellent at coming up with unique marketing strategies to solve complex problems and get homes sold. She keeps your personal information confidential and considers discretion to be her duty in dealing with your real estate situation. Teresa maintains a strong work ethic and is committed to building relationships based on trust and integrity. She is a Real Person with Real Solutions to your real estate needs.
Tag Archives: tallahassee short sales
4 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Foreclosure
Foreclosures can offer big bargains, but buyers need to be careful that they don’t get over their heads in purchasing a home that may need more repairs than they bargained for.
Foreclosures are usually sold as-is, and homes that are left vacant standing too long can have a lot of maintenance problems.
Real estate experts suggest buyers consider the following questions:
1. How long has the home been vacant? Be cautious of a foreclosed home that has stood vacant for more than a few weeks or had its utilities shut off a long time. Marvin Goldstein, a home inspector for many foreclosed properties, says a home can deteriorate quickly when heating, cooling, electricity, and running water have been turned off for awhile.
2. How old is the home? Goldstein says that homes that are more than 50 years old may have a failing plumbing system or inadequate electrical wiring.
3. How does the home look? Are there broken windows, gutters hanging down, or damaged siding? “Trust your instincts. If the house looks bad from the outside, it’s probably worse than you think,” Goldstein told The Oklahoman.
4. Is there anything missing? Sometimes former owners remove anything of value from the home, such as built-in light fixtures, bathroom tile, water heaters, air-conditioning units, and hardwoods, says Bill Jacques, president-elect of the American Society of Home Inspectors.
Housing experts encourage buyers to get a home inspector to look at the property, even if it is sold as-is, so that home buyers know any repairs needed and cost estimates before they purchase the home.
“Buying a bank-owned home gives you the opportunity to enter the market at a very low price level,” says Dorcas Helfant, a past president of the National Association of REALTORS®. “You can find terrific values among foreclosures, especially if they’re not in too bad shape. But, remember, these houses are discounted for a reason.”
Source: “Foreclosed Homes May Need Extensive Repairs,” The Oklahoman (Jan. 28, 2012)
Obama Administration Announces Changes to HAMP
The Obama administration has announced changes to its flagship foreclosure prevention initiative – the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Among the changes, borrowers who are struggling because of debt beyond their mortgage will be eligible for a secondary evaluation with more flexible debt-to-income criteria, and eligibility will be extended to investor-owned homes that are used as rental properties. The administration is also giving principal reductions a bigger role within the program, tripling incentives for investors that agree to write down an underwater borrower’s principal balance and offering these same incentives to the nation’s two biggest mortgage investors – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Here’s more detail…
Expansion of eligibility: HAMP was designed to bring the debt ratio of mortgage borrowers down to 31% of their incomes. Those whose mortgage payments were already below that level had been ineligible for a modification. They may qualify now. The new guidelines will allow for a more flexible approach that takes other debt into account when calculating debt-to-income ratios.
Extension of eligibility to owners of rental properties: The old HAMP rules applied solely to owner-occupied homes, but now those who own rental properties may also qualifyfor a HAMP modification.
Triple-balance-reduction incentives: The new HAMP will pay between 18 cents and 63 cents for every dollar that lenders take off the mortgage principal, up from between 6 cents and 21 cents.
Pay Fannie and Freddie the same incentives: Currently, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not offer principal reduction plans as part of their HAMP modifications. To encourage this assistance,Treasury said it will pay the same principal reduction incentives to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, if they allow servicers to forgive principal in conjunction witha HAMP modification.
Read the entire article from CNN Money at: http://cnnmon.ie/yg7ZTF
If you are facing foreclosure, you should consider this option which is more flexible than prior versions of HAMP. If this doesn’t work for you then consider a short sale. Help is available at Teresa Turner Realty Group.
Foreclosures are endangering people’s health!
Many homeowners in financial distress are now numb to all the talk about saving their credit or saving face by walking away from their homes, but there’s another twist to all this…Foreclosures are endangering people’s health!
That’s right, “sell or get sick”. A recent study in Philadelphia showed foreclosure stress leading to 41.3% of those in foreclosure having high blood pressure, a number approaching 10% for those suffering strokes of related issues like heart attacks and kidney disease rising 2.2% for those fearing losing their homes on top of diabetes issues and depression in general.
This financial downturn is really taking a toll on people’s lives and their health. If you are experiencing too much stress from financial issues, it’s important to take care of yourself by exercising daily, eating healthy, not drinking too much, staying grounded through your faith, and keeping a network of family and friends who support you. It’s not easy, but you will get through this.
You may owe federal income taxes in 2013 if you have a short sale
You may owe federal income taxes in 2013 if you have a short sale on your primary residence after this 
year. Now is the time to make the hard decision: Are you going to short sale your home this year?
Uncle Sam is still giving homeowners until Dec. 31, 2012, to go through a short sale on their primary residence without tax consequences – as long as the lender officially releases the debt.
But on Jan. 1, 2013, the rules change: The amount a lender forgives, ether in a short sale on a primary residence will be taxable on federal income taxes.
So if a house sold $50,000 short of what is owed on the mortgage, then the selling homeowners will owe federal income taxes on that $50,000. Homeowners would owe $12,500 if they’re in the 25 percent bracket; $7,500 if in the 15 percent tax section.
Homeowners would be on the hook even if the house sold but the bank had not formally forgiven the loan in a letter: The banks must officially sign off in writing before Dec. 31.
“It’s a huge issue – it will be a shock to many taxpayers after 2012,” said Mark Steber, the Florida-based chief tax officer for Jackson Hewitt Tax Service.
The law first came into affect five years ago as the housing market went bust nationwide.
The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 “generally allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence,” according to the Internal Revenue Service. “Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualifies for the relief.”
Up to $2 million of forgiven debt can be forgiven this year, $1 million if married and filing separately, according to the IRS.
Homeowners declaring bankruptcy could escape paying income taxes on any cancellation of debt income if the debt is forgiven in the bankruptcy even if the debtor is solvent, said Nick Jovanovich, a board-certified tax attorney in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“Bankruptcy trumps everything,” he said.
Or homeowners might not have to pay income taxes on any cancellation of debt income to the extent that they are insolvent immediately before the cancellation – that is, their debts exceed the value of their assets, Jovanovich added.
Steber and Jovanovich said homeowners should decide now what they are going to do – to give themselves time.
Short sales can take a long time and even if banks quickly approve a short sale, the would-be buyer may get cold feet and the deal fall through, Singer said.
Then the sellers have to begin again, he said.
Information provided by the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Donna Gehrke-White. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune News Service.
Everything You Need to Know About Buying a Bank Owned Property
Buying a bank-owned property is a little different than buying an “arms length” 
type property. One of the major differences is that there is no emotion involved with the banks.It is strictly numbers, and rules. Most banks want the property sold and off their books in120 days or less.
Most bank owned properties are vacant so they are easy to look at, but many of them don’t have power so you need to make arrangements to get there during daylight hours. There is a coded lockbox on the property, but this is for the banks and the property preservation companies to have access. You should contact a Realtor to set up a time to see the property and not try to go in on your own.
Most banks will not accept contingency contracts. If you have a property to sell to qualify for your finanacing, and it is not disclosed, the bank will consider this fraud and will cancel the contract and keep your deposit.
ALL bank owned properties are sold “as is” with all their faults. There may be some instances that the bank will do some repairs prior to closing, but it is rare. If work is to be done, then in most cases, it will be completed prior to marketing. There are no Sellers Property Disclosures. In most cases, the seller/bank has never seen the property or physically visited the property. The Buyer will have the right to inspect the property. The inspection time is usually 7-10 days from the date of the fully executed contract. Getting the signed contract back from the bank can take anywhere from 24 hours to 5-6 days.
Banks do not usually want to finance their bank-owned properties; however there are a couple of exceptions to this. BB & T now offers special financing on their bank-owned properties, and Wells Fargo and Bank of America require a pre-qualification from one of their lending officers to be submitted with the contract. The Buyer is not required to get their financing with either Wells Fargo or Bank of America, but they want the opportunity to offer the Buyer financing.
Most banks have their own special addendums. Some banks have a standard addendum that they want with the contract package and others negotiate the contract and then generate the addendum that are specific to the contract. THERE ARE NO CHANGES ALLOWED ON THE ADDENDUMS. If the Buyer wants to make changes, then they will not get the property. It is important that you understand the addendum before signing it.
The Buyers are not to have access to the property prior to closing. This is a liability issue for both the Real Estate Agent and the Brokerage Office. Buyers are not to be in the property without their Real Estate Agent present. Under no circumstances should the Buyers be given lockbox codes to access the property at will.
Most Bank Owned Property closings are “dry” closings for the Real Estate Agent. The banks have their own title company that they retain to take care of the closings and these title companies are usually out of town. The good thing about this is that they pay the Buyers’ owners title insurance. The Buyer is responsible for the work fees and the mortgagee’s policy (if they are getting a mortgage). The title company sends a mobile notary to a designated location that is mutually agreed upon, and they are responsible for getting the closing documents and funds back to the title company. The commission checks for the Real Estate Agents are cut and and mailed once the title company receives all of the closing documents, and this usually takes anywhere from 2 days to a week.
If you want to purchase a foreclosure, it is helpful to understand how the process works. Bank owned properties can be a great buy, but you the Buyer, have to be willing to deal with any and all repairs and play by the bank’s rules to get that property.
Information provided courtesy of Cindy Crona-Hudson, Keller Williams Town & Country Realty
