Real Estate Information

If you've not been downtown Martinsburg lately, please make it a point to make it a special part of your day - you won't be sorry!  The Festival of the Trees has been spread out from the Art Center and most of the trees are located in various store fronts downtown!  Bidding is open until 12/5 so you still have time to participate.  Here are some pictures:

The streets are decorated beautifully:

There is even a Santa's Workshop!  Bring the "kids" and come see Santa!

Here is the official Christmas Tree for Martinsburg - in front of the Public Library:

There are many, many fabulous stores downtown - support them this year by making this your first place to stop for Christmas gifts! 

Happy Holidays!

Andrea

All we hear on the news is doom and gloom, the sky is falling, and we're headed for another great depression.  It's just NOT true!!!

There are 72 million households.  24 million of those own their homes free and clear.  48 million have mortgages - and 97.2% of them are NOT in foreclosure or headed in that direction.  93.7% are current! 

So - yes, restaurants are in trouble as families are eating at home more.  We are having to keep our cars for more than three years.  And we may have to wear the same outfit twice!  Is that so bad to live within our means???  NO!!!!!

This information all coming from a recent Brian Buffini Turning Point Retreat I just attended in Richmond, VA recently.  Predictions for next year are going to be very similar to 2008.  Economics is based on supply and demand - so is real estate.  We have an oversupply of homes right now, but in three years or less we will have a shortage again - so the pendulum will swing and it will again be a Seller's Market.

What does this mean for you - IT'S A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!!  If you, your family or friends are considering buying a home, I would be honored to be of service!  Call me anytime 304-261-8517 so we can invest in your future and increase your long-term wealth!!

Sincerely,

Andrea Burke

I will have some artwork at this show, along with many other artists!  Come check us out!!!  Here is more information for you about Art Berkeley:

I am a proud new member of Rotary International here in Martinsburg.  As a new member, I was asked to give a biographical speech about myself as an introduction to the group.  I had so much fun putting it together, I thought I would share it for those of you who might be interested.  Please click on the following link:

http://www.visualtour.com/show.asp?T=1687768

Thank you,

Andrea

Definition of a short sale according to NAR:  "short sales are defined as a transaction where title transfers; where the sales price is insufficient to pay the total of all liens and cost of sale; and where the seller does not bring sufficient liquid assets to the closing to cure all deficiencies". 

When you see a listing that says "potential short sale" or "third party approval",  the price that is on the listing is a price that the Seller is hoping will attract buyers - it does NOT mean it's a price that the bank is willing to accept. 

Listing Agents are supposed to change the status from active to CONT/NO KO once an offer has been accepted by the seller and EMD given to the listing brokerage.   However, many are still showing them as active and submitting multiple offers to the bank.  So, when we have Buyers interested in a potential short sale, we need to first call and see if an offer has been submitted to the bank for third party approval.  And if it has, we contact the compliance manager for our multiple listing service and notify them of the violation.

In our brokerage, we use a special addendum when writing a sales contract on potential short sales that clearly spells out what a short sale is and allows the Buyer to establish a timeframe for how long they are willing to wait for response from the bank.  45 days is the very MINIMUM it will take - sometimes it's up to 6 months!

Some banks allow the Sellers to submit the hardship paperwork upon the listing of the property.  This saves a HUGE amount of time in the process down the road.  Other banks will not allow any sort of communication until an offer has been received, and then the long process begins.

Depending on the circumstances of the hardship, some banks will forgive a portion or even all of the balance due between sales price and loan amount.  Other times a note will be written at the time of closing for the entire balance.  Not all potential short sale scenarios are accepted by a bank - if it is an investment property and the Seller has other assets, they may require them to liquidate and pay the difference! 

I know that Buyers today are looking for a GREAT DEAL, but it's not always found in potential short sales.  Often they wait for a very long time for an answer from the bank and get extremely frustrated in the process, finally get out of it and are so angry they will NEVER submit another offer on potential short sale, and often blame their Agent as well. 

If you have  a LOT of patience and are in a living situation where you can stay for an indefinite amount of time, they may be worth your while.  But if you are about to become "homeless" as lease is up, your house is about to be sold, etc - this is NOT a good idea!!!  Foreclosures are priced below market price and usually can close within 30 days like a normal transaction.  And prices have come down to the bottom on resale homes, and they can certainly close within 30 days as well.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call me 304-261-8517 - or send me an email ask4andrea@mris.com.  I have represented both Buyers and Sellers on short sale transactions and will give you honest answers, as always!

Take care,

Andrea

My Mother-In-Law is in a nursing home near Philadelphia - we go up to visit at least once a month and get her out of there for change of scenery - and she LOVES it!  This weekend we took her out to the Amish Country - on route 30/340 between Philadelphia and Lancaster.  If you've not yet been there, its wonderful!  Less than 180 miles from Martinsburg!  The farms are so pristine, their craftsmanship is unbeatable!  Many of their handcrafted items are for sale in the little towns.  They do ride horse and buggies still - just like in the movies - and lead such a pure, clean life!  Here are some pictures just for fun:

They have many tours available of their homes and farms to get a feel of how they live their lives!  And they have many fabulous restaurants with wonderful home-made food! 

Check it out - and if you do, send me a note and let me know how much you enjoyed it!

So, is the sky falling, Henny Penny???  Between the Bailout and the Election it seems everything has come to a screeching halt.  Can the Feds inject capital directly into the banks to get things moving again??  I wish I was smarter about all those things...I studied economics in college as part of my curriculum, but that doesn't mean it made any sense to me.  Except supply and demand - I GET THAT!  Especially as a REALTOR!  :-)   But I won't even pretend to understand what all is involved in the bailout, how it will help, how long it will take, and what needs to happen to get us back on track. 

It's a great time to take some classes - we had one yesterday with Michelle Yam, Compliance Manager of our multiple listing service, MRIS.  It was very interesting and enlightening and she certainly has her plate full! 

We're going to a HUD class re REO bidding, closing procedures, etc to learn more about working with foreclosures.

There is the Annual West Virginia Easter Panhandle Economic Outlook Conference coming up 10/29 - click here to find out more info:   http://www.be.wvu.edu/bber/easternpanoutlook.htm  I attended this event year before last and really enjoyed it - I'm going again this year! 

We have an Annual General Membership meeting this month for the Eastern Panhandle Board of Realtors.

Throw in a couple of Chamber mixers, and Chamber Rise 'n' Shine breakfasts, weekly Rotary luncheons and call it a great month - keeping my face out there and learning as much as I can in the meantime!

Oh - and I took a watercolor class from my most favorite teacher in the world - Leia Wood of Not Right Minded Art Store -

We had fun!  Cheers!!!

If you've not been downtown lately, come on down!  The scarecrows are so much fun!  Here are some pictures:

 This is Leia Wood's scarecrow (from Not Right Minded)!

Some really clever people!

If you missed the Annual Chili Cookoff, please make an effort to come next year - it was really fun!  Lots of great chili and they even served beer this year! 

Winner of best booth!  A good time was had by all! 

Ah, the onset of Fall - my favorite time of the year!  So many fun events going on, the changing colors, arts and crafts are just the beginning! 

Friday Night 6-8 pm - come to Not Right Minded art store and gallery 406 W. Race St. - artist reception for Tina Godsey.  She's doing multi-media - has mermaids, Alaskan themes, fairies - all fun, bright and beautiful - just like Tina (did I mention she's my best friend??)

Saturday - downtown is the last "First Saturday" event for the calendar year.  Come see the colorful scarecrows decorating King and Queen Streets and participate in the community judging. 

While you are walking downtown, enjoy the artwork in the windows - many members of Art Berkeley (myself included) have artwork displayed there!  And we get to put more artwork up in the Dunn Building November.

Opening Reception for Frank Herrera at Frank Herrera Photography, 516 W. King St.Martinsburg 2-5 pm.

Then from 3 to 6 pm, enjoy the Mainstreet Martinsburg chili cookoff!