The word is out that lenders are slashing prices on short sales across the country. What does this mean for you?  Well, a couple things.  First of all if you are a homebuyer you can pick up especially good deals and be able to low ball offers on short sales (within reason) and have a higher chance of getting your offer accepted.

For sellers the advantage is their home will sell faster as buyers can bring in lower offers thus appealing to a wider base of homebuyers that otherwise would not be able to purchase the home in the current list price range.

An exceptional loan that is available to purchase short sales is the FHA loan which requires a very low down payment.

In Detroit, Michigan a home sold for $1.00.    According to the news report the home was purchased for $65,000 in 2006 and foreclosed on last year.

The bank was so desparate to sell the property that they lowered the price to $1.00 and it took 14 days to sell.  The home had been stripped of it’s copper plumbing, light fixtures, fencing, siding and kitchen sink.  At one point the home was boarded up and those boards were stolen to board up a home down the street.

You think you got it bad?

Most surveys indicate that over 85% of real estate searches begin on the internet.   So, you want to make sure that your real estate agent is utilizing the internet to the fullest extent.  You want to know how well their website is optimized for the internet and if they actively use social networking sites, video and other popular internet tools to help get your home the  most exposure.

Today, buyers turn to the internet to research homes for sale, demographics, loan programs and such.  So, it is important that your home is priced right and that your agent is actively marketing your home for sale using the most advanced and cutting edge web 2.0 platforms on the internet to increase their change of buyers finding your home listing.

An real estate auction was held 07/25/2008 in Battle Ground, Washington at 501 NW 11th Street, Battle Ground, Washington 98604.  The opening bid was only $50,000 for a 3935 square foot home in excellent condition.  There was only a handful of bidders and the final price came in under $345,000.

The home next door which is perhaps similar - I don’t know the exact details of the home but it appears in the same condition and size is listed in the $420K price range. I just glanced at the flier and don’t know the exact listing price but it was above $420,000.   Ouch.   Hopefully they have a pool or other offsetting features.    Anyway,  what do you think about this way of selling a home.?

Do you think auctions are the way to go?  All the time? Some of the time?   Do you think this auction will set the price for the neighborhood per future appraisals or will it be treated as a one time anomaly?

btw:  This home was not a foreclosure, trust deed sale or bank owned property.  This home was in a relocation program.

Let us know your thoughts about this auction and real estate auctions in general.

Vancouver Washington New Home Builders

Pacific Lifestyle Homes
Manor Homes
New Tradition Homes
Rockford Homes
Talbitzer Homes
Centex Homes
Pyramid Homes
Columbia Homes
Quail Homes
Morgan Broderick
Vancouvercenter
Equity Quest Homes
KemperCo, LLC
Cascade West Development
Falcon’s Rest, LLC
Riverside Homes
TaylorMade Homes
Capstone Homes
Fletcher Homes

Do I Have to Pay Taxes on a Real Estate Short Sale? This is a much asked question in the real estate industry. Due to the tremendous record number of short sales in the US thousands of homeowners want to know if they have to pay taxes on a short sale.

This information about taxation on a real estate short sale is informational and not intented as tax advice. You should consult your tax advisor for real estate short sale tax questions.

The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 was signed into law by President Bush. The following is a quote from President Bush about this new law: “When your home is losing value and your family is under financial stress, the last thing you need is to be hit with higher taxes. So I’m working with members of both parties to pass a bill that will protect homeowners from having to pay taxes on cancelled mortgage debt.” ? President George W. Bush, 9/1/2007

Prior to this law passing a homeowner selling a home as a short sale whose home had fallen in value below the amount of the current mortgages would face a tax bill by the IRS on the forgive debt. Ouch!

This new law regarding taxes on forgiven debt of a home mortgages is for mortgages originated on or after January 1st, 2007 and only applies to the primary residence - purchase, construction or significant improvement.

While we are happy for The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 we can be sure there are thousands of homeowners who wished it would be retroactive to prior years.

Here is how the law reads at the house.gov website, source is http://www.house.gov/

Major provisions of the new law:

Permanent exclusion from gross income of discharged home mortgage indebtedness.

Long-term extension of the deduction for private mortgage insurance.

Modification of the qualification tests for cooperative housing corporations.

Modification of exclusion of gain on sale of a principal residence.

Learn more about Debt Relief on Taxes due to a Short Sale

What is a Short Sale? By now most people who own real estate have heard the term “short sale” but they may not understand what it means. A real short definition of the term short sale is the home sells for less than the combined mortgages on the property.

This is accomplished thru negotiations with the lenders. The lenders do not want to have a foreclosure so they are often willing to negotiate a “short sale” - accepting a reduction on their loan balance payoff so the home can be sold on the open real estate market thus saving the lender the extra hassles and financial losses that go along with a foreclosure.

However, there may be tax ramifications to the seller of the property of a short sale. An example could be someone who has taken out equity loans or refinanced for cash out and now the property is worth less than the total amount of loans on the property. This will result in what is known as “forgiven debt” for tax purposes. The question is: Is the forgiven debt of a mortgage taxable? Learn more

98687 - Vancouver Washington Real Estate

Thank you for your interest in 98687 Zip Code- Vancouver, Washington. If you are a homebuyer doing an online home search for all homes for sale in 98687, Vancouver,
Washington area than you should find the homes for sale
you are looking for here. If you are a home buyer and performing
an online home search for Vancouver homes and condos in 98687 Vancouver Zip Code you should consult with a local Realtor in the Vancouver area.

98686 - Vancouver Washington Real Estate

Thank you for your interest in 98686 Zip Code- Vancouver, Washington.  If you are a homebuyer doing an online home search for all homes for sale in 98686, Vancouver,
Washington area than you should find the homes for sale
you are looking for here.   If you are a home buyer and performing
an online home search for Vancouver homes and condos in 98686 Vancouver Zip Code you should consult with a local Realtor in the Vancouver area.

98685 - Vancouver Washington Real Estate

Thank you for your interest in 98685 Zip Code- Vancouver, Washington. If you are a homebuyer doing an online home search for all homes for sale in 98685, Vancouver,
Washington area than you should find the homes for sale
you are looking for here. If you are a home buyer and performing
an online home search for Vancouver homes and condos in 98685 Vancouver Zip Code you should consult with a local Realtor in the Vancouver area.