The Blog Talk Radio was a disappointment…again.
It was probably my fault, but it couldn’t be any less user-friendly. We’ll will re-group and try it again to see if we can ever get to the point of making it work right.
Here were the highlights:
Special guest Mark Elkins from Wells Fargo Bank described their policy on waiving the right to pursue a deficiency judgement on short sales. He said that it depends on who owns the paper. On the WFB-owned paper, generally they ARE waiving the right to pursue deficiency judgements. But he also mentioned that over the last two years they have sold 90% of their loans to Fannie/Freddie/FHA/VA – who also are waiving their pursuit of deficiencies via the HAFA program.
But it is hard to tell who owns what, so borrowers will have to run their case through the usual channels to find out if the deficiency judgement will apply (they aren’t going to make it easy).
I blabbed on about remodeling. You can recoup dollar for dollar if you do the kitchen and baths plus carpet and paint before you sell, otherwise just do it for yourself and if it adds value when you sell, oh happy day. But go all out, the half-baked remodels are a waste of money.
Lowballing is more likely to work from mid-summer on, when it is obvious to sellers that their price ain’t working. Their listing goes stale after two weeks, and they really start to notice the inactivity after 30 days. Hit ’em hard after 2-3 months on the market.
The recent action has been tepid – only the hot listings with a good price on an attractive home in a good location are generating the bidding wars. The listings of inferior homes in so-so locations are getting no offers, and little attention. Buyers remain very picky.
I don’t see any changes – no flood of REO listings, and overall a very low inventory of quality homes. Buyers are patient, and as a result, the market is likely to be stagnant for the next 30-60 days while sellers wait to see if anyone feels like paying their price. There is a good chance that many buyers will write off the whole year.
The Bank of America REO assignments have not increased, I haven’t gotten any, and JimG said he had received 6, but those were December and January.
A caller from Santa Barbara asked about where buyers can look for additional inventory. I mentioned the current escrow I have where we followed up on a trustee sale that was purchased by a flipper, and got to him and made the deal before he put it on the open market. But second angle is to lowball the old stale listings, which could be a treasure trove.
We also covered the car coming later this week. It’s a 1979 Cadillac Seville, an identical match to the one I owned when we lived in La Jolla. It is a sentimental buy, admittedly, and probably just a way to relive the past – but much cheaper than moving back to the Jewel! The photo isn’t the exact car, but similar image from google.
Thanks to all who participated – we’ll do it again! Click on the arrow to hear the tape (after the commercial), this is the edited version which cuts about 15 minutes off the original:
From my perspective, it seemed cool. Not sure if you had phone problems, but when I tried the one time, I got through quick. I’m sure practice will make perfect!
I listened to it after the fact and it did seem pretty cool. Some good discussion, despite the technical issues. I agree that you should keep doing it, maybe twice a month for maximum call volume/interest. Starting out with a guest from a bank was a good way to go; you should try to get future interesting guests as well.
Did you record the show so people that weren’t able to listen live can listen at a later date?
Here’s the advice I received from the owner of a major movie production studio in Montreal when I asked him how does one get in the entertainment industry.
“Keep working.”
That was it. And he was 100% correct.
Live radio is just another step in your learning process. Listen carefully to your own recordings, don’t stress yourself over embarrassing moments, work out the bugs, run some practice sessions if you can, and keep at it. Pretty soon, you’ll find your groove.
I had to put my kids to bed so only caught about 5 minutes, but I thought it was great. Good information that flowed well. Keep it up!
Doh… Just noticed that the entire session was recorded.
here is a couple who got what they deserved…
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/apr/20/two-brokers-plead-guilty-in-foreclosure-scam/
Just listened to the recording and I thought it was great. The Wells Fargo short sale info was excellent – always good to hear the thoughts from a bank’s perspective. Thanks for hosting this, I look forward to the next show.
Congrats on the car…I love, love, love it. The grey ghost is a archetypical successful realtor’s car; the new one is “I am so successful I’ll drive what I want, even if you think I look like a pimp” car. 😉 Nice.
I am impressed with the originality of your car choice. Post pics when you get it.
http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/2/3973/1941/22430970002_large.jpg
JIM THAT CAR ROCKS! I can’t wait to see you drive up to a million dollar listing in it with all the other agents thinking “who the hell is this guy??”.
With the car being inexpensive go all out on some hoopty rims.
I listened to some and thought it was pretty good. I’m sure they’ll continue to get better as they go.
The car is sweet. Big pimpin’ for sure in that thing.
You should go pick your daughter up from college in it. Put an exhaust system and hydraulics on it. Trust me…she’ll love it.
I was WAY off on the car. I was thinking 5-series BMW or something like that. A 79 Caddy — pimp out!
It’s not just a 79 Caddy – it is a 79 Seville…for those non-car-types out there, that is special indeed.
It is the first gen Seville and considered a modern-day classic. Even when new, it had quite a following in Europe and has always been sought after there.
Very good choice, Jim. That car will do nothing go up in value and the lines will never age. Of all the Caddys 1973 – 2000, that is the one to own (for collectibility, the only post-2000 Caddys that may give it a run for the money is the Escalade – may take a couple of decades! – and the newest CTS-V).
Also…just noticed that used Maserati Quattroports with 30-40K miles are going for sub-$50K right now in San Diego!!! They sell new for $110K-$140K That’s quite a discount and is very tempting….