Congress Realty does handle short sales in every market we cover. We have been involved in hundreds of short sale transactions over the past few years. The process is quite similar to any other listing with our brokerage. The difference is that the seller will work with the lender directly regarding the accepted offer. The seller and lender will work together in putting together a hardship letter, estimated closing cost, and so forth…  similar as they would with any other short sale file. (We can assist with comps, estimated closing cost, etc.. as needed)

Why list a short sale with Congress Realty? Simple, the lender is looking for the highest possible net to themselves. Lowering commission cost to the lender will improve the likliehood of having your short sale file accepted.

Starting Feb 1st, the 90 day flipping rule will be removed. Previously, the 90 day flipping rule had become an enormous burden upon investors b/c it was greatly limiting the pool of available buyers for their properties.  For example, Investor A purchases a property, rehabs the property, and then places it back on the market.  Any buyer pursuing FHA financing could not begin the loan process on Investor A’s property until Investor A had owned the property for at least 90 days. This all changes with the new rule change. FHA buyers will now have access to Investor A’s property immediately and will not have to wait 90 days.

We are now members of the Imperial County MLS.  This MLS covers California cities such as El Centro, Calexico, Brawley, Heber, Calipatria and Holtville.  For those not familiar with the Imperial Valley, it is the winter training home of the Blue Angels and a key agricultural area bordering Mexico and Arizona.

Blue Angels

California Real Estate salespersons and brokers are disappearing in a hurry. The DRE released the end of November 09 #’s earlier this week.  Currently, California has 27,000 less licensees than they did just 12 months ago. If we take this back 24 months, California has  nearly 45,000 less licensees than they did in Nov of 07.

I applaud California for making the information so readily available.  States like Nevada and Arizona make obtaining these kinds of real numbers next  to impossible. 

Right now California has just over 500,000 Real Estate Licensees. To obtain a license in California, after you pay application fees, exam fees, etc… all to the state, you are looking at about $500 per licensee. Now add a couple of hundred bucks every renewal cycle and multiply this # by 500,000 licensees….. 

I bring this up only because I was asked earlier today why each state requires an individual to have a sep license in that state to conduct Real Estate business. Simple answer, the states profit.

If you are a property owner in Arizona, it is very important to realize that there are many different MLS’s throughout the state. It is imperative that your property be listed on the correct local MLS. To illustrate this point, Tucson, Green Valley, and Rio Rico all have different MLS systems. Each city has their own sep system. As a seller in these areas, you want to ensure your property is on the correct system. Listing a home in Rio Rico on the TARMLS website for example will provide little to no value. In this example, your home needs to be placed on the Santa Cruz County MLS system.

Anytime you are interviewing full service agents or limited service agents, always ensure that agent is a member of your local MLS. Do not be fooled by national companies who try and trick you into listing your property on the largest available MLS instead of your local MLS.

Local is always better in the world of MLS exposure.