The mandatory mediation program will have an impact on our market as 80% of all home sales in Las Vegas are foreclosed homes. I think one of the most clear and concise explanation of this new federal law is written by a local attorney who specializes  in real estate law, Robert Noggle. He has graciously contributed the following;

A new Nevada law allowing any homeowner receiving a notice of default from their lender to request mandatory mediation with that lender becomes effective on July 1^st.

The purpose of the mediation program is to avoid a foreclosure by providing a forum for home owner and lender to negotiate a loan modification including a short sale.

The most important development is that the lender must be represented at the mediation hearing by a representative who has authority to modify the loan or who has telephone access to someone with such authority.  The lender’s failure to do so may result in the mediator modifying the loan.  Proposed court rules for the program allow a lender to participate by telephone if approved by the mediator.

The mediation is nonbinding.  The lender retains complete discretion as to whether to modify the loan and, if so, on what terms.  However, a trustee’s sale of the home may not occur until the mediation is completed.  The trustee’s sale is the final step in the foreclosure process.  As a general practice the lender makes the winning bid at the sale and becomes the owner of the home.

The cost of the mediation is $400 divided equally between the homeowner and the lender. According to the proposed rules the maximum period of time allotted to a mediation session is four hours.  The homeowner must provide a financial statement together with a Housing Affordability Worksheet.  The lender must provide a certified copy or original of the Deed of Trust and promissory note together with a copy of each assignment of the note and deed of trust.

The lender’s failure to provide the required documents may result in sanctions. The lender may also provide an estimate of the short sale value of the property if the loan cannot be modified.

Under the proposed rules the mediation must take place within 90 days of the filing of the notice of default. By law the foreclosure process can take no less than 111 days from the filing of the notice of  default to the sale.  The mediation program is mandatory at the homeowner’s request if the Notice of Default was filed July 1 or thereafter.  The parties may stipulate to mediation if the notice of default was recorded prior to July 1.

Final mediation rules will be issued in the near future.  However, as a new program there are many unanswered questions as to how effective the program will be.  Whether lenders will participate in good faith to avoid foreclosures is unknown.

Based upon cases from around the country a lender’s ability to provide the necessary documentation including copies of all assignments could be a serious challenge for them.  For the homeowner the ability to present a case for a loan modification will depend upon their ability to make their numbers work so as to persuade the lender of their ability to make future modified payments.

By: Robert B. Noggle, Attorney
Black & LoBello

Robert B. Noggle may be contacted at (702) 869-8801 or rnoggle@blacklobellolaw.com.  For more information visit www.blacklobellolaw.com

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In these busy times of receiving and writing so many multiple offers, some realtors have been getting very frustrated from not receiving any response from the sellers or buyers on your offer/counteroffer.  I have two suggestions:

1. If you are emailing your offer to the agent always use the read receipt function. (In Outlook this can be accessed through the options toolbar)

2. Include a letter with your offer that includes the language:

Please find enclosed our Residential Purchase Agreement/Counter  offer. Per NAC 645.632.1 you are required by statue to respond in writing. Verbal responses will not be accepted, only written responses will be accepted. Please fax you seller’s response to my fax number at 000-0000. Should you have any questions, please contact the Real Estate Division.

NAC 645.632 Notification of rejection of offer or counteroffer.

1. If a licensee represents a seller in a transaction, and if the seller does not accept an offer within a reasonable time after an offer has been presented to the seller, the licensee shall provide to the buyer or the representative of the buyer written notice signed by the seller which informs the buyer that the offer has not been accepted by the seller.

2. If a licensee represents a buyer in a transaction, and if the buyer does not accept a counteroffer within a reasonable time after a counteroffer has been presented to the buyer, the licensee shall provide the seller of the representative for the seller written notice by the buyer which informs the seller that the counteroffer has not been accepted by the buyer.

Should we not hear from you within 3 business days we have the option to file a complaint with the Real Estate Division for non-compliance of the statutes of the State of Nevada. 

I would like to thank Ron Ruthe who has instituted the above language and for leading the charge against unresponsiveness. Please let me know of your success.

Finally some great news for the real estate industry–the reported March 2009 Sales Volumes on single family residences was 2,879 units, which combined with the first two months of the year brings the total sales volume to 7,391 units. This is the highest volume in the last five years, the closest first quarter year being 2005, with 7,150 units. We have also more than doubled last years first quarter production which was 3,559 total units.

Our Las Vegas real estate inventory posted through the Multiple Listing Service is also supporting a continued strong market. The listing inventory has dropped below 20,000 to 19,888 which is a 16% decrease of available homes for sale over last year. And the REO listings are maintaining at about 31% of our available inventory, although this will probably increase in the near future. However I think that having a continued stream of aggressively priced homes will only contribute to this strong trend and indicates 2009 will be one of our best years.

   No,  this is not an April Fools lead in,  unlike Business Weeks nominating Franz Kafka International as the most alienating airport in the world, which is my personal favorite April 1st punk.

Yesterday at the Prudential National Convention in Las Vegas, Geoff Colvin, Fortune Magazine Senior Editor and acclaimed journalist spoke to over 3,500 Prudential agents.  He suggested that we will know when this economic crisis is behind us based on two economic indicators. The first being the Treasury Bill rates and the second is the Junk Bond ratings. Apparently during the “good times”, the disparity between the two ratings was just a little more than two point five, now the difference between the two is over 20 which suggests a high risk factor. As the ratings come closer, there will be less risk and we will all be able to sleep a little better a night.

                                              According to the Fannie Mae Announcement 09-03, effective March 1, 2009, closing of  preforeclosure sales may not be conditioned upon a reduction of the total commission to be paid to real estate agents to a level below what was negotiated by the listing agent with the borrower, unless the fee exceeds 6%.

This is great news–no more guessing what your commission will be and no doubt this will have a positive impact on the short sale market!  I know that some agents would rather have impacted wisdom teeth removed without anesthetic than submit an offer on a short sale and  after hearing about some of the horror stories, I can’t say that I blame them. However taking into consideration my earlier blog  “how to navigate the short sale offer” and asking one more important question, has  a BPO been done by the bank, I think short sales can be accomplished with less headache than ever before.

Today Chief Economist for the NAR, Dr. Lawrence Yun predicted in his economic 2009 update at the Rocky Mountain Regional Conference, that Las Vegas would lead the country out of the housing crisis.

     Dr. Yun attributes this recovery in Las Vegas to two events 1.The  home prices are under market and 2. The Stimulus Plan. He believes the first time home buyers tax credit up to $8,000,along with the raising of the loan limits will have a positive impact on housing market. He sees the tax credit as translating into about an additional 300,000 first time home sales nation wide. The Rocky Mountain Region has been the biggest growth region in the country and Las Vegas is at the epicenter of that growth.  

He also predicted that towards the end of the year the median price of homes will improve. Although we did see last month a drop off  in foreclosures from the 2008 4th quarter, pricing has not stabilized yet due to rising decline of foreclosures. He did bring up an interesting point that the home buyers that were sitting on the fence waiting to see what the Stimulus was going to do,  are now ready to make the move to buying a home.

The Mixed Bag news is that he sees another one and a half million job losses in the next six months but doesn’t think we’ll hit 10% unemployment and even if we did that’s still  90% of the people who can respond to incentives.  And according to the Case-Schiller Index, home prices were up 108% from 1998 to 2006 and now show a 67% increase from 1998 to 2008. The home affordability index is about the same as it was in the 1970’s with the income index up to 34% from 24% for the same time period.   

All in all, a more positive outlook for our Las Vegas Real Estate Market!

     I’ve heard a rumor recently that a few of the large REO Banks are going to be putting their inventory straight to auction rather than listing with Realtors. There is definitely a rise in the auction buying which is currently up to about 40% of sales before auction date as compared to the usual of 25 to 30 per cent pre-sales.

     According to Hudson & Marshall, one of the largest auction dealers, the following are some guidelines to help you with the process of buying an auction home. There is usually a time period of two to three weeks before the auction that offers can be accepted and a majority of them are accepted at less than list price.

All offers must be accompanied with certified funds (certified to cash) and not contingent upon financing.  

If the home is being purchased through a corporation, then the articles of incorporation must accompany offer.

All offers are subject to sellers approval

Don’t forget that there is usually a 5% premium on top of the purchase price.

If you are submitting multiple offers, you must have multiple earnest money deposits in certified funds.

At auction there is not a starting price but there is a reserve price that must be met.

It is always the buyers responsibility to perform their due diligence before making the offer, such as inspections, market comparable, etc. There are no contingencies and properties are sold “AS IS”.

It is very important for auction buyers to be educated and informed regarding the real estate auction process. Make sure all your questions and concerns are answered before you attend an auction.

Any real estate broker or agent may represent a buyer at auction.

For additional information Hudson & Marshall have a great FAQ section on their website.

The biggest challenge in real estate that I’m hearing from my agents these days is the buyers reluctance to make an offer. They cite various reasons, the most prevalent being the concern that “home prices will continue to drop”.  I think this is the same old fear that buyers have always had, just dressed in new clothing.  And that  is that there is an underlying concern that has not been addressed, and it is up to you as a real estate professional to find out what it is.

Every market has different challenges, either prices are going up or they are going down, interest rates are either going up or going down, and the same for cash flow. There has always been a buyers reluctance in every market and you the agent,  have a choice to either buy into their reluctance or see it for what it is. Drill deep and find out what the real issues are for your client, address that issue and then ask “do you think home prices will ever increase again”?

Of course they will and then you can move on to the close,  ”If we find the right home for you today that has most of your important wants, is there any reason that you wouldn’t want to make an offer”.

I recently attended a National Real Estate Institute Negotiating Bank Owned Properties seminar and thought that I would condense down the highlights for those of you who are writing REO offers.

1. Keep it simple–no novel writing, these offers are sent electronically and are usually reduced down to the net.

2. Try to have close of escrow on or before the 25th of the month. Takes about 3 days for bank wires. Banks are assessed their handling charges on the first and if they have not received the check before the EOM then there is an additional charge for them.

3. Try to limit contingencies and most banks will not accept  a sale of home contingency.

4. Do not call listing agent and ask “what will it take“, listing agents have no idea what the asset manager will accept.

5.Most banks will not allow an assigner.

6. Most banks will not pay a commission on an agent as principle buyer representing himself.

7. Banks prefer preapproval from banks rather than mortgage brokers.

8. Sellers are not required to pay for title so if buyer wants to pay all costs then they can dictate title company.

9. Banks will bring HOA current,  just make sure to address in offer.

10.  Even if you come in at full list, expect a counter. Council your buyer to expect counter but still offer highest and best to eliminate competition.

11. Always keep in the game and recounter.

12. When there are multiple offers and you receive a Highest and Best request from the bank-it is usually a 24 hour timeframe, but always check with the listing agent.

13.Asset managers are not emotionally invested, they usually have between 400 and 500 files to get off their desks.

14. Timelines vary on the response time for offers anywhere from 24 hours to two weeks.

15. Bank’s position is that they are responsible for only known conditions. Be sure to read the “AS IS” addendum carefully, particularly a clause that states if repairs exceed 5% of value, property reverts to “as is”.

16. If you extend COE, make sure you also extend the financial contingency, otherwise EMD goes hard.

17.  Try to limit Due Diligence to 3 days.

18. If you can document with a licensed inspector and send the inspection report listing the repairs to the listing agent, your chances are fairly good that they will be taken care of.

19. Most lenders will not allow credits for repairs at close of escrow.

20. Most banks will not accept bank wired earnest deposit, they will ask for certified funds.

21. Make sure that everything that you want the seller to pay for has the exact dollar amount including the appraisal. Offers are accepted on the “net”.

I hope these simple tips help you get more of your REO offers accepted  and wishing you  much success in 2009!!