Nathan Watanabe Las Vegas

MGM’s City Center will need about 11,000 jobs for their City Center planned to open later this year, Planet Hollywood is recruiting for 800 available  jobs they are holding  a job fair on July 30^th and 31^st .    The Hard Rock Café in Las Vegas new opening will create another 500 more new jobs their job fair will be held July 28 thru August 5.

Other good new for the Las Vegas Area Allegiant Airlines posted its 3^rd consecutive quarter of double digit profits.  Amazon buys Las Vegas based Zappos.com for $850 million.

4,702 sales of single family, townhomes/condo in June 2009 beating the previous record of 4,414 set in June 2004. Also, homes prices stayed flat for the month instead of declining it the first time for many months. We have strong demand for investors and first time home buyers taking advantage of the $8,000 tax credit. Fewer home sellers are reducing their prices in the Las Vegas Area signaling a boost for the market. Realtors in the Las Vegas Area are seeing multiple bids on low-priced foreclosed homes. Lets all hope we are close to a BOTTOM.

It recently announced that there are two planned Solar Energy Plants planned for Southern Nevada with Nextlight Renewable Power as the developer.  We already have the largest Solar Power Plant in North America in Nellis AFB.  Boulder City has three more Solar Power Plants that have been proposed.  With the amount of days that we have the sun shining in Las Vegas (about 210 sunny days per year) it is about time that we get into the renewable energy.  Senator Harry Reid has been quoted saying Nevada is the “Saudi Arabia” of solar and geothermal energy.  It is about time that we bite the bullet and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

In most cases it is better for the Lender to do a Short Sale than foreclose on a Home.  Then why do they take such a loooooooooong time to get an approval for a Short Sale (SS)?  Here is what I see as some of the advantages of a SS:

·        They lose less money!

·        Close Quicker = get money back Quicker and use that money Quicker.

·        Less damage to the Home, by the time the Home gets foreclosed on some people take everything they can out of the Home like appliances, lighting and plumbing fixtures, etc. or damage it.

·        They would have to worry about vandalism, more damage to the home or squatters.

·        Extra HOA fees and taxes.

A lot of the time they take so long on their decision that they lose a qualified Buyer because the Buyer does not want to wait that long or the Home has depreciated more that what the Offer was when it was first made and the Buyer does not want it any more or the Home will not appraise which makes the selling process longer or the Home gets foreclosed on which then adds to the Lenders list of REO’s.

And the reputation is such that SS takes too long or won’t close so, which feeds on itself creating a cycle and perception that SS do not close.  It seems to me that a lot of the negotiators know this but, are hostage to the policies and procedures of their Management and cannot do much to change it.  Realtors also, do not like to show SS for these reasons and that helps add more to the REO inventory and with more and more REO’s, that creates more and more inventory on the market and  prices continue to decline thus continuing  the downward cycle.

So can someone tell me Why the Lenders continue to make it so difficult to get a SS Closed???

These general suggestion and information for Buyers and Buyer’s Agent to know about Short Sales (SS) and this is not meant to be an all inclusive list;

• The Offer is with the Seller and it is Contingent on Lender’s Approval
• The Approval Process usually will take from 60 to 90 days so be prepared to wait that long and make an Offer good enough for the wait.
• The Offer should be close to the Market Price the Lender will not Approve an Offer that is too low (why would they if they can get a better net if they foreclose on the home)
• The home will be sold “As Is”.
• The foreclosure process does not stop so, let your Buyer know that if they decide to make an offer on multiple homes (really should not be done but, some people are doing it) and “see” which ones comes first or if they decide that to do not want to Buy the SS that they are putting the Seller/Owner at risk for a Foreclosure.   The foreclosure would be delayed if they are working on a reasonable Offer but, if the Buyer drops out the home will probably get foreclosed on..
• The Lenders Approval dates are firm there may be per diem charges to the Buyer if they do not close on time.
• The Seller usually will usually have money to bring to closing so the Buyer may need to bear some of it.

There is an attitude out there that it was the Borrower’s (Seller’s) fault “blame the Borrower” there is plenty of blame to go around as to how we got into the situation we are in now from the International Monetary Fund, to the Rating Agencies, to the Wall Street demand for Mortgage Backed Securities, to Credit Default Swaps, the large and small National and International Banks, Fannie and Freddie, Insurance Companies, the Fed, Loose Lending requirements, Fraud, Little or no Regulations of the Investment Banks, Assumptions that Real Estate will only appreciate, Greed the list goes on and on.

There are a lot variables in a Short Sale (SS) so, if you are not experienced in SS’s it probably be better you refer it to a SS experienced Realtor.  Here are some variables that you should know how the handle; 

·        Is there a 1^st or a1^st and 2^nd and/or any other liens?

·        If it has a 2^nd is it a “true” 2^nd or a HELOC?

·        3^rd lien or more? –generally not  good

·        Is there PMI?

·        If there is a 2^nd how large is the 2^nd?

·        Is the 1^st and 2^nd with the same or different Lenders?

·        Who are the Lenders on the 1^st and 2^nd they are handled differently even if the are the same Lender.

·        Is the Lender one of the Large National Lenders, Regional, smaller State Bank, or a Credit Union?

·        Is it a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Loan?

·        Is the Seller a Owner Occ. or is it a 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th … home?

·        Is the Seller in a real Hardship or someone with a lot of money or has a large income and wants to sell the home because he is upside down.

·        Are you in a  recourse on non-recourse State?

·        Has the Seller researched his other options and spoke with a CPA and/or Attorney on the consequences of a Short Sale to him/her?

·        Do you know what documents the Lenders needs?

·        Do you how to follow-up with the Lender?  You may be calling too much or too little.

·        If you hit a roadblock do you know how to escalate the file?

·        Do you know what to look for in a Approval Letter to protect your client?

·        Does your Escrow Company know how to do Short Sales?

·        Do you know what the Lenders are looking for in the HUD? 

·        Do you know the numbers good enough to know if the SS even has a chance of getting Approval?

A lot of these factors would be handled differently and you should know how to handle them to be able to serve your client best.   Remember that even if you submit an Offer to the Lender(s) the foreclosure process does not stop so if you do not know how to handle a SS your client could go into foreclosure.  So, please educate yourself or refer the SS to an experienced SS Agent.  The above list is not meant to be a complete list I am sure there are other factors that may need to be considered this is what comes to mind now.  Short Sales are being closed and more would be closed if more Realtors knew how to do them or referred them to the Realtors who knows how to do them.

The stock market has been going up March was the 1st time in 11 months that was a positive month for stocks.  So, we could be in a Bull Market or is this a Bear Market Rally nobody agrees.  Please remember that jobs are a Lagging indicator so, if we are in a Bull Market it could 6 to 9 months before the jobs market well recover.  So, lets that this is a Bull Market it has to turn sooner or later.

Here is a good link if have questions on the $8,000 tax Credit for 1st Homebuyers. http://www.juliegarton-good.com/tax_credit.htm

Good News for MGM/Mirage's City Center (I hope) they may get cash from Colony Capital to help finish the project. LV needs this to get done they are currently employing over 8,000 contruction works and will initially employ 12,000 in 1st first phase with many thousands more as the whole project is finished.

Yes, Las Vegas is a great place to live the average temp. for LV is 70 degrees, a lot of people associate LV as being HOT we have very nice Spings and Falls w/ a mild Winters , Summer is only 3 months after all. LV is not just the "Strip" and the downtown area we have over 2 million living in the LV area w/ lots different places to live, work, play and raise a family.