florida distress sale

What does shadow inventory mean in real estate?

Jun 13th, 2012
by edsmith.
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Shadow inventory generally refers to distressed properties that are not yet on the market for sale. These properties “shadow” the active inventory in that they will (or should) be on the active market sometime in the near future. For statistical purposes, shadow inventory is included as a segment of the “unsold” properties.

Shadow inventory consists of those properties in some stage of default or foreclosure, as well as properties already owned by the foreclosing lender. Because many lenders are now accelerating their foreclosure actions against delinquent borrowers, the actual shadow inventory is expected to decline as such properties graduate to the “active for sale” market.

Year-to-date, foreclosure filings are up 142 percent in Okaloosa County and 63 percent in Walton County. Destin, Ft. Walton Beach, Sandestin and 30-A are all represented in the equation.  

For more on this topic, visit www.FloridaBrokers.com or email us at smith@realtor.com

I was told that I don’t need a survey if I’m paying cash for a home in a platted subdivision. True?

Aug 9th, 2010
by edsmith.
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No. If you purchase a property for cash that has an existing encroachment (or two) you could have real problems when you try to resell in the future. Yard buildings, driveways, fences, easements, swimming pools and even roof overhangs can all be sources of frustrating encroachments. 
 
We once saw a case in which the house itself was built 15 feet over the neighbor’s property line. Had the buyer elected to pay cash without the benefit of a survey, they could have ended up with a lot of cash tied up in a property that they could neither sell nor even borrow against. Their equity would be frozen indefinitley.
 
One other option. Many title insurers wil accept a prior survey. That is, so long as the seller is willing to sign a sworn affadavit at closing stating that nothing has changed to affect the boundaries since that prior survey was drawn. 

Q: How do we know if we can qualify for a short sale?

Nov 26th, 2008
by edsmith.
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In order to successfully complete a short sale, you must document two primary components – First and foremost, you must prove inability to make the payments. You don’t have to be totally dead broke, but it helps.

Secondly, you must prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that the property is worth no more than the offered price on the purchase contract. If this sounds too easy, there’s a reason. The completed package that is submitted to the lender for approval may easily top 150 pages and can take 30 or more hours to compile. A brief phone call can help us determine if you may qualify.