Ocean Breezes Blog

When asked "What's the surest way to amass a fortune?", Will Rogers answered "Buy Real Estate - They don't make it any more." Still true. What is being so missed in the press analysis of our current situation is that what has crashed is not the intrinsic value of real estate. Only a massive decline in population could bring that about.

What crashed was a financing component of the real estate market and it crashed from the insane over- marketing of financing schemes ... From the greed to drive buyers to exceed what it made sense for them to purchase, by making it sound cheaper. Look, we still see the same practice in many other markets today "Only $39.95 a month for the first year" -- But when the resulting purchase often represented close to half the net income expectation of the buyer -- those kinds of come-ons could only lead to where we are today -- paying the piper for the fact that too much of the available financing funds were thrown away making bad loans to unwary and poorly advised buyers (euphemistically called "sub-prime lending").

That's why the problem that most needs wrestling with, to create a good real estate transaction today, isn't finding high value for your money or finding a willing and truly qualified buyer at a fair price for your value. The problem is being able to find a rational, reasonable and solvent lender to "make it happen". Contrary to the news hype, they are out there. The banks, credit unions, and mortgage companies that weren't involved in the sucker baiting race to be the biggest and hang the risk ... didn't collapse ... and they still have money to lend. Are they maybe even a bit more cautious than before? Yes. But they also recognize they only make money by lending money. Good loans can still be had by good buyers to buy good properties at fair prices.

Among the most critical help you should expect from your Agent is competence in assisting you to find and evaluate such a lender and in bringing credible arguments to bear to help you sell the solidity, fairness and mutual profitability of the contract to that ever so critical 3rd party in every real estate transaction. That's why, seller or buyer, you need experience on your side today more than ever. Being an Agent for a few decades brings both the knowledge and the "feel" for lenders and their practices, what they need to know to come to a favorable decision and how to present it to them to get one.

Come "bank on" my experience. I didn't sell over $320 million in real estate by sucker-baiting people into deals that were bad for them - or by seeing lenders laugh at the contracts I negotiated for people. $320 million only happens by hard work to negotiate fair and mutually beneficial deals honestly presented. Call me and let's start on yours.