Rhode Island Real Estate, Buyers Agents, Paul Silver

I just wanted to wish every one of you out there a very Happy Thanksgiving. In these times of economic stress, some of us may find it hard to osee the silver lining on the clouds that darken our skies... But there is one, at least: Things will improve.

When teh pilgrims first came here to New England, they had suffered religious persecution, had travelled a hard road to get here, and once here, had run out of food, and would likely not have made it through the Winter without help. Fortunately, there was help available, and they lived through the Winter. The help came from the American Indians, another group that had some suffering in store.

For us, we have some hard times ahead, but we should always think of what is good and kind in the world, and we should surround ourselves with positive forward looking people. The uplifting spirit that comes with this outlook is what made the world survivable for the pilgrims, for the Indians, and what will make it such for us.

There are good people out there, and good people do good things. Keep the spirit up, folks. We will get through all of this with strong, perseverent, forward looking approaches.

And more, there are family, friends and colleagues out there with you in mind, and hopefully, you have them in mind as well this holiday season. Things have been worse, and could be worse again... but our worldview is what will make us thrive.

Keep the positive outlook and positive things will follow.

And give thanks for being alive...

I am reposting this from one of our outside blogs, pertaining to third party handlers working for listing agents, but charging buyers for the service: Very Important for sellers to see how this can cost them money, and significant amounts at that: Find an agent that works FOR YOU, whether you are the buyer or seller, and be sure that they understand how to work with the circumstances of your purchase or sale.

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In Rhode Island real estate practice of late, there are many RI listing agents who require the home buyer to pay a third party handler for closing and managing in general the listings they have that are either bank owned or short sales. These third party handlers solicit listing agents, saying that they can handle the transaction, which is admittedly more complex than a standard listing, and that the agent wont have to pay... the buyer will pay. Ouch... so the listing agent can use the services of a third party and pass the cost to the buyer??? If you were the buyer, how would you feel about that?

We have received emails, meaning comments in WRITING, from RI listing agents that insist that the home buyer MUST use the third party handler, that the buyer MUST pay for this service, and that unless they do, the listing agent wont assist with the offer and contract process. This is unethical, and possibly in some instances illegal, and reflects on the skill set and competence of the listing agent. The damage is going both ways... we have seen where a home seller could have received more than $30,000 more for the property than they did, simply by having a more qualified listing agent, who would have worked with us, without the third party.

In the instance I am describing above, a house on Zenith Ave in Warwick RI sold for $150K when our highly qualified buyer was offering $180K... that is a difference of $ Thirty Thousand Dollars... the reason the house sold for this much less, is that this was the best offer besides our clients', the bank wanted to sell fast, and the listing agent could not handle the transaction without the third party handler... we tried to make the offer direct, but were hindered by the listing agent.

Now, granted that our buyer has moved on, and could have offered less, perhaps, but based on Current Market Analyses made by our agents, $180 was fair market value. So who lost money? The Property Seller, and the Lending Bank.

So this post is a warning to home sellers (and to banks) that this third party handler technique can actually cost them money, and lot's of it. The need for such a handler is a result of lack of knowledge and competence on the part of the listing agent... if your listing agent needs to use such a handler, find another one. The problem is that unless duly licensed (at least one company offering handler services is not) the fee for this cannot show up on the HUD Settlement Statement... and mortgage lenders will not pay for it. This means that either the buyer has to come up with cash at closing to pay, the listing agent pays, or the seller has to pay, cash. Another problem is that if your listing agent needs to use such a service, it is because they do not know how to handle this sort of transaction, and you should find an agent that does.

Bad all the way around. And unnecessary if the listing agent actually knows what they are doing. As a home seller, if your listing agent says they need this service, ask them who is paying, and ask them why they need that service to do the job they themselves are being hired to do... the answers may astound you. AND, if you hire this agent to list your house, you are risking getting less money for your house since you limit the buyers to those who are simply being duped... If you are a buyer, and your buyer agent recommends that you pay this fee, get another buyer agent, this one does not have the experience to handle this sort of transaction, and you will again lose by paying more than you would have to otherwise, if you were using a qualified buyers agent.

Get a qualified agent, who knows what they are doing and lives up to their responsibilities, and you wont have this sort of problem.

For more information: Seller agent responsibilities: Buyer Agent responsibilities.

Call us for more information, 401-293-0631, or contact us via email

While the experts mull over what they should do about the current economic situation, houses are still being lost by many homeowners, and lenders are still slow to the gate for new loans.

Several plans have been put forward, ranging from buying up bad mortgages, to capitalizing lenders, and everything in between. NAR Economists argue for suring up the falling housing market by supporting the loans already nearing or in default. The theory being that falling house prices are a cure to the issues we see, stabilizing them would be the answer.

Other plans argue that teh over heated markets of recent years have grown housing prices to artificial levels, and that these levels need to come down to more realisitic levels, and that the Authorities should allow the price resets to take their own course, again suring up banks, but doing nothing on the consumer level.

So, do nothing, do too much, not enough, and to whom should the rescue go? If any.

I am asking for input here from real estate professionals, as well as from homeowners and lenders, not for the purpose of placing blame, as that has been done, and will continue in other venues I am sure... but rather to see what people feel is the right solution, either from personal needs or professional needs and opinions.

What do you think we should be looking to the Federal Government for?

There has not been as good a time for investors to pick up property in RI since the Navy Base in Newport lost the fleet... interest rates are still low, and may be going lower as the credit fix gets underway and mortgage backed security prices rise due to government intervention... this will likely decrease rates down to the levels of a couple of years ago... at least for the Holiday season and into quarter 1 2009.

In addition to this, RI has seen radical decreases in housing prices over the last year or so... and we believe that this trend is slowing, and may stop also in quarter 1 2009... so combined low prices and low rates make purchasing investment property a good investment at this time.

A couple of months ago, I personally repurchased a 3 family property I sold two years before. At the time I sold it, it went for $375K. That was about the limit, if not a bit higher than, of what the rents could cover... I repurchased this property from another seller, not the guy we sold it to, for $185K... the rents being the same as they were back when we sold it, and with the same tenants.

Obviously, cash flow is now better than ever on this building.Better than when we first bought it 5 years ago.

Of course, not all housing prices have come down like this, as this was a short sale. But still, the market has a great many bargain properties, and if you can stand the delays and complexities with bank owned properties or short sales, now is a graet time to buy.

Newport Rhode Island is a resort community, where rentals offer the option to rent for high yeild in the Summer months, and for student rentals at Salve Regina University, Roger Williams University, URI, Providence College, Brown University, Rhode Island School of Design, Johnson & Wales University, and others.

If you would like to discuss these issues or options on properties in RI and Southeastern MA, please feel free to call Mandie Sullivan, our top buyer representative, to assist you in finding the best deals for you... Financing is also available: 401-293-0631

As many of you are aware, there is a deadline for achieving 100% fianancing of yoru home purchases: October 1. With current interest rates as low as they have been in years, and with high inventory of houses on the market and depressed prices due to foreclosures in many areas, NOW is the time to buy. Especially if you are a FIRST TIME BUYER, or a buyer seeking 100% financing.

While credit score limits are higher than they were in the past for conforming loans, there are still many avenues to achieve a home loan here in RI with less than perfect credit. But as I said above, if you are seeking 100% financing, then you must act now, as that is going away come October 1st.

To give you an idea of housing prices in the greater Rhode Island area, I offer the following example: We recently purchased back a 3 family property in Providence we sold about 4 years ago. When we sold it, we got a good price at $350,000. We now purchased it back at the request of the same owner, as a short sale, for $180,000.

We have worked with many buyers and sellers in short sales, bank owned property sales, and standard sales over the past year to achieve great buys, whether for investors, first time buyers, or anywhere in between. If you are not already working with a Realtor, contact us! We focus on working with buyers to find the perfect homes, and are qualified to assist with mortgages, FHA, Rhode Island Housing, and virtually all sorts of loans, from construction to refinancing.

The fact that our agents are or were loan officers all, they understand the financing issues, credit issues, and bank requirements, and they also know how to help repair credit scores withoutr getting a black mark on your score for consulting a credit service (yes, credit counseling can actually harm your score... )

So now is a great time to buy. Especially here in RI. It does not get much better than this.