Rhode Island Real Estate Buyers get Ready Now!

Spring is here and as most people know, a lot of homes are going on the market. Homes "look" better in the spring and its more fun to shop for a home when there's no snow on the ground. If you are looking for a home, I would advise you to get started now. You need to get yourself approved for a mortgage, find out how much you can afford and get looking. If you want to work with a Realtor, start looking for one you feel comfortable with, who will take the time to find out what you want and spend some serious time actually looking for your new home! Don't be discouraged by all the news you may have been hearing in Rhode Island Real Estate, about sub prime mortgages, foreclosures, stagnant markets....This is the time to find some good deals. Yes there are a lot of foreclosures. Yes there are a lot of houses on the market and yes, the 100% loans are going through a tough time. There are still great programs out there for you and a much wider spectrum of homes to choose from..So find a Realtor and start looking! Rhode Island Real Estate is hopping! Make sure you are ready. I have buyers now that are already approved with letters in hand. We are ready to make an offer as soon as we see the "right" home. Don't be left out of the game by not having your letter ready. Know your market and be prepared. This won't last forever!

Rhode Island house hunting

There has been a great deal of commotion lately regarding the Mortgage Industry. Websites have been set up to keep track of all the Companies that are going out of business due to poor lending practices.
What does this mean for you? If you purchased your home in the past 2-5 years and used a creative mortgage, ie: arm, interest only, even some no downpayment mortgages, then you may be one of the many hurt by these latest happenings.
You may have heard about the increasing amount of foreclosures in Rhode Island. Well some of this is due to these formerly mentioned lending practices. I am not going to go into who is to blame for this, because ultimately, it falls on the consumer to pay attention to his/her own finances. However, I believe that, at times, a borrower tends to think that the Lender "would not give him a loan if he could not afford it".
This, as you may now be aware of, is not true.
If you or someone you know is in this unsatisfactory position, and depending on how long and other factors, you need to address the situation as soon as possible. Don't wait until it's too late. The last thing you need is to lose your home. The lending laws are in the process of changing, but it will take time for the results to be seen.
I had a call the other day from a young girl who bought her home two years ago (I was not her Realtor:). She applied for a mortgage and was approved for an interest only mortgage for three years. After the three years the payments would change to include the principle and a higher interest rate. Basically her payments will probably triple. Now, she says she cannot even afford the original "interest only" payments. She called me because she had seen a foreclosed home I had on the market. I had to explain to her that she probably had no equity in her home because the market in Rhode Island had been stalemating. There really wasn't anything I could do for her, other than try a short sale, but she was still thinking she could "switch" houses. She is sadly, out of luck.
Please, please, please, when you are looking for that new home, do not get so caught up with the dreams that you lose track of Reality! You probably know way before you get to the loan application what you can really afford. Don't forget it!

Rhode Island Real Estate

Okay, I'm back from my little vacation. Actually I have been back for 3 weeks! Blogging has taken a back burner because I have been so busy. I thought I would pop in here today and give my perspective on the Rhode Island Real Estate Market.

Lately, there have been numerous foreclosures in and around Rhode Island. The investors are out in droves looking for a good deal. And who can blame them? They are fully equipped to come in and gut a place then put it back on the market for a higher price. There is an inordinate amount of work that goes into these "projects" that I don't think the average person realizes.

What I have also found is a lot of first time homebuyers looking at rehab houses because they think its the only way they can afford to get a house.

Some of these houses are in dire need of COMPLETE rehab and there is no way someone could live in them and work "on the weekends". I find this very sad, because it means that these people cannot find a home in their price range!

There are, however, still some great Mortgage products around that not everyone knows about. I still have the belief that if you have a job for at least a year and not a lot of credit debt, then you can still own a home in Rhode Island. Sure it takes awhile to find something that you feel you would like, but it's not impossible!!!

So for all those people out there that think they can't afford a home....Call me! If there is any way possible, I will find it.

Realtor Vacations?

Should a Realtor take a Vacation?

It's been awhile since I have taken a vacation, so I decided to "block some time" and get away. The nature of Real Estate (in Rhode Island at least) means you are available 24/7! I have always pledged to get back to people in a minimal amount of time, by email, phone, etc., so to take a vacation means that I cannot do this.
Scheduling this vacation was more work than I thought. I had to go to each website that I use and block out the time, send emails to everyone and call the people I am working with. I am in the middle of a negotiating offer and counteroffers and if it doesn't happen today......???!!! Arrrghhh.
It was actually more work for me to prepare for this vacation then it would have been to stay home! Of course I had to get Jake (my dog) and Max (my cat) taken care of and Blackie (the feral cat that has visited me for 7 years twice a day) fed. I have to clean my house!~ LOL.
Okay, I am down to the wire now. Big question, should I take my laptop? Or should I go technologyless (that may not be a real word:) and just veg out. I am leaning torward the latter, but I feel guilty:) Well, see you when I get back. PS You can still email me so I guess that tells you what I decided. And to my new buyer that I met with on Monday, I am still searching. Guess I answered my own question. Realtors can not take vacations! See ya!

Wireless for Rhode Island

Just read a post that Rhode Island is going wireless. Maybe I can hold off on that card for a few more months. You can read about it here.

Coastal Serendipity

If you haven't already noticed, I Love the Coast. I cannot imagine living any further inland. I did not grow up on the Coast but I always had an affinity with it. I have driven to many of the beaches and little seaside hideaways hereabouts in RI. I did not get to visit Block Island until I was 30! Amazing as its a 40 minute ferry ride from Point Judith! I know a lot of Rhode Islanders who have not been there. They do not know what they are missing! I have since been to BI hundreds of times, spent many a weekend there, both in hotels, inns and on my boat and my brothers boat. It never changes. I guess that's one of the reasons I love it. Although the past few years it has attracted a lot more people. The homes have increased in value due to the incredible beauty of the Island and I do have piles of photos which I will be getting up here soon. The parts of BI that have made the most impression on me are the people that live there year round. Not in the mansions, but in the little cottages that can barely be seen behind the big hotels. These people are the heart and soul of the Block. Have you ever noticed the smell of the Island? Incredible. Guess you have to be there to feel the peace!
I have just started another blog on the Coast of Rhode Island. Not much there yet, but stay tuned.

What you should know about the Rhode Island Real Estate Market
Paul Silver wrote in his article on Active Rain that now is a great time to buy and I agree. This last year has had home buyers holding their breath trying to decide whether to buy now or wait out what was starting to appear to be a possible bubble burst for Rhode Island. Being in the business has helped me watch the home prices very carefully everyday in our local MLS program. As the year went on, the prices started falling, slowly at first, then a little more drastically. Homes began to wilt on the market for longer periods of time.

Photo from Birdsandbeacons by Ann Searle
It took some getting used to after the amazing growth that was prevalent throughout Rhode Island in the past few years! Sellers were horrified that homes they had purchased in the last two years were now worth less than what they originally paid for them! Foreclosures were starting to creep up. Where two years ago, the foreclosure page in the Providence Journal was not completely full, now they were up to four complete pages! The boom was over!
What does this mean to you.
Selling right now is probably not your best move. If you can possibly hold off for awhile you would benefit. If you have to you can always rent out your property to cover your payments, watch the market and decide when it will be a better time to sell.
If you are considering buying, now that is another matter altogether. Now is the time! If you have been debating with yourself and feeling like the surplus of homes on the market means that escalating home prices have stopped, then you are right! They have. Not only do you have a much wider choice in homes, locations and anemities, but you can buy that fixer upper you have been hankering for. Get out of that rental apartment.