What We're Up To

We’re doing great, are you?

Brien M. Satzinger — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 19:06:28 +0000

There are a lot of agents belly aching right now because of the condition of the market. I have five transactions closing in between now and the middle of February. Is it because of my prowess as an agent? I do have a good system for doing business but my point is that I adapted what’s taught at Keller Williams realty. I’ve tried to explain this to many of the agents I do transactions with. Keller Williams has done the research and will show you how to build your business. We have some of the lowest fees in the market and the majority of the training is for free. Keller Williams even gives FREE leads. For whatever reason people don’t hear it. It’s really quite simple: stay where you are and flounder or join Keller Williams and learn how to create a solid business.

Real Estate Investor Guru Review Website

Brien M. Satzinger — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 21:03:25 +0000

If anyone is tempted to purchase a course or buy a book I would check out this site first. I find his information to be a little on the critical side but he’s educated himself enough with what’s out there to be worth reading before plunking down any $.

http://www.johntreed.com/Reedgururating.html

The rehabbers are scampering

Brien M. Satzinger — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:03:56 +0000

When you evaluate investing in real estate and take into account being able to buy on leverage, consistent appreciation over decades, tax benefits and being able to pass on real estate as an inheritance it simply can not be beat. Some people use the income they produce from rental properties as their retirement and are living well! This is a great scenario and anyone can do it. Here’s the point of this blog - some “investors” who have bought a house, improved it and are now trying to sell them are losing their shirts. They are just not able to sell perfectly good homes as well as many of the normal home owners who are trying to sell right now. I know one investor who recently took a $40,000 loss just to get the house off of his books. I feel for them. I know that hindsight is 20-20 but I saw signs this was going to happen to the market back in February. I’m a Realtor and I’m in tune with what’s going on on a national scale. If my opinion had been asked concerning the purchase of the -$40,000 house I would have been able to suggest a buy and hold strategy instead because a shake up was lurking on the horizon but I didn’t know when it would happen. Right now is a great time for buy and hold. I wish I could have saved him $40k. Please take my advice - don’t try and flip properties right now. The risk completely outweighs the potential reward right now.

-BMS

The state of the Memphis real estate market from a realtor’s point of view

Brien M. Satzinger — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 19:45:20 +0000

I am asked “How’s the market in Memphis?” frequently. This is a very good question without a one line answer. From a Realtor’s point of view I would say for the most part people are having a hard time selling their homes. We’ve seen more than 10% fewer homes being sold this year compared to last. Buyers who can get financing are having a field day because they’re able to get a little more house for their money or spend a little less on the houses they want. It means the agents who have specialized in listing houses are now forced to start looking for buyers. It’s not an easy transition but an important one if they want to stay in this business.

Most people have at least heard of the collapse of the sub prime debt market. I’d like to take a moment and shed a bit of light on what’s really available for buyers or people with less than perfect credit: A lot! There are programs through the Federal Housing Administration, other government agencies, community organizations and even local banks that are still available. There’s one community organization that as of today has a 5.25 30 year fixed interest rate even if you have a credit score below 600. They do take your over all financial picture into consideration and have other ways of assessing how risky it would be to lend money to you. They are a good and fair company and they have not had a single foreclosure since 1993! These programs are available today.

So what is the real result of the “collapse?” It means the tens of thousands of people who have gotten loans on easy terms or people who have gotten loans creatively when they really couldn’t afford them are no longer able to get those loans. When the sub prime market first began to fall apart the lenders that were able to stay afloat raised their criteria for lending unmanageably high. There were also several hundred lenders (who are also called investors) who have closed up shop because they had lost so much money. I’ve heard stories of people who had gotten a “clear to close” on their home purchase on a Tuesday to close on a Friday. On Thursday they were notified that the lender had gone out of business and the whole process would have to start over. These truths and the media’s on-going dramatic retelling (Chicken Little, anyone?) have given the over all impression of loans being hard to get. As I mentioned above it’s not that people can’t get financed, the real qualified borrowers are the only ones left standing, as it should be.

-BMS