Client Update, 4/30/10

Happy Friday! Amazingly we’ve come to the end of April already. While town has been quiet we’ve seen a rush on properties, partially because the Home Buyer Tax credit expires today. Anyone wanting to quality for the credit must have a legally binding contract signed by the end of today and must close on the property they are buying by June 30th.

I believe this push to meet the tax credit deadline has been instrumental in our area seeing another good month of sales. Unofficial statistics for the month of April show that 47 properties went under contract and 47 closed. While half of these sales were under $400,000 we still saw six properties sell for over $1 million. Eight of the properties that went under contract were also over $1 Million. I’ll have official April statistics for you next Friday.

We have a few clients struggling to sell their properties before foreclosure. While short-sales are difficult and time-consuming, the following article explains why it is worth trying to sell your home short rather than face foreclosure. We have completed several successful short sales in the past year and if you find yourself in this position, please let us know if we can help.


Fannie Offers Spur to Avoid Foreclosure
Fannie Mae will make it easier for some struggling homeowners to buy houses in the future if they avoid foreclosure in the present.

Under rules released this month that will take effect in July, some troubled borrowers who give up their homes by voluntarily transferring ownership through a "deed in lieu of foreclosure" or by completing a short sale, where a home is sold for less than the amount owed, will be eligible in two years to apply for a new mortgage backed by Fannie.

Currently, borrowers who complete a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure must wait four years before they can take out a loan that Fannie is willing to purchase.

Read the full article at:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704388304575202532453275248.html?mod=WSJ_Real+Estate_LeftTopNews



Our new listings this week:



1. Light industrial building in Ketchum at 940 North Leadville on a 5500 sf parcel. This building, home of Walsworth Construction, is 2000 square feet with a very nice 600 SF office and a 300 SF shop. The remaining square footage is currently leased to Collard Greens for their office and design studio. Walsworth and Collard Greens will continue to lease the space for another year for approximately $2000 per month. The lot has terrific future development potential. $595,000

2. A three bedroom, one bath West Ketchum Condo with a remodeled interior and carport. $299,000





And one more thing:



I told my friend Judy that I would add a note about her commercial space available for lease on Sun Valley Road between Sotheby’s Realty and Smokey’s pizza. Anyone looking for a retail space with great exposure should consider this 1500 SF ground floor retail or office space that faces Sun Valley Road. She is offering the space for $1400 per month which includes all utilities. If you are interested or know someone who is please email Judy at ferriesjv@sunvalleynet.com and tell her I sent you.



Wishing you all a wonderful spring weekend!

Katherine, Rob Cronin and Rob Hogan