May 30, 2008

The Lowdown on Foreclosure Radar

Two weeks ago, in the San Francisco Sweet Digs Weekly News Round Up, there was a mention of Foreclosure Radar, a service that tracks every foreclosure opportunity available in California, and all upcoming auctions. I had to opportunity to chat with founder Sean O’Toole about his entry into this growing field.

Foreclosure Radar began as a personal tool for Sean, back in 2002, to help him invest in foreclosed properties. With over 150 purchases under his belt, he decided that the tools he had developed were successful and could translate into a helpful website for other professionals to use in the burgeoning foreclosure market. Launched in May of 2007, the number of foreclosures, and the interest in them, has gone up significantly, to the tune of 70,000 notices per month from various agencies. It is the goal of Foreclosure Radar to get the word out about every one of these in the most efficient and honest way possible.

Basically, Foreclosure Radar (FR) is a dataset. Information is culled from a variety of sources, and updated daily, tracking every foreclosure in California all the way to their final outcome. Starting with information from the county recorders’ offices throughout the state, FR sleuths track down auctions and their results, as well as foreclosure sales, postponements and cancellations. To maintain accuracy, 120 validation routines are performed on public notices. (Needless to day, the research staff is kept very busy.) In addition, FR offers foreclosure search tools for websites, foreclosure software, does market analysis, offers webinars, and has a “Foreclosure Truth” blog, where they invite questions and information.

While FR targets lenders, investors, and real estate professionals, that doesn’t mean the average joe wouldn’t find it useful. The terminology on the site is geared more for those professionals, but if you know the lingo, and want to do your own research, the site is available to you. Yes, there is a fee for the service, but if you are determined to find one (or more) bargains amongst the stampeding herds, this is probably the most comprehensive place to do so. There is a 3-day trial, and then the fee becomes $49.95 per month, for as long as you need or want it.

While they are not the only service out there, they may be the most comprehensive, with no hidden agenda or “get rich quick scheme” attached. Just the facts, ma’am.

May 9, 2008

A Sweet Digs Survey for the Highly Impatient: Just 8 Questions

Long surveys suck. Especially when you know many of the results are going to end up on a corporate Powerpoint as useless filler. That’s why we’re getting down to the nitty gritty. We want to know who are readers are and why you read Redfin Sweet Digs. That’s it. Please take a minute to fill out our blog survey. It will help us improve Sweet Digs, Scout’s honor.

Click here to take the survey.

We’ll share the results with everyone in a couple weeks. Thanks.

-The Sweet Digs Team

Photo credit: glenOX on Flickr

May 6, 2008

Bargain Buys / Home Expo 2008

Be There or Be Square

Wow, is it that time again already? Yes! Time for the first annual San Diego Home Expo where we can learn all about buying, selling and maintaining a home. Exhibits and speakers will enlighten and inform us. This will be May 10, Saturday, at the Convention Center downtown.

You will find speakers discussing “What can I really afford?”, “loan options”, “how to get my home ‘For Sale’ ready”, and “Advantages & Costs of Going GREEN”. Lori Staehling, 2008 SDAR President will tell us “Why work with a REALTOR®?”. Upstairs will be workshops on “What to do when the Tide Turns?”, “Disaster Preparedness” and “Preparing To Buy Your First Home”- some in both English and Spanish.

I didn’t count, but there must be 100 exhibitors including lenders, builders, remodelers, publishers, Realtors, and consumer advocates. Major sponsors include Countrywide, Sandicor, the Union-Trib, Building Industry Association and, of course, the San Diego Association of Realtors.

Don’t fall for the people offering free admision tickets with strings attached. You can get your own at the web site.

This should be fun and informative, I’ll be there. BTW, May 9 is for real estate pros only.

Now let’s look at some Bargain Buys in East County. These are all single family detached homes of medium size and have a low cost per square foot.

Hey, the FHA is sponsoring a blog contest and I am now entered. Feel free to vote for this San Diego East County blog and give me a pat on the back. Thanks, and your comments will help me serve you better.

Vote for this site

Real Estate Blog Contest
presented by FHA Mortgage Center

Also a pat on the back to the FHA for all their good work!

Thanks for stopping by. If you buy one of my featured homes, come back and tell me about it. I have no financial interest in these listings- they’re there because I think you might like them.

You can follow my East County blog here or here. You’re at Redfin, the unbiased source for local real estate information.

[data from generally reliable sources, please comment on any errors!]

May 5, 2008

A Rant for the Week

Well, it’s been awhile since I went off the deep end and ranted about any one thing, but today I cannot help myself. And maybe I am totally off base and live in my own little suburban world, but I have a feeling that I am still the sane one.In the current issue of Dwell, there is a letter to the editor from John D. of Staten Island. It is short and in its entirety says:

“Why glorify the small home (March 2008)? A small home might serve its purpose for a progressive couple, but anyone with kids or a family will soon realize that 1,000 square feet is never going to be enough. Living small seems responsible at first, but living that small will never catch on. Living modest might: Modest homes of 2,500 square feet, and creative ways to fit and furnish them, are a burgeoning trend, and I’d like to see this aspect of responsible living explored more.”

So, living in suburbia as I do, I should be content with a modest 2500 square foot home? Hmmm. Sarcasm aside, of everyone I know in my area of $1mil+ homes, only two live in “modest” abodes, the rest of us schlumps live in cramped quarters under 2000 sf. My grandparents spent most of their retired life in a trailer of under 50 feet. Not a double wide, not some large modular thing, just a simple trailer, similar to an Airstream. They never seemed hindered by the lack of storage space or being without a kitchen island. The biggest house I have ever lived in or owned is under 1800 sf, including my current home where I raised 3 kids. No cramps here. Our relatives who live on the coast of England live in less than 1200 square feet and are quite content. I never considered these spaces small. I consider them adequate, comfy, and much easier and quicker to clean than a bigger home.

So, I want to know, when did 2500 square feet become “modest” and whose reality is that?

May 5, 2008

Monday Madness - take a Realtor to Lunch

This is a note from Redfin in response to the post below:

Here at Redfin we have a lot of respect for our fellow real estate agents and this post doesn’t reflect that. The post wasn’t intended to vilify agents but it didn’t communicate the values we try to operate our business by, and for that we apologize.

As a result, we have decided to let our last San Diego blogger go. Redfin Sweet Digs is written by contractors whose sole responsibility is to write commentary about market trends not agents. Our intention for Sweet Digs is to be an unbiased voice of local real estate and until we can accomplish that vision we’ll discontinue the blog in San Diego. (Bahn Lee and Ellie Fields, Redfin Marketing)

Help them understand that it’s time to move on

What auto or insurance salesperson doesn’t envy the fat commission of a Realtor? What housewife doesn’t have a secret fantasy of a glamorous part-time job that brings in the occasional $10,000 commission check? Check? Let’s check again with a reality check.

I know you came here expecting a few belly laughs in the Monday Madness column, but let’s tone it down a bit out of respect for our sales and mortgage friends who will be leaving shortly. The tide has turned and they will be finding other interests and income and we should wish them well.

We’ve seen this before in San Diego. During a real estate boom, Realtors spring up like bright desert flowers after the first rain. During the bust, they fade into the grey background. This creates stress for Realtors, their clients, their companies and the entire industry. Since the time of pioneer developers Alonzo Horton and George P. Marston, San Diego has seen these booms & busts. What does the future hold?

There are at least three reasons to believe that the future will bring more stability to San Diego real estate: a stable population; legislative reform; Redfin and other innovators.

San Diego presently has around 3 million people. Barring disaster, this population will neither double nor halve suddenly as the area population has done in the past. The numbers are predictable for the next decade or two and housing needs can be anticipated. Infrastructure constraints are also predictable, such as road, water, sewer and energy requirements. The massive weight of Federal, State, County and City governments, along with scores of agencies such as water authorities, assures that there will be no sudden changes in the legislative environment as well. With no demographic surprises, the real estate industry can settle into a manageable size proportional to the work to be done.

According to Lori Staehling, San Diego Association of Realtors president, “We have 22,000 Realtors in the county. There were barely 22,000 transactions last year.” According to ordinary folks, this is a system out of balance, out of proportion. One sale per agent? How do they pay for those fancy cars?

Legislative reform and other oversight measures should bring the mortgage banking industry into some reasonable semblance of ethical behavior. This business, like the booms & busts, has bounced from excess to reform too many times in the past. It would seem reasonable that this problem would be fixed now and forever. If industry reforms can’t do it, Big Brother should step in with a big hammer to correct the problem.

A little aside here: It’s easy to think that mortgage lenders and Realtors are evil. It takes more understanding to realize that they are victims just as their clients are. They just wanted to make an honest killing living doing a fun job. They meant well but got caught up in a system that rewards behavior that hurts people. Nobody starts out wanting to hurt people but by degrees people veer off course. Ask anyone on death row.

Finally, the creative energy of West Coast startups (Redfin and others) brings a fresh look at real estate. For centuries, people have had to trust ‘experts’ with major property purchases. Realtors, lawyers, bankers, appraisers and other experts created an industry for themselves and pressed government to lock in exclusive rights in their particular specialty. Buyers and sellers were at their mercy.

Today, buyers and sellers can take control of slightly more of their property transaction with the help of technology. Just like other investors, these people finally have some access to formerly secret data held for the exclusive use of insiders. We can expect this trend to continue, with more and better information available to regular citizens. We might expect contracts and financial documents to be written in plain English, someday, and regular folks would understand what they are signing without a law degree. These trends are powerful, at least in California and the West Coast, and people will demand them.

As a result, Realtors and lenders will have a different role in property transactions. They will guide, explain and help with negotiations. Straightforward standardized paperwork will largely eliminate the most tedious work of Realtors and especially lenders. Clients can search the market on their own with increasing ease. Realtors will spend most time educating clients and some critical time negotiating with or for them. In other documents I’ve discussed the market for foreign buyers, and I expect that in the near future, Realtors will be expected to have a solid foundation in applicable international law and finance.

So there will be fewer Realtors and their education will have to evolve to include more law and finance, and less sales training. They will become professionals rather than sales agents. The pay structure will also evolve toward something resembling that of lawyers or accountants, rather than a flat percentage of a sale. Realtors may be held accountable via some performance measurement criteria yet to be invented. New rules are already in the works for licensed lenders. Changes will be bad for some lenders, great for some Realtors who can charge a premium based upon their performance.

One of the great innovations of Redfin is that agents are paid in proportion to the satisfaction of their clients. Can you think of ANY company doing that today? A flat commission, or any commission arrangement based upon the size of the sale is a ludicrous criteria for remuneration. You can expect such ideas to come thick and fast as West Coast innovative thinkers cast aside the dinosaurs of the realty world.

But let’s get back to your friend, neighbor or church member who happens to be a Realtor or lender today. Take this good soul to lunch. Mention this article and implore him/her to consider a radical remake of his approach, an acceptance of change, or a different career. The sooner, the better- you’ll be doing a great favor despite the inevitable denials and coarse words you receive.

You can follow my East County blog here or here. You’re at Redfin, the unbiased source for local real estate information.

[data from generally reliable sources, please comment on any errors!]

May 3, 2008

Open House- ‘droids

Robotic promotions, automated listings

The thing I like best about craigslist is that it is straightforward and not commercialized. Regular folks post ads, regular folks read them. Free to all (or most). Lately, as I peruse the Open House listings, I notice some exotic ads with fancy graphics and text. There are services now that provide inexpensive means to produce these ads and Realtors seem to be jumping on the bandwagon. It seems they can fill in some blanks (number of bedrooms, square feet, etc) and upload some pictures and with little effort they have a colorful promotion. No doubt the process will be entirely automated soon and the agent will have nothing to do but collect her commission check.

Here’s an excerpt from a fancy ad:

Very attractive, but…

Here’s a peek at a standard ad requiring no additional software.

Kinda plain, huh?

OK, it’s plain. But isn’t that the charm of craigslist? God knows that the web is saturated with flashing doodads, annoying advertising and obnoxious sounds in some parts. Even the prettiest parts are annoying when they sacrifice simple functionality. Serious business should be treated seriously and what could be more serious than investing in a home? Let’s hope that craigslist can avoid the hype and bull that threatens to cover the entire internet.

You can follow my East County blog here or here. You’re at Redfin, the unbiased source for local real estate information.

[data from generally reliable sources, please comment on any errors!]