Witkin Real Estate News

Hello Everyone,

Things are going very well at Witkin Real Estate. First, I would like to congratulate the newest member of our team, Patricia Dunlap! Her impressive and extensive sales and marketing background makes her a great addition to our team. We are proud to have her with us!

I am also happy to announce the addition of two new exclusive listings: One detached home in Mira Mesa and another detached beach cottage 2 blocks from the sand in Pacific Beach. For more information on these listings, see the "featured listings" section contained in this issue.

Things seem to be picking up in our market as we have noticed an upward trend in the areas we work in. Interest rates are also still very low! Now is a great time to be thinking about getting into a new property, either for investment or personal reasons. Our team is looking forward to a productive and exciting future working with our clients. And as always, please call us if we can help with any of your Real Estate needs.

Happy New Year from everyone at Witkin Real Estate. We have some great listings coming on the market soon and 2011 is looking like it is going to be a great year for Real Estate in San Diego! Stay tuned for more info.

-Brian

The latest issue of our bimonthly full color magazine is now available.

Contact us for a free copy if you are not already receiving our publication by mail!

Looking for a job? We're hiring! Our company is looking for real estate salespersons in the North County San Diego area. We offer competitive splits, hands on training, and absolutely no agent fees! Please contact us for more information.

Once again, there is lots of news to share with you about Witkin Real Estate. First, I would like to congratulate the Lesleys on the sale of their home! Their escrow recently closed with a smooth transaction and a sales price at their full listing price. One of our other listings, a condo in the Gaslamp District downtown, received multiple offers the first day on the market and went right into escrow the next day.

Our company is seeing a substantial increase in activity regionally and I feel it is a good sign that we are heading towards a recovery, with San Diego leading the way.

As always, we appreciate your passing our contact information to anyone you know or meet who might be thinking of selling or buying a home. Our business is based completely upon referrals, and I know that we can count on you when the time comes.

It is important to understand that just because a property is a short sale or REO it does not necessarily mean that the property is going to be a good deal. Overpriced properties come in all types of situations, what is important is that the buyer spends time researching whether or not the price he or she is willing to spend is justified. A short sale occurs when a homeowner having trouble with payments lists their home at a price less than the amount currently owed to their lender. The selling price is essentially “short” of repaying the loan balance even if the property were to sell at the full asking price . Short sales have been occurring more often lately because many homeowners adjustable rates have made their mortgage payments increase significantly. The problem is, because of the market downturn, many of these properties have more debt than the value of the home, which makes them “upside down”. Short sales require patience as they generally take much longer to negotiate and close. Sometimes it can take over six just to get approval from a bank for a short sale. This is because all banks treat these situations differently and large institutions move slowly. Since ultimately the banks will be the ones suffering the monetary loss, banks have the authority to approve a short sale or choose to go to foreclosure.

REO stands for “Real Estate Owned”, which is defined as a property that is owned by the bank. These properties have already gone through foreclosure (or unsuccessfully through a short sale) and the previous owner lost the home to the bank. REOs are generally faster to negotiate and close than short sales since the bank is more inclined to sell the property.