June 2007
Monthly Archive
Rehab Loans in Wasilla and Palmer
Sometimes you really like the house but it just needs a little TLC. It might be right where you want to live but the house just isn’t up to snuff.
Maybe the house needs a new roof, or some foundation work, or just new paint and carpet.
Over the years I have done several of these transactions. They entail more work and more time but sometimes it’s really the only way to go.
This little yellow ranch style home is ideal for this loan. 
It needs some work on the logs above the foundation but I don’t know where you can find a house like this for $115,000. Especially in the great location it has.
As far as I know there is only one loan officer in the Wasilla/Palmer area that specializes in these types of loans. That would be:
- Jo Oxentenko
- Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
- 907 227–2362 (cell phone)
- or send her an email
If there are others that specialize in these loans use the comment section and I will add you to the list.
By The Way…the house in the top photo is NOT a candidate for this loan. It has a date with a bulldozer.
Housing Valuations and Predicting the Future
I recently discovered a report on House Valuations released by Global Insight. They use a somewhat complicated formula to determine over-valuation or under-valuation of house prices in 317 metro areas in the United States.
One of the several factors used is the average price of a home in an area compared to the average income. They also take into account the mortgage interest rates, population density, and something they call a constant.
The constant factors in the ratio a person would be willing to pay for housing in one area compared to another. For example, they determined that a person would be willing to pay a greater percentage of their monthly income to live in Hawaii rather than in Massachusetts.
This study has been published for about 6 years now and is a pretty solid predictor of areas where prices should drop. For example, most of the areas of the country where the over valuation of housing was seen as extreme last year, are experiencing price reductions this year. The extremely over-valued areas for the 1st quarter of 2007 are in red in the map. (click to expand).
Anchorage is seen as moderately over-valued at about 20% over-valuation. Compare that to Bend, Oregon, (78%). Or Prescott, AZ (64%).
Both the chart and the map are from House Prices In America by Global Insight. If you want a copy you will have to give them your name, address and phone number. But they don’t ask for your credit card!
I’m always a little hesitant about the results of a nationwide study when it is applied to Alaska. Alaska is so different that little glitches can throw the results way off. The only thing that might make a difference here is their use of density as one of their factors. Depending on where they drew the lines around Anchorage, the density factor could be unrealistic.
Monday Market Memo24 Jun 2007 11:07 pm
Wasilla Real Estate News, Monday Morning Market Memo June 25, 2007
Here are the real estate statistics for the week. These cover the entire Mat-Su Borough. There are some localised markets in this Borough. I would say that Talkeetna is pretty much it’s own market, as is Big Lake. But I am taking a look at the whole thing. Most of the action goes on in the core area of Wasilla, Palmer, Knik-Goose Bay Road and Meadow Lakes.
For the first time in ages, we had more pending sales than new listings. One week doesn’t mean much, but we’ll keep an eye on it.
| |
|
Average Price |
DOM |
| New |
43 |
$242,406 |
|
| Total Active |
842 |
$307,092 |
101 |
| Pending |
45 |
$233,052 |
78 |
| Closed |
32 |
$234,964 |
83 |
If you look at the chart to the right, (click to expand), you will notice that we are still 
selling just about as many houses as we did last year, and not a lot less than the really hot year of 2005. This chart is provided by AlaskaMLS, note their disclaimer below.
One big difference doesn’t show on this chart. That is the fact that there are significantly fewer new construction houses on the market. The majority of the homes are existing homes owned by private sellers, not builders. Builders are motivated sellers. Once they are finished with a house, they want it sold. They are usually not willing to sit around for months on end waiting for just the right buyer that will pay their price. If it doesn’t sell, they will lower the price until it does.
Home owners that are living in their house tend to be more patient. Some really only will sell if they get top dollar. Others really do want to sell but are willing to forestall a planned move if they do not get their price. There are a lot of those homes on the market right now. These homes will leave the market between August and October and the ones left will be the real motivated sellers. These are the people who really need to sell for one reason or another.
The market drivers are the builders and seriously motivated sellers. Their homes are selling too, as you can see from the chart above. Because of the size of the inventory, buyers have to sort through a lot of homes to pick out the motivated sellers from the rest of the homes.
“This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to, the subscribers of Alaska Multiple Listing Service, Inc. (AK MLS, Inc.). AK MLS, Inc. does not guarantee nor is it in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by AK MLS, Inc. is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate activity in the market. “
Ripening On The Real Estate Tomato Vine.
Back in December of 2006 I decided I wanted to begin an online newsletter. I really wasn’t sure how to do one so I started my research on the internet. Eventually I came across Jim Cronin and his website, The Real Estate Tomato.
The more I read on his website I learned that Jim was the kind of guy that would be able to help me do what I wanted to do. I had already learned a lot just from reading his blog. Blog, short for web log, was a word that I didn’t take to immediately, and still don’t really like. I guess it because I’m in my mid 50s. I still like to think of it as an online newsletter, only more personal.
Anyway, after reading Jim’s blog, I decided to ask him to help me get set up. He was encouraging, helpful, and fast. In no time I had my website up and running under a completely new format. It has become a useful way to help others in my local area get up-to-date real estate information.
Since then I’ve learned a lot and read a lot of other people’s blogs. I’ve also met others who Jim Cronin has helped set up with real estate related blogs: These people all have different perspectives on real estate, and even on the world. Check some of them out.
That’s most of them as of June 24, 2007. I’ll add more later as they sprout on the vine. It’s amazing what you can learn just by reading other peoples views of real estate.
Alaskans Are Summer Crazy
Alaskans do so many crazy things in the summer it’s hard to count them all. This is a photo my son took of me on Montana Creek last week at midnight.
Today is the longest day of the year. Alaskans all over the state are soaking up the sun. And there sure is a lot of sun right now. Depending on where you are in the state you have between 20–24 hours of sunlight today. I think it was over 80 in Palmer today, a little too much for me, I was looking for a place to escape.
In Fairbanks they are running the Yukon 800 down the Yukon river to Galena and back. It’s a crazy race. The winner is often one of the few that can keep their boat in one piece on this race.
There are midnight baseball games with no artificial lighting. Midnight footraces, soccer games, fishing derbys and more.
Enjoy it…soak up the sun.
Guess what, tomorrow the days are getting shorter.
Deals of the Week19 Jun 2007 11:02 pm
Deal of the Week
I mentioned previously that I would not revive the deals of the week unless I knew I had a bona fide DEAL.
Well here is one. It has a recent appraisal for more than $300,000 but the price was lowered today to $259,900. Here are the details on the house.
Monday Market Memo18 Jun 2007 09:30 pm
Wasilla Real Estate NewsMonday Market Memo…
Here are the statistics for this past week from the Valley Board of Realtors MLS system. This is for single family homes in the entire Matanuska Susitna Borough. So this includes Willow, Houston, Sutton Chickaloon, and Big Lake as well as the core areas that include Wasilla and Palmer.
The inventory continues to climb, but it climbed a little slower this week. I notice that the higher pending sales are starting to show up in the closed column.
| |
|
Average Price |
DOM |
| New |
64 |
$256,505 |
|
| Total Active |
839 |
$308,609 |
99 |
| Pending |
53 |
$233,941 |
79 |
| Closed |
34 |
$219,863 |
79 |
Here are the up to date line graphs…click to expand. 
The top graph are the total active single family homes.
The bottom graph compares pending, new, and sold sales.
I took a look at land sales this week. It is obvious that there are less land sales so far this year. We have been selling some lots in Hart Lake Estates, but not as many as I expected to sell. I think it’s one of the nicest neighborhoods around.
An amazing thing when I looked at residential lot sales was that there were only 10 lot closings in the Wasilla Map area in the last 30 days. That is pretty skinny. There were 24 sales in the last 2 months. With 367 lots on the market, that’s a 3 year inventory.
While land sales are slow, there is still a steady supply of buyers for homes. I showed more than 30 homes on Saturday and Sunday. We received two offers on the doll house over the weekend.
My Listings17 Jun 2007 12:38 pm
Wasilla Alaska, Ninety Four Acres and a Cabin
Every once in awhile a real special property hits the Wasilla Real Estate Market. This is one of those properties. This 94 acres is part of a homestead that has been in one family for many decades. The cabin was originally built in 1962, and as you can see from the photos, (click to expand photos), it is in really good condition.
The land is level and almost completely wooded. There is about a 5 acre hayfield in the back of the property. Wildflowers line the field and some irises are volunteering right out in the middle.
This is a great parcel for someone who wants a secluded place to live while having a good investment in land. This parcel is only about a mile from the Wasilla city limits. As you can see from this map, there is an easement that goes out the back to Fern Drive.
There are two accesses to Edlund Road so that gives a lot of options if someone wants to develop this property. Here is a google road map to help you find your way.
The price is $875,000. Call me for more info on this property. My cell number is 907 232–7900.
The following photos of the cabin show how unique this property really is . Look at the stone fireplace and the “eagles nest” reading area.
Alaskana15 Jun 2007 11:26 pm
Palmer Alaska—The Friday Fling
I stopped in at Palmer’s Friday Fling today. It was a gorgeous day, about 70 degrees with a bright sun. Almost too hot for this old Alaskan.
Every Friday during the summer Palmer has a mini fair. Booths are selling everything from fur slippers to funnel cakes to organic bread. The organic booth was actually doing the most business when I was there. I was hoping to see some early produce but I guess that was unrealistic…it’s only the middle of June and most crops were just planted two weeks ago.
But I took some photos:
It was right across from the Palmer Visitors Center and gardens.
The gardens were actually coming into bloom. 
They really looked inviting under the summer sun, but I had to run to an appointment at this cabin on the side of Mount Baldy, all the way on the other side of the valley.
My daughter Teressa has some photos that show off the Palmer area as an agricultural center of Alaska, she is a better photographer than I. Here are more of her photos.
Wasilla Real Estate News—Listing Your House For Free
In a previous post in the Wasilla Real Estate News I discussed what we do for FREE! But I was only half finished. That post only covered the work we do up until the time you get an offer.
After the offer I will help you negotiate the tricky path toward closing. We will need to respond to inspectors, engineers, appraisers, underwriters, loan officers, title officers, the buyer and their realtor between the date of the initial offer and recording.
- After an offer comes in we will usually put together a counter-offer. In fact, even if the offer is pretty crummy, I recommend countering back with something that would work. This means that occasionally we counter back with full price and terms…but still counter
- Sometimes it takes several counters to finally arrive at an agreement. I think my record is six counters over a three week period. But hopefully we do finally go into contract.
- The inspection is the usually the first hurdle. The buyer normally hires a qualified inspector to look at the house for them. The inspector ALWAYS finds some issues that he thinks should be addressed. I help you determine what really needs to be done and what is often just a desire of the buyers. For example, if the house doesn’t have gutters, the inspector almost always suggests that they be installed. Gutters are a great idea and often help prevent damage to a home, but are not a code item and won’t be required by an appraiser or underwriter.
- An engineer will inspect the septic and perhaps the house. Occasionally an inspector asks that an engineer inspect the structure of a home. A structural engineer might inspect the foundation or another part of the house. The septic system will almost always need to be inspected and approved by an engineering firm. If an engineer discovers an issue you have a real problem. I will help you determine the best way out.
- The appraiser will determine value. The appraiser works for the lender, but their fee is paid by the buyer…or seller. The appraiser is NOT an inspector and cannot be depended upon to find hidden defects in a house. But if the appraiser does call out a safety problem the issue will almost always have to be addressed to keep the transaction from falling apart. And if the appraisal comes in below the sales price, you have a big issue, however, we can usually find a way to work through it.
- The loan is in process. While the inspection, appraisal, engineer reports, and title work is progressing the loan is being processed. This work is done by a loan processor that takes the file from the loan officer. The loan officer is usually the person who takes your loan application. The processor verifies your employment, checks the credit, and generally makes sure that everything you need for your loan is gathered together. It generally takes some time to get the whole loan package together. Part of our job is to check with the loan officer and loan processor during the transaction to see if we can help get anything done.
- The title company makes sure the title is clean. There are often issues that need to be cleaned up on the title before we can close. Sometimes there are liens that need to be released. Occasionally there are mineral leases, easements or other items that need to be disclosed to the buyers. We have a title search done right after we list your property to head these issues off at the pass.
- By this time I have made ….ZILCH.
- Almost every day we talk to the buyer’s realtor about the transaction. Often we talk several times a day. And there are many emails and faxes back and forth. Communication is very important during this time and it is also important to be able to handle stressful situations without losing your cool. We always have to remember the our purpose is to help you toward your goal of a successful transaction, not winning our personal argument.
- Schedule closing at a time and place convenient to you. Often we will pick up documents in Anchorage to expedite a closing for you in a place that works best for your needs. The next business day after closing the title company will normally record the transaction.
- YOU GET YOUR PROCEEDS CHECK ! And we finally get paid.
I actually enjoy working by commission because I feel good about being paid for accomplishing a goal. But in one way, it is the commission system that increases the cost of selling a home. If Realtors were paid for the work they did whether or not the house sold they could afford to charge lower fees.
I have toyed with the concept of working on a consulting basis for years. In fact, I have done it a few times. Recently I discovered the Accredited Consultant in Real Estate . I am seriously considering this training with a goal to lower Realtor fees for house sellers and buyers.
Stay tuned.
Until then, I still charge 5–7% commission rates depending on the level of service and marketing you feel that you need.
Next Page »
It needs some work on the logs above the foundation but I don’t know where you can find a house like this for $115,000. Especially in the great location it has. 
