GETTING BY AS A REAL ESTATE BROKER IN SPARTANBURG SC

It is a very difficult time in today's market as a Realtor. With the interest rates at a all time low, you would think the Realtors would be working more at the closing table than in the field showing homes.

That just isn't the case today. Although here in the South Carolina area we have a lot going on, we are still facing a tough market when trying to get our clients a loan. As we speak, I have a client with a accepted offer on a HUD owned home. Problem is, it's a manufactured home or as some would call it, a mobile home or wobbly box and although the client has a 700+ credit score and a 20 per cent down payment, we are having trouble getting him a loan.

We will prevail due to the fact that I am a very experienced Realtor with over 33 years in the real estate business and understand creative financing. So, we will find hime some temporary owner financing and then he can refinance after he owns the home for a short time.

You see, the reason he cannot get a regular conventional loan now is that the loan amount is only $20,000. The wisdom with the lenders is that the loan amount is so low that it is not profitable for them to make the loan.

Well, I fell a lot better now that I got this off my chest and now I shall move on to my next client. By the way, my next client is approved already because they have $15,000 for a down payment and can pay $1200 per month. Now when I say approved, the only thing the lender (owner of the property) wants to know is where they word and how long on the job and how they have been paying their rent for the last six months.

My client works at BMW in Greer and have been paying their rent satisfactorily for the last 3 years. Another client works at Dish and has about the same qualifications.

Hence, you can see where my efforts are going to be. I will concentrate on owner financing, lease options, rent to own or what ever you want to call it. I prefer to call it creative financing. This is my solution to the real estate business in today's market.

I have found out that the owners of properties have a lot more common sense than most commercial lenders.

Let me give you one good example of how the banks operate. They will have a home owner that has not made a payment in 12 months. They don't really want to foreclose so they entertain offers from the listing agent. They get an offer of 70% of the loan amount. They sit on it for 3 months and finally counter back at full price (amount of the loan) and lose the sale. They then proceed to the foreclosure sale and bid it in at the full amount of the debt including the cost and back interest. They could have even bid less and let a Investor have it at the sale. They then list it with a Realtor that works REOs at the 70% of what they were due. A couple of months goes by and they get an offer of 80% of what they were asking and after about 45 days the buyer gets turned down. They put it back up for sale and to make a long story bearable they accept a 50% cash offer from an Investor.

That is the real world as it is today. Now I feel a lot better, I shall get my racquet ball equipment on and head for the courts. By the way, my racquet, racquet balls, tennis shoes, glove and my underware were all made in China. Now....got that off my chest too.

Have an Awesome Day, BECAUSE YOU CAN.

Jim Wood, Broker
864-542-2725
http://wobblebox.com  for Investment Properties
http://carolinadream.com if you are a Buyer looking for owner financing.
jim@jimwoodbroker.com